Phandalin was a small and peaceful town stretched from the beach of the sword coast and out into a small forest that stretched from the town to the sword mountains. Many a traveler have made their way here as the High Road goes right through the west end of Phandalin, the road that connects Neverwinter to Waterdeep. The frontier town of Phandalin is built on the ruins of a much older settlement. Hundreds of years ago, the old Phandalin was a thriving dwarven town whose people were firmly allied with neighboring Earthkin and Gnomes. Then an orc horde swept through the area and laid waste to the settlement, and Phandalin was abandoned for centuries.
In the last three or four years, settlers from the cities of Neverwinter and Waterdeep have begun the hard work of reclaiming the ruins of Phandalin. The new settlement is home now to farmers, woodcutters, fur traders, and prospectors drawn by stories of gold and platinum in the foothills of the Sword Mountains.
Phandalin is also unique in being on the forefront of the burgeoning industrial revolution. Settled in between the birthplace of rail in Neverwinter, and the ATUM capital of the coast in Waterdeep, Phandalin is part of the first ever railroad, powered by a queen ant train ATUM, using a skytrol engine to power itself and pull people and cargo, mostly from waterdeep to neverwinter. However, because of its placement, Phandalin has benefited greatly from this arrangement.
The year is 1424, in the age of Magic. Cicadas buzz in the summer air, and a young jinx was carrying tankards of ale, full and empty, to and from the bar in the Stonehill Inn in Phandalin.
The jinx was named Oliver Vance, he had worked in the inn for six of his 15 years of life. His bare feet and hand were dark gray, almost black as if stained by coal. The rest of his body got lighter till his face was a pale ashen gray. His hair was raven black and oily, curling wildly in a short mess on his head. As he carried a tray of mugs he trips over his cloak and face plants hard.
"OLIVER! THAT'S THE THIRD FUCKING TRAY TODAY!" Toblen Stonehill bellowed from the bar, as the regular patrons jeer and laugh at the slowly standing halfling.
"I'm sorry, I just-"
"Tripped, AGAIN! You're done for the day, PIP!"
A young human kid with shaggy blonde hair comes down thee stairs and begins helping Oliver pick up the mugs.
"I'm really sorry Pip…" Oliver said as he sniffed up blood before it could drip from his nose.
"It's all good, Oliver. I don't mind honest, go take it easy man. Is your nose okay?" The human boy looked at his adopted brother with concern, as he was fairly certain Oliver broke his nose.
The jinx sniffed, not being able to pass air between his broken bones. "I'm fine." He said smiling, blood leaking from his nose.
The door suddenly flew open and three people entered, a dwarf, a human, and a man in Golden Armor.
"THE FLINTBROW RETURNS TO PHANDALIN!" The Dwarf yells out earning a massive cheer from the tavern crowd.
"Stupid drunk bastards, they'll cheer for any random moron that wanders in." Pip said, earning a laugh from Oliver, keeping the Jinx from starting to cry.
"Go sit down Ollie, they'll let me go soon and then we can go play with Sofia and Renata after work okay?"
Oliver nods and sits down at an empty table, only to find himself sitting with the three newcomers as they seemed not to notice him as they piled into the booth he was sat at.
"Ya see? Me family is well known throughout this town!" Randor said before heartily chugging down his tankard of ale.
"I don't mean to burst-break your bubble my stout friend, but I think they're just drunk."
The dwarf flipped him the bird and slammed the tankard down.
"Nay, the Flintbrow Clan hewed the stones that made this town!"
"Hold on, let me test this…" James slams his wine before standing up and shouting,
"I'M GONNA BE A MOTHER!"
A massive amount of cheers and drinks were had, and soon a refill for James's wine was bought for him.
"I hate, the both of yas." The dwarf said as he paid for another refill.
"So after this drink, where do we walk-wander next?"
"Well," The dwarf pulls out a small parchment map of the town and begins pointing stuff out, "I'm gonna stop by the Tymora shrine, Sister Garaele is the old lady who took me in when the orkz took out old Phandalin. Then we can make our way to me family's old shrine of Moradin."
"Cool, let's get drunk first, some sort of oddity or job will present itself. Something like people disappearing or monsters in the woods." Jake spoke over his goblet of wine.
"Well actually Conyberry has had people disappearing. Especially the kids from the Conyberry Orphanage." Oliver spoke up finally as the three adventurers all snap to him. A silence falls on the group.
"...Well?" the dwarf said after a moment.
"Well what?" Oliver said with a sniffle.
"Gods damn it kid, Explain yourself." The human spoke with an annoyance in his voice.
The strange man in armor took a mug of water and with a flourish of his hand the water in the float up and pools into a glowing pale blue orb in the armored man's hand.
"Here put your smell-nose in the orb and inhale sharply." The metal man was not armred, his helmet… face? Moved.
"Your helmet-face moved!"
The man gasped happily. "You know Tree speak!?" The man released a series of whistles and clicks as the human taps him on the shoulder.
"No he's asking about your kanohi Kame, he's never seen a biomechanical before."
"Oh. Well, here actually let's do this first." Kame gestures his hand forward and Oliver placed his nose in the orb, and inhaled sharply. Fresh air burned his new nostrils as his nose was renewed almost instantaneously. The water dribbled away into evaporating droplets.
"Better?" The biomechanical asked the young jinx.
"Yeah thanks. So what the fuck are you?"
"Wow, that's a bit rude kid we just healed ya, without passing through by happenstance you would've looked like a pig that never got painted properly." The human said with a deadpan voice.
"You're the one to talk about looking like pigs, Human." Oliver fired back with a smirk, that dropped as the "human" picked up his wine goblet with a monkey tail.
"Why the hells do you have a tail!?"
"Why the hells are you such a little shit?"
"I can take off my face!" Kame said as he took his Kanohi Luciara and the golden shine to his armor receded into a dull green. The mask retains the general shape of Kame's face, but the fine details like eyebrows and the like seem to have disappeared.
"I need another ale…" The Dwarf mumbled as he looked around for a server.
Oliver blinked rapidly at the mass amount of information being thrown at him all at once.
"Wow okay uhm... Look I don't live in Conyberry, but my friends Sofia and Renata live in the orphanage though maybe they know something."
"Conyberry is over by the old shrine. We can make a stop there, where ya meetin' yer friend lad?"
"The Tymora shrine, we like to spit in the fountain." Oliver said matter of factly.
"OI! I spent most of my formative years with Sister Garaele cleanin' that fountain!"
"Well excuse me for not having the most respect for the god who cursed one guy and suddenly I'm born with eternal bad luck." Oliver spoke wryly before sneezing, causing him to gently glow with dim light.
The dwarf was stunned silent for a moment before bursting out laughing.
"Oh man that is funny, yer like a halfing with the opposite of what a halfling is. You're like a small giant!"
"And you're an asshole." Oliver shot back dryly earning another chuckle from the dwarf.
"He reminds me of you, Jimmy." The dwarf said finishing his drink.
"Don't call me that, asshole. Alright kid you got us hooked. I'm James, this is Kame and Randor welcome to the gaggle of idiots." James handed his now refilled goblet to Oliver and gestured to one of the Wenches for another.
"Wait what? I'm not joining anything!"
"Well sure you are. Can you fight?" James asked with a blank stare.
"No." Oliver answered truthfully and flatly.
"Can you do magic, lad?" Randor said as he picked something off of his hammer head.
"Not effectively."
"Can you lace-bend the fabric of reality to your will?" Kame said excitedly.
"No…"
"See? You'll do great. Come on, show us to the spitting fountain." James said as the newly formed party stood.
"If you spit in that fountain Jimmy, I'll skin ya."
And with that, the four set off for adventure.