Several Long Pink Things (GB010)

10th Eleasis, 1492 - Phandalin
Arriving in Phandalin the group are rewarded by Aethed and notice a crowd of villagers on the green watching an animated debate. One of the town's councilmen, Harbin Wester, is arguing with his council colleague Sildar Hallwinter over the town Mayorship. Harbin indicates to the party as an example of the dangers of allowing adventurers into the town.

Sack takes this as a challenge to carouse the crowd and does so expertly, winning them to his tales of independence and freedom. Meanwhile Wistie decides to test her pocket-picking skills in the crowd, noticing a well-dressed cleric who turns out, after his purse heavy with 40pp is lifted, to be Omin Dran.

With Wester now treating Sack like a long lost hero, the group decide to return to help Petey the Shoggya and his people back at the ambush site.

On their way out of town Friend and Moloch are recognised by Omin, who (conveniently forgetting the owed reward) congratulates them on their success in Waterdeep and scolds them for not reporting back to him. He explains that the Phandalin franchise of Acquisitions Inc has been idle since the previous franchisees disappeared and their headquarters (still smouldering in the background) was burned down. He offers the Phandalin franchise to the group, emphasising how fortunate they are to be bypassing the traditional internships.

The group give a noncommittal response, though Gorkoh is quite excited at the prospect of accounting work (secretly thinking also that the town could use an amateur theatre) and Green Steve likes the idea of a salary in a nice little farming town that reminds him of home.

The group head back west along the Triboar Trail and encounter a strange naked fellow sitting in the middle of the road. Sack immediately tries to "help" by experimentally feeding him a Potion of Fiery Racism and is breath-burned for his trouble. And cursed, not least for insisting on a "chongus check" which revealed that the naked road monk was spectacularly endowed with an otherwise completely normal chongus.

The rest of the group manage to answer a riddle and move on uncursed.

Down a trapped trail (which results in Wistie hanging by one foot from a tree snare) the group leave Lumpkin, Petey and Dabshabah at the entrance to the Shoggya lair after negotiating a truce with two Shoggya guards. Sack manages to negotiate further with three vicious wolves in the antechamber, who scarper after eyeing up Lumpkin as a tasty freedom snack.

The group delve further into the cavern, spotting another Shoggya who runs east across a stone bridge and releases a flood down the passage. They stumble in the dark into a room filled with Piercers, and Sack gets frustrated at their dogged determination to be bitten and stabbed rather than running away, bodily picking up Wistie and Moloch to make their escape. They take a short rest on the bridge as the floodwaters recede.

Friend, Moloch and Sack level up, taking Druid 3, Cleric 3 and Fighter 2 respectively.