The inn’s common room sits in hearth-dark silence, all smoke, timber, and low amber flame. Slaan is near the table by the fire when the blacksmith barrels in, drenched in cold night and fear.
He slams a heavy tankard down so hard the boards jump. His hands shake as he points north toward the window, where the moonlight is thin and the village road runs black.
The Blacksmith
A dragon is circling the vault entrance. I saw the shadow myself. If it drops from the clouds, that old hole will be its first stop.
The room goes still. A few patrons stare into their cups. The blacksmith leans toward Slaan, desperate and pale, as if she alone can hold the night back.
The Blacksmith
You know the route there, don’t you? Tell me I am wrong, or tell me how to keep the beast from reaching it.
Slaan
The tankard is still rocking. He saw something real, or something that terrified him enough to become real.
A gust shudders the shutters. Somewhere beyond the inn, a deep, distant beat rolls through the dark, too large to be thunder.
The Blacksmith
If you mean to act, do it now. If you have a spell, a blade, or a plan, I need it before that thing comes lower.
✓ Quest Accepted
Protect the vault entrance from the dragon
✓ Quest Accepted
Keep the dragon from reaching the vault entrance
“" oi isn't Kynes the head wizard around?". I ask”
SUCCESS (Fair Persuasion, rolled +2)
Slaan
Oi, is Kynes the head wizard around?
The blacksmith blinks, thrown by the sudden shift, then catches the name like a life raft.
The Blacksmith
Kynes? Aye, when he is in Phandelver, he is the one folk turn to. Archivist, spellwright, troubleshooter, all in one.
The Blacksmith
He is not here tonight, though. If he were, I would have run straight to his door instead of yours.
A few patrons lift their heads at that, the room quietly waking from fear into purpose.
The Blacksmith
But if you know Kynes, then you know this, if that vault is the wound in the town, he is the sort who would try to stitch it shut.
The wind claws the shutters again, and the blacksmith waits on Slaan’s answer, hope and dread sharing the same breath.
“" ah so no Bren or Mara then either then" I say contemplating the matter.”
SUCCESS (Fair Reasoning, rolled +3)
Slaan
Ah. So no Bren or Mara, then either.
Slaan lets the names settle in the room like dropped coins, and the blacksmith hears the shape of the absence at once.
The Blacksmith
No. Not tonight. Bren is out on her own roads, and Mara has not been seen since the archive bells.
The Blacksmith
If they were here, I would have dragged them in by the collar. I would have taken any two brave souls over none.
That answer lands harder than the wind. A few patrons exchange looks, and one bench scrapes back as a farmer rises with his mug still in hand.
The Blacksmith
Kynes taught them both enough to matter, though. Enough that if the vault is trouble, they would know where to strike first.
The blacksmith reaches into his apron and produces a small iron token stamped with the town seal, holding it out to Slaan like a promise made tangible.
The Blacksmith
If you go, take this. It opens the lower latch at the vault gate. I was saving it for Kynes, but tonight it belongs to whoever can still save us.
“I take the coin, " I got my tricks too good sir." I give a impish grin" now where's this foul beast"”
SUCCESS (Fair Persuasion, rolled +1)
Slaan
Slaan slips the token free and flashes a wicked little grin. "I have my tricks too, good sir."
The iron seal lands in her palm. The blacksmith releases it at once, as if the weight of it has been lifted from his chest and placed where it belongs.
The Blacksmith
Then use them. I knew I was right to bring it to you.
Slaan
"Now, where is this foul beast?"
The Blacksmith
By the old vault road, south of the last orchards. It circles low over the hill where the stone steps begin.
At that, the farmer finally sets his mug down. Nearby patrons lean in, listening harder now, as if Slaan has given their fear somewhere to stand.
The Blacksmith
If you go now, you go with the town behind you. Tell them I sent you.
+ New Item Acquired
Iron town-seal token
“I leave the inn”
SUCCESS (Fair Agility, rolled +4)