Murder Hobo Squad: A Lost Mine of Phandelver/Dragon of Icespire Peak & Beyond D&D 5E record (Beware Spoilers!)

Melandrach killed the only undazed orc and punched a nearby Vine Blight, while outside Bilba killed the final shapeshifter and ran in to the house.  In a pumpkin patch Araloth took a moment to get his Second Wind and then followed Bilba.  Karson moved to flank a Vine Blight and beat it almost to death while the two Orcs at the back tried to shake their friends awake.  Ramond murdered one of the Orcs and shouted out for everyone to back up through toe door and retreated towards it.  Thorivor stepped inside and killed an Orc at the back with two arrows.  Reidoth ran inside and healed Araloth while Talindra used her Rod of the Pact to recharge a spell slot.  The two vine blights sunk their fists in to the floor and a mess of vines and roots grew out around them, turning the ground in to rough terrain and Restraining Melandrach, Araloth and Talindra.

Not distracted by the roots binding him, Melandrach finished off one of the Blights and damaged the other.  Bilba sunk an arrow in to it too, nearly killing it.  Araloth tore the vines and roots from his body and baked up towards the entrance, walking along the walls and ceiling.  Karson moved deeper in to the room to flank and kill the Vine Blight.  Two Orcs moved out of the southern room to flank and attack Karson, but missed.  Ramond moved up then smote and killed one of these Orcs before stepping back.  Re shouted again for everyone to back up.  Thorivor put two arrows in to the other Orc, dropping it while Reidoth Healed Bilba.  Talindra sent her familiar to watch to back of the house for anyone escaping and then used the staff to cast Web, covering the floor and sinking down in to the well for 20 feet, where the vine blights had come from.  An upstairs window on the south west corner of the courtyard opened and a Half Orc appeared.  He thrust his hands forward as Talindra reacted to Counterspell and nothing happened.

While Melandrach struggled unsuccessfully against the roots grappling him, Bilba killed the nearest dazed Orc.  Araloth ran along the walls in to the room, avoiding the roots and the webbing, and attacked an orc at the back, who resisted the webbing, returning the attack, before backing out of the webbing through the doorway.  Karson looked up at the window and unleashes his sword Talon as a hawk to attack him.  Ramond moved around and tore the roots away from Melandrach before stepping back to the door and shouting through it, “You three go flush out the Priest from upstairs!”  Thorivor tipped him the nod and ran up the stairs but the upper steps collapsed under him.  He fell and landed on some crude spikes.  He picked himself up and walked out from under and looked in to the room to the east, which was covered in graffiti painted in blood of boars chasing stick men.  There were also 8 basic stick figure dolls around the room.  Individually they looked pretty crude, but collectively they looked familiar.  One was holding a stick in two hands, another was holding a stick cycle, and a third had a small stick bow.  They seemed to be representative of the party.  He spun around and fired his heat seeking arrow to finish off the Orc fighting Araloth.  Reidoth healed Thorivor, and then went up the stairs, carefully stepping over the new hole.  An open set of doors at the east end drew his attention and he cautiously advanced towards the.  He peeked through the doors and could see the Half Orc looking through a window in to the courtyard.  Reidoth backed towards the stairs a bit and called out, “He’s up here!”  Talindra cast Sacred Flame at the target in the window, who attacked and killed Talon before retreating south through the double doors.

Melandrach and Bilba ran up the stairs and followed Reidoth’s pointing to give chase after the Priest. (DM: It was at this point they started discussing taking the house for themselves and fixing it up.  This conversation continued for the rest of the session) Araloth ran along the walls and climbed in through the window the priest had tried to cast through.  He ran in to the room to the south and attacked the Priest.  Karson freed Talindra from the roots while Ramond backed up through the door, braced for attack and shouted for Karson and Talindra to get behind him.  Thorivor stood behind Ramond and readied a reactionary shot with his bow.  Reidoth charged in to the room with the Priest and healed Araloth, while downstairs Talindra Eldritch blasted an Orc to death.  The Priest backed up behind Araloth and unleashed a Thunderwave at him, pushing him back.

Melandrach ran behind the Priest and attacked him, while Bilba ran behind Reidoth and shot the Priest.  Araloth flanked the Priest with Melandrach and attacked him.  Karson backed up behind Ramond and cast Aid on Ramond, Thorivor and himself.  Thorivor killed one more Orc with his bow and injured the other, while upstairs Reidoth healed Araloth again, before “Commanding” the Priest to Grovel.  Talindra finished off the last Orc with an Eldritch Blast.  The priest stepped towards the hole in the floor, cast Thunderwave at Araloth and Melandrach, pushing Araloth away.  He then jumped down the hole, taking a free strike from Melandrach, and landing on his bum.  He picked himself up and tried to step out of line of site of those in the courtyard.

Melandrach dove down the hole and performed an effortless super hero landing, before attacking the Priest with his Longsword.  His second blow caught the bottom of his armour, lifting it.  The tip of his blade cut his stomach and he seemed fine at first, but then the wound opened and spilled his guts on the floor.  He collapsed a moment later, dead.  Melandrach then ran out the other door in to the courtyard.  Every known enemy was dead, but there were still sounds of struggling from down in the well where the Vine blights had come out of.  The party were cautious of this and spent the next few rounds with most of them watching the well and dealing with the last 3 Blights as they came out.  Thorivor set fire the web which burned away slowly for three turns before Talindra dismissed it.  While this was going on Araloth explored upstairs and disturbed a Stirge nest.  He ran away from them, straight down the stairs and told the others.  Karson went up to investigate and got swarmed.  Six of the eleven Stirges latched on to him and drained most of his blood.  A few people went up and cleared off what they could, and Ramond used his Wand of Magic Missiles to put two shots in to each of the remaining three on Karson.

When there were no more evident threats they took their time exploring the house and looting the bodies.  Ramond burned all the Blight bodies and dragged all the other corpses outside.  The Priest had a fragment of a leather map with the Manse and Falcons Hunting lodge marked on it, along with a third new location: The Circle of Thunder, a little to the north.  In a large bedroom upstairs they found a secret compartment in the mantelpiece which contained a Staff.  There was also a secret door to a small chamber containing a cloak and a magically locked chest.  Reidoth dispelled it and they found a rod inside.  A Detect Magic spell revealed all three items to be magical.  While Talindra sat on the bed to identify them Karson and Reidoth went back to the courtyard to deal with the tree growing out of the well.  As they hacked and burnt at it, it began to leak what looked like blood, instead of sap.  They chopped down what they could, but it had roots deep in the well.  They considered spending the night here, but opted to take a short rest and then head back to Falcons Lodge for the night.

Magic items:

Cloak of Billowing, given to Araloth

Staff of Birdcalls, given to Reidoth

Immovable Rod, given to Bilba

We ended the session as the party pulls up outside Falcon’s lodge at about 6-7pm, but it was midnight IRL so we called it there.  Somehow, nobody died.