Meanwhile, at the Stonehill Inn:

Dungeon Master: So according to Ol’ Narth, Sister Garaele left Phandalin for a few days and then “returned wounded and exhausted.”

Players: Hmm. Interesting. I wonder what happened?

Dungeon Master: (oh, shiiiit…)

Players: Let’s head over to the Shrine of Luck.

Dungeon Master: (fuuuuuuhhh…)

Don’t get caught flat-footed. If you’re going to share Ol’ Narth’s overheard scuttlebutt in the common room of the Stonehill Inn, you’ll need to have an answer ready should the rumor pique the interest of characters.

The convenient answer would be that Garaele had a tussle with Agatha the Banshee. And I suppose the banshee’s corrupting touch would cause one to become “wounded and exhausted.”

But…ehhhhhhhhhh [Fill in the blank with whatever Larry David might say].

And, according to the adventure itself, Agatha didn’t appear for Garaele on her visit to Conyberry.

So, why is Garaele “wounded and exhausted?”

Answer: Ghouls.

They’re right there in the Wilderness Encounters table in Chapter 3: The Spider’s Web.

For Garaele’s misadventure, let’s choose something that’s both close to Phandalin and provides an opportunity for a test of the character’s mettle for a bigger task she’ll need someone to handle soon (Conyberry and Agatha’s Lair).

While playing cards at the Sleeping Giant, Garaele eavesdropped on the conversation of some unsavory miners at the next table, who discussed an old barrow they spotted on their way back from the hills north of Gnomengarde. Apparently, its stone entrance door was laying on the ground, visibly torn from its hinges. Loud and drunk, the miners lamented that the tomb was ripe for plunder; only, the bones scattered at the entrance, which were picked clean and cracked for their marrow, made them reconsider.

Recognizing the telltale signs of a ghoul pack, and concerned about their proximity to both Phandalin and Gnomengarde, Garaele journeyed to the barrow to deal with the threat, which she found inhabiting the site. Imbued with the divine might of Tymora, the elven Priestess destroyed the ghouls she found lairing in the offering room of the barrow. Then more ghouls emerged from further in the tomb. Then more. And more.

The battle was terrible and the ghouls almost overwhelmed her. But Garaele was able to escape, though apoplectic that she could not destroy them all (1d4+1 ghouls remain in the tomb).

Garaele was determined to finish her work at the barrow, but upon returning to Phandalin for supplies, she heard the whispers about Thel Dendrar’s murder and the disappearance of his wife and children. And suddenly, the living took precedent over the dead.

But the characters could finish her work, and if successful, prove their worth to Garaele for an even more perilous task (Conyberry and Agatha’s Lair).

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