Lost Mine of Phandelver — Session 16: Escape from Wave Echo Cave

October 6, 2026

The Forge and the Star

The party’s victories in the Forge left the doppelganger defeated by Erik, the Spectator defeated by Nissa, and Nezznar knocked unconscious and bound by Bjorn.

Clara removed the Star of Dumathoin from the Forge and found Observations Upon the Star, research notes describing its unexplained properties and a mysterious resonance with something deeper beneath Wave Echo Cave.

Two other books had been found in the previous session: The Spellbook of Aram Veylon, containing arcane spells Clara can copy, and Principles of the Phandelver Forge, a technical manual explaining the Forge and the Star and helping her identify the relic’s capabilities.

Nezznar admitted that he did not understand the Forge. He had intended to test it with a magical item, but most of his followers were gone. He thought water-filled passages to the northeast and northwest might lead out.

Fire, Tremors, and Nezznar’s Account

In the western blast-furnace room, the party fought zombies and a Flameskull. The skull hurled a fireball and fled. Erik pursued it and was struck by Magic Missile before Clara destroyed it. The hell cat escaped.

Back at the Forge, another boom shook dust from the ceiling. Nezznar could only guess at its cause; Erik suggested that it might be the cave’s echoes.

Nezznar said King Grol had been tasked with capturing Gundren and bringing him and his belongings so that Nezznar could obtain his map. He also claimed that the dwarf found dead at the entrance had been killed before he entered the cave. According to Nezznar, Sildar Hallwinter and Gundren’s surviving brother were being held in a room to the northwest.

The Rescue Takes Priority

Breith refused to trust Nezznar. Bjorn proposed keeping him bound and taking him along, while Gundren chose finding his surviving brother over confronting their prisoner. The party tied Nezznar onto Jasper, and Nissa gagged him. Nezznar indicated that either passage would reach the captives.

Across a chasm, the party encountered bugbears and another doppelganger. Breith killed a wounded bugbear and struck the shapeshifter. The doppelganger frightened Erik, withdrew, and then returned to attack him.

A familiar voice farther down the hall proved to belong to King Grol. Nissa killed the doppelganger with a marked shot.

Bugbears and the returning hell cat continued fighting the party while cracks spread through the cave and debris fell from above.

King Grol and the Captives

The party reached a meeting hall with six damaged marble pillars and a statue of a seated dwarf with emerald eyes. King Grol seized Erik and carried him into the hall. Breith unlocked a nearby door but left it closed.

Nissa drank a Potion of Invisibility, approached Grol, and forced a love potion into his mouth. Grol fixated on her and dropped Erik. Freed from his grasp, Erik attacked and killed him.

Clara opened the unlocked door and found Sildar Hallwinter and Gundren’s brother alive but unconscious. Nezznar remained bound, and his fate was still undecided when the collapsing cave forced the party to flee.

A Cove Without an Exit

Sildar was placed on Jasper, and Erik carried Gundren’s brother. Following Nissa’s readings of the wind, water, and tremors led the group to a cove with crashing waves. It was not an exit, so they turned back toward the entrance.

Clara considered returning the Star to the Forge, but the party continued fleeing with it. Whether removing the Star had caused or contributed to the collapse remained unresolved.

The Final Escape

Near the exit, ghouls and a black pudding blocked the retreat. The pudding split into smaller creatures when struck, adding to the danger as rocks continued to fall.

Falling stone knocked Breith unconscious, and Nissa revived him. More debris later brought down both Clara and Breith near the exit. Erik went back for them. Breith revived Clara and carried her out.

The party escaped Wave Echo Cave with Sildar Hallwinter and Gundren’s brother rescued.

Unresolved Threads

• The extent and consequences of Wave Echo Cave’s collapse.

• The Star of Dumathoin’s effects and its resonance with something deeper beneath the mine.

• Nezznar’s fate after the hurried evacuation.