The party won a hard-fought battle against the barrel monster, but not without a few near death experiences for Chiao and Travyn. Apparently the barrel monster had a fondness for Eastern cuisine, and Chiao's foot tasted quite tasty. As a result of wild magic, Travyn found himself in the extreme spin cycle of the Gnomengarde waterfall and was quite near "his time". Fortunately, a butterfly-winged Cormac snatched the gnome from the falls after several tense moments of a gnarly hold-down that would make even the world's professional big wave surfers question their occupation. So, it turned out not to be Chiao or Travyn's time. After the barrel monster was defeated, it formed an amorphous blob of putty for a moment, then transformed into a scarified half-orc, an Anchorite of Talos. A new wrinkle that Cormac chalked up to "wild magic".  Having rid Gnomengarde of their shapechanging stalker the party then introduced King Korbuz and Gnerli to the concept of marital counseling. Travyn delivered a dry, but effective sermon that opened new doors for the troubled couple. There is yet hope for their relationship! Then came the giving of gifts, to which there was much fanfare. The gnomes gifted the party with Click-Clock-Quack , clockwork amulet (shaped like a duck, of course), Honkington , a goose-head wand of pyrotechnics,  Dopescope , a collapsible pole, and Macaroni , a tricorn hat of wizardry with a magnificent yellow feather. Priceless treasures, indeed! After a celebration meal and a a night of gnomish hospitality, the group returned to Phandalin. There, they traded Honkington to Townmaster Wester, collected 50 gp, and prepared to head to the Tower of Storms. Rain, lots of rain. Muddy travel. But eventually, they made it there. There, they met Sebastian the giant crab, who requested the party help his friend, Miraal. Miraal was a sea elf who was slain and cursed by a half-orc Anchorite of Talos. She is now transforming to a banshee and the only thing that can release her from this fate is to recover her magic conch. She can't leave the sea cave she is sequestered in, so she needs the adventurers help. Sebastian also warned the party about harpies and sharks. While walking up the narrow trail to the lighthouse, they encounter three harpies. The harpies attempted to charm the adventurers with a luring song, but the Butterskull wax the adventurers had stuffed into their ears protected them. Outraged, the harpies swooped down, grabbed Cormac, and began to fly away with the old wizard. Chiao and Simplejack's rushed to the wizard's defense and employed clever tactics to save their companion.Given the distraction of Chiao's  goading attack and Simplejack's command Cormac managed to wriggle free of the harpy's grasp and dropped back onto the rocky trail, thereby preventing himself from becoming either the harpies next meal or chum for the sharks in the raging oceans below. PCs present: Chiao, Cormac, Simplejack, Travyn Items gained: hat of wizardry, collapsible pole, clockwork amulet, 50 gp