((Anders, Christer, Henrik, Mattias))
Having been hired by their old friend Gundren Rockseeker to transport a wagonload of supplies to the mining town of Phandalin, our heroes set out to do just that.
Partway to Phandalin they were ambushed by a group of goblins that used Gundren's (and Sildar's) dead horses to block the road. The goblins were soon dispatched, and they followed their backtrail to a cave set in a hill. Several more goblins and their wolf guards were slain as well as Klarg, the hobgoblin boss of the caves. Eventually they found the cave chamber where Sildar was being held captive and negotiated his release after killing half the goblins there. After a mutual betrayal each group retreated. While the group was resting, the goblins fled by floating down the stream.
Phandalin is a decrepit mining town set in the ruins of a larger town. (Think Deadwood, but with old ruins.)
They brought Sildar (and the looted supplies they had found in the cave) back to Phandalin where they returned them for a reward to the Lionshield Coster and Barthen's Trading Post.
Both trading posts mentioned the Redbrands gang who terrorize the town and that they tend to hole up in the Sleeping Giant tap house.
Barthen mentioned that Gundren's brothers are camped somewhere near town, and ought to be back to town for resupplying in a day or three.
Barthen also mentioned that the retired adventurer Daran Edermath runs the Edermath Orchard on the northwest edge of town.
They also spoke to Sister Garaele, the acolyte of the shrine of Tymora, who offered to give them three healing potions in return for helping her get the answer to a question from the banshee oracle Agatha near the ruined town of Conyberry.
At Sildar's suggestion they got rooms at the Stonehill Inn (Nergal and and Sildar both got Wealthy rooms, the others settled for Modest. Possibly as live-in guards in Nergal's? Don't remember.)
Sildar has said that Gundren has a map to Wave Echo Cave, the site of Phandelver's Pact, and that Gundren was taken to the chief of the Cragmaws at Cragmaw Castle a the request of someone called the 'Black Spider' by Klarg.
Sildar also revealed that he is a member of the Lord's Alliance who is in Phandalin partially to contact with a Lord's Alliance wizard named Iarno Albrek who traveled to Phandalin to establish order there, but has not been heard from since. Either way, Sildar also wants to establish order in Phandalin. Can't have bandit gangs run roughshod over the law.
If they want to, they can quite easily convince one or both of Sildar Hallwinter and Sister Garaele to accompany them on a mission (for a full share each.) (Note that if including one or more of them would bring the current party size over 5, they will for some peculiar reason charge double. Possibly because your ever-friendly DM will then most likely feel that he would have to increase the difficulty of encounters. And he's rather lazy. :)