Kobolds

As the two reed and brown speckled kobolds charge forward with shrill war cries and drawn daggers, Eddie shouts from the back a request of parlay. The kobolds stop in their tracks, seemingly confused by the word, and Eddie clarifies that he means to talk with them. The kobolds stand wary, but have halted their charge. Eddie inquires as to what they want.

“Trex says miners want their mine back. Trex wants something better in return. Trex says we be safer in town. There’s food in town! You want talk, you talk Trex.”

The two kobolds lead the party through a room where a table and two chairs are set to create a space for the miners to take breaks. The fresh corpse of a giant rat sits on the table, several stab wounds poked in its sides. The party is led through more tunnels, and they can feel the gentle slope carrying them deeper still. The echoing sounds of the crashing waterfall get louder as the party follows the tunnel’s downward slope. It ends where it opens onto the center shaft. A damp wooden walkway extends from this opening and then runs westward to another tunnel in the rock. In front of you, a large bucket like the one the party saw earlier dangles from a taut rope that stretches southward across the shaft and is connected to another wooden platform 15 feet away. The two kobolds lead the party into the small tunnel.

Lurking in this dusty tunnel are three, now five, skittish kobolds. One of them carries a threadbare satchel and wears a fake pair of dragon wings made of thin wood and tattered white cloth. This kobold immediately raises its hands in surrender, saying in Common, “We mean you no harm. Please don’t hurt us. I am Trex, who might you be?”

Trex

Eddie acts as the negotiator and asks the kobolds to give the mine back to termalaine.

“I would be happy to offer a trade, but I cannot freely give up our only leverage,” Trex explains, “The everlasting winter has made the wilderness unsafe for my kind, and the preternatural cold dulls our wits. Please, we only want a place to stay so we can keep out of this horrible weather. We can work, and we won’t cause trouble. Termalaine would be richer for having us.”

In the tight tunnel, with thunderous echoes of falling water threatening to drown out the negotiations, Ghaileigh and Maddy pick up hints of deception in the kobolds statements, sensing that he may not be as altruistic as he claims. They let the rest of the party know discreetly. Maddy extends her arcane senses to possibly see why this kobold is so articulate, seeing a small aura around him and the satchel on his side. The party accuses Trex of his deceit, and one by one fail to intimidate the kobold.

“I do not appreciate you calling me a liar,” Trex says, ”I would ask that you please leave my mine now, before this negotiation breaks down completely.”

The rest of the kobolds take out their daggers and javelins, looking nervously between Trex and the party. The party stands adamant, not leaving. Maddy focuses on the aura around Trex, and realizes that it has the pale green coloration of necromancy.

“I warned you to leave, now I will remove you by force!” Trex draws his dagger, but Brarr is faster, having been ready for this confrontation. His axe clips the cave wall, sending a harmless spray of dust and sparks at the kobold before swinging again and chopping Trex’s head clean off. The other kobolds stare in fear and disbelief as the reptilian head falls off the body and hits the ground with a dull thud.

Suddenly, the corpse begins to glow with a blue ethereal light, and a translucent humanoid form, clothed in cold weather gear and wearing glasses, rises from the kobold’s corpse. Spectral blood flows from wounds on the ghost’s neck, and as the ghost turns to look at the party, it howls in anger. Brarr, gazing upon this phantom, makes a tactical retreat. One of the kobolds hastily stabs at his ankle and draws some blood, but is too frightened of the ghost to make too deep of a wound.

The ghost, now without a body flys through the tunnel and slams into Maddy, merging with her. Maddy gasps as her eyes glow, and she whips her head around to face the rest of the party. The first and last thing it sees through Maddy’s eyes, is Ghaileigh raising her shield and chanting a prayer. With a massive exhalation, the ghost is expelled from Maddy, and turns to run further down the tunnel.

Maddy, now in control of her body again, puts her index and middle fingers to her temple and shoots a lance of psychic energy into the ghost’s head. The spectral cranium discorporates briefly before reforming and turning to face the party again. A golden bolt of flame slams into its right shoulder as Eddie shouts words of encouragement that turn the remaining kobolds against their ghastly former leader. The kobolds are encouraged, and turn their daggers and javelins to assault the ghost.

Devi pierces its chest and draws back her rapier, now covered in some form of ectoplasm, as Brarr charges in with his battle axe, clipping the wall again with his long reach.

The ghost wails in pain, tearing spectral flesh from its phantom face, revealing a horrifying visage for everyone to behold. Maddy and one of the Kobolds are frightened and seem to age several decades. The ghost flesh turns to mist and reforms back upon its face.

Ghaileigh drops her shield and mace to fire off her crossbow. The bolt flies straight through the ghost and slams into the forehead of one of the kobolds, knocking them clear out. Feeling bad, she throws out a healing word that brings back the kobold, now with a crossbow bolt sticking out of their forehead.

Maddy fires off another mind sliver, once again discorporating its head temporarily. Not wanting to hit any of his allies, Eddie shoots a firebolt over all of their heads and then uses his innate connection to the weave to pull it back around and scorch the back of the ghost’s head. The golden flames shine through its horrible visage as it lets out another howl of pain.

The kobolds and Devi continue to stab at it with mundane weapons, doing less damage than they would hope, but still drawing ectoplasmic blood. 

Brarr drops his shield and steels his nerves as he charges in with two hands on his battle axe. He brings the blade down on the ghost’s head, and at first, it looks like it had no effect, passing straight through its phantom body. Bracing for an undead assault, Brarr watches as instead the ghost begins to split and fall apart, strands of ectoplasm stringing between the two halves, stretching and snapping. Once completely severed the two halves fall to the ground, disintegrating into spectral mist and dust.

Aftermath

The kobolds prostrate themselves before the party, wailing apologies and cries for mercy.

“Please! Mercy!” shouts the kobold named Grek, the same kobold with the bolt sticking out of his forehead, ”Kobolds no know that Trex was ghost! Kobolds follow Trex because of wings! Mercy! We give mine back! PLEASE!”

The party spares them and makes a deal for the kobolds to work in the town in exchange for housing and food. As Eddie and Ghaileigh go back to town to inform Speaker Masthew of their success, Maddy, Devi, and Brarr put the kobolds to work mining tourmalines. In total, they find two ten GP tourmalines and a single one GP tourmaline.

Back in town, speaker Masthew opens the door in his pajamas. Eddie and Ghaileigh explain the situation and ask him to come down to the mine to negotiate with the kobolds himself. He puts on his cold weather gear and walks back to the mine, where he negotiates with Grek. They determine that the kobolds will work in the mine in exchange for food and housing. Speaker Masthew returns to town while the party delves deeper and uses the bucket shuttle to cross the central shaft. 

In the smaller cave, a fossilized skull partially juts out of the east wall of this small cave, five feet off the ground. The skull has larger than normal eye sockets, a curious ridge between the eyes, nothing that would pass for a nose, and four small holes where one would expect to see teeth. Maddy realizes it belongs to a mindflayer. She reaches up to dislodge it from the rockface, but ends up breaking it, revealing a small purple crystal where the brain should be. She reaches up and takes it, realizing that it is a Psi Crystal that can bestow her with telepathy. Sparkling geodes greet the party as they enter the other cavern. The gems are partially exposed in places, sticking out from the walls like glassy shards. The floor rises near the eastern wall, leaving a natural ridge with stone ramps leading upward on either end.

Return to Termalaine

The party takes their leave and returns to Termalaine, finding food and drink in a dockside tavern called the Blue Clam. The fishers of Termalaine typically finish their days here, seated on benches near one of the building’s long hearths to warm their feet while they fill their bellies with spiced chowder. Beautiful works of scrimshaw are hung on the walls. Vernon Braig, the Blue Clam’s half-orc owner and chef, knows some of the hunters and trappers in Lonelywood, and occasionally a sled comes down the north trail with a sack of hares or a haunch of moose, courtesy of one of Vernon’s friends, Dain Morningfall. On those nights, the Blue Clam’s hearths are full of roasting meat, and the patrons stay later and sing louder, enjoying the good times while they last.

Unfortunately, there is no roast tonight, and as a patron asks about it, Vernon explains that he hasn’t gotten any meat lately. He says that his hunter friends found a logger dead in the forest, and have been hunting whatever killed him on the orders of Town Speaker Huddle of Lonelywood. He has heard rumors that the beast in question is a large white moose. Vernon is unsure of what the possible reward might be, but asks the adventurers to ask Dain to send him more meat.

The party pays for their meals and goes to find the Eastside Inn. What looks from the outside like separate houses turns out to be a single structure with rooms connected by underground passages, with cozy guest accommodations in the cellar. The innkeeper is Marta Peskryk, a willowy teenager who as she performs her daily chores, sings a quiet song to herself. The party pays for a cheap room and walks through the warm underground tunnels to a small room with six cots, warmed by a small bed of coals. Eddie places his bed over the only egress, a trapdoor in the floor. As sleep finds the party, the wind howls and snow whirls past the single window; a blizzard rolls into town, hopefully not an omen of events to come.

The Outwilder

As you all sit around a table passing out bloodstones, the door bursts open, and a cold wind blows through. A large figure stands in the door. A bugbear with locks of orange-brown fur and bulging eyes, wrapped in furs, hides, and various other pieces of cold weather gear in order to keep the freezing winds at bay.

The large bugbear walks past your table.As he passes by a group of adventurers, he clocks an unmistakable blue face sitting amongst them. Devi, similarly, recognizes the bugbear as he walks past.

“Ah, Outwilder, you’re back. I presume you have good news for Hlin?” Scramsax calls out across the bar, “Unfortunately, she couldn’t be here to give you the reward herself, something about a wizard in Easthaven. You know how Hlin gets when she smells even the slightest hint of foul play.”

The bugbear responds with an affirmative.

“Good, good. Hlin will be pleased to hear it. She left your payment with me.” Scramsax pulls a  small coin purse out from behind the bar. “25 gold, as promised, *he pulls the purse back slightly* if you got the proof.”

Dropping the bag on the counter with a thud, Scramsax grimaces, probably thinking about the stain he’ll need to get out later.

He opens the sack and peers in. “Grey streak, blue eyes, pointed nose… Yep, that’s him, or at least a good enough match. Here, take the money.”

He tosses the coin purse to the bugbear with a small jingle.

“I’ll uh, dispose of it for you. Oh, and before you go Outwilder, I’d like to introduce you to that group over there. Some up and coming adventurers I think. I know you lot like to keep to yourselves, but you might get warmer receptions if you travel with at least one human.”

The bugbear goes over to the table and introduces himself as Brarr. The party introduces themselves and asks if he might be interested in being the muscle of the group. Brarr responds positively, and to celebrate, they order drinks and dinner.

A gnome comes in looking somewhat concerned. He talks with Scramsax and is sent over to the party’s table. He says that his jewelry shop is no longer receiving shipments of tourmaline from Termalaine. The party agrees to investigate for a 5% discount at his store. If they solve the problem, he promised them a wand of web. 

The party decides to depart at twilight the next day; they head to bed, with Eddie staying at Geldenstag’s Rest for a more reasonable rate. 

The Morning After

A light snow falls over Bryn Shander. Eddie, Brarr, and Devi visit Blackiron Blades to discuss deals and purchase some last minute goods and weapons. Eddie then hurries over to the Hooked Knucklehead, where Leth Lackman does business. Leth is a pale man of half elven descent, standing at about 5’9″ with slicked back, dark hair. His accent suggests that he is not from around this area, and he hints that he may be from Calimshan. His nose appears slightly crooked, as if it has been previously broken, and his all too friendly grin shines with a hint of gold. 

Eddie attempts to persuade him to let him pay off his loan early with a 10 gold cut. Leth refuses, citing how it would then be his fingers on the chopping block if he let the 10 gold slide.

Eddie Hurries to the North Gate where the rest of the party awaits him. Maddy seems to have gone and traded her bloodstone for a small diamond.

A guard peers down from one of the gatehouses, ducking back in to shout a few words. The gate begins to creak open, with ice and snow from last night’s heavy snow cracking and breaking apart. It falls down in great cascades, reminiscent of the Avalanches some of you have seen in the Spine of the World or on Kelvin’s Cairn.

As soon as they are through the gate, it begins to close. The party looks forward towards the barely visible road, and are glad that they have snowshoes.

The journey to Termalaine takes 6 hours. The road takes you close to Targos, but branches off about 100 feet before the gates. The party can make out a few guards atop the wall bundled up in cold weather gear, their shields bearing a black ship on a blue background. The party hears muffled words being shouted as the gate opens slightly and a group of four warmly dressed individuals step outside. One towers above the others, while another barely stands 3 feet tall, and yet another bears two curved horns jutting out from under a scarf. The fourth figure rides atop a dogsled loaded with gear and pulled by a team of 6 dogs. They move East, towards Bryn Shander and past the party, offering passing greetings and well wishes.

Termalaine

A boy wrapped in heavy winter clothes shouts the news of the day as people pass by. When the party approaches, the boy cries, “The gemstone mine is closed because of monsters! Speaker Masthew is offering fifty gold to anyone who clears it out!”

The party purchases a paper for 5 copper and goes to find Speaker Masthew.

They meet with him in the Town Hall and find out that kobolds have taken over the mine. He walks the party to the mine and then the speaker returns to town..

The entrance to the gem mine is an open tunnel in a snowy hillside. Empty wooden carts are parked near the entrance, next to which a crude wooden sign has been propped up. Written on the sign in charcoal are the words “Kobolds only!” in Common. The calligraphy is more elegant than one would expect from a kobold.

Descending down a 60 foot set of rough hewn stairs, the party finds themselves in a room where racks holding picks and hammers are nailed to rough hewn walls. The floor is covered with rock dust that appears recently disturbed. Three tunnels lead out of this area, two to the South, and one to the East.

Eddie can make out several sets of reptillian tracks and a few large rodent tracks as well.

The party moves through the passage to the East. The floor in the east end of this dusty cave is five feet higher than in the west end, with a rocky ridge separating the two areas except for slopes on either side. Picks and shovels lean against the ridge. Small gem deposits in the ridge and the walls of the cave gleam seductively. The sets of Kobold tracks meander around the room before exiting to the South. The rodent tracks also lead South.

The passage forks, and the echoing sounds of rushing water are louder to the right. Brarr peaks around the corner and sees an underground river flowing through the far side of the cavern, which is supported by a natural stone pillar near the water’s edge. Between him and the river are two halfling-sized gray rodents with long tails and beady eyes. They rush to attack as soon as he notices them.

Rats

Before they get too far, Brarr counter charges with a roar, sweeping his massive battle axe at the far rat, but is knocked off balance by a stray rock. Eddie steps out from around the corner, throwing a bolt of golden flames at the closer rat. It instantly ignites and goes down squealing and smoldering. Maddy steps out from behind cover to toss a firebolt of her own, and scorches the remaining rat, as it locks its foaming jaws onto Brarr’s ankle. Devi runs up quickly, skewering it on her rapier. With the threats dealt with, the party licks their wounds, as Brarr finds a copper piece in the rats’ nest.

Continuing down the other side of the fork, the party finds a room where benches and tables are set up as workspaces where miners clean any gemstones they find. Gravel and pebbles are strewn on the ground. Scattered across the floor are a few hammers, picks, and broken lanterns. Devi searches the chamber, finding a small figurine of a dog carved out of rock, with two pebble-sized tourmalines for eyes. It appears to have been made by a miner while on break.

The echoing sounds of a waterfall drown out all other sound as the party finds wooden planks and struts forming a walkway along the wall of a seemingly bottomless vertical shaft. A narrow waterfall cascades down the northeast wall, seemingly coming from the underground river they found earlier.

A wooden pulley system has been constructed around a large hole in the floor of the next chamber. A bucket big enough to hold a humanoid is held up by thick rope. Three alcoves next to the lift contain wooden boards and mining equipment.

The party takes turns in the bucket, using the cranks in the bucket, and attached to the mechanism itself. The mechanism creaks as the bucket lift descends to the floor of a small cave where two dusty tunnels lead in opposite directions. Eddie determines that there are several sets of reptilian tracks travelling west, while only one set of tracks leads into (but not out of) the tunnel to the East.

Brarr walks to the East. A hole in the west side of this chamber opens into the central shaft, letting in the sound of the waterfall. The floor in the north end of the cave is five feet higher than in the south end, with a rocky ridge separating them and a slope on either side leading to the top of the ridge. The walls above the ridge gleam with gem deposits. Brarr looks for any sizable loose gems, and while not finding any readily available, he notices barbed tendrils hanging down from above. He calls out to the rest of the party as a massive beaked brain descends to be 15 feet above the floor.

Grey Matter

Maddy runs through the passage, directly below the barbed tendrils. She wipes her brow, chanting a quick incantation as she flings a bead of water up towards the brain. The drop freezes and grows into a shard of ice that pierces the brain and explodes. 

The brain shrieks in pain as Eddie runs past, expeditiously taking the high ground and flinging a golden firebolt at the brain. It goes wide as the extra speed he imbued himself with courses through his body, but he taps into his connection to the weave and pulls the bolt around to sear the floating grey matter.

The brain drops 10 feet down, wrapping its barbed tendrils around Maddy, piercing her with a paralyzing agent and knocking her unconscious. Her staff falls from her hands and clatters on the stone, as the brain quickly floats up back to a height of 15 feet with Maddy still in its grasp. It screeches and clamps its beak onto Maddy’s side, tearing through the minimal protection her robes and cold weather gear offer to rip off a chunk of her flesh.

Devi runs through the falling blood and viscera to fire her shortbow at the brain, but the arrow goes wide, deflecting off of the ceiling and clattering to the floor.

Ghaileigh runs up below the creature and her dying companion. With Maddy’s life blood dripping onto her, she shouts a prayer to Lathander, channeling divine energy into fully restoring Maddy to life. She chants another prayer, holding her shield high as a dolorous bell rings out and the floating brain screeches in agony.

Brarr runs towards it, axe held high. With a satisfying squishing noise, the axe lodges into the grey matter as Brarr pulls it down, slamming it to the ground. Maddy falls with it, seemingly still unable to move or act due to whatever poison flows through her veins.

Eddie runs up, clapping his hands together and drawing them apart again, electricity crackling between them as he brings his charged hands down upon the creature.

The creature, bleeding and convulsing, rights itself and lashes out at Brarr with its whiplike barbed tendrils, now obviously dripping with venom. Brarr blocks with his shield and chops at them with his axe, severing a few. Not finding success there it lunges at Devi, finding purchase with its beak on her left forearm as a deep crimson seeps through her thick winter coat.

She pries the monster off, and as it squeals in agony and rage, she thrusts her rapier into its beak and out of the top of its squishy form. It thrashes about for a few more seconds before falling silent and still. The echoing noises of combat are quickly drowned out by the rushing waterfall outside the hole to the West.

The party makes plans to return to the surface to rest as Maddy regains control of her body; however, returning to the bucket lift, they see two pairs of reptilian eyes staring at them from the West passage. Kobolds, daggers drawn and charging at the party with shrill war cries.

TL; DR

1. Brarr the bugbear joins the party as “The Muscle”
2. Brarr and Devi recognize each other
3. Dimble Kacnkle the Jeweler hires the party to investigate the Termalaine mine
4. Eddie buys daggers in bulk from Blackiron Blades
5. Brarr and Devi buy supplies from Blackiron Blades
6. Eddie tries to pay off his loan, but fails to persuade Leth the Loan Officer
7. The party departs to Termalaine
8. They hear about a reward to clear the mines of kobolds
9. The party enters the mines and kills some rats
10. Eddie finds kobold tracks
11. The party descends to the second level of the mine via bucket lift
12. Maddy is almost killed by a floating beaked brain
13. The party is about to be attacked by two kobolds

Icewind Dale has become trapped in a perpetual winter. Ferocious blizzards make the mountain pass through the Spine of the World exceedingly treacherous, and this land has not felt the warmth of the sun in over two years. In fact, the sun no longer appears above the mountains, not even in what should be the height of summer. In this frozen tundra, darkness and bitter cold reign as king and queen. Most dale residents blame Auril the Frostmaiden, the god of winter’s wrath. The shimmering aurora that weaves across the sky each night is said to be her doing—a potent spell that keeps the sun at bay.

Dalefolk live in a scattering of settlements known as Ten-Towns. The drop-off in caravans coming from the south and travel between settlements in this never-ending winter has left everyone feeling isolated. Although each town has resolved to appease the Frostmaiden with sacrifices of one kind or another, no respite from winter’s fury seems forthcoming. For adventurers such as yourselves, Ten-Towns is a place to test one’s mettle and, in the spirit of heroes who have come before, leave one’s mark on this frigid, blighted land.

The first stop for most visitors to Icewind Dale is Bryn Shander, a walled town perched atop a cold, lonely, wind-lashed hill. Bright lanterns suspended over narrow streets twist in the wind and add flecks of color to the town’s otherwise drab surroundings.

The friendliness in this settlement has dwindled of late. The unyielding winter has greatly reduced the number of visitors to Bryn Shander, and local trade is suffering for it, eating away at the locals’ sense of humor and goodwill. Still, there is no safer place in Icewind Dale to spend coin or spend the night.

We find ourselves in the Northlook, an Inn and Tavern run by a large man with weathered and scarred skin, dark hair with streaks of grey, and a neatly trimmed goatee. Scramsax tends to the Northlook now, but it was not too long ago that the greatsword hanging behind his cluttered bar was cutting through the many dangers of the north. The tavern is usually one of the rowdiest tap rooms in all of Bryn Shander, being a good place for adventurers and mercenaries to get gigs, but the winter and the dangers that come with it have led to the decline of such professions here. Not only is it more dangerous, but the economy of Ten Towns has suffered greatly, such that not many can afford such services anymore. Only a handful of patrons sit at the many tables surrounding a central crackling hearth. The pine floor bears a multitude of scars left by various brawls and crampons patrons have forgotten to doff before coming in, but is otherwise clean. The stone walls are heavily furnished with various trophies, including a large battle-scarred Knucklehead Trout mounted above a plaque that reads “Ol’ Bitey.”

Scramsax slides a metal tankard full of a golden mead a short distance across the pine bar to a gnome sitting next to a stool piled high with sets of cold weather gear. *Pete, will you please describe your character*

“Sell any of those fancy coats today lad?” he asks as the chef, an older dwarf smoking a pipe, the mouthpiece lost in a long grey beard, steps out of the kitchen holding two plates of knucklehead trout filets.

“Better luck next time” Scramsax says. The bored looking server, a half-orc woman, with dark hair tied back in a series of braids and a small club at her side as a threat to the rowdier guests, takes the plate and two more metal tankards of mead and walks over to a table with a human woman, her shield leaning against her chair displaying the symbol of Lathander, the morning lord. *Susan, would you please describe your character*

“‘Ere ya go luv,” she says as she puts the plate down in front of you, ”one plate o’ knucklehead, caught fresh last tenday out of Maer-Dualden.” She sets down one of the tankards as well, picking up an empty one.

She takes the remaining tankard to another table, this one occupied by a figure with their hood and cowl still raised, despite the crackling hearth. “And one mead fer you” The server sets the tankard down in front of them. Lowering their cowl, you see a row of sharp teeth, as the goblin takes a drink. *Casey, will you please describe your character*

“How much longer do you plan on stayin’ ‘ere?” Asks the server, towering above you. The question is a familiar one, as many tavern keepers and servers don’t take kindly to your visage.

“Stand down Olga, there ain’t any customers here, and even if there were, it wouldn’t matter. People don’t come here for the company, they come here for jobs.” He sighs “Not that we have any right now.”

Olga takes the last plate to a sullen dwarf, sitting alone off to the side of the tavern. A staff leaned up against the back of her chair. *James, please describe your character*

The Dwarves

Three stocky figures bundled in cold weather garb stumble toward you. They have snowshoes slung over their backs and ice picks fastened to their belts, and two of them have thick beards. The third holds up a gloved hand and says, through a thick wool scarf in a raspy voice, “Well met! I’m Hruna, and these are my friends, Korux and Storn. We need help, and heard this is the best place to find it.”

*everyone gathers at a table*

Hruna speaks for the group in a voice made raspy by years of smoking. She has lost her right ear and two fingers to frostbite.

Korux stares in silence and doesn’t talk much. He has lost three fingers, two toes, and his nose to frostbite.

Storn glances nervously up at the sky as though he’s expecting something to swoop down at any minute.

“We’re the survivors of a group of dwarves tasked with delivering a sled of iron ingots to Bryn Shander. A yeti surprised us and killed a member of our group. The rest of us fled as the yeti tore Oobok limb from limb. Now we need someone to go back and get the sled for us. As payment, we offer each of you a gemstone worth fifty gold pieces. The friendship of the dwarves of Icewind Dale can also be a boon in these harsh times. You’ll need snowshoes to make the trip in good time.”

The Hruna holds up a bloodstone the size of a coin and marks the sled’s location on a map

They rent dogs for the journey back.

The Scene of the Yeti Attack

You crest a snow-covered ridge and see a frozen, dismembered corpse in the gully in front of you. Snow covers some of the gory bits, but the headless torso and severed limbs are visible. You see tracks in the snow all around the corpse, and the telltale grooves in the snow left behind by a sled that has been hauled away.

Tracks of small humanoids are scattered around the site. The snow looks to have been brushed off the corpse.

Goblin Wagon

The creatures you’ve been following appear to be goblins, based on their stature. All six of them groan, grunt, and curse loudly as they haul the bulky sled toward what appears to be a twenty-foot-tall wagon parked in the snow. Harnessed to this conveyance are two roaring polar bears that don’t look happy.

My notes:

• Party is cresting a hill when they see them about 120 feet away
• They can see 6  figures standing roughly between 3 and 4 feet tall.
• Their cold weather gear appears mismatched and cobbled together from scraps.
• Some of them have blades hidden in scabbards while others have bows strung over their shoulders
• All of them are pushing a sled with a bulky canvas tarp thrown over the top
• In the distance, about 250 feet away, torch light escapes through gaps between planks and furs, combined into a towering cart
• 2 large, white-furred shapes lie between massive tusks affixed to either side of the cart, with lines connected to harnesses tying them to the cart
• Those with high enough perception see the hawk circling the cart

Negotiations went smoothly, with the goblin boss Izobai sending Zelk and Kruglot to negotiate. They recognize Devi from a place called Karkolohk, apparently a goblin town, encampment, or fortress from Devi’s past. Chief Yarb-Gnock is mentioned (Yarb-Gnock means “Ever Gnawing” in Goblin) who apparently took control of Karkolohk about a year ago. Some other goblins left at that time too. The deal for the iron is struck for the crag cat body location and Eddy’s merchant scales. The goblins pack up and leave with hoots and hollers of excitement. Devi looks maybe a little sad. 2 days back to Bryn Shander.

Total rewards:

4 bloodstones (50 gp each) – Maddy sold hers\

10% discount at Blackiron Blades

Purchased 4 crampons and 4 goggles for a total of 20 gold.

Katabatic winds sweep down from the Reghed Glacier, ceaselessly battering anything that dares to grow or breathe in Icewind Dale. Without fail, these winds find their way through every chink and crack, every opening in the warmest furs, every tent flap, every roof and board of the strongest homes, draining away any hint of warmth.

The sun, held down below the horizon by the Frostmaiden’s magic, offers no respite from winter’s fury. The days are twilit, the nights dark. As Auril casts her nightly spell, a curtain of light weaves across the starry sky to keep the dawn at bay—an aurora that portends an everlasting winter. Storms bring driving hail and sleet that leaves everything coated in a sheath of ice. Snow piles in deep drifts and blocks all trails leading south to warmer lands. The ice cliffs of the Reghed Glacier rise in the east like prison walls, while the snow-capped peaks of the Spine of the World loom to the south. North and west, the Sea of Moving Ice churns icebergs and floes in a deadly tumult, like winter grinding its teeth in anticipation of its next freezing assault.

Trapped in winter’s cold embrace, nomadic humans follow herds of reindeer through their migrations, while others dare the treacherous waters of the Sea of Moving Ice in search of fish, seals, walruses, and whales to sustain them. Dwarves dig into the earth to seek shelter and mine for iron. Meanwhile, folk descended from foolhardy and treasure-mad immigrants eke out meager lives in Ten-Towns, which can barely hold back the wind, let alone marauding orcs, giants, and fierce tundra yeti.

Despite the unnatural cold and other dangers, people still brave the journey to reach this harsh winterscape, searching for opportunity and adventure.

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Ten Towns

Like the famous drow Drizzt Do’Urden, many people who come to Ten-Towns are outcasts, fugitives, or pariahs in search of a place where they can be tolerated, if not accepted. Some came here determined to make their fortunes. Others come for solitude, or to escape notice and stay out of the reach of the law of the southern cities. Today, four hundred years after the formation of Ten-Towns, most folk are here because they were born here, grew up here, and expect to die here. They’re fishers, loggers, miners, hunters, trappers, furriers, and traders accustomed to the harsh climate, the slow pace, and the isolation. Like the hardy lichens and determined reindeer of the tundra, residents endure and do what’s needed to survive.

Icewind Dale has few trees, so lumber is cut from the slopes of the Spine of the World or the depths of the Lonelywood Forest. Stone from the hills and valleys surrounding Kelvin’s Cairn supplements wood as a building material in Ten-Towns. Homes have sharply pitched roofs to prevent snow from accumulating on them.

The people of Ten-Towns wear layers of woolen clothing often topped off with fur cloaks. Under these heavy clothes and cloaks, one resident looks very much the same as another. Outdoors, it’s hard to tell the people of Ten-Towns apart.

Fishing

Most of the ten towns except Bryn Shander are built on the shores of three big lakes. The largest population of knucklehead trout is in Maer Dualdon, the deepest of the lakes. Redwaters, the shallowest lake, almost completely freezes in winter, making fishing there difficult. Lac Dinneshere catches the worst of the winds blowing off the Reghed Glacier to the east and thus has the roughest waters. Small thermal vents at the bottom of these lakes keep them from freezing completely, even in the coldest winters.

Ten-Towns fishing boats are simple affairs. The smallest are rowboats and single-masted skiffs that require careful handling to avoid capsizing. Larger, twin-masted cogs and keelboats with single decks handle the wind and waves better. These ships fly the flags of their towns and provide fish for the whole community, not for any individual fisher.

When thick ice covers the lakes, many fishers stay to the shelters of their homes and hearths, but the most dedicated or desperate cut holes in the ice and dangle their lines down in hopes of tempting hungry trout.

Sacrifices

The desperate people of Ten-Towns, hoping to appease Auril so that summer can return to Icewind Dale, make sacrifices to the Frostmaiden on nights of the new moon. This is a new practice that started a little over a year ago, when it became clear that Auril was angry and summer would not be returning anytime soon. The town speakers (see the “Council of Speakers” sidebar) have unanimously agreed to honor these practices, which they consider necessary evils.

The nature of the sacrifices varies from town to town, but usually takes one of three forms:

Humanoid. Bryn Shander, Easthaven, and Targos hold lotteries the afternoon before the new moon. The unlucky person whose name is drawn is sacrificed at nightfall. The ill-fated soul is stripped bare and either tied to a post or sent into the tundra to die. Accusations of rigged lotteries are common but usually not acted upon.

Food. Smaller towns that can’t afford to give up people give up their food instead. A day’s catch of knucklehead trout is strung up on wooden racks a mile outside town, to be claimed by yeti and other creatures that embody Auril’s wrath.

Warmth. Towns that can’t bring themselves to give up their people or their food forsake warmth for a night. No fires are lit between dusk and dawn, forcing locals to share body heat for warmth. Anyone who dares to light a fire is savagely beaten.

Bremen

Founded by dwarf prospectors, the sleepy town of Bremen sits on the west bank of Maer Dualdon, at the mouth of the Shaengarne River. Bremen’s harbor has frozen, requiring local fishers to haul their boats across the ice to put them in the lake. Visitors who lack a boat can reach Bremen only by crossing the river, which is mostly frozen over. Targos, Termalaine, and Lonelywood are all visible from the docks on clear days.

If Auril’s everlasting winter has one benefit, it’s that the hardy folk of Bremen are spared the seasonal floods that normally threaten the town in early summer. That’s not to say that the long nights, frigid air, and howling blizzards provide any comfort. They don’t.

Bryn Shander

The first stop for most visitors to Icewind Dale is Bryn Shander, a walled town perched atop a cold, lonely, wind-lashed hill. Bright lanterns suspended over narrow streets twist in the wind and add flecks of color to the town’s otherwise drab surroundings.

The friendliness in this settlement has dwindled of late. Auril’s unyielding winter has greatly reduced the number of visitors to Bryn Shander, and local trade is suffering for it, eating away at the locals’ sense of humor and goodwill. Still, there is no safer place in Icewind Dale to spend coin or spend the night.

The walls of the town stand some 30 feet high and are defined by two concentric rings of upright wooden poles, the gap between them filled with dirt and rubble. The outer ring of poles rises above the top of the wall, providing a rampart for defenders stationed on the wood-planked walkway. The wall’s hinged gates are 15 feet tall and can be barred from the inside with iron-banded wood beams. These gates are closed when it’s dark outside—which is to say more often than not.

Caer-Dineval

In generations past, travelers to Caer-Dineval had to follow the rocky shore of Lac Dinneshere until after several hours they spied a small fortress (the “caer” for which the town is named) jutting up from the prominence where it overlooks the lake. A ferry out of Easthaven made the arduous trek unnecessary for merchants and other travelers, but the ferry was discontinued two months ago, cutting off Caer-Dineval (and its eastward neighbor, Caer-Konig) from the rest of Ten-Towns except by the overland route.

Caer-Konig

The white, snow-covered slopes of Kelvin’s Cairn loom large behind this quiet lakeside town. Caer-Konig started as a camp for a group of mountaineers from the northern Moonsea region. As the camp grew, a wooden palisade was added to discourage raiders. Later came the stone castle of Caer-Konig. Alas, neither the palisade nor the castle fared well; both fell to orcs before falling into ruin.

Caer-Konig as it is known today consists of terraced rows of houses that recede from the shore of Lac Dinneshere like the tiers of an amphitheater. The harbor is frozen, its docks skewed and broken by the shifting ice. Buried under the snow on the slopes above the last row of houses are the ruins of the Caer that gave the town its name—a reminder to the people of Caer-Konig that nothing lasts in this corner of the world.

Travel to and from this remote town was expedited by the ferry that ran out of Easthaven, but with the ferry shut down, Caer-Konig is completely cut off by mountains, lake, and snow.

Dougan’s Hole

Dougan’s Hole is the smallest and most insular of the ten towns. Its residents aren’t fond of visitors, and inbreeding has caused the population to dwindle in recent years. It also has given rise to often-seen physical deformities, including but not limited to small, misshapen ears and slightly pointed teeth.

The town is a small cluster of dwellings perched on the edge of Redwaters that is too small to support any industry—not even scrimshaw.

Easthaven

Walking into Easthaven is like stepping into Icewind Dale’s past—the place is a living example of the boomtown way of life that gripped all of Ten-Towns centuries ago. In the generations since, as other towns have settled into a predictable pattern of existence, Easthaven has continued to grow and reinvent itself. After the Eastway was paved, Easthaven evolved into a frontier traders’ paradise, fueling the jealousy of its neighbors.

Good Mead

Founded by immigrants from Chult and the Vilhon Reach, Good Mead is nestled between Redwaters and a nearby evergreen forest. The town’s squat dwellings, adorned with carvings of dinosaurs and serpents, are overshadowed by the two-story structure of the mead hall, its eaves carved and painted to resemble wyverns. As honey is the key ingredient in mead, the town literally buzzes with the droning of bees.

Every tavern in Icewind Dale is accustomed to receiving regular mead deliveries, and the town can’t produce or deliver its mead fast enough.

Lonelywood

Founded by a Sembian family from Urmlaspyr, Lonelywood is a quiet town of loggers, fishers, and scrimshanders scratching out a living on the edge of the world. The town’s oldest buildings and docks bear carvings of dragons, lions, and goats that pay deference to the family’s crest, which featured a chimera.

Roughly half of Lonelywood’s able-bodied residents trawl the lake for knucklehead trout, while most of the others spend their days in the forest felling and hewing the trees that are used to construct boats and buildings. Lonelywood’s timber is taken by cart to be sold in other settlements, Termalaine and Targos in particular.

For as long as Ten-Towns has existed, Lonelywood has attracted the region’s shadiest element, from unrepentant thieves to cold-hearted killers. The thick forest looming behind it conceals the dark and sordid dealings that sometimes transpire there.

Targos

Like Bryn Shander, Targos is encircled by a wooden wall, which helps to protect the town against orcs and other threats from the wilderness. The wall extends out into the lake, creating a safe harbor for the town’s boats. But now Auril’s long winter has frozen the water in the harbor, and many of Targos’s boats are trapped in the ice. Fishers must drag their smaller vessels across the ice to get to the unfrozen lake beyond the harbor walls.

Almost all the towns in Icewind Dale make their living off the lakes, but nowhere is that fact more evident than in Targos. The town has always had the biggest fishing fleet and the biggest fishing industry, and everything that goes on here revolves around hauling the knucklehead trout out of Maer Dualdon. Auril’s endless winter makes the work harder, but it gets done nonetheless.

Termalaine

Founded by Calishite settlers who appreciated beauty, Termalaine is widely regarded as the most picturesque town in Icewind Dale, spreading out from the shore of Maer Dualdon and bordered on the north and west by tall pines. Its buildings incorporate carvings of wizards, homunculi, tigers, and smiling djinn.

For most visitors, the enchantment of the town is dispelled as soon as they feel the icy claws and teeth of the cold wind sweeping down from the north, shearing through their layers of clothing. Termalaine was built in the path of this dreadful gale, which continues well past the town to harry fishers on the southern half of the lake.

In addition to fishers, shipbuilders, and scrimshanders, Termalaine is home to miners who harvest gemstones from a cavern complex set into a low hill north and east of the settlement.

Healing Potions

• You may drink a healing potion as a bonus action, and roll the healing normally. 
• You may instead spend an action to receive the maximum amount of hit points from the quaffed potion.

The “I Know a Guy” Rule

• This rule encourages roleplaying and makes the characters feel like they are a part of a connected world
• During the campaign, up to a number of times equal to your starting charisma modifier (minimum of once) you may say that you know a guy and work with the DM to quickly make an NPC to aid you in your journey.
• Typically this would be used to help make progress.
• The DM will secretly roll a persuasion check for the character who activated this rule to gauge the NPC’s attitude towards the party.
• Examples of NPCs that might be created using this rule
  • Someone to help you lie low for a while
  • A cartographer who may know some places of interest nearby
  • A friendly guard who might help you resolve some trouble with the law
• The NPC could help by getting you information, acquiring certain items, providing the party a safe place to rest, or more.
• This rule can also be referred to as the “Lando Calrissian Rule”

Icewind has experienced constant winter since 1487. The end of winter in 1489 remains to be seen.

Some local hero guy, a dark elf ranger, busted up a black crystal tower so be on the lookout for black crystals.

Goddess Auril, aka Goddess of Winter’s Wrath, seems to be at the center of the winter problems. Someone is flying around on an aurora-trailing massive roc.

10 am – 2 pm is twilight. A full moon helps as well.

Ten-Towns region has begun making new-moon sacrifices to Auril. Sometimes warmth. Sometimes food. Sometimes animals. Sometimes … humanoids.

Major exports are knucklehead trout and scrimshaw headbones. GDP is down since lakes are frozen up.

Tentrail is a major road south into Spine of the World. Walking is slow. Snowshoes are faster. Dogsleds are faster. Axebeaks are fastest.

Don’t get your parka wet or you’ll die.

Lando rule: maybe you know a guy who knows a guy who can get you out of a jam. Maybe not.

Healing potion: bonus action to drink and roll, full action to max

Crit failure: auto miss, nothing worse

Maiming rules: refer to table of calamitous maiming

Party is in good with a local bartender, Scramsax, proprietor of the Northlook Inn. He is a reformed adventurer himself and has a soft spot for them, but his displayed great sword reminds everyone that there are limits to his indulgence.