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Previously on Rime of the Frostmaiden
Starring:
Valravn, level 4 Eladrin Bard of Eloquence
Fray, level 4 Halfling Barbarian of the Beast
Celeste, level 4 Half-orc Sun Soul Monk
Edmond, Level 4 Human Alchemist Artificer
Thimbleweed, level 4 Gnome Swarmkeeper Ranger
In the Easthaven ferry, the Marshals find a pair of maps. Both yield important clues. The first is a map of Icewind Dale, pointing out all ten towns, the duergar outpost near Caer-Konig, and a new location labeled Sunblight far to the south.
The other map shows Easthaven, with various notes and markings. One in particular catches their eye: the town hall circled multiple times, with the words “charadlyn statue” written in dwarvish. A pinned note reveals the plan: they know the Marshals are coming, and are moving to steal as much chardalyn as they can, tonight.
After a short rest the party hurries toward the town hall. The sun has set, and a curfew keeps the streets cold and empty.
At the town hall Edmond, Fray, and Thimbleweed all fail to find any significant dwarvish tracks, and the front door is still locked, with no sign of forced entry.
Edmond drinks an experimental elixir, and flies he and Fray up to a third story window, where she promptly crashes through. They make their way through a long hallway of offices (T15), through the library (T14), and downstairs to the second story (T12).
Feeling inspired, the others look for a window on the ground floor. Valravn teleports through the other side using his Fey-touched Misty Step, and unlocks it from the inside for Thimbleweed and Celeste. They end up in the admin office (T2), and hear the sounds of metallic banging and muffled voices coming from the behind the door to their east.
Before they have a chance to plan, however, Fray acts. Looking down a window from the second story, she can see the duergar already hard at work tearing apart the chardalyn statue in the middle of a large room (T6). Two are enlarged, hacking with enlarged war picks, while another is inside a mechanized suit with claw and hammer arms.
Laughing with gleeful mania (enraging), Fray crashes through the second story window. Thinking quickly, the still-flying Edmond grabs onto her, effectively acting as a human parachute as they float down. Roll for initiative!
The statue room contains three regular duergar, one duergar hammerer, and one duergar mind master — Durth Sunblight, now barking out orders to kill the Marshals, whom he recognizes from his brother’s description.
Edmond drops Fray onto one of the enlarged duergar, where she digs her bestial-raged claws into the back of his head. Durth tries to use his mind mastery but she rebuffs him (crit save with a -1 INT!). Edmond blankets the room in Faerie Fire, highlighting the hammerer and Durth.
Celeste opens the door and engages one of the duergar guards, Thimbleweed rains down arrows, and Valravn hits one of the duergar with a tranq dart, knocking him unconscious.
The hammerer grapples onto Fray, squeezing and bashing her, but her rage-resistant body laughs it off. Edmond turns Durth into his own plaything using vine whip, pulling the mind master off the balcony with a critical hit, and a second critical hit (!) bouncing him up and down and rendering him frightened. Combined with a second successful mind mastery save, and my poor boss is effectively neutered.
But, the DM has another trick up his sleeve. With most of the duergar felled, the statue explodes in arcane energy, as a large, magical hand emerges, seemingly wreathed in blue fire. It’s a Living Bigby’s Hand! Trapped inside the charadlyn statue, the devastation has released it, and it’s pissed!
The hand pops out and punches Fray, who soberingly realizes it does force damage, which she is not resistant to. Things just got real!
The Marshals also realize this thing is not easy to hit (AC 20), and fail several rounds to even dent it. The key lies with Edmond, who successfully hurls one of his Chardalyn Bands of Binding at the arcane hand. It’s restrained as the chardalyn bands wrap around it, granting everyone advantage against it. Even with the perk, many player characters continue to miss.
Valravn offers Celeste some liquid courage, which turns out to be one of the potions of growth from the mead hall. She’s embiggened, and punches and strikes the restrained hand with her enlarged fists. The hand nearly kills Fray, but she stays up with one hit point remaining, thanks to Valravn’s constant Healing words. Another Healing Word saves Celeste as the hand grapples and squeezes her.
Finally the PCs begin to land some successful hits (and take down the last conscious duergar, who nearly downs the still-flying Edmond). Poor Thimbleweed, who had missed with every attack against the hand for three (four?) solid rounds, gets the final killing blow.
The hand dissipates into nothingness. Fray, Edmond, and Celeste all hover around 10% hit points, and everyone spent all their spells and ki points in this epic battle. The battle lasted over an hour, and featured at least three critical hits by the party.
Afterward they still have one incapacitated duergar to interrogate, and some raw chardlyn for Edmond to pocket. They’re ready to take the fight directly to the meddlesome duergar, but first, a much-deserved level up to five!
MVPC – Edmond & Fray
Post-session live discussion:
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