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Previously on Rime of the Frostmaiden
Starring:
Valravn, level 8 Eladrin Bard of Eloquence
Fray, level 8 Halfling Barbarian of the Beast/Fighter
Celeste, level 8 Half-orc Sun Soul Monk
Edmond, Level 8 Human Alchemist Artificer
Thimbleweed, level 8 Gnome Swarmkeeper Ranger
The marshals return to Bryn Shander, minus Vellyne. Ten Towns remains in dire shape, with Speaker Shane doing all she can to run the only two functioning towns in the region.
Others leave to rebuild (or never left) but request aid that will never come. If the everlasting night isn’t solved soon, surviving the dragon’s assault won’t matter.
With that in mind, let’s so searching for pirate treasure!
After a long rest and a level up to eight, the marshals set a course for the Sea of Moving Ice to the northwest.
Spellix, the disguised gnome chieftain of Karkolohk, had claimed a pirate ship full of treasure was last seen somewhere in that area.
Traveling through Bremen, the party finally witness the chardalyn dragon’s terrible devastation. Though dozens of survivors made it to Targos in time, the small fishing village has been completely wiped off the face of the map.
After Bremen, it’s a six-hour trek across the open tundra of Icewind Dale, the longest and most dangerous journey the marshals have undertaken in this campaign.
The everlasting night, which has been going on for several months in my campaign, has displaced many beasts and creatures, leaving a mostly empty tundra of endless snow.
After several hours of bleak travel, the marshals are met with a terrible blizzard. Fray takes over driving duties and presses on with their reindeer-driven wagon, a smart move thanks to her nat 20 Survival check.
While steering through the blizzard, they come across a humanoid figure sitting in the middle of the snow. She tries to drive the wagon closer but the reindeer absolutely do not budge, pawing and rearing nervously.
Curious, Fray hops out of the wagon and approaches the figure, axe in hand. The blizzard obscures visibility and renders speech nearly impossible, so Valravn hurries after her.
When she gets close, she sees the figure is actually a frozen corpse. She taps it with her axe, and the ground around them begins to shake and heave. Huge piles of snow fall of giant leathery wings, as a gargantuan white dragon lazily emerges from underneath.
The frozen corpse is strapped into a saddle attached to the dragon’s back, looking quite tiny compared to the massive creature.
The howling winds of the blizzard begin to subside as the great dragon stretches and turns her head. “Back in the saddle already, Meltharond? You should’ve woken me up. And it smells like you brought breakfast! Is that reindeer?”
Fray and Valravn both tumble off the dragon’s wings, but Fray isn’t the least bit intimidated. She calls out to the dragon that the figure on her back is dead.
That doesn’t sit well with Aveiaturace, an ancient white dragon, and apex predator of Icewind Dale. She glares at Fray and uses her Frightful Presence. Fray fails and capitulates before the dragon, but still insists (much more kindly) that her companion is dead.
The White Wyrm responds by reaching out a massive claw and flicking the halfling back several feet, striking her with a claw attack for 14 damage.
Valravn (who made the save vs the Frightful Presence) quickly clears his throat and steps up to the dragon, buttering her up with platitudes and respect.
She responds favorably, and snatches him up in her claws, noting that his weak body but smart mind must paint him as a spellcaster. When he reveals that he’s a storyteller, she’s delighted and makes him tell her a story while she snatches one of the panicked reindeer and bites its head off, drenching the elf in blood.
To Valravn’s credit, he regales her tales of body horror and transformation from their most recent battle while she sits and devours one of their reindeer. He also makes a clever bargain: if she allows them safe passage, he promises to tell her more stories should they meet again. A performance check of 30 seals the deal, and also saves another of their reindeer from becoming a draco-snack.
Satiated, the dragon sets Valravn down. She’s amused by these smallfolk who believe they can save the Dale and stop the Frostmaiden, but she’s in a good mood and willing to let them go. She flies off, and Valravn suggests they might take a longer way back home.
Minus one reindeer, they continue the trek northwest towards the Dark Duchess location.
As they near the shoreline, a polar bear comes trotting up to them. The party recognizes the bear as the same one that once pulled this very wagon when they first encountered it, back in Session 1.
The bear is wearing strange leather armor, and appears distressed.
Thimbleweed casts Speak with Animals and learns the bear had found a new master, and was out hunting when a dragon passed overhead. He got scared and ran, injuring his paw, until he saw the marshals and the wagon.
Thimbleweed heals the beasts paw as the bear’s master approaches — a frost giant mounted on a woolly mammoth. Alongside them, another armored polar bear trots along, its nose having led them right to the deserter.
The giant, armed with several nets and a large mast-like lance, shouts several words in Giant. The bear near the marshals cringes and looks guilty and ashamed. The party can tell the frost giant is not exactly a kind animal handler, and it’s clear the bear doesn’t want to return.
Fray shouts back at the giant, while Thimbleweed tries to get answers from the mammoth. This upsets the giant, who lowers his lance and charges!
Roll for initiative — next week!
MVPC – Valravn
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