Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden Session 90 Recap

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Previously on Rime of the Frostmaiden

Starring:
Valravn, level 15 Eladrin Bard of Eloquence
Fray, level 15 Halfling Barbarian of the Beast
Celeste, level 15 Half-orc Sun Soul Monk
Edmond, Level 15 Human Alchemist Artificer
Thimbleweed, level 15 Thri-kreen Swarmkeeper Ranger

After the fall of Iriolarthas, the Marshals hurried through the arcane circle, reaching the Mythallar at the base of the spire as quickly as they could.

But the Frostmaiden was already there.

The Marshals emerge into utter chaos. The damage Mythallar is reaching critical mass, expanding unstable energy and ripping frequent tears into the fabric of reality.

Meanwhile, two factions are racing to reach its power and claim it for themselves: Avarice and Auril.

Avarice, wizard of the Arcane Brotherhood, and the only other surviving member of the original expedition aside from Vellyne, flies above the battlefield flanked by her gargoyles. Her forces below consist of the chardalyn cultists she helped recruit and build. 

Her Black Swords army clashes with the newly arrived Frostmaiden. No longer kept at bay by Ythryn’s defenses, the ice goddess marches toward the Mythallar, surrounded by frost giant skeletons and snow golems.

Though the chardalyn weapons wielded by the Black Swords are extra effective against her forces, the Frostmaiden’s armies are endless, and every slain cultist becomes a coldlight walker.

The Marshals’ teleportation puts them directly in the path between Auril and the Mythallar. Cadavix points to the stone walkway above the large nuclear reactor as the only safe place to safely attune to it, and try and stop its imminent and catastrophic destruction.

Auril first addresses Fray. The halfling barbarian had accepted the Frostmaiden’s Blessing back at her Abode, and remains attuned to the Codicil of White.

The Frostmaiden gives her one chance to renounce her passion for life, and allow the blessing to fully claim her heart, and become her servant.

Naturally, Fray refuses.

Auril responds by forcing Fray’s cannibal curse to take hold, but during the transformation, the Mythallar sends out a shockwave of energy. Suddenly the wendigo is there standing in front of Fray, having been torn from her body, physically and magically! Fray vomits up all the fingers she ate as she faces off against her dark half.

As the battle unfolds, Cadavix tries to talk to his former lover. Auril was once a wizard of Ythryn, until she decided to claim the Mythallar’s power for herself. The result turned her into a god. But the drained Mythallar caused the city to crash into the glacier, dooming all inside.

Auril was unmoved by his pleas, however, and stuck the poor resurrected wizard into an ice stasis prison. Then she unleashed a cone of cold upon the Marshals!

The party was already wounded from the Iriolarthas battle. Thankfully they have a lot of healing potions, and begin gulping them down every round.

Celeste hurls Searing Arc Bursts while Edmond summons more animals from his Bag of Tricks. Valravn zaps everyone with synaptic static, but the real MVP move is successfully casting dominate monster on one of the frost giant skeletons, greatly turning the tide of the battle as it wades through its former allies.

The Frostmaiden continues to march toward the Mythallar, blasting the party with her frost powers and summoning additional snow golems — and exploding them!

Thimbleweed quickly realizes that his chardalyn arrows deal double damage against her, and unleashes a volley just as she reaches the reactor, destorying her icy body. But a crystal heart emerges, and it flies toward the walkway above.

Meanwhile Avarice reaches the walkway with her gargoyles. But Valravn spots her and casts vortex warp, teleporting her directly next to Celeste and Fray.

Fray, having finished off the wendigo once and for all, drinks her blood of the tiger potion (bonus points if you remember which session she got that from!) and transforms into a saber-tooth tiger, pinning a shocked Avarice to the ground. Celeste then forces her to surrender, and the party turns their attention to the Frostmaiden crystal, which blasts at them with icy rays.

Valravn casts Bigby’s hand, grabs the Frostmaiden, and pulls her back towards them! The Marshals gang up on her, and Fray destroys her by pouncing on her as in tiger form.

The crystal cracks and the goddess’ essence spills upward, defeated but not destroyed. Using Bigby’s hand, the party quickly reach the walkway and begin to attune to the Mythallar. There’s safety in numbers, with only Thimbleweed failing the now reduced Arcana check, and taking psychic damage.

The others connect to the legendary but unstable artifact, gaining indefinite madness.

Now they must choose what to do with this power. Do they attempt to repair the Mythallar and restore Ythryn? Do they try and take all the power for themselves?

It’s a battle of wills as different Marshals want different things. Ultimately, it’s Valravn that wins the CHA check, and chooses to use the power to reverse Auril’s everlasting Rime, diminishing the goddess’ evil reign over Icewind Dale.

Next week – the epilogue to our grand, two-year long campaign!

MVPC – Celeste

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