Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden

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Welcome to the Everlasting Night

The sun hasn’t risen over Icewind Dale in two years. Many believe that the goddess of winter’s wrath -- Auril, the Frostmaiden -- is weaving a spell to lengthen winter and increase the suffering of Ten Towns. No one knows exactly why, but the people of Icewind Dale are hoping for heroes to step up and save them from the everlasting night.

On behalf of Sheriff Markham Southwell of Bryn Shander, bounty hunter Hiln Trollbane has hired a group of adventurers: Anatol, a human paladin of Amaunator; Harvan Stonebridge, a halfling cleric of Yondalla; Ligs, a dwarf fighter from the Dwarven Valley; Ratimir, a human bard; Ziff, a kobold rogue; Glim Peppadimmie, a gnome druid; and Lain Sorenstarr, a drow ranger. What began as a search for a serial killer has become a struggle for the survival of Icewind Dale, and perhaps the world itself.

Map of Icewind Dale Map of Icewind Dale - West Map of the Sword Coast (5e) Expanded Map of Faerûn (3e) Harptos Calendar

Session Recap Menu

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Session 97: Path of Vengeance

May 18th, 2024

Campaign Almanac

Day 27 of the campaign, the 18th of the month of Hammer, 1492 DR. The moon Selûne is waxing crescent.

Ratimir threw tarokka for Sven; Ligs touched a bear on the moon; Cuso tripped on Cragmoss Tea; Kwan the Monolith took Ziff, Harvan, Lugdush, Anatol, and Brydon to Skytower Shelter; Icingdeath turns out no-so-patient after all.

Sweat Lodge Tarokka

After the goat ball game, the Thuunlakalaga goliaths escorted the party to a sweat lodge for post-game relaxation. Cragmoss tea was served all around, and all except Ocho Latte drank the fungal brew.

Ratimir sat enveloped in the steam of the Thuunlakalaga sweat lodge, massaging his weary, bruised limbs and thought about the mysterious absence of pentatonic chords in gnomish mining shanties. The door flap lifted and a cold gust of wind disturbed the billows of steam; Sven entered with a grin and a twinkle in his eye. He doffed his clothes and slid into various yogic poses: his trim, hairless figure radiated with health and vigor, and his every move a lesson in mind-soul-body alignment. He settled into the lotus position, closed his eyes, and recited a quatrain attributed to the famous Rashemaari mystic, Imzel the Knowing:

The curfew tolls the knell of parting day, the lowing herds wind slowly o’er the lea, The plowman homeward plods his weary way and leaves the world to darkness and to me.

Ratimir listened intently; an interesting choice to quote Imzel when both of them are perfectly aware that “Imzel” is a pseudonym of Florin of Cormyr, a talented fabulist and literary forger exposed by their mentor, Professor Tutelage. Hmmmm...a quatrain by an obvious fraud. What is Sven’s game? There was one way to find out and all of the elements were at hand... Ratimir offered a chaw of cragmoss to Sven and took one himself. Earthy and fungal, the cragmoss began to act upon their minds: colors and shapes grew into fractal shapes in front of their eyes, floated to the ceiling of the lodge, and then evaporated. Ratimir and Sven broke into a cold sweat - a common effect of the cragmoss – as nausea, expectation, and euphoria washed over them. What thoughts were a-swirl in Sven’s well-coiffed head with his psychic defenses compromised?

Ratimir casually reached over to Gleb the Sentient Fungus who had been enjoying a nice shvitz with the local bacterial cultures and boinked him atop his fungal cap, releasing a cloud of mind-meld spores into the steam. Ratimir and Sven lock eyes and were lost in each other’s dilating pupils. Images of glaciers calving, heaving sweaty limbs, musical notation, bonfires, leering elf-folk, and colliding airships roil and merged in their shared consciousness. Ratimir, barely tethered any longer to his physical self, reached for his pack and pulled out his tarokka deck, the Fateweaver's Foil. In what remained of his secret mind, he knew that Sven would never refuse an opportunity to talk about his favorite topic – Sven – and in so doing, possibly allow of a tidbit of concealed information to fall into Ratimir’s hairy ears – as long as he could keep his own thoughts in check.

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Ratmir's Tarokka Reading for Sven

Sven, of course, cannot resist the offer and split the deck. The reading began. As before inside Kresselack's inner sanctum in the Vale of Shadows, as Ratimir shuffled and Sven drew his cards, anyone watching the tarokka ceremony saw golden, gossamer threads reach out from the cards and bind themselves to Sven's body, though some departed the tent for destinations unknown. Upon pulling the "Hooded One" card, a thread reached out and bound Cuso to Sven.

During the reading, Ratimir's face was thinly veiled by a floating, transparent crystalline mask with a third eye crafted into the forehead.

Blessing of the Lycanthrope God

While the party sweated out their tension and gave themselves over to the insight provided by the cragmoss tea, Ligs sat in the private chambers of the tribe's chief, Ogolai Orcsplitter Thuunlakalaga. Ligs had a long history of good relations with the Thuunlakalaga tribe, including a close relationship with Wayani Highhunter Thuunlakalaga, the tribe's weaponsmith. The Thuunlakalaga and the Akkanathi of Skytower Shelter were all that remained of the old Reghed Tribe of the Bear. The tribe had been split long ago by those that wanted to fight Icingdeath versus those that wanted to appease the ancient white dragon. Once the former faction killed Icingdeath's mate Uldrielalth, the tribe split.

Over the years, Ligs had visited the tribe many times and had never paid much attention to the large crystal in Ogolai's chamber, covered with animal skins, but still radiating a bright blue aura. Now that he'd seen a similar one up close recently in the Vale of Shadows, Ligs now knew what it was: one of Auril's wards hiding the location of the Solensäng.

Ligs explained the situation to Ogolai Orcsplitter an the importance of recovering the Solensäng, but the chief replied that the ward was the only thing keeping Icingdeath from finding them and killing them all. The undead dragon would surely seek vengeance against the Thuunlakalaga with the bones of his mate decorating the entrance to their camp.

Ligs made an impassioned and reasoned appeal and Ogolai decided that the question could only be settled by communing with the Spirit of the Bear.

  • Ogolai prepared some Cragmoss Tea for Ligs and escorted him to The Crawl, a sacred tunnel in the cave complex covered in ancient giant runes and the Holy Symbol of Selûne.
  • Inside, Ligs was transported via the Ethereal Plane to the fragment of Selûne impaled into the chest of Ator.
  • From high above in the Ethereal Plane, Ligs watched his companions interview Kwan the Monolith, but their words were distorted.
  • Ligs touched the glowing fragment of Selûne and was transported to the surface of the moon.
  • There, the three phases of Ligs – Anhvae Daoin, the Silver Marches wood elf; Vanyali gyz Khazâd of the Dwarven Valley; the werebear Caretaker of the Spirit Bear – all stood side by side and spoke in polyphonic harmony.
  • The phases of Ligs were welcomed by the Spirit Bear and granted the Blessing of Selûne, as well as permission to destroy the Thuunlakalaga's ward.

Kwan the Monolith

  • Back at the petrified primordial Ator, Ziff, Anatol, Harvan, Brydon, and Lugdush revived the unconscious goliath captured by the drow hunters they had just fought and defeated.
  • Once she was administered a dose of drow poison antidote, Kwan the Monolith Akannathi of the Skytower goliaths told them of how she had been hired by Speaker Trovus of Caer-Koenig to guide adventurers to Icingdeath's old lair Evermelt to investigate recent unconfirmed sitings of Hedrun the Ice Witch.
  • There, Kwan witnessed Hedrun raise Icingdeath from the dead.
  • The party convinced Kwan to take them to Skytower to ask for their help fighting the dragon.
  • They arrived at Skytower after hours of glacier travel and climbing to find that Icingdeath had destroyed it. Only eight goliaths and one griffon remained alive.
  • During their climb they witnessed the form of Icingdeath leave the Jarlmoot and fly north.
  • They formulated plan to contact the Thuunlakalaga tribe and coordinate their efforts against Icingdeath.
  • Tral the artificer kobold working with Oswald Fiddlebender in Kuldahar contacted them via the Sending Stones to say that the Terrible Mistake airship was flying toward their approximate location with an ETA of 12 hours. She asked for an aerial signal marking a landing zone.
  • Ziff, Harvan, and Kwan the Monolith set out on the last griffon to fly to Wyrmdoom Crag. While in the air, they saw Icingdeath return and perch upon Delnor's Tower. From there the dragon delivered another message to Ligs.
"Vanyali gyz Khazâd, still you cower beneath the Frostmaiden's veil. In case you need more motivation to face me at the Jarlmoot, I have razed one of your precious Ten Towns, and I will destroy another each day you resist your fate." Ingeloakastimizilian, the ancient undead white dragon known as Icingdeath

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Session 98: Fuck You, You Fucking Fuck, Icingdeath

June 1st, 2024

Campaign Almanac

Day 28 of the campaign, the 19th of the month of Hammer, 1492 DR. The moon Selûne is waxing quarter.

Bryn Shander is destroyed; The Dawnbringers set a trap; Ligs sent a heartfelt and thoughtful response to Icingdeath's challenge; Ziff and Harvan investigated new doorways; Lugdush, Brydon, Ligs, and Ratimir became drinking buddies; The Terrible Mistake arrived at Wyrmdoom crag.
Ten Towns Overview Dwarven Valley Detail Cross Section of the Dwarven Valley and Kelvin's Cairn

  • Harvan and Ziff astride the flying griffon with Kwan the Monolith witnessed Icingdeath fly back to the Jarlmoot from Delnor's Tower.
  • Ziff caught sight of an enormous piece of dark chardalyn as well as the legendary warhammer Aegis Fang embedded in the skeletal torso of the undead dragon.
  • Harvan saw goblins massing their forces at Karkolohk.
  • Painbearer Calliano contacted Harvan via Sending from Termalaine to relate the news of the destruction of Bryn Shander.
  • Harvan responded with a plea to send an envoy to fetch Arveiatrace in her lair on the Dark Duchess on the Sea of Moving Ice to help with Icingdeath.
  • Anatol, Lugdush, Brydon, and Vellyne harvested a large collection of Shadow Weave Torches and a dozen bottled doses of Ator's Solace from Ator.
  • The Thuunlakalaga tribe dispatched a squad of Crag Cat riders to fetch the Skytower Shelter survivors.
  • Fully reunited, the party discussed plans to deal with Icingdeath.
  • Vellyne identified the new doorknob keys found inside the Netherese Bag of Holding: four blanks, one mahogany key, and one Adamantine key that, "would not give up its secrets."
  • Harvan and Ziff investigated the Mahogany Key and opened the Netherese Doorknob using it.
  • Harvan peered through the open doorway into a 7 foot wide stone chamber that tapered from bottom to top. Set in the center was an exquisitely cut stone lectern about 3 feet high. On the top of the lectern was a set of identical holes arranged in 9 x 7 rows. Some of these holes contained rectangular colored crystals. The base of the stone lectern was cracked and offset.
  • Stepping through the doorway, the crystals on the lectern flickered and illuminated.
  • A pile of crumbling humanoid bones wearing Netherese robes was on the floor next to the lectern. A ring similar to the one recovered in the Termalaine Ythryn fragment was on one of the skeletal fingers.
  • When Harvan picked up the ring, one wall of the chamber disappeared and revealed a jungle landscape outside. Harvan returned back to Wymrdoom Crag through the door and reserved further exploration for another time.
  • The party discussed setting a trap for Icingdeath at Wyrmdoom using the Endless Thread tied into a net to keep him on the ground.
  • Brydon, Ligs, and Ratimir began taking doses of Ator's Solace to prepare for a fight inside a field of the Shadow Weave generated by the purple torches.
  • Ratimir strongarmed Sven into going along with the plan.
  • Once the plan was set, the group settled in for a long rest.
  • Before bed, Ziff extracted the Crystal Dragon Staff and cradled it as he fell asleep.
  • On watch, Harvan set a series of bonfires to signal the incoming Terrible Mistake. The airship landed at Wyrmdoom Crag at around 2:00AM.
  • In the morning, Ligs used a megaphone Fabricated by Ratimir to respond to that fucking fuck Icingdeath.
  • Cuso followed up Ligs' reply with a more formalized counter challenge to meet at Wyrmdoom on the skeleton of Icingdeath's dead mate.
  • Icingdeath responded in a rage that he would make Ligs' suffer for this indignity and said he was going to destroy the Dwarven Valley.

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Session 99: Never Skip Ligs Day

June 8th, 2024

Campaign Almanac

Day 28 of the campaign, the 19th of the month of Hammer, 1492 DR. The moon Selûne is waxing quarter.

The Dawnbringers and Sven's mercenaries traveled to the Dwarven Valley to lay a trap for Icingdeath.
  • During the long rest, Ziff found himself in the familiar extra-dimensional space created by the Crystal Dragon Staff that allowed him to commune with Ithlis and Saryndalaghlothtor.
  • There, Ziff encountered the blue dragon Soldondremn being ridden by Ithlis. Soldondremn seemed to be locked in fierce combat with an unseen foe. At one point, Ithlis screeched at the blue dragon, "She's getting behind us!"
  • Ratimir, Vellyne, Cuso, Sven, Lugdush, Oswald, Tral, Smelt, Vrak, and Harvan set out from Wyrmdoom Crag in the Terrible Mistake in a discrete pursuit of Icingdeath. Kwan the Monolith followed along on the lone surviving Skytower Shelter griffon.
  • Oswald and Harvan noticed dozens of Coldscale Drakes depart the Upper Wyrmtooth Glacier and fall into formation behind Icingdeath.
  • Cuso contacted Dwarven Valley leader Dain Stokely Silverstream via Sending to warn him of the impending attack.
  • Ziff evacuated all non-combatants from Wyrmdoom Crag and Skytower Shelter to Kuldahar.
  • Brydon, Ligs, Lohte, Ziff, Anatol, and Trill along with 20 Thuunlakalaga goliaths on Crag Cats passed through the Netherese Doorway to Termalaine.
    Icingdeath skipped Ligs day to attack the Dwarven Valley
  • They noticed the kobolds had cleaned out the Ythryn fragment and installed a stone staircase from the twisted door location to ease passage through.
  • Once through the mine, everyone loaded up with the goliaths on crag cats and set out for the Dwarven Valley.
  • The Termalaine group made good time across the tundra and beat Icingdeath by two hours. They used that time to get non-combatants to safety and stage their net trap near the population center in the north of the valley.
  • There they waited while a squad of dwarves led by armorer Blaine Dekryl sat vigil with crossbows attached to their nets made with the unbreakable Endless Thread.
  • Meanwhile, the Terrible Mistake maintained its pursuit of Icingdeath into the shallow southern tip of the Dwarven Valley, watching while the undead dragon and its drake thralls paved a path of destruction northward.
  • Icingdeath reached the north end of the Valley and perched upon a guard tower outside the entrance to Battlehammer Hold while the hands of dwarves, goliaths, Dawnbringers, and mercenaries tightened upon their weapons, waiting for the signal to attack.

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Session 100: Be the Leader You Died to Be

June 15th, 2024

Campaign Almanac

Day 28 of the campaign, the 19th of the month of Hammer, 1492 DR. The moon Selûne is waxing quarter.

Ligs and Icingdeath squared off in the Dwarven Valley.
  • Once Icingdeath landed on the tower on the north end of the Dwarven Valley, Sven and Lugdush slipped off the back of the Terrible Mistake and safely dropped to the valley floor via Feather Fall (leaving Kevin behind).
  • Icingdeath's freezing breath weapon dropped everyone on the Terrible Mistake except for Cuso, Tral, and Vrak. Ratimir, Vellyne Harvan, Oswald, and Smelt were all unconscious. Cuso quickly revived them all with a timely Mass Healing Word.
  • Ziff and Ligs fired chardalyn-tipped arrows at Icingdeath, producing a Sphere of Annihilation and Chain Lightning, respectively.
    Click to download John's special Session 100 Jeopardy game
  • After Glik arrived via crow delivery to lend his katanas to the fight, the party forced Icingdeath to the ground and wore him down. Ligs recovered the giant chardalyn gem phylactery and legendary warhammer Aegis-Fang formerly embedded in the undead dragon's torso.
  • Vellyne examined the chardalyn gem and suggested that a phylactery can only be destroyed in the place it was created.
  • Kwan the Monolith had witnessed the raising of Icingdeath in his lair on the Reghed Glacier, Evermelt.
  • Vellyne also explained that if the phylactery comes close to any dragon corpses before its destroyed, the soul of Icingdeath will possess the body and reconstitute his undead form.
  • Ratimir wanted to get underway immediately, but Oswald explained that the flight from Kuldahar to the Jotunklifra and the high-speed chase from there to the Dwarven Valley had depleted the airship's fuel.
  • With the chaos of battle settling down, the party learned that Dwarven Valley leader Dain Stokely Silverstream had died fighting a horde of Coldscale Drakes. Ligs was asked to attend a meeting of Battlehammer elders to choose a new leader.

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Session 101: A Bard's Errand

June 22nd, 2024

Campaign Almanac

Day 28 of the campaign, the 19th of the month of Hammer, 1492 DR. The moon Selûne is waxing quarter.

The party marched through another long day in pursuit of Sven and Lugdush back on the Jotunklifra.
  • Ligs was summoned to a meeting of the elders of Clan Battlehammer to discuss leadership in the wake of Dain Stokely Silverstream's death.
  • Ratimir composed an epic song detailing their defeat of Icingdeath and performed it for the Battlehammer dwarves.
  • Glik related what he found at The Dark Duchess, the pirate ship and lair of Arveiaturace frozen in the Sea of Moving Ice: tracks of two dragons, but from several days ago.
  • Glik stole a gold armband from Arveiaturace's hoard inside The Dark Duchess that bore the stamp of Ship Shuljack of Luskan. He gave the band to Ziff, knowing that the white dragon could magically track any treasure stolen from her.
  • Anatol confirmed with Kwan the Monolith that the figure he saw that observed the fight from far away on the valley rim was likely Hedrun Arnsfirth, the Ice Witch.
  • Ziff stored the chardalyn phylactery of Icingdeath inside his personal Netherese Doorknob closet.
  • Ratimir asked the Thuunlakalaga goliaths to track Sven and Lugdush. They followed their tracks south through the Dwarven Valley and lost them midway down near Bruenor's Climb. After delivering the news, the Thuunlakalaga goliaths and Kwan the Monolith continued across the tundra to Kuldahar.
  • The party convinced Oswald Fiddlebender to let them encode a Netherese Doorknob key destination to the cargo hold of the Terrible Mistake.
  • Harvan attempted to scry on Sven but was repelled.
  • Anatol joined his two swords Vargensklinga and Levandedöd to briefly reform Horizon and used the elven blade to cast Teleportation Circle, taking the party back to Delnor's Tower in the Jotunklifra.
  • After arriving, they spotted a two sets of tracks leading from the circle down to Delnor's Pass, then south to the Aerie Glacier.
  • The tracks continued south across the Middle Aerie Glacier, and the party surmised that Sven was heading to Ator's Fingers.
  • Anatol took Ziff and Harvan ahead on Violet while Ratimir, Vellyne, and Cuso followed behind.
  • Ziff ventured invisibly down the tunnel around Ator. Upon reaching the transition between glacier and bedrock, he triggered a Glyph of Warding that exploded, collapsing the tunnel in front of him.

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Session 102: Back to the Unterdunkel

June 29th, 2024

Campaign Almanac

Day 28 of the campaign, the 19th of the month of Hammer, 1492 DR. The moon Selûne is waxing crescent.

The Dawnbringers followed Sven into the Underdark beneath Ator.
  • Ziff tumbled forward into the stone passage ahead, cutting himself off from the rest of the party. He used his Delver's Gloves to slowly burrow a side tunnel around the fallen ice.
  • The party proceeded more carefully down Ator and discovered two more Glyphs of Warding, the first of which they were able to avoid. The second erupted into a fireball right at the entrance to the main chamber containing the pool of Ator's Blood.
  • Harvan detected illusion magic centered on Ator's navel and Ratimir cast Dispel Magic on it, destroying the spell.
  • Ziff discovered that the storeroom full of barrels and supplies for collecting and transporting liquids was completely empty with duergar tracks leading from it down to the Underdark.
  • Anatol picked up Sven and Lugdush's tracks and followed them back into the fungal forest beneath Ator.
  • The party carefully avoided the thick stands of bibberbangs and green gibberers on Sven's trail only to face a group of Phase Spiders on the other side.
  • Periodically, Ratimir shouted threats at Sven in hope of intimidating the bard, but the shouts simply echoed off the distant, unseen cavern walls ahead of the party.
  • Ziff's owl familiar Hrothgar spotted a campfire surrounded by a scene of extreme carnage several hundred feet ahead. Over a dozen drow warriors had been bludgeoned or electrified to death.
  • The party arrived and Ratimir cast Speak with Dead on one of the only bodies with enough of a head remaining to operate for the spell. They learned:
    1. This hunting party had been sent from Menzoberranzan to locate and destroy drow Shar cultists.
    2. A "beautiful man" and a monstrous orc had easily defeated the hunting party.
    3. Sven's destination was unknown, as was the location of any other Shar cultists.
  • As the spell came to an end, the Dawnbringer's minds were filled with an abrupt screech as the voice of Kresselack broke through:
    “...speak while holding the amulet, they’ll hear me? Just touch it once? What do you mean I’m sending right now? Gods damn it, Nigel, I...”

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Session 103: Ko-bold or Ko-home

July 13th, 2024

Campaign Almanac

Day 28 of the campaign, the 19th of the month of Hammer, 1492 DR. The moon Selûne is waxing crescent.

A new band of kobold heroes rose to the challenge of saving the ailing Ravisin, Mother of Crows.

In the depths of the Termalaine mines, four scrappy kobolds were summoned by Karl to run an urgent mission for the Dawnbringers:

  • Drom ( Paladin of Glick the Golden)
  • Plumm (Warlock and self described free solo diving champion)
  • Leshunk (reclusive Ranger who may or may not be vying for Moss’s job)
  • Iva (quirky and sometimes off-putting potions artificer)

  • Ziff plopped through the Netherese door with a thud and handed Drom the brain cluster crystal and the ring for opening the Netherese doors.
  • The four Kobolds easily descended a finely crafted rope net and followed the river towards the Unter Dunkel (with Plumm swimming by their sides).
  • They discovered a broken section of a Netherese lab blocking their path. When attempting to use the crystal and ring to open the large sliding door blocking their path, they inadvertently opened a door in the floor, releasing an Automaton (with a noticeable brain inside it’s skull area.
  • The Automaton knew that the panel next to the door (with depictions of the phases of the moon) was the keypad to open the door, but could not remember the code.
  • The team was then approached by Fester & Flott (Fester Bobblegoop and his strangely powerful doppelgänger friend).
  • As with his last appearance in a one-shot, Fester offered his service of “Dreamscaping” - a magical process in which he can bring others into the memories of another to find forgotten information.
  • He mentioned that he had informants that knew about the Vampire’s preventative plans of sending people through the Unter Dunkel to intercept any would-be adventurers (from the Termalaine Mines) and keep them from collecting special mushrooms.
  • He also mentioned (when pressed by Drom) that Flott had been easily maneuvering among the Kobolds to gather details on the time he place of the expedition.
  • When asked why he wasn’t simply going in himself, he replied that he WAS going in. And he required no payment for his services because their mission would enable him to go find something else in the Automaton’s memories…something he needed to find.
  • Covered in a dirty purple blanket, the Kobolds began their Dreamscaping.
  • They awoke to find a series of memories playing out before their eyes - a young man named Gandy Bandy being welcomed after winning a lottery to ascend to the floating city of Netheril, Bandy being introduced to wizard Maritan Ness, Maritan removing Bandy’s brain inserting it into the body of an automaton, and Bandy being forced to dispose of his own body.
  • When Ness moved to type in the passcode to open the large sliding doors, Iva was keenly able to peek and pick up the combination.
  • But in doing so, a different form of Ness (a malicious dark wizard) peeled itself from the memory and attacked.
  • With Plumm’s deft uses of counterspell, and excellent attack rolls by Iva, Leshunk, and Drom, they felled both the Wizard and his blade spinning sentinel automaton.
  • After the battle was done, the memory appeared to reset itself and Ness appeared again, ready to attack. The Kobolds called out to Bobblegoop, who (after a few intensely close seconds) pulled the team from the recesses of Bandy’s mind.
  • Fester and Flott were both gone. But Bandy remained. He said that Fester had told him to warn the Kobolds of some nasty customers were most likely camped out on the other side of the door.
  • To ensure their safety, Bandy gifted them 4 magical items: a Battle Axe of Lightning, a nano bot set of armor/lightning wand, a ring of lightning imbuing, and a Wand of Tidal Wave.
  • The kobolds were met with 2 Drow and a human who were tasked with killing any who tried to discover the special mushrooms, as well as controlling this access point to the mines of Termalaine.
  • The head Drow appeared to have bite marks on his neck - implying that he was an underling (tasked by the vampires) who was promised to be fully changed at some point.
  • Though very capable and tough fighters, Bandy’s magical gifts helped the kobolds rain hell on the vampire goon squad.
  • After a series of skill checks, the team were able to successfully recover two of the five mushrooms and pulled their new ally, Gandy Bandy, up to the safety of the mines.
  • With the brain cluster (and a magical lock placed by Iva) the kobolds still control access to the Unter Dunkel from the mines.

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Session 104: Two Kinds of Soldiers

July 20th, 2024

Campaign Almanac

Days 28-29 of the campaign, the 19th and 20th of the month of Hammer, 1492 DR. The moon Selûne is waxing crescent.

Sven sent Ratimir a letter; Earthquakes rock the Jotunklifra; The Dawnbringers head to Karkolohk.
  • The party searched the scene of the drow massacre and found among the corpses a complete set of Spidersilk Armor, Slippers of Spider Climbing, and several bottles of Drow Green Wine.
  • Following the north fork of the paths leading away from the scene, Ratimir found another drow corpse tied to a Zurhkwood fungus stalk. The body showed signs of having been tortured and was missing an eye.
  • Shoved in the ropes binding the corpse to the fungal stalk, there was a piece of parchment addressed to Ratimir.
    Sven's letter to Ratimir

    My dear Ratimir,

    T'was a pity you dispelled my Magic Mouth in Ator's navel -- that would have been a great deal of fun, but I suppose I should have expected that after setting two explosive rune traps in my wake. I'm ashamed to admit it was darkly amusing watching you tiptoe around the periphery of that chamber, afraid of setting off another trap. I only did it to dissuade your pursuit, but I should have known that your tenacity and determination would never allow you to give up.

    I know you ached for me to fight alongside you against Icingdeath, but that was not my fight. Pengolodh Ratimir, There are many kinds of soldiers. There are those that charge bravely ahead, risking life and limb for king and country. Those are the ones songs are written for. Then there are those that work in the shadows, following orders from which they cannot stray.

    Where I’m going you cannot follow. You must seek the Solensang while I must busy myself with keeping Geluvicken off our backs. You must play it your way, and I must play it mine.

    Do not worry, I’ll be with you again before this is all done. Believe in yourself and let knowledge prevail.

    With admiration,
    Sven

  • Ziff used Mage Hand to collect samples of explosive bibberbang fungus for Ratimir to regenerate his fungal familiar, Gleb.
  • An earthwquake shook the Underdark as they walked back to the campsite, releasing a massive stalactite from the cavern ceiling.
  • As the group settled down for a rest, Cuso was visited by a projection of her yuan-ti high priestess, Fenthaza, who demanded a status update.
  • Cuso explained that Sven had given her the slip, but had intimated to her that Ratimir was necessary to obtain the Solensäng. Fenthaza instructed Cuso to follow Ratimir for now and to only kill Sven if it was convenient.
    Fenthaza, Yuan-ti High Priestess
  • After a long rest, the party decided go to Karkolohk and take advantage of the goblins' absence.
  • Anatol joined his two swords, temporarily forming the star elf sword Horizon and cast Teleportation Circle to transport everyone back to Delnor's Tower.
  • Wielding Horizon was a challenge for the paladin and though he and his wolf Violet arrived safely, the rest of the party's arrival was delayed by quite some time.
  • Anatol summoned Nigel to ask what had gone wrong with Horizon. After examining the blade and writing some equations in the snow, Nigel predicted the remaining Dawnbringer's arrival down to the second. Then, the fearsome undead skeleton made everyone breakfast before vanishing when his time expired.
  • Kresselack contacted the party with another jarring mass Sending message:
    "One ward has been destroyed and I can see a little more clearly. Karkolohk goblins are marching but have disappeared. What of the Jarlmoot?"
  • The Dawnbringers responded:
    "Karkolohk goblins gone, maybe only chance to explore, then Jarlmoot unless you tell us there's something more important, big guy."
  • The party descended the Hedgerow once more, passing the scene of their earlier battle with the pair of bullettes.
  • At the foot of the descent trail, the party skirted the border of the mountain cliff and the Middle Wyrmtooth Glacier. Another earthquake struck and released a massive avalanche down upon them.
  • Ratimir and Ziff cast Harpell's Gravity Sinkhole and Harpell's Gravity Well, respectively, taking some of the mass and momentum out of the killer wall of snow.

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Session 105: Jesters of the Court

July 27th, 2024

Campaign Almanac

Day 29 of the campaign, the 20th of the month of Hammer, 1492 DR. The moon Selûne is waxing crescent.

The Dawnbringers infiltrated the goblin fortress Karkolohk posing as a troupe of traveling actors.
  • The majority of the party (magically disguised as hobgoblins) ascended the switchbacked path to Karkolohk. Ziff invisbily scaled the sheer cliff face using the Slippers of Spider Climbing they had just looted from the massacred drow hunting party.
  • Despite no one in the party knowing any goblin languages, Ratimir successfully convinced the guards at the main gate that the party was a troupe of traveling actors looking for an audience.
  • Ziff crested the cliff face on the north side of Karkolohk, well away from the front gate and near a large cluster of yurt-like shelters.
  • He made his way undetected through these shelters and infiltrated the main courtyard, where he saw a series of iron cages hanging from wooden catwalks. One cage was empty, a second held only raven-eaten remains, and a third contained a humanoid wrapped thoroughly in animal skins.
  • Behind this third cage was a large metallic automaton, sitting with its hands resting on its knees. He drew closer, walking on the walls of the fortress, and saw that the automaton appeared to have taken a significant amount of damage at some point.
  • Ziff whispered to the person in the cage and quickly learned that it was Nass Lantomir, Vellyne Harpell's former apprentice. She told him that Vellyne's professor orb had been taken from her and was somewhere inside Karkolohk.
  • The "acting troupe" Dawnbringers were escorted into the fortress courtyard where they quickly spotted the dormant automaton sitting underneath one of the watch platforms.
  • Once inside, hobgoblin Commander Marmotte informed them they would stage a show for Yarb-Gnock, Karkolohk's leader.
  • They learned from Marmotte that the majority of the goblins army had departed for Ten Towns and that the earthquakes were likely the result of the Duergar building something in the forge of Dorn's Deep.
  • Harvan cast Detect Magic in hopes of locating one of Auril's wards but turned up nothing. Instead, he detected strong conjuration magic emanating from the automaton.
  • The party quickly formulated a plan to stage a performance depicting the defeat of the orc god Gruumsh by the goblin's automaton, hoping to inspire Yarb-Gnock into a live demonstration of the metal colossus.
  • While the rest of the party performed outside, Ziff snuck into the fortress interior to find Lantomir's spellbook and the professor orb.
  • A pair of hobgoblin soldiers brought the always-chewing leader Yarb-Gnock to the courtyard for the play. Their plan worked, and the goblin leader brought the automaton to life to participate in the performance.
  • Harvan – with his Detect Magic still active – noticed that the active automaton was only an illusion; the original automaton remained motionless.
  • After the performance, Yarb-Gnock invited the party inside for a private audience.

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Session 106: Conduitopower!

August 3rd, 2024

Campaign Almanac

Day 29 of the campaign, the 20th of the month of Hammer, 1492 DR. The moon Selûne is waxing crescent.

The Dawnbringers met Spellix Fiddlebender and Ziff found a new toy.
  • As Ziff invisibly riffled through the chambers inside, the Dawnbringers were invited to a private audience with Yarb-Gnock, the tribe's leader.
  • The disguised party followed Yarb-Gnock and his hobgoblin bodyguards inside to a grand dining hall.
  • Harvan noted that unlike the rest of the ramshackle fortress, the dining hall exhibited distinct elvish construction that had been neglected for ages.
  • Yarb-Gnock dismissed his bodyguards and pulled off his head, revealing it to be a clockwork mask. Underneath was the face of Spellix Fiddlebender, a rock gnome.
  • Spellix was a sorcerer and brother of Oswald Fiddlebender. He left Hundelstone a month ago to search for Oswald, who had gone missing after departing for the Spine of the World in the Terrible Mistake.
  • Spellix joined a caravan on the Ten Trail that was ambushed and robbed by a goblin raiding party from Karkolohk. The goblins forcused on the humans in the caravan and overlooked Spellix, who became invisible and followed the goblins back to their fortress.
  • He fashioned a makeshift clockwork mask that he improved with judicious use of Minor Image spells and blended in with the goblins.
  • He followed them out on hunting excursions in hopes of finding Oswald. On one of these trips, the goblins found the Netherese automaton buried deep in a crevasse and brought it back to Karkolohk.
  • Spellix recognized the machine right away, but also saw that it heavily damaged and in need of a power source.
  • Late one night while examining the robot, the goblin tribe's shaman Manafek discovered Spellix and was about to expose him.
  • He quickly used the spell Major Image to animate the robot in an attempt to intimidate Manafek and the Karkolohk goblins.
  • Manafek recognized the illusion right away, but the goblins and hobgoblins were impressed. Spellix quickly replaced Manafek as the master of "Booyaugh".
  • The scorned shaman blackmailed Spellix anyway, using him as a means to control the tribe from the shadows.
  • Spellix told the party that the automaton needed a power source and a Netherese Ring of Authority to activate it.
  • As Ziff padded off to Spellix' quarters to retrieve the professor orb and Lantomir's spellbook, a message via Sending from Painbearer Calliano broke into his mind.
    "Kobolds succeeded and Ravisin is recovering, though the path ahead is long. Psi Crystal and ring have been returned. Kobolds encountered vampire resistance in Underdark."
  • Once Ziff returned with Lantomir's belongings and Vellyne's professor orb, he opened the doorway to Termalaine and retrieved the Netherese Ring and the Psi Crystal.
  • Spellix sent his guards to retrieve Lantomir from her cage. They dragged her in a few minutes later, cold and shivering.
  • Vellyne interrogated her and discovered that she'd set out on a special mission given to her by Dzaan the Red Wizard of Thay.
  • Lantomir hired The Dark Duchess of Ship Suljack to bring her to Icewind Dale to retrieve an item from Delnor's Tower in the Jotunklifra.
  • From there, The Dark Duchess was to take Lantomir to the prison Revel's End where she would free Arcane Brotherhood member and prisoner Vaelish Gant.
  • Harvan and Ziff recognized Gant's name from his efforts several years ago to frame Bryn Shander speaker Duvessa Shane for various crimes. Once deposed, he planned to take her place.
  • Anatol recognized the name as that of the prisoner he helped escort across the tundra years ago, the same trip in which their team was attacked by winter wolves, resulting in the (first) death of Akmus Skath.
  • The party agreed to help Spellix escape, and they hatched a plan to stage an encore performance while Ziff worked to activate the automaton.
  • As Ratamir, Vellyne, Harvan, and Anatol hammed it up and commanded the attention of the goblins, Ziff inserted the Psi Crystal into the robot, then placed the Ring of Authority on his finger. The robot hummed to life and a helmet was extended from a compartment in its chest.
  • Ziff donned the helmet and found himself looking through the eyes of the robot. Using the robot's good hand, he picked up his unconscious body from the ground and stood up.
  • The Karkolohk goblins erupted into cheers and parted to make way as the robot stomped forward into the crowd. The Dawnbringers and Spellix followed but stopped short as Manafek and her loyal followers stood at the entrance.
  • A brief battle ensued and Manafek received more than she bargained for. A crackling blast of radiant energy from the automaton's chest finished her off, reducing her to a steaming pile of goo.
  • The rest of the goblins of the fortress fled in terror as Spellix, the Dawnbringers, and the Netherese Automaton strolled out the front gate.

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Session 107: Shattered Ground, Shattered Minds

August 17th, 2024

Campaign Almanac

Day 29 of the campaign, the 20th of the month of Hammer, 1492 DR. The moon Selûne is waxing crescent.

The Dawnbringers encountered an enormous chardalyn fragment in a mysterious cave while fleeing a garguantuan serac calving off the Wyrmtooth Glacier.
  • The party descended from Karkolohk back to the surface of the Middle Wyrmtooth Glacier.
  • Ziff began to feel nauseous from his time in the Netherese Automaton and removed the control helmet. The damaged automaton slowly followed Ziff, drawn to the Netherese Ring of Authority he wore.
  • They soon came to the remnants of the avalanche they had escaped earlier in the day. The broken snow and ice hindered their progress back to the trail to the Hedgerow.
  • After they traversed the avalanche field and began the ascent to the Hedgerow, another earthquake rocked the Jotunklifra, causing a serac twice the size of Easthaven to calve off the Upper Wyrmtooth Icefall.
  • Recognizing the danger this posed, the party decided to race up the trail to gain as much altitude as possible.
  • Having just laid out Vellyne's Portable Hole to allow Nass Lantomir some fresh air, everyone except Anatol, Ziff, and Violet jumped into the hole. Ziff shoved the hole into his pocket and rode with Anatol on Violet.
  • Anatol spied a cave opening in the bedrock of Dumathoin's Ridge and spurred Violet toward the refuge.
  • Ice shrapnel began to pelt them as Ziff cast Harpell's Gravity Well to absorb the brunt of the blast.
  • Violet rushed into the cave. Inside was an enormous piece of charalyn covered with unique markings. An oppressive force reached out from the fragment and pushed its way into Anatol's and Ziff's minds.
  • Anatol found himself lying in a bedroll looking up into the roof of a canvas tent. Outside he heard the voice of Jasra Catogeirr saying, "Skath – Mrazdan is still asleep. Go wake him up."
  • Seconds later, Akmus Skath – the blue tiefling vampire the party had killed in Caer-Dineval – pulled back Anatol's tent flap and said, "Morning, sir. Captain Catogeirr has politely requested that you get your lazy ass up. The prisoners are almost ready and the camp is just about packed for travel. Anything I can get you?"
  • Anatol noticed that Skath was dressed in Caer-Dineval Town Watch armor. He sent the tiefling away to fetch coffee.
  • Harvan found himself in the middle of covering up a latrine hole with a shovel. Ziff was looking through the eyes of a soldier packing up camping gear in packs. Ratimir was shackling the wizard prisoner Vaelish Gant. Vellyne was another solider readying the other three prisoners to travel.
  • Gant was a wizard from the Arcane Brotherhood that had attempted a conspiracy to frame Bryn Shander Speaker Duvessa Shane for various crimes of corruption. Gant planned to have her arrested and then take her place.
  • His plan fell apart and he was arrested, then sentenced to Revel's End.
  • The party eventually identified each other, noted the absence of Spellix Fiddlebender and Nass Lantomir, and surmised they were playing the roles of people from Anatol's memories, specifically the fateful prisoner transport mission to when Akmus Skath was killed by Winter Wolves.
  • The soldiers marched on toward Revel's End, and on the walk the party spoke with Vaelish Gant, asking him about his plans. He didn't reveal much regarding his motivations, but he did saw a couple of important points:
    1. He knew the locations of both Damien Morienus' Laboratory and the entrance to the buried Netherese city Ythryn.
    2. The entrance to Morienus' lab could only be reached from the air and was guarded by the largest anti-magic field he'd ever seen.
  • Ratimir also attempted to learn more about Skath, but the seemingly affable tiefling would only say that, "Everyone comes to Ten Towns with a secret, something they're running from."

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Session 108: All Our Yesterdays

August 31st, 2024

Campaign Almanac

Day 29 of the campaign, the 20th of the month of Hammer, 1492 DR. The moon Selûne is waxing crescent.

The Dawnbringers revisited a pivotal moment from Anatol's past and discovered a fragment of the original Crenshibinbon.
  • From his time at the Arcane Brotherhood in Luskan, Ziff recalled that Gant had been a professor of ancient arcane cultures (the Star Elves, the Netherese, etc). His classes were unpopular but had a small, devoted following.
  • Ziff discovered that one of the other prisoners that had been Gant's bodyguard was also formerly a pirate of Ship Baram, one of the Five Ships of Luskan.
  • Ziff asked the bodyguard if he knew how Gant got caught and arrested for his conspiracy to frame Bryn Shander speaker Duvessa Shane: "He got sloppy, got greedy, got caught. He had a pile of money he was going to use to buy his way into the speaker job, but I don't know what he did with it."
  • Ratimir worked his rhetorical graces on Gant, taunting him with the information that Nass Lantomir had been sent to rescue him. Gant sarcastically replied, "Oh, Darick Lantomir's snot nosed brat is coming to save me? Oh, thank Lathander that my suffering is finally coming to an end."
  • Vaelish Gant claimed to know the location to the entrance to the buried city of Ythryn and Damien Morienus' laboratory, but that the knowledge was magically locked in his mind: he was prohibited from speaking, writing, or otherwise passing along the information to anyone else.
  • The party asked Vellyne about Gant's memory lock. She replied that she was familiar with a Netherese arcane writing technique that would prevent the reader from divulging what they had read. She also said that there were other techniques that were capable of altering the reader's mind.
  • The convoy was attacked by four Winter Wolves, though Anatol only remembered there being two in the original encounter. He seemed resistant to the wolves' attacks, and in keeping with his memories of the event, his warlock abilities began to manifest during the fight.
  • Gant declared to Ratimir, "She sent them to kill me! And they won't stop with just me, they'll kill us all." When Ratimir asked if Auril had sent the wolves, Gant replied, "Of course not! It's that giant bitch."
  • Ziff unlocked the shackles of the former Luskan Pirate and gave him a javelin. He and the other prisoners fled but were run down and slaughtered by one of the wolves.
  • Akmus Skath died as he had before: frozen to death by the Winter Wolves' cold breath. Jasra Catogeirr also fell, but a medicine check from Ziff stabilized her.
  • As the battle continued, Gant turned to flee. Ratimir followed, interposing himself between Gant and the wolves. At one point, Gant kneeled and began praying. Ratimir grabbed the back of Gant's head and lifted, revealing a cold blue glow coming from his eyes. Gant said in a cracked voice, "It's not her fault."
  • Just as the last wolf was dispatched, Anatol awoke to see the little girl among the Caer-Dineval refugees that had caught his attention kneeling over him. She was holding her index finger against his forehead and pulled back when his eyes opened. Before he could act, she disappeared in a swirl of snow.
  • The cave floor underneath Anatol felt hard and uneven. When he looked down, he saw a deep pile of bones scattered across the floor. His eardrums fluttered as waves of pressure shot forth from the giant piece of dark chardalyn in the cave chamber.
  • Looking around, Anatol saw the entire party struggling against the force field generated by the crystal. Back near the cave entrance he saw the gnome Spellix and Nass Lantomir with their eyes clenched shut and their hands protecting their faces.
  • Professor Skant hypothesized that this cave was a Memory Hole, a rumored hazard of the far north which travelers fell into and never returned. These caves contained fragments of the original Crenshibinbon – the corrupted dark chardalyn from offworld used by Akar Kessel a generation ago in Icewind Dale – that had landed and embedded themselves after the explosive destruction of Crystal Tirith.
  • The crystals inside these "Memory Holes" fed off of psychic energy and used the memories of creatures in close proximity to gain power.
  • Anatol and Ratimir were able to resist the strength of the field and helped everyone outside the cave back onto the switchback trail to the Hedgerow.
  • Looking down, they saw the surface of the Middle Wyrmtooth Glacier had been horribly fractured by the falling serac, making travel across it next to impossible.

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Session 109: The Dwarvish Bidet

September 7th, 2024

Campaign Almanac

Day 29 of the campaign, the 20th of the month of Hammer, 1492 DR. The moon Selûne is waxing crescent.

The Dawnbringers explored Delnor's Tower and delved into a seemingly endless library.
  • The party ascended The Hedgerow once more and passed into the walled grounds of Delnor's Tower on the crest of Dumathoin's Ridge.
  • They placed the key they'd obtained from Nass Lantomir into the recessed holy symbol of Dumathoin on the ground floor of Delnor's ruined tower.
  • The ruined walls faded and the party found themselves inside a complete and enclosed chamber of Delnor's tower.
  • The ground floor contained the familiar teleportation circle and a collection of opened and unopened crates from Dorn's Deep.
  • Above the teleportation circle on the ceiling, they noticed another set of circles, slightly different in size and appearance to the teleportation circle. They were covered in inscrutable runes.
  • Cracking open one of the unopened crates, the party discovered a quantity of mithral ingots, almost identical to the ones they'd recovered from the dwarvish expedition they'd found frozen beneath the Middle Wyrmtooth Glacier.
  • The second level was comprised entirely of a workshop space, complete with a metal working forge, bookcases, and collections of tools. On the ceiling above was another set of mysterious rings.
  • Spread across a pair of examination tables were two Netherese Automatons similar to the one that the party had recovered from Karkolohk. These two had taken a great deal of fall damage and had been meticulously disassembled.
  • One of the automatons was missing its torso and head.
    The page recovered from the shredded notebooks, a diagram of Delnor's apparatus on the top floor of his tower.
  • Harvan cast Detect Magic and received a cacophony of overlapping, low-level magical auras from all over the room.
  • They found a set of notebooks that had been completely shredded by clawed hands. Ratimir and Harvan spent some time inspecting the shreds and were able to assemble one page, revealing a diagram of a device with a seven-pointed star.
  • Above the workshop, they entered Delnor's living area, a comfortable space with kitchen, magical waterfall bath, den, bedroom, and small dormitory containing 6 bunkbeds. They uncovered a hidden stash of renowned dwarvish whisky from the kitchen.
  • Ascending from the living area, they entered a library with a spiral set of bookcases in the center and four statues of dwarves situated on plinths around the outer walls.
  • The dwarves depicted were: Delnor the Ferromancer, Forgemaster Dorn, Galahd the Swift, and Silahda Silvertongue Another set of the strange rings they'd noticed on the ground floor appeared on the ceiling near the statue of Delnor.
  • The party ventured into the spiral bookcase and soon noticed that they were shrinking the further they walked. The bookcases grew and loomed over them like tall buildings while the books and shelf spaces remained the same size relative to the party.
  • Ladders, staircases, balconies, and catwalks connected the towering bookcases. The shelves were largely empty as most of the volumes had been thrown to the floor and shredded, much like the notebook found in the workshop below.
  • Inspecting a shredded volume, they noticed that the word "REVERSE?" had been scrawled in blood.
  • Each Dawnbringer then heard a strange voice in their minds, saying things that only someone with knowledge of their lives could know.
  • Ratimir called out into the darkness, demanding the voice show itself. A hunched, broken creature with a single large eye in its head stepped from the shadows on a balcony above.
  • When Ratimir asked who they were and what they were doing, the creature responded that they had been Delnor's students and that "elvish lies" had transformed them. They had destroyed the books in the library after finding no solution to their plight.
  • They said that Delnor had passed long ago, but that he was still upstairs in his chamber.
  • The party exited the bookcases back to the main chamber where they considered the statues.
  • Each statue held accessories in their hands. Once the party worked out that the accessories were misplaced and relocated them to the dwarves to which they actually belonged, a panel opened in the base of Delnor's plinth, revealing a silver bejeweled wristband.
  • Ratimir donned the wristband, stood on the circle in front of Delnor, and touched one of the gems. A set of seven rings dropped from the ceiling and stopped level with the party. A wave of light passed over them and next thing they knew, they appeared in a similar set of rings in a new room. The rings retreated into another circular ceiling recess once they had materialized.
    Delnor's apparatus on the top floor of his tower.
  • In this room was a device comprised of a large, polished water basin in the center of the room. A corresponding basin was embedded in the ceiling. Each was surrounded by a seven-pointed mandala with 10 inch crystal cubes on pedestals at each point. A mirror was affixed to the wall behind each crystal cube, seven mirrors in total.
  • As the party walked the perimeter of the room and passed in front of a mirror, holographic duplicates appeared in the central basin.
  • Off to one side was a stone chair with two crystal balls, one affixed to each arm of the chair. A pile of bones intertwined with decayed fabric rested on the seat of the chair. A helmet rested on the pile of bones, connected by two flexible metal pipes to the chair.

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Session 110: Millenium Reach

September 14th, 2024

Campaign Almanac

Day 29 and 30 of the campaign, the 20th and 21st of the month of Hammer, 1492 DR. The moon Selûne is waxing crescent.

The Dawnbringers activated Delnor's Apparatus and learned the location of Ythryn.
  • Ratimir and Harvan examined the articulating symbols on the floor that resembled the Elven Barrow that housed the Manifold Mirror in the Lonelywood Forest. They saw that the symbols were actually delineated with ancient elvish script that told the story of Selûne and Shar.
  • As the party members strolled around the room, their holographic reflections walked through the area between the corresponding polished basins embedded in the floor and ceiling. When the holograms of two people overlapped, the image coalesced into a hybrid of the two.
  • Ziff investigated the control chair and found a dwarf skeleton that was missing its head. The shoulder and cervical vertebrae showed signs of extensive scorching. A helmet nearly identical to the Netherese Automaton control helmet rested on the bones, attached to the chair by two flexible metal cables.
    Ratimir used the Fateweaver's Foil to throw a Tarokka reading for Cuso.
  • While slapping Harvan's hands away, Ziff found a fine Mithral-infused Wizard's Robe, a Ring of Mind Shielding and a Ring of Spell Storing.
  • Around behind the chair, Ziff noticed that the torso and head missing from the automaton in the workshop below had been masterfully incorporated into the design of the chair. The cables from the control helmet descended the back of the chair and connected to the torso. The same access panel that housed the power source and control helmet were present on this one, as well.
  • Ratimir and Anatol concocted a plan to employ the entire party in an interpretive dance, performing the story of Selûne and Shar. They stationed everyone – including Nass Lantomir – in between the crystal cubes and wall-mounted mirrors.
  • The cumulative illusory images of each party member dancing coalesced into a figurative depiction of both Selûne and Shar. The chair's control helmet vibrated in Ziff's hands.
  • Ziff placed the helmet on his head and felt the apparatus searching his mind for something he wanted to see. Ziff concentrated on the location of Ythryn, and the Selûne/Shar hybrid in the center of the room gave way to a vision of the Netherese flying city, soaring above the clouds. Then, it faltered and began to plummet, with significant chunks breaking off and landing all over the FrozenFar and Sword Coast as far as the Starmetal Hills.
  • The entire party witnessed the vision, complete with the hidden entrance, evergreens adorned with purple pears, gray wolf with green eyes and a moon-shaped amulet around its neck waiting on an ice bridge, and the necropolis of Ythryn looming in the darkness beyond.
  • Nass Lantomir collapsed at the vision, sobbing silently. Spellix and Vellyne stared with wide-eyed curiosity.
  • Ratimir wondered aloud if Delnor's Apparatus could be used to return the creatures in the library back to their original forms.
  • Working on a hunch, Harvan donned the control helmet of the Tommy Chong the Automaton while Ziff held up the Daoinalu Haera (the Netherese book he acquired from alternate Ziff via the Manifold Mirror) for Harvan to read via the automaton's eyes. Harvan struggled to encompass what he saw, but eventually a pair of Netherese spells worked their way into his mind. He emerged from the control helmet with the extra knowledge, and the ability to only speak Netherese.
  • Having just completed one of the longest adventuring days of the campaign, the party retired to the living quarters below to have a long rest.
  • Before turning in for the evening, Ratimir used the Fateweaver's Foil to create a Tarokka reading for Cuso.

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Session 111: You Get What You Get

October 5th, 2024

Campaign Almanac

Day 30 of the campaign, the 21st of the month of Hammer, 1492 DR. The moon Selûne is waxing quarter.

The Dawnbringers negotiated with graduate students and extracted the power source of Delnor's Aparatus, a Netherese Shanten.
  • Ratimir wondered if the single-eyed aberrations in the library were Delnor's former graduate students, hideously transformed by an accident with the apparatus. He theorized that the process could somehow be reversed, but his attempts to convince them to accompany him upstairs to the apparatus failed.
  • During their conversation in the library, six other single-eyed aberrations revealed themselves in the library.
  • The party learned that leaving Delnor's Tower may be more difficult than they had imagined. They ventured downstairs to the bottom level and discovered that the Holy Symbol of Dumathoin key they had obtained from Nass Lantomir had disappeared from the receptacle.
  • Ziff located an old book of blueprints detailing the ancient fortress on the current site of the prison Revel's End.
  • Harvan decided to use his newfound Netherese language curse to read more of the Daoinalu Haera, garnering himself two more spells in the process. He read too long, however, and the pressure of the magic in the script gave him temporary hallucinations.
  • Sitting in the throne of the apparatus, Ratimir donned the control helmet of Delnor's Apparatus and asked for a safe method of extracting the Shanten power source.
  • A hologram of a pair of goggles appeared in the projection area. Ratimir walked downstairs and retrieved the goggles from the workshop.
  • Ziff – along with the goggles, a hefty dose of Bardic Inspiration, and divine Guidance – used his Thieves' Tools to extract the Shanten from the rear of the apparatus.

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Session 112: The Old Float and Gloat

October 12th, 2024

Campaign Almanac

Day 30 of the campaign, the 21st of the month of Hammer, 1492 DR. The moon Selûne is waxing quarter.

The Dawnbringers abused Delnor's graduate students and found the Hide-a-Key™ to the tower.
    Ziff pried the rubies out of the eyes of an oversized demon statue.
  • Ratimir and Ziff wrapped the Shanten in a cloth and locked it in the box they recovered in the home of Serahthil the Hag in Porpherio's Garden.
  • The party realized that Cuso had disappeared sometime during the previous night and theorized that she removed the key on the bottom floor of Delnor's Tower, trapping them all inside.
  • They returned to the library and ventured into the spiral cases in search of Delnor's former graduate student assistants, the nothics.
  • The nothics revealed that another tower key was located at the end of the spiral bookcase, then became enraged once they learned that the Dawnbringers had removed the Shanten power source from Delnor's Apparatus, effectively destroying it.
  • As the party went deeper into the bookcase, solid walls and a variety of doors began to appear among the books. Ratimir cast Knock on a rough-hewn door and found the entrance to a mine inside. Ziff picked the lock on an ornate door and discovered a temple to an unnamed demon inside.
  • The Dawnbringers ventured to the end of the spiral bookcase and came to another statue of the dwarf forgemaster Dorn on top of a hundred foot tall tower. The nothics followed them up the tower.
  • At the top, they located the second key embedded in the apron of the statue. Ziff noticed a fine filigree of metalwork connecting the socket around the key and the entire platform where they stood. He recognized that removing the key would trigger a lightning trap.
  • Ratimir used the Concertina of Construction to summon a Stone Golen. The golem plucked the key from the statue while everyone else hid inside Vellyne's Rope Trick to protect themselves from the lightning.
  • The party used Feather Fall to safely jump from the platform and had a falling battle with the nothics.
  • Anatol used Eldritch Blast to push nothics off the stairs while Harvan cast Fireball and Ratimir sent an incendiary Gleb on a suicide mission.
  • The nothics were al but routed by the time the party landed. Ratimir finished off the last of the graduate students with the Rapier of Desperate Measures and plunged the library into silence once more.

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Session 113: To the Jarlmoot

October 25th, 2024

Campaign Almanac

Day 31 of the campaign, the 22nd of the month of Hammer, 1492 DR. The moon Selûne is waxing quarter.

The Fiddlebender brothers reunited as the Dawnbringers made their way to the Jarlmoot.

    Flight to Jarlmoot
    The Ice Dome
  • The party soaked in Delnor's hot tub while Ratimir cast Find Familiar to generate a new Gleb.
  • Vellyne announced that she was staying in the tower with Nass Lantomir to search the library. She gave Ziff her Portable Hole and asked that the party leave her the key to the tower.
  • While everyone else slept, Harvan meditated on the book and the obstables thay lay ahead of them – The Sanguine Court, Ithlis, Dzaan, Soldondremn, Ythryn – and sought divine advice.
  • Yondallah's ' dark aspect Dallah Thaun appeared at Harvan's side. The two discussed the situation and Dallah Thaun told him that he shouldn't risk his mind to read the Daoinalu Haera without the Star Elf Diadem.
  • After a long rest, the party departed and soon spotted the Terrible Mistake approaching from the north over Galoril Ridge.
  • Oswald reunited with his brother Spellix Fiddlebender and the two had an intense verbal battle in Gnomish.
  • Oswald flew the Terrible Mistake over the Upper Wyrmtooth Glacier and followed the glacial flow toward the top. He was careful to fly low and stay in between the moraine walls to stay out of sight.
  • Ratimir noticed a series of cut stone doors lining the moraine. Upon closer inspection, he saw that these were doors to tombs of giants.
  • The airship crested the moraine and entered the ancient caldera of the mountain. They saw a vast snow field littered with immense ice crystals. In the middle was an ice dome hundreds of feet across with a perfectly circular hole in the top.
  • After a lengthy debate about aviation safety, Oswald agreed to hover the ship near the opening on the top of the dome while the party rapelled down.
  • Harvan spied a spiral walkway inside of the dome which the party descended. Inside, they saw that at seven points along the circumference of the interior, large staircases cut across the spiral walkway and descended to the bottom level.
  • In the center of the dome was a large dais filled with seven giant-sized chairs.
  • Anatol cast Light on a coin and tossed it off the walkway. As the coin left his hand, he heard a childish voice over his shoulder say, "She'd be happy you've come."

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Session 114: Max Hedrun

November 2nd, 2024

Campaign Almanac

Day 31 of the campaign, the 22nd of the month of Hammer, 1492 DR. The moon Selûne is waxing quarter.

The Dawnbringers descended into the Jarlmoot ice dome and spoke with Hedrun the Ice Witch...all seven of them.
  • The coin dropped from Anatol's hand and the arcane light vanished as it fell, confirming their fears that non-giant magic did not work inside the Jarlmoot.
  • Anatol and the child briefly spoke. When the paladin asked for her name, she replied, "I'm Hedrun."
  • The shocked party followed the child down into the ice dome. She led them to the bottom where a ring of seven, huge stone thrones encircled a short dais.
  • There were five other females standing among the thrones, their apparent ages ranging from 8 to 35 years old. All bore a striking resemblence to each other. The younger ones were dressed in traditional Reghed tribal furs while the older ones wore garb similar to Auril's Isdrøms.
  • All six were versions of Hedrun from various stages of her life. When they spoke, they handed off the conversation from one to the other, each acting as a different aspect of Hedrun's personality.
  • Icingdeath descended through the hole in the top of the ice dome and perched atop the dais in the center of the seven stone giant thrones. The undead dragon did not speak and stared blankly off into space while its pupils twitched, alternately dilating and constricting.
  • Isdrøm Hedrun produced a Netherese Doorknob from her robes while Child Hedrun explained that she had retrieved Icingdeath's dracolich phylactery from Ligs' Netherese closet. As her appearance and voice morphed from Ziff to Ligs, she explained that she had tricked Ligs when he was distracted by the chaos after the battle in the Dwarven Valley.
  • The Hedrun dressed as an Isdrøm said that she had taken steps to keep Icingdeath under control.
  • Hedrun confirmed that Geluvicken was holding Auril deep inside Ythryn using a version of Tharkorsil's Seat, a Netherese device powerful enough to subdue a god.
  • She found the power to use the seat by tapping into the power of That Which Gazes Back – also referred to as the Ebon Star – a dark star lurking in the cosmos.
  • She is in contact with this entity using a Manifold Mirror in Ythryn, similar to the one that the Dawnrbringers encountered in the Elven Barrow in Lonelywood. Sheriff Southwell used this mirror during the last new moon when his "B-Team" of adventurers stepped through the mirror to the distant planetoid in orbit around The Ebon Star.
  • Geluvicken underestimated the power of the dark star and it soon tapped into the rest of the arcane technology in Ythryn. It quickly set about melting the ice in an effort to free the frozen city.
  • Seeing what the dark star was doing, Geluvicken used the weather control Mythallar in Ythryn to keep Icewind Dale in perpetual darkness, slowing the efforts of the dark star.
  • While they spoke to Hedrun, Earthquakes continued to rock the Jotunklifra, and she confirmed that the duergar under Xardorok Sunblight were building something inside the forge of Dorn's Deep to remove the fragment of Selûne from Ator, freeing the primordial. To what end, Hedrun did not know.
  • Hedrun also confirmed that Sven the Bard was working for Shar in some capacity.
  • Ratimir attempted to get Hedrun to use Icingdeath to find the missing Karkolohk goblins heading for Ten Towns, but the Ice Witch resisted his efforts, saying that the safety of Ten Towns was not her concern.
  • Fearing that destroying the wards protecting the location of the Solensäng would bring Geluvicken down upon their heads, the party decided to pause their search for the instrument and set their sites on Sunblight and Dorn's Deep instead.
  • Before they left, a final Hedrun entered the ring of stone thrones, this one being aided by one of the older Hedruns. This new Hedrun was frail and bent. Her face was disfigured and the musculature on one side of her body shriveled. She rasped, "Go now, I will monitor your progress."

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Sessions 115-116: Savor the Cold Silence

November 9th + 16th, 2024

Campaign Almanac

Day 31 of the campaign, the 22nd of the month of Hammer, 1492 DR. The moon Selûne is waxing quarter.

Glim Peppadimmie and Lain Sorenstarr joined the party as the Terrible Mistake sailed for the Fields of Eternal Slaughter.
  • The party departed the Jarlmoot in the Terrible Mistake and set a course for the dwarven forge Dorn's Deep in the Fields of Eternal Slaughter.
  • After Ligs stayed behind to assist with the situation in the Dwarven Valley, Sheriff Markham Southwell sent gnome druid Glim Peppadimmie and half-drow ranger Lain Sorenstarr to join the Dawnbringers during a Netherese Doorknob-enabled refueling in the Jarlmoot. The two adventurers had recently helped Glik fight shadow entities in the Lonelywood Forest that had escaped from the Manifold Mirror (Session 84: Through a Mirror Darkly).
  • The volcanic activity on Dumathoin's Ridge had increased. The fumaroles had enlarged and were expelling a rain of ballistic volcanic glass while pyroclastic flows rocketed down the ridges.
  • Glim transformed into a giant eagle and scouted ahead of the airship. Piercing through the volcanic haze, he saw the mythic battlefield populated with unmoving humanoid forms. At the eastern end of the field was a strong dwarvish keep.
  • The Terrible Mistake gave the eruption a wide berth and approached the western end of the old battlefield. It hovered above the ice cliffs while the Dawnbringers climbed down the rope ladder.
  • The field was swallowed by an intense magical field of cold. Harvan repeatedly cast Bonfire to keep the frost at bay while Glim cast Pass Without Trace to cover their approach among the field of dead soldiers.
  • They repeated this painstaking process across the field, slowly approaching the entrance to the dwarvish keep.
  • Harvan spotted the wizard responsible for the dark chardalyn-enhanced Control Weather spell that froze the area and all the soldiers. Anatol rode Violet over and wrested the magic user's staff from his cold, dead hands.
  • After working their way through the undead, Ratimir attempted to impersonate Sven to whoever was on watch, but his efforts seemed to go unnoticed.
  • When Ziff approached the entrance, the front door and portcullis of the keep mysteriously opened. Harvan's Detect Magic revealed several blobs of illusion magic waiting behind arrow slits in the entrance vestibule.
  • At that moment, the volcanic eruptions intensified and several of the invisible duergar brushed passed the Dawnbringers and out the front door of the keep.

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Session 117: The Duergar in Dorn's Deep

November 22nd, 2024

Campaign Almanac

Day 31 of the campaign, the 22nd of the month of Hammer, 1492 DR. The moon Selûne is waxing quarter.

While a volcanic eruption raged on the ridge above, the Dawnbringers plunged into Dorn's Deep to challenge Xardarok Sunblight.
  • The party found that the entrance level of Dorn's Deep was largely underguarded – the bulk of the duergar fled as soon as the Dawnbringers arrived.
  • A pair of mechanical elevators were constantly in motion, hauling cars one hundred feet from the bottom of the keep to the entrance level and continued another hundred feet straight up to the top of the keep's parapets.
    A series of numbers Ziff found in Xardarok's chambers under a statue of Deep Duerra.
  • Harvan searched Durth Sunblight's room and awakened the duergar's pet Mimic; Ziff explored Xardarok's chambers and found a statue of the duergar god Deep Duerra inside his closet. Underneath the statue was a series of numbers.
  • Ziff also found a table with a meticulously crafted scale map of Icewind Dale, Ten Towns, and the Reghed Glacier. Thin blue lines connected their location in Dorn's Deep with the Ator's Fingers, Ten Towns, and a spot on the glacier.
  • While exploring a training room on the same floor, the party triggered four sets of Animated Armor which began to attack. Lain stopped the assault by saying the command word "Halt" in Undercommon.
  • The party boarded one of the elevators and descended to the bottom forge level of the keep. Exiting the elevator they found an enormous throne made of dark chardalyn and a pair of Quaggoths harrassing a Myconid Sovereign for its Animation Spores.
  • The Quaggoths had ripped off one of the Myconid's arms and were struggling to collect the spores emanating from the Myconid into a set of jugs.
    Xardarok and Durth Sunblight's mechs in the forge of Dorn's Deep.
  • They quickly defeated the Quaggoths and freed the Myconid, which puffed out a cloud of Rapport Spores and mind-melded with Ratimir.
  • The Myconid showed Ratimir a mental image of the inside of the forge: magma canals surrounded the room and fed iron smelting and shaping stations surrounding a central assembly dais. The heart of an ancient black dragon named Throstugraael was suspended over the heart of the forge, surrounded by large, optically perfect crystals of dark chardalyn.
  • When the mental image lingered over the dragon heart, the Myconid intimated to Ratimir that the device Xardarok was building was drawing energy from the heart.
  • Ratimir asked the Myconid for a chunk of fungus to replace Gleb, and the Sovereign gave him his severed arm.
  • On their way out of the throne room, the Sovereign dosed the duergar waiting in the hallway beyond with spores, rendering them unconscious.
  • They exited the hallway and found themselves in a rough hewn cavern with a long tunnel that reached into the Underdark. Opposite this were a pair of ornate dwarvish stone doors. Beyond these doors was Xardarok's forge.
  • Ratimir cast Knock on the doors and the Dawnbringers saw two mechanical robots: one 8 feet tall and wielding a pair of jagged brass knuckles. The other was more than 30 feet tall and was standing on the central assembly dais of the forge.
  • Mechanized arms attached parts to the top of the larger mech while the shorter bounded for the Dawnbringers.

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