Tales from Icewind Dale - Session 1

Greetings, Ladies and Gentlegoblins, and welcome to the weekly wrap-up of the Dungeons and Dragons game I run for patrons. For those of you that are new, when a new campaign begins, I put out an open invite to Patrons on the Discord server, and put together a party to tackle the trials of the Forgotten Realms. This campaign is the Rime of the Frostmaiden, a level 2+ campaign that was generously donated by DaNerd. 

Our Heroes are:

Preach (Hyamda Twoheart): A former dragon reincarnated into the form of a Kobold, they use the corrupted druidic magicks of a Summoner to try and reclaim their former glory

Harradin Coldsong (Lorwand): A Dwarven Cleric of Dumathoin sent to the Tentowns to investigate Duergar Activity in the Dale.

Rose Pyre (Xeno Evermore): A Human Sorcerer of mysterious origins who travels as a performer around the Tentowns.

Ta'Lua of the Steel Hearted Mane (DaNerd): A Leonin Fighter from the deserts of the far south, on a pilgrimage to bring glory to his pride.

Tyriel (AntiRiku): A Warlock standing in as the Town Wizard of Bremen, seeking something in the snow.

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Session 1: 3rd of Hammer - 4th of Hammer, 1490 DR

In Bremen's local inn, our adventure began with the Dwarven Cleric being brought before Hlin Trollbane, the sheriff of Bremen, with troubling news. A serial killer had been chewing through visitors to Bremen, leaving them facedown in the lake with icicles driven through their backs. The only lead she had was Sephek Kaltro, a traveling bodyguard that works with Torrga Icevein, a merchant that ranges the Dale. Instructed to gather a posse, the Sherriff worked on getting more information. From there Harradin gathered Rose, a visiting pyromancer, and made for the local wizard's tower.

[Hlin Trollbane, Semi-Retired marshal of Bremen]

Meanwhile the local Wizard, Tyriel, was beset by townsfolk claiming to have seen a lake monster, and demanding the something magical be done. Begrudgingly, he agreed, and brought a hireling along with him, the Leonin Ta'lua, who volunteered his services. As they prepared to leave, the two groups met, and a pact was struck. If the Lake Monster is dealt with, the pair shall assist with apprehending this Serial Killer.

Meanwhile, at the pier, Preach the Kobold stared into the water, pondering how best to subjugate the creature. At her disposal were only creatures that put up relatively little fight, but if the creature in the lake was as powerful as they say, it could become a very useful minion indeed...

She was shaken out of her reverie by the loud shouting of a hungover dwarf as the rest of the party approaches. Mistaken for a halfling under her heavy coat, she blended in with the party as the hungover dwarf mistook them for the fishermen he drunkenly hired the night before. Despite the party's protests, he left them with his boats, but not before Tali, an androgynous Half-Elf researcher arrived and chastised him for neglecting to mention the fact that his previous fishermen had been eaten by the monster. While nobody in the party could identify the monster based on marks left on the rowboat from the fisher's previous encounter, Tali offered the party a reward in exchange for information on the creature.

Setting out onto the water in two boats, and narrowly missing some ice floes along the way, the party searched high and low for the creature. Straying close to Lonelywood, Ta'Lua managed to fish a mighty Knucklehead trout from the lake, and the party ran into some fishermen, who claimed that the creature stuck close to Bremen's side of the lake, and warned the party to be careful, while congratulating Ta'Lua on his catch of the day.

Back on the Bremen side, it wasn't long before a Knucklehead trout leapt from the lake and nearly struck the massive Leonin in the head, only to be grabbed and added to the feline's net. This activity drew the attention of the monster, which rose up under the boat containing Tyriel and Harradin, capsizing it instantly and leaving them swimming for their lives! Combat ensued, and through the battle, Preach realized that the creature, a massive Plesiosaur, had been placed under a druidic Awakening spell. Calling a cease-fire, the party managed to convince the creature to stop attacking the people of Bremen, using Tyriel's knowledge of magic to assure the plesiosaur, who went by the name of Susan, that the spell was permanent and that he would never return to being an ignorant animal. Peace was made, though Preach had her complaints, and the party was sped back to Bremen, where Harradin and Tyriel spent the rest of the afternoon trying to warm themselves by the fire to stave off Hypothermia. 

The townsfolk were gathered, and introduced to Susan. At first, tempers flared, and it seemed like that the townsfolk would turn against the creature. However, thanks to the quick thinking and persuasive words of Rose, the people were calmed. Susan's actions were excused as being under duress, and while it is likely that the people will take time to forgive him, peace was maintained. In return for going above and beyond the call of duty, and ecstatic Tali rewards the party with 15 Gold Pieces, and a scroll of Animal Friendship.

The next day, Hlin brought news. Sephek had been seen in Lonelywood, the town across the lake. Due to the danger of the lake, and Rose's fear of water, the party opted to head there by land, passing through Targos and Termalaine. On the road to Termalaine, they ran into a group of merchants making their way to Bryn Shander, who warned that the mines in Termalaine were infested with Kobolds, and that the town was slowly being choked by a lack of money from the mine. Stopping by, the party met with the town's mayor, who offered a reward for the clearing of the mine and the discovery of what happened to the only miner who had disappeared, before the Kobolds had even arrived.

The mine itself was rather uneventful, the party passing down to the second floor, where they ran into Grek and Smol, two Kobolds who Preach recognized. Having been kicked out of her tribe before, Preach indignantly confronted the two kobolds, and intimidated them (with the help of the massive Leonin behind her) into taking them to Trex, the tribe's leader.

[Trex, leader of the Icewind Kobolds]

On the next floor down, the party met Trex, who was certainly more eloquent than one would expect from a Kobold.  Bearing fake wings, he did not seem to remember Preach, who identified that Trex was not in control, and was in fact possessed by a Ghost bound to the satchel he carried around his waist. Preach managed to use her influence on the other Kobolds to make them leave the room, and Trex revealed all. His true name was Janth Alowar, a scholar from Baldur's Gate that had died near the Kobold's old lair. His spirit had been bound to the satchel, where it had been taken by Trex. His goal was to help the Kobolds find better living among the 'bigfolk', and then steal a body better suited to continuing his work. Upon realizing this, Harradin, bound by oath to uphold his god's word, attempted to exorcise the ghost. During the fighting, Trex was killed by Rose, while Preach commanded the other Kobolds to stay put. Janth's ghost rose from the body, and attempted to steal Ta'Lua's body, only to be exorcised by a well timed Turn Undead from Harridan. Under a barrage of spells from Rose and Tyriel, and a savage onslaught from the Leonin, Janth was banished to the realm of the dead.

With Trex dead, Preach become the leader of the kobolds by right, and Vott, one of the youngest, took her aside to a cavern the party had not explored. Inside was a strange skull from another plane, containing a small purple crystal that glowed with a soft light...

[A Strange Crystal from another plane, unknown to the rest of the party]