Session 0.1: Echoes Beneath the Thaw

The eternal frost of Icewind Dale finally begins to crack. The endless snowstorms have eased, leaving behind drifts of slush and rivers of meltwater that carve through the once-silent tundra. The towns of Ten-Towns, long buried beneath snow and despair, are alive again with the sounds of hammering, laughter, and rebuilding. The people of Bryn Shander, the last city to stand against the dragon’s devastation, cling to hope as they repair their walls and mend their lives.

Inside the Northlook Tavern, the hearth burns brightly. The room is loud with conversation and music, the smell of roasted meat mingling with ale. At a corner table away from the noise sit two familiar figures. Vir’Faren "Fire Eyes" Shai'lophe, a towering goliath ranger marked with crimson tattoos, studies a rough map covered in fresh sketches and detailed notes. Across from her, Teagan Stoneswallow, a red-haired gnome archaeologist, pores over tomes and journals piled around an open satchel. Between them rests a luminous orb—Professor Scant, a Netherese relic and ancient scholar whose voice occasionally hums with arcane curiosity.

While others celebrate the end of the Frostmaiden’s curse, these two focus on their work. Rumors have spread of a strange pillar of light that pierced the sky above the Reghed Glacier, and they are determined to uncover its source.

The tavern doors swing open with a rush of cold air. Two dragonborn step inside, their scales gleaming in the firelight. The first is Blazefrost, a silver-scaled dragonborn with golden undertones, his robes worn and his spellbook bound by years of use. The second is Lilith, a sapphire-scaled cleric whose violet eyes shine with quiet determination. Moments later, a towering orc enters the room. His name is Kyshun, and glowing runes etched into his dark-blue skin pulse faintly with inner light. The tavern falls silent at the sight of these rare travelers.

Professor Scant senses something extraordinary and whispers to Teagan, insisting that she meet them. One by one, introductions are made. The strangers quickly discover that each of them has witnessed the same mysterious phenomenon.

Vir’Faren and Teagan saw the pillar of light streak across the northern sky and vanish beyond the mountains. Kyshun felt the tremors shake the forest as the animals fell silent. Lilith, however, saw the light not in the waking world but in a dream. She stood on a frozen plain beneath a twilight sky where her goddess, Hyndru the Life-Giver, descended to speak with her. The goddess warned that the thaw carried something more dangerous than spring itself—an awakening of an ancient force long forgotten beneath the ice. She commanded Lilith to travel north and seek the truth.

Blazefrost, intrigued by his companion’s vision and rumors of the Arcane Brotherhood in the area, agreed to accompany her. With each traveler touched by the same omen, they decide to journey together toward the glacier to discover what lies beneath it.

Their decision is interrupted by chaos in the streets. The tavern windows rattle as shouts echo from outside. The market wall crumbles, and through the smoke strides a woman in tattered robes with one eye and a voice filled with fury—Vaylin Harpell, necromancer of the Arcane Brotherhood and former rival of Teagan and Vir’Faren.

She points her staff at Teagan and screams, “You will rue the day you stole from me!” Behind her lumbers a massive undead frost giant, its flesh frozen stiff and its eyes burning with necromantic light.

The companions leap into action. Vir’Faren nocks her bow and fires. Kyshun charges forward, his glowing runes flaring as he swings his blade. Lilith rushes into the fray, her mace glowing with divine energy as she calls upon Hyndru’s power. Blazefrost summons streaks of flame and arcane missiles that shatter against the undead’s armor. Teagan, clutching Professor Scant, channels her focus and dispels the magic binding the frost giant. The creature collapses with a thunderous crash.

Vaylin shrieks in rage and resurrects the giant once more, but the group presses their advantage. Kyshun’s strike cuts deep, Vir’Faren’s arrows fly true, and Teagan ends the duel with a final Magic Missile that slams into the necromancer’s chest. The gnome smirks and mutters, “Bye, bitch,” as Vaylin falls lifeless to the cobblestone.

The battle ends, but the aftermath is grim. Professor Scant laments the loss of his former companion while the others debate what to do with her body. Fearing her return, they burn her remains in the street, drawing the anger of Bryn Shander’s guards. After tense words and a half-hearted apology, they extinguish the fire and drag the ashes beyond the walls. The snow quickly swallows what remains.

The next morning, they regroup at the Driftwood Scribe, where the scholar Elena listens to their story with a mixture of awe and worry. She tells them that rumors of the Arcane Brotherhood still persist in the north. One of its members, a wizard named Dzan, had recently escaped execution in East Haven after being accused of murdering his entire expedition. He was last seen near the same glacier where the pillar of light appeared.

Elena also brings troubling news. Hruna, a trusted friend of Teagan and Vir’Faren, departed for that same region five days earlier with two miners from the local quarry. None of them have returned.

Kyshun searches Elena’s shelves and discovers a record of his own tribe, the Black Raven Clan, whose paths once crossed the same northern region. The clues connect like pieces of an unfinished map. The goddess’s dream, the missing explorers, and the fallen necromancer all lead to one place—the Reghed Glacier and whatever sleeps beneath it.

By nightfall, the party reconvenes at the Northlook Tavern. They purchase supplies, secure two horses, and load a wagon for the journey ahead. The tavern’s light flickers against the frost as they prepare to leave Bryn Shander at dawn.

When the sun rises, they will ride north into the frozen wilds, toward a mystery older than the Dales themselves. The legacy of Frostspire has begun.