The Black Cabin
The Black Cabin was built by a ranger of the Far North long before the founding of Ten-Towns. When he moved on, the lodge became a refuge for others seeking sanctuary from the wind sweeping down from the Reghed Glacier.
Six months ago, Macreadus, a sage and devout follower of Lathander (god of the dawn and rebirth), formed a plan to end Auril's everlasting winter. He holed up in the Black Cabin, where he spent all his time assembling a weather-controlling magical device called the Summer Star, using knowledge he gleaned from a book about Netherese artifacts. Macreadus's device was similar in design to a mythallar, but much smaller. Unfortunately for him, it had a serious design flaw. When Macreadus tried to use it three days ago, it malfunctioned, incinerating both him and his book.
Since the mishap, Macreadus's restless spirit has lingered in the Border Ethereal, unwilling to depart until its work is complete.
The Black Cabin has two stone chimneys that rise several feet above its sagging roofline. The rest of the lodge is made of rotting wood. The stilts that elevate the structure are 20 feet tall, and characters who walk underneath the old building can tell that its wooden floors are in poor condition, perhaps even in danger of collapse in one location.
It's clear to anyone surveying the Black Cabin that part of the ridge it rests on fell away some time ago, leaving the westernmost section of the building hanging over the gorge. All of the cabin's doors are closed and unlocked, and its windows are big enough for characters to climb through.
Both entrances to the cabin are off this rickety, snow-covered walkway, the steps and boards of which crackle and creak underfoot.
There's a 4-foot-wide gap in the walkway that characters can easily leap across without making an ability check. But the walkway west of the gap collapses if more than 150 pounds of weight are placed on any 5-foot section of it. Our friend Dain learns this, and plummets to the snow below. Where he decides that this is the best place to lay down for a bit and maybe build a snowman.
The main room contains lingering smells of burnt wood and flesh. You also catch the faint odor of wine. Snow has fallen through holes in the roof, then been pushed into corners by stiff winds blowing through broken windows. The walls and furniture are scorched black, including a table with the charred remains of a book on it. Next to the table, on the floor amid several broken wine bottles, is a mostly incinerated skeleton and a round, frost-covered object about six inches in diameter.
Charred Book. Nothing remains of this tome except ashes and a badly burned spine, upon which characters can discern the letters ETHER. It's obvious that these letters were part of a much longer title.
Enough of the charred skeleton remains to suggest that it belongs to a male human. Little remains of his clothing, but Vaede sifts through the charred bones and ashes finds an amulet of health that Macreadus used as a holy symbol. It shows no signs of damage, hinting at its magical nature. The amulet's pendant and chain are made of gold, and the pendant bears the symbol of two hands cupping the sun.
Also in the room is a magic item that looks like a 6-inch-diameter gyroscope featuring two scorched rings inlaid with runes and a dense chunk of coal at its core. The Summer Star has lost its luster but not its magic. A detect magic spell or similar magic reveals a weak, residual aura of transmutation magic surrounding it.
When Vaede picks up the Summer Star, its core glows with a golden radiance as bright as a candle flame. The light suddenly blossoms, becoming a 10-foot-radius sphere of incinerating golden radiance centered on the device. Both Vaede and Atala take 90 radiant damage, dropping their hit points to 0.
Once the explosion is triggered, the Summer Star becomes inoperable and safe to handle.
Next, through a variety of text messages, Vaede and Atala communicate the instructions they recieve from the spirit of Macreadus. They walk Thatcher, Breena, and Dain through the lengthy process of fixing the summer star.
Macreadus's spirit can finally rest after it witnesses the activation of the new and improved Summer Star. As it departs, the party receives a special blessing from Lathander. Any party member who died within the past 24 hours is instantly restored to life at full health.
The Summer Star casts the control weather spell, but it's use is limited and the object sputters out after use.
As our group emerges from the cabin they see that bright light shines from the east—a cold, hateful light—and seems to be getting closer.
As revenge for the use of the control weather spell, the frostmaiden sends a coldlight walker and three ice mephits to kill the characters and anyone else at the Black Cabin. They are unsuccessful.
Spirit of Macreadus
From the Border Ethereal, the restless spirit of Macreadus can observe happenings in and around the cabin, but it can't manifest physically on the Material Plane. Characters can see the restless spirit of Macreadus and interact with it only if they cross over to the Border Ethereal, which is what happens to someone who dies in the cabin. In the Border Ethereal, the spirit of Macreadus manifests as a giant, floating, spectral head with fire burning in its eyes. Arrogant in life, Macreadus remains so in death. He's snappy and egotistical, blaming everything but himself for his failure. He welcomes the company of others, but anyone who questions his motives or mocks his invention quickly loses his favor. He spent months locked away in the cabin, building the Summer Star so he could end the Everlasting Rime, becoming more and more desperate to see it through. He had hoped to make a name for himself and win Lathander's praise—is that so wrong? When the characters try to finish his work, Macreadus helps as much as his bodiless form allows. To lay his spirit to rest, the characters must fix his creation's design flaw and then activate it, all within the confines of the Black Cabin, where Macreadus can observe the results. Once he sees the device working as intended, his spirit departs to the afterlife.
Completion Date
November 6th, 2022
November 6th, 2022
Plot type
Potential solution
Parent Plot
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