Session 0: Welcome to the Icewind Dale

Hello and Welcome!

Here you will find summary session recaps that have been written into a short story format that include character art, pictures of the terrain builds, and much more! This is something I have done for both my players and myself to help everyone at the table better understand the story we are creating together. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the adventure. -Cameron

General Summary

Dalefolk live in a scattering of settlements known as Tentowns. Upon entering the region known as the Icewind Dale, the first town one would pass through is that of Bremen. Founded by dwarf prospectors, the sleepy town of Bremen sits on the west bank of Maer Dualdon at the mouth of the Shaengarne River. Targos, Termalaine, and Lonelywood are all visible from the docks on clear days. Due to its geographical location, Bremen’s harbor is a hot spot for fishermen and many of the people in this town survive off the income they make in the summer months. Visitors who lack a boat can reach Bremen only by crossing the river, which has made Bremen a tight knit town, but still gives their hospitality freely.
Today the town has gathered for its annual Summer Melt Festival after the 1st of many seasonal floods that normally threaten the town in early summer. Rather than suffer in agony, the good people of Bremen celebrate as they are eager to welcome the few short summer months they get to enjoy in the frigid harshness of the Icewind Dale.

Atalanta sat on a large rock on a ridge overlooking the small village of Bremen. Not comfortable wearing shoes, even in a snowy landscape such as the Icewind Dale, she hummed quietly to herself as she laced up her boots. Observing the festivities ongoing below, her cheerful daze was broken as she heard the sound of a twig snap behind her.
Slowly, she grabbed an arrow from the quiver by her side, and in a flash, turned around with the arrow knocked. Hopping through the half-melted snow, equally startled, was her familiar blue otter, Ollivander, with a freshly killed rabbit in his mouth. With a chuckle, Atalanta knelt back down to finish lacing her boots. Her and her lifelong companion enjoyed a small meal before joining the festivities below.

As a hulking humanoid construct gently placed a stack of crates labeled "Torg’s Merchant Co.", a nearby dwarf slapped his back roughly before proclaiming, "Ah, Bulwark, all ye' ken is work! Sit bak an have a pint, enjoy yer'self for once. If the Speaker of the town ken get a day off, surely you can too!". Without saying a word, the warforged continued to finish the task at hand, all the while keeping an eye on Speaker Dorbulgruf Shalescar, who was now finishing his fifteenth pint of the day.
Yesterday was the sixth time this year Bulwark had to recover the drunken Speaker from the wilderness. Bulwark began to work under Dorbulgruf Shalescar long before he became the Town Spokesman of Bremen and before his mind began to deteriorate. Over the past ten years, he gained a good reputation as his employee throughout Tentowns.
Bulwark found working for the Speaker rather boring and often caught himself daydreaming of the great Battlehammer Forges. It was the dwarves of Clan Battlehammer within the valley south of Kelvin’s Cairn who found him nearly two decades ago. It was them who introduced him to Onatar, the Sovereign of Forge and Flame and taught Bulwark how to worship him and receive his gifts. Over time, Bulwark developed abilities to heal those around him which helped the townsfolk of the Icewind Dale look past his metallic appearance and not fear him.

Cries of laugher erupted in the beer garden set up outside the Buried Treasure tavern. People were always laughing with or at Morthos Destin, but either way, he didn't care. Actually, he welcomed the attention. Morthos, a sweet young tiefling, grew up among the nomads that lived around Tentowns. He had quite the reputation at a young age but not because of his appearance. Morthos would do anything for either a good laugh or good coin.
Morthos admiration for laughs and coin however was trumped when he had found the love of his life. Still one for adventure, Morthos and his beloved would often times travel from town to town, and not spend too much time in one place. One day, however, his group was attacked by bandits and his love was taken from him. He tried to defend her but he was weak and his small size rendered him helpless. He sought out a way to get power quickly so he could save his beloved.
In his bloodlust, the young tiefling partnered with a group of men with an unsavory reputation amongst Tentowns. One day, the crew set out for a mission that would take a couple days, but none of them ever returned. Several weeks later, Morthos alone returned to Tentowns. He appeared to still be his foolhardy self so no one ever questioned what had happened or where he had been.

Sitting off alone by herself, Amelia was observing the general festivities of the celebration. She always had a keen eye and ear for observation. At a young age her parents instructed her to listen first and as for long as you can. On this beautiful day she had observed that Torrga Icevein was the primary reason to blame for Speaker Shalescar's drunkenness as he would egg him on pint after pint. The motive was still unknown, but she also noticed a member of Torrga's crew that she had not seen before. Being a small town, those who pay attention often remember the names and faces of the merchants that visit.

Murder One

As the day went on and festivities continued, the town began to settle. The sky was in a transition from day to night, casting a beautiful summer sunset, still clinging onto the welcoming day that had just passed. With the evening still young, many people were still out and about the Five Tavern Center when they had heard a scream. Without hesitation, the four individuals, not yet a party, followed the direction of the scream. One by one they each came upon the scene of a woman who had been murdered. A dagger of pure ice had been thrust into her chest and there was a set of bloody foot prints leading outside of town.
Together, the four followed the tracks to a ridge that overlooked Bremen and Maer Dualdon. They arrived just in time to watch as a flash of green jettisoned into sky far to the northwest. The green aurora originating from the blast swept over the sky, stealing away the warm summer sunset. Instantly the chill in the air quickly turned into the harshest of winter evenings.

Everlasting Winter

In the days to follow, the Icewind Dale became trapped in a perpetual winter. Ferocious blizzards make the mountain pass through the Spine of the World exceedingly treacherous, and this land has not felt the warmth of the sun in exactly one year to the day. In fact, the sun no longer appears above the mountains, not even in what should be the height of summer. In this frozen tundra, darkness and bitter cold reign as king and queen. Most dale residents have found a place to lay their blame in Auril the Frostmaiden, the goddess of winter’s wrath. The shimmering aurora that weaves across the sky each night is said to be her doing—a potent spell that keeps the sun at bay.
The drop-off in caravans coming from the south and travel between settlements in this never-ending winter over the past year left everyone feeling isolated. Although each town has resolved to appease the Frostmaiden with sacrifices of one kind or another, no respite from winter’s fury seems forthcoming. For adventurers, Tentowns is a place to test one’s mettle and, in the spirit of heroes who have come before, leave one’s mark on this frigid, blighted land.
To the people of Bremen, today is just another gruesome day in Ten-Towns: howling wind, bitter cold, foul tempers, and snowdrifts big enough to bury a herd of moose. But today Buried Treasures is abuzz with news about a series of recent killings. Before the murders, the only question on everyone’s mind was, “Will summer ever return to Icewind Dale?” Now the question is, “Will I be the killer’s next victim?” Nothing breeds fear and paranoia like a murderer with no face.
It has been exactly one year to the day since the first murder was discovered in Bremen. Since then, there have been many strange unexplainable events. The one on everyone’s mind however are the three cold-blooded murders that have been committed in the past month: a halfling trapper in Easthaven, a human shipbuilder in Targos, and, three days ago, a dwarf glassblower in Bryn Shander. Each victim was found with a dagger of ice through the heart.

Bremen's Summer Melt Festival

Report Date

01 Nov 2020