IWD 5.0 - Prologue

Our tale begins here, in the quiet fishing village of Easthaven.

One of the so-called Ten Towns of Icewind Dale, the tiny community is hardly a town but rather a collection of ramshackle huts crowded together upon the icy shores of Lac Dinneshere. Here, within a dimly lit tavern, a group of travelers sit huddles around a table, swapping tales and making grand plans for the future, completely unaware of the part they are to play in the events that are about to unfold.


The meagerness of the town is not overstated. This is 1281 Easthaven, not the much larger town of the era of the Sundering. Among the twelve or so homes, there is a small tavern, an inn, a general store, a warehouse for the tradesmen of skrimshaw, and a temple to Tempus. This village is under the protection of a retired adventurer, Hrothgar. He serves as the central figure for the beginning of the adventure.

Hrothgar's Expedition

Hrothgar is originally from Hillsfar and now finds himself retired from a long career of adventure to the seemingly quiet town of Easthaven. Occasional orcs or goblins and small trading squabbles are enough to keep him entertained but not so much to truly overwhelm him or his adopted home.
This relative ease is broken following the unexpected arrival of a messenger from Khuldahar that died upon reaching the temple of Tempus from exhaustion and wounds of unknown cause. The man's dying words were of a disturbance in Khuldahar that demanded attention. Combined with the unusual delay of supplies from Caer Dinneval and the unseasonable cold, Hrothgar decided to form an expedition to go to Khuldahar with supplies and investigate.
It is concerning this expedition that he seeks out the players to enlist their aid, promising good pay, low risk, and a chance at some Northern "excitement". He first wishes to resolve the missing caravan issue so as to not leave his home without resources. As the players investigate this for him they discover it to have been ambushed and taken by a band of orcs and half ogres. In searching through the rescued supplies, the players find a document suggesting a bigger player behind the attack. This is noted by Hrothgar but the urgency of the expedition to Khuldahar takes priority. Some Northern "excitement" actually comes in the form of an ambush while the expedition is traveling through the Khuldahar pass. The ambush results in the total annihilation of the expedition, with only our heroes surviving to carry on to the aid of the mysterious village under the tree.

Exploring Easthaven

Before setting out on the expedition there are quite a few things to discover happening in Easthaven itself in addition to the seeking out the missing caravan for Hrothgar:

• Insect Infestation
• While at The Winter's Cradle tavern, the players can request some food and drink.  Grisella, the barkeep and owner, apologizes and explains that they have just ran out of both.  At first she explains that they are out of supplies due to the delayed caravan but after additional questioning (such as reasoning why run so low, or simple incredulity at such a situation), she admits that her storage cellar beneath the tavern is infested with insects.  Insects that she she finds repulsive and creepy.  The players can volunteer to take care this issue, for which she is very gracious.
• Players can go down the stairs behind the the bar to bring up boxes of food and barrels of ale, only too find a Swarm of Insects (Basic DMG, pg 45) streaming out of the wall once they are all down inside the basement cellar.
• In appreciation for their successful services, Grisella offers to provide their meals for as long as they are in town.  The offer has one provision, she asks them to remain silent about the matter lest people get the wrong impression about what kind of establishment she runs.
• A druid or player with proficiency in Nature may notice that such insects (boring beetles) are usually dormant for at least another month.  Something is driving them.
• Goblin Fishing
• While exploring the shoreline of the village the players can come across a small boy running up the stone beach towards them just past a bend in the shoreline covered by small pines.  He explains his name is Damien.  He is shouting that monsters came out of the woods, stole all his fish and the carving he was working on for his dad.
• If the players investigate the monsters they find 2d4 Goblins (Basic DMG, pg 30) devouring Damien's large catch of fish.  The goblins wield shortbows and crude scimitars.  They fiercely defend their recent prize as they are near starvation.
• No markings of clan are found on the goblins, they seem crazed for food and are less intelligible than usual if questioned.
• Returning any fishing gear or the scrimshaw to Damien is met with great appreciation and the offer of dinner at his father's home, the fishmonger Gasper.  Gasper is eternally grateful for the safe return of his son and offers the characters one of his favorite filet knives.  This is treated as a non-magical dagger, +1 to damage, and slashing instead of piercing damage.
• The True Tempus
• The temple of Tempus is the single largest and prominent structure in Easthaven.  It is maintained by the Battle Priest Everard.  He is a recent resident to the temple as the previous War Priest Renfeld was slain near Brynn Shander in battle with some barbarians.  He is a member of the Order of the Broken Blade, an order in the Tempuran faith for warriors who have received wounds that render them unable to serve on the battlefield.  His duty is to guard the sacred wards that protect the lower section of the temple which houses Jerrod's Stone.
• Everard has a pronounced limp and holds his right arm lower than his left.  He greatly resents his wounds and place in the Order.  His lack of ability to fight colors his version and understanding of the story of Jerrod's Stone when asked about it.  He sees his sacrifice as a coward's answer and a failure to properly understand Tempus' vision.  He believes the only proper death is one where your weapon is in your hand.
• He and Hrothgar were the only ones present at the time of the messenger's death. The only part of the message they heard was, "Arundel needs aid against the darkness.  The balance is gone."  Arundel is the archdruid of the grove there.
• Accalia is the recent initiate from Neverwinter to aid Everard in temple duties, among which are care for the various relics in the temple in addition to the Stone.  She, along with him, share a mistrust of the barbarians who "erroneously" refer to Tempus as Tempos.
• Services possible:
• 3 x Potion of Healing (75 gp each)
• 2 x Vial of Antitoxin (75 gp each)
• 1 x Mummy's Tea (450 gp)
• 2 / day Cure Wounds (1st level) (50 gp)
• 1 / day Lesser Restoration (2nd level) (100 gp)
• 1 / week Raise Dead (material components cost + favor of the temple)
• Drink of Dispair
• Old Jed lives in a small hut down near the shore.  He is a old crotchety fisherman who is trying to crawl into a bottle to die.  Grisella has cut him off from her tavern.  He beseeches the characters to give him some alcohol or steal it from Grisella.  He offers the players 5 gp each to do so.  They players could possibly convince him that life is worth living again, despite the recent loss of his wife and child to the waters of the lake.  The challenge to do so should be hard, and up the DM to work out.
• Invasive Wildlife
• Aspel is a scrimshaw artist who has a shop next to the warehouse owned by Gasper and ran by Churen.  He can be found outside his shop fretting at his window and glancing about.  Upon seeing the characters, he calls out for their aid.  A dale wolf has broken into his shop and has taken his dinner and no cannot leave through the window it came in through.  He is too terrified to go in and flush it out and asks for the player's aid.  He provides the players with some general knowledge of the town afterwards as well as an Easthaven blade, similar in stats to Gasper's dagger.  The wolf is a Dire Wolf (Basic DMG, pg 16).
• Fireside Chats
• Quimby can be found at his establishment, the Snowbank Inn.  He is a jovial sort with plenty of beds and a rumor or two about various customers and fellow members of Easthaven.
• Erevain Blacksheaf of Evereska is an elf who is traveling the world seeking adventure after leaving a peaceful life in his home. He recently came to Easthaven from Khuldahar and related that something was very "off" about the place, whether it was the trees, people, air, or the weather, he wasn't sure.  He isn't going on the expedition and is instead heading south again into the mountains to explore some paths he came across earlier.
• Hildreth a dwarf adventurer who came North to try her hand at the "excitement" of it all. She can be found in The Winter's Cradle for most of the day and is eagerly awaiting the expedition to Khuldahar.  She doesn't think any of the characters look nearly as seasoned as they claim.
• Commoners and Tavern Patrons all tell various tales of increased cold when it should be more thaw, of howls of wolves closer to town than usual, and just a general uneasiness that has come to the region for the past couple months.  They know of the expedition and messenger but not as to any details.  Some may make mention of "the new elf" or "dwarf" new to town. Some may make mention of Old Jed's plight or of the fool Jhonen and his lackadaisical attention lately, oddly standing at the water's edge looking out and mumbling. 
• Song of the Sea
• Jhonen is a young man who can be found out near the shoreline with drawn up fishing boats, staring out to the sea and mumbling about some sort of song, trying to figure it out.  When broken out of his day dream, he is reluctant to share his story due to the ridicule the others of the village have shown him.  If encouraged, he relates his tale of seeing the same blue woman come to his dreams every night singing the most beautiful song but in a language he cannot understand.  Arcana or History Check DC 20 to identify the woman from his descriptions as a fey sea sprite.  The players can find this sprite with a Perception Check DC 15 near the rock outcropping of the jetty where they found Damien.
• The fey sea sprite only communicates by telepathic song in a type of Sylvan.  If the players are kind and patient with her, she reveals her name to be Elisia and to be the woman in Jhonen's dreams.  She explains she once loved a great ancestor of Jhonen, of whom he bears a great resemblance.  This memory has called her back to a promise made to his ancestor for her to return his sword to his bloodline if he should fall in slaying the great white wyrm mother Icasaracht. He succeeded but the blade was lost and she now wishes to return it to him. The catch is that part of the laws of her people are that she is not allowed to be seen by him in the flesh. She asks the players to aid her in returning the broken hilt of the blade to him.
• If the players do so, she gives them 2 perfect pearls, as well as unlocks a additional quest later in the campaign. If they keep the blade and lie to Jhonen, bad things will happen down the road.
• Empty Emporium
• The lone general goods store is operated by a self-important man from Calimshan.  Pomab is very self centered and if given slight offense at all, even despite his mean demeanor, he will charge 20% more for items. He makes his full name, Pomab Ak'azmjir, well known as well as being the "3rd son of the Pasha of Calimshan" and "Royal Envoy to the North".  None of these are verifiable. His supply is small and indicative of his origins.  There are barrles of rusted armor and blades, as well as a great deal of rolled up carpets.  There are not many helpful items that come beyond basic supplies of sustenance for life in the North.  If somehow the players are able to access his private bed chambers on the second floor of the store, they will find an Easthaven Blade, as well as two scrolls, one of Create Bonfire, as well as Absorb Element (Elemental Evil Player's Companion). 

Caravan and Expedition

The Caravan and Expedition Encounters, as well as the resolutions for the Prologue will be addressed in the Next Post.