The Cold Dread Hand campaign begins in 1489 Dalereckoning during the ninth month, known as Eleint or The Fading. As the first session opens, the characters find themselves on a trading ship called Icedancer. Their destination is Icewind Dale, the harsh and frigid lands north of the Spine of the World mountains.
The party is travelling north because of growing rumors of a supernatural cold that has settled over Icewind Dale. Varhauth (Player Jim) of the Wolf Tribe of the Reghedmen barbarians seeks to discover the fate of his people in the face of the rumored unrelenting eternal winter. Also, there are tales that the people of Ten Towns (a cluster of settlements in Icewind Dale) are eager for brave and capable souls to help free them from some strange supernatural power that has engulfed their homeland. This means they are willing to pay handsomely for those who will aid them.
(Note: the party has come together within the last six months, having met as adventurers on the Sword Coast. They’ve developed some semblance of group cohesion and perhaps some trust, but there is still much they have to learn about each other.)
Traveling with Varhauth are Darvalla the half-orc ranger (Player Derek, who was absent but his character was played by Jim's son), Dresmorlin the half-drow monk (Player Dan), Kelxim Fiddlelob the gnome rogue (Player Jay), Faeron the elf wizard (Player Pat), and Dorian Stonewright the dwarven cleric (Player Sean, who was absent, so Dorian was incapacitated for the session by sea sickness, true to dwarven stereotypes).
The Icedancer is slated to stop at Luskan before heading on to the oceanside settlement of Fireshear, which is the party's ultimate destination. They intend to travel overland from Fireshear to Brynn Shander, the largest settlement in Icewind Dale. From there, they will seek news of the Wolf Tribe.
The captain of Icedancer is a human male named Geth Helder. He is a sullen, ill-tempered man, tall, thin, paunchy, and unimpressive overall. As the ship comes within sight of the cliffs and walls surrounding Luskan, the PCs notice four small specks in the sky flying toward the ship from the direction of the city. They alert the crew, who begin to shout "It's the Iron Legion! Iron Legion! Prepare for battle!"
As the specks in the sky get closer, the PCs see what look like four kite-like contraptions in the air, with two humanoid figures hanging underneath each contraption. Faeron casts acid arrow at one, damaging one of the flying devices (the acid eats away at the material of its wings until it eventually crashes into the water). As the gliders pass over the Icedancer, one of the riders throws a device onto the deck. The device turns out to be a bomb of some sort, and it explodes with great gouts of flame and smoke. Then, four of the riders drop onto the deck (one from each glider, as if each still needs a pilot).
The PCs attack the boarders, who wear head-to-toe armor and masks made of leather and bronzed iron plates. The PCs attack with weapons and spells, quickly getting the upper hand. However, the Iron Legion seems intent on getting into the hold of the ship. One of them manages to do so. After the PCs either kill or immobilize the three other boarders (immobilization thanks to Faeron's web spell), they rush to the entrance to the hold.
Looking down into the belly of the ship, they see an unexpected sight: the fourth Iron Legion boarder is on the back of a wyvern! The huge, monstrous flying lizard leaps up out of the ship, the fourth boarder clinging to its scales. Varhauth grabs onto the wyvern's tail and is carried into the sky! The three remaining gliders turn and fly after the wyvern (the fourth having crashed into the sea, with no sign of the pilot).
Meanwhile, Captain Helder cries out, horrified by the wyvern's escape. He confesses that the creature was meant for the Arcane Brotherhood, the powerful mage's guild of Luskan! They will be angered by the loss of the beast, and the consequences will fall on the captain! The PCs on the ship unmask the attackers, who turn out to be two relatively young humans (a male and female) and an elven woman. The two humans are dead, but the elf was captured in the wizard's web. As they attempt to question her, the elf says "glory and victory to the Iron Legion" before chomping down hard on her teeth. Moments later, a white foam (flecked with red blood) floods from her mouth, and she dies. She had a false tooth filled with poison!
Meanwhile, Varhauth attempts to injure the wyvern, but it whips its tail and he is unable to hold on! He tumbles from the sky and smacks into the cold water of the sea! His strength and toughness save him from taking fatal injuries from the fall. The sailors of the Icedancer pick him up as the ship sails by Varhauth.
When they finally arrive at the docks of Luskan, the party encounters three mages of the Arcane Brotherhood. The trio are clothed in dark robes lined with gold runes, and their faces are hidden under dark cowls. They are attended by five heavily-armed guards, whose armor is also lined with runes. They are most displeased with Captain Helder. Faeron attempts to engage the mages in conversation, but they are dismissive and disdainful. They make the mocking suggestion that they will speak with the party if they PCs can find and bring the wyvern to the Brotherhood. As the Brotherhood's guards attempt to board the ship and seize the captain, Helder slits his own throat with a dagger rather than be taken into custody!
Kelxim, meanwhile, encounters some young toughts from the Coinspinner gang, one which is entranced by something called a dreamsphere (a small crystal ball that he clutches in one dirty hand, and stares into dumbly as lights swirl inside the sphere). One of the toughs accidentally reveals the gang is based at Clearlight Temple.
Dorian, the seasick dwarf, finally comes out from below decks, still clutching his stomach from sea sickness. Under control by the GM (me!), he mentions he heard someone else moaning on the Icedancer. The party eventually heads to The Cutlass at the suggestion of one of the sailors. They mean to find a place to rest for the evening, and in the morning they plan to seek out another ship to take them to Fireshear, as the Icedancer will be docked for repairs for some time.
At The Cutlass, the party meets the proprietor, a middle-aged human woman named Shivanni. They also witness the performance of Alton Willowsboon, a halfling bard. The crowd seems restless at one point as he sings a dirge-like, serious song with ominous lyrics. The last line is particularly grim:
"And I say unto you, oh travelers of this land: beware the icy grip of winter's cold dread hand."
As the PCs sit, drink, eat, and discuss the day's events and what they should do next, they see a man in visible pain at a nearby table. The human male is well-dressed, and appears to be a merchant. He clutches at his chest as he leans over his uneaten food. Dorian swears he recognizes the moans as the ones he heard on the ship!
Dorian, Varhauth, and Darvalla approach the man, who can barely speak from the pain. The merchant manages to tell them he has a room at The Cutlass, and they take him to the room to lay down so that Dorian can attempt to diagnose and help the man.
Once in the room, Dorian attempts to heal the man. Suddenly, the man arches his back and screams in acute pain. Then, something bursts from his chest, covered in the man's red, steaming blood! The thing is wormlike, and has a mouth full of small, sharp teeth. The creature evades the three stunned PCs and slips under the door of the room. The three PCs chase after the creature, calling out to their companions in the common room.
The rest of the party runs to the bottom of the stairs, just in time to see the gore-covered thing leaping down the steps! The common room erupts in panic as patrons flee! Dresmorlin is able to launch a well-placed punch that causes the foul thing to literally explode in a shower of guts and acidic blood!
Meanwhile, the ever-enterprising Kelxim slips upstairs to the unfortunate merchant's room. There, he finds a journal of the man, whose name is Turgig. The man hailed from Brynn Shander in Icewind Dale. His journal tells the tale of how the man sailed with a party of explorers to the mysterious, jungle-choked land of Chult far to the south! The man was on this journey for many months, and they braved perils such as giant lizards and other hazards until they found a strange, ancient temple complex. Turgig and his party investigated the central ziggurat of the complex. They slept in the ziggurat one night, and were ambushed in the middle of the night by a number of lizard people. The creatures were defeated, but many in the party were slain. Turgig was able to escape to the safety of the ship with a few of the other explorers. The merchant was also able to take a large, strange crimson-colored egg with him. Turgig believed the egg to be that of a slaad.
Kelxim was also able to retrieve some of the larval slaad's acidic blood before we ended the session!
