Happy spooky day! I’m a halloween one-shot, which has become a bit of a tradition since finishing Curse of Strahd in 2016. This year I played one of the short modules in Nerzugal’s Tome of Horrifying Adventures: Into the Frozen Wastes. Spoilers inbound! I’m using a party from the plane of ice, who I’ve written about before.

Recommended listening

Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7BCa9Y8Of8

Ambience (once they get out into the cold): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpGgQHAublY



The ancient doors grind open, sending wisps of dust skittering up in their wake. Torchlight flicker off the catacomb walls as the guards gingerly delve into the burial chamber, spears at the ready.

Captain: Stairwell should be in this room. That’ll bring us to the final level. They got’ta be somewhere down there.

Guard: Sir?

He’s standing by the stone steps that once led to the final level: Where the Valkeesh hive was supposed to be. Now nothing but cracked Dwarven craftsmanship and rubble remain of the stairwell.

Captain: Jaques’ beard! What in the hells happened?

Soldier: Appears to me like the level collapsed. Might have been the return, the old structure just couldn’t take it. *laughs with relief* Well. That saves us some trouble, ay?

Captain: Hm.. Perhaps. But this is a right curious business. Makes me wonder how many more are out there…

* * *

Demi: And then-! *gestures dramatically* And then, just as the elder brain had us all pinned, a powerful roar caught our ear from outside the tower! Sulseth the ice wyrm had flown to our aid!

Faint murmurs from the inn’s few patrons, most of them ignoring the Iceborn’s tale. The keep shoots her an annoyed look, polishing the bar top with a little too much vigour.

Demi: …Anyway, we slew the brain, scattered the gnolls, and saved Maslokia. *shrugs* The end, really.

She sits back down with a forlorn huff. The veritable mountain of a Golath named Mozak pats her on the back.

Mozak: Don’t worry, it’s a tough audience. You’re not going to catch a full net each time.

Demi: I know, I know, I just can’t but help feel silly when no one’s really listening.

Thulia: *feeds her falcon Cloules a pork rind* They might have been more willing to lend an ear had you not told the same story twice in the past two days.

Demi: But it’s the best.. I suppose it wouldn’t be such a big deal if we weren’t stuck here.

Kolam blows pipe smoke out of his nose, pupil-less eyes staring out of the window. The deep frost had leapt upon the north like a Kaltund, stranding everyone beside the the warmth of their fireplaces. There were some temperatures too cold for even the Winterbrave of Maslokia, and the current chill is one of them.

Kolam: Deepfrost not wait for many moons. Travel not problem, soon.

The door crashes open to many gasps and disgruntled sounds from the patrons, revealing a tall Golath standing in the frame. He teeters for a moment… Then collapses on the fur mats.

Demi: Oof, sozzled before he has his first mug.

Thulia: Something’s wrong.

She’s right: the man’s right arm is withered and blackened. Thu recognises the rot of shadow immediately, and calls Kolam for aid. A quick application of smelling salts brings his senses back, but a gash across his stomach requires proper attention. The innkeep hurries to fetch medical supplies.

Thu: Who did this? Ogres?

Golath: *smarts from the pain* The dead. Four of them. Riding wolves, great is size. They razed my village. Such power..

Thulia shares a look with Kolam. They might have an inkling of who’s behind this. Thu’s brothers in arms, the Stonik guardians, have waged war against the night mage and his creations for as long as records are kept. Necromancy is right up his alley.

Kol: Where is village?

Golath: Take Yarni, my steed. She knows the path. And, this.. *he struggles to unsling his rune-trimmed axe, handing it to Kolam* Vatskar will aid you in battle.

They thank him and beckon Mozak and Demi: The ice calls for steel hearts once more.

* * *

Yarni turns out to be a white-furred bear armoured in gnoll-pelt barding. She seems much more intelligent than the average bear. She lollops off into the falling snow, looking back at the team as though beckoning like a dog.

Oh god I’m so sorry

Demi: *starry eyed* Oooh, she’s so sweet! I want!

The snowfall picks up speed as they trudge behind the powerful animal, soon becoming a veritable blizzard. One hour, two… They exit a gulley between two steep peaks and finally spy points of light off in the distance. As they draw closer, they realise the lights aren’t from windows – they’re from raging flames.

Kolam: Beartamer village.

Several building are on fire, storehouses it seems. They circle the place at a distance, trying to get a good look at what’s causing the destruction. Kolam notices a flash of greenish light and beckons the others over. An armoured skeletal figure stands among the corpses of the villagers, its giant ice-clad wolf mount crouching nearby. As they watch, the undead warrior lifts a lantern above its head and unleashes the crackling energy within upon a corpse; which slowly rises, eyes glowing.

Mozak: Fez..

Thulia: Is that… a Kaltund?

Kolam: No. *grips Vatskar and starts to approach* Is dead.

That would have been a great one-liner if he hadn’t meant it literally.

Green fire streaks across the snowy ground, issuing from the death knight’s lantern. Demi returns fire with some eldritch blasts, backed up by Thu’s bowmanship. The knight mounts his ice wolf and starts a murderous charge at the heroes – which is cut off by Yarni thundering out of the blizzard and obliterating both rider and steed with her powerful claws.

Mo and Kol finish off the undead villagers, while Thu kicks over the remains of the wolf: up close she can see that it’s merely a skeleton of one such enormous creature, its bones encased in muscle-shaped ice.

Thu: Something evil made this.

Mozak: No kidding. *nods to the burning buildings* Let’s see if something can be done.

Yarni shows them to a large fishing hole in the centre of town. They grab buckets and attempt to douse the flames with the freezing water, but to no avail. The storage huts are consumed by flames, along with their contents.

Kolam: *tosses his bucket aside, panting* Yarni. What you smell?

The snowy-furred creature’s noise is pointed into the wind, teeth bared. She’s picked up the scent.

Demi: The beartamer said there were four wolf riders. They must still be close!

They hustle off into the blizzard again, using Yarni’s bulk as a windbreak. Snowflakes whip around them, searing the skin they touch like heated oil. It’s when the town is out of sight that the voices begin.

Demi: You hear that?!

Thu: *nods tersely* Move.

Demi: But.. they’re calling for help! They must be survivors!

Kol: Is not what Kolam is hearing.. Begging for blood.

Thu: Yes, I hear them too. Cursed tongues.

Mozak: An illusion may-

He’s forcibly silenced, like a blanket of white noise has descended on their ears. Kolam feels a tug at his ankles: Skeletal hands are clawing at them from beneath the snow! He shakes them off, breaking their bony wrists with ease while Mo pulls Demi out of harm’s way. As they stagger back from the grasping hands, the silence is lifted from their ears: to be replaced with a chilling voice travelling on the wind.

???: (Iconan) Soon is the hour, that you will be added to the army of the damned! You will surrender your life to eternal slavery in death! Your spirit will never cease to endure the torment infinite!

The skeletal claws sink beneath the snow. Cloules squarks mournfully from Thulia’s shoulder.

Kol: *shrugs* Had threat much worse.

* * *

They press onwards, skirting the bottom of a sudden sheer cliff that overhangs to provide a little respite from the snow. Thu suddenly snaps upright, her fist clenched.

Thu: *sniffs the air* Ogre blood.

Yarni gives a yawning whine in ascent. They trudge on with more caution until they spy their prey: A skeletal figure with an icy wolf, just as before. This one is dressed in a ragged cloak and grips a glowing staff. It stands among the bodies of an ogre pack – one of which is rising under the mage’s necromantic power.

Mozak charges the rider with Yarni, both roaring in a similar fashion. They disappear into the snow, leaving the others to struggle with the undead ogre until Demi can down it with her lightning wand. They struggle through the snow to meet back up – finding the wolfrider slain by Mo’s pickaxe.

Thu: *crouches down beside Kolam as he’s patching up one of Yarni’s wounds* Killing ogres. These undead are not creatures made by the night mage.

Kol: *glances at the others* Where you think come from?

Thu: We both know that dark places exist, when forgotten. *shoots him a meaningful look*

A cry from the others. The ice has whispered to Demi, leading her to a hunched up figure huddled in a snowdrift: a Stonik guardian like Thulia. Kolam warms her with a shot of vodka, allowing her to introduce herself as Hinakula Ragemet Jinatora: She was out hunting the ogres with her cousin when the wolfriders struck. One wielded a lance of bone, on which it impaled her cousin. She barely escaped with her life.

Crunch

MUNE Intervention: Character Entity Negative (Thulia > Pekeski)

Oho! This is interesting. The “character entity positive/negative” intervention type is a modification I’ve made to the base list in MUNE. It’s to help me keep track of who knows who: every PC has a list of entities that have made an impact in their life at some point. Most of the time the intervention doesn’t have to directly involve that entity, just be something that indirectly effects them, or would effect them if they were present. But it makes a lot of sense for Pekeski to be out here, in his element.



Hinakula: Their passage will lead to my village! We are visited by one who calls himself Tsethem – he will surely destroy the wolfriders!

Thu: Tsethem.. I remember that name.

Mo: We’re not going to give up, are we? We’re so close to the hunt’s end!

Kol assures him that they’re not going to rest until they’ve seen the matter through. They set off through the snow again, Hinakula riding on Yarni’s back.

…Before almost immediately coming to a stop. The overhanging cliff angles in to meet another: they’re standing within one of the many ravines that dot the plane of ice. But what brings them to a halt is the sheer wall of unnatural ice blocking the path ahead: a spiked wall, upon which is skewed the body of another Stonik.

Hinakula: *casts her eyes down, attempting to hide her grief* They wish to stop pursuit. They intend to sack the village.

Demi: *pats her on the back* They will fail. Trust in the ice!

Pulling the swirling flakes to her, she directs them towards Yarni and enveloped the beast in a flurry of snow that manages to lift her off the ground. Yarni glides back and forth over the wall, carrying each member safely. Such a plodding creature flying with such grace is a hilarious sight to behold, so much that it even manages to mellow Hinakula’s sombre mood. Cloules the falcon seems somewhat terrified, however.

They reach the village, sequestered in a crater-like enclosure at the mouth of the ravine. In the centre lies a pile of bones and armour, past which the Golath hurry as they douse the final fires. Sitting on a log outside the largest hut is an elderly Dragonborn, bandaging his shoulder. He greets the team with a nod as Hinakula runs to embrace her family.

Thulia: Tsethem. Our hurry wasn’t needed, it looks like.

Pekeski: ’Twould have spared me a broken collar, but aye. *grins at the the thankful villagers* The harm they brought were near nothing, ’tis all that should be cared for.

He stands with a little difficulty. Pushing sixty years, and still barely able to take down both creatures single-handed. The team draws back in respect as he approaches them, standing before Thulia.

Pekeski: The Winterbrave, they call ye fine fellows. *nods at Demi’s surprised expression* Aye, these old ears still hear the tales ‘round the mountains. Tales of great deeds, of heroism! And fell whispers. Evil things..

Kolam: We hear whispers. Track, and kill.

Pekeski: *smiles his dragony smile* Aye. That ye do. As once yours truly did! *unslings his glaive* Alas, ’tis my twilight. The ice calls, and it be not long ‘fore I answer. *pauses* My hope be that, once I am gone.. these lands remain protected.

Thulia: *bows her head* You know it will be.

Pekeski: Aye. That I do.

He hands her the glaive, a weapon of black metal with a white crystal blade.

Pekeski: I give ye Black Icicle. Afore me she belonged to Naliko, the Icestalker of tribe Lakumathala. ’Tis fitting for her to return to Golath hands.

Thulia: Thank you, Tsethem.

The team murmurs their agreement. Stepping back, he meets each of the party’s eyes in turn with his piercing gaze.

Pekeski: Ye be Tsethem now. Respect the ice, and its people. Embrace the cold, but never let it freeze ya hearts. Protect this land, the highest peak and the darkest cavern! For even brave deeds unseen are sung of by the angels. *bows* Now, if ye’ll pardon me, I have a missus to meet with.

And with that, he passes them and disappears into the falling snow.

Demi: *eyes shining as she laughs incredulously* Did… Did we just become Tsethem??

Mozak: *gives her a bear hug* Whay, we’re recognised at last!

Kolam: *frowns* Still not sure what is Tsethem..

Thulia: *grips her gift with a wry smile* I’ll explain on the way back. Come: We’ve a bear to return.

Closing thoughts

If I’ve gotta be honest, it wasn’t the spookiest adventure. The final battle (Pekeski versus the two riders) was pretty tense, but I think after being trapped in hell it seems positively pleasant to return to the simple joys of facing off against undead. It’s a shame, because there are plenty of modules in the tome that sound like they have great potential. I just picked a dud.

Still. At least Pekeski gets to hand on the torch. He was created during my Curse of Strahd playthrough: as in, literally created by the deck of many things. It was a pleasant surprise to see him here after all these years.

