After a night’s rest, the party is awoken by Mccath. She has debated herself throughout the night and come to a new conclusion. If the party is successful in driving off or killing Arauthator then there will be nothing left for her to do here at Oyaviggaton. She has decided that she will travel back to Luskan with her work, knowledge, and the stolen tomes from the Brotherhood that Arauthator has stored here in her working library. Additionally she mentions that she would like the party to meet her friend Marfulb, the leader of the Ice Toads. She explains that Marfulb and her companions have amassed a wealth of information regarding the dragon and the sea of flowing ice that would be invaluable to the Brotherhood. Her hope is that should the party kill Arauthator she could be convinced to also travel with her work to Luskan and work with the Brotherhood.
As the party prepares to descend into the dragon’s lair below with the assistance of Mccath and her kobold servants, Mccath explains what she knows of the expanse below. The party will be dropping down on an ice ledge where Arauthator stores the bulk of his hoard. To the west and down 2 shelves is the main floor and space where she has met the dragon a few times. She has seen that the cavern itself continues to the east, but has not seen that part. She only assumes that somewhere in that direction is where the other more vertical chute connects. She also explains that this chute they are about to use is easy to descend with the assistance of the climbing gear, but still remains difficult to climb. The passageway is large enough for Arauthator to ascend should he choose. Going down into his liar is meant to be a death trap she gives as her final warning.
Arriving at the bottom of the chute the party does find themselves standing on top of the dragon’s hoard. Coins, gems, items, scrolls, and more all frozen solid in transparent blue ice. The cavern is pitch black and colder than the caves above, well below freezing. The members with darkvision can see the lower ice shelf 8 or so feet below them and the floor of the cavern another 8 feet below that. The floor itself shows spots where oddly water stands in small pools on top of the rough ice surface. The party begins to fan out trying to perceive where the dragon might be waiting. Sariel is the first to notice the slightest sound of wind coming and going like the waves on the shore in the otherwise eerily silent space.
To the west, Seebo and Hupp discover a pile of what looks like branches and leaves sitting on the floor in the open. They can’t get close enough to tell exactly what is in the pile. To the east, Belgwyn and Fionne find a narrowing passageway created by an ice wall that doesn’t quite reach the ceiling. Between the two of them they feel like something is not right about the layout and the narrowest pinch point ahead of them. Continuing to take their time in continued hopes to surprise the dragon the party moves closer to the large open space. The sound of the wind abruptly stops and is replaced by the sounds of the dragon chortling, seemingly coming from every direction at once.
While the dragon begins to taunt the group in references to fresh meat and a knowing of their true purpose for visiting his home, the party desperately tries to position themselves for battle and find the dragon himself. It is all but too late that Hupp and EKIM see the dragon crawling along the ceiling as Groz impatiently runs out into the open. The battle has begun. Initial attempts to knock the dragon off the ceiling deal damage but cannot force the dragon from his advantageous position. He picks his moment to swoop down to the floor and attach half the party with his ice breath. The devastating move leaves several members of the party frozen unconscious on the floor before they could even react.
Switching to a combination of offense and life saving defense the party attempts to get the upper hand. A distraction by Rehtnap that eventually costs him his life and desperate move by Dennis is utilizing the full power of his necklace of fireball but the dragon on the back foot and allows other members of the party to bring their fallen companions back into the fight. The dragon is not alone though as two Scrag appear from the nook in the western wall and blockade the left side of the pillar while Araunthator creates an ice wall to the right. Severely hurt Araunthator flees to the same nook the Scrag appeared from and vanishes with a splash as he dives into the pool of water located there. Not long after the party dispatches the two Scrags and observes a plethora of eyes to the east disappear into the darkness.
The party takes note of the space while tending to their most hurt members. Even though some members are keen on chasing after the dragon to finish him off, after some deliberation the party chooses to begin work on extracting some of the treasure thinking the dragon is gone for the time being. During this time Mccath makes an appearance to see what has befallen the party. She notes that the whole of the iceberg is aware of the dragon fleeing. The villagers are preparing to leave in the morning, the kobolds and trolls are in hiding, and the ice toads are undecided. She encourages the party to be quick and return to her tent to decide the next step.
After several hours the party is able to extract a sum of coins, 13 precious jewels, a pair of boots of striding and springing, and a seemingly magical set of plate armor. Returning to Mccath’s tent, the tiefling introduces the party to her ice toad friend Marfulb. Informing them that the dragon is not dead, the ice toad is resolute in staying here to continue their work. Backing Mccath’s warnings the party decides to leave the iceberg first thing in the morning before the other denizens loyal to the dragon forget their fear of the group that thwarted their master and attempt to retaliate in revenge.
The next morning Tobin’s Revenge returns to the iceberg surface and finds the village already abandoned. Reaching the ship Captain Lerustah is pleased to see the party alive saying that they were ready to depart after seeing the villagers fleeing en masse in the dim hours before sunrise. Making ready, the ship departs for Luskan with their newest passenger Mccath onboard along with the library she is now absconding with for the Brotherhood.
During the journey Faris takes time with the newly acquired plate armor. When ready he challenges his friends to hurt, attempting to figure out what is special about this set. A punch in the face from Belgwyn and the piercing of Groz’s claws seem unaffected by the armor. It is the slash of Hupps sword that shows the armor’s special ability as it deflects more of the impact than expected. It is after this that Faris also realizes that the punch and stab from hurt a lot more than they should now that he thinks about it. In concern Faris attempts to remove the armor but is unable. The only words that emanate from his companions are a single one from Dennis. ‘Cursed’.
On reaching the shores of Luskan, Frostskimmr is once again greeted by a small ship. On board is the pirate Second High Captain Barri Baram of the Ships and Zelenn the White, Overwizard of the West. Zelenn is relieved to see Mccath with the party and embraces her immediately. They exchange quick remarks before turning to the party. Zelenn offers her greatest thanks for returning Mccath and her work to Luskan.
Zelenn then focuses on Dennis and lets him know that she was intrigued by him the last they met, so she contacted a friend in Bauldar’s Gate. She provides an unsurprising summary of potential mixed with folly from his college leadership. As Dennis begins to retort about Devis and his quest to destroy Dennis’ reputation, Zelenn continues that she doesn’t see what they see. She lets him know that should he succeed in the endeavours against the cult that maybe he has a place within the Brotherhood over that measly little college back in Bauldar’s Gare.
Finally, she offers the group a place to rest at the Hosttower and discuss the future of the Brotherhood’s involvement against the cult. The exhausted and recovering party quickly agrees for the rest and hospitality offered. Hopes are high that another ally against the cult can be solidified before return to the council in Waterdeep.
Session Date – 9 January 2026
Roster
- Fionne ‘The Ankle Biter’
- Sariel
- Belgwyn
- Faris
- Dennis
- EKIM
- Seebo
- Groz
- Hupp