The party found themselves in dire straits soon after exiting the portal into the wilds of Icewind Dale; ill-prepared for the seemingly supernatural cold, they decided to press on to where Ferus believed a settlement would be found, even though it meant at best an eight mile trek through the dark and snow. They found it exceedingly slow-going, their pace barely a quarter mile over the course of each hour. Ferus and Haryk faced exhaustion two hours into the journey, and then tragedy.
A howl of fury surprised the group and in an instant Bringle, the gnome whom the group had previously rescued from the demonic dungeon, was gone. A shambling white hulk ripped Bringle away, leaving only a heavy blood trail. Despite Thoradaen’s insistence that they make chase and extract vengeance for the most assuredly dead gnome, the others felt they could not risk further exposure to the elements AND face whatever had grabbed the wizard. Leaving the gnome to his gory fate, they somberly continued northward.
After crossing a frozen river, Ferus determined the group to be near Redwaters and Dougan’s Hole, a small fishing village on the western shore of the lake renowned for its knucklehead trout. They had been walking now for several hours, and the realization that the sun had not risen but instead remained below the horizon unsettled the group. An observant Talion then noticed a hulking figure approaching from the south. As it neared, the group recognized it as a solitary ice troll, apparently too hungry and too stupid to fear a group of armed adventurers. Haryk and Ferus unleashed fire and acid based spells attempting to kill it before it could engage, but the troll proved too hardy for an easy kill. Nearing Ferus, its inherent cold chilled the wizard to the bone and the horror followed with a vicious bite to the abjurer’s shoulder. This would prove to be the last attack the troll would make.
Inspecting its corpse, Thoradaen noticed that its chest still radiated a chill. Curious, the dwarf hacked into its chest and removed its heart, a tiny thing that was the source of the unusual chill. Thinking it might prove profitable at some point, the group wrapped it in a blanket and stored it away.
Arriving at Dougan’s Hole, the group found the village inhospitable with no one willing to rent out even a shed. Forced to continue north, they arrived at Good Mead a short while later and rented rooms at the inn across from Mead Hall, with plans to explore the area further once they were better equipped for the environment, and perhaps try to get some information about why the sun would not rise.
