Black Ice Ice Baby.
In their hunt for the stolen chardalyn, the party followed footprints to Easthaven's waterfront, where they encountered a drunkard claiming the ferry was haunted. Upon investigation, the ferry proved to be a campsite for a duergar war band led by a Durth Sunblight. A battle ensued, leading to Durth's death. The other duergar revealed their plan to conquer Ten Towns for their lord, Xardorok Sunblight, using chardalyn-forged siege weapons. After returning to Easthaven Town Hall, the party reported the duergar threat to the town leaders, prompting its discussion at an upcoming Council of Speakers meeting. Lastly, in the Easthaven Library, Azgul found Dzaan's spellbook disguised under an illusion, featuring a map to "A Lost Spire," and Hazel uncovered the history of Angajuk's Bell, named after a hermit druid who became a pillar of the communities at the Sea of Moving Ice.
A Ferry Full of Gray Dwarves
#ChardalynCaper Following the aura of chardalyn dust on a set a stocky footprints to Easthaven's waterfront, the party questioned a drunkard about whether he had seen any happenings. The drunkard swore that the Easthaven Ferry was haunted, and that spirits were hanging about its cabin. Upon investigation, the ferry seemed to be closed down due to the harsh winter, as per a sign on the harborside written by the ferry-master, Scython. The dock itself told a different story. The boardwalk seemed like they were well-trodden on, as the snow and ice had been stamped down.
#battle#ChardalynCaper Aboard the Easthaven Ferry, as the party creaked onto the quiet ship sloshing in the icy waters, Tetro peered into the cabin and saw several bedrolls and the makings of a camp. He lit the area with Faerie Fire, revealing two Duergar warriors and a duergar mind master. The party exchanged blows as several more duergar, invisible up until this point, attacked them as well. With Oona felling their mind master leader, the party was able to subjugate the grey underdwarves, forcing the final two to surrender.
#ChardalynCaper#ADuergarPlot The two standing duergar were coerced into talking. The mind master that the party just killed was named Durth Sunblight. He was one of the remaining sons of Xardorok Sunblight, a duergar lord with a mountain fortress in the Spine of the World. The duergar race, known for having lived in the Underdark for centuries, were descendants of dwarves turned grim and having developed psionic abilities after eons of influence by mind flayer colonies. Xardorok's intent is to bring his people to the surface, raze Ten Towns, and establish a footprint for his own people to live in the dim twilight of Icewind Dale. He has dispatched two of his sons, Durth and Nildar Sunblight, to scout ahead. Durth is now dead, and Nilder is in charge of an outpost on the eastern face of Kelvin's Cairn. The stolen chardalyn from East Haven Town Hall was meant to be hauled back to Sunblight Fortress to be forged into siege weaponry. After confessing, the two duergar made a getaway, narrowly avoiding an axe to their necks as they turned invisible and bolted.
Returning to Town Hall
#ChardalynCaper#CauldronCaper Returning to the town hall, the party reconnected with Speaker Danneth Waylen and Captain Imdra Arlaggath, who had sorted out their guards. It appears that a town clerk,Prudence, betrayed them and let in several ruffians and possible Zhentarim who were targeting the Cauldron of Plenty. Fortunately for the party, the duergar chardalyn thieves walked in on this scuffle and capitalized on the mayhem, knocking out both Easthaven guards and their assailants before taking off with the black ice. With great thanks, the speaker was able to finally pay the party for the cauldron.
#ADuergarPlotCrank took out Durth Sunblight's missive to his brother Nildar and handed it to Captain Arlaggath. The party explained what they learned about the duergar during the encounter on the ferry. The speaker and the captain took the threat seriously, remarking that rumors of duergar have been brewing. Reghed Nomads and Goliath trading parties have brought stories to Easthaven of scorched swathes of tundra in the foothills of the Spine of the World. Speaker Waylen mulled over his need to discuss the Duergar threat at the next Council of Speakers, typically at the end of the month. The next slated date is the 30th of Uktar, but Waylen expressed a desire to push for an earlier meeting. He urged the party to deliver their report at this next meeting to notify the speakers if there are any new sightings - for the safety of Ten Towns. In order to remain in touch, Speaker Waylen secured a sending stone for the adventurers.
Easthaven Library
#TheLostSpire#DzaanIsDead In the Easthaven Library on the third floor of the town hall, the party rummaged through the shelves. Azgul was interested in the books claimed from Dzaan's inn room. One hefty tome, The Girthy Sex Lives of the Goliath Tribes: An Illustrated Guide by Volothamp Geddarm, turned out to be an illusion. Through clever use of identification magic, the vividly accurate depictions of Goliath lovemaking faded and were replaced by a Dzann's spellbook, within which was a map. The map marked an inverted building captioned with "A Lost Spire!".
#AngajuksBellHazel also took a gander at the Easthaven Library collection, looking for histories about the Sea of Moving Ice. She learned of Anga, a wisened druid, who had journeyed from the south and took hermitage by the sea decades ago. Each dawn she would ring a bell that would call-in sea life. Whalers in the nearby settlements, who otherwise led a harsh life, came to recognize Anga and enjoy her presence as she set out on her daily meditations. Though she continued her hermitage, the whaling community in the area became known as Places/Angajuk's Bell.
