# Chapter 3: Icewind Dale *Source: Forgotten Realms: Adventures in Faerûn, p. 91* > [!readaloud] > > Icewind Dale and its settlements—called Ten-Towns—beckon the reckless, the desperate, and those willing to face what waits at the world's farthest edge. People come here to make their fortunes or to disappear. You never know who you might encounter, wrapped in winter gear, trudging through snowy streets: a friend, a monster, or a stranger willing to kill to protect their secrets. > > Beyond Ten-Towns, hidden societies of dwarves and goliaths carve out homes in the arctic land, its crags and valleys shaped by half-remembered battles between giants and demons. From the Reghed Glacier in the east to the Sea of Moving Ice in the north, nomadic tribes travel with the beasts and seasons, crafting a way of life where others see only death. Out in that frozen wasteland, terror takes many forms—frost giants and remorhazes, yetis and winter wolves, cultists and hags—and some in Icewind Dale whisper of an inhuman figure with multiple limbs, half glimpsed through a blizzard or a troubled dream. This being, whose existence is often discounted as mere superstition, is Zlan. > > Zlan is what remains of the seven liches that created the shattered Artifact called *Crenshinibon* or the *Crystal Shard*—the remnants of which still can be found across Icewind Dale as the material called chardalyn. Those whose minds are warped by chardalyn fall under Zlan's control. Zlan seeks to thaw the Underdark beneath Icewind Dale, releasing ancient monsters and exposing the ancient magical sites under the dale. > > Zlan's melting of the Underdark has caused several deep dragons to notice Icewind Dale—and to covet its secrets. This deep dragon alliance threatens the entire region. While these dragons pose a physical threat, their natural ability to adopt the shape of any creature—and their interest in lost and forgotten lore—means they could be anywhere and anyone. ^1b4  ## Icewind Dale Campaigns Icewind Dale offers survival horror adventures, journeys at the ragged edge of the wilderness, and strange tales of unsettling and ominous events. ### Survival Horror Icewind Dale is deadly not only for its extreme environment but also for its secretive residents and the sinister forces hidden by the cold. To survive, you might need to venture into the winter or the Underdark, fight to escape the hungering wild, or seek clues to reveal what stalks you in the night before that creature can sink its fangs into your spine. Flawed heroes and renegades must band together, doing whatever it takes to stay alive—no matter the cost. ### Underdark Excursions Underdark monsters are creeping upward to the surface of Icewind Dale, and characters must plunge into the Underdark's depths to stem the rising tide of danger. In the Underdark, characters face the dark, silence, and alien beauty of caverns lit by glowing mushrooms and infested by aberrant terrors. Duergar, deep dragons, mind flayers, and stranger creatures lurk where secrets are entombed. For characters willing to brave its hazards, the Underdark is a bottomless trove of wonders and horrors, of beauty and danger, waiting to be discovered. ### Weird Tales Strange happenings are afoot in Icewind Dale. The melting Underdark has unleashed eerie changes on the remote land, and help is far away. The fear created by hauntings, possessions, infestations, and other unsettling phenomena is amplified by Ten-Towns' isolation and secretive traditions. Players who enjoy blended genres, strange folklore, and psychic powers will find satisfying mysteries in Icewind Dale. > [!note] Sheriff Markham Southwell > > The commander of the militia in Icewind Dale's largest town is Sheriff Markham Southwell, a brawny, likable, middle-aged man of few words. Nothing is more important to him than protecting Bryn Shander. He learned the hard way to judge people by their actions, not their words, and tends to bury his emotions, showing no interest in small talk. ^sheriff-markham-southwell  ## People of Icewind Dale Icewind Dale was once the dwelling place of frost giants, demons, and white dragons. Dwarves and humans came later, carving out lives in the bitter cold and endless wind. Eventually, tales of gold, gems, and ivory drew prospectors and settlers north. These settlers from across Faerûn built the fishing, mining, forestry, and trading camps that grew to be Ten-Towns. ### Inhabitants of Ten-Towns Barking sled dogs or clattering wagon wheels herald newcomers to Ten-Towns, as southerners come to trade, escape, or build new lives. Ten-Towns accepts anyone willing to work, as long as they don't stir up trouble. Ten-Towners are tough, weather-tested people from all walks of life who lean on each other to survive. Community and trust are everything here; nobody lives long in the wilderness alone. The biggest industry in Ten-Towns is fishing for knucklehead trout. The ivory-like bones of these massive lake-dwelling fish are prized for carved pieces called scrimshaw, which sells for a good price down south. Ten-Towners also trade, hunt, trap, harvest lumber, and prospect for gems and gold nuggets in the rocks and rivers on which their settlements are built. Bad weather makes travel difficult, so Ten-Towners use snowshoes, dogsleds, or tamed axe beak mounts. Recently, raiders from the fallen settlement called Dougan's Hole have begun attacking the Ten Trail, a key path connecting the settlements to each other, forcing caravans to travel with weapons drawn and lookouts posted. Scattered shrines and run-down temples see few but fervent worshipers. In the evenings, taverns in Ten-Towns fill with cold, tired people looking to warm up, gripe a bit, and share a rumor and a flagon—especially if someone else is paying. #### Governance Towns are led by elected speakers who gather irregularly to discuss trade, hash out agreements, and settle—or start—disputes. Speakers have little use for each other, and Ten-Towns nurse grudges over fishing, forestry, hunting rights, and old insults. Elections are held when speakers die, quit, or are driven out. In larger settlements, speakers lean on appointed marshals or sheriffs to rally militias, address threats and crime, and administer justice. Each Ten-Town answers only to itself, and rivalries between the settlements deepen their isolationist impulses. Though hunters, trappers, and traders regularly interact with Reghed nomads or dwarves from Dwarven Valley, Ten-Towners look on outsiders with suspicion, convinced strangers are more likely to rob and murder them than to extend a friendly hand. ### Reghed For Reghed nomads, the icy plains and howling winds aren't hardships—they're home. These hardy folk travel in the tracks of caribou and other beasts, driven by harsh weather, tradition, and the pursuit of prey. To be Reghed is to embrace the cold, living free from the rot found in the south. Reghed are primarily human and organized into tribes made up of small camps that follow a chieftain. Though fiercely autonomous, tribes band together in crisis or to bring down exceptional prey. Five main tribes exist today. #### Tribes of the Bear This once-proud tribe has split into Standing Bear, which embraces tradition, and Raging Bear, which seeks chardalyn's power. Standing Bear is led by King Gunvald Halraggson, renowned for his size, strength, and mercilessness. Raging Bear is led by Ulkorra the Witch-Queen, who turned against Gunvald when he exiled her. #### Tribe of the Elk The Tribe of the Elk is the largest Reghed tribe and the most tolerant of outsiders. Led by wise young King Fjuran Stermhaft, this tribe's hunters regularly stomp into Bryn Shander and Easthaven, hauling massive kills or loaded sleds, ready to swap goods, rumors, and harrowing tales of the wild to scare the "tame folk." #### Tribe of the Owl The Tribe of the Owl formed by taking in outcasts of other tribes and lost Ten-Towners. Their charismatic tiefling queen, Ilfa Sorgsen, was exiled from the Tribe of the Tiger for insolence. Ilfa speaks of a future in which the Reghed won't forever roam the surface but will hunt both above and below, on the surface and in the Underdark. #### Tribes of the Tiger and Wolf The Tribes of the Tiger and Wolf are small, ragged, and dangerous. The Tiger Tribe's queen, Bjornhold Solvigsdottir, is a worshiper of Auril who doesn't age. The Wolf King, Isarr Kronenstorm, is a frenzied brute who worships the Beastlord and has bolstered his clan by recruiting violent outsiders. Both tribes are on the verge of extinction, surviving by preying on Ten-Towners and their fellow Reghed. ### Dwarves Dwarves have lived in the valley at the foot of Kelvin's Cairn for centuries, mining precious veins of iron and producing fine weapons, armor, and tools. Enterprising dwarves have long traded with Ten-Towners, but recently, the valley has gone silent. The melting Underdark unleashed aberrant horrors on the valley, and its citizens were dragged below to be devoured by mind flayers and other monstrous beings. Word of this tragedy has yet to reach Ten-Towns, but people used to hearing from the dwarves are starting to worry. They seek adventurers willing to investigate the sudden hush in the valley. ### Giants and Goliaths Frost giants dwell in the wild, battling each other for supremacy and hunting their ancient rivals, the white dragons that roost in the cliffs and peaks of the Spine of the World. In icy ruins and on remote peaks, giants raise mammoths, hunt dragons, read the ancient runes of their fallen forebears, and commune with ancestral ghosts. Ten-Towners tread lightly and find other paths when they encounter giant footprints in the snow. Two clans of goliaths dwell in the mountains: the griffon-raising Akkanathi of Skytower Shelter and the Thuunlakalaga from Wyrmdoom Crag. The clans maintain a blood feud against each other, but the Wyrmdoom goliaths are cordial to Ten-Towners. ### Denizens of the Underdark Zlan exerts its malevolent power to thaw the Underdark. Creatures once dormant stir in places where light can't reach. #### Aberrations Mind flayers and their minions have been frozen in nearby portions of the Underdark for eons, but they are beginning to creep toward the surface. #### Deep Dragons Three deep dragons (see chapter 9)—Guvaali of the Grand Appetite, Enderbalathal the Lord Below, and Secret-Maker Mornethraxys—inspire fear, sow chaos, and encourage frightened servants to pry open the vaults of the deep. #### Duergar Duergar are Underdark-dwelling dwarves with psionic abilities. Every duergar clan regards the others as a threat. Mokleth, lord of Clan Wellbreaker, has lured the Reghed Tribe of the Owl into the melting Underdark in return for a share in their discoveries. #### Undead Giants Icewind Dale is built on the sunken ruins of an ancient giant civilization. These ruins plunge for miles into lightless depths and are inhabited by undead giants, the lingering shadows of former might. ## Magic of Icewind Dale Demons, wizards, liches, evil gods, giants, dragons, and ancient horrors have laid claim to Icewind Dale in their time.  ### Auril's Magic It is unwise to displease Auril the Frostmaiden, divine embodiment of winter's fury. More than a decade ago, she held the sun back from rising, causing a bitter, unending winter. Her curse may still grip the land, or it might have been broken by adventurers as described in Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden. Even if Auril's everlasting winter has ended, her influence persists. Frost druids awaken beasts and plants to trouble Ten-Towns, Auril's cultists plot to revive her glory through grisly sacrificial rites, and besieged Caer-Dineval has embraced her worship. Many in Icewind Dale respect the Frostmaiden in the way that sailors honor Umberlee, offering small sacrifices of warmth or food to appease her fury. Some in Icewind Dale oppose Auril's worship, having lost livelihoods or loved ones to the eternal winter. They argue that every shrine, rite, and amulet of Auril should be destroyed, and that honoring her keeps her influence alive. These Abolishers are gaining power and influence. Their eyes and ire are fixed on Auril's worshipers in Caer-Dineval. ### Chardalyn and Zlan In an ancient and nearly forgotten time, seven liches joined their magic in a fragile alliance to craft an item of ultimate power called *Crenshinibon* (better known as the *Crystal Shard*), with which they meant to conquer all life. At the moment of its completion, the undead wizard-kings were consumed by their own creation's power. It obliterated their conscious minds and absorbed what was left of their souls into itself. > [!note] The Fallen Netherese City > > *Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden* describes ruins of Ythryn, a fallen city from the Netherese Empire. Depending on the outcome of that adventure, that ruin and its arcane influence may still lie buried beneath the ice, a secret yet to be discovered. ^the-fallen-netherese-city Millennia later, a wizard named Akar Kessel found the *Crystal Shard*. The shard had become infused with demonic magic, and he used it to erect a great black tower in Icewind Dale. When this tower was destroyed, the magic used to create it fused with the surrounding ice to form what is now known as chardalyn: a nonmagical, crystalline substance cold to the touch and strong as metal, though considerably easier to work with than steel. In the years since, deposits of chardalyn have been found across Icewind Dale. These deposits tend to be suffused with evil magic. Chardalyn readily accepts magical enchantment, making it an ideal raw material for crafting magic items. The splintering of the *Crystal Shard* awoke the fragmented spirits of the seven liches that forged the Artifact. Each of these seven spirits was fractured and infused into the tiny fragments of chardalyn scattered across Icewind Dale. Gradually, they returned to awareness until they eventually found an egg-shaped piece of chardalyn large enough to contain their spirits. They moved into it, and within the egg they created a new form for themselves. The seven undead spirits struggled mightily for control of this new form until the one called Zlan won the battle. Then the horrific new body the seven liches had forged forced its way out of the chardalyn egg. This amalgamation, now collectively called [Zlan](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/npc/zlan-fraif.md) (see Zlan in chapter 9), has a psychic connection to chardalyn, and Zlan's influence warps the minds of those who handle, shape, or wield chardalyn. Zlan wants to expose more of the people of Icewind Dale to this substance, extending the spirit's insidious psychic influence. Because large amounts of chardalyn lie buried in the Underdark, Zlan has subtly influenced unsuspecting individuals throughout Icewind Dale to descend beneath the ice and attract the attention of Underdark monsters. Zlan is also responsible for new steam vents that make exploring the Underdark easier than ever before. ### Melting Underdark Zlan's greatest achievement since regaining self-awareness was corrupting an ancient frost druid of the Tribe of the Raging Bear and beckoning her into the frozen Underdark. There, at Zlan's urging, she unleashed a fatal explosion of primal magic, uncapping underground steam vents and causing magma flows to surge upward, shaking the deep and starting a chain reaction of warming from below. The consequences of this explosion reverberate throughout Icewind Dale. Earthquakes shake the land, and vents open in the ice and rock, emitting giant plumes of steam visible for miles. Several vents have become oases in the wintry wild and serve as base camps for those venturing into the vents. The Tribe of the Owl, aided by the duergar of Clan Wellbreaker, eagerly explore the depths, as do prospectors, researchers, and adventurers from Ten-Towns. The ramshackle vent-camps harken to the early days of Ten-Towns, and the largest, Highplume Station, shows signs of growing into an actual town. The upper tunnels of these vents are hot and damp, inhabited by monstrous beasts and rich with a glowing, warm fungus called gleamspore, which is harvested and traded at Highplume Station. Farther down, enormous columns and toppled walls of the long-lost Ostorian Empire of the giants plunge into echoing gloom. Giant Undead stand sentry, and the deep dragon Enderbalathal, the Lord Below, lairs in a ruined throne room. At the feet of these ruins, steam and putrid gases mingle in a toxic underground swamp. Here, oozes and aberrant terrors slither and twitch, waking from long hibernation, and the deep dragon Guvaali of the Grand Appetite seeks to satisfy his endless hunger. The swamp grows colder deeper down, eventually freezing into the still-icy deeps, where slumbering horrors have yet to be thawed. ### Runes and Ruins The immense scale and desolation of Icewind Dale make it a natural home for giants. Signs of their millennia-long habitation are widespread. In spring, snowmelts reveal toppled, lichen-covered ruins marked with runes and resonant with magic. Hunters stumble across icy ruins and barrows of gigantic bones and cursed treasure, guarded by the spirits of giants who once ruled this place. An encounter with a frost giant rarely ends well for anyone but the giant, though on occasion a giant spared the lives of adventurers in exchange for a task involving mortal peril in tight spaces. Giants also favor small folk who aid them in the destruction of white dragons, their ancestral enemies. Other Giant creatures such as ice trolls and verbeeg (see Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden), as well as goliaths, inhabit the wild and threaten or aid the people of Ten-Towns depending on their outlooks. ### Dougan's Bloodcurse When Dougan's Hole was destroyed more than a decade ago, its remaining inhabitants turned to the superstitions of their ancestors, desperate for a greater power to change their fortunes. They summoned Thruun—a sightless, immortal being that infected its victims with visions of gore and battle. The elder who summoned Thruun bound anyone with a drop of Dougan's blood to the monster, sending Thruun's hot and putrid hatred pulsing through their veins. Dougan's Hole has fallen into darkness. Its people raid the Ten Trail, abducting victims to feed to the monster. Soon, Thruun may decide to unleash its fury on Ten-Towns, at the head of an army of bloodcursed ravagers. ## Arctic Survival It's not easy to stay alive in Icewind Dale. The bitter climate, the dangerous inhabitants, and their uncanny secrets send people fleeing to warmer climes. This section introduces environmental hazards, local perils, and guidelines expanding the rules for travel in the "Dungeon Master's Guide". ### Environmental Effects Environmental effects in the "Dungeon Master's Guide" that frequently apply in Icewind Dale include extreme cold, frigid water, heavy precipitation, high altitude, slippery ice, strong wind, and thin ice. These effects combine to create strong adverse conditions, such as blizzards, windstorms, and icy peaks. Additionally, characters in Icewind Dale can encounter the following environmental effects. - [Hailstorm](/3-Mechanics/CLI/traps-hazards/hailstorm-fraif.md) - [Howling Wind](/3-Mechanics/CLI/traps-hazards/howling-wind-fraif.md) - [Psionic Field](/3-Mechanics/CLI/traps-hazards/psionic-field-fraif.md) ### Hazards Characters in Icewind Dale might encounter the following hazards. - [Bile Lichen](/3-Mechanics/CLI/traps-hazards/bile-lichen-fraif.md) - [Zlanic Chardalyn](/3-Mechanics/CLI/traps-hazards/zlanic-chardalyn-fraif.md) > [!quote] A quote from Sheriff Markham > > Winter always takes its toll, but when Auril hid the sun, the price became too high to bear. We all lost someone to that cursed winter. Some of us lost ourselves. ### Fear in Icewind Dale  Icewind Dale is an especially terrifying place, even for hardened adventurers. The arctic environment isolates characters from allies and resources. Shapeshifting enemies pretend to be friends to create terror within a community. Psychic aberrations from the Underdark peer into the minds of their victims and overwhelm adventurers with strange visions and mental trauma. Creating and sustaining an atmosphere of fear and horror helps set Icewind Dale apart from other regions of the Forgotten Realms. You can find rules for fear and mental stress, as well as advice on how to integrate these topics into your campaign, in the "Dungeon Master's Guide". #### Jump Scares One method to build fear at your table is by introducing a single source of terror that escalates over the course of the session, ending in a jump scare. Examples of this technique abound in horror movies and other media. The shark in *Jaws* and the eponymous alien shape-shifter of *The Thing* both illustrate the jump scare in action. Several ingredients combine to build a good jump scare. First, set the scene with an atmosphere of unease. Then, startle the players with something harmless, which they might mistake for the true threat. Next, show the threat in such a way that the party can't directly interact with it. For example, it might be too far away to attack, even with ranged weapons. Now let the silence or sense of unease build, increasing tension at the table. Finally, unleash the scare as a real and active threat, and roll Initiative! The two examples below illustrate jump scares in action. ##### Fear in Ten-Towns This jump scare builds as the characters explore a settlement that's been overrun by [Revenants](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/undead/revenant-xmm.md): - **Down a Dark Alley**. The characters turn down a dark street where the lamps are extinguished. A foul odor fills the air. - **It's Just a Cat**! A streak of yellow fur flies past as a yowling pet leaps from a shadowy corner. - **Did You See That**? A character glimpses a silhouette framed in a doorway, its hands dripping. A moment later, it's gone. - **The Tension Rises**. Everything is supernaturally silent and still. Nothing moves. The only sound is the characters' blood pounding in their veins. - **Surprise**! The characters are surprised from behind by the [Revenants](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/undead/revenant-xmm.md), who hold chardalyn ritual daggers and clutch at the characters' throats. ##### Fear in the Wilderness This jump scare is set in the hunting ground of a pack of [Winter Wolves](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/monstrosity/winter-wolf-xmm.md): - **Signs of Danger**. The characters enter a frigid, desolate valley scattered with bones and with blood smeared on the snow. - **A Murder of Crows**. A set of bones rushes toward the characters, but its only a flock of scavenging birds carrying bones away. - **Heard on the Wind.** The howl of huge wolves fills the air, accompanied by haunting laughter. - **Quiet—Too Quiet**. For miles around, nothing moves and not a sound is heard. The world seems empty. - **Hunters Become Prey**. The [Winter Wolves](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/monstrosity/winter-wolf-xmm.md) rush out of the wind, each ridden by a [Specter](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/undead/specter-xmm.md) of its devoured prey. > [!quote] A quote from Sheriff Markham > > Mind flayers, ice zombies—there is much to fear in Icewind Dale. But the greatest horrors come from other people.  ### Magical Contagions Magical contagions threaten Icewind Dale. The characters might encounter the following dire misfortunes. - [Lichen Plague](/3-Mechanics/CLI/diseases.md#Lichen%20Plague) - [Mudpox](/3-Mechanics/CLI/diseases.md#Mudpox) ### Travel and Terrain Traveling in Icewind Dale means taking your life into your hands. Residents advise making a small offering of snuffed flame or spilled provisions to Auril before heading into the cold. Chapter 4 of "Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerûn" details equipment and services useful to travelers in Icewind Dale, including clothing and travel options. #### Icewind Dale Terrain Use the Icewind Dale Travel Terrain table when characters travel in this region. - **Frigid Water.** Icy water is dangerous at the best of times, risking obstacles such as floes and icebergs; creatures such as [Plesiosauruses](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/beast/plesiosaurus-xmm.md), [Killer Whales](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/beast/killer-whale-xmm.md), or sahuagin; and the potential to be trapped in the ice. - **Hard Ice.** Hard ice allows for fast travel with the right equipment, but there's nowhere to hide from predators such as [Wolves](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/beast/wolf-xmm.md) and [Yetis](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/monstrosity/yeti-xmm.md). - **Mud.** When Icewind Dale thaws, its muddy terrain makes food easier to find, but the mud slows travel to a crawl. - **Snow.** Snow commonly appears in an environment of extreme cold. - **Thin Ice.** Thin ice is particularly dangerous, requiring a slow pace and close attention to avoid falling into frigid water.   #### Weather Extreme cold (detailed in chapter 3 of the "Dungeon Master's Guide") is normal weather during Icewind Dale's winter. If Auril's everlasting winter affects an area, it is always winter, the light is never brighter than [Dim Light](/3-Mechanics/CLI/variant-rules/dim-light-xphb.md), and the weather expresses her fury. Subtract 5 from your rolls when rolling on this table when Auril's everlasting winter is in effect.   > [!gallery] >  >  ## Ten-Towns Gazetteer Ten-Towns is a scattering of settlements built on the rocky shores of three lakes—Maer Dualdon, Lac Dinneshere, and Redwaters. Only some of these settlements are large enough to truly be called towns, but the name has stuck. Although many settlers came here in hopes of hauling in the region's famous knucklehead trout, not everyone came for the fishing. The region includes mines in the north with gems as large as clenched fists, pine forests full of good timber, and snowy plains with grand beasts to be hunted or tamed. Those with an eye for the arcane swear that the wind-blasted wilderness hides magic beyond the reckoning of most people. - **Bremen**. Bremen is notable for a large and muddy floodplain where locals search for treasure. - **Bryn Shander**. The largest of the Ten-Towns, Bryn Shander is a hub for trade and travel. - **Caer–Dineval**. The people of the embattled village of Caer-Dineval have turned to Auril to protect them from Fiends and other monsters. - **Caer–Konig**. Sahuagin prey on the inhabitants of the backwater settlement of Caer-Konig. - **Dougan's Hole**. The smallest and most desperate of the Ten–Towns, Dougan's Hole is home to a bloody curse. - **Easthaven**. Easthaven boasts a strange tourist attraction: the remains of a chardalyn dragon that attacked the settlement. - **Good Mead**. Bee cultivation and mead production drives trade and travel to Good Mead. - **Lonelywood**. In the village of Lonelywood, every citizen hides a secret. - **Targos. The** Zhentarim has taken over the prosperous fishing town of Targos. - **Termalaine**. Access to the Underdark has revitalized the mining industry in Termalaine. ### Bremen  The sleepy village of Bremen was built by dwarf prospectors where the Shaengarne River empties into Maer Dualdon. Its 225 residents are mostly fishers and trappers, but the population swells in summer thanks to seasonal floods. Bremen is built on the river, and it's difficult to reach. In winter, travelers must navigate jagged ice, while warmer months bring flash floods and treacherous currents. No one expected the human Ludalos Opkin (Medium, Lawful Good [Commoner](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/commoner-xmm.md)) to become speaker of Bremen, but he swept the election unopposed. Ludalos is a thoroughly untalented scrimshander whose gentle demeanor and large sideburns put people at ease, even when the situation calls for alarm. #### Summer Floods Bremen is known for its early summer floods and the treasures left in the river's path. Come midsummer, the village takes on a festive atmosphere as visitors stream into the settlement to wade in the floodplain, sifting mud for gold nuggets, the skulls of knucklehead trout, and other treasures the river left behind—though they rarely find more than bits of bone, rubbish, or lumpy rocks. This season, however, individuals combing the floodplain for treasure have begun contracting [Mudpox](/3-Mechanics/CLI/diseases.md#Mudpox) (see "Magical Contagions" earlier in this chapter), a malady carried in the mud seeping up from the melting Underdark. Characters might find tiny magic items and other unusual valuables half-buried in the floodplain, sold as junk at Ewin's Trinkets, or wagered at Five-Tavern Center (see below). #### Noteworthy Places Bremen is small, with little to offer in terms of comfort or services. Shaengarne Street runs along the river from the floodplain, past the weathered statue of the settlement's founder to the docks and warehouses at the village's north end. Anyone doing business at these warehouses and docks must deal with the foul-mouthed dwarf, Grynsk Berylbore (Medium, Lawful Neutral [Tough](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/tough-xmm.md)), who runs these businesses and never has a good word to say. ##### Buried Treasure Bremen's single inn, the Buried Treasure, caters to treasure hunters in summer and sits all but empty the rest of the year. Cora Mulphoon (Medium, Neutral Good [Commoner](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/commoner-xmm.md)), the human proprietor of Buried Treasure, is a kind, gray-haired woman who talks endlessly about her son, Huarwar. > [!quote] A quote from Sheriff Markham > > Last year, Nosk found a strange rock in the Bremen mud. It was a slaad egg. We had to put Nosk down. Buried Treasure is decorated with hundreds of objects dug up from the mud of the Shaengarne by Cora Mulphoon's guests and then donated to the inn. Most hold little value—gnarled pieces of driftwood, broken pottery, a battered shield bearing a Cormyrean noble's crest—but displayed in a glass case on the mantle is a gold nugget the size of a knucklebone. At least, that's what Cora tells visitors it is. In truth, it's a rock that she disguised with a bit of paint, but the opportunity it promises to those who see it sparkling above the hearth keeps hopeful visitors coming back year after year. A human named Felka Otterdowd (Medium [Scout](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/scout-xmm.md)) is commonly found at Buried Treasure, where she seeks information about her missing wife, Sorrel. Unfortunately, Sorrel died from [Lichen Plague](/3-Mechanics/CLI/diseases.md#Lichen%20Plague), and her corpse walks out on Wet Rock (see below). ##### Ewin's Trinkets Ewin's Trinkets' shelves bulge and buckle with cast-off bits and bobs from years of scavenging on the floodplain. The halfling Ewin (Small, Neutral Good [Commoner](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/commoner-xmm.md)), who runs the shop, was favored for speaker of Bremen, but he handled a piece of chardalyn recently and contact with Zlan's mind has left him confused and anxious, plagued by shattered voices that croak to him in his sleep. In his current condition, Ewin barters poorly with customers, selling items for half their value. Casting the [Lesser Restoration](/3-Mechanics/CLI/spells/lesser-restoration-xphb.md) spell on Ewin dispels Zlan's pernicious influence and returns Ewin to his former self. Characters might find a Common or Uncommon magic item here, buried among old fishhooks, twisted wire, yellowish rocks once mistaken for gold, and other rubbish. ##### Five-Tavern Center Five-Tavern Center is a circle of five competing drinking houses (Stones, Even Keel, the River's Mouth, the Grumpy Moose, and the Black-Bearded Brother) that offer the cheapest ale in Ten-Towns and organized fights in the shared courtyard after the sun goes down. Most of the fighters here are [Commoners](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/commoner-xmm.md), but a few [Berserkers](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/berserker-xmm.md) and [Toughs](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/tough-xmm.md) offer more formidable competition. A recently arrived human from the Trackless Sea named Bula (Medium, Chaotic Evil [Gladiator](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/gladiator-xmm.md)) is the current champion, and characters can fight him or another challenger if they're willing to put up collateral that their opponent is interested in. Bula recently won a piece of chardalyn in a fight, and Zlan's whispers have begun to corrupt his mind. ##### Wet Rock Out in the river sits Wet Rock, a speck of an island with an abandoned shack. Townsfolk avoid the place by instinct, unaware that the interior is choked with [bile lichen](/3-Mechanics/CLI/traps-hazards/bile-lichen-fraif.md) (see the description of bile lichen in "Hazards" in this chapter). Two unfortunate fishers who lost their boat in a storm washed ashore on the island and sought shelter in the shack. They were trapped there long enough to perish and now shuffle around the shack's tiny room as [Zombies](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/undead/zombie-xmm.md), ready to ambush other creatures on sight. One of these zombies is all that remains of Sorrel, Felka Otterdowd's wife. ### Bryn Shander > [!gallery] >  >  Those who pass through Bryn Shander's gates find comfort and a chance to stock up on supplies, trade goods, and rumors. Boasting 1,800 residents, bustling Bryn Shander is Icewind Dale's largest town. All kinds of people wander these streets, where trade is the main industry. Built high on a hill, Bryn Shander's wooden walls stand thirty feet high to fence out the bitter winds. The Ten Trail leads to its gate, and for most southerners, who never venture farther into the region, this might as well be the only town in Icewind Dale. As the sole town in the area not on a lake, Bryn Shander's fortunes are founded on trade. Its origin as a crossroads trading post shows in its bustling mercantile spirit and its shops and services. The ten speakers of Ten-Towns gather here to settle disputes, reach agreements, and discuss issues affecting the whole region. Bryn Shander's speaker is the human Duvessa Shane (Medium, Lawful Good [Noble](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/noble-xmm.md)). She is respected throughout Ten-Towns. Duvessa worries Echomorne's prophesies (see "Dragon Dreams" below) do more harm than good, and she'd send the seer packing if she had a good excuse. #### Dragon Dreams People haven't been sleeping well in Bryn Shander lately. They've been disturbed by a slew of nightmares, which are secretly caused by Mornethraxys ([Adult Deep Dragon](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/dragon/adult-deep-dragon-fraif.md); see chapter 9) who disguises herself as Seer Echomorne, a dragonborn soothsayer. Her purple pavilion occupies a busy corner of Market Square. Echomorne insists that she alone can foresee a coming disaster. She voices unsettling predictions and then tries to bring them about. Many townsfolk see the seer as a folk leader who speaks truth to power, and some think she should be the next speaker. She is attended by her frightening goliath bodyguard, Thuldrek (Medium, Lawful Evil [Cultist Fanatic](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/cultist-fanatic-xmm.md)), a Cult of the Dragon agent in her service. #### Noteworthy Places Bryn Shander's Southwest Gate offers large stables for axe beaks and sled dogs. The main road leads to Market Square. The East Gate opens to the Eastway, a gravel road leading to Redwaters and Lac Dinneshere, while a path out of the North Gate leads to the settlements on Maer Dualdon. ##### Blackiron Blades On the north side of the square at Blackiron Blades, the human siblings Garn the Hammer and Elza (Medium, Lawful Good [Commoners](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/commoner-xmm.md)) sell affordable but inferior weapons and survival gear to those recently arrived in Icewind Dale. They're always eager to help newcomers find their feet, though Garn's poor smithing is an object of ridicule in town. Being outfitted from Blackiron Blades guarantees one won't be taken seriously by the hardy folk of Ten-Towns. ##### Council Hall The speakers of Ten-Towns occasionally come together in a nondescript warehouse that serves as a council hall, which otherwise stands empty. In an emergency, the hall can be converted to house refugees. ##### House of the Morninglord The ground floor of the modest House of the Morninglord houses a shrine to Amaunator. A retired human adventurer named Mishann (Medium, Neutral Good [Priest](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/priest-xmm.md)) lives upstairs. She maintains the shrine and offers divine services. She argues frequently with her rock gnome assistant, Copper Knobberknocker (Small, Chaotic Good [Priest Acolyte](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/priest-acolyte-xmm.md)), who is devoted to Lathander. Southerners are often surprised to hear the name "Morninglord" applied to Amaunator and not Lathander, but Mishann insists Lathander stole the title. ##### House of the Triad One of the largest stone buildings in Icewind Dale, the House of the Triad is a temple to Tyr, Torm, and Ilmater. The house was shuttered during Auril's everlasting winter by townsfolk angered because the priests were helpless before Auril's wrath, but it has since reopened, albeit humbler than before. The temple serves the faithful and stockpiles food and supplies in preparation for future crises, making it a prime target for would-be thieves. ##### Market Square Market Square is Bryn Shander's beating heart. Stalls and tents sell knucklehead trout, scrimshaw, vegetables, reindeer meat, handicrafts, and cold weather gear. The false soothsayer Echomorne harangues the crowd from her pavilion while one or two militia members ensure order. Characters who catch the seer's eye receive personalized predictions of doom. Once she makes a prediction, she tries to bring it about—or at least trouble her victims with nightmares so they are too exhausted to doubt her words. ##### The Northlook The Northlook inn and tavern is frequented by mercenaries and adventurers and is the best spot in Ten-Towns to catch wind of profitable adventures. Scramsax, the gruff human proprietor (Medium [Warrior Veteran](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/warrior-veteran-xmm.md)), understands the adventuring life and allows capable travelers between jobs to stay on credit—but what seems at first like charity catches up with unwary characters when Scramsax presents an itemized bill loaded with surcharges once their fortunes improve. Those who refuse to meet his terms learn that Scramsax retired out of choice, not necessity, as he's still capable with a blade. Elderly human trapper Edgra Durmoot (Medium [Scout](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/scout-xmm.md)), who was once speaker of Dougan's Hole, warms a stool at the Northlook, drinking in frightened silence. Characters willing to coax her into talking might learn about recent events (see "Dougan's Hell" later in this chapter). ##### Speaker's Palace Only inhabitants of Icewind Dale would call the Speaker's Palace—carved from stone by dwarf artisans, with a slate roof and front colonnade—a palace, but compared to the rough wood houses that make up most of Bryn Shander, it has a certain majesty. Speaker Duvessa Shane resides here. She's an enthusiastic debater famous for getting what she wants. ##### Town Hall The large town hall holds community feasts and gatherings on religious holy days. Human sheriff Markham Southwell (Medium, Lawful Good [Warrior Veteran](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/warrior-veteran-xmm.md)) works out of an office in the cellar of the building, which includes a single large jail cell. The cell is usually unoccupied, but Sheriff Markham has a pair of deputies ([Guards](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/guard-xmm.md)) to watch it when necessary. Markham's eyesight is worsening, and he quietly searches for someone to replace him. ### Caer-Dineval High atop a lakeside crag stands a small fortress shrouded in bitter cold and unending darkness. The village below is in a state of siege, with every door locked, every citizen armed, and every structure marked with symbols of Auril. Most of the village's ninety residents are direct descendants of its settlers, fighting for their ancestral land. The human Crannoc Siever (Medium, Lawful Neutral [Commoner](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/commoner-xmm.md)) is speaker of the Caer-Dineval. He's a blowhard who leaves home only to complain or stir up trouble. The settlement's real leader is the orc Yldreth (Medium, Lawful Neutral [Druid](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/druid-xmm.md)), a frost druid rejected by the Emerald Enclave who channels Auril's wrath to defend her people. Yldreth offers faithful sacrifices of food, warmth, and reverence to Auril to maintain a constant winter storm around the castle, containing its menace (see "The Caer" below). She's in search of mercenaries to retake the castle, but she doesn't intend to join these missions herself, since she is focused on the village's protection, not self-sacrifice. Yldreth's second-in-command is the white dragonborn Nymetra Myskyn(Medium, Neutral Evil [Berserker](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/berserker-xmm.md)), formerly of Easthaven. Nymetra has devoted her life to Auril and secretly leads a cult of Auril worshipers reviving the rite of humanoid sacrifice. #### The Caer The castle dominates Caer-Dineval's lightless landscape with flickering blue fire and diabolical howls that remind everyone nearby of the constant danger in their vicinity. The castle was built over four hundred years ago by the wealthy Dinev family from Cormyr. When a band of aggressive orcs attacked, the Dinevs hid in the castle, leaving the townsfolk to be killed or driven off. The invaders took the castle, only to be pushed out by later waves of settlers. More recently, the castle was occupied by Knights of the Black Sword, cultists of the archdevil Levistus, which led to the village's present woes. The Black Swords' diabolical rites opened a portal to Stygia and drew the attention of Levistus's rival, Geryon, who sent fiends to infest the castle's depths. His influence has also drawn evil giants to the castle. Its upper levels are held by monsters and marauders that squabble over territory. Yldreth's magic keeps the castle surrounded by a perpetual blizzard. Its walls rise twenty feet above ground level, and its basement and ice tunnels run deep below the frozen ground. Gaping holes yawn in the towers, walls, and upper rooms, ripped open by the [Trolls](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/giant/troll-xmm.md), [Ogres](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/giant/ogre-xmm.md), and [Ettins](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/giant/ettin-xmm.md) that fight for control of the upper levels. The castle's lower levels are the haunts of [Imps](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/fiend/imp-xmm.md), **IceDevils**, and other Stygian fiends. In the frozen depths of the castle, a portal to the Nine Hells grows wider as diabolical claws scratch at it from the other side. > [!quote] A quote from Sheriff Markham > > I have no love for the Frostmaiden, but Yldreth is protecting her people, and that I respect. #### Noteworthy Places Caer-Dineval winds from a dockside watchtower up the hill to the castle. Every home is locked and barred, and businesses except Dinev's Rest are closed. Symbols of Auril are everywhere, and the village is shrouded in endless winter. ##### Dinev's Rest The village's sole inn and tavern is Dinev's Rest, a drafty old building with a bent weather vane shaped like a rearing dragon. The human innkeeper Roark (Medium, Lawful Good [Commoner](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/commoner-xmm.md)) and human cook Karou Salafan (Medium, Neutral Good [Commoner](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/commoner-xmm.md)) serve hot chowder, beer, and spirits here in an effort to keep the village's spirits up. Once a month they enact a ceremony they call the Night of Ancestors, when the entire village gathers to light a bonfire, risk Auril's displeasure, and shout in defiance at the castle, swearing to reclaim it as their forebears did all those years ago. Two hunters and dog keepers, the humans Alassar Sulmander and Dassir Ravenskar (Medium, Neutral Good [Scouts](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/scout-xmm.md)), can sometimes be found at the inn looking for work. They tell horror stories of being held captive by the Knights of the Black Sword as youths.  ##### Frostshrine Once a tavern called the Uphill Climb, the Frostshrine is the closest structure to the castle. It is consecrated to Auril and has been converted into a guardhouse and shrine from which Yldreth, Nymetra, and their four [Guards](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/guard-xmm.md) defend the village against the castle. Newcomers who seem capable are directed up to the Frostshrine to show deference to Yldreth—and to see if she can convince them to venture into the castle to drive out at least a few of the infesting creatures, with the reward of keeping whatever loot they find. ##### The Watchtower When the castle was overrun, the people of Caer-Dineval restored the old watchtower at the mouth of the harbor as a temporary speaker's house. But as the years dragged on, the Watchtower has become a permanent residence and the village's food stockpile and armory. Speaker Siever's one remaining job is to safeguard these provisions, and he performs his role with miserly pomposity, making everyone in the village hate him more each time he withholds a crust of bread or a freshly sharpened knife. ### Caer-Konig A bitter wind from Kelvin's Cairn sweeps over the tiny village of Caer-Konig, lonely and almost forgotten on the far shore of Lac Dinneshere. Caer-Konig feels like the end of the world, a last scrap of shelter scraped together at the foot of Icewind Dale's great mountain. The roughly 150 residents here carry on daily life with little thought for the outside world, fishing, hunting, and trapping just as their parents and grandparents did. However, more travelers arrive every day, on their way up to Highplume Station beyond Kelvin's Cairn. The forest gnome Pinninah Gelvane (Small, Lawful Neutral [Scout](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/scout-xmm.md)) was elected speaker here after the village's former speaker—silver dragonborn Trovus (Medium, Chaotic Good [Warrior Veteran](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/warrior-veteran-xmm.md))—started a drunken brawl in Bryn Shander that landed him in a cell for a month. Seeking a stable alternative, the village elected Pinninah, a skilled fisher who prefers to talk politics out on the lake, trout spear in hand. Trovus, in contrast, has recently been seen drunk, sleeping in the snow by the docks, unbothered by the cold. For most of its existence, Caer-Konig was ignored as a mere outpost, but it is the best place from which to set out for Kelvin's Cairn or the new settlement of Highplume Station. The people here enjoy friendly relations with Dwarven Valley—although the valley has been eerily quiet of late. #### Sea Devil Abductions No one can say for sure when it started, but for some time now, fishing boats have come back empty and the bodies of locals have been found drifting near the docks at sunrise, with nobody able to explain why they were out by the water so late at night. Residents have yet to discover that cold-water sahuagin live in the lake. Disturbed by monsters from the Underdark, the sahuagin are angry and frightened. They seek answers for why the depths have been disturbed and have been capturing locals, cruelly interrogating them, and drowning them.  #### Noteworthy Places The village of Caer-Konig is built in terraced rings that rise from the docks and a natural harbor up to the wind-blown rocks of a ruined castle, with Kelvin's Cairn looming large behind it. A market square is nestled on the eastern side of the hill. The ruin is a scattering of snow-covered stones, already well-picked over for any discarded treasures. ##### Frozenfar Expeditions Frozenfar Expeditions offers adventuring gear, dogsleds, and sled dogs. An experienced dwarf guide, Jarthra Farzassh (Medium, Lawful Good [Scout Captain](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/scout-captain-xmm.md)), runs the shop with the help of several young folk, to whom she passes down mountain lore she learned from her own mentor Atenas Swift. Atenas perished trying to help the people of Caer-Dineval, and Jarthra hasn't forgiven the neighboring settlement for Atenas's death. Lately, Jarthra has been leading expeditions up to Highplume Station, and she's looking for adventurers willing to lend a hand in making sure travelers safely reach their destination. ##### Hook, Line, and Sinker The tavern called Hook, Line, and Sinker—run by an elderly, likable human named Eglendar "Glen" Korr (Medium, Neutral Good [Commoner](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/commoner-xmm.md))—offers a free half-pint of ale (the hook), plenty of drink and good cheer (the line), and a drinking contest at last call, when hardy locals compete to drink visitors under the table (the sinker). For years, Glen has bought his ale from Dwarven Valley, and he needs someone to investigate why his contacts there have gone silent. Nomads of the Tribe of the Owl have taken a liking to the tavern, and on any given night, at least two of their [Warrior Infantry](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/warrior-infantry-xmm.md) whisper the latest rumors from the wilderness at the table farthest from the open door. ##### Northern Light The inn called the Northern Light is operated by the human siblings Allie and Cori Shorard (Medium, Neutral Good [Commoners](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/commoner-xmm.md)), assisted by Allie's goliath husband, Yorlt (Medium Lawful Good [Scout Captain](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/scout-captain-xmm.md)), whom Allie found injured on the mountain and nursed back to health five winters ago. The inn is famous for a magic, color-changing lantern that hangs over the door. Allie handles the customers and cleaning, while Cori manages the cooking, with Yorlt hunting for fresh ingredients or trading pelts and antlers with guests. Cori pretends to be annoyed by Yorlt, but the two get along famously and Cori is a devoted aunt to her sister's twin children. > [!quote] A quote from Sheriff Markham > > I pity Trovus. He was a good speaker. Conscientious. Loyal. But he's seen too much. Suffered too much. I see my future in him. ### Dougan's Hole Everyone in Ten-Towns has heard the warning: "Don't go down to Dougan's Hell." What was once an insular village has become a living nightmare. The thirty surviving residents, blood relatives of the founder Dougan Dubrace, are trapped in a pact with a monster that thirsts for blood and violence. See the adventure "Dougan's Hell" later in this chapter for guidance on how characters might interact with this settlement. Dougan's Hole has long been known as an unlikable settlement full of hostile, closed-minded, insular folk who shun outsiders. Many residents were part of a single large extended family. But in the last decade, things have gone terribly wrong. When the chardalyn dragon obliterated Dougan's Hole, Good Mead, and half of Easthaven, people returned here to rebuild. (See Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden for more on the chardalyn dragon attack.) But their new structures rose as strange, crooked things, full of holes and barely able to keep out the cold. Fires burning day and night sent plumes of stinking black smoke into the winter sky. Anyone who approached the village disappeared. Nearby wildlife was found mutilated and charred. Gnawed bones, not all from animals, washed up on the lakeshore. Lately, caravans on the Ten Trail have been attacked by wild-eyed marauders, their merchants and guards dragged off into the snow never to be seen again. Residents of nearby Good Mead and Bryn Shander have posted signs on the road in Common and Dwarvish: "Danger: Do Not Approach," and "Death Awaits in Dougan's Hell."  #### Thruun's Cult Elder Dubrace (Medium, Lawful Evil [Cultist Fanatic](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/cultist-fanatic-xmm.md)), leader of the village and family patriarch, leads a cult dedicated to Thruun. The elder's word is law, and Thruun's will is all that matters. Elder Dubrace is a wretched man devoid of moral instincts who sold his entire family line into a monster's service without a thought, desiring only to survive and to spite any who looked down on Dougan's kin. Elder Dubrace is attended by three siblings: brothers Lim and Ryn and their silent sister, Morg(Medium, Lawful Evil [Cultist Fanatics](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/cultist-fanatic-xmm.md)). These three are bound by Dougan's Bloodcurse and enforce the elder's orders. Muscular Lim leads raids on the Ten Trail, Ryn is a slender fool who slinks around the settlement trying to sniff out dissent, and Morg keeps watch on the victim cages as she sharpens her favorite knife. Another family member, Auntie Nen (Medium, Neutral Good [Commoner](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/commoner-xmm.md)) tends as best she can to her family while also suffering from the curse. #### Dougan's Bloodcurse By the power of Malar, channeled through Thruun, the descendants of Dougan are invigorated and protected when they shed blood. Creatures affected by Dougan's Bloodcurse have the following additional traits: - **Malar's Resilience.** The creature has Immunity to Cold damage and to the [Exhaustion](/3-Mechanics/CLI/conditions.md#Exhaustion) and [Frightened](/3-Mechanics/CLI/conditions.md#Frightened) conditions. - **Murderous Surge.** The creature has Advantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws. If Thruun is reduced to 0 Hit Points, the curse is broken. See "Dougan's Hell" later in this chapter for more on confronting Thruun. #### Noteworthy Places All that can be seen of the village from the lake are the Twenty Stones of Thruun—a roughly triangular ring of rough-hewn megaliths with one large stone in the center and a weird maze of blackened wreckage erected in perplexing shapes around it. ##### Bloodchamber of Thruun At the foot of the central stone of Thruun, a tunnel leads into a circular, high-ceilinged chamber, the walls of which were roughly scratched out of the cold earth with bent shovels and giant claws. This is the Bloodchamber, where Thruun ([Beast of Malar](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/monstrosity/beast-of-malar-fraif.md); see chapter 9) appears at summoning rituals led by Elder Dubrace. ##### Dougan's Warren A series of irregular tunnels called Dougan's Warren houses the family, who moved underground to better serve Thruun and Elder Dubrace. The warren is frigid and has little food, since the bloodcursed don't require such comforts. A group of goblins has taken an interest in serving Thruun; they reside within the warren, unaffected by the curse. They are led by the goblin Gutstab Grimbutcher ([Goblin Hexer](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/fey/goblin-hexer-xmm.md)), who can be found in council with Elder Dubrace, plotting together to extend Thruun's grasp. Cages within the warren hold captives for sacrificing, including cousin Rogar (Medium, Chaotic Good [Berserker](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/berserker-xmm.md)), who rants that he'll kill the elder once he's free. The outer tunnels of the Warren are lined with thin straw pallets, where members of the family tormented by the curse seek solace in dreamless sleep. ##### Eldershelter Adjacent to the Bloodchamber, a smaller space called the Eldershelter is decorated with red wood and burgundy cloth. This cramped, smoky room is the private dwelling of Elder Dubrace. It is littered with the valuables of the clan's captives. Just outside the entrance stand `1d4` [Cultists](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/cultist-xmm.md) who prevent entry by any but the elder and his chosen guests. ##### Pike Wall The settlement is surrounded by a leaning ring of sharpened stakes pointed inward. Its design isn't intended to keep strangers out, but to confine the people of Dougan's Hole inside. A few watchful [Warrior Infantry](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/warrior-infantry-xmm.md) from the militias of other Ten-Towns warn off anyone coming close and sound alarm horns when a raiding party leaves Dougan's Hole. ##### Surface Shrines The surface is littered with shrines erected from charred scraps in Thruun's honor. These form a patternless maze of blackened, crisscrossed beams and poles where the town once stood. The shrines are smeared with blood and infested by scavengers such as [Carrion Crawlers](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/monstrosity/carrion-crawler-xmm.md), [Harpies](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/monstrosity/harpy-xmm.md), [Rats](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/beast/rat-xmm.md), and [Vultures](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/beast/vulture-xmm.md). ### Easthaven  By the standards of Icewind Dale, Easthaven is a grand place, with fish houses, shops, and taverns sprawling haphazardly from its docks at the southern shore of Lac Dinneshere. Easthaven's population of one thousand is made up of fishers, tradespeople, merchants, and even a well-to-do upper crust. About ten years ago, a chardalyn dragon attacked Ten-Towns and—after doing extensive damage to Good Mead and Dougan's Hole—it came crashing to its destruction in Easthaven. Dragon's Ditch, a long, north-south furrow through the heart of town, marks this site, and the dragon's mangled remains lie half-buried in the rubble of an old tavern at the south end of town, surrounded by a wooden wall called the Palisade. See Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden for more on the chardalyn dragon. The human Danneth Waylen (Medium, Chaotic Good [Commoner](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/commoner-xmm.md)) is the town's speaker. Humble and forthright, Danneth has nevertheless chosen to keep the recent string of cult murders (see "Cult of Auril" below) quiet until their perpetrators can be found. Elf captain Imdra Arlaggath (Medium, Lawful Good [Warrior Veteran](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/warrior-veteran-xmm.md)) is curt and capable; she leads the town militia. Both are focused on finding the cultists and will reward anyone who helps them bring a discreet end to the murder spree. #### Pickpocketing Easthaven is the only place in Ten-Towns where pickpocketing is legal. The town was founded by rogues on the run from an angry thieves' guild in the Duchy of Cape Velen. Anyone who has had their pocket picked or their bag burgled should check certain shops, well known to locals. #### Cult of Auril A covert splinter cult of Auril worship led by Nymetra Myskyn of Caer-Dineval has revived the forbidden rite of humanoid sacrifice, which has also spread to Easthaven. Frostbitten bodies have been found bound to poles in the surrounding hills or frozen in the lake ice, marked with symbols of Auril. Nymetra sends messages by ferry from Caer-Dineval to cultists in Easthaven to organize these sacrifices. For now, the deaths are being hushed up by local leaders, but rumors are spreading, and people are asking questions. #### Noteworthy Places Most visitors arrive at Easthaven by the Eastway, passing a chardalyn statue of a balor that remains untouched by snow, even in the dead of winter. The main road leads up towards the docks, ferry, and the north end of Dragon's Ditch. ##### Easthaven Ferry The ferry is a keelboat that transports people and cargo to Caer-Dineval and Caer-Konig for a modest fee. It has no fixed schedule. Scython (Medium, Neutral Good [Bandit Captain](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/bandit-captain-xmm.md)), the good-natured and well-informed tiefling operator of the ferry, prefers to wait until he has enough passengers to merit a trip across the lake. Lately, business has been booming with prospectors seeking passage to Caer-Konig on their way to Highplume Station, and Scython is more than happy to take their coin and share the latest rumors during the crossing. ##### Palisade Court At the south end of Dragon's Ditch lies a half-ruined old tavern and the remains of the chardalyn dragon. Anyone who comes within 30 feet of the remains is stirred by violent urges, so the area is fenced off with a high wooden palisade and is known as the Palisade Court. In the years since the wall was built, enterprising townsfolk have opened shops and competing alehouses around the wall, charging patrons a copper or two for a peek at the Terror of Ten-Towns. ##### The Wet Trout and the Other Fence The Wet Trout is the largest and loudest tavern in town, known for ribaldry and rumor-mongering. Fordeg (Medium, Chaotic Neutral [Bandit](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/bandit-xmm.md)), the human owner of the Wet Trout, is lax and permissive—to the delight of his rowdy clientele—and devotes his energy to running the Other Fence, a pawn shop for stolen goods located in the inn's old root cellar and named after Easthaven's famous Palisade Court. The clientele in the cellar leans toward [Toughs](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/tough-xmm.md) and other ne'er-do-wells, and the goods here are always changing. Magic items occasionally show up on the shelves, but they're often sought by former owners determined to recover them at any price. ##### White Lady Inn The once-popular White Lady Inn has become a musty haunt of performers, artists, and patrons with a taste for the macabre. The guests, hosted with dramatic flair by the halfling Rinaldo (Small, Lawful Good [Performer](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/performer-xmm.md)), gather to tell ghost stories and enjoy cheap accommodations in rooms that are probably not haunted. Who can say for sure whether eerie encounters at the inn are caused by poltergeists and specters from beyond the grave or are merely tricks played by Rinaldo to keep his guests coming back for another night of ghoulish inspiration? The inn's honored guest these days is the high elf Therindrel of Waterdeep (Medium, Neutral Good [Mage](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/mage-xmm.md)), a visiting scholar from Blackstaff Tower. > [!note] Chardalyn Dragon > > The chardalyn dragon whose corpse is so prominent in Easthaven features in *Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden*. This book assumes the dragon ravaged the settlements of Dougan's Hole, Good Mead, and Easthaven before being destroyed by adventurers. If you ran the adventure, the dragon might have been destroyed elsewhere along its path of attack. In that case, you can relocate its remains and make other adjustments to this chapter. In "Retaking the Terror," later in this chapter, the party has an opportunity to turn the dragon's remains into a Bastion. ^chardalyn-dragon ### Good Mead At the edge of Redwaters, nestled between blue-green pines, carved wooden dinosaurs grace the pinnacle of Newmead Hall, from which the buzzing of tens of thousands of bees can be clearly heard. The two hundred residents of the village are dedicated to producing, perfecting, and delivering honey mead. Good Mead was founded by immigrants from Chult and the Vilhon Reach, which explains its squat dwellings richly adorned with carvings of dinosaurs and serpents. Bees from Newmead Hall are ubiquitous throughout the settlement. More than ten years ago, after Good Mead was razed by the chardalyn dragon (see Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden for more on the chardalyn dragon attack), the people of Ten-Towns banded together to rebuild it. The village's new speaker, the wood elf Festris Pilcone (Medium, Chaotic Evil [Noble](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/noble-xmm.md)), was recruited from the south to rebuild Good Mead's apiary after the chardalyn dragon attack. His beekeeping expertise has led to more mead than ever, in new varieties that have increased demand. New bees were brought from the south, and the mead hall was rebuilt larger than before. Festris's scientific mind and honeyed words have charmed the settlement, as has his lifelong pursuit of mead-craft. For years, he has been cultivating new mead varieties, produced by increasingly strange bees. #### Threat from Dougan's Hole Good Mead's proximity to the violent village of Dougan's Hole has led worshipers of Tempus to erect a wall at the western edge of the settlement, patrolling it day and night. This wall, called the Hedge, is detailed below.  #### Strange Mead New varieties of mead brewed by Speaker Pilcone have yielded strange properties, causing obsession, sloth, forgetfulness, and other erratic behavior. Festris secretly keeps underground hives; breeding strange bees and mixing honey with [bile lichen](/3-Mechanics/CLI/traps-hazards/bile-lichen-fraif.md), slimes, and oozes from the Underdark and concocting mead with powdered chardalyn. Festris is obsessed with experimentation and feels no remorse for any harmful side effects. The grouchy halfling fisher Chem Bursker (Small [Commoner](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/commoner-xmm.md)) dislikes mead and cast the only vote against electing Festris speaker. Chem's family has lived in Good Mead for generations, and Chem is suspicious of change. Though he won't do any snooping himself, he has saved up coin to hire adventurers to poke around in Newmead Hall's basements in hopes of turning up something to embarrass Festris. #### Noteworthy Places Good Mead has no market square—Newmead Hall is the center of the community, and important business and gatherings are conducted there or at the Shrine of the Flaming Sword. The village is tucked between Redwaters and a pine forest, with the Eastway marking one end and the Hedge on the other. > [!quote] A quote from Sheriff Markham > > Something bothers me about Festris. Give me a locksmith and six hours to look around, and we'll get to the bottom of things. ##### The Hedge The lichen-covered stone wall called the Hedge stands at the west end of Good Mead, protecting it from Dougan's Hole. It curves in a shallow arc 50 feet long and 15 feet high, with wooden steps and scaffolding on the inside so [Guards](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/guard-xmm.md) from the Shrine of the Flaming Sword can keep watch from the top. The Hedge has no gate. Anyone attempting to go around must either slosh through Redwaters or fight through brambles in the pine forest. ##### Hidden Hives After becoming speaker, Festris set about elevating the settlement's mead production to new heights, insisting on a grand new hall with deep cellars allegedly for long-term cask aging. Festris built the new mead hall with laborers hired from afar. After construction, he murdered the laborers while claiming they'd left town, then locked the cellars and kept the only key for himself. Now the cellars host his strange experiments. Festris has sealed off several chambers infested by oozes, [bile lichen](/3-Mechanics/CLI/traps-hazards/bile-lichen-fraif.md), and other Underdark menaces. When curious townsfolk ask him about buzzing from underground, he waves it off as the sound of "happy bees." ##### Newmead Hall The three tiers of Newmead Hall resemble a giant wooden beehive defended by carved reptiles and leathery beasts. The interior features tables, two bars, and a large, fire-heated space devoted to bee husbandry. The human Bilka Grannud (Medium, Lawful Good [Bandit Captain](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/bandit-captain-xmm.md)) is the undisputed boss of this place, a jovial former bandit who fell in love with beekeeping, gave up her life of armed robbery, and became boss of Newmead Hall. She's the only person who stands up to Speaker Pilcone (although she rarely does so). Bilka's right hand is Sweet Tooth (Neutral Good [Allosaurus](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/beast/allosaurus-xmm.md); has an Intelligence of 10 and knows Common), an awakened blue-green dinosaur from Chult who came to Good Mead with adventurers and enjoyed the taste of mead so much he stayed to help tend the bees and see to the safety of the Hall. ##### Shrine of the Flaming Sword For decades, Good Mead's shrine of Tempus stood vacant, chipped, and faded, with a crow-haunted steeple. But with Dougan's Hole on the village's doorstep and an influx of coin and support from the Order of the Gauntlet, the Shrine—and worship of Tempus—has been restored to its full glory by the shield dwarf Orugar Furth (Medium, Lawful Good [Priest](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/priest-xmm.md)). Orugar oversees the settlement's worship of Tempus and the defense against the bloodthirsty residents of Dougan's Hole. Many locals attend services here. ### Lonelywood  People go to Lonelywood to disappear. Founded by a Sembian family from Urmlaspyr, this quiet village of one hundred is populated by loggers, fishers, and scrimshanders, many of whom were once thieves or murderers or otherwise harbor a secret they'll kill to protect. There is no inn or place to spend the night in Lonelywood. Folks here prefer travelers who don't ask questions and who move on quickly. Lonelywood has a custom: never bring up the past. It's quietly understood that those who choose to live here are fleeing from something, and talk focuses on today and tomorrow, never yesterday. Folks who ask questions are run out of town—or vanish. Lonelywood is more forest than village. It sits on the heavily forested bank of Maer Dualdon, surrounded by fir trees and quiet. Timber export to Termalaine and Targos is the major industry, and Lonelywood has the smallest fishing fleet of any settlement on the lakes. The gnome speaker of Lonelywood, Nimsy Huddle (Small, Lawful Neutral [Commoner](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/commoner-xmm.md)) is a kind, white-haired elder, but like her neighbors, she has been corrupted by chardalyn (see "Jagged Pine" below). She now spends her time complaining about the village's lack of appreciation for her lifetime of service. She has been thinking about "appropriate punishments" for those she believes have done her wrong and seeks adventurers to pay intimidating visits to villagers on her behalf. #### Jagged Pine The spreading hemlock called Jagged Pine once grew in the deep forest, its roots sunk into soil infused with shattered chardalyn crystals that became part of the pine's structure. It was found and taken to the lakeshore by a pair of hobgoblin loggers named Barker and Caz (Neutral [Hobgoblin Warriors](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/fey/hobgoblin-warrior-xmm.md)). The crystal tree was transplanted at the water's edge as a monument. Every branch of the tree is jagged with shards, each needle is sharp as glass, and the trunk is spiked with crystalline edges. The tree is Zlanic chardalyn. Creatures that touch or inspect the tree hear an echoing whisper of power as [Zlan](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/npc/zlan-fraif.md) contacts their minds. As a result of Zlan's influence, tension, guilt, and paranoia curdle the air here. Fights break out between old friends, people hole up in shacks in the woods, and threats follow the slightest provocation. Barker eventually murdered Cas and fled into the forest; he hasn't been seen since. If the tree isn't destroyed or returned to the woods soon, the entire village may fall to murder and mayhem, or disappear entirely as people slink away south or into the woods, never to be seen again. #### Noteworthy Places Lonelywood's oldest buildings and docks bear carvings of dragons, lions, and goats in homage to the founding family's chimera crest, but lately its shady streets have become ominous, with shops and drinking houses open for barely a few hours a day. ##### Golden Lodge Hidden deep in the forest, a ramshackle logger's cabin called the Golden Lodge holds a grand secret—a stunning interior wondrously carved, painted gold, and filled with [Spell Scrolls](/3-Mechanics/CLI/items/spell-scroll-xdmg.md), books, and other lore. For years a tiefling priest of Waukeen named Esurion (Medium [Priest](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/priest-xmm.md)) has been building his private library, collected over a lifetime of misadventure and theft. He intended to make his home, which he named after an old local shrine, into a temple to Waukeen. Now, he has abandoned that idea and has instead set traps around the cabin to scare off anyone who would steal his hoarded knowledge. ##### The Happy Scrimshander The Happy Scrimshander sells tools of the scrimshander's trade: needles and knives in a wide array of shapes and sizes, inks in a rainbow of colors, and wax to seal an engraving when it's done. The shop's owner is a laconic human named Iriskree Harrowhill (Medium [Assassin](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/assassin-xmm.md)). Since the tree came to town, Iriskree regards everyone who comes into her shop with suspicion and secretly decides how she would kill each of her customers before making a sale. ##### The Lucky Liar The elegant human barkeep Danae Xotal (Medium, Lawful Evil [Spy](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/spy-xmm.md)) keeps the doors of the Lucky Liar open longer than other shops in town to gather secrets, and she serves customers with long pours and open ears. Danae is secretly a Thayan agent, gathering secrets for her master, Szass Tam. She's bitter at being posted for so long in this distant hinterland and dreams of returning to her master's service in Thay. For now, she waits and watches for any opportunities that might benefit the Red Wizards, and her master in particular. One human resident of Lonelywood, Hairy Jack (Medium, Chaotic Neutral [Werewolf](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/monstrosity/werewolf-xmm.md)), is often found at the Lucky Liar. Jack tries to keep his lycanthropy a secret, and he is gathering a group to raid newly rich Termalaine. > [!quote] A quote from Sheriff Markham > > I've watched as Zhents have moved into Targos. I don't like it. But you're looking at dozens of enforcers, plus Yaven's personal assassin. That's not a problem me and a couple of deputies are going to solve. ### Targos  Targos is encircled by a wooden wall that extends into the lake, creating a safe harbor and allowing the town to build and maintain the largest fishing fleet in Ten-Towns. Most of the 1,200 townsfolk are fishers, boat wrights, net menders, scrimshanders, or otherwise engaged in the fishing trade—at least, that's how it seems on the surface. But it's an open secret that the Zhentarim runs this town, and nothing happens here that Zhents don't approve of. Targos was a thriving settlement when Bryn Shander was still "the camp on the hill," and it has deep ties to the ill-fated city of Luskan. Trade with Bryn Shander benefits both towns. Targos supplies knucklehead trout to Bryn Shander, and Bryn Shander's criminal element supplies whatever the Zhents who control Targos demand. #### Zhentarim in Targos About fifteen years ago, an enterprising Zhentarim agent named Naerth Maxildanarr became the speaker of Targos. Eventually he crossed the wrong set of adventurers, but his reports piqued the interest of the Zhentarim. One of the organization's leaders, Manshoon, liked the idea of an "icebox" where valuable ill-gotten merchandise could be stored until suspicion waned. Today, the Zhentarim controls business in town through the paper-thin front of the Dockworker's Guild. For those who stay in line, it's not so bad. But for the Zhentarim's enemies... well, Maer Dualdon is quiet and deep, and the knucklehead trout need to be fed. The human speaker of Targos, Yaven Rethlinscarp (Medium, Lawful Evil [Bandit Crime Lord](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/bandit-crime-lord-xmm.md)), is Zhentarim through and through. Raised in the organization and wholly dedicated to its interests, Yaven is a bulky man who moves with a slow step but bursts into sudden violence if provoked or disrespected. His wife and favorite problem-solver, a drow named Kliyra Yxthral (Medium, Neutral Evil [Assassin](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/assassin-xmm.md)), stays by his side with her trademark sarcastic smile, ready to kill at his nod. Yaven relies on his family to get things done and keep troublemakers in line, especially his drow nephew Rak Vakh'shan (Medium [Zhentilar Soldier](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/zhentilar-soldier-fraif.md); see chapter 9), who runs the docks, and the human Surgulio Pondt (Medium, Lawful Evil [Bandit Captain](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/bandit-captain-xmm.md)), who raised Yaven and now handles trade with Bryn Shander. Also indispensable to Yaven is the forest gnome Flax Perripat (Small, Lawful Good [Spy](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/spy-xmm.md)), a wrangler of winged snakes, but Flax is secretly a Harper agent. #### Noteworthy Places Targos originally had well-spaced buildings separated by wide avenues. Over the years, smaller buildings have been added between, crowding every street until people can walk down alleys where their elbows touch doors on either side. ##### Dockworker's Guildhall and Warehouses This sprawling wooden building, once the town hall, has been converted to a headquarters for the Dockworker's Guild—which means the Zhentarim, as everyone in town knows. It houses Speaker Yaven's living quarters; bunk rooms where [Toughs](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/tough-xmm.md), [Zhentilar Soldiers](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/zhentilar-soldier-fraif.md) (see chapter 9), and agents of the guild sleep; storage for weapons; a rookery for [Flying Snakes](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/monstrosity/flying-snake-xmm.md); and attached warehouses under Surgulio's watchful eye. These warehouses contain all sorts of stolen and smuggled goods. With Yaven's full knowledge, Surgulio runs a small side business selling stolen potions. Characters might be directed to the old Zhent for "cures and concoctions" of all kinds. ##### The Luskan Arms The oldest public house in Ten-Towns is the Luskan Arms. It was originally built to look like a pub from Luskan, its ceiling draped with sails and the roof supported by the ancient mast of a ship. The Luskan Arms is centuries old; it shows its age in every creaking beam, and the stink of its rat-infested cellar rises through the rotten floorboards. Its rooms are low ceilinged and cheap, the beer warm and flat, and the entertainment consistently low quality. Yet for all that, its Luskan decor and proximity to the Dockworker's Guildhall earn it Speaker Yaven's approval as his favorite drinking hole, which makes it popular among every Zhent who wants to be in his good graces. The taciturn human Owenn Tarsenal (Medium [Commoner](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/commoner-xmm.md)) is the tavern's proprietor. ##### Three Flags Sailing The threshold of this quiet drinking house is worn down from decades of fisher folk stamping their snowy boots at the door. Perhaps the only business in town where Zhents aren't entirely welcome, Three Flags Sailing is a struggling tavern, regularly vandalized as a sign of Yaven's disapproval. It usually has at least one window boarded up and a patch of new whitewash on the exterior, where the frail human Ethen "Ma" Yarbroul (Medium, Neutral Good [Commoner](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/commoner-xmm.md)) has covered over a fresh threat or expletive painted in the night. If anyone mutters against the Zhentarim, they do it here—but such talk is brief and hushed, since everyone knows the Zhents are always listening. ##### Triglio This general store takes its name from one of the chanteys that the fishers of Targos sing when they're hard at work: "Trig-lee-oh, lads, an' 'oist upon the line / Trig-lee-oh, lads, an' bring yon fishers in." The store's proprietor, a scarecrow-thin human named Jestin (Medium, Neutral Good [Commoner](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/commoner-xmm.md)), was a fisher himself long ago, but after an accident took his left hand, he opened this store. The Dockworker's Guild sells fishing and sailing supplies from the guildhall, so Triglio sells everything else: cold weather gear and snowshoes, rations and sweets, bags and barrels, tool kits and art supplies—whatever odds and ends Jestin has found buyers for over the years. ### Termalaine  In all its years as a gem-mining settlement, Termalaine has never seen a boom like the one it's presently enjoying. After a recent earthquake, new sections of the old mine opened up, bringing a rush of sudden wealth and new faces to town. The population swelled to eight hundred, and though some residents still fish for knucklehead trout, far more are buying pickaxes, shovels, and lanterns to seek their fortunes in the nearby cavern complex. Founded by Calishite settlers who appreciated beauty, Termalaine is the most picturesque settlement in Icewind Dale—and one of the coldest, as it's plagued by dreadful gales that sweep across Maer Dualdon to harry fishers at the southern end of the lake. Local-born human Darmo Mazlu (Medium, Chaotic Good [Commoner](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/commoner-xmm.md)) is Termalaine's speaker. He likes to tell the story of the time he helped a group of adventurers during the early years of Auril's everlasting winter. He's a boisterous man who insists he'll never settle down. He's delighted by the town's sudden prosperity and does everything possible to encourage the influx of prospectors, waving away any hint of worry with a sunny disposition and a flagon of Good Mead's finest. #### Underdark Access Termalaine's mine has always been its most notable feature. Now, however, interest has reached a fever pitch, and the town brims with strangers crowding every inn and private residence, lining up before dawn to enter the mine northeast of town. The mine opened up due to shifts in the Underdark far below. The few miners on hand that day heard a deep rumbling, which they first took to be a cave-in until they discovered that the bottom of several passages had dropped out, exposing glittering caverns and ruins below. As more surface dwellers descend, denizens of the Underdark stir. [Darkmantles](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/aberration/darkmantle-xmm.md), [Ropers](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/aberration/roper-xmm.md), [Gricks](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/aberration/grick-xmm.md), and [Hook Horrors](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/monstrosity/hook-horror-xmm.md) hunt in the dark, while myconids, watching impassively, send out spores to trace the contours of new minds. Worst of all, mind flayers have enthralled miners and sent them back to the surface as scouts—the subservient vanguard of the inevitable invasion from a hungering colony. Those headed into the deepest mines are advised to hire Horma Heftgrave (Medium, Lawful Evil [Warrior Veteran](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/warrior-veteran-xmm.md)) an experienced dwarf guide, but Horma was secretly enthralled by [Mind Flayers](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/aberration/mind-flayer-xmm.md) and is now under a compulsion to bring fresh prey to her masters. #### Noteworthy Places Termalaine is divided by wide avenues planted with plentiful trees, bordered on the north and west by tall pines. Its buildings incorporate Calishite carvings of wizards, homunculi, tigers, and smiling djinn. ##### The Blue Clam The fishers of Termalaine finish their days at the Blue Clam, sitting on benches near long hearths to warm their feet while they fill their bellies with spiced chowder. Beautiful works of scrimshaw hang on the walls. The Clam is the perfect place to listen for rumors, such as news of missing miners, or whispers that those who dig especially deep come back with a strange look in their eyes. The tavern's orc owner and chef, Vernon Braig (Medium, Neutral Good [Commoner](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/commoner-xmm.md)), is friendly with folks from Lonelywood and worries loudly about the strange goings-on up there. ##### The Eastside What looks from the outside like a group of separate houses is actually a single inn with rooms connected by underground passages and cozy guest accommodations in the cellar. The genteel human Marta Peskryk (Medium, Lawful Good [Commoner](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/commoner-xmm.md)) inherited the Eastside inn from her father. She and Speaker Mazlu have an on-again, off-again relationship. Recently, guests in the deepest cellar rooms have complained to Marta about headaches and unsettling thoughts. Marta is unaware that her cellar sits at the edge of a psionic field (see "Hazards" earlier in this chapter) generated by the mind flayer colony below. ##### Gem Mines The upper three levels of the old tourmaline mine from which the town takes its name are well mapped and excavated, but the new, deeper mine openings have changed everything. The surrounding area now hosts a tent camp for prospectors, where mine boss Gulbrek the Wide (Neutral [Ogrillon Ogre](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/giant/ogrillon-ogre-xmm.md)) enforces law and order and breaks up frequent squabbles. The entrances and upper tunnels are crowded and noisy, and freshly built scaffolding and ropes descend into the quiet and ominous depths. ##### Grand Row New money in Termalaine has led to new construction. Old cabins were torn down to build the tall and gaudy houses of Grand Row, decorated with filigree and fine plantings for the town's suddenly wealthy miners. This new gentry competes to outspend each other. Carts and sleds arrive regularly, loaded with expensive goods and furnishings from the south, and residents are considering hiring muscle to keep their houses safe from break-ins.  A dragonborn miner named Spartas Ourysk (Medium, Neutral Good [Noble](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/noble-xmm.md)) struck it rich when the mine expanded, and they now lead society on Grand Row. Spartas is advised by the gnome Tik Ektingket (Small [Mage](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/mage-xmm.md)), a sorcerer drawn by new money. ## Beyond Ten-Towns The hinterlands of Icewind Dale is a rolling white infinity where the wind howls without ceasing and winter gnaws the frozen bones of long-forgotten heroes. ### Reghed Camps Reghed camps are scattered throughout Icewind Dale. None appear on maps because these nomads don't stay in one place for long. A clan might set up its camp for a tenday or two, then dismantle it to follow reindeer migrating across the tundra. While clans of the same tribe build camps close to one another, the tribes avoid contact with each other unless a diplomatic summit is taking place. Camps typically consist of a chieftain; a great warrior who serves as adviser (such as a [Warrior Veteran](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/warrior-veteran-xmm.md) or [Warrior Commander](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/warrior-commander-xmm.md)); a [Druid](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/druid-xmm.md) who wears a wooden mask of the clan's sacred animal in public; and dozens of [Scouts](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/scout-xmm.md), [Warrior Infantry](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/warrior-infantry-xmm.md), noncombatants such as children or elders, and sled dogs (use the [Wolf](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/beast/wolf-xmm.md) stat block). The dogs sleep with the warriors in an outer ring of small tents surrounding the chief's circle, an inner ring of larger tents protected from the cold by thick fur blankets and the heat of the campfires. A Reghed camp is somber and subdued, except for the barking of sled dogs and the sounds of children playing. When at camp, warriors and hunters swap familiar stories and invent new ones that glorify the nomads' outlook on life as they maintain their weapons and other combat gear. Noncombatants maintain the clan's sleds, tents, and clothing and prepare food such as reindeer, seal, and knucklehead trout. ### Frozen Ruins The ruins of giant settlements are scattered throughout the wild and buried under the ice. The most famous of these is Jarlmoot, a silent circle of massive thrones to the west of Bremen. Jarlmoot is occupied at full moon by the stern spirits of long-dead frost giant jarls. Stumbling across a giant ruin promises treasure and peril. The barrows of the giants hold magical items but also traps and giant Undead. Places of particular significance might be marked with glyphs of warding placed by giant rune wizards long ago. These ruins are often not truly abandoned—they are visited by [Frost Giants](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/giant/frost-giant-xmm.md), who travel on the backs of [Mammoths](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/beast/mammoth-xmm.md) while accompanied by leashed [Polar Bears](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/beast/polar-bear-xmm.md). White dragons prize giant ruins as suitably majestic roosts. ### Steam Vents A new sight has arisen in Icewind Dale—huge plumes of steam rising up from vents to the melting Underdark. These white billows can be seen for miles, attracting travelers, scavengers, and predators. Six steam vents have been mapped by Reghed and Ten-Towners, although everyone suspects more exist. Three of those are inaccessible, located in lakes or unreachable crags. The others rise from exposed rock and have become oases of heat and trade. Ten-Towners, the Tribe of the Owl, and others cluster around the accessible vents. Sentries watch the vents as oozes and aberrations, attracted by the heat, noise, and pulsing veins of surface dwellers, reach upward toward the light. #### Highplume Station The closest steam vent to Ten-Towns has developed its own tent settlement. Highplume Station is a frontier village of about 150 adventurers, mercenaries, deep delvers, ruffians, the Tribe of the Owl, and guides. A few enterprising merchants do brisk business selling supplies at steep prices.  The vent at the center of the settlement emits hot, sulfurous steam that makes the settlement warm and moist, covering everything in a light sweat of condensation. Highplume Station sits over giant ruins, and expeditions map their depths and raid these catacombs. [Cloakers](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/aberration/cloaker-xmm.md), [Ettercaps](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/monstrosity/ettercap-xmm.md), [Rust Monsters](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/monstrosity/rust-monster-xmm.md), and [Behirs](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/monstrosity/behir-xmm.md) crawl to the surface, hidden by steam, snatching unwary prey and dragging them down to be devoured. No one formally is in charge of Highplume Station, but the shop of Geft Ardamar ([Aarakocra Aeromancer](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/elemental/aarakocra-aeromancer-xmm.md)) serves as the station's de facto court of law, with Geft handing down arbitrations quickly and more or less fairly (give or take a well-placed bribe). Geft is a daredevil explorer who ventures into the ruins at night. ### Dwarven Valley Dwarven Valley stretches south from the foot of Kelvin's Cairn. For almost as long as settlers have been fishing the lakes, the dwarves of Clan Battlehammer have mined the valley's depths. Dwarf-carved tunnels run in rows along the valley's walls, connected by narrow walkways. The heart of Kelvin's Cairn lies beneath, deep in the tunnels and mines. Those who pick their way down the dizzying switchback called Daledrop find a strange mystery. Gone is the pervasive ringing of hammer strikes, replaced by an eerie silence. Adventurers exploring the valley see signs of unplanned departure—bowls of old stew molder on tables, blades rust on cold forges, and domesticated goats and badgers wander the halls in search of their former keepers. Those who investigate see signs of struggle, such as scraped boot prints from captives dragged off into the deeper tunnels. The mines became the dwarves' doom when they tunneled into the Underdark. Mind flayers infiltrated first the lower tunnels, then outlying homes, ultimately abducting or devouring nearly every dwarf in the valley. Adventurers investigating the dwarves' fate must face the [Grells](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/aberration/grell-xmm.md), [Grimlocks](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/aberration/grimlock-xmm.md), [Intellect Devourers](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/aberration/intellect-devourer-xmm.md), and worse below. ### Kelvin's Cairn Rising from the desolate tundra of Icewind Dale is a mountain of giant boulders, piled one atop the other until they narrow to a snow-capped peak. Beasts hunt these craggy slopes, giants tread across the broken rills, and dwarf-hewn tunnels pierce its hidden depths. This is Kelvin's Cairn, the heart of Icewind Dale and its highest point. Distances throughout the region are routinely measured from the mountain. Few explorers venture onto the mountain's rocky slopes. No settlement has taken root there. The mountain's face is home to wild beasts and yetis. Boastful adventurers who set out from Ten-Towns to bring back a yeti's white pelt return with harrowing tales of being hunted across the mountain's slopes by the creatures they had imagined as prey. ### Reghed Glacier At the eastern perimeter of Icewind Dale, the tundra meets the great Reghed Glacier. Reghed rarely venture to this bleak and barren area. Biting winds pour off the ice, and the glacier's slow advance and retreat scours the earth of whatever life takes root here. Great earthen walls, left behind by the glacier, stand guard over empty tundra. Ancient giants used these walls to mark the boundaries of their kingdom. ### Sea of Moving Ice Far to the northwest, a sea of grinding icebergs gnashes against the frozen shore: the Sea of Moving Ice. Reghed make no claim on this sea—it's the province of seals and shipwrecks, [Merrows](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/monstrosity/merrow-xmm.md) and [Plesiosauruses](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/beast/plesiosaurus-xmm.md), [Krakens](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/monstrosity/kraken-xmm.md) and white dragons. Still, whalers come here to harvest whale oil to sell as fuel. It's dangerous, dirty work, which few take on voluntarily. Farther up the coast stands a grim black tower—Revel's End, a frigid prison on a cliff, used by the Lords' Alliance to hold heinous criminals. Somewhere out in the water is the drifting Island of Solstice, a great ice floe on which stands Grimskalle, a fortress once inhabited by Auril in a mortal form. ### Spine of the World The staggering peaks of the Spine of the World isolate Ten-Towns, making it accessible only through a single narrow pass on the Ten Trail. The mountains are famed for avalanches, beasts, and monstrosities. It was from here, in the fortress of Sunblight, that the duergar tyrant Xardorok unleashed the chardalyn dragon. A thriving goblin lair, Karkolohk, grows slowly but steadily where the mountains meet the coast. The Cackling Chasm echoes with the laughter of gnolls that gnaw on bones and sniff the air for the scent of warm blood or campfire smoke. These mountains are home to two goliath settlements, Skytower Shelter and Wyrmdoom Crag, nestled in hidden cave complexes high on the crags. The two clans feud with one another and rarely have dealings with Ten-Towns. ## Icewind Dale Conflicts Horror is everywhere in Icewind Dale. While the undead creature known as [Zlan](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/npc/zlan-fraif.md) stalks the ice, adventurers have their hands full simply trying to stay alive.  ### Survival Horror A survival horror campaign in Icewind Dale often focuses on multiple threats rather than a single villainous mastermind—in Icewind Dale, the entire setting is out to kill you. Danger doesn't go away just because a single enemy is defeated. #### A Survival Horror Arc The party's efforts to survive the many horrors of Icewind Dale might follow this broad outline. ##### Levels 1–4 You can start your campaign when the characters are hired to explore a frozen library filled with hungry undead. Use the adventure in chapter 7. Then, the characters must stop bloodthirsty sacrifices to Auril. Use "The Cost of Warmth" in this chapter. ##### Levels 5–10 As the characters survive threats in Ten-Towns, folk there look to the party to solve bigger problems—like the cursed, murderous Dubrace family. Use "Dougan's Hell" in this chapter. Greater threats lurk beyond Ten-Towns, including the ghosts of long-dead giants, packs of ravenous gnolls, hungry remorhazes, and even white dragons. ### Zlan the Unthinkable Zlan is an ancient creature left over from the creation of the *Crystal Shard* (see chapter 9). You can use Zlan as an overarching villain for Icewind Dale campaigns. #### Zlan's Goals Zlan desires nothing less than the death of every person in Icewind Dale. To do this, Zlan has created easy access to the Underdark and awoken a trio of deep dragons. As Ten-Towners explore the Underdark, they wake frozen aberrations, spread deadly environmental dangers, and slowly seal their own doom. #### A Zlan Arc The conflict between the characters and Zlan might follow this broad outline. ##### Levels 1–4 The characters might hear rumors of a bizarre creature shambling over the ice. They might touch Zlanic chardalyn and get a sense of Zlan's power. You can use "Retaking the Terror" in this chapter to introduce chardalyn and Zlan. ##### Levels 5–10 Once Zlan knows of the party, it begins watching them from afar and directing its agents against them. The deep dragon Mornethraxys is one of Zlan's pawns, and you can use "What Wakes Below" in this chapter to reveal the deep dragons' plot to conquer Icewind Dale. ##### Levels 11–16 As contact between Icewind Dale and the Underdark increases, the characters become the only thing standing in the way of Zlan and its minions. They'll need to overcome powerful aberrations freed from beneath the ice, the deep dragon Enderbalathal, and eventually Zlan itself. But even if Zlan is destroyed, the creature's immortal body will return, with another of its seven minds in control. ## DM's Toolbox This section provides tools useful for Icewind Dale adventures, including guidance on renown, Bastions, and random encounters. ### Renown in Icewind Dale You can use the renown rules in chapter 3 of the "Dungeon Master's Guide" to track the party's relationships with important NPCs in Ten-Towns. #### Ten-Towns Renown Characters earn renown in Ten-Towns by protecting a settlement, advancing its interests, performing tasks for key NPCs, or resolving threats. Characters track their Renown Score for each settlement individually, but heroes who undertake an adventure that helps all of Icewind Dale (such as ending humanoid sacrifice, restoring Dougan's Hole, or addressing a regional threat) gain renown with all settlements at once.  ### Icewind Dale Bastions The adventure "Retaking the Terror" provides a map and a way for characters to turn the remains of the chardalyn dragon in Easthaven into their Bastion. The crash site is itself an adventure location, and tunnels below it lead into the Underdark. At first these tunnels represent a threat to the characters, but as the party's power increases, the tunnels become the perfect launching point for excursions into the Underdark. The chardalyn dragon remains and ruined tavern detailed on the map represent the party's combined Bastion. As characters increase in level, they can add to this structure, or they might discover previously hidden underground levels. As they gain wealth and renown in Easthaven, they might rent or purchase adjacent structures to expand their footprint on the surface. An Icewind Dale Bastion could draw hirelings from across Ten-Towns, such as a criminal cook from Lonelywood, an Auril-worshiping sled dog keeper, a third-generation mead maker, or a scrimshawing artisan. Characters with renown among the Reghed might recruit them as warriors or guides. A frost druid might awaken plants and animals in the party's service, and goliaths from Wyrmdoom Crag could send emissaries to Ten-Towns to visit or live at the Bastion. #### Bastion Events  The Bastion Events table in the "Dungeon Master's Guide" describes random events at a Bastion. You can tailor these events to Icewind Dale as follows. ##### Attack The Bastion is attacked by beasts or raiders from the wild or Dougan's Hole, threats from the Underdark, or enemies under the sway of Auril or [Zlan](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/npc/zlan-fraif.md). ##### Extraordinary Opportunity One of the Bastion's tunnels is discovered to lead to a particularly wondrous or dangerous chamber in the Underdark. ##### Guest The Bastion hosts a visit from a Reghed tribe, a chancellor of the Lords' Alliance from Revel's End, goliath emissaries, or the head of a duergar clan. ##### Refugees The refugees flee extreme weather, a disaster in a nearby settlement, or a sudden bloom of [bile lichen](/3-Mechanics/CLI/traps-hazards/bile-lichen-fraif.md). ### Abroad in Icewind Dale You can roll `1d10` on the tables below to generate encounters for a party of any level. Once you've used an encounter, remove it from the table and create a new one to replace it. #### Ten-Towns Encounters Icewind Dale's settlements are dangerous places. > [!embed-table]- Ten-Towns Encounters >  #### Wilderness Encounters The wild isn't kind to adventurers. > [!embed-table]- Wilderness Encounters >   ## The Cost of Warmth - **A Location (Icewind Dale) Adventure for Level 3 Characters** *Stop a series of cult killings.* - **Situation.** A cult of Auril has revived the rite of humanoid sacrifice in Easthaven. Their leader, Nymetra, operates from hiding in Caer-Dineval. - **Hook.** Sheriff Markham Southwell (Medium, Lawful Good [Warrior Veteran](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/warrior-veteran-xmm.md)) hires the characters to look into the disappearance of local fisher Bott Witters, husband of elderly innkeeper Vie Witters. Bott was last seen heading up the coast. ### Encounters The adventure consists of these encounters. #### Frozen Sacrifice An hour from town, three [Wolves](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/beast/wolf-xmm.md) scavenge from a fishing boat frozen in thin ice. The boat holds Bott's corpse, marked with snowflake symbols left behind by cultists of Auril. #### Easthaven Killings The killers are a [Cultist Fanatic](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/cultist-fanatic-xmm.md) and three [Cultists](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/cultist-xmm.md) wearing white masks. Until the characters solve the killings, a body marked with snowflakes is found every `1d6` days. #### Caer-Dineval The people of Caer-Dineval worship Auril, and the village is the next settlement up the coast from Bott's boat. When the party arrives to investigate, three [Imps](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/fiend/imp-xmm.md) break free from the castle to fight the party. Later, Yldreth and Nymetra explain that Auril protects their village from the fiends in the castle. They deny knowledge of the killings. #### Cold Court The cult operates out of an abandoned wooden tower outside Caer-Dineval. Characters might be led to the tower through rumors, tracking cultists in the snow, or divination magic. Each time the characters enter a distinct level of the tower, roll on the following table, ignoring duplicates. As the party explores, they eventually find a ritual table and list of future sacrifices approved by "Ice-Knife Nymetra." Their own names are listed.  #### Ice-Knife Nymetra Nymetra (Medium, Neutral Evil [Berserker](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/berserker-xmm.md)) lives in the tower. She is a Berserker. She summons `1d6` [Ice Mephits](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/elemental/ice-mephit-xmm.md) and fights to the death. #### Conclusion If Nymetra is slain, the cult disbands, and Yldreth thanks the party for dismantling this schismatic cult of Auril—then asks for their help against the fiends. Each character's Renown Score with Easthaven and Caer-Dineval increases by 1. > [!gallery] >  >  ## Retaking the Terror - **A Location (Icewind Dale) Adventure for Level 4 Characters** *Explore the corpse of a chardalyn dragon.* - **Situation.** An unorthodox high elf cleric of Ilmater at Revel's End named Vargrazt the Wretch (Medium, Lawful Good [Priest](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/priest-xmm.md)) offers to purge the chardalyn dragon remains in Easthaven of their diabolical power—the so-called Terror of Ten-Towns—via a ritual. - **Hook.** Therandril, a mage in Easthaven, hires the characters to retrieve Vargrazt from Revel's End and help him in his mission. ### Encounters The adventure consists of these encounters. #### Fanatic in Chains The characters travel by way of either Dwarven Valley or Highplume Station. Use the table in "Wilderness Encounters" earlier in this chapter for one encounter as they travel. At the prison, they take custody of Vargrazt the Wretch. #### A Violent Rite On their return to Easthaven, Vargrazt enters the Terror at sunset to perform the ritual. Vargrazt absorbs the chardalyn's evil but destroys his own soul and becomes a violent [Wraith](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/undead/wraith-xmm.md). #### The Terror Captain Imdra Arlaggath asks the characters to ensure the Terror is safe. It is the size of a small building, and half of it is buried below ground level. It is inhabited by two duergar [Specters](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/undead/specter-xmm.md) and one duergar [Poltergeist](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/undead/poltergeist-xmm.md). #### Slime on the Walls Arlaggath asks the characters to keep watch in the Terror overnight as a last precaution. During the night, three [Gray Oozes](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/ooze/gray-ooze-xmm.md) creep up a hidden passage from the Underdark and fight any living thing in the Terror. #### Muck Monster The oozes leave a path of slime to a hidden, locked trapdoor. The lock is Simple (1 action to pick) and of Good quality (DC 15). Below lies a pit of filth inhabited by an [Otyugh](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/aberration/otyugh-xmm.md). The otyugh heaves itself up through the trapdoor, so characters above aren't safe from its hunger. #### Conclusion After the characters clear out the restless spirits and Underdark monsters infesting the dragon's remains, Arlaggath entrusts the party with the Terror's care, allowing them to convert it into a shared Bastion once they reach level 5. Vargrazt's ritual absorbed the chardalyn's power, rendering crystals inert and the Terror safe to inhabit. At your discretion, though, Zlan might still be able to monitor the characters while they're in the chardalyn remains. > [!gallery] >  >  ## Dougan's Hell - **A Location (Icewind Dale) Adventure for Level 6 Characters** *Confront a murderous clan.* - **Situation.** The community of Dougan's Hole is home to a cursed, bloodthirsty cult. - **Hook.** Surgulio Pondt (see "Targos ") hires the characters to protect a shipment of mead from Bryn Shander to Targos, passing by Dougan's Hole. ### Encounters The adventure consists of these encounters. #### Cursed Cargo Two loaded wagons set out from Bryn Shander, driven by a Zhentarim [Tough](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/tough-xmm.md) and a [Spy](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/spy-xmm.md) claiming to be laborers. The mead casks have secret compartments loaded with stolen goods. #### Trouble on Ten Trail Lim of Dougan's Hole (a [Cultist Fanatic](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/cultist-fanatic-xmm.md)) and five [Berserkers](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/humanoid/berserker-xmm.md) fight, attempting to drag wagons and victims back to Dougan's Hole. If the party returns to town, that settlement's speaker raises an outcry and the characters are sent to investigate Dougan's Hole. #### The Surface See the description of Dougan's Hole for details on the settlement. Corpses litter the pike wall, which is a maze of charred cult shrines scavenged by three [Harpies](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/monstrosity/harpy-xmm.md) and a [Carrion Crawler](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/monstrosity/carrion-crawler-xmm.md). #### Below Town Dougan's Warren can be entered through side passages or from the Bloodchamber at the central stone of Thruun. Each time the characters enter a labeled area on the Dougan's Warren map, roll on the following table, rerolling duplicates. Named individuals on the table are detailed in "Dougan's Hole." All inhabitants suffer from Dougan's Bloodcurse (described in that section).  #### Thruun When Elder Dubrace becomes aware of the characters, he directs any surviving combatants against the characters and summons Thruun, a [Beast of Malar](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/monstrosity/beast-of-malar-fraif.md) (see chapter 9). If Dubrace is killed without summoning Thruun, it manifests over his corpse. #### Conclusion If Thruun drops to 0 HP, the Bloodcurse ends. Thruun will return someday. Dougan's Hole can rejoin Ten-Towns, though this reunion is fraught with suspicion and reproach. Each character's Renown Score with Targos increases by 1. > [!gallery] >  >  ## What Wakes Below - **A Location (Icewind Dale) Adventure for Level 9 Characters** *Escape a deep dragon through the Underdark.* - **Situation.** Seer Echomorne (who is secretly the [Adult Deep Dragon](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/dragon/adult-deep-dragon-fraif.md) Mornethraxys; see chapter 9) found a beholder frozen below Termalaine and intends to use the creature to cement power in Bryn Shander. She's been prophesying doom for weeks while keeping the creature's existence a secret. - **Hook.** The characters are in Termalaine when the beholder emerges from the mines and begins laying waste to everything and everyone nearby. ### Encounters The adventure consists of these encounters. #### Terror in Termalaine A disoriented, half-frozen [Beholder](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/aberration/beholder-xmm.md) assaults Termalaine. #### Prophetic Dreams After the attack, Echomorne's supporters demand a vote to elect her speaker of Bryn Shander, saying she foresaw the disaster. #### Mornethraxys Strikes Echomorne identifies the party as a threat to her plans and resolves to bring them to her family. Reverting to her dragon shape, she chases them into a tunnel leading to the Underdark. #### Giant Ruins Mornethraxys chases or guides the characters through ruins in the Underdark, through a hall of fallen giants ([Haunting Revenant](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/undead/haunting-revenant-xmm.md)), to a cavernous, ruined throne room. #### Throne Room Here, the characters eventually come face to face with Mornethraxys, her father Enderbalathal the Lord Below ([Ancient Deep Dragon](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/dragon/ancient-deep-dragon-fraif.md); see chapter 9), and her brother Guvaali of the Grand Appetite ([Adult Deep Dragon](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/dragon/adult-deep-dragon-fraif.md)), who interrogate the party for lore and secrets. When the characters are of no more use, the dragons hurl them down into an ooze swamp. #### Ooze Swamp In a dim and noxious swamp, the characters fight four [Black Puddings](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/ooze/black-pudding-xmm.md) while searching for an escape. Meanwhile, gluttonous Guvaali decides to hunt them in the fog-filled swamp. #### Frozen Horror The only way out of the swamp is to climb a melting subterranean glacier to a distant steam vent. If the characters light a fire or shine a bright light, they discover true horror: the ice is full of aberrations frozen in a contorted mass, their tendrils reaching upward. Unless the thaw stops, these monsters will surely bring an eldritch apocalypse to Icewind Dale. #### Near the Surface The characters encounter three [Grick Ancients](/3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/aberration/grick-ancient-xmm.md), as well as clusters of fireball fungus (see chapter 3 of the "Dungeon Master's Guide") as they clamber back to the surface. When they emerge from the steam vent, they are at Highplume Station. > [!gallery] >  >