Session — March 8, 2026
Date: March 8, 2026 Location(s): Lonelywood Inn → Black Cabin (near a gorge north of the inn) Present: Meldir, Nalla, Thorkin, Dax, Kelrick, Dekyna; guest NPC: Oymanonak (Oyam), a Goliath werebear ranger
Summary
After a week of downtime, the party headed to the infamous Black Cabin — a location supposedly tied to the forever-winter. Upon arrival, they discovered the cabin perched on wooden stilts above a gorge. Inside: a burned skeleton, a ritual orb, and notes left by a dead artificer named Maseridis. Nalla and Dekyna touched or disturbed the orb and were instantly vaporized (turned to ash). Their spirits lingered as ethereal ghosts who communicated with the living through ash and pepper while the remaining party reverse-engineered the orb to fix it. After forging a third ring, Kelrick attuned to the orb and cast Control Weather — summoning the sun. A god (Levistus) granted a resurrection blessing to the dead party members and anyone who helped lay Maseridis’s spirit to rest, bringing Nalla and Dekyna back to life. The session ended with a wave of hostile ice creatures attacking.
Events
Downtime Week — Leveling Up & Crafting
Dekyna
- Fished at the frozen lake with Clay, Hugo, and Shy Guy (the awakened fox)
- Met Oyam (Oymanonak), a Goliath werebear angler who lives as a nomadic wanderer
- Two halves of the storm tablet found and joined → Full Storm Tablet revealed: “Seek the moot of the Jarls, where the sons of Anam once proved their verse. Walk the path of the ancient kings and prove yourself at Jarlmoot”
- Map on the tablet became complete — points to a location north of Lakes Miraedun and Dinev-Shar, near the Spine of the World
Thorkin
- Suffered psychic recoil from using Tremorsense in the Chardalyn mine (roleplayed aftermath)
- Spent the week cooking with kobold chef Skorp: learned 10 Pounds Fish Stew recipe (advantage on first CON save vs. exhaustion next day) and Tundra Jerky (lasts 10 days; 1 temp HP per hit die on short rest)
Dax
- Took baking lessons from kobold chef Sork — learned Fireside Honey Bread (1 additional HP per hit die spent on short rest)
- Got hit by an exploding loaf of bread (1 damage), gained proficiency in Cook’s Utensils
- Dragon Approved Recipes cookbook gifted by Sork
Nalla
- Spent the week in the greenhouse with Clay, Hugo, and goblins
- Discovered Glowcap Tea (brewed from mushrooms; advantage on next perception check in darkness)
- Found an unknown frost-resistant herb at the bottom of the greenhouse soil (Fred helped find it)
- Clay and Hugo both reached full growth and can now walk on their own
- Gained proficiency in Herbalism Kit
Kelrick
- Spent the week in his room experimenting with potions
- Made a Frost Drake Draught (5 temp HP + advantage on next CON save vs. exhaustion within 1 hour) and a Volatile Heat Tonic (unknown explosive effects)
- Vae visited him; they talked — she’s still safe, she wants to help when the time comes
- Gained proficiency in Alchemist’s Supplies
Meldir (absent/in room all week)
- Learned basic gem enchantment during the week
- Made a Frostbark Gem (moonlight-in-glass look; once per day, activates as a bonus action to shed 10 ft of dim blue light until deactivated)
- Gave the Frostbark Gem to Dax (Dax put it in his bead necklace — it was already depicted in his character art)
Inn Income (this week)
- Revenue roll: 6
- Expense roll: 2
- Event: Food Frenzy (meatball eating contest) → 2d8 × 5 = 35 GP bonus
- Total: ~185 GP
Heading Out — Meeting Oymanonak
- Party gathered and departed in the morning; Dekyna formally introduced Oyam to the group
- Oyam agreed to guide them to the Black Cabin — she knows the area well
- Oymanonak description: 7’6” Goliath werebear, massive, bear-form, expert angler, uses her fishing pole as a quarterstaff enchanted with Shillelagh; Hunter Ranger
- Party rode their new Axe Beaks (purchased/trained this week; Thorkin struggled at riding his)
The Black Cabin — Exterior
- Found on a snowy ridge above a gorge; black lodge on wooden stilts with broken windows, sagging roof, snow-covered walkways
- Nalla summoned animals: Giant Elk + Badger (to help with access)
- Walkway boards: several loose planks; a 4-foot gap easily jumpable; Nalla fell through the rotted section (1 bludgeoning, landed in snow 20 ft below safely)
- Oyam was too heavy for the walkway; the Giant Elk helped lift party members up to the entrance
Room 1 — The Workshop
- Frost covered everything; tinker’s tools and smith’s tools on a table; a bookcase with a family of harmless squirrels nesting in it
- Nothing of value beyond the tools (Kelrick noted them; party took the tools)
Room 2 — The Burned Room
- Lingering smell of burned wood and flesh; scorched walls and furniture
- Charred skeleton on the floor next to a round, frost-covered glowing orb (6 inches across)
- Kelrick used Detect Magic → the orb glowed strongly; also detected something faintly magical on/near the skeleton
- Kelrick used Mage Hand to pick up the orb → IT EXPLODED
- Everyone within 10 feet made a CON save DC 17: radiant damage (10d10 + 35 = 87)
- Nalla and Dekyna failed → both were reduced to ash instantly (exceeded max HP — instant death effect)
- Oyam had used Absorb Elements as a reaction → took only 22 damage, survived heavily burned
- The skeleton yielded: An Amulet of Health (CON score becomes 19 while worn)
Nalla and Dekyna as Ghosts
- Both became ethereal spirits bound to the Black Cabin
- Met Maseridis’s ghost — the artificer who died here
- Maseridis explained: he built the Summer Star (the orb) to control the weather and stop the forever-winter, but it exploded because it was missing its third containment ring
- Spirits communicated with the living by writing in frost, ash, and black pepper (Oyam spread black pepper on the floor as a communication surface)
- Ghost messages: HELP → arrow toward the lab → TOOLS BURNED → YES CRAFT RING → USE MAGE HAND → UGLY RING NICE RUNES → etc.
Forging the Third Ring
- Blueprint discovered in Maseridis’s lab: the Summer Star design, showed three rings needed
- Kelrick studied the blueprint → confirmed the orb needs a third ring, inscribed with matching runes, then fitted using Tinker’s Tools
- Problem: The smith’s and tinker’s tools from the workshop had been taken by Kelrick earlier… and were destroyed in the explosion
- Improvised solution:
- Metal bits from the workshop (still there) melted using the fireplace + Kelrick’s Firebolt cantrip
- Ring cast in the mold (found from a squirrel nest) using DEX check → imperfect but functional
- Runes inscribed using Kelrick’s magical ink → Kelrick’s Sleight of Hand with Oyam’s Guidance → beautiful rune work
- Oyam froze the orb in place on the table using Shape Water, letting Thorkin and Kelrick force the ring on together
Fixing the Summer Star
- Third ring affixed; the orb was complete
- Kelrick attuned to the Summer Star (1 hour)
- Went outside on the cabin’s ledge and cast Control Weather (a Level 8 spell the orb contained)
- Chose: clear sky, warm sun, light winds
- For the first time in the memory of the party — the sun appeared over Icewind Dale
- Maseridis’s spirit witnessed it and found peace; his spirit dissolved
- Per the cabin’s special rule: any party member who died in the last 24 hours was instantly restored to life at full HP
- Nalla and Dekyna returned to life — complete with all their equipment
- Blessing of the Morning Lord (Levistus): All party members who helped lay Maseridis to rest gained a permanent blessing: 10 temporary HP each day at dawn
Post-Resurrection — Ice Creature Attack
- Joyful reunion interrupted almost immediately
- Multiple Cold Light Walkers and Ice Mephits emerged from the snow, angered by the sudden sun
- Thorkin and Meldir arrived mid-combat (they had been absent earlier and arrived during the fight)
- Combat highlights:
- Meldir fireballed all four Ice Mephits simultaneously — all died; some exploded into shards
- Oyam displayed devastating power: Shillelagh quarterstaff + Hunter’s Mark + Colossus Slayer + knockdown — one-hit killed a Cold Light Walker
- Nalla, back from the dead, immediately started swinging her greataxe — she had been dead for about 6 hours and did not care
- Kelrick killed a Cold Light Walker with Magic Missile
- Cold Light Walkers did significant damage throughout; Thorkin was grappled
- Party won decisively
Combat
- Cold Light Walkers (3) — defeated; Meldir, Nalla, Oyam, Kelrick leading damage
- Ice Mephits (4) — all killed in a single Fireball from Meldir; each exploded on death
- The Orb Explosion — Nalla and Dekyna killed instantly (87 radiant damage, exceeded max HP)
NPCs Encountered
- Oymanonak (Oyam) — Goliath werebear ranger; guided party to Black Cabin; tanked the orb explosion and survived. Joined the group as a temporary companion
- Maseridis (ghost) — the dead artificer from Bryn Shander’s tower of ingenuity. Helped the party fix the Summer Star. Found peace when the sun appeared
- Sork and Skorp — kobold chefs; trained Dax and Thorkin in their respective cooking specialties
Quest Updates
- Black Cabin — COMPLETED. The Summer Star was repaired and activated; the forever-winter was pushed back (at least temporarily in this area); Maseridis’s spirit laid to rest
- Prove Yourself at Jarlmoot — Storm tablet fully revealed; Jarlmoot location identified on the map near Spine of the World
- The Arcane Brotherhood — No progress this session
- Illithid Ship — No progress; still pending
Loot & Items
- Summer Star orb — Control Weather 1/day (held by Kelrick for now)
- Amulet of Health — CON score becomes 19 while worn; found on Maseridis’s skeleton
- 4 barrels of Sweet Berry Summer Wine — Maseridis’s personal stash; party took them
- Frostbark Gem — crafted by Meldir; given to Dax
- Various mushrooms, recipes, and crafting ingredients from downtime
Character Moments
- Nalla and Dekyna were literally vaporized; their ash piles were collected in cooking pots by Oyam
- Dekyna wrote his secret name (War Painter — known only to Thorkin) in the ash to confirm it was really him talking through the spirits
- Thorkin was so upset he nearly broke down; Oyam comforted him
- Thorkin’s “it is no one’s fault” moment followed by awkward silence — because technically it was Kelrick’s Mage Hand that picked up the orb
- Nalla woke up from death and immediately charged back into a fight with ice monsters — didn’t even blink
- Kelrick walked back in from wherever he’d been and found two ash piles in the cabin → “What.”
- The party came back from the dead into a world where the sun was shining for the first time in years; they were too busy fighting things to appreciate it
- Level Up after this session
Session End State
The Black Cabin has been cleared and the Summer Star activated. Nalla and Dekyna are alive. The party has the Blessing of the Morning Lord (10 temp HP at dawn, permanent). They are outside the cabin in full sunlight (for now). Next session: return to Lonelywood, then plan next adventure. Kelrick is sitting on the most powerful weather-control artifact in Icewind Dale.