Defying the dragon, one broken heart at a time

 Thunder struck!

Who likes smoked boar? The Anchorites of Talos were cooking something up for our heroes
Image by Wizards of the Coast

[8 min read]

THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR DRAGON OF ICESPIRE PEAK!

With a natural pause in our main D&D 5E campaigns of Moonsea Madness and Tyranny of Dragons, our group has decided to press on to the conclusion of Frontier Forays, my drop-in campaign (see the recent recap here). Also looming on the horizon is the introduction of the new D&D 2024 rules update of the Player's Handbook, slated for September 2024. The three DMs in our midst are debating how we might handle a transition to the new ruleset (if at all), but it did make sense for at least one of our campaigns to conclude before agreeing any rules changes for the others.

The latest session of Frontier Forays saw our party of Phandalin's Finest (also known as The Hammer of the Lord's Alliance, which our barbarian Terach vastly prefers) reunited in the depths of Neverwinter Wood. After a quick catch of breath, the group deliberates on which of the points of interest on the map recovered from the half-orc Anchorites of Talos to visit next, on their route back to Phandalin.

A friend in the forest

A hunting lodge nestled deep in Neverwinter Wood provided respite
Image courtesy of WolfmanTC

Intrigued by the thought that Grannoc's planned attack on a site further west might actually hint at a potential ally to the cause, the party heads there first, before any inevitable confrontation with Yargath at the other site might take place. It turns out to be a shrewd move, as the welcome sight of Falcon's Hunting Lodge nestled in a magical glade provides a place of refuge, and Falcon himself does indeed harbour no love toward the orcs and half-orcs that had been disturbing his beloved forest.

Tour guide, hotelier, and wine connoisseur, Falcon also has considerable power to lend to the cause
Image by Wizards of the Coast 

While the self-assured ranger of Neverwinter Wood declines the invitation to come to Phandalin and help in its defense, Falcon does reward the party with some boots of elvenkind for preventing the planned attack on his person. The forest has been more dangerous of late, with the half-orcs' Talos-worshipping ways corrupting the forest and causing unnatural storms to damage the ecosystem. And to top it all off, they were stalking his centaur friend, Xanth, who left the lodge recently when they suspected he'd been tracked there.

Falcon offers some potent support if the party were to agree to find Xanth and put an end to the half-orc leader, Yargath. Our heroes had already resolved to pay a visit to the last remaining lieutenant of Cryovain, apex predator in the region and mastermind of the armies menacing Phandalin, and so accept the aid.

Thus two of the four flasks of Falcon's Vigorous Vintage are downed by Wick and Terach, restoring some of their power that would ordinarily require a full night of rest. In this way our heroes are rejuvenated enough to hit the trail of Xanth and Yargath faster, knowing that every day counts on the countdown to war.

The Circle of Thunder

An unnatural storm can be heard from afar as the party, thanks to Wiggity's expert nature skills, follows some tracks that look suspiciously like a horse being dragged by a band of orcs away to the north east, albeit some days ago.

After a couple of hours of travel, they hear the harsh orc language being spoken, punctuated by claps of thunder as they near the storm. Hoping to learn about Xanth's whereabouts, the party hides nearby as the orcs approach. Alucard, having changed his looks (as only a changeling can) and altered his glamoured armour to appear as a half-orc Anchorite of Talos, plus equally bolstered by Wiggity's skill-enhancing buffs, strides into a clearing full of orcs led by Flenz, Yargath's lackey. 

Posing as a deserter from the defeated Grannoc's forces, Alucard bluffs his way into Flenz's confidence and learns that Xanth, the centaur friend of Falcon, is being held at the Circle of Thunder. The group moves off to continue their patrol with Alucard, known to them as "Wayne", needing to extricate himself through clever use of his mage hand and some distraction tactics. Alucard rejoins the party and they head north east to the Circle of Thunder, hoping to catch Yargath before Flenz and the orcs return.

The party emerged from the trapdoor to see a storm brewing, Talos' power manifest
Image from Maps on D&D Beyond, Wizards of the Coast

The Circle of Thunder is on top of a tall hill in the centre of a large glade, over which a heavy storm rages. With no obvious path to the top, Wiggity summons a bat familiar to scout a nearby cave entrance, and finds a secret tunnel leading to a trapdoor to the summit. The party stealths in and reconnoitres the circle of stone edifices to find three figures atop the plinths, chanting in druidic dweomer. It seems Flenz has returned ahead of his retinue to warn his master, and he joins Yargath and another Anchorite in summoning the fell storm raging overhead. 

Yargath was ready to channel Talos' power against the heroes

Knowing time is of the essence with orcs potentially arriving and Xanth likely in danger, the party springs into action, successfully surprising the half-orc shamans. After taking the initiative, Wick brings their foes down to ground level, Alucard waylays them with web, Wiggity summons two bear combatants before transforming into a bear himself, and Terach flies into a rage. Fierce battle erupts!

Yargath and his followers are not without power themselves however, channeling the storm to cook the heroes with lightning bolts, and summoning the awesome power of Gorthok the Thunder Boar. And when Yargath goes down under Terach's twin blades, Talos sees fit to grant Flenz with a revivify, bringing the leader of the Anchorites back from the dead to challenge our heroes to the last. Ultimately, Phandalin's Finest, ahem... the Hammer of the Lord's Alliance... are too strong for the followers of Talos, who leaves them to their fate as the storm dissipates and calm comes back to the ancient site of power.

The beating disembodied heart of Yargath, that which would allow him to return and seek revenge on his vanquishers, was unearthed from its hiding spot to be dined on and then destroyed, thus ending Yargath's (and by extension Cryovain's) control over the half-orc followers of Talos.

What Xanth knows

A proud creature, Xanth is not a shadow of his former warrior self when rescued by the party

The triumphant heroes, after searching the other barrows beneath the hill, find a weakened centaur captive pleading to be returned to the forest. Xanth has been questioned by Yargath and his followers with less than pacific techniques, and he admits he gave them what they wanted to know - the location of a powerful weapon, dragon slayer, in a barrow far to the west of the forest.

Grateful of the healing provided by the party, Xanth reveals what else he has overheard from the orcs during his time in captivity, as they all head back to the safety of Falcon's Lodge. It seems Yargath and Grannoc were both seeking knowledge of this weapon - Grannoc to use against Cryovain, Yargath to keep it away from Cryovain's enemies. Needless to say such a weapon interests the party, who anticipate facing the albino blue dragon in the not so distant future in defense of their beloved town. Perhaps that future has been postponed a little, for surely losing all three half-orc lieutenants sets back his army's organisation?

As they sup with Falcon himself, Xanth offers to lead the adventurers to the barrow mound to recover the weapon. "We'll have to move swiftly, for I am afraid Yargath's orcs have some days march on you already. But let us go with caution, for strange witchlights hover over Dragon Barrow at night. The hill is haunted by the restless spirits of the dead.”

Taking out the map recovered back at the Shrine of Savras, Alucard makes some adjustments to bring it up to date with recent forays, and the group plot their path to the Dragon Barrow.

The red crosses show just how many places the party have foiled Cryovain's plans
Image by Wizard of the Coast

Highlights of the session

• Alucard playing mage hand-sies with the orcs, causing them to accuse each other of inappropriate workplace conduct, allowing him to slip away
• Wick going against his middling natural intelligence to orchestrate a stunning battle plan against Yargath
• But in the overconfidence of someone too pleased with himself, Wick then proceeds to mess up almost all future turns, only to redeem himself with one good combat round... (hex squared)
• Terach's taunts whilst raging are again pure gold... and you know he always follows through (nothing like biting down on a corrupted heart sandwich to prove a point)
• Wiggity as the master of beasts - he is always beary powerful. Bada boom. Tish.

What's next?

The heroes surmise that Cryovain's assault on Phandalin has been slowed, but probably only a few days, leaving them less than a tenday before the army is upon the frontier town. Travel across the rugged region is a dangerous proposition given the army's forces around the Triboar Trail. After resolving to locate this powerful weapon in the hopes it will increase their odds against the dragon, does the party then rush back to aid in last preparations? Do our heroes strike out to take back strategic positions around the town? Or will they contemplate finding a safe place to evacuate the citizens if the confrontation proves too challenging?

Find out next time in Phandalin's Finest, the Hammer of the Lord's Alliance, Friends to Goblins, Fellers of Flowers, Surfers of Sharks, Nemesis of Nezznar, Liberators of Lost Mines, Bane to Barrels, Foolhardy Facers of Fearsome Dragons, and Heartbreakers of Talos' Templars!