Like Bryn Shander, Targos is encircled by a wooden wall, which helps to protect the town against orcs and other threats from the wilderness. The wall extends out into the lake, creating a safe harbor for the town’s boats. But now Auril’s long winter has frozen the water in the harbor, and many of Targos’s boats are trapped in the ice. Fishers must drag their smaller vessels across the ice to get to the unfrozen lake beyond the harbor walls.
Almost all the towns in Icewind Dale make their living off the lakes, but nowhere is that fact more evident than in Targos. The town has always had the biggest fishing fleet and the biggest fishing industry, and everything that goes on here revolves around hauling the knucklehead trout out of Maer Dualdon. Auril’s endless winter makes the work harder, but it gets done nonetheless.
Naerth Maxildanarr, a former rogue of Luskan, moved to Targos a couple of years ago, took up residence in the Luskan Arms, and spread around a lot of gold, earning the loyalty of many local fishers. His cordial, down-to-earth demeanor contributed to his swift rise to power, enabling him to replace a town speaker who was well liked but didn’t want the job anymore. As the most senior representative of the Zhentarim in Ten-Towns, Naerth is determined to turn Icewind Dale into a trade hub for the Black Network. He has a dozen or more Zhentarim spies throughout Ten-Towns that he uses to good effect, disposing of suspected Harper spies and convincing business owners to buy fish from Targos instead of from other sources.
Targos in a Nutshell
Friendliness ❄❄Services ❄❄❄Comfort ❄❄
Available Quest
“area Mountain Climb”.
- Population 1,000.
Leaders
Speaker Naerth Maxildanarr (lawful evil human spy) is secretly a Zhentarim agent, who won the speakership because of his popularity with the fishers. Naerth is eager to secure a Zhentarim stranglehold on trade in Icewind Dale. A Zhent mercenary named Skath (lawful evil tiefling veteran) who is loyal to Naerth leads the town’s militia.
Militia
Targos can muster up to 200 soldiers (use the tribal warrior stat block) and 16 Veteran.
- Heraldry A single-sailed, black ship (facing to the right) on a light blue field, representing the town’s pride in its fishing fleet.
Sacrifice to Auril
Humanoid (see “area Sacrifices to Auril").
- Rivals Bremen, Lonelywood, Termalaine.
Overland Travel
A snow-covered path connects Targos to Bryn Shander. A similar path sweeps around the east side of Maer Dualdon and leads to Termalaine. Travel times in the Overland Travel from Targos table assume that characters are on foot; mounts and dogsleds can shorten these times by as much as 50 percent.
There is no easy way to reach Bremen by land, since heavy snow has wiped out the trail that once led to it.
Overland Travel from Targos
| To | Travel Time |
|---|---|
| Bremen (no trail) | 3 hours |
| Bryn Shander | 2 hours |
| Termalaine | 4 hours |
Locations in Targos
The following locations marked on map 1.16 are likely to attract characters during their stay in Targos.
The Luskan Arms
Inn (and the town speaker’s residence)
The Luskan Arms is the oldest public house in Ten-Towns, established back when Bryn Shander was still just “the camp on the hill” and Luskan was a thriving city. Many of the traders who came to Targos in those days hailed from Luskan, so the Luskan Arms was built to look like an inn that might be found in the City of Sails. As a result, much of the decor is nearly two hundred years old, reflecting Luskan as it was in the years before its decline. The inn has sturdy walls but rotten floorboards, and drafts come up into the common room from the cellar. The place is also infested with rats, which scurry between the walls at all hours of the night. The proprietor, Owenn Tarsenel (neutral human commoner), is a quiet, balding man who has sunk into a deep depression, fearing that summer will never return to Icewind Dale.
The largest guest suite in the Luskan Arms is occupied by the town speaker, Naerth Maxildanarr, who likes the inn because it reminds him of home and is a great place to meet visitors. Caged in his room are three Flying Snake that he uses to deliver messages to his spies.
Three Flags Sailing
Tavern
Fishers come here after a long day for a bowl of stew and a quick pint before heading to bed. The atmosphere is subdued; the fishers are cold and tired and unsure about Icewind Dale’s future. The tavern is run by a plump, gray-haired widow named Ethen Yarbroul (neutral good human commoner), better known as “Ma.” She fusses over the fishers as if they were her children.
Characters who hang out in the tavern are likely to hear a rumor or two, which you can determine by rolling on the Ten-Towns Rumors table (See “area Ten-Towns Rumors").
Triglio
General store
Triglio takes its name from one of the chanteys that the fishers of Targos sing when they are 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 is Jestin Hunrae (neutral good human commoner), a scarecrow-like fellow who fished the lake until his left hand was crushed in a collision with a boat from Termalaine. The only items he doesn’t sell are fishing and sailing supplies; in Targos, such goods are supplied by specialty crafters and merchants. All other common gear, including fishing poles and snowshoes, can be bought here.
Mountain Climb
The characters can pick up this quest if they start the adventure in Targos or shortly after they arrive in town. It begins when they see a sled dog running through the street. The dog belonged to Garret Velryn, a wilderness guide who led a small expedition up Kelvin’s Cairn. The dog is agitated and tries to lead the characters to Garret’s house. Garret’s husband, Keegan, is alarmed to see the dog without its master and fears for Garret’s life. He asks the characters to head toward Kelvin’s Cairn, find Garret, and see him safely back to Targos.
Getting the Quest
As you trudge through town, snow crunching underneath your feet, you hear the bark of a dog over the whistle of the wind. A wolf-sized sled dog with light gray fur runs toward you, dragging a broken leather harness behind it.
The dog (use the wolf stat block), whose name is Boy, has clearly broken free of its sled and is friendly. It tackles the nearest character and whimpers as it licks that character’s face. Then, using every communication tactic at its disposal, it tries to lead the party to its master’s house a few blocks away, grabbing a character by the bootstrap and tugging the character in the direction it wants the party to go.
If the characters follow the dog, it leads them to the front door of a modest dwelling. The dog barks and scratches at the door. Keegan Velryn (neutral good human commoner), a handsome man in his thirties, opens the door, and the dog races inside. When Keegan sees the characters instead of his husband, his smile fades as he urges the characters to come inside, where he gives each of them a cup of warm cider and shares the following information:
“I was born in Ten-Towns, but my husband came from a wealthy family in Neverwinter. Garret didn’t care for city life. When I met him, he was working as a guide. He loves the outdoors, and he lives to climb mountains.
“A few days ago, Garret was hired by some adventurers to lead them up the slopes of Kelvin’s Cairn. Garret’s plan was to take the adventurers to Caer-Konig, the town at the foot of Kelvin’s Cairn. After they acquired some climbing gear from the outfitter there, he was to lead them up the mountain. Garret took six dogs and a sled with him. Boy, here, was Garret’s favorite. Raised him from a pup. Boy would never leave Garret’s side unless something terrible had happened.”
Keegan didn’t meet the adventurers who hired Garret, so he doesn’t know how many there are. At this point in the conversation, Keegan asks the characters to find his missing husband:
“It’s a lot to ask, but could I persuade you to go up there and find Garret and his companions? I don’t have money, but the proprietor of the Luskan Arms is a friend of mine. I could get you some free rooms at the inn. I’m also a scrimshander by trade and can give you some of my artwork. It’s not worth much, I confess.”
Keegan has a lot of faith in Garret’s survival skills, which is why he honestly believes Garret might still be alive. If the characters accept this quest, Keegan suggests they visit Frozenfar Expeditions in Caer-Konig (see “area Frozenfar Expeditions"), which is likely the last place anyone would have seen Garret before he went up the mountain. If the characters want to take Boy with them, Keegan won’t protest.
Journey to Kelvin’s Cairn
The characters can either travel to Caer-Konig first, then go west toward Kelvin’s Cairn, or they can head straight to the mountain by cutting across the open tundra and passing through the Dwarven Valley. Both options are discussed below.
Targos to Caer-Konig
Sticking to trails and roads, the characters can safely reach Caer-Konig in 14½ hours on foot. The trip begins with a 3-mile jaunt to Bryn Shander, continues with an exhausting 23-mile journey to Caer-Dineval, and ends with a 3-mile hike around Lac Dinneshere to Caer-Konig. Characters can reduce the total travel time to 7 hours if they use dogsleds.
As the characters pass through Bryn Shander, Caer-Dineval, and Caer-Konig, they can pick up each town’s starting quest if they haven’t gotten them already.
Atenas Swift, the owner of Frozenfar Expeditions in Caer-Konig, tells the characters that Garret showed up with three well-armed companions (a male goliath, a female lightfoot halfling, and a female tiefling), helped them buy climbing gear and camping supplies, and then headed to the Hook, Line, and Sinker (the local tavern) for drinks, with plans to get a good night’s rest at the Northern Light (the local inn). The proprietors of these establishments have no complaints about Garrett and his retinue, who looked tired and didn’t talk much.
If the party doesn’t have anyone who’s good at tracking, the characters can hire Jarthra Farzassh (see “area Frozenfar Expeditions") as a guide.
Targos to Kelvin’s Cairn
By crossing open tundra, the characters can travel directly from Targos to Kelvin’s Cairn, covering 12 miles in 24 hours on foot. They can halve the travel time if they use dogsleds.
When the characters reach the halfway point in their journey, they come across a potential obstacle. Use the “Random Wilderness Encounters” section in chapter 2 to determine the nature of the encounter and if it occurs during a blizzard.
As the characters pass through the Dwarven Valley, they might (if the weather is clear) see evidence of dwarf activity, such as tracks that lead up to tunnels carved into the valley’s slopes. Several hundred shield dwarves live in subterranean halls that connect to these mines, but they rarely venture to the surface nowadays except to forage and hunt. Characters can find refuge among the dwarves, who are civil if not friendly, but must leave within a day or two, since the dwarves have little food to spare and are too busy to entertain guests for any longer than that. Characters who have completed the “area Foaming Mugs” quest however, have earned the dwarves' favor and are welcome to stay as long as they like.
Climbing Kelvin’s Cairn
Map 1.17 shows the route that Garret’s expedition took up Kelvin’s Cairn. It leads not to the topmost peak of the mountain, but to the summit of one of its spurs.
Before they can follow their quarry up Kelvin’s Cairn, the characters must locate Garret’s base camp at the foot of the mountain. Jarthra Farzassh can lead them there, since she recommended the location to Garret before his expedition left Caer-Konig. Garret’s sled dog can also lead characters straight to the base camp. Without help of any sort, the characters can spend 8 hours searching for the camp on their own, finding it with a successful DC 15 Wisdom (
Base Camp
You see two tents pitched in the snow near an icy outcropping that acts as a natural windbreaker. Between the tents is an overturned sled. Still harnessed to the sled are five howling dogs.
Garret’s dog, Boy, tore free of its harness and ran back to Targos to get help, leaving the other five sled dogs (use the wolf stat block) behind. The dogs are friendly, cold, hungry, and miserable. If the characters release them, the dogs run back to the nearest town to seek shelter.
Under the sled are two small crates. One is empty, and it appears that the dogs broke into it and ate the provisions that were contained within; the other is not in the dogs' reach and contains enough rations to feed four people for three days.
Starting the Ascent
The wind has obliterated the tracks made by Garret’s expedition, but characters can discern the likeliest route the climbers took. This route is marked on map 1.17, and characters who follow it experience the following sequence of encounters.
If Boy is with the party, the dog can lead the characters to Garret (see “area Fallen Climber").
Mountain Goats
The howling wind, blowing snow, and slippery ice make the climb treacherous. Ahead, you see four mountain goats perched on a large rock formation around which you must navigate.
The four Mountain Goat (see appendix C) are indifferent toward the characters and bleat loudly as the party draws near. The goats turn hostile if the characters attack them.
Avalanche
Hundreds of feet up the mountain, you come to a glistening white expanse of packed snow. As you get about halfway across it, you hear a loud crack from higher up the mountain, followed by a rumbling noise as the ground starts to shake. It’s an avalanche!
The party finds itself in the path of an avalanche (see “
To run this event, first determine the marching order of the party and how far apart the characters are. Assume that the rearmost party member is directly below the avalanche, which means that character must move at least 100 feet to get clear of the avalanche’s path. Next, have all party members roll initiative.
The avalanche starts 500 feet above the party and sweeps down to the base of the mountain 1,000 feet below. The avalanche moves 300 feet on initiative count 10 and another 300 feet on initiative count 0.
Fallen Climber
You reach a steep, snow-covered incline dotted with jagged rocks. Lying facedown in the snow, barely conscious, is a humanoid in bloodstained cold weather clothing.
The figure in the snow is Garret Velryn (neutral good human scout), a rugged, bearded man in his prime. He has one level of
If the characters tend to his wounds, Garret comes around and tells them that a yeti surprised him and his companions higher up the mountain. He lured the yeti away from the others and got it to chase him down the mountain. The yeti wounded him seriously, but he escaped with his life when the monster stopped following him.
Hunters of Men
As the characters tend to Garret, two Crag Cat (see appendix C) move to within 20 feet of the party and attack, each one pouncing on a randomly determined party member. Known to Ten-Towners as “Hunters of Men,” the crag cats caught Garret’s scent but failed to reach him before the characters showed up. Characters with passive Wisdom (
Development
Assuming he survives the encounter with the crag cats, Garret makes it known that he wants to find the other members of the expedition and assumes (correctly) that they’re still up the mountain. He aims to find them but can be persuaded to return to Targos if the characters restore all his lost hit points and vow to search for the three missing members on his behalf. Garret describes the missing explorers as follows:
- Mokingo Growling Bear Akannathi, a male goliath warrior determined to find Oyaminartok and test his mettle against her
- Perilou Fishfinger, a female lightfoot halfling follower of Yondalla (halfling god of fertility and protection) and Mokingo’s stalwart companion
- Astrix, a female tiefling who mumbles and swears a lot (Garret doesn’t know what her story is)
Perilous Climb
At this point, the characters must zigzag their way up the mountain, clinging to narrow ledges and scaling icy cliffs. To pass all these obstacles, the party must make three successful DC 10 Strength (
Frozen Cave
A character with the Littlest Yeti secret (see appendix B) can really shine in this encounter.
Up ahead on your left is a fifteen-foot-high, ten-foot-wide cave mouth. There’s blood on the snow some distance from the cave entrance.
The blood marks the area where Garret’s expedition was ambushed by a male yeti that was hidden under a snowdrift near the cave entrance. It lunged at Garret, raking him with its claws and biting into his shoulder. Mokingo the goliath came to Garret’s defense but didn’t last long. Perilou hid in the cave as Astrix fled up the mountain. The yeti pursued Garret some distance down the mountain before abandoning the chase and returning to the cave.
The cave is home to a mated pair of Yeti and their child, a yeti tyke (see appendix C). Mother and child are both inside; the father is out hunting but returns shortly with a fresh kill. The cave’s interior is shown on map 1.17.
F1. Chasm
This cave has a 20-foot-high, concave roof. Most of the floor has fallen away, forming a chasm 80 feet deep. All that’s left of the floor is a rocky ledge connected to area F2 by a natural stone bridge that’s safe to cross. A 1-foot-thick sheet of ice spans the southern part of the chasm. Characters can walk across this ice to avoid area F2 and go directly to area F3.
A character can also try to collapse the ice sheet by dealing damage to it. The ice sheet has AC 13, 30 hit points, and immunity to cold, psychic, and poison damage; if reduced to 0 hit points, the ice sheet fractures and falls into the chasm. Any creature standing on the ice sheet when it begins to collapse must make a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed check, the creature falls into the chasm, taking 28 (
F2. Trophies
The floor of this 10-foot-high tunnel is strewn with the bones of Mokingo Growling Bear, whose dead body was dragged here. Bits of flesh still cling to the bones. The head has been ripped from its shoulders, gnawed, and stuffed in a niche dug out of the wall. Amid the goliath’s bones are torn bits of hide armor, a greataxe, and the skulls and bones of three mountain goats. Seven other crude niches in the walls hold the frozen heads of humanoids previously decapitated by the yetis. One belongs to a dwarf named Oobok (see “area Foaming Mugs"). Another belongs to a dwarf named Barthoom, who was killed farther up the mountain a month ago (see “area Ruined Camp").
F3. Yeti Den
The floor of this cave is 5 feet higher than in area F2, and it has an uneven ceiling that ranges in height from 10 to 20 feet. The floor drops off sharply to the south, forming a 10-foot-high ledge that overlooks the entrance to a tunnel. In the passageway is a short flight of steps that ascend to the south.
This cave contains a strange sight: a female adult yeti watching her child, a yeti tyke (see appendix C), as it plays with a lightfoot halfling dressed in cold weather clothing and curled up in the fetal position. The halfling is Perilou Fishfinger (neutral good lightfoot halfling acolyte of Yondalla). The yeti tyke is knocking her around like a ball, and it’s clear from her cries that Perilou is still alive. She has three levels of
The appearance of intruders terrifies the yeti tyke, which crawls up onto its mother’s back to get away from them. The mother lets out a roar, hoping to scare off the intruders without a fight. She won’t endanger herself or her child by attacking the characters if they also refrain from combat and get it across to her that they’ve come to rescue the halfling.
Perilou thanks her rescuers but is sad to have witnessed the death of her goliath friend, Mokingo. She doesn’t know what became of her other companion, Astrix (see “Ruined Camp” below), and would love to answer that question before returning to Ten-Towns. Perilou stays with the characters until they return to Ten-Towns, then parts ways with them after deciding that her adventuring days are over.
Against one wall, hidden under the shattered remains of a dogsled, is a mess kit, an explorer’s pack, and enough blood-spattered heavy clothing to make two cold weather outfits.
Development
As the characters leave the yeti cave, the male adult yeti returns home with a dead mountain goat tucked under one arm. Under normal circumstances, the male yeti is hostile, but a character with the Littlest Yeti secret (see appendix B) can improve the yeti’s attitude. If no one has this secret but the characters have the yeti tyke with them, they can trade the tyke for safe passage up or down the mountain.
Ruined Camp
You come to the edge of a vast and deep crevasse, with nowhere to go but down. A collapsed tent lies half-buried in the snow near the precipice. Jutting out of a nearby snowbank is a pair of blue leather boots. Next to this grim display, a figure in cold weather clothing sits in the snow, her knees pulled in tight to her chest. Horns protrude from underneath the figure’s fur-lined hood.
The figure seated in the snow is Astrix, a tiefling wizard. She is dead—frozen solid with her teeth clenched and her eyes staring at the blue boots sticking out of the snow. She escaped immediate death at the hands of the yeti but, in her panic, fled up the mountain rather than down it. Unwilling to approach the yeti cave again too soon, Astrix took refuge here. The sight of the boots made her sink into utter despair, until the elements finally claimed her.
Blue Boots
A shield dwarf explorer named Barthoom Hammerhome climbed to this great height and made camp here a month ago, only to be killed and decapitated by a yeti. The half-buried tent is his. Characters who tug on his blue leather boots can pull Barthoom’s headless body from the snowbank. Characters who search the dwarf’s body find an empty wineskin, a half-eaten block of goat’s cheese, and a miner’s pick.
Treasure
Characters who search Astrix’s body find a
Concluding the Quest
The trip back to Targos can be as fraught or as uneventful as you wish. If the characters take the more direct but dangerous route across the open tundra, they have at least one random encounter in the wilderness (see “area Wilderness Encounters").
Keegan and Garret are happy to be reunited. The characters still receive their promised reward if Garret dies, but only if they deliver his body to Keegan for a proper burial. Part of their reward is a wooden box containing four scrimshaw figurines worth 10 gp each: a spouting whale, a smiling fox, a pair of dancing hares, and a walrus with the words “BIG LOVE” carved into it.