Chapter 4 - Introduction

Guided by Harshnag the frost giant, the adventurers travel to the Spine of the World, scaling icy mountains to reach a temple built by the giant lords of Ostoria. Within this complex, they find the Eye of the All-Father, a chamber that the ancient giants used as an oracle. Here, the characters eventually choose a path that leads them to the storm giants of Maelstrom, who hold the key to restoring order among giants.

After receiving direction from the oracle, the characters embark on the next leg of their quest, but a surprise encounter with Iymrith threatens to end their effort before it begins. Realizing that the adventurers are no match for the ancient blue dragon, Harshnag challenges Iymrith, distracting her so that the characters can flee. The temple’s stones tremble and fall as the frost giant and the blue dragon clash, trapping them under the mountain while the characters make good their escape.

Journey to the Eye

Harshnag offers to lead the characters to the Eye of the All-Father. He isn’t shy about using roads and trails, nor does he blanch at traversing the uncharted wilderness or crossing cold rivers. He expects the characters to keep up but travels at a normal pace so that they don’t suffer the effects of exhaustion.

The Eye of the All-Father is hidden under the icy peaks of the Spine of the World and can be reached by way of a mountain pass that starts in the Valley of Khedrun. After two days traversing the desolate valley, Harshnag finds the pass. Characters should be 7th level when they’re ready to explore the Eye of the All-Father.

An overland journey to the Eye might include one or more random encounters, at your discretion. See the “Random Wilderness Encounters” section in chapter 3 for more information. Characters are also subject to extreme cold temperatures (see the “Wilderness Survival” section in chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide).

Useful Links

Eye of the All-Father

The Eye of the All-Father is an underground complex built by giants (see map 4.1), which has survived for tens of thousands of years. The giant lords of Ostoria came here for divine wisdom and also for refuge. Harshnag is one of only a handful of giants who know about the temple. A few ancient dragons-including Iymrith, Claugiyliamatar, and Klauth-also know of its location.

Everything within the dungeon is built to giant scale. Harshnag is familiar with the general features and layout of the complex (except for area 9), but not its traps or current denizens.

Eye of the All-Father: General Features

The following features are common throughout the temple.

Ceilings: Interiors have 60-foot-high ceilings.

Doors: The double doors located throughout the complex are made of granite adorned with bas-reliefs that depict regal giants fighting and slaying dragons. Door hinges and handles are made of wrought iron, and the handles are 12 feet off the floor. A Huge giant has no trouble opening doors that aren’t frozen shut. A smaller creature can try to open a door if that creature can reach the door’s handle and unlatch it. While the handle is unlatched, a creature must use an action to push or pull on the heavy door, opening it with a successful DC 12 Strength (Athletics) check. See area 6 for rules on dealing with giant doors that are frozen shut.

Frost: Frost covers the floors, walls, ceilings, and furnishings everywhere except for area 7. The frost makes climbing the walls impossible without climbing gear or magic.

Illumination: Interior areas are unlit except for areas 6, 7, and 11 (see those areas for details).

Oversized Furnishings and Objects: The furnishings and other items in the temple are sized for Huge giants. Exceptions are noted in the text. Tables, benches, and other room fixtures are typically three times as high as their human-sized equivalents and roughly twenty-seven times the weight. Small and Medium creatures can scuttle under and clamber over giant-sized furniture, treating them as difficult terrain.

Stairs: Staircases within the temple are sized for giants. Each step is 5 feet tall and 5 feet wide. Creatures of Large size and smaller treat the staircases as difficult terrain.

1. Domed Entrance

A 40-foot-wide, naturally formed stone causeway leads to the entrance of the Eye of the All-Father. Sheer cliffs plunge hundreds of feet on both sides of the route. The causeway is covered with a foot of snow, in which the characters can see fresh tracks heading toward the mountainside. With a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Survival) check, a character can determine that the tracks are those of eight humans. These tracks were made by the Uthgardt barbarians in area 4.

The causeway ends before a stone dome carved from the mountainside. Six 30-foot-tall stone pillars support the dome, which is in no danger of collapse, even if the pillars were to be toppled. Each pillar is carved with a wraparound bas-relief. From north to south, the pillars depict the following scenes:

• A hill giant lifting a rock above its head
• A frost giant chopping down a great pine
• A cloud giant flying among birds in the sky
• A flying storm giant hurling lightning bolts at a ship
• A stone giant climbing a mountain
• A fire giant with chained dwarf prisoners in a cavern

At the back of the dome, a 40-foot-wide, 40-foot-high hallway heads into the mountain. Wind has blown the snow far into the hallway. The snow thins out and disappears after about 100 feet. The tracks of the humans continue east into the dungeon complex.

2. Stone Blocks

If the characters haven’t confronted the Uthgardt barbarians in area 4, they hear the barbarians' grunts when they reach this point. The tunnel is 40 feet wide, 40 feet tall, and level. Characters who have a passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 14 or higher notice gaps in the ceiling, suggesting the presence of two hanging blocks of stone. Characters who search for traps and succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom (Perception) check also notice these blocks, which constitute the temple’s outer defenses.

Each block is a 40-foot-tall, 40-foot-wide, 20-foot-thick slab held up by mechanisms buried in the mountainside. When the lever in area 2A is moved to the down position, the block of stone closer to the entrance (area 1) falls, sealing off the tunnel. When the lever in area 2B is moved to the down position, the inner block does the same thing. Each block takes about 6 seconds to drop to the floor, allowing time for creatures to get out of the way. Any creature that doesn’t get out of the way takes 132 (24d10) bludgeoning damage and is knocked prone and pinned underneath the block, or crushed to a pulp if the damage reduces its hit points to 0. A creature pinned under a block is restrained until the block is lifted (by raising the appropriate lever). Knock spells and similar magic have no effect on these gigantic barricades.

2A. Northwest Guard Room

This 60-foot-square room is featureless except for a large iron lever in the south wall. The lever is 12 feet off the ground and frozen in the up position. Pulling it down requires a successful DC 24 Strength (Athletics) check. Medium and smaller creatures have disadvantage on the check because they can’t put much weight behind their efforts, although they can offset the disadvantage by helping one another (using the Help action). Using a torch or other open flame to thaw the ice around the lever (which takes at least 1 minute) reduces the DC to 20.

Moving the lever down causes the outer block of stone in area 2 to lower, sealing off the temple entrance.

2B. Southwest Guard Room

This room is like area 2A, but the lever is in the north wall and controls the inner block of stone in area 2.

3. Boulderfall Hall

The ceiling in this hall is 60 feet high, sloping down to 40 feet as it moves toward area 2. Although the ceiling remains level heading eastward, its distance from the floor decreases to 40 feet on the landing in front of area 4 because of the staircase leading up to that location.

Overlooking the hall to the north and south are unguarded 20-foot-high ledges that have no railings or battlements. Giants once stood atop these ledges, ready to hurl rocks at interlopers that passed below.

Five niches are carved into the back wall of each ledge. Each one holds an iron sconce that radiates a faint aura of conjuration magic under the scrutiny of a detect magic spell. Touching a sconce with an open flame causes a spectral fire to materialize above the sconce. This flame sheds light and heat like a normal torch, and it burns until smothered. If a sconce is taken from its niche, it loses its magic forever. Lighting a sconce in this hall alerts the berserkers in area 4, who investigate.

Barbarians at the Gate

As the characters cross this hall from west to east, they see the flickering light of a single torch and can hear human grunts and groans ahead. Characters carrying light sources can’t surprise the Uthgardt barbarians in area 4. If the party advances quietly without light sources, the characters can surprise the Uthgardt with a successful group DC 14 Dexterity (Stealth) check.

4. Giant Doors

A 40-foot-long flight of steps leading east ascends 20 feet to a landing, next to which stands a pair of 30-foot tall granite doors carved with images of giant gods locked in battle with dragons. The doors are impervious to all types of damage and coated with ice on the inside. Any Huge or larger creature with a Strength of 23 or higher can throw its weight against the doors and force them open. If Harshnag is with the party, he does exactly that if given the chance. Smaller creatures can’t open the doors until the ice on the other side is chipped away or melted (see area 6). Knock spells and similar magic are likewise ineffective until the ice is removed.

Pushing on the doors are six berserker (CE male and female Uthgardt humans) of the Great Worm tribe. Overseeing them is Wormblod, a bloodthirsty berserker (CE male Uthgardt human with 90 hit points) who is also the Great Chief of the Great Worm tribe. He keeps an enslaved white dragon wyrmling for a pet and a female Uthgardt shaman of the Great Worm tribe as an advisor. She carries a lit torch in one hand and has a sacred bundle slung over her back.

Wormblod and his barbarians have come to the Eye of the All-Father to find a missing member of their tribe (see area 9A). The chieftain is secretly hoping to use this opportunity as an excuse to plunder the temple of its treasures, but his berserkers have been unable to get through these doors. The Uthgardt and their leader are hostile toward anyone who isn’t a member of their tribe, and they fight to the death. This is true even if the characters open the doors or offer to do so.

Treasure

Wormblod wears an amulet of proof against detection and location. Tied to his belt is a sack containing seven 100 gp gemstones.

Development

If the characters kill Wormblod, they can use his severed head or one of his possessions (such as his magic amulet or his greataxe) to affect future dealings with the Great Worm tribe. Other Great Worm tribe members are horrified to learn that their chieftain is dead. Until a new great chief is chosen, they either flee from the characters or allow them to pass through their territory unmolested. They will even allow the characters to take the giant relic from their spirit mound. Killing Wormblod also allows the characters to gain a supernatural gift from the couatl in Great Worm Cavern (see the “Great Worm Cavern” section in chapter 3 for details).

5. Portcullises

A heavy iron portcullis 20 feet wide by 30 feet tall, with a 30-foot-high wall above it, blocks this 60-foot-high passage. The portcullis can be lifted with a successful DC 25 Strength (Athletics) check. It can also be raised with a knock spell or by moving an iron lever hidden in one of two secret rooms (area 5A or 5B, whichever is closer). The bars of the portcullis are ice cold to the touch and spaced far enough apart that a Small creature can squeeze between them.

5A. Northeast Guard Room

This square room is hidden behind a secret door (see area 6 for details) and featureless except for an iron lever set into the south wall. The lever is 12 feet off the ground and frozen in the down position. Pushing it up requires a successful DC 24 Strength (Athletics) check. Medium and smaller creatures have disadvantage on the check because they can’t put much weight behind the effort, although they can offset the disadvantage by helping one another (using the Help action). Using a torch or other open flame to thaw the ice around the lever (which takes at least 1 minute) reduces the DC to 20.

Moving the lever to the up position causes the portcullis in area 5 to rise into the ceiling, leaving an open doorway 30 feet high. Pushing the lever down causes the portcullis to lower back into place. It takes about 6 seconds to fall, allowing creatures underneath it time to get away. If a creature is unable to move out of the way, it is knocked prone and restrained under the portcullis.

5B. Southeast Guard Room

This room is similar to area 5A, except that the lever is located in the north wall.

6. Annam’s Temple

When the characters enter or peer into this temple, read:

Thick frost clings to every surface of this 100-foot-high vaulted chamber. Seven enormous statues dominate the room. The largest of them is an 80-foot-tall robed giant, his arms outstretched and his face hidden beneath a stony cowl, facing a glowing archway in the east wall. Kneeling in rows to each side of this statue are six statues half its size, each impressive in its own right and depicting a paragon of a type of giant: hill, stone, frost, fire, cloud, and storm. These smaller statues face the bigger one in the room’s center. In their outstretched arms, five of the giants hold weapons-gifts for their All-Father. Only the frost giant statue is unarmed.

The archway can be further described as follows:

The archway is 40 feet wide and 40 feet tall. Six different runes are carved into it, each one inlaid with mithral, and a glowing mist fills the arch. Niches in the walls on either side of it contain empty, ice-covered sconces made of iron.

The double doors that lead to this chamber are 30 feet tall and open into the room. The double doors leading to areas 4 and 7 are covered with a 4-inch-thick layer of ice that must be chipped away or melted before the doors can be pulled open from this side (either physically or with the aid of knock spells or a chime of opening). A fireball spell produces enough heat to melt the ice on one set of doors. Otherwise, it takes a character using a weapon, a pick, or a similar tool 1 hour to chip away the ice covering one set of doors, or 1 hour to melt the ice with a torch. Multiple characters working together to remove the ice shorten the time proportionately.

Characters who search the temple for secret doors and succeed on a DC 20 Wisdom (Perception) check find two secret doors behind the frost that covers the west wall. These slabs of stone are 40 feet tall by 20 feet wide, and each pushes open to reveal a chamber beyond (area 5A or 5B). Each secret door requires a successful DC 20 Strength (Athletics) check to open or close.

The iron sconces are bolted to their niches and radiate faint auras of conjuration magic under the scrutiny of a detect magic spell. Touching a sconce with an open flame causes a spectral fire to appear above the sconce. This flame sheds light and heat like a normal torch, and it burns until smothered. If a sconce is taken from its niche, it loses its magic forever.

Statues

The big statue in the middle of the temple depicts Annam the All-Father. The statue’s face is a mask of bare rock, bereft of facial features. The giants who carved the statue had no clue what Annam looked like, and they dared not misrepresent him.

The six smaller statues depict the sons of Annam, who are listed in the table Giant Statues and Their Weapons. Five of these statues grasp giant-sized weapons that can be removed. Thrym’s weapon is missing and can be found in area 7. Removing any of these weapons from the dungeon causes it to vanish and reappear in the appropriate statue’s grasp. If the statue is destroyed, the weapon has nowhere to return to and disappears. The table shows which statue holds which weapon, as well as the weight of each weapon and the archway rune associated with each weapon (see “Archway and Runes”).

Giant Statues and Their Weapons

Giant Statues and Their Weapons

Each statue has AC 20, a damage threshold of 10, and immunity to poison and psychic damage. The statue of Annam has 750 hit points; the others have 250 hit points each. Dealing 50 damage or more to the statue of Annam desecrates it and triggers a ceiling collapse, as described in the “Encounter with Iymrith” section later in this chapter.

Archway and Runes

Six mithral-inlaid runes empower the archway. Prying out the mithral or defacing the runes causes the archway’s mist to fade away and renders the archway inoperable. The runes are arranged in an arc around the opening, as shown in figure 4.1.

The six runes include a haug (hill) rune, a stein (stone) rune, an ise (frost) rune, an ild (fire) rune, a skye (cloud) rune, and an uvar (storm) rune. The characters have to figure out which rune is which through trial and error, or with the aid of magic such as the divination spell. A character who has proficiency in the Arcana skill can tell that the runes are magical, but not what the runes mean. Harshnag is familiar with the ise rune and can identify it; the other runes are unknown to him. Iymrith, Klauth, Claugiyliamatar, and most other ancient dragons know all of these runes by name and appearance.

The mist in the archway dimly illuminates the temple. A detect magic spell reveals an aura of conjuration magic around the archway, but nothing happens when something enters the mist. While the archway is inactive, cold rock wall can be felt beyond the churning mist.

The archway is a portal that connects the temple to the divine oracle (area 11), allowing instantaneous two way travel once it is activated. To activate the portal, a giant of the hill, stone, frost, fire, cloud, or storm variety (or a creature polymorphed into one of these forms) must take a weapon from one of the statues of the six lesser giant gods and touch it to the appropriate rune on the archway. The wielder must use the weapon belonging to the god that corresponds to the wielder’s physical form; for example, Harshnag (a frost giant) can activate the portal only by using Thrym’s steel greataxe, and only by touching it to the ise (frost) rune. As soon as the archway activates, the weapon vanishes and reappears in the hands of the statue it came from, unless that statue has been destroyed, in which case the weapon disappears.

Touching a rune with the wrong weapon triggers a spell effect, as described in the Rune Traps table. The effect also occurs when a non-giant touches a rune.

Rune Traps

Rune Traps

When the portal activates, the glowing mist transforms into churning thunderclouds lit by flashing but harmless lightning, and creatures can see another room (area 11) beyond the clouds. The sound of rolling thunder fills the temple, loud enough to be heard throughout the complex. Any creature that steps into the archway appears in area 11. The archway remains active for 1 hour. Any creature still in area 11 when the archway becomes inactive again is trapped there unless it has some means of escape (such as a teleport spell). If the portal closes, it can be reopened from the temple side.

Development

Iymrith the blue dragon arrives at the temple just as the characters return from the divine oracle after choosing which giant lord they intend to fight (see area 11). See the “Encounter with Iymrith” section later in this chapter for more information.

7. Feast Hall

The double doors that lead to this room are coated with ice and can’t be pulled open until the ice is chipped away or melted (see area 6 for details). The room is 240 feet wide by 440 feet deep, with a 200-foot-wide alcove in the center of the east wall. Six pillars, each 20 feet in diameter and 60 feet tall, support the vaulted ceiling. The walls are lined with niches and sconces identical to the ones in areas 3 and 6.

A hungry remorhaz is curled up in the alcove until one or more party members enter the room, at which point it uncoils and rushes forward to attack.

The room is warm, dry, and brightly lit. The source of the light and the heat is a raging fire contained within a bowl-shaped basin in the center of the chamber. Natural gas escaping through holes in the basin feeds the fire, sustaining it indefinitely. Any creature that enters the fire or starts its turn there takes 10 (3d6) fire damage.

Arranged about the fire pit are six tables carved out of granite, with matching benches, and two 9-foot-tall stone slabs stained with blood and grease. Atop the southernmost slab are neat stacks of plates and goblets made of beaten copper, all green and black with age. The stacks of plates and goblets on the northernmost slab have been knocked over, creating a mess.

Thrym’s Axe

Leaning against the southernmost slab is a 750-pound steel greataxe sized for a frost giant. An absentminded giant removed it from the temple (area 6) and left it here. Like the other weapons in area 6, it can be used to activate the portal leading to the divine oracle (area 11).

8. Trapped Hall

This part of the temple contains quarters where visiting giants used to rest, with two sets of stairs leading to an upper level (area 10).

A 60-foot-high hall stretches northward. The hall is inclined at a slight angle, so that the floor in the north end of the hall is higher than in the south end. The slope isn’t so great that the frost on the floor presents a hazard. Fourteen 30-foot-tall archways spaced along the west and east walls lead to 60-foot-square chambers furnished with frost-covered stone couches that serve as beds. Some of these beds have tattered furs atop them. A fissure in the back wall of the center room on the west side leads to a network of natural tunnels (area 9).

This hallway contains a magical trap, and a detect magic spell can reveal certain clues, as described in areas 8A and 8B. The trap triggers when one or more creatures that aren’t giants enter area 8B, a 40-foot square section of the hallway. It triggers even if they fly over or move invisibly through that area. Harshnag is unaware of this trap and can’t warn the party about it.

When the trap activates, walls of stone (created by wall of stone spells) seal off the archways along the west and east walls. When that happens, all creatures in the hallway or the adjacent rooms must roll initiative. On initiative count 15, a 40-foot-diameter sphere of solid granite phases out of the north wall at area 8C and rolls southward down the corridor. It rolls 200 feet on each of its turns until it reaches the end of the hall. The sphere can move through creatures' spaces, and creatures can move through its space, treating it as difficult terrain. Whenever the sphere enters a creature’s space or a creature enters its space while it’s rolling, that creature must succeed on a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw or take 55 (10d10) bludgeoning damage and be knocked prone. The sphere can’t harm creatures above it.

When the sphere reaches the south end of the hallway, the stone giant statue (area 8A) animates and uses its outstretched arms to stop the sphere before it slams into the wall around the alcove. Each round thereafter on initiative count 15, the statue moves 20 feet northward, rolling the sphere ahead of it. The statue and sphere move slowly enough that creatures can easily get out of the way. When the statue reaches the north end of the hallway, it pushes the sphere back into the wall (the sphere melds with the stone as it comes into contact with it). The statue then lumbers back toward its alcove, moving 60 feet on each of its turns. While the giant is out of its alcove, the magic trap is disabled. The trap resets when the statue returns to its alcove. The walls of stone disappear when the trap resets.

8A. Stone Giant Statue

Standing in an alcove at the eastern end of the hall is a life-size statue of a stone giant that radiates an aura of transmutation magic under the scrutiny of a detect magic spell. Its arms are lifted up with hands outstretched and palms facing the west end of the hall.

The statue is immobile until activated and has the statistics of a stone golem, with the following changes:

• It is Huge and has 195 (17d12+85) hit points.
• It knows no languages and ignores communication.
• It lacks the Multiattack, Slam, and Slow actions.
• It has a challenge rating of 0 (0 XP).

8B. Magical Trap

A detect magic spell reveals conjuration magic filling this 40-foot section of hallway. Successfully casting dispel magic (DC 18) on the area disables the trap.

8C. Stone Sphere

When it is fully within the wall, this 40-foot-diameter stone sphere is undetectable, even with the aid of magic.

9. Ice Spider Tunnels

Harshnag doesn’t know about these tunnels and caves, which were formed by earth tremors and aren’t part of the dungeon’s original construction. In recent years, they have become a haunt for ice spiders. Ice spiders have red eyes and white fur covering their bodies, and they weave liquid webs that crystallize quickly, forming frosty sheets and icy cocoons.

The tunnels are 10-foot-high, 5-foot-wide cracks in the mountain rock (too narrow for Harshnag). Due to the icy and uneven floors, the tunnels are difficult terrain. Creatures that have the Spider Climb trait (or that are under the effect of a spider climb spell) can move through the tunnels at a normal pace. A thin layer of frost coats the walls, floor, and ceiling throughout.

The westernmost tunnel branch opens high upon the mountainside. The slope is so steep that a creature falling from this height would tumble almost 400 feet down the mountainside before landing on any sort of ledge. Although there are abundant handholds, the slope is icy and treacherous, requiring a successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check to climb without gear. There is no view of the entrance (area 1) from this tunnel exit.

The easternmost tunnel branch opens into the back wall of a giant dormitory (area 8).

Tunnel Intersections

The first time one or more party members reach a tunnel intersection, four ice spiders come crawling out of the darkness and attack. Use the giant spider statistics, with the following changes:

• Ice spiders have resistance to cold damage.
• While restrained in an ice spider’s web, a creature takes 1 cold damage at the start of each of its turns.
• The web lacks immunity to bludgeoning damage.

9A. Larder

This natural cave has a 30-foot-high ceiling supported by five rocky columns. The floor is flat and is normal terrain. The cavern is filled with translucent ice spider webs that block line of sight. Characters who succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check can spot a cluster of cocoons on the floor at the back of the cave.

Although they’re made of ice, the webs are sticky (like frozen metal). They use the same rules as normal webs (see the “Dungeon Hazards” section in chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide) except that they are brittle and thus lack immunity to bludgeoning damage.

Characters who smash or burn their way through the webs can reach the cocoons, of which there are three. The first one contains the exsanguinated corpse of a mountain goat. The second one holds a dead shield dwarf prospector wearing a tattered fur cloak and clutching a miner’s pick close to his chest. The third one contains a living Uthgardt barbarian of the Great Worm tribe named Noori, a berserker with the following changes:

• Her alignment is chaotic evil.
• She has 0 hit points and is unconscious but stable.
• She has the following skills: Stealth +3, Survival +2.
• She speaks Bothii (the Uthgardt language) and Common.
• She is unarmed, having lost her greataxe. If she obtains a nonmagical weapon, Noori has a +5 bonus to attack rolls made with it and adds her Strength bonus (+3) to the weapon’s damage on a hit.

If Noori is revived, she is startled and confused by her surroundings. Like most Uthgardt, she is suspicious of magic and resentful of spellcasters. If the characters killed Wormblod (see area 4) and Noori learns of this, she attacks them with whatever weapon she has in hand, fighting to the death. Otherwise, she remains with the party until an opportunity to escape from the complex and return to Great Worm Cavern presents itself.

If Noori rejoins her tribe, she shares the tale of her ordeal. The characters' act of heroism could affect their dealings with the Great Worm tribe, to the extent that the tribe thinks twice about attacking them. If Wormblod learns of their deed, he gives them his magic amulet as a token of respect, then warns them to leave Great Worm territory or face his wrath. He has no interest in forging an alliance with “civilized folk.”

9B. Nest

This egg-shaped chamber has a flat floor, which is normal terrain. A single column supports a domed ceiling 20 feet overhead. Curtains of icy webbing stretch from the column to the walls, creating an enclosure that holds an ice spider queen, a giant spider with the following changes:

• It has 44 hit points and a challenge rating of 2 (450 XP).
• It has resistance to cold damage.
• Any creature that starts its turn within 5 feet of the queen takes 5 (2d4) cold damage.
• While restrained in the ice spider queen’s web, a creature takes 2 (1d4) cold damage at the start of each of its turns. Ice spider webbing doesn’t have immunity to bludgeoning damage.

The queen sits atop a cluster of thirty-two ice spider eggs, each one as big as a grapefruit. If the queen dies, the eggs immediately hatch, and the newborn spiders form a swarm of spiders that acts on the queen’s initiative count. The swarm has resistance to cold damage. If there are no foes for the swarm to attack, it begins devouring the corpse of its mother.

Treasure

Lying next to the ice spider eggs is a frozen potion of climbing and a warhammer with a sapphire (worth 1,000 gp) set into the end of its haft. The potion must be thawed before it can be quaffed. It takes 1 minute to thaw the potion over a torch or campfire. A character can forgo the thawing process by breaking the potion flask and eating the potion in ice form.

10. Upstairs Quarters

This upstairs hallway is structurally similar to area 8, except that much of it has collapsed, leaving a few rooms to the east and west for the characters to explore. Standing in an alcove at the south end of the hall is a life-size statue of a female cloud giant wearing an angry mask, her arms positioned in a way that suggests she’s casting a spell. The statue is inanimate and harmless.

10A. Giant Sack

This room contains a pair of sculpted stone couches that double as beds. Frost covers everything.

Treasure

Characters who search this room find a stitched leather sack on one of the beds. The sack has been here for months, left behind by an old and forgetful frost giant. It contains 1d4 mundane items determined by rolling on the Items in a Giant’s Bag table in the introduction. The sack also contains a shard of the ise rune and three severed, frozen dwarf heads (two male and one female). One of the heads has ten gold teeth (worth 1 gp each).

11. Eye of Annam

This room lies deep within the mountain, farther from the temple than the map suggests. The contents of this room-including any creatures within it-are hidden from divination magic. They can’t be targeted by such magic or perceived through magical scrying sensors. No doors or passages lead to or from the room. The characters arrive here by way of the teleportation archway in the temple. They can leave the same way, as long as the archway is still active (see area 6). Otherwise, they are stranded here unless they have some way to teleport out.

When the characters pass through the archway, read:

Beyond the thundering archway lies a hexagonal chamber whose walls rise 50 feet before tapering to a 90-foot-high apex. Standing in each corner of the room is a life-size statue of a giant holding up a heavy, iron lantern with one raised arm. Each type of giant is represented: hill, stone, frost, fire, cloud, and storm. A cold, magical light radiates from each lantern, illuminating a giant corpse lying on the floor beneath a shroud of frost in the middle of the room. The corpse looks like it has been here for some time, preserved by the cold. Next to the body rests a giant, frost-covered morningstar.

This chamber allows communion with a divine proxy of Annam the All-Father. It’s called the Eye of Annam because ancient giants thought the chamber enabled them to gain wisdom from him directly. Casting detect magic reveals an aura of divination magic in the room.

The corpse belongs to a young cloud giant named Eigeron, whose father, Blagothkus, betrayed and murdered him. If the characters disturb Eigeron’s body or come within 10 feet of it, the giant’s ghost rises up from the corpse (see “Eigeron’s Ghost”).

The dead giant wears a golden breastplate (see “Treasure”). His morningstar is nonmagical and made for a Huge creature. Characters close enough to touch the cloud giant’s corpse or the morningstar notice a rune-inscribed circle carved into the floor, obscured by frost (see the “Words of the Divine Oracle” section).

The teleportation archway looks much the same as it does when viewed from area 6, except it bears no runes, and it can’t be activated from this side. Characters who study the arch and succeed on a DC 17 Intelligence (Arcana) check can sense that the archway will remain open for a short time only, perhaps as long as an hour.

The statues are impressive and harmless. The lights in their lanterns are created by continual flame spells.

Eigeron’s Ghost

Like many giants before them, Eigeron and his father, Blagothkus, came to the Eye of Annam seeking wisdom. The divine oracle told them that a great upheaval would upset the balance of power in the world, giving all giants the opportunity to win the respect of their gods and bring glory to their race. The oracle told Blagothkus outright that he could never impress the gods enough to earn their favor, then urged Eigeron to step out from beneath his father’s “dark shadow.” Blagothkus was overcome with despair and envy. A terrible fight between father and son ensued, in which Blagothkus slew Eigeron. Blagothkus then retired to his castle to mourn.

Eigeron manifests as the spirit of a cloud giant. He wants to know why the characters have come and tries to be helpful. He knows how the oracle works and can explain what the characters must say to contact it (see “Words of the Divine Oracle”). After he gives this information, he asks the characters to avenge his death by killing his evil father, Blagothkus (see “Development”).

If the party attacks the ghost, it fights back. Eigeron’s spirit is a ghost, with the following changes:

• It is neutral good.
• It is Huge and has 65 (10d12) hit points.
• It speaks Common and Giant.
• It lacks the Horrifying Visage action option.
• It can possess giants as well as humanoids, though its ability is limited; it can’t leave this chamber. If a creature possessed by the ghost is forcibly removed from the Eye of Annam, the ghost is expelled from its host and re-forms in the middle of this room.
• If it is destroyed, it re-forms after 24 hours. To truly destroy the ghost, characters must lay Eigeron’s spirit to rest by killing Blagothkus.

Treasure

The dead cloud giant wears a +2 breastplate that resizes to fit its wearer and has an opal of the ild rune clutched in its frozen right hand. The ghost doesn’t object if one of the characters takes the armor or the opal.

Development

If the characters want to try to help Eigeron by slaying Blagothkus, they must first learn where Blagothkus is located. They can ask the oracle, but its answer is vague (see “Words of the Divine Oracle”). Neither Harshnag nor Eigeron’s spirit knows what “Parnast” is, though characters might surmise that it’s a place.

Parnast is a village that appears on few maps, and few folk know of it. Characters who consult with a member of the Surveyors', Map & Chartmakers' Guild in Waterdeep or any learned sage in Everlund or Silverymoon can procure a map for 100 gp that shows Parnast’s location. The village lies between the Graypeak Mountains and the Weathercote Forest, near the western edge of the desert of Anauroch. If they travel to Parnast, the characters see Blagothkus’s flying castle hovering nearby, its towers casting long shadows over the village.

What happens if the characters decide to pursue Blagothkus is beyond the scope of this adventure. Statistics for the evil cloud giant and detailed plans of his flying castle are provided in the Hoard of the Dragon Queen adventure. If the characters are intent on confronting Blagothkus, you can run the final chapter of that adventure, which is an appropriate challenge for a party of 7th-level adventurers. Also see the information about Blagothkus presented in the “Hoard of the Dragon Queen” section in appendix A of this book.

Words of the Oracle

Etched into the floor of area 11 and hidden under a thin layer of frost is a 20-foot-diameter, mithral-inlaid circle inscribed with the kong (king) rune and the words

“Ask Your Question and Know Truth”

in Dethek, the Dwarvish script. The kong rune, which is nearly as big as the circle enclosing it, is often associated with Annam the All-Father. Characters spot the circle and the rune as soon as they come within 5 feet of either. Otherwise, the frost must be cleared away to reveal the presence of the circle and its rune.

The oracle has 6 charges. Any creature in the circle that asks a question receives a truthful, thundering answer in the Giant tongue (even if the question was asked in another language). Each answer the oracle gives expends 1 charge and causes one of the six lanterns in the room to go out. The oracle regains all expended charges at dawn, whereupon the lanterns relight. If a question is asked and the oracle lacks charges, it gives no answer.

The oracle’s power is similar to a divination spell. If creatures ask different questions simultaneously, the oracle chooses one of them at random to answer.

Answers to several likely questions are presented here, although you can tweak these answers to make them more clear or cryptic, as you see fit.

Why are the giants threatening the North? “The ordning between them has been broken.”

Who broke the ordning? “Annam the All-Father, the greatest of the gods.”

Why did Annam break the ordning? “To rouse his children from their complacency.”

What must be done to stop the giants? “Find a magic conch of the storm giant king, Hekaton. Use it to visit Hekaton’s court. Root out the evil therein.” If the characters already have a conch of teleportation in their possession, the oracle says, “Use the conch to visit Hekaton’s court. Root out the evil therein.”

Where is the conch? “In the clutches of a giant lord.” If the oracle is asked for the name of the giant, it gives a special quest (see “Quest for the Giant Relics”).

What do the evil giants want? “Power, glory, and the favor of their gods, so that when the ordning is remade, they are elevated to the top.”

What is Guh’s plan? “To become the biggest giant the world has ever seen.”

What is Kayalithica’s plan? “To obliterate the works of the surface-worlders.”

What is Storvald’s plan? “To bring about the Age of Everlasting Ice.”

What is Zalto’s plan? “To rebuild a dragon-slaying colossus.”

What is Sansuri’s plan? “To find a lost trove of dragon magic.”

Where is [giant lord’s name]? The oracle answers with a special quest (see “Quest for the Giant Relics”).

Where is Blagothkus? “His shadow falls on Parnast.”

Can Klauth be trusted? “No ancient dragon can be trusted, especially not him.”

What’s up with the storm giants? “The storm giant court is in chaos following the disappearance of King Hekaton.”

Where is King Hekaton? “Unknown.” (The storm giant king is being held in a place impervious to divination magic; see chapter 11, “Caught in the Tentacles.")

How can we find Hekaton? “Speak to Serissa, his youngest daughter. She has a clue to her father’s whereabouts, and she needs your help.”

Who rules in Hekaton’s stead? “His daughter, Serissa.”

What befell Hekaton? “He was misled by his eldest daughters, Mirran and Nym, who covet his throne.”

Are Mirran and Nym acting alone? “No. They are pawns of a much greater evil named Iymrith-a blue dragon in the guise of a storm giant.”

Where is Iymrith now? “Maelstrom.” (The oracle’s answer changes to “Nearby” if Iymrith has left Maelstrom to consult with the oracle; see the “Encounter with Iymrith” section later in this chapter.)

How do we reach Maelstrom? “King Hekaton’s conch will take you there. The path you choose here will lead you to it.” If the characters already have a conch of teleportation in their possession, the oracle says, “Use the conch to visit Hekaton’s court.”

Quest for the Giant Relics

The first time Harshnag or a party member asks the oracle to divulge the location of Hekaton’s conch or of any of the evil giant lords, the oracle replies as follows:

“First, you must prove yourself! When human barbarians came to these lands, they fought our kind and stole our relics, burying them in the ground. The humans built altars to Uthgar, their god-king, atop these relics and surrounded their altars with burial mounds. Go to these mounds, retrieve one or more of our lost relics, and bring them here as tribute. Do this, and your path will be made clear. There are many paths you can take. The more relics you deliver, the more paths you will have to choose from. Several evil giant lords stand ready to oppose you. You can ruin all of their plans by defeating just one of them. Which one that is remains to be seen.”

Hekaton’s Conchs

King Hekaton crafted magic conch shells and gave them to various giant lords so that they could appear before him at his imperial summons. When he wanted to summon the lords to his stronghold, he would transmit through the conchs the sound of crashing waves. The lords would then be expected to use the teleportation power of their conchs to travel to Maelstrom. Each lord that appears in this adventure has a conch of teleportation. The characters need only one of them to reach Maelstrom.

The characters are under no obligation to complete the oracle’s quest if they already have a conch of teleportation or a means of determining the whereabouts of one.

The Lost Giant Relics table summarizes which relics are buried where, and which enemy the characters can choose to defeat if a certain relic is offered up as tribute to the oracle. The Uthgardt spirit mounds are described in chapter 3, and their locations are marked on the maps of the North in that chapter.

Lost Giant Relics

Harshnag’s Map

Harshnag knows the names and locations of all nine spirit mounds. He can take an hour to draw a crude map that shows where the spirit mounds are located relative to key landmarks and terrain features. He doesn’t know what relics are buried at each mound or which giant lord is associated with each relic. If the characters take Harshnag’s map, give the players a copy of map 4.2 for reference.

Ancient Relic Sites

Harshnag declines to accompany the characters on their quest to retrieve the giant relics, opting instead to wait for them in Annam’s temple (area 6) and guard the portal. Before the characters leave, he cautions them that defiling the Uthgardt spirit mounds will likely bring the party into conflict with one or more barbarian tribes.

Returning with the Relics

To offer a relic as tribute, it must be placed inside the mithral circle on the floor of the oracle chamber. Eigeron’s ghost knows this, and Harshnag can figure it out if the characters are stumped. When this is done, the relic disappears forever. As a relic disappears, the oracle says in a booming voice,

Oracle

“You have done a great deed for all giants! A new path lies before you!”

For each relic that the characters offer as tribute, a stony bas-relief depicting the giant lord associated with that relic (see the Lost Giant Relics table) protrudes from one of the chamber’s five bare walls. For example, if the characters offer up the cracked horn found under the altar at Beorunna’s Well and the mithral spear tip found under the altar at Flint Rock, bas-reliefs of Thane Kayalithica and Countess Sansuri appear, leaving three walls bare. The giant bas-reliefs remain until one or more characters stand inside the mithral circle in the middle of area 11 and declare which giant lord they want to face. The majority vote wins. If the characters make no such declaration before leaving the oracle chamber, the bas-reliefs disappear and reappear when one or more characters return. After making their choice, characters in the oracle chamber gain the magical ability to know the shortest, most direct physical route to the lair of the chosen giant lord. This ability lasts until they reach their destination.

If the characters have a conch of teleportation in their possession, no bas-reliefs form when they pay tribute to the oracle. Upon receiving one or more giant relics, the oracle says, in Giant,

Oracle

“Your path is clear. Use the conch to reach the court of King Hekaton!”

The Chosen Foe

The oracle utters something based on the chosen foe:

Chief Guh

Oracle

“Travel south over tree, hill, and vale. Let the great river be your guide. There, on one of its eastern arms, you’ll find Grudd Haug-the den of the hill giant chief. The conch you seek is close to her.”

“The great river” refers to the Dessarin River. The hill giant den lies along one of its eastern tributaries. When the characters are ready to head there, continue with chapter 5, “Den of the Hill Giants.”

Thane Kayalithica

Oracle

“Travel southeast, o’er lands high and low. Cross the great forest to the gray peaks, and search for Deadstone Cleft, canyon of the stone giant thane. The conch you seek is in her possession.”

“The great forest” refers to the High Forest, “the gray peaks” to the Graypeak Mountains. When the characters are ready to head there, continue with chapter 6, “Canyon of the Stone Giants.”

Jarl Storvald

Oracle

“Travel west, o’er mountains, to the Sea of Moving Ice. There, among the glaciers, you’ll find Svardborg-the berg of the frost giant jarl. The conch you seek rests on his icy throne.”

When the characters are ready to head there, continue with chapter 7, “Berg of the Frost Giants.”

Duke Zalto

Oracle

“Travel east, o’er mountains and snow, to distant spires. There, on a cold mountainside, you’ll find a village of yak folk and below that, Ironslag-the forge of the fire giant duke. The conch you seek is in his quarters.”

“Distant spires” refers to the Ice Spires mountain range. When the characters are ready to head there, continue with chapter 8, “Forge of the Fire Giants.”

Countess Sansuri

Oracle

“Travel southeast to the untamed moors, and look to the sky for Lyn Armaal-the castle of the cloud giant countess. The conch you seek is in a secret chest. Search the highest spire!”

Sansuri’s castle currently floats above the Evermoors. When the characters are ready to head there, continue with chapter 9, “Castle of the Cloud Giants.”

Airship of a Cult

This encounter introduces the characters to an unlikely band of allies and occurs as the party leaves the Eye of the All-Father in search of Uthgardt spirit mounds to plunder (see the “Quest for the Giant Relics” section).

Klauth, one of the largest and most terrifying red dragons in Faerûn, has been scrying on the giants. It amuses him to watch his old enemies fumble about at the whims of their gods. “Old Snarl” knows that the civilizations of the North won’t abide the giants' depredations for long. The dragon fully expects adventurers to mobilize and take the fight to the giant lords. Not surprisingly, Klauth has been keeping an eye on Harshnag and, more recently, the player characters.

Klauth has brought members of the Cult of the Dragon to his vale. (For more information on Klauth’s lair, see the “Klauthen Vale” entry in chapter 3.) The cultists are in awe of the great dragon and follow his orders without question. On this occasion, Klauth has ordered the cultists to deliver a special gift to the characters: an airship to help expedite their travels.

Need a Lift?

The dragon cultists' airship flies from Klauthen Vale to the Eye of the All-Father, arriving just as the characters emerge from the giant temple. Read or paraphrase the following text to the players when the airship appears.

A strange vehicle hangs in the sky overhead, slowly drifting closer. It looks like a small ship with sleigh runners, held aloft by a giant red balloon.

The airship drops two 50-foot-long rope ladders over the sides of the ship so that the characters can climb aboard without the vehicle landing. Characters can fly up to the ship if they have the means to do so. If they decline to board the vessel, the crew signals for them to come aboard. If they still decline, the airship lands so that the dragon cultists can reveal who sent them and why.

The ship’s crew consists of eight members of the Cult of the Dragon (NE male and female human cultist of various ethnicities), all wearing black leather armor and black leather masks. The cultists are a humorless but resolute bunch. Their names are Delsephine, Nyzroth, Brassik, Laz, Oriskus, Perella, Tralt, and Zalthia. Delsephine is their leader. Four are on duty at any time (two to crew the ship and two standing watch) while the others rest. A party member who observes one or more cultists operating the airship for an entire day can, with a successful DC 15 Intelligence check, learn enough about the ship’s operation to take the place of a cultist on the crew. For their part, the cultists are willing to crew the vessel so that the characters can focus on navigation, as well as loading, aiming, and firing the onboard weapons.

The cultists' orders are to steer the ship as the characters direct and help the characters defend it. They don’t assist the characters otherwise and avoid putting themselves in harm’s way. Characters can leave the cultists behind if they wish, but the cultists are quick to point out that the characters will find it impossible to operate the ship on their own. Klauth doesn’t care what becomes of the cultists once the airship is delivered to the party, nor does he care exactly what the characters do with the airship once it comes into their possession. He does, however, expect the cultists to relay the following message to the characters when the two groups first meet.

“We come to you on behalf of Klauth, the Great Dragon of the North! Klauth offers you this vessel and our services as a gift, so that you may cross his vast dominion while avoiding the many perils of the land below. War against the giants is inevitable, but the Great Dragon commands you forge ahead and face your destiny! The ordning of the giants is broken, and they are not united. Slay their leaders, and you may yet prevail. If you succeed in quelling the giant threat, Klauth bids you come to his hidden vale, so that he can reward your bravery.”

The cultists have never visited the Eye of the All-Father before and know nothing about its layout or its contents. They do know a few things about the ordning, however:

• The ordning dictated the hierarchy of giant society, but the giant gods have apparently dissolved it.
• Before the ordning’s dissolution, storm giants were at the top of it, hill giants at the bottom.
• The disappearance of Hekaton, a storm giant king, has prompted a number of other giants to misbehave. These giants' efforts to rise to the top of a new ordning bode ill for the budding empires of the North.

The cultists know the way to Klauthen Vale, but they won’t lead the characters there willingly until after King Hekaton is set free. Although the cultists don’t know it, Klauth’s promise of a reward is disingenuous. If the characters accept his offer and visit him at the appointed time, he attacks them as they enter Klauthen Vale, seeing no further use for them. Old Snarl has no intention of giving them even one coin from his vast hoard.

Airship Description

The airship’s enormous balloon is made from dragon hide that has been dyed bright red. Atop the balloon is a crow’s nest that is reached by crawling up the ropes on the outside of the balloon. Crawling up the ropes requires a DC 10 Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. If the check fails, no progress is made; if the check fails by 5 or more, the creature falls.

The balloon is roped to a gondola that has been fitted with steel runners. The airship has a speed of 8 miles per hour while skiing across ice or snow or flying in the air. A strong headwind reduces the ship’s speed to 4 mph, while a strong tailwind increases its speed to 12 mph. By changing altitude, the ship can use air currents to move in a particular direction. A propeller aft of the gondola thrusts the ship forward and can also be pivoted. The hull of the gondola is watertight and buoyant in water, and the propeller can push it across water.

The airship can hold up to 1 ton of cargo and requires a crew of two, one to operate the propeller and one to operate the furnace. If the ship has fewer than two crew members on duty, its speed can’t be controlled, and it moves in a random direction, carried by the wind, until control is regained or until it collides with something.

The gondola and the balloon are separate targets. The gondola has AC 13, 250 hit points, and a damage threshold of 10. The balloon has AC 11 and 50 hit points. Both have immunity to poison and psychic damage. If the balloon drops to 0 hit points, it bursts, and the ship loses the ability to fly. While the balloon or gondola has at least 1 hit point, it can be repaired. Repairing 1 hit point of damage to either the balloon or the gondola requires 1 day and costs 20 gp. (Mending spells can repair superficial damage but can’t restore hit points.)

Airship Locations

The following locations are identified on map 4.3.

1. Furnace

In the middle of the upper deck is a 10-foot-tall, cylindrical bronze furnace with a fire elemental magically trapped inside it. A narrow hatch in the front of the furnace has a small grill through which the elemental can be seen, and the heat pouring out through the grill helps keep the deck crew warm on cold days and nights. An iron wheel on the starboard side of the furnace opens and closes a bronze valve at the top of the cylinder, which has the effect of increasing or reducing the size of the fire spilling out of the furnace. The more heat that is allowed to fill the balloon, the higher the ship can rise.

Opening the hatch or the valve doesn’t release the fire elemental, but destroying the furnace does, as does successfully casting dispel magic (DC 19) on it. The furnace has AC 15, 30 hit points, a damage threshold of 10, and immunity to fire, poison, and psychic damage. The fire elemental goes berserk if released, attacking all other creatures it sees. Inside or outside the furnace, it can be banished using a banishment spell or similar magic, or trapped inside an iron flask or a similar device. If the furnace is destroyed or the elemental released from within it, the air inside the balloon cools, causing the airship to descend at a rate of 10 feet per round.

While the furnace chamber is intact, a fire elemental under the control of another creature can be trapped in the furnace, until it is released as described above. The furnace can contain only one fire elemental at a time.

2. Harpoon Gun

A spring-loaded harpoon gun, fashioned from burnished bronze with iron fittings, is bolted to the forward upper deck. It has a 90-degree arc of fire (side to side, as well as up and down). The gun comes with a winch, a 500-foot coil of rope, and ten steel-tipped harpoons. Although it fires harpoons instead of bolts, the gun is considered a ballista (see the “Siege Equipment” section in chapter 8 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide).

Tying a rope to a harpoon, if desired, takes an action. In addition to dealing 16 (3d10) piercing damage on a hit, a harpoon impales its target. While impaled, the target can’t take any action on its turn other than trying to free itself from the harpoon, which requires a successful DC 15 Strength check. If the check succeeds, the target takes 5 (1d10) piercing damage as the harpoon is pulled free and is no longer impaled. If a harpoon is attached to the gun by a rope, a creature impaled on that harpoon can’t move farther away from the gun or increase its altitude until it frees itself. A creature within reach of the gun’s winch can use its action to reel in a harpooned creature, pulling it up to 20 feet closer to the gun.

3. Ballista

A wooden ballista is mounted on an iron swivel on the aft castle. It has a 90-degree arc of fire (side to side, and up and down). Behind it rests a crate that holds a dozen bolts. For ballista rules, see the “Siege Equipment” section in chapter 8 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide.

4. Propeller Hatch

A wooden door behind the furnace (area 1) on the upper deck pushes open to reveal stairs leading down to the lower deck. Portholes on the landings look out to port and starboard. The porthole windows are latched shut from the inside, and each porthole is wide enough for a Medium creature to squeeze through.

At the foot of the stairs is a steel hatch bolted shut from the outside, with two horizontal-sliding iron levers in the adjacent wall. One lever is labeled Thrust, the other Direction (in Common). Behind the hatch is a steel-walled compartment that holds a magically bound air elemental. The air elemental powers the aft propeller. Moving the Thrust lever to the left opens valves that allow wind from the elemental to spin the propeller. Moving the lever to the right closes the valves, and the propeller stops turning. Moving the Direction lever to the left or right causes the propeller to pivot in that direction, allowing the ship to turn while the propeller is operating. When the Direction lever is centered, the propeller moves the vessel straight ahead. Opening the hatch frees the elemental, whereupon it attacks any creature it sees. Without the air elemental to propel it, the ship can’t push itself across ice or snow and, if aloft, it moves in accordance with the prevailing wind.

Any air elemental under the control of another creature can be commanded to enter the compartment. If the compartment’s hatch is then closed and locked, the elemental becomes trapped inside.

5. Crew Quarters

Each of these cabins has a door that can be bolted shut from the inside, though none of the doors is locked normally. A door can be broken open with a successful DC 13 Strength (Athletics) check. Each cabin contains two hammocks (one above the other), a writing desk, a chair, a footlocker, and a porthole. The portholes' windows are latched shut from the inside, each set in a frame wide enough for a Medium creature to squeeze through.

Each footlocker has a partition that divides its interior space in half, with room on each side for one person’s clothing and personal effects. Atop each desk are a sturdy lamp, a Dragonchess set, and playing cards.

6. Storeroom

This room is packed to the ceiling with crates of rations, barrels of fresh water, and casks of dwarven ale and fine elven wine-enough food to feed ten people for 100 days. Nets secured to iron rings bolted into the walls prevent the containers from moving around.

Klauth plundered these goods from various caravans, and many of the containers bear the names and emblems of their previous owners.

Airship Travel

The Travel Distances in Miles table shows the distances between the various Uthgardt spirit mounds as the crow flies. Use it to track the party’s airship travel, remembering that the vessel’s speed is 8 miles per hour, not accounting for strong headwinds or tailwinds (see the “Airship Description” section).

Travel Distances in Miles

Travel Distances in Miles

Although the characters have no planned encounters in the air, you can add an encounter whenever it suits you. Roll a d20 and consult the Random Aerial Encounters table. You can also use the Weather table in chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide to determine the prevailing weather conditions. Under clear skies, characters on deck or in the crow’s nest spot approaching creatures automatically, giving the crew time to load and aim the ship’s weapons before the creatures get close.

Random Encounter Descriptions

A downside of traveling by airship is that the vessel is easily spotted. Characters can’t surprise hostile creatures while traveling in the airship unless they are guiding the vessel through thick fog or heavy falling snow.

Aarakocra

These intelligent avians fly close to the airship to get a better look. They have had several deadly run-ins with the Cult of the Dragon and recognize the cultists from their attire. If they spot one or more uniformed cultists on the deck of the airship or in the crow’s nest, they attack. Otherwise, the aarakocra fight only in self-defense. If at least five aarakocra are present, they try to perform an aerial dance to summon an air elemental for assistance. Characters can negotiate a truce with the aarakocra by succeeding on a DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check, but only if they refrain from attacking and communicate in a language that the aarakocra understand.

Manticores

A manticore flings its tail spikes at creatures on deck or in the crow’s nest. If it sees no one, it flings its tail spikes at the balloon, hoping to bring down the ship.

Mounted Storm Giant

The characters spot a storm giant riding a roc. The two are looking for clues to King Hekaton’s whereabouts. The giant concludes that the ship contains nothing of interest and steers the roc away, staying at least a quarter of a mile away. The giant has no interest in involving “small folk” in its investigation. It avoids combat and ignores signals from the airship.

Mounted Uthgardt

Characters on the upper deck or in the crow’s nest spot 1d4+2 berserker (CE male and female Uthgardt humans) who belong to either the Black Raven tribe or the Griffon tribe. Each berserker rides a trained giant raven (use the giant vulture) or a griffon, as appropriate.

The barbarians guide their mounts next to the airship, then leap onto the deck and attack all aboard. Riderless mounts withdraw from the battlefield immediately.

Strong Winds

The ship is at the mercy of strong winds for 1d4 hours. At the end of that time, it has been blown off course far enough to add 2d4 × 10 miles to the current journey.

Young Green Dragon

This dragon wants the airship. It circles the vessel and strafes the deck with its gaseous breath while staying out of melee range, hoping to slay the crew. If reduced to half of its hit points or fewer, it flees. The dragon doesn’t give up its prize easily, however. If it withdraws and this encounter occurs again, the same dragon has returned, having regained its hit points and tracked down the ship.

Young Silver Dragon

Dalanyrr, a female silver dragon barely twenty years old, is flitting among the clouds when she spots the air ship. Her curiosity piqued, she tries to land on deck and speak to the crew. Though friendly, Dalanyrr has no useful information to impart and has no interest in joining the party. If the characters ask her to perform a task for them, she agrees to do so for payment, provided the task isn’t too hard or dangerous. She won’t help them plunder Uthgardt spirit mounds or attack giant strongholds, but she can be persuaded to scout ahead or escort the airship for a day or two.

The silver dragon encounter occurs once. If you roll it again, choose a different encounter.

Encounter with Iymrith

This encounter takes place after the adventurers return to area 6 from area 11, having delivered one or more giant relics and chosen a giant lord to defeat. Iymrith appears as they prepare to exit the temple for the last time.

The blue dragon has come to the Eye of the All-Father to consult with the oracle and learn how far along the giant lords' plots are. She arrives in dragon form and enters the temple through the giant doors (area 4). If the characters have an airship outside, she ignores it and makes her way inside, expecting to run into trouble. If the airship’s crew deals damage to her, she destroys the airship’s balloon with her breath weapon and casts ice storm on the crew. The dragon cultists, if they’re still aboard the airship, recognize her and stay out of her way. They know the following information about her:

• Iymrith lives in the desert of Anauroch and is known as the Doom of the Desert.
• The dragon is a spellcaster and a shapechanger.
• She and Klauth know each other, but rarely meet. Her presence in Klauth’s domain is provocative.

The Blue Wyrm

When Iymrith confronts the characters in area 6, read:

You hear the crunch of frost under heavy feet as an enormous blue dragon bursts through the main doors of the temple. The great wyrm pays no mind to the statues here. Instead, it fixes its hateful gaze on you.

Iymrith is an ancient blue dragon. If the characters aren’t with Harshnag when she appears, they must confront the dragon by themselves. Her initial assessment of them is that they pose no threat. If they negotiate for safe passage, she lets them leave if they do so immediately. If they antagonize her or deal any damage to her, she tries to kill them, ignoring those who slip away and any who take refuge in the narrow ice spider tunnels (area 9). To reach the Eye of Annam, she assumes the form of a storm giant and uses Stronmaus’s trident to activate the temple’s portal (see area 6).

If Harshnag is with the party, he attacks the dragon. He hopes to distract her long enough for the characters to escape. Ideally, this scene unfolds in area 6.

Harshnag’s Sacrifice

If Harshnag encounters Iymrith in area 6, he charges the dragon and yells for the characters to flee while he keeps her distracted. If the characters heed the frost giant, they can escape. If they join the battle instead, Iymrith uses her frightful rage. If one or more characters continue to harass her, she focuses her attention on Harshnag while using her legendary actions (specifically her tail attack and wing attack) against the characters.

Harshnag quickly becomes annoyed with the adventurers' refusal to leave. If they linger in area 6 for more than 2 rounds, Harshnag resorts to extreme measures on his next turn to scare them off. Read:

Seeing his warnings fall on deaf ears, Harshnag swings his greataxe at the statue of Annam the All-Father and chips it. The entire temple shudders. The frost giant scowls, dodges the dragon, and strikes the statue once more, this time breaking off a large chunk. This act of desecration causes cracks to form in the ceiling, and the mountain begins to fall down around you. “Flee!” yells Harshnag. “Your fate lies elsewhere!”

Harshnag’s desecration of the statue of Annam dooms the temple. On initiative count 0, each creature in area 6 must make a DC 20 Dexterity saving throw, taking 21 (6d6) bludgeoning damage from falling debris on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Harshnag refuses to leave and does his utmost to keep Iymrith from fleeing by attempting to grapple her on later turns. After falling debris deals damage for 2 rounds, the ceiling collapses the next time initiative reaches 0, killing and burying anyone inside the temple.

Iymrith escapes the cave-in with the aid of her teleport spell. Harshnag’s fate is uncertain. Either he is killed in the collapse, or he manages to retreat to a safe location (such as area 11) at the last possible moment. In either case, the characters are unlikely to encounter him again unless he makes a surprise reappearance (see the “Harshnag Returns!” sidebar in chapter 12).

Whether or not Iymrith’s efforts to reach the oracle succeed, the adventurers meet her again at Maelstrom (see chapter 10, “Hold of the Storm Giants”).

Troubleshooting

If all goes according to plan, the characters will visit the Eye of the All-Father twice. During the characters' first visit, the oracle urges them to retrieve one or more giant relics buried under Uthgardt spirit mounds. Harshnag remains at the temple until they return, and Klauth sends them an airship to expedite their travels. During their second visit, the oracle reveals the whereabouts of a giant lord with a conch of teleportation. As the characters prepare to leave the temple for the second time, Iymrith appears and triggers an altercation with Harshnag that forces the characters to press on without him.

Things don’t always go according to plan, however. The characters might ignore the oracle’s quest and take the adventure in a different direction. If they don’t return to the Eye of the All-Father, their encounter with Iymrith doesn’t occur (and that’s okay). If the characters try to persuade Harshnag to stay with them, he politely declines, preferring to walk his own path.

Character Advancement

By the end of this chapter, the characters should know the location of one of five evil giant lords. Continue with chapter 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9, depending on which giant lord they choose. Allow the characters to advance to 8th level before they arrive at the giant lord’s stronghold.