Swords & Sorceries: The Cold Elves from "Fane of the Frost Giant" (Patreon)

My sixth Swords & Sorceries adventure is "The Fane of the Frost Giant." It sees fifth-level 5E D&D adventurers far from the warmth of the Broken Empire, trapped by winter ice in the remote and fractious kingdom of Kiavalka. Characteristic sights indicate the land's nature: "Ritualistic reminders of the desperation of the living to keep death at bay: arcane symbols and the shapes of humanoids and animals, carved from wood and bone; animal sacrifices left at certain strange-looking stones; the remnants of a human sacrifice hanging in a sacred tree, frozen but torn by crows and wolves. A white-gray sky over a white-gray world, broken by the dark silhouettes of trees. Steam unexpectedly rising from a hot spring." In the following excerpt the adventurers have spent a season among the Kiavalkans, finding places among their alliances and bitter rivalries. Visitors surprise the king's midwinter feast with fell portents. "The Fane of the Frost Giant" is © 2019–2020 by Shane Ivey.

STRANGERS IN THE SNOW

Hours into the feast, an unexpected knocking rocks the castle’s front door. Dust and melted icewater shiver from the doorframe. There is confusion and suspicion in the great hall. Guards would not knock like that. What became of the guards? Warriors fetch weapons and shields from their booths by the walls of the hall.

Then the door pushes in and three strangers step through. They are elves from the mountains, cold elves not seen here since the first king crowned himself 100 years ago or more. The elves are short by human standards, white-faced, white-haired, blue-eyed, and fine-featured. Each is unique and distinctive, but in dress and visible features, male and female are indistinguishable to non-elf eyes. That alone is a source of strange power to the Kiavalkans, with their ingrained emphasis on gender roles.

The elves wear the white furs of seals and polar bears, but not thickly. The cold does not seem to affect them much. Each wears a fine-wrought chain shirt. One carries a swordstaff, similar to a glaive. Another, watchful and always ready, carries a curving shield and a leaf-bladed longsword, of a design so ancient as to be exotic. The third carries as a spear a narwhal tusk engraved with ancient runes.

SPEAKER FOR THE GLOAMING

The swordstaff-bearer announces himself as Golwen, advisor to the Queen of the Mountains. He introduces the shieldbearer as Helethen, the queen’s warlord. He introduces the final elf, bearing the narwhal spear, as Hirris, Queen of the Mountains, Speaker for the Gloaming, Sister of the Dead, Daughter of the Aurora.

None of this lessens the confusion or suspicion in the hall. It only adds a tinge of superstitious awe among the Kiavalkans.

King Reigos asks what became of his guards, who should have announced visitors themselves.

Golwen says that he greeted them, and sang to them, and now they sleep in comfort and warmth, blameless and unhurt. He says that no enemy may come to the king’s hall tonight. He asks the hospitality of the king.

The king somewhat wryly says that in that case, the elves should join him by the fire.

The door closes behind them as the elves walk slowly to the head of the hall.

MORIGNAN'S GREETING

The half-elf witch Morignan Elfwise stands and steps forward, leaning on her staff. The queen gives her a respectful but not friendly nod, saying, “Cousin.” Morignan returns it, saying, “Cousin.” Morignan follows the elves, standing apart from them but near.

A GIFT OF FEAR

Queen Hirris says that she comes to offer a gift that no king would want: a warning. She says Thurtall has stirred from his long sleep. The Frost Giant is abroad and hungry.

The warning sets the hall buzzing. Some think it a lie. Others think it a trick. Others think it true, or at least too serious to ignore.

Reigos says Thurtall has not troubled Kiavalka since the days of legend. All the riches and power of the tribes availed little against the monster. For many years, every summer, a new would-be hero or two would set out to confront the giant. Every winter, the monster would return. It took treasures to admire and slaves to serve it and become its meals. But Thurtall has not been seen in uncounted years.

Hirris says that all is true, but now the world grows colder. The Kiavalkans keep even their beasts at home against the winter chill. The frost giant is coming back.

And the giant comes with followers, men and women enthralled by his power.

THURTALL'S THRALLS

Hirris says a Kiavalkan mountain tribe, the Daesos, has been corrupted entirely and become thralls of Thurtall. Ghaisan is their chief. Desperate to save the clan from starvation, their spirit-caller Selan broke the taboo against eating humanoid flesh and induced them to do the same. That left the tribe open to the influence of Thurtall, singer of the storm and devourer of the dead. Now the Daesos have begun to prey upon their neighbors.

WHO CAN SLAY THE GIANT

The queen says the elves and the giant cannot destroy each other. It is forbidden by the ancient laws of gods and nature. But the gods made no laws about the Kiavalkans or their guests.

Morignan Elfwise says that she was told in a vision by mad Toltan that warriors would someday end the threat of Thurtall—but only warriors mad enough to storm his fastness in the dead of winter.

The great hall goes quiet.

The king says the days of such heroes are lost to myth and legend.

The elves say if that is true, the Kiavalkans should make powerful sacrifices to their gods, because Thurtall and his children will come.

ABOUT THE COLD ELVES

The adventurers can hear these stories about the elves if they ask Morignan or another Kiavalkan with a passive History score of at least 11:

• The elves live in secret and ancient power in the mountains.
• They were here before human men and women came to Kiavalka or named it.
• They stole their mountain halls and fortresses from dwarves, long ago, and drove the dwarves into exile.
• They are immortal and ageless, holders of wisdom and madness, favored of the moon-mad god Toltan and Estala, goddess of the sunset and the afterlife.
• They sometimes steal mortal children away for amusement or for less scrutable purposes, leaving half-elf “changelings” like Morignan behind.
• They often sow discord for the joy of it.
• They never say quite what they mean or reveal all they ought.

ELVISH MISCHIEF

In fact, the cold elves do have a profound sense of mischief, and with such long lives they perceive the consequences in ways that make little sense to humans. But they do have a sense of responsibility, and strive to make right what harm they do. Even if it comes decades or centuries later and without explanation. They rarely share as much as they know, but even they can’t say whether any given lapse comes from secrecy, forgetfulness, negligence, deceptiveness, or simply not being sure how to communicate it.

THE ELF QUEEN'S SECRET

An adventurer who is proficient in Elvish and makes a Wisdom (Insight) check suspects that there is more between the elves and the corrupted Daesos tribe than the elves have said. Confronting them about it, the adventurers can get the elves to admit it.

An embassy from the starving Daesos sought help from the elves. They obtained only capricious trickery in response. They wandered from mountain to mountain. They heard welcoming songs. They found warm fires lit. They always saw the elf-gates on the next peak but never reached them.

That led not to wisdom, as the elves intended, but to folly and fear. The Daesos surrendered to Thurtall. That is why the elves have come to warn the king.

THE ELVES AND THE GODS

If an adventurer asks Morignan Elfwise about the elves’ history, she shares what she understands to be true.

The elves say their forefathers were born to the mountains, the forests, and the snows of what is now Kiavalka. Humans came, numerous but short-lived. Other men came and killed the first men, and eventually they died out. More men came. More came, and conquered, and forgot the names of their own fathers.

An adventurer proficient in Elvish recognizes, or who asks Morignan to explain them, finds that the elvish names for Kiavalkan gods and goddesses are descriptive titles. The elves say those titles were the gods’ names in other tongues, too, in years and languages long forgotten.

• Ailan and Aili: Lord and Lady
• Bala: Mother Earth
• Estala: Twilight
• Tirrain: Father Sky
• Toltan: Foresight
• Turron: Storm

The cold elves have an affinity for Toltan and Estala, but they worship no gods. The Kiavalkan humans say those gods are their mighty ancestors, who walked the earth thousands of years ago, and the elves cannot deny it or confirm it. Descended from the land and sea and sky, the elves sing for inspiration from their fellow spirits of the natural world. But they sacrifice to the Kiavalkan gods when those gods exert power that cannot be denied.

AN UNCOMMON RACE: COLD ELF

If a player wishes to play one, a cold elf could join the adventurers after the adventure or during the hunt for Thurtall.

As a cold elf, you run and hunt in comfort through the never-melting snows of high mountains and the billowing winters of evergreen forests.

Cold elves are short by human standards, averaging about 5 feet tall. They tend to have skin and hair like clean snow, white or very pale. Their eyes are icy blue, pale green, or black. In their homeland in the far north, they wear the white furs of seals and polar bears, but the cold affects them little. In most circumstances, male and female cold elves are indistinguishable to non-elf eyes.

Ability Score Increase: Your Constitution score increases by 1.

Elf Weapon Training: You have proficiency with the longsword, shortsword, shortbow, and longbow.

Cold Resistance: You have resistance to cold damage.

Light Step: Terrain that is difficult due to snow or ice doesn’t cost you extra movement.

Cold Elf Magic: You know the druicraft cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast sleep once, and it recharges after a long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast pass without trace once, and it recharges after a long rest.