Snow gently falls from the sky and wind bites your cheeks as you stand in the graveyard of Palebank Village, a fishing outpost of Uthodurn that is home to several hundred dwarves and elves. The sun is low in the sky, sinking behind the fresh grave of Urgon Wenth, an old dwarf who caught a curse or disease that turned him into an ice statue. The folk of the village have gathered to pay their final respects to Urgon's frozen remains.

Elro Aldataur, the village leader, humbly requests that the party investigate a potentially grave danger. Another villager - Tulgi Lutan - has shown signs of the same affliction as Urgon. She is deeply distrustful of the authorities and Elro believes a group of adventurers may have better luck ascertaining the truth.

The party agree to his request and begin their investigations in Palebank Village.

Urgon's Cabin

This cramped, dark cabin might have been a cozy place when its owner was alive. Now an unmade bed stands near a cold fireplace, its mantle hung with the head of some snarling white beast with gray horns. On the other side of the room, a small table strewn with dirty dishes and set with a dwarf-sized chair stands before two empty shelves whose contents are scattered across the floor: kitchen utensils, dried foodstuffs, adventuring gear, and a few books.

The first stop is the cabin of the late Urgon Wenth. After being waved in by the Glassblade who guards the entrace, the party find the following:

• A silvered maul which Cairns Root equips after much awkward conversation with the Glassblade to determine the morality of looting the dead man's home in this strange society.
• Various pieces of adventuring gear, from lanterns to grappling hooks.
• Signs of a recent break-in - more recent than Urgon's passing.
• A receipt used as a bookmark, logging a sale of items from Eiselcross to the local antiques shop: Pelc's Curiosities. The items in question are listed as: a dagger, a scroll case, a jade statuette, a quiver of twenty arrows, a silver ring set with a jasper, and two blue glass vials.

Pelc's Curiosities

The dark cabin before you has a sign over its door which reads, “Pelc’s Curiosities,” with the image of a curving dragon used to make the letter P. Though the shop appears closed, the front door is slightly ajar.

The party decide that the antique shop is worth a visit before Tulgi, mostly to ensure they have as much information as possible to barter with. They stumble upon five elven bandits ransacking the shop. Jonora sneaks up the door and listens in on their whispered search for any form of healing magic for "her".

Having heard as much as they could, the party decide to ambush the bandits. On the left side of the shop, Jonora looses a number of well-placed arrows into the bandits while Cairns Root mauls them furiously. Meanwhile at the other end, Algernon 'Gerry' Dracovia bashes bandits to the floor and slashes at them with his sword while acid flies into the fray from Nimphora Baliae Daphymira Stumbleduck's hands.

Five cloaked elves appear to have ransacked the shop and are searching through the broken debris on the floor. The furniture, shelves, and front counter have been smashed, and the shop’s wares now litter the floor.

The party slay four bandits and hand the fifth to the authorities after questioning. Algernon 'Gerry' Dracovia investigates the shop's back room.

What appears to be an ice statue of an elf is bundled beneath the blankets of a bed along the east wall of the room. A small table loaded with dirty teacups and a kettle stands next to the bed.

Overall, they determine:

• Verna Pelc was also afflicted with Urgon's disease.
• The bandits are working for Hulil Lutan. Hulil is a local priestess of Tiamat and the sister of Tulgi.
• Hulil also suffers from the affliction and is frantically searching for a cure.
• Hulil is holed up in Croaker Cave, so-named due to the giant frogs which call it home.

Tulgi's Cabin

This snow-covered cabin looks peaceful and quiet from the outside. Its windows are shuttered, and a steady stream of smoke piping out of the chimney indicates a roaring fire within.

The final stop for the party is Tulgi's Cabin. Having learned that Tulgi is affiliated with a priest of Tiamat and a number of bandits, they are cautious. Jonora and Nimphora Baliae Daphymira Stumbleduck unlock the shutters from outside and peek in. They find Tulgi shivering under her duvet with a couple of raging fires in her cabin.

The heat in this small cabin hits like a hammer blow. A table set with neatly stacked dishes, tools, and utensils stands at the center of the room. The smell of a simmering soup comes from a pot hanging inside a roaring fireplace. Another fire burns in an iron brazier at the opposite end of the room, filling the cabin with a smoky haze. Shivering at the end of a bed near the brazier is a dwarf wrapped in blankets. Bulging blue veins streak her face, neck, and hands.

The party attempt to convince Tulgi that they are here to help and that she should open the door. She is having none of it and demands that they leave her to die in peace. Algernon 'Gerry' Dracovia and Cairns Root give the front door a coordinated kick, and the party rushes forth as Tulgi reaches for her weapons.

Two wolves emerge from under the bed and join the melee. Algernon 'Gerry' Dracovia slays one which is looking to flee after a well-placed strike from Cairns Root before he is taken down by the other. The party reduce the remaining wolf to the point of retreat before forcing Tulgi to surrender. Cairns Root heals Algernon 'Gerry' Dracovia who proceeds to brutalise the fleeing wolf from a prone position, removing its legs and sending it sliding across the cabin floor.

Tulgi reveals the following:

• The Uttolots sent the sisters and a few others to the village to keep an eye on treasures coming back from Eiselcross—with the intent of stealing them. When such artifacts come through the small settlement, they are often unusual goods that treasure hunters are trying to keep away from Uthodurn or the Dwendalian Empire.
• When Urgon Wenth returned to Palebank Village with treasures from Eiselcross, Tulgi saw her chance. She waited for Urgon to sell his finds to Pelc’s Curiosities, then stole them all.
• Tulgi gave most of Urgon’s relics to Huli. The party question what she means by "most" and force her to hand over an ornate gilded dagger. Jonora carefully wraps it in cloth in case it is the source of the affliction.
• Hulil has the other items in Croaker Cave.
• Tulgi was the one who searched Urgon’s cabin, convinced that the dead dwarf must have had magic or other secrets stored away there.

Rest

The party retires to the inn, requesting that a nearby Glassblade sends word to Elro that the party need to speak to him. They settle in for the night with a warm meal, plentiful alcohol, and an elven bard playing I Eldalië Nairii. Sometimes translated as The People Mourn, it is an Elven dirge describing the loss of Cyrindes Flestivel, a beautiful and kind mage, to a spreading plague, along with many of her people. A melancholy ode to loss, some have taken it as a representation of the Elves’ sense of mourning for the loss of their brighter world.