The Cold Whistle
The Cold Whistle
Read aloud
The wind has begun to whistle through the Crown in a voice that makes your teeth ache. The Conclave has agreed to open its records, but only if you climb to Lensend and ask your questions in person. Beyond it, at the Cold Whistle, the glacier is growing a black-glass wound beneath its ice.
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 1Climb to the Whispering Crown before the Houses gain further time to act.
- 2Question the Conclave and assemble a shared account of the Matrix's failing signals.
- 3Decide how to address the spreading seep at the Cold Whistle.
- 4Face what the Matrix appears to be holding beneath the glacier and carry the evidence back.
The clock
The Houses are using time while the party climbs. Every full week spent beyond the first adds one segment to the Houses' Sealing Clock at the start of Act IV. Defeating the titan advances the Whiteout to stage 2; defeating the Matriarch advances it to stage 3, with extreme cold even in shelter.
Scenes
- 0:00The Climb
- 1:30A Warden's Bargain
- 2:45The Singing Crevasses
- 4:45The Circle of Watchers
- 6:45The Frozen Nursery
Cast
- VumaliaWarden ally
- Isaren SkysongQuestgiver and Conclave representative
- Halden AshbrightAlly and witness
- Unnamed courierWildcard
The hook
Set the scene
The ascent begins on the Keepers' road, where the air thins and the wind picks a cold note from every cable and stone edge. The party must choose between a seven-day escorted passage if it has the Keepers' pledge, a fourteen-day staged climb at 5 gp per character per day, or a three-day push with breathing bladders costing 25 gp each and an altitude save at DC 12 each hour above Thin Air. The Whiteout begins at stage 1, or one stage worse if the Breach Clock ended The Quiet Below at 3 or more. Crown-raised Aerost, Oreads, and Stratabound are already acclimatized; others must acclimatize or suffer altitude strain according to the campaign rules. Thermal salve costs 5 gp per dose and grants advantage on extreme-cold saves for 8 hours. Use one climb event per day, rolling or choosing from the complications table.
How Isaren Skysong asks
Isaren Skysong invites the party to Lensend on behalf of the Conclave, asking them to hear the records and help form a coalition.
Vumalia makes a separate, urgent appeal at White Bowl for help with the contaminated meltwater and necro-frost cluster.
Rumours
Scenes
about 9.5 hours0:00
90 min
explorationThe table is here
1. The Climb
The Keepers' road rising from the lower approaches of the Whispering Crown toward Crown Air.
Present the route choices and their costs. Establish the stage 1 Whiteout, altitude exposure, supplies, and the price of taking longer. Each full week beyond the first spent on the ascent adds one segment to the Houses' Sealing Clock at the start of Act IV. Resolve a travel event for each day, or choose a few that foreground the party's route and resource decisions.
NextAs the road crests into White Bowl, the wind draws a thin, almost human note through the crevasses, and Vumalia raises her hand for silence.
1:30
75 min
social
2. A Warden's Bargain
White Bowl, a cluster of snow-roofed shelters at the lip of a basin.
Vumalia explains the contaminated meltwater and the growing cluster beneath the basin. A Wisdom (Insight) check reveals that she does not know who is paying the bounty on the buried core, and the question frightens her. Offer the optional Rope-Marked Approach as a skill challenge of 3 successes before 2 failures at . The optional courier may also present the 5,000 gp offer for a whole fragment.
NextThe party leaves the shelters by Vumalia's rope marks; the whistle loses its pitch, then stops, as pale light begins to rise beneath the ice.
2:45
120 min
combat
3. The Singing Crevasses
A fractured ice basin beneath the wind-cut rim of the Crown.
The Astral Rime-Glacier Titan rises with two Aevris drawn down to the Matrix's failing nodes. Run the combat among visible crevasses. When the titan falls, advance the Whiteout to stage 2; Vumalia guides the party toward Lensend if she remains with them.
The Singing CrevassesNextWith the titan's light extinguished, Vumalia ties the party into a guide line and leads them through the thickening white toward bridges that hum above the peaks.
4:45
120 min
social
4. The Circle of Watchers
Lensend, suspended between five needle peaks by woven-light bridges that hum at different pitches.
Run the Circle as three gated conversation beats, each at : Records, using Wisdom (Insight) or Intelligence (Investigation); Matrix, using Charisma (Persuasion); Coalition, using Charisma (Persuasion or Deception). Winning two beats earns Pledge 7. If the Ring was resealed or rebound, Dorvin speaks for the party; if opened, he speaks against it. Halden compares the ward-channel evidence with what the party knows from the Ring. Sharing what answered there earns Pledge 9 and Coalition backing. Award 17th level when the Circle rises.
NextAs the last record is closed, the party feels the floor shiver beneath the table; Isaren's gaze turns toward the distant basin, where the wind is already changing.
6:45
150 min
exploration
5. The Frozen Nursery
A black-glass crater above a crevasse, ringed by the immense, bleached ribs of something long frozen.
Vumalia leads the party to the crater floor at 13,500 feet. The cluster has AC 16, 60 hit points, and vulnerability to fire. Destroying it slows the seep and can earn Pledge 8, but rouses the brood. Run the Frost-Vein Matriarch and two Cave-Stalkers encounter, then the shelf collapse and stage 3 Whiteout escape. The core is visible about 100 feet below the crater floor. Studying it for an hour and succeeding on a Intelligence (Arcana) check reveals that it holds open a narrow, old planar wound that is not growing as quickly as it first appeared. Protecting the titan bones at real cost can Awaken the Listening Stone if it is Stirring.
The Frozen NurseryNextWhen the last rope clears the rim, the party hears the casket knock once against a pack, then again, while somewhere below the ice answers.
Behind it
What people believe
The Atmospheric Containment Matrix is failing, and its heart lies in the Whispering Crown.
The party must climb to the Conclave's Circle at Lensend, where Isaren Skysong offers access to restricted records, then travel with Vumalia of the Rime Shelf Wardens to the Cold Whistle. A necro-frost cluster threatens White Bowl's meltwater, while a titan guards the basin and a dangerous brood stirs beneath its ice. The party must gather what evidence it can, choose how much to risk for the Wardens, and escape a worsening Whiteout.
Background
In 1400 TF, the failing Atmospheric Containment Matrix draws the party into the Whispering Crown.
The Conclave has records it has never fully shared, while the Rime Shelf Wardens are fighting a spreading necro-frost seep at the Cold Whistle. Evidence gathered here may shape the coming Reckoning, but the source and purpose of the black-glass fragment beneath the glacier remain unknown.
The stakes
If the party fails to reach the Crown in time, the Houses gain more opportunity to advance their plan to seal Zephyria's lower tethers.
If the necro-frost cluster remains, White Bowl's water supply is threatened. Destroying it may rouse the brood and worsen the Whiteout. The expedition can gain evidence and political support, but it will not repair the failing Matrix or explain what the black-glass fragment holds.
Encounters
3The Singing Crevasses
Combat
The basin rim is split by visible crevasses. A creature pushed into one falls 60 feet to an ice shelf, taking 6d6 damage. The titan's Sub-Zero Aura, Ice-Sledge Slam, and Flash Freeze Burst use their campaign-specific rules. Fire damage of 15 or more frees a creature from Flash Freeze Burst.
Foes
Astral Rime-Glacier Titan
2 Aevris
ComplicationWhen the titan falls, the Whiteout advances to stage 2. Beyond this point it is heavily obscured, and each hour without a guide, rope line, or signal requires a DC 15 Wisdom (Survival) check to avoid losing the way.
ScalingDesigned as a Moderate encounter for four 16th-level characters using the provided encounter values. For a smaller or less capable party, remove one Aevris or have the titan withdraw once badly wounded. For a stronger party, add hazardous ice movement rather than increasing the titan's durability.
The Frozen Nursery
Combat
The Nursery lies beneath the crater floor, with slick black ice and a 100-foot descent toward the Obsidian Impact Core. The necro-frost cluster at the entrance has AC 16, 60 hit points, and vulnerability to fire. Within 60 feet of the core, spells of 3rd level or higher are cast as if one level lower unless the caster wears Conclave ward-glass. A creature near the core gains one level of exhaustion each hour unless sheltered or protected with thermal salve.
Foes
Frost-Vein Matriarch
2 Frost-Vein Cave-Stalkers
ComplicationDestroying the cluster slows the seep but rouses the brood and triggers a shelf collapse on the next round. Creatures within 30 feet make a DC 17 Dexterity save or fall 20 feet and take 2d6 bludgeoning damage. When the Matriarch falls, the Whiteout advances to stage 3; extreme cold then applies even in shelter.
ScalingDesigned as a Moderate encounter for four 17th-level characters. For a party with depleted resources, reduce the Matriarch's lair pressure or remove one Cave-Stalker. For a stronger party, keep the encounter intact and increase the urgency of the collapse and escape rather than adding foes.
Whiteout Escape
Skill
A collapsing glacier basin under a stage 3 Whiteout. Shelter is limited, footing is unstable, and extreme cold persists even inside available shelters.
ComplicationThe escape becomes a skill challenge: achieve 4 successes before 3 failures at DC 17. Suitable checks include Wisdom (Survival) to find the route, Strength (Athletics) to climb, and Constitution saves to endure the cold. Failure leaves the party scattered, injured, or forced to abandon equipment.
ScalingUse the same 4 successes before 3 failures structure for any party size. A successful Rope-Marked Approach grants advantage on the first escape check.
Cast
4Vumalia
Warden ally
WantsStop contaminated meltwater from reaching White Bowl's supply pits, destroy the necro-frost cluster, and protect the basin even if the work wakes the brood.
“Don't talk. Listen first. The ice is telling us where it will break.”
Isaren Skysong
QuestgiverQuestgiver and Conclave representative
WantsExpose the Conclave's limits, win a coalition of capable outsiders, and obtain trustworthy evidence about the Matrix.
“The last full measurement gives us less than a year. I will not call that a repair plan.”
Halden Ashbright
Ally and witness
WantsCompare the ward-channel evidence with the party's knowledge of the Ring and secure the Coalition's support for the Reckoning.
“Two sources register where our ward network was never meant to listen. One here, one beneath the Spindle.”
Unnamed courier
Wildcard
WantsDeliver a bounty offer for a fragment of the buried core without learning the identity of the buyer.
“Five thousand gold for a piece of the black glass. I was told not to ask why, and not to say who.”
How it ends
Rewards
Items
Star-flecked titan ice fragments, valuable to an observatory or artificer
Conclave ward-glass, if the Circle grants Pledge 7
Thermal salve, 5 gp per dose, grants advantage on extreme-cold saves for 8 hours
On a win
The party returns from the Cold Whistle with the Conclave's restricted records, the Wardens' account of the seep, and whatever evidence it could safely gather from the crater.
Success can earn Pledge 7 from the Conclave's Circle, Pledge 8 from the Rime Shelf Wardens, and Pledge 9 from the Coalition through Halden, depending on the party's choices. The Matrix remains failing; this expedition clarifies its signals without repairing it or explaining what the core holds. Award 18th level at the Act's end.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- The party fails to secure a safe, timely route through the ascent.
- The party can still reach the Crown, but loses time and may add one segment to the Houses' Sealing Clock for each full week beyond the first spent on the climb.
- The party wins fewer than two of the Circle's three conversation beats.
- The Conclave withholds Pledge 7 and does not provide ward-glass. Its records can still be consulted under supervision, but the party must rely on other evidence.
- The party leaves the necro-frost cluster intact or cannot protect the Wardens' basin.
- The contaminated seep continues. White Bowl's supply pits become unsafe, and the Rime Shelf Wardens do not grant Pledge 8.
- The party fails the Whiteout escape challenge.
- The party may escape without the core or titan bones, but the basin remains hazardous and the Wardens' trust is diminished.
Complications (d6)
- 1A hailstorm catches the party in the open. Each exposed creature takes 2d6 bludgeoning damage, or half damage on a DC 15 Constitution save.
- 2A Gale-Keeper patrol demands the party's business. A DC 17 Charisma (Persuasion) check satisfies them; on a failure, the delay costs half a day.
- 3A rime-fall strikes a 20-foot area. Creatures there make a DC 16 Dexterity save or take 3d6 cold damage.
- 4A nearby force-bridge hums flat. A DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check spots a hairline failure; avoiding it saves an hour and prevents a dangerous crossing.
- 5A cairn stands in a three-stone, two-stone pattern. The party's casket knocks, though no one admits to building it.
- 6The Whiteout deepens for an hour, heavily obscuring the route. A DC 15 Wisdom (Survival) check is needed to avoid losing the way.
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