Encounter of the Week: Frozen Memories

by James Haeck, Aug 31, 2020

This week, the Encounter of the Week series killed fighting the beast, but the truth is much
provides you with a full, free adventure that darker. The White Wyvern may or may not
you can play as the days grow short and the exist—that’s up to the DM—but there is a
weather grows cold! If you don’t have time to monster that does exist in Brumendell: an
play a full Icewind Dale campaign, you can still oblex. The people of Brumendell are aware
enjoy the horrors await you in the ice. “Frozen that an entrance to the Underdark exists near
Memories” is an adventure suitable for a party their town, but most are unaware that a pair
of four 5th-level characters who are willing to of oblexes—crimson, thought-devouring
investigate an eerie town and puzzle out who psychic oozes created through mind flayer
the real monsters are. experiments—have emerged from the
Underdark and made their home under the
This adventure takes place in a snowy,
town.
northern village named Brumendell.
Populated mostly by humans, dwarves, and The oblexes made their lair in the town’s
orcs, this town could be found in any underground waterway, and have begun
campaign setting. If you’re playing Icewind devouring and replacing the people of
Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden, you can insert Brumendell with copies. These creatures can
this town into the snow-covered wastes of transform offshoots of their amorphous
Icewind Dale with little difficulty. You could bodies into near-perfect physical replicas of
also place this village in the Greying Wildlands creatures whose thoughts they’ve devoured,
in Wildemount, the frigid northern islands of and their psychic abilities give them similarly
the Lhazaar Principalities in Eberron, or the perfect recollection of their memories and
valleys of the Oraniad Mountains in Theros. personality. The only telltale traits are a tiny
trail of crimson slime that connects the oblex’s
Adventure Summary replica to their original body, a scent of sulfur,
A famous adventurer has gone missing. and an aversion to flames.
Elemine Hemlock, a monster slayer known for The oblexes have copied several key figures in
traveling between towns in the northern town, and are spawning more oblex in an
realms, killing supernatural beasts for coin, attempt to take over the entire town. Elemine
disappeared after accepting a job near a Hemlock’s disappearance is a hitch in their
snowy, landlocked village called Brumendell. plan. They didn’t know she was a famous
The village exists in the middle of nowhere, adventurer when they killed her, but now her
but adventurers in the region often use it as a disappearance is causing wannabe heroes
place to rest between expeditions into the from across the land to flock to their little
frozen wilderness. The village is home to a haven. These creatures are trying to keep the
thriving trade of relics, potions, spell townsfolk calm and eliminate any intruders
components, and comfortable inns; all until they can breed new oblex and take over
services that adventurers find most valuable. the entire town.
Elemine Hemlock went missing hunting the
White Wyvern, a mythical beast said to live on Optional Adventure Hook:
the nearby mountains. Its blood is said to Investigate the Disappearances
protect the body against the cold if drunk, its If your characters need a hook to investigate
hide to reflect magic, and its horns to pierce this far-flung snowy town, you can use this
solid steel. It’s assumed that Hemlock was
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adventure hook. A friend of the characters, campaign. Buildings downstream of the village
another adventurer like themselves, has heard well (area 5) have latrines in their cellar that
of Elemine Hemlock’s disappearance, and go straight into the river, whereas buildings
suggests that they go check it out. Elemine’s upstream of the well use chamberpots that
friends in the town of Gnomeport have raised they empty into sewer grates in the southeast
a bounty of 2,000 gp for Elemine’s retrieval or, of town.
if the worst has befallen her, the capture,
Oblex Simulacra. Locations with oblex (such as
dead or alive, of Elemine’s killer. The
areas 1 and 2) smell faintly of sulfur and have
characters’ friend has a contact in Brumendell:
no open flames like lamps or lit fireplaces. As
a spell component merchant who often hires
such, people in these areas wear heavy furs. If
adventurers to go out into the wilds and find
asked about the lack of fires, people here note
rare reagents.
that some buildings burned down lately and
If the characters ask why their friend doesn’t they don’t want to risk another burned
go in search of Elemine personally, they might building. If characters are ever suspicious of a
say something like, “Hey hey, a lot of folks simulacrum’s claims, they can make a DC 15
have died out there, I’m not risking my life to Wisdom (Insight) check.
go figure out a missing person case. But I
On a success, they learn that the simulacrum
know that you folks will do all sorts of crazy
is being overly polite and avoidant. If the
things for gold. This sounds right up your
check succeeds by 5 or more, they also learn
alley!”
that the simulacrum seems to be subtly
goading the characters to get out of town.
Journey to Brumendell
The journey to Brumendell is easy enough. If 1. Armand’s Apothecary and
you want to add some danger while the Components
characters travel through the wilderness, you One of the main attractions for adventurers
can roll for an encounter on the Hill visiting Brumendell is the apothecary and
Encounters (Level 5–10) table in Xanathar’s component shop. Run by an alchemist named
Guide to Everything as they travel through the Armand Talkys and his wizardly wife Gilessa,
hills between the coast and the snowfields of this shop sells a variety of useful potions and
Brumendell. spell components. Gilessa is paranoid and
twitchy, but is kind to adventurers, and
When they arrive in the village, they arrive
recommends that adventurers visit Ruby’s
near Armand’s Apothecary and Components
Nest (area 2) for monster-hunting contracts.
(area 1). A wizard named Gilessa Talkys, greets
Her erratic behavior stems from a deep-
the characters cheerily outside the shop and
seated trauma related to Armand (see “Oblex
welcomes them to town. Armand Talkys, the
Simulacrum,” below).
apothecary, is her husband, and Gilessa invites
them into the shop for a cup of magically
warmed peppermint tea.
The entire building smells strongly of sulfur,
which Armand and Gilessa both laugh and
Brumendell Locations
ascribe to powdered sulfur they create for
The village of Brumendell contains a number
spell components.
of areas of interest in this adventure. The
areas below are keyed to map included below. Rumors and Contracts. Characters that ask
There are many more unkeyed locations on Armand or Gilessa for rumors about monsters
this map, which you can populate with NPCs or about Elemine Hemlock are directed
and amenities in a way that serves your towards Ruby. Gilessa sadly says that she was

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last seen here at the shop, buying potions intentionally severs the tether between its
before hunting the White Wyvern. body and the simulacrum once in the river.

Potions and Components. Characters can buy If attacked, Manifold can produce three
the following items here: different simulacra: Armand, Elemine
Potion Potion Cost Hemlock, and a drow warrior that it devoured
Potion of healing 50 gp in the Underdark.
Potion of greater healing 250 gp
Potion of animal friendship 125 gp 2. Ruby’s Nest
Potion of climbing 50 gp Ruby’s Nest is the best inn in town. The
Potion of cold resistance 250 gp owner, a middle-aged female halfling named
Potion of water breathing 250 gp Ruby, is an oblex simulacrum controlled by the
second adult oblex that lairs in the inn’s wine
Component Component cellar. Ruby keeps a jolly persona and is
Cost
brimming with false rumors to mislead
Diamond (tiny) for chromatic 50 gp
adventurers away from Brumendell—and
orb
hopefully to their deaths in the frozen wastes
Diamond (small) for raise dead 500 gp
Gold dust for arcane lock 25 gp outside town. The bar on the ground floor has
Jeweled horn for clairvoyance 100 gp 2d8 other patrons at all times of day. Four of
Marked divining sticks or bones 25 gp them are simulacra who never leave the
for augury taproom, whereas the other patrons of this
A pair of platinum rings for 50 gp bar use bandit statistics.
warding bond
Everyone is dressed in warm furs here. The
bar has a fireplace that is never lit, at Ruby’s
request. During the day, the bar is lit only by
Oblex Simulacrum. Armand Talkys, Gilessa’s its windows. In the evening, non-simulacrum
late husband, was once a good-naturedly patrons light a candle on their table, but the
sarcastic apothecary of some renown. simulacra simply sit in darkness.
Tragically, his sharp mind made him the
oblexes’ perfect first victim. Gilessa logically Rates. A room at the inn is 1 gp per night, and
knows that her husband is nothing more than the room comes with a hot breakfast and
a monster’s masquerade, but she can’t bring dinner. There are a dozen open rooms on the
herself to fathom her loss, so she works in second floor.
tandem with the monster to misdirect
Rumors and Contracts. Characters that ask
adventurers into the wastes with rumors of
Ruby for rumors about monsters or about
the “White Wyvern” that led Elemine Hemlock
Elemine Hemlock are told that Hemlock asked
to her death.
her and the tavern regulars about the White
Oblex Lair. One of the oblexes, an adult oblex Wyvern, and she was told to investigate its
that calls itself Manifold, lives in the supposed lair atop Monument Peak, some
apothecary’s cellar, and stretches its tendrils three days’ hike from town. Ruby has more
through a mouse hole behind the counter. The monster-hunting rumors to give, though they
cellar is a simple 20-foot-by-30-foot room with are really just an excuse to get the
a simple latrine that connects to the adventurers out of town. See “Exploration
underground river (area 7). The oblex lives Encounter: Monster Hunting” below for more
next to this latrine. If the characters try to information on running a monster hunt. These
force their way into the cellar, Manifold tries rumors include:
to prevent them with its simulacrum of
Armand while it flees into the river. It
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 Monument Peak (False). The supposed lair the characters try to force their way into the
of the mythical White Wyvern. This cellar, Granfalloon tries to prevent them from
mountain is a sacred site and has an doing so by having Ruby raise a ruckus, and
offering-laden shrine to a god of fire atop then encouraging as many of with its
it. No wyvern lair can be found. It is a six- simulacrum of Armand while it flees into the
day round trip from Brumendell on foot. river. It intentionally severs the tether
between its body and the simulacrum once in
Mistmouth Ice Cave (True). A mated pair
the river.
of yetis live in this ice cave, and often
attack caravans on the road to Brumendell. 3. Rilke’s Curios
It is a one-day round trip from Brumendell An elf named Ilia Rilke runs a curio shop in
on foot. Brumendell. She prefers to take life easy, since
she has centuries to search for relics of
Hot Spring Valley (Partially true). A great
ancient civilizations in these snowfields.
treasure was supposedly stashed in the
Nevertheless, she’s wildly enthusiastic about
caves near the bubbling, sulfuric pools in
any legitimate-looking art objects and
Hot Spring Valley. In truth, two young
treasures that adventurers bring back to sell
remorhaz have made these pools their lair.
her, and she pays full price.
Oblex Simulacra. The oblex that lairs beneath
Later this week, she plans on sending a cart
Ruby’s Nest controls five simulacra: Ruby, and
filled with artifacts that haven’t sold in town
four other patrons. These patrons have all the
to sell to merchants and collectors in a port
memories they had in life, but their goals are
city about two days’ ride from Brumendell.
completely aligned with the oblex in trying to
She asks to hire the characters to protect the
guide adventurers away from town as fast as
cart from bandits and a young white dragon
possible. These patrons are:
named Snowterror that prowls the region, and
 Ralth Londo, a scruffy human trapper. offers to pay them each 500 gp.
 Alanda Heldraith, a single orc mother
Characters that spend an hour searching the
whose children have all left town.
shop can make a DC 20 Intelligence
 Yennie Faltreat, a dwarf bard with an
(Investigation) check. On a success, they find a
immaculately groomed beard.
magic item that they can purchase from Ilia
 Hemmal Gronder, a half-orc fisherman
for 1,000 gp. Roll once on Magic Item Table F
with very long hair.
in the Dungeon Master’s Guide.
Oblex Lair. The second oblex that infiltrated
Brumendell, an adult oblex that calls itself
4. Marketplace
The center of village has a marketplace with a
Granfalloon, lives in the wine cellar of the inn,
number of stalls where adventurers can buy
which is only accessible from a trapdoor
supplies. Items from chapter 5 of the Player’s
behind the bar counter. Ruby forbids anyone
Handbook worth 30 gp or less can be found
from entering the cellar, preferring to gather
here. Merchants come to market at sunrise
wine and other supplies herself. It controls
every day and go home at sundown. Every
Ruby and a four other patrons by stretching its
night at midnight, a group of 1d10 oblex
tendrils out of a hole drilled in the cellar
spawn crawl out of the well and slip into
trapdoor.
people’s homes to feed on their thoughts and
The cellar is a simple 40-foot-by-20-foot room memories.
with rows and rows of wine casks and a simple
latrine that connects to the underground river 5. Town Well
(area 7). The oblex lives next to this latrine. If At the heart of the village marketplace is a
well that draws cold, clean water from a river
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that runs 30 feet underneath Brumendell. A additional clues, increase the danger of their
character that rides the rope down the well investigation, or nudge them into action if
reaches the underground river (area 7). they don’t know what to do next.

6. Sewer Grates Exploration Encounter: Monster

There are a number of open holes in Hunting
Brumendell that drain waste into the river Brumendell is a beloved haunt of adventurers
that runs through town (area 7). All of these seeking to slay monsters for coin and raid
grates are downstream of the well, to avoid their lairs for loot. Ruby (see area 2) used to
contaminating the village’s water supply. be a prime source of valuable information
These holes are just large enough for a while she was alive. Now, the “Ruby” that runs
Medium humanoid to drop down. There are Ruby’s Nest simply wants nosy adventurers to
no ladders, and the drop is about 30 feet into get out of town—and hopefully get
the frigid river below. slaughtered by the monsters living in the icy
wastes.
7. Underground River
This area is unkeyed on the map. It runs from While the characters are out of town, roll
northwest to southeast beneath the entirety 1d20 for each day they travel. On a roll of 13–
of Brumendell, about 30 feet below the 16, they have an encounter during the day. On
surface of the ground. This river originates a roll of 17–19, they have an encounter at
twenty miles out of down where it tumbles night. On a roll of 20, they have an encounter
down a mountainside, and flows across the that surprises them while they camp. You can
snowfields until it runs into a cave system that roll randomly or choose an encounter from
passes beneath Brumendell, and then drains the Arctic Encounters (Levels 5–10) table in
into the Underdark several miles out of town. Xanathar’s Guide to Everything.
This winding cave is 30 feet wide with a
Then, when the characters reach the area that
sloping floor. The river is about 10 feet wide
Ruby pointed them to, you can create a
and fills the middle of the cave. The river is icy
combat encounter using the creatures (if any)
cold, and a creature that ends its turn in the
described in the rumor. If no creatures are
water takes 1 cold damage.
described, no encounter occurs. You can
A mass of 50 oblex spawn line the walls and determine what treasure is in the area by
ceiling of this cavern. While the characters are rolling on the Individual Treasure: Challenge
exploring the underground river, they 5–10 table in the Dungeon Master’s Guide.
encounter a group of 2d10 oblex spawn that
ambush them from their gooey perch on the Combat Encounter: Tendrils in the
ceiling every 10 minutes of travel. The adult Dark
oblexes living in areas 1 and 2 each spawn 1d6 At night, while the characters are sleeping in
more oblex each week, which they deposit Ruby’s Nest, the adult oblex Granfalloon
into the river. ambushes one of the characters in their room
with four simulacra of the bar’s patrons. These
Learning the Truth patrons are extensions of the oblex’s body,
and try to drain their memories until they fall
The characters are free to investigate, explore,
unconscious, and then kill them.
and do what they want to try and find clues to
the monster’s whereabouts. If they get close If the oblex is reduced to half its maximum hit
to the truth, the oblex in town try to destroy points during this battle, the oblex
them (see “Final Encounter: Frozen intentionally severs the connection between
Memories”). In the meantime, you can use its body and the simulacra, causing them to
any of the encounters below to provide disappear into a puddle of crimson ooze.
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Exploration Encounter: Dripping down White Wyvern flying towards Monument
the Drain Peak.
While exploring town, the characters see a The two oblex travel night and day to reach
patch of green ooze streaked with veins of red Monument Peak ahead of the characters, and
along one of the sewage grates. This ooze was prepare an ambush. They create as many
left by oblex spawn creeping into town the simulacra as they can, and make their final
night before. Following this ooze into the stand there. They are willing to reason with
underground river leads them into an ambush the characters, using the voices of people
of oblex spawn as described in area 7. they’ve become friendly with, such as Armand
Combat Encounter: Roving Bandits and Ruby, to try and convince them to leave
While hanging around the market or sewers at them alone and let them continue devouring
night, a group of 1d4 bandits attack the memories and replacing people in peace. If
characters. These bandits are all simulacra of they’re unsuccessful, they attack without
the adult oblex Manifold. If the characters call mercy.
for help from the townsfolk, Manifold severs
its tendrils, causing the bandits to disappear Conclusion
into a puddle of crimson ooze. The village of Brumendell isn’t completely
safe, even after the oblexes Manifold and
Social Encounter: Dousing Flames Granfalloon are defeated. Only destroying the
This encounter occurs when someone lights a oblex spawn in the underground river (area 7)
fire in either Armand’s Apothecary (area 1) or is enough to prevent the town from being
in Ruby’s Nest (area 2). You could run this faced with a renewed psychic threat. If the
encounter if the characters light a fire, or you characters return to Armand’s Apothecary,
could instigate this encounter yourself by Gilessa will be forced with the stark reality
having an NPC unknowingly light a fire while that her husband has, for the past several
the characters are nearby. As soon as the fire weeks, been merely a puppet of the psychic
is lit, one of the oblex simulacra in that area monster that destroyed him.
frantically rushes to put the fire out, and then
apologizes hastily, explaining that a building Some villagers are thankful for the characters’
burnt down recently, and everyone’s a bit on help, but are unsure how to thank them
edge about fire in Brumendell. If the properly. A large number of the villagers may
characters push the issue, the simulacrum even be hostile toward the characters, as they
becomes increasingly hostile until they try to don’t fully understand the extent of the
force the characters out of the building, and danger they are in. The hostile villagers far
then attacks them if they refuse to leave. outnumber the grateful ones, and are eager to
drive the characters out of town. If they met
Final Encounter: Frozen Memories Ilia at her curio shop (area 3), she may hastily
If several days pass in Brumendell without the pull together a shipment of relics to send to
characters learning who is behind the attacks, town and urge the characters to take a job
the oblexes Manifold and Granfalloon emerge protecting the caravan, just to get them out of
from their lairs in the middle of the night and town before anyone comes to harm.
travel to Monument Peak, the distant
mountain where the White Wyvern
supposedly made its lair. The next morning,
Gilessa Talkys, the alchemist’s wife, comes to
the characters and says that a half-dozen
people in town have suddenly disappeared,
including their husband, and that he saw the
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