Party members:
We began, as is almost requisite, in a tavern. The Anvil's Rest in Hundelstone, to be precise. Having already hitched a ride on a merchant's wagon from Luskan, Kirottu and Türkvrak had been awaiting the arrival of a trading caravan from Fireshear to bring them to the Ten-Towns in Icewind Dale.
Hildred Highstrider arrives while the party is ordering dinner (hope you're in the mood for hare!) along with Lanin "Bones" Emsbaltriforte who'd been accompanying the caravan on a quest to learn more about the flora and fauna surrounding the Dale. The next morning, you join Hildred in the rear wagon as she leads the caravan along the Ten Trail toward Bryn Shander.
But you never arrived.
A boulder had blocked the road - not much of an obstacle, easily dispatched if it were all that stood between you and Ten-Towns. A low rumble quickly proved that notion false as an avalanche swept away the entire caravan, and very nearly you along with it.
Quick thinking and running kept you safe, for now.
Several days' march on the tundra amidst constant wind and endless waves of brown and grey - interrupted only by a magnificent aurora that appears one night, and a day or two in a verdant evergreen forest - bring you to Unknown. The town seems abuzz, quite literally, as bees drone to make honey for the town's signature export - good mead!
The Town Speaker, Kendrick Rielsbarrow greets you warmly in the main Mead Hall with the town's best mulled honey wine to warm up by. He offers aid in exchange for your able-bodied assistance once you've rested. Seems the usual winter prep was going badly with the vanished daylight. An early storm underscores the need to make haste.
Your best bet now is to hunker down in this unfamiliar village to ride out the cold season.
A small town cooped up for a long winter provides no lack of drama - as is quickly evident. A poorly constructed storehouse, villagers driven mad with grief, and a strange plague delivered via animal skulls on each building door (packed with slugs and other disgusting things) - all of these things and more characterize the brutal nature of a cold, seemingly endless winter for you three.
The result is brutal. Most of the village is wiped out seemingly overnight, and an old woman seeking refuge is not able to cling to life in her frail state. Your efforts and determination are (mostly) strong, however, and you are able to hone your skills - and a good set of cold weather gear - to help in your adventures to come in the Dale.
Travel between the towns becomes possible as residents learn to adapt to this endless season of winter. Conditions are harsh, but spirits endure. Only one question lingers in everyone's minds:
Will the Rime of the Frostmaiden ever end?