The ancient white dragon Arveiaturace (see “Arveiaturace”) has placed some of her hoard in an abandoned ship called the Dark Duchess. This Luskan pirate vessel got stuck in the Sea of Moving Ice some months ago, near where the dragon likes to fish and hunt.
Having remained aboard the icebound hulk after being deserted by his crew, Captain Rudolph Bluemoon still watches over his riches even in death. A character who has the Pirate Cannibal secret (see appendix B) might want to return to this site to claim Captain Bluemoon’s treasure. Characters might also be drawn to this site by a tall tale (see “Tall Tales in Ten-Towns”) or a desire to help the tavernkeepers of Bremen (see “Zero Rum”).
<aside> 💡 If the party seeks out Nass's body at this location, you can have them encounter the ancient white dragon Arveiaturace, who is mourning a recent plundering of her treasure hoard. Arveiaturace knows that the hoard was stolen by a group of sahuagins and will eagerly use the party as a vessel for her revenge
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The Dark Duchess is hundreds of yards from shore, trapped in thick ice. When the characters get close enough to see it, read:
The Sea of Moving Ice stretches out before you, a featureless, frozen desert. Ahead, the smooth white surface is interrupted by a towering ship, its exterior covered in frost.
The hull, rigging, and masts of the ship are covered in a layer of ice. From the waterline of the vessel, it’s a 10-foot climb to get to the main deck. The sides of the hull are slippery and can’t be climbed without using magic or climbing gear.
The ice around the Dark Duchess is thick, and there is no risk of the characters breaking through it.
When the characters get within 15 feet of the ship, read:
You hear loud thumping and creaking coming from inside the hold, followed by the guttural snarls of some creature. The ship is not as abandoned as it appeared!
An ice troll (see appendix C) was chasing a herd of seals when it spotted the abandoned ship and crept across the ice to explore it, hoping to find something tasty inside. It spooked some kobolds in the hold and chased them into a cabin. The kobolds were able to barricade the door, and the troll is trying to break through it to get at them.
Characters can surprise the troll if they remain quiet as they make their way into the ship’s hold (area D9). Climbing onto the ship and moving through it without alerting the troll requires a successful DC 12 Dexterity (Stealth) check. If a character fails this check, the troll hears the character’s footsteps or the creaking of the deck and realizes there’s an easier meal to be had.
The following locations are keyed to map 2.6.
Ceilings of the lower decks are 10 feet high, and all doors are 7 feet tall and made of sturdy wood.
The wooden boards on the main deck are cracked from frost and covered in blood. A large hole in the deck exposes a part of the hold to the sky. The planks around the hole are marred with deep grooves, as if heavy claws had dug into them.
To reach the hold, Arveiaturace had to break apart a large portion of the deck, creating a gaping hole. A character who examines the marks around the hole and succeeds on a DC 12 Wisdom (Survival) check can correctly surmise that a single enormous creature did all the damage. If the check succeeds by 5 or more, the character can confirm that the marks were made by a dragon’s claws.