Frozen Sick

Frozen Sick is a starting adventure in Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, set in 835 PD and takes place in Palebank Village and the island of Foren in Eiselcross. The adventure takes a party from level 1 to level 3.

Background
In 835 PD, treasure hunters Urgon Wenth and Orvo Mustave explored the Aeorian ruins of Salsvault, gathering some treasure before being quickly repelled from the ruin by animated armor. While Orvo stayed behind in Syrinlya, Urgon traveled back to Palebank Village to sell his treasure. Among the loot were two cracked blue vials that unbeknownst to him contained the engineered Aeorian disease Frigid Woe, which he contracted while handling the vials.

In Palebank, Urgon sold the treasure to Verla Pelc, an antiques collector and owner of Pelc's Curiosities, who also contracted the disease. Shortly afterward, the shop was robbed by sisters Tulgi and Hulil Lutan, who were hired by the Uttolot family to steal Aeorian relics. Their bandit gang took the treasure, including the Frigid Woe vials, to their hideout in Croaker Cave, where the sisters ultimately also contracted Frigid Woe. Seeking a cure, Hulil planned to return to Shadycreek Run, and sold one of the Frigid Woe vials to a traveling trader, Irven Liel, for funds.

Meanwhile, two months had passed, and Urgon Wenth had succumbed to Frigid Woe after clerics in the town had attempted to cure the disease to no avail, and were unsure of its cause. Verla Pelc had also died, though she was a known recluse and kept her disease secret. Shortly before Urgon's funeral, villagers of Palebank, including the town's leader Elro Aldataur, noticed Tulgi had the same ailment as Urgon. When he attempted to speak to Tulgi, she shut Elro out.

Investigating Palebank
An adventuring party was in attendance at Urgon's funeral. After paying respects, they were approached by Elro, who explained the situation with Elro and Tulgi. He asked the party to investigate and find the cause of their affliction, promising 100 gp upon their success. At Elro's suggestion, the party investigated Urgon's cabin. Inside they found the furniture tossed, as though someone was looking for something, as well as a receipt for Urgon's sale of Aeorian relics to Pelc's Curiosities. Further investigation revealed a set of tracks leading to Tulgi Lutan's house.

The party gained entry to Tulgi's cabin, either by convincing her to let them inside or by breaking in and subduing Tulgi and her pet wolves. Tulgi reluctantly told the party she and her sister Hulil were hired by the Uttolots and stole the Aeorian treasure from Pelc's, and that she has broken into Urgon's home after he died to try to find any more information about a possible cure. When the party went to Pelc's Curiosities, they found that while the store was apparently closed, and had been since the robbery, the door was ajar. Inside they found a group of five elven bandits, who attacked the party until only one remained and surrendered. When questioned, the bandit told them that they work for Hulil, who is afflicted with Frigid Woe and hiding out in Croaker Cave, and were ordered to search the store for a possible cure but found nothing. In the back room of the store, the party also found the frozen remains of Verla Pelc.

The party traveled to the nearby Croaker Cave, where they encountered more bandits and the cave's resident giant ice frogs, whom the bandits had tamed. Eventually the party reached the back of the cave where they found Hulil Lutan and her apprentice Raegrin Mau praying to Tiamat, whom Hulil is a priestess of. After the party either convinces her they're here to help or subdue her and Raegrin, she tells them that she believes she's afflicted with Frigid Woe and and that it was contracted from the blue crystal vials. She kept the rest of the treasure in a stone chest that she trapped with the other vial, potentially exposing the party to the disease if they triggered it. Within alongside the treasure was a receipt for Hulil's sale of the other vial to Irven Liel.

The party returned to Palebank where they found Irven staying at the Jolly Dwarf with his husband Fenton Tethwick and their daughters Honor and Magic. When informed of the vial's nature, Irven was alarmed that his whole family had handled it and handed the vial over to the party. They reported back to Elro, who payed them and asked that they stay in town as he may need their services soon. Sure enough, the next day Elro told the party that Irven's family had all contracted Frigid Woe. Elro had been able to consult his archives and learned that the disease had only one cure, an antidote the Aeorians had manufactured alongside the disease. He hired the party to retrace Urgon's steps and find the place in Eiselcross where he had found the Frigid Woe vials, promising 200 gp for the task.

Return to Salsvault
The next day, Elro had arranged passage for the adventuring party aboard the Remorhaz to the outpost of Syrinlya. The party embarked on the voyage that day, arriving to the outpost nine days later. There they were welcomed by Morgo Delwur, who outfitted them with any necessary supplies. While at the outpost, the party met with The Buyer, an elven mage who would teleport the Frigid Woe antidote back to Palebank Village once the party retrieved it, as well as Orvo Mustave, who provided the party with directions towards the location where he and Urgon found the vials.

Once the party was prepared, they made the journey across Foren, two hundred miles northwest of Syrinlya to the region of glacial ice known as the Thin Sheets. There they eventually found Salsvault, likely by following the trail of two ice mephits, who are attracted to the presence of Frigid Woe within the lab. Once inside, the adventurers braved the dangers of the ruined disease lab, facing such constructs as animated armors and weapons, a Rug of Smothering, and the zombified residents of the lab that still wander its halls. Eventually they found their way to the main laboratory and encountered Salsvault's leader and namesake, the once-necromancer Ferol Sal. Sal had survived Aeor's destruction and the Calamity by unleashing a disease within the lab that transformed himself and his workers into undead, and while the rest became mindless zombies, he had retained his intellect as a wight. Now bereft of his magic, Sal continued to work on perfecting a disease to kill the gods for centuries to no avail. When encountered by the party, they may have attempted to convince Sal that they would help him if he showed them where the Frigid Woe antidote was stored, though he just as easily may have attacked the party as intruders until he was destroyed.

In either case, the party eventually found a chest containing twenty doses of the antidote, enough to cure everyone infected back in Palebank, and themselves if need be. The party made the trek back towards Syrinlya, where they met with The Buyer to teleport the cure back to the village, and were paid Elro's promised reward.