The Forgotten Vault of Arakel

In the treacherous heights of the Windshear Pass, the Frostblood siblings—Ragnar, Freya, and Bjorn—faced deadly avalanches and a relentless cold wind. As mercenaries hired by the ambitious wizard, Mira Talath, they were tasked with recovering the legendary Tome of Transcendence. Their journey was marked by near-death experiences as they braved the biting winds and fatal conditions of the mountain pass.

The siblings were ambushed by scouts from the Black Mantle, a Waterdeep faction trying to prevent Mira nefarious plans to rise to power in Waterdeep. A brutal fight ensued, with Freya nearly succumbing to the blows of the enemies. With blood staining the snow, her brothers Ragnar and Bjorn, filled with rage and desperation, managed to kill their agressors. Bjorn bandaged Freya's wounds as best he could, and Ragnar discovered a crude map on the body of one of the scouts. The map revealed a shortcut to the Vault.

Freya however managed to convince her brothers not to take that dangerous shortcut. After hours of trudging through the longer path, they found a mystical valley protected from the storm, its calm air a welcome respite from the punishing winds. At the valley's heart stood a mount guarded by a magical door, sealed by ancient runes. Freya, always the strategist, studied the intricate markings and deduced the pattern required to open it. The door slid open, and the siblings descended into the depths below.

Beneath the earth, they faced a labyrinth of traps and ancient mechanisms, but their brute strength and cunning allowed them to bypass them all. At last, they entered a vast underground chamber, where a Stone Golem stood, looming over the Tome of Transcendence. The golem was relentless, and worse yet, the Tome seemed to heal its guardian each time they thought they had destroyed the Golem.

As the battle raged, Ragnar, the eldest and the strongest, made a desperate dash for the Tome. It was immovable—enchanted to resist his strength. But when Bjorn joined him, their combined might began to shift the ancient artifact. With a final heave, they moved it off its pedestal, breaking the golem’s bond with the Tome. In a bold move, Bjorn hurled a mysterious flask they had found earlier on the Black Mantle scouts. It shattered against the golem's chest, freezing the magical guardian in ice and bringing the fight to an end.

With the Tome in hand, the siblings were ready to return to Waterdeep. They smashed the Stone of Recall to activate its teleportation magic. But instead of being whisked away, Mira Talath appeared before them, her eyes gleaming with hunger for the artifact.

Before the siblings could act, a Black Mantle agent emerged from the shadows, warning them not to hand over the Tome. His words barely had time to sink in before Mira unleashed a barrage of magical fire. The two exchanged blows of magic and steel, with the agent charging Mira while she teleported out of harms way, hurling flames at him.

Seeing the chaos unfold, Ragnar, Freya, and Bjorn made their choice. They sided with Mira, their employer, and joined the fray. With his wild rage fueling him, Bjorn delivered the final blow, cutting down the agent with his axe.

Now, Mira, with the Tome of Transcendence in her hands, smashed her own Stone of Recall with the one held by the siblings, and they all got teleported back to Waterdeep. There she handsomely rewarded the barbarians with much gold. Now rich beyond their expectations, the three siblings left Waterdeep to its fate and moved on home, looking forward to rejoin their clan in the distant north.