The Wand, The Witch, And The Lie

# Session Recap: The Wand of Binding

The party defeated an Ice Guardian protecting a magical wand atop a frozen pillar, but the discovery ignited tensions when Lucia attempted to conceal the artifact from her companions—a deception that nearly fractured the fragile trust binding the survivors together.

Death from Above

The polar bear charged from the darkness, but the party struck first. Lucia's arrow punched through fur and flesh while Torvald cast Shield of Faith upon himself and waded into melee, his hammer connecting for devastating damage. The enraged beast reared up and slashed across Torvald's face and chest, drawing blood, but Vaelan answered with a Chromatic Orb that exploded the creature's head in a burst of fire and force. The headless corpse collapsed backward into the shadows, and combat ended as quickly as it had begun.

The Harvest

Lucia healed Torvald's wounds while Kaelor set to work on the fallen bear with practiced skill. His natural talent with monster harvesting tools allowed him to skin the entire pelt cleanly enough to fashion into a cloak, and he carved out enough meat to sustain the party for twenty days. Meanwhile, Lucia and Torvald scouted the northern alcove—a wolf den littered with gnawed bones but otherwise empty. Torvald investigated the polar bear's lair to the northwest, scattering a knee-high pile of bones with his flail, but found nothing beyond half-digested remains and scraps of leather.

The Deeper Cold

The party pressed deeper into the cavern system, following the only unexplored passage. The temperature plummeted with each step, frost clinging to beards and breath misting in the air. Vaelan felt a surge of wild magic ripple through him—his tattoos flared pink and purple, and arcane energy flooded his body, restoring vitality and a spent spell slot. The tunnel opened into a vast chamber forty feet high, its walls studded with ice crystals. Atop a fifteen-foot pillar of rock, a golden light bathed a small object floating in midair. Lucia cast Jump and leapt to the summit in a single bound. There, suspended in the warm glow, she found a wand. Kaelor cast Detect Evil below and sensed nothing malevolent. Lucia reached out and grasped the handle. The moment the wand left the sphere of golden light, the light vanished—and an Ice Guardian materialized in the chamber below.

Frost and Fire

The construct moved slowly, allowing the party to strike first. Vaelan finished his climb and unleashed an empowered Chromatic Orb that melted chunks of ice from the Ice Guardian's frame, leaving it reeling afeared of the flame. Torvald's flail glanced off its armor, but his second strike—bolstered by divine power—tore away a chunk of frozen plating. Lucia marked the creature and fired from above, her arrow punching through its core. Kaelor flanked and swung his maul, but the blow bounced harmlessly off enchanted ice until Torvald channeled divine guidance into the strike. The corrected swing landed with brutal force, and Kaelor poured fire and radiant energy into the impact, toppling the Guardian to the ground.

The construct rose and retaliated with a freezing beam that blasted Torvald and Lucia in a line of bitter cold. Vaelan cast another Chromatic Orb, but the spell ricocheted, striking Kaelor for significant fire damage before leaping to the Guardian and re-applying its fire aversion. Torvald healed himself as the Guardian swung its blade in a wide arc, the ice weapon deflected by Shield of Faith, but striking Kaelor for heavy damage. Lucia sprouted glowing celestial wings and took to the air, raining arrows down from above. Kaelor charged again, but his maul found only empty air.

The Guardian moved around Torvald and then fired another freeze ray that caught both Torvald and Lucia, blasting them with an arcane cold, before leaping up onto the pillar and standing before Vaelan. Vaelan attempted to flee the pillar but the Guardian's blade caught him across the shoulder, cleaving upward and dropping him unconscious. He fell more than ten feet and struck the ground hard, drawing closer to death. Kaelor rushed to Vaelan's side and used his last Lay on Hands to revive him. The Guardian leapt from the pillar and crashed down onto Torvald, moving to find Lucia who had taunted the construct with the wand. Torvald, picking himself up, cast Guiding Bolt, marking the Guardian's flank. Lucia emerged from hiding and loosed another devastating shot. Finally, Kaelor charged one last time, his maul descending with divine fire and smite. The Guardian shattered into thousands of ice shards that flickered and evaporated, leaving no trace it had ever existed.

The Wand's Secret

Lucia healed Torvald, then flew to Vaelan and healed him as well—but as she did, she showed him the wand in secret and asked if he recognized it. Vaelan's investigation revealed it was no mere trinket: the magic that had summoned the Guardian was at least fifth-level conjuration, and the wand itself radiated power. Lucia whispered that they should keep it between them. Vaelan warned her that such objects could consume their wielders, but she collected an ice crystal shard as a decoy and rejoined the others.

Torvald immediately questioned what Lucia had found. She claimed the wand had vanished, leaving only the crystal. Torvald's insight pierced the lie—he saw the gleam in her eyes and called her out. Kaelor turned back, demanding honesty. Under pressure, Lucia produced the wand, her hair flashing purple with emotion, and apologized for the deception.

The Wand of Finding

The party returned to Dyrbov Michalovich's home, where the scholar examined the wand with fascination. He asked Vaelan to test it: speak aloud what you wish to find. Vaelan asked for the hag from the Coven of Winter's Night, and the wand flared to life, ejecting two golden motes that flew north and south before fading. Dyrbov identified it as the Wand of Finding from myth and legend—a powerful artifact that recharges at dawn and can locate anything its wielder seeks. Lucia demanded the wand back, and Vaelan surrendered it without argument. Kaelor and Torvald confronted her again, demanding to know why she had tried to hide it. Lucia admitted she needed to find what she had lost, and that she had lived too long trusting no one to change her ways overnight. The argument simmered but did not boil over.

Rest and Revelation

Dyrbov prepared a hearty stew with the bear meat and urged the party to rest. Over the meal, he shared stories and terrible jokes, grateful for the company. Torvald and Dyrbov spoke privately by the fire about trust, loss, and the trials yet to come. Kaelor, half-drunk on potato vodka improved by Vaelan's prestidigitation, asked if the wand could find his family's killers; Vaelan warned him the questions must be precise. Lucia isolated herself in the airlock vestibule and wept alone. As the party drifted into exhausted sleep, Lucia's dreams turned dark: she ran through dense forest as a child, collapsing by a hollow tree, only to see a robed figure emerge from the shadows—bloodied and reaching for her. The party now rests in Dyrbov's home, the Wand of Finding in Lucia's possession, and two hags still at large in the cursed land of Snowreach.