Part VII : Of Lost Sons and Found Purpose
After resting, the group gathered their things and set off through the forest back towards Barleybrook. They stopped just outside of town, formulating a plan. Syntharia and Yannis decided to turn themselves invisible and investigate the inn, suspicious of the two elderly owners. Meanwhile, Trovik and Flintknuckle went to talk to the haggard elf as they were idly walking along the wall, touching each post as they went along. They didn't get much out of them, it didn't seem they had many answers to offer the two adventurers. Yannis provided discrete distraction while Syntharia investigated the storeroom, finding enchanted cookies. Bolstered, she headed upstairs, searching the owners' room and finding a hidden recipe for ensorcelled cookies, fit to charm any unsuspecting eater. They left quickly and asked Quentin to gather the townsfolk. He obliged.
Once everyone was gathered at the inn, the group shared their findings. The elders had been sacrificing three children every thirty three years to some old horror in the woods. They had the evidence, it was clear. Quentin wasted no time, firing his pistol into the old barkeeps face and burying a knife in his elderly wife's neck. He explained that he trusted the group implicitly as they had helped cure his brother-in-law of lycanthropy. A dwarf spoke up, saying that they had doomed the town, the sacrifices kept them safe and fed. Syntharia drained the dwarf of life without a second thought.
A funeral pyre was constructed to burn the elders and the beast, the children burried respectfully. Trovik, burdened with knowledge he could not share openly, placed a hand to his heart and conjured an eldritch blast, killing himself instantly. Syntharia rushed to his aide, but was helpless as he turned to ash. Aboard a longship, on a stormy sea, Trovik met with Hel. He told her that he knew he had been deceived, he wished to fight back against Valravn, to crush his schemes. She told him he was correct, his actions in Botwulf's Stone did not seal The Kraken, they invited it in. If he was to be Hel's champion, he would take on a new task. He would travel to these ancient shrines and not only seal them, but destroy them, barring the Herald's of Ragnarok from ever interfering again.
The sky parted back at the pyre, and a figure drifted down from the heavens, sunlight piercing through large skeletal wings, a shadowy spear at its side. Trovik landed gracefully, and told the group of what had happened. Once more Odin strolled in, though his form soon shifted, revealing a large, golden, horned helmet, a lithe form, and long black hair. Loki taunted Trovik, letting him know they would find some other dim-witted pawn, he was not integral to their plan, merely convenient. Before more words could be spoken he disappeared, returning to the shadows.
While the rest of the group rested at the inn, Syntharia waited for someone to arrive. Early in the morning, Brother Zael appeared before her on a tired horse. He told her of why he became a priest. That over two hundred years ago his son went missing here in Barleybrook, and that after years of waiting he and his wife could take it no longer. She disappeared and he set of for Amberpine, devoting his life to Frigg. Syntharia, thinking that she had killed his son, led him to the funeral pyre. He was saddened, but understood. The haggard elf quietly made their way outside the city and towards the pair, hearing this, Zael turned, and was face to face with the son he lost so long ago. "Kvothe" was the only word Zael could get out before sweeping him into a large hug. He soon realized that his son's mind had been ruined, shattered by some unspeakable trauma. He turned back to Syntharia. He had sworn to Frigg that he would aide whoever she sent to reunite him with his son in any way he could. He vowed to help Syntharia in her journeys, though he must first make head to Botwulf's Stone to leave Kvothe with a trusted friend, Marikoth. As luck would have it, Syntharia, Trovik, Yannis, and Flintknuckle were headed that way as well, and after an hour or so they headed back towards the city.
Once everyone was gathered at the inn, the group shared their findings. The elders had been sacrificing three children every thirty three years to some old horror in the woods. They had the evidence, it was clear. Quentin wasted no time, firing his pistol into the old barkeeps face and burying a knife in his elderly wife's neck. He explained that he trusted the group implicitly as they had helped cure his brother-in-law of lycanthropy. A dwarf spoke up, saying that they had doomed the town, the sacrifices kept them safe and fed. Syntharia drained the dwarf of life without a second thought.
A funeral pyre was constructed to burn the elders and the beast, the children burried respectfully. Trovik, burdened with knowledge he could not share openly, placed a hand to his heart and conjured an eldritch blast, killing himself instantly. Syntharia rushed to his aide, but was helpless as he turned to ash. Aboard a longship, on a stormy sea, Trovik met with Hel. He told her that he knew he had been deceived, he wished to fight back against Valravn, to crush his schemes. She told him he was correct, his actions in Botwulf's Stone did not seal The Kraken, they invited it in. If he was to be Hel's champion, he would take on a new task. He would travel to these ancient shrines and not only seal them, but destroy them, barring the Herald's of Ragnarok from ever interfering again.
The sky parted back at the pyre, and a figure drifted down from the heavens, sunlight piercing through large skeletal wings, a shadowy spear at its side. Trovik landed gracefully, and told the group of what had happened. Once more Odin strolled in, though his form soon shifted, revealing a large, golden, horned helmet, a lithe form, and long black hair. Loki taunted Trovik, letting him know they would find some other dim-witted pawn, he was not integral to their plan, merely convenient. Before more words could be spoken he disappeared, returning to the shadows.
While the rest of the group rested at the inn, Syntharia waited for someone to arrive. Early in the morning, Brother Zael appeared before her on a tired horse. He told her of why he became a priest. That over two hundred years ago his son went missing here in Barleybrook, and that after years of waiting he and his wife could take it no longer. She disappeared and he set of for Amberpine, devoting his life to Frigg. Syntharia, thinking that she had killed his son, led him to the funeral pyre. He was saddened, but understood. The haggard elf quietly made their way outside the city and towards the pair, hearing this, Zael turned, and was face to face with the son he lost so long ago. "Kvothe" was the only word Zael could get out before sweeping him into a large hug. He soon realized that his son's mind had been ruined, shattered by some unspeakable trauma. He turned back to Syntharia. He had sworn to Frigg that he would aide whoever she sent to reunite him with his son in any way he could. He vowed to help Syntharia in her journeys, though he must first make head to Botwulf's Stone to leave Kvothe with a trusted friend, Marikoth. As luck would have it, Syntharia, Trovik, Yannis, and Flintknuckle were headed that way as well, and after an hour or so they headed back towards the city.
Played on 3/27/2021
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