Session 01: Of Storms and Fate

General Summary

A cruel and unusually cold summer storm, a week before the solstice, drove seven strangers together beneath a sheltering bluff west of the God Grove.

Bjekmir, son of Bulvi

Isulf Thedolfsson arrived first, finding shelter and a dead deer to sup upon beneath the bluff. Next came the crippled and blind Bjekmir, son of Bulvi, with his eyes glinting silver and riding upon his old warhorse 31, accompanied by Svagnir and Kradar. The four strangers made an uneasy agreement to share the shelter of the bluff, the deer, and a fire for the night.
Worhana, wandering alone and nearly freezing in the sleety storm, came upon some tracks, one set of which looked like bear tracks to her. She followed the tracks and came to the camp. She was reluctantly welcomed by the four men, and eventually Kradar gave her one of his extra bear cloaks to keep her from freezing.
The sound of distant wolves set the strangers into a defensive stance, but instead of wolves, a wounded giant Ibex goat bearing two riders burst into the camp. The lead rider was the cautious Janicka, and seated behind her was the boisterous and arrogant Skald. Wanting no part of such a large band of armed folk and their fire, the wolves gave up their chase and melted away into the storm with their hunger.

Skald, the self-proclaimed "bringer of news, maker of heroes, puller of tears, forge of joy, and the eyes which can see the future!"

The seven strangers made small talk around their fire and took what meat and fur they could from the dead deer. Despite his macabre demeanor, Isulf generously healed Eiuin the giant Ibex for Janicka. Bjekmir, who until this time had been mentally sharp and generally friendly, seemed to drift off as night deepened. He forgot the names of those around him and asked repeatedly for Helka. Off-put by the blind man's ravings, the group became even more uncomfortable, and Skald decided to lighten the mood with an old story. She told the tale of how Keitel and Hrymm bet which was stronger, love or death, and how Keitel used the elven ship maker Vranuill to prove that love was stronger than death. Skald then asked if anyone learned anything from the tale. Svagnir replied, "don't gamble with gods." which made Skald laugh. Skald then looked at Bjekmir, snapped her fingers and said "Listen" three times, at which the blind man seemed to suddenly regain his mental acuity. Skald then said, "the lesson you should learn is that the dead can save the living. They have a great purpose, even though that purpose can be much to bear." To that Bjekmir reluctantly nodded and said, "I know."
Satisfied with Bjekmir's answer, Skald said, "Well then good. Let me help you with that." And as she stood and briskly left the campsite, the fire-lit shadows of Isulf, Janicka, Svagnir, Kradar, and Worhana twisted into living mockeries of their makers and attacked them. The battle was quick and brutal, with all five strangers falling to their shadowy slayers. Only Kradar was able to kill his shadow before succumbing to his wounds. Bjekmir and the mounts survived, the blind man nearly crying and repeating over and over, "No, not like this..." and "I'm sorry..." as the five strangers were slaughtered.
Svagnir, Janicka, and Kradar died. As their souls left their mortal bodies they found themselves in a strange gray land without Valdryssil. They saw fleeting images of the dead, and one spoke a single word to Svagnir, "Why?". The gray land then transformed and became a great tree bough, and vines and branches entangled around them trying to pull them down into the giant bough. Kradar tried to resist, but could not. Suddenly a great pain stabbed into all their eyes, and from that pain a foul corruption spread throughout their bodies. This corruption withered away the vines and branches that tried to pull them into the tree bough. Svagnir and Janicka tried to fight the corruption and seek the tree, but the corruption was too great. As the last of the vines and branches withered away they returned to blackness.
Meanwhile, Isulf awakened from his near fatal wounds in a great deal of pain. He watched as Bjekmir completed some strange ritual on the corpses of Svagnir, Kradar, and Janicka. He inscribed runes with ash upon their cold dead faces and hands, and dripped some of his dark blood into their open eyes. When Isulf asked Bjekmir what was going, the blind man replied, "The cruelest of fates have brought us together, and as much as I wish I could ignore it I can't. Therefore I have stolen these three souls from Valdryssil, for the need is great. But there is a price for stealing from Valdryssil. Each solstice a ritual must be completed or they will become nothing, lost forever from the great tree. A Seidr (old word for magic) tongue is needed for this ritual. Go to the village of Molde, two days south of here. A volva (old word for witch) in the Ytre Woods has plagued that village for generations. Find her, take her tongue, and meet me in Molde on the summer solstice. I wish I could be with you, but I must find Helka." He then drove his axe, Storm Thief, into the ground and said, "I leave you my most valued possession as a sign of my good faith. Keep it sharp, and I will return for it in Molde." He then rode off to the east upon 31, repeating that he must find Helka over and over.
A few hours later Worhana awakened from her near fatal wounds and discussed what was happening with Isulf. As they mulled their options the sun rose, and the three fallen strangers returned from the dead as sunlight touched the corpses, waking as if from a restful night of slumber. However, the three fallen strangers soon discovered the world was different to them now. Everything smelled of stale, rotten blood, and their eyes glinted silver just as Bjekmir's did. Isulf and Svagnir used some of their gifts to confirm that Svagnir, Kradar, and Janicka were no longer living or dead, but some unnatural in-between.
After a brief discussion and some accusations, the group decided they should go to Molde and get the witch's tongue in hopes of discovering what curse befell them and how to be rid of it. Kradar took Bjekmir's axe, Storm Thief, and was briefly wracked by an intense pain in his abdomen. Several of the ill-fated companions noticed strange scars on Janicka's hands before she could conceal them. The group then set off south along the Great Whale Road, and once again Worhana saw the tracks that Kradar left looked not like a man's, but a bear's, to her eyes alone.

Ancient Daunntroll, much bigger and nastier than your normal Daunntroll

At midafternoon the party of reluctant companions sniffed out a poorly executed Daunntroll (old word for Stink Troll) ambush just north of the bridge over the Vida River. Despite being all but strangers, the party worked well together and foiled the ambush, killing four Daunntrolls, including the pack's leader, who wore a seemingly magical wolf cloak with glowing blue eyes. Only two Daunntrolls survived, one of them being an unusually large Ancient Daunntroll shaman that wielded a potent stink staff which made Isulf gravely weak and ill. After the battle the companions looted some weapons from the dead Daunntrolls, and Kradar took the magical wolf cloak, packing it away in a large, custom, bear-fur waist pouch of his own design that did little to conceal the stink left on it by its previous owner. During the fight, Svagnir, Kradar, and Janicka discovered yet another part of their condition; their blood was now a dark, oily mockery of mortal blood.
The remainder of the day's travel was uneventful, with a very ill and weak Isulf riding across Eiuin's back (the beast seemed to take a liking to the dark man for his gracious act of healing her earlier), and as night fell the companions made camp not far off the road in the sheltering trees of the Ytre Woods. Svagnir, Kradar, and Janicka discovered a few new things about their seemingly cursed condition at that time. They still hungered and required food, but when they ate everything tasted of cold ash. And when they tried to sleep they discovered that they could not, but instead drifted off into a strange dormant state that replenished them as much as a good night's sleep.
And so it went...a night of cruel storms and crueler fates, bringing five unlikely companions together, putting them on a path of great glory and even greater woe.

Report Date

25 Jan 2022