Session 03: Witch Hunt

General Summary

With only three days left until the Solstice, the party was starting to feel a sense of urgency and decided to start their hunt for the witch called Gretch that night and not wait for morning. As they were preparing to depart Molde an arrow arced in from the dark wood line at the edge of the village to kill a sheep. A note attached to the arrow stated “return what you have stolen, thieves, or next time I find a sweeter target,” along with instructions to leave the bottle with the dead djorruk and the ancient elven arrowhead near a recognizable boulder just outside the village.
It appeared as if Signi of Arnsted had followed the party to Molde, seeking to reclaim the strange possessions the party had taken from her cart. After scanning the wood line without success to find the sneaky she-archer, followed by a brief discussion about options, the party decided to return what they had taken, for both the sake of the people of Molde and because they were running out of time to find the witch. The djorruk bottle and the elven arrowhead were left under a large boulder, as Signi demanded.
With torches in hand the party dove into the depths of the dark and forbidding Ytre Woods with the hopes of finding a trail or of the witch finding them. As somber hours crept by, the party found a well-used game trail and decided to follow it. Sometime later they came across huge canine footprints that cut across the trail. Svagnir utilized one of his new powers to transform into a giant weasel and began tracking the large dogs by smell.
The scent led the party to a rushing creek that had cut a deep and wide ravine in the forest floor. Working separately the party went about finding different methods of crossing the ravine. Janicka and Eiuin attempted to jump it, but the weight of the rider was too much for the giant ibex to carry over such a gap. Crashing into the far side of the ravine, Janicka and her mount tumbled down into the cold rushing water. Before Eiuin could clamber up the far side of the ravine, the fast flowing waters of the creek claimed Janicka’s atlatl, much to the Vaettir’s displeasure. Kradar found a downed tree to bridge the gap of the ravine, but even with Isulf’s help they couldn’t get it to quite span the gap. Isulf went to find a rock to tie a rope to, in order to throw it across and give another method for crossing, but Kradar didn’t care to wait anymore. The big man ran across the log that half crossed the ravine, but unfortunately slipped and tumbled into the cold rushing water. With help, Kradar was able to pull himself out of the ravine and onto the far side with Janicka.


Isulf threw a rope tied to a rock across the ravine, and Janicka and Kradar secured to a tree. As the party appeared to finally have a safe solution in place to cross the ravine for the remaining members, trouble struck! The dire wolves the party had been tracking circled back to attack! Janicka and Kradar took to arms, as Worhana and Svagnir found ways to make ranged attacks from across the ravine. Isulf quickly started crossing, using the log and the rope. Working well together, and with the mighty ramming attacks of Eiuin, the party was able to kill the dire wolves while only taking minor injuries.
Being wounded and having used many of their resources, the party decided to take a short rest near the bodies of the slain dire wolves. Isulf wished to feast alone and returned to the carcasses of the wolves with his crows. It turned out to be a dangerous decision, as two orc scouts, one mounted on a worg, discovered the lone paladin and decided to sneak up on him and attack.
Isulf immediately rose to face the deadly challenge, calling for his companions not far away. Before the party could rouse themselves and come to the paladin’s aid, the orcs took a toll of blood on Isulf. But Isulf gave back what he got, calling upon a new power to summon dark energy into his blade and decapitating a foe. When the party arrived they made quick work of the remaining orc and worg, with Eiuin once again proving to be a deadly force to be reckoned with.
After the orc attack the party discussed how there is strength in numbers, and that Isulf needed to think about just more than himself before wandering off on his own again. Grudgingly accepting the input, Isulf set about looting the orcs, taking a set of half plate armor as the prize find. Worhana looted a banner made of elf flesh that one of the orcs was carrying, painted with the symbol of a bloody eye. She took the banner with disgust, tenderly rolled it and tied it, and then set it into the waters of the rushing creek so that it could return to Valdryssil.
Remembering something about elves being killed by the Blood Eye clan from earlier in his travels, Svagnir took the decapitated head of the orc and used his powers to speak to the dead. In exchange for promising to burn the orc’s body and send him properly to Valdryssil, he learned that the Blood Eye orc clan was led by a brute named Ront, and that the witch lived beneath a giant, burned ash tree that was some distance up the creek.
The party finished their rest and were greeted by a beautiful Valkheim summer day. Kradar again attempted to unlock the mysteries of the Storm Thief axe, but failed. Worhana once again offered the magical wolf cloak to Kradar and Isulf, but neither warrior expressed interest.


The party continued up the creek, looking for a giant burned ash tree. Along the way they came upon large canine tracks, smaller than the dire wolves they had been tracking last night, but still massive. The creek and the tracks led into a gully where the party encountered a Steintroll (stone troll) and his pet speartooth tiger feasting upon the corpse of a large wolfhound they had killed. Before what looked like an imminent fight could break out, Svagnir restrained the steintroll and his pet in a powerful entangle spell. While the steintroll and the giant cat tried to escape the tenacious vines, Janicka and Isulf, who spoke giant and could communicate with the steintroll, were able to convince him that they were not a threat and didn’t want to steal his breakfast. A tenuous peace was reached, with the party agreeing not to kill the dogs that the steintroll hunts and lives off of in exchange for directions to where they could find the witch and her burned ash tree.
As the party left the gully of the steintroll they saw the top of a massive burned ash tree towering above the crowns of the pines only a few miles in the distance. The witch was not far now…

Report Date

21 Feb 2022