Session 18: The Elvish Gardens

General Summary

The Storm Eaters awoke in and around the Ogn Troll caves to Mabd painfully transforming into a dragon, resulting from her touching the magical battle axe tainted by dragon's blood. In a state of almost animalistic shock, overwhelmed by pain and confusion, Mabd the dragon lashed out at the thing that had caused her harm: the battle axe. A blast of lightning burst from her fanged mouth at the weapon, which lay near Svagnir. The druid was caught in the blast, burned and tossed back against the cave wall. Terrified, Signi herded her two wards (the thralls she was taking to find freedom in the Elvish Gardens) up the shaft that exited the cave. Meanwhile, outside the cave Janicka and Halstein (who had spent the night outside with Eiuin) had heard Mabd's screams and were trying to make their way down the same shaft into the cave to find out what was happening.
Despite being injured by Mabd's lightning breath, Svagnir kept his composure and tried to calm the dragon with reassuring words and memories of their time together. Ottar followed the druid's lead, ready for trouble, but not threatening. Jutta, not familiar with Mabd's draconic heritage, was completely confused and no doubt terrified to watch the sorcereress turn into a dragon and then blast Svagnir with lightning breath. She stood over her brother's remains, nearly paralyzed with fear and confusion, with only that single base instinct to protect her loved one in her head.
Slightly calmed by Svagnir, but still terrified and confused, Mabd the dragon tried to move back deeper into the darkness of the cave, as if she wished to get away from the battle axe and all the confusion and pain it had caused. Unfortunately, in the tight confines of the cave she backed right to where Jutta stood over her brother's remains. The barbarian woman did the only thing she knew to do when she felt threatened and confused: Smash. With a mighty swing of her great club she buckled one of Mabd's back legs. The dragon whirled in pain to face the threat. Ottar fired a "warning shot" at Jutta to send her a physical message to leave the dragon be while Svagnir tried to resolve the situation without more bloodshed. But it was too late.
Mabd lashed out at Jutta with a rake of her claws and a penetrating glare from her golden eyes that stung the mind itself. Jutta went down in a bloody heap, still partially wounded from the brutal battle with the Ogn Trolls yesterday. Mabd then made sure the barbarian stayed down by stepping on her, driving her claws deep into her abdomen. Svagnir and Ottar stepped forward, still trying to calm the enraged dragon. Mabd backed away, deeper into the cave, leaving the meager camp fire light to be swallowed by the darkness that laired in the depths of the cave. Svagnir followed, using his ghost granted vision to see into the darkness, and placed a calming hand on Mabd's front leg. Meanwhile, Ottar came to Jutta where she lay bleeding out and unconscious, barely alive, at the edge of the fire's light. He quickly looked about to see if any of his companions were near. Svagnir was engaged with Mabd, and Janicka and Halstein had just made it down into the cave and were too far away to see him in the dim light. Without a second thought or an ounce of emotion, Ottar stepped on Jutta's throat, putting her out of her misery, and out of their concerns.

Jutta, slain heroically in battle with a dragon (right?)

Unaware of his companion's actions, Svagnir continued his attempts to calm Mabd, touching her front leg with compassion and speaking calming words. Unfortunately, the dragon was still enraged by the pain Jutta had caused her. She lashed out at Svagnir, nearly sending the druid to the Tree with first one swipe and then another of her terrible, sharp claws. Mabd then scuttled deeper into the bowels of the cave. Demonstrating unbelievable composure, Svagnir took the nearly fatal wounds and continued to appeal to Mabd to be calm. In this moment, the realization that she had nearly killed a man she loved and respected overcame all the pain and confusion Mabd felt. A semblance of reason shimmered in her golden eyes, and she looked at Svagnir with a mix of emotions. Love for him. Horror at what she had become and what she had done to him. Utter bewilderment at what had just happened. She said two words, "No...no..." and then with her long black claws she began digging. With extraordinary speed, Mabd burrowed her own path out of the Ogn Troll caves, the excavated dirt filling in the path behind her as quickly as it was dug up . Svagnir refused to let her flee from him. He summoned his power to take on the shape of beasts, becoming a giant badger, and began burrowing after her.
The rest of the companions stood confused in the caves as Mabd the dragon and Svagnir the giant badger disappeared into the earth. Ottar filled Janicka and Halstein in with what had happened. They took stock of Jutta's death caused by Mabd (according to Ottar's story) and what remained of Mabd's equipment.
Svagnir burrowed in pursuit of Mabd, following her trail of loosened dirt up to the surface a short distance outside the cave. As he came out of the ground, he saw Mabd the dragon flying away to the northwest, far beyond the sound of his voice. Defeated and depressed, he returned to his human form and his companions in the cave.
The Storm Eaters discussed trying to follow Mabd, but realized that would be nearly impossible, and decided to continue on their quest to the Elvish Gardens. Each of them was saddened in their own way by Mabd's horrible transformation and departure, but none more than Svagnir. The druid spoke of the cruelty and hopelessness of the world. He just wanted to go and find his death, for whatever that was worth. It wasn't until Signi gave him a judgmental look about just leaving the bodies of Jutta and her brother in the cave, without funeral rites to help them find Valdryssil, that the druid came to some semblance of his normally compassionate self. With Halstein's help, Svagnir burned the bodies of Jutta and her brother, doing what he could to help their souls pass onto the Great Tree.
Halstein took the magical battle axe that had caused all the trouble, along with all of Mabd's equipment, including a set of petrified dragon teeth that none of them knew she had. The rare and valuable teeth must have been something Mabd had taken from her mother's lair before leaving the Ytre Woods.
Along the trek northward Svagnir realized a new, very loud, and very angry whisper had joined his chorus of souls. It was Aela, calling to him, "Dead Eye...avenge me...help me...save me...". He told his companions that Aela was dead, but he knew not of Isulf's fate. He sensed that Aela's angry spirit remained here in Valkheim, without a way to find solace in the Great Tree, and she had sought him for help. He also sensed that his relationship with all of the whispers of the dead would be erratic and unpredictable with Aela's raging spirit clinging to him. In a costly ritual that required him to empty his entire skein of spiritual water, he gave Aela's spirit passage to Valdryssil and cleansed himself of her volatility.
Svagnir also used the stone of sending to let Skordal Skullbearer of the Lodge Eldritch know that they were about a day away from the Elvish Gardens, and all was as good as could be expected. Skordal replied that the Wormborn were reconstituting rapidly and a siege of the Lodge itself was starting. Time is of the essence, he implored with his final words.
Svagnir began the first part of the three-day ritual required to heal the terrible wound Janicka had suffered from the blade of the Ogn Troll war chief, hoping to heal her ruined face to just a terrible scar rather than a gaping open wound.
The Storm Eaters camped for the night about a half day south of the nearest Elvish Garden. Signi asked them why they, of all people, sought this impossible task of claiming a dragon's last breath in order to stop a Wormborn Plague. They told her of their fate as Eaters of Worms, and that the Lodge Eldritch was in danger of falling to the Wormborn. They did not tell her that the Wormborn were under the control of the Traitor's Three, specifically targeting the Lodge as part of a plan to establish a new world order, rather than just being a mindless threat as they had been in previous Plagues. Signi told them she hoped the Wormborn destroyed the Lodge Eldritch, as she had seen boat loads of thralls sent there over the years, to what fate she did not know.
Signi then welcomed any of them to give up their suicidal quest to face the dragon and join her in freeing thralls, with a special invitation to Halstein, whom she felt was a kindred spirit of selflessness and goodness. All politely declined her offer, but Halstein said he would find her when his work was done with the Storm Eaters. She told him to seek her at the Blushing Giant Tavern in Thaneshall (ask for Mikkel the barkeep) when the time came. Signi and Ottar then had an insightful conversation on the nature of the world, and how often monsters and heroes were one and the same. Both were no doubt talking about themselves.

Signi of Arnsted, a hero and a monster

The next day around noon, as a heavy summer rain poured down upon them, the Storm Eaters finally came to the southernmost Elvish Garden, finding the massive, stone structure looming over them from the far side of a bridge over the river they had been following since leaving the village of Rjen. As they approached the bridge a voice called out from some trees on the far side with a cryptic sentence. Signi responded with an equally cryptic sentence, which included the secret code word to signal they were friends.

The Elvish Gardens, as they appeared in their prime over 200 years ago

The Storm Eaters were welcomed across the bridge by the voice, and as they did so, they noticed the bridge was targeted by a series of javelin-launching traps hidden in the brush, sure to be deadly if unwelcome folks attempted to cross. On the far side they met Ryk Orkborn and a half dozen of his followers. Signi knew Ryk from her many trips to the Elvish Gardens. He was a Ogn Elf brute, known to revel in simple violence but with a surprisingly cunning mind. He led a band of warriors and rogues known as Ryk's Bastards, tasked with guarding the southern approach to the Sed Hellen safehold in the Elvish Gardens. The Storm Eaters recalled their knowledge of the mysterious organization known as the Sed Hellen ("Black Seeds" in the Elvish tongue). When the Elven nation of Aelvalla fell two hundred years ago, the Sed Hellen began as a resistance movement to oppose the Clans of the Throat and to free elven thralls. Over the centuries it had transformed into a criminal organization that was still true to its roots, but now also included members of other races and conducted all manner of crimes across the lands of men.

Ryk Orkborn, leader of Ryk's Bastards and member of the Sed Hellen

Signi vouched for the Storm Eaters to Ryk and asked him to entertain an offer they had for him. Ottar suggested getting out of the rain and breaking bread before they discussed their offer. Ryk agreed and led the Storm Eaters into his hideout in the nearby Elvish Garden. It appeared that his Bastards numbered about a score or more, and consisted mostly of elves, but a few humans, half elves, and trollocks could also be seen. Ottar prepared a wonderful venison stew as all shared some mead. Ryk's second in command joined the gathering for the meal. He was a lean elven man, bare of chest and carrying no weapons, with a vapid look on his face (as if he were drunk or stoned) who wore a tomte's severed hand around his neck as a lucky charm. Halstein was immediately on guard and unsettled by this man, whom Ryk introduced as Vintior Bluehand.
During the meal Ryk told the Storm Eaters a tale inspired by Halstein's stony skin. He said a few weeks ago a couple of men with skin of stone that weren't tomte had come to his camp from the north. These stone men spoke with three Dverge ("bird" in the dwarven tongue, a derogatory term for those exiled from Svarthalla) that were members of his Bastards. After talking with the stone men the three Dverge set upon themselves until only one remained. That survivor then left without a word of farewell to accompany the stone men northbound. Ryk knew not what to make of the strange incident. Ottar and Svagnir recalled what they knew of dwarven culture. There were tales of the dwarves creating men of stone and wood with their strange deep magic, and these "men" were often used to carry out the will of Svarthalla on the surface where the dwarves cared not to tread. They also pondered if these stone men had been sent to the surface to purge all the exiled Dverge from Valkheim so that the Lodge Eldritch couldn't use them as a sacrifice to Valdryssil to end the Wormborn Plague? If the tale Ana had told them was true, if a member of a race was sacrificed to Valdryssil through a God Gash, the entire race was ended and returned to the Tree. Perhaps the dwarves of Svarthalla knew what the Wormborn were doing, and were trying to protect themselves from an act of desperation by the Lodge Eldritch?
With the meal complete the Storm Eaters discussed their offer with Ryk and Vintior. They offered to help with the dragon and Ogn Trolls that most likely were a hindrance or threat to the Sed Hellen in the Elvish Gardens, in return for safe passage and assistance. Ryk told them the Ogn Trolls were dead and scattered to the point of being nonexistent thanks to the dragon, and that a member of the Sed Hellen had already gone to make terms with the dragon. An elven woman known as Siofra, who has been with the Sed Hellen since they were first formed 200 years ago, along with her "daughters" had left to appeal to the dragon weeks ago. They have not been heard from since. Ryk has been ordered by his master in the Sed Hellen (an entity known only as Voronwie, or 'patience' in elvish) not to take any action with the dragon until Siofra returns or is discovered dead. Ryk said he was open to the Storm Eaters seeking the dragon and possibly discovering Siofra's fate, but he could not assist them beyond providing a guide to ensure their safe passage to the fourth Elvish Garden where the dragon was known to lair.
The Storm Eaters accepted Ryk's terms. Much to Halstein's and the others' dismay, their guide was to be the disturbing Vintior Bluehand. Ryk instructed them to stay away from the second Elvish Garden on their trek northward, as there was nothing for them to see there. Wanting to reach the dragon's lair during daylight tomorrow, the Storm Eaters decided to depart immediately. They said their farewells to Signi, who had proven to be a true ally and noble soul. In a sign of respect and fellowship, Janicka jokingly said she wondered who would win if they resumed their wrestling match. Signi seriously responded (with a hint of grin and a wink) that she hoped to find out some day.
Vintior guided the Storm Eaters northward, taking a path that led them wide of the second Elvish Garden, which they were told to avoid. The day-long rain shower finally ended as they made camp, and the setting sun touched Vintior's skin. He transformed as the dying light revealed his true form: an Armr, a "wretched one", touched by the influence of a hag. His right arm was blue and bore long talons. The skin around his eyes was also blue, and his lips were the telltale black of his accursed kind. A horned crown of coral grew from his brow. Vintior was asked about his past. He told the Storm Eaters he used to be a thrall that worked a fishing vessel out of Hafrsted. During a terrible storm he took the opportunity to murder his master. Unfortunately, he didn't know how to keep the ship from capsizing in the storm, a bit of an oversight in his impulsive plan to gain his freedom. Sure that he was going to drown, Vintior claimed he made peace that at least he would die free. But then Ranbedr, the giant demoness of the sea, rose from the waves to save him...for a purpose. Vintior said that purpose has led him here, in the service of Ryk and the Sed Hellen. The Storm Eaters did not ask what this "purpose" was, as they had had enough of the disturbing Armr.

Vintior Bluehand, tortured soul and creepy dude

Svagnir completed the second part of the three-day ritual required to mend Janicka's ruined face.
The next day Vintior led the Storm Eaters past the third Elvish Garden, which had fallen into complete ruins. The Storm Eaters quickly investigated the toppled stones and wreckage as they continued north. They found signs of an old campsite from weeks ago, along with signs that the dragon Scalding Rain had put an end to whomever made that camp. They pressed on. Vintior led them until the fourth Elvish Garden, where the dragon was known to lair, came into sight. The Armr pointed at the looming structure and simply said, "there be your dragon," and then he turned and left. The Storm Eaters were glad to be rid of him.
The Storm Eaters approached the fourth Elvish Garden. The ground became poisoned, with all the grass dead or dying into blackened filth. The water of a nearby pond was black and brackish. Everything smelled of death and rot. This was definitely the dragon's lair. The Storm Eaters investigated the Elvish Garden and discovered the only entrance at ground level had been filled with rubble, and recently, perhaps due to a natural collapse or perhaps done with intention to prevent entry. The only other entrance they discovered was a hole in the roof, where it looked to have collapsed with age and disrepair, about ten feet wide and ninety feet off the ground. It wasn't a big enough hole for the dragon to fit through, which made the Storm Eaters ponder how the dragon got in and out for a time. They then decided to investigate the opening in the roof. Svagnir turned into a giant spider and Halstein jumped upon his back, trailing a long rope behind them. They quickly scaled the side of the Garden, coming to the lip of the opening. A comforting heat and a dull sound like a flute playing a long, held note emerged from the hole.
Using his spider senses, Svagnir peered inside. A massive chamber opened about twenty feet below the opening in the domed roof. In the center of the chamber stood a forty-foot marble statue of a beautiful elven woman playing a flute of iron. Surrounding her were dozens of strange plants bearing all manner of fruits and nuts Svagnir had never seen before. Was this Elvish Garden still functional? They were all supposed to have been nonfunctional, left to fall into ruins when Aelvalla fell 200 years ago during the War of Iron and Water. Had the dragon Scalding Rain found a way to make the elven magic functional again, so that food could be grown within the domed tower? The dragon either was or believed it was Cyuli, a human hero of folktales. Did this have something to do with the Garden being functional? Also, so far there was no sign of Siofra and her daughters. What became of them? And finally, what of Mabd? Would the Storm Eaters ever see her again? She had displayed a shred of humanity right before fleeing in agony and shame and confusion. Would her humanity return? Only time will tell...

Report Date

21 Feb 2023