Session 32: The Temple of Hjellik

General Summary

In the early morning hours of the 41st day after Midsommar, the Storm Eaters stared without joy at the subterranean stream of black, corrupted water they would need to crawl up to enter Svarthalla. Suddenly Svagnir felt the strange stone that was left when Synsk and Ottar disappeared start to grow heavy and warm. He threw it on the ground with a grunt, and in a flash of azure light the stone was gone and the two missing companions appeared!
Synsk explained that his mistress, the Lady of the Azure Cave, had sensed he was in danger and whisked him away. Ottar had got caught up in the effect by accident, as they were both tangled together in the Roper's grasp. Synsk also said his mistress sent him back with boons to help in their quest. Ottar was sporting a new cloak, and Synsk had a magic gem he claimed would allow him to see into any container without opening it or disturbing its contents. The Storm Eaters caught Synsk and Ottar up on what they had missed while gone.
Lasgila and Ottar then had a discussion about their sordid past together, and it was insinuated that they had a tumultous history. Lasgila offered to let bygones be bygones, as they both needed each other now. Ottar begrudgingly accepted. Svagnir privately asked Ottar if they should trust Lasgila, to which the rogue answered no, but there didn't appear to be any better options available (using a lengthy about metaphor cooking in a kitchen full of rusty knives, naturally).

Meanwhile Kexten sniffed Synsk and said that he smelled "old...like an old mistake...but not to worry, he could fix even the oldest of mistakes...". Not knowing what to make of that, Synsk shrugged off the odd dwarf's statement. The rest of the party then asked what Kexten could smell on them, and he revealed a barrage of odd statements that made little to no sense. Who knows what the odd dwarf was jibbering about? Could it be prophecy? Insight? Or the ravings of a lunatic?
Synsk then proposed that they use the magical gem his mistress had provided to look into the boat that held the treasure to be delivered to Wrothgar in exchange for the Godtrap. The Raate argued they could be bringing something dangerous to Wrothgar unknowingly, as the Lodge wasn't known to be the most trustworthy of entities. The group had a long discussion about trust, risk, and the potential of failing the Barak Tor if they disturbed the boat and it mysterious contents in any way. Eventually they put the matter to a vote and it was decided to use the gem to see into the magical boat container.
Synsk looked through the gem and saw a single item aboard the boat vessel...a magnificent looking bearded great axe. Ottar took the gem next and stole a peek at this axe. With his worldly knowledge and ecclectic learning he instantly recognized it at Grim, the fabled artifact weapon of Cyuli of the Rivers!
The Storm Eaters were in shock at such a discovery! It was hard to believe that the mythical Grim was even real, let alone in their possession (with only a mere oath keeping them from it). Ottar recalled vague tales about Grim being a creation of the dwarves, possibly even Wrothgar himself, but there were also a half dozen contradictory tales to the artifact's origin as well that had nothing to do with Svarthalla. Was Grim possibly being returned to its maker in exchange for another artifact of his creation?
With that issue settled, the boat and its priceless contents were returned to safe keeping with Bloodroot. Time was of the essence and the Storm Eaters needed to get the magical gauntlet for the Dverge so they could continue the Barak Tor. Svagnir cast waterbreathing enchantment on his companions, and then led by the mighty Einar, they entered the underground stream. They fought up the shaft of dark, corrupted water, which took a toll on some of the Storm Eaters, making them ill and weak. They eventually came upon a set of old, corroded bars that blocked the way. Einar, with some help from Svagnir who had transformed into a shark, bent the bars enough to slip through. They passed two openings in the watery shaft, as instructed by Kexten (although Maebha stole a peek at each, discovering openings into a forge area and a drinking water well). At the third opening the Storm Eaters left the underground stream by crawling up a stone sluice.
The Storm Eaters emerged from the sluice into the temple of Hjellik, god of order and the forge. The sprawling compound was more a work space than it was a place of worship. Tools, materials, and work spaces where intermixed with an altar, holy texts, and a towering statue of the god of the dwarves. Aided by a spell that hushed sounds and deepened shadows that Bloodroot cast around them, Storm Eaters snuck into the temple unseen...almost. Maebha bumped into one of her skeletons as they huddled along one wall of the temple, and the sound caught the ears of the only person in the temple.

The Storm Eaters had seen this dwarf briefly before when the had an audience with Guildmaster Thul outside the gatehold of Iskard. He was a stout, well-armed dwarf wearing a gold circlet upon his brow. If Kexten were to be believed, this was Olnar of Clan Plummetstone, guardian of the temple of Hjellick in the Gatehold of Iskard. The dwarf was occupied sculpting a large boar-like figure on massive bloodstained rollers made of pure jade, but the sound had caught his attention. He whirled to see Maebha, her skeletons, and other members of the Storm Eaters. He put down his tools, picked up his mighty axe, and bellowed that interlopers were no welcome in the house of Hjellik. Einar responded by putting down the visor on his dreaded helm, its eyes glowing with unnatural hatred, and rushed at Olnar in an act of intimidation. The dwarf dropped his axe in sudden fear, stumbled back, summoned the guardians of the temple to protect him, and then used his dwarven root magic to vanish!
The jade boar juggernaut rumbled to life, along with a pair of metallic titans with great hammers and axes for hands! As the automaton defenders closed around the Storm Eaters, Svagnir called to the invisible Olnar, asking for a parlay on behalf of the refugee dverge that suffered outside the Gatehold of Iskard. As Svagnir suspected based on briefly seeing Olnar before, the dwarf was sympathetic to the plight of the dverge. Olnar halted his titanic defenders and accepted the request for parlay.
The Storm Eaters stated that they needed to magical gauntlet that controlled corruption so that the dverge could carve out a place to live in the wasteland between Iskard and the Roper infestation. Olnar stated he was sympathetic to the plight of the dverge, but he could not let the Storm Eaters have the gauntlet, as it was his sworn duty to both lord and god to defend it within this temple. The Storm Eaters offered many options to find a compromise, to include bringing the dverge into the temple of safehaven (which was decided they would not have), possibly killing Guildmaster Thul for "bending" the order of the king by keeping the dverge outside Svarthalla (which would break their oath by harming a dwarf). Olnar offered taking the dverge to the Ice Cradle as Thul wished of them, but knew that was a dangerous path as well, as the Ice Cradle was known to be the lair of Old Lodsmok, the Frost Wyrm.
As the parlay looked like it would fail, as there did not seem to be an option for the Storm Eaters to ensure the safety of the dverge without harming a dwarf, Olnar could sense the good intentions the Storm Eaters had. He could not break his oath to his king and his god, but he could ask for guidance. As the Storm Eaters continued to explore their less than ideal options, Olnar knelt before the statue of Hjellik and prayed. A moment later he rose to his feet and moved to exit the temple through a set of double doors. As he opened the door to depart he looked back at the Storm Eaters with a knowing nod and said, "My god suggests that I go out to procure some supplies needed for the next service. I cannot guard the temple when I am not here." And then he left, allowing the Storm Eaters access to the temple without breaking his oath.
As Olnar departed his creation, the jade boar juggernaut, went back into a dormant state. However, the two metallic titans were not creations of Olnar and still commanded to defend the temple against interlopers in Olnar's absence. They lurched back into motion, great hammer and axe hands seeking any who should not be in this holy place. The Storm Eaters burst into action! Einar, Synsk, Bloodroot, Maebha, Dainn, and the other skeletons took the fight to the pair of titans while Ottar and Svagnir scampered across the temple looking for the gauntlet. Could they hold off the gigantic metal defenders long enough to find the gauntlet and escape?
Within seconds Maebha's two skeletons were reduced to piles of broken bones by the titans. Both Synsk and Einar were seriously wounded, while also dealing damage back to the metallic monstrosities. These titans were proving to be dread defenders indeed! The Storm Eaters would need to find the gauntlet, and fast! Ottar rushed through a storage area and discovered a pair of barred doors. On a whim he went to the one on the right, investigated for traps and locks, and finding none opened the door. For a brief moment the hand which he used to open the door grew extremely stiff, and flakes of stone and dusk dotting his skin. The door had been trapped with some sort of enchantment that tried to turn him to stone, but his body had overcome the magic. Beyond that door he discovered a workspace but no gauntlet, and another barred door. Again he investigated, found nothing, and pushed it open. Again the petrification enchantment nearly claimed him, but he shook it off. Beyond this door were three ornate treasure chests.
Meanwhile, Meabha used her telekinetic abilities to topple the statue of Hjellik onto one of the titans. It shrugged off the ton of scuplted stone, but not without taking some damage. Einar was then smashed beneath the hammer and blade of that titans, left bleeding to death on the temple floor. Synsk rushed to his aid, finding Svagnir's magical healing berries in Einar's pouch and shoving them in the Ogn Elf's blood-filled mouth. Healed just enough to get to his feet, Eiinar rejoined the fight, his armor ruined from the attack that nearly killed him. But then the Storm Eaters started to turn the fight in their favor when Dainn brought down the battered titan with a wicked stab of its sword deep into the enchanted core of the automaton! None said it aloud, but all knew it: Dainn was a fucking boss at killing big baddies!

The remaining titan sensed that Ottar threatened the temple's treasures and moved to smite him. But Bloodroot would have none of it. The Leaves of Blood druid took on his towering tree form and sowed his enchanted grove about his rooted feet. He met and held the titan in the passageway, all but saying "you shall not pass!!!" This gave time for Svagnir to cast a spell that would sense magic, and magic did he sense! A powerful source of enchantment came from beyond the left door, the one Ottar had left behind to explore the door to the right. Svagnir called to Ottar that he knew where the gauntlete was, and Ottar left the three chests he found untouched and rushed to Svagnir's side by the left door.
Ottar once again investigated the door, and this time recognized the subtle runes carved into its bars that powered the petrification trap. Hesitant to test his luck a third time with such a devious trap, Ottar paused, pondering options when there possibly wasn't time to ponder options. Not far away the remaining titan still dealt blow after blow to the Storm Eaters. Sensing his companions hesitation, Svagnir summoned his dire wolf companions. He ordered one to join the fight against the titan and the other to open the door. The dire wolf obeyed and burst through the door, resisting the petrification trap. Another barred door was on the far side of a small workspace chamber. The dire wolf charged ahead and barreled through the second door, once again resisting the petrification trap. Truly a miracle that all four traps were resisted! Ottar followed behind the dire wolf into the chamber to find a corroded bronze gauntlet set with lurid green gems on a golden pedestal. Biting his lip with dread and hope that it wasn't trapped, the rogue grabbed the gauntlet. Nothing! With a sigh of relief he tucked the gauntlet away and dashed back toward the sluice exit, with Svagnir not far behind.
It was at this moment that a weary and bloodied Einar, his torn armor dangling from his muscular body, smashed the remaining titan with his mighty hammer in a killing blow! Broken bits of metal flew about as the magic that animated the automaton withered out of its broken shell of a body.
Now alone in the unguarded temple, the Storm Eaters briefly discussed looting whatever else could be found. Synsk went to the three chests Ottar had discovered and looked into them with his magical azure stone. He saw a set of ornate plate armor, a shield emblazened with a flaming symbol, and a glorious helm set with a huge gem. All three were without doubt the most magnificent set of armor the Raate had ever seen. They were most likely the prize creations of the dwarves who worshipped Hjellik in this temple. The Storm Eaters had a brief discussion about taking or leaving the no doubt magical armor. Olnar had left the temple in their trust, and to some of them it felt wrong to take anything more than the gauntlet. While others were concerned taking the armor would put an even bigger target on them should they encounter more dwarves of Svarthalla. And so, despite the temptation to take the glorious armor (especially since both Synsk and Einar's armor had been ruined in combat in recently), the Storm Eaters left it.
Meanwhile Bloodroot and Dainn were using what magic they could to mend the damage to the statue of Hjellik that Maebha had toppled, hoping to lessen the religious outrage of doing such a thing. Being of a completely opposite mind, Maebha took out a piece of chalk and defaced the fallen statue with the message "The Lodge was here!"
Not wishing to waste anymore time either repairing or defacing the temple, Ottar slide down the sluice to escape, the gauntlet they came for in his meaty fists. Einar and Synsk quickly followed. Once her graffiti was complete, Maehba jumped in Dainn's strong arms and slide down the sluice together. Svagnir and Bloodroot lingered behind a few moments longer to erase Maebha's chalk and then followed their companions out of the temple of Hjellik.
The brisk current quickly carried the Storm Eater out the way they had fought in. Ottar tried to use the gauntlet to purify the corrupted water, but the magic item did not seem ready to accept his commands. And so, with gauntlet in hand, Ottar popped out of the underground stream where they had entered about an hour before. Lasgila and her dverge (along with their rotroot automatons) were still there, waiting for the return of their champions. As soon as Lasgila saw the gauntlet in Ottar's hands she smiled, and Ottar cringed. He knew that smile. He had seen it on her face before...years ago, the last time she had betrayed him. "Get the gauntlet" was all she said, and her dverge and their rotroots came to claim their prize.

Betrayed by those they were trying to help, what will the Storm Eaters do? Will they keep their oath to not harm any dwarves, or will this be the last straw? Going back through the subterranean stream and into the temple could be a worse option, as no doubt the commotion they caused would soon be discovered and the Gatehold of Iskard brought to arms. Perhaps they can strike another, most likely less advantageous, deal with Lasgila and the dverge? Or will steel and blood be the only answer? And if so, are the bloodied and exhausted Storm Eaters in any shape for another fight? Join us next time...

Report Date

20 Feb 2024