Session 35: The Godtrap

General Summary

Miles beneath the surface of Valkheim on the 42nd day after Midsommar, the Storm Eaters prepared to enter the secret stairway hidden behind the giant face carved into the wall as they continued the Barak Tor. Maebha had taken a few wounds from the gargoyles they had just defeated and convinced the party to take a rest so she could recuperate a bit before continuing on. During this respite the group discussed their tentative plans once they had the godtrap, and what soul they should bring to the god gash: Nydaugg or a god's? Both were deemed better than the genocide of a race, as the Eaters and Lodge Eldritch had committed with the Djorruk to end the second plague. When several members of the party stated they did not trust the Lodge not to commit another genocide should they fail with the godtrap, Maebha revealed that she was the leader of a faction within the Lodge that called themselves the Bone Faithful, and they hoped to ultimately replace the untrustworthy leadership of the Lodge when the time was right.
Before the rest could last long enough for anyone to really recover from the last battle, a twisted voice called from the darkness of the stairwell beyond the carved face, "Failed...broken...stolen...return it or die..." When the Storm Eaters failed to reply within a few seconds a ray of sickly yellow energy blasted from the darkness where the voice came from, hitting Dainn and temporarily paralyzing the sentient skeleton.
The Storm Eaters knew they would get no rest here, so they gathered themselves and climbed up the wall to enter the stairwell beyond the carved face. The stairwell descended into darkness, and with each step a...wrongness...in the air grew thicker and thicker. The walls seemed to bulge and sway. The air shimmered and smelled of something burnt and acrid. An incoherent whispering sound filled every ear. Many of the Storm Eaters felt sick and disoriented by whatever effect polluted the very core of this place.
The Storm Eaters discovered an ancient dwarvish temple-forge at the bottom of the stairs. At each end of the chamber was a giant statue, one of the god Hjelikk and the other a golem-like figure made of red stone, with one ruby eye missing and holding a gigantic axe that had a piece of the blade broken off. In the middle of the chamber was a tank that was once a cooling pool for smithing, but was now filled with an oily black sludge. Thirty foot tall pillars ringed the chamber, each holding a large stone carving of an eye atop its pinnacle. All manner of broken tools and bits of stone littered the chamber. The strange wrongness in the air was thick in the chamber.
Einar could sense great danger here, and fearless and determined as always, rushed into the center of the chamber yelling out instructions for his companions who were still making their way down the stairs behind him. Unfortunately the ogn elf's bold move and loud yelling drew out the defender of the chamber from its hiding place high above the stone eye carvings atop the pillars. A massive abomination of eyes, teeth, scales, and madness emerged from the shadows over Einar. A beholder! Taken by surprise, the ogn elf was blasted by a ray of black necrotic energy from one of the beholder's many eyes. He was instantly reduced to a pile of rotting flesh and bones! His death was sudden and terrible, but the mighty ogn elf warrior died as he lived. Fearless. Relentless. For others. His was a life spent in service to a cause. A life that was now, unfortunately, quite over. His lifelong quest to end the wormborn forever would now have to be carried on by others, by his fellow Eaters of Worms, by his fellow Storm Eaters. May he find the peace he so deserves in the boughs of Valdryssil.

Horrified, the rest of the Storm Eaters took defensive positions around the chamber, wondering if they could possibly defeat a foe that could slay the mighty Einar with a single death ray from one of its eyes. They did notice that the many eyes of the beholder were milky and most likely blind. Was this B'Hul, the famed dwarven creator of yore that had failed in some grand feat of creation to be blinded and driven mad? Was the strangeness in the air the result of his failed craft, and had it transformed him from a dwarf into a monstrosityafter centuries of exposure?
Without time to ponder these questions, the Storm Eaters and the beholder became locked in a terrible battle! Dainn invoked his giant size and began throwing battle axes at the beholder, with the axes returning to their hands magically after each throw. Maebha used her magic to confuse and baffle the blind beholder with tricks of sound. Meanwhile Ottar and his ever-keen mind instantly realized that the missing part in the giant axe that the red stone statue held was the exact shape and size as the head of Grim, the artifact axe they carried in the bone vessel to deliver to Wrothgar! He called out to his companions with a desperate plan: return the head of Grim to the missing section of the large axe and perhaps the beholder would be appeased and no longer attack!
So while Dainn and Maebha kept the beholder busy, the rest of the party engaged in a desperate relay to get the head of Grim to the giant axe held by the red stone statue on the far side of the chamber. Bloodroot took out the bone vessel and tossed it into the pool of sludge, where it grew as large as it could within the confines of the chamber. Grim, the legendary axe of Cyuli of the River lay there on its bone deck for the taking. Sysnk dashed to it and picked it up with his raate speed, getting it across most of the chamber before the chamber itself seemed to oppose him. The strangeness in the area made the floor slick with ooze and then made tentacles grow from the walls to ensnare Synsk. Ottar then made a mad dash for Synsk, his bulk carried by his bandy legs with natural but nearly unbelievable speed and agility. Although grappled by the wall tentacles, Synsk was able to snap the head of Grim from its haft with his great strength before Ottar took it from him, then bringing it to the base of the red stone statue. Svagnir crossed the chamber behind Ottar, summoning a mighty air elemental to keep the beholder distracted, before clambering up on Ottar's broad shoulders to place the head of Grim in the missing portion of the giant axe the red stone statue held.
Instantly the two pieces fused together magically! And just as instantly the wrongness in the chamber was banished, like smoke driven away by a strong wind. The beholder gave a tortured wail as it plummeted to the ground, transforming as it fell into the form of an ancient blind dwarf laying crumpled and wounded on the floor. The dwarf quivered in shock, free from the wrongness that had transformed him into a mad beholder for who knows how long.
The Storm Eaters stood still in a moment of shock themselves. Their companion Einar was dead. They had broken and most likely destroyed Grim, the legendary axe of Cyuli of the River. And they had saved this blind dwarf from a horrible existence of madness. Before they could fully gather their senses, another dwarven figure entered the chamber from a small side room. This dwarf was tall (for a dwarf) and nearly as broad as he was tall. A magnificent beard of silvery white spilled down his ample chest, which was covered with the most intricate and beautiful armor any of the Storm Eaters had ever seen. He exuded no emotion, only logic and placid calmness.

"Congratulations champions," the dwarf said. "I am Wrothgar the Guildless, and you have done well to come this far. You have saved my disciple B'Hul from his curse with your keen insight and heroism. You have nearly completed my Barak Tor. There is but one more task for you to complete. You must deliver the last treasure promised to me by the Lodge Eldritch in exchange for my Godtrap--The Bones of Ravel." And with that Wrothgar looked at the two black bones that were fused into Maebha's skeletal hand.
Maebha was confused so Wrothgar went on, explaining that the black bones in her hand belonged to Ravel, one of the first users of magic and the mother of what the Lodge Eldritch calls "weird magic". Wrothgar said the bones were powerful things of magic, and pointed to Dainn as an example of their magical potentcy. He wished to use them in creating future wonders. He said that he did not expect that the bones of Ravel would be attached to a person, but it changed nothing. He was still owed the bones if the Storm Eaters wanted his Godtrap, regardless if the Lodge did not tell Maebha that the bones in her hand were part of the price to be paid. He said Maebha could give up her hand or stay with him until he could figure out how to remove the bones or replace her hand. Maebha did not wish to give up her hand or stay with the dwarven smith, but her companions were pretty unified in opinion that she needed to do one or the other so that the Godtrap could be acquired and used to end the wormborn plague. Bloodroot even offered to cut off Maebha's hand as quickly and painlessly as he could.
Maebha felt betrayed and alone. Her masters in the Lodge Eldritch had secretly experimented on her without her knowledge by placing the bones of Ravel in her hand, and then when they didn't manifest as hoped, had secretly sold her to Wrothgar. But perhaps even worse, her Storm Eater companions seemed very willing to enforce a sacrifice she didn't want to make for their cause. Even Dainn, her former undead minion, seemed non-comittal at best. But then again, perhaps Maebha should not have been surprised. She knew well that the Lodge Eldritch was a manipulative and secretive organization (one she herself was planning to usurp some day!) and she had made no friends among the Storm Eaters during her time with them, as she was unabashedly racist, self-centered, and often caustic with them. And so when Maebha refused to surrender herself or her hand, the Storm Eaters made the choice for her. She would lose her hand.
Maebha moved to protect herself, but her former companions were ready and surrounding her. Ottar buried his dwarven-forged shortsword deep into her ribs, and the mage crumpled to the ground barely hanging onto life. Bloodroot bellowed out not to kill her, as Wrothgar only needed her hand, not her life. Ottar took that under advisement and promptly cut Maebha's skeletal hand off at the wrist with a chop of his blade. The trauma and bloodloss was too much for the already critically wounded Maebha. She died there on the stone floor of B'Hul's temple-forge, betrayed by her masters, slain by her companions. Some might say this was a tragic end, and others might say it was well deserved. Regardless, in the end Maebha died true to herself. And perhaps not willingly or consciously, she also died for the greater good, for a chance to save countless lives. Perhaps that will give her soul some peace in the boughs of Valdryssil. Perhaps...

Without regret or remorse, Ottar picked up Maebha's severed hand, stepped over her bleeding corpse, and gave it to Wrothgar. The dwarf accepted it with an equal lack of emotion or surprise, as if he expected nothing less from Ottar. Wrothgar then addressed the remaining Storm Eaters. "You have now completed my Barak Tor. You have demonstrated cunning, worthiness, and loyalty beyond measure...that is until you (staring at Ottar) broke your oath and slayed a dwarf. And then (his gaze sweeping over the entire group) had the audacity to desecrate his remains and parade them around this place as an undead abomination. You are not worthy of my trust. You are not worthy of wielding the most powerful and dangerous weapon I've ever crafted."
The Storm Eaters were stunned to silence for a moment, until Svagnir responded with passion. "No!" he barked at Wrothgar, and then explained the terrible circumstances the party was in when Ottar had killed the dverge Malkor. Wrothgar cared not for excuses, saying he intentionally designed the Barak Tor to test their loyalty under the most dire of situations, and the group, specifically Ottar, failed to maintain their oath. The rest of the Storm Eaters joined in protest, passionately explaining how great and noble their cause was, how many lives would be saved (including the lives of dwarves), and so on. Wrothgar cared not for their pleas. He said he understood the need and the nobility of their cause, but that was not the issue at hand. They had broken their oath, and he could not trust them with such a powerful weapon as the godtrap. The Storm Eaters asked how they could regain Wrothgar's trust, to which he responded, "trust is earned by deeds, not words. If the one who broke his oath would willingly give his life, perhaps that deed would demonstrate the trust I need to give you the godtrap."
Many of the Storm Eaters started to protest once more, and several them started to threaten Wrothgar, to which the ever-calm dwarf responded, "I do not recommend threats or violence, unless you seek death. And even if you could harm me, there is no way out of this chamber save with my help. You are buried miles and miles underground, and there is no way out of this chamber without my magic."
And then Ottar stepped forward, pulling out his dwarvish shortsword, and said, "well, this should be fitting." He turned his blade toward his own chest. Wrothgar said, "I will do it, if it is to be done." Ottar handed the dwarf his blade and said, "between the third and fourth ribs, if you please." Wrothgar asked if Ottar wanted it in the back, or the front, between those ribs. Ottar replied, "I'm looking at you, aren't I." Wrothgar started to push the blade into Ottar's armor. The rogue could feel the pressure on his chest, and then he felt the blade pierce his leather armor and prick against his chest. Ottar did not flinch. True to himself he spoke of the nature of the world, of the folk in it, and the riddle of fairness and goodness and their opposites. The blade started to pierce Ottar's flesh, his blood running down inside his leather armor, but he did not flinch. He looked Wrothgar in the eye and waited.
The dwarf suddenly withdrew the blade, turned it to offer the handle back to Ottar, and said, "Trust is earned by deeds, not words. Well done. The Godtrap is yours."
Wrothgar told the Storm Eaters that the godtrap was hidden within the eye socket of the red stone statue, where a ruby eye appeared to be missing. As the Storm Eaters reached into the seemingly empty eye socket they discovered an invisible bit of mass about the size of a large fist hidden there, full of hunger, as if it had a gravity unto itself. It was the legendary godtrap. One of them would need to study it and attune to it in order to use it. After a short discussion, it was decided that Bloodroot would take on that important and heavy responsibility.
Wrothgar reminded the Storm Eaters of their oath, that they swore not to use the godtrap on the dwarves or their god Hjelikk, and then he tended to B'Hul who was still recovering from the shock of returning to his true form. Likewise the Storm Eaters attended to their fallen. Svagnir made funeral drums for his former comrades, using the haft of Einar's hammer and Maebha's bone mask as part of each instrument. He then sang their final songs, recounting their great deeds for Valdryssil to hear, so that their souls would find their way into its peaceful boughs.
After the funeral rites, Wrothgar told the Storm Eaters that he could teleport them anywhere the roots of Valdryssil touched once they were ready to continue on. This led to a discussion about what should be done with the godtrap. Synsk said his mistress, the Lady of the Azure Cave, told him using the godtrap on Nydaugg would be "catastrophic", but he didn't know what that meant. Ottar argued that any use of the godtrap was probably catastrophic, and that using it on Nydaugg would at least ensure the end of any wormborn plagues forever. The group went back and forth for some time before it was put to a vote. It was decided, 3 votes to 2. Nydaugg, the great wyrm that devours the tree of the world, would be their target for the godtrap. Wrothgar said he could teleport them close to Nydaugg's lair via a root of Valdryssil that had yet to succumb to the wyrm's corruption. He said an old dwarven temple was built there, long abandoned. This temple was built when the dwarves first descended into the depths of the world and thought they could placate or control Nydaugg by worshipping him. But they were wrong, and the temple has been abandoned ever since.
After that, Wrothgar talked to Dainn, who seemed lost amid the weighty discussion of saving the world and killing Nydaugg. The sentient skeleton was still struggling with who they were without adding the massive implications of being part of something as big as saving the world. Wrothgar saw this struggle in Dainn and offered the skeleton a home with him, a safe space to discover who Dainn was and what Dainn wanted. Wrothgar said this would also allow him a chance to study Dainn himself, as the sentient skeleton was like nothing he had ever seen in his long life, and was curious how the bones of Ravel had created sentient life. Dainn accepted Wrothgar's offer. When the Storm Eaters eventually continue upon with their quest, the humble and conflicted skeleton will remain with Wrothgar to rediscover themself. Dainn's sweet demeanor and lethal blade will be sorely missed.

B'hul, who had by now gathered some of his wit back, thanked the Storm Eaters for fixing what was broken and ending his accursed existence as a beholder. He explained that long ago he was crafting a masterwork to honor his god Hjelikk: the giant red stone golem and a magic axe for it to wield. But something went terribly wrong, and the axe shattered releasing the magic within to pollute the temple-forge in bizarre ways. He was blinded by the magical blast, and then over time was driven mad and transformed into a beholder by the strange magic that polluted the chamber. He could not remember when or how the broken piece of the giant axe was taken, or by whom, or how it became Grim. Some things still remain a mystery. After thanking the Storm Eaters, B'Hul offered some of his finest creations (made before he became a beholder) to them as a reward. He gifted them with an assortment of small figurines carved from stone that can transform into real beasts when their names are called. The Storm Eaters graciously accepted the powerful magic items.

The Storm Eaters continued to rest and prepare for the next leg of their journey in the temple-forge of B'Hul. The healing of Sysnk's mangled ear was completed. He could now hear out of it again, even if it would be scarred for the rest of his days. Sysnk also communed with his mistress about their progress, seeking guidance. What guidance he recieved was for his ears only, but the raate warrior continued to be dedicated to the Storm Eaters and their quest. Bloodroot used the sending stone to report to Skordal of the Lodge, updating the wizard on acquiring the godtrap and Maebha's death. Skordal responded immediately, seemingly unconcerned about Maebha's fate, and said to use the godtrap with all haste on a god or Nydaugg, implying that the Lodge was most likely close to falling to the wormborn.
And so the Storm Eaters rest and prepare to unleash the godtrap on Nydaugg. Only four remain for this task: Svagnir, Ottar, Bloodroot, and Synsk. What dangers await them in Nydaugg's lair? And will the godtrap work against such a foul creature? And what "catastrophe" will happen if it does work, as the Lady of the Azure Cave mysteriously warned? The quest rushes toward conclusion...for good or for ill...or perhaps both?

Report Date

14 May 2024