Session 062

# The Sacred Ash

**Age of the Wolf, Year 5, Autumn, Laelun Toil 1, Day 5-6**

*The heroes meet the Half-Elven's daughter, Thilde, and make a tentative alliance with her and her companions. Led into the forest by Swara Redblade, the party reaches the Sacred Ash, Aska, and seek the counsel of a demi-god trapped in a stone obelisk. Choosing the Dark Path, the heroes wander out into the everchanging Wood and encounter some wicked fey creatures.*

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## Player Characters Involved

* Nygäär the Dark the Fey Blooded Rogue/Fighter/Dualist played by Dana
* Esbjörn Sigvardson the Fire Giant Blooded Barbarian/Cleric/Surtr's Chosen played by Greg
* Heiða the Mother Fucking Veleda the Dökkálfar Blooded Dread Necromancer played by Justin
* Valindr Ymirsdottir the Frost Giant Blooded Human Scout/Ranger/Cleric played by Donnie
* Jor the Emberwrought the Giant Blooded Human Transmuter/Beguiler/Human Paragon/Ultimate Magus played by Jason

## Thilde Feyblood Found

The heroes tentatively approached the encampment they found along the Barri River, and were greeted by a friendly Adogit warrior who introduced himself as Gallgri Wolfclaw. A young impetuous warrior wearing plate armor, who the party soon learned was named Swara Redblade, surged forward, her blade drawn. Nygaar assured the strangers they meant no harm, and the tense moment passed. Esbjorn and a massive old warrior named Dolf traded good natured barbs, and then the party was led to the fire where a strange woman sat in a trance state. After speaking with the strangers for a time, the party learned that the woman with the horned headdress was Thilde Feyblood, the daughter of Alvar the Half-Elven and the woman they sought.

Thilde, Swara, and Dolf were all members of the Wulfling clan, and had come to the Boar's Wood to seek out the Half-Elven. Swara was Thilde's bodyguard and sworn blade, and spoke confidently of her own prowess. Dolf was Swara's uncle, an old soldier of renown who had fought in the Silver Mine Wars and was a one time companion of the Harii hero Demonaxe. Speaking frankly with Thilde, the heroes soon learned that she was there to learn her father Alvar's druidic seidr, and that she had never visited his palace of Vidblainn. Another of Thilde's companions, named Hermi Stenison, was a Frisian and revealed some interesting information about the Frisian Jarl. It seemed that in his own hall, Crom was invincible, as he had made some kind of dark bargain with the demon lord Graz'zt. The party asked for more details, but learned only that Crom had not left his hall in many years. The party also learned that Thilde was loyal to the lord of the Silver Fortress, Nygaar's boyhood friend Ivor the Lucky. It seemed Thilde planned to serve as Ivor's volva, and that the Wulfling clan needed to be wrested from the control of Woelvren Lockjaw, who was secretly the head of a cult of Fenrir. The difficulty was that Woelvren held Ivor's sister Tofa Goldbrow captive in Viborg. Nygaar told Thilde that he too wanted to overthrow Lockjaw, and the two parties made a tentative agreement to work together once Thilde had completed her training, which she estimated would take two to three months.

Thilde went on to warn the party that the locations of the Boar's Wood changed constantly, and that the only static location was the Sacred Ash, known as Aska. She suggested that the heroes go there, and seek the council of Fjolnir the Radiant. Thilde also told the heroes that there was a strange fog that overlaid much of the forest, and those not of fey blood could sometimes suffer confusion under the effects of this magical protection. Thilde and the heroes also spoke of Freya and Loki, and the sorceress said only that Freya's mind had been warped in some way by the trickster, and that perhaps her father knew more. Wasting no time, the party asked if Thilde could guide them to the Sacred Ash, and Swara volunteered to lead them there, some ten miles north through the forest.

The guardian of Thilde pulled her helm over her lovely head, and those knowledgeable in the lore of the nine worlds recognized that her helm was adorned in the symbols of Freya's chosen in Folkvangr. It seemed perhaps that Swara was special; when Esbjorn warned her of the flames that he was sometimes engulfed in during battle, she scoffed and told him most fire could not harm her. That gave the heroes pause, but they had no time to inquire further. They set off at once, and after a hard day's march through the trackless wilderness, the canopy of massive trees hanging high above their heads, they reached their destination. One incident of note was that they passed through the fog Thilde had spoken of, accompanied by a pungent floral scent, and Valindr was affected for a time and seemed to suffer in confusion. Luckily, they reached the Sacred Ash with no further encounters, and the confusion caused by the fog soon dissipated.

## Aska: The Sacred Ash

The heroes, led by Swara, soon came across the location they sought:

*As you make your way through the mist laden woodlands, surrounded by massive elk, yew, ash, and oak trees, you spot a larger tree towering above the forest in the distance. At your approach, you see a colossal ash tree, some five hundred feet tall, which surely must be the Sacred Ash you have heard tell of, oriented in the center of a small lake. It was said that the All Father’s spear Gungir was fashioned from a limb of this tree, named Aska, and that the mushrooms at it’s base can speak prophecy.  Wooden bridges, lit up by magical torches every ten feet or so, lead to the island where the roots are embedded, and wooden walkways and huts adorn the face of the tree itself. At the foot of the huge tree mushrooms cover the ground, and you hear strange and incoherent whispering emanating from the fungal growth. At the top of the tree, you see the bright amber light of a glowing obelisk, and a number of humanoid figures standing in the open bow of the tree that looks like a natural hall. Other figures bustle around and upon the tree itself, and they clearly look to have fey blood. Some of them eye you with curiosity, but no guards approach and it seems you are free to come and go as you please at this sacred place.*

Greeted by friendly waves and nods from the local denizens, the party wasted little time, soon learning that they must ascend the tree to make their sacrifice. Asked about Fjolnir the Radiant, one local priestess named Elesti pointed to the top of the Sacred Ash. The heroes quickly moved forward:

*As you make your way up the sometimes steep and narrow wooden walkways to the top of the Sacred Ash, you pass a number of curious and laughing fey blooded folk. They watch you pass unmolested, seemingly unafraid of your fearsome appearance. At the top of the ash tree known as Aska, the boughs form a large hall, the floor meticulously carved and polished with care to provide a flat and shimmering wooden surface, with a glowing amber obelisk at the center. Some forty feet tall, and adorned with ancient glowing runes, the obelisk pulses with power. You feel the presence of ancient seidr magic, and all your wounds are immediately healed. A sense of peace and wonder washes over you. Three altars surround the obelisk, the remains of sacred animal and plant offerings moldering upon them. Looking around, the shrine looks deserted; it appears that you are alone here. Carved in elvish runes upon the obelisk, those schooled in the ancient fey language can read the following:*

***In Frey's hall the fearful word,***

***The death-foreboding sound was heard:***

***The cry of fey denouncing doom,***

***Was heard at night in Frey's home.***

***And when brave Frey came, he found***

***Seron’s dark chief, Fjolnir, drowned.***

***In Frey's mansion drowned was he,***

***Drowned in a waveless, windless sea.***

The party surveyed the obelisk closely, and looked at the offerings left by previous visitors. Finding nothing of note, beyond the sacred words inscribed on all four sides of the obelisk, Heida made ready to perform the rituals required to honor the gods and correctly sacrifice the two stallions they had brought all the way from Trondheim. Choosing two of the three altars, Esbjorn and Nygaar each led a stallion onto the holy ground. While Heida invoked the ceremony, Jor watched curiously, while Valindr left the presence of the obelisk altogether, unwilling to watch the beautiful equine specimens meet their end. The ceremony complete, Esbjorn reached out and touched the god rune to the obelisk, and swore an oath of neutrality with his one time fey enemies and their gods. With that, Heida gave the move to strike, and Esbjorn and Nygaar struck cleanly and laid the horses to their rest. After a tense moment, the obelisk became infused with amber light, and a disembodied voice boomed out, which could be heard all the way to the base of the tree and beyond.

## Fjolnir the Radiant

The obelisk spoke, saying that the offering was accepted, and implored the party to ask of it what they wished to know. Jor knew who this was - the demigod Fjolnir was the son of Frey and the Giantess Gerdr, and had once been the high elf king some five thousand years ago until his untimely death when he drowned in a vat of mead in Frey’s hall, an event which marked the end of the age of the Alfr. The obelisk confirmed its identity, and implored the party again to ask of it what they would. Ultimately the heroes said that they sought Alvar, and that they needed to acquire Gullinbursti's harness in order to make good on a blood oath with the Verdant Prince Huldrekall. The obelisk laid out three possible fates, as it said that the Norns had not yet woven their path forward:

1. **The Straight Path**: they could use their seidr to guide them directly to Alvar’s Palace, a way fraught with peril and probable death
2. **The Dark Path**: they could seek out the cursed part of the forest, called The Dark, and attempt to win Alvar's favor by ridding the wood of the evil spreading within it
3. **The Sacrificial Path**: they could leave the wood now, and return from whence they came. It would end in a broken blood oath, but would be the surest path to protecting the heroes as a whole. Fjolnir revealed that the broken oath would result in a massive and permanent loss of strength for Esbjorn

With the ways laid out, the obelisk once more resumed its stony countenance, and spoke no more. Esbjorn leapt from the tree, plummeting to the ground and using his divine magic to create an updraft just before striking the ground. Jor took flight, joining him below. Nygaar stood thoughtfully for a moment, then left one of his signet rings as an offering to Fjolnir. Nygaar and Heida then walked back to ground level, and the party came together to debate their options. Eventually, it was decided that they must needs take the dark path, as they would rather have Alvar as an ally than fight him for the harness. The sacrificial path was not an option, although Valindr bravely asked if she could not somehow take on Esbjorn's burden and suffer the fate of the broken blood oath herself. Esbjorn refused, as his honor forbade him from allowing another to be punished on his behalf. Their way forward decided, the party made camp at the base of the massive ash tree, lying down amidst the muttering mushrooms that covered the ground. The priestess Elesti gave them food and drink, and also gifted them with Vanvalor's Milk, a healing draught that was an improvement over the Heidrun's Milk they had possessed in the past. Sleeping in safety, the party soon awoke refreshed.

While the night passed relatively uneventfully, one strange incident of note was that Esbjorn and Jor both shared the same dream; a vision of a massive spider with a human female face, moving in and out of the material world from the ethereal realm. Jor explained what it meant to be ethereal, reminding the party of the dwarven tomb they had raided long ago. Esbjorn spoke an entire sentence in dwarven, condemning both himself and his fellows for desecrating a sacred dwarvish holy place. All those who heard it were astonished; no one had ever known Esbjorn to speak the dwarvish tongue beyond a word or two. The party debated what the dream might mean, and prepared as best they could for an encounter with a poisonous creature. They then set off, picking their direction of travel randomly:

*You walk into the forest as the the obelisk directed you to do. After a few hours, all amongst you notice a subtle change in the air. The lush and temperature forest becomes colder, and an uneasy feeling of dread slowly descends upon you. Even the sun seems to dim, and the light that remains takes on an unnatural bluish hue. You hear the rustling of unnatural noises, as if the trees themselves suffer in torment, and the typical noises of the fauna of the forest grow strangely silent. You see no animals at all, as if even the birds avoid this place.*

It seemed they had reached the Dark, and were soon met with the sound of the strange singing of a number of wicked yet beguiling female fey figures, partly obscured by long flowing hair that danced and flowed around them as if they were underwater. These creatures floated upon the waters of crisscrossing creeks, and it seemed a dangerous encounter was imminent.

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