Session 028

## Midsummer Furlough

**Age of the Wolf, Year 5, Summer, Aerlun Toil 3, day 3 - Laelun Toil 1, day 10**

*The party recuperates in the Freehold, forging new arms and armor over the summer weeks. Brydd learns about his heritage and makes a pact with the world serpent. They return to the mountains to seek out a dwarven craftsman and investigate rumors of a connection between the Umbrians, the Duergar, and the Fire Giants.*

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## Player Characters Involved

* Nygäär the Dark the Fey Blooded Rogue/Fighter/Dualist played by Dana
* Esbjörn Sigvardson the Giant Blooded Barbarian/Cleric/Surtr's Chosen played by Greg
* Brydd Hjarta the Jörmung Human Sorcerer/Marshal/Sand Shaper/Incantator played by Jason

## The Young Falcon

The party was surprised to see Elof in Kettel's hall, but the Geat prince greeted them warmly and complimented them on making a name for themselves in Geat lands. He said that he was on his way to meet the Jarl of the Frisian clan, Crom the Crippler, and had stopped by the Freehold to warn Kettel of recent Umbrian activities. He told the party that the Umbrians had been rounding up Geat clan freemen and taking them into the mountains, never to return. Some other information he shared with the heroes included the following:

* the Geat chieftain Orri Karsson refuses to believe his people are being taken
* the Umbrian wizard Faegun is the true power in Aarhus now
* his sister Asleif is getting married on the midsummer solstice to Archibald Umbria in Aarhus. Archibald is a weakling with a club foot and a lisp, but he is King Aethelred the Brutal's youngest son (third in line to the throne of Umbria)
* Elof talked to a young red-haired girl named Siggi Lokisdöttir who said that her village of Visby was destroyed and that the survivors were taken captive by Umbrian troops. They were then handed over to dark dwarves in the mountains, along with chests of gold
* Elof pointed out on the map where the girl claimed the dark dwarves resided

Elof bid the party farewell, saying he had to go meet with Stig who was waiting for him outside town. It seems Stig and Kettel are enemies, as Stig had killed Kettel’s brother Horik years ago over a woman and had been forced to pay Kettel a weregild price. The party bid the boy farewell and pondered what all this information might mean in their fight against the Umbrian invaders.

## A Well-Deserved Rest

The party settled down to recuperate in the Freehold, as Esbjorn made use of his newly acquired magical dwarven hammer in order to craft and modify weapons and armor infused with both the sacred runes of his god Surtr and arcane power. During their long stay over six weeks, the mid-summer festival took place:

*As you recuperate in the Freehold, the summer solstice has come. As the longest day of the year, It is a time to celebrate the traditional death of the fair god of light, Baldur. The common folk build great roaring bonfires, make speeches, sing drunkenly, and merrily dance around the sacred ash tree. Model longships are constructed out of thin wood, filled with small flammable offerings, and burned joyously. Traditional wreaths of mistletoe and pine are hung on barns and houses, and people bake the figure of the harvest god Freyr into bread, symbolically sacrificing and eating it to ensure that the crops will be plentiful at summers end. The crops safely planted, a group of young men make ready to travel to Kettel’s outpost, intent on conducting a seaborne invasion of the Umbrian and Ruegian lands far to the north across the sea. Midsummer is the high point of the year, the time when deeds are brightest and the heart is most daring. It is a time for action and risk, for reaching fearlessly outward. Grinning broadly, Kettel approaches the party with a large group of lovely young women. Whispering something into the lusty ear of one buxom wench, the girls giggle boldly and approach you, a few of the most daring sitting down brazenly on your laps. Arlow grins foolishly at the lithe young blonde who has chosen him and drinks a large draught of liquid courage as the girl nuzzles his neck playfully.*

Shortly after this revelry, Brydd felt a desire to travel to Kettel's Outpost on the Fjord of Tears, and Nygaar agreed to go with him. Kettel told them that they were building ships there and that some of his people planned to open up trade with the Frisian clan in Trondheim, while a number of bold men planned to sail north and engage in some raiding in Ruegian and Umbrian lands. While Esbjorn toiled relentlessly at the forge with the dwarf Hermon Forgebreaker, Brydd and Nygaar traveled east along Kettel's Road to the outpost.

## Dragon Pact

Brydd, acting more strangely than normal, felt an urge to contemplate the sea, and upon arrival at Kettel's Ouput, clambered up a cliffside overlooking the Fjord of Tears. Nygaar waited patiently, confused again at the odd manner of the Harii sorcerer. As Nygaar watched, a strange occurrence took place:

*Brydd stands on a precipice overlooking the sea. The full moon Aerlun shines in a clear cold sky. Suddenly, a mysterious storm hits with the force of a hurricane, and flashes of lightning become bolts that strike the ground around the sorcerer, showering pieces of the rocky cliff side all around him. Before you in the Fjord of Tears, the sea begins to rage with an unnatural and violent fury, waves higher than the top of a ship’s mast crashing into one another.  You watch with wonder as a translucent, massive form emerges, with the light of the moon bending through it. This form stretches for miles across, extending to the far horizon. What looks to be a massive, near-invisible serpentine creature slithers effortlessly through the strangely tumultuous sea. Neither the head nor tail is visible, and you peer with shock as Brydd clambers down the cliff face and walks into the sea. A portion of the serpent’s camouflaged gargantuan scaly body breaks the surface of the water, the cascading water making it partially visible, and as it glides slowly by Brydd reaches out a hand and touches what can only be the world serpent Jörmungandr himself. The mostly invisible serpentine form suddenly pauses, and Brydd clambers up onto its back. He sits quietly, entering a meditative state. After an hour Brydd stands and abruptly tosses a handful of gems into the sea, then moves quickly back to shore. The creature disappears abruptly, and after a time the sea gradually calms, leaving no trace of the ancient monster. As Brydd approaches, you notice the hated scarified brands of the One God on his torso are gone, replaced with a prominent, strange runic symbol of power on his chest among the other tattoos.*

 Stunned at what transpired, Nygaar asked halting questions of Brydd, who intimated that he had made a deal with the world serpent. The two returned to the Freehold, and there Brydd revealed to Esbjorn and Nygaar his new discovery that he is in fact descended from Jörmungandr, which meant he was a descendant of the trickster god Loki himself. Brydd then revealed that the world serpent expected him to thwart the followers of Thor if given the opportunity. It seemed the god had once again paid notice to the heroes, for good or ill none could yet say. The party continued their stay, Nygaar waiting impatiently for any word of his new axe and replacement eye.

## Kazak Kazdul Missing

After another toil had passed, the priest of Volund known as Asrik Bronzefist arrived at the Freehold with Nygaar's axe. The weapon was magnificent, engraved with a runic symbol of the Grimmlyor clan upon both its faces. Nygaar was pleased to accept this weapon, which the dwarves had named the Grimmreaver. Unfortunately, Asrik had some bad news concerning the dwarven craftsman Kazak Kazdul. While the genius craftsman had indeed been summoned to the Firehand Stronghold, he had failed to appear, and no word had reached the king as to his whereabouts. Nygaar was disappointed and became resolved to seek out the dwarf at his workshop in the mountains.

Once Esbjorn's work was complete, the party discussed their next move. Brydd wanted to seek out the Adogit war party, as they had missed their meeting at Viborg lake and they would surely be somewhere in Geat lands after all this time. He also pondered whether it would be a good idea to visit the Frisian city of Trondheim, to research and acquire items. Esbjorn was eager to travel to Wulfling lands, but he also realized his god Surtr would not wait forever to see him fulfill the task he had been given, to slay the Frost Worm in the mountains. Nygaar was focused on replacing his missing eye and wanted to immediately seek out the dwarven craftsman Kazak Kazdul. Ultimately the party decided to investigate the dark dwarves on their way to Kazak's workshop. Nygaar purchased a new mount, bid Kettel and the lad Arlow goodbye, and the party ventured northwest into the mountains once more.

## The Remorhaz

The party set out into the wilds, struggling to maintain a good pace through the rugged and trackless terrain. Even at the height of summer, the landscape was covered in snow, and progress was slow. After a few days, the party found themselves on a narrow ledge, perhaps thirty feet across, with a sheer cliff faces rising above and below them. Suddenly, Nygaar, Brydd, and Droog heard a faint rumbling seeming to come from within the mountain itself, and looked around puzzled. Brydd asked Esbjorn, who was nearby, if he could feel the earth moving. Droog flew back quickly to Esbjorn's side. Brydd then used his arcane power to protect himself and Nygaar stood ready to strike at any potential foes. A few short moments later, a massive creature erupted from the ground, spraying snow and rock in every direction. It was a dreaded remorhaz, a huge creature whitish-blue in color but pulsing with a reddish glow from the heat its body produced. The creature was more than twenty-five feet long, with a body over five feet wide and weighing over five tons.

As the party recoiled in horror, the remorhaz lashed out at Brydd, taking him in its huge jaws as it bit down upon the sorcerer with a sickening crunch. While Esbjorn and Nygaar closed in to attack, the creature fended off their blows and made ready to swallow Brydd whole. Luckily, Brydd's arcane talents had become powerful indeed, and he turned his body into sand, spilling out of the creatures yawning maw and slithering away. Confused, the remorhaz turned to his next victim, quickly biting Nygaar and holding the Grimmlyor warrior in its jaws. Esbjorn slashed furiously at the creature, wounding it terribly, but the remorhaz seemed determined to make a meal of Nygaar. The party recoiled at the heat coming off in waves from the creature, and the hot blood that splashed upon them from Esbjorn's mighty blows.

Fortunately, Nygaar had some tricks up his sleeve as well. Struggling mightily in the creature's mouth, Nygaar was able to reach the potion he was looking for and downed it quickly. One again the remorhaz was left with a mouthful of sand, as Nygaar and Brydd switched places through the magic of a benign transposition potion. Roaring in frustration, the creature rose up in front of Esbjorn as Brydd once more slipped from its mouth in his sand form. Unfortunately for the beast, Nygaar was now on his feet and behind the creature. Attacking with gruesome ferocity, Nygaar cut the creature to ribbons, and its huge steaming carcass lay prostrate before the party's feet. Both Brydd and Nygaar realized how close they had come to death, as the creature's innards burned hotter than a furnace, melting the snow and even the rock upon the ledge as it lay dying. Finding nothing of value within the creature, the party quickly moved on, hoping they would not encounter another such beast anytime soon.

## The Duergar Mines

The party ventured on, struggling to find their way through the brutal terrain and biting cold of the mountains in an effort to find the dark dwarves. After a time, they stumbled upon something of interest:

*As you make your way into the cold recesses of the mountains, the temperature drops substantially. Visibility becomes almost nil as a wicked blizzard blows your face. You struggle to see anything not directly in front of you and concentrate on your footing in the treacherous mountain pass you are following. A small humanoid creature steps out of the snow in front of you. It has the look of some sort of man-goat hybrid.  Standing a little over five feet tall, the creature has cloven hooves, wears shabby clothing, and is armed with a rusty iron axe. Its head is adorned with curved horns and its face is covered in white hair.*

The party approached and soon realized they had stumbled across a small group of goat-men, humanoids descended from Tanngrisnir ("teeth-barer") and Tanngnjóstr ("teeth-grinder"), Thor's fabled goats of legend. The old goat introduced himself as Niost Fjellgeit, and a lovely young goat woman named Laerad the Fair stepped forward and offered her services as a guide. The party agreed to the girl's price, and Laerad and her guardian Grisnir Fjellgeit set off with the party. Laerad told them they were lucky she had come along, as they were approaching a grove of dragonleaf trees and would have surely been killed without her help. Brydd contemplated killing the goat creatures, as they were servants of Thor, but decided to wait until another day, as they were of little consequence and would surely be more helpful assisting the party than dead. Esbjorn recognized the situation, and gave Brydd a questioning gaze and a touch of his sword hilt, but Brydd responded with a subtle head shake. Laerad bounded confidently though the mountains, and the party made good time, following faint foot trails they would surely have overlooked on their own. When asked what the dwarves were up to, she knew only that they were mining for something. In any case, the party soon reached an overpass and were able to see the duergar for themselves.

The party looked down on a small encampment with a recess that surely led into the bowels of the earth. The duergar were directing a large group of slaves, a mix of humans and blue-furred goblins. Droog went in for a closer look and reported that it seemed the dark dwarves were mining for silver, although the mine entrance itself was heavily fortified. The party watched for a time, and when the dark dwarves began to gather up a group of slaves and made ready to lead them away, the heroes decided to follow them to see where they were going. At this point, Laerad and her companion felt they had completed their task, and asked to return to their kinfolk. The party allowed them to go, allowing Brydd to spare what he saw as these miserable servants of Thor's lives. The dark dwarves set off, oddly traveling during daylight hours. After two days' time, they made camp. The party realized that they were nearing the realm of the fire giants, and it might be a good time to strike. Among the human captives were Karsid Skelison (the former headman of Visby), Arne the Mute, and Gormi Goutison's slaves who had once been freed by Nygaar. If the party wanted answers as to what the Umbrians, duergar, and fire giants were up to, rescuing these acquaintances would surely yield them some information. As night fell, and the red moon Laelun cast a bloody pallor over the mountain pass, the party discussed their options.

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