Session 041

## Freya's Torc & Hermod's Servant

**Age of the Wolf, Year 5, Autumn, Aerlun Toil 3 days 2 to 4**

*The heroes lay Swanhilde to her rest, and look to Aada to make a sacrifice for the good of Seron. Aada agrees, and Freya's torc Brísingamen is claimed by the party. As they travel south into the Ironwood Forest, Vindr receives a boon from the god Hermod.*

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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
* Jor the Emberwrought the Giant Blooded Human Sorcerer/Marshal/Sand Shaper/Incantator played by Jason
* Heiða the Seer the Dökkálfar Blooded Dread Necromancer played by Justin
* Vindr Skreevarson the Bastard Blooded Human Scout/Ranger/Cleric played by Donnie

## Swanhilde is Laid to Rest

The battle complete and Swanhilde dead, the heroes made good on her instructions. The party laid the Swan Maiden upon the ancient funeral pyre, and Heida performed the death rites as Vindr intoned a death chant. The flames were lit, and the demi-goddess burned with a white hot flame, reducing to ash within moments. Gathering up her remains, with each member of the party taking a portion, the heroes noted with curiosity that the ashes themselves hummed with a faint and haunting song. Tucking their plunder away, Brydd began to study the ancient rune stick that pertained to the ceremony to claim Freya's torc.

Meanwhile, the party made use of the magical rope they had acquired to return to camp. They briefly discussed the requirement of the deflowering of a virgin maiden that the ceremony to acquire the torc demanded, and realized that their only option unless they wished to return at another time was dependent on the noblewoman Aada Goldenbow. They found Aada, along with the pregnant girl Asleif and the goat Johan, eating the evening meal quietly in camp.

## Aada's Sacrifice

The heroes approached the young woman with some trepidation, knowing she was of noble lineage and promised to Logee the Obsidian, a high ranking member of clan Surtshellir. At first Esbjörn was opposed to the girl laying with anyone, as Logee was a member of his clan and it seemed disrespectful. But Heida convinced him otherwise, as claiming the torc would benefit them in their quest to drive out the hated foreigners. Both Heida and Nygaar tried to convince the girl to make the offering, but she seemed unconvinced.

Eventually, it fell to Brydd to attempt to sway her, and he used his honeyed tongue to finally make Aada see sense. After all, the culture of Seron didn't view a maiden as spoiled just because she laid with a man, and it soon became clear that Aada was more worried about bearing another man's child than any trepidation at the act itself. She had proved herself an able and courageous warrior, and she eventually accepted that taking part in the ceremony was what the gods intended for her. Looking around the fire of camp, she looked to Nygaar as the one she would lay with, as it seemed right and proper that a noblewoman such as herself should couple with one of similar breeding. Esbjörn did not seem pleased with her choice.

That decision made, Vindr suggested they return to the inner sanctum of the swan maiden, to sleep in the safety of the magical ward laid upon that place. The party all had a good laugh at Johan's expense, as they whispered the pass phrase to the women but failed to tell the goat. As they entered the chamber, the goat was blasted apart by magical energy, and Esbjorn in particular enjoyed a hearty chuckle at the hapless goat's misery. Reformed and finally told the passphrase, Johan laid down wearily, patiently enduring the laughter at his expense. The party rested, secure in the knowledge they would for once sleep safely in the wilds.

## Jor the Emberwrought

Waking up well rested and ready, the party partook in their morning routines, sparring enthusiastically with one another. Once again Heida took part - it seemed the Harii witch was determined to fight with her sentient blade. As the party made ready to head to the ruins and claim their prize, Esbjörn called attention to himself and made a pronouncement. Still brimming with pride at what he saw as Surtr's will, he declared that the one known as Brydd Hjarta was no more. As he was jotun blooded, he needed a new name to reflect his new (and much improved from Esbjörn's perspective) status. Esbjörn, with Brydd's placid consent, declared that henceforth the Harii formerly known as Brydd would now bear the name Jor the Emberwrought. Jor was in honor of his forebear Jormungandr, the world serpent, as his lineage was proclaimed boldly by the mark upon his chest, his serpent scales, and his golden snake eyes. Emberwrought in honor of Surtr, as Brydd had been re-forged by the sacred and fiery will of Surtr himself.

The party seemed to accept this, as it made sense given who had cast the spell and the subsequent result. Obviously, Esbjörn's further views on Ragnarok and his people's place in it, which he reminded the others of often, fell on less than receptive ears. The strange beliefs of the Surtshellir clan were well known, and while they were twisted and foolish to many, Esbjörn swelled with pride at the many proofs during their journey of his chosen gods power. His proselytizing complete, the party headed to the ruins, intent on claiming another item of power for their quest.

## Brísingamen Claimed

The heroes, remembering the battle with the serpent to claim Raen's arm rings, used their collective magic to prepare as best they could, weaving spells of power and protection upon themselves. Esbjorn began to intone the sacred words, while Jor traced the mythic runes upon the landscape in the precise patterns called out upon the rune stick. As Nygaar and Aada coupled, the rest of the party stood ready, waiting for the ceremony to be completed:

*As you read the words inscribed on the ancient rune stick, and the fornication comes to an end, the ground starts to shake, at first almost imperceptibly, but then with increasing intensity. As the spell is completed, the massive torc rises forcefully from the earth and begins to spin slowly perhaps fifty feet above your heads. Suddenly, the flora around you begins to move, and form into animated beings. Four trees, roughly thirty feet tall and two feet in diameter, break free from the earth, soil flying in all directions in response to the power of their massive legs. Four mounds of what formerly appeared to be heaps of aged vegetation, some eight feet in girth and as tall as a man, grow two arm like appendages and turn towards the party menacingly. It seems that the natural world has demanded you fight for the right to claim Brísingamen, the fabled torc of the goddess Freya.*

  The treants and the shambling mounds fell upon the heroes, and battle was joined. As Nygaar and Esbjorn hacked away at the now sentient plants, and Vindr and Aada fired arrows with deadly accuracy, Jor and Heida used their power to summon beasts to battle the vicious flora. The hapless Johan was wrapped in the embrace of one of the plants, and the life was squeezed out of him. Meanwhile, Nygaar was also wrapped up in the deadly embrace of one of the mounds, only being cut free with Esbjörn's help. The battle was fierce, with the treants trampling the heroes multiple times in an attempt to crush them under their massive limbs. In the midst of battle, a strange event transpired:

*As you fight for your lives against the living flora all around you, you suddenly see two huge forms descending from the sky above you. With a crash, two large white cats, fearsome to behold, land upon the field on the edge of the battleground. They sit facing you, monstrous rumbling coming from low within their collective throats. They don’t move to attack you, at least not yet.*

Wisely, the heroes did not engage with the massive felines, as it became clear to those who remembered the old stories that they could only be the cats who pulled the goddess Freya's chariot, known as Bygul and Trjegul. As these beasts observed with practiced boredom, the plants were finally cut down, the last falling victim to Heida's spell craft and falling prone and helpless to be hacked to pieces by the warriors. The cats sprung into the air as the battle ended, flying into the sky to disappear as suddenly as they had arrived.

The torc Brísingamen, which had been spinning high above their heads, slowly descended to earth and shrunk down to mortal size as it reached the ground. Heida peered at it through her crystal of identification, and the Harii witches' eyes widened at what she saw. Aada, standing nearby, picked the torc up and looked to Esbjörn for guidance. Eventually Aada handed it to Heida, and the party contemplated who should wear this powerful talisman of the Vanir goddess. No resolution forthcoming, they decided to leave Swan Isle, and head south into the Ironwood Forest. While the lure of the city of Viborg, and the potential for resupply a stop there offered, was tempting, the heroes felt finding Jor's (née Brydd's) son was their top priority.

## Glaer the Shining

Traveling swiftly, the party made good time, leaving the lake behind and plunging into the thick forest well known to Jor in his youth. They were heading towards the winter camp of one of the bands of Eastern Harii, as that was their best guest as to where the Loki-touched boy Drekki might be. As the weather turned cold and snow began to fall, a new ally made itself known to them:

*The echo of thundering hooves approaches you, although the rumbling sound seems somehow incongruent. Once the animal comes into view, however, the strange gait makes sense. Running towards you at an incredible speed is a magnificent horse with a gold coat and a blonde flowing mane and tail. The powerful stallion stands seven feet tall at the shoulder, a massive and striking beast the likes of which none of you have ever seen. He has six legs, to include an extra pair in the rear of his body which propel him forward at breakneck speed. Upon his back is a shining silver saddle. As the party watches, the horse skids to a halt in front of Vindr, rearing majestically. All who witness this beast can tell immediately he is of the lineage of the famed horse of Odin known as Sleipnir. The saddle is adorned with a runic symbol of that mythical eight legged horse, along with ancient runes that spell out the name of the god Hermod. Vindr immediately feels waves of empathy that seem to emanate from the horse, communicating without words the beast’s love and excitement for his new master. Upon the wind the name Glaer echoes hauntingly. It seems that Hermod the Brave, the son of Odin and the messenger of the Aesir, has smiled upon the son of Skreevar, rewarding his devotion with a steed of legend.*

Vindr immediately climbed into the silver saddle, claiming the friendship of this magnificent creature. It seemed the god Hermod has chosen the former thrall for special consideration. As the party stopped to camp, deep in the ancient forest, they all wondered what the gods had in store for them next. It had been a hard journey, and it was far from complete. The invaders were stronger than ever, and the boy had to be found. What they would do with Drekki when they found him was another matter. Whether they took Olrun the servant of Freya's advice and traced runic patterns on him and then allowed the enemy to take him, or forged their own path, remained to be seen.

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