Session 017

## A Covenant with the Stone Shaman

**Age of the Wolf, Year 5, Spring, Laelun Toil 3 days 4-6**

*The party heads into the mountains to speak with the stone priestess. After climbing the mountain they discover the remains of two dwarven explorers and uncover what these explorers sought. Reaching the lofty peak, they strike a bargain with the stone giants.*

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## Player Characters Involved

* Nygäär the Dark the Fey Blooded Rogue/Fighter played by Dana
* Heiða the Seer the Dökkálfar Blooded Dread Necromancer played by Justin
* Esbjörn Sigvardson the Giant Blooded Barbarian/Cleric played by Greg
* Brydd Hjarta the Jörmung Human Sorcerer/Marshal played by Jason

## The Frozen Dwarves

Confident of a chance to rid themselves of the cursed arm rings, the party undertook an arduous climb up the steep mountainside above the hermit Ornolf's hut. They navigated a narrow mountain pass, finally reaching a small plateau about halfway up that afforded them an opportunity to pause and recover. Curiously, they found three blocks of ice, and closer inspection revealed that there were two dwarven explorers and a strange mechanical beast encased within these blocks.

While Nygaar immediately began to chip away at one of the blocks encasing a dwarf, Brydd surveyed the surrounding area and noticed the remains of a glyph that had been placed on this terrain. Sensing there was more to discover here, Heida cast detect magic and clearly saw that some of the possessions of the dwarves, along with the mechanical beast (later confirmed to be a clockwork hound) radiated a magical aura. The party then worked together to free what turned out to be two dwarvish corpses and a stiff but still functioning hound.

What they found on the dwarves surprised them - clearly, these were important figures in dwarven society. The Belt of Dwarvenkind was of particular note. Further searching revealed that one of the dwarves had kept a journal and that he and his master (who the party deduced was his more expensively kitted out dwarf companion), referred to as Kordam, had come to the mountain in search of an ancient weapon. A date upon the parchment indicated that they had been encased in ice for roughly four years - their mission had clearly failed.

Utilizing a magical oil can which had been created by dwarven engineers, Heida eventually got the clockwork hound in working order once more. She experimented with issuing the construct simple commands, which she was pleased to find the beast followed. Ready to move on, Heida encouraged the party to push forward. Strangely, the hound would follow the volva only so far, before sitting and refusing to go further. Eventually, the party realized there was more to discover on this frozen patch of the mountainside.

## The Tomb of ChaosJaw

The party scoured the plateau, even digging in the ground in an attempt to find why the hound would go no further. After an exhaustive search, Nygaar was able to uncover a large stone door, cunningly hidden in the face of the mountain behind a thick layer of ice and snow. The door was fifteen feet high, ten feet wide, and covered in ancient dwarven runes that indicated it was "the Tomb of Chaosjaw." Curious, Nygaar was eventually able to find the mechanism that opened the door; a rune at dwarven eye level that had to be turned 360 degrees. Ensuring the door had no traps, Nygaar twisted the rune and there was a loud whoosh as the tomb became unsealed and the door opened.

The party pushed the heavy stone door open and peered into the dark entrance. Brydd peered in and immediately saw that there was another glyph upon the floor inside, and urged the party to be cautious. Meanwhile, the clockwork hound began to shake and vibrate ominously. As Nygaar contemplated tumbling into the darkness, Esbjorn came to a decision. Lifting the hound over his head, he hurled it through the doorway. Esbjorn's instincts had been correct; a moment later, the hound exploded in a shower of bronze gears and oil, sending sharp bits of metal flying in every direction. Unfortunately, the glyph was still intact. Nygaar again readied himself to enter the door, and the party began to puzzle out which gear he should wear in such an endeavor. Luckily this took a few moments - as they were discussing their strategy, a burst of blue energy erupted from the floor within the doorway, followed by an ice-cold gust of wind and a shower of magical ice and snow that slowly dissipated. The hound had set off the glyph of warding after all, but it had been engineered on a delay to strike as many victims as possible. Confident they could now enter safely, the party passed through the door.

Inside the party found an ancient tomb, largely collapsed, with broken and crumbled stone littering the corners of the floor, but strangely the center of the floor was mostly clear, as though someone had been walking around after the collapse. Near the center of the tomb, there laid a huge stone sarcophagus depicting a dwarven warrior upon it covered in ancient dwarven runes. As they looked around, the party was confronted by three dwarven skeletons, who moved forward to slay the heroes. One was underneath some fallen stone and scrambled desperately to free itself. The other two brandished their ancient bronze battleaxes, and the battle was joined.

Moving quickly, and engulfed in the fire of his god Surtr, Esbjorn slashed furiously at one of the undead fiends, striking through old bone and grasping the skeleton in his large embrace. Nygaar and Brydd moved in to attack the other skeleton, with Nygaar receiving a number of blows from the foul creature. As Esbjorn worked to destroy the skeleton in his grasp, Heida focused on the skeleton trapped under the fallen stone. Using her necromantic abilities, she took control of the skeleton, dominating it utterly. As Esbjorn destroyed one of the skeletons, she turned to the other who faced Nygaar and Brydd. With little effort, Heida once again took control of this skeleton. Her powers had shown themselves, and the rest of the party took note of her ability to command the undead with a mix of relief and discomfort. The battle over with, the party turned to investigate the sarcophagus.

Utilizing his belt of dwarven kind, Nygaar was able to translate the ancient runes upon the tomb. Judging from the style of the inscription, this tomb and the warrior it held had been around since the Age of the Alfr, some 5,000 years ago or more. Peering down at the capstone, Nygaar read the ancient script aloud:

*Here lies Jarl Tukod Chaosjaw, killed the fey lord Quinran Graywind in single combat, defeated the army of the Frost Giant king Zozog, united the Alderfist and Ironhelm clans under his banner, bore 10 sons, wielded the fabled battleaxe named Riftsplitter*

Checking the massive stone sarcophagus thoroughly, Nygaar deduced there were no traps upon it. Heida ordered her two undead servants to remove the large capstone, which they did, sliding it off enough for the party to peer inside. As soon as the capstone was ajar, Heida saw a powerful magical aura emanating out from the coffin. It seemed the battleaxe Riftsplitter was still in the possession of its former master. As Heida peered through her gemstone of identification, her eyes widened at the power of this ancient dwarven weapon. Nygaar immediately took up this weapon and began to familiarize himself with it. The ancient dwarven Jarl had also been buried in a chain mail shirt of a fabled material called Mithril (also known as Truemetal or Titanium) which the party deduced had once belonged to the fey lord Quinran Graywind.

Feeling secure in their new camp, the party settled down to get some rest. Arlow and Vungar came in and informed the heroes that a massive storm was blowing outside. Bringing the horses and wagon inside the party sealed themselves inside their secret abode until morning. They utilized this time to heal their wounds, pray to their gods, and practice their swordsmanship. As well, Brydd gathered some of the bone dust remains of Chaosjaw into his sack, and Esbjorn happened to uncover another treasure within the coffin, a magical ring of protection the party had failed to notice before. Refreshed, the party returned outside the next morning to find nearly four feet of snow upon the ground. The ascent of the mountain would only grow more arduous from here. Leaving the horses and wagon behind, and putting the undead skeletons to work to clear a path, the party started their climb.

## Tyrus and Garith

With the exception of Esbjorn (and the boy Arlow who rode upon his back) who used his magical boots to walk upon the surface of the snow, the party wearily trudged upwards through the deep snowfall. Eventually, the party reached a sheer cliff face and they were unable to continue on foot. Peering up towards the mountaintop, they contemplated the best way to utilize the winged cloak they had received as a gift from Ornolf to ascend the peak. Suddenly, a large boulder more than a foot across whizzed by Esbjorn, tumbling down the mountainside. A booming voice coming from high above them called out to the party, demanding their business. Another voice also spoke up, sounding very similar and urging his companion to kill the party. The party had encountered stone giants, but not the one they were looking for!

Brydd decided to cautiously fly up, and upon doing so, the stone giant Tyrus revealed himself. Shortly thereafter, his brother Garith appeared as well - it seemed these giants had an uncanny ability to seamlessly blend into their mountainous surroundings. After a short discussion, in which Brydd charmed the giants, he was able to get them to agree to take a handful of gemstones if they would lead the party to their mother Menja. What had started as a demand for all their treasure and magical items had become a decent bargain ultimately. Brydd returned to the party, and gave the winged cloak to Esbjorn, who used it to transport the party to the mountaintop where a large cavern entrance loomed. Leading the party inside, the stone giant brothers warned them to treat their mother with the respect and dignity she deserved. The party was close to their goal of disposing of Raen's cursed arm rings.

## Menja and the Party Strike a Bargain

The party entered the cave, whose walls like the mountaintop outside were intricately carved in swirling and beautiful patterns. Beautiful tapestries hung everywhere, woven from wool, depicting hunts and battles. The ceilings and walls were adorned with intricately carved gemstones, many not traditionally valuable and patterned in an esoteric fashion. They approached the strange and beautiful stone giant shamaness, who was surrounded by what the party deduced were cockatrices, small birds whose bite turned their unlucky victims to stone. The party immediately asked the seeress about removing the arm rings, but she was more interested in the necklace Heida was wearing. She asked the volva to approach, which she did cautiously. Menja touched the gemstone holding Steinvordur within it, and the construct immediately became excited and animated within Heida's mind, saying that this shamaness could give him what he wanted (a physical form). Eventually, Menja turned to Esbjorn and asked to touch the gemstones embedded in Raen's arm rings.

The stone giant shaman reached out to touch the gems that adorned the arm rings, concentrating intently. After a moment she drew her hand back, as if in pain. Telling Esbjorn this was an evil object, she asked what they wanted her to do. The party implored her to remove them. Heida, based on one of her visions, was able to offer Menja her coveted stone necklace. Surprised, the giantess revealed that she had lost a magical stone necklace long ago to the dwarves and that she would be willing to help them if they retrieved it for her. After some haggling, it was agreed that Menja would keep the arm rings, and would give them back to the party once they brought her the stone necklace. Steinvordur was disappointed he would not be given to Menja, but Heida assured him the dwarves would be able to give him a body. With that, the giantess cast a spell and the arm rings slipped from Esbjorn's massive arm and fell to the floor. Menja promptly encased them in stone and by magical means embedded the stone within the ceiling of her cave. She warned the party that the arm rings should be destroyed and that the white-robed law speakers were not to be trusted. She offered the party a respite to camp in her cave, and they did so gladly.

Before they slept, Menja asked something of Heida. She implored the volva to ask the spirits if her people would live again in these mountains. It seems the earth had been silent on the subject. Menja was concerned that her people would die out, even going so far as to ask Esbjorn if he had any likely maidens in his clan that would be suitable for her sons. Esbjorn made the offer to breed with Menja personally, but she ruefully and gracefully declined. In any case, Esbjorn offered a possible alliance with the stone giants, which Menja took seriously and said she was open to. Heida used her divination abilities to ask the question Menja wanted to be answered and was told that putting Steinvordur into Menja's possession was the only way the stone giants would survive. What Heida told Menja, however, was that the recovery of the stone necklace would ensure that the stone giants would once more flourish. It seemed the volva wouldn't risk the opportunity to recover the arm rings for herself, and didn't want to muddy the waters by changing the deal they had struck with Menja.

## Frigga's Servant

Their goal accomplished, the party headed back down the mountainside. Esbjorn, the weight of the evil goddesses' influence lifted from his shoulders, seemed happier than he had in many days. The downward journey was an easier one, and they soon reached the tomb where they had stored the bulk of their supplies. One strange occurrence marred an otherwise happy day. Heida noticed a small creature following the party as they made their way towards the tomb. Eventually, she called this out to the party, and they turned to see a small white rabbit staring at Heida intently. As the rabbit approached, Nygaar acted to defend the volva, attacking the creature. Strangely, the creature seemed to be ethereal, as Nygaar's blade Lentidagnir passed through it as if through the air. The creature ignored this attack and sat down before Heida. At this, Brydd became absolutely fascinated by the ethereal rabbit, and kneeled down close to it to look it over. He then spoke to the rabbit, asking why it was here. The rabbit replied, saying she had been sent by Frigga, and that the white-robes were not to be trusted. The creature contended that the real enemies of Seron were the Frost Giants and their allies. The rabbit also said that the dwarven king was stern but could be trusted as an ally if he deemed you worthy. Then, as quickly as the rabbit had appeared, it faded from view and disappeared. It seemed the heroes had drawn the attention of yet another goddess, this one the wife of the All-Father himself. Gathering their supplies, the heroes made ready to travel to the stronghold of the Firehand Clan and confront the dwarves.

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