Session 074

# The Death Bringer Rises

**Age of the Wolf, Year 5, Autumn, Laelun Toil 2, Day 3**

*The last of the fire giants is finally slain, and a new enemy rises from the mouth of the volcano. The party makes ready to face a dark minion of Surtr and free Logandi.*

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## Player Characters Involved

* King Nygäär the Fey Blooded Rogue/Fighter/Crusader played by Dana
* Esbjörn Fireforge 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
* Vindr Skreevarson the Mongrel Blooded Human Scout/Ranger/Cleric played by Donnie
* Jor the Emberwrought the Giant Blooded Human Transmuter/Beguiler/Human Paragon/Ultimate Magus played by Jason
* Irrian the Shadowborn the Human Shadowcaster played by Koski

## The Battle Continues

With most of the fire giants slain, Heida turned towards the mouth of the volcano and the hovering fire giant princess Logandi. Calling upon the divine power of Odin, she flew forward, and was engulfed in a flames as a fire storm missile erupted from the roiling lava below her. Droog grasped the lip of the shield on Heida's back, and went along with her as she flew forward at breakneck speed. Unfortunately, Heida's attack on Logandi was unsuccessful, as the fire giant maiden was found to be incorporeal.

Meanwhile, Nygaar spit in rage upon the ground, and turned towards the nearest giant left standing. Moving with supernatural speed and power, he sliced his foe to ribbons, easily obliterating the lumbering giant before him. Esbjorn, finally free from the grasping hand of Surtr, also fell on a nearby giant, chopping him down mercilessly with his massive sword. Vindr ran north, finally nearing the battle proper. On his way, he casually shot down two giants foolish enough to stand in his path.

Irrian gasped in relief as two nearby giants were killed by Vindr's arrows of magical force. His reserves nearly tapped, he cloaked himself in sharp spikes of darkness. Although they were weightless and did nothing to impede him, he knew that any foes foolish enough to strike at him would be impaled by the shadowy spikes. Jor also used his seidr, casting fly on Nygaar who had up to this point been stalking about on the torn and bloody ground. Turning towards Logandi, Jor watched as she winked out of sight, leaving Heida searching in vain to find her foe.

With no further enemies around him, Esbjorn also flew towards the pit, determined to reach his lady love. Nygaar did as well, and soon reached the princess, who he used his magical eye to spot in her invisibility. Both were also subject to a flaming missile that flew up from the lava, but were able to avoid any damage from the magical strikes they endured. Heida, meanwhile, was unable to spot Logandi, and drank a quick healing potion to stanch her many wounds. As Esbjorn watched, Nygaar struck a blow on Logandi, and blood erupted from the gaping wound he inflicted on her. Unable to see her, but knowing what had happened, Esbjorn nearly flew into a murderous rage, but was able to calm himself and bellow out that she was not to be hurt.

Meanwhile Vindr killed the remaining fire giant in his range, and both he and Irrian approached the edge of the pit. As they watched magical flames burst around their companions, they wisely stopped at the edge and waited to see what would transpire next. Jor's illusory avatar needed to practice no such restraint, and eagerly flew towards Logandi and Nygaar. Searching in vain for the invisible princess, the avatar hovered nearby, waiting to see what happened next. Jor, Vindr, and Irrian watched as the remaining elves, numbering only five of the initial twenty, took the opportunity to flee the battlefield, sprinting down the mountainside and away from the battle.

## Above the Flames of Odin's Heart

With everyone converged upon the mouth of the volcano, Heida turned to see if any giants remained. Spotting one lone survivor, she rushed back to the edge of the pit, and struck a blow with her slender sword, getting counter attacked in the process. Using her dark seidr, she channeled negative energy into a dark mote in her hand, which leapt out and engulfed her foe. This seidr stole a measure of the giant's life force, leaving it gasping in fatigue. Wearing a fanatical expression, the giant grinned stupidly, bellowing out "SURTR!!!" as he flung himself over the edge. Heida tried with all her might to wrestle the giant back from the precipice, but even with her enhanced strength she was unable to stop the giant's sacrifice. Further eruptions of magical flame burst out of the volcano, striking a number of the heroes.

Meanwhile, Nygaar had noticed a slender chain of magical force around Logandi's ankle. Wondering what was on the other end, he attempted to strike and break the chain, but his blow wasn't powerful enough to do so. Frowning, Nygaar contemplating simply taking the princesses' leg off, but thought better of it as he watched the expression on the fast approaching Esbjorn's face. Logandi, meanwhile, surprised them all. Suddenly reappearing, she raised her arms, and a white light, centered on her head, spread out across the battlefield. Immediately all the heroes were healed of their injuries. Unfortunately, she acted none too soon. The volcano, which had been rumbling menacingly, erupted in a shower of fire and rock and searing ash. Heida, Esbjorn, and Irrian all suffered major injuries.

## Doden Emerges

The heroes wretched and coughed, peering about in confusion through the dense smoke to make sure that their companions had all survived. Suddenly, a new development arose:

*In the aftermath of the fiery eruption, a hulking twelve‑foot-tall humanoid weighing nearly half a ton rises from the still roiling lava. Armored with fiery red scales and adorned with a pair of massive, bat-like wings, the creature has a gargoyle-like appearance. Its scaly red hide is covered in dark runes and glyphs sacred to the god Surtr that pulse with a strange black light.  Its wicked fangs drip with hissing, green venom as its prehensile tail cracks around it like a whip. From its scaly wrist, you see a delicate glistening chain appear, made of magical force, that leads to a bracelet around the ankle of the maiden Logandi hovering nearby.  The creature grins wickedly at you. Those close to Droog hear him gasp, and intone the name "Doden" in horror. Those who speak the ancient tongue know that word translates as "Death Bringer." Logandi’s face, which has been impassive up until now, crumples into a look of pained anguish. She peers imploringly at Esbjorn, tears welling up in her lovely golden brown eyes. Doden snaps its fingers, and members of the party suddenly erupt in flame all across the smoking battlefield.*

Esbjorn thought only of Logandi's safety, and finally reached Nygaar's side. Telling him to stand aside, he struck two mighty blows upon the chain that bound her to the devil below them. On the second strike, the magical chain broke, and Logandi changed from an incorporeal presence to a woman of flesh and blood. The princess sobbed in relief, and fled to the mountainside and away from her fiendish captor. Meanwhile, the rest of the party turned towards their new foe, approaching cautiously as the pit fiend slathered and snarled. Jor created a magical construct called a bloodstar that hovered in the air near his illusionary projection and pulsed with ruby light, while the remaining heroes readied their blades to face this most dangerous of foes.

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