Session 042

## The Wicker Man

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

*The heroes continue their journey into the Ironwood Forest, seeking out the boy Drekki. What they find, instead, is a strange and gruesome ceremony being undertaken by the white robed law speakers. The party intervenes, and a fierce battle is fought.*

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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 Mother Fucking Veleda the Dökkálfar Blooded Dread Necromancer played by Justin
* Vindr Skreevarson the Bastard Blooded Human Scout/Ranger/Cleric played by Donnie

## Into the Ironwood Forest

The party continued further into the old growth forest known as the Ironwood, with Vindr riding ahead on his magnificent new steed Glaer. Nygaar roamed behind on foot, keeping a keen eye out for any potential threats. The rest of the party, to include Esbjorn, Heida, Jor, Aada, Asleif, and Johan walked together, trudging their way through the sparse undergrowth of the massive old trees. The snow and wind blew fiercely in the desolate woodlands, and they soon made camp, huddled close together against the cold. The following morning they prepared as usual, with Nygaar flashing signs of some new and interesting skills he seemed to be developing almost preternaturally. Heida spoke to the spirits as was her wont, and informed the party that she should hold onto Freya's torc for now, but that she would soon relinquish the relic into Nygaar's hands. That settled, the party set off once more. At perhaps midday, Vindr encountered a strange event:

*The day is cold and clear, with the ice hanging off the trees making the thick forest glitter dazzlingly. You can faintly hear a strange chanting in an unknown tongue in the distance ahead of you, and the quiet weeping and murmuring of a large group of people. As you peer warily through the forest, you see a strange sight; what looks to be some kind of structure, in the shape of a man, standing high above the trees. Perhaps fifty feet tall, this hollow structure writhes from within, although it's unclear from this distance exactly why. The flash of men in white robes milling about around this structure, largely blending in with the snow covered landscape, also captures your attention. Fearsome beasts mill around as well, snarling menacingly. Some kind of esoteric ritual is surely afoot. None of the robed figures or animals have seemed to notice your presence, at least not yet.*

Wasting little time, Nygaar rushed forward and spoke quietly with Vindr. As the rest of the party slowly approached, the two scouts recognized the tell-tale masks of the white robed law speakers, along with some fearsome white furred bears. One bear in particular seemed to smell the horse Glaer, and Vindr hurriedly sent him back into the forest to protect the pregnant girl Asleif. As Esbjorn, Heida and Jor rushed forward, the bear turned and roared, alerting everyone for miles to its presence. Large black wings sprung from Heida's back, and she took flight attempting to speak with one of the white druids. They answered in an ancient and secret tongue, and it soon became clear the law speakers were testing the party to see if they were allies. Finding none who spoke their strange tongue, the druids sprang into action, walking upon the very air itself and up into perches on the wicker man and in the tall trees, and battle was joined.

## A Harrowing Ceremony Interrupted

As Esbjorn and Nygaar moved in to attack the two massive twenty foot long bears approaching them, and Vindr and Aada found safe spots to fire their bows, the battlefield was soon littered with the effects of druidic magic. Large swathes of the vegetation on the ground was soon turned hard and sharply pointed, making every step the heroes took painful. The trees themselves attacked the heroes if they drew too close, as ghostly forms that seemed to flow out of the trees attempted to bite them. Jor recognized these as Landaettir (nature spirits), and knew that they were trapped inside this dark grove craving release. Driving sheets of sleet engulfed the heroes, and Jor was caught in the middle of this onslaught, blinded and struggling to keep his feet. As Esbjorn took massive wounds from one of the giant white bears, he was soon enveloped in the creatures powerful embrace and unable to break free, demonstrating the incredible strength of the animal. Luckily Nygaar was close by, and was able to gut the creature before it could damage Esbjorn further.

Meanwhile, Heida was swooping high above the battlefield, and was struck by a column of flame that left her wounded as well. Striking the heroes with flames and lightning, the druids did their best to destroy the party. As Heida, Vindr and Aada focused on the druids in their perches, Esbjorn and Nygaar struggled to stay alive against the onslaught of the second bear who rushed in to maul them. Eventually, Jor was able to take permeable form and escape the sleet, and he and Heida began to use their magic to devastating effect. As the druids who stood upon the wicker man lit it ablaze, it was left to the spellcasters to deal with saving the lives of what they could now see were a mix of Harii and Surtshellir clansmen trapped within the sacrificial structure. As Heida flung curses and invoked doom upon the law speakers, Jor was able to control the waste material around the structure, raising the very earth itself to douse the flames. As the archers finished off the two druids who had sought refuge in the trees, the two upon the wicker man attempted to flee, bounding through the air and away to the north. Waiting for this opportunity, Jor engulfed them with arcane flames, incinerating one and badly burning the other.

Covered in sleet and piercing its paws with every step, the wounded bear still alive bounded off in a rage into the forest and away. Facing the remaining druid high in the air, Heida bade him to surrender, but he flung himself upon the now burning wicker man in an attempt to immolate himself. As Nygaar worked furiously to free the prisoners, slashing at the wooden structure, the badly burned law speaker was pummeled to death by the survivors. The battle had finally come to an end, with Esbjorn and Nygaar taking the brunt of the damage in their battle on the ground with the fearsome bears. The party pulled the remaining survivors, mostly women and children of Jor' own Harii sect, along with some Surtshellir scouts known as fire javelins, free of the ruined structure. Some forty five had survived, and the party watched the wicker man structure burn as they looked for familiar faces. No doubt these poor souls had much to tell them.

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