Runa

**Runa** is a spearwoman and was the bodyguard and messenger of the Vak'auga spymaster Leiknir in Strand, until he was killed shortly before the Third Great War.

## Background

Runa used to reside in a village near a river along with Stefnir, and worked as a fisherwoman, using spears to catch her prey. Due to her job, she became good at using spears. Once when they were younger, Stefnir came to Runa to request that she kiss him, which the boys teasing him had conditioned him to do in exchange for leaving him alone. She agreed in jest, and playfully chided him for his naivety when he found that his teasers never intended to keep their promise. Stefnir however thought she was mocking him too and never talked to her again.

Eight months before the Third Great War, the slaver gang called Vak'auga raided Runa's village, slaying many of the males and capturing the females unless they put up violent resistance. Runa was among those captured and taken aboard their strange ship called *The Destiny of the Weak*. After they docked in Strand, one of the Vak'auga tried to rape her and she attacked him. The gang's leader Magnus slapped her with his studded glove for it, leaving a scar across her cheek. He then gave her to his spymaster Leiknir as a slave.

The old Leiknir however did not want to enslave anyone and freed Runa as soon as he reached his home with her. She ran away immediately, but found herself lost in Strand, and went back to him after some time. Runa offered to serve Leiknir, which he accepted, and stated that she would kill Magnus one day. Leiknir smirked at her boldness, and asked her if she had any skills necessary for killing. Seeing that she was she good with a spear, he honed her, and also taught her how to navigate Strand's underworld. In time, Runa became his bodyguard and messenger, and also became infatuated with him, but he always remained loyal to his wife.

## Recent events

### Finding Stefnir

Leiknir and Runa went away from Strand for a brief while, but they returned about two months before the Third Great War. After learning that Stefnir had arrived in Strand too, she followed him and confronted him one morning. She learnt that he had come to take revenge on Magnus for killing his mother and told him about what had happened to her after she was captured, when he asked her about it.

As Stefnir he accused her of not caring anymore what Magnus did, since she was working for his lieutenant Leiknir, She berated him, stating she did want to kill Magnus. Runa then informed him that two of the people accompanying him were the Governor's Guardsmen, the elite protectors of Strand. She informed him that one of whom was called Eirik, who was the best agent of the Guards and whom he shouldn't trust, before telling him to leave Strand for his own good.

Some time later, Leiknir was informed about the failed attempt of the Mársmidr leader Kjallak, who had allied with Magnus and the Aetla Hilmir leader Nikolas to take over Strand in past, in capturing Olaf, Stefnir and Ulfvalgr. Magnus instructed Leiknir to help in their plans and also told him about giving permission to the Aetla Hilmir to capture Kjallak's targets. Leiknir however did not want this, having grown tired of his life of crime and working for the slavers, while dreading what Magnus would do after taking over Strand.

### The triumvirate

Leiknir sent Runa to the Great Hall to spoil the Aetla Hilmir's raid, but she was too late as the gang was able to get to Olaf and Ulfvalgr. The Governor's Guard Eirik was however able to save them and fled with them by sliding across the roof of the building to down below the hill on which it stood. Stefnir and Eirik however noticed Runa standing on the roof while sliding down, and the former called out her name, which Eirik heard.

Runa later tracked Eirik and his allies to a ruined temple in Grárgróf upon Leiknir's orders. As they refused to talk with her, suspecting she might be there to kill them, she stated that she could have done it easily if she wanted to. This caused them to agree to listen to her, and she told them that the old spymaster wanted to meet Eirik in order to help them, as he was sick of his life as a criminal. Eirik refused to believe her but relented after learning from her about the seriousness of the situation he wanted to talk of and being convinced by his allies. Stefnir meanwhile told everyone how he knew Runa and why he was there, after they became surprised that the two knew each other.

Eirik arrived with Stefnir at *Brenna Training Hall* the next day as scheduled, before finding Runa and Leiknir there as well. Leiknir told them about the alliance of the Mársmidr, the Vak'auga and the Aetla Hilmir, and directed him to a Vak'auga warehouse at the western docks, where they were storing something his group could use to bring them down. He also gave Runa to them as a collateral, and despite her feeling betrayed at this, she agreed to go along with them. She then went along with Stefnir to *The Caroling Giant* to retrieve Olaf and Ulfvalgr who were hidden there by Eirik.

### Kjallak's plot

Eirik later went with Olaf, Stefnir, Runa, and Ulfvalgr to the warehouse Leiknir had directed them to. Runa slayed the guard standing outside, but they soon heard someone banging on the door of a nearby meat locker from the inside. Opening it, they found that it was a mutilated Hallvard, who had been following Olaf, Stefnir and Ulfvalgr earlier. Hallvard told them about the back entrance being less guarded before passing out, and they were able to get in much more easily.

After waking up, Hallvard told Eirik that what they were seeking was in the basement, which would be lightly guarded. He went away with Olaf and Ulfvalgr, but left Stefnir and Runa to watch the exit and keep an eye on the rogue as well. Hallvard soon started feeling pain after eating and drinking, and asked Stefnir for mead in order to dull it. Runa however threw away a mead jug when he tried to give it to him, and asked who he was. Hallvard informed them that he was a former member of Mársmidr but was betrayed, and was there to take revenge by exposing them.

A burly man soon attacked and Runa hesitated in spearing him as he swung Stefnir around to defend himself. Hallvard, who hadn't been noticed by him, came to their rescue by pushing him off the balcony and to his death. After realizing that the other gang members would be arriving there soon with a smuggled shipment, he took Stefnir and Runa to the basement to quickly find what they were after. They fled soon after he found a varl skull stored in one of the rooms of the warehouse.

### The tournament

At a hideout outside Strand Eirik had found for his allies, Hallvard told them all that Kjallak was smuggling in varl skeletons and was after an amulet that Olaf and Ulfvalgr had. Eirik then hatched a plan to lure one of the lieutenants of the triumvirate by getting Olaf and Ulfvalgr out in the open during a tournament, knowing they would send one of their trusted men for the job. He also had Runa tell Leiknir to inform Magnus about the tournament very late, so the Mársmidr and the Vak'auga would struggle to find anyone for the fight, while having the City Watch of Strand arrive there at a scheduled time to prevent any surpriseattacks by the Aetla Hilmir.

When Eirik told Runa five days later that the *Brenna Training Hall* had been burnt down, she became worried after being unable to find Leiknir as he had went in hiding, though he continued to leave her messages. At the tournament, Eirik and his allies faced off with the triumvirate gangsters and as expected, they sent one of their lieutenants Ottar. Runa hid in the woods during the match and speared one of the enemy fighters from behind. While Eirik and his allies were victorious, the Aetla Himir disguised as lumberjacks soon attacked as the City Watch failed to arrive on time. Eirik then had everyone escape with Ottar, while he and Ulfvalgr held the gangsters off.

Back at their hideout, Hallvard tortured Ottar, since Runa had already earlier elected to stay out of it. Eirik and Ulfvalgr soon made their way back after escaping the Aetla Hilmir. Runa went to Leiknir again, but was told that he was unable to find out what caused the delay of the City Watch in arriving at the tournament. He also told her that capturing Magnus and Kjallak was of the utmost importance, though she kept it hidden from Eirik. Ottar soon told them that the Vak'auga were smuggling in goods at the Ninth Pier, which was their best bet to capture Magnus or Kjallak. Eirik wanted to bring in the City Watch, but Runa and the others decided to go without him as they didn't trust the guards after their repeated failures.

### Raid on Magnus

At the Ninth Pier, Runa went to scout ahead after being told to do Ulfvalgr. She found a heavy presence of the Vak'auga there and also discovered that Magnus was there with *The Destiny of the Weak*, but won't stay long due to the coming storm. She informed her group after returning and suggested taking a path under the rocky cliffs to get to the docks secretly and board the ship. Hallvard instead suggested that they row to it using a boat, but Ulfvalgr rejected it, deeming it too risky. After arriving near the docks, Runa slew a guard on the stairs with her spear. As she overheard that the Vak'auga would be leaving soon, Olaf took the lead and they went ahead while Runa was guarded by his and Stefnir's shields.

Runa's group soon climbed up to the docks and Olaf slew another sentry, before they were spotted by a horn blower. Runa speared him as he went for his horn, though she missed his heart and it hit his shoulder instead. The man tried to reach for his horn again, but soon had his neck snapped by Ulfvalgr. Runa then led them to captain's quarters, but Ulfvalgr and Olaf sent the humans on their own as it would have taken them too long to get into the room. Runa surrounded Magnus whom they found there, with Stefnir and Hallvard, but soon realized that he was not the Magnus she knew, since he always carried a sword and a shield instead of an axe. They soon discovered another man who looked the same standing outside and carried a sword, realizing there were actually two Magnuses.

The confusion allowed one of the Magnus twins to jump outside and flee, while the other ran away to alert his crew. Hallvard sent Runa and Stefnir after the one with the axe, and the two caught up to him. Stefnir however proved too unskilled in battle to face him on his own and Runa faced difficulty in attacking her target, as Stefnir kept wildly moving to avoid Magnus' strikes. Though she pierced Magnus' shoulder, Stefnir gaped at her in appreciation instead of striking at his foe, and was attacked again. The boy was sent tumbling backwards into the sea after barely blocking the axe, due to the force of the attack.

Runa tried to throw another spear at Magnus, but he quickly threw an axe at her before she could grab one. She ducked and weaved to dodge it, but this caused all her spears to fall out of her bag and into the sea. Left with only a dagger and finding that the other Vak'auga members had surrounded her, Runa knew there was no way she could win as Magnus was too skilled in close combat, forcing her to jump in the sea herself to escape. She nearly drowned but was saved by Stefnir, and went along with him to the home of a fisherman who had found them and offered them to stay there for a while, so they could warm and dry themselves.

### Captives

Stefnir and Runa left to return to their allies the next morning. While walking, Runa asked Stefnir to settle down after dealing with the triumvirate, instead of living a lonely life as a warrior, since he wasn't suited for it. He expressed anger and asked whether she jumped into the sea to rescue him, but she denied it and stated that she was forced to jump after losing her javelins, knowing she couldn't defeat Magnus in close quarters despite wanting to kill him badly. As she stated that it was Leiknir who had taught her to protect herself no matter how much she desired to obtain something, Stefnir asked if she loved the spymaster, to which she replied in the affirmative.

The triumvirate gangsters led by Skoegir however soon found Stefnir and Runa, and took them to a warehouse. The Magnus brothers also brought the captured Leiknir there, before suggesting to Kjallak that they torture him first since she loved him, in order to know where the other half of the amulet called the "Gift of Hadrborg" was. If that failed. they would torture her to make Stefnir talk. Skoegir however realized that the amulet's half was on Stefnir the entire time when Kjallak described its appearance. The Magnus brothers then executed Leiknir in front of her and demanded her back, but were told by Nikolas that they needed to host the varl warlord Vilmundr first. Kjallak told them that they would decide the fate of their captives later.

As the triumvirate went away, Stefnir untied Runa's knots with her help, and she killed the Vak'auga member Fiske who had brought Leiknir to the warehouse with his own knife, before freeing Stefnir. They then escaped and after finding a cart loaded with mead barrels, Stefnir told Runa that he would puncture one of the barrels so she could have Eirik and his allies follow the mead trail to the triumvirate's destination. Runa returned to the Ninth Pier in time, leading Eirik and his allies along with the Governor's Steward Olvir and two guards of the City Watch to the warehouse, while Valgard went to search for any fresh members of the City Watch to join in on the attack on the gangs.

### End of the triumvirate

Arriving at the warehouse where she and Stefnir were held captive, Runa found Leiknir's corpse in the basement after Olvir told everyone to look for any clues she and Stefnir might have missed. As Eirik regretted that he hated Leiknir even when he wanted to turn his life around, she told him how much Leiknir respected him and thought they could have been the best of friends if they did not work on opposite sides of the law. They then followed the mead trail left by Stefnir, while Ol;vir sent one of the guards with them to fetch Valgadrd to the warehouse, but lost it in northern part of Strand. Olvir sent the remaining guard to bring Valgard along with the City watch there.

Eirik however noticed his name scratched on a pillar near an abandoned temple of Hadrborg, realizing that Stefnir must have been directing them there. As Olvir told Eirik and his allies to wait for Valgard and the City Watch, all of them insisted at going after the triumvirate at once. Knowing they would not relent, he had Eirik mark the directions for Valgard. The group then sneaked up to a bridge leading to the temple, but Runa soon spotted a man leaning over the parapet on the other side. Hallvard decided to check it put, telling the others to hang back, and found that it was Skoegir. As he fought him, Runa and her group came after him, and she slew another gangster trying to attack Hallvard.

Hallvard soon told his allies to leave him alone with Skoegir, since he had personal business to settle with him for murdering his brother Johan. While the group was reluctant, they agreed after Skoegir told them to go, stating it was a personal matter after finding out that it ws Hallvard's actions which had brought him out into the open. They then attacked the other triumvirate members at the temple and slew a number of them before breaching into the temple's prayer hall, where Kjallak was hosting Vilmundr. Olaf and Runa fought some of the gang members there in order to get to Kjallak and the Gift of Hadrborg. The mender Melkorka attacked Eirik with a fire spell after seeing him fatally wound her son Nikolas, but ended up hitting Olvir and the gangsters he was fighting instead. Runa tried to capture her, but she escaped with a spell.

Melkorka's fire spell meanwhile started a fire in the temple of Hadrborg, causing everyone who didn't die from the sword or the flames to flee, but Ulfvalgr was able to grab the Gift of Hadrborg from Kjallak and hand it to Olaf before dying along with the lord of the Mársmidr. The City Watch arrested the surviving gang members, ending the threat of the triumvirate for good. Since the Magnus twins were still alive and had escaped Strand, she and Stefnir decided to hunt them down, with Olaf joining them in order to look after them. Two weeks after the raid on temple, the new Steward of Strand Eirik held funerals for Leiknir and Hallvard, who had died alongside Skoegir. Runa wept uncontrollably during Leiknir's funeral, which left her numb and being unable to speak anything at Hallvard's funeral. She left Strand with Stefnir and Olaf soon afterwards, accompanying the varl to first spread Kjallak and Ulfvalgr's ashes in the territory of the varls.