Session 077

# Nygaar Recruits the Raven Cavalry

**Age of the Wolf, Year 5, Autumn, Laelun Toil 2, Days 4-5**

*The party discusses the implications of their bargain with Fang Li and of the information that there is a traitor in their midst. They proceed with the northern army to face the Umbrian cavalry, and turn them to their side. Odin gives the heroes his blessing. Learning of a pending war in Wulfling lands, the heroes (with the exception of Vindr) journey to Voluspa in Surtshellir lands. As Vindr uncovers the traitor and foils the frost giant's plans, far to the east the stage is set for new leadership of the Surtshellir clan.*

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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 Party Tests Each Other's Loyalty

At the disappearance of Fang, the party turned towards one another, pondering her words and wondering who the traitor in their midst might be. Jor and Heida puzzled over the seidr she had used to appear to them, and soon realized that she had used a clever combination of spells (to include project image, ethereal jaunt, and teleport) to appear and disappear in front of them without ever putting herself in any serious danger. Vindr, learning that she had walked in the ethereal plane, used his cloak to quickly scout out the surrounding area, but found no trace of Fang. Verifying that she was nowhere to be found, the party began a terse discussion regarding the possible traitor in their midst.

After a lengthy parley, in which they began to haphazardly swear loyalty to one another, the cleverest heroes came up with a plan to ensure the loyalty of everyone in the group. One by one, they all stated an obvious lie and an obvious truth, followed by a pronouncement that they were not the traitor. Nygaar used the torc to test these statements and ensure that none of the party had turned on him. After patiently waiting for Esbjorn to understand the (foolish waste of time to his mind) word game, Nygaar felt comfortable that all of the inner circle could still be trusted. Next pondering how to proceed, the party made the decision to march with their entire army to face the Umbrian cavalry, in order to command their loyalty or slay them. As they marched forward, Heida called to Vungar, and bestowed the blessing of Odin upon the winter wolf. Vungar howled in triumph, content to have a pact with Heida and the All Father. After perhaps an hour, the scouts signaled that the enemy was near.

## The Umbrian Cavalry Submits to Nygaar's Will

Marching boldly forward, the heroes soon saw the enemy for themselves:

*As the magical storm swirls above your heads, and twilight falls, you travel through the rocky valley between two massive ice capped mountain ranges. Ahead of you waits the Umbrian cavalry, arranged in two lines in a tight v-shaped formation, with a number of reserve troops behind the main force. The Umbrians are adorned in bright breast plates, and their red cloaks emblazoned with the star of the One God whip in the frigid northern wind as they hold their lances perfectly erect. At the head of the formation, a massive knight seated upon a magnificent white destrier and wearing a white cloak sits waiting. At your approach, the knight spurs his horse into a trot, and approaches you on his own, raising one heavily armored gauntlet in greeting before swinging down off his mount. He is at least seven feet tall, and as he removes his helm you see the face of a grizzled old knight with hard eyes and a stern face.*

Riding forward on the massive boar Gullinbursti, the heroes made quite the spectacle of advancing to treat with the Umbrian captain. The leader of the cavalry introduced himself as Henry Ravenscroft, and conducted himself with honor and integrity in the face of the party. Henry relayed that Fang had released him and his men from her service, and that he was free to do as he pleased. He went on to recount a story in which Fang sacrificed three maidens to a mass of wasps who could be no other than Loki himself. Henry had come to realize that the One God was no true god, and he had lost his gods-given powers as a result of this crisis of faith. He agreed to serve Nygaar on one condition; that he and his men serve directly under Wulf Sigvardson, Esbjorn's brother and Henry's former companion when Wulf had been undercover amongst the Umbrians. Esbjorn saw this Umbrian as a man of honor, and agreed. Jor spoke of his bloodline, and made Henry very uncomfortable, but ultimately he approved of the Umbrian's offer as well. Ultimately, Nygaar felt that the encounter could not have gone any better, and eagerly agreed to allow the cavalry to join his army. As Henry and his men knelt to pledge their loyalty to their new king, a sign appeared before them:

*A cacophony of wolves begins to howl, seeming to come from the mountains all around you. To the west, standing on the ridgeline, a ghostly image of a tall old man with a flowing beard and an eye patch appears. He is wearing a weathered cloak and a wide-brimmed hat and carries a spear. As the army erupts all around you, calling out and pointing, you see the old man nod his head and briefly hold up his spear. The image of the old man suddenly erupts into a flock of ravens which swirl upwards into the sky and are lost to sight in the furiously blowing storm above your heads.*

All present recognized that the All Father approved of the situation, and Heida immediately pulled forth her crystal ball to find Wulf and inform him that he was needed to take charge of the newly acquired regiment. What she saw surprised her; Wulf was standing in front of a massive gate, in the midst of greeting a familiar face. Wulf was seen embracing the grizzled crusader of the Aesir known as Clive Greyson, the warrior who had taught her and Nygaar the combat maneuvers they had employed time and again in their adventures.

## The Surtshellir Clan Musters for War

Heida reached out telepathically to Wulf, and soon learned that the Surtshellirs, Jutes, and stone giants had concocted a battle plan to attack the Wulfling clan. It seemed that the jarl of clan Surtshellir could no longer be swayed, and that the Wulfling clan must finally pay for the outrage of allowing the Umbrians free reign in their lands as they attacked the other clans. The battle plan was to strike the silver fortress, the source of Woelvren Lockjaw's wealth, in order to draw the Wulfling jarl into a pitched battle.

The party furiously discussed the implications of such an attack, and realized that it could not be allowed to go forward. Wulf claimed the attack would commence in a toil at most, and the heroes decided that they must act immediately. Ordering the army to return to their base camp, the heroes temporarily abandoned their campaign against the Rime Citadel. Some harsh words were spoken between Heida and Henry, as the former Umbrian captain balked at his men being put under the command of anyone but himself or Wulf, especially since the commanders of the other brigades of the army had not been vetted. Henry knew well that there was a traitor in their midst. Finally Henry apologized to Heida, and agreed to come to Voluspa with the party to seek out Wulf himself, putting his lieutenant Matrik Briarwood in command in his absence. The heroes stepped into the shadow realm, Irrian using his superior version of the shadow walk seidr to speed them on their way to Surtshellir lands. Only Vindr, retreating into the ethereal once more, stayed behind. Unbeknownst to the remaining army, who immediately began their march back into the mountains as ordered, Vindr began to stealthily follow them, hoping to uncover once and for all who the traitor amongst them might be.

## Esbjorn Returns Home

The heroes walked through the shadow realm for five hours, hastily speeding towards the Surtshellir capital of Voluspa. Along the way, Heida and Henry made amends, as the Harii volva revealed the power and mystery of the All Father to his newest worshipper. Henry ravenously devoured the knowledge he was offered, and vowed to serve Odin well. As the night drew longer, the party flew across the treacherous mountain trails and deep into the heart of Surtshellir lands. Finally, they reached their destination, the gate to Voluspa known as Hammar's Maw:

*This sturdy and robust masterwork structure before you is a mix of massive black granite, thick iron, and dark umber bronze. The entrance, called Hamarr's Maw, sits on the southeast side of a sheer two thousand foot cliff face along one of the largest spires in the Forn Aldrnari mountain range. The only access to the Maw is by crossing over an icy snow covered stone bridge which is barely wide enough for a single wagon. The bridge stretches across a steep canyon from one spire to another with the other containing the main trail that leads down the mountain. The Maw normally remains open but if needed the clan can seal off the entrance by either lowering the iron portcullis or (if things are truly dire) they can instantaneously lower the twelve-foot-thick black granite slab known as “the Stoneshield” which blocks the Maw and cuts off entrance into Völuspá. The Stoneshield has only been lowered a handful of times throughout the history of the clan. This is due to the fact that although it only takes a moment to enact the Stoneshield's defense, it is an ordeal to undo it. The hefty weight is held aloft by numerous umber bronze chains; raising it requires coordination and hard work in order to lift and reset the Stoneshield back into its locked location within the ceiling of the Maw.*

As the party made their way across the narrow stone bridge, they saw a slight and stooped figure appear on the opposite side of the closed portcullis. Esbjorn grinned with pleasure as he recognized the face of Tofrablodi the Ophidian, his beloved "Auntie Toffie" and the clan volva. Ordering the gate opened, Toffie greeted "Little Essy" warmly, and encouraged him to proceed with all haste into the stronghold. In the meantime, she drew Heida to the side, and revealed that she had seen the battle of Odin's Heart in her dreams and had known they would come. Heida, who had been on the verge of revealing the head of the demon Doden, marveled at the old woman's second sight. Auntie Toffie and Heida agreed that it was time for Esbjorn to take control of clan Surtshellir, and to displace the jarl Ulrick Elderstalson. Heida revealed that Surtr meant to betray the men of clan Surtshellir, and Toffie nodded her wizened head in agreement, and told Heida that she had already had a long discussion concerning that very subject with Esbjorn's servant Kurg (the grown man now known as Viggo Logison).

Meanwhile, the rest of the party marched through the throat of the mountain into the clanhold of clan Surtshellir, and were greeted by none other than Sigvard Fireforge, the high priest of Surtr and Esbjorn's father. Shortly thereafter, Esbjorn's brother Wulf arrived as well, and it was soon decided that the clan must hold a moot to determine who had the right to rule clan Surtshellir going forward. Agreeing that Surtr must no longer be worshipped, the family Fireforge pondered how the people of the clan would take such news. Ultimately Esbjorn surprised his brother Wulf by proclaiming that he would install Wulf as the clan jarl, as Esbjorn himself pursued the path to godhood. The party went to sleep, and rose with the dawn to determine the fate of clan Surtshellir.

## Vindr Uncovers the Traitor

Meanwhile, Vindr had not been idle. Waiting for the army (who were exhausted after a long forced march) to finally make camp, Vindr entered the ethereal realm once more and crept forward to listen to the commanders interact in a hastily pitched tent. They talked of the normal logistics inherent in running an army, and Vindr waited until the Heimdall ranger Harald Greycloak sat alone. Vindr had suspected Harald of possibly being the traitor, as he had asked him a number of pointed questions that had rubbed Vindr the wrong way earlier in the day. Vindr didn't have long to wait; Harald soon drew out a hand mirror and began to speak in hushed tones to a shadowy figure concerning the movements of the army. Peering closely into the mirror, Vindr saw the face of a hideous giant wearing an icy crown, and soon realized that the frost giant king Istr Icesjel had some hold over Harald.

Vindr wasted no time, drawing forth his silver raven and sending a message to Matrik that the base camp they were retreating to was going to be ambushed. As the army broke camp, Vindr watched the cavalry race ahead of the rest of the army which was on foot, and hoped that his message had been received and understood. As the rest of the army trudged forward, they heard a booming crash ahead of them on the trail, and saw a large dust cloud rise into the slowly brightening sky. It soon became clear that the pass to the base camp had been blocked by an avalanche, and the army on foot was forced to turn back and camp elsewhere. Settling down to rest, the beleaguered elvish, goat-kin, and sky cliff troops slept until the morning. Vindr smiled knowingly, content that he had sniffed out the traitor and saved the army from harm at least temporarily. He hoped that his fellow heroes would return soon, and dared not rest until they did so.

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