Session 076

# A Bargain with Fang Li

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

*The party seeks out the northern army, and reunites with Vungar and their other companions. A decision is made to march upon a force of Umbrian cavalry, who are guarding the approach to the Rime Citadel of the Frost Giants. The party meets Fang Li, and makes a deal with the wizardess. The heroes agree to give her the heart of the Eldritch Frost Worm, in exchange for her help in defeating the Umbrian invaders.*

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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 Northern Army United

The party searched for signs of Vungar and the northern army, momentarily at a loss for how to proceed. After a few moments, Heida spread her black wings and took to the air, peering in every direction for a sign of their companions. After perhaps twenty minutes, she spotted what looked to be the signs of the passage of a large group of troops, and hurriedly descended to let the party know. With Heida leading the way, the heroes eventually reached the spot, and Vindr took over tracking duties. Over the course of three weary hours, in which the terrain became trackless granite at times, the heroes rounded a bend on a mountain pass and spotted the tell-tale signs of their encamped army. A large collection of elves, followers of Heimdall, and diminutive goat men greeted them as they approached.

Bounding forward, their old lupine companion Vungar greeted them first, calling out in an uproarious voice. Heida gave the old wolf a potion which restored him to his youth, the effects of which Vungar received with obvious pleasure. The other leaders of the various contingents, to include the ranger Harald Greycloak, the elvish captain Lucien Blodskald, the cleric (and cousin of Nygarr) Gryfhild Volundson, and the goatess Laerad the Fair, also bid the heroes hello, and invited them into a tent to strategize. Harald layed out a map showing the outlying area surrounding the Rime Citadel. There were a number of approaches to attacking the citadel, one being a seemingly unguarded pass, another a pass where fifty Umbrian cavalry waited in formation. Vungar and Lucien were in favor of attacking the cavalry directly. Laerad, meanwhile, urged that she should lead the heroes alone through a treacherous mountain pass, bypassing both valley approaches. Harald and Gryf, on the other hand, thought that the open pass was the best way forward, as they were confident they could overcome any natural traps or ambushes which might await them. Giving their input, the various leaders of the allied factions then took their leave, leaving it in the hands of Nygaar and the party to make a final decision.

A long discussion ensued, in which many ideas were bandied about as the heroes struggled to reach a decision. Heida even asked the spirits for guidance, specifically concerning where they might face the Eldritch Frost Worm, but learned that all paths led to the worm as it guarded the citadel closely. Nygaar thought long and hard about the Umbrian cavalry, and realized that they must be the same troops who had come here with Fang Li. He urged Heida to use her crystal ball to seek out the enemy wizardess, but the scrying attempt failed. Eventually they decided to split up, with some of the party taking to the air while Nygaar and Esbjorn went to parley with the Umbrian troops.

As the heroes left the tent to issue their orders, Vindr sought out the goat woman scout Laerad. He handed her a fine suit of leather armor, and was rewarded with a radiant smile and a somewhat embarrassed thank you. As she looked up at Vindr, she suddenly got a puzzled expression on her face. Curious, Vindr peered upwards as well, and soon realized that there was an unnatural swirling snowfall happening above their heads. Vindr called this occurrence to the attention of the party, and they all glanced upwards warily. Jor's eyes widened as he recognized the handiwork of a fellow practitioner of seidr.

Jor's heart sank as he related to his fellows that it could be no other than Arianus, known as The Breath of Winter. A notorious frost giant wizardess from Jotunheim, Arianus had the power to change whole weather patterns, and possessed seidr of nearly god-like proportions. Jor told his friends of one spell in particular, known as Frostfell, that could potentially lay waste to their entire army in one fell swoop. Hearing this, Nygaar decided that splitting up the party was not ideal, and instead gathered up everyone to confront the Umbrian cavalry together. He would deal with the frost giant witch if she dared show her face. The army broke camp, and went to meet their destiny.

## A Bargain with Fang is Struck

The heroes marched for perhaps three hours, watching the autumn sun slowly set behind the mountain peaks surrounding them. Suddenly, they saw a familiar face:

*As you move forward, you see a lone figure appear before you. Perhaps she had been waiting for you, perhaps she simply appeared. Adorned in a white fox fur cloak, finely crafted blue robes, and bedecked in lavish jewels, you recognize the straight ebony hair of the wizardess Fang Li blowing in the frigid mountain wind. She stands with her hands clasped, and patiently waits for you to approach.*

The heroes called the army to a halt, and strode forward purposefully to face Fang. Demanding to know what she wanted, the foreign wizard stood her ground, seemingly secure even as the party slowly surrounded her. Fang asked to speak to Jor alone, but was flatly refused. Smiling, she then demanded that Jor give Loki an answer, as she was tasked with communicating with the god whether Jor was willing to betray Esbjorn and take the god rune from him or not. Jor, stalking around her in his odd manner, stopped at her back and whispered to her his refusal to answer the question. Fang chose to take that as a no, but seemed nonplussed. She next asked the party again if they would be willing to give her the heart of the Eldritch Frost Worm, as they would no doubt have to face that fearsome creature soon. Nygaar, Esbjorn, and Heida all spoke to Fang in a disparaging manner, as they clearly did not trust her and would just as soon slay her as speak to her. Before long, Jor recognized the reason for Fang's relative lack of fear; she was using a spell that he knew only too well. The figure that they thought was Fang was an illusion, a quasi-real illusory version of herself that she had projected to communicate with the party. Jor quickly passed that information along to the others telepathically, but no one was able to spot where Fang actually was.

Nygaar led the discussion after that, using his torc to ascertain that Fang wasn't lying. After a rather unpleasant and tense discussion, it was agreed that the party would give Fang the heart. She needed it, they learned, in order to enter Hel and rescue her sister, who had drowned years ago at sea. Fang also revealed that Arianus was in the area, guarding the seemingly empty pass to the north. In addition, Fang disclosed that there was a traitor in their midst, and that was the reason that she and the frost giants knew of the party's arrival and approach. In exchange for the heart, Nygaar demanded that Fang personally join the battle against the frost worm. In addition, Nygaar warned her that her men must renounce the One God or die, that she reveal the identity of the traitor in their midst, and that going forward she must share information and resources in order to help the heroes defeat the Umbrian invaders. Fang agreed, and in a wink she disappeared. Jor sighed longingly, envious that she had the magic of teleportation at her disposal. Calling out to the army captains, Nygaar and the party headed forward, intent on bending the enemy cavalry on the trail ahead of them to their will.

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