Session 016

## Into the Mountains

**Age of the Wolf, Year 5, Spring, Laelun Toil 2 days 7-10, Laelun Toil 3 days 1-4**

*The party heads north and encounters a previous foe. A kinsman of Heida's displays his handiwork. After an arduous journey into the mountains, they finally encounter the mad hermit Ornolf. A path to rid themselves of the cursed arm rings is revealed.*

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## Player Characters Involved

* Nygäär the Dark the Fey Blooded Rogue/Fighter played by Dana
* Heiða the Seer the Dökkálfar Blooded Dread Necromancer played by Justin
* Esbjörn Sigvardson the Giant Blooded Barbarian/Cleric played by Greg
* Brydd Hjarta the Jörmung Human Sorcerer/Marshal played by Jason

## An Abandoned Farmstead

Following the wolf Vungar, the party traveled northwards towards the abode of the hermit Ornolf, as directed by the white robes at the start of their adventure. They soon left the relative flatlands and ascended into the foothills of the distant mountains. After a couple of days of travel, they witnessed the following:

*You venture around a bend and are overlooking a steep ravine nestled between two hills roughly an eighth of a mile away. The mountains rise high above you in the distance to the north. Looking down into the ravine, you see a strange sight - a gruesome pile of corpses is littered about the grounds of an abandoned homestead, and a large fire is burning brightly in front of the ruined longhouse. Even from this distance, you can see the blood and gore in the snow - this was clearly the site of a recent battle. There is a lone figure hanging above the flames in a metal cage attached by a chain overhanging a tree limb.  The cage is swinging slightly, and whoever is in the cage appears to still be alive, at least for now.*

 Shortly before this encounter, Heida had received a vision that she would soon have an opportunity to resolve the bounty on her head, provided she make the correct decision. As the party moved forward to investigate, they spotted two flame drakes making their way towards the battlefield and the feast it promised for them. Heida fired a bow at one of the beasts, in an attempt to draw it away from the man in the cage. While her arrow bounced off the drakes thick hide, she did succeed in drawing its attention, and it swooped towards her, bathing her in an explosion of flame. Badly burned, the volva fell back, as the beast had landed near her after its attack. Luckily Brydd was nearby, and absolutely decimated the beast with a cold combustion spell, freezing it in place and killing it instantly.

Meanwhile, Esbjorn, Nygaar, and Vungar had hurried down to face the other beast who was heading towards the littered corpses and still living man swinging weakly above the flames. As Nygaar worked to free the chain that held the cage above the flames, Esbjorn and Vungar turned towards the second drake who had landed nearby and roared in outrage. The beast was expecting an easy meal and stood momentarily unsure. Esbjorn and Vungar didn't hesitate, making light work of the massive beast with seemingly little difficulty. Nygaar was able to loosen the chain from the tree, and the cage fell heavily beside the flames. In the aftermath of battle, the party realized the prisoner was someone they had encountered just a short time ago.

## Heida's Choice

Heida and Brydd made their way down to camp, and Heida's instincts had once again been proven correct. The man in the cage was none other than Rungar the Woe Weaver, the famed Harii assassin who had tried to slay Heida in Visby. Vungar was in a sorry state - missing his sword arm and one eye and barely clinging to life. At the base of the pyre, there was a piece of wood sticking out of the ground with crudely carved runes that read "the fate of those who attack Grim's kin." The corpses that littered the ground around the ruined farmhouse were telling - all were missing their hands and eyes. Heida shook her head knowingly and turned towards her would-be assassin.

Rungar immediately started talking, clearly desperate to escape death at the heroes' hands. He first appealed to Heida, telling her he could call off the assassination by speaking to his chief Veborga Bråvalla. Rungar claimed that Verborga wanted no blood feud with Grim the Deathless and his kin and that Frida Shadow-Walker had acted on her own. The reward had been too great to resist, and Rungar and his felag (fellowship) had acted out of greed. Before Heida could come to a decision, the assassin next turned towards Brydd.

Looking around with his one good eye, Rungar croaked out "Brydd, I know your uncle! We have no quarrel with Demonaxe's family. We don't wish to start a blood feud with the eastern Harii!" Rungar then went on to name Brydd's cousin, Yiv the Unwashed, as one of his fallen companions who now laid slain and dismembered on the battlefield. These few words sent a shock wave through the party - it seemed that not only was Brydd Harii clan, but he was related to the famous warrior Ulfrik Demonaxe (was his nephew in fact). Esbjorn slowly took in these facts and turned towards Brydd in rage. Brydd did not deny he was Harii, and the giant blooded barbarian felt a profound sense of betrayal at the news. Eventually, the party agreed to release Rungar, even giving him a blade and demanding a blood oath that he would never again attack them. Rungar readily agreed, and struck off into the hills immediately, limping badly and swearing to go straight to his chief and reveal what Frida had done so that there would be an end to it. With that, Brydd interred the remains of his dead Harii cousin, and the party continued northwards towards their destination.

## The Hermit Ornolf

Over the course of several days, the party continued their journey, encountering very little wildlife and no people in this untamed and rugged part of the continent. Eventually, they reached their destination:

*You have now left the foothills and have started an ascent into the mountains. The large volcano called Odin’s Heart towers above the other lofty peaks around you. Vungar leads the party up a steep and treacherous track, towards the abode of Ornolf the Hermit. You follow steep switchbacks which snake back and forth up one of the mountainsides until finally ascending to a large plateau. You see a number of paths that head both higher up the slope and around the curve of the mountain to the west. Before you, there is a small dank hut, with smoke curling up from a hole in the roof. Next to the hut is an open smokehouse along with a number of hides stretched out on frames. Behind the hut is a large cavern entrance, with a poorly made makeshift fence behind which cattle shift ponderously. As you approach, a tall humanoid stoops through the hut door and stands before you. He is very tall (8 ft.) and thin (400 lbs.) but is noticeably stooped over and walks with a knobbly wooden cane and large bare feet. His skin is painfully pale, and his long white hair hangs filthy and unkempt around his face, which is covered in a patchy white beard. He is filthy and wears tattered robes. He has a bright steel dagger and a wand tucked in his belt, along with various pouches. Bracers that pulse with a dim blue light adorn his thin forearms.  He cocks his head at you and peers at you knowingly with sunken strikingly light blue eyes, smiling in a way that makes you question his sanity.*

 The party informed Ornolf that they were told to visit him by the white-robed priest, as he could help them in their quest to expel the Umbrian invaders. Ornolf shrugged that off, saying that its true he had agreed to help them, but he wasn't sure what he was expected to do. Ornolf did reveal the following, and seemed to be telling the truth as far as the party could tell:

* The Duergar (dark dwarves) and the Umbrians are working together to stamp out the local humans on Seron
* The Fire Giants are somehow involved in this alliance
* there is an underground passageway near the vicinity of Odin’s Heart that leads to an outpost of the Duergar. "Follow the low path east around the base of the volcano." There have been sightings of Surtr’s servants near there as well

When asked if he could help Esbjorn remove Raen's Arm Rings, the hermit cackled and said he could not. He did say "she" could do it. When pressed further, Ornolf revealed that there was a stone giant shamaness named Menja who lived on the mountaintop. He bade them to be cautious and pointed towards a steep path leading upwards. Warning the party that the path would soon become too steep to climb, let alone bring a wagon, he offered one final thing. Looking around at the party knowingly, he ducked into his filthy hovel, soon to return with a feathered cape draped across his arms. Holding it out to Brydd, he informed them that this was what's called a "Vinget Kappe" (winged cloak) and that it had the power to grant the power of flight for a one-hour duration three times per day. The party accepted this gift and turned toward the steep upward path. The volcano called Odin's Heart towered far above them on a distant peak to the north. It seemed the mad hermit had helped them all he cared to. The next phase of their journey, an attempt to rid themselves of Raen's cursed arm rings, would be up to them.

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