Session 021

## Storm Hammer Keep

**Age of the Wolf, Year 5, Summer, Aerlun Toil 2 days 1-2**

*The party members recover from a ferocious battle and continue their journey into the mountains. Vungar takes his leave, while the party communes with the dead. Venturing into the bowels of the earth, they are met with some familiar foes.*

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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/Sand Shaper played by Jason

## The Aftermath of the Battle with the Mantidrakes

The party healed themselves up as best they could after their harrowing midnight encounter. Not ones to waste resources, Esbjorn salvaged what white drake scales he could, while Nygaar feasted upon the flesh of his enemies. Eventually, the party settled back down to sleep, and the rest of the night passed uneventfully. In the morning the heroes awoke refreshed and ready to continue their journey. As they made ready to leave, the old wolf Vungar cocked his head. Asking his friend Esbjorn if he heard that, the wolf peered up towards the cliff face.

What the party had failed to notice the night before now became plain. They had camped right near the lair of the mantidrakes! Seeing a large cave in the cliff face, Nygaar jumped down from the cliff, his athletic prowess on full display. The nobleman found a small bit of treasure but also uncovered something that surprised him. There was a small creature in the cave, clearly a mantidrake cub. Nygaar tried to take it, but the creature squirmed and attempted to bite and claw the warrior. Brydd flew up, using his winged cloak, and attempted to placate the young creature. Meanwhile, Nygaar noted that the old wooden tower in their campsite held another nest of the foul creatures, and he went to investigate.

Using his animal handling skills, Brydd was able to tame the young beast and brought it along with him. Esbjorn warned the sorcerer that the beast was his responsibility. Vungar was in favor of killing the cub, but cooler heads prevailed and Brydd kept the creature. The party packed up and led by the young dwarvish noblewoman Heedi, they headed northeast.

## The Abandoned Keep

As the sun inched behind the mountain peak and the white moon Aerlun began its rise into the sky, the party finally reached Storm Hammer Keep, or at least what remained of it:

*You have now ventured deep into the mountains some thirty miles north of the Firehand Clan stronghold. Even though it is summer in the lowlands, the wind blows briskly and there is snow on the ground at this high elevation. Light snow begins to fall as you peer up a steep and rocky path leading to the ruins of what was once Storm Hammer Keep. You see a once proud and noble collection of structures now in obvious disrepair, and the wind whipping through the ruins shrieks eerily. Tears form in the eyes of your dwarven companion Heedi as she surveys the ruins of the once-proud dwarven settlement. It’s clear no civilized peoples have lived here in many long years. You can only guess at what foul creatures may have taken up residence in the ruins. You hear the howling of wolves bouncing and echoing about the mountain pass you’re standing in. The old winter wolf Vungar raises his head and calls out a booming howl in guttural reply.*

 Vungar informed Esbjorn that he must leave them now, but he would return in two to three days. Esbjorn, respecting his friend's wishes, bade him a swift journey and sent him on his way. Night was falling, and the party decided to fall back and camp, determined to explore the old keep in the morning. Backtracking a short distance, they found a suitable place to bed-down, and Heida as always took first watch. The volva consulted the spirits concerning the young dwarf Heedi, and whether the party should bring her into the keep. The spirits warned the young seeress that the dwarven king would react poorly to his niece being harmed. Heida decided it wasn't a risk worth taking, and informed Esbjorn that the girl must stay outside in camp.

## Some Ancient Warriors Laid to Rest

The party awoke ready to track down and kill the Crag Drake, and quickly climbed the summit that led to the surface of the keep. There they informed the girl Heedi that she would not be venturing into the depths with them. It took all the diplomacy Nygaar and Brydd could muster, but eventually, the girl accepted the party's decision. The surface area of the keep had a number of areas to explore, including the following:

* Entrance Hall to the Underground Keep: here the party found the entrance to the lower levels of the keep
* Guild Hall: a former center for commerce, containing stone shelves, scales, and a countertop
* Volund's Shrine: the broken remnants of a statue of the Dwarven forge god Volund were found here
* The Tree of Sacrifice: an abnormally large and oddly pale grey-barked tree with twisted branches and no leaves. At the base of the tree to the east lied a broken and blood-stained altar that the roots of the tree had grown around
* The Great Hall: The walls of this chamber and the bones lying here were scorched black by some sort of magical conflagration. There was a large feasting table here surrounded by overturned, partially burned, and rotten wooden benches. The remains of perhaps ten dwarven warriors stripped of their armaments laid strewn about the chamber.

Securing the girl Heedi in one of the old buildings, the party made ready to descend into the depths. Before they did, Heida explored the Great Hall one last time. Both she and Esbjorn had felt strange echoes of the heat and pain that were summoned into existence by the dwarves’ enemies. They also heard muffled and distant screams and felt sharp stabbing pains. Heida decided to attempt to speak to one of the fallen dwarves and asked it some questions. During the casting of this spell, Nygaar happened to walk in and was horrified by the volva and her constant meddling with the dead. He sneered in disgust and quickly exited the hall, complaining to the others that the seer was meddling with the dead again. Later it became clear that he had angered the spirits of the dead by this petulant display.

Heida was able to find out that the keep had been attacked by dark elves many years before, and that the spirits of the dwarves slain here could not rest until they were properly interred. Gathering up the party, the seer stressed the importance of laying the dwarves to rest. They decided to build cairns, and everyone pitched in to help give the dwarves peace. Brydd's talents came in especially handy, as he was able to move the stones into place with ease using his stone shaper magic. After the final cairn was put in place, everyone in the party with the exception of Nygaar felt a surge of health and well-being wash over them. The dwarves had repaid the party's kindness with a gift of their own in the form of a permanent boost in health. Nygaar did not receive this boon, and it seemed likely this was due to his earlier behavior when Heida was communing with their spirits.

## The Descent Underground

The warriors at peace, the party made their way into the underground keep:

*You walk down a steep slightly slippery slope. There are two ruined and twisted portcullis you can step through. The floor is covered in ice, and you have to concentrate to keep your footing. It’s very cold here, almost unnaturally so. After moving down the narrow passageway a few hundred feet, the glow of the outside becomes very dim. You catch a scent of what can only be described as animal waste and body odor. You hear grunting and movement up ahead behind an old wooden door. It is nearly pitch black already.*

 Hesitating only briefly, the party eventually concluded they had no other way to go, and threw open the door. What they found was a large pack of flatheads, who had obviously used this first underground room as a warren. Heida didn't hesitate - the volva immediately charged into the midst of the foul creatures brandishing her shield and staff. Nygaar was next to join the fray, and immediately began the grisly work of hacking the creatures to bits with his sword and axe. Esbjorn found the narrow passageway difficult to navigate, and he eventually had to resort to using his boots of translocation in order to enter the fray. In the meantime, Brydd had increased the giant-blooded priest's strength through magical means, as he had been trapped behind Esbjorn in the passage. The room was filled with the foul creatures, but eventually, the party was able to successfully wipe them out with little real difficulty.

Looking around the chamber, the party soon found two young flathead children. Against the protests of Brydd, Heida put them to eternal rest with just a touch. The party then proceeded to explore the doors and passages that surrounded this first chamber. They found some crude drawings and engravings made up of simple patterns on one hallway wall, resembling animals and hunters which were clearly of flathead make. Of particular note was a crude shrine that they found off an adjoining hallway.

Within what looked to be an old torch alcove they found a crudely carved rendering of the god Loki chiseled out of black stone. The shrine had the remains of what looked like children's skulls piled up around it. There were sacrificial bowls half-filled with blood upon the floor. Interested in this turn of events, Heida searched the shrine thoroughly, finding nothing of real interest. Nygaar insisted he should look as well, and almost immediately he was driven to one knee in agony. Nygaar had felt a wave of negative energy flow over him when he touched the carving and suffered a considerable injury at that touch. The party was confused that such a shrine would hold any power, given that the god Loki was safely trapped in Hel. In addition, it was clear that the flatheads engaged in art and religion; perhaps they weren't as primitive as the party had supposed. In any event, the others assisted Nygaar back into the flathead den so that he could heal himself, and they contemplated their next move. If they hoped to emerge alive, it seemed this dungeon would demand a good measure of caution from all of them.

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