Session 049

# Droog & Ymir Return Triumphant

**Age of the Wolf, Year 5, Autumn, Aerlun Toil 3, Day 9-10**

*The heroes contend with a demon of Svartalfheim, and welcome Droog back into the fold. They meet some unexpected allies in the form of air elementals, and Vindr is transformed. Following this transformation, the one now known as Valindr swears her allegiance to Ymir and Hermod. They rest for a full day, and learn of the demon lord Graz'zt's trickery and of the ice titan Ymir's influence on the labyrinth. They pass through yet another chaos door, only to be driven back by a strange cloud of blood.*

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## Player Characters Involved

* Nygäär the Dark the Fey Blooded Rogue/Fighter/Dualist played by Dana
* Esbjörn Sigvardson 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
* Valindr Ymirsdottir the Frost Giant Blooded Human Scout/Ranger/Cleric played by Donnie
* Jor the Emberwrought the Giant Blooded Human Sorcerer/Dracolexi/Incantator played by Jason

## Svartalfheim's Minions

The heroes had only a few moments to catch their breath following their submission of Jor, using what healing magic they had left. Suddenly, the demonic wall carved in honor of the dark elf demon lord Graz'zt drew their attention:

*Jor lies unconscious before you. As you ponder what to do, you hear a sudden high pitched noise coming from the demonic wall nearby. Suddenly, a tiny figure bursts forth from the wall, flying at full speed towards you. You recognize it as a quasit. The tiny figure makes a beeline towards Esbjorn, screaming out at full volume “Master! Use the Swan Maiden's ashes!” Behind the tiny figure, a huge and hideous construct resembling a giant spider slowly squeezes out of some sort of magical rift in the wall. The creature has four forelegs ending in large cleaver-like blades, and walks on four rear limbs. It’s six insect-like compound eyes gleam malevolently at you from its horrifying carapace, its legs clicking together in an alien and disturbing manner. It tilts its ghastly head, pausing momentarily to assess the situation as it clambers out of the glowing wall.*

While Vindr and Nygaar drew out the small bag of the swan maiden ashes they possessed, Droog maniacally searched through Esbjorn's pack and dumped his master's share of the ashes upon his vorpal blade. Esbjorn frowned, thinking surely he needed no fey magic to slay the beast before him. Droog made the correct choice, however, as the creature fell upon Esbjorn, ripping and tearing at his flesh with its wicked construct claws. Fortunately, the ray that it shot out of one of its eyes failed to turn Esbjorn to stone, but it was a near thing. But Esbjorn had bigger problems, as the creature moved in flexing its wicked jaws and made ready to bite off the head of Surtr's badly wounded champion. Somehow, with a heroic burst of effort, Heida was able to thrust her mithral shield between Esbjorn and the construct, deflecting the creatures bite and saving Esbjorn's life.

Meanwhile, Nygaar had dumped the ashes upon his own blade, and moved up next to Esbjorn to battle the beast. Vindr, using his super human speed and tumbling skills, made for the wall, diving and ducking through and around the creatures vicious and deadly limbs. Esbjorn turned towards the massive insect creature, the dust of the swan maiden's ashes smeared upon his deadly blade. Calling upon the gifts of the Skin of Modi, his body surged with strength and power. He struck the creature three times, the fey magic inherent in the remains adding massive destructive power to the blow against this servant of the dark realm of Svartalfheim. Its iron claws, legs, and carapace were hewn apart in a ghastly display of strength and seidr magic, and the decimated creature slumped over dead.

Nygaar wasted little time, sprinting past the dispatched beast to slash at the wall with his own ash-covered blade. As the swan maiden's remains touched upon the wall and portal, the stone of the demonic carvings immediately began to crumble. Within a few moments, as the party watched anxiously for any signs of further unexpected visitors, the portal was closed and the carvings had crumbled into dust as if they had never been. This gate to the dark elf realm had been permanently sealed. Heida, recognizing the parties current weakness, decided to raise one of the dead howlers. The gruesome beast stood in a mockery of life, all flesh sloughing off of it as it rose to serve the witch as a skeleton. That bit of dark seidr accomplished, the party made ready to move on.

## Droog Lives

Esbjorn turned to his tiny servant, demanding an explanation for his near death and the quasit's sudden return. Droog revealed that the demon lord Graz'zt had been watching them, and drew out his master's pack the tiny skull that Esbjorn had kept as a keepsake. Droog told Esbjorn that when a quasit dies in Midgard no remains are leftover, and that demonic fey magic had been used in order to keep an eye on the party. Esbjorn smashed the skull in his mighty fist, and took a better look at his tiny minion. Droog looked quite the worse for wear, and the quasit told him of his torture at the hands of Graz'zt for his "disloyalty" and of his subsequent escape. When Droog saw a chance to return to Esbjorn through the demonic wall, he took it, but with the demon retrievers hot on his tail. Luckily, the party has closed the gate, as another of the foul constructs was close behind the first. Esbjorn, while happy to have his servant back, shook his head wearily and surveyed the deep puncture wounds the demon had left him with. Droog also revealed Graz'zt's plan to attack Alfheim, which the dark elf demon had set in motion to happen sometime during the next summer. The party filed away this intelligence, thinking of their new ally Yarboris Diamondshard, and how that news would be received by the powerful fey sorcerer.

Throwing the now visible but still unconscious Jor over his shoulder (after he was securely bound in their magical rope), Esbjorn asked the party what they should do next. They badly needed rest once again, but thought that a return to the relative warmth of the pit they had left not long before might be the wrong decision. As they debated what to do, making their way back through the magical door held ajar by Vindr's club and back across the pit they had leaped, the heroes turned to Heida and asked if she should consult the spirits. The veleda doubted she could foresee truth while trapped in Loki's Labyrinth, and voiced those doubts to her companions. After a short time, an air elemental suddenly made an appearance not far from their location. The creature didn't move to attack, and motioned for them to follow it. Vindr, knowing the strength he had gained from another shrine of Ymir, and remembering that these elementals worshipped the ancient titan, urged the party to follow it. They cautiously agreed, and the air creature soon led them back to the twenty foot statute of Ymir, a poorly worked carving old and worn with age.

## Vindr is Transformed

Moving quickly, Vindr ignored the debate over where to camp, and approached the statue that the air elementals swirled around in their worship. Hoping for another gift of strength from the ancient being, he reached out and touched the statue:

*After you touch the statue, your mind is suddenly propelled into the void known as Ginnungagap. You stare into the darkness upon the face of the deep for what seems an eternity, your consciousness bombarding with a deafening and echoing primordial scream, the very voice of the nothingness itself. You return a shadow of your former self, struggling to maintain your sanity.*

The party watched with a mixture of fascination and horror as Vindr's eyes rolled back in his head. Suddenly, he began to transform, growing much larger and taking on a female aspect. Nygaar looked upon the now female and giant blooded companion before him, and saw the blood of ancient frost giants coursing through his veins. Vindr, who now claimed her name was Valindr, spoke of the chaos of Ginnugagap as a thing to worship, and told the party of his dual loyalty to both the ancient ice titan Ymir and his god Hermod. While no one trusted this transformation, Freya's torc allowed Nygaar to recognize that the woman formerly known as Vindr spoke the truth (at least as she saw it). But the dilemma remained; the party needed a place to rest.

After a time, Jor finally awoke from unconsciousness, the effects of the confusion spell no longer upon him. He remembered nothing after touching the demonic wall, and was released and filled in by Esbjorn after the party made sure the insanity was gone for good. Jor was puzzled, and felt a modicum of guilt for nearly slaying Heida. He used his magic to speak to the air elementals, and the beings agreed to guard them for the next twenty four hours. Jor casted haste upon the elementals in thanks, and they enjoyed the extra speed it granted them for a short time, swirling up and down the passageways at a breakneck pace.

Nygaar found yet another door nearby where they settled to camp, similar to the one they had wedged open, and the party learned that Ymir had added to the dungeon as well, inserting doors that led to random locations. The door was locked, and Heida placed her skeleton howler in front of it in case something attempted to creep through it while they rested. After the party had rested for twenty four hours, Jor attempted to dispel the arcane lock upon the door but found his magic was not sufficient for the task. Strangely, as the party made ready to leave the protection of the air elementals, the door opened on its own. Valindr urged the party to go through it, as they were all "blessed" by Ymir. Grudgingly Esbjorn did so, and soon found something strange:

*As you enter this passage, you see what looks to be a blood red cloud hanging before you in the air. It fills the passage completely, and begins to slowly drift towards you.*

Falling back, those wise in the ways of dungeoneering soon recognized this as a sanguinary cloud, something that drained the life force of all living creatures who entered it and could not be directly attacked. As the party hastily fell back, they begged the indulgence of the air elementals once more to sweep the cloud away with their wind. One of the elementals agreed, and swirled into a blinding whirlwind, driving the cloud away and leaving behind only a thin sheen of bloody bile. Esbjorn and Valindr re-entered the door, and slowly peered around the labyrinth's next corner, unsure of what may lie next in their path.

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