Session 040

## The Swan Maiden

**Age of the Wolf, Year 5, Autumn, Aerlun T:2 days 9-10, T:3 days 1-2**

*The party boldly explores the ancient tower, and meet an unlikely riddle master. Esbjorn wields druidic magic to reincarnate Brydd, and Surtr leaves his mark on the proceedings. Reunited, the heroes face a fearsome golem and Heida braves the fire to find the being they sought.*

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## Player Characters Involved

* Nygäär the Dark the Fey Blooded Rogue/Fighter/Dualist played by Dana
* Esbjörn Sigvardson the Giant Blooded Barbarian/Cleric/Surtr's Chosen played by Greg
* Brydd Hjarta the Giant Blooded Human Sorcerer/Marshal/Sand Shaper/Incantator played by Jason
* Heiða the Seer the Dökkálfar Blooded Dread Necromancer played by Justin
* Vindr Skreevarson the Bastard Blooded Human Scout/Ranger played by Donnie

## Nygäär the Bold

The battle over, some of the party looked upon Brydd's corpse with dread. While Esbjorn guarded Brydd's body and Heida communed with the spirits, Vindr and Nygäär began a more thorough exploration of the area surrounding the tower. After a short time, both Vindr and Nygäär found the nests of the abominations known as Foxswans and gathered up two of the beast's eggs. Nygäär then peered through the door to the tower smashed to bits by Esbjorn, making sure there were no further threats. He noticed that the tree at the bottom of the cave below the tower floor was magical, and his interest was piqued. As Heida and Esbjorn did their own things outside, Vindr watched warily as Nygäär secured a rope to the pit and slowly lowered himself down. As Vindr peered over the side of the hole, Nygäär cautiously descended, being careful not to touch the surface of the water below:

*The sun shines brightly above you from the broken stone tower roof as you lower yourself into the recesses of the earth below the spire. A shallow blue-green pool flickers in the sunlight. At the center of the pool is what looks like an old and slender elm tree, although the leaves of this tree have taken on a bizarre pinkish hue none of you have ever witnessed. Swans float about this pool, and you hear the movement of shuffling feet somewhere beyond your view. The cavern seems oddly clean as if someone has kept it tidy in its centuries-long decrepitude. As you take a closer look at the strange elm tree, you see a figure begin to writhe within the bark, as if the tree holds some kind of entity within it. The figure of a beautiful female partially emerges, and blinks at you blankly, smiling minutely at the look of surprise upon your collective faces. Looking past the small stone path that leads from the tree to the cavern floor, you see a nude elfin figure round a corner and look at you; she freezes and her eyes fill with what can only be described as shock and panic. A globe of shimmering blue force appears around you, centered on the tree and reaching out to the edge of the pool.*

 The rope severed, and Nygäär splashed down before the strange dendroid figure, who smiled strangely at him. Vindr, pulling up the severed rope, rushed to the tower door and beckoned to Esbjorn and Heida to come quickly. The party found the sphere impenetrable and contemplated what to do. Meanwhile, the tree maiden introduced herself as Embla and said she couldn't let Nygäär proceed to her mistress (Swanhilde) until he answered a series of riddles. Not one to play games, Nygäär balked at what he felt was foolishness, and bid Embla let him journey forward.

 Esbjorn, sensing the potential danger and enraged at Nygäär's recklessness, made use of his boots of translocation, teleporting into the sphere and falling clumsily into the cavern. The ash tree maiden seemed unperturbed at this interruption and greeted him warmly as well. Embla cast a spell of silence above her, as she felt it would be unfair for their companions above to aid in the riddling. Heida was standing upon the sphere and thought quickly about what to do, Vindr standing warily nearby. Heida attempted to dispel the sphere, and after a few attempts, she succeeded. Unfortunately, she was unfamiliar with the sphere spell and didn't think to cast her dispel from a safe distance. She too plunged into the thirty-foot hole, falling gracelessly into the branches of the tree and landing awkwardly. Vindr shrugged wearily and sprung down gracefully after his companions, able to break his fall with more finesse than the rest of the party had managed. Together once more, and convinced that answering the riddles would help them complete their quest, the party made ready for a battle of wits. The corpse of Brydd, meanwhile, moldered in a bag of holding, momentarily forgotten.

## Embla's Riddles

The strange arboreal maiden smiled knowingly and began her series of three riddles. Missing their most knowledgeable member, the party wracked their brains to answer them appropriately. All three riddles were presented and answered correctly, much to Embla's delight:

* **I am a silver snake. I have no home, so I must make one in the white rock. But I am chased away by the red river and so I can never rest. What am I?** *A sword making a wound. The white rock is the bones. The red river is blood.*
* **Who is that great one who grasps the earth, swallowing wood and water? Bad weather and wind he dreads,  but no man, and picks a fight with the sun?** *The Fog.*
* **What creature is that which cradles men, it bears a bloody back, and shelters fighters, from shaft and point, gives life to some, and lays itself inside a soldier's grasp?** *A Shield.*

Embla granted the party three boons, corresponding to their correct answers. After the first correct answer, she gave them a bone flute that could soothe the savage Foxswans, two of which were nearby within the very cavern where they stood. Knowing the dangers those creatures presented, Heida gratefully accepted the flute. After the second correct answer, the party was given a passphrase, “Svanedronning,” in order to enter the inner sanctum of the Swan Maiden safely. After the third and final correct answer, the party was touched by fate and felt their wisdom and luck grow accordingly. Badly injured, and extremely lucky that Nygäär's impulsiveness had not ended badly for them all, the party took their leave, heading towards their camp to rest and recuperate. The death of Brydd once more bore heavily on their minds.

## Druidic Magic Touched by Surtr

With the knowledge that their quest was nearing completion, the heroes began to discuss how best to lay Brydd's remains to rest. After weighing the options of a burial mound or a funeral pyre, or perhaps seeking out magic to bring him back to life, Heida reluctantly revealed that there might be one other option. The Harii volva had surreptitiously tucked away a druidic rune stick containing powerful magic found long ago in Aegir's temple under Raendale, and against her best judgment and her beliefs, she revealed this fact to the party.

After a lengthy debate, in which Heida and Vindr felt that they should leave Brydd to his rest, the party decided it would be best to reach across the veil and ask Brydd's spirit if it desired to return to the land of the living. Heida proceeded to animate the corpse, and Brydd's spirit answered in the affirmative. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Brydd's ghost was also asked if it had been a loyal mercenary for clan Surtshellir, and it gave a cryptic answer that seemed to answer that it had always been true to its word. Finally, at the urging of the sentient weapon Byrmoor, Heida asked Brydd's shade if it had been true in it's pledge to help the weapon kill the followers of Odin. Again the spirit answered yes. With Esbjorn and Nygaar not against bringing Brydd back, it was ultimately decided that Esbjorn would attempt to use the rune stick the following day. Heida and Nygaar needed time to recuperate from the Foxswan poison, and the heroes rested wearily until the following day.

Around midday, Esbjorn attempted to cast the unfamiliar druidic magic graven upon the ancient rune stick. After one aborted attempt, he succeeded. Brydd's naked corpse, which had been lain respectfully upon the earth, suddenly began to be wrapped in nearby earth and foliage. As the party watched, he was completely engulfed in natural materials, and over the course of an hour, the druidic magic did its work. Suddenly, the corpse began to move with the semblance of life, and Brydd was reborn in a new form. He tore the vines and soil from his face and wearily rose to his feet. What stood before the party, however, bore little resemblance to the man they had once known.

Standing nearly seven feet tall, the figure before them had the red hair and dusky skin of a fire giant blooded human. As Esbjorn smiled gleefully, sure that Surtr had had a hand in this outcome, the party noticed that the torso of Brydd was covered in dark snake scales and that his golden eyes and the mark of the world serpent upon his chest were still intact and clearly visible. Brydd stalked away from the party, Esbjorn following engulfed in the holy flames of his chosen deity. Meanwhile, Vindr and Aada looked on in horror, speaking quietly to each other while Heida rebuked Nygaar for this outcome, claiming his lack of faith in Odin had brought them to this pass, in which their band was clearly favored by Loki and Surtr and in opposition to the Aesir. Nygaar shrugged off the volva's comments, while Esbjorn attempted to deduce the last things Brydd remembered. It seemed Brydd had no memory of entering Wulfling lands whatsoever. Eventually, the party reconciled, and they decided to proceed with their quest to seek out Swanhilde. Forging clothes out of soil from Muspelheim, Brydd rejoined the party, with Heida using the skin of Modi to renew their blood oath to each other. Afterward, the party rested for another day so that Brydd could regain his magical might. During this time Heiða sparred Nygaar with her new blade Byrmoor and through taunts and bravado was able to establish a way of communicating that allowed Nygaar to tell when the volva was lying or being swayed by the cursed blade. Allowing Brydd another day to rest and recuperate, the party then returned to the swan tower to finish their mission.

## The Death of a Demi-Goddess

The party quickly proceeded back into the caverns below the tower, venturing east into another chamber previously unexplored. They made sure to speak the passphrase, thus avoiding the rebuke of the protection magic laid upon it, and saw a strange sight:

*As you venture deeper into the cavern complex, you are met with a wall of roaring flame that seems to materialize out of nothing. Perhaps twenty feet high and fifty feet across, the flames radiate uncomfortable heat even at this distance.  You hear strange ethereal singing, and those of you who speak the ancient fey tongue are able to make out perhaps one word in five of the haunting melody. It seems to arise from within the flames and fills your hearts with well being. The shadows of the flames flicker upon the cavern walls, and you are able to make out the hiss of steam beyond the inferno, but you cannot say for certain what it could be.*

 Making their way slowly around the flames, the party saw a massive golem, built around a central boiler with clockwork gears and hydraulic presses powering its legs and arms, standing some twelve tall and six feet wide in the shoulders. This mechanical creation stood motionless before a tall wooden funeral pyre, with the glitter of coins and gems within it. Heida boldly approached this golem, and it suddenly sprang into motion, making ready to slay the human interlopers in its domain. Nygaar, moving with supernatural speed, hacked and slashed at the creature, doing little damage. Luckily, Brydd had heard a tale of such creations and shouted out the knowledge that the creature could be harmed by adamantine weapons.

 Esbjorn charged into the fray, swinging his adamantine blade known as Kappi Högg Brand to deadly effect. As Heida surged with magical strength granted by Byrmoor, she too slashed away at the golem, with Nygaar wielding a two-handed greataxe made of the true metal he had plundered from the duergar dwarves and Vindr firing force arrows into the steaming automaton. Kappi struck true, sending the head of the massive construct clanging into the cavern wall. The golem fought on, shrieking with steam and whistles, making the heroes' ears ring painfully. It soon became clear that the construct was unstable and would soon explode, as they had seen the clockwork dog do long ago near the tomb of Chaosjaw. With Nygaar getting relentlessly pummeled by the construct, Brydd sprung into action, first casting haste upon the party and then casting a spell of protection from fire upon the badly wounded dualist. Nygaar made the final strike, and the construct erupted in slashing shrapnel and flame. Nearly dead, Nygaar breathed heavily and then peered into the pyre, the glitter of silver entrancing him. While the party recovered, Heida took another look at the wall of flame nearby, trying to puzzle out a way to enter.

 Finally, acting boldly once more, Heida walked into the flames. The flames did not harm her, and what she found inside was a pool of soothing water with an achingly beautiful being surrounded in floating feathers hovering just above the water's surface. They had found Swanhilde at last. Byrmoor, sensing the opportunity to slay an important enemy, imposed his will and forced Heida to strike out at the swan maiden. Swanhilde held out her hand and the blade was frozen mid-strike, and then said "sleep" in the ancient tongue. Heida was shocked to discover that she was instantly back in control once more and that the voice of Byrmoor was momentarily silenced. Heida asked the swan maiden if she could help her be rid of the weapon, but she smiled sadly and said that that task was Heida's alone.

 Swanhilde went on to impart to Heida that Freya and Odin were feuding because Loki has poisoned the mind of the goddess. The Swan Maiden said she had been waiting for them to come and reunite her with Volund, and draped Heida's shoulders in a black feathered cloak. The whole party then heard a voice and a sacred symbol appear in their minds, saying:

 *"Now you must lay me to my rest. Once I am ash, gather up my remains and return to Storm Hammer keep. A sword strike with a weapon covered in my ashes will destroy the demon. You must then trace this symbol upon the earth near the gate in my ashes and it will close forever.”*

Swanhilde then looked at Heida meaningfully and told her to strike. Suddenly Byrmoor returned, roaring in Heida's mind to attack. The Harii volva gave in to Byrmoor, and the sentient weapon was driven into Swanhilde's heart. She died instantly, much to the delight of the cursed blade. Weighing next to nothing, Heida scooped up the swan maiden's still form and returned through the flames to the party. After doling out their rewards, the party laid the hauntingly beautiful being upon the now empty funeral pyre and made ready to light a fire and collect her ashes as she had instructed.

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