Session 075

# Esbjorn Claims the Pit Fiend's Head

**Age of the Wolf, Year 5, Autumn, Laelun Toil 2, Days 3-4**

*The party battles the pit fiend Doden. While Jor and Nygaar are easily neutralized, Esbjorn is able to use his vorpal blade to decapitate the fiend. Flush with victory, the party gathers up their spoils and Heida reaches out to their old friend Vungar using her newly acquired crystal ball. The heroes depart Odin's Heart seeking out the camp of their friends near the Rime Citadel of the Frost Giants.*

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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

## Doden is Slain

The fire giants dispatched, the party stood poised and ready to defeat the pit fiend. Doden wasted no time, firing a flaming fireball at Nygaar to no effect, as Nygaar was able to easily swoop sideways while flying and avoid the flames. Frowning, Doden turned towards Jor, who while invisible was now illuminated by the shroud of flame that Doden had engulfed him with. The pit fiend knew well the abilities of the heroes, and immediately stunned Jor who he saw as the biggest threat. Jor winced in frustration as he was taken out of the battle immediately, forced to watch his companions and unable to act in any way. Doden laughed, and motioned for the remaining heroes to approach, confident in an easy victory.

Esbjorn, filled with rage and love for Logandi, wasted no time. He charged recklessly in, closing with the fiend and striking one blow against him. Taking his cue from Esbjorn, Nygaar soon followed. Unfortunately, as Nygaar drew near, an overwhelming sense of magically induced terror assaulted him, and he panicked, dropping his weapons and turning to flee. Heida recognized magical fear when she saw it, and dove headlong into the pit to attempt to snatch Nygaar's precious weapons from the roiling lava far below them. Miraculously, she succeeded, snatching both Nygaar's sword and axe from the air in a breathtaking display of dexterity. Droog had had a similar idea, and appeared out of the smoke mere seconds later next to Heida. Droog held out his tiny claws, and Heida dumped the weapons on him, turning upwards to watch the battle unfold.

Meanwhile, Doden snarled maniacally at Esbjorn, mockingly asking him if he wanted to be his lord now. Attacking with claws, wings, teeth, and tail, the fiend pummeled Esbjorn mercilessly. Luckily for Esbjorn, his iron constitution allowed him to shake off the effects of the fiend's vile poison and disease infested bite attack, and his massive strength allowed him to avoid the constricting grip of the devil's tail. Vindr and Irrian stood at the edge of the pit, watching helplessly as Esbjorn was struck with blow after blow. Vindr frowned, and spoke seidr infused words. A blue mark that only Vindr could see appeared on the pit fiend's armpit under one of his scale encrusted arms, highlighting a weak spot in his defenses. He readied his bow, waiting for the opportune time to fire.

Esbjorn suffered the rain of blows from his foe, growling as he took wound after wound. Esbjorn stared meaningfully into Doden's eyes, and demanded that he surrender. Esbjorn swore that if Doden did not kneel before him, he would take his head. The pit fiend laughed, filled with confidence at his inevitable victory. Furthermore, Doden knew that if he were to be too badly harmed his seidr would whisk him away to safety, back to his home in Muspelheim where he could regroup and fight another day. Esbjorn's rage threatened to overwhelm him, yet he remained calm and began to rain blows upon the fiend. He struck once, and then again, and the black blood of the fiend sizzled in the lava far below them. Feinting left, Esbjorn suddenly changed angles, slicing upwards and right towards Doden's momentarily exposed neck. His vorpal blade, dubbed Kappi Hogg Brandr, whistled through the air, and sliced cleanly through the devil's neck. Suddenly, in defiance of all odds, the pit fiend's head was tumbling from his headless corpse! Roaring with victory, the heroes watched as Doden's lifeless corpse plummeted into the smoky pit from which it had arisen. The battle of Odin's Heart had come to an end.

## Aftermath of the Battle of Odin's Heart

Logandi wept in relief as she watched her savior destroy the hated fiend. She waved her lovely arms, and Esbjorn felt the cool touch of healing magic wash over him. Esbjorn turned to the girl, and immediately went to comfort her. Meanwhile, Droog retrieved the pit fiends severed head, as Heida sought the surviving elves. The remaining party members, with the exception of Nygaar, began to loot the bodies and search the nearby tents looking for their well-deserved spoils. A horde of gold, silver, a crystal ball, a magical cloak, an iridescent spindle-shaped gem, and a large cache of potions were all uncovered, and the party waited for Heida to return with the elves to identify the magical items.

Nygaar, meanwhile, cursed his cowardice and shouted to Odin in his shame and embarrassment at being overcome by unmanly fear. Still under the effects of Jor's fly spell, Nygaar descended to the lava below, and spotted Droog fishing out the fiend's head as a trophy for his master Esbjorn. Nygaar knew this was Esbjorn's moment of triumph, yet he couldn't help but feel angry and envious that he was not able to share in the glory of destroying Doden. He called Droog over to him, and demanded that the imp scoop up some lava and desecrate his flesh. As his skin sizzled, Nygaar prayed fervently that the Norns might allow in their weave an opportunity for him to redeem himself in the eyes of the gods and his fellows.

Heida found the remaining five elves huddling down the mountainside, debating what to do next. She called down to them, and assured them that the danger was passed and that they must come with her. The elves, eager to leave the windy precipice of the mountain which they had never reckoned to escape, were only too happy to return with Heida to the rest of the party. When she returned, Heida identified the crystal ball, which was used for scrying. The volva immediately claimed this item as her own, and the heroes divvied out the remaining spoils appropriately. One item of note was a cloak that allowed the wearer to enter the ethereal plane. Jor pointed out that Vindr could still fire his force arrows even if he was ethereal, and the cloak was duly handed over to their Mixin scout. Nygaar returned from his time of self-torment, and began to systematically gather up the heads of the slain fire giants all around them.

Esbjorn, meanwhile, was in the throes of a new and unusual feeling. Caring for anyone, beyond his rigid sense of honor and duty, was foreign to him, so he suspected perhaps he had been ensorceled by the maiden Logandi. The girl wasted no time, telling Esbjorn she had a vision in which she bore Esbjorn's son, and that she expected to be married immediately. Logandi went on to say that Esbjorn must kill her father ,the fire giant king Lumgrýmr, and subdue the remainder of the fire giant forces in Seron. Esbjorn peered at the head of Doden, and realized that with this trophy the giants would surely submit to him. Vindr spoke up, suggesting that Esbjorn store the head in the liquid metal they had found in Loki's Labyrinth, kept in the chest made of force that Glaer had long carried on his strong equine back. Searing the stump, Esbjorn agreed, and dropped the twitching head into the chest.

After finishing the identification of the treasure, Heida used her new crystal ball to find their old friend, the winter wolf Vungar. She asked the wolf where the northern army, consisting of elves and priests of Heimdall, was camped. The wolf gave vague directions, but eventually Heida learned that their allies were camped somewhere west of the Rime Citadel, the stronghold of the frost giants. Heida assured Vungar that the party would be there soon, and told the wolf to wait for them. Vungar agreed, and expressed his excitement when Heida promised the old wolf that she could restore his breath weapon. Their next destination decided upon, the party left the summit to make camp.

## In Search of the Frost Giants

Jor used his seidr to once again create an extra-dimensional camping space, and even provided the five elves they had rescued with shelter. The party, as per the norm, set up shifts, and the night passed with no further fighting. One thing of note was the passing of the guard between Vindr and Esbjorn. Vindr had been deeply moved by Esbjorn's victory in the battle earlier that evening, and felt that this was the stuff of epic tales he had heard as a boy. After waking Esbjorn for his shift, Vindr felt compelled to speak:

*Esbjorn, I have heard stories of the Kings and Gods from my clan my entire life. What I just witnessed was what stories and lore will be sung about. I pledge my life to you FireForge. I will gladly lay my own life down for you and pledge my allegiance to you.. Whatever you ask I WILL DO!*

Esbjorn was taken aback, and was deeply moved by Vindr's words. It seemed that fate had brought him an unlikely ally. Vindr, once sneered at as a lowly slave, had become one of his closest companions and now had sworn fealty to him! Brandishing the God Rune stolen from Surtr, Esbjorn clasped hands with Vindr. It seemed that Hermod approved of the alliance; the power of Hermod and the god rune surged, and both warriors were blessed with added power. Esbjorn gained an added nimbleness and fleetness of foot as a blessing from Hermod, while Vindr was infused with added strength and power from the God Rune. This alliance sealed the fates of Vindr and Esbjorn together; it seemed their threads were now intertwined on the wheel of the Norns. Esbjorn then turned to his next alliance, and roughly woke up Logandi. Under the blood red moon of Laelun, Esbjorn claimed his prize, ravishing the maiden who he had sworn to make his bride.

In the morning, the heroes set off to meet their next challenge. Traveling through the shadow realm, they descended the northern slope of Odin's Heart, making haste to find the northern army and face the frost giants. Esbjorn infused Droog with the power to cast spells, sacrificing some of his own power to bestow his follower with seidr. In addition, his woman Logandi had become the first priest of Fireforge. There had been a shift in the thinking of the party; perhaps Esbjorn might become a god after all. In just a few hours, the party traveled some forty miles, finding themselves deep in the wilderness and somewhat near their friend's encampment. Vindr sighed, and began to check the terrain for signs of tracks.

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