Story HourPost your ongoing tales from your campaigns, and read those from others for inspiration. Lots of other RPG boards post "Story Hours", but this is where it started!
Stepping through a magical portal is always a slightly unsettling experience, and as the group exited Glorium tower they felt a certain oppresive weight lift from their shoulders. The constant threat of attack from the skeletal creatures or from another Warforged construct had led to a palpable sense of continuing tension, and as the light blue energy of the portal surrounded them they, finally, started to relax.
As their vision cleared, each member of the party could see where they had landed. Instead of the rocky island of Glorium, they now stood halfway up a large hill, frosted with snow and attacked by a biting wind. Ahead of them, a snowy forest filled the valley, with a narrow path down into the lowlands.
Iben thought through his lore of the area, and concluded from the clues available that they had moved a long way north – further into the Beastlands. With no other clue as to what to do next, they began to march down the hill, looking for human civilization.
Within an hour or so, a large gorge opened up in front of them, with cave openings clearly visible on the other side. Figures could be seen moving from cave to cave on the far side of the gorge wall, which rose high into the sky. A narrow rope bridge seemed to be the only way across, and warily the heroes approached it.
A quiet warning sounded, and a platform was lowered from the trees as they crossed, with several human figures clutching weapons on top of it. After a short conversation, the party were allowed to move up and into the inhabited areas of the caves and speak to the town’s leader, Yanni.
Yanni explained that this was the settlement of Wayweary, a mining and forging community famed for it’s weapons and armour. Upon learning that the group were in the midst of fighting the Beastmen and also possibly the Dead that were beginning to rise again, he eased his own tension and spoke more.
He explained that recently a group of Beastmen had come down out of the same hills as the group, lead by a centaur. After hearing the description of Sigmund from Iben, he confirmed that this was ths same creature. The Beastmen had gone to a set of local caves, newly opened, and fought some sort of battle there before departing.
Exchanging looks, the adventureres decided to investigate these caves for themselves. Yanni also spoke of the Formorian Prince that lived nearby, by name of Kindrbode. This sparked some considerable interest from both Karl and Thunder, both expressing an intention to visit this Prince – possibly terminally, if they could manage it.
“How will we get in, though?” asked Aengus.
Janni replied “It is the Prince’s birthday soon, and he invites people from all around to attend his castle and the yearly feast. The Prince himself will eat the most, of course, and enjoy the presents that everyone brings. You’ll have to bring him something to get in.”
Thunder drew one of the bastard swords that he had taken from the remains of General Requiem. “Will this do?”
“By Thor’s beard!” exclaimed Yanni. “That’s going to make the cake we made him look a bit silly…”
Laughing, the group rested up and recovered themselves. The following day, they explored the caves the Beastmen had visited, discovering little but for some evidence of a battle and a gauntlet, perhaps of Warforged make. Another of the Legion may once have been entombed here, but if so it was now gone.
Before leaving for Thruthgelmir, the group were talking in a small cave they had been granted to stay in for the duration.
“I have had an idea,” stated Thunder. “The Ghulra, the soul-stones of the Legion, have come into our possession. Why, if not for a reason? These soul-stones may still hold the essence of the Warforged they once were. By giving that essence a purpose and a life, we could use these Ghulra as weapons against our foes.”
“How so?” asked Aengus carefully. “I’m not sure what you’re talking of.”
In answer, Thunder looped a fine silver chain through a tiny whole drilled in the top of one Ghulra. “This was once the Ghulra of a friend of mine named Life’s Bright Spark,” he said sadly. “She was a fine and devout Cleric of Kord, and taught me many of His teachings. She always looked to protect us, and was never overcome by fear, or doubt, or rage. I hope she can protect me, too.” Looping the chain over his head, the newly-made amulet sat neatly on Thunder’s chest, catching the firelight. To Aengus’ and Sigurd’s mage-vision, they could see the amulet glowing slightly, protecting it’s wearer.
Thunder spoke again. “I am sure that each member of the Legion would be keen to help us. Let us seek to forge them into new weapons, armour and other items, that we may make ourselves capable of doing what we must. Sigurd, and Aengus, with your magical training and knowledge of arcana, you should be able to make this happen.”
As Karl reached into the urn, Thunder put one hand out. “Not that one,” he said firmly. “The Strength of Shield deserves a greater craftsmen that one of us, and should we ever put his Ghulra to use it should be for an item that will last a thousand years or more.”
The heroes spoke and worked long into that night, arming themselves for the battle to come.
Note: This idea of using the Ghulra to make magical items came about through discussion at the table. Broadly speaking, it allows Joe (the DM) to make sure we have level-appropriate gear without handing out lots of treasure (which is tricky given our accelerated speed of xp and level gain).
It also allows us to become more involved in the campaign world, letting us fill out the history of the Legion That Waits by coming up with more names to work with. The deal is that each item has to be named and detailed a little as we make items.
I'm very happy with the idea, and it means that Thunder now has:
# Life’s Bright Spark (Amulet of Protection +2)
# Link In The Chain (Exalted Armour +1) &
# Bright Fury of Kord (Symbol of Turning +1) to go with the Legionspear he already owned. Should make us all that bit more powerful for the next session!
Once the forging of magic had been done, tired limbs rested and bellies re-filled with food, the group spoke once more with Yetta and Yuppi, the baker and blacksmith, respectively, of Wayweary. These two brave souls were the two that were to take the cake to Prince Kindrbode for his birthday celebration, and the adventurers had decided to journey with them. Apparently, since the Prince could only count to four, this was to be his fourth birthday party. No one in living memory could remember when it wasn’t his fourth birthday party.
Yetta explained the route to them. Using a rough map of the area as a guide, she pointed out the various dangers that lay in their way. “A cliff, the first bridge, through the woods, back across the river and finally through the snowlands,” she said, sounding almost happy at the thought of three days of hard marching. “Plus, of course, the creatures that will try and stop us. Raptors in the mountains, the Fisher King and his troll-kin servants in the river, and the ever present wolves may all try to take a bite out of us as we go.”
“The Fisher King?” queried Aengus. “That sounds ominous.”
Yuppi spoke up now. “The Fisher King is the father of all trolls. He lives in the river, old and foul, and preys on those that get to close. The only thing that he could possibly be bribed with is fish – they’re the only thing he likes to eat better than human flesh!”
A visible shudder went through the Eladrin at Yuppi’s words, as he pictured himself being slowly chewed upon by a group of troll-kin.
“But we won’t be prey to him!” announced Yetta. “We shall gain the blessing of Lady Snowshoes before we set off on our journey. We do this ritual every year, and it’s never failed yet.” She went on to tell the tale of Lady Snowshoes and how she came to marry Cleanfeet, Lord of the Sea. She had declared that she would marry the most handsome of all the spirits, but when the time came to pick her husband all the male spirits hid their faces under their cloaks, leaving only their feet exposed. Lady Snowshoes was forced to pick Cleanfeet, and although his face was not the greatest he was strong and powerful, always there and unchanging. It is said, however, that Lady Snowshoes has spent the years since their marriage sweeping his waters back into the sea – and popular retellings claims this is a tale of the importance of give and take in a relationship.
“How does this ritual work?” asked Iben keenly.
“All of us that are to journey will climb to a high ledge above the river, and leap forth into it. Lady Snowshoes will be impressed by our bravery and bless our journey,” replied Yetta calmly. Iben gulped, picturing the scene as the ground got closer and closer and closer and closer…
“Sounds fantastic!” piped up Karl, his gnomish face shining with excitement. “I’ll go first!”
Emerging from the cave in which they had slept the night, the party gathered at the base of the cliff. The air was crisp and clean, the sun bright in the sky. The rest of the village crowded round the base of the cliff, near to the pool that the divers were aiming for.
As the group, including Yetta and Yuppi, worked their way up the winding path to the ledge, sometimes having to scramble and climb up the more difficult patches, they saw an increasingly fantastic view spread out below them. The ledge had to be one hundred feet above the river, and each member of the group quashed a tiny quiver of fear at the prospect of leaping off.
Seeing the discomfort more evident on some faces than others, Yetta spoke up encouragingly. “Remember, both Yuppi and I have done this before, and we’ve never been injured!”
“Well, apart from that one time…” interjected Yuppi quietly.
At the ledge, Yetta placed her back against the cliff wall, grinned and with a huge cry of “Lady Snowshoes!” she leapt forwards of the cliff and plunged down into the pool below. The watching villagers cheered and whooped in celebration.
“Right!” said Karl confidently. “Me next!” He too, placed his back against the cliff wall, and then paused. “Not high enough!” he announced, and turned and climbed up another twenty feet to a higher ledge. Grinning, his face appeared over the edge for a second. The next moment, he backflipped off the ledge and spinning and somersaulting he flew down to the calm pool, straightening out at the last minute and entering with barely a splash. Another huge cheer went up from the watching villagers at his bravery and showmanship. A cry of “Lady Snowshoes be praised!” came from several lips.
Breathing deeply and gathering her faith, the Dragonborn Aldis went next. As she dived, she looked behind her at the sky and breathed flame all the way down, drawing another gasp from the crowd. Surfacing, she stood for a moment in the cold water. Speaking for her ears alone, she said “Lord Bahamut – protect us on this journey and guide us through all our battles to victory!” Striding ashore, she gratefully received a large wollen cloak warmed at a fire and began to towel herself dry.
Note: We had been told that this whole session would be done as a giant skill challenge, with each section contributing to our final success or failure. As you can see from the descriptions, we rose to the challenge.
Next time: One contest ends, and the journey begins!
Watching Aldis’ dive, along with the others, had made Aengus acutely aware of the high standards that had been set. He wracked his brain for how he could live up to the now high expectations of the villagers below. Suddenly smiling, he ran forwards and leapt high, gracefully twisting and turning as he fell. A second before he would have hit the water, he travelled through the Feywild a short distance, reappearing in the real world some twenty feet higher up than he had left – in effect, hitting the water twice. Another huge cheer went up from the villagers at this display of prowess and mystical power.
Sigurd resolved that human wizardry should be acknowledged, too. Whilst the others had been leaping forwards, she had been quietly working on the words and gestures of a ritual, unknown to the others. As she stepped off the ledge, she cast Feather Fall upon herself and instead of plummeting down to the water she floated gently, passing by the other caves in the wall. At her speed of descent, Sigurd was even able to greet one woman who was watching as she passed, leaving her dumbfounded.
Further wonders followed when she made contact with the water. With the magical ritual protecting her, her feet did not break the surface and she calmly walked back over the water to the shore, leaving her shoes only slightly damp. The watching crowd were quiet, awed by her power. Yetta called out “It might not be of the tradition, but Lady Snowshoes will surely respect a show of power such as that!”
The man next to her retorted “Or else she’ll be so confused by the ways of these Auslanders that she’ll just choose to leave them alone!”
Since arriving in the village, the Promise of Distant Thunder had been content to let the villagers believe that he was a man who chose not to remove his armour, rather than the Warforged he truly was. He glanced down at the villagers below, who were beginning to turn their heads back upwards in preparation for the next leap.
Rather than attempt to emulate the tumbling theatrics of Aengus and Karl, or the magical power of Sigurd, Thunder dived cleanly and directly into the water. Just before impact, he released a burst of radiant energy, causing a huge splash and making the water churn and bubble in dramatic fashion. Pausing underwater, he took advantage of his Warforged constitution to wait as long as he could before making his way back to shore, wading slowly out from the freezing water and keeping his face impassive. As he accepted a towel and began to dry his metallic body, he could hear the excited whispers of some of the village children. “He dived in his armour! He dived in his armour!”
This left Iben and Yuppi at the top of the cliff, standing side-by-side on the ledge. Yuppi grinned and gestured, but Iben shook his head. “Uh, you go first,” he said, trying not to let his nervousness show.
Yuppi nodded once, and with a mighty cry of “Lady Snowshoes!” he leapt out, stretching his arms wide and whooping all the way down. He hit the water cleanly and swam to shore, to be engulfed by his wife, Yetta, in a huge bear hug. The two grinned at each other, sure their efforts had brought good fortune on their forthcoming journey.
Iben stared again over the edge of the cliff, thinking to himself who he, who could overcome all fear and worry on the battlefield, could be so afraid as something so simple as a drop into water. Seeking reassurance, he went through his totems and fetishes, seeking comfort in their unfailing presence. Muttering prayers to every spirit he could think of, he took his life in his hands and made a mighty leap off the ledge. Screaming all the way down, he crashed into the water.
Dragging himself ashore, he felt as though his skin was on fire from the impact. Wincing, he looked up at Thunder mutely. “Iben, that was bravely done,” responded the Warforged. “But you are not truly injured. Kord teaches us that there is always a cost to achieving your goals. The pain will fade in time, but not with my help. You shall endure, overcome, and be better for it.” Iben nodded in understanding.
Once all were dried and ready, the group began their journey. The cake itself was to be pulled by an ox, a huge but docile beast that placidly trudged along the narrow path. The cart itself was a modified mining cart, with the cake securely wrapped in blankets inside to keep it from getting damaged.
Yetta and Yuppi walked by the ox, keeping a careful eye on it. The path was frequently narrow, but the sure-footed beast walked along easily. Thunder and Aldis walked in front, guarding against any of the possible dangers that had been mentioned previously, with Aengus and Karl a further forty or fifty feet ahead of them, their eyes looking into every nook and cranny of the mountainous path. Behind the cart Sigurd and Iben guarded the rear. The plan was to make the first bridge crossing by nightfall.
As the path wound higher into the hills, the river dropped away. Yetta explained that it was named the River of Knives , so called because of the high amounts of iron ore found throughout the area. She pointed to the rocks that broke the surface of the water, and the group could see that some of them looked almost rusty. Yetta explained that difficult though this trail was for the cart, it was still easier than trying to navigate the dangerous and unpredictable river.
As the sun began to dip towards the horizon, the group reached the highest point of the days travel and began to descend again towards the first river crossing of the trip. The brake was applied to the cart and the ox was moved behind it to act as a further brake as it travelled downhill. The path wound through a twisting path towards a wooden bridge around fifteen feet across. On the far side of the bridge, woods clustered around the trail as it disappeared back up into the hills.
Although Karl and Aengus had kept a sharp look out throughout the day, tiredness had taken its toll. Their only warning was a harsh, avian shriek as a large form launched itself from an overhanging ledge. Thinking quickly, and hearing Yetta’s cry of “Raptors!” Karl used the magical powers in his gloves to conjure the scent of fresh blood. Diverted from its original target of the ox, the huge bird-like creature instead latched on to Karl’s head with its talons and plucked him off the ledge.
Karl could feel the raptor’s talons digging into his skull as it went into a glide across the mountainside. Through the pain, he managed to find the concentration to use the magical powers of his cloak Time To Exit Stage Right and teleport on to its wings. Drawing his shortsword and clutching hard onto the raptors feathers with his other hand, he stabbed downwards and was encouraged to hear another scream from the raptor in return.
Aengus, angry with himself at missing the approach of the raptor, launched himself into a flat run towards the edge of the path and hurled himself in a leap towards it. Seeing he couldn’t make it on muscle power alone, he utilized his fey heritage and jumped through the Feywild, appearing next to Karl on the beast’s back. Grabbing onto a handful of feathers, he spat a curse at the creature, dooming it to die.
Iben yelled and ran forwards, drawing his axe and scrambling down the slope to try and stay near the rapidly moving creature, as Thunder prepared a healing spell should Karl come back into range. Drips of blood from the Gnome’s head had splashed onto the rocks, and the Warforged feared for his friend’s safety. The raptor was moving rapidly away, beating it’s wings and flying as best it could with two unexpected passengers. It rolled from side to side, seeking to dislodge them.
With all attention on the raptor, the only warning the group had was a second yelling shriek from above as a second raptor, this one even bigger, flew down and seized the ox in it’s talons, lifting it high out of reach back up onto a ledge above. The ox was ripped out of it’s harness, and the cart began to slowly rumble forwards down the slope. Yetta wedged herself in front of it, her feet sliding on the scree.
Sigurd, seeing the cart move away from her, reached into her magical repertoire and conjured an Icy Hand spell. The magical construct reached out and grabbed the cart, lending it’s strength to help stop it rolling down the hill.
Karl stabbed frantically again, triggering the power of his sword This May Sting A Little and feeling it slide deep into a vital muscle of the raptor. He shouted in triumph, enjoying every second of the wild ride he was on. Aengus, in turn, created a freezing vortex on the raptor’s back but unfortunately the raptor’s constitution proved to be stronger than Karl’s, and he shivered in the magical cold, feeling it seep into his skin.
Turning, Iben ran back up the slope he had just descended and began to climb the wall towards the ledge of the second raptor, which was now busily attacking the loudly-lowing ox. He could see blood starting to drip down and the raptors beak came briefly into view, stained red. Aldis also began to climb, her Dragonborn limbs not quite as suited to the difficult terrain, but with determination she matched Iben in speed.
Thunder, meanwhile, had parked himself in front of the cart, and grabbed at the brake. Using every ounce of force he could muster, he forced it back into place and stopped the cart in it’s tracks. Glancing left and right, Thunder could see that Karl and the first raptor appeared to be circling back round, and Thunder kept a careful eye out for the condition of the Gnome. Blood had splashed on the rocks, and it was hard to see from whom. The raptor was trying to scrape Karl off against the rock walls, and he had swung back round underneath it as best he could.
Seeing the cart was now safe, Sigurd directed her magical hand to start climbing the rock wall, seeking to stop the second raptor from further injuring the ox. Looking up, she also fired a Ray of Frost up at it, impacting on it’s flank. Encouraged, Yetta and Yuppi began to climb up too, spears clutched in their hands.
Karl was now hanging on for grim death underneath the increasingly ferocious raptor. Summoning up his strength, he wrenched his shortsword free and plunged it back into the beast’s side. At the same time, he heard Aengus launch an Eldritch Spear into the side of the creature, and with a final croak, it died. Aengus was able to teleport free, but Karl suddenly realized with a sinking heart that he was now riding a dead raptor, at speed, towards an incoming cliff wall.
Note: This was all enormous fun - hats off to crater for coming up with it!
The raptor on the ledge, having felt as though it was going to have time to devour the ox in peace, was somewhat startled as Iben climbed past it and then leapt down upon it, striking hard with his axe. A second later, Aldis followed suit, her newly made helm adding to the ferocity of her charge. Under attack from sword, axe and spell the raptor panicked and tried to launch itself off the ledge to escape. Reacting, both Aldis and Iben took advantage and struck again, and the dead body of the raptor tumbled off the ledge.
Karl, riding the other raptor as it’s death-plunge took it towards the cliff wall, saw the second raptor fall of the ledge in front of him. He brought his feet up and pushed as hard as he could, springing clear at the last second as the two raptors collided and collapsed in a bloody heap. He hit the ground and rolled, coming up against the cart as he did so, breathing hard. The cool touch of Thunder’s hand helped him up, and as it did so Karl could feel renewed strength flow back into his limbs as the cuts on his head closed and healed.
Between them, Yuppi, Yetta, Aldis, Iben and Sigurd’s magical hand were able to bring the ox back to ground level. Working hard as best he could with the limited materials available and his own faith, Thunder was able to staunch the bleeding and bandage up the poor beast of burden before it died. With only a short walk to go before resting for the day, the ox was put back in the repaired harness and the group followed the path to the bridge.
Despite the narrowness of the bridge, the crossing was made safely. Moving into the woods, Aengus scouted around for a decent campsite. To Yetta and Yuppi’s surprise, he found an excellent site – a large, now-hollow tree that had been struck by lightning some years previously. With an open top and only one entrance, it made a great spot to wait out the night. Tinder was gathered by Iben and a fire lit, and the party settled down for the night. Aldis took time cleaning her armour, making sure each plate and piece gleamed as though new. Iben, who had taken the skull of the raptor he had slain, was working hard scraping it clean to add to his personal trophies.
Karl, meanwhile, was engaged in working with the feathers he had taken from the first raptor. Abandoning his usual impeccable cleanliness, he had begun to weave them into his hair.
Thunder took the first watch, needing less sleep than the humans, and at around midnight Aengus took over, his sharp eyes scanning the woods around him for any signs of movement. He knew wolves lived in these woods, and in harsh times they might be moved to attack.
Off to his left, about thirty feet away, a twig snapped as though someone had stepped on it.
Aengus’ sharp Eladrin ears had picked up the sound of a snapping twig in the vicinity. He had been staring up at the night sky, using the book recovered from Glorium to compare the skies now to those from years past, and becoming increasingly interested in the changes in the formations over time.
He had been warned by Yuppi that wolves lived in these forests, hungry and lean. Quietly waking Karl, the two of them crept quietly into the forest, seeking to discover whether this was just a harmless animal or something more serious. After a few moments, what sounded distinctly like soft, booted footsteps could be heard, walking parallel to the camp. Exchanging glances, Karl and Aengus woke their companions and the group moved as silently as it could through the dark trees to investigate.
Ahead, they could see dim light flickering in the night. Moving closer, Aengus saw small footprints as if made by booted feet leading towards the light. At the edge of the clearing, each member of the group could see an empty campsite, fire built, and food laden all around. A roast boar with an apple in it’s mouth sat mounted on a tripod, a rack held several dragonfish and two rabbits, and over the fire itself a deer was roasting on a spit.
Aengus caught his breath as he realized what was going on. In areas such as this, far from civilization and the trappings of humanity, it was possible to cross from the World to the Feywild just by walking. They stood now at the far edges of the Beastlands, where it was said that a conjunction with the Feywild exists.
Iben, too, being familiar with tales of spirits, could understand what had happened. We are being invited to talk with Lady Snowshoes, he thought to himself, and stepped into the clearing, gesturing the others forwards.
On the very edge of hearing, but swiftly growing louder, quiet whispers could be heard.
“They have come! They have come!”
“Who has come? Who is here?”
“They have answered the call!”
“They are here!”
Realising he was in the presence of Faerie, Karl introduced himself with his full family name and rank, the other following suit with similar words. As each person spoke, they noticed that the animals and foodstuffs that were laid out around them were animatedly moving and wriggling on their respective hooks and spits, and the voices that could be heard were coming from them. As Iben spoke and introduced himself, the boar spat out the apple in it’s mouth and joined the chorus. With a start, Aldis noticed that it was the fish asking “Who has come? Who has come?” as their eyes were sewn shut.
Looking around on it’s spit, the deer nodded at Karl: “The Instrumentality1 has answered the call! So Far have his little feet carried him!” The fish wriggled as they hung and slapped their bodies together, creating the effect of a light smattering of applause. Looking across at Iben, the deer said “Kindraeder has answered the call, so pleased you have come! The herald they call him!” The fish applauded once more.
Confused, Aldis asked of the camp “What call? We have heard no call, we are travelling to Thruthgelmir.”
Looking back and meeting her gaze, the deer responded. “Wyrm has come, she comes to free her people. And the Eladrin, too! So cruel she was to summon him so, so cruel she was. Einherjar has answered the call! The Call That Does Not Sound!” With each announcement the fish slapped their bodies in applause.
“The Call That Does Not Sound?” asked the boar in a grunt.
“And yet he stands before us!” rejoiced the rabbits.
“And a human woman has answered the call,” continued the deer, “but not ours, not ours!”
“Not ours? Then whose?” grunted the boar.
“Perhaps her own? Perhaps?” asked the rabbits.
Trying to get a grasp on the situation, Aengus calls out “We have spoken with the Wailing Spirit of the Mountain, near Kindraed!”
The boar responded loudly “You must save us!”
The fish and rabbits chorused immediately, “Save us! Save us!”
The deer spoke again, saying “The end will come, the land will die. Faerie, too. You must save us! The lands are joined by lines – these lines must be severed.”
“You mean.. Leylines?” asked Aengus, calling on his knowledge of the natural world.
“Well…” began the deer.
“She will tell you, she who awaits at the end of the World!”2 interrupted the boar.
The deer continued quickly. “Beware Siegmund!” At the mention of this name the rabbits trembled and squealed with fear
“He tricks you! You have what he has not, and he wants it. He –“
A sharp snap of a twig sounded in the forest, off to one side, and in an instant, every animal went limp, the boar picking up the apple with its mouth again before falling still.
At the sound of the twig, Karl spun round trying to see what was moving out in the blackness. Seeing no movement, he crept quickly out of the clearing, scouting around. The rest of the group fanned out around the edge of the clearing, but could find nothing more than a small set of wolf tracks. Neither Iben nor Aengus could explain them, save to say that another spirit had interrupted what was going on.
After a short discussion on the do’s and don’ts of dealing with Faerie, it was decided that the food could be eaten, and the companions fell upon it ravenously. Sigurd, however, had a very bright idea and asked Iben if she could borrow his Bag of Holding. Placing the cooked Dragonfish inside, she explained that should the Fisher King or his troll-kin be encountered, we could produce these fish as a distraction or bribe. This idea was greeted with great joy by the others, who had been somewhat worried by the prospect of facing angry troll-kin seeking to devour them.
After feasting and returning to the tree, the whole group, including Aengus, fell asleep inside. Awakening, they found that a deep snowfall had happened during the night, with light flakes still falling as the sun was coming up. Thunder, feeling truly rested for the first time since he had been rescued from the Ice Wall, noted that Aengus seemed disturbed. Pressing him, Aengus admitted that he had had a dark and disturbing dream during the night (see Ragnarok page).
Sigurd has had another bright idea during her sleep. She asks Yuppi and Yetta if the cake can be dismantled, showing them the Bag of Holding. Quickly the idea is grasped – by dismantling the cake and storing it in this magical bag, it can be transported more easily and with less risk. Yetta has made the cake so that it can come apart in layers and pieces, and it stacks up neatly inside the bag. Sigurd can now ride inside the cart with Yetta and Thunder, whilst Yuppi keeps an eye on the ox from outside. Aengus and Karl continue to range ahead with Iben guarding the rear.
After half a days walk through the waist-deep snow, the travel-party comes to a stone bridge crossing a second stretch of the River of Knives . This bridge has a thirty-foot span, and is well built and sturdy. The path continues down into lower hills on the far side, but as the party cross the bridge they can see that the river is swollen and running faster than normal.
Yuppi casts his eye down at the raging water below, and looks along it’s path. Pointing, he says “We’re going to need the raft. Normally we can walk alongside the river and stay off it, but with the snowfall, and the recent rain there is no way we could manage that. There is a raft prepared – I hope you’re all ready for some more hard work?”
The ox was left behind with sacks of food for the return journey, tied up safely in a cave with the cart. With Iben’s Bag of Holding taking the weight of the cake, all members of the party clamber cautiously onto the raft. As they set out, Yuppi stays at the back, doing his best to steer with an oar. Aengus sits at the front, keeping an eye out for rocks hidden under the water. Iben and Thunder sat at the front corners with long poles, ready to use their strength to keep the raft from crashing into the sides of the gorge.
The first set of rapids were negotiated with ease, and the river opened out for a moment. This respite was short-lived, however, and as the gorge ahead narrowed the river once again picked up speed. Racing around a corner, everyone could see more jagged, rusty rocks looming up from under the water. Unfortunately, on this occasion Aengus’ eyes were not keen enough, and a jagged rock ripped into the raft from beneath, splitting it down the middle. Despite heroic efforts to hold it together, within seconds the party had been dumped unceremoniously into the freezing, fast-running river.
As the raft split, Aengus once again called upon his Faerie-like powers to teleport to safety on the bank. Over the next minute, he saw Karl and Thunder also pull themselves out of the water, but of Yetta, Yuppi, Sigurd, Aldis and Iben there was no sign.
Following the path as best they could, the three of them moved around the next bend in the river to be greeted by an awesome sight. The gorge ended abruptly in a swirling maelstrom as the river dived downwards between walls of rock, disappearing underground. Overhanging vegetation grew in the tremendous spray that was thrown up from this sinkhole.
After a short discussion, Karl found himself, once more, on the end of a rope being lowered into the vast, sucking hole at the centre of the maelstrom. With water all around him, he, in turn, slowly lowered a torch ahead of him as he descended into the blackness, desperately hoping for a sign of his companions. Above him, Aengus and Thunder, perched dangerously on the strongest tree-branches they could find, kept careful grip on the rope and slowly continued to lower their Gnomish friend.
Next time: Did the others survive? More importantly, did the cake?
Karl slowly dropped through the raging waters, his sharp eyes peering as best he could through the spray and the darkness beneath. Distantly he could see a dim light shining, and he tugged on the rope to let his comrades above know that life was present. A short while later, after some very nifty ropework, Karl, Thunder and Aengus stood beside a damp shore underground.
The journey through the maelstrom had left Yuppi, Yetta, Iben, Sigurd and Aldis breathless and sore. One by one they had dragged themselves out of the freezing water, pulling up onto a sandy shore and collapsing to get their breath back. Aldis powerful lungs dragged air back inside of her – as a creature of fire, she had found the immersion particularly unpleasant. Never again! She thought to herself. I would rather face a hundred Beastmen than be drowned in that cold!
Sigurd was weakly able to conjure a magelight, illuminating the nearby area. Yuppi moved towards Iben and asked, her throat raw, whether the cake had survived. Iben was able to show her his magical bag, and inside the various parts of the cake were intact. “Had we not been able to produce that cake, our lives would have been forfeit,” explained Yuppi. “We would have been better off turning back. Thank you.”
About fifteen minutes later, all were reunited. Yetta put forward their choices from here on in. “We can take a long, quieter road, or a shorter and more dangerous route. It’s been about five years since we had to go this way, and the Fisher King and his trolls still live down here. We’ll have to stay well clear of them if you don’t want to get ripped to shreds.”
After a short discussion, it was agreed that the shorter, more dangerous route was the best option. Yuppi and Yetta led the way through the broken tunnels. The path was not a smooth mineshaft or worked tunnel, instead it meandered up short climbs, down rough drops and sliding slopes, through more freezing streams and past the distant sounds of rats and bats. At all times, every member of the group kept their eyes peeled and their ears open, listening for the first sound or watching for the first movement that would indicate the trolls had found them.
A couple of hours journey later, Aengus spotted a trail of wet footprints on the rock ahead of them. The sole that had left them had no imprint at all. With a smile, Aengus turned to the rest and said “It appears that Lady Snowshoes is to be our guide out of here. We must truly have impressed her with our diving, and with our courtesy last night in the forest.”
Five hours later, after following the footprints as best they could, the part emerged from underground into a blizzard white landscape, just as the sun was setting. Distant mountains reached for the sky, sharp crags and snowy peaks on all of them. All around was a desolate waste, no life, no animals, no sound other than that of the snow. Yuppi estimated that they were perhaps half a days journey from Thruthgelmir and Prince Kindrbode’s party, so it was decided to make camp and push on in the morning.
Yuppi & Yetta helped set up, then over the remaining provisions they told The Saga of Harald Know No Fear [1], one of the mighty ancient Kings of the Swordlands . As the clouds above parted and the temperature dropped, shooting stars could be seen overhead, racing through the sky. Aengus sat up through the night, not needing sleep, only rest. He watched as the stars slowly moved overhead, taking note of their positions and constellations. As the sky lightened, clouds began to form again, heavy, black and pendulous. As all awoke and broke camp, a huge clap of thunder started as the rain began to pour down.
Thunder and Aldis stood defiant in the rain, even as some of the others sought shelter. “It is a sign from Kord!” cried Thunder. “He sends the lightning to say we are to strive forwards and strike down our foes!”
“And my Lord Bahamut sends the thunder!” returned Aldis. “We shall shake our enemies and destroy them.” As she spoke, another lightning flash and thunderclap lit up the sky, and the two grinned at each other. Squaring their shoulders, they began to march forwards along the mountain trail, through the slushy, melting snow. The wind swirled, trying to blow them off the side of the mountain, but despite all these weather conditions the group moved well through the storm. After a few hours march, Thruthgelmir was revealed in front of them.
[1]See the next post for the text of the Saga.
Next time: We venture nearer to the Thruthgelmir, the End of the World.
Thruthgelmir stood proud and stark against the skyline, sticking up from the land around like a spike thrusting up against the sky. To it’s left and right, mountains and crags marched away into the distance, but beyond Thruthgelmir there was nothing more than rolling clouds and distant lightning. No mountains. No land. No creatures.
Truly, marvelled Iben to himself, It is the End of the World.
As the companions approached the hall, they could see all around them that there were figures moving around the ruined buildings in the shadow of the Hall. The buildings, explained Yetta and Yuppi, were the former dwellings of Harald Know-No-Fear and his men, left derelict countless years before.
The figures, upon closer examination, turned out to be Orcs of the White Rhino tribe. The companions, moving with confidence amongst them, realised that they must serve Kindrbode through fear, rather than respect.
“I wonder,” grinned Karl “If we could create more fear amongst them, would they follow us?”
The idea also appealed to Aldis. Flexing her full frame and loosening her sword in it’s sheath, she posed the simple question “Do you think they could be afraid of me?”
Yetta also told the others of the Vizier, the head of the Orcs and wielder of magical power. He is their leader, and Prince Kindrbode’s main advisor, a fearsome creature that holds control over the surrounding lands only surpassed by his master. Little more was known, but his description was confirmed – Thunder made a mental note to see if this creature could stand up to his Spear, if he got the chance.
Yuppi suggested that the cake be presented, in order to facilitate getting into the Hall. It was quickly taken from Iben’s magical bag and constructed, with Aldis and Thunder taking the front positions. The rear of the cake floated along unsupported – Sigurd and Karl using their magical powers to help sustain it and provide an eerie reason for the group not to be bothered.
As they walked through the crowds of Orcs, dozens of them stared at the sight. Orcs of all sizes, from huge brutes down to cunning magic-users and sneaky backstabbers, even including some Orc children, known as Snotlings. The combined emnity and hate was almost palpable, and each member of the group knew without a doubt that a short command from the leaders could lead to an instant bloodbath.
The Hall itself loomed ever larger, and passing under the sharp points of a huge portcullis the group entered. Inside, a short entranceway opened out into a much larger hall, dimly lit in red light.
Two large Orcs stood guard at the entrance, and seeing the cake they motioned the party through. Further down the corridor, another order stood behind a table. Staring at them, he gestured at the many items in front of him and abruptly grunted “Wear a hat, then go down the stairs.”
With varying degrees of horror, each member of the party realised that in front of them was a large table full of party hats, complete with tassles, ribbons, coloured foil and paper streamers.
Player's note: Once again, our Beloved DM combined horror and humour, for which I thank him. More to follow later today, and probably throughout the week!
The huge central Hall of Thruthgelmir was thick with smoke, the atmosphere hot and humid. As the party cautiously entered, still bearing the cake, they could see that instead of a standard floor there was a great series of grills and iron bars supporting the occupants. Thirty feet down, a great bank of glowing goals provided both the light and the heat of the room. Overhead, the ceiling was lost in the smoky haze.
At the right hand corner of the room was an entrance to the kitchens, and to get out of the heat and claustrophobic space the party took the cake through with some speed, surprising some Orc kitchen staff. Whilst Yetta checked over the cake, repairing some of the damage done during the journey and fitting the heavy duty candles into their holders, Sigurd quietly performed a magical ritual that allowed him to understand the Orcish language. What she heard, however, she considered far to coarse and vile to pass on to the others.
Whilst Yetta continued to work, the rest of the group, and their party hats, returned to the main Hall. Moving further inside and looking through the smoke, they could see various humanoid figures. More Orcs, various groups of humans and a few huge Ogres loomed up in the red light. Two of the Ogres were engaged in a viscious, though apparently friendly, fistfight, battering each other back and forth in the centre. Four towering columns, reaching sixty feet overhead, marked the edges of their battleground. Around the pillars, bets were made and money exchanged over the eventual winner by a mob of cheering Orcs and shouting humans.
Aengus had been keeping a careful eye out for Sigmund, the King of Himimborg’s centaur half-brother, and was relieved to see that he was not in attendance. However, he did spot one of the Satyxis – the horned figures who had menaced the party before, most notably when escaping from the Ice Wall and during the Battle for Glorium. The figure was extremely striking, a lithe female form in armour with two large horns protruding from her head. She had not mingled with the other guests, and instead stood to one side sipping a drink quietly and watching with great concentration.
Further details emerged from the gloom as the groups eyes adjusted. Aldis looked around the walls to see that two huge stained glass windows glared down on the proceedings. The windows featured pictures of giants wreaking havoc across the land with ice and fire, trampling the buildings of men beneath them. Karl, being the inquisitive Gnome that he was, examined the grilled floor and realized that portions of it could swing away due to some mysterious mechanism that led away towards the end of the Hall. Iben spotted another human across the hall, a huge and muscled old man chewing on a bone. Returning his look, the man gave a cheerful wave quite at odds with the hell-like surroundings. Finally, Sigurd tapped Thunder on the shoulder and pointed at the wall next to where they all stood.
“There’s a tomb here,” she said. “I think it’s Prince Kindrbode’s mother.”
Next update on Friday, as we investigate the Tomb of the Fomorian Queen.
The tomb was embedded in the wall, hidden away in a large alcove. Fully twenty feet long and made entirely of stone, the carvings on the near side clearly stated that this was the final resting place of Kindrbode’s mother, the former Queen of the Fomorians.
The Fomorian Giants came from Svartlheim, or the Feydark to the Auslanders, but a few had come to the surface lands and taken a piece of them for their own. Kindrbode was the son of the Queen of those that made their home here, but his rampant ambition meant that he never was content to remain a Prince only. It was rumoured, said Yanni, that Sigmund had aided Kindrbode in poisoning his mother in order to take the realm for himself, although no-one could work out what sort of fearsome poison could affect the inhuman constitution of a giant.
Sigurd wondered out loud about the possiblity of getting the tomb open and having a look inside. “Maybe we could work out what killed her,” she said. “Then we could use the same sort of poison against Kindrbode. After all, I’m sure none of us want to go up against him physically.” Thunder saw the wisdom of her words, thinking that although a physical battle was always a joy in Kord’s eyes, to die with your purpose unfulfilled would not honour him.
Thunder and Aldis hatched a plan to give Sigurd time to open up the tomb and have a look inside. At the far end of the Hall, the looming throne of Prince Kindrbode stood thirty feet up on a massive raised platform. A long slope led up to it, flanked with torch-mountings. Karl and Aengus between them had established that the fearsome mechanism that controlled the grilled floor was housed somewhere under that block. In the short-term, however, at the bottom of the slope were the brawling Ogres.
“Aldis,” said Thunder calmly. “How would you like to brawl against me?”
Aldis calmly eyed the mechanical form of the Warforged, noting his strength and balance, and the utter certainty of his demeanour. She knew that he would be a formidable foe in a serious battle, but the thought of testing herself against him in a mock-fight stirred her blood. “I would be delighted,” she replied, mouth pulled wide in a grin. “Let’s make a distraction they’ll be talking about for years to come!”
Moving across the Hall to the far side of the Ogres, past the old human still gnawing on his bone (who gave another cheery wave and ambled over to see what they were doing), they found a small group of Orcs talking in their guttural language. Without Sigurd present, translation was impossible, but taking advantage of what he saw Thunder gave the nearest Orc a resounding shove, sending him into the next. The Orc turned, teeth bared, and glared at the Warforged who stood and gestured him forwards. The Orc seized the moment to grab Thunder’s shoulders and plant a firm headbutt on his forehead. The resounding clang echoed through the chamber and the Orc went momentarily cross-eyed before roaring in pain. Aldis took this as her cue to launch an uppercut on the other Orc, and soon all four were brawling on the ground, with even the Ogres ceasing their fight to come over and see what was going on.
Fantastic! Thought Thunder to himself. We’ve certainly drawn attention to ourselves!
Back near the Tomb, Sigurd and Iben had managed to lever the top off the tomb. Inside, a dessicated giantess lay dead.
“In Melora’s name,” gasped Sigurd. “Her stomach has been ripped open – from the inside!”
As Sigurd and Iben stood gazing in horror at the shredded tissue that lay decomposing in front of them, they were both surprised to hear a low voice from behind them.
“Well,” it said. “I alwaysh wanted to know exactly how she died.” Turning, they beheld the old human man they’d seen earlier. He threw away his bone casually over his shoulder and extended his hand. “Greetingsh!” he exclaimed. “I am here ash the representative of the Free People of Mickelgarth, and Snufflegruff ish my name. Pleashed to meet you.”
Iben took his hand and shook it warmly, explaining to Sigurd that the people of MIckelgarth had long lived under the threat of Kindrbode without ever truly becoming his servants. Stating that he was from Kindraed, the two quickly exchanged news of their respective regions, and Iben asked how Snufflegruff had made it to the Hall.
“It’sh shimple,” he said in return. “I ran. Took me about a month. A bunch of the othersh started the journey with me, but funnily enough they all dropped out after a couple of weeksh. Wimpsh, all of them. We should get thish closhed up, sharpish, before someone noticesh.”
With the help of the surprisingly strong Snufflegruff, the tomb was quickly closed and re-sealed. It seemed that Aldis and Thunder had put on a sufficiently good show (“Nice uppercut,” commented Iben) to keep the attention entirely on them and the investigation had gone entirely un-noticed.
With an ear-splitting blast, the brawl was brought to a sharp close. Two troll-kin, clutching huge horns, had blown on them to quieten the room. They were followed by two sharp-eye Orcs clutching large crossbows, and then finally the Vizier made his appearance. A spectacularly ugly Orc, he was dressed in a long robe and had his ears pierced in several places. He raised his hands above his head and called out across the room.
“Ladies and gentlemen!” he cried. “I bid you to be silent for the arrival of the greatest, the most powerful, the most awe-inspiring and the most majestic Prince Kindrbode!” As one, with the true fervour of those who know their lives are on the line, the room burst into applause.
The subject of their applause lumbered slowly into the room. Standing fifteen feet tall, humped and mis-shapen, oozing pus from several sores and with his two eyes always looking in different directions, dressed in filthy clothes, Prince Kindrbode entered through the doorway. He paused for a second by the rack of levers at the back of his hideously ornate throne, running a hand over them and grinning, before settling himself in front of the large table that had been laid for him. He leant over to the Vizier and muttered something in his ear.
“The Prince commands entertainment!” called out the Orc. “We shall have the choir!”
Four Orcs, trembling and afraid, moved forwards to the bottom of the slope up to the throne. They were dressed in matching costumes, and nervously began to sing.
Note: We truly had no idea what these Orcs were going to sing to us, but crater surprised us all by actually providing both the Orcish original and the English translation, in a fine singing voice. The lyrics (sadly, just the English version) are:
Orc is Strong
Man is Weak
Blood for Grumsh
Time for Lunch
Heft your Spear, don your Armour
Burn the Farm, kill the Farmer
Drink his Blood in the Moonlight
Take Everything of value you can find
After the haunting, multi-layered harmonies of the Orc choir ebbed away into the smoke, the room was quiet for a moment. The song had spoken of the worship of Grummsh, of Orc superiority, of blood, death and killing. Everyone in the room had been moved according to their feelings.
The Sinister Vizier moved slightly forward and called out to the assembled throng.
“The Prince will now count the choir!” he said. There were some nervous looks around the room, as the Prince had never been known to count higher than four.
“Ein!” shouted the Prince. “Zwei! Drei!” There was another long pause. The choir, trembling in their boots, looked up fearfully. The assembled Ogres, Dragonborn, Warforged, Humans and others waited with baited breath.
With an enormously pleased grin on his face, the Prince uttered the word “Zehn!” Swiftly, the Sinister Vizier whispered in his ear.
“Zehn! Zehn!” demanded the Prince, gesturing at the choir. The Sinister Vizier shrugged and turned back to the crowd below.
“The Prince has decreed that there should be ten singers. There are only four. My… apologies.”
Reaching behind him with one long, misshapen arm, the Prince pulled one of the twelve levers behind him. In an instant, the iron grill that the choir stood upon at the base of the steps to his throne swung down and open, the Orcs standing on it dumped unceremoniously and screaming into the burning coals. Iben jumped backwards as the pit opened up, wary of his footing.
The Prince chortled and laughed out loud like a child who has just discovered how much fun his new toy is.
Note: Kindrbode was counting in the Real World language of German – one, two, three, ten.
Next time: Presents are received. And what, exactly, are shox?
After the Orcs had finished screaming in the fire (still in four-part harmony), the iron grill slowly, and with many creaks and clanking noises, winched back into place with a resounding boom.
The Sinister Vizier took a deep breath, enjoying the smell of his freshly-roasted brethren, and spoke again.
“Next,” he said, “We shall see Rusalka, on behalf of Sigmund the Conqueror.”
The horned woman strode forwards, a large barrel under her arm. Showing not the slightest trace of fear, she moved confidently up the steps to the Prince’s throne. When she reached the top, she set the barrel down amidst the feast at his table.
“You’ve got to admit she moves well,” noticed Aengus admiringly. “I’ll have to have a chat with her, if I can get her alone…”
“I bring a cask of fine brandy,” she announced. “Ten pints of it.” The Vizier leered at her, and Kindrbode seized the barrel and drained it in a single draught, taking huge gulps as he did so.
“The Ogres of the Shaven Yak Clan!” cried out the Vizier as she departed down the steps.
One of the two Ogres that had been brawling in the middle of the Hall made his way up to the Prince, covered all the way by the Orc Crossbowmen in case of treachery. It had been the leaders of the Shaven Tak Clan, together with those of the Mammoth Tusk Ogres, that had once attempted to otherthrow Prince Kindrbode, and the remains of those leaders were now held in effigy above his throne, plastered across the wall like some obscene hunting prize.
The Ogre carefully and slowly laid a sack of prodigious size on the table in front of the Prince, and opened it. As the Vizier looked inside, the Ogre proudly held up ten fingers.
“Bath salts!” announced the Vizier to those who couldn’t see. Kindrbode took a long, slow, sniff and then opened his mouth and stuffed the whole ten kilos-worth down his neck in a single bite, chewing happily. “And now,” continued the Sinister Orc, “The Mammoth Tusk Ogres shall present their present!”
As the two Ogres crossed on the stairs, Sigurd whispered to Iben. “They’ve all brought things in multiples of ten, not four. How did they know?”
Iben replied “I don't know. But the Cake of the Wayweary people is only four tiers high. They could be killed. Let me go warn them.”
Karl, who had overheard, interrupted and replied “I’ll do it. They’re less likely to notice I’m gone.” He moved quietly and casually towards the kitchen, catching Snufflegruff’s eye as he did so and giving him a small nod.
The Mammoth Tusk Ogre leader, meanwhile, was showing the Prince his fine collection of tusks that he had offered as a gift. Once again, the Prince simply ate the lot, belching contentedly at the end. Taking this as a sign of favour, the Ogre hurried back down the steps on to safer ground. One of the Orc Crossbowmen made a great show of raising his crossbow as if to fire, to the general merriment of the other watching Orcs.
With a voice dripping in sarcasm, the Sinister Vizier called out again. “The ‘Free People’ of Mickelgarth – who is their representative this year? Come, step forwards and lay your tribute for the Prince’s birthday.”
Dropping the chicken bone he had been gnawing on, Snufflegruff heaved a large bag on his shoulder, grunting slightly with the weight, and made his way up the stairs. At the top he paused for a second before clearing a space and placing his offering on the table.
“And what fine treasures have the Mickelgarthers brought their Lord?” enquired the Sinister Vizier.
“Shox!” said Snufflegruff.
“Shox?” replied the Vizier, baffled.
“Shox?” said the Prince, his brow wrinkling in confusion. “Vas ist Shox?” Slowly, his hand reached towards the levers behind him.
“Shox!” said Snufflegruff again. “Do none of ye wear shox around here? Shurely ye jesht with me? How do you keep your feet warm?” Shoving his hand into the bag, he pulled out a pair of very large, and very thick, wollen socks, in garish, mismatched colours. The Princes arm froze, then reached back round in front of him, gathering up the bag.
“Wait, pleash,” said Snufflegruff “They’re shupposhed to go on your – “ The Prince, ignoring him, licked his lips as the last sock disappeared down his throat. “Ah well,” sighed the Mickelgarther. “At leasht you appreshiated them.” He turned and headed back down the stairs, moving back to the food table and picking up another piece of meat to chew on.
“The Prince summonsh, forgive me, summons Aldar the Dragonborn to deliver her present,” called out the Vizier. He adjusted his robe fussily and looked about. “Aldar? Obey! You are summoned!”
From the entranceway, a six foot tall figure carrying a large box moved forwards and began to cross the room. As he passed Aldis, she averted his eyes from her gaze, dropping her head slightly.
Thunder nudged Aldis in the side. “Who is that?” he asked. “I take it you two have some sort of history.”
Aldis scowled at the back of the figure now climbing the stairs. “I thought I was the only survivor of the ambush that my old friends walked into. I presumed Aldar was dead like all the rest. But if she survived too… I wonder, was she the traitor that betrayed us? She is certainly toadying up to Kindrbode and the Vizier like a good servant.”
Aldar had reached the top of the stairs and opened the box. Glittering light came from within, and Kindrbode reached over immediately and poured the contents into his mouth. Brilliant jewels spilled out as he chewed and swallowed, gorging himself. Aldar, a tension showing in her neck, retreated and made her way back through the crowd. Again, she couldn’t face looking Aldis in the face. She bared her teeth, growling quietly under her breath as Aldar went past.
The Vizier, who had quietly placed a gem or two in his own robes, spoke forth again. “The Jesters of Igglingsborg shall entertain us all,” he pronounced. “The Prince requires great entertainment.”
The four humans in Jesters outfits nervously began to perform, knowing that with only four of them their time was likely to be limited.
“Quick!” hissed Aengus. “There are six of us! If we join them we can spare them! Pull out your best party tricks, everyone!”
“My best party trick involves me, a knife, a willing volunteer and normally, a trip to a Temple for healing,” muttered Karl. “But I appreciate what you’re saying, my liege.” He began to caper and dance, leaping into the air and bouncing off the surrounding Orcs and Ogres as he did so.
Stony-faced, Sigurd stared at him and Aengus, who was conjuring glittering waves of faerie light, at Aldis as she performed a Dragonborn war dance and at Iben. “I can’t believe we’re doing this,” she said. “It’s so undignified.”
Iben gestured the large figure of Snufflegruff over to him, said something quietly in his ear, and then bent down and lifted him above his head in a single movement. With muscles straining, he began to turn the human around and around over his head, spinning him. Thunder swiftly stepped in and took the weight, stand straight-legged and proud as he hoisted the Mickelgarther even higher.
“Fine!” said Sigurd. “If we’re to make fools of ourselves, let’s make fools of them, too.”
With a gesture and a wave of her hand, she transformed herself into a likeness of the Sinister Vizier, her skin green and warty, a suspicious look on her face and a sneer on her lips. Lacking the ability to speak Orcish, she instead started to point at various people in the room.
“Blah, blah, blah, do what I say,” she uttered in a passable imitation of the Vizier’s voice. “Blah, blah, blah, now we shall have the Angels of Heaven giving us things, blah blah blah, the ground should be grateful I walk on it…blah blah blah…”
A bumper update today!
Michael, who plays Sigurd, took us all slightly off-guard with that moment, but it was very much worth it. We launched in with a barrage of skill checks to see if we could save the Igglingsborgers from death, and just about made it.
The tension of this scene was that we all knew that a big fight was coming, just not exactly when it'd be...
As Sigurd waved her hands and continued to drone on in Common, imitating the Sinister Vizier (who was turning slowly purple in rage up on the raised dais), she was unaware of the stunned looks she was receiving from around the hall. For a second, everything save the burning and hissing coals beneath her had gone utterly still, before a single Orc grunted in mirth.
His neighbour quickly shushed him, fearing reprisals from the Prince, but as Sigurd continued (“Blah blah blah, see my big pointy hat, blah blah blah, dance for me maggots…”) he couldn’t hold it in any longer and almost exploded in laughter. A second later a nearby Ogre joined in, a deep throaty chuckle and in moments the whole room was laughing out loud. Aengus’ merry laughter span through the smoke, with a giggling Karl providing a neat counter-point. Aldis and Thunder’s voices were both lower, as befits creatures of their size, with Iben occupying a mid-note that created a pleasant harmony.
Suddenly a discord sounded in the room, a harsh, manic laugh booming through the room. Spinning, Sigurd suddenly became aware that the Prince was laughing hard, hit to burst. He poked the Vizier with one long, grubby finger and exclaimed “Blah blah blah!” before continuing to laugh. Masking his annoyance, the Vizier waved the Jesters away, seemingly safe from the Prince’s wrath.
Seeking to regain some of his lost authority, the Vizier clapped his hands together and shouted for the cake to be brought out. “As quickly as possible!” he demanded. “The Prince is still hungry!”
The group rushed to the kitchen, to find Yetta and Yuppi applying the final touches. Despite the cake only having four tiers, they had brought a great many candles with them and were able to stick ten in the top of the cake. Lighting them, they checked it over one final time before getting ready to take it out.
From the doorway, a gruff voice registered his interest in the proceedings. “I shay,” it said. “I can’t help but think that I shmell a rat here. What’sh going on?” Snufflegruff stood there, watching with interest. “No, sheerioushly,” he continued. “I can shmell a rat.”
Aengus’ eyes suddenly went wide as an idea hit him. “No…” he breathed. “Not a rat. Not in so many words. But a rat! An alchemical rat!”
Sigurd cottoned on. “The Tomb, that strange smell. It’s the same smell that the alchemical rats give off – that must be how Kindrbode killed his mother! And if Sigmund was involved it makes even more sense. Hang on a moment…” She took the magical bag from Iben and rummaged around it in, eventually producing the flask taken from Glorium. “We can put this in the cake! He’ll eat it – after all he’s eaten everything else – and then…”
“Killed by rats from the inside,” said Aengus. “Is there any more fitting way for him to go?”
Quickly, knowing that the Prince’s patience was not his strong point, the cake was dosed with poison. Thunder and Aldis took up the load at the front with Iben (magically assisted by Sigurd) taking the back part of the cake on his broad shoulders. Making a slow procession, and being very careful not to drop anything, they stepped back out into the main Hall and began to ascend the long flight of steps up to the throne and Prince Kindrbode. Karl, knowing that violence was imminent, snuck around the side of the Hall and began to climb the wall, hand-over-hand, in the darkness and smoke, swiftly becoming lost to view.
The Prince’s eyes lit up at the sight of the cake, and for a few brief seconds he even managed to focus both eyes upon it, before the left again went wandering off around the Hall. The Vizier sneered and gestured them forwards, letting the Orc Crossbowmen cover them all the way, ever alert. The two Trollkin bodyguards were also paying careful attention. Suddenly, and in a rasping and ghastly voice, the Vizier began to sing.
“Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday Prince Kindrbode… Happy birthday to you!”
As the party neared the top of the steps, the Vizier halted them. Kindrobode’s mouth was drooling, splittle slowly collecting on his already filthy clothes. “One moment!” said the Vizier. “We shall test the cake before the Prince is permitted to eat it. Trollkin! Come forwards!”
The same thought ran through everyone’s heads. We’ve got to stop him!
Note: Yes, our DM sang to us, and even forced us to join in. Quite what ther other people in the pub thought of us I don't know...
As the Trollkin stepped up smartly and cut a small piece of cake from the main part, Sigurd acted quickly. Disguising her actions as best she could, she attempted to use magic to cause the most poisonous part of the cake – the icing – to fall off the top and spill to the floor. Misjudging her power, however, she yanked it too hard and it spun through the air towards the Vizier. Grinning, the Vizier snatched it out of the air and sniffed it suspiciously. Finding it to his liking, he stretched out and slammed it back on to the piece that the increasingly-nervous Trollkin was clutching.
“Eat! Eat! Eat!” he said.
Staring around him, the Trollkin placed the cake in his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. A few seconds went by whilst all eyes (save one of Kindrbode’s, which was staring at one of the Ogres) were focused on him. Obviously feeling that something more was expected of him, he grunted something in Orcish.
“Tastes of almonds,” translated Sigurd, her ritual spell still working.
Apparently satisfied that the cake was poison-free, the Prince lunged forwards and, with both arms, grabbed the rest of it. Almost unhinging his jaw, he opened his mouth wide and with ten seconds, the whole cake had turned into nothing more than a fine shower of crumbs on the floor. He belched, hugely, sending a wave of foul gases across the room and grinned widely. The Vizier, his interest waning, waved the party back down the stairs.
Keeping a very careful eye on both the Trollkin and the Prince, Iben, Thunder, Aldis, Aengus and Sigurd back oh-so-slowly down the stairs, not daring to turn their backs. Step. Step. Step. Step.
As they reached the bottom, the Trollkin suddenly burped. The Vizier’s head snapped round to stare at him. The Trollkin staggered, clutching its stomach. Something seemed to be moving under its clothes, pushing against the skin. The Trollkin swallowed hard, burped again, and then paused for a second in disbelief.
There was a moment of stillness on the dais. Then a large rat-head poked out of the Trollkin’s mouth, sniffing the air. It was quickly joined by a second, and in a shower of gore six more clawed their way out of the creature’s stomach, chittering and scurrying onto the floor. The Vizier yelled and shoved the Trollkin off the dais as it dropped to the floor, watching it fall and split into a further group of rats when it hit the grill below. “Treachery!” screamed the Vizier. “Kill them! Kill all the humans!”
“Honestly,” said Aengus quietly to Thunder at the bottom of the stairs. “You’d think they’d be able to tell the difference between a human and an Eladrin.”
“Tell me about it,” replied the Warforged.
All over the Hall, Orcs, Ogres, Humans, Warforged, Eladrin, Gnomes and the Sytaxis drew weapons and prepared to go into battle. Prince Kindrbode got to his feet, ponderously, to observe the mayhem. Lifting his hand, he opened his mouth to give the final order to attack.
From his position on the wall above him, just getting ready to either drop off weapons-first or try and manipulate the many levers at the back of the hall, Karl saw a small rat head poke out between Kindrbode’s teeth.
Note: We were oh-so-nervous at this point. What we wanted to happen was that Kindrbode would eat the cake immediately, die, so that we could mob the Vizier and friends before the Orcs and Ogres could make it up the stairs. Of course, our best laid plans were brought to naught as crater wound us up for as long as possible.
la_bete, playing Karl, made the decision to go up on the wall because he knew he would be missing the next session. This allowed crater to Karl do 'behind-the-scenes' stuff with him.
Next time: The Battle of Thruthgelmir! Who's heading for a fall?
Karl had been steadily and quietly climbing the wall at the back of the giant Hall of Thruthgelmir. His plan was to use the magic of his gloves to try and activate the levers hidden behind the Prince’s throne, and swing the inevitable battle in his friends favour. He had scaled the wall, keeping carefully out of sight and staying high up, hidden in the smoke.
From this vantage point he was, therefore, the first to notice that Prince Kindrbode’s body was behaving in a most peculiar fashion. There seemed to be lumps forming under the skin, moving about, and shifting beneath his clothes. The Prince opened his mouth to speak, but instead a small group of rats spilled out from inside his gut. Karl chuckled to himself. This promised to be most entertaining.
Meanwhile the Vizier was still screaming for the humans to be killed. In response, both Thunder and Aldis charged up the steps towards him, swiftly followed by some of the Orcs. A short melee ensued, with the two heroes trading blows on the steep steps with the vile Orc-kind that were following them. As more Orcs and the leader of the Wyvern Tusk clan of Ogres closed in on Aengus, Iben and Sigurd. Off to one side, the humans of Iglingsborg found themselves under attack from the other Ogre champion even as they attempted to launch a volley of arrows at the Orc Crossbowmen up on the dais. Battle cries and the clang of weapon against weapon filled the air.
Sigurd jumped back as a howling Orc charged at Iben brandishing a pair of punch-daggers. A curiously cultured weapon for such a savage beast, thought the Wizard. Composing herself, she looked up at the dais. Prince Kindrbode, the Sinister Vizier and an Orc were stood in close proximity – perfect targets for a spell. With a wave of her hand as she focused her will, Sigurd cast a sleep spell. Grinning, she saw the Vizier and Kindrbode both stagger a step and yawn as the spell began to take hold.
Iben had been standing next to a large support pillar as the fight began, and four Orcs closed in on him. The Kindraeder felt his battle-fury settle upon him, and in one swift arcing stroke his slew all four as they came in, before racing to the bottom of the ramp with axe raised high. Dodging the blows of other Orcs he slammed the axe into the side of the Ogre chieftain, feeling a rib snap under the impact. Drawing breath for a second, Iben then turned and charged once more the full length of the ramp, overtaking Thunder and Aldis and covering the ground at great speed. Reaching the top, he leapt over a swing from the Trollkin bodyguard before catching Prince Kindrbode on the side of his head with a clipping strike.
“Your death is come for you, Prince!” howled Iben as he struck. “No more shall you bring terror to this region!” In return, Kindrbode yawned again, and Iben was surprised but pleased to see rats fighting each other to climb out of his stomach.
As the Orcs and Ogre closed in on him, Aengus realized he was badly outnumbered. Reaching into his pocket, he found his small Onyx Dog statue. Summoning the magic within it, he dropped it on the floor and watched as it swiftly grew to normal size and began to move about, guarding him from attack. At the same time, the Eladrin drew his sword, dropping into a guard position as he sought a space to wield his own magic. Looking around him, he could see that Rusalka the Sytaxis had pulled out a bow and seemed to be struggling to decide which side to take.
“Stick with us!” shouted Aengus over the din. “It’s your best chance. Trust me – there is going to be a shift of power tonight, so be on the right side!” Rusalka sized up the odds as Aldis crashed her greatsword into the Orc in front of her. The Orc fell off the stairs in two pieces, disappearing on the far side of the ramp. Turning back to Aengus, Rusalka nodded and drew back on her bow, sending an arrow deep into the back of the Frozen Yak clan Ogre chieftain.
Resisting the magical sleep as best he could, the Sinister Vizier stumbled towards the rear of the Hall. Reaching it, he took one lever in both hands and pulled hard. As he looked back over his shoulder, he could see that what was a set of stairs and turned into a steep ramp. Thunder and Aldis lost their footing under the abrupt change and slid back down to the bottom, joined by several more Orcs. The move left Iben alone on the dais with the two Orcs, the Vizier, one Trollkin and the Prince. Unfazed, Iben brandished his axe again and began to chant his death-song.
At the bottom of the ramp, a furious battle was raging. The Orcs had the advantage of numbers and were trying to surround Thunder, Aldis, Aengus and Sigurd. Thunder and Aldis were struggling back to their feet after being dumped by the ramp, and both had to lever themselves up off the floor whilst dodging axe blows. Once they regained their feet, however, their superior skill began to tell as they fought back-to-back and cleared a space around them.
Aengus threw a curse into the fray and ran through, looking to make his way up the ramp. The going was steep, but with the aid of his ability to teleport his made it up to the top in a few seconds. Barking, the Onyx dog followed as he ran to assist Iben. Crossbow bolts from the Orc archers bounced off the stones around him and whizzed over his head.
Iben was winding up another huge swing of his axe on Kindrbode. Just before he swung, he noticed that Kindrbode was making no effort to defend himself, instead pressing both hands over his mouth. Shocked, Iben took a step backwards as the Prince swallowed hugely. After a second, Kindrbode’s eyes went wide and he groaned in agony – and then, in a shower of Giant-blood his stomach exploded, covering Iben in gore as thirty or forty huge rats leapt out from inside him. The rats scurried away instantly, climbing down the sides of the dais to escape as Kindrbode toppled backwards into his throne, ending up sitting there like some grotesque mockery of a ruler.
Covered in blood, faced by enemies on all sides, Iben let his battle-rage loose, felling the Trollkin in a single blow and howling in rage. The noise drew the attention of all the fighters in the Hall, and they saw Iben drenched in blood as Kindrbode lay dead in front of him. A cheer went up from the party and they returned to the fray with renewed power. The Dragonborn Aldar, seeing that the Prince was slain, drew her won weapon and waded in alongside Aldis.
“This is madness,” she said. “You’ll never win against all of them. Sigmund will come for you.” She blocked an axe strike from a burly Orc, grunting under the impact.
“So be it,” responded the Paladin grimly. “When he does, he’ll get more of the same!”
The Sinister Vizier threw off the magical sleep and was just turning to adjust another lever when he felt something drop over his head. As he reached up to free it the rope went tight, and the Orc was yanked upwards into the darkness. As he ascended, he scrabbled and kicked against the wall trying to get free, but a moment later Karl came into view above him.
“Greetings, Vizier,” said the Gnome, who had braced himself against a support. “Meet my friend…” The last thing the Vizier saw was a shortsword flashing towards his face.
Surrounded by Orcs, Thunder knew that he had to give Aldis some space. In a second, he drove his Legion Spear through the body of one Orc, and then spun round to stab up into the Ogre chieftain. As he struck, he called down Kord’s wrath on the beast, and the spear tip ignited in lightning. The Ogre staggered back, small bolts of lightning leapt off him and struck other nearby Orcs, burning them. Taking a breath, Thunder spoke a Healing Word, curing some of the small cuts and bruises on Aldis’ body.
In turn, Aldis drove the Ogre back further, battering away at him with her greatsword and stopping him from being able to take a moment’s breath. Suffering from many points of impact, the Ogre was tiring fast.
A terrible creaking noise came from near the entrance Hall. Looking to see what it was, Sigurd realized the a couple more of the guard Orcs had started to raise the portcullis with the aid of a winch. On the far side, she could see many more Orcs waiting to get in and reinforce their leaders. Quickly, she spoke the words of a Stinking Cloud spell, and the noxious vapours began to choke the Orcs as a green cloud formed. The Orcs struggled to open the portcullis, heaving under the weight, and a couple began to slip underneath. As they entered the cloud, however, they coughed and died. Sigurd concentrated hard, keeping the cloud sustained with magic and moving it around as Orcs tried to dodge past it.
Iben and Aengus fought the two Orc Crossbowmen on the top of the dais, who had drawn axes now their enemies were in range. The ferocity of Iben combined with the cool head of Aengus’ swordplay saw one go down quickly, and Iben took the opportunity to run forwards and leap off towards Snufflegruff and the other human villagers who had been battling the Ogre leader. Catching hold of one of the hanging cages he swung on it and dropped next to the grinning Mickelgarther.
“I’ve come a long way to find you,” said Snufflegruff as he dodged another swing from the Ogre’s club. “Let’sh shee what you’ve got, eh?” Iben grinned back.
Aldis had been biding her time, knowing that sooner or later the frenzied attacks of the Orcs would leave them open. Taking her chance she ran one through with her sword, slipping easily past it’s guard. Up on the dais, Aengus felt the death-blow as the boon of his Curse activated. Gripping the magical Rod he now wielded, he was able to spread the curse across to the other Orcs and the Ogre, seeing them all lurch slightly as it bit home. Ignoring the Orc next to him for a moment, he poured his will into the room and a powerful Fey wind blew through the Hall, accompanied by a ghostly moaning. All of those creatures that were under his curse swayed under the impact, feeling the ancient power of the Fey course through them, ripping their very souls apart.
Aengus followed it with a more mundane attack and threw an alchemical firebomb into the mix, watching it explode and fizz in the throng. Taking advantage of this, Aldar and Thunder together brought the Ogre down, Thunder driving his Spear through it’s brain for the final blow.
Over by the remaining Ogre, Iben was now exchanging blows with it. It had another surprise for him, though, as it reached up and opened the cage above his head. Leaping forth, several skeletal figures leapt out and scuttled to attack, surrounding the group.
“I’ve got these,” announced Snufflegruff. “You deal with him!” He charged into the skeletons as they clawed and bit at him. Finishing off the other Orc, Aengus moved over to the side and launched an Eldritch bolt into the mix as Karl climbed down the wall and attacked them too. Under the weight of these attacks, the Ogre and skeletons couldn’t last long and they swiftly fell.
With the Ogres dead, and Sigurd’s magical cloud heading their way, the rest of the Orcs fell swiftly. Within a few more seconds, the battle was over and the group stood in the Hall. Rusalka had also survived, and Yetta and Yuppi looked out from the kitchen where they had been keeping themselves safe.
Still covered in blood, Iben swung his axe over his head. “VICTORY!” he hollered.
Breathing heavily and clutching a wound on her side, Aldis echoed him. “Victory!” she said. Looking across at Aldar, she spoke more quietly. “And you and I need to have a talk.”
Note: This battle took an entire three hour session to play out, and even though Kindrbode went down early it was very tense. The turning point, for me, was Sigurd using Cloudkill to block the entranceway through which lots more Orc Minions could have arrived. Without that, we might have found ourselves overwhelmed. Just goes to show the value of a good Wizard player!
This post brings the Story Hour up-to-date, but we're playing tonight so hopefully by Wednesday I'll have something more to add.
After the adrenalin rush of battle had subsided, the companions that had defeated Prince Kindrbode and his minions looked around the devastated remnants of the Great Hall. Corpses were piled everywhere, none grander or more foul than that of Kindrbode himself.
The Giants body lay in the wreckage of his table, sprawled with his stomach gorily splayed open. The contents of his stomach, however, had survived relatively intact. After some discussion, the gems that the Sinister Vizier had swiped were deemed to be of less unpleasant nature, and Kindrbode’s body was thrown into the firepits.
Karl, however, took a moment to live up to a promise he had made – he made the head into a chamberpot and used it, before tossing it dismissively into the fire along with the rest of the trash.
Outside, trying to get away from the stink of burning Orc-flesh, and watching the rest of the Orc tribes flee, broken, into the distance, Iben and Snufflegruff talked for several hours. Snufflegruff spoke of a prophecy that had long been told in his village, that Auslanders would come and lead to salvation. Shaking Iben’s hand, Snufflegruff added that he felt the prophecy “wash more than filled now, you shee.” As thank, Thunder gave him the one of the two bastard swords that he had recovered from the body of Requiem – telling him to take it back to his village and use it well.
The Warforged had decided to keep the other sword, and other the next few days he trained hard with it. He felt almost as though he were relearning swordplay, rather than learning it for the first time, and the long, heavy blade felt natural in his hand.
Departing, Snufflegruff spoke his final words to the group. “There are many talesh of the Worldsh End. Shome shay it endsh in Fire and Frosht when the Primordialsh return to lay washte to all. But in our village they shpeak of the Aushlandersh that lead the worthy to victory againsht them. I hope that thish refersh to you, I truly do.”
Leaving, he passed Aldis and Aldar as they spoke quietly, for many hours. Finally, Aldis returned to the others, saying that she would not speak of her one-time friend. Aldar departed for points unknown.
Back inside the Hall, Rusalka was talked into staying, rather than returning to Sigurd. It took a quantity of gems, and Aengus’ smooth words to convince her. Thunder spoke of the good she could do under the banner of Kord, and although momentarily unsure, Rusalka finally agreed when Karl added that if, in fact, she did attempt to rejoin Sigurd’s ever-increasing army, he would personally remove her knees.
Karl and Aengus began to work on the great door at the back of the Hall, the one that reputedly led to the Underworld. The other villagers – Yuppi and Yetta, the Iglingsborgers and Snufflegruff, all departed on their way, to spread the tale of Kindrbode’s demise. Over the next few days the door was slowly opened, new magic items were created and Aengus and Rusalka found time for a little “night hunting”.
Finally, with a cry of exhausted joy, Karl finally cracked the incredibly complex lock, defeating the countermeasures built into it and enabling the group to progress. Behind the door lay an unassuming stone spiral staircase, leading down into darkness, out of sight.
Note: This is the first part of several catch-up posts over the next few days, hopefully!
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