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Message: <blockquote data-quote="TheBard" data-source="post: 66378" data-attributes="member: 2821">Episode 20: Halvor's RevengeTime Elapsed: 8/31 - 9/4/495 A.I. SummaryAfter conferring briefly, the group decided to try the same approach a second time. The first bear walked casually toward the shrine entrance, or what seemed to be the shrine entrance at least, turned, and sat back down. Nicasia approach slowly and cautiously, and placed some food on the ground before him. The bear took the food, and as he did so, she reached out and began to scratch the great beast behind his ear. This was clearly much appreciated by the bear, who made a series of low grunts that sounded almost like speech.Nicasia called up a spell to see if she could comprehend the creature’s language, and discovered that in fact she could, though the bear seemed to speak only in very simple sentences. Together Nicasia and Ingolf questioned the huge white creature, and learned a few things of interest: he wanted more food, for starters. The most telling revelation was that it referred to the other, burned-paw bear as Halvor. Lastly, it told them that if its collar was removed, it would die. Finally, as night grew on, the bears chased the group away from the shrine, and would not let them camp near anywhere near the stone door. The party made their way back down the mountain nearer to the glacier before setting up camp.The next morning, Zaccara and Aoelif went hunting, and returned in the afternoon with a pair of seals to offer up as bear food. Ingolf and the others were discussing what the bear might have meant by its belief that removing the collar would kill it. Theodorus had detected a very, very strong Transmutative effect on the collar, and Ingolf believed the bear would die if it were removed because a lone, possibly naked alfar would stand little chance of survival on the icy cold mountain top.The group camped out one more night, then in the morning broke camp and climbed back to the shrine. This time, their were not two but three bears in evidence. It was also apparent that the Halvor bear, even with his burned a partially crippled paw, was the largest and most dangerous looking. Ingolf suggested that the group present the two now nearly-frozen seal carcasses to the two smaller bears, then slowly withdraw, in the hope the Halvor bear would follow looking for a handout. This plan, as it turned out, didn’t take the subtle social dynamics of the bear’s three-person society into account, for Halvor simply drove off one of the other two and seized its seal for his own meal.That left the group with a hungry and annoyed bear to deal with, and it wasn’t even Ingolf’s brother. The last of the dried fish was forked over while Martaine worked a spell to summon up the bounty of Logos, which turned out to be a rather unappetizing looking collection of bread and dried fruit and meats – but the bear dove into this repast with relish. As the three were eating, Ingolf and Nicasia moved close to Halvor while the rest of the group kept a wary eye on the path that lead down the mountain. The bears’ muzzle and face was slick with the blood and fat of the seal on which it was feasting, and the two waited until the thing was more or less finished with its gruesome meal before attempting to come closer. Nicasia grimaced as she reached out at last to scratch behind the bear’s ears and under his chin, for she immediately had seal blubber and blood all over her hand and arm. But Halvor seemed content to let her touch him, and she cast her spell again.The bear was complacent for the moment, and his speech was slow and ponderous. She asked him if he recognized Ingolf and he replied only “alfar.” She asked him a few other questions as well and got equally useful answers. Finally, at Ingolf’s suggestion, she asked him about the fire giant Ingemur. He became angry at once. Nicasia backed away and the bear roared his unhappiness at her and Ingolf both. Then she said “This alfar seeks revenge on Ingemur” and suddenly the great bear turned a ran across the ice – to the great stone doorway to Odin’s shrine. He stood and leaned against it, pushing with his forelegs, but the door did not budge.When he returned, Nicasia asked him if the hammer – Bjorn Jotunhammer’s hammer – was inside. And Halvor said, yes, it was. Finally, Nicasia began speaking in soothing tones to the bear, which seemed to calm it somewhat, and she asked it many questions about the other tow bears, the hammer, the ollave of Odin, and other such things. Most of these the bear could not answer, but her questions held its attention – and allowed Ingolf a chance to examine the clasp that held the great red leather collar around its neck.The clasp was intricate and possibly magical, but it was not (he believed) beyond his skill to remove. As Nicasia spoke to Halvor, Ingolf carefully worked his fingers in behind the clasp, feeling every etched detail of the surface as carefully as he might, until he discovered a small depression or hole. He retrieved a spring steel torsion bar from his tools and with this he was able to trip the latch and released the clasp, thought he collar was heavy and stiff and did not come off completely.The effect on Halvor was immediate – he turned a bellowed his anger at Ingolf, and sent Nicasia sprawling though unharmed as he did so. Ingolf looked into what seemed like the jaws of death and realized he had a split second to act before the bear mauled him. He mustered his strength and pulled as hard as he could on the two ends of the collar, one held in each hand, attempting to spread the opening wide enough to pull the thing completely off the bear’s neck – and though the leather was very old and stiff, amazingly he was able to do so. He pulled off the collar with a shout – and the naked, once again elfish figure of his brother dropped, stunned, at his feet.At that very moment, from the somewhere down the path leading to the shrine came the sound of a long, low note blown on a hunting horn. The two remaining bears started at once down the path with seeming eagerness. Halvor as well leapt to his feet – his hands and feet – and started in that direction, before stopping with a bewildered look on his face. Martaine rushed to his side and cast a protective spell on him to hedge out the cold, while Ingolf looked through his magical bag of holding for the winter weather gear they’d brought. Theodorus took the collar, meanwhile, and after securing the clasp so that it could not accidentally lock again, he dropped it into the other bag of holding.Halvor was confused, to say the least, but after some explanation, he began to understand what was going on – and to remember what had happened. Rungnir, he claimed, had slain one of the sacred bears – and then told Keldan his father that it had been Halvor who’d done the deed. Rungnir tricked Halvor into visiting the shrine – where Keldan unceremoniously decreed that he must take the place of the slain bear, and fastened the collar about his neck without hearing Halvor’s protestations of innocence. Some of Rungnir’s men were present as well – his accomplices. Ingolf, figuring there was no time like the present, thought he might as well mention to Halvor at this point that Rungnir had married Astryd. The entire group were treated, at that point, to the spectacle of how fearsome a fully enraged alfar warrior can be, as Halvor went charging down the trail in full battle rage, heedless of the fact that he was not only unarmed but completely naked.The group caught up to him some way down the mountainside, resting in fatigue beside the trail. Ingolf had found the clothing they’d brought and Halvor dressed while the bard explained who everyone was, and what had become of him since Halvor had sworn many years ago to take vengeance on Ingemur and discover the truth about their parents. Ingolf also told his brother the tale of the druid Skallagrim, how he had become convinced of their parent’s innocence and his offers to aid them, and for his part Halvor revealed that, as he believed, Bjorn’s hammer was in fact somewhere within the shrine. Halvor’s desire was plain – take his revenge on Rungnir, take his revenge on Keldan, and enter the shrine to gain the hammer. He was not committed, however, to doing these things in any particular order.They heard the horn again. Halvor explained that it was feeding time for the bears. Eventually, he would be missed, and whoever it was that had come to feed them would come looking. The group elected to hide themselves beside the trail and wait. After 20 minutes or so had passed, the sound of footsteps crunching in the snow could be heard coming up the path. After a few moments, a tall, red-haired alfar woman came into view. Halvor tensed when he saw her – it was Astryd.Ingolf stepped suddenly out from his hiding place, surprising the young woman. In his hand, he held the collar that until recently had been around Halvor’s neck, and Astryd recognized it at once. A look of anger and confusion crossed her face. She demanded to know what had been done with the sacred bear of Odin. “I am here!” Halvor exclaimed, and leapt down onto the trail next to Ingolf his brother.Astryd nearly swooned at that point, and Halvor caught her up in his arms. She wept long, saying over and again that Odin had brought Halvor back to her. Theodorus offered that no, in fact, Odin had little to do with it, and for the first time Astryd saw the rest of the group looking down at her.Explanations were made and Astryd’s side of the story told. After Halvor’s death she had been compelled into a marriage with Rungnir, but she was not fond of her husband and at any rate saw little of him. She was enraged at Halvor’s story of how he’d been tricked into assuming the collar that transformed him into a bear. Like many of his other friends, Astryd had been told that Halvor was dead, fallen into a crevasse in the glacier, his body lost. Since then Rungnir had risen high among the men of Trollhaven, for he was a Bjornsnark, like her father, and seemed likely to become the jarl of Trollhaven after him. Halvor craved revenge, and told Astryd as much. She blanched at first at the suggestion that she help him to attack her own husband, but it seemed that her old feelings for Halvor were strong. She had born Rungnir no children, which was telling given that they’d been married for over two years. Halvor asked her how he might have his revenge, and – most importantly – enter the shrine and gain Bjorn’s hammer. Astryd explained that to enter the shrine, the group would need the rune that hung on the statue of Odin in the stave church in Trollhaven itself. Lundt her father was gone Viking, leaving Rungnir behind to govern in his stead, but Keldan as well was on the island, and was the person truly in charge – in fact, Rungnir was out hunting in the northern woods with his men. She made them a crude map (above) and after much debate, the group hit on a plan.They would travel to the woods in question, a few days by foot, and see if they could find Rungnir’s camp. Halvor would challenge him and (it was to be hoped) defeat the berserk himself. Astryd seem to believe that when the locals learned of these events, they would send at once for Rungnir’s father. The group could then make there way to Trollhaven via Ingolf’s folding boat, slip into the stave church, steal the rune, and hopefully be well on there way back to the Shrine before Keldan had any inkling of the truth. Astryd herself was not willing to participate in the fight, and she warned all that she would warn Rungnir of any treachery. A fair fight was acceptable, murder in the dark was not.It took several days for the two rangers (Astryd and Aoelif) to locate the camp. Rungnir and his men were out hunting at the time, and so the group had ample chances to prepare for their arrival. Zaccara adopted his Fomorian form and hid in a shallow stream across which Rungnir’s men would have to pass to reach their camp. Martaine and Nicasia prepared the group with magic spells and the essentials of a plan were laid down – the crucial point of which being that Halvor would face Rungnir himself, leaving the remainder of the company to fend off his guards and companions. Ingolf was slightly worried about this, for Halvor was poorly equipped, having only Theodorus’ two-handed sword (liberated long ago from an orc captain in Rolgulka) and a few magics to defend himself. Furthermore, he was still not completely in his proper mind, often stopping to sniff the air or run briefly on all fours as if he were still a bear. Ingolf resolved to stick as close to his borther in that fight as he was able – he had not come all that way only to see him killed.After an hour or so of waiting, the sound of a party of folk moving through the woods could be easily heard. Rungnir certainly expected no trouble, and his company made no effort to move quietly. As they came into view, everyone realized that they were looking at a dangerous fight – Rungnir had no less than six retainers with him, all alfar warriors of one stripe or another. As the men began to cross the stream, Halvor drew his sword and leapt out in front of Rungnir with a fairly incoherent scream.Rungnir’s surprise was evident, and he pulled forth a great axe that Ingolf recognized at once as one that had once belonged to his own father! “Did that idiot Keldan finally figure it out?” Rungnir asked. Before answer could be given, the fight was on.Theodorus opened with a web spell into the men that had not yet entered the water. One of them was hopelessly entangled in the ropey strands, but the other seemed to avoid the worst of them, and began at once stringing a bow. Zaccara burst suddenly from the water and attacked the closest of the others with Balor’s spear. Nicasia launched a volley of magic missiles into one of Rungnir’s men, but was dismayed when one of them answered in turn, searing her with like magic. She ducked for cover while planning her next move.Aoelif charged Rungnir’s captain, a huge alfar warrior with a great axe and a breastplate of hammered steel. Ingolf moved towards him as well, attempting to flank, but the barbarian was too skilled for such tactics to prevail. He dealt several painful blows to Aoelif with his great axe, but she answered in kind with Sig. Not ten feet away, Ingolf could see a most unsettling transformation taking place.Rungnir was slavering with battle lust and hatred, knowing on the haft of his axe as he did so. As Ingolf watched, the berserk seemed to change before his eyes, until he seemed as much bear as man. Halvor slammed into him and dealt several bloody wounds with his sword, but Rungnir answered in kind. The two were evenly matched and both were in the grip of insensate rage.Meanwhile Zaccara was making short work of his man, and Theodorus had launched an acid arrow into the alfar spellcaster to distract and wound him. He followed that with a fireball in the midst of the group, seemingly unconcerned that Halvor himself would be caught in the blast, but the barbarian seemed to come through the fire unscathed. Nicasia burst forth from hiding long enough to fire off another volley of magic missiles, dropping one of the warriors, and Ingolf continued to assist Aoelif. He was singing in combat, as he often did, and Aoelif felt her spirits rise, though she was badly wounded. Martaine moved up behind and touched her lightly even in the midst of the melee. She felt the healing power of Logos flow through her yet again, and she was grateful for it yet again, though she vowed to pray to Odin and Freya afterwards. Halvor staggered under a reign of blows from the axe that he himself had once borne, and Martaine granted him his aid as well. Rungnir snarled at him through his bear-like snout and Halvor drove his sword into the bjornsnark yet again. “I’ve enjoyed that bitch of yours these last few years!” he grimaced, but Halvor was not so easily distracted, and it was not as if his rage could be any greater. “Then you’ll be happy to know it was she who lead me to you!” – and with that, he clove Rungnir from collar to sternum with a potent blow, and the startled alfar dropped dead at his feet. At the same moment, Ingolf drove his rapier through the chest of Rungnir’s captain, much to Aoelif’s relief, and Zaccara finished off his man. On seeing their leaders vanquished, the last of Rungnir’s men attempted to flee, but Theodorus and Nicasia were not of a mind to let that happen, and magic felled them before they could take a dozen steps.Halvor was badly wounded, even moreso when his rage-born strength failed him. Nonetheless, he elected to disguise himself with a few magics and travel into the closest village to set the remainder of the plan into motion. The rest of the group, along with Astryd, traveled overland towards the coast, taking Halvor’s body with them. Aeolif's Epilogue (by Jess and Wayne)The night of Halvor's victory Aoelif also decided to take some action on her own. She asked for guidance in the coming battle...(Jess wrote: )Can I pour out a bottle of the mead we received from the jarl of Ravensomething island bury a dagger in the snow? I am still injured from the fight, so a little blood from battle may have dripped into the shallow "grave" of the dagger. I will pray to Odin one-eye to take interest inour winning the brave honerable battle and gain the giant slaying hammer. I will do this after night fall away from the humans. I hope to receive a vision. ( I will ask Ingolf and Halvor if they wish to join me) I am going to sleep the night with my wounds, (I think Marataine is out of healing at this time) since this was the first time I was afraid during the battle of dying. (Never been afraid of an opponant like today's fight with the berserker.) Perhaps the ache will teach me to not jump in front of obvious death?(DM: )Your wounds keep you awake all night, but you have no vision.The first rays of sun peak over the horizon illuminating the tops of thetrees and you feel like a moron. Now you are tired and sore and hurt and youneed sleep.Pissed, you roll onto your least sore side and...*********************************************Insert wavy dream special effect*********************************************...all you can see at first is a white mist and the moon above you.A cool breeze parts the mist and you see that you are actually flying overthe island. Then you jump at the sound of loud cawing of two ravens frombehind you. They fly to either side of you, hovering for a moment. They arehuge -- with 12ft. wingspans at least. They eye you and you get theimpression that the one on your left is rather disgusted with you. It spitsand coughs in your general direction. A more than human intelligence residesbehind its black orbs.Your concern fades as you enjoy the ride -- how many times do you get tofly? All seems peaceful for a moment, but then they fold their wings andfall towards the ground -- you are pulled behind them by their wake. Theravens dizzily circle the mountaintop above the temple, and you notice thatthe temple door bears no rune of Odin -- it is blank. Outside the door laytwo polar bears and you can see where the blood from the seal still stainsthe snow.Then you see the glacier below the temple to Odin begin to glow with astrange green light from deep inside. The bears wake and begin calling toone another.The ravens call out in their harsh squawks and fly to the south, but theirflight seems lazy and unhurried. Soon they come to a walled, wooden town.They fly towards a huge stave church in the middle of the town and enterinto a sanctuary and land on an effigy of Odin. Tied onto the great spear,Grungir, is a plain leather thong adorned with a smooth, oval stone. On eachside is a single rune -- one is Thurisaz and the other is Ansuz .One of the ravens turns to you and says in an old, creaky voice: "I am Muninand I do not remember a hallowed temple of Odin on the cold mountain."The other sighs and in a young, laughing (mocking?) tone says: "I am Hugin,I do not recall ever seeing such a goat-stubborn, prideful girl. You wouldhave thought that barbarian would have beat some sense into you. Now, wakeup and get healed. The All-Father cares not who heals his warriors as longas they fight by HIS side! Besides, you'll sleep much better too, idiot!"You think he winks at you, but you are not sure. They both flutter theirfeathers and begin preening themselves, ignoring you.*********************************************Insert wavy dream special effect*********************************************You wake up.With that, Aoelif crawled out of her blankets, streached, and started to cook breakfast for the group. She asked Martaine for more healing, and thanked him (Silently thanking her gods as well). Then she went to a snoring Ingolf, gently stroking his long hair untill he awoke. She smiled and told him of her vision.NPCs Encounted:Astryd - Halvor's old flame and Rungnir's wifeRungnir - Halvor's nemesisVarious Magic Bears</blockquote>

Verification