Posted: 20 June 2021 (reading time: 7 minutes; 1351 words)
Recap by Joel Hermann and Arash Shahangian
Time marches past the middle of month Gormánuðr, as the individual adventurers work and study. Multiple tendrils of news pull what remains of the group back together, with Radhani offering a secretive mission that—along with what they’ve learned—sets them on a new journey.
During the two weeks between adventures, Vyshka finally found some time to go to the Blüstrom library and research the rune she discovered. After a brief orientation from Káli, a half-elf librarian, Vyshka’s inspired investigation finds that the rune is the symbol of a giant, and that it is historically known to occasionally appear in places and then vanish.
Vyshka then fulfills her promise to Belnirith to inform her fellow pilgrims she is safe and well, before finding herself a quality tree and the absence of all those pesky people, so she can meditate in peace.
During her hermitage, she is then interrupted by a burly, jovial man in a goat-drawn chariot, with the biggest, shiniest hammer she has ever seen. She initially refuses to engage, but feels compelled to join him as he begins to cook one of his goats for dinner. She asks what he knows of giants and he tells her some wild story about his mom and mentions his all-knowing father. Then, after the meal, he gives her his cloak, empowers her own hammer as a spell focus, and resurrects his goat from its remains. Vyshka stirs from her meditation to find herself still draped in a Cloak of Warmth, hammer glowing.
In the midst of keeping an eye on his new companions as they wandered and worked, Greunthrn finds time to visit his mentor Fingol, who gives him a wondrous black stone, a Lodestone of Tracking, and tells him he must seek out new training if he is to advance further in his skills.
Now a hero to the local dwarves of Blüstrom, Laguza finds work, earning significant coin, gaining expertise in additional tools, and making new friends. She even makes friends with an angry dwarf sent to bring her a message from her stone giant foster parents, Lüg and Gaaz, carved into a massive stone. Laguza knows language of giants enough to understand the runes for “Help” “Sick” and “Open”. Upon smashing the stone with a well-placed hit of her warhammer, Laguza discovers a Periapt of Wound Closure. The gift is welcome, but her mind is troubled with worry for Lüg and Gaaz.
Also working around Blüstrom, Hrafn both builds his reputation and earns a few gold. He learns from Radhani (and his overheard argument with Arngrim at Clærk Hall) that a new job is forthcoming which has something to do with stone giants, and that the task has been forbidden by the jarl of Blüstrom. Hrafn informs Radhani that he has no problem with stone giants, and no objections at all to taking on illegal tasks.
On the night before her training finishes, Belnirith is visited by Odin the Allfather in a dream. Odin tests the capabilities of his erstwhile disciple by asking her to stare into the Great Hall’s fireplace. Belnirith’s eyes are filled with a crystal-clear vision of two stone giants lying on a stone bed. Clearly quite ill, the one named Lüg speaks of hope for assistance from an unknown female.
Odin is impressed with Belnirith’s vision, and seems genuinely interested in what she would do to help those she saw. Her reply, ending with, “I would pray over them and beseech YOUR aid.” leads to an explanation of the true nature of The Restoration. Odin reveals that rather than the vanquishing that is recounted, in truth it was a truce between the powers of good and evil. “Neither side could ever return to Hættrland, at least not directly. But both sides can, and do, intervene through our agents.” Odin requests that Belnirith act as his agent to determine the true nature of the sickness affecting the stone giants. He further provides a boon of making her spear a focus for both arcane and divine power.
Upon Belnirith’s awakening, Yuki assists her in summoning a familiar: Asja, a celestial spirit from Valhalla in the form of a black raven. As Belnirith prepares to depart, Yuki also provides her with a red stone that she claims will provide magical transport back to visit her.
Upon meeting up once again at Yuki’s hut, Laguza mentions needing to return to her stone giant family. At the mention of the names, Lüg and Gaaz, Belnirith relays her vision to the group. And Hrafn chimes in about Radhani’s mention of stone giants being involved in his newest venture. They agree to learn more about Radhani’s job.
Gathering in Radhani’s home in Blüstrom, he shows the group a cart with a false bottom and describes his plan. The group will ostensibly make a merchant mission to Vogsal. The visible area of their cart will be filled with items of no particular note to be sold both en route and at their indicated destination. An old acquaintance of Radhani’s in Vogsal will be their contact for the cover mission. However, the real mission will be to locate the Drow elves of the Shadowlow Mountains. Long ago, Radhani had done business with the Drow when no one else would. The drow promised to return the favor. Radhani hopes to collect on this favor and purchase weapons and armor from the Drow, enough to fill the false bottom and “to arm an oppressed people, my people.” Complicating the task, only the stone giants in Laguza’s home town were known to be able to reach the Drow, so the group would need to find a way to acquire that information as well.
As they prepare to depart, Radhani surreptitiously gives Hrafn a Sending Stone, to allow the two of them to make contact when needed.
With Belnirith’s fireplace vision inspiring some sense of urgency to their travels, the group decides to cross Freya’s Tear to Vestri Keep by knarr (barge), then proceed on foot to Vogsal, a route which will take only half as long as going entirely overland.
The helmsman of the knar, named the Visund is Slode, a dour sort, who only warms to Hrafn’s obvious knowledge of sailing, and to the idea of avoiding Ivar the Bonebreaker, a notorious pirate.
On the 2nd day of travel, as luck would have it, a black sail longboat approaches the Visund. Hrafn surreptitiously hides the Radhani’s bag of gold in the boat’s water supply. Pulling alongside, Ivar inquires of Slode as to the purpose and destination of their voyage. When Slode doesn’t respond satisfactorily, Hrafn speaks up. He points out the paucity of value on board. But Ivar is not dissuaded that easily. He says he knows that merchants carry money, even if it’s only so as to make change. This intimidates the group into handing over a modest sum of their own gold. Ivar and his crew are disappointed, but fooled by this ruse. Ivar says to Slode, “You’d better attract a higher caliber of clientele or the next payment will be coming from you and your crew.”
Later that day they sail into the harbor at Vestri Keep. Vali, the head of the Keep, engages the group at the docks and is very happy to see their goods, especially the lumber.
The group make their way to the public house, where they are able to sell roughly a third of items from the cart, as well as eat a miserably simple meal.
As the evening wears on, Hrafn and Belnirith both find low-stakes games of chance and lose, which Vyshka finds all too pathetic. Gruenthrn learns from a conversation with Vali that the road to Vogsal is snowed-over, and Belnirith overhears a conversation about rumors of a Winter Wolf being spotted near the Shadowlow Mountains, making some in the group apprehensive about the dangers of the path they’ve chosen.
Nonetheless, in the morning, having purchased a mule to pull their cart, they start towards Vogsal and the opportunities that await them, there and beyond.
TO BE CONTINUED…
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