| Location: | The Great Worm Cavern, in the Valley of Kedrun |
| Session at a glance | New characters and key characters this week: Dozens of Utgard barbarians. Merf, the (temporarily) second in command of the Utgard chief Crowk the Utgard Shaman A serpent like creature, a Couatul, imprisoned in the Barbarian altar Noori – the new chief of the Barbarian village, cousin of the former chief.—- Where we left off: The adventurers fall into a deep sleep in the Great Worm Cavern, with lodgings prepared by the barbarians. They are considering how to collect the relics for the All-Father that the Utgarde Barbarians are using to honour their dead. Somewhere nearby a red airship belonging to the red dragon Klauth is nearby with the crew waiting for the adventurers to return. As they drifted off to sleep, the Serpentine creature imprisoned in the altar spoke to them, telling them that a great evil from generations of Shaman had corrupted the leaders. Crowk, the Shaman is the source of the evil. Quests: – Ridding the Barbarian tribe of corruption for the Couatul – Taking relics from the Barbarian burial grounds to the All Father Collecting relics will give them access to paths to the Storm Court – Accessing the King Hecaton conch to root out the evil in the King’s court – Seeking the powerful weapon in the possession of Cerisa (Hecaton’s daughter on the throne) – Avenging the slain cloud giant (Igorn) who was killed by his father |
| Last week (flash backs) | They are above the Valley of Kedrun. It’s hostile and frozen. They motion to go down and give instructions of various bird call signals for the crew to help them if they are in trouble. They disembark and make their way towards the flames in the village. With torches in hand, they approach in a line, singing the song of Noori and Narft. They are met with a group of dozens of Utgard barbarians. Miss Moss waves a white flag. The barbarians are speaking Bothe, its an Utgard language and they speak in riddles and idioms. They are basically saying, “What the fuck is this?” From behind the structures a figure appears through the crowd, clearly the one in charge.. They explain that they rescued Noori but that Wormblood is dead. This is extraordinary news and met with some chaos. Someone torches a building, someone else starts punching someone. Merf straightens up and asks the adventurers to come with him. They try to explain that they weren’t involved in the deaths of the chief and others but the mood clearly sours. He motions them back outside and as they move off, he suddenly attacks Leshanna and cries out to his tribe, “Wormblood is dead and they killed them”. As she falls, Rillix flies out unnoticed and takes off towards the dragon boat. Thoradin is knocked down and skids across the ice. The heroes ready themselves for battle. They fight, until they hear someone call, “Hold!” Noori appears with Narft behind and she throws the head of Wormblood into the centre of the group. “Leave them alone, I am chief now. I have killed Wormblood. And Merf, you are no longer second in command. Narft is second in command. These people are our guests.” It’s a chaotic scene, the transition of power has set the place wild. Merf leaves and Noori marches into town to accept the leadership role. Rillix is summoned back. A feast is prepared. Londer hands out some healing potions to the barbarians with no legs and the others take a short rest. Things turn a little awkward when the heroes ask about taking the relic. Noori darkens and says they cannot have the relic, the tribe would cease to exist. She summons the Shaman, Crowk. He stands, silent with a mask and the oxygen is slightly sucked from the room. It’s a chilly presence. He speaks, making strange sounds. Noori translates. Each Utgard tribe (9 of them) has a relic, which represents the hero who went on to become a God King – the hero who defeated giants. Each burial mound has a relic and this is where the Utgard go to pay respects to their fallen. Theirs is part of the shield of one of the giants that Utgard slew many years ago. We use it as a gong. They cannot desecrate the memory of the dead by taking the relics. They have some discussion in private and Noori approaches them and says “I have a blood oath with you but it may be broken. Do not make me regret this decision.” They are escorted into the cave. It is giant, with icicles hanging down. Many small caves and crypts are visible, like rooms. As they walk through, they pass a totem pole. Soaring above them in the centre of the room is an altar, the shape of a coiled serpent with wings. Against the back wall is a large shield, half destroyed, hanging from two ropes. They move to their room, where the barbarians have tried to make it nice for them to stay. They are a long way from the room with the shield. They discuss their next steps a little, agree to sleep on it. Leshanna sets an alarm and as they lay down to sleep they all have a vision, like a lucid dream. They are surrounded by warmth. They see a Serpentine figure, eyes flashing, brilliantly coloured. They get the sense of an incredible force of good. They hear a gentle voice. “Hello, guests. I’m sorry for the interruption. I am a Couatul and I live in the altar in the next room. I believe you have killed Wormblood and this is a good thing. I am a prisoner here. I want nothing more than to be rid of the evil that ravages this tribe. If you can rid the tribe of the evil, I will reward you. Each chief has been corrupted by Crowk. Even though there is a new chief, Noori will become bad. There is a festering evil within it. I have been captured as an offering for their god. They do not worship me.” Each of the Utgard tribes has selected an element of their God’s life to worship. This tribe worships an ancient white dragon that has long since died.I have seen generations of the Shaman infect many leaders.You do not have to trust me, I give you my word. Couatul are unable to lie.” They fall into a deep sleep. |
| Current journey | The Frozen North – A tremendously difficult journey at the coldest time of year- They seek to restore the Ordening |
| Significant other points: | – They are carrying a divining rod to find adamantine in the bag of holding – They recall an Elk (symbolising an omen, like the birth of a new king) – They know stories of giants fighting dragons in the past and of them using adamantine to create a great Colossus – They have encountered the Dragon cult before when they attacked Zephyros – A green dragon attacked Miss Moss’ village and she is seeking revenge |
| Other recent encounters | GiantsHarshnagg the Frost Giant – waiting for them back at the templeA frost giant corpseIgorn the forlorn spirit (cloud giant) and his corpse – seeking vengeance on his father, Blagakis ———————————————————————————————BarbariansNarft the barbarian who joined them to find the chief’s cousin’s daughterNoori – the chief’s cousin’s daughter – rescued from the cocoonWormblood – the chief, slain in battle by the heroes in the Giant Temple, along with his allies, except Noori and Narft ———————————————————————————————Dragons and Dragon boatSky Nugget: Miss Moss’ baby dragonKlauth’s subjects: The dragon cult: leather-clad humans on the red sky ship.Klauth – a Red Dragon – one of the oldest dragons in the land, He is incredibly evil. There are famous stories of him joining battlesA trapped fire elemental: providing heat in the furnace on the sky ship A trapped air elemental: with a system of doors to activate the propeller |
| Oracle questions | How do we restore the Ordening? The only one to do it is the Allfather. He disrupted it to rouse his children from their complacency. Only he restores the ordening.How can we get the Allfather to restore the ordening?Root out evil in the court of the Storm Giants – the storm giant King Hecaton. You must visit King Hecaton’s court.How can we travel safely to the court of the Storm Giants? You must find King Hecaton’s conch to transport you there and root out the evil How can we find people or items to restore the ordering, including (and especially the conch)?You must prove your worth by finding some treasure. Barbarian kind built altars to Rutgar, their king atop these relics and surrounded the area with burial mounds. Go there and find the lost relics and bring them here to the All-Father as tributes. There are many paths. The more relics you bring, the more paths will be open to you. What more can you tell us about the missing King and the evil in the court of Hecaton?The evil in the court is from multiple sources, the King was undermined by his daughters Miran and Nimh, his daughters covet the throne. Where can we find 5 magical weapons that will help us in our battle?Giants do not entertain small-folk weapons. There is one weapon – the coral nora sceptre, wielded by Cerisa, the one who sits on the Storm giant throne. The daughter of King Hecaton. It is amongst the most powerful weapons known to giant-kind. |
