Session Two

Noekken
Ilva, at her mother's behest, summons her raiding partner, Freya to her home. A month has passed since the pair - along with Ashaldi and Omen - sailed south to a tower and fought a neighboring tribe's warriors. Ilva, in case Freya had not known already, informs the Barbarian that Ashaldi is still recovering from wounds taken during their last raid. And although her cuts and bruises have healed, her muscles have not yet regained their strength and the Druid is currently training in the forests, unable to join their next adventure until she is deemed fit by the Druidic Circle.

However she cannot be waited on and Ilva attempts to fill in Freya on a distributing piece of gossip that her mother believes to be true. The Shaman rambles for a moment, talking of twigs, monsters, and massacres, until she stops, sighing at her incompetence to tell a good story. Instead a man takes over. Previously unseen as he was standing by the window, unmoving, he turns, revealing a troubled and scarred face. He launches into his tale.

''"My friend and I - a more experienced warrior than myself - we went into the woods. We were gathering to prepare some of the firewood for the camp, set up the barricades - it was like any other day. But while the warriors were out raiding we noticed something in the Underwood. He shouted. I remember his scream still. When I came to him we were back to back, blades drawn. I had never seen a face so pale. He would not tell me what he saw he just started... running. At first I was holding steady, but then I followed him. Running after him, the mist around me - it became thicker and thicker. I could barely see five feet ahead of me. I was running through the muddy ground, yet he had not left any footprints. As if an ice giant himself had grabbed him and thrown him asunder. I took more steps and when I was looking for cover I saw finally a camp. There he laid, giant holes piercing his very chest, his armor in ruins. And when the fog gently lifted a little there was the entire raiding camp, corpse strewn everywhere. I was at first getting ready to fight but them somebody dragged on my arm. It was my father. I'll forever remember the last words he spoke to me. He told me to run. I had found a small boat on the shores and I kicked it out into the waters as fast as I could. I tried to grab him but he was too heavy. I merely managed to rescue the family blade and I took to the seas. I dread to think what had happened. What horrors lay on that dreaded island."''

Ilva's mother, Anga, who had been in the home during this story, mixing potions and making poltices in the background, comes forward.

"There are many of things in the world, some old some young and a few - a few that match his description. None of them are good. It bodes ill that such a creature, such a thing, might be loose in the world and its not far away - is it Svartbrand?"

Svartbrand, the now named stranger responds in deep.

"No - those creatures, I doubt any ocean could stop them from coming here. No sea is grand enough to tear a rift in that."

Agna turns to her daughter. A worried but serious look on her face. She speaks in urgency.

"And lets not forget about the winter, when the sea will freeze... and things will walk on the ice. Daughter, it will be your job to find this thing. What is it? Find it! Find it. Tell me, tell the others, and if you can - kill it."

She turns and returns to her work, although Ilva suspects that the plants she is working with may be affecting her mother as the Wise Woman seems confused and distant. Unlike her normal self.

The two young women look at each other, trying to speak a silent language between themselves. Freya speaks first. She accuses the stranger of being some sort of coward for running away from whatever monster attacked him, as such in this culture running away is usually thought of as such. Svartbrand strikes back, describing wounds he suffered and how a child like Freya would not understand such a threat. Jumping in, Ilva points out that if the pair were attempting to find this thing, their group as a whole is short one - missing their Druid, Ashaldi. The Shaman wonders to the stranger if he will be joining their team for this fight.

The man nods, clutching his weapon in its sheath. He mutters of 'unfinished business'. Agna then returns to the conversation, now clearly affected by whatever poultice she is concocting, her eyes large and unblinking.

''"Do not have sanction, go in the dark, you must go now." ''

Grabbing her daughter, she whispers.

"Be wary the spirits child. Be wary the spirits. Can you hear them on the wind? Its coming from the north, is it not? Yes, I can hear them."

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With Svartbrand leading the way, the three adventurers set sail towards the 'Lost Outpost' to the north - a small island off the coast of Caladron, the heart city of the Eowyl faction. The small ship docks on the western side of the island just as dawn breaks and the team exits onto a shingle stone shore with waves beating the ground. Looking up Freya and Ilva notice the island is just one large hill jutting out from the ocean with steppes up towards the top. As Ilva exits the boat she expresses and interest in trying to track whatever monsters they are looking for, only to be quickly dismissed by Svartbrand who reminds her that these things leave no trace - though perhaps with their plant-like nature, strange debris may be left behind. But for now there is no sign.

Deciding their next decision, the group notices two separate paths of travel. The first being north, following the shore sloping gently upwards towards a grassy field of wild wheat. While the second travels east, climbing a ravine that leads directly into the thick pine forest. Sticking to the mission at hand, they decide to go east towards where Svartbrand believes his decimated camp lies barren and rotting.

With a seemingly uninspiring bout of hiking through the forest, the team arrives unhindered to the camp. At Svartbrands surprise the bodies of his fellow raiders, as well as his father, are no where to be found. Instead just dark patches of grass where something may have lain before spoil the ground. Past the quickly built palisade, the shack houses built by the raiders for shelter as well as a beginning of the intended new outpost are smashed to bits by something much larger than life. Svartbrand enters the outpost warily, blade drawn, remembering the horrors that occurred just two days prior. Along with the decimated houses, other signs of struggle are evident such as blood splatters and abandoned weapons thrust into the soft ground.

Despite the destruction left, Ilva and Freya, who had been doubting the stranger's tale already, begin to think that perhaps the man is simple ill and scarred by whatever battle took place here. But certainly, no giant tree monster exist. That is until beneath the feet of the Shaman, the ground begins to shift on its own. It rises, hovering around her. Fog quickly drifts down the hills surrounding the camp and Ilva goes pale, her eyes completely white. Quickly she snaps back into focus, but not before her friends notice her change and looking closely one could perhaps see the ocean in her whites.

Ilva recognizes this experience as a vision, but never before has she experienced such a type. Svartbrand however, notices the physical changes, remembering a tale of a woman visiting a seer for knowledge on how to defeat a beast. In the tale the seer goes through a vision much like Ilva just experienced and in his eyes the woman was able to see the weakness of the beast she desired to kill. She went on to defeat the beast, but not without losing her own life.

Confused by this strange experience, Ilva looks towards her Deity, Tidus for guidance. Seeking His wisdom, she prays and in return gains a feeling of heading deeper into the island. To begin, Ilva tries to seek within herself and within the island for spirits to guide their way, joining with them to determine if someone or something disturbed the area here. She gains a feeling of something large passing through the area, leading deeper into the forest, towards the center and highest point of the island.

Leading the way, Ilva notices a small patch of mushrooms on the side of their trail. Unknown to her, but curiosity rivaling instinct, the herbalist reaches and... stops just short of the mushroom. Thinking wisely she pulls some cloth from her pack and picks the strange mushrooms without touching them directly, taking them with her to examine at a later time. Soon they pass over a small river, and stop to refill their waterskins, with Ilva cleansing the water with her magic just in case.

Ilva:
x5 mysterious mushrooms

Orm the Sharp

Svartbrand:
Will 'O The Wisp