The Strike of Saarii - Chapter V

After a whole day of riding, luckily without any more intruders, the warriors arrive at the capital city of Midgard, Enligt. Here they were stopped at the gates by the guards and asked why they needed to enter the city. Upon saying that they needed to talk to Lord Runo, they were allowed to pass through, but they knew that they would be followed for the security of their ruler. Having arrived in the evening, they decided to meet Lord Runo the following morning, and headed towards the inn, The Pint and Nap. Here they had a decent meal, paid for a room each and passed the night.

In the morning, they regrouped outside the inn, after having breakfast, Dan took much longer than the rest, eating twice as much. Walking as a group towards the keep, they noticed that they were being followed by two guards, keeping their distance. Once at the door of the keep, they were asked to wait until the Lord gave them permission to enter. After a while the group was granted access and were escorted to the throne room, where they all knelt down in front of their leader, an act performed by every man who wanted to keep his head attached to his neck.

"Rise," he said, "and tell me what happened." Dean introduced the group and explained what had happened out at sea. Trouble was clearly visible on Lord Runo's face, a whole naval force lost before engaging with the enemy is not what a king wants to hear about a month after they were dispatched. "Come back tomorrow morning and we will talk again of the matter," he told the group and left the throne room through a side door. The group was escorted out of the keep and spent the day touring the markets, taking a relaxing day at last.

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The following morning, they were all ready and waiting for the Lord to arrive at the throne room, kneeling again as he entered. "You bring grave news," the Lord stated, "but all is not lost. I task you now to climb up the White Mountains, using the passage directly to the North of this castle, and meet the Master Druid at the Druid's Plateau. Tell him, that I sent you and ask him if there is anything that is stopping the navy from arriving at Saarii. The guards will give you gifts which you will give to the druid and some money to for you to acquire anything to help you on your trip." Saying this, he dismissed the group, who used their newly acquired money to purchase better weapons and trinkets to improve their chances in future battles.

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The Saarii Strike - Chapter IV

Out of the trees to the West emerged a whole cavalry, in full armour, spears in the hands of the riders in steel plate mail, golden lining shining on the armour of the leading warrior as well as his horse's. A dark green cape with a golden dragon emblazoned on it flowing behind this leader showed the men in the clearing that this army belonged to the military base of Joki, allies, some good tidings at last.

Hagan Garth, the general of the Army of Joki, dismounted his horse and approached the fighters, who were still panting and trying to recuperate from the battle. After introducing himself and the army, "I see we arrived a bit too late," he said, "it seems who were capable of dealing with the beast on your own. Who are you to have managed to defeat it?" Duryraen still not in the right state of mind, said nothing, and Dean still being healed by Amal, Dan explained how they got there, how they were the only survivors from the naval force and how Amal was helping them get to Enligt. "Not good tidings at all, but you are welcome to join us back to Joki, you can rest there, and we can provide you with some decent armour and weapons, I believe you are lucky to have survived at all in those rags."

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The group got back onto their ox cart and followed the army back to Joki, where they rested for two days, food being provided by the military. Here, Amal deposited the swords at the armoury, the swords which he had lent to the four survivors. On the third day, they were summoned to the general's quarters where he asked them for details of what happened out at sea, as he wanted to report it to Lord Runo. Once there, the group explained again that they were the only survivors from the storm that wrecked the entire naval force sent out to Saarii, how they were run out of Kalastaja, fought wolves and the troll. Being impressed by their resilience and capability to fight off multiple enemies, even a cave troll which could have easily smashed five warriors had they not been as strong, he tasked the group to travel to Enligt and inform Lord Runo themselves. This time however, they were provided with a horse each, a great help if they were to get to Enligt quickly. Amal asked if the army could take care of his ox and cart, which Hagan happily agreed to.

Hagan also signed a form for them to acquire some armour and weapons for free from the armoury in Joki. Dan got some good plate mail, a shield and a two handed war hammer, Dean and Duryraen got leather armour which allowed quicker movement but provided some defence, Dean also got a better bow and some arrows to provide better damage. Amal and Uuragan on the other hand, could not find items that would help them, as Joki was a military base focused on traditional military, not of the magical kind.  However, they were informed of a good alchemist and jeweller in Enligt that could help them once they arrived there.

Once they were satisfied with the gear provided, the men mounted their horses and were on their way to the capital of Midgard and seat of the throne, Enligt.

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The Saarii Strike - Chapter III

Having packed their belongings, the group started moving again, deeper in the woods in Joki's direction, following Amal Cal as he was the most knowledgeable of the area. After a few hours of travelling, they arrived at a huge clearing, several uprooted trees laying around and tree stubs which seemed like they were mowed down by something much larger than any of them.

At the edges of the clearing, they could see carcasses of creatures they could not immediately identify due to their bodies being mutilated beyond recognition. Duryraen, however, did recognise the thin legs as those of spiders, and these particular spiders being as large as they were, he immediately knew where they were from. Suppressing a tear, he urges his team mates to keep moving. As they were moving Eastwards towards the edge of the clearing, heavy footsteps started pushing through from the North, trees being pushed away and uprooted as something sped towards them.

Most of the group started to move faster, getting away from danger being their priority. Duryraen, however, was rooted on the spot, facing the moving trees, daggers out and eyes glaring, determined to get back at what killed the spiders who raised him. As the last trees were uprooted, an enormous arm emerged first from the dark, followed by a cave troll of immense dimensions; horns covering its entire body except the face and chest. A belt made of bones and skulls was tied around the beast's waist, grass used to cover up its lower body; blades hanging at the end of this cover-up. In its right hand was a huge wooden club with what seemed like swords and pieces of armour stuck to it, trophies of its enemies it dealt with in the past.

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Duryraen instantly started running towards the troll, screaming at the top of his lungs. Seeing their friend in this state, understanding that something in his past was connected to this situation, the rest dropped everything and joined in the fight. Glad that it did not have to chase its meal, the troll was prepared to take them on. Being much faster and smaller than the troll, Duryraen and Dan found it easy to start striking it with their weapons and Dean shooting arrows at it from afar, but no strike seemed to draw blood. The frost coming from Uuragan's hands did seem to irritate the beast, Amal noticed this and shouted "Freeze his feet!"

Taking the hint, the guys at the front provided some space and Uuragan focused all his energy to try and freeze the feet of their colossal enemy. Although at first it did not seem to be working much, it did slow down the troll. Screaming in rage, the troll hit his own foot to break off the ice, breaking off a part of the foot in the process. The subsequent scream was blood curdling to say the least, but seeing the frozen meat on the ground, the fighters at the foot of the monster started striking the areas which Uuragan froze. In its rage, the troll started swinging its club around savagely, managing to hit Dan in the process, sending him flying through the air and smashing against a tree. Seeing this, Amal ran towards him and focused all his power onto his downed friend, healing his injuries as fast as he could.

In the meantime, Uuragan had managed to freeze both the troll's legs, and after a lot of hard work and strikes of daggers and swords, one of legs broke off. The troll's screams could surely be heard from Joki, if not further. Falling over, the troll dropped his weapon, quite defenceless as it was still in agonising pain from the lost leg. Uuragan quickly ran up to the fallen beast, aiming his ice at the troll's neck, Duryraen hacking away at it and Dean joining in with Dan's sword, finding it much easier than expected, as its skin seemed to be much thinner on the neck. After what seemed like hours, the dead was done, head rolling, the guys dropped to the floor, panting, Uuragan's hands feeling colder than they ever were before. As the group were trying to recover their energy, horses could be heard galloping twards them from the West.

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The Saarii Strike - Chapter II

Having left Kalastaja in a hurry, the group had no resources; no weapons, no food and no drink. They started walking out of the village, towards the military base in Joki, Amal Cal, the priest who recovered them from the raging villagers was leading in front. Not much did he say at first, the rest were still discussing what had happened earlier. When the group arrived at the first fork in the path, Amal headed to the right, but Dean was not going to follow a stranger blindly. Having finally been asked where he was headed, Amal just said "we need supplies, do we not?" At a point, he walked into the shrubs at the side of the path. Hesitant, the group were still concerned about the direction this stranger was leading them in. Dan, feeling like the priest had helped him most, followed him, the rest following the dwarf as they all wanted to stay together as a group. Arriving at small clearing, they now found an ox and cart, Amal's travelling method.

"I cannot offer you much, as I only packed food for one," Amal said before anyone asked, "but I do have some weapons I am to take to Joki, you can borrow them until we arrive there." A shortsword each is what they acquired, much better than fighting with their bare hands if need be. Amal climbed onto the cart, and on they walked, back on the pathway, the four warriors tagging along. Unfortunate as they were, more trouble was to be found soon. A pack of wolves sprang out of the bushes onto the pathway, blocking their progress, fangs bared, Dan and Dean and Duryraen obliged by unsheathing their swords, Uuragan prepared himself to cast some spells, while Amal stayed behind them, ready to help them if any of them got hurt. The three warriors wielding swords, this not being the first time they dealt with danger face to face, charged forward and started killing, while Uuragan did not hesitate to start shooting icicles at the wolves. Amal was slightly surprised at the strength the men had, even after the ordeal of the storm at sea and the trouble in Kalastaja, maybe it was these events that fuelled their attacks. Only needing to heal a couple of scratches at the end of the fight, Amal did so and continued leading the group towards a forest, where they could take a schortcut towards Joki.

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Meeting a second pack of wolves deeper in the forest, the group fought again, defeating the animals and taking some time to catch their breath. This however, was not the last fight they had to go through that day, for heard, not too far off, the growl of a greater beast; Dean instantly recognising it as that of a bear. Amal healed again the few scratches and bruises that the team endured and they got ready to face the new beast, which emerged from the trees to the North. They fought the beast for what felt like hours, but fell it they did. Amal healed all their injuries once again, and knowing that bears like to stash away the carcasses of whatever they kill, the group decided to look for its cave and see what they find. Using his tracking skills, Dean lead the group to a small cave to the North of where they fought off the beast, finding multiple dead bodies inside, both animal and human. However, they found more than this, for there were the remains of a bonfire, a small weapon rack and a chest. It seemed like it was a camp site for travellers or bandits before the bear's hostile takeover. Dean was extremely happy, as he found a bow and some arrows, much better than the sword as he was more experienced as an archer. Duryraen was also pleased with a couple of fine daggers that are harder to find within a military institution. Checking out the chest, they found some gold and jewellery, Amal and Uuragan both noticing that some of them had magical properties. Having done this sort of work before, Amal scrutinised the rings and pendants found in the chest, finding two rings that fortified one's magical stamina, not a bad find for the two mages. Returning back at the area where the group left the ox and cart, they stashed away their unused loot and the swords that have been replaced by the new weapons found in the bear's cave. They now decided that it was time for some rest, Dan and Uuragan started gathering some fire wood while Dean and Duryraen started tearing meat off the dead animals for them to cook and leather to be sold once they reach Enligt. Amal went around the camp, consecrating the area to repel any unwanted visitors while they rest. After a good meal and a good night's rest, the team gathered all their belongings and prepared to continue their journey to Joki.

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The Saarii Strike - Chapter I

Refer to the previous two posts for background about the main characters of this tale, starting here.

Having conquered the entire region, Lord Runo of Enligt set his eyes across the sea, towards the island of Saarii; the last piece to the puzzle. Sending scouting parties simply did not work, the ships never returned. Deciding it was time to take the island by force without trying to find out what form of defenses he might find waiting, he ordered a fleet of ten longships, twenty-five men each, two hundred and fifty men of different disciplines; "surely, enough to invade a small island", he thought.

Half way through the voyage, however, a huge storm wrecked the entire fleet, leaving only a few survivors who managed to salvage enough materials to create a small raft, rowing back to the main land of Midgard. Landing at the small fishermen's village called Kalastaja, the survivors knew that they had to travel to Enligt to inform the Lord about what happened.

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Uuragan Oakwale, Dean Dalgaard, Dan Scott and Duryraen dar'Vuzmur; four members of the Army of Joki, four people who could not have been more different. A human, two dark elves and a dwarf, these are the only survivors of the storm which wrecked five longships and destroyed an entire army.

Upon landing in Kalastaja, the odd group, with tattered clothes and no real boat, drew quite some attention, it was not everyday that an unknown person landed at Kalastaja, let alone five on a raft that could barely fit two. Drenched and exhausted, this kind of attention was not what they needed, they needed food and help, not suspicious looks. One woman did approach them and offered them food and a free night at her inn, the Sleeping Dragon, greatly appreciated by the survivors. Rudely awoken early in the morning, the four were dragged out of bed and out onto the gravel, vaguely realising that they were being accused of something they did not yet understand. Dan Scott felt extremely uneasy as most of the people in the open space in front of the inn were looking directly at him, anger in their eyes, if not hate. Amid the angered shouts were the screams of a woman, crying that "the dwarf, he's the assailant"; breaking down to sobs, her voice dissappearing in the fresh roars of anger from the rest of the villagers. The situation still not clear to the group in the middle, the poor dwarf feeling useless without his usual warhammer in hand, looked to his fellow warriors for support; none coming as they were just as confused. "Let them leave," a voice reached from the back of the crowd, "let them leave and never come back." A middle-aged man came forward, looking at the powerless group as if he knew exactly what had happened during the night. Draped in a fine robe, lined with gold, and a staff in hand; clearly not a warrior in the eyes of the accused. The crowd did not calm down, however, they ordered the the cleric to leave along with the scum that landed the previous day. Amal Cal was the one man who tried to help, the one who joined the team on their journey to Enligt.

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Fighters of Midgard - Part 2

These are characters my friends created for a session I Mastered. After the session, I took it upon myself to give them a bit of context and bring them to life through a bit of history. Their background is useful to understand the following post - The Strike of Saarii. 
This post is a continuation of the previous post, which can be accessed here.

Uuragan Oakwale was born on a cold winter night to dark elves Ertrilgor and Uurgael Oakwale, around 150 years ago, high up, somewhere within the range of the White Mountains. His father having the ability to control water and ice, while his mother controlled air, Uuragan inherited a balance of the two. Not much the social type, Uuragan spent his time practising air and frost spells, some times with his older brother, Uuniath. However, during one of they adventures, Uuniath fell to his death off a ledge while the brothers were practising some air spells. Uuragan never knew whether it was his fault or not, nonetheless, he always blamed himself. The only thing left of his brother was his ice sword, the reason why most of their tribe believed Uuragan's story of his brother's tragic death. However, there were those who never liked him, and much less upon learning of his brother's death. Playing a prank on him, these elves almost killed Uuragan in a similar way; only to be saved by a dark elf called Laenia. Becoming the best friendship Uuragan ever had, Laenia taught him much, as she was much older and experienced, especially in air spells. After some time, they decided to move down to civilisation, their road leading them to the city of Enligt; where they eventually joined the army, as it was in dire need of mages to complement the sword and arrow of the rest of the soldiers.

Born to Lord Ansgar Dalgaard of Enligt, Dean Dalgaard had to endure the misfortune of a brutal assault on this noble family for their wealth, at the age of three years old. Dean's sister, Sandela, seventeen years old at the time, managed to escape with him while their parents fought off the brigands who attacked their home. Sandela took her little brother to Bjorg, an elven friend who offered to protect the kid as long as he lived in the White Mountains with him. Dean never saw his sister again, but he did find out his parents were massacred on the night he left Enligt for the first time in his life. Growing up, Dean learned how to wield bow and arrow, hunting bear and wolf for meat and fur at the foot of the mountains, returning home in the snow with enough resources to help the tribe that helped him all his life. During one of his hunting trips, Dean was assaulted by bandits, who took all his loot, money, arrows and his bow. During his return to the mountain, he ended up surrounded by four bears; and without his weapons, defenceless. A dire wolf, chased away the beasts, saving the hunter. Naming his new friend Vargo, Dean returned to the mountains with his new companion who followed and helped him in all his adventures, During his time as a hunter for the tribe hi lived with, Dean found out that the men who attacked his family in Enligt were mercenaries from the island of Saarii, south of the mainland. He also learned the Lord Runo of Enligt was planning an invasion of the island, the perfect opportunity of the Dalgaard family to finally find vengeance.

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Fighters of Midgard - Part 1

These are characters my friends created for a session I Mastered. After the session, I took it upon myself to give them a bit of context and bring them to life through a bit of history. Their background is useful to understand the following post - The Strike of Saarii. 
This post is continued in the next post, which can be accessed here.

Dan Scott, son of Dun, from the dwarven family Scott. Dun was one of the famed Fighters of the North, from a dwarf from Joki. From a young age, Dan learned what he could on the art of war, hunting for orcs who dare camp close enough to the military base with his father's guild. Learning how to ride a horse without falling off, he joined the Joki Cavalry when he was 68 years old, he joined in the hunt for frost trolls closer to the mountain range North of Joki. At the age of 76, he was cut off from the rest of the fighters on a hunt when his horse died, facing then a group of five trolls, each about twice as tall as he was, each of them ended up beneath his feet after a massive strike of his trusty two handed war hammer. At the age of 130, he joined the Army of Joki, being enlisted to any war Lord Runo declares and to protect the lands of Midgard from invaders.

The dark elf, Duryraen dar'Vuzmur, son of Filaren and Ahlysaaria, should have been dead a long time ago, which was the plan of the bandits who attacked his family when they were travelling from Portti to Enligt when he was still very young. Unreal as he thought it was, a group of large spiders emerged from the woods , killing most of the bandits and scaring off the rest, saving the young dark elf. Unfortunately, he was the only survivor of the the family, The spiders took Duryraen and raised him as best they could, but he left them at the age of 19 for civilisation. Capable to defend himself, he continued the journey towards Enligt, the journey that led to the death of his parents and little sister. Having nobody to help him on his arrival, he turned to the Thieves Guild of Enligt for help; he helped them acquire whatever they wanted, giving him a cut of the profits, which was more than enough for Duryraen. Although it was not what he intended to turn to, at times, he did resort to killing people who stood in his way, driving his daggers into a man's chest or slitting his throat if it was necessary. Learning of the prize set by the Lord of Enligt to every able bodied man or woman to join the army for an attack off the shores of the mainland, Duryraen quickly left the Thieves Guild and joined the army, where he could make a fortune while earning a living as one of the noble warriors of Enligt instead of being the face on a wanted poster.

Of human descent, Amal Cal grew up with the priests of Eir, the Goddess of healers, in one of the temples in Enligt. Many warriors came back from battles with grievous wounds and hunters with bites and scratches were healed at the temple, impressing the young Amal, he started learning alchemy to help them in making revitising potions and other cures to help the recovering patients. However, when he was of age, it was revealed to him that he possessed magical power, and given aid by the priests, Amal gained the much revered skill of healing magic. Never knowing who his parents were, he never had any ambition to find them, the priests of Eir were his family and he became a healer just like the men who raised him, using the spells he learned to cure illnesses and wounds alike. At the age of 48, he joined a group of soldiers from the Army of Enligt who landed in Kalastaja to help get back to Enligt to report back to Lord Runo.

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