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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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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