FOURTH SESSION

Warriors in Attendance

Al'Faiq Mahdi, now the Warrior, "Oathbinder"

And several Veterans brought on board...

Braddeus, an Istvaeonic brave from abroad! along with...

Daffyd, Haldor, and Ulfir, of Norse stock!

A brief recap: The band left Rhus to see if Pyorra was ripe for the picking, but found very little except Erik's last fate, fighting a horde of ancient Roman monster servants. They left that dungeon and journeyed north, where they went ashore in Borg with their new hand Al'Faiq and got into a duel, winning a nice sword.

BORG,

teeming with thousands, and a fine city of culture despite whatever one thinks of its pillaged wealth, took Vic and Albert by surprise with its grandeur and larger than life hospitality. They spent much of their time getting to know the court, and schmoozing with the King, while Al'Faiq put together a little inland expedition of his own... He gathered several mercenaries, among them some new stalwarts that would be suitable as fellow Wolves in the company.

Daffyd, Haldor, and Ulfyr fit right in, more Norse killers, while Braddeus brought his command of the Frankish tongue to the party's talent pool. Haldor's knowledge of nordic runes would turn out to be quite the asset as well...!

The expedition got itself started. Al'Faiq knew that monster's heads were worth quite a sum to the lord of the land, and more over that the land was ripe with them just waiting to be found and severed. The path was charted, not lost but simply wandering they went northeast. As they hit the woods they came across a pack of feral fae-things, dirty children who played at being vagabonds with their own little blades. The men tired of their cantankery and put them in their place.

Later that night, Al'Faiq would be brought to within the last inch of his life.

It started with an investigation of a loud noise near the camp, and as Daffyd discovered it was merely a ruse he wheeled back to see one of the little fae-things, the one Al'Faiq had been most cruel to, with its blade poised to strike the sleeping man! Thinking fast, he threw his torch at them.

Al'Faiq thinking he had rolled into the campfire, sprung forward in a frenzy and bowled over the impious creature. In the tangle, the little one struck at him and managed to inflict a deadly wound but it was for naught, as the rest of the men were raised by hue and cry... The foe dispatched, Al'Faiq was bandaged up. Bloodied but not killed, he at least did not lose much sleep before they went on.

Husvik,

village of a mere 18 souls, was being picked clean day by day, one at a time. The party came upon the brutal slaughter of one villager who did not go so quietly, and after meeting with a local elder and Al'Faiq boasting that he would survive the night, they went about their business investigating the town quite thoroughly while they implored the villagers to put their heads together.

Houses of the deceased were checked, and connections were made. The figurines and idols of Norse faith in the houses were defaced, and one of the victims was a third party who rushed in to confront the murderer; he said he saw nothing, before he died of his wounds. As they pledged to protect the elder and settled in to fortify his house for the night, they thought to move his bed away from the windows. As they did so, and as he sat up to let them do this, they discovered a tunnel dug by sorcerous means underneath it! The attacker would have come right up under them, had they not caught it.

There was no attack that night, and throughout the next day they left no stone unturned. Four more such tunnels were discovered in other houses, as well as many clever little murder holes and loose boards left ahead of time to stage attacks. These tricks all defused, the band had time left over for more cross referencing and investigation before the next night.

A lead was found, and followed to its source: Before the grisly serial killings, there was a mysterious disappearance of a master runecarver who had settled in town to enjoy his retirement in obscurity; a stranger sought him out for some vainglorious commission and was seen leaving town not long before the body was discovered, exsanguinated.

The commission was quite nearby indeed, barely outside of town... signs of disturbance in the field indicated a ritual had taken place involving this large, now defaced runestone covered in dried blood. After what cleaning they could do, Haldor used his command of Norse runes as well as a convenient picture-dictionary the old runemaster owned to gather clues... Most was beyond recognition, but tales of Glory, Fame, heads taken, indeterminate Deeds, and the letters of someone's name were there...

They spoke with the people of the town, and what they had discovered jogged the elders' memory! The stranger was Ulfberht, and the runesmith often had a lot to say about his dour attitude and his dubious commission. All too much detail was to be included, every big deed and every small one, even ones that were not to be mentioned in polite society and that one should take no pride in!

Further study of the marginalia and the appendices of the book were forboding, wishing wrath on those who would destroy the Word that speaks truth of them... That evening would prove climactic, as the killer was desperate for blood after being stopped the previous night. There was a pressing at the loose board now nailed shut, and a knocking at the door... a hoarse old voice called to be let in, worried that he was not safe, and the band sprung into action!

Suspecting their assailant had arrived, they surprised the elder who nearly had a cardiac event, bowled over by the charge. Before he could recover, his head was separated by his shoulders by an unknown force, and the wolves knew it was now or never.

Al'Faiq's shield shattered under a heavy, unseen blow, while Braddus, Haldor, Daffyd brought up the rear! Their attacks felt as if they were striking something, but nothing seemed to appear! The foe laid a great gash across the gallant Andalusian but his word and his duty were a curse against his vile foe, and he yet remained standing. Daffyd and Haldor dropped their weapons and laid their grip on the invisible foe to hold him still, as Al'Faiq crashed his flail-head right into the monsters skull.

At once the illusion was dispelled, and the vile body of Ulfberht lay there, scalp busted open. His hair was shaven, his body covered in runes both Norse and that of haunting, unknown meaning... That which was legible made it clear: he was an oathbreaker, condemned to death by all who saw him. No wonder he had turned to evil to try and slip from his inevitable fate.

The great sword he wielded was yet invisible still, having clattered across Al'Faiq's feet. He picked it up and checked its balance and shape and after developing some sense of how to wield it, was quite eager to see how his foes would fare against a blade nobody could hope to parry!

Thinking an adequate bounty had been secured for this spontaneous trip they went back home. Little to remark on... save for the sudden robbing of all of their rations by a band of half-crazed starving bandits... Gaunt they were, looking as if consumed from the inside by disease. They jumped on the sack of food as it was thrown to them, devouring what they could until sated before they hauled the rest off, not thinking to look further after the body of Ulfberht in the wagon.

The band found Vic and Captain Albert had well integrated themselves into the court, and King Vagn had no hesitation in proclaiming their deed served him, his people, and the realm as the head was finally taken off of the Oathbreaker. Mead flowed, as did the coffers of the King... a handsome thousand pieces of silver was paid out, and the band settled down to rest and relax before the next adventure.

Next time, we'll see just how they take the instruction of King Vagn; he appreciates their show of loyalty and service, but he's not after mercenaries, he's after Heroes. and Heroes put themselves up against greater challenges than the condemned cowards who pick on villages...

P.S. Merry Christmas!!