Road to Hyperborea, Chapter Two

Resting
Thursday, May 17th, 988 AD

Dorn and Shara come back from berry picking and view the carnage that flaming beards have wrought. Dorn mans up and takes watch all night long so that relatively unhurt mages can get spells and everyone else can rest.

Everyday Encounters
Friday, May 18th, 988 AD

We heal up and rest for most of the day. During our resting, a large black dog comes running up from the south. Shara quickly casts Speak With Animals. The dog stands up on his hind legs and introduces itself as Managarm.

Managarm: Saur tells me you're friends of his?
Thalia: Of course.
Managamr: Then it should be okay to give you this information. I am an agent of the Fullness and I keep track of troublemakers. My sector is the Northlands and it's usually a quiet sector, but now, I'm smelling a lot of trouble.
Anna: Like what?
Managarm: Lord Evelake is running around with a Viking, up to no good. He normally just broods in his castle, but he went down south for some reason.
Shara: We hate that guy. He beat us up for no reason, though we didn't see any Viking.
Managarm: Ah, you know of him. Do you also know of Lilith? She used to be locked up in Kebnekaise some time ago, but she was released.
Reynaldo: Yeah, we know the idiots who did that.
Managarm: And before the mountain exploded, I smelled Throk and Atigat's scents in there.
Jean-Claude: Wait, Throk!? The real Throk? I thought he was the fire in the East?
Managarm: He is, and Atigat is from the land of Hind. And that's not all. The giants are getting a lot more aggressive and there is a man wearing black beetle armor and he doesn't even know who Kunefsa is.
Shara: Wait, who?
Managarm: Kunefsa, the shapeshifter who can become a woman or a giant black beetle. She's a friend of Evelake's. And speaking of shapeshifters, Kutavuonae aka 'Six-Phases' is messing around with reindeer carcasses again.
Reynaldo: That guy's a dick.
Jean-Claude: That's how he was able to fly away. He just changed shape.
Managarm: Like I said, this is normally a quiet sector, but with all this movement of troublemakers, I'm afraid of what's happening. My only job, really, is to avoid large amounts of people getting hurt.

We decide to tell him about the Octopuses and Tailed People.

Managarm: The only tailed people I know are the Holder Folk around this area, also called the Kadnika, but they only have ox tails. Regardless, I'll let my superiors know about this.
Edward: Can't you do anything?
Managarm: I'm sorry, I speak only for the shadow, not the thing that casts it.

Before he left, he gave us some more information: Udrez Kudrez's killer smelled of dead things and pickles; the protectors of the Everbloom are tow giants named Thorgrim and Thorgrima; a Loen Lanketa is a Finnish shaman who falls into a trance and sends his spirit out, and that sounds a lot like those guys that attacked us by pulling spells out of Edward's head; and that Psalm 93 is being defaced in many Bibles across the north.

He bids us farewell and heads back down south. We continue resting for another two hours until a baby ghost starts noshing on Anna's neck. At first, Anna is unsure of what to do, as it is a child, but the others quickly attack the undead, and even Anna joins in. Edward finally turns it.

We continue trying to rest, but then a nine-foot tall old man hobbles over to us, using a large two-handed sword as a cane. He's got a bunch of swords tied to himself with willow twigs over his overlarge cloak covering most of his body. He plops down about ten feet away and introduces himself as Starkath.

Starkath: So, any of you kids looking for a fight? I got a lot of platinum for whoever can kill me.

He jangles a coin purse around his neck.

Reynaldo: Uh, no, we're good.
Starkath: What, are you a bunch of girls? 'Cause I don't fight girls.
Reynaldo: No, we're not a bunch of girls, we just don't want to fight.
Starkath: So you're just a bunch of cowards, then?

Ivan gets up, but Edward and Anna quickly sit him back down.

Starkath: Wait, was someone challenging me? My eyes aren't so good.
Reynaldo: No, no one was challenging you.
Starkath: What, you're saying I'm wrong!? Draw arms!
Reynaldo: No! I'm not drawing anything. Just settle down.
Starkath: Oh, alright. You bunch of pansies... Wait a second, did you just tell me what to do!? Draw arms!
Reynaldo: For fuck's sake, man! You'd fucking kill me in two seconds flat. Just settle... Why are you trying to pick fights, anyway?
Starkath: A volva (witch woman in Norse) told me to walk this way and I'd meet someone that looked like my reflection in a turbid river.

At this point, a third, hitherto unseen arm came out of his cloak and scratched his chin.

Reynaldo: Woah! What was that? I thought Thor ripped your extra arms off?
Starkath: Why are you reminding of my only defeat? Are you trying to psych me out!? Draw arms!
Reynaldo: No, no! I'm just, you know, making conversation.
Starkath: Oh, well, yeah, he did rip them off. I found a lot of Regenaration Potions, though.
Reynaldo: That's... that's a lot of Regeneration Potions.
Starkath: Are you calling me fat!? Draw arms!
Reynaldo: Lord give me the strength...
Edward: I thought you didn't believe?
Reynaldo: I don't, but these are trying times.
Thalia: I think you've just met someone as obnoxious as you is all.

Starkath tried to pick a fight a couple more times and Ivan was forced to eat Reynaldo's hat so that he wouldn't take him up on the offer, but we finally all rested through the night.

Outside the Everbloom
Saturday, May 19th, 988 AD

We wake up in the morning and begin healing and casting our spells for our steeds. Starkath, upon seeing our pansy-ass reliance on magic, just scoffs at us and walks off. No one has the stones nor the patience to remind him that he's drank at least six magic potions in his lifetime. When our Mounts and Phantom Steeds are ready for us, Anna once casts Unfailing Endurance on the Mounts and Reynaldo, Jean-Claude, Shara, Moishe, and Nicolae.

We ride for two hours and see a group of undead reindeer, all hacked to pieces about two or three days earlier. We assume Orm's party are responsible and continue riding. Another hour into our ride, we encounter a group of undead reindeer that aren't hacked to pieces, but we simply ride around them. They chase for a little while, but their hearts aren't really in it (or in them, now that I think about it).

At the end of the day's ride, we catch up with Miaslav, Innocence, Thorbjorn, Princess Mengloth, the Moors, and another giant Moor we've never seen before carrying Orm.

Reynaldo: Guess what kids? We totally blew up the mountain.
Thorbjorn: That's fantastic!
Jean-Claude: Yeah, we didn't give up or anything.
Anna: What's wrong with Orm?
Thorbjorn: He was bitten by a snake in his tent.
Reynaldo: Were you in the tent with him?
Thorbjorn: No, only Raheesh, Aaqib, and Qadir were.
Reynaldo: Why does that not surprise me.
Raheesh: Careful elf. We did nothing to him. We were talking about the Everbloom when he let out a yelp. I saw a snake quickly slither away.
Thorbjorn: Then they called me. I entered the tent, and Orm very calmly told me to continue towards the Everbloom because that's where the we'd find the cure for whatever it is he has. Then he passed out.
Edward: Have you tried Neutralize Poison or Cure Disease?
Thorbjorn: Of course I have. I also tried Dispel Magic and Remove Curse.
Anna: What about Dispel Evil?
Thorbjorn: Unfortunately, Thor has not granted me access to that spell.
Anna: Luckily, the one true God and His archangel Michael have. I'll attempt it tomorrow.
Reynaldo: How did he know there'd be something to cure him of?
Raheesh: He'd just been bitten by a snake. Wouldn't you think you'd need to be cured?
Reynaldo: Then why was he so calm?
Thorbjorn: He's a king. He can't let his subjects see him frightened.
Reynaldo: But surely when it's just his most trusted advisor...?
Thorbjorn: Maybe, but it wasn't just me.
Reynaldo: Right. Okay then, who's in charge now? The princess or you?
Thorbjorn: Well... Jean-Claude: Oh, and I'd been meaning to ask: does the Princess have any skills or powers that might help us here?
Thorbjorn: No, none at all.
Raheesh: So, we're going to continue towards the Everbloom?
Edward: It's getting dark. We should make camp.
Raheesh: But Orm is still sick.
Anna: But he's not getting any worse.
Raheesh: We should still press on.
Thalia: It's been our experience that traveling at night is usually not a good idea.
Moishe: Plus, I've been shlepping all day. My feets and tuchus are tired.
Raheesh: Then, maybe those that want to stay should stay and those that want to continue should continue?

Nenufar and Reynaldo shared a sideways glance, and then Reynaldo shared it with Thorbjorn.

Thorbjorn: Reynaldo, come with and we'll ask Thor what he thinks.

They went away from the main camp and spoke for a few minutes. Raheesh and the party continued discussing the pros and cons of continuing and staying. Finally, Thorbjorn and Reynaldo returned.

Thorbjorn: We're going to continue on to the Everbloom.

We limbered up our legs again and hiked for another couple of hours as the forest got denser and denser around us. Raheesh told us that the large Moor carrying Orm (and now Moishe as well) was actually a djinn summoned by Baqir. Finally, we got to the edge of the Everbloom and another disagreement was exposed.

Reynaldo: I think we should wait here until daybreak.
Raheesh: Whatever for? We're here already. Let's just go find the giants.
Reynaldo: I want to avoid a misunderstanding.
Raheesh: What misunderstanding?
Thalia: What would you think if a band of heavily armed people walked into your home in the middle of the night? Raheesh: ...Point. Maybe we should only send one person in. Baqir's djinn could surely go in undetected and find the giants and then get them to come over.
Reynaldo: What makes you think we'd let you do that?
Edward (quickly): What Reynaldo meant to say was that we're trying to avoid subterfuge. An invisible djinn stealing across your home is just as bad a large group bearing arms.
Raheesh: So what then?
Ewdward: We can try calling from here, see if we can get their attention.

We began shouting the giants' name, but to no avail.

Thorbjorn: That's that then. We'll sleep here and wait until tomorrow. We'll try calling them again tomorrow.
Raheesh: But Orm--
Thorbjorn: Tomorrow.

We sleep during the night, but when Reynaldo sees the djinn disappear, he keeps track of it with his Gem of Seeing. The djinn stays near Var for most of the night, but then dissapears during third watch.

Death of a Dream
Sunday, May 20th, 988 AD

to be continued...

End of Chapter Two