Road to Hyperborea, Chapter Six
Strategic Retreat
Monday, May 28th, 988 AD
We walk east, away from the Cyclops battle, for four hours to rest. We hope nothing comes for us in night so that Edward can memorize Raise Dead.
Anna
Tuesday, May 29th, 988 AD
Once resting is over, Reynaldo un-Items Anna's body and Edward calls upon his God to restore her life to her body. God acquiesces and Anna is brought back to life for the second time while running around with this group. She is, of course, weak from her journey back from the land of the dead, so we let her rest on the same sled carrying the Emerald Dragon hide.
We march all day set up camp. Reynaldo, Jean-Claude, and Shara scout in our wake in various bird forms. They see many snowy owls congregating and flying about together five miles back. Since they seem to just be hanging about, they head back to camp and rest.
Nature Duel and Moishe
Wednesday, May 30th, 988 AD
Early in the morning, the Spider-People we were warned about on numerous occasions surround our camp. They accuse of trespassing on their lands. We tell them this is all just a big misunderstanding and we'll be on our way out of their lands, but they tell us that we must wait for the judgment of Aylee.
We wait around rather nervously, more so still when bees start swarming the area. The Spider-People (called Hamalasia) say these are just Aylee's heralds. Jean-Claude gets jumpy and tells them to call off the bees, as he considers this a hostile action. Reynaldo tells Jean-Claude to shut up.
Through the forest, a huge spider comes lumbering through, and riding atop it is a woman wearing nothing but a great number of butterflies, always shifting on her body. She looks down at us and asks to have a contest with somebody attuned with nature. All but Shara take a step back.
The rules of the contest are such: no magic or magic weapons are allowed except a druid's natural transformation ability. No killing, and the first to lose consciousness or tap out, loses the contest. Aylee is also good enough to heal Shara up in order to make the contest fair. The two druids circle each other and strike at each other. Shara hits Aylee many more times than the reverse, until Aylee finally falls unconscious. Neither Druid felt a need to transform, so the battle was over pretty quickly (in fact, Shara came out ahead in that she felt better after the contest than before thanks to Aylee's healing).
The Hamalasia let us go and we bid farewell to Aylee. Edward summons some reindeer to help pull the sled with Anna and the dragon hide. He then tries to Raise Moishe, but the Jesus will apparently not suffer any non-believers, and Moishe remains dead. We decide to bury him in the Everbloom once we get there, if the Thorgrim and Thorgrima allow it. We put Ivan on the sled as well as Reynaldo, and we double time it back to the Everbloom. At some point, we realize the reindeer-pulled sled is going faster than it should be. We think it might be the Iron Hat we found off the coast of Kevel. At the end of the day, we make camp and rest.
Vera
Thursday, May 31st, 988 AD
We heal up, feed the reindeer, and Edward successfully Raises Vera. We force march all day and rest at the end of the day.
Conrad
Friday, June 1st, 988 AD
We heal up, feed the reindeer, and Edward successfully Raises Conrad. We force march all day and read the Everbloom at the end of the day. The two Giants, Mengloth, and a still sleeping Orm are the only people around. Raheesh and his men left days earlier, and Thorgrim says that he sent Thorbjorn, Miaslav, and Innocence out to drive some unwelcome predators only a day earlier.
Also, Raheesh left a note in Arabic that he told Thorgrim to give to Reynaldo. Reynaldo translates it and it reads "If only this were cleared away, that would be grand." The outside of the note says 'For Orm,' which is really confusing. We decide to deal with it the next day and rest.
Bubs
Saturday, June 2nd, 988 AD
to be continued...
Search and Rescue
Sunday, June 3rd, 988 AD
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Final Words of Moishe ben Shlomo and Housekeeping, Part 1
Monday, June 4th, 988 AD
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Orm Wakes Up and Housekeeping, Part 2
Tuesday, June 5th, 988 AD
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Vera Leaves and Housekeeping, Part 3
Wednesday, June 6th, 988 AD
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Consequences and Housekeeping, Part 4
Thursday, June 7th, 988 AD
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Spears and Housekeeping, Part 5
Friday, June 8th, 988 AD
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End of Chapter Six
