Oh shit, my bad. I just reread the scene, yeah, I think I'm with @DeadmanwalkingXI with this - the Norns mindwiped the conversation from the Seeress via fate bullshit. So yeah, the Norns do seem to be an Enemy. But I still feel like Hallr should know about them, as if this is a mirror to our world, where the Norse has knowledge of the Norns, Hallr should also have knowledge of them. Not to mention that the Norse pantheon is still a thing that everyone knows about. Although perhaps I'm just coping.

Slowly but steadily, the glow fades away until it becomes one with your skin

There should be a period at the end of the sentence here.
 
Oh shit, my bad. I just reread the scene, yeah, I think I'm with @DeadmanwalkingXI with this - the Norns mindwiped the conversation from the Seeress via fate bullshit. So yeah, the Norns do seem to be an Enemy. But I still feel like Hallr should know about them, as if this is a mirror to our world, where the Norse has knowledge of the Norns, Hallr should also have knowledge of them. Not to mention that the Norse pantheon is still a thing that everyone knows about. Although perhaps I'm just coping.



There should be a period at the end of the sentence here.

Again, I get the feeling that the Nornir are not the Enemy, but that the Enemy has a way to compel them into writing Fate in a way that suits their goals.

If the Nornir were the Enemy themselves--as opposed to just grudgingly cooperating and/or a machine following Orders--they'd have seen Halla there and arranged things so she wouldn't outlive the scene. There is literally no hope if Reality Itself personally hates you and wants you to die. There were ways to solve this Paradox that weren't as flagrantly obvious, and yet they took the measure that literally could not be mistaken as anything but their direct intervention.

On that topic...

@Imperial Fister , did Halla spend any Orthstirr in that moment? It explicitly said that Power was burning under her skin, and that there was the three Aspects flying around her at the time.
 
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Again, I get the feeling that the Nornir are not the Enemy, but that the Enemy has a way to compel them into writing Fate in a way that suits their goals.

If the Nornir were the Enemy themselves--as opposed to just grudgingly cooperating and/or a machine following Orders--they'd have seen Halla there and arranged things so she wouldn't outlive the scene. There is literally no hope if Reality Itself personally hates you and wants you to die.

Well, yeah, my point was that I agree with you on the fact that I don't the Norns are the Enemy. That still doesn't answer the question of why the Enemy wouldn't just have the Norns rewrite fate into having Halla die if the Norns =/= the Enemy. Unless the Enemy only has a certain amount of sway over the Norns.

From what I can tell, hiding the truth behind Horra's deep roots in the valley was targeted at Halla specifically, if only so that she could bumble into killing Horra and then getting jumped by the rest of the valley. Perhaps the Enemy somehow found out about Charred Soul, and tried to go about getting rid of her? It wouldn't explain the death of Halla's sibling if they were also killed by the Enemy - I believe they weren't named after Hallr, so that excludes the Enemy going after anyone named after Hallr in case they inherited his hamingja/soul, although I could be wrong about that. Nor would it explain why a bunch of Hallr's children got killed, either, if that was also a plot by the Enemy.

Damn, now I can't help but see every major misfortune that's befallen our family in the past as a plot from the Enemy.
 
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[X] Plan Backup Tools And Metals
-[X] 120 oz Forged Iron (75 Silver)
-[X] Good Sax (Forged Iron) (8.25 Silver)
-[X] 8 oz Molten Iron (20 Silver)
-[X] Good Wood Axe (Bog Iron) (4.25 Silver)
-[X] Good Scythe (Bog Iron) (4 Silver)
-[X] Good Pot (Bog Iron) (7.25 Silver)
-[X] Good Plow (Bog Iron) (10.5 Silver)
-[X] Sell the church bell to defray expenses (263 oz Bog Iron should go for just under 33 Silver...we'll throw in an extra ounce and make it exactly 33 silver worth. They may pay a little less since they have to melt it down, but it should be close to that.)

Total: Around 96.25 Silver depending on what we sell the bell for.

We can craft our own tools out of Forged Iron if we want to (and we do, to progress our nascent Boon), the Bog Iron ones are an order of magnitude cheaper for only 1d6 less (I was actually thinking we'd only get Decent, but to be honest, the prices for different levels of craftsmanship aren't enough different to be worth going lower quality). It also gives us the Forged Iron to actually do that, or make weapons. Meanwhile, if we're using Forged Iron for everything, let's sell the bell. There's a bit of a metal shortage, so now is a reasonable time and here is the place to do it. I could probably be convinced to keep the bell if someone has a specific plan for it, though I dunno what that would be (we really don't want Bog Iron Mail, I don't think).

I also think that, at less than 10 silver, a 4d6 backup weapon we can use now is worth it. Sure, we want to make a better one...but we don't even have the Skill Trick to do that, so it's gonna be a while.

Oh, and @Imperial Fister can we get a look at mail and helmets while we're here? We could afford some if we wanted...we probably don't but it seems like we should at least get a look at the mechanics so we can choose whether or not to buy some in an informed fashion. Or either keep the bell or buy a lot more Forged Iron so we can make some, of course.
 
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Notably, we also got a Big Warning.

"Don't go to Gotland if you're not ready to throw hands." I can't think of a bigger Red Flag that the Enemy would be watching for than a descendent of Blackhand returning to the site of his death.
 
Notably, we also got a Big Warning.

"Don't go to Gotland if you're not ready to throw hands." I can't think of a bigger Red Flag that the Enemy would be watching for than a descendent of Blackhand returning to the site of his death.

Yeah, Gotland seems like end game. The Enemy seems to clearly be scared of this weapon, so it'd make sense if Gotland is being watched over.

I wonder, though. Does the Enemy also have agents searching for the weapon, too? If so, that means there's a time limit on when we could actually get this weapon.
 
Yeah, Gotland seems like end game. The Enemy seems to clearly be scared of this weapon, so it'd make sense if Gotland is being watched over.

I wonder, though. Does the Enemy also have agents searching for the weapon, too? If so, that means there's a time limit on when we could actually get this weapon.

I wouldn't say Gotland is the End game, but it's certainly something we should only do when we've gotten all of our ducks in a row and are ready to accept that this is probably going to be the death of that character. Remember that the Weapon is broken after all, someone has to reassemble it even if we can find it. It's just that we are absolutely going to end up clashing with The Enemy to do so.
 
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I wouldn't say Gotland is the End game, but it's certainly something we should only do when we've gotten all of our ducks in a row and are ready to accept that this is probably going to be the death of that character.

From what I understand, getting the weapon is one of the major goals, and from there it'd then be ending/defeating the Curse of steel and then the Enemy themselves, so I get the sense it's late-game stuff.

I went back and looked at the POV from the guy trapped in the glade of frozen trees, as I feel like it's pretty obvious he has a stake in all of this. I have no idea how he ties into this stuff, though. His POV doesn't really give away much information, only that he wants revenge and was imprisoned.
 
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Another possibile source for the Enemy is Finnish myth. That seems to be where the curse originated, and Hallr was hunting Finnish godlings. Sadly I don't know it very well.
 
Again, I get the feeling that the Nornir are not the Enemy, but that the Enemy has a way to compel them into writing Fate in a way that suits their goals.
It could just be that our enemy has some sort of magic that can force fate in a certain way and by the fact we popped it the local fate weavers needed to step in and fix the damage to the local weave.

Like the power of the steel fathers comes from the curse of steel if something were to be found that could destroy that course it would destroy their power too.

I wouldn't be surprised if Horra (or someone he was able to form a pact with) could have cursed stenirr to never find him by twisting fate for it.
 
[X] Plan: Fire and tools
-[X] 20oz Molten Iron (50Silver)
-[X] Good Wood Axe (Bog Iron) (4.25 Silver)
-[X] Good Scythe (Bog Iron) (4 Silver)
-[X] Good Pot (Bog Iron) (7.25 Silver)
-[X] Good Plow (Bog Iron) (10.5 Silver)
 
It could just be that our enemy has some sort of magic that can force fate in a certain way and by the fact we popped it the local fate weavers needed to step in and fix the damage to the local weave.

Like the power of the steel fathers comes from the curse of steel if something were to be found that could destroy that course it would destroy their power too.

I wouldn't be surprised if Horra (or someone he was able to form a pact with) could have cursed stenirr to never find him by twisting fate for it.

Horra is a tool I suspect, not a player of this game. I don't think he's important except in that he was conveniently around to be maneuvered into place.
 
Maybe the Norns are trying to keep Halla from deciding something that would cause her to die before scheduled.
Don't wanna reap her before her orthstirr is ripe for the taking?
 
Horra is a tool I suspect, not a player of this game. I don't think he's important except in that he was conveniently around to be maneuvered into place.

I agree with this. Horra is irrelevant to the greater game being played here, he's just a convenient attack vector.

Maybe the Norns are trying to keep Halla from deciding something that would cause her to die before scheduled.
Don't wanna reap her before her orthstirr is ripe for the taking?

Nah. We're being sabotaged, I think. Someone with power over Fate/The Norns is trying to make sure none of Hallr's descendants complete his work in making a steel-breaking weapon and overthrowing some aspects of the current system. They don't care if we die, really, they just don't want us to succeed at that.
 
What if the Enemy is the Hornet? It's said that they're the one who tricked the Sky-Forger - whoever that is - when Steel was made, and cursed it.

"From the furnace of the smithy, Iron's son was cursed," Sten grows distant as his voice fills with words not his own, words spoken to him through the chain of student and teacher, "for the Hornet tricked them both when Steel was finally born.
 
Wait, Gotland = Geatland, home of Beowulf. That's got to be important. Maybe the giant's sword he used to kill Grendel's mom? Was Grendel a Steelfather? Weapons couldn't pierce him. But I think the giant's sword melted? Not exactly a ringing endorsement of its power.

Edit: Nevermind, got my Wiki tabs mixed up, I think Geatland and Gotland are separate. Not 100% sure though.
 
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Wait, Gotland = Geatland, home of Beowulf. That's got to be important. Maybe the giant's sword he used to kill Grendel's mom? Was Grendel a Steelfather? Weapons couldn't pierce him. But I think the giant's sword melted? Not exactly a ringing endorsement of its power.

... Isn't that also the place where Thievebane's owner is apparently? Or being from there?

But isn't Gotland also a burning hole in the ground right now?
 
See my edits, I think I was wrong about them being the same place. Pity, I was getting excited.

Imperial said that Beowulf is from Gotland, actually.

Ah, my bad. He says that was one of the theories for where Beowulf is from, not that it's definitively where he's from.

Anyway, my current theory is that the Enemy is the Hornet that Sten mentioned when gifting Avow to Abjorn. Either way, I think that asking Sten about steel is a must if we are to learn anything about it.

[X] Plan Backup Tools And Metals
 
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Another possible mythical sword (doesn't have to be a sword, but most mythical weapons are) is Gram, the sword of Siegfried. Being able to break an anvil suggests authority/power over smithcraft, including steel.

Of course, "Gotland" isn't the only possible origin of the Weapon. The Weapon belongs to our ancestors. Gotland is named because it's people come from the Goths. The Weapon could derive from the Huns, or even from something recovered from the sacking of Rome, in which case it could derive from Greek or Roman mythology, like one of Zeus's thunderbolts. Or Christian mythology. It could even be something like a piece of the True Cross, worked into a sword Dresden Files-style or not, though I find that fairly unlikely.

Ranging even further afield, it doesn't have to be a weapon in the sense of an implement for hand to hand fighting - ideas, technology etc. can all be weapons.
 
Also its interesting that we did get warned not to tell our father about horra maybe not the specific but our mother did warn us and yet the warning of the seeress didn't even reach us.
 
Also its interesting that we did get warned not to tell our father about horra maybe not the specific but our mother did warn us and yet the warning of the seeress didn't even reach us.

Because she knew more and hers was thus more specific. Aki and our mom (the others who warned us) could only be vague...the Seeress could tell us everything about Horra's family ties, so her warning got short-circuited.
 
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