What are the details of you going to Hasvir's house? I'm assuming that you're not wearing your mail, cause that sort of thing could very easily be seen as an implicit threat, but I could be wrong. Did you decide to bring anyone with you?
Probably not wearing mail, no. We definitely are bringing Abjorn with us. I actually think we'd likely bring someone other than Abjorn with us just because of how the last walk with Abjorn alone went (ie: Foemen attack)...but we wouldn't, like, dragoon people into it.
In terms of who'd be with us, our actual huskarls, Stigr, Sten, and Gabriel would all be invited since we're living with them (and they were involved in the fight), but I'm not sure who'd want to come? We probably wouldn't be picky as long as we're bringing at least one or two of them along with us and Abjorn.
Steinarr would also be on that list, but he probably doesn't want to come (and we might request he stay home just in case anyway), and other people probably aren't around to invite, honestly.
What are the details of you going to Hasvir's house? I'm assuming that you're not wearing your mail, cause that sort of thing could very easily be seen as an implicit threat, but I could be wrong. Did you decide to bring anyone with you?
Normal stuff, aka take our full fighting gear and then downgrade everything that would be rude (implicit threat) to everyday capable stuff.
Who? Anyone interested in a friendly visit.
Normal stuff, aka take our full fighting gear and then downgrade everything that would be rude (implicit threat) to everyday capable stuff.
Who? Anyone interested in a friendly visit.
Pretty much this, I think. We would have Sagaseeker with us no matter what, though, just because we've been ambushed in the woods too many times. If that's rude we'd put it away in a Pocket (or our Armory if we've got that working) right before we get in sight of the place, but we'd have it on the walk.
Fortunately for both the healer's energy and the patient's wallet, the bodies of the Norsemen are very malleable things. They remember what form they should be in, but lack the power to fix it themselves. If a patient has sufficiently high enough hamr to have developed some level of shapeshifting, they could very well simply will their body back into shape. They could even go so far as simply sticking a chopped-off limb back on, should that be the case.
Pretty much this, I think. We would have Sagaseeker with us no matter what, though, just because we've been ambushed in the woods too many times. If that's rude we'd put it away in a Pocket (or our Armory if we've got that working) right before we get in sight of the place, but we'd have it on the walk.
When Halla visited the Ducklings the second time she asked why they didn't just stick their amputated arm back on, it's what she'd do if someone chopped her arm off.
Now I'm wondering if Claymore-style parts swapping works.
The Fylgja thing was more thinking of stuff like the trial, if an atgeir was a no-go that would have been a situation where I'd go "Ok, use the atgeir normally until reaching the border of the sacred zone, then fylgja store it."
Wrestling is fine, punching and kicking is seen as disrespectful. Which, y'know, doesn't mean it doesn't happen but does mean we don't want to do it as a general thing.
I'm not sure it actually is an advantage. I suspect Norse society is fine with just walking around with your very-sharp-walking-stick, I was just mentioning it as a precaution in case I'm wrong.
The thing about punching and kicking is that it's a sign of a person with poor control over themselves, which, while not nid in of itself, is still odrengskapr as it is not the work of a drengr.
[X] Gain Boon: It's about what you leave behind
[X] Plan Tying Up Loose Ends
-[X] (Personal) Spend time with...
--[X] Eric, our brother
--[X] Welcome him home properly, trade stories of our respective lives since we saw each other last, and invite him to join the family and friends sparring sessions.
--[X] Ask him what he'd like in the way of a weapon, since we owe him a gift for both his gift to us and breaking his wrist way back when. We can easily make something to spec, runes included though it may take us a little while depending on what he wants.
--[X] Hasvir and his family (hopefully including Wolfwind)
--[X] See how they're doing, how bringing their employees back from Bodily Death has gone, whether anyone in the family is still holding grudges, hopefully meet the rest of them under peaceful circumstances.
--[X] See if they're gonna handle the remaining bandits. Not requesting they do so, just making sure we aren't assuming they're still around when they aren't.
--[X] Invite Hardir (and Veny if she's interested) to come learn how to fight better. He did try to fight us when he thought we were a threat, so he's brave enough, just in need of training. Maybe whatever has prevented him from learning until now can be overcome?
-[X] (Troll-men Reprisal) The sinkhole where your house once sat, does it lead anywhere?
-[X] Non-action: Make sure Haleikr's widow knows she can call on us for help if needed.
-[X] (Rolled)
--[X] Train Kindle-Spinner 2d6 (1d6) (+1 Success from Born of Fire)
--[X] Train Firebomb-Strike 2d6 (1d6) (+1 Success from Born of Fire)
--[X] Train Ember-Winged Cloak 2d6 (1d6) (+1 Success from Born of Fire)
--[X] Train Flashfire Cleave 2d6 (1d6) (+1 Success from Born of Fire)
--[X] Train Campfire 2d6 (1d6) (+1 Success from Born of Fire)
--[X] Train Sparkbomb 2d6 (1d6) (+1 Success from Born of Fire)
--[X] Train Recall 8d6
---[X] Put overflow successes towards Fast Recall if possible
--[X] Train a 'perfect' parry effect of some sort 1d6
--[X] Train 'Stealth' Wildcraft Skill-Trick 1d6
--[X] Undo our internal nalbinding (leaving 12 Pockets for now no matter how well we roll) 1d6
-[X] (Research)
--[X] Take our standard precautions when adding Odr to Hugr (no weapons of any sort, scary people nearby, shapeshifted to be weak, grappled by Abjorn)
--[X] Try adding another 10 Orthstirr to one of our Pockets and making an Armory 1d6
-[X] (Drifa) Teach Drifa some of your tricks
--[X] Continue teaching her Tricks from the list we started last turn 1d6
-[X] (Blackhand's Training) Try to develop old/train new hugareida tricks
--[X] Talk to Sten about what Forgefire Tricks he might recommend now that we've acquired it, with a particular emphasis on anything to allow a high quality weapon to remain unharmed while using Sharpen (something like Recombine or Reconstitute to reforge the metal back into the blade even as we shear it off, maybe?)...maybe also something to coat a weapon in flame, ideally either without damaging it or able to be compensated for in the same way as Sharpen. Maybe even combine the two?
--[X] Talk to Blackhand about whether his father had Odr and where he learned how to do stuff with it.
--[X] Train Halting Vortex 1d6 x
--[X] Train Mire Ward 1d6 x
--[X] Train Slipstream 1d6 x
--[X] Train Gale Spear 1d6 X
-[X] (Training) Tricks
--[X] Talk to Sten about how to make a proper Helm and Sword
--[X] Train Sharpen 1d6 x
--[X] Train 'Helm' Armorcraft Skill-Trick 1d6 (+1 Success from Sten) x
--[X] Train 'Sword' Weaponcraft Skill-Trick 1d6 (+1 Success from Sten) x
-[X] (Training) Hamr (123 successes to rank up)
--[X] Train Hamr itself 1d6 x
--[X] Train Dodge1d6 x
--[X] Train Defend 1d6 x
--[X] Train Bash 1d6 X
--[X] Train Cut 1d6 X
-[X] (Training) Hugr (61 successes to rank up)
--[X] Train Hugr itself 1d6 x
--[X] Train Artcraft 1d6 (+1 success from Sten) x
--[X] Train Design 1d6 x
--[X] Train Silver-Tongue 1d6 x
--[X] Train Tactics 1d6 x
-[X] (Training) Fylgja (32 success to rank up)
--[X] Train Fylgja Itself 1d6 x
-[X] (Orthstirr Usage)
--[X] 4 Orthstirr to Hamr
---[X] 4 Chop, 4 on Defend, 4 Dodge, 4 Glima, 4 Bash, 4 Pierce, 4 Throw, 4 Cut, 3 Farmwork, 3 Labor, 3 Overland (41 total)
--[X] **8 Odr** and 3 Orthstirr to Hugr
---[X] 5 Artcraft, 5 Armorcraft, 3 Barb-Tongue, 1 Composure, 2 Design, 6 Housecraft, 3 Management, 4 Scouting, 3 Silver-Tongue, 5 Sailing, 3 Strategy, 4 Tactics, 5 Weaponcraft, **2 Odr** and 3 Orthstirr on Wordplay, 5 Wildcraft (57 total)
--[X] 2 Orthstirr to Fylgja
---[X] 3 Command
--[X] 1 First Impression
--[X] 342 free for tricks
-[X] (Fylgja Capacity)
--[X] Add 2 Boulders to Fylgja Capacity
--[X] Carve Explosive Charm runes onto them if possible
-[X] (Fylgja Alloy/Shapeshifting Slots)
--[X] Assign Fylgja's slot to Fast Creation, store 3 Frenzy there and 1 in Pockets
0~0~0
Cut
Bash
Gale Spear
0~0~0
New: (Sparkbomb: 5, 6) 5 Successes. (Focus Guard: 1) 1 Failure. (Stealth: 2) 1 Failure
The inch-wide ball of extremely-condensed fire daintily drifts through the air — looking to all the world like a leaf on the wind. It flutters and floats, graceful and lackadaisical in its approach.
And then it explodes, reducing a thicket of trees to fire-blackened kindling.
A grin most bloodthirsty spreads across your face. Yeah, that'll do.
(Sparkbomb is now Rough!)
0~0~0
Rolled Kindle Spinner: 6, 3) 4 Successes. (Firebomb Strike: 4, 1) 1 Success. (EWC: 3, 6) 4 Successes. (Flashfire Cleave: 5, 5) 5 Successes. (Campfire: 4, 6) 4 Successes. (Recall: 6x1, 5x2, 4x2, 3x3) 11 Successes
The mug leaps to your hand as if yanked by an invisible string — which, in a way, it was.
You grin, the cool water wetting your thirst. It's all coming up Halla, that's for sure!
(+4 to Kindle Spinner)
(+1 to Firebomb Strike)
(+4 to EWC)
(Flashfire Cleave is now Refined!)
(+4 to Campfire)
(Recall Acquired!)
(+6 to Fast Recall)
0~0~0
Armory Creation
After carefully feeding orthstirr into a pocket, you direct the flow of power towards the 'Armory' idea you had some time ago. Once the last crimson drop finishes flowing, you set to figuring out the final product.
After a little bit of experimentation, you come to the conclusion that Armory Pockets are rather useful. After all, being able to instantly swap out weapons and shields would be mighty handy in a fight!
It feels like there's another level of Armory that you can reach, should you double the orthstirr. Perhaps this one allows you to store armor?
(Armory Pockets can each hold 1 weapon or shield. You can instantly retrieve/stow things in them.) Unraveling (4) 1 Success, 6 Orthstirr back
You didn't have much time to unravel your pockets, but you managed to finish off one.
(6 Orthstirr returned to you)
0~0~0 Spending time with Eric
The home of Steinarr is nearly bursting at the seams with how many people are in it. It's a good thing that Eric and his family are only visiting, else Steinarr might have to spend money, the horror! He's one of the more thrifty men, your father is. Doesn't like spending money if he can help it, which he often can.
Seriously, until you had a farm of your own, you didn't really understand just how much work went into it. The fact that Steinarr not only does the lion's share of the work — and then some! — but still manages to spend quality bonding time with his many children...
'I know it's rich coming from me, but Steinarr is a freak of nature. He's possibly the best farmer I have ever seen and that is including actual farming gods.'
If Horra really was as good at managing property as Hasvir says, then it's a real shame that he and Steinarr were at odds. Just... Frankly, it's a bit scary to think about. Just what could they have accomplished, what heights could they have reached, had they been friends rather than enemies?
Well, you suppose that it's not something that you'll ever find out now.
Anyways, Eric's home and he's not alone! You've met Stigrun and Leif, of course, but now there's a new face. Leikny is her name and she's got her father's eyes — though there's not a lot of surprise there, given how your bloodline tends to express itself.
But Leikny isn't the only new face joining you at the dinner table. Eldjarn, Sten's newest son, sits next to Draupnir as Draupnir strings beads together. He's quiet, even more so than Sigurdr was.
There's something off about him, Eldjarn, something eerily familiar in how he observes the world around him. Watching, waiting, learning. He's only a baby, yet his potential is more than self-evident.
'I've had some suspicions towards your brother's wife, Minna, for some time now. Specifically towards her ancestry. You should make a point of spending time with her, see if she's willing to let anything slip.'
You'll be sure to do that, only later. For now, though, you're going to continue talking to Eric.
Eric is in the middle of telling a story, so you settle in to wait. The thief had been in the middle of stealing a ship and even made it almost out of the bay, but Biart Woodthump — Eric's master — picked up a carpenter's hammer, took about two heartbeats to aim, and then put it through the thief's head.
All in all, very impressive!
"Hey, Eric?" Your brother glances up from his meal as you approach. He had brought some lamb from Jurgdby and so you and the other women had whipped up a feast. It turned out quite nice, though you had to use the last of Asveig's honey stock to do it justice. "I was just wanting to say that I'm sorry for breaking your wrist," you rub the back of your neck whiling rocking on your heels, "I got too into the moment and, well, if there's anything you want, a weapon perhaps, I guess I could make it up to you that way?"
Eric laughs and waves it off with the hand you broke. "That's kind of you, but it's not necessary. It was, what, five years ago?" He shakes his head. "I'm over it, have been for a long time now. Besides," a glimmer sparkles in his eye as he winks, "it gave me a good in with Stigrun, the ladies like a fighting man, you see."
You go to object, but find that you can't muster any sort of response. After all, you are married to Abjorn. With the way he fights... man, you're one lucky lady, that's for sure. If you hadn't snatched him up when you did, you would've had to beat your rivals back with a stick! Or maybe a sword...
"Halla, are you okay?" You blink as Eric pulls you from your thoughts. His face is the picture of concern as he stares, brows narrowing as his mouth slowly opens. "Your cheeks are red."
Your fingers feel warmth as you touch your face. So they are...
"I-I'm fine," you chuckle, the flush deepening, "I was just, well, I was just thinking about... well, Abjorn."
Eric stares for a long minute.
"Damn, girl, you've got it bad."
"I do not!" He hides his face in his drink as you splutter and flail.
'You literally were just- Ahg!' Blackhand groans, the sound of palm slapping against face echoing through your mind.
"Look," you try and fail to compose yourself as Eric struggles to keep from laughing, "Abjorn is just really, really-"
"What am I 'really, really'?" You choke on your spit and fall from your chair as Abjorn just fucking appears behind you.
'He wasn't even trying to be quiet.' Blackhand, the lying liar who lies, speaks nothing but lies — as can only be expected from such a liar! 'Sure, Halla, whatever you need to tell yourself.'
0~0~0 Seeing how Hasvir's doing (Surprise Shenanigans (Hamingja): 6x1, 5x5, 2x5, 1x5) 2 Successes, what the hell, NornDice??
It's a fine, pretty day when you arrive at Horrby — name change pending the Headsman's approval. The sun is shining, birds are chirping, and there's not a ounce of danger in the air.
It's still an absolute mess, but at least all the blood is cleaned up — you frown as you step around an ankle-deep puddle of gore — most of the blood is cleaned up, that is. The bodies are all buried with iron nails driven through the roofs of their mouths — a semi-common method to prevent draugar from returning, which isn't always effective, unfortunately.
It's a bit strange to be wandering through the wrecked ruins of Horrby without violence in your ears. Without smoke clogging the air and blood splattering all over the place, it's not a bad looking little village — if you ignore the wreckage of burnt-out buildings, that is.
Huh, that's what this was, wasn't it? A village-in-the-making.
But, a village is nothing without its villagers. So, with that in mind, just where is everyone?
After a few minutes of wandering through the burnt-out husks of collapsed buildings, you stumble across the new master of the land, Hasvir, as he works to raise a builds house on the hill. He's making good progress, but it's not easy with only himself, Knappr, and Hod sharing the load.
"Hail, Hasvir!" You call out with an arm waving above your head.
Hasvir returns the wave with a nod of his own, his brothers Knappr and Hod looking a bit stand-offish. They both know that they'd lose that fight, but that doesn't stop them from being unhappy with your presence. You don't hold it against them, you did kick their heads in once or twice. Gods know you'd feel the same way if the shoe were on the other foot — as Eric's fond of saying.
"Halla!" Hasvir, at least, is somewhat pleased at your appearance. "What brings you to Hasviby?"
"Well," you scratch at your chin, eyes darting around the scenery, "I was wondering how the reconstruction was going but..." you click your tongue, "it's not, is it?"
"Not great, no." Hasvir sighs, rubbing at his eyes. "Turns out, when a living person is made into a draugar, it results in their souls being consumed to fuel the draugar. Or at least that's how Horra set it up to happen."
Dawning horror settles in your stomach as you frown. "Is... is that what happened to everyone?"
Hasvir's silence speaks volumes.
"Is there anything that can be done? Surely Horra didn't figure out a way to truly kill someone, right?" You're not letting this drop, you just can't.
"Maybe if we found Hirkir, we could figure something out." Hasvir frowns, scratching at his bicep. "But I've got no idea where he is."
"Fucking coward fucking ran," Hod spits out swears like a drunkard downs liquor, his thoughts on the matter clear as the day is long.
"We don't know that." Hasvir has no time for Hod's grudge.
"Could he be... dead?" You hesitate to ask, but the possibility has to be voiced.
"We found two draugar in his quarters, both showing spear wounds, exact same spot, center of the skull." Hasvir taps himself right between the eyes. "Hirkir is the only man I know who can pull off that level of precision while surprised. He's alive, just not here."
You frown. "Where are Veny and Hardir, and Wolfwind for that matter? I was wondering if they would like to train together. Offer's open to you too, of course." You nod to Hasvir.
Hod makes to say something rude, but Hasvir cuts him off. "Thanks for the offer, but we're a bit too busy right now for that. As for your other question, Wolfwind took them back to Vestfold, said that he didn't want his daughter-in-law and future grandchildren in Drysalt's line of fire."
"Damn." You don't have much else to say to that. "What about the bandits in the north? Jordan Sharktooth or Sharkteeth or whatever?"
"Sharkmouth? How did you know about that?" Hasvir squints.
You shrug, "I'm good at knowing things." You like the guy, at least on a level where you won't kill each other, but you're not telling him your secrets that easily.
"Fair enough," Hasvir laughs before running a hand over his mouth, the wind picking up slightly, "I'm pretty sure they left for Rogaland after Jordan 'fought' Harald — if you could call it that. I remember Horra being mad about them running out on their bill."
"Rogaland? What business do they have in the Helskin's Kingdom?"
"That's where they're from, so I guess they're going home, likely to bring their bodily dead friends and kin back to life."
You have to admit, "That does make sense, yeah."
Well, this whole thing was a bust. Great.
0~0~0 Troll-men Reprisal
As Steinarr says, it's not the troll-men you have to worry about when dealing with troll-nests, it's everything else.
Despite the name, troll-nests have nothing to do with trolls. They're just kind of called that, apparently, which sort of makes sense given that they're apparently a real pain to deal with.
After asking around, you gather some basic information.
Rockworms are said to lurk around troll-nests as they like to prey upon the troll-men. Rockworms, while not a threat in a stand-up fight, can deal devastating damage if they catch you by surprise. They like to burst up from the ground, or the walls, or the ceilings and swallow their prey in one gulp. Dangerous, but only in certain instances. They're blind, so they have to track their prey through vibrations.
Sometimes, exiled dwarves and svartalfar are said to come up from the deepest pits of Myrkheim — the world of the dwarves and all those who dwell in the deepest depths. Both of these can be exceedingly dangerous if encountered, as both have their strange crafting magics that allow them to wield all manner of weapons in battle. Not to mention their raw strength and vast intelligence, either. However, they can be negotiated with.
A strange type of dirt-crab-rat-thing is said to call the underground of Agder its home. Unfortunately, there's not a lot of information on those, so you'll just have to wing it if you happen to encounter one.
A few adventurers have claimed that Abysslings will lurk in the blackest shadows, but there's not a lot of corroboration on those claims. You'll have to be careful down there.
There's also a myriad of lesser creatures like insects, snakes, rodents, and the like that might be problems in the right circumstances, but there's a few too many of those to list succinctly.
Now then, what preparations would you like to take and who would you like to bring with you?
[ ] Write in
0~0~0
AN: And boom, it's done. Rather late, unfortunately, but that's just how it goes sometimes.
Training went pretty good! The Armory is good too!
Shame that apparently the one we thought was Horra's Fuck You button was actually not and the actual Fuck You button escaped everyone's notice until he could do a runner, annoying.
Uh...what about inviting him to spar? That was actually the primary purpose of the action (beyond just catching up, I mean). It just seemed weird to invite him without apologizing for last time.
(X) Flashfire Cleave (Cost 6 Orthstirr/2 Odr): This trick is a combination of Ember-Winged Cloak and Leaping-Cleave. While it retains its armor-penetrating effects, its damage now suffers as a result. (Mastered: 4/36)
Wait. Wasn't this already 6 Orthstirr at Rough? Shouldn't it thus be 3 at Refined? I also seem to recall we were 3 successes away from Refined, so I think this should be 2/36 towards Mastered.
