Dealing with the Witch
- Location
- Southampton, Great Britain
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Hunt down the perpetrator.
-[X] Using Deception Seidr, you should be able to slip out deceit from the person trying to cast the Women-Statue-Ritual-Spell thing. They are hiding from the village after all (and most likely of the village as well), which is Deception.
--[X] Try looking for 'concentrations' of Seidr. Turning a woman into a statue semi-permanently requires a lot of magic which should be obvious, unless, say, they are hiding it with, say.. Deception Seidr.
-[X] If you can't hunt them down during the day go with the Torhild Bait plan.
"First of all, I'll look for any high concentrations of seidr," you tell Erika, "The culprit doesn't seem to strike until night has fallen so we have until then to find whoever it is. Whatever they are doing to turn all of these women into statues must require a large amount of seidr "
"That gives us a couple of hours then," replies Erika as she glances up at the sky, "Do you need any help?"
"I could do with someone to watch my back," you reply, "But if we do find whoever is responsible, we won't go after them on our own. We'll go to your father and get his assistance as Thane."
"Yes, that makes sense," agrees Erika, "Father will be very eager to get vengeance on whoever is behind what happened to Sigurda."
"Then it is settled," you say, "We shall try to track down the seidr behind the enchantments."
The ritual to look for high amounts of seidr is something any proper seeress either knows or can whip on the fly. And as much as you never expected to be one, you have learnt enough under almost a year of Lady Loki's tutelage to be considered a proper seeress if a highly inexperienced one.
Despite some initial difficulty remembering the right way to pull it off, you managed to summon a trail to follow. A trail leading to the largest concentration of seidr in the village. A trail that leads you right to the centre of the village and the seven women turned statues trapped there.
"In hindsight, it should have been expected that this is where our search would lead," you muse as you and Erika look at the statues, the latter's gaze lingering on the golden form of her older sister, "Unless there was a hidden secret for us to find, this would be the highest concentration of magic."
"So what now, Torhild?" asks Erika, a hint of frustration in her voice, "Is there anything else you can do?"
"I could try looking for Deception Seidr with my own," you tell her, "If I cannot uncover the source with conventional means, it must be supernaturally hidden somehow, likely with Deception Seidr or something similar."
"Why do you even have Deception Seidr?" asks Erika with more than a little accusation and suspicion in her voice.
You don't let her distrust bother you. Deceit and trickery is looked down upon and for someone to have, there is an ill reason for it more likely than not. Fortunately for you, you have a perfectly good explanation.
"I acquired the attention and favour of Loki in my past," you answer, "As a result of that, I have acquired access to Deception Seidr and my teacher believes in her students learning all of their possible Seidrs so I learnt how to wield it."
"This is reasonable," agrees Erika as she gives you a contrite look, "My apologies."
"Don't worry about it," you reply, "It is something that I have to grow used to. People look down on Deception Seidr, sometimes even if that person has good reason to know it."
"Right and you can track the one responsible for all this?" asks Erika as she waves a hand at the statues.
"I can track any attempts to hide with seidr within the village," you assure her, "That should include the culprit."
"And once we have found them, we'll go and get Father to crush them," says Erika with a savage grin.
"This is the home of Osmond and his wife Dagrun," says Erika with a hiss, "Osmond is a farmer and not much of a man. When he married Dagrun, people wondered how someone like him could win the heart of a woman like her. Dagrun herself is a newcomer to the village, only coming here after she married Osmond last year."
"Dagrun sounds like the more likely culprit then," you muse, "An outsider who marries an unimpressive man seems more likely than the unimpressive man. "
"Do you think she planned this from the start?" asks Erika with a scowl at the thought.
"I wouldn't be surprised if she did," you answer, "The woman could have easily married Osmond to have a reason to be in the village and then spend the time between now and then preparing for whatever ritual she is performing."
"Whichever one is responsible, we should go and tell Fath-look out!" exclaims Erika.
"What-" you start only for flames to engulf you.
That amount of fire should have left you half dead with severe burns. With your Golden Armband of Fire Resistance, it is blinding warmth washing over you. This is the first time that your powerful artefact has come in handy and it may have just saved your life.
"Torhild!" cries Erika, "You witch! I'll kill you for that, Dagrun."
"Erika, I'm fine!" you call out as the flames begin to die out.
But it is too late as the older girl has drawn her sword and charges at the robed woman. As you charge up a lightning bolt, you watch as Erika swings at her opponent only for the witch to dodge with a Deception Seidr faint.
That feint isn't the only hostile spell you can feel being casted as and the second quickly becomes apparent as Erika's face morphs from one of anger to one of excitement. Realising what is happening, you quickly discard your lightning bolt to try and throw up some protection for your new friend.
Yet it proves too little too late as Erika's body rapidly turns to iron. One moment you have your angry friend rushing into battle and the next there is a statue of a young shieldmaiden who looks very excited. Then a moment later, the statue of Erika is gone, leaving just you and the witch.
"You are quite unfortunate," says the witch with an annoying smug undertone to her words, "I was originally limited to just one casting of the ritual a night, but now? I have the power of another eight women to call upon so I do believe I have the juice to complete the ritual tonight. And a powerful young seeress like yourself will make quite the centre piece to top things off."
"You really think you'll get away with this?" you taunt her, pushing back your anger as you call another lightning bolt in your hand.
"Why wouldn't I?" she taunts you right back, "I have a couple of days before your teacher returns and the ritual will be complete long before then. I'll be gone with you and the others before she returns and even then, I fancy my odds of taking her out with my new power."
At that declaration, you just laugh because what else is there to do?
"You really don't know who you are messing with?" you retort because that is no way that this witch can match Lady Loki.
"I'm messing with someone who is going to spend the rest of their existence empowering me," replies the witch before a thin spear of metal comes at you.
You roll to the side and toss your lighting bolt at her. The woman barely blocks it with a hastily summoned slab of metal that is blown apart by your powerful bolt of lightning. Flames and metal alike soon cover your opponent as supernatural protection while you toss another lighting bolt. You chain-teleport behind her in several flashes of lighting and you manage to get out a third lighting bolt before the witch throws more metal spears at you, your own attack having stripped away much of her protection.
You attempt to teleport only to find a slab of metal that has rapidly risen from the ground blocking your way. Shaking your head as you regain your wits, you instinctively throw yourself to the side with your Lighting Blood. Moving at supernatural speeds, you barely avoid being caught by the statue curse.
"Tch!" hisses the witch as she glares at you with frustrated eyes, "I guess I'll have to find easier prey tonight."
And like that, the woman melts into liquid metal, sinking to the soil where she was standing. You are left alone, panting from the exertion of the fight.
"What happened!?" demands Thane Alvar, the old warrior comes marching up to you, flanked by two of his men, as you make your way back to his home, "Why has my treasured Erika become one of the statues?"
"It was Dagrun," you tell him, hoping that giving him a more deserving target will redirect his wrath from you, "Erika and I went looking for the culprit and it led us to the home of Osmond and Dagrun. Dagrun attacked us and cursed Erika. I was able to fight her to a standstill when she tried to do the same thing to me and then she fled."
"Dagrun," says Thane Alvar with a hiss as he comes to a stop, "Are you certain?"
"Erika recognised the witch who attacked us as Dagrun," you tell Thane Alvar, "And if you brought me before Dagrun, I would be able to recognise if she was the witch who attacked us and cursed Erika."
"Men, we make for Osmond and his wife," roars Thane Alvar as he turns his attention from you to his warriors, "We'll get that witch and make her pay."
He marches past you, barely making sure he doesn't shove you out of the way. His men pass you by, one on either side of you, and you are left to continue your journey back to the Thane's home. If Thane Alvar defeats Dagrun, then you will just need to wait for Lady Loki to return, but if he doesn't, then you will need to make preparations to do the job yourself.
In the end, Thane Alvar fails to catch Dagrun and her husband. Their home is already vacated and the only thing that the Thane found there was a trap that laid him and his men low for the foreseeable future. There is no sign of either one of them in the village despite practically every villager joining in when they learn why they are searching for the couple. The last that was seen of them was Dagrun finding Osmond in the farm fields and dragging off her husband.
Fortunately for Erika and all of the other victims, you spent the last hour of the day making your preparations for the night. With limited time and resources, you aren't able to do much, but you don't have to do much. You just need whatever you come up with to last for the night and not a moment longer.
A Potion of Enchanted Presence is a potion commonly used by spellcasters before a battle thanks to Presence enhancing one's ability to cast spells. The boost to Presence provided it can be a crucial edge that is the difference between victory and death. In your case, it may very well be what grants you victory over Dagrun and between the ingredients that Lady Loki has left you and your own good luck, the potion you have created is especially high quality.
It will certainly make her come after you. For the night, your Presence has been boosted far beyond it should be, reaching levels that most folk will never reach in their lifetimes. It is thrilling to wield power that should take you years or even decades to achieve even if it will only last a few hours.
Beyond the temporary nature of it, the only other downside is the side effect of having boosted Presence. Just as Strength increases muscles and Agility increases leanness, Presence increases good looks and so you are now arguably more beautiful than even Astrid. Most people would be pleased to have such excellent looks, but you would rather witness this level of beauty on another woman than have it yourself. At the very least, you would rather not have to adapt to a different sense of balance so soon before a fight.
Regardless of your feelings on the potion and its effects on you, Dagrun will definitely come after you. The chance to acquire your newfound Presence for her ritual will be too tempting for the witch to pass up even if her good sense would otherwise prevent her from picking a fight with someone of your skill. Dagrun will come for you tonight and you'll be waiting for her.
Waiting on the outskirts of town, you are alert for anyone seeking up on you and your efforts pay off as you spot the witch who attacked you and Erika earlier sneaking up on you. The Deception Seidr would be enough to fool most, but you are familiar enough with those sorts of tricks to see through it.
With a grim smile on your face, you toss a lightning bolt her way. Dagrun intercepts with a fireball, the two elemental attacks countering each other midair. She throws metal spears at you and you dodge with teleports to the side as you ready up another lighting bolt. More metal is tossed your way before you can find off your spell and you buy yourself some time to recover with a blinding flash in the witch's face.
Large gouts of flame form walls of fire on either side of you even though the woman has to know by now that fire won't harm you. Then as you sense a familiar curse being casted, you throw yourself though the flames and out of the way with Lighting Blood as there is no way you intend to become a statue tonight or any night for that matter.
"Ugh," groans the witch as she glares at you, "Why can't you just give up already? You are clearly outmatched."
"A true Norse warrior never gives up," you retort as you toss another lighting bolt at her.
Once again, you battle the witch with lighting as Dagrun assaults you with fire and metal. You feel like you have an edge, yet in the end, your advantages are outmatched by the stolen power that Dagrun is tapping into. When the battle concludes, it isn't because one of you has proven themselves better than the other, but because you have run out of spell slots for the day.
"Finally!" hisses Dagrun as she senses her chance and begins to cast her curse once more, "Time to become part of my masterpiece, you whore."
Without Lighting Blood, you don't fancy your chances of dodging the curse if it can even be dodged without supernatural means. So you call upon your Deception Seidr and attempt to unravel or at least block the curse. Alas your efforts are too little. Perhaps if you had more time to understand or study the curse, but attempting to stop it mid-cast proves to be beyond you.
And it is absolutely embarrassing. You are going to be a statue and it will be so embarrassing. You are embarrassed to have lost to Dagrun despite stacking the odds in the favour. You will likely be trapped with your body still as the feminine beauty it currently is and won't that be embarrass-No!
You are the son of Sigurdr Princess-Taker and apprentice to Loki himself. You will not be bested so easily and if you go down, you will go down fighting to the very end. You might be out of spells, but you still have your sword and years of training with it-your sword is made of adamantine! Adamantine is famous for its resistance to magic, like the magic of the curse inflicting you.
Even as your body rapidly turns into the blue-white of adamantine and begins to grow stiff, you draw your sword. With the last bit of effort before your arm stops responding you slash at your own body, barely cutting the flesh of your own before it turns to adamantine. Then a moment later, you suddenly feel the ability to move again as the spell is sufficiently weakened.
"That's right-oh come on!" starts Dagrun before the witch breaks into a snarl, "I beaten you! Stop messing things up already."
"No," you retort as you turn to face her and the witch pales.
"Wha-no, it doesn't matter," says the witch as she calls upon the curse once again, "Your power will be mine!"
This time the curse is almost pitiful to dispel as it washes over you, your new adamantine body depriving it of much of its power. Instead you charge at Dagrun with your sword and a war cry. The witch doesn't make it easy for you as her Metal Seidr applies to you. Even with its inherent anti-magic nature, your adamantine body is still enough of a metal to be affected, making your blows slow and sluggish.
In the end, your father's lessons prove to be good enough for the task at hand as you stab Dagrun, running her through with a sword that matches your body. Dagrun lets out one last grasp and gives you a look of terror and frustration before life leaves the body of the witch.
"All hail Torhild Adamantine-Beauty!" calls Thane Alvar as he throws a party to celebrate the defeat of Dagrun despite his injuries.
"To Torhild Adamantine-Beauty!" cry the assembled villagers.
Even if the other eight victims, including both of Alvar's daughters, are still trapped as statues, the one responsible has been stopped and your teacher has claimed she will restore them in a few days at most. And given what you, her apprentice, has done, no one in the village is willing to question those claims.
As for yourself, you have earnt your first Kenning, Adamantine-Beauty. You can understand why that is your Kenning. You emerged from a battle against a powerful foe with a beautiful body of living adamantine, saving the village. That is the sort of deed that gives you a Kenning.
You have mixed feelings about your Kenning. Objectively speaking, it is fairly powerful as Kennings go as it lets you keep both your body of living adamantine and the effects of your potion. The only downside is just the inherent side effects of high Presence, which is a beautiful body and to complain about that when your Kenning is so powerful feels right.
Gods, half of you wants your Father to know what you've done and the other half wants him to never see you like this.
The undeniable upside to this whole affair is that you got some Piety out of it and a whole bunch of Prestige. Between what you already had stockpiled, you have accumulated enough Piety to improve Hugr or one of its lesser attributes while your unspent Prestige is sufficient to boost your Hamr or Strength once or your Constitution and Agility twice.
Use plan voting.
What do you do with your Prestige? Pick two. Can choose one option twice.
[ ] Upgrade Hamr. Count as two choices.
[ ] Upgrade Strength. Count as two choices.
[ ] Upgrade Constitution. Taking once unlocks a Trait.
[ ] Upgrade Agility. Taking twice unlocks a Trait.
What do you do with your Piety? Pick two. Can choose one option twice.
[ ] Upgrade Hugr. Count as two choices.
[ ] Upgrade Will. Taking twice unlocks a Trait.
[ ] Upgrade Intellect. Taking once unlocks a Trait.
[ ] Upgrade Presence. Taking once unlocks a Trait.
Bloodline = Descendent of Thor (Unlocks access to Lightning, Thunder and Storm magic. Provides a boost to all Lightning, Thunder and Storm magic. Moderate Bonus to Strength. Minor Prestige Gain per month & Minor Piety Gain per month. You have red hair.)
Kenning (Epithet) = Adamantine-Beauty (Your body is made of living Amanatine. Major Boost to Presence).
Hamr (Body) = Olympic
-Strength = Olympic
-Constitution = Average
-Agility = Below Average
Hugr (Mind) = Olympic
-Will = Below Average
-Intellect = Above Average
-Presence = Almost Peak Human
Fylgia (Familiar) = Lynx. (Your spells and other magic are more potent and powerful)
Traits
Stubborn. You have a raw determination that refuses to be beaten without a fight, no matter how long the odds. Gain Advantage on Will.
-Tier 1.
Clever. You are quick witted, just able to grasp and see things that elude most others, no matter how intelligent they are. Gain Advantage on Intellect.
-Tier 1.
Lightning Blood. Lightning travels through your veins. Pass or win on a single Agility roll per Encounter or Fight.
-Tier 1.
Boon of Loki. The Jotunn Loki Laufeyjarson has granted you a boon, giving you an innate advantage to decisive others. Gain Advantage on Deception Checks.
-Tier 1.
Seer Body. Your body is well-suited for channelling seidr. Your Hugr contributes twice as much to Spell Slots.
-Tier 1.
Loki's Favour. You have earnt the positive favour of Loki. Minor Hamingja Gain per year.
-Tier 1.
Items of Note
Adamantine Sword of Swiftness (Excellent) = Major bonus to Attack, Deals Very High Damage. Anti-Magic effect allows it to bypass weak magic and reduce moderate or stronger magic. Enchanted to grant a free additional attack for every attack made with targets having Disadvantage to defend against the additional attack.
Iron Helmet (Decent) = Minor bonus to Defence, Blocks a single Critical Hit
Gambeson (Decent) = Major to Defence Rolls
Golden Armband of Fire Resistance (Excellent) = Greatly reduces fire damage taken.
Skills
Athletics (Strength) = Novice
Deception (Presence) = Expert
History/Norse (Intellect) = Proficient
Lightning Seidr Knowledge (Intellect) = Expert
Thunder Seidr Knowledge (Intellect) = Expert
Storm Seidr Knowledge (Intellect) = Expert
Deception Seidr Knowledge (Intellect) = Expert
Seeress Knowledge = Expert
Perception (Will) = Novice
Persuasion (Presence) = Proficient
Spoken Language/Norse (Intellect) = Expert
Swordsmanship (Strength) = Master
Writing/Runes (Intellect) = Expert
Seidr (Magic)
Daily Number of Spell Points = 38
Lightning Seidr Spells (Level 3)
Thunder Seidr Spells (Level 2)
Storm Seidr Spells (Level 2)
Deception Sedir Spells (Level 2)
Relationships
Your Subordinates
Stormber = Your pet Wyvern. She is currently two years old.
Your Kin
High Chief Sigurdr Princess-Taker = Your father and ruler of Torstensby.
Ingrid Goodwife = Your mother.
Torsten Sigurdrsson = Your older brother by three years and heir apparent to Torstensby.
Brunhildr Sigurdrsdottir = Your older half-sister by two years.
Brandr Sigurdrsson = Your older half-brother by six months.
Sigrid Sigurdrsdottir = Your younger half-sister by one year.
Gunnar Sigurdrsson = Your younger half-brother by three years.
Torstensby
Wulfwynn Rosegarden = Your childhood thrall.
Astrid Bjornsdottir = Your childhood friend.
Thane Bjorn Knightslayer = Your father's best friend and father of Astrid.
Well, this is a big update. So things went fairly well all things considered. You had some bad rolls and you had some good rolls with everything working out in the end. You also got a Kenning for Torvald and you were lucky enough to roll the more impressive of the two. Not that Witchstabber would have been a bad Kenning, but its anti-spellcaster bonus doesn't really equal what Adamatine-Beauty gives Torvald.
Anyway, the vote is fairly self-explanatory as you are just picking some stats to improve for Torvald.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
-[X] Using Deception Seidr, you should be able to slip out deceit from the person trying to cast the Women-Statue-Ritual-Spell thing. They are hiding from the village after all (and most likely of the village as well), which is Deception.
--[X] Try looking for 'concentrations' of Seidr. Turning a woman into a statue semi-permanently requires a lot of magic which should be obvious, unless, say, they are hiding it with, say.. Deception Seidr.
-[X] If you can't hunt them down during the day go with the Torhild Bait plan.
"First of all, I'll look for any high concentrations of seidr," you tell Erika, "The culprit doesn't seem to strike until night has fallen so we have until then to find whoever it is. Whatever they are doing to turn all of these women into statues must require a large amount of seidr "
"That gives us a couple of hours then," replies Erika as she glances up at the sky, "Do you need any help?"
"I could do with someone to watch my back," you reply, "But if we do find whoever is responsible, we won't go after them on our own. We'll go to your father and get his assistance as Thane."
"Yes, that makes sense," agrees Erika, "Father will be very eager to get vengeance on whoever is behind what happened to Sigurda."
"Then it is settled," you say, "We shall try to track down the seidr behind the enchantments."
***
The ritual to look for high amounts of seidr is something any proper seeress either knows or can whip on the fly. And as much as you never expected to be one, you have learnt enough under almost a year of Lady Loki's tutelage to be considered a proper seeress if a highly inexperienced one.
Despite some initial difficulty remembering the right way to pull it off, you managed to summon a trail to follow. A trail leading to the largest concentration of seidr in the village. A trail that leads you right to the centre of the village and the seven women turned statues trapped there.
"In hindsight, it should have been expected that this is where our search would lead," you muse as you and Erika look at the statues, the latter's gaze lingering on the golden form of her older sister, "Unless there was a hidden secret for us to find, this would be the highest concentration of magic."
"So what now, Torhild?" asks Erika, a hint of frustration in her voice, "Is there anything else you can do?"
"I could try looking for Deception Seidr with my own," you tell her, "If I cannot uncover the source with conventional means, it must be supernaturally hidden somehow, likely with Deception Seidr or something similar."
"Why do you even have Deception Seidr?" asks Erika with more than a little accusation and suspicion in her voice.
You don't let her distrust bother you. Deceit and trickery is looked down upon and for someone to have, there is an ill reason for it more likely than not. Fortunately for you, you have a perfectly good explanation.
"I acquired the attention and favour of Loki in my past," you answer, "As a result of that, I have acquired access to Deception Seidr and my teacher believes in her students learning all of their possible Seidrs so I learnt how to wield it."
"This is reasonable," agrees Erika as she gives you a contrite look, "My apologies."
"Don't worry about it," you reply, "It is something that I have to grow used to. People look down on Deception Seidr, sometimes even if that person has good reason to know it."
"Right and you can track the one responsible for all this?" asks Erika as she waves a hand at the statues.
"I can track any attempts to hide with seidr within the village," you assure her, "That should include the culprit."
"And once we have found them, we'll go and get Father to crush them," says Erika with a savage grin.
Seeking the concentrations of Seidr. (Seeress Knowledge/DC15) = 8 11+5.1
Seeking the Deception Seidr. (Deception Seidr Knowledge/DC20) = 18+5.1
Seeking the Deception Seidr. (Deception Seidr Knowledge/DC20) = 18+5.1
***
"This is the home of Osmond and his wife Dagrun," says Erika with a hiss, "Osmond is a farmer and not much of a man. When he married Dagrun, people wondered how someone like him could win the heart of a woman like her. Dagrun herself is a newcomer to the village, only coming here after she married Osmond last year."
"Dagrun sounds like the more likely culprit then," you muse, "An outsider who marries an unimpressive man seems more likely than the unimpressive man. "
"Do you think she planned this from the start?" asks Erika with a scowl at the thought.
"I wouldn't be surprised if she did," you answer, "The woman could have easily married Osmond to have a reason to be in the village and then spend the time between now and then preparing for whatever ritual she is performing."
"Whichever one is responsible, we should go and tell Fath-look out!" exclaims Erika.
"What-" you start only for flames to engulf you.
That amount of fire should have left you half dead with severe burns. With your Golden Armband of Fire Resistance, it is blinding warmth washing over you. This is the first time that your powerful artefact has come in handy and it may have just saved your life.
"Torhild!" cries Erika, "You witch! I'll kill you for that, Dagrun."
"Erika, I'm fine!" you call out as the flames begin to die out.
But it is too late as the older girl has drawn her sword and charges at the robed woman. As you charge up a lightning bolt, you watch as Erika swings at her opponent only for the witch to dodge with a Deception Seidr faint.
That feint isn't the only hostile spell you can feel being casted as and the second quickly becomes apparent as Erika's face morphs from one of anger to one of excitement. Realising what is happening, you quickly discard your lightning bolt to try and throw up some protection for your new friend.
Yet it proves too little too late as Erika's body rapidly turns to iron. One moment you have your angry friend rushing into battle and the next there is a statue of a young shieldmaiden who looks very excited. Then a moment later, the statue of Erika is gone, leaving just you and the witch.
"You are quite unfortunate," says the witch with an annoying smug undertone to her words, "I was originally limited to just one casting of the ritual a night, but now? I have the power of another eight women to call upon so I do believe I have the juice to complete the ritual tonight. And a powerful young seeress like yourself will make quite the centre piece to top things off."
"You really think you'll get away with this?" you taunt her, pushing back your anger as you call another lightning bolt in your hand.
"Why wouldn't I?" she taunts you right back, "I have a couple of days before your teacher returns and the ritual will be complete long before then. I'll be gone with you and the others before she returns and even then, I fancy my odds of taking her out with my new power."
At that declaration, you just laugh because what else is there to do?
"You really don't know who you are messing with?" you retort because that is no way that this witch can match Lady Loki.
"I'm messing with someone who is going to spend the rest of their existence empowering me," replies the witch before a thin spear of metal comes at you.
You roll to the side and toss your lighting bolt at her. The woman barely blocks it with a hastily summoned slab of metal that is blown apart by your powerful bolt of lightning. Flames and metal alike soon cover your opponent as supernatural protection while you toss another lighting bolt. You chain-teleport behind her in several flashes of lighting and you manage to get out a third lighting bolt before the witch throws more metal spears at you, your own attack having stripped away much of her protection.
You attempt to teleport only to find a slab of metal that has rapidly risen from the ground blocking your way. Shaking your head as you regain your wits, you instinctively throw yourself to the side with your Lighting Blood. Moving at supernatural speeds, you barely avoid being caught by the statue curse.
"Tch!" hisses the witch as she glares at you with frustrated eyes, "I guess I'll have to find easier prey tonight."
And like that, the woman melts into liquid metal, sinking to the soil where she was standing. You are left alone, panting from the exertion of the fight.
Anyone there? (Perception/DC10) = 4 7+2.7
Surprise Attack! (Constitution/DC15) = Autopass due to Golden Armband of Fire Resistance
Protecting Erika (Deception Seidr/DC20) = 3+5.1
Magic Duel. (Lightning Seidr/DC20) = 12+5.6
Dodging the Curse (Agility/DC20) = Autopass
Surprise Attack! (Constitution/DC15) = Autopass due to Golden Armband of Fire Resistance
Protecting Erika (Deception Seidr/DC20) = 3+5.1
Magic Duel. (Lightning Seidr/DC20) = 12+5.6
Dodging the Curse (Agility/DC20) = Autopass
***
"What happened!?" demands Thane Alvar, the old warrior comes marching up to you, flanked by two of his men, as you make your way back to his home, "Why has my treasured Erika become one of the statues?"
"It was Dagrun," you tell him, hoping that giving him a more deserving target will redirect his wrath from you, "Erika and I went looking for the culprit and it led us to the home of Osmond and Dagrun. Dagrun attacked us and cursed Erika. I was able to fight her to a standstill when she tried to do the same thing to me and then she fled."
"Dagrun," says Thane Alvar with a hiss as he comes to a stop, "Are you certain?"
"Erika recognised the witch who attacked us as Dagrun," you tell Thane Alvar, "And if you brought me before Dagrun, I would be able to recognise if she was the witch who attacked us and cursed Erika."
"Men, we make for Osmond and his wife," roars Thane Alvar as he turns his attention from you to his warriors, "We'll get that witch and make her pay."
He marches past you, barely making sure he doesn't shove you out of the way. His men pass you by, one on either side of you, and you are left to continue your journey back to the Thane's home. If Thane Alvar defeats Dagrun, then you will just need to wait for Lady Loki to return, but if he doesn't, then you will need to make preparations to do the job yourself.
Appeasing Thane Alvar (Persuasion Check/DC10) = 15+3.7
***
In the end, Thane Alvar fails to catch Dagrun and her husband. Their home is already vacated and the only thing that the Thane found there was a trap that laid him and his men low for the foreseeable future. There is no sign of either one of them in the village despite practically every villager joining in when they learn why they are searching for the couple. The last that was seen of them was Dagrun finding Osmond in the farm fields and dragging off her husband.
Fortunately for Erika and all of the other victims, you spent the last hour of the day making your preparations for the night. With limited time and resources, you aren't able to do much, but you don't have to do much. You just need whatever you come up with to last for the night and not a moment longer.
A Potion of Enchanted Presence is a potion commonly used by spellcasters before a battle thanks to Presence enhancing one's ability to cast spells. The boost to Presence provided it can be a crucial edge that is the difference between victory and death. In your case, it may very well be what grants you victory over Dagrun and between the ingredients that Lady Loki has left you and your own good luck, the potion you have created is especially high quality.
It will certainly make her come after you. For the night, your Presence has been boosted far beyond it should be, reaching levels that most folk will never reach in their lifetimes. It is thrilling to wield power that should take you years or even decades to achieve even if it will only last a few hours.
Beyond the temporary nature of it, the only other downside is the side effect of having boosted Presence. Just as Strength increases muscles and Agility increases leanness, Presence increases good looks and so you are now arguably more beautiful than even Astrid. Most people would be pleased to have such excellent looks, but you would rather witness this level of beauty on another woman than have it yourself. At the very least, you would rather not have to adapt to a different sense of balance so soon before a fight.
Regardless of your feelings on the potion and its effects on you, Dagrun will definitely come after you. The chance to acquire your newfound Presence for her ritual will be too tempting for the witch to pass up even if her good sense would otherwise prevent her from picking a fight with someone of your skill. Dagrun will come for you tonight and you'll be waiting for her.
Waiting on the outskirts of town, you are alert for anyone seeking up on you and your efforts pay off as you spot the witch who attacked you and Erika earlier sneaking up on you. The Deception Seidr would be enough to fool most, but you are familiar enough with those sorts of tricks to see through it.
With a grim smile on your face, you toss a lightning bolt her way. Dagrun intercepts with a fireball, the two elemental attacks countering each other midair. She throws metal spears at you and you dodge with teleports to the side as you ready up another lighting bolt. More metal is tossed your way before you can find off your spell and you buy yourself some time to recover with a blinding flash in the witch's face.
Large gouts of flame form walls of fire on either side of you even though the woman has to know by now that fire won't harm you. Then as you sense a familiar curse being casted, you throw yourself though the flames and out of the way with Lighting Blood as there is no way you intend to become a statue tonight or any night for that matter.
"Ugh," groans the witch as she glares at you, "Why can't you just give up already? You are clearly outmatched."
"A true Norse warrior never gives up," you retort as you toss another lighting bolt at her.
Once again, you battle the witch with lighting as Dagrun assaults you with fire and metal. You feel like you have an edge, yet in the end, your advantages are outmatched by the stolen power that Dagrun is tapping into. When the battle concludes, it isn't because one of you has proven themselves better than the other, but because you have run out of spell slots for the day.
"Finally!" hisses Dagrun as she senses her chance and begins to cast her curse once more, "Time to become part of my masterpiece, you whore."
Without Lighting Blood, you don't fancy your chances of dodging the curse if it can even be dodged without supernatural means. So you call upon your Deception Seidr and attempt to unravel or at least block the curse. Alas your efforts are too little. Perhaps if you had more time to understand or study the curse, but attempting to stop it mid-cast proves to be beyond you.
And it is absolutely embarrassing. You are going to be a statue and it will be so embarrassing. You are embarrassed to have lost to Dagrun despite stacking the odds in the favour. You will likely be trapped with your body still as the feminine beauty it currently is and won't that be embarrass-No!
You are the son of Sigurdr Princess-Taker and apprentice to Loki himself. You will not be bested so easily and if you go down, you will go down fighting to the very end. You might be out of spells, but you still have your sword and years of training with it-your sword is made of adamantine! Adamantine is famous for its resistance to magic, like the magic of the curse inflicting you.
Even as your body rapidly turns into the blue-white of adamantine and begins to grow stiff, you draw your sword. With the last bit of effort before your arm stops responding you slash at your own body, barely cutting the flesh of your own before it turns to adamantine. Then a moment later, you suddenly feel the ability to move again as the spell is sufficiently weakened.
"That's right-oh come on!" starts Dagrun before the witch breaks into a snarl, "I beaten you! Stop messing things up already."
"No," you retort as you turn to face her and the witch pales.
"Wha-no, it doesn't matter," says the witch as she calls upon the curse once again, "Your power will be mine!"
This time the curse is almost pitiful to dispel as it washes over you, your new adamantine body depriving it of much of its power. Instead you charge at Dagrun with your sword and a war cry. The witch doesn't make it easy for you as her Metal Seidr applies to you. Even with its inherent anti-magic nature, your adamantine body is still enough of a metal to be affected, making your blows slow and sluggish.
In the end, your father's lessons prove to be good enough for the task at hand as you stab Dagrun, running her through with a sword that matches your body. Dagrun lets out one last grasp and gives you a look of terror and frustration before life leaves the body of the witch.
Preparations. (Seeress Knowledge/DC14/19/24) = 11 20+5.1
Spotting the culprit? (Perception/DC15) =2 17+2.7
Magic Duel. (Lightning Seidr/DC20) = 2+7.6
Dodging the Curse (Agility/DC20) = Autopass
Magic Duel II. (Lightning Seidr/DC20) = 4+7.6
Blocking the Curse (Deception Seidr/DC20) = 6+7.1
Control Embarrassment (Will/DC10) =3 15+1.7
Stab Curse? (Intellect/DC10) =2 16+2.1
Blocking the Curse again (Deception Seidr/DC5) = 14+7.1
Stab Witch (Swordsmanship/DC25) = 19+6.3
Spotting the culprit? (Perception/DC15) =
Magic Duel. (Lightning Seidr/DC20) = 2+7.6
Dodging the Curse (Agility/DC20) = Autopass
Magic Duel II. (Lightning Seidr/DC20) = 4+7.6
Blocking the Curse (Deception Seidr/DC20) = 6+7.1
Control Embarrassment (Will/DC10) =
Stab Curse? (Intellect/DC10) =
Blocking the Curse again (Deception Seidr/DC5) = 14+7.1
Stab Witch (Swordsmanship/DC25) = 19+6.3
***
"All hail Torhild Adamantine-Beauty!" calls Thane Alvar as he throws a party to celebrate the defeat of Dagrun despite his injuries.
"To Torhild Adamantine-Beauty!" cry the assembled villagers.
Even if the other eight victims, including both of Alvar's daughters, are still trapped as statues, the one responsible has been stopped and your teacher has claimed she will restore them in a few days at most. And given what you, her apprentice, has done, no one in the village is willing to question those claims.
As for yourself, you have earnt your first Kenning, Adamantine-Beauty. You can understand why that is your Kenning. You emerged from a battle against a powerful foe with a beautiful body of living adamantine, saving the village. That is the sort of deed that gives you a Kenning.
You have mixed feelings about your Kenning. Objectively speaking, it is fairly powerful as Kennings go as it lets you keep both your body of living adamantine and the effects of your potion. The only downside is just the inherent side effects of high Presence, which is a beautiful body and to complain about that when your Kenning is so powerful feels right.
Gods, half of you wants your Father to know what you've done and the other half wants him to never see you like this.
The undeniable upside to this whole affair is that you got some Piety out of it and a whole bunch of Prestige. Between what you already had stockpiled, you have accumulated enough Piety to improve Hugr or one of its lesser attributes while your unspent Prestige is sufficient to boost your Hamr or Strength once or your Constitution and Agility twice.
Use plan voting.
What do you do with your Prestige? Pick two. Can choose one option twice.
[ ] Upgrade Hamr. Count as two choices.
[ ] Upgrade Strength. Count as two choices.
[ ] Upgrade Constitution. Taking once unlocks a Trait.
[ ] Upgrade Agility. Taking twice unlocks a Trait.
What do you do with your Piety? Pick two. Can choose one option twice.
[ ] Upgrade Hugr. Count as two choices.
[ ] Upgrade Will. Taking twice unlocks a Trait.
[ ] Upgrade Intellect. Taking once unlocks a Trait.
[ ] Upgrade Presence. Taking once unlocks a Trait.
***
Torvald Sigurdrsson (Age 15)
Hamingja (Fate) = 4Bloodline = Descendent of Thor (Unlocks access to Lightning, Thunder and Storm magic. Provides a boost to all Lightning, Thunder and Storm magic. Moderate Bonus to Strength. Minor Prestige Gain per month & Minor Piety Gain per month. You have red hair.)
Kenning (Epithet) = Adamantine-Beauty (Your body is made of living Amanatine. Major Boost to Presence).
Hamr (Body) = Olympic
-Strength = Olympic
-Constitution = Average
-Agility = Below Average
Hugr (Mind) = Olympic
-Will = Below Average
-Intellect = Above Average
-Presence = Almost Peak Human
Fylgia (Familiar) = Lynx. (Your spells and other magic are more potent and powerful)
Traits
Stubborn. You have a raw determination that refuses to be beaten without a fight, no matter how long the odds. Gain Advantage on Will.
-Tier 1.
Clever. You are quick witted, just able to grasp and see things that elude most others, no matter how intelligent they are. Gain Advantage on Intellect.
-Tier 1.
Lightning Blood. Lightning travels through your veins. Pass or win on a single Agility roll per Encounter or Fight.
-Tier 1.
Boon of Loki. The Jotunn Loki Laufeyjarson has granted you a boon, giving you an innate advantage to decisive others. Gain Advantage on Deception Checks.
-Tier 1.
Seer Body. Your body is well-suited for channelling seidr. Your Hugr contributes twice as much to Spell Slots.
-Tier 1.
Loki's Favour. You have earnt the positive favour of Loki. Minor Hamingja Gain per year.
-Tier 1.
Items of Note
Adamantine Sword of Swiftness (Excellent) = Major bonus to Attack, Deals Very High Damage. Anti-Magic effect allows it to bypass weak magic and reduce moderate or stronger magic. Enchanted to grant a free additional attack for every attack made with targets having Disadvantage to defend against the additional attack.
Iron Helmet (Decent) = Minor bonus to Defence, Blocks a single Critical Hit
Gambeson (Decent) = Major to Defence Rolls
Golden Armband of Fire Resistance (Excellent) = Greatly reduces fire damage taken.
Skills
Athletics (Strength) = Novice
Deception (Presence) = Expert
History/Norse (Intellect) = Proficient
Lightning Seidr Knowledge (Intellect) = Expert
Thunder Seidr Knowledge (Intellect) = Expert
Storm Seidr Knowledge (Intellect) = Expert
Deception Seidr Knowledge (Intellect) = Expert
Seeress Knowledge = Expert
Perception (Will) = Novice
Persuasion (Presence) = Proficient
Spoken Language/Norse (Intellect) = Expert
Swordsmanship (Strength) = Master
Writing/Runes (Intellect) = Expert
Seidr (Magic)
Daily Number of Spell Points = 38
Lightning Seidr Spells (Level 3)
Thunder Seidr Spells (Level 2)
Storm Seidr Spells (Level 2)
Deception Sedir Spells (Level 2)
Relationships
Your Subordinates
Stormber = Your pet Wyvern. She is currently two years old.
Your Kin
High Chief Sigurdr Princess-Taker = Your father and ruler of Torstensby.
Ingrid Goodwife = Your mother.
Torsten Sigurdrsson = Your older brother by three years and heir apparent to Torstensby.
Brunhildr Sigurdrsdottir = Your older half-sister by two years.
Brandr Sigurdrsson = Your older half-brother by six months.
Sigrid Sigurdrsdottir = Your younger half-sister by one year.
Gunnar Sigurdrsson = Your younger half-brother by three years.
Torstensby
Wulfwynn Rosegarden = Your childhood thrall.
Astrid Bjornsdottir = Your childhood friend.
Thane Bjorn Knightslayer = Your father's best friend and father of Astrid.
***
Well, this is a big update. So things went fairly well all things considered. You had some bad rolls and you had some good rolls with everything working out in the end. You also got a Kenning for Torvald and you were lucky enough to roll the more impressive of the two. Not that Witchstabber would have been a bad Kenning, but its anti-spellcaster bonus doesn't really equal what Adamatine-Beauty gives Torvald.
Anyway, the vote is fairly self-explanatory as you are just picking some stats to improve for Torvald.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
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