Each weekend, the players assembled to play what has been designated as an episode. Each week, a recap of the most recent episode’s happenings was posted to allow those who have been missing for many or few episodes to get a feel for what they have missed.
Date: November 1, 2025
Attendance: David, Kelli, Lisa
Summary: Nuzyael/1 15, 720 TR The Kingdom of Orbaal is a pre-feudal state in northeast Harn, ruled by King Alegar II from Geldeheim. It was formerly called Jara, until the Kingdom of Orbaal was proclaimed in 686 after the Ivinian conquest of the indigenous Jarin. It is a very unstable realm where less than 8000 rowdy and ungovernable Ivinians have enslaved about 65000 rebellious Jarin. Orbaal is a host of semi-independent squabbling clan domains, the smaller of which owe tribute to the more powerful clans, who in turn owe it to the king in Geldeheim. Regardless, an annual tribute is required for Alegar, and Odrik Asgersson, jarl of Hraldarstead clan, sends his yearly tribute directly by his royal longboat, the White Bear. It came as a bit of surprise to Bjorn Thorson that Odrik would be having Thrain Wolf-Eye, jarl of the Bjarg clan visiting Odrik’s lands, and the northern warrior sought to clean himself with a hot bath, much like some of the other female warriors, Astrid Sigrun and Ylina Likebeyonce, did in the other parts of the royal longhouse. While bathing, each of the PCs was visited by Yrsa, seer for Odrick, who spoke in whispered tones about an ominous dream she had and needed to share. When Thrain arrived, mutual respect between the clans was shown at the outset, with the Bjarg leader speaking little, while the rest of his warriors feasted. However, during the festivities, tempers flared when Thrain intimated Odrik had stolen his tribute for Alegar II, pointing out Odrik’s son, Einar, was missing, and the White Bear was long overdue. With Thrain threatening to return in one week to resolve this issue and report to Alegar II about the thievery, Odrik summoned the party and tasked them with finding his son, his longship, and the tributes. The PCs left soon after, lightly armored, but heavily furred on mules for the trek overland to a local port. Finding no sign of the White Bear in the frozen inlet, the party left the stubborn mules behind and traveled across the ice to the far side of the bay, taking shelter along the coast just as night fell. Unable to make a fire, the trio created a make-shift shelter from packed snow and hunkered down for the night. While on the second watch, Astrid alerted the PCs to an encroaching group of snow wolves who attacked the party in the pale moonlight. Although their armor saved their lives, it was not enough to prevent them from taking several wounds, before the wolves were dispatched. Injuries were bound, and the trek resumed in the morning.
Combat: Three snow wolves were slain, although Astrid took significant damage
Date: November 8, 2025
Attendance: David, Jerry, Mike, Tommy
Summary: Nuzyael/1 16, 720 TR Realizing the danger of continuing with the wounds received from the snow wolves, the trio of warriors returned to the boat dock, with Bjorn staying behind while the shieldmaidens continued onto Hraldarstead, with the mule team that seemed more encouraged to return home than travel across the ice. As the mule team with the wolf pelts arrived in Hraldarstead and reports were giving about the status of the mission, Odrik seemed more concerned with the matter at hand of finding his son and returning the silver tribute to assuage Thrain of the Bjarg clan from making claims to the valhakar in Pled, calling forth another huscarl named Regnar Gunnarson and one of his household servants, Astrid (a popular name) Vilrun to find Bjorn and continue with the search for Einar and the silver. Realizing that snow wolves prowled the area designated to be searched, Odrik also tasked Invar Hrim, a local hunter who had lost his leg many years ago, to accompany Regnar and Astrid to prevent another wolf attack. Setting out in better weather than the previous group, the three PCs connected with Bjorn and a plan was formed. Skirting across the frozen bay, the party returned to the site of the wolf attack, only to find the skinned wolf bodies partially eaten and up to five additional sets of wolf prints around the area. Continuing cautiously, the PCs moved along the coast, making an early camp (with a fire), and hunkered down for the night. In the morning, the PCs heard sounds of snow wolves up head and spied on a pack circling a tree. Upon closer inspection, Astrid spied on a person hiding in the tree, and PCs chose to attack the distracted wolves. The battle was quick, but in the aftermath, Astrid recognized the person in the tree to be a young Jarin girl, and drawing her bow, killed the child. Finding nothing on child’s body but three green crystals and some healthy mushrooms, the party pushed forward and later in the day, found the wreckage of the White Bear, trapped in the middle of the icy bay. No silver was found, but a body was seen trapped below the ice. While some party members looked to free the body, Invar spotted movement along the shoreline, and the PCs made a tactical retreat to the trees. Looking to outflank whoever was out there, Regnar boldly baited another party of Orbaal fighters to reveal themselves. Under a tense peace, the warriors acknowledged themselves part of the Bjarg clan, and that they were sent to follow the PCs and to “help” them.
Combat: Five snow wolves were slain, along with an unarmed Jarin child.
Date: December 6, 2025
Attendance: David, Jerry, Mike, Tommy
Summary: Nuzyael/1 16, 720 TR The warriors of the Hraldarstead clan all felt the same thing: the Bjarg clan trailing them was not an accident and their motives were not as munificent as they proclaimed. Regardless, the PCs decided to not let the Bjarg warriors interfere with locating the missing tribute nor Prince Einar, so leadership between both groups chose for the Hraldarstead warriors to take point with Bjarg trailing in a defensive position, but before that could be aligned, nightfall was upon them and both groups worked cooperatively to create a snow berm to defend themselves from another snow wolf attack. During the night as the snow lightly dusted the area, on first watch, the groups heard the distant bay of snow wolves which prowled about the area, but on second watch, the baying stopped and was replaced by the wail of a woman accompanied by the roar of some other unnatural creature, Curious if the wailing had something to do with the murdered Jarin child, Astrid left the encampment during second watch, backtracking through the snow, not finding the woman, but the tracks of a giant Ivashu called an Aklash (or “Choking Wind”) leading to a stone-face east of the trail leading along the fjord. Choosing to watch the area, Astrid fell asleep, while the rest of the party awoke, changing their minds about leading the Bjarg clan, backtracking themselves to find Astrid, some runes along the wall, but not much else. Returning their trek north, the PCs were able to bypass the Bjarg group as the NPCs investigated the wreckage of the White Bear. Soon after, the party noticed a stone-carved symbol to Siemana sitting by the shoreline, along with a trail of blood. Splitting again, half of the PCs track the blood out onto the ice while the rest stayed on shore. Soon, a half-consumed body was found on the frozen bay, along with a trail of a handful of silver pennies. Working together, the PCs located a crag with a shattered chest wedged in the opening. Just inside, four sets of gear were found, sitting nicely against the interior wall. Moving forward, the party explored the cave complex finding several dead bodies, along with Prince Einar sitting upon a stone seating, battlesword across his lap, and piles of silver coins stacked around him. Ragnar crept up to the dead prince to snatch the battlesword, animating Einar’s draugr body. While Ragnar did take the weapon, Einar’s claws cut him from ear to ear, killing the PC. Astrid grabbed the sword, and the party fled from the cave.
Combat: Five druagr resisted the PCs from taking the treasure, killing Ragnar in the process.
Date: February 7, 2026
Attendance: David, James B., Jerry, Leigh, Nathan, Tommy
Summary: Nuzyael/1 16, 720 TR To see land after being stuck on an ocean of solid ice was quite monumental for the survivors of the Jaskal’s Hind, an Orbaalese longship carrying passengers and cargo from Gyfen to Arathel The journey had started off well until winter storms pushed the boat off-course into the far northern waters, and when the crew was able to finally right themselves, frigid air froze over the ocean, trapping and crushing the vessel in unrelenting ice. Having to abandon ship and travel over the ice, the crew and passengers were winnowed away by desertion and attacks by snow wolves, until eventually the last four out of the original twenty persons who sailed from Gyfen arrived at a rocky outcropping in the land of Himod. The remainder of the party was found catching their breath, while verbally sparing with members of the Bjarg clan about the death of Ragnar at the hands of the group of draugr (which included the reanimated Prince Einar) and how dangerous the cave was. Just as it looked that Astrid and Bjorn would come to blows with Karl the Grey and the other Bjarg members, Arton of Pled, Hertha of Tandir, Alvor Bloodbreath, and Sigvald Bjornson (also known as “Stump”) entreated the PCs and NPCs on shore for aid to travel to a local village. Again, questions of bravery were thrown about by the Hraldarsteads and Bjargs, until the timid Veborga spoke up trying to quell the conflict. Also injecting in the rabble, a wandering recluse called Toutatis arrived with insights about the cave and the errant magic left behind by the Earthmasters before they left this plane of existence. Refocused on retrieving the missing silver, the party reentered the cave, with an overconfident Karl the Grey and his Bjarg warriors taking the lead. Upon entry, the group spotted inactive draugr, with Einar returned to his rocky throne surrounded by the missing silver. Eager to show their bravery, the Bjarg clansmen attacked the inert draugr, striking vicious blows, as the undead awoke and hungered for battle, while the PCs stayed as a second line. As predicted by Astrid, who had wanted to awaken the draugr preemptively to wipe out the agitating NPCs, the Bjargs did not last long in combat with only Ingrid the shieldmaiden surviving, but heavily wounded. The rest of the party, while most were not warriors, acquitted themselves finely in combat using the cave to their advantage, and finding leftover weapons to aid in the battle, which left the PCs mostly unscathed.
Combat: Five druagr resisted the PCs from taking the treasure, but the party successfully defeated them with additional NPC support.
Date: February 28, 2026
Attendance: David, James B., Leigh, Mike, Nathan
Summary: Nuzyael/1 16, 720 TR The final draugr had finally been slain, and an eerie calm overcame the inside and outside of the Cave of Wonders, as the last light of day sank into the western water. While other party members attended to survivors, Bjorn was quick to complete his task of retrieving the lost silver and began to collect the missing coins stacked at the end of the cave. Seeing a flame flicker upon the seat where Einar had rested, Bjorn and the remaining PCs were taken back as a giant fire elemental sprung forth from nothing and began terrorizing the party into fleeing the cave, dragging a wounded Ingrid with them. However, suspecting something amiss, the PCs braved the flame and skirted around the flaming figure as it blocked the cave entrance, only to find the shadowy figure of Toutatis rummaging through the belongings of the slain Ragnar. Engaging the shadowy form, the PCs found weapons passing though Toutatis as he warned the PCs away, retrieving the lost crystals the party had previously found on the body of the murdered Jarin girl. The PCs eventually ignored him before Toutatis disappeared with the crystals in hand, while Bjarg made it a point to retrieve Prince Einar’s body, and token of each dead warrior. With enough adventure for the day, the party bedded down for the night, hearing several varying noises during the evening (Toutatis and a Jarin woman arguing, dogs barking), but mostly chose to stay put. In the morning, Ingrid was found unresponsive, with her abdominal wounds festering. While he was no physician, Invar was able to boil a poultice to apply to Ingrid’s wound along with building a travois to transport the shieldmaiden, and another to transport Einar’s body and the missing silver. Alvor and Sigvald scouted the area to find evidence of a party of white Gargun in the area, but were unsure of what their purpose was, while Herthon found plenty of time to chop wood while half-heartedly listening to Verborga speak about her faith Siemana. Traveling along the coast toward Hraldarstead dragging Ingrid in the travois, the PCs were set upon by a pack of vlasta (also known as “eater of eyes”) between a slope and the frozen fjord. While looking to use the iced over river to their advantage, an unconscious Ingrid was left behind during the combat, making her easy pickings for some of the vlasta while the party engaged the rest. The PCs were able to overcome the tiny Ivashu, but Ingrid suffered further wounds and a missing eye.
Combat: The PCs fought off a group of vlasta, but Ingrid was injured even worse.
Date: March 21, 2026
Attendance: David, Nathan, Tommy
Summary: Nuzyael/1 18, 720 TR. Combat just ended, and several party members attended to a worsened Ingrid who was set upon by a handful of vlasta as she lay defenseless on one of the three make-shift travois the PCs had created to carry her unconscious body back to Hralderstead. With Prince Einar’s body and the missing silver on the other two travois, the party debated the merits of giving Ingrid a “sendoff” to lighten their load (particular since Stump was the one carrying her), but the issue of Bjarg questions, what Verborga would report, and the most timely way to dispose of Ingrid’s future remains stayed any hands that would have ended her suffering, Traveling along the fjord, the PCs made good time, still noticing humanoid activity ahead (unknown voices) and behind (the white gargun party). Not wanting to deviate too much from the goal of getting back across the not-as-frozen Peliryn River, the party moved on, forgetting the mules had been sent back to Hralderstead with Ylina Likebeyonce, and that the remainder of the journey would need to be on foot. As the PCs arrived near home, burned houses could be seen, and the group chose to avoid contact with people in the area. Finding a local laborer named Taum, he informed the party that Thrain returned to Hralderstead sooner than expected, without warning and with a larger group of warriors. Taking Valhakar Odrik by surprise, Thrain maimed Odrik by removings his right hand, took Odrik’s youngest son, Sweyne, hostage, and placed Thrain’s son, Liefr, in charge of Hralderstead while taking his group of warriors, Sweyne, and himself back to his home in Bjargheim. The party worked out several scenarios of what should be done next along with who would be supporting Thrain’s aggressive actions in the region, with Astrid taking the initiative to investigate Hralderstead on her own. Finding Liefr and three Bjarg allies enjoying their time in charge with a broken Odrik there as well, Astrid left Prince Einar’s battlesword, then strode back to the party to finalize a battle plan. With Stump getting a needed headstart, Bjorn rushed the rushed manor house forcing the door as Astrid used her bow to provide support. With a combined attack, the PCs were able to make it inside before the door was barred (to a surprised Odrik), defeated the Bjarg guards, and force Leifr to submit by force. Having taken no wounds, the PCs bound Thrain’s son and made plans to hostage him in return for Sweyne.
Combat: With only three guards to protect him, the party was able to breach the manor and take Leifr hostage.