The ongoing playtest of Bodil’s Gap continues! In part seven, the party narrowly escaped a catastrophic encounter with the kraken. Now they sail towards the fort held by Olaf Mangler, the son and right hand of the man who murdered their old þejn, Arnolf, and his own soon Steinar.
The Cast
Ingvild Scoreslayer, Dýrsark - Ingvild is an old and bitter warrior, cunning but prone to the rage of a berserker. He was brother-in-law to the murdered Þejn, Arnolf, and was once a close advisor to the Laxbrynjung clan's leadership. However, he has since had a falling out with the new Þejn, Trond—Arnolf's younger brother—over the execution of Arnolf's will.
Mundr Ivaldisson, Óttimaðr - Mundr is a promising but untested young man endowed with the strength of giants by a mysterious incident during his travels abroad. A Laxbrynjung by birth, Mundr is the only child of the late Ivaldi, the youngest of Arnolf's brothers. Since Arnolf's death, he has ingratiated himself to his uncle Trond in an effort to keep the family from splitting apart.
Ylva Blood-Cup, Seiðkona - Ylva is a sorceress endowed with the power to see and speak with spirits, and uses her magic to curse her enemies with great misfortune. Though dwelling apart from the clan in the woods, Ylva is an ally of the Laxbrynjungs, having been a close friend and confidant of Arnolf's murderd heir, Steinar.
Hrafn, Skald - Hrafn is a travelling merchant blessed by a drop of the Mead of Poetry. Left with neither trade goods nor coin by an accident on the road that destroyed his cart and belongings, Hrafn has joined the Laxbrynjung raiders to avenge their Þejn and enrich himself.
The Game
The party arrive at the place where their ally Odd told them Olaf's fort could be found. There they discover the their kinsman Rurik and his crew waiting for them, his ship beached in the cover of a rocky point jutting out from the shore. Beyond and down the coast, the fort can be seen standing up from the water, a massive hall built on a stilted platform rising above the waves.
The causeway used to extend to the shore, but I redrew it when it was destroyed in game
Reconvening with Rurik and his crew, the party shares what happened to them during the Kraken attack, including the likely loss of Trond's ship and the rescue of his son Finnar from the water. Rurik is of mixed opinion about the fates of his uncle and cousins, but everyone is forced to sideline the affair in favour of more pressing matters—namely, the fort the PCs and their allies are about to attack.
Ingvild, veteran of a thousand battles, takes charge at once as the group begins formulating their plan. The assembled forces will be divided into several teams: one body of warriors will be placed under the command of Rurik, prepared to assault the settlement and the ship beached there. A smaller group, enchanted to breathe underwater for a time by Ylva's seiðr, will stealthily attack the ship tied up near the fort in an attempt to steal or sabotage it, so it can't be used by the defenders to escape their siege. Finally, the PCs will attempt to capture the shore end of the causeway and light it on fire, trapping the defenders of the fort inside.
Their plans laid, the party need wait only until nightfall to begin their raid. As the sun sinks behind the waves they spring into action, sailing swiftly towards shore where they will land alongside Rurik's men. As they race towards land, however, a cry of alarm goes up as some keen-eyed person on the shore chances to spot their sails against the night sky, blotting out the stars.
The party lands in haste and immediately rushes for the place the alarm went up, hacking down half-drunk revelers around the settlement's central bonfire before seizing as many burning logs as they can manage. Laden with the seeds of the fire they intend to start, they rush for the causeway even as all around them chaos descends, Rurik and their crews setting to with axes and swords to slaughter the settlement's defenders.
Arriving at the mouth of the causeway, the party can see the men of the fort already rushing down the boards towards them, alerted by the alarm of moments before. While Ylva and Hrafn jump to setting the causeway aflame, Ingvild and Mundr position themselves in a choke-point created by a pile of cargo left out on the causeway, and prepare to defend their allies.
Hrafn quickly manages to get the cargo to catch fire even as Olaf's men clash with his two comrades. The planks of the causeway, however, are both sturdier and made constantly damp by the spray of the sea below. To help the fire spread, Ylva works her magic, chanting a curse to weaken and make vulnerable the wood of the causeway. As the boards wither and dry out, the flames quickly catch, and soon the fire roars from the pile of cargo down onto the actual causeway itself.
Unfortunately, Mundr and Ingvild are now locked shield to shield with their attackers right where the fire is spreading. Ingvild leaps back to safety on the far side of the flames, but Mundr presses forward, laying out one of his opponents. His triumph leaves him vulnerable, however, as he finds himself outnumbered and with the growing fire at his back. Cursing, Ingvild and Hrafn both leap through the flames to stand at his side, singeing themselves in the process.
The three of them are able to dispatch their enemies, but already more men can be seen massing at the far end of the causeway, where the towering figure of Olaf Mangler can be seen, brandishing a massive axe and shouting orders. Even more concerning, however, is the woman moving down the line of fighters, painting bold runes on the face of every shield she passes.
As the more orderly formation of fighters begins advancing down the causeway towards the shore, the grim runes blaze with power, and a wave of unnatural terror washes across the party, forcing them to shrink back against the growing flames behind them. The line of fighters quickly crashes into their own defense, shields clashing against shields as spears thrust and axes swing.
The PCs rally themselves as best they can. Mundr weathers the assault behind his shield despite taking a few blows, while Ingvild cleaves men with his axe and Hrafn chants a saga of war to bolster his allies, and cunningly cuts at the exposed legs of their enemies from behind the lower rim of Mundr's shield. Ylva, meanwhile, is trapped behind the flames that separate her from her allies, only able to contributes with curses to weaken and befuddle her foes.
The enemies' numbers and the runic enchantments given to them are too great to continue to battle head-on, however. Thankfully, the damage to the causeway is already enough to satisfy the plan Ingvild laid. Retreat is in order, and Ingvild and Hrafn leap once more through the flames to rejoin Ylva on the far side. Mundr retreats more slowly, backing into the blaze with his shield raised to protect his allies as they escape. The power of the Realm of Fire flooding through his veins and protects him from the scorching heat and searing tongues of flame, but not from the continued thrust of his enemies' spears.
Seeing Mundr suffer countless blows as he backs through the fire, Hrafn dives to his friend's aid, leaping into the heart of the fire—not to join the battle, but to bring the both of them crashing through the charred and weakened planks of the causeway in a shower of embers and flaming splinters, plunging into the water below. The flames continue to spread up the causeway, driving the fort's defenders back, but now a massive gap also bars the way back to shore.
As the men retreat and begin hacking through the causeway with axes to protect the fort from the fire, Ylva gives her enemies a parting shot. Locking eyes with Olaf through the flames and the press of warriors, she curses him with a wicked transformation, turning his face into the terrible visage of a spider. His bellowed orders immediately cut off as his men spring back in horror, and at once the Mangler turns on his heel and rushes back into the fort, accompanied by the woman who cast the runes upon their warriors.
Meanwhile, Hrafn and Mundr struggle back to the surface after their plunge into the sea, and begin to swim—not to shore, but to the pilings that hold the fort above the waves. Stealthily circling the platform, they find a place at the back of the fort, and Hrafn tells Mundr his plan to climb up and infiltrate the fort, to see what can be seen.
Together the two make their way up the pilings in a harrowing climb, nearly slipping on the spray-soaked wood and filling their hands with splinters. At last they reach the platform, however, and carefully sneak to the rear door of the hall. Stepping in, they get their first glimpse of the interior.
Olaf Mangler sits on his massive chair, his spider's face now concealed by a closed helmet while his frenzied men gather around to discuss what to do next. The Mangler is silent, but for the soft chittering that sometimes emerges from behind his faceplate. But while Mundr is prepared to observe stealthily, Hrafn steps forward and announces himself.
Olaf's men immediately crowd around, weapons drawn, but an audience is just what Hrafn wants. Addressing everyone gathered in front of him, he begins making his pitch: that all of this bloodshed can be avoided by a simple duel between Olaf and a champion from their side—if Olaf wins, the party will forfeit their ships and plunder, while if he loses, his men will give up the fort.
Hrafn can sense Olaf's eyes heavy upon him, but with the face of a spider, the Mangler cannot respond verbally. Just at that moment, however, a woman's voice rings out demanding to know why her husband should agree to such terms. Turning, Hrafn and Mundr can see the sorceress from the causeway, descending a ladder from the upper floor, who introduces herself as Torhild, spouse of Olaf.
Hrafn immediately attempts to charm her, but she finds fault with his every word, and invokes the runes of her ritual knife to sap his strength, weakening him and bringing him to his knees. Only the timely and sudden fall of the nearby statue of the Hvalarkyn, the Sea God, prevents her from slitting his throat—it seems the offerings the party made during their journey have indeed won them some measure of divine favour from the lord of the waves, who Olaf evidently also worships.
At this sign, Olaf stands, and the sorceress allows Hrafn to get back to his feet, though his magical weakness persists. When Mundr comes to aid his ally, Torhild rounds on him, and the flashing of her runed amulet strikes him blind in one eye. Hrafn turns back to Olaf, and makes his final statement: that if Olaf agrees to the duel, they will return his face to its natural form, and he will have the chance to kill his opponent in holmgang, honourable and legally binding single combat. Torhild attempts to interject, but Olaf silences her with a gesture and nods his agreement.
On the morrow, Olaf Mangler will fight a duel to the death with a champion from among the party. Hrafn immediately, and without consulting his partner, nominates Mundr.
Behind the Scenes
I had set up Olaf's fortress as a kind of dungeon, so was very much not expecting Hrafn and Mundr to waltz in the back door and challenge Olaf to a duel. A lot of the dungeon-crawly aspects of the fort never really got a chance to shine, since the PCs never had to storm the place. I guess that's the nature of Dungeon World, and at least the duel was an interesting angle to pursue.
Hrafn's constant attempts to make Mundr a famous hero are also pretty funny to me. Even though that isn't really what Mundr as a character wants, his player has been a real sport about it, and it's been fun to see that dynamic form within the party. Each of the characters has a very different relationship with each of their party members, and all of them are interesting—but this one has definitely been the most consistently surprising.
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