The ongoing playtest of Bodil’s Gap continues! In part thirteen, the party laid to rest the angry ghosts of Olaf Mangler and Torhild, whose spirits had been accidentally bound by Ylva's seiðr, and learned of the death of their kinsman Radulf at the hands of Kettil Sea-Strider. The feud with Kettil and his kin grows ever bloodier, so to tilt the odds in their favour the party prepares to sail to Songheim, one of the greatest cities of the West, seeking mercenaries for their cause.
The Cast
Ingvild Scoreslayer, Dýrsark - Ingvild is an old and bitter warrior, cunning but prone to the rage of a berserker. Having fallen in combat with the ancient ghost of a long-dead giant, Ingvild now lives only by the grace of his bargain with that giant's spectral kin, and his soul bears the giant's mark as evidence of the deal they struck.
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.
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
While Ingvild, Mundr, and Hrafn discuss their next move, Ylva decides to consult the spirits. As is her habit in these matters, she gives the others a password before slipping free of her body in spirit form. Venturing into the woods, she encounters a verdant meadow where wild goats graze freely under the watchful eye of their keeper, a spirit of grain and herd animals whose farm lies beneath the soil in a hidden realm lit by a sun of burning dung.
Descending into the spirit's realm, she asks for its advice but is told only to leave lest her presence bring down the attention of the phantom giants. The spirit, it seems, can sense the influence of one such spectre nearby, and is terrified of confronting it—for at the creation of the world, the spirits of the land were born from the last vital breaths of the dying giants washing over earth, waking the rocks and trees to life. Born of a giant's dying moments, the spirit cannot hope to match the enduring phantom of one, and has no desire to have it led to his door. With her questions unanswered but with greater understanding of the ways of giants, Ylva departs.
Back at camp, Ylva's body jerks, draws breath, and sits up. It turns to look Ingvild in the eye and gives him the password. The other PCs ask what Ylva learned speaking to the spirits, but the answers are cryptic and sinister, and delivered in a demeanor that is strangely sly and knowing. The others grow suspicious, but it is only when Ingvild's habitual insults are met not with antipathy but flirtation that the truth becomes clear—it is not Ylva's spirit that occupies her body.
It is at this time that Ylva herself returns to see her own body pinned to the earth by Ingvild's iron grip, smirking up at the berserker as he demands that whatever spirit has come among them relinquish its hold and speak plainly about its intentions. The grin on the face of Ylva's body grows wider as the spirit within tells Ingvild that it has only come to check up on him and ensure that he's following the pact he made—and to tell him to go to the great temple in Songheim, where they will speak again. Then Ylva's body turns to lock eyes with Ylva in spirit form, its grin turning mocking as her body goes slack and the vast and shadowy form a phantom giant comes pouring out, visible only to the seiðkona's spirit sight. With a final laugh it vanishes, and Ylva slips back into her own mortal shell. She doesn't bother giving her password; instead, the others ask her questions about her past until they're satisfied that it's really her.
With the party unsettled and Ingvild's hand forced by the giant's interference, he admits to his allies what he experienced in the giant's barrow—his death; waiting for a valkyrie that never came; and his bargain with phantom giant, Gottyr. Little can be done now but press on, however, and so come morning the party sets sail for Songheim.
The trip is uneventful, and the party arrives to see the largest settlement any of them have ever visited. The bay is dominated by an island on which stands the famous school of skalds, the Hall of Riddles, while the shore is a sprawling tangle of ships and docks. Overlooking the water, the city rises up the surrounding hills to the crest on which the Jarl's hall stands, its scale-like roof sparkling in the sun.
On shore, the party splits up. Ingvild and Ylva go to replenish their supplies, while Mundr explores the docks and Hrafn goes seeking one of his merchant contacts.
While exploring, Mundr encounters a number of warriors gambling with dice on the steps of a longhouse down by the water, and is invited to join them—only to narrowly avoid being embroiled in a brawl when one accuses another of cheating. The fistfight is broken up when a stern young woman bursts from the longhouse's front door to tell everyone off for their ill conduct, which risks spoiling the clan's reputation—again. Turning to Mundr, she invites him inside for food and drink as an apology, and he agrees.
Inside, the longhouse is incredibly dim and dingy, filled with smoke from a smouldering fire. Though hatches line the roof to let the smoke out, all are firmly shut despite the heavy and near-impenetrable air. There, Mundr is introduced to Vetle Þrymsson, the head of the Ormfaering clan—the collection of sailors and warriors dwelling in this hall. Speaking with Vetle and the young woman, whom Vetle introduces as Sollaug Biting-Eyes, his kinswoman, Mundr learns that they and their clan are foreigners who have recently arrived in Bodil's Gap from the Old Lands, the distant kingdoms from which the first settlers in the Gap sailed. Having settled in Songheim for about a month, the clan is looking for work.
Mundr admits that he and his companions are seeking to hire mercenaries for their mission of revenge against Kettil Sea-Strider, but says that he cannot simply hire the Ormfaerings without consulting the others. While speaking, Mundr notices that at the mention of revenge Vetle's eyes flashed yellow and he and Sollaug both tense, but that they relax on hearing Kettil's name. Parting from the Ormfaerings amicably but wondering who might be seeking revenge against them, Mundr returns to his allies.
Meanwhile, Hrafn tracks down his contact in the Mustakshaf quarter of Songheim, an area on the south side of the city largely occupied by foreign traders who have settled in the Gap. Born of a Bodvi father and a Mustakshaf mother, Aisha has a wide net of contacts both within the Gap and abroad, and acts as much as a middleman for others as a merchant in her own right. Meeting Hrafn in the marketplace, she tells him of a mercenary company of her acquaintance known as the Azraqi Corsairs, who are currently staying in Songheim after a previous employer abandoned his contract and left them in the Gap without work. Their captain, Harun al-Azraq, will be taking lunch in the feast hall Sirocco, and Aisha invites Hrafn and his comrades there to meet him.
Reconvening, the party discusses their findings. Ingvild proposes that they visit the Jarl's court to present their case, as Kettil Sea-Strider is a notorious pirate who preys on ships in Songheim's waters, but doing so can wait; there's no harm in meeting Harun al-Azraq at noon in the mean time.
Visiting Sirocco, the party is greeted by Aisha, who points them to a table, saying that she'll introduce them to Harun after the meal. In the meantime, the feast hall is participating in one of its unique traditions; the Hour of Rumours. The feast hall is filled with foreign traders and local Bodvir who likewise trade overseas, and during the Hour of Rumours, one spokesperson from each table is required to stand and share with everyone assembled a new rumour or piece of news from their travels before their table will be served—after the meal, the teller of the best rumour will be awarded a free bottle of rice wine.
The party listen as rumours are shared of ships being lost at sea, of conflict brewing between the Jarl of Songheim and his rival to the north, and of the outlaws of the great southern swamp sending a representative to the regional assembly back in the spring—perhaps even intending to choose their own þejn and attempt to attend the upcoming Alþing. They also learn that the Ormfaerings are rumoured to have moved to Songheim not because they wished to, but because they were banished from the Old Lands for sorcery. When the party's turn arrives, Hrafn stands and recounts the death of Olaf Mangler, impressing all assembled—with the notorious raider dead, travel north with ships heavily laden with tradegoods may be considered somewhat safer.
Hrafn's rumour is judged the best, and the free bottle of wine arrives with their lunch. After the meal, Aisha reappears at the table and invites the party over another table near the back of the hall, where Harun al-Azraq and some of his men sit. Harun explains that he and his men are bodyguards by trade, warriors who focus more on safeguarding their employers than on marching to battle. True professionals, the Azraqi corsairs will be unflinchingly loyal as long as they're paid, but Harun and two of his officers are the only ones who speak the Bodvi language—if hired by the party, all orders will have to be relayed through Harun, for the corsairs themselves won't share a tongue with their employers.
The professionalism of the Azraqi Corsairs appeals, but the party again refuses to commit to anything without some time to consider. When they part, Harun tells them he will be staying in Sirocco for another week before he'll be forced to seek work elsewhere—assuming he isn't hired by someone else in the meantime.
Finished their lunch, the party finally decides to visit the Jarl's court. Climbing through the city, they arrive at the peak of the great hill and approach the door of the hall, where two huskarls stand guard. When the PCs introduce themselves as the kin and allies of the fallen Þejn Arnolf, the guards react with some surprise and tell the party that their other ally is already present and speaking with the Jarl, Arvid the Elder, even now.
Perplexed, the party is ushered in only to find that the one speaking to the Jarl is not their own ally but Ragnar Tryggvasson. The trading partner and ally of Trond, Ragnar sailed with the raid against Kettil but has not been seen by the party since the fleet was scattered by the kraken. Ragnar is visibly displeased to see the party, and quickly confers with his mercenary aide, Dagrún Gold-Tooth, while the Jarl of Songheim greets the PCs.
The Jarl doesn't waste time, however, before asking Ragnar to continue speaking—and as he does so, it comes out that Ragnar's request to the Jarl is very different than the party's. Clearly uncomfortable with the party's presence, Ragnar continues to explain how Trond, the rightful Þejn of Ymafjord and head of the Laxbrynjung clan, is currently in the care of Ragnar's servants on his estate. Ragnar claims that Trond, still wounded by his encounter with the kraken, no longer wishes to pursue a feud against Kettil Sea-Strider, and that he has asked Ragnar to implore the Jarl of Songheim to mediate on his behalf at the upcoming Alþing. Specifically, he wants to negotiate for Kettil to pay weregild for the deaths of Arnolf and Steinar, which would allow the blood feud to be forgotten—and as Trond's emissary, Ragnar would of course take charge of this payment, just as he has taken charge of Trond's care during his convalescence.
The party bristles at this and immediately begin to dispute Ragnar's claims. They argue that Trond is dead, slain by the kraken, and question whether Ragnar has him in his care; they deny that the clan seeks an end to the feud, having come here to ask for Jarl Arvid's support in prosecuting it; and they call Ragnar a coward and a liar. Ragnar tries to argue that the PCs are the ones telling falsehoods, citing the discord between Ingvild and Trond as motive, but Hrafn cuts his arguments apart with the talents of a skald, goading Ragnar into a shame-faced flight from the Jarl's hall, abandoned by his own mercenary and with his reputation forever in tatters.
Impressed by the party's boldness, Arvid the Elder introduces his son, Arvid the Younger, who is a renowned warrior and captain in his own right. Though the Jarl will not command his men to aid the Laxbrynjungs, needing them as he does for the upcoming Alþing, he makes no objection to his son seeking glory by raiding Kettil's holdings in a mercenary capacity—and Arvid the Younger has the wealth of a Jarl with which to prepare and supply himself should the party hire him.
Parting with the Jarl on good terms, the party retreats to consider their options. Of the three groups of mercenaries available to them, they only have the funds to hire one, unless they can secure greater wealth. Returning to their ship for the evening, they pass their first night in the big city contemplating which company to hire, and what they can do to secure the services of a second.
Their sleep is fitful, for on the morrow, Ingvild must visit the city's temple to hear what the phantom giant wishes of him.
Behind the Scenes
I had a lot of fun coming up with different companies of mercenaries for the party to discover and interact with. Each has its own pros and cons, so it was interesting seeing which resonated with them and which the different players favoured.
I also had a lot of fun with the possession of Ylva's body. Her player rolled a 6 on his move to travel in spirit form, and it was the perfect opportunity to bring in Ingvild's giant to vex the party. Ylva's player has given the party a password every single time Ylva leaves her body, a sensible precaution against most spirits that might seek to possess her. It was a true misfortune that Gottyr is keeping an eye on the party through his link to Ingvild, and could listen in.
Next time, Ingvild will hear from his giantish patron, while Hrafn gets embroiled in some intrigue among skalds.
No comments:
Post a Comment