Novgorod Log #4: An Orderly Meeting +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Of the Order of Odin, priests of the frozen North, and their first | | encounter with the magi of Nature's Teeth. A sacred ceremony | | disrupted and new companions discovered. | +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ Dramatis Personae: Adriana of Ex Miscellanea Maga (Matt Seidl) Auditor of Mercere Magus (Kevin Wong) Ballisto of Tytalus Magus (Bill Filios) Felix of Flambeau Magus (Dave Pickering) Pacifer of Tytalus Magus (Shannon Appel) Erik Warrior (Matt Seidl) Franz Fisherman (Shannon Appel) Adrian German Grog Astalonzo German Grog Jarl Nordic Grog Skald Nordic Grog +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | "I stepped into that punch just to show how tough I am!" | | -Franz | +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Naming itself the greatest order of magicians in the world, the Order of Hermes lives in dangerous arrogance. The world is rife with other magical societies: the Jewish Kabbalists, the lost Mercurians, the Moorish sorcerers, the hidden druids. The numbers are endless. Yet, the majority of the European Order ignores them. And then, there is the Order of Odin. Streching beyond the lands charted by European minds, no one knows the true power of their magical empire. In its arrogance, the Order of Hermes weakens. Who can say what the true result would be if the Order of Odin were now angered. - * - The Book of Nature's Teeth as Chronicled by Pacifer of Tytalus March 23, 1201 When I woke today, depression was upon me. Felix and Adriana, having successfully copied 'Sense the Nature of Vis,' were preparing to leave the island. Bored terribly by the Vim book that I was studying, I desperately wanted to join them. But, I realized that knowledge of Vim was necessary for the coming war, so I had decided to remain home, mired in my book, while Felix and Adriana enjoyed themselves. Then, Ballisto brought good news. He had been studying the Order of Odin for over a month. Finally he had come across an interesting reference. In the century old notes of a Flambeau, Ballisto had found the story of a meeting. The Flambeau had encountered six members of the Order of Odin in some ruins, just North of here. They had apparently been celebrating some mystical ceremony, upon the first of April. In conclusion, the Flambeau noted that he thought the celebration was a regular one. Hermes clearly smiled upon us. In just a week, we could meet a small group from the Order of Odin (if they still followed their old ceremonies). Ballisto had discovered the information just in time, before the ceremony was gone for another year, and even more importantly, before our single boat had left the island. When Ballisto asked for others to accompany him upon his journey to meet the other Order, I had no qualms in joining. Learning Vim may advance the war, but so shall meeting the Order, learning what we can from them. The two of us, along with Auditor, are leaving at once, aside Felix and Adriana. We shall all work together upon this task. Then we plan to part ways, Auditor, Ballisto and myself returning to the Covenant, while Felix and Adriana continue on with the voyage that they have planned. - * - The Book of Nature's Teeth as Chronicled by Pacifer of Tytalus March 26, 1201 We arrived today at Keppelscar, just a few days inland from Norrtalje, where Ballisto says the ice priest's dark ceremony is to occur. Excitement fills us all. Soon, we shall have our first encounter with the Order of Odin, the group that so many of us came to these frozen lands to test our strength against. It is good to have this reminder, that the learning that I endure is simply a means, to the goal, the goal which I will have a brief taste of in the days to come. When we arrived in Keppelscar today, we realized that we had all been a bit overzealous. Norrtalje is very near, a half-days' walk, no more. We had arrived much too early. Making the most of our situation, we decided to help Felix and Adriana with the task that they had set for themselves. We begin to search the tiny village of Keppelscar for sailors, for smiths, for carpenters and for warriors. When we talked to the villagers, they seemed to be meek creatures. As Skald orated for us, I wondered for a time how the villagers could live such a dull, safe and boring existance. Then, much to my surprise, one of the village fisherman bravely approached us. He had heard that we sought someone to captain our boat, and that we would provide safety and luxury. Thus, he offered us his services. I was impressed by the man's forwardness, but wanted a test of his bravery too. So, I asked Skald to hit him. Skald did so, and the man, Franz, stood there unflinching. I was so pleased that I instantly decided to take Franz with us. My opinion did not even change when I heard that he had a wife and six children. One other man approached us in that village. He was a tall man, named Erik. Franz spoke well of him, and that was nearly enough to convince us. When Erik went on to speak of how he hated the priests of Odin, we were prepared to offer him a position with us as a warrior, replacing Adrean. First though, I insisted that I spar with Erik, so that I could get a true measure of his skill. I did knock Erik into a daze when we fought, but he stood against me a good long time. I think he shall be a fine grog. Before we slept tonight, Felix took Franz out upon our boat, wanting to verify the fisherman's skill. Upon their return, Felix was smiling, showing that our choice had been a good one. So, it has been a long day. Still, it has been a good one. Erik and Franz will be joining us as covenfolk as soon as we are done dealing with the Odin priests that we expect to meet in a few days. Tomorrow, we shall make a brief trip south, to Baxholm. We hear there is a blacksmith there, and will try to recruit him. When we are done there, we shall return here, and then move on to Norrtalje. Hopefully, the ice wizards shall have arrived by then. - * - The Book of Nature's Teeth as Chronicled by Pacifer of Tytalus March 27, 1201 Baxholm seems to be full of followers of Odin. It was quite distressing. I wanted to burn the place to the ground, but Ballisto restrained me. We tried to recruit the services of a blacksmith, a carpenter and a boat wright in Baxholm, and every one of them turned us down. They mouthed flimsy excuses, about having to talk to their priests, and then bid us leave. I had not before realised how deep the Order of Odin was ingrained in the lives of some in this Northern land. We shall be doing them a great service when we slay their oppressors. - * - The Book of Nature's Teeth as Chronicled by Pacifer of Tytalus March 28, 1201 Upon returning to Keppelscar, today, we were greeted with a very pleasing sight. Anchored just a bit off the shore was an elegant boat, low and sleek. As we rowed to shore, our new grog, Erik, came running to us. He said that some hours ago, six followers of Odin had arrived in the village, stopping only brefly before heading further in land. Ballisto, thinking ahead, decided that we might be carrying much loot when we returned from our meeting with the sorcerers. So, he convinced one of the villagers to lend him a sled and dogs. After I put the beasts in their proper place, we headed inwards, towards Norrtalje. Now, we have been walking for many hours. The night is near half way done. We are not tired though, for we are all envigorated by the coming encounter. Skald assures us that we are close, very close. - * - The Book of Nature's Teeth as Chronicled by Pacifer of Tytalus March 29, 1201 Our first encounter with the Order of Odin was all that I hoped it would be. When we came upon their campfire, burning merrily in the distance, it was still many hours before dawn. As in the battle with the trolls, I prepared the grogs and myself, granting us all the cat's vision of the night. Thus readied, we continued moving towards the campfire. As we neared it, we saw that the followers of Odin had camped in a partially ruined village. The camp fire blazed just in the doorway. Two sleds, piled high with wood. The sled dogs were tied nearby. I smiled when I saw the dwelling that the priests had chosen to sleep in. The roof was mostly gone, and several of the walls were but a few feet high. It seemed the ideal place for an attack. It was then that we lost our element of surprise, however. Two large dogs padded out of the house. Clearly, they were either the companions or the guards of the sorcerers inside. I waved to the warriors, and soon Skald, Jarl, Astalonzo, and even Ballisto were all firing arrows at them. The beasts dropped without a sound. Unfortunately, we had not seen the third dog, hidden within the hut. He began to loudly howl, breaking the silence of the night. And so, the true battle was upon us. Ballisto had by this time prepared a magical stone. As I ensorcelled the camp fire, turning it into a terrifying and chaotic force, he threw his stone, lofting it beautifully over the wall. The resulting explosion and crys of pain were quite satisfying. And then, Jarl and I were charging. Enraptured by the battle, I scarcely noticed the actions of others. Crystal darts and bolts of flame flew past me, arcing into the house, but I ignored them, intent upon maintaining the concentration needed by a true warrior. At the entrance to the house, Jarl and I met our first foe. He stood against us for but a few seconds before our blows knocked him to the ground, unmoving. As we prepared to advance into the house, I felt the ground moving under me. I threw myself to the side, rolling across the snow. Where I had been standing, a tree burst from the ground. Jarl was caught almost entirely unaware, and it lifted him into the air. Otherwise, he was unharmed. The magi of Odin were striking against us. Feebly. As I picked myself up, Jarl shouted that there were but four left, one of them a shapeshifter. I began to run at the house again, this time planning to leap the wall, and bring the battle straight to our enemies. Jarl, meanwhile, in his lofty perch, began to crank his crossbow, determined to use his new position to an advantage. By the time I had reached the wall again, another volley of explosive stones, crystal darts and flame had arced over the wall. Jarl shouted that two more were down, and that the shapeshifter, in the form of a bear, was fleeing to the rear. I smiled, happy of the forethought that had left Adrian and Astalonzo at the rear of the building. And then, I began to scramble over the wall. As I climbed over the wall, I saw a very odd sight. The one remaining worshipper of Odin, standing in the middle of the house, threw a white pebble up into the air. Out of nowhere, a black bird appeared, swooped downwards to snatch the pebble away. And then, he flew up, wings beating in a desperate attempt to escape. Several arrows were fired at the bird, but it continued on, into the sky, and away. By then, I was over the wall. As I faced the last of the worshippers of Odin, clearly the priest of the group, I heard combat from the rear of the building. The battle in the back of the house was over in mere seconds, and thus, I knew that the one that I faced was truly the last of the six. I smiled and advanced upon him, swinging my maul. By that time, the house was a blazing info. Fires burned all about me, the result of Felix's numerous pilums. Smoke filled my eyes, and that distracted me. As I swung my maul at the priest, I was blind. He dodged my blow, and I smashed my maul into the ground, hurting my arm badly. As he dodged, the priest threw some manner of foul dust at me. It irritated my eyes even worse than the smoke, and I felt Corporem magics working against me. Fortunately, my Parma, bettered since my encounter with the demon dogs, held. Seeing my resistance, the priest of Odin began to panic. As the priest turned to flee, I kicked at his legs, determined to knock him to the ground, and then pummel him into unconsciousness. He stumbled as I kicked him, and I knew victory was ours. Then, I heard the explosive release of Jarl's crossbow. The shot went straight through the falling priest's head. +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | "Greetings from the Order of Hermes. We come in Peace." | | -Auditor | +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ It was all over except counting our loot. The shapeshifter that Adrian had killed contains some amount of Animal vis. We took the majority of the body, leaving Adrian with only the enormous white bear's head and its pelt. The priest that I killed had all manner of rune engraved items, including two sticks, a stone ring and a bag of rocks. Auditor asked to have them to study, so I have given them to him. Even better, one of the worshippers of Odin still lives. We have tied him up and are returning to our boat with him. I think he will be a very valuable source of information when he again awakens. After the battle today, we slept for a time, and then investigated the area. There was an altar here, which we destroyed, but little else of note. When we return to the village tomorrow, we will go our seperate ways, as we had planned. Felix and Adriana will be off, to explore, while the rest of us return home, to tell the story of our expedition. It is so kind of the Order of Odin to provide us with a second boat. It shall save Felix and Adriana the trouble of ferrying us home. I shall have to remember to thank the Order the next time I kill them. - * - Forgotten, the black bird flew steadily away from the battle, carrying its white token. A message? A warning? An artifact of power? All too soon, the arrogant magi of Hermes might find reason to regret their grandiose beliefs and their careless actions.