[World] [Characters] Adventures [Humor]
The PC’s sires are awaiting their return, when Ref shows up without them. He relates a fabricated tale of cowardise, disobedience and stupidity on the part of the PCs. Ref insists the PCs and their cohorts were responsible for the second raid, having killed a ship captain who disagreed with them and proceeding on their own. He tried to help them, but arrived too late and as the PC group was surrounded by cavarly, he managed to pick up some survivors and make for home, after a stop at Ithica to trade the loot.
While at Ithica, Ref decided to increase the take from the expediton and bulster his story by taking a Camain ship anchored nearby. The original plan was to seize the ship in a night raid quickly and without attracting the attention of the other ships or Ithicans. Ref also planned to take any casualties from the survivors of the PCs raid. The plan fails, the ship and two others retaliate and the shore batteries open up. The other clan wolverine ships, assuming the Ithicans started the battle, join in as do ships from the weasel and dog clans who were there conducting end of season trading. Eventually all six make a break for the sea.
Ref relates these incidents as an attack by the Ithicans. He insists that the Camain ships and severalother in the harbor were actually Ithican vessels planning on pirating the clan ships. With the cooberation of the other clans, his story is excepted. When the younger son of clan dog’s shaman dies of his wounds, a raid of revenge is declared. Ref seizes the oppurtunity to allie with the dog clan and manages to include a few raiders from the badgers.
The three attack Ithica and manage to take the center of the city including the arena, ampitheater, stables and several temple. The city was cut in half with refugees on the east bank of the river, vikings on the west and Ithicans holding the lines in the western fringes. The outer temples were pooling their troops and border forts were sending in their men when Ref decided to cut his losses and pull out. The arrival of several Ithican heros and a Thebian cavalry unit paniced him into a hasty departure, once again leaving raiders behind. ?Into this chaos enter the PCs. They are quickly targeted by the remaing Ithican ships in the hand of the refugees and are nearly sunk. Only the intervention of a priest of Tyche allows them to dock with their lives. The PCs flee into the town and are given refuge by the Tyche Temple. Here they learn of the events leading up their arrival and of how to clear their names and bring Ref to a noisy, painful and lingering justice. First they had to find a warrior priest of Heimdal, then raise the dead body of the viking captain slain by Ref. Using preistly magic to question the dead in front of Ref and the other nobles, with the Heimdal priest ensuring only the truth spoken, the true story would come out.
As the PCs search the city to find a way to repair their ship, they encounter a group of raiders from the dog and wolverine clans in retreat from a cohort of Ithican cavalry. The raiders had just violated the temple of Hera and were caught while hauling away their loot. Togther the PCs and raiders escape the troops only to find themselves surrounded on the roof of an ancient temple. Here the PCs are visited by the Fates, who inform the heros that they are to engage the heros of Ithica in a clash of pantheons. The gods are watching and the battle lines have been arranged so that both groups of heros can meet without interference.
Snogabok & Cullen encounter a warrior priest of Athena and his minions. Traide & Ungin fight a Minotuar, originally a warrior follower of Nike who failed against the vikings, now a berzerk warrior with a huge axe willing to die to erase the disgrace to his goddess. Train of Hoplites leading recaptured Viking and Amazon gladiators who escaped from the aren during the attack. Val & Yngi run into Belleroph hero of Ithica and favorite of Hephaestus. He fights to the death, but is saved and changed to a gorgon to continue the fight.
After the fight, the PCs use the lull in combat to steal a ship in a concealed repair dock. Realizing they may have to fight their way onto their homeland, they break off and sail back to Trolheim for help.
Back the island, they find that the destruction of the pillar did not remove the hurricane clouds, but drew them back over the island. It is now split in half by a constrant hurricane and the inhabitants are forced to travel via the tunnel system form north to south. The Baron Captain has determined that the pillar was only a booster for some other device. The Force of Nature is still missing, so the storms cannot be stopped. The PCs agree to help in the future, in return for ships troops and supplies to clear their name.
Characters sail to the islands of their homeland looking for the warrior follower of Heimdal. On the way to Ulsfjord Land, clan wolverine territory, they are attacked by Hera’s minions. The Amazons determine that Hera is out to get them and will not stop until she is appeased. The PCs arrive for a family reunion and discover that Ref’s success in the raid on Ithica has galvanized the clans. For the first time several have put aside their differences and joined for one massive raid. Wolverines and Badgers have joined with Weasels and Dogs to form a huge flotilla. Ref’s influence even brought the xenophobic Bears into the historic gatherig. Of the major clans only the Wolves refused to go. King Olaf remained behind, but some of his nobles joined the other four kings, Hak of the wolverines, Svart of the weasels, Hrosskel of the badgers and Brand of the bears enroute to Bosocta. There they planned on assualting the Tower City, capitol of the six kingdoms of Bosocta.
The PCs break into two groups: one to find the White Eagle, Heimdal’s warrior priest who is studying in the Ice Halls, a scared gathering place for the clans. This neutral site on the frozen island of Gyonthir is where all skalds, warrior priests and animalists go to consecrate their abilities to Valhalla. The second to a giant stronghold where a jeweled peacock, symbol of Hera, was lost long ago. Only with this item in the hands of Hera’s followers could her wrath be appeased.