|
We say nothing of this to anyone. No ghost stories, no myths. Also, Honor our warriors by where they lie. The rest to the graveyards. And Honor our fallen Mother. May these wolves have fine pelts when we end their miserable lives. So, the Gale-Blade speaks!
|
#
?
May 27, 2020 00:18
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 15:48 |
|
|
With all the wolfman talk, was there a full moon the night before?
|
|
#
?
May 28, 2020 19:15
|
|
|
Mr. Prokosch posted:A +1 to this.
|
|
#
?
May 28, 2020 20:34
|
|
|
Toughy posted:With all the wolfman talk, was there a full moon the night before? Good question! It was not a full moon by your reckoning.
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2020 04:38
|
|
|
As you are preparing to light the pyres, Thora asks what will happen should the fires attract the attackers again. “I will be here,” is your response. You are on the mountain side, surrounded by death. The four of you have attempted to fit the bodies in the rocky crevasses overlooking Vindrness. This saves a bit of time and energy, as does burying family members together yet it is still an arduous task. Each burial spot is surrounded by large stones in the shape of a longship, and you have had Thora and Dagfin collect smaller rocks that you will fill each ship with after the burning. The effect is that a fleet of stone ships, carrying the dead, seems to be swooping down the mountain, caught in time. To each person you give as appropriate grave goods as you can. Women are given brooches and find needles. Farmers are given their tools. Thora manages to capture a few sheep and they are sacrificed to the farmers as well. To those warriors who died fighting the wolfmen, from the hunch-backed and ancient Skor to the young child you found clutching a sword, you give weapons. Swords and spears, shields if they survived the burning. Each weapon is broken to help it reach the gods faster and placed in their hands. Each ship is then filled with fuel, logs and charcoal, and readied to light.  When all is ready you light a fire with the four of you stand before. “Hail to the Day Hail to the sons of Day Hail to the Night and Night's daughters Hail the shining Aesir Hail the mighty Vanir and hail to the Earth who gives to all Hail to the Huldefolk Hail to the Landvettir and hail to you, our dead. To you, Frigg queen of fate, These bodies are given. Their weaving done, their souls gone. To you, Lady Freya, half these warriors for Fólkvangr’s fields are destined. To you Odin Allfather, the rest To fight in Vahalla’s halls. The rest to Helgafjell and Helheim. There, they may be at peace. Here, they may be remembered.” With that you light torches and the four of you set fire to the pyres. Soon the smoke is reaching the heavens, carrying the souls away to the next life. Your mother’s prye has been set aside slightly. It is on an outcropping and her pyre is larger than others. It is the best honor you can give her. Hugi and the other two are witness as you take a deep draught of ale from a drinking horn. “I, Gróa Augustdottir, am this person’s sole heir. All titles, property, debts, and shame that is hers is now mine,” you take another drink. “Are there any here who do not believe that I am her heir?”  There is silence at that. And again you drink. With that, the funeral ale is drunk, and Astrid’s property is yours. You light her pyre and stand in silence with the other three for a long time. Finally, as the fire starts to rage, you turn to Dagfinn and Thora. “They were not men. The ones who did this,” you say plainly. You repeat the description of them that Hugi gave you, they were beasts, wolves that walked as men. Thora’s eyes widen with every word, and Dagfinn’s scowl deepens. There is some concern about them returning, but you have spent four days ranging the surrounding mountain and cliffs and seen no sign. Still, they are all unnerved by the creatures. Hugi says they must be the bastard children of Fenris, the great wolf. Thora replies that Fenris has no children, though she seems to take back her words after a moment, the idea of more monster wolves horrifying her. You turn to Dagfinn, asking if his father ever told tales of wolfmen in the isles, or from Irland, Skotland, or any of the isles. Dagfinn’s brow wrinkles at that, as he tries to remember, eventually he says the word “wulver”. He explains his father telling a story after returning from Hetlandensis about men with wolf heads. Dagfinn was a child when he heard this many years ago, but he remembers his father saying the wulver was peaceful, even friendly, helping to fish. With a bit more information and not else to go with, you turn back to your mother’s pyre and consider these wulver.  Afterwards, as Thora and Dagfin monitor the pyres for loose sparks, Hugi takes you aside to discuss your next steps. Though the spear garden is an excellent deterrent, the walls are needed to truly secure the compound. WIth the middle and inner walls breached, it would allow attackers to box you in. You have enough experience with building to do a serviceable job repairing the walls. But the effort would land on you and they would not be as secure as before, not without a proper stone mason. However, Hugi admits, allowing the breaches to stay could create bottlenecks, giving you some control of where attackers would go. 1. What defensive building do you do? A Attempt to repair the walls, we must have every defence we can get. B Allow the major breaches to remain and do minor repairs, we must funnel any attackers into going where we want. C We’d be better off not spending time on the walls without a proper stone mason. We are not likely to be attacked and should spend time restocking supplies and fixing a bothy for us to live in. There is also the issue of the great hall. Though the four of you have been sleeping in the burned out skeleton of the hall, as a high seat of power it will not do. Even if you were a master carpenter you couldn’t rebuild such a hall by yourself, but you can start setting the main structures, repair the roof and give some civility to the place. The issue is that wood is hard to come by on Rüm and repairing the hall to what it once was will require importing wood, which will be costly and time consuming. Alternatively, you could rebuild the hall out of stone. This will create a solid bulkhead of a building, and will be easier to make with local materials. Again, it will take expertise beyond your own, but the time is perhaps out weighed by the less cost and the strength of the building. Or, Hugi suggests, you do not build a great hall. Instead use the time to make a simple longhouse. It is beneath your station perhaps, and it is not impressive, but it is cheap and cost effective. Warriors will not have a proper mead hall, but these are desperate times after all. 2. What kind of great hall do you plan to build? A Return it to its glory B Build one of stone. C Do not build a great hall at all. D Something else.  As you are discussing plans, and drawing them in the dirt, Thora comes to you and asks you to teach her how to fight. Though she has always been spirited, she does not have training or skill. She says she never again wants to feel as the wulver made her feel. She would rather die fighting than wait to be killed cowering. You consider this. She is far older than a trainee would be normally, and she has not built up a warrior’s muscles. Any time you spend training her will be time taken away from other things. 3 What do you do with Thora? A Star training her as a warrior. Though it will take time, she will be a valuable asset, though she may never reach true skill. B Teach her how to fight, but know that she will never stand in a shield wall, and should others depend on her it might be disaster. C She cannot be counted on in battle. Show her how to use a seax, how to cut the large arteries in a man’s legs and arms. It will be enough for her to defend herself, hopefully. D Something else. Hugi also reminds you of a tricky political issue. Dagfinn’s fostering. Since you have taken on all of your mother’s debt and responsibilities, that includes Dagfinn’s guardianship. You are now responsible for his well-being. Though the boy is younger than you, he is old enough to resent such a power dynamic and perhaps turn bitter. However, staying his foster parent until such a time as his own father releases him ties him to you, and makes him and his father oath bound to help you. 4 What do you do with Dagfinn? A Keep him our foster son. He may not like it, but his personal preference is less important that keeping strong ties to his father, and it helps keep him in check. B We will acknowledge his growth into a man and treat him as a peer. This will free his family from any obligation to us, and it makes him a free agent. But he certainly has become an adult, and few would question our choice. _________________________________________________________________ 
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2020 22:55
|
|
|
B B A B Toughy fucked around with this message at 02:20 on May 30, 2020 |
|
#
?
May 29, 2020 23:49
|
|
|
B B D - Train her as an Archer. It may be too late to put her in the shield wall, but she can still contribute at range. B - If he's a man, he's a man. Besides, maybe he'll stay loyal because we're willing to do right by him.
|
|
#
?
May 30, 2020 01:06
|
|
|
B C C A
|
|
#
?
May 30, 2020 01:19
|
|
|
Aren't there just four of us right now? A coward, a boy, a non combatant, and ourselves? And my understanding is any ships are a long time coming. Doesn't seem worth messing with the wall, we're not on a position to fight right now, leave it till we have people and focus our efforts on preparing the hall for new arrivals C B D - train her in bows or slings, whatever we have around B
|
|
#
?
May 30, 2020 01:27
|
|
|
B, Simple Hall, AnAnonymousIdiot fucked around with this message at 05:03 on May 30, 2020 |
|
#
?
May 30, 2020 02:52
|
|
|
I'm surprised by all the votes to train Thora to use a bow. She has no warrior's muscle and traditional bows are extremely dependent on the strength of the wielder. Compound bows that offer mechanical advantage to make up for the wielder's physique weren't invented until the 20th century. It would take years to get her in shape to use a traditional bow properly and at the rate things are going she'll be dead before then. Crossbows would be a good idea but we're a century too early for those to be available. If we want her able to contribute in a fight any time soon then I'd expect her to be far more effective with a simple melee weapon.
|
|
#
?
May 30, 2020 03:51
|
|
|
BCCBmalbogio posted:I'm surprised by all the votes to train Thora to use a bow. She has no warrior's muscle and traditional bows are extremely dependent on the strength of the wielder. Compound bows that offer mechanical advantage to make up for the wielder's physique weren't invented until the 20th century. It would take years to get her in shape to use a traditional bow properly and at the rate things are going she'll be dead before then. Crossbows would be a good idea but we're a century too early for those to be available. If we want her able to contribute in a fight any time soon then I'd expect her to be far more effective with a simple melee weapon. Agreed. Archery will take quite a while to build up the muscle and coordination necessary, not unlike melee training. We also do not have the time and manpower necessary to do any real training. Time spent training is time not spent getting this place habitable again. A long knife and knowing where to put it should suffice for now. We can revisit once we have the manpower to delegate our other responsibilities.
|
|
#
?
May 30, 2020 10:40
|
|
|
So, with the world on fire right now it'll be another day or so before my next update. Current votes are tallies as follows: AS you can see some are close/tied. Feel free to switch votes, or lurkers please vote! As a totally aside I have a bit of a call to action. In my currently hiatused CYOA game, the main character is heavily involved in the Native community in Minneapolis. One of the organizations I drew some inspiration from, and my wife used to work for, was burned to the ground a few days ago and is rebuilding. If you have the means, please consider donating something to MIGIZI Communications or any of the local Twin Cities organizations. Thank you. I feel odd breaking "character" and doing a direct ask, but I figured it was a way to help a hurting community.
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2020 16:32
|
|
|
1B 2B 3C 4B
|
|
#
?
Jun 2, 2020 01:34
|
|
|
For the next few days you ponder your options. The days work is filled with repairing the walls where they seem to be unstable as best you can, and reinforcing the locations of the major breaches. These holes in your defense will become attractive targets for any attackers and will draw them in. One day you are attempting to brace a stone that is unstable and could fall on someone in the breach when Thora suggests to...maybe leave it as a trap instead of fully repairing it. You silently consider her words and then do as she says. Stones that have not been compromised by heat are marked with chalk for easy identification, and you start to strip and dismantle the walls of the great hall. It will be some time before you are able to rebuild it’s walls out of stone, but a fortress’s main citadel should be a fortress in itself. And the hall being made of wood has proven a weakness. You must find a way to attract stonemasons to Vindrness to assist you. You are able to plot the building, and with the other’s help you start laying foundation stones. But you know enough carpentry to not trust your own ability to build more beyond that. Life eventually becomes a routine for you. Repairing defenses, plotting out the hall, gathering supplies from nearby homes and bothies, and exploring your surroundings. As a child you explored every inch of the isle, running through the hills and glades with Ask and Thora in tow. You did not fear strangers, nor the small group of Gaels who had taken up residence in Ceann Locha on the fjord to the east. But that was when there was an army at your mother’s beck and call. Stalwart warriors itching at an excuse to do violence. Now your hird*, as it is, consists of a coward, an untrained woman, and a child. And so you are hesitant to wander far, but still you must address your weaknesses.  Dagfinn is the easy one to deal with. It is after an evening where you demand he train with you. He uses the gigantic blade of his, gods know where he found it, and attempts to knock you over. You allow him to come close for awhile, judging his speed and form as best you can. Finally you tire of deflecting his attacks and become the Gale-blade. You allow him to over extend himself, shifting his center of mass, and almost gently tap the back of his knee with the shaft of your weapon. He crumples to the ground and your blade bites into the ground next to his neck. “Who is your father,” you ask. “Leif Eyjolfsson.” “And why he is not here?” Dagfinn frowns at this, “He is at the court of Ketil Flatnose, setting the saga of the Kingdom of the Isles to story and song.” “In his absence, I am your guardian and parent.” Dagfinn nods, after a moment of hesitation. “Your life is mine to give or take, child.” Again a nod, but quicker this time. “Should you go to Valhalla now, what great deeds will you tell them?” He pauses at that. “ I will say that I held a sword and tried to stan with the warriors of Vindrness. That when the fires raged hot around me I vowed to watch over the stones and timbers of Vindrness should I live. I will say that I fell in single combat against Gróa the Gale-Blade, though I was a child.” At that you shrug, and remove the blade from his neck, “A child no longer. As your guardian, I say you are old enough, and brave enough to be a man. I have no arm rings or wealth for your service, but I name you Vindrgætir**, should the man stand by vows made as a child.” Dagfinn seems quite perplexed by this, eventually he sits up. “I could refuse you.” “Yes.” “And you should have demanded my loyalty before making me a man. It’s that the kind of trick your Loki would do?” “Perhaps,” you lean on your blade. “But I have no interest in binding you to me by trickery, at least that blatant trickery. Now you are free to stay. Or leave,“ you gesture to the wild expanse of nothingness around you. “Or you could attempt to kill me, become free that way, take revenge for all the torture I put you through as a child.” He does look tempted. But instead he picks up his massive sword and holds it tightly before him. “I vow, Gróa Augustdottir, that I will serve you as best I can, until the bones of those who would injure Vindrness are ground into its mortar.” “ Come then Vindrgætir Dagfinn, join my hird as a free man. Though I still would call you brother,” you say, offering him your hand. He takes it, and the moment is complete. You break the tension by rapping your knuckles on his sword. “We may have to get a new weapon for you though, you can hardly lift this one.” He bristles at that. “This was the weapon of Ox Eirik. He was a good friend to me, and taught me to fight. He stood his ground even as fire raged around him, guarding the door to our hiding place. We found his body there, he burned rather than abandon us.” 1. You tell him A “The best way to honor Eirik is to not die, you need a more suitable weapon.” He will be upset, but able to fight at full capacity immediately. B “Eirik’s spirit may live on, no matter the shape that weapon takes.” Reforge the weapon when you have a smith. C. “You will need to put all your focus on training with it.” Dagfinn will be solely focused on training. He may be discouraged if you do not believe in his ability. D. “I understand.....tomorrow you are on rock duty.” Focus on getting Dagfinn stronger without him knowing it. It may take slightly longer, but you will save his pride. Thora is now the only member of your group with no fighting skill. You must admit to yourself that she is too old to develop into a great warrior, but you can teach her some of the more subtle ways of fighting. Your mother taught you ways a free woman can defend herself and, enterprising warrior you are, you adapted them for battle. Myrun and your sister shieldmaidens added to your knife skills and helped you further refine them. So you show her, using an increasingly nervous Hugi as a target, how to use a seax in close quarters. How to brace the blade using her body and allow for a man’s own body weight to impale himself on it. How to dip under a shield and open up a leg, letting out a wound-river. How to stab at weak points of the body, eyes, ears, neck, underarms, knees, crotch, and twist the seax. How to skate the blade along a rim of a shield, nipping fingers and slicing deep into arms. Thora is a surprisingly adept student. She says that it appears butchering men is no different than butchering deer. Hugi leaves. 2. In your alone time with Thora do you A Rekindle the romance you felt for her before you left for Norway. B Try to see her as a friend and companion only. C Get distracted by all you must do, ignoring whatever she may be feeling.  As a rhythm is developed in Vindrness you are dismayed to see no ships on the horizon day after day. It seems Skye has not noticed the smoke, nor have the wolf men. You assume that you are stuck on Rüm until Torvoldt returns with his ship. He will bring supplies yes, but you are realizing you must get off the island and to Skye to see your uncle. Torvoldt will want payment or goods for passage to Skye. This will be a problem. You could pay him from your own silver coin. But doing so would decrease the money you would need to either buy thralls or entice freemen and freewomen to Vindrness. Not to mention there will be costs for construction and likely outfitting warriors. The expenses will be great and every bit of silver will be needed. You could offer him goods in trade. But right now most of your goods are foodstuffs. And with the fields now barren, it will be time before you can replenish your stores. This will become dangerous if you do succeed in bringing more people to Vindrness. You and the three others consider how to afford Torvoldt’s services. Thora suggests the easiest way would be to do a raid on the Gaels of Ceann Locha. They will be more numerous yes, but a night time raid with fire may cause enough confusion that you could make off with some of their prizes. When the three of you look at her oddly, she says that the Gaels must be dealt with eventually. Either by force or by open trade. She says it is likely that they have already seen the state Vindrness is in and if they are not preparing to attack already, it is only because they are assuming it is a Northmen attack. She insists the Gaels must be addressed. Dagfinn wonders if everyone could collect enough bloodstone from the nearby hill to make a trade with Torvoldt. The jade stone is beautiful and he remembers your mother would often have crafts people make jewelry and gifts out of it, and then sell these gifts to traders. But for what price and to what market he does not know. It is possible Torvoldt would gouge you all on the prices.  Hugi agrees with that, saying it is perhaps better to stick to material you know the price of. Though they are in the high mountains, red deer would fetch a good price for their skins, antlers, and bones. With only four hunters, and no one excellent with a bow, it would take time though, and may not yield enough to pay for passage. Dagfinn suggests, in a quiet voice, you make an offering to the Seonaidh in the northern waters. If given an appropriate sacrifice, it may gift the shores with enough sea glass and seaweed to make a profit. Thora disagrees with this, saying there is no reason to get caught up in mischievous water spirits, as it may anger huldufólk of land. Hugi wonders if the hermit to the south at Pappadal may be an ally. He is an oddity yes, but seems friendly. Hugi says at this stage, you are desperate enough where you will take help from anyone. Dagfinn and Thora point out the hermit is Christian and is not to be trusted. As the three bicker, you draw out a map of the Isle. 3. How do you pay for passage to Skye? (Top three will be attempted. You may vote for any you want to see happen) A Pay with our own coin B Pay with our foodstuff C Deal with the Gaels (see below for sub vote) D Collect bloodstone. E Hunt red deer F Make an offering to the Seonaidh for seawares. G Talk to the hermit. 3.C What does “Deal with the Gaels” mean? (only vote if you voted for C above A Attack them B Diplomancy them.  ______________________________________________________________ Thanks for sticking through the longer than normal wait. It is 2 am as I am writing this so please forgive errors. Let me know on discord if I’ve gone totally off the rails. Also I’m learning so much about geology place names, and geography of the Isle of Rum.! Here is anothe map to reference.For some reason they oriented the map so that West is the top of the image, East it bottom.   *Hird - comes from Old Norse hirð (with the ash that is pronounced “hirth”). An armed party of companions. We don’t know exactly where the term came from, but is likely has something to do with the idea of the “hearth guard”, those warriors charged with defended the house and hearth. For purposes of the game, the hird will refer to our core party of NPCS. Like a Bioware game! **Vindrgætir - Vindrness’s watchman. Kinda. I made up the term, but it looks good.
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2020 08:33
|
|
|
D AC CEG B
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2020 09:15
|
|
|
1. A. but tell him to keep the bigger blade as a goal. even his mentor didn't wield that sword at his age. 2. B. not trying to flirt but don't break her heart either. 3. G, D, E, C 3C. Diplomacy
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2020 13:06
|
|
|
1 D 2 A 3 EFG
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2020 14:25
|
|
|
D A DEG
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2020 15:02
|
|
|
Toughy posted:1. A. but tell him to keep the bigger blade as a goal. even his mentor didn't wield that sword at his age. +1
|
|
#
?
Jun 8, 2020 01:48
|
|
|
Voting will be closing sometime within 24 hours. I need to crash before I tally votes and start writing. So keep voting!
|
|
#
?
Jun 8, 2020 06:11
|
|
|
Eventually you stab the stick you are using to sketch the isle into the ground, silencing the others.  “Hugi, you and Dagfin will go to Bloodstone Hill to try to hunt and clean enough deer for us.” Hugi rubs his mustache, “With only two of us..we won’t be able to drive them.” You nod, “You’’l have to stalk them. Use the valleys to you benefit, wear them down running up hill.” “That will take forever,” Dagfin protests. “And, with needing to stop and dress each kill one at a time, we won’t get a good yield.” “You won’t,” you agree. “Which is why you’ll be harvesting bloodstone as well, to make up for short comings.” “We have to break and haul rock? Just the two of us?” “Just you. Hugi is the best with a bow and we cannot afford to strain him. He will be shooting and harvesting the deer. You will be hauling the meat, and bloodstone,” you pause. “Best hope he has good hunting.”  Thora and yourself go to the priest first. You leave at first light on your hike. Though the distance you are traveling is only 5 miles*, the walking distance is almost doubled due to detours and switchbacks you must take. As a result Thora and you have plenty of time to talk.You have been flirting with her over the best few days, though she has been less joyous and full of life than she was before you left. She had been through a trauma, and you remember even as a child she did not enjoy dressing deer, so her withdrawal makes sense. Instead of focusing on romance with her, you try to assure her of your presence, holding her hand as you help her down the cuillins, laughing and telling her jokes from your childhood together. She smiles and seems to be enjoying herself. If it only when you stop at Dornabach and refill your waterskins that she speaks of serious matters. She tells you how furious she was at you, and how lonely, she was after you left to join the Great Army of Iceland. She does not pretend to know why you needed to leave, and why you needed to leave for some place so far, so long. But she spent years loving you, and mourning you, and hating you. Ask tried to be there for here, tried to turn their friendship and simply flirtations into something more, but she couldn’t. Not with Ask, and not without knowing what you meant to her. Or what she meant to you. She sits silently for a moment and then asks, “Where there others? In Norway?” 1. Well Gróa, were there others? A No B Yes C ...No (lie) Your journey is more subdued as you continue to Trollaval. The sun is still high in the sky and so you should not see any of the creatures, still Thora stays closer to you, and you keep your atgeir at the ready. As a child Trollaval was the one place you did not wander to, even during the day. Your mother and Blind Reidar had too many stories of the trolls who lived there. You always imagined trolls to be the worst possible thing in the land. Your Icelandic friends told tales of giants and fire wyrms, making the trolls of your childhood seem quaint. Still they were troublesome.  2 How are trolls a threat to the people of Rúm? A Once a year they lead massive raids on farms and settlements, stealing livestock and harvested grain. Though some people set out a “troll plate” to satisfy them, it never seems to be enough. Every place on the isle, including Vindrness, suffers losses. B Men and women who wander off into the wilds at night often come across beautiful trolls who ask for help .Should the person help the troll, it will lie with them and offer some advice or grant a wish, but at the cost of a loved one. Should the wanderer refuse, the troll will drop it’s glamor and curse the wanderer. C During the longest nights of the year, mobs of drunk trolls roam over the land leading a merry-making parody of the Wild Hunt. They overturn carts, knock down fences, and scare animals. Should they come to your house, they will ask for entrance and food and drink. If you agree they will come and drink your ale, eat your food, and likely break your benches with their antics. Should you refuse, they will thoroughly wreck the outside of your house in their drunken fury. D Trolls love music, riddles, poems, and all forms of art making. Should a troll hear a singer or poet, even during daylight when they hide from the sun, they will remember and stalk that person when the sun goes down. At first the troll will attempt to entice the person to follow them into the trolls’ mountain kingdom. Should the person refuse, eventually that person will be kidnapped by the trolls and taken against their will. You see some of the scars on the rocks that indicate trolls, and Thora stubs her foot painfully on a pile of troll spoor turned stone. But you two ascend and descend Trollaval with no other incident, though you hear drums from deep in the earth. After a while of walking those drums are replaced by inscent and cacophonic ringing as you two approach Pappadal, the priests valley. The valley is flooded by a massive loch, separated from the sea by a thin ribbon of land upon which the hermitage sits. As you climb down the hill with Thora the ringing increases as you walk up to the ribbon of land. You see that someone has set a series of bells on to posts. They are tied with small flags and ribbons that flap in the wind, chiming the bells. “What are these?” you ask Thora. Before you left, Thora had considered becoming Christian. She, more than you or Ask, would sit and talk to the priest whenever he traveled to Vindrness to trade (something your mother begrudgingly allowed). She explained she liked the idea of a kind god, one that rewarded you for living a life full of good deeds and selflessness. It was a way to cheat fate, and as a follower of Loki you understood the concept. Yet, since your return it seems she has turned her back on the concept of a kind god, now she sneers at the ringing. “Churchbells. Troll bells,”she says. “Stony bastards can’t stand the sound of them!” a voice echos up over the sound of ringing. “I got tired of them nosing around here.” The priest pops his bald head up from behind a rickety wooden wall. He is covered in dirt and the hair left on his head flaps against his temples like a bird struggling to free itself from muck. His tattered robe is likewise dirty and he uses a splintered hoe as a staff to walk up to you. “Doesn’t it drive you mad?”Thora asks. “Oh yes, quite, it’s horrible” the priest grins. “But only the unholy are truly harmed by it. Trolls, selkie, hulder, blue men, changelings, kelpies, those little sithchean bastards who steal my inkpots....” he turns at glares at something behind him. “I am Gróa Augustdottir,” you introduce yourself. “I don’t know if you remember me..” “I remember every one of you Norse heathens. Are you here to finally do your devil’s work and kill an old faithful man? Or are you Sibhreach, come to take my soul?” “We’re not here to kill you old man,” Thora says. “We’re no more than what we seem. We’ve come to trade.” He looks you both up and down, “I suppose I’ll take your word for it. What does Astrid need so badly that she would send people to me?” 3 How much do you tell him? A Avoid the question, just tell him you need to buy passage on your own and need some extra funds. B Vindrness was attacked, there are few survivors and we need to rebuild. C Wolf men slaughtered Vindrness. We need anything we can get. D Something else. 4 What are you asking the priest for exactly? A Some of his scrolls and drawings, they will be hard for Torvaldt to sell, but they will fetch and excellent price. B Christian stone crosses and images. Hard to move, literally, but any Christian Torvaldt finds would buy them. C Gold trinkets and jewelry, Christians have those stuff right? D Cold, hard silver, We just need a loan. E Actually...maybe we should just kill him and take his stuff. Things are desperate here. F Something else  ______________________________________________________ This was going to be much longer, just having troubling finding time to write. Luckily I have notes figured out so it’s just a matter of carving out writing time. Gróa wouldn’t be thinking in terms of miles. The Norse equivalent was something called a rôst, or “rest”. The actual distance of this measurement varied a bit by terrain but it was about a mile. I am using mile instead because I am a heathen American. 
|
|
#
?
Jun 15, 2020 16:29
|
|
|
B A B A quote:Thora is a surprisingly adept student. She says that it appears butchering men is no different than butchering deer. Hugi leaves. This made me laugh.
|
|
#
?
Jun 15, 2020 17:36
|
|
|
B D B A
|
|
#
?
Jun 15, 2020 17:53
|
|
|
ACBA so close yet so far
|
|
#
?
Jun 15, 2020 20:14
|
|
|
B D C A
|
|
#
?
Jun 15, 2020 20:21
|
|
|
Voting BCBB Wild Hunts are Serious.
|
|
#
?
Jun 15, 2020 21:57
|
|
|
AnAnonymousIdiot posted:Voting BCBB This
|
|
#
?
Jun 15, 2020 22:10
|
|
|
AACA
|
|
#
?
Jun 16, 2020 06:41
|
|
|
AACA
|
|
#
?
Jun 21, 2020 23:54
|
|
|
I just realized that children of the wolf title and the sons of bitches who attacked us connection. Duh.
|
|
#
?
Jun 22, 2020 00:00
|
|
|
“Astrid is dead. Along with most of Vindrness.” The news physically rocks the priest as he rolls back on his heels and furrows his brow. “What happened?” “We were attacked, there are few survivors and right now we need to rebuild.’ The priest shakes his head sadly, “I liked Astrid. She was a decent woman, kept the rest of you heathens off me. It’s a pity she was never baptized. I’m sorry for her loss.” “She’s with the gods,” Thora chirps up. The priest looks at her quizzically for a moment but then turns to you. “What are you wanting from me Augustdottir?” You lean on your spear, trying to tune out the troll bells, “As I said we need to rebuild. We need to let King Ketil know what has happened, but to do that we must book passage on a trader, and likely buy supplies in Skye.” “Old Flat-Nose isn’t coming to your defense?” the priest asks. “He’s hunkered up hiding from his enemies aye? What do you think I can do Gróa? I have some salted fish, even a few coin but...I don’t know that would be enough for a heathen trader.” “My mother told me you write manuscripts and make drawings.” “I have made miniatures* of the Gospels, yes. I have also illustrated some histories and tales.” “Would you be willing to trade any of these? “To...a pagan? What use would you have with them?”he laughs. “They say I’m mad, but Earnan Ó Braonáin isn’t thatmad. I’m not going to give you something to tear up or defile. These are the holy word, sacred beyond knowing!”  “I promise you that won’t happen. I plan to give them to the trader and he will trade them to other Christians, or give as gifts.” “Last time I gave the holy book to one of you,” the priest says “He wiped his rear end with it.” “Father Earnan,” Thor says. “Please, we are desperate, what can we do to show you our good faith?” The priest thinks on that a minute, digging into his bald and scabby scalp. Finally he says, “Guirdil.” “What about Guirdil?” you ask. “There is a bothy in Guirdil. I want to be able to move my chapel there in winter. It’s awfully cold here, and the bastard trolls are getting worse. Guirdil is better, out of the ocean wind, further away from the Troll Hall, and closer to people. You give me Guirdil and I’ll give you my miniatures.” There is haggling, terms to be hammered out, and the priest makes more demands, mostly comforts for an old man. But eventually a deal is met, as you and Thora leave with the papers tucked safely into your packs, the priest cackles something about upgrading from Priest’s Valley to God’s Valley. You wonder if the entire exercise was so that he could make such a joke. Dark is coming, and though you are forced to make camp near Trollaval, you feel it is safe. It is not the long nights of winter, nor is it Trollnatt yet, so the trolls have little reason to travel outside their halls. Still though, the two of you eat a meal of dried fish and do not light a fire. The smell of cooking might be enough for one to wander out. By the late morning, the two of you reach Ceann Locha and the Gael settlement there. Your relationship with the Gaels of Ceann Locha has been one that has always been tense. They originally were Irish, who fled the island when Ivar the Boneless and his brood started their reign. You remember some rumors about native Irish taking the land back from the Northmen while you were in Norway, but you don’t know where things stand. But, things do not seem good for Ceann Locha in any case. As the two of you approach the village, you see familiar smoke rising, multiple pillars drifting into the air. You look at Thora and ready your weapon. The village has been raided, you can tell that as soon as you see it. Though only a few huts have been burned, there is detritus and disarray that is unmistakable. There are still people moving about though, so the village has seemed to survive their raid better than Vindrness.  The two of you boldly walk into town, as you do so, you attract a crowd, men and young boys start to follow you, holding farm tools. There is a murmur that rises to something foreboding and troublesome. As you are starting to fear something happening, a middle aged man step infront of you. “You’re not welcome here Norse.” “Are you in charge?“ The man nods, “Murchadh Mcmahoni.” “Gróa Augustdottir, from Vindrness.” “I know,” Murchadh rumbles. “We’ve been watching you pick up the pieces these last few weeks. Maybe if we’d focused on our own village...” “What happened?” “Saxons, we think. Weren’t Norse ships anyway. About 2 days ago now. Saw them coming up the Loch and we had most the village running off before they got here.” “You ran away? All of you?” “They aren’t warriors Thora,” you say to her. Then turning to Murchadh: “Am I right? Any dead man of the village means one less farmer or herdman? That’s why you didn’t bother to knock us off either, you can’t afford dead men.” He begrudgingly inclines his head. “Aye. We didn’t want to risk our families. Huts, food, goats, those can be replaced. Husbands and fathers can’t. It’s why you’re not welcome here, either of you. You Norse tend to rush towards your deaths, not caring who you take with you.” “I understand, but we come seeking help. As you have seen, Vindrness is in dire straits.” “What does it matter to us? You Norse are invaders on all these islands.” “Ketil in Skye has not noticed Vindrness is in trouble yet. But he will. And when he does, do you want someone to speak up and say the Gaels of Ceann Locha had nothing to do with the death of his sister in law? Or would you want Ketil to act first, and ask his questions later?” Murchadh considers this a fair bit, then he spits to the side and grins more like a grimace. “Alright lass, but don’t be thinking we’ll help you out of Christian charity. This may be the only time we have you needing our help, so let’s eat and we’ll hash out details. 1. What are we asking of the Gaels. The more you ask for, the more you will own them in the future. A Any supplies they can spare. When we come back from Skye we don’t want to have to worry about foodstuffs B The above, but also any trade goods, we’ll give them a cut of what we get from Skye, but we need more coin as soon as possible. C The above, but also we need craftsmen now, send them to Vindrness to guard it in our absence and help repair and rebuild. 2. What are we giving them? A. Training, arms and armor. B The above but we’ll also come to their aid should they need it. C The above, but any Gael who wants to move to Vindrness and join us may. They may remain Christian and keep their traditions, we just need strength in numbers. 3. What else do we need to get done before Torvoldt arrives and we go to Skye? 4. Who do we take with us to Skye? For each Character, vote Take or Leave Dagfinn Thora Hugi __________________________________________________________________ So this update was going to be two with many more choices. But, I rushed this to get it out as soon as I could. I wanted to put us in a good place in case I end up porting this game to another site. Because Lowtax is an abuser and may ragequit the forums, or worse try to sweep this under the rug, there is a rather good chance this game will not continue on SA. Right now I have no idea what is going to happen, but please join the CYOA discord for updates, and feel free to ask for the @Gróa-n Stronger role so you can get alerts.  *The word miniature comes from the Latin “miniare” which means "to colour with minium (red lead)”. It also refers to the little drawings on the sides of illuminated manuscripts and occasionally refers to the manuscripts themselves. If you’ve never seen an illuminated manuscript I highly recommend it, there is a lot of Horny and also weird rabbits. Actually, gently caress it, here’s a bunch of weird stuff.    
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2020 22:18
|
|
|
For a second there I was hoping the priest would challenge us to a game of Warhammer. Alas.
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2020 23:18
|
|
|
C C - Take All
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2020 23:43
|
|
|
BB, and everybody. My guess is there's only so much we can give and take, and keeping Gaels in Vindrness is gonna require an eyeball to keep our people from going at their throats. EDIT: Maybe check the skies for storms?
|
|
#
?
Jun 25, 2020 00:10
|
|
|
Outrail posted:I just realized that children of the wolf title and the sons of bitches who attacked us connection. Duh. I forgot to reply to this! It's a cool bit of kismet and sleight of hand. The subtitle was written with the intent of being vague and evocative. Worst case scenario, I could say it reference the children (literal and symbolic) of Toke taking over as the leaders of the Norse world. But I planned for wolves to be a motif through this game anyway, if only to justify the badass title. When the votes came in that the raiders of Vindress were "not men" and I discovered the Wulver as the scottish werewolf, it was too good a thing to NOT work in. All that said there is one more "children of the wolf" that will pop up (probably) but that depends if Gróa lives long enough.
|
|
#
?
Jun 25, 2020 22:45
|
|
|
C C Check the skies for storms Everyone but Hugi, if we're asking the Gaels to help rebuild, someone should be here to coordinate that, assign him to it.
|
|
#
?
Jun 29, 2020 16:10
|
|
|
sheep-dodger posted:C This
|
|
#
?
Jun 29, 2020 17:15
|
|
|
NinjaPete posted:I forgot to reply to this! It's a cool bit of kismet and sleight of hand. The subtitle was written with the intent of being vague and evocative. Worst case scenario, I could say it reference the children (literal and symbolic) of Toke taking over as the leaders of the Norse world. But I planned for wolves to be a motif through this game anyway, if only to justify the badass title. When the votes came in that the raiders of Vindress were "not men" and I discovered the Wulver as the scottish werewolf, it was too good a thing to NOT work in. Preemptive vote to immediately murder anything with even the most tenuous wolf connection.
|
|
#
?
Jun 29, 2020 19:13
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 15:48 |
|
|
AnAnonymousIdiot posted:BB, and everybody. +1
|
|
#
?
Jun 29, 2020 23:06
|
|