Chapter 3: Into the North
On the evening of the 1st of the 5th moon, the crew spotted a large fire on the beach. Going ashore, they discovered they had arrived at Bystenar, the Village of Stones, on a most grave occasion: That night, a man named Halfdan lay on his funeral pyre, as a young woman, braced by three men, wept silently nearby. After meeting his brothers, Bjarne, Hanne, and Hreidarr, they learned Halfdan had been slain by some manner of savage beast, as Bjarne solemnly remarked: “No man could have done such a thing.” They had not yet been able to track the beast, as the jarl’s hounds had lost the trail into the wild and followed a scent back to the village. The soft-hearted Dasha revealed that she herself had once witnessed a wild beast slaughter a loved one, prompting her companions to offer to stand vigil with the villagers that night.
At breakfast the next morning, Lukas, one of the villagers, explained that the four lads had adopted one another after their parents had perished during the Long Dark. Though unrelated by blood, the bond they shared was as strong as any familial one. The young lady in mourning, he told them, was Karina, Bjarne’s sister by blood. She and Halfdan had been betrothed, as they had recently been to the standing stones together.
The crew visited the brothers’ long house to offer their condolences and support in tracking down the beast which had slain Halfdan. Hreidarr took them to the home of the village healer so they could discover more about what happened to Halfdan. When the healer, Salomon Lykke Ture Kirurg, described the wounds Halfdan sustained, Kasumi, thinking of his shuko claws, realized the gashes were irregular, and not patterned as an animal’s claws would be. The flesh was also rough and torn, as though cut with a serrated edge, which reminded Sitara of the kinds of wounds received from saw-jawed fish. Ture informed them that knives made from such fish were common in Bystenar, and they could see in his eyes that he himself had harbored doubts about the origins of Halfdan’s wounds. Troubled by these implications, the crew decided to split up to continue their investigation.
...*...
Kasumi and Sitara took their concerns to the village Jarl, Salomon Salomon Malta Storhuset. The Jarl had already come to a similar conclusion, but lacked the evidence to pursue the culprit. With Halfdan’s defensive wounds, his knife not yet found, and the consensus that he would have fought back, they surmised that he might have also inflicted wounds on his attacker. Sitara suggested that perhaps if the men of the village were put to work on some hard labor in the summer sun—something to get the men shirtless—it might become apparent if anyone had new injuries or were attempting to hide fresh wounds without calling attention to the search.
Meanwhile, Hreidarr took Mesi and Dasha to look for Karina. Eventually they found her at the circle of standing stones. As Dasha spoke with the grieving young woman, Mesi realized Karina wished to join Halfdan in the afterlife. Mesi attempted to offer words of consolation, only to have Karina withdraw to the comfort of the stones. As they returned to Hreidarr, Mesi confided in Dasha her impression of Karina. When Dasha expressed their concern to Hreidarr, he took great offense, replying angrily that Karina would never contemplate such a thing.
Sitara and Kasumi began to search the area where Halfdan was killed for both his and the attacker’s weapons. After discovering nothing on the beach, Sitara and Kasumi then went diving in the shallows. While Kasumi couldn't find any trace of a knife, he did see the wreck of a Skenden ship, but it was too far out for the knife to have made it there. Still on the hunt for any lead, Kasumi decided to leave the wreck alone until after this mystery had been solved. Meanwhile, the jarl called the village together and set them to clearing the tree line along the northern side of the village, to build a longhouse in honor of Halfdan.
Mesi and Dasha sought out Vendela to gain a better insight on how to navigate more delicate topics amongst the people of Bystenar. She explained Hreidarr’s emotional ourburst was rooted in the Skenden belief that suicide was a coward’s death, and therefore taboo.
Meeting back up with Hreidarr, they apologized for their earlier faux pas, and he acknowledged their intent had not been ill. He also informed them they had found Halfdan’s knife amongst his belongings, which meant he would have been unarmed the night he was killed. They also discovered Karina and Halfdan had just made their engagement official earlier that very evening.
They returned to the beach to pass along this new information to Sitara and Kasumi. While Kasumi chose to continue his search beneath the waves, Sitara returned to the village with the others. If Halfdan had been unarmed, it was unlikely that he left any obvious cuts on his attacker, however it was still possible he could have inflicted some damage.
They spent some time watching the villagers clear land. Vendela lent her axe to the cause as well, felling a tree with a single swing, impressing several of the menfolk. Mesi and Dasha spotted a few of the villagers favoring body parts, and some who were injured. Ivar, Ture said, was still healing from chest wounds left by a stag he’d grappled with. Georg had hurt himself while wrestling with his friend Esbjorn, though not badly enough to stop. An older man called Somar walked with a limp, which Ture explained was from an old fishing accident. However, they saw no one sporting any suspicious wounds or injuries.
Growing restless, Sitara pondered other avenues of investigation to approach. Accompanied by Mesi and Dasha, she sought out Karina and found her at the brothers’ long house. Sitara gently asked the despondent young woman if she had noticed if any of Halfdan’s belongings were missing after they found him. Karina shook her head and Bjarne confirmed they had not noticed anything when they had prepared his body. When Sitara inquired if there had perhaps been any exchanged tokens of affection, the expression of horror that dawned on Karina’s face as she began to sob uncontrollably confirmed that either the token was in fact missing, or worse yet, that she might have been too distraught to check for it that night. Sitara vowed to find the token and swiftly left.
Mesi looked to Bjarne, who had watched the exchange with a cold rage growing in his eyes, though she sensed it was not directed at them. Mesi asked if she’d had any other suitors, and Bjarne replied that while there had been some before Halfdan, there were no others recently that he knew of. Dasha learned from Karina that she had given Halfdan a carved piece of shell in the colors of the dawn sky, and set off to inform Sitara, while Bjarne asked Mesi if she would send for his brothers. Dasha found Sitara engrossed in a frenzied search along the same beach she had combed earlier for the missing weapons. She described the token to Sitara, and tentatively offered to lend a hand. However, Sitara urged Dasha to find some other useful task to help the investigation, to help Karina...whatever was necessary.
...*...
Once left to her searching, Sitara meditated on Karina and Halfdan’s plight, and why it affected her so...The tragedy of his death just after their betrothal had initially made her question whether a beast was indeed responsible. The nightmares of the Long Dark were terrifying, relentless, and remorseless, but even they were not endowed with such a cruel sense of timing. Though she cringed at the thought that someone was capable of such an act, the more they discovered, the more her fears felt confirmed. And the more she thought on it, the more she was certain this crime was fueled by rage...a jealous rage...Someone’s hopes had been dashed by their betrothal, perhaps a suitor who had been rejected.
Her stomach turned and her hands stopped clawing at the sea grasses as a memory swept across her thoughts, bringing an encore of intense pangs, now accompanied by a cacophony of sorrow, guilt, anger, and longing. She sat and stared out at the receding tide, the waves rushing in before pulling further away.
Finally, her hands clenched in the sand. No matter how her emotions took hold of her, she thought, she could never do anything to harm anyone she held dear. Whoever this person was, they had forever destroyed the happiness of the one they believed they loved. She had to find Karina’s token if it had fallen. And if it had not...she would find whoever had taken it.
...*...
While the captain searched for the lost betrothal token, Dasha, Mesi and Kasumi spoke with the villagers about the relationship between Karina and Halfdan. Speaking with Linnae, a close friend of Karina’s, they discovered that Karina had several admirers in the village before choosing Halfdan. One of the suitors, Solberg Mats, seemed to have moved on, spending his time with another young woman, Ness Malin. Linnae confessed that Karina had a secret admirer whose tokens she had discarded, deeming any man not confident enough to approach her openly to be not worth her time.
While the others returned to the brothers’ home with this news, Kasumi found Sitara still hunting along the beach, and told her of the secret admirer. Sitara set off to the construction site with renewed vigor, determined to suss out the scorned admirer. Meanwhile, Karina described to the party one of the tokens she received: a spiral-shaped piece of wood with flowers sprouting from it. The brothers went to speak to the jarl to see if he recognized it. Mesi and Dasha followed, running into Sitara and Ture along the way. Ture recalled having seen the token, admitting it had been harvested by a young woodsman named Arnt.
As Dasha went to tell the jarl, Sitara followed Ture’s gaze, making a swift line to this Arnt. She recalled the Storhuset’s warning that accusations of crimes were taken very seriously and required evidence. Drawing one of her blades, in a smooth motion she cut some pouches from his belt, spilling their contents, but there was nothing but herbs and twisted roots, similar to what Ture had described. Furious, Sitara demanded Karina’s token, as Kasumi and Mesi caught up and attempted to address the situation calmly. Sitara challenged Arnt to reveal the contents of his person, while he denied any involvement with Karina or Halfdan.
The jarl and Halfdan’s brothers having also arrived, the former charged her to explain the basis of her accusation. Knowing well the stakes, but firm in her conviction, Sitara imparted to the villagers the sequence of their discoveries and their conclusions drawn from them. At first, they seemed unwilling to believe it, but the more she revealed, the more uncertain they became. Sitara confirmed she suspected Arnt, but was stopped before she could finish searching him for Karina’s token.
Ture urged Arnt to show them he had nothing to hide, to prove his innocence. Arnt turned out the last of his pouches and insisted they could search his home. Unconvinced, Sitara demanded he remove his bracers and boots, and she saw his hesitation. When the villagers pressed him, he complied, and she snatched away the bracers, running her fingers along the edges. There. She pulled something small from the fold of the cuff—a carved shell, in the colors of the sunrise.
Arnt began to claim he had found the token when Bjarne interrupted him with a knife to his throat, threatening to cut his head off. Sitara urged them that the worst punishment any of them could inflict would be to force him to explain himself to the woman he claimed to love. Appearing from the crowd, Karina approached him, and simply asked, “Why?” Arnt claimed that he truly loved Karina, and that he would have been better for Karina than Halfdan.
Jarl Malte stepped forward, condemning Arnt for the murder of Halfdan. As Malte moved to take control of him, Arnt made a grab for Bjarne’s lowered knife, and earned a blow for his trouble. As Bjarne led Karina away, the villagers, many taking up rocks or sticks, began to close in, surrounding him.
...*...
Sitara blinked at the shell in her hand, coming out of a daze. Arnt was gone. When she realized Karina was no longer in sight, she rushed to the brothers’ longhouse. Halfdan’s brothers met her, and she extended her hand, clutching the token. They thanked her, and she answered, though she was not sure what she said as the weight of what she had carried finally broke on her, and she felt she would drown in her own brine.
She wept for Ture, who could not believe that one of his own would be capable of the violence he had witnessed second-hand in preparing the body. She wept for Dasha's loss. She wept for Bjarne, Hanne, and Hreidarr, who’d once more lost family, not to a creature of the Dark, but to a mere pathetic man. She wept for Karina and for Halfdan, for the future robbed from them...She wept for herself, and wept at the thought that had been haunting her since the night they’d arrived. She even had a tear to spare for Arnt, who, detestable though he was, had not worked up the courage to confess his feelings.
That night, Sitara stared up at the bejeweled cloak of the Dreamer. She was not entirely sure if she kept awakening, or if it was the drink allowing her mind to slip easily between thoughts, memories, and dreams. As the campfire embers spat their last breaths, she sat up, taking another swig before staring at the designs etched into her drinking horn. Perhaps if she held it to her ear like a shell, it would whisper secrets to her, like the sea. She chuckled softly to herself and rose.
Her feet carried her down the beach, toes sinking into the cool, coarse sand, the ever-present sound of the surf keeping the night’s rhythm, until she almost stumbled into one of the standing stones. Sitara stared up at them, their forms aglitter in the soft moonlight, their great shadows cast along the ground. This place thrummed with the Dream, and she closed her eyes, swaying with it.
When she opened them, she found herself at the center of the looming circle. Somehow she felt closer to those who weighed on her mind. She spoke with them at length, conversed about a great many things, and ruminated on even more, long after she had spent the last of her drink. By the time the crimson light of the Jeweled Traveler’s lantern began to appear, she felt some small kernel of peace in her exhausted heart.
...*...
The next morning, Vendela lamented that the crew’s first experience in her homeland had ended on such a grave note. She did not mention the murderer or utter his name. For his crime, his judgment was not merely execution, but erasure. The villagers, after dumping his remains at sea for the carrion and elements to finish, would never speak of him again.
After breakfast, the crew met with the Jarl. He gifted Sitara with an elaborate long knife as a sign of the debt of the Salomon family. Pulling the knife from its beautifully crafted leather sheath, Sitara examined the weapon: a fine steel blade with an ivory hilt, carved with runes and wrapped in twisted wrought iron.
The Jarl asked the crew if there was anything he could give them in payment. “GOATS!” The rest of the crew turned to stare at Dasha, whose excited outburst had come before anyone had even a chance to consider and now left them at a loss for what else to request
When Kasumi asked about the shipwreck, the Jarl was very diplomatic in his description of the possible contents of the ship. While he offered the crew the foreign contents of the ship, the Jarl asked that any Skenden artifacts be left with the wreck.
Sitara stopped by the brothers’ long house on the way back to speak with Karina, while the rest of the crew went ahead to prepare for their diving expedition. Though the forlorn Karina was grateful they had discovered the truth behind her beloved’s death, there was not much Sitara could say to console her. Sitara shared that her father had disappeared during the Long Dark, and she believed it was better to discover what happened to a loved one than to never know. That, and she had her brothers, who cared for her very much.
After wishing Katrina well, Bjarne met Sitara outside and thanked her once more. She asked Bjarne if he could translate the script incorporated into the designs on her drinking horn, as her knowledge of the language was mostly limited to colorful expletives. After taking a look at it, he asked her if she had not been told what it read. When she confirmed she hadn’t, he handed it back to her, explaining it was not for him to impart. She thanked him all the same, and headed off towards the beach to meet the crew.
...*...
With Mesi and Dasha on a longboat, Kasumi began exploring the wrecked Skenden longship. It appeared to have been heading towards shore when it went down, with the prow of the ship breaking off as it came to rest on the seafloor. After a few dives, and impressing Mesi and Dasha with his lung capacity, Kasumi found a chest in a compartment in the front of the ship. He brought it to the surface, and was amazed by its contents: silver coins, assorted gems and jewelry, including tigers’ eye, banded gems, and a set of trade necklaces. Dasha found a platinum ring amongst some completely deteriorated documents. Upon examination, Akash realized it bore the symbol of the Imperial Lotus, marking it as the property of the Imperial family or one of their retainers.
Amazed by their find, the crew decided to continue diving. With Akash providing support, Sitara and Kasumi found a pouch of small personal trinkets tucked under one of the benches as well as the remains of a shield outside the wreck. Perplexed by a strangely clear path along the seafloor that seemed to lead from the wreck towards the open ocean, the crew honored the Yarl’s wishes and left the trinkets and shield with the downed ship.
...*...
Upon their return to Viz Leany, they found the ship in quite the commotion. In addition to two kegs of mead for the crew, the Jarl had apparently delivered on Dasha’s request and brought them four goats. Emrys was desperately trying to fend off one who had taken an interest in his scarves, and Dasha set about to corral the creatures. While the two nannies seemed obedient enough, one of the billies possessed a firm conviction to devour the ropes coiled about the ship, and Emrys thus dubbed him Hedon, Destroyer of Ropes. It took a firm bop on the snout and a domineering stare from Kannuki to subdue the defiant goat. The crew realized it was going to take some effort to train the goats for shipboard life.
Mesi gave the other billy, who seemed rather intelligent, the name Akil, while Kannuki named one of the nannies Nami, or “Wave,” and Sitara called the other nanny Gizi, meaning “pledge.”
After bidding the village farewell, Viz Leany departed on the 3rd of the 5th moon, continuing their journey north.
...*...
Several days later, Kasumi proposed some additional tests for the Mon. Kasumi and Mesi attempted to use the Mon at the same time. Thougj he was able to gain control of it and use it, Mesi grew angry at having lost the Mon to him. When Dasha attempted to use the Mon to commune with the Dreamer, she had a vision of a sea witch colliding with a woman who emerged from the figurehead of the ship. Retiring to her bed, Dasha began having strange dreams before awakening and returning abovedecks.
Mesi attempted to use the Mon on her own to lift a spear using the wind, but to no avail. Akash attempted to channel the elements, but only succeeded in enhancing his own air abilities. Deciding to see how far he could push his talents, Akash called a storm and created a waterspout, slightly unsettling the sailors of the crew. Dasha, having seen this in one of her dreams, decided to go back to bed. Sitara amazed the crew by using the Mon to dash across the surface of the waves around the ship and free climb up to the figurehead.
Deciding on one more test, Kasumi took a kneeling position on the stern castle. Asking Diallo to watch him closely, Kasumi attempted to channel his energy into the Mon. Opening his eyes, Kasumi found himself in a void. Looking over, he saw a figure wrapped in dark cloth holding a spear. As he looked up, Kasumi felt himself reaching for the figure’s outstretched hand. Just before their hands touched, Kasumi felt himself collapse to the ship’s deck as Diallo knocked the Mon out of his hand. Realizing he had nearly died, and with a great pain in his chest, Kasumi was taken belowdecks to recover.
...*...
On the 11th of the 5th moon, Viz Leany entered Vargenspar, the mouth of the fjord leading to Vargarstaad. Soon they drew up to a damaged longship making its way steadily along the inlet, conveying far more men than a standard ship’s crew. Anticipating they would likely be too proud to accept help, Sitara conferred briefly with Vendala before hailing Depth’s Teeth. She approached the captain, Nymon Ostergaard Ingmar Djuptand, with an offer of trade, and secured some barrels of oil in exchange for some of their grain. With Sitara agreeing to carry their cargo to Vargarstaad for Captain Ingmar, they roped the ships together and hosted members of Depth’s Teeth in order to “secure” the traded cargo.
Over the next two days, the crew of Viz Leany learned from the Skenden sailors that many of them had been sailors on the whaling ship Deep Tide, captained by Ingmar’s cousin Holger Andreas Langjakt. The two ships were hunting a great leviathan that had been attacking Skenden fishing vessels when Deep Tide was lost, along with her captain and many of her crew, leaving Depth’s Teeth to limp back to Vargarstaad overloaded.
...*...
Arriving in Vargarstaad, the crew was invited to the celebration of the fallen to be held that evening. As Vendela went to visit her family, the crew toured the city. Checking out the shops along the main thoroughfare, Akash had some difficulty finding a buyer for his jewelry, until he came upon the shop of Larsson Dyhr Aron Hammaren, a smith who mainly sold fine weapons, along with some jewelry. Aron agreed to consign a few of Akash’s pieces and purchased some gems. Impressed by the Captain’s Ash-Sh’b scimitars, Aron shared a lively discussion with Sitara about decoration and adornment. When the crew inquired about finding bone and ivory for carving, they discovered Aron was friends with both Ingmar and Andreas. Upset by the news of Andreas’ death, Aron retreated into his work
Spending the rest of the day shopping and exploring the city, the crew found themselves struck by the differences between Vargarstaad and Xien La. Having been recently rebuilt, Vargarstaad was much more simply arranged and far less extravagant. With far fewer shops and only a handful of foreigners about, the crew felt somewhat out of place.
That evening, the crew bore witness to a mass funeral of the fallen of the two whaling ships. With few words spoken by Ingmar, the bodies of the dead were burned on a series of pyres and their spirits sent to the halls of the Lord of Flame. After the fires had burned down, the crew followed the locals to a mead hall owned by Olhouser Stennen Eirikur, a great barrel of a man. Finding themselves quite fond of Eirikur’s mead, Kasumi and Akash proceeded to get drunk.
As Sitara went to fetch herself more drink, she felt a sharp smack on her rump. She turned to find the offending hand belonged to a heavily intoxicated man, and she good-naturedly dismissed his advances. Despite his friends’ counsel, Bernt persisted, suggesting he could show her how to use those swords, and so Sitara humored him, drawing her blades as he clumsily waved about his own. Bernt floundered through the bloodless “duel” until Sitara finished the exchange with a swift spank to his rear with the flat of her blade, much to the amusement of those assembled.
After the night’s merriment, Dasha, feeling rather affected by the mead, staggered her way back towards the ship, while Sitara and Mesi chose to sleep it off in one of the mead hall’s side rooms.
...*...
The next morning, Dasha awoke to find herself on the floor of the Captain’s quarters on Viz Leany. Aside from the usual assortment of curios and trinkets, she found the Captain’s desk littered with fragments of poetry on pieces of parchment and bits of etched metal, as well as engraving tools. Joining the crew for breakfast in the mess, Dasha learned they had found her passed out on the docks that night and Kannuki had carried her aboard.
Once Sitara and Mesi awoke, they returned to the hall to find Akash and Kasumi, still very much inebriated. Determined to prove their sobriety, the men stumbled towards the door to greet the morning sun--only for Akash to nearly pass out from the rush of cold air as they flung open the door. The pair wisely chose to head to bed, and Mesi went to see Bassim for a hangover remedy.
Sitara made her way to Aron’s shop, to see about repairing the dings the drunken Bernt had left on her swords. Afterwards, she went in search of Vendela. She found her brother-in-law, Skalla Oster Sigfrodr Garvare, at his tannery just outside the city. He sent his son, Mikael, to take Sitara to their home, though the boy insisted she call him Trasvard.
The boy brought Sitara to a modest longhouse, where Vendela invited her in and introduced her family. Vendela‘s sister Dorthe called out for her daughter Katherine, but for several minutes they only caught glimpses of the shy girl until her curiosity finally coaxed her out from hiding.
The boy, who had been eyeing her scimitars the entire way, finally asked Sitara if she really was a warrior. Sitara replied that she was no soldier, but many times she had fought to defend herself or protect others, so yes, she supposed she was. He seemed satisfied, but Vendela warned her that amongst the Skenden, Sitara’s swords marked her as a warrior, and in carrying them, she might be challenged to prove that honor.
The reason Mikael wished to be called Trasvard, "wooden sword", was because he had a notion for his deed name already. Vendela remarked with amusement that the boy took after his mother and would surely earn a deed name as proud as hers. Despite her sister’s embarrassment, Vendela recounted the tale of how, when Mikael was very young, Dorthe had bravely defended her child against a walrus bull, and slew the beast, earning the name Valrossbanan. After chatting with the sisters, Sitara spent some time “training” Mikael in swordplay.
As Dasha and Mesi were returning to the ship, they ran into a middle-aged Dascean man accompanying a young woman with flaming red hair. When they inquired where they might stable their horses and find lodging, Dasha directed them to the city. Finding their way to Eirikur’s, the strange pair noticed Akash, but kept their distance while bartering with the inkeep for room and board.
...*...
As the crew gathered for breakfast the next day, the newcomers approached them and introduced themselves. Lisbeth and her uncle Kort had come to Vargarstaad in search of someone, though whom they would not say. At first, Lisbeth asked the crew’s recommendation for how she might ingratiate herself with the locals, though eventually she offered to assist the crew in return for information about a woman they were seeking, named Gaflveggr Astrid Isabrot. Suspecting the personal importance of the young woman’s search and sympathetic to her efforts, Sitara promised to discover what she could if Lisbeth and her uncle could make themselves useful on the ship in the meantime.
As Dasha was meeting with Eirikur to strike a deal for Viz Leany’s cargo, Sitara went to Vendela to learn who she should speak to about lending their aid with the leviathan. While Vargarstaad was governed by a council of elders from each of the major clans, a matter such as this fell under the jurisdiction of Nyman Nyman Mathias Kroken, the elder in charge of its fleet.
Better acquainted now with how to approach the proud Skenden with offers of assistance, Sitara sought out Mathias, prepared with a bargain: she would lend her crew and ship, armed with three ballistae, to the endeavor of hunting the beast which had plagued their longships, in exchange for a share of the spoils and for a chance to learn from the great northern sailors. Amused by her gumption, he accepted and they settled on a modest but fair percentage of the take once the leviathan’s carcass had been brought back to Vargarstaad.
The Captain returned to Eirikur’s to share the news of her deal with Mathias to find the conversation with new companions had turned tense upon the revelation that Akash was Jinn-blooded. While the Ash-sh’b viewed those like Akash as gifted with a blessing of the Jinn somewhere in their bloodline, the more well-traveled amongst the crew knew that Dasceans viewed such people with suspicion at best, and outright hostility at worst.
In Lisbeth’s home, they were dubbed the Cursed or Tainted, granted with dark powers by the enigmatic and evil goddess Sebile, the Witch. Lisbeth listened, exchanging glances with her uncle, as the crew defended Akash’s presence on their ship as a boon in their sea voyages and adventures.
Though the crew could still perceive their nervousness, in the end, Lisbeth and Kort agreed to uphold their end of their bargain and accompany Viz Leany on the leviathan hunt. It was worth the danger, she decided, if it could gain her the favor of those who could help her learn about the woman she sought, who Lisbeth confirmed was in fact her mother.
Afterwards, Akash spent some time attempting to gather stories of those such as himself amongst the Skenden. While he found few tales, he did receive friendly words of caution. The Skenden bore no ill will towards those like Akash who used their abilities to help others and showed the proper respect; however, those who abused their power for selfish gain were known to be abominations, corrupted by the Old Gods.
Meanwhile, the Captain met with Jian and Aron to discuss armaments for the upcoming hunt. While Jian, Nimat, and Emrys were all capable of using the ship’s three ballistae, Emrys preferred his own longbow, and Mesi and Kasumi elected to begin training on the ballistae as well.
Dasha gave Lisbeth and Kort a tour of Viz Leany and introduced their crew. In the mess, they met Kasumi, who had finally recovered from his night of drinking, and while the two Dasceans were initially startled by Kannuki’s appearance, tempers settled as he went about his duties onboard ship.
...*...
The next morning, Mathias visited Viz Leany to inform them they would depart on their venture at dawn the next day, with his ship Stormvargen and possibly one other. Sitara followed after him to inquire if he might be familiar with the person Lisbeth was seeking, and if he knew of Sitara’s own father, Nasim bin Ashlaf Hariri.
Mathias revealed Sitara’s father had been in Vargarstaad some time before his disappearance during the Long Dark, and that he was well thought of amongst the Skenden. Mathias also confirmed that he knew of the person Lisbeth sought, and if he was satisfied that Lisbeth was who she claimed to be, he would give her that information. Though Sitara requested it as a favor, Mathias stated plainly that knowledge of the state of one’s family was something that should never be held over a person.
Returning to the ship, Dasha found Sitara in a very pensive mood. After Sitara shared what she had learned, Dasha assured her that she felt certain her father, wherever he was, was surely doing everything in his power to return home to her. Though Sitara agreed that yes, her father would do everything he could, Dasha felt that Sitara’s realization had not brought hope, but rather a mournful acceptance.
Once Vendela arrived back at the ship, Kasumi inquired if they might commission her brother-in-law to craft a leather harness, describing a design he had contrived so one could wear the Mon without having to hold it in hand. As Vendela agreed to see what Sigfrodr could do, Mesi tried her hand at using the Mon once more, reveling in its power as she launched a spear all the way across the harbor, much to the amazement of the assembled sailors.
Dasha had just set about carving amulets of the hunt for the crew when Akash approached her for assistance. He showed her a manuscript page he had acquired in Rhakosis, which he believed was originally from an Oami text. While Dasha confirmed it was in fact in Oami, she found it most strange, for while the Oami did possess a written language, they kept no texts, as their histories and stories were passed down orally by their lore keepers. Seeing as she could barely make out the meaning of the script, Dasha believed it to be from a very old source indeed.
Sitara set out about town to spread word of the hunt. After quite a bit of carousing and finding some willing recruits, Sitara found one man unmoved by her calls to action, first insulting her, then questioning her blades, and her honor. After some tense words, she met his challenge, drawing her sword, though the Skenden man proved the faster with his long knife. A quick exchange gave both fighters a respect for the other.
When given a chance to stand down, Sitara, uncertain of her opponent, continued the attack. Finding themselves evenly matched, Sitara drew him in. As he attempted to cut her attack short, he found himself caught in a second stroke which drove her sword into his side. The man, painfully wounded, broke into raucous laughter and demanded a round for the pair. Finding a new drinking partner in Gulbrand Caj, the two drank into the night, vowing to see each other in the morn for the hunt.
...*...
At dawn on the 17th of the 5th moon, Viz Leany, accompanying Storm Wolf, captained by Mathias Kroken, and Breakwave, captained by Ingmar Djuptan, set sail to pursue the elusive and deadly leviathan.
A few days later the ships stopped along the coast and their crews spent some time socializing amongst themselves. Having noticed the Captain’s drinking horn appeared to be intricately carved with Skenden patterns and designs, Lisbeth complemented the craftsmanship and inquired about the piece. Sitara showed it to her, explaining she received it as a gift on her sixteenth birthday from a Skenden lad her father had adopted when they were children.
At supper, the crews gave tribute to ensure the favor of the Lord of Flame and the Queen of Winter on their endeavor. Sitara performed a blade dance, both graceful and turbulent at once, as an offering, and Mesi likewise demonstrated an athletic and powerful spear form. The crews’ spirits invigorated for the hunt ahead, they continued their journey into the Sea of Ice.
...*...
After a week and a day of sailing, they were finally approaching the waters of the leviathan attacks, putting everyone on their guard. After sailing for several more hours, the crew spotted a pod of small white whales. The creatures rode their wake and swam playfully about their bow, entertaining the crew, until suddenly they scattered. Spotting a surge in the water, Emrys called out and Akash blasting a warning to the two longships.
The creature which was speeding towards them just under the surface resembled a great whale, though its head appeared to be solid bone, with two great black orbs for eyes, and dark, rough scaly skin running along its back. It rammed the longships repeatedly, tossing many sailors overboard. As it turned straight for Viz Leany next, only Akash’s quick thinking and power prevented it from impacting ship as he commanded the winds, driving air beneath the hull to lift the ship briefly at the last moment.
In the midst of the chaos, Lisbeth reached out to the pod of small whales with her thoughts, in hopes of summoning allies. While she felt her mind touch theirs, the creature’s primal fear of the leviathan flooded her senses, sending her into a panic.
When the beast turned to charge Viz Leany, Kasumi shot a ballista bolt into the creature’s palate. Taking hold of a rope, Sitara swung herself down along the side of the ship to stab her blade into the beast’s hide as she passed it by.
As the battle raged on, the three ships drew close. The creature drove itself into Storm Wolf, ramming the longboat. Having regained her composure, Lisbeth called out once more to the pod of whales. This time, they regrouped and shot in at the leviathan, surrounding it and driving it off. As the beast retreated, Storm Wolf managed to right itself and the crews steeled themselves for the next strike.
They had barely recovered when Mesi spotted the leviathan speeding back towards the longships. With impeccable aim, she stuck a harpoon into the creature’s shoulder just below its flipper. The beast thrashed in rage and dove out of sight.
As the crew of Viz Leany felt the sea begin to lift the ship up beneath them, Akash called upon the winds just in time to keep the ship aright as the creature breached the surface between the ships. Crashing into Storm Wolf, the beast thrashed about, slamming the longship repeatedly.
In a moment of valiant determination, Sitara took a running start on the deck, grabbed a rope and swung overboard, launching herself at the beast, drawing both swords mid-air as she hurtled towards the leviathan, until—she fell just short of it, landing in the water near the creature’s head, still brandishing her blades.
Lisbeth attempted to reach out to the leviathan with her mind to calm it, but was instead driven into a fury by the beast’s own unquenchable rage. Finally discerning Lizbeth’s true nature and realizing what she had been doing, Akash called out to her, forcing her mind back into herself, just as the leviathan opened its massive jaws, swallowing Captain Sitara whole. Not about to be outdone by a little southerner, Mathias leapt from his own ship and lay into the beast with hook and ax.
Realizing things had taken a dire turn, Kasumi ran to the Captain’s quarters to retrieve the Mon. As Kasumi searched her cabin, Ingmar rammed the leviathan with the Breakwave, raining spears and harpoons down upon it. Akash, in a frenzy, leapt from Viz Leany and drove a spear into the creature, driving it deeper and deeper as Viz Leany rammed the creature’s exposed tail, preventing it from turning.
Kasumi ran out onto the deck and, upon realizing the captain was nowhere to be seen, correctly assumed she had jumped off the side of the ship to face the whale in single combat. After a moment of mental and emotional crisis, Kasumi handed Mesi the Mon, urging she rescue the Captain from her madness.
Mesi successfully jumped atop the whale and ran along its upturned belly of the beast before launching herself upwards and driving her spear down through the leviathan’s jaw and into its brain, finally killing it. As the aura of the Mon slowly faded, more gradually than before, Sitara wrenched the beast’s jaws open with her swords, pulling herself free.
Celebrating the beast’s demise and the bravery of their Captains, the crews spent some time recovering from their ordeal and making the necessary repairs to sail back with their quarry. Lashing the carcass between the longships, with Viz Leany towing it, they made their way steadily back to Vargarstaad.
...*...
As they began their journey back, Akash approached Lisbeth about what had happened during the leviathan attack, and spoke with her at length about her mysterious affinity with beasts. Though he understood her earlier hesitation to reveal her nature, he urged Lisbeth not to be ashamed of her strange powers, but to embrace them, encouraging her to practice to gain better control over them. Akash felt a sense of joy at finding another Jinn-blooded, and pride at being able to help her as he had had no one to help him. Reassuring her that she was not alone, Akash told her there were others in the world like them, and that they should look out for one another.
One afternoon, Dasha began to notice odd behavior in some of the birds that were circling the ships. She witnessed an eagle attacking a tern, when a kite swooped in at the eagle, driving it off. Believing she had experienced a vision, she confided in the Captain about the strange occurrence and asked her thoughts on it.
After confirming that the strange sight was not, in fact, Lizbeth’s doing, the two Oami wondered at its possible meaning. Sitara did her best, though she had little to offer Dasha, as she had no real practice reading dreams, much less waking dreams. They did, however, discuss at length several matters of faith--dreams, visions, and Visatori.
Meanwhile, Kasumi was very interested in how the Mon had reacted to Mesi’s slaying of the Leviathan. Kasumi noted that Mesi appeared to have avoided the backlash of using the Mon and wasn't fatigued at all. Kasumi hypothesized that due to the dark nature of the Mon, it may be connected to death on some level and perhaps taking a life pays the toll that the user typically pays.
...*...
When they arrived back in Vargarstaad on the 6th of the 6th moon, Mathias held a presentation on the beach in front of the beached creature, dubbing Viz Leany’s crew Falane, Beastbane. The rest of the day was spent in celebration, with Kasumi getting involved in a drinking challenge and some members of the crew finding company with the locals.
Though some were still recovering from the celebration, the crew each went about their own business the next morning.
As he had promised, Mathias met with Lisbeth and revealed the truth about her mother. Gaflveggr Astrid Isabrot, whom he had known personally, was a brave warrior who had fought alongside the great Eindride in the reclaiming of Vargarstaad. She had died honorably during the battle and was now entombed in the great ice cave of Ishell with the other fallen Daughters of Eindride.
After learning of her mother’s fate, Lisbeth returned to Viz Leany, where Akash was waiting. Offering his assistance, Akash accompanied Lisbeth into the forest so that she might practice and hone her mystical talents.
Salomon Salomon Ketil Vargsfang visited the crew of Viz Leany, and thanked them for the service he understood they rendered his kin in Bystenar. They gifted the elder with a gold necklace set with rubies and sapphires Akash had crafted for him over the course of their journey to Vargarstaad. Afterwards, Sitara sought out her friend Caj, wishing to learn more about the Skenden style of knife-fighting. After several rounds of sparring, Sitara began to learn what to anticipate from his attacks, and how better to counter them.
...*...
Meanwhile, Kasumi and Mesi traveled into the forest to practice with the Mon. Killing a stag easily enough, Kasumi convinced Mesi to hunt for something more dangerous. Tracking down a bear, the two opened with their bows. The bear, unimpressed by their arrows, charged them.
Mesi stabbed it with her spear, thinking to bring it down, but was surprised at its resilience. As the bear viciously mauled Mesi, she found herself drawing upon the well of power bound in the harness on her chest. She felt a presence pass through her as she twisted her spear into the beast, returning its roar with matched ferocity. Refusing to go quietly, the bear latched on, sinking its teeth into her shoulder before finally succumbing to its wounds.
Kasumi, in a panic, managed to pull Mesi out from under the bear's corpse and out of the clearing. Mesi limped with Kasumi's help for some time before she finally collapsed. Drawing upon the Mon himself, Kasumi carried Mesi out of the forest in a blind run, finally emerging from the forest's edge before collapsing himself.
...*...
Dasha and Sitara were informed that two of their crew had been found bloodied in the forest. Arriving at the healer’s, they found Mesi heavily bandaged, with Kasumi also unconscious but seemingly unharmed. Akash and Lisbeth, returning from their training, also heard of the pair’s condition and made all speed to the healer’s. An intense conversation followed amongst the crew, with a solemn Kasumi apologizing and admitting he had made a terrible mistake which had almost cost Mesi her life. With Kasumi appropriately chastised, Dasha, Kasumi and Lisbeth went to retrieve the stag and bear the pair had killed, returning with it late that night.
The next day Mesi was able to return to the ship. Though her wounds were severe, she was suffering even more from her extended use of the Mon. Kasumi, in a similar condition sans the physical wounds, was also in for some much needed rest.
While they were recovering, both Mesi and Kasumi saw similar visions of the cloaked figure with a spear, troubling the two. Mesi, Kasumi and Akash spoke about the implications of overusing the Mon, with Kasumi suggesting that using the Mon too frequently could kill them, or even allow the Mon to influence them. It was agreed that they should use the Mon sparingly and there should always be more than one person present when testing it.
...*...
Later, Mathias arrived with the crew’s share of the leviathan’s bounty, including crates of meat, blubber, and bone, barrels of oil, smaller barrels of a special refined oil, a crate of whale stones, and a case of twenty leviathan teeth. Sitara divvied the teeth amongst the crew members, setting aside one tooth for their patron, and the rest as cargo. She went to Aron’s shop to commission a copper pendant, in addition to securing from him some worked metal to deliver to her mother’s clan.
That evening, Sitara, Akash, and Dasha dined at Eirikur’s. While they were roundly greeted by the regulars, they were somewhat surprised when another traveler approached them--an Oami, at that. Introducing herself as a wanderer named Masha, she was very inquisitive about their adventures, and seemed to take a fancy to Dasha. Once Sitara and Akash took their leave, Masha continued to flirt vigorously until Dasha finally bid her goodnight, leaving her disappointed.
The next day, the crew met for lunch at Eirikur’s and Sitara agreed to take on Masha as a passenger for the voyage to the Oamre Forest. Somewhat dismayed at the prospect of their ardent new passenger, Dasha returned to the ship and visited Mesi in her quarters, delivering a cape she had made from the fur of the bear Mesi had slain, with its head as the hood.
...*...
Viz Leany departed from Vargarstaad on the 11th of 6th moon to sail towards the Oamre Forest, to the section of coast traveled by the Krejci, Sitara’s mother’s clan. Shortly after boarding, Masha ran into Kannuki belowdecks. Though initially startled by his presence, she allowed herself to be comforted by Dasha. Professing her love for the beautiful giantess, Masha stole a kiss, leaving Dasha confused and upset.
Later, Masha approached the Captain, hoping to enlist her aid in winning Dasha’s affections. Amused, but aware of Dasha’s discomfort, Sitara politely declined, though she offered Masha some tidbits about Dasha’s interests, including her fondness for animals.
The crew stopped at Bystenar on the eve of the 19th, spending the night in the longhouse built in their honor. Dasha spent time communing with the stone circle while Akash took rubbings of the very faint markings on the stones. Sitara met with Karina to ask about how things had been since their last visit.
Masha offered to pay Kasumi to set up an amiable encounter with Dasha, which Kasumi appeared to accept, also bringing Akash in on the plan. Unbeknownst to Masha, Kasumi and Akash were actually plotting to put her in a defenseless situation so they could interrogate her about her intentions. Unfortunately, the scheme was cut short when Sitara caught the two carrying Hedon out in the middle of the night. After scolding the two idiots for what she assumed was another attempt to torment Dasha, they returned the cantankerous goat and decided to leave Masha alone for the time being.
...*...
As the weeks passed, Dasha became unusually preoccupied, though her brooding was often interrupted by Masha’s unabated flirting. When Dasha was finally forced to put her foot down, Kasumi and Akash confronted Masha, demanding to know her true motivations. Masha confessed to the crew that she was a bounty hunter who had been hired by the Larinovna to track down their wayward daughter and convince her to come home—ergo the seduction.
Dasha finally admitted, both to herself and her friends, that she had decided it was time to return home. While her companions were rather taken aback by these revelations, the bounty hunter recovered fairly quickly from the shock. Glancing around the room, Masha inquired, “So...Do I still get the reward?”
On the 15th of the 7th moon, the morning of Dasha’s 28th birthday, the party spied the massive looming spires of the Oamre Forest.
At breakfast the next morning, Lukas, one of the villagers, explained that the four lads had adopted one another after their parents had perished during the Long Dark. Though unrelated by blood, the bond they shared was as strong as any familial one. The young lady in mourning, he told them, was Karina, Bjarne’s sister by blood. She and Halfdan had been betrothed, as they had recently been to the standing stones together.
The crew visited the brothers’ long house to offer their condolences and support in tracking down the beast which had slain Halfdan. Hreidarr took them to the home of the village healer so they could discover more about what happened to Halfdan. When the healer, Salomon Lykke Ture Kirurg, described the wounds Halfdan sustained, Kasumi, thinking of his shuko claws, realized the gashes were irregular, and not patterned as an animal’s claws would be. The flesh was also rough and torn, as though cut with a serrated edge, which reminded Sitara of the kinds of wounds received from saw-jawed fish. Ture informed them that knives made from such fish were common in Bystenar, and they could see in his eyes that he himself had harbored doubts about the origins of Halfdan’s wounds. Troubled by these implications, the crew decided to split up to continue their investigation.
...*...
Kasumi and Sitara took their concerns to the village Jarl, Salomon Salomon Malta Storhuset. The Jarl had already come to a similar conclusion, but lacked the evidence to pursue the culprit. With Halfdan’s defensive wounds, his knife not yet found, and the consensus that he would have fought back, they surmised that he might have also inflicted wounds on his attacker. Sitara suggested that perhaps if the men of the village were put to work on some hard labor in the summer sun—something to get the men shirtless—it might become apparent if anyone had new injuries or were attempting to hide fresh wounds without calling attention to the search.
Meanwhile, Hreidarr took Mesi and Dasha to look for Karina. Eventually they found her at the circle of standing stones. As Dasha spoke with the grieving young woman, Mesi realized Karina wished to join Halfdan in the afterlife. Mesi attempted to offer words of consolation, only to have Karina withdraw to the comfort of the stones. As they returned to Hreidarr, Mesi confided in Dasha her impression of Karina. When Dasha expressed their concern to Hreidarr, he took great offense, replying angrily that Karina would never contemplate such a thing.
Sitara and Kasumi began to search the area where Halfdan was killed for both his and the attacker’s weapons. After discovering nothing on the beach, Sitara and Kasumi then went diving in the shallows. While Kasumi couldn't find any trace of a knife, he did see the wreck of a Skenden ship, but it was too far out for the knife to have made it there. Still on the hunt for any lead, Kasumi decided to leave the wreck alone until after this mystery had been solved. Meanwhile, the jarl called the village together and set them to clearing the tree line along the northern side of the village, to build a longhouse in honor of Halfdan.
Mesi and Dasha sought out Vendela to gain a better insight on how to navigate more delicate topics amongst the people of Bystenar. She explained Hreidarr’s emotional ourburst was rooted in the Skenden belief that suicide was a coward’s death, and therefore taboo.
Meeting back up with Hreidarr, they apologized for their earlier faux pas, and he acknowledged their intent had not been ill. He also informed them they had found Halfdan’s knife amongst his belongings, which meant he would have been unarmed the night he was killed. They also discovered Karina and Halfdan had just made their engagement official earlier that very evening.
They returned to the beach to pass along this new information to Sitara and Kasumi. While Kasumi chose to continue his search beneath the waves, Sitara returned to the village with the others. If Halfdan had been unarmed, it was unlikely that he left any obvious cuts on his attacker, however it was still possible he could have inflicted some damage.
They spent some time watching the villagers clear land. Vendela lent her axe to the cause as well, felling a tree with a single swing, impressing several of the menfolk. Mesi and Dasha spotted a few of the villagers favoring body parts, and some who were injured. Ivar, Ture said, was still healing from chest wounds left by a stag he’d grappled with. Georg had hurt himself while wrestling with his friend Esbjorn, though not badly enough to stop. An older man called Somar walked with a limp, which Ture explained was from an old fishing accident. However, they saw no one sporting any suspicious wounds or injuries.
Growing restless, Sitara pondered other avenues of investigation to approach. Accompanied by Mesi and Dasha, she sought out Karina and found her at the brothers’ long house. Sitara gently asked the despondent young woman if she had noticed if any of Halfdan’s belongings were missing after they found him. Karina shook her head and Bjarne confirmed they had not noticed anything when they had prepared his body. When Sitara inquired if there had perhaps been any exchanged tokens of affection, the expression of horror that dawned on Karina’s face as she began to sob uncontrollably confirmed that either the token was in fact missing, or worse yet, that she might have been too distraught to check for it that night. Sitara vowed to find the token and swiftly left.
Mesi looked to Bjarne, who had watched the exchange with a cold rage growing in his eyes, though she sensed it was not directed at them. Mesi asked if she’d had any other suitors, and Bjarne replied that while there had been some before Halfdan, there were no others recently that he knew of. Dasha learned from Karina that she had given Halfdan a carved piece of shell in the colors of the dawn sky, and set off to inform Sitara, while Bjarne asked Mesi if she would send for his brothers. Dasha found Sitara engrossed in a frenzied search along the same beach she had combed earlier for the missing weapons. She described the token to Sitara, and tentatively offered to lend a hand. However, Sitara urged Dasha to find some other useful task to help the investigation, to help Karina...whatever was necessary.
...*...
Once left to her searching, Sitara meditated on Karina and Halfdan’s plight, and why it affected her so...The tragedy of his death just after their betrothal had initially made her question whether a beast was indeed responsible. The nightmares of the Long Dark were terrifying, relentless, and remorseless, but even they were not endowed with such a cruel sense of timing. Though she cringed at the thought that someone was capable of such an act, the more they discovered, the more her fears felt confirmed. And the more she thought on it, the more she was certain this crime was fueled by rage...a jealous rage...Someone’s hopes had been dashed by their betrothal, perhaps a suitor who had been rejected.
Her stomach turned and her hands stopped clawing at the sea grasses as a memory swept across her thoughts, bringing an encore of intense pangs, now accompanied by a cacophony of sorrow, guilt, anger, and longing. She sat and stared out at the receding tide, the waves rushing in before pulling further away.
Finally, her hands clenched in the sand. No matter how her emotions took hold of her, she thought, she could never do anything to harm anyone she held dear. Whoever this person was, they had forever destroyed the happiness of the one they believed they loved. She had to find Karina’s token if it had fallen. And if it had not...she would find whoever had taken it.
...*...
While the captain searched for the lost betrothal token, Dasha, Mesi and Kasumi spoke with the villagers about the relationship between Karina and Halfdan. Speaking with Linnae, a close friend of Karina’s, they discovered that Karina had several admirers in the village before choosing Halfdan. One of the suitors, Solberg Mats, seemed to have moved on, spending his time with another young woman, Ness Malin. Linnae confessed that Karina had a secret admirer whose tokens she had discarded, deeming any man not confident enough to approach her openly to be not worth her time.
While the others returned to the brothers’ home with this news, Kasumi found Sitara still hunting along the beach, and told her of the secret admirer. Sitara set off to the construction site with renewed vigor, determined to suss out the scorned admirer. Meanwhile, Karina described to the party one of the tokens she received: a spiral-shaped piece of wood with flowers sprouting from it. The brothers went to speak to the jarl to see if he recognized it. Mesi and Dasha followed, running into Sitara and Ture along the way. Ture recalled having seen the token, admitting it had been harvested by a young woodsman named Arnt.
As Dasha went to tell the jarl, Sitara followed Ture’s gaze, making a swift line to this Arnt. She recalled the Storhuset’s warning that accusations of crimes were taken very seriously and required evidence. Drawing one of her blades, in a smooth motion she cut some pouches from his belt, spilling their contents, but there was nothing but herbs and twisted roots, similar to what Ture had described. Furious, Sitara demanded Karina’s token, as Kasumi and Mesi caught up and attempted to address the situation calmly. Sitara challenged Arnt to reveal the contents of his person, while he denied any involvement with Karina or Halfdan.
The jarl and Halfdan’s brothers having also arrived, the former charged her to explain the basis of her accusation. Knowing well the stakes, but firm in her conviction, Sitara imparted to the villagers the sequence of their discoveries and their conclusions drawn from them. At first, they seemed unwilling to believe it, but the more she revealed, the more uncertain they became. Sitara confirmed she suspected Arnt, but was stopped before she could finish searching him for Karina’s token.
Ture urged Arnt to show them he had nothing to hide, to prove his innocence. Arnt turned out the last of his pouches and insisted they could search his home. Unconvinced, Sitara demanded he remove his bracers and boots, and she saw his hesitation. When the villagers pressed him, he complied, and she snatched away the bracers, running her fingers along the edges. There. She pulled something small from the fold of the cuff—a carved shell, in the colors of the sunrise.
Arnt began to claim he had found the token when Bjarne interrupted him with a knife to his throat, threatening to cut his head off. Sitara urged them that the worst punishment any of them could inflict would be to force him to explain himself to the woman he claimed to love. Appearing from the crowd, Karina approached him, and simply asked, “Why?” Arnt claimed that he truly loved Karina, and that he would have been better for Karina than Halfdan.
Jarl Malte stepped forward, condemning Arnt for the murder of Halfdan. As Malte moved to take control of him, Arnt made a grab for Bjarne’s lowered knife, and earned a blow for his trouble. As Bjarne led Karina away, the villagers, many taking up rocks or sticks, began to close in, surrounding him.
...*...
Sitara blinked at the shell in her hand, coming out of a daze. Arnt was gone. When she realized Karina was no longer in sight, she rushed to the brothers’ longhouse. Halfdan’s brothers met her, and she extended her hand, clutching the token. They thanked her, and she answered, though she was not sure what she said as the weight of what she had carried finally broke on her, and she felt she would drown in her own brine.
She wept for Ture, who could not believe that one of his own would be capable of the violence he had witnessed second-hand in preparing the body. She wept for Dasha's loss. She wept for Bjarne, Hanne, and Hreidarr, who’d once more lost family, not to a creature of the Dark, but to a mere pathetic man. She wept for Karina and for Halfdan, for the future robbed from them...She wept for herself, and wept at the thought that had been haunting her since the night they’d arrived. She even had a tear to spare for Arnt, who, detestable though he was, had not worked up the courage to confess his feelings.
That night, Sitara stared up at the bejeweled cloak of the Dreamer. She was not entirely sure if she kept awakening, or if it was the drink allowing her mind to slip easily between thoughts, memories, and dreams. As the campfire embers spat their last breaths, she sat up, taking another swig before staring at the designs etched into her drinking horn. Perhaps if she held it to her ear like a shell, it would whisper secrets to her, like the sea. She chuckled softly to herself and rose.
Her feet carried her down the beach, toes sinking into the cool, coarse sand, the ever-present sound of the surf keeping the night’s rhythm, until she almost stumbled into one of the standing stones. Sitara stared up at them, their forms aglitter in the soft moonlight, their great shadows cast along the ground. This place thrummed with the Dream, and she closed her eyes, swaying with it.
When she opened them, she found herself at the center of the looming circle. Somehow she felt closer to those who weighed on her mind. She spoke with them at length, conversed about a great many things, and ruminated on even more, long after she had spent the last of her drink. By the time the crimson light of the Jeweled Traveler’s lantern began to appear, she felt some small kernel of peace in her exhausted heart.
...*...
The next morning, Vendela lamented that the crew’s first experience in her homeland had ended on such a grave note. She did not mention the murderer or utter his name. For his crime, his judgment was not merely execution, but erasure. The villagers, after dumping his remains at sea for the carrion and elements to finish, would never speak of him again.
After breakfast, the crew met with the Jarl. He gifted Sitara with an elaborate long knife as a sign of the debt of the Salomon family. Pulling the knife from its beautifully crafted leather sheath, Sitara examined the weapon: a fine steel blade with an ivory hilt, carved with runes and wrapped in twisted wrought iron.
The Jarl asked the crew if there was anything he could give them in payment. “GOATS!” The rest of the crew turned to stare at Dasha, whose excited outburst had come before anyone had even a chance to consider and now left them at a loss for what else to request
When Kasumi asked about the shipwreck, the Jarl was very diplomatic in his description of the possible contents of the ship. While he offered the crew the foreign contents of the ship, the Jarl asked that any Skenden artifacts be left with the wreck.
Sitara stopped by the brothers’ long house on the way back to speak with Karina, while the rest of the crew went ahead to prepare for their diving expedition. Though the forlorn Karina was grateful they had discovered the truth behind her beloved’s death, there was not much Sitara could say to console her. Sitara shared that her father had disappeared during the Long Dark, and she believed it was better to discover what happened to a loved one than to never know. That, and she had her brothers, who cared for her very much.
After wishing Katrina well, Bjarne met Sitara outside and thanked her once more. She asked Bjarne if he could translate the script incorporated into the designs on her drinking horn, as her knowledge of the language was mostly limited to colorful expletives. After taking a look at it, he asked her if she had not been told what it read. When she confirmed she hadn’t, he handed it back to her, explaining it was not for him to impart. She thanked him all the same, and headed off towards the beach to meet the crew.
...*...
With Mesi and Dasha on a longboat, Kasumi began exploring the wrecked Skenden longship. It appeared to have been heading towards shore when it went down, with the prow of the ship breaking off as it came to rest on the seafloor. After a few dives, and impressing Mesi and Dasha with his lung capacity, Kasumi found a chest in a compartment in the front of the ship. He brought it to the surface, and was amazed by its contents: silver coins, assorted gems and jewelry, including tigers’ eye, banded gems, and a set of trade necklaces. Dasha found a platinum ring amongst some completely deteriorated documents. Upon examination, Akash realized it bore the symbol of the Imperial Lotus, marking it as the property of the Imperial family or one of their retainers.
Amazed by their find, the crew decided to continue diving. With Akash providing support, Sitara and Kasumi found a pouch of small personal trinkets tucked under one of the benches as well as the remains of a shield outside the wreck. Perplexed by a strangely clear path along the seafloor that seemed to lead from the wreck towards the open ocean, the crew honored the Yarl’s wishes and left the trinkets and shield with the downed ship.
...*...
Upon their return to Viz Leany, they found the ship in quite the commotion. In addition to two kegs of mead for the crew, the Jarl had apparently delivered on Dasha’s request and brought them four goats. Emrys was desperately trying to fend off one who had taken an interest in his scarves, and Dasha set about to corral the creatures. While the two nannies seemed obedient enough, one of the billies possessed a firm conviction to devour the ropes coiled about the ship, and Emrys thus dubbed him Hedon, Destroyer of Ropes. It took a firm bop on the snout and a domineering stare from Kannuki to subdue the defiant goat. The crew realized it was going to take some effort to train the goats for shipboard life.
Mesi gave the other billy, who seemed rather intelligent, the name Akil, while Kannuki named one of the nannies Nami, or “Wave,” and Sitara called the other nanny Gizi, meaning “pledge.”
After bidding the village farewell, Viz Leany departed on the 3rd of the 5th moon, continuing their journey north.
...*...
Several days later, Kasumi proposed some additional tests for the Mon. Kasumi and Mesi attempted to use the Mon at the same time. Thougj he was able to gain control of it and use it, Mesi grew angry at having lost the Mon to him. When Dasha attempted to use the Mon to commune with the Dreamer, she had a vision of a sea witch colliding with a woman who emerged from the figurehead of the ship. Retiring to her bed, Dasha began having strange dreams before awakening and returning abovedecks.
Mesi attempted to use the Mon on her own to lift a spear using the wind, but to no avail. Akash attempted to channel the elements, but only succeeded in enhancing his own air abilities. Deciding to see how far he could push his talents, Akash called a storm and created a waterspout, slightly unsettling the sailors of the crew. Dasha, having seen this in one of her dreams, decided to go back to bed. Sitara amazed the crew by using the Mon to dash across the surface of the waves around the ship and free climb up to the figurehead.
Deciding on one more test, Kasumi took a kneeling position on the stern castle. Asking Diallo to watch him closely, Kasumi attempted to channel his energy into the Mon. Opening his eyes, Kasumi found himself in a void. Looking over, he saw a figure wrapped in dark cloth holding a spear. As he looked up, Kasumi felt himself reaching for the figure’s outstretched hand. Just before their hands touched, Kasumi felt himself collapse to the ship’s deck as Diallo knocked the Mon out of his hand. Realizing he had nearly died, and with a great pain in his chest, Kasumi was taken belowdecks to recover.
...*...
On the 11th of the 5th moon, Viz Leany entered Vargenspar, the mouth of the fjord leading to Vargarstaad. Soon they drew up to a damaged longship making its way steadily along the inlet, conveying far more men than a standard ship’s crew. Anticipating they would likely be too proud to accept help, Sitara conferred briefly with Vendala before hailing Depth’s Teeth. She approached the captain, Nymon Ostergaard Ingmar Djuptand, with an offer of trade, and secured some barrels of oil in exchange for some of their grain. With Sitara agreeing to carry their cargo to Vargarstaad for Captain Ingmar, they roped the ships together and hosted members of Depth’s Teeth in order to “secure” the traded cargo.
Over the next two days, the crew of Viz Leany learned from the Skenden sailors that many of them had been sailors on the whaling ship Deep Tide, captained by Ingmar’s cousin Holger Andreas Langjakt. The two ships were hunting a great leviathan that had been attacking Skenden fishing vessels when Deep Tide was lost, along with her captain and many of her crew, leaving Depth’s Teeth to limp back to Vargarstaad overloaded.
...*...
Arriving in Vargarstaad, the crew was invited to the celebration of the fallen to be held that evening. As Vendela went to visit her family, the crew toured the city. Checking out the shops along the main thoroughfare, Akash had some difficulty finding a buyer for his jewelry, until he came upon the shop of Larsson Dyhr Aron Hammaren, a smith who mainly sold fine weapons, along with some jewelry. Aron agreed to consign a few of Akash’s pieces and purchased some gems. Impressed by the Captain’s Ash-Sh’b scimitars, Aron shared a lively discussion with Sitara about decoration and adornment. When the crew inquired about finding bone and ivory for carving, they discovered Aron was friends with both Ingmar and Andreas. Upset by the news of Andreas’ death, Aron retreated into his work
Spending the rest of the day shopping and exploring the city, the crew found themselves struck by the differences between Vargarstaad and Xien La. Having been recently rebuilt, Vargarstaad was much more simply arranged and far less extravagant. With far fewer shops and only a handful of foreigners about, the crew felt somewhat out of place.
That evening, the crew bore witness to a mass funeral of the fallen of the two whaling ships. With few words spoken by Ingmar, the bodies of the dead were burned on a series of pyres and their spirits sent to the halls of the Lord of Flame. After the fires had burned down, the crew followed the locals to a mead hall owned by Olhouser Stennen Eirikur, a great barrel of a man. Finding themselves quite fond of Eirikur’s mead, Kasumi and Akash proceeded to get drunk.
As Sitara went to fetch herself more drink, she felt a sharp smack on her rump. She turned to find the offending hand belonged to a heavily intoxicated man, and she good-naturedly dismissed his advances. Despite his friends’ counsel, Bernt persisted, suggesting he could show her how to use those swords, and so Sitara humored him, drawing her blades as he clumsily waved about his own. Bernt floundered through the bloodless “duel” until Sitara finished the exchange with a swift spank to his rear with the flat of her blade, much to the amusement of those assembled.
After the night’s merriment, Dasha, feeling rather affected by the mead, staggered her way back towards the ship, while Sitara and Mesi chose to sleep it off in one of the mead hall’s side rooms.
...*...
The next morning, Dasha awoke to find herself on the floor of the Captain’s quarters on Viz Leany. Aside from the usual assortment of curios and trinkets, she found the Captain’s desk littered with fragments of poetry on pieces of parchment and bits of etched metal, as well as engraving tools. Joining the crew for breakfast in the mess, Dasha learned they had found her passed out on the docks that night and Kannuki had carried her aboard.
Once Sitara and Mesi awoke, they returned to the hall to find Akash and Kasumi, still very much inebriated. Determined to prove their sobriety, the men stumbled towards the door to greet the morning sun--only for Akash to nearly pass out from the rush of cold air as they flung open the door. The pair wisely chose to head to bed, and Mesi went to see Bassim for a hangover remedy.
Sitara made her way to Aron’s shop, to see about repairing the dings the drunken Bernt had left on her swords. Afterwards, she went in search of Vendela. She found her brother-in-law, Skalla Oster Sigfrodr Garvare, at his tannery just outside the city. He sent his son, Mikael, to take Sitara to their home, though the boy insisted she call him Trasvard.
The boy brought Sitara to a modest longhouse, where Vendela invited her in and introduced her family. Vendela‘s sister Dorthe called out for her daughter Katherine, but for several minutes they only caught glimpses of the shy girl until her curiosity finally coaxed her out from hiding.
The boy, who had been eyeing her scimitars the entire way, finally asked Sitara if she really was a warrior. Sitara replied that she was no soldier, but many times she had fought to defend herself or protect others, so yes, she supposed she was. He seemed satisfied, but Vendela warned her that amongst the Skenden, Sitara’s swords marked her as a warrior, and in carrying them, she might be challenged to prove that honor.
The reason Mikael wished to be called Trasvard, "wooden sword", was because he had a notion for his deed name already. Vendela remarked with amusement that the boy took after his mother and would surely earn a deed name as proud as hers. Despite her sister’s embarrassment, Vendela recounted the tale of how, when Mikael was very young, Dorthe had bravely defended her child against a walrus bull, and slew the beast, earning the name Valrossbanan. After chatting with the sisters, Sitara spent some time “training” Mikael in swordplay.
As Dasha and Mesi were returning to the ship, they ran into a middle-aged Dascean man accompanying a young woman with flaming red hair. When they inquired where they might stable their horses and find lodging, Dasha directed them to the city. Finding their way to Eirikur’s, the strange pair noticed Akash, but kept their distance while bartering with the inkeep for room and board.
...*...
As the crew gathered for breakfast the next day, the newcomers approached them and introduced themselves. Lisbeth and her uncle Kort had come to Vargarstaad in search of someone, though whom they would not say. At first, Lisbeth asked the crew’s recommendation for how she might ingratiate herself with the locals, though eventually she offered to assist the crew in return for information about a woman they were seeking, named Gaflveggr Astrid Isabrot. Suspecting the personal importance of the young woman’s search and sympathetic to her efforts, Sitara promised to discover what she could if Lisbeth and her uncle could make themselves useful on the ship in the meantime.
As Dasha was meeting with Eirikur to strike a deal for Viz Leany’s cargo, Sitara went to Vendela to learn who she should speak to about lending their aid with the leviathan. While Vargarstaad was governed by a council of elders from each of the major clans, a matter such as this fell under the jurisdiction of Nyman Nyman Mathias Kroken, the elder in charge of its fleet.
Better acquainted now with how to approach the proud Skenden with offers of assistance, Sitara sought out Mathias, prepared with a bargain: she would lend her crew and ship, armed with three ballistae, to the endeavor of hunting the beast which had plagued their longships, in exchange for a share of the spoils and for a chance to learn from the great northern sailors. Amused by her gumption, he accepted and they settled on a modest but fair percentage of the take once the leviathan’s carcass had been brought back to Vargarstaad.
The Captain returned to Eirikur’s to share the news of her deal with Mathias to find the conversation with new companions had turned tense upon the revelation that Akash was Jinn-blooded. While the Ash-sh’b viewed those like Akash as gifted with a blessing of the Jinn somewhere in their bloodline, the more well-traveled amongst the crew knew that Dasceans viewed such people with suspicion at best, and outright hostility at worst.
In Lisbeth’s home, they were dubbed the Cursed or Tainted, granted with dark powers by the enigmatic and evil goddess Sebile, the Witch. Lisbeth listened, exchanging glances with her uncle, as the crew defended Akash’s presence on their ship as a boon in their sea voyages and adventures.
Though the crew could still perceive their nervousness, in the end, Lisbeth and Kort agreed to uphold their end of their bargain and accompany Viz Leany on the leviathan hunt. It was worth the danger, she decided, if it could gain her the favor of those who could help her learn about the woman she sought, who Lisbeth confirmed was in fact her mother.
Afterwards, Akash spent some time attempting to gather stories of those such as himself amongst the Skenden. While he found few tales, he did receive friendly words of caution. The Skenden bore no ill will towards those like Akash who used their abilities to help others and showed the proper respect; however, those who abused their power for selfish gain were known to be abominations, corrupted by the Old Gods.
Meanwhile, the Captain met with Jian and Aron to discuss armaments for the upcoming hunt. While Jian, Nimat, and Emrys were all capable of using the ship’s three ballistae, Emrys preferred his own longbow, and Mesi and Kasumi elected to begin training on the ballistae as well.
Dasha gave Lisbeth and Kort a tour of Viz Leany and introduced their crew. In the mess, they met Kasumi, who had finally recovered from his night of drinking, and while the two Dasceans were initially startled by Kannuki’s appearance, tempers settled as he went about his duties onboard ship.
...*...
The next morning, Mathias visited Viz Leany to inform them they would depart on their venture at dawn the next day, with his ship Stormvargen and possibly one other. Sitara followed after him to inquire if he might be familiar with the person Lisbeth was seeking, and if he knew of Sitara’s own father, Nasim bin Ashlaf Hariri.
Mathias revealed Sitara’s father had been in Vargarstaad some time before his disappearance during the Long Dark, and that he was well thought of amongst the Skenden. Mathias also confirmed that he knew of the person Lisbeth sought, and if he was satisfied that Lisbeth was who she claimed to be, he would give her that information. Though Sitara requested it as a favor, Mathias stated plainly that knowledge of the state of one’s family was something that should never be held over a person.
Returning to the ship, Dasha found Sitara in a very pensive mood. After Sitara shared what she had learned, Dasha assured her that she felt certain her father, wherever he was, was surely doing everything in his power to return home to her. Though Sitara agreed that yes, her father would do everything he could, Dasha felt that Sitara’s realization had not brought hope, but rather a mournful acceptance.
Once Vendela arrived back at the ship, Kasumi inquired if they might commission her brother-in-law to craft a leather harness, describing a design he had contrived so one could wear the Mon without having to hold it in hand. As Vendela agreed to see what Sigfrodr could do, Mesi tried her hand at using the Mon once more, reveling in its power as she launched a spear all the way across the harbor, much to the amazement of the assembled sailors.
Dasha had just set about carving amulets of the hunt for the crew when Akash approached her for assistance. He showed her a manuscript page he had acquired in Rhakosis, which he believed was originally from an Oami text. While Dasha confirmed it was in fact in Oami, she found it most strange, for while the Oami did possess a written language, they kept no texts, as their histories and stories were passed down orally by their lore keepers. Seeing as she could barely make out the meaning of the script, Dasha believed it to be from a very old source indeed.
Sitara set out about town to spread word of the hunt. After quite a bit of carousing and finding some willing recruits, Sitara found one man unmoved by her calls to action, first insulting her, then questioning her blades, and her honor. After some tense words, she met his challenge, drawing her sword, though the Skenden man proved the faster with his long knife. A quick exchange gave both fighters a respect for the other.
When given a chance to stand down, Sitara, uncertain of her opponent, continued the attack. Finding themselves evenly matched, Sitara drew him in. As he attempted to cut her attack short, he found himself caught in a second stroke which drove her sword into his side. The man, painfully wounded, broke into raucous laughter and demanded a round for the pair. Finding a new drinking partner in Gulbrand Caj, the two drank into the night, vowing to see each other in the morn for the hunt.
...*...
At dawn on the 17th of the 5th moon, Viz Leany, accompanying Storm Wolf, captained by Mathias Kroken, and Breakwave, captained by Ingmar Djuptan, set sail to pursue the elusive and deadly leviathan.
A few days later the ships stopped along the coast and their crews spent some time socializing amongst themselves. Having noticed the Captain’s drinking horn appeared to be intricately carved with Skenden patterns and designs, Lisbeth complemented the craftsmanship and inquired about the piece. Sitara showed it to her, explaining she received it as a gift on her sixteenth birthday from a Skenden lad her father had adopted when they were children.
At supper, the crews gave tribute to ensure the favor of the Lord of Flame and the Queen of Winter on their endeavor. Sitara performed a blade dance, both graceful and turbulent at once, as an offering, and Mesi likewise demonstrated an athletic and powerful spear form. The crews’ spirits invigorated for the hunt ahead, they continued their journey into the Sea of Ice.
...*...
After a week and a day of sailing, they were finally approaching the waters of the leviathan attacks, putting everyone on their guard. After sailing for several more hours, the crew spotted a pod of small white whales. The creatures rode their wake and swam playfully about their bow, entertaining the crew, until suddenly they scattered. Spotting a surge in the water, Emrys called out and Akash blasting a warning to the two longships.
The creature which was speeding towards them just under the surface resembled a great whale, though its head appeared to be solid bone, with two great black orbs for eyes, and dark, rough scaly skin running along its back. It rammed the longships repeatedly, tossing many sailors overboard. As it turned straight for Viz Leany next, only Akash’s quick thinking and power prevented it from impacting ship as he commanded the winds, driving air beneath the hull to lift the ship briefly at the last moment.
In the midst of the chaos, Lisbeth reached out to the pod of small whales with her thoughts, in hopes of summoning allies. While she felt her mind touch theirs, the creature’s primal fear of the leviathan flooded her senses, sending her into a panic.
When the beast turned to charge Viz Leany, Kasumi shot a ballista bolt into the creature’s palate. Taking hold of a rope, Sitara swung herself down along the side of the ship to stab her blade into the beast’s hide as she passed it by.
As the battle raged on, the three ships drew close. The creature drove itself into Storm Wolf, ramming the longboat. Having regained her composure, Lisbeth called out once more to the pod of whales. This time, they regrouped and shot in at the leviathan, surrounding it and driving it off. As the beast retreated, Storm Wolf managed to right itself and the crews steeled themselves for the next strike.
They had barely recovered when Mesi spotted the leviathan speeding back towards the longships. With impeccable aim, she stuck a harpoon into the creature’s shoulder just below its flipper. The beast thrashed in rage and dove out of sight.
As the crew of Viz Leany felt the sea begin to lift the ship up beneath them, Akash called upon the winds just in time to keep the ship aright as the creature breached the surface between the ships. Crashing into Storm Wolf, the beast thrashed about, slamming the longship repeatedly.
In a moment of valiant determination, Sitara took a running start on the deck, grabbed a rope and swung overboard, launching herself at the beast, drawing both swords mid-air as she hurtled towards the leviathan, until—she fell just short of it, landing in the water near the creature’s head, still brandishing her blades.
Lisbeth attempted to reach out to the leviathan with her mind to calm it, but was instead driven into a fury by the beast’s own unquenchable rage. Finally discerning Lizbeth’s true nature and realizing what she had been doing, Akash called out to her, forcing her mind back into herself, just as the leviathan opened its massive jaws, swallowing Captain Sitara whole. Not about to be outdone by a little southerner, Mathias leapt from his own ship and lay into the beast with hook and ax.
Realizing things had taken a dire turn, Kasumi ran to the Captain’s quarters to retrieve the Mon. As Kasumi searched her cabin, Ingmar rammed the leviathan with the Breakwave, raining spears and harpoons down upon it. Akash, in a frenzy, leapt from Viz Leany and drove a spear into the creature, driving it deeper and deeper as Viz Leany rammed the creature’s exposed tail, preventing it from turning.
Kasumi ran out onto the deck and, upon realizing the captain was nowhere to be seen, correctly assumed she had jumped off the side of the ship to face the whale in single combat. After a moment of mental and emotional crisis, Kasumi handed Mesi the Mon, urging she rescue the Captain from her madness.
Mesi successfully jumped atop the whale and ran along its upturned belly of the beast before launching herself upwards and driving her spear down through the leviathan’s jaw and into its brain, finally killing it. As the aura of the Mon slowly faded, more gradually than before, Sitara wrenched the beast’s jaws open with her swords, pulling herself free.
Celebrating the beast’s demise and the bravery of their Captains, the crews spent some time recovering from their ordeal and making the necessary repairs to sail back with their quarry. Lashing the carcass between the longships, with Viz Leany towing it, they made their way steadily back to Vargarstaad.
...*...
As they began their journey back, Akash approached Lisbeth about what had happened during the leviathan attack, and spoke with her at length about her mysterious affinity with beasts. Though he understood her earlier hesitation to reveal her nature, he urged Lisbeth not to be ashamed of her strange powers, but to embrace them, encouraging her to practice to gain better control over them. Akash felt a sense of joy at finding another Jinn-blooded, and pride at being able to help her as he had had no one to help him. Reassuring her that she was not alone, Akash told her there were others in the world like them, and that they should look out for one another.
One afternoon, Dasha began to notice odd behavior in some of the birds that were circling the ships. She witnessed an eagle attacking a tern, when a kite swooped in at the eagle, driving it off. Believing she had experienced a vision, she confided in the Captain about the strange occurrence and asked her thoughts on it.
After confirming that the strange sight was not, in fact, Lizbeth’s doing, the two Oami wondered at its possible meaning. Sitara did her best, though she had little to offer Dasha, as she had no real practice reading dreams, much less waking dreams. They did, however, discuss at length several matters of faith--dreams, visions, and Visatori.
Meanwhile, Kasumi was very interested in how the Mon had reacted to Mesi’s slaying of the Leviathan. Kasumi noted that Mesi appeared to have avoided the backlash of using the Mon and wasn't fatigued at all. Kasumi hypothesized that due to the dark nature of the Mon, it may be connected to death on some level and perhaps taking a life pays the toll that the user typically pays.
...*...
When they arrived back in Vargarstaad on the 6th of the 6th moon, Mathias held a presentation on the beach in front of the beached creature, dubbing Viz Leany’s crew Falane, Beastbane. The rest of the day was spent in celebration, with Kasumi getting involved in a drinking challenge and some members of the crew finding company with the locals.
Though some were still recovering from the celebration, the crew each went about their own business the next morning.
As he had promised, Mathias met with Lisbeth and revealed the truth about her mother. Gaflveggr Astrid Isabrot, whom he had known personally, was a brave warrior who had fought alongside the great Eindride in the reclaiming of Vargarstaad. She had died honorably during the battle and was now entombed in the great ice cave of Ishell with the other fallen Daughters of Eindride.
After learning of her mother’s fate, Lisbeth returned to Viz Leany, where Akash was waiting. Offering his assistance, Akash accompanied Lisbeth into the forest so that she might practice and hone her mystical talents.
Salomon Salomon Ketil Vargsfang visited the crew of Viz Leany, and thanked them for the service he understood they rendered his kin in Bystenar. They gifted the elder with a gold necklace set with rubies and sapphires Akash had crafted for him over the course of their journey to Vargarstaad. Afterwards, Sitara sought out her friend Caj, wishing to learn more about the Skenden style of knife-fighting. After several rounds of sparring, Sitara began to learn what to anticipate from his attacks, and how better to counter them.
...*...
Meanwhile, Kasumi and Mesi traveled into the forest to practice with the Mon. Killing a stag easily enough, Kasumi convinced Mesi to hunt for something more dangerous. Tracking down a bear, the two opened with their bows. The bear, unimpressed by their arrows, charged them.
Mesi stabbed it with her spear, thinking to bring it down, but was surprised at its resilience. As the bear viciously mauled Mesi, she found herself drawing upon the well of power bound in the harness on her chest. She felt a presence pass through her as she twisted her spear into the beast, returning its roar with matched ferocity. Refusing to go quietly, the bear latched on, sinking its teeth into her shoulder before finally succumbing to its wounds.
Kasumi, in a panic, managed to pull Mesi out from under the bear's corpse and out of the clearing. Mesi limped with Kasumi's help for some time before she finally collapsed. Drawing upon the Mon himself, Kasumi carried Mesi out of the forest in a blind run, finally emerging from the forest's edge before collapsing himself.
...*...
Dasha and Sitara were informed that two of their crew had been found bloodied in the forest. Arriving at the healer’s, they found Mesi heavily bandaged, with Kasumi also unconscious but seemingly unharmed. Akash and Lisbeth, returning from their training, also heard of the pair’s condition and made all speed to the healer’s. An intense conversation followed amongst the crew, with a solemn Kasumi apologizing and admitting he had made a terrible mistake which had almost cost Mesi her life. With Kasumi appropriately chastised, Dasha, Kasumi and Lisbeth went to retrieve the stag and bear the pair had killed, returning with it late that night.
The next day Mesi was able to return to the ship. Though her wounds were severe, she was suffering even more from her extended use of the Mon. Kasumi, in a similar condition sans the physical wounds, was also in for some much needed rest.
While they were recovering, both Mesi and Kasumi saw similar visions of the cloaked figure with a spear, troubling the two. Mesi, Kasumi and Akash spoke about the implications of overusing the Mon, with Kasumi suggesting that using the Mon too frequently could kill them, or even allow the Mon to influence them. It was agreed that they should use the Mon sparingly and there should always be more than one person present when testing it.
...*...
Later, Mathias arrived with the crew’s share of the leviathan’s bounty, including crates of meat, blubber, and bone, barrels of oil, smaller barrels of a special refined oil, a crate of whale stones, and a case of twenty leviathan teeth. Sitara divvied the teeth amongst the crew members, setting aside one tooth for their patron, and the rest as cargo. She went to Aron’s shop to commission a copper pendant, in addition to securing from him some worked metal to deliver to her mother’s clan.
That evening, Sitara, Akash, and Dasha dined at Eirikur’s. While they were roundly greeted by the regulars, they were somewhat surprised when another traveler approached them--an Oami, at that. Introducing herself as a wanderer named Masha, she was very inquisitive about their adventures, and seemed to take a fancy to Dasha. Once Sitara and Akash took their leave, Masha continued to flirt vigorously until Dasha finally bid her goodnight, leaving her disappointed.
The next day, the crew met for lunch at Eirikur’s and Sitara agreed to take on Masha as a passenger for the voyage to the Oamre Forest. Somewhat dismayed at the prospect of their ardent new passenger, Dasha returned to the ship and visited Mesi in her quarters, delivering a cape she had made from the fur of the bear Mesi had slain, with its head as the hood.
...*...
Viz Leany departed from Vargarstaad on the 11th of 6th moon to sail towards the Oamre Forest, to the section of coast traveled by the Krejci, Sitara’s mother’s clan. Shortly after boarding, Masha ran into Kannuki belowdecks. Though initially startled by his presence, she allowed herself to be comforted by Dasha. Professing her love for the beautiful giantess, Masha stole a kiss, leaving Dasha confused and upset.
Later, Masha approached the Captain, hoping to enlist her aid in winning Dasha’s affections. Amused, but aware of Dasha’s discomfort, Sitara politely declined, though she offered Masha some tidbits about Dasha’s interests, including her fondness for animals.
The crew stopped at Bystenar on the eve of the 19th, spending the night in the longhouse built in their honor. Dasha spent time communing with the stone circle while Akash took rubbings of the very faint markings on the stones. Sitara met with Karina to ask about how things had been since their last visit.
Masha offered to pay Kasumi to set up an amiable encounter with Dasha, which Kasumi appeared to accept, also bringing Akash in on the plan. Unbeknownst to Masha, Kasumi and Akash were actually plotting to put her in a defenseless situation so they could interrogate her about her intentions. Unfortunately, the scheme was cut short when Sitara caught the two carrying Hedon out in the middle of the night. After scolding the two idiots for what she assumed was another attempt to torment Dasha, they returned the cantankerous goat and decided to leave Masha alone for the time being.
...*...
As the weeks passed, Dasha became unusually preoccupied, though her brooding was often interrupted by Masha’s unabated flirting. When Dasha was finally forced to put her foot down, Kasumi and Akash confronted Masha, demanding to know her true motivations. Masha confessed to the crew that she was a bounty hunter who had been hired by the Larinovna to track down their wayward daughter and convince her to come home—ergo the seduction.
Dasha finally admitted, both to herself and her friends, that she had decided it was time to return home. While her companions were rather taken aback by these revelations, the bounty hunter recovered fairly quickly from the shock. Glancing around the room, Masha inquired, “So...Do I still get the reward?”
On the 15th of the 7th moon, the morning of Dasha’s 28th birthday, the party spied the massive looming spires of the Oamre Forest.