Hilda wants to try out the Black Swan. The party gathers in the courtyard of Grettir’s town house in Chittagong and she activates the amulet. A huge swan made of shadows appears, but it seems solid enough when the party climb aboard.
“Seven times for seven stars, 23 times am I bound to serve you,” says the Black Swan to Hilda, “Quo vadis?” It quickly becomes clear that Hilda has not prepared an answer to this question, and it refuses to take the party anywhere on the Prime Plane. Grettir and Salrod have been to Vulcanheim, the home of the Fire Giants, so they suggest that and Hilda bids the Black Swan to take them there.
The journey is cold as they traverse the nothingness between the worlds, but after an unknowable span of time they find themselves in Muspellheim. The Black Swan flies them over a rugged landscape of rocky shores, large islands and mighty rivers. It lands them as instructed by Hilda on a rocky strand of what seems to be the mainland.
Their first encounter is with a beautiful, well-made young woman, lying injured, nigh to death. Grettir lays on hands and calls on Osiris to bring her back from the brink and she is healed. She speaks no tongue that anyone in the party understands, but Hilda casts a spell to allow her to communicate. She gives her name as Grackna and she is a slave of what she calls “Overmen”, who live in a nearby settlement called Volunsmark. She swiftly identifies Girindor as an Overman and assumes that the rest of the party are his slaves, and that he was responsible for her healing. The party decides that she clearly needs help, so she comes with them when they decide to explore further by windwalking.
They land on an island that turns out to be called Egilsmark. There they encounter a pair of Fire Giant smiths, called Zagan and Ragar, who turn out to be friendly and hospitable. They learn from them that the lord of Egilsmark is Hrothgar who lives in the big hall on the hill. Jason decides to stay with the Fire Giants for a year and a day to learn more of their smithing techniques. The rest of the party return to the Prime Plane with Grackna taking Jason’s place on the Black Swan.
E-10
OE Date: May 691
Characters: Salrod, Grettir, Jason, Wilf, Girindor, Aranath NPCs: Hilda
Real World: 1997; Where – ?
See also Salrod’s Diaries