Yspadadden has a cunning plan to recover Gore Raver.
Gore Raver was the axe dropped by Silden when he transformed into a werebear and ate the gnome (B22) back in 678. It was presumed to have been picked up by the Fire Giant they were fighting at the time. The axe was a powerful Dwarven artefact that could see hidden things and spoke out loud to its wielder. It seldom spoke to Silden with anything but heavy sarcasm and scorn for his lack of wit, but Yspadadden was confident that in his hands it would be less truculent and more useful. Yspadadden was also confident that he had the magicks to track such a powerful artefact. Indeed he already knew more or less where it was – far, far to the North.
Initial plans for a mounted expedition nearly foundered on the logistics of carrying enough horse fodder to feed the cavalcade without having to buy more horses to carry it. However, the party set off on horseback from Chittagong and headed north. Their departure was accompanied by strange omens in the sky in that direction.
Their first obstacle turned out to be bureaucracy. Their route took them through the highly militarised Kriggs border country where Earl William the Marshall held sway – a man who liked order and discipline and didn’t like orcs, Picts or adventurers trailing through his lands with no clear explanation of what they were up to. As it turned out he did like the magic sword Yspadadden produced from his pack and gave him as a gift. It was of his own manufacture and he thought it a reasonable expenditure to stay on the right side of this human lord. It certainly made the Marshall remember him – which as it transpired was not of unalloyed benefit to the dwarf. The party were given a passport and told to report in on their way back.
Travelling north they had a skirmish with some Picts in broken ground; they spotted a giant eagle and slew a snow troll. Ahead of them they could see mountains with a great cleft in them that they designated Giant’s Pass. In the approach to Giant’s pass they encountered a giant ram and killed a troll in a dark forest. At this point, after much discussion, they came to the decision that they should abandon the horses and continue through pass, which was becoming steeper and much narrower, on foot. Salrod and Wilf were riding warhorses so this entailed more economic damage to them than those with disposable riding horses. They party created an equipment dump for their horse tack, in case they came back this way, and let their horses loose.
As they continued their way into the pass they managed to ambush a band of Kur and found them to be carrying ingots of a very distinctive red gold and some blocks of adamantine. They also encountered a Mountain Troll and slew it. It was carrying a strange long-bladed, short-hafted hacking spear made of mithril. This was no elf or dwarf blade. As Yspadadden studied it that evening by the campfire these lines came to him: “Green hands made me under the mountains……”. Yspadadden had only seen one other weapon of this style: Chu Chunain Tar – the Spear of Champions – now in the possession of Ivar Forkenbeard.
On Midsummer’s morn, when they were in the middle of the Giant’s Pass, Yspadadden flew up to the peak of the highest mountain they could see. He had in mind to try to summon a familiar and reasoned that he might obtain a better class of creature on such an auspicious day in such an auspicious day. In a way he was right, but the Queen of the Mountain was not made to be his familiar. However, this ancient and beautiful entity greeted him in a gracious manner and they conversed long. Yspadadden was greatly pleased to have made this new acquaintance and held her in great regard thereafter.
On Yspadadden’s return the party continued their march through the Pass. They encounter a river and build a raft. Wilfred manages to fall into the raging torrent and would have drowned but for quick action by Girindor. The party also deal with a huge, hostile bear. At length they reach far end of the pass. They find a vantage point where they can survey the less mountainous terrain beyond the pass. They see a rugged landscape punctuated with smaller mountains and a substantial body of water on the northern horizon. Dwarf sits with a war axe in his hand and appears to concentrate on it. “There it is,” he says after a while, and points to a lone mountain with smoke arising from it.
As the party approach the volcano they see a fortified dwelling place at its foot. Much to their surprise they can see a group of gnomes working in what appears to be a garden. The two dwarves in the party go forward to engage them in conversation. It appears that they are happy and willing slaves to their “masters”. Yspadadden rather plays on their good natures to establish that their masters are not at home. They return to their comrades and Girindor windwalks them into the central courtyard and they set about looting the place, while keeping a lookout for the giants’ return. Eventually they see the giants approaching and set their ambush. However, the giants, accompanied by a hellhound, approach in a wary manner – Yspadadden wondered afterwards whether it had been warned by the axe. Whatever the reason they do not spring the surprise they anticipated. Most of the party sally forth while Trevillion and the elves, Randir and Girindor shower them with arrows. The smaller of the giants, the one carrying Gore Raver, is severely wounded and retreats covered by its larger brother who carries a shield. Some while later the large giant returns to shout out a challenge for the party to come out and fight it. However, the party mood is that they have alreaady captured a large treasure for little risk and that they should take their winnings and go – even if it did mean leaving Gore Raver behind. They watch as the giant trudges back up the slope to the mouth of the volcano. Girindor Wind Walks the party home.
In a strange post script, Grettir Strongarm received a letter from Kriggs complaining that a group of adventurers claiming some association with Sequarl had failed to honour their pledge to return through the lands of Kriggs. Grettir was somewhat perplexed that he seemed to be standing surety for an expedition that had nothing to do with Sequarl. However, he replied formally with an assurance that the party had been forced by adverse circumstances to return by magical means. Kriggs replied through diplomatic channels that they were unhappy with the situation but on the word of another Chittagong Lord they were prepared to accept the explanation.
D-5
OE Date: May-July 686
Characters: Yspadadden, Wilf, Ranulf, Jason, Trevillion, Girindor, Salrod NPCs: Randir
Real World: When – September 1989; Where – Hawes
This expedition took place over several days in a hired venue in North Yorkshire.