Chapter 2: The Crucible of Freya

The Crucible of Freya
Bard's Gate Region
Village of Fairhill
Mid summer
Early afternoonThe Village of Fairhill rests on the largest of several gently sloping hills about 10 miles from the tradeway. Four hundred twenty souls inhabit the village and surrounding farmland. Arlen, the magistrate, governs the village. Though numerous other shrines are present, Freya is the patron deity of Fairhill and her temple is the most prominent. Thus, the true "leader" of Fairhill is Shandril, the priestess of Freya. She disdains that role, however, and openly supports Arlen as magistrate. There is little political strife in Fairhill, as Arlen, Shandril, Captain Baran and the tavern owners all work together. Fairhill is a peaceful town and has not had any real troubles with bandits or monsters. That is, until recently…

You have only moments ago met with Captain Baran and his retinue, who questioned your identities and your reasons for being in Fairhill. Continuing east along the road will take you past a farm (before which you had been stopped), and right to the Tavern of the Three Kegs. Beyond that is the village proper. You have been given directions to the Temple of Freya, located in the north of the village. It is early afternoon, around 2pm, and you could all use some fresh food, cold ale, and a comfortable bed. And, according to Corian, a bath. But you cannot afford to drop your guard, for Vortigern and Talon had escaped your last encounter, and can only guess as to where they might now be lurking.

When the party arrives at the tavern, Nebbleshuven asks Corian, "Are you familiar with the customs of this village? Would it be acceptable if we bathe and eat before paying our respects at the local temple?"

Datura follows the maimed soldier's suggestion and visits the temple of Freya before seeking refuge at the tavern. The sight of the great temple is wonderous to her eyes and she whistles in appreciation as she enters. Datura slowly approaches the shrine as she looks around for the priest, upon reaching the altar she offers a bow as she is not familiar with the proper acknowledgement customary for Freya.

As Datura heads off to the temple without waiting for the others, he says, "What is her problem? Why can't she wait for the rest of us?"

The wizard looks at Nebbleshuven for a long while, clearly calculating something in his head. You can see that he desperately wants to eat something fresh for the first time in over a week, but he clearly understands the order of things. Right when you might think he had forgotten what the question was, he responds. "Let us make for the temple first, and then we can rest. As soon as I sit down, I suspect I won't be able to move for quite some time." He then looks around, and sees that the gnome had apparently scurried off already. Sighing, he begins trudging towards the temple himself. Galdar walks beside Corian, stoic with his hand resting upon the blade at his side.

---

Datura approaches what must surely be the Temple of Freya. It is a simple wooden structure, with a peaked roof. Its front has no door and it is open to the outside. Inside the one-room shrine is a stone altar in which is carved the head of a stag. A female elf of stunning beauty stands before the altar, wearing a tunic and a long cloak of winterwolf fur. In her hands she holds a shining silver bowl, worked with strange runes. Before you can stop her, she plunges her entire arm and the bowl into the flaming brazier next to the altar. She begins to intone words in a strange language.

Monaghan merely looks on as the ritual proceeds, positively perplexed.

As Nebbleshuven observes the ritual, he wonders if it's meant to implore Freya to protect this village from the orcs that appear to menacing them.

"Forced worship is worse than no worship at all." Ryenne broods darkly.

She held nothing against the deity, as such. In fact, being the patron of human women, Ryenne might have had an interest of her own to check the shrine to Freya herself.

"Let the common folk worship who they will, and the Gods can sort it out among themselves afterwards."

At the display at the shrine, she rolls her eyes.

Flashy nonsense…

Datura trots over to her companions as they enter the temple,

"Whew! Thought you guys were gonna fail the test! That stoney faced guard guy told us to stop here first and I just KNOW he would make something of it if we didn't. These country folk can be tense! But look at that pretty elf in the fire! It's amazing! What a show!"

The elf woman finishes her ritual, an offering of grains, and then turns to the party. "This is the Crucible of Freya," she explains to the obvious newcomers. "It brings fertility and prosperity to our little village, as a vessel of Freya herself. What can I do for you, travelers?" True to her demeanor, she does not once look towards the donation box near the door which contains some coin as well as other assorted goods.

Monaghan performs his customary bow.

"Monaghan MacDuff of the Stoneheart Foothills, at your service, Lady. We come at the guard captain's suggestion to pay honor to the goddess. Only tell us how best we can show our respect."

The gnome nods vigorously, now more enamored with the elf priestess than the notion of tribute.

"How did you keep from burning your hand?"

"It is a blessing when I invoke Her name," the priestess says to Datura. She turns to Monaghan, "We accept whatever you have to offer, and it is these offerings that continue the prosperity of the town. She is partial to foodstuffs, though many around here prefer to tithe with coin." Her face remains calm as she speaks, not giving anything away as to her thoughts about the donations of silver.

There it is…

Ryenne had seen the same thing carried out at a hundred temples or more. She’d knocked sense into serveral followers of Thyr for the same thing in her time.

And yet there was no denying the sway that priestesses held in these faraway parts of the world.

The cleric steps forward and begrudgingly drops a silver piece into the box.

"From the followers of Thyr."

Nebbleshuven follows Ryenne's lead and deposits a silver piece into the box. He doesn't say anything, just nods. Afterwards, he takes a few steps back from the group and towards the entrance.

Datura drops five gold coins in the box and makes sure the elf sees her do it. She finishes the action with an ear to ear smile and a wink.

"We are going to the tavern next, in case you get a break later."

Monaghan, being from a different culture and not being the traditional worshiper of Freya, would not know if a dried ration is considered appropriate. However, it is commonly understood that true intention is looked upon fondly by the gods.

The elf woman turns to Ryenne and gestures towards the door. "Just outside and to the left, you will find a small shrine to Thyr. It is not much, but He is not a god of grandeur. There are also shrines to Mitra, Muir, and a smaller shrine to Bowbe made by another resident," she says to the rest of the party. She turns, then, to Datura. "I'm afraid I do not spend much time in the tavern, but it has been a warm day today. Perhaps I will see you there." She says this with a straight face, one befitting a priestess and important person about town.

Galdar and Corian each approach in turn and deposit coins both silver and gold, though it is clear that even a small deposit pains the wizard. They turn and prepare to depart, having made an appearance.

Upon hearing that there's a shrine to Mitra, Nebbleshuven heads outside and looks about for it.

Each shrine is small and covered, with a statue of the respective god sheltered underneath. Small tokens and different forms of worship can be seen at each, and at the moment each shrine has a priest before it. A small gathering of six villagers wander between the shrines of Thyr and Mitra, while none stand at the shrine of Bowbe save a large man, great in girth and worshipping with a booming voice that seems inappropriately loud.