Session 1: Fools before the Tower (Ending Jan 12)

Eirikr leads a small battalion towards the Tower. The group fights viciously, and Eirikr draws his axe, leading a charge into the fray.

As soon as it hears the order from Autumn's First Howl, Shadow refocuses on the Spirit-taken. The wolf's heart beats fast in its chest, every ounce of its being is focused on this hunt. It rallies with its pack, and pursues, jaws aching to tear at spirit-tainted flesh.

Should anyone draw, I will adjudicate.

The wolf sets its sights on a spirit-taken holding a bow. It glances at its dominant for permission before splitting off from the main group of the pack, running wide and circling around its prey. The spirit-taken tries to shift course away from Shadow, and finds themself trapped between the wolf and the pack, which has begun to savage its comrade. They turn away from the carnage frantically, and loose an arrow at the wolf. The arrow goes wide, splashing into the mud a few feet away. For a moment, Shadow holds, fur bristling. It revels in the fear and desperation it sees on its prey's face.

Then, it leaps forward, landing squarely on the chest of its quarry. The spirit-taken barely has a moment to look into the wolf's huge jaws and scream before Winter's Third Bite closes them around its prey's head.

Autumn's First Hunt howls from a little way away. The rest of the pack lift their heads and howl with her.

Taft slips back into the forest as the followers of the Tower approach. To his far side, he notes that the Wolves are lively and seem to be succeeding as well. He whispers a quick prayer for them, and especially to Winter's Third Bite.

...

As he suspected, the humans retreat right into the open area under the pines where he himself lay, a minute ago.

Bohn quietly hands him an arrow.

Without looking away from his quarry, Taft nocks the arrow, draws back the string, and fires.

This time, they are so close that it would be next to impossible to miss.

The leader falls with a scream.

Taft doesn't take the time to assess the damage. He slips back into the forest with Bohn.

"Let's head towards the ridge. Parallel to the trail for a while, then we can move onto the trail and track any survivors."

Taft's heart is pounding. He manages a small smile and slaps his old friend on the back.

Vasil runs. For the first time since his arrival in Kallbacken, he runs. The eight years have not been kind to his body, as this is harder than he remembered. He focuses on the invaders retreating before him, on his footing on the slippery surface of the bridge. His damaged leg screams at him, his body willing him to stop.

He runs alongside Taft's boy, Eirikr, who shoots Vasil a grin. It buoys Vasil's morale to have backup, allies. These are not the sorts to leave him for dead.
He digs deeper, matching pace with his axe wielding comrade.

Leaving the bridge, they are met by a fast moving black mass - the wolf.
Shadow now runs alongside Vasil, at a gentle canter. Vasil places his left foot on a loose rock, forcing him to balance. The muscles in his damaged leg fail to adjust in time, but for a gentle nudge by the great wolf, a stumble is saved. Vasil finds his stride again, and the three, along with those remaining of the militia run headlong toward their fleeing enemy.

Eirikr and Vasil lead a charge against the Interlopers, harrying them across the difficult terrain. As the wolves pounce on their own prey, the leader is felled by an arrow from somewhere behind them. At that beat, Vasil thrusts his spear at a target, who drops her spear as she parries the blow, and Eirikr lops off a head with his axe. Suddenly, he feels a jolt of pain in his side; Sulo yells as a pair of arrows hit the grizzled warrior who just stabbed Eirikr.

Sulo rushes to Eirikr's side, seeing blood pouring from the Wound. As Vasil and Shadow chase down the fleeing soldier, Freyr rushes up to Eirikr, and begins fretting. "He is injured, but it is not so grave" Sulo says, curtly. "We must get him back to the village."Vasil, his leg hampering his run only a little, chases down his target. She flees into a clearing, and stops suddenly as Winter's Third Bite emerges from the far side; she's caught between the two of you, and unarmed.

The wolf lets out a deep growl. "Submit, human," it says. "Submit and talk." The blood of the last enemy it killed still drips down its chin.

Vasil reaches the clearing. Winter's Third Bite slinks low, aggressively approaching the enemy. The Great Wolf orders the woman to submit, moving closer.

Making brief eye contact with his ally, Vasil points his spear at the unarmed enemy, and moves toward her, stopping within range.

Taft emerges from another edge of the clearing. His bow is drawn and raised, and it is aimed at the woman's chest.

"I don't want to kill you, but I will, if you run."

The woman stares at the Wolf in front of her, and chances a glance at Taft and Vasil. She looks terrified, but the then crouches her legs a little, dropping into what looks a little like a fighting stance.

"Promise me life, or give me quick death; a Sigrundotr will not be a slave." She says.

Shadow's fur settles again. It glances at Vasil and Taft, and then further to the end of the clearing, where Autumn's First Hunt and the rest of the pack are standing. Its nose feels dry; it licks it wet again. It speaks.

"The Ancient Forest Wardens have no use for slaves. Neither does Kallbacken. We will let you live if you are willing to tell us all you know and join us against the Stone Spirit."

Vasil says nothing, and nods.

He lowers his spear away from her face to a less aggressive position.

Taft keeps his bow on the woman.

"I will promise you life if you return to Kallbacken with us. You will not be a slave; but you will not be a member of Kallbacken. You would have your freedom but you would be an outsider. It is the tradition of these parts. We take in those in need."

"If you stay with us long enough and show that you respect our ways, even if you do not understand them, we may grow closer together, after a time."

Taft points with his chin towards Vasil.

"This man was an outsider once, like yourself. But he has helped build our town, he participates in our ceremonies, and today he fought alongside us. I consider him my brother now, and I would help him in the same way I would help any person in Kallbacken."

Taft meets Vasil's eyes for a moment. Taft's expression shows that he considers his statement to be a solemn oath to Vasil.

He returns his gaze to the woman.

"So yes, we promise you live and freedom in Kallbacken. If you leave without notice, then you are left to your own fate once again. This is the way of our people."

Vasil and Taft begin to lead the woman back, able to keep their weapons trained on her as Winter’s Third Bite leads the way. In its head, the wolf hears "Come meet us at our range when you have learned what is here; congratulate the windspeaker and the firetamer on their hunt, and allow them to treat with us." in its head.

Before you get to the village, the woman stops, suddenly. "The banner that Friggr Sigrundotr left here. You should remove it before I step foot in its sight. I don’t know if you’ll be able to destroy it" she says, looking pleadingly at Taft. "Please do it; I do not want any of the Pillars to see what I have done.".

After a while, she looks directly at the Wolf. "It is the first time I have seen a beast such as you." she says "How did a tiny village such as this manage to tame one of the howling steeds of the brother killers?"

Vasil speaks for the first time.
"I do not like the banner. Will the flames of my forge be sufficient to destroy it?"

Vasil avoids eye contact with Taft, embarrassed by his kind words.

Shadow cocks its head, puzzled at the smith's words. "Surely the fire you light yourself is powerful enough?" It turns and fixes the woman with a reproachful stare. "Nobody rides a Spirit Hunter," it growls.

Vasil too is puzzled by the wolf's choice of words.
He had not communicated extensively with Wolves, but put this syntactic difference down to a difference in dialect. People spoke differently here, than where he was born, why should Wolves not?So, he disregards the odd phrasing.

Wait here, I will deal with it. He says.

As Vasil turns to leave, the wolf pads after him, speaking softly. "Vasil. Friend. Extinguish the fire and then light it again, not with flint and tinder but because you will it so. When you try, it will make sense. It is all connected."

Then, it stops, remembering its dominant's order. "Wait," it says to Vasil, before turning to Taft and speaking. "The Ancient Forest Wardens congratulate the windspeaker and the firetamer on their hunt, and invite them to treat with us... I can lead the two of you to our range when the time is right."

Taft nods to Shadow and Vasil as they enter the town.

"Until the banner is gone, I will stay outside the walls with... what is your name, woman? Once inside, I will introduce you to my household. Alva is the best baker in Kallbacken. We will find you a place to live."

He lowers his bow, but stands far enough away that the woman couldn't overtake him by surprise.