Sunna has spent the winter listening to and memorizing her father, Baldvin's countless stories.  Her mind is simply bursting with the tales, fables, and myths of the Triplefang, some of which she has adapted to new songs.  For the most part these songs are sung to simple familiar melodies to make them easier for all to remember the most important of Triplefang knowledge, but there are a few that Sunna has crafted into dazzling masterpieces.  Her occasional concerts have drawn crowds not just from the village of Volge and surrounding farms, but from further afield.  The reviews are rave.  As the captivating harper's fame grows, so too do the number of visitors to Volge.  None can remember a winter when Volge's longhouses have been so full.

After one such concert a burly wild-bearded man approaches Sunna alone once she is away from any crowds.  The man has become a regular at the concerts the winter.  It's clear that he is a devotee of the harper and her music, even smitten with her.

"Pardon me, lady singer," he says nervously with a bit of a stammer in his otherwise loud and clear voice.  "I enjoyed your songs, erm, performance and stories a lot."

Sunna smiles and nods politely.

"You are as pretty as your songs, and..." he blurts out, almost instantly blushing.

"No wait.  I mean, well, it's about some words I heard."  The man of the wilds scratches his jawline and composes himself a little.

"In that one song you said 'Asking how I know these things is like asking how the rain knows where to fall.'  I've heard that before.  A friend says it.  Where did you heard it from?"

"Did the guy have fur and four legs?" he adds in a more hushed tone.  Normally a strange question.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:13, Wed 13 Sept 2017.

For a moment Sunna just looks at the man, puzzled. Is he talking of Reynard? And if so, did the fox really speak to other people as well?
"Red hair, with just a bit of white at the end?

But who are you, if I might ask? I saw you quite often around here lately, but somehow I didn't get your name. I'm Sunna, but I guess you already heard that." She grins.
"You are a very attentive listener. It was indeed a rather strange friend who told me about the rain."

The man blushes when Sunna calls him attentive.

"My name is Ragnar Triplefang, a humble hunter Miss," he says with an awkward bow.

The longhouse isn't the best place to have a private conversation and Ragnar looks like he'd be more at home outdoors anyhow, so Sunna changes into her winter boots and the two go for a night walk in the light snow.

"I've been down Crim way for three years give or take.  One day I was following this critter's trail that been coming and going with disappearances in between.  That's strange enough, isn't it?  All other animals that walk leave tracks everywhere they go.  I'm real persisting-like, so eventually I found that fox and followed him.  I wasn't gonna let him out of my sight until I seen how he disappears or leaves no trail or whatever he does.  I followed him for a few hours.  Then I got too close and he turns to me and says 'Hey, quit following me.'  or something like that but more poetical like he says it."

His eyes get big as he looks right at Sunna.

"What's this?!?  Is it a man turned into a fox?  I can't take that advice I gotta follow this man-fox twice as hard now."

"Well, the weeks passed by and I guess he got used to me always being on his tail.  Then we were like friends.  I did him some favors and he told me things.  It were sometimes stuff no man who turned into a fox would know.  You know?"

It takes a while before Ragnar's story gets around to the here and now.

"So he gives me a real simple direction.  'Go North' he says.  I wasn't sure where I was going at first, maybe Pliffa.  Now I know.  He sent me north to you, Miss Sunna.  Gotta be."

Sunna nods to Ragnar as he introduces himself and then listens to his story. His conclusion that Reynard sent him to her makes her wonder what the fox is up to. But he's a friend and his advice has always been helpful.

"He knows a lot", the young bard agrees. "And I could need a hunter on my travels. Especially if he's the friend of a certain friend. If that 's what you had in mind, that is. But I have to warn you, the places where we go can be dangerous." She looks at Ragnar questioningly.

Ragnar nods.  Danger doesn't appear to bother him.  A hearty adventurer indeed!

Around noon two days later Holly arrives in Volge with urgent news.  She contemplates going directly to Elena or Heinrich, but decides to speak with her close friend Sunna first.

Sunna is a bit surprised to see Holly, somehow she would have expected her to show up in a few weeks or so. Still, she is happy to see her friend. "Nice to see you, Holly. You look a bit in a hurry. What's up?"

"News. Which as usual is not good. Can we go somewhere to talk. Alone." Holly indicates Ragnar, and wants to take Sunna off to one side away from prying ears and eyes before expanding on what she needs to pass on. Not knowing Ragnar, Holly wonders for a moment if he is the guide, before shaking her head. "Its important".

Sunna nods. "Sure, Holly. Uhm, meet Ragnar, he's a friend of mine and a fine tracker besides. Ragnar, this is Holly, a good friend of mine. I hope you don't mind, we have some business to discuss. I'll be back shortly. There's still some ale in the longhouse, it's on me, alright?"

Sunna turns towards Holly fully now. "I hope it's not bad news. Lets go for a walk, shall we?"

Holly takes Sunna for a walk, far enough away from the buildings that no-one can overhear them, and sets Moonlight on watch to warn if anyone comes close. Sitting down on the ground, ignoring the chill that stills exists there and looks up at Sunna, "I am afraid it is bad news. My colleagues have informed me that three armies are now on the march, thankfully we don't believe through Triplefang lands, but they will sweep all before them. There is nothing that can be done to stop them, which is why I need to try and convince the Elders to get out of their way if they do move through our lands. That is not going to be easy, although I have already called upon the church of Pelor for aid in passing on the message to those around us. The main threat seems to be to the lands to the east, and for that I must say I am slightly grateful. The undead threat we tried to slow down, and the goblins are moving up the east. The third threat might be anywhere, as no news has arrived yet." Holly takes a deep breath, wondering how much more bad news she needs to tell.

"We need to follow them. We need to find out why they travel north, and find out what is going on. There is a suspicion they are working together, in which case their may be more behind this than we thought."

"I need your help in convincing the Elders to stand aside if it comes to battle. I also need you to come with me and our little band to find out what is going on. It might mean a trip to see the dwarves, but may take us well outside the clan lands. As names in the Tome of Legends, I believe we can do that, and get back. Will you join me?"

Sunna sits down near Holly and listens to what her friend has to say with growing unease. "Of course I'll help you to convince the Elders. And I want to find out what's going on, too.

Do you have any idea as to what might be going on? Why the two armies should work together? What there destination might be?"
This message was last edited by the player at 04:35, Wed 25 Oct 2017.

"They are probably not working together, but heading in the same direction. They seem to want to get to the World Tree, Yggdrasil. I don't even know if we can get to it, but the armies seem to believe they can. We have used transportation gates to the dwarves and a desert location full of lizards, so perhaps they know of another such tunnel that they can use to get to Yggdrasil. If we can come back to the elders with news of what is going on, then perhaps the tribes can gather and survive somehow. I for one do not want to live in a land ruled by goblins, or the undead." Holly felt a shiver pass over her at the thought. Sunna could probably understand that feeling, having suffered by the actions of undead spirits.

"I have little hope in getting the tribes to act together. Too many are like Mord, and will want to wade in with sword swinging. If they do that, they will die. I will try my best, and use the time to perhaps find someone who knows the way to Yggdrasil. That someone might be in the dwarven lands, or right under my nose. I'm hoping it is not Jacob or one of his assosciates, as that might be a problem." Especially for me, Holly thinks to herself.

"To the World Tree", Sunna echoes, sounding a bit unbelievingly. "Even if they don't work together, it does not sound good to picture them... there."

"So, the armies are too big even for all clans combined you say? The action we would want the clans to take is that of survival, not war, did I get that right? That would indeed be difficult."

"We do not know where exactly the World Tree is, but we assume that at least two, maybe even three, armies are headed there. To gain control of... I think I may be missing something here. What do they have to do there? Is the only option for us to survive or might there be another, perhaps more dangerous, path, maybe trying to stop what they are there for? I do not want any goblin or undead ruling... anything than themselves, either." Sunna shudders thinking about a land ruled by undead.

"I have been told that the armies on the move are capable of destroying anything in their path. I haven't seen them, so can't comment, but my sources were confident they would sweep anything except one of the other two. I would have thought they'd want to keep their forces together until they get to the World Tree. I am no tactician, but that is what I would do." Holly doesn't like the idea of letting them simply walk into the vicinity of the World Tree, but she can't see anyway of stopping them.

Holly considers Sunna's last statement long and hard before answering, "I am not even sure a small party like our little band of cousins can get there, but I am sure a large group won't. I don't know what we can do when we get there. Perhaps take out the leaders before anything happens, or disrupt any of their work against the World Tree. We might be Legends, but I don't know if we can make a difference. If we aren't there, then we have no chance of making a difference. I think we need to call in Adiel and get Mord here. While we wait we can talk to the Elders and see if we can't get traction on having them hold back."

"If the World Tree is the one I know only legends about, three armies might have a meaning, too. It feeds off three wells, it says, the Old Home, Wisdom and Time or Fate. And if it is destroyed the world will end. Or, there will be a lot of war and people dying until the world tree renews, somehow. This is what you were meaning when you wanted the Elders to wait, so that the clans may survive? Still, I can't believe that they would go there and try that without some plan for the time when the World Tree is broken. Just wreaking havoc would kill them, too, I'd guess, so I think either they have something up their sleeve or someone told them something to believe in to get this done. Fir a reason I still don't understand.

Anyway, you are right. We have to get Adiel and Mord here and talk to the Elders as soon as possible."

What would you like to do first?  Talk to Heinrich and Elana?  Go to Silvergate to fetch Adiel?  Go to Crim to get Mord?  Maybe send a message another way?  Some other plan?

Sunna thinks for a moment about how to get everyone together again.
"Do you think we could send a message to Mord and Adiel, asking them to meet with us? Maybe meet at Silvergate, so we only have to get a message to Mord. Then talk to Heinrich and Elana and then get on our way?"

"I would rather than Adiel here, and perhaps Coal and Snow as well to support us. Adiel is not far away, and will allow us to plan our approach. We can ask Coal to try and communicate with her spirits to find out if they can add anything. With you and Adiel present we should be able to present a good discussion to Heinrich and Elana. A messenger to Mord to going to take longer, so meeting us in Goldenpoint is probably better. We seem to need to head North from Volge, even without any further evidence of how to get the World Tree." Holly says. Sunna is so far proviing very useful in her insights, but getting Coal and Snow involved might get them more intelligence they could use with dealing with the Elders.

Snow's right here in Volge.  Would you like to recruit her before or after traveling to Silvergate?

How do you want to send a message to Mord?

To speed things along a little we'll say you left for Silvergate with haste to find Adiel.  Ragnar insists on joining the two of you.  Holly's only just met the hunter, but already she can tell deeply loyal to Sunna.  Sunna tells Holly that Ragnar is a friend of Reynard and that you can trust him.  Along the way you mention that you're gathering a couple of your cousins to go on an important journey north.

"North you say, Miss Holly?  That's exactly where I'm to go too.  North." he says.
(I will leave Ragnar to Sunna to run for the most part from here on.)

It's a very long day's ride to Silvergate, so you arrive a good deal after sunset.  You check into the Crow Inn for the night and look for Adiel in the morning.  Sunna finds out, right off the bat, that Adiel has been using the blacksmith's forge on occasion and you run into him at the smith's before noon.

"Remember to keep the details quiet until we can get to speak to Adiel alone. We don't want to scare people unnecessarily. I'd rather the Elders take control before panic can set in. We get Adiel to finish his business here and we get back to Volge." Holly says. Being without Moonlight just feels very, very wrong, especially after spending the whole of the winter together. Holly knew Moonlight could take care of himself, but was still worried about sending him off to bring Mord back. Holly just hoped that Mord would take Moonlights appearance without her as being important enough to follow him back to Volge.

A little bookkeeping.

Before the winter I'm going to assume you split up some of the coins.  All four of you took 1,000gp and 10,000sp.  I'm also going to deduct 2,200 silver to buy Ragnar and Ros horses, saddles, saddlebags, bit, and bridle so they won't slow the party down.  Mord now has the Buckler +1 and the leather coat +2 natural armor.  You gave the spirit realm book to Coal.  I've update the cart item and your character sheets.

Sunna nods to Holly. "Of course."

She waves at Adiel. "Hey, cousin! Good to see you. Are you busy right now or would you like to take a short walk with us?"

Using long blacksmith's tongs, Adiel holds a small container a little way from the forge. At first, it seems to be empty, but closer inspection shows that he is slowly cooling a small piece of glass.

Looking up, he smiles. He's clearly gained a few pounds over the winter, as Holly already knows. "Hello, cousins! How long have you been in Silvergate?" He eyes his piece of glass speculatively. "This is just about cooled enough for me to come with you. Give me a few moments." He carefully sets down the container, dumps the glass into a sturdy cloth, and wraps it up for safe transportation, and to finish cooling it gradually. Finally, he starts to clean up his tools. "I've learned a lot this winter. How about you?"

"We arrived here yesterday. Too tired to go looking for you that evening, it was a long trip." Sunna glances at the bit of glass. "This is no simple piece for a window, is it?"

"Well, if you count listening to the stories my father tells as learning, yes, I did that a lot." She grins, but there is pride in her voice. "I think I now know all of them."

Once Adiel seems ready to go Sunna leads him and Holly out of town for a walk. "Seems as if it was Holly who learned the very... interesting things", she says on the way, "that's why we're here. We need your help." That's about as much Sunna tells in way of explanation until they reach a quiet spot outside where she gestures to Holly to tell what's up.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:36, Sun 12 Nov 2017.