Near Kiruna, Sweden
Core Earth / Asyle Mixed Zone

Prior events have conspired to place you in the far north of Sweden, delivering care packages to to refugees in the city of Kiruna. Not only humans, but elves, dwarves and all manner of mythical creatures have flooded into the area recently after fleeing the more pure Aysle regions to the south.

Settling down to a traditional northern Swedish meal of Reindeer meatballs in a brown cream sauce with tart, pungent lingonberry jam (slightly similar in taste to cranberry sauce), your eyes are drawn to a lone owl flying in your direction. As it flies closer, it's obviously drawn to your group. Large and grey, the own is typical for the area, however this owl has an additional accessory. A small metallic cylinder, typical of the kind used for message delivery.

As it lands, it leans down with it's beak, pulls the cylinder off and drops it on the table in front of you before grabbing a meatball and flying off. Opening the cylinder, your gaze is first drawn to the seal of the Delphi Council at the bottom, then your eyes take in the rest of the message.

Team,
Mobs of undead have attacked several remote towns and villages in the north over the last few weeks, with Gällivare the site of the most recent attack. Much of the town now lies in ruins with many of the townsfolk dragged off. Head to the area, learn all you can, and put an end to whatever or whoever is behind this threat.

This is Alpha Clearance and urgent.
Good luck, Storm Knights.

When the food arrives, Mack studies it for a few moments. Then he brings his face close to the plate and he takes a deep sniff carefully taking in all the smells of the meat and sauce. The jam seems to confuse him at first but he nods soon enough. With one of his strange blackened claws he skewers a meatball and pops it into his mouth. Slowly he chews as he takes in the texture and flavors. He eats a second with a generous amount of the jam.

"They burn the meat and try to hide it. They disrespect the creature who gives them its flesh. They disrespect the hunters who triumphed and brought home the meat. I don't understand this tribe," he mutters to himself. "But they make wonderful use of the plants. The flavors are many and Lanala rejoices. I must learn."

He watches the owl land and deliver the message. He seems happy with such an event.

While Mack understands the markings on the paper convey a message, he has no idea how. He listens as one of the gotaks of his new tribe translate the message. He frowns as undead are discussed.

"It is no surprise that the corruption of Rec Stalek has reached here. The worship of dead things surrounds us and makes the voice of Lanala hard to hear. Fear not my friends, I shall rip the cold dead hearts from the chests of the servants of the dead god."

Edit: Added a bit of character development to the start of the post.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:06, Fri 03 Aug 2018.

Kimiko eats delicately, picking up meatballs in elegant black chopsticks and chewing each one carefully, clearly paying attention to the interplays of flavor.  When she first sees the owl, she watches it coming closer with a touch of wonder, but her expression changes to a distinct bit of distaste as it lands on the table, deposits its charge, and plucks a meatball off her plate.

Sliding her plate forward and away, she picks up the capsule and twists it open, saying something in Japanese as she does.  [Private to GM: "E-mail never steals your dinner."]  She lays the message flat on the table, and reads it aloud.  Her English is only lightly accented, just enough to sound exotic, but she does stumble a bit over Gällivare.

Once it's done, she leaves it there if anyone else wishes to look at it.  Mack's pronouncement draws a simple, formal nod, accepting Mack's vow.

Raya is the one to offer a meatball, relatively free of sauce and jam, to the owl, smiling as it picks the meal up and flies off.

She nods in thanks to Kimiko as she slides the paper over to read it herself. "Poor souls. I wonder if any of them are still alive," she sighs at the end before tapping the word 'urgent' with one fingernail. "We should be on our way, it seems. Anyone need gear before we leave?"

Artorias silently nods at the vow. "Gear? I believe I have everything. As for your vow, Mack, I will help you in any way I can."

"I need nothing," Mack says. "We should begin the walk. Do any of you know the path to village?"

Kimiko already has her phone out, tapping delicately at the screen.  "There used to be a highway, E10."  Glancing up at Mack, she clarifies, "A very big path.  It's probably still intact.  This area hasn't started really deteriorating yet.  I would suggest we follow that.  The town is 122 kilometers away - about 24 hours of walking, so at least two days on foot."  She looks at Mack again, smiling politely, and adds something else in Japanese.  [Private to GM: "And we will be on foot, won't we?"]  Correcting herself back to English, she points, and notes, "We would find it that way, and then we just need to follow it South."

"I will need just a few moments to put on my armor and gather my things together.  It's the description of people being `dragged away' that fills me with both concern, and hope.  That is unusual behavior for the undead, is it not?  The creatures that plague Japan and China simply attack."

Near Kiruna, Sweden
Core Earth / Asyle Mixed Zone

As you discuss the distance and logistics on the journey ahead, the server returns, bringing refills and candies as a treat to complete the meal. Overhearing the discussion, she hesitates before speaking.

“Forgive me for the intrusion, but did I hear you were trying to get to Gällivare? Are you sure you wish to make that journey? A couple of people I know headed south, and we haven’t heard from them. I’ve been told that about halfway there everything turns upside down, and phones and everything just stop working.“

Kimiko smiles politely, and shakes her head.  "In times such as these, we go where we are needed, not where we wish."  She looks somewhat wistfully at her phone.  "But thank you for your concern."

"You depend on too many dead things," Mack says. "Embrace life and shake off the shackles of the dead. Let Lanala experience the world through you." It's not really clear who he is speaking to as he seems to be looking out into the distance.

He pauses and shakes his head. "We should go. The dead walk and that's an abomination."

"As they said, we do need to head down that way," Raya says to the waiter. "But since we are, did you want to give us some names? We can keep an eye out for them."

Gällivare, Sweden
Asyle Dominant Zone

Several hours have passed on the road. Half of the journey was on snowmobiles and the second half has been on horseback provided by your Delphi Council contacts. As you approach, the sun is coming up and the scene ahead is one of devastation. Gällivare stands in ruins. Most buildings are smoldering cinders, the smoke rising to mingle with the falling snow. Body parts litter the ground in frozen pools of blood, but no intact corpses can be found amidst the carnage. The few survivors who have not fled the ravaged community pick their way through the debris, searching for loved ones or prized possessions in the rubble.

Several of the survivors turn to look in your direction and they have to visibly keep themselves from panicking. Some begin to run, others pick up whatever is close to use as a weapon, even though it is obvious that they don’t have a lot of potential skill with using such items.

Kimiko tries for a friendly smile and wave.  "Good morning!" she calls out, making sure to keep both hands visible, and well away from her sword.  "It's OK, we're here to help!"

Raya nods at Kimiko's words. "Maybe we could sit?" she suggests hopefully. "Start by telling us what's happened, we can figure out what to do..."

Mack's distaste for the snowmobiles was obvious, but his joy in the air rushing through his hair and the speed of travel turned his attitude around quickly. Riding on a horse is something he is far more comfortable with and his mood continues to improve. He takes in the landscape and makes note of the different plants in the region along with the sounds and smells here and how they change as they move from Core Earth to Asyle.

Knowing his appearance may startle the people here, Mack remains silent as his companions speak up. He does offer a friendly smile.

Gällivare, Sweden
Asyle Dominant Zone

People continue running, attempting to conceal themselves from you. Various cries are heard directed towards you, even though the speaker may not be seen.

"Go away!"...
"No one can help us, it's a trick!"...
"Where were you earlier?"...
"Leave us be. Please."...
"Are you valkyrie here for us?"...


The voices trail off in minutes, leaving an eerie quiet, as not even animals in the area are making any noises it seems.

The people here do seem a bit hesitant to talk or even come close. A Persuade or even an Intimidate might be appropriate depending on how want to deal with them. :)

The fear of the people hits Mack and he feels torn. Part of him wants to give chase and bring them down like the prey they obviously are. Part of him want to gather them, shelter them, teach them of Lanala and to protect themselves and their children.

He looks to his companions. His blackened claw-like hands clenched in fists. "These people are lost! How did they survive this long without learning? They are like children... No, they are like eggs. Children have more sense.

"Talk to them, find out where the dead walk. I would only frighten them more."

"Hush," Raya says to Mack. "Don't insult these people. They're scared, not deaf." She looks back towards the village, raising her voice and holding her hands open to show that they're empty. "We're not valkyries, and it's not a trick. We got here as soon as we could. We're here to help, and we need someone, anyone, to tell us exactly what's happened so we can do that."

With a spent possibility, rolled a 15, for a grand total of 14.

22:47, Today: Raya Lennox rolled 5 using 1d20.  Persuasion (Possibility Spent).
22:45, Today: Raya Lennox rolled 5 using 1d20.  Persuasion.