Setting
Iskjerne Bay is a remote viking settlement nestled in a cold bay, featuring a ringed fortress. The wooden palisade and motte around the ringed fortress is enchanted by special magic and divine powers, so that anything beyond early to late medieval Viking Age advancement and technology is instantly disabled or nullified. This outermost wall, just like the statue of Sigurd Hring inside it, is immovable and indestructible, yet everything else within its magical gates is still perishable.
The mead hall was made from an overturned vessel. It rests upon a hill or scarp protected by 4 concentrical round walls, 2 of wood and 2 of stone. There are also 2 mottes, a bailey with an outdoor hub or marketplace, stables, wall towers, gate towers, 2 drawbridges and 1 suspension bridge. Inside the ringed fortress, there are also small farms, and many new constructions being built.
This bay has seen many vikings, many foreign invaders, and much bloodshed. Newer defenses and a lot of culturalizations have risen as a result. The new settlement features Ivar's Keep, Floki's Docks, a windmill, a small well, a large Watch Tower with a Viking Dungeon, a metal workshop or forge, a mining camp, a wooden Saw Mill, an open arena which doubles as an Archery Range, a barracks, a few Viking Stables, and the makings of an Archaic University which is expected to contain a library and a local historical museum at some point, along with classes in different fields of magic and combat. A perishable statue of Ivar the Boneless has also been recently constructed, along with a few mangers and sheep pens.
Right beside it there is a large imperishable statue of Sigurd Hring, one of the semi-legendary High Kings of Iskjerne Bay whose local descendants started worshipping post-mortuum as their ancestral deity, and champion.
Outside the ringed fortress, there is an un-enclosed open farming village, and the makings of a viking cemetery containing many boat-shaped megalithic rock formations made from standing runestones and raised earth mounds.
Iskjerne Bay
Iskjerne Bay is a remote Viking settlement which features a motte-and-bailey Ring Fort, a large Mead Hall made from an overturned longship, and a statue of Sigurd Hring the Dragon Slayer.
Minimap
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Iskjerne Bay is a part of 
Weargtooth Mountains.
7 Places in Iskjerne Bay:
34 Characters Here
Sigurd Hring [159] Sigurd Hring is a legendary viking war strategist and king made famous for killing Ellrulf Trygvirsson and Harald Wartooth at the Battle of Bravellir, and for defeating the Taiyou emperor Shimizu Takayama at Iskjerne Bay.
Seno Miyagi [117] Director of Science in the Taiyou Empire
Takao Eguchi [114] Mid-Level dig supervisor for Ten-Shi Zaibatsu's Site Nine
Yoko Kayabuki [93] Prime Minister of the Taiyou Empire
The Berserkers [92] The Berserkers are large bear-coated brutes with a solitary personality.
The Svinfylking [90] The Svinfylking are the boar-head of the viking standing army.
Uhtred the Godless [80] "You will tell him that Uhtred the Godless is in a mood to kill."
Harald Fairhair [79] A powerful and ambitious viking leader.
The Ljosalfar [79] The Ljosalfar are high light-elves from the interdimensional realm of Alfheim..
Lagertha [78] Lagertha is Ragnar Lothbrok's wife and a famous shield-maiden.
Start Character Here »
As the workers hustled to finish rebuilding the Iskjerne Ringfort's outer wall, the inner circle of nine witches in black veils started to physically manifest the results of their magical incantations. Soon, nine separate Wards appeared in yet another circle, within the invisible spherical forcefield around the viking stronghold. Each ward was located in nine strategic locations around the outer wall, each one becoming vaguely visible as a transparent blueish clear magical shield operating on Gaia's own supply of mana.
These nine Wards around the ringfort's outer wall served as buffers of mysterious magical anti-magic, thin transparent slightly curved walls which would nullify any magical attacks going into the ringfort, while still allowing the volvas to send their own spells outward from behind the wards. As this was happening, the original invisible forcefield around Iskjerne Bay continued to strengthen, the large colorless, odorless bubble working together with the nine smaller magical blue wards inside of it to protect the Viking settlement. Then as six of the volvas continued to chant Old Norse incantations in a circle, three more witches would break off from their ritualistic pagan dance and step out of the circle as the others closed the gap between them, holding hands and forming a magical ring of mysterious ladies in black.
The three witches formed a triangle around the six other witches in the circle. These three would stop chanting and look up, lifting their open hands towards the sky before clapping once and standing perfectly still with their hands out like picturesque statues, never moving an inch as the circle of six volvas continued dancing clockwise between them while holding hands and interlocking their elmwood staffs together. As the witches kulning reached them, the three volvur forming the triangle would call back to Tora by joining in her song over the mountains, hills and plains. Their beautiful voices would echo for miles, reaching Tora's ears from the distance as she turned her attention back to the rock beneath the end of her staff. Tora would give the rock a light gentle tap with the lower end of her staff before standing still and waiting.
Vala started whispering quietly. Soon, the water in the bay would start to withdraw from the shore slowly as the tide went down. Vala looked up towards the clouds above, reaching into her pouch and pulling out a clear sunstone. She held the stone up and peered through it into the sky. The sunstone showed her exactly where the sun was hidden even behind the dark clouds. Meanwhile, the other witch Naya the Volva maintained her post in the open fields on top of a hill, answering Tora's distant kulning with a call of her own before whispering quietly over her long staff, still raising it towards the sky. Soon, the breeze would soften as the wind began to die down. The raven banners hanging throughout Iskjerne Bay would stop waving or blowing around, suddenly going completely limp as the breeze stopped.
Sigurd Hring was still sitting in the great mead hall scratching his chin while tapping his fingertips on the large wooden crescent shaped table in front of him. He was contemplating whether or not to kill Yukiko and Takao, and save himself the headache, or whether they might prove more useful to him alive. It was not an easy decision to make. Both of them were Taiyou, and the Taiyou had already proven to Sigurd that they had no honor. Their words could not be trusted. Especially the princess' words, Sigurd thought, taking note of her slyness and calm demeanor. Yukiko was almost too calm, and that made the King feel uneasy because that meant she was either foolish like Shimizu, or else very clever. Sigurd was not oblivious to her mannerisms as Yukiko neglected to accept the king's hospitality, completely ignoring the nice warm healthy meal he had prepared for her.
"With all due respect your Highness, we Norsemen do not control millions of worlds like your people do. This world, here, now, is all we know. We live here. Most of us will raise their families and die here. We did not come here to start a war. Look around you. War is all we've ever known. We didn't come here for riches or treasure. We came here for the soil, the earth, a place to settle down and farm, and hopefully live in peace. This hall, this table, the very ground you are sitting on right now is sacred to us. We Norsemen built this settlement with our own sweat, blood and tears, and we will happily give all of our lives down to the last warrior to defend it," King Sigurd said casually, looking over at the princess. He paused for a moment before continuing his speech.
"Your emperor underestimated us once, he will do it again. You can believe me when I tell you that my army is fully prepared to meet the Taiyou in open battle. No matter how many tens of millions of soldiers they bring. They will never enter this great hall, much less penetrate the ringfort's inner wall. You are currently sitting in the safest place you could be right now," Sigurd said before finishing his mug of mead. He set his mug down slowly on the table, looking over to Takao before turning his attention back to Yukiko, nodding gently. "You should eat something. Our climate here is cold and the weather is harsh. I need you both to stay healthy and strong incase I find a use for you," the king remarked. "The food is not poisoned. You may relax. Nobody is going to hurt you here. Not without my permission," he added, metaphorically referring to the incident on the hillside.
King Sigurd stood up and walked over to the large heavy arched wooden twin doors, opening them. He turned and nodded quietly, paying his respects to Princess Yukiko Takayama and Takao Eguchi before turning and exiting the great hall, just as four Berserker guards came walking into the hall before closing the doors again. Lord Bruce kept his hands folded quietly the whole time, never moving around as he kept his gaze on Takao and Yukiko from the hall entrance. The two of them were alone now, with just the four guards and Lord Bruce, as King Sigurd made his way down the porch steps and looked up into the sky. He felt a light shockwave and watched the sky light up with a blast from high above as the towering jotunn Asvith Thrym punched the Mizuho, causing a huge sonic boom and shockwave that was large enough for the Iskjerne vikings to barely feel it back on the planet's surface. It wasn't much to Sigurd, just a loud boom followed by a mild ground tremor, but the sky was lit up brightly enough to blind anyone who happened to look up anywhere through the clouds at that moment, as the Mizuho's wingshield illuminated the sky with enough intensity for white and pink brilliant light to penetrate the thick grey veil hovering over Iskjerne.
Within a few seconds the microwave brightness of the sky would fade and get dimmer again, leaving only a beautiful radiant wing-shaped colorful nebula over a pastel blue background of yellowish suns, whitish moons and sparkling stars. Just then, a meteor flew over Iskjerne Bay appearing like a green shooting star to King Sigurd, who marvelled at the sheer size of the four great giants on the horizon. One second the meteor was there, then it disappeared again over the mountains. Sigurd glanced down afterwards just in time to notice a little red fox as it canted it's head and darted back down from the rocks, skittering across a fallen log, and scrambling up a small pine tree in the far distance, seemingly startled by the volva's kulning as she sang. Meanwhile, two of the Harii approached Iskjerne's cave entrance to the Rikkisopi Cave System, noticing that the cave entrance had been closed off by a recent avalanche behind a blanket of snow and ice.
The Harii would patrol the area, soon finding a set of unknown footprints in the snow. They could see where someone had slid down the rocks, being able to detect the little clues left behind by the shinobi, whose presence they were not yet aware of. But the footprints in the snow, though hard to make out, seemed oftly smaller and thinner than most viking feet. The Harii quickly determined that the tracks were not made with typical heavy weatherproof snow boots. Either someone's child was running around unsupervised, or the Harii had themselves an intruder. The two ghost warriors would keep following the footprints and tracks left in the rocks and snow, hoping they might eventually lead on to someone or something of interest.
Prince Hrollaug and his crew would raise the black flag with the white raven banner on it while rowing the Hregg Drekki out into deeper waters as they headed north away from the fjords and out into the open seas. Once the vikings got far enough away from the land, Hrollaug ordered his crew to reattach the wooden dragon-headed prow to the front bow of the langskip, having waited to do so in order to not frighten off or offend the landvaettir at Iskjerne Bay, while Gwyneth and her Skogkattr shield-maidens went along for the naval journey on the longship with Hrollaug's berserkers. In all the Hregg Drekki had a strong crew of 200 vikings altogether, not including Gwyneth or Hrollaug, who stood at opposite ends of the mighty ship, watching everything around them from all sides as they ventured into the Tartarean High Seas.
These nine Wards around the ringfort's outer wall served as buffers of mysterious magical anti-magic, thin transparent slightly curved walls which would nullify any magical attacks going into the ringfort, while still allowing the volvas to send their own spells outward from behind the wards. As this was happening, the original invisible forcefield around Iskjerne Bay continued to strengthen, the large colorless, odorless bubble working together with the nine smaller magical blue wards inside of it to protect the Viking settlement. Then as six of the volvas continued to chant Old Norse incantations in a circle, three more witches would break off from their ritualistic pagan dance and step out of the circle as the others closed the gap between them, holding hands and forming a magical ring of mysterious ladies in black.
The three witches formed a triangle around the six other witches in the circle. These three would stop chanting and look up, lifting their open hands towards the sky before clapping once and standing perfectly still with their hands out like picturesque statues, never moving an inch as the circle of six volvas continued dancing clockwise between them while holding hands and interlocking their elmwood staffs together. As the witches kulning reached them, the three volvur forming the triangle would call back to Tora by joining in her song over the mountains, hills and plains. Their beautiful voices would echo for miles, reaching Tora's ears from the distance as she turned her attention back to the rock beneath the end of her staff. Tora would give the rock a light gentle tap with the lower end of her staff before standing still and waiting.
Vala started whispering quietly. Soon, the water in the bay would start to withdraw from the shore slowly as the tide went down. Vala looked up towards the clouds above, reaching into her pouch and pulling out a clear sunstone. She held the stone up and peered through it into the sky. The sunstone showed her exactly where the sun was hidden even behind the dark clouds. Meanwhile, the other witch Naya the Volva maintained her post in the open fields on top of a hill, answering Tora's distant kulning with a call of her own before whispering quietly over her long staff, still raising it towards the sky. Soon, the breeze would soften as the wind began to die down. The raven banners hanging throughout Iskjerne Bay would stop waving or blowing around, suddenly going completely limp as the breeze stopped.
Sigurd Hring was still sitting in the great mead hall scratching his chin while tapping his fingertips on the large wooden crescent shaped table in front of him. He was contemplating whether or not to kill Yukiko and Takao, and save himself the headache, or whether they might prove more useful to him alive. It was not an easy decision to make. Both of them were Taiyou, and the Taiyou had already proven to Sigurd that they had no honor. Their words could not be trusted. Especially the princess' words, Sigurd thought, taking note of her slyness and calm demeanor. Yukiko was almost too calm, and that made the King feel uneasy because that meant she was either foolish like Shimizu, or else very clever. Sigurd was not oblivious to her mannerisms as Yukiko neglected to accept the king's hospitality, completely ignoring the nice warm healthy meal he had prepared for her.
"With all due respect your Highness, we Norsemen do not control millions of worlds like your people do. This world, here, now, is all we know. We live here. Most of us will raise their families and die here. We did not come here to start a war. Look around you. War is all we've ever known. We didn't come here for riches or treasure. We came here for the soil, the earth, a place to settle down and farm, and hopefully live in peace. This hall, this table, the very ground you are sitting on right now is sacred to us. We Norsemen built this settlement with our own sweat, blood and tears, and we will happily give all of our lives down to the last warrior to defend it," King Sigurd said casually, looking over at the princess. He paused for a moment before continuing his speech.
"Your emperor underestimated us once, he will do it again. You can believe me when I tell you that my army is fully prepared to meet the Taiyou in open battle. No matter how many tens of millions of soldiers they bring. They will never enter this great hall, much less penetrate the ringfort's inner wall. You are currently sitting in the safest place you could be right now," Sigurd said before finishing his mug of mead. He set his mug down slowly on the table, looking over to Takao before turning his attention back to Yukiko, nodding gently. "You should eat something. Our climate here is cold and the weather is harsh. I need you both to stay healthy and strong incase I find a use for you," the king remarked. "The food is not poisoned. You may relax. Nobody is going to hurt you here. Not without my permission," he added, metaphorically referring to the incident on the hillside.
King Sigurd stood up and walked over to the large heavy arched wooden twin doors, opening them. He turned and nodded quietly, paying his respects to Princess Yukiko Takayama and Takao Eguchi before turning and exiting the great hall, just as four Berserker guards came walking into the hall before closing the doors again. Lord Bruce kept his hands folded quietly the whole time, never moving around as he kept his gaze on Takao and Yukiko from the hall entrance. The two of them were alone now, with just the four guards and Lord Bruce, as King Sigurd made his way down the porch steps and looked up into the sky. He felt a light shockwave and watched the sky light up with a blast from high above as the towering jotunn Asvith Thrym punched the Mizuho, causing a huge sonic boom and shockwave that was large enough for the Iskjerne vikings to barely feel it back on the planet's surface. It wasn't much to Sigurd, just a loud boom followed by a mild ground tremor, but the sky was lit up brightly enough to blind anyone who happened to look up anywhere through the clouds at that moment, as the Mizuho's wingshield illuminated the sky with enough intensity for white and pink brilliant light to penetrate the thick grey veil hovering over Iskjerne.
Within a few seconds the microwave brightness of the sky would fade and get dimmer again, leaving only a beautiful radiant wing-shaped colorful nebula over a pastel blue background of yellowish suns, whitish moons and sparkling stars. Just then, a meteor flew over Iskjerne Bay appearing like a green shooting star to King Sigurd, who marvelled at the sheer size of the four great giants on the horizon. One second the meteor was there, then it disappeared again over the mountains. Sigurd glanced down afterwards just in time to notice a little red fox as it canted it's head and darted back down from the rocks, skittering across a fallen log, and scrambling up a small pine tree in the far distance, seemingly startled by the volva's kulning as she sang. Meanwhile, two of the Harii approached Iskjerne's cave entrance to the Rikkisopi Cave System, noticing that the cave entrance had been closed off by a recent avalanche behind a blanket of snow and ice.
The Harii would patrol the area, soon finding a set of unknown footprints in the snow. They could see where someone had slid down the rocks, being able to detect the little clues left behind by the shinobi, whose presence they were not yet aware of. But the footprints in the snow, though hard to make out, seemed oftly smaller and thinner than most viking feet. The Harii quickly determined that the tracks were not made with typical heavy weatherproof snow boots. Either someone's child was running around unsupervised, or the Harii had themselves an intruder. The two ghost warriors would keep following the footprints and tracks left in the rocks and snow, hoping they might eventually lead on to someone or something of interest.
Prince Hrollaug and his crew would raise the black flag with the white raven banner on it while rowing the Hregg Drekki out into deeper waters as they headed north away from the fjords and out into the open seas. Once the vikings got far enough away from the land, Hrollaug ordered his crew to reattach the wooden dragon-headed prow to the front bow of the langskip, having waited to do so in order to not frighten off or offend the landvaettir at Iskjerne Bay, while Gwyneth and her Skogkattr shield-maidens went along for the naval journey on the longship with Hrollaug's berserkers. In all the Hregg Drekki had a strong crew of 200 vikings altogether, not including Gwyneth or Hrollaug, who stood at opposite ends of the mighty ship, watching everything around them from all sides as they ventured into the Tartarean High Seas.
It had been awhile since she had eaten lunch, and she was hungry. Her stomach growled in protest at the food placed in front of her. The food was not unappetizing, but Yukiko was worried the food had been poisoned, or somehow had been tampered with. She grabbed the fork, unsure of how to use it at first, and then she pressed the fork into the flakey, tender fish that had been placed in front of her.
She cut a piece from the fish, and she placed it in her mouth, chewing slowly, the tastes of the fish was foreign to her, but she didn’t say anything about it for fear of offending the King in his slightest bit of hospitality.
She chewed her bite of food, and swallowed it.
“I admire your confidence.” Yukiko said calmly, in english once again. But she didn’t think the Taiyou would fight them in open battle, she knew the tactics of the generals that Shimizu would no doubt recruit to fight them. She already knew precisely the tactics they would use. Orbital bombardment followed by a ground assault. If the magical shield held, they’d be up against legions of soldiers. She didn’t doubt the strength of the magical shield, given this world’s strange magical properties.
Yukiko’s eyes followed Sigurd’s movements as he made his way over towards the doorway to the great hall, the sounds of the Mizuho’s shields repelling Thrym’s attack were not lost on the Princess.
“There is a way to stop this before the fighting starts, if you’re interested, obviously you know where to find me.” Yukiko said as Sigurd paid his respects. She slowly inclined her head in acknowledgement, and watched him as he left the mead hall.
She had accepted her death, she had accepted the fact that at any moment, the king could choose to end them both, Yukiko was not afraid of dying, and it showed in her calm demeanor. She already had a fair idea of what was about to transpire.
If the great king didn’t have them killed, the Taiyou nukes would surely ensure a swift death to them all.
She looked to Bruce, and Takao, and continued in English. “Where will I be quartered?” Yukiko inquired. “What of Seno?” She asked. “If your king releases him back to my people, they will likely hear him in negotiations, this situation does not have to come to bloodshed.” Yukiko added, before she started to go back to her meal.
The small red fox had seemed to disappear entirely, vanishing into the thick underbrush. Eventually the footprints in the snow disappeared it seemed, or led off into dead ends. The smaller human footprints ended in some brushy undergrowth, and there were animal tracks, several of them that led outwards from the inside of the scrub brush.
Eventually, the Harii warriors out tracking their intruder would find him. They would find a strange man standing on a small path, but the man didn’t stand out, and he most certainly didn’t appear Taiyou. His face was painted a dark brown, and he was wearing a fox’s pelt over his head, like a hood. The man’s coat also seemed to be made from thick animal furs, which would provide ample warmth in the cold climate of Iskjerne Bay.
The Pommel of a sheathed sword could be made out among the pelts, along with various leather satchels.
He didn’t seem to move, or make any overtly threatening gestures, he simply watched the Harii closely, from the looks, he seemed to have been picking mushrooms that were growing in the undergrowth of the trees.
She cut a piece from the fish, and she placed it in her mouth, chewing slowly, the tastes of the fish was foreign to her, but she didn’t say anything about it for fear of offending the King in his slightest bit of hospitality.
She chewed her bite of food, and swallowed it.
“I admire your confidence.” Yukiko said calmly, in english once again. But she didn’t think the Taiyou would fight them in open battle, she knew the tactics of the generals that Shimizu would no doubt recruit to fight them. She already knew precisely the tactics they would use. Orbital bombardment followed by a ground assault. If the magical shield held, they’d be up against legions of soldiers. She didn’t doubt the strength of the magical shield, given this world’s strange magical properties.
Yukiko’s eyes followed Sigurd’s movements as he made his way over towards the doorway to the great hall, the sounds of the Mizuho’s shields repelling Thrym’s attack were not lost on the Princess.
“There is a way to stop this before the fighting starts, if you’re interested, obviously you know where to find me.” Yukiko said as Sigurd paid his respects. She slowly inclined her head in acknowledgement, and watched him as he left the mead hall.
She had accepted her death, she had accepted the fact that at any moment, the king could choose to end them both, Yukiko was not afraid of dying, and it showed in her calm demeanor. She already had a fair idea of what was about to transpire.
If the great king didn’t have them killed, the Taiyou nukes would surely ensure a swift death to them all.
She looked to Bruce, and Takao, and continued in English. “Where will I be quartered?” Yukiko inquired. “What of Seno?” She asked. “If your king releases him back to my people, they will likely hear him in negotiations, this situation does not have to come to bloodshed.” Yukiko added, before she started to go back to her meal.
The small red fox had seemed to disappear entirely, vanishing into the thick underbrush. Eventually the footprints in the snow disappeared it seemed, or led off into dead ends. The smaller human footprints ended in some brushy undergrowth, and there were animal tracks, several of them that led outwards from the inside of the scrub brush.
Eventually, the Harii warriors out tracking their intruder would find him. They would find a strange man standing on a small path, but the man didn’t stand out, and he most certainly didn’t appear Taiyou. His face was painted a dark brown, and he was wearing a fox’s pelt over his head, like a hood. The man’s coat also seemed to be made from thick animal furs, which would provide ample warmth in the cold climate of Iskjerne Bay.
The Pommel of a sheathed sword could be made out among the pelts, along with various leather satchels.
He didn’t seem to move, or make any overtly threatening gestures, he simply watched the Harii closely, from the looks, he seemed to have been picking mushrooms that were growing in the undergrowth of the trees.
Dibble peeped out from behind a mushroom and stared pointedly at the strange man, making his way closer in flicks of movement, until he was just about sitting on the guy. There was a squeak-like the sound mushrooms make in your teeth when you eat them- which was the small winged creature addressing the much larger man.
“
That one! That one's poison! Won't kill ya but, hoo, last human I saw eat one, hooooooyeeeah!
”
“I admire your confidence.” Yukiko said calmly, in English once again. But she didn’t think the Taiyou would fight them in open battle, she knew the tactics of the generals that Shimizu would no doubt recruit to fight them. What she didn't know, however, is that King Sigurd had no intentions of fighting the Taiyou head on. The Ringtaker had his own tricks up his sleeve. Yukiko’s eyes followed Sigurd’s movements as he made his way over towards the doorway to the great hall, the sounds of the Mizuho’s shields repelling Thrym’s attack were not lost on the Princess, who could feel the trembling table, dishes and silverwear as the sonic boom from the hybrid ship's impact with Thrym's mountainous fist reached the planet. "There is a way to stop this before the fighting starts, if you’re interested, obviously you know where to find me.” Yukiko said as Sigurd paid his respects. She slowly inclined her head in acknowledgement, and watched him as he left the mead hall.
After a moment, Yukiko would turn her attention to Lord Bruce of Essex, again speaking in English, a language that was pretty much the same as his own native Anglish tongue. "Where will I be quartered?” Yukiko inquired. "This is your quarters for the time being," Bruce said directly, affirming her situation. The great hall was simple and probably not very accomodating to the Taiyou princess. There were no mattresses, and no cushions apart from the thick quilt blankets, wool beddings and frameless straw beds. She would be forced to urinate in a crude tin bucket and sleep next to the dog beds, but at least there was a central firepit and the thick wooden walls were insulated enough to keep her warm, even during the most extreme arctic weather. Although it seemed like a prison to Yukiko, such simple earthwork was actually quite comfortable and luxurious to the battle-hardened Iskjerne vikings. “What of Seno?” She asked. “If your king releases him back to my people, they will likely hear him in negotiations, this situation does not have to come to bloodshed.” Yukiko added, before she started to go back to her meal. "Seno is of no concern to you now," Bruce assured her, keeping his hands folded while guarding the entrance to the great hall. By now, Yukiko and Takao could notice the blood seeping through Bruce's bandaged torso near his shoulder. His injury had not stopped bleeding yet, but Bruce stood tall and upright, ignoring the pain as he kept his posture and his composure, keeping a watchful eye on the four berserkers who guarded Yukiko and Takao.
As the months had passed by, Iskjerne's viking population had grown considerably. There were at least one hundred Harii ghost warriors now, all of them like watchful ravens, providing nearly two hundred extra eyes and ears for the Viking konung. The black bodypainted warriors were clever and stealthy. While some of them followed the various fading tracks in the snow, they left behind hardly any of their own, instead trodding lightly on top of the snowy terrain while wearing very wide snowshoes attached to their thick black feathered winter boots which evenly distributed their weight, preventing their feet from sinking into the snow while enabling them to get around faster without exhausting as much energy. Some of them even wore black feathered hooded cloaks as they followed the fox tracks and the smaller human tracks into the scrub brush, prodding the bushes with their pronged spears, atgeirs and pitchforks.
It wasn't long before the two Harii near the caved-in entrance to Iskjerne's cave system would gain ground and close the distance between themselves and the mysterious intruder they had been tracking. They followed the fading tracks into a clearing in the foilage overlooking a small mushroom field, noticing that some of the caps had been plucked. Walking further on, they would find a strange man standing on a small path, but the man didn’t stand out. His face was painted a dark brown, and he was wearing a fox’s pelt over his head, like a hood. The man’s coat also seemed to be made from thick animal furs, which would provide ample warmth in the cold climate of Iskjerne Bay, the pommel of a sheathed sword sticking out among the pelts, along with various leather satchels. When the mysterious shroom thief spotted the Harii, he didn't even move. Instead, he just looked at them silently as the two ghost warriors stopped, staring back at him.
"I wasn't aware that the Vulpini tribe had joined us," one of the Harii whispered quietly to the other. "They haven't," the other Harii whispered back, slowly reaching behind him for his elmwood longbow as he kept his eyes on the brown-faced intruder wearing the foxpelt. "You should go warn the others. I'll take care of this," he said quietly before emerging from the bushes beneath the tall evergreen trees, pointing his loaded longbow at the shinobi with three individual arrows notched to his bowstring. "Greetings friend. Mind telling me what you're doing way out here?" the Harii warrior asked politely, pointing the arrows at the mysterious thief's midsection as the other Harii ran back to go inform the others. The ghost warrior with the longbow was painted black from head to toe, wearing an elaborately carved wooden cuirass with a crucible steel metal chestplate attached to it over a black cast iron ring-mail shirt tunic. His trousers were very baggy, with the pantlegs tucked into his knee-high leg stockings and tied to his feathered black snow boots near the ankles. He wore a raven-feathered hooded cloak, not unsimilar to the ninja's hooded foxpelt, and on his neck he wore a leather necklace with a tiny bone pendant carved in the shape of a naked woman. He had a small but thick bushy black beard and spoke with a strong Germanic accent as he approached the stranger slowly with caution, never even noticing the tiny winged creature that spoke to the shinobi.
After a moment, Yukiko would turn her attention to Lord Bruce of Essex, again speaking in English, a language that was pretty much the same as his own native Anglish tongue. "Where will I be quartered?” Yukiko inquired. "This is your quarters for the time being," Bruce said directly, affirming her situation. The great hall was simple and probably not very accomodating to the Taiyou princess. There were no mattresses, and no cushions apart from the thick quilt blankets, wool beddings and frameless straw beds. She would be forced to urinate in a crude tin bucket and sleep next to the dog beds, but at least there was a central firepit and the thick wooden walls were insulated enough to keep her warm, even during the most extreme arctic weather. Although it seemed like a prison to Yukiko, such simple earthwork was actually quite comfortable and luxurious to the battle-hardened Iskjerne vikings. “What of Seno?” She asked. “If your king releases him back to my people, they will likely hear him in negotiations, this situation does not have to come to bloodshed.” Yukiko added, before she started to go back to her meal. "Seno is of no concern to you now," Bruce assured her, keeping his hands folded while guarding the entrance to the great hall. By now, Yukiko and Takao could notice the blood seeping through Bruce's bandaged torso near his shoulder. His injury had not stopped bleeding yet, but Bruce stood tall and upright, ignoring the pain as he kept his posture and his composure, keeping a watchful eye on the four berserkers who guarded Yukiko and Takao.
As the months had passed by, Iskjerne's viking population had grown considerably. There were at least one hundred Harii ghost warriors now, all of them like watchful ravens, providing nearly two hundred extra eyes and ears for the Viking konung. The black bodypainted warriors were clever and stealthy. While some of them followed the various fading tracks in the snow, they left behind hardly any of their own, instead trodding lightly on top of the snowy terrain while wearing very wide snowshoes attached to their thick black feathered winter boots which evenly distributed their weight, preventing their feet from sinking into the snow while enabling them to get around faster without exhausting as much energy. Some of them even wore black feathered hooded cloaks as they followed the fox tracks and the smaller human tracks into the scrub brush, prodding the bushes with their pronged spears, atgeirs and pitchforks.
It wasn't long before the two Harii near the caved-in entrance to Iskjerne's cave system would gain ground and close the distance between themselves and the mysterious intruder they had been tracking. They followed the fading tracks into a clearing in the foilage overlooking a small mushroom field, noticing that some of the caps had been plucked. Walking further on, they would find a strange man standing on a small path, but the man didn’t stand out. His face was painted a dark brown, and he was wearing a fox’s pelt over his head, like a hood. The man’s coat also seemed to be made from thick animal furs, which would provide ample warmth in the cold climate of Iskjerne Bay, the pommel of a sheathed sword sticking out among the pelts, along with various leather satchels. When the mysterious shroom thief spotted the Harii, he didn't even move. Instead, he just looked at them silently as the two ghost warriors stopped, staring back at him.
"I wasn't aware that the Vulpini tribe had joined us," one of the Harii whispered quietly to the other. "They haven't," the other Harii whispered back, slowly reaching behind him for his elmwood longbow as he kept his eyes on the brown-faced intruder wearing the foxpelt. "You should go warn the others. I'll take care of this," he said quietly before emerging from the bushes beneath the tall evergreen trees, pointing his loaded longbow at the shinobi with three individual arrows notched to his bowstring. "Greetings friend. Mind telling me what you're doing way out here?" the Harii warrior asked politely, pointing the arrows at the mysterious thief's midsection as the other Harii ran back to go inform the others. The ghost warrior with the longbow was painted black from head to toe, wearing an elaborately carved wooden cuirass with a crucible steel metal chestplate attached to it over a black cast iron ring-mail shirt tunic. His trousers were very baggy, with the pantlegs tucked into his knee-high leg stockings and tied to his feathered black snow boots near the ankles. He wore a raven-feathered hooded cloak, not unsimilar to the ninja's hooded foxpelt, and on his neck he wore a leather necklace with a tiny bone pendant carved in the shape of a naked woman. He had a small but thick bushy black beard and spoke with a strong Germanic accent as he approached the stranger slowly with caution, never even noticing the tiny winged creature that spoke to the shinobi.
Dibble peeped out from behind a mushroom and stared pointedly at the strange man, making his way closer in flicks of movement, until he was just about sitting on the guy. There was a squeak-like the sound mushrooms make in your teeth when you eat them- which was the small winged creature addressing the much larger man. High above them in the sky, another tiny winged creature was actually flying down vertically from the jotunn Thrym's enormous spine heading into a fullblown skysurfing freefall inclined northwest towards the Faerie Ring in Iskjerne Bay, spotting Dibble and the Shinobi from the sky. It appeared to be a common 4-winged florescent dragonfly as it buzzed over their heads and landed on a mushroom. The blue and purple oily looking hairy insect with florescent lime green wings would perch its six spindly legs onto a red and white polkadotted fly agaric mushroom cap and turn clockwise, facing both of them with its two large round orangish red eyes, themselves a composite of hundreds of smaller individual round eyes as it used its antennae to probe the mushroom cap.
Dibble moved hastily, swatting at the colorful bug. Giants in the sky, humans forgetting common knowledge- and now the bugs, too?! Dibble knew there was something extra odd going on- what with the sky turning pink- but this was another level!
"Poison! Hoo! Dumb buggie! Man! Hey! Man! Hey!"
Dibble attempted to shoo the dragonfly off, completely oblivious to the tension of the men. Dibble squeaked out frantically to everyone about the mushroom, reminding them all in a flurry that these ones were not the safe ones.
"Poison! Hoo! Dumb buggie! Man! Hey! Man! Hey!"
Dibble attempted to shoo the dragonfly off, completely oblivious to the tension of the men. Dibble squeaked out frantically to everyone about the mushroom, reminding them all in a flurry that these ones were not the safe ones.
Sigurd Hring says "fuck it" and plants a garden like he always wanted. The Vikings celebrate by erecting an over-powered, unbreakable, unmoveable statue of Sigurd and then worshipping him as a god.
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Dainn falls over dead for no reason, just because the vikings all killed themselves and so there was no one left to believe in him. Slowly the landvaettir would begin to abandon and leave Iskjerne, causing the mushrooms to shrivel up. The trees withered. The grass died. Fantastic creatures started to go extinct. The magic was gone from Iskjerne, along with the native elves, dwarves and land spirits who kept it alive.
All of the vikings at Iskjerne Bay drink poison and kill themselves as an act of protest, robbing their enemies of a chance at victory. The vikings leave behind a single stone marked with runes.
"The only petty kingdom to never be conquered on the battlefield. We defied the Taiyou in Iskjerne... Hail the mighty king Sigurd Hring, a god among men."
They were not samurai. They were not cowboys or monotheistic Christian hypocrites. There was no shame, no sin, no loss of pride or honor. On the contrary, the vikings were very brave, and their gods looked upon them with favor. All of them were allotted a place in Folkvang.
"The only petty kingdom to never be conquered on the battlefield. We defied the Taiyou in Iskjerne... Hail the mighty king Sigurd Hring, a god among men."
They were not samurai. They were not cowboys or monotheistic Christian hypocrites. There was no shame, no sin, no loss of pride or honor. On the contrary, the vikings were very brave, and their gods looked upon them with favor. All of them were allotted a place in Folkvang.
Yukiko came out from her room in the great hall to see all the vikings had committed suicide. She stood there, visibly confused to the events that had transpired, but was not about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
"I've got to stop this." She said to herself, as she ran full force out of the mead hall, taking care not to trip over the bodies.
"I've got to stop this." She said to herself, as she ran full force out of the mead hall, taking care not to trip over the bodies.
Yukiko managed to reach the tower, where she looked up to see the Aschen Reverence through a break in the clouds. Yukiko grimaced.
"They're here... we gotta go!" The Princess said to herself, running into the tower.
"They're here... we gotta go!" The Princess said to herself, running into the tower.
Yukiko came back out with Seno Miyagi in tow, pointing to the sky. "The Aschen are here, they're probably going to start bombardment any minute. We gotta go!"
Seno briefly looked up and scowled.
"The cave is this way!" Seno said, and the pair began to run towards the cave in the hills, stumbling over dead vikings in their path.
Seno briefly looked up and scowled.
"The cave is this way!" Seno said, and the pair began to run towards the cave in the hills, stumbling over dead vikings in their path.
The World Spirit of Gaia had only recently awoken, but channeled the life force she received from the light dragon into Iskjerne Bay. Gaia called to Sigurd and his fellow vikings of noble heart, reaching deep into their slumbers of death before they fully crossed to another side. Should they hear her and accept her call, they would find a second life on Gaia. Not as mortals, not as zombies, but as true Children of Gaia. A piece of Gaia would forever be anchored in their hearts.
Seno, and Yukiko finally reached the cave entrance.
"Seno, remind me to have the gateway sealed off when we get back to Niihama." Yukiko said, while Seno nodded in agreement.
Yukiko reached down into her pocket, and pulled out a glow stick that she had looted from one of the viking corpses, a glow stick that someone had stolen from the Taiyou. She snapped the stick to get it to glow a brilliant green, and then shook the chemicals to get them thoroughly mixed.
Her and Seno then started into the cavern, intent on reaching Niihama.
"Seno, remind me to have the gateway sealed off when we get back to Niihama." Yukiko said, while Seno nodded in agreement.
Yukiko reached down into her pocket, and pulled out a glow stick that she had looted from one of the viking corpses, a glow stick that someone had stolen from the Taiyou. She snapped the stick to get it to glow a brilliant green, and then shook the chemicals to get them thoroughly mixed.
Her and Seno then started into the cavern, intent on reaching Niihama.
Dibble sensed a great decline of spirit, and called upon Gaia to do something!He quickly flit over to near the ringed fortress. What was happening in the bay was horrible to a creature like Dibble. Humans were so confusing! So fickle!
A snow began to fall, for it was not Gaia who heard the call of Dibble but Eras. As the hearts of the vikings beat slower, so did time, a colder and colder wind blowing from the north harsh across the bay. Dibble curled beneath a mushroom, entering a deep slumber, the power of Zephras stronger than any mortal poison.
Time appeared to stand, the snow still in the air.
A snow began to fall, for it was not Gaia who heard the call of Dibble but Eras. As the hearts of the vikings beat slower, so did time, a colder and colder wind blowing from the north harsh across the bay. Dibble curled beneath a mushroom, entering a deep slumber, the power of Zephras stronger than any mortal poison.
Time appeared to stand, the snow still in the air.
Meanwhile...
A flash of light.
A crack of thunder.
A kaleidoscope of reds, yellows, and purples exploded in a remote corner of the bay. The air shimmered as a tear was cut in the fabric of reality. Then, as quickly as it appeared, the anomaly vanished. Twelve figures stood in its place, wetting their boots in the freshly melted snow.
Ten were clad in gleaming metal armor and carried varying swords, shields, and maces that glowed with radiant light. A rokin, off to the side, was dressed in azure robes and carried a silver staff. The one in the center wore a cloak, the color of dried blood, and had a hood pulled over his face.
“We seem to have missed our mark,” Thabo said. “There’s some sort of temporal interference, so we have three hours until our deadline. Remember our objectives: find the offworlders - alive - and if possible claim the head of the instigator. If things go desert-side up, we have been authorized to use the L’takasa Protocols.”
“Sir,” one of the armored aryites, Mafsha, spoke up. “Do you believe that will be necessary?”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. Let’s move out. Magus, do you have a lock on our target?”
“Yes sir.” The robed rokin said, holding a glowing sphere in his talons. “In the mountains. There is a large spike in psionic energy there. Shall we make the jump?”
“Let’s inspect the area first, but have the mass teleport on a hair-trigger.”
A flash of light.
A crack of thunder.
A kaleidoscope of reds, yellows, and purples exploded in a remote corner of the bay. The air shimmered as a tear was cut in the fabric of reality. Then, as quickly as it appeared, the anomaly vanished. Twelve figures stood in its place, wetting their boots in the freshly melted snow.
Ten were clad in gleaming metal armor and carried varying swords, shields, and maces that glowed with radiant light. A rokin, off to the side, was dressed in azure robes and carried a silver staff. The one in the center wore a cloak, the color of dried blood, and had a hood pulled over his face.
“We seem to have missed our mark,” Thabo said. “There’s some sort of temporal interference, so we have three hours until our deadline. Remember our objectives: find the offworlders - alive - and if possible claim the head of the instigator. If things go desert-side up, we have been authorized to use the L’takasa Protocols.”
“Sir,” one of the armored aryites, Mafsha, spoke up. “Do you believe that will be necessary?”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. Let’s move out. Magus, do you have a lock on our target?”
“Yes sir.” The robed rokin said, holding a glowing sphere in his talons. “In the mountains. There is a large spike in psionic energy there. Shall we make the jump?”
“Let’s inspect the area first, but have the mass teleport on a hair-trigger.”
Snow stood still in the air around the new arrivals, Iskjerne Bay haven fully fallen mercy to the harsh winds of Zephras- as well as the influences of the great serpent in the mountain. In the distance there was a subtle quake from not too deep in the Weargtooth Mountains.
Takao peered his head out of the great mead hall to survey the bodies, this was all very strange to him, and he pulled his coat closer to try and stave off the cold.
The khroniktans cautiously moved through the bay. They ignored the cold for the most part, the minor enchantments in their armor staving off the worst of it, and inspected the deserted village. Thabo moved like a ghost, his boots leaving nary a trace in the snow or dust. Mafsha, sword drawn, poked his head into a longhouse and grimaced at the bodies.
“No wounds,” Thabo observed. “Weapons still in their scabbard. I don’t see any signs of a struggle, either. Either something killed them all at once, and quickly, or this was some sort of mass ritual suicide. Magus, are you recording this?”
“Yes, sir.” The rokin wizard said, gesturing to the orb floating at his side. “I am also detecting some strange arcane readings. There’s some sort of temporal anomaly… like a time stop spell, but it’s suffused into the atmosphere. I will do what I can to protect us from it.”
The wizard tapped his staff on the ground, and the arcanium orb mounted on top glowed with faint eldritch energy. A pulse of magic emanated from it, forming a transparent white dome around the party that kept most of the strange magic at bay.
“Sir!” Mafsha shouted, pointing towards one of the larger structures. “I think I see a survivor! He doesn’t look like any of the natives.”
“Must be our target. Approach cautiously and stow your weapons. We don’t need to spook him.”
The party of aryites, plus one rokin, slowly approached Takao.
“Hello!” Thabo said, speaking into a translator. “My name is Inquisitor Thabo of the Khroniktan Alliance. We have been sent as an extraction team for you and your Taiyou associates. We mean you no harm. Are there any more survivors?”
“No wounds,” Thabo observed. “Weapons still in their scabbard. I don’t see any signs of a struggle, either. Either something killed them all at once, and quickly, or this was some sort of mass ritual suicide. Magus, are you recording this?”
“Yes, sir.” The rokin wizard said, gesturing to the orb floating at his side. “I am also detecting some strange arcane readings. There’s some sort of temporal anomaly… like a time stop spell, but it’s suffused into the atmosphere. I will do what I can to protect us from it.”
The wizard tapped his staff on the ground, and the arcanium orb mounted on top glowed with faint eldritch energy. A pulse of magic emanated from it, forming a transparent white dome around the party that kept most of the strange magic at bay.
“Sir!” Mafsha shouted, pointing towards one of the larger structures. “I think I see a survivor! He doesn’t look like any of the natives.”
“Must be our target. Approach cautiously and stow your weapons. We don’t need to spook him.”
The party of aryites, plus one rokin, slowly approached Takao.
“Hello!” Thabo said, speaking into a translator. “My name is Inquisitor Thabo of the Khroniktan Alliance. We have been sent as an extraction team for you and your Taiyou associates. We mean you no harm. Are there any more survivors?”