[Horde] Chapter Five: Session Eighty-Six
Appearing Characters: Arthak Saurfang, Gro Rumblehoof, Hilaire, Hono Galehoof, Huginn, Lantresor, Mordvigbjorn, Munnin, Nyxxa Murkthorn, Ootasa Galehoof, Rak'Symma, Seria, Slash Gutspill, Sol'chi, Thisalee Crow, Thura Saurfang, Yotnar, Zar'Kaa, Zuni
December 28th
Yotnar informed the group they had all passed the Trial of Might and had taken the first steps to prove themselves worthy of entering the Gates of Valor, and he bowed his head in recognition. He informed them he would return to his vault and continue to watch over the sacred place.
Sol asked Yotnar if he had seen a pandaren around, and Yotnar said that he was unfamiliar with such a being.
Gro Rumblehoof and Slash Gutspill were shocked to see the group return with the giant in tow, and Yotnar asked if they sought to prove themselves worthy to enter the Halls of Valor. Slash and Gro exchanged looks, and they both decided they were not yet worthy to undergo such trials, and they feared if they competed against the warband that had reassembled Yotnar they had no hope of victory.
It seemed Gro and Slash had attained some degree of understanding for each other, and Slash even went as far to say that he would have felt bad putting Gro in the ground. Gro bowed to Yotnar and thanked him for his presence, and the giant nodded and returned to his seat.
Slash clapped and asked the warband if they had started the trials, and Sol showed his hand where the Mark of Might had been placed. Slash didn’t know what the sigil meant, and Gro offered that context clues implied they had started the trials and passed one of them.
Slash asked them what the other trials were, and Sol shared they had to go talk to a dragon on a mountain and also go talk to some old dead people.
Zar’Kaa returned the gesture and added that he wished them well on preparations for the war, and Slash told Gro he would fill him in on the way back.
Lantresor informed the group they all did well, and congratulations were exchanged amongst the group. Zuni was amazed as he had never seen anything like Yotnar before. He mused on some of the stories from Zandalar that talked of giants, but he couldn’t remember many and he wondered if their friend Rai would know more and be willing to share them next time they saw him.
Nyxxa said it was likely best to make haste as if the Legion forces interfered with Yotnar, it was likely they also laid further traps over the past three weeks. Thisalee agreed, and Thura asked which one was the next they wanted to go to.
Zar’Kaa said the Trial of Valor had his vote, as the dragons were likely more prudent to tackle. Lantresor agreed, and the rest of the group also seemed to be in agreement. Nyxxa suggested that they approach the vrykul first as a show of respect to the dragons, but Zar’Kaa countered that if Skovald had already gone to the village he may have laid groundwork to interfere with them. Sol suggested they go to the village and do some recon first to see if Skovald had done that, and if he had, then they could just slip away to the dragons. Seria offered that there was likely a new brood of dragons, which would put the patriarch and broodmothers on edge, as she and Symma had encountered a young dragon during Havi’s trials.
Sol suggested they reach out to that young dragon, and Symma said she could try, as she would rather deal with storm drakes than people. She also suggested an offering of food would be useful, and Thura agreed a tribute was wise, as leaders always liked to be given tribute.
The group set off to hunt in the lands around the area, and Symma called to the eagles they had seen earlier in the day. A Skyhorn brave swooped down on the one that returned the call and he hailed them and asked what they were doing on the Amberfall Mesa. Zar’Kaa explained they were seeking information about a beast that they had heard roamed the lands. The tauren recognized the tattoo on Symma’s cheek and he rapidly realized he was talking to those that had vanquished the Crawliac. He introduced himself as Hono Galehoof, said that he was honored to meet all of them in person, and he warmly invited them back to their camp.
Hono quickly summoned his mate, Ootasa Galehoof, who was holding a rifle in hand. However, upon seeing there was no threat, the rifle lowered, and Hono quickly explained who was with him. Ootasa immediately set the rifle aside and apologized for their caution, but she was interrupted by the sound of crying. She excused herself for a moment so she could scoop up a young shu’halo child that had been woken up.
She explained their little one got a bit nervous around strangers, but she welcomed the group in to rest and eat, and Hono asked the group what they were looking for. Zar’Kaa mentioned it was a bear, and Hono and his mate exchanged a look.
Hono said they were probably speaking of the Mordvigbjorn, which was a massive beast that had killed many that had sought to hunt it, but he said that the group who defeated the Crawliac would likely have little issue if they could find it. Zar’Kaa asked if there was a place they had last seen it, and Ootasa said it had been last sighted about 20 miles away at the river. It had not yet crossed the water, but they worried the beast would pass over into the Amberfall Mesa.
They mentioned they had a friend named Hilaire that would likely know more, as she kept an eye on the beast in question and was seeking to take it down. She was a vrykul exile who was a member of the Unseen Path, but she still had a vested interest in the protection of her home. Hono offered to go with them to meet with her, and he informed his mate that he would be back in a few hours. Symma sent her stone raven ahead as a messenger.
They were able to find Hilaire without much trouble as she was back at her camp, and as they arrived they noticed a large mountain lion that was sleeping nearby. The raven was perched nearby, having arrived ahead of them. Hilaire greeted them, as she had gotten the message from the raven, and Hono explained the group was seeking to hunt the Mordvigbjorn. The warband also added they were undergoing the trials of the Aegis.
Hilaire offered more context to the beast, as further tales said that it was once an ancient sage, one of the Tideskorn, that sought a greater strength to destroy his enemies. He found it, but it consumed his mind, and nothing remained of the man he was any longer. He slew creatures for sport and not sustenance. She offered to direct them to the beast, but in exchange, she desired the beast’s heart.
Zar’Kaa got the sense that Hilaire had some sort of personal stake in the matter.
Hilaire furrowed her brow.
Nyxxa agreed that was more than reasonable, especially given Hilaire was helping to guide them to both trials. Sol asked if the beast ever fought alongside other creatures, and Hilaire said in times past the creature would command other creatures with fear, but now even its own kind was not free of its maw and it was also feasting in preparation for hibernation. She believed they could reach it by nightfall, and if someone was willing to be bait, they could lure it without issue.
They headed out to start tracking the Mordvigbjorn and they began to navigate through the known territory. Sol created a good spot with illusory magics to lure the beast into to confuse him, and Nyxxa helped in navigating people into position. Seria turned into her bear form and started to roam around the territory, marking areas with her claws as Symma flew up into the air and started to draw the bear to the area with her voice.
It did not take long for the Mordvigbjorn to charge into the clearing, its black-furred form somehow larger than Seria, and murder evident in its eyes. Sol triggered the trap and erected a castle of mirrors around Seria and the Mordvigbjorn as the two bears started to brawl it out. Zar’Kaa launched himself into the fray and landed on the Mordvigbjorn’s back where he started to repeatedly stab it, and Nyxxa put a [Hunter’s Mark] on the beast so if it escaped they could easily track it.
Arthak used the Axe of Cenarius to cause a wild growth of plants to amass around the bear, and Symma crackled with lightning as she started to try and herd the bear away. The bear started to retreat and then launched himself at an illusory tree that Sol had erected, clearly seeking to use it to escape via magic. He slammed into the wall it was hiding, and in desperation he opted to try and dig, but Symma caused [Bones of the Earth] to launch out of the ground and slam the Mordvigbjorn back.
Seria and Nyxxa managed to dive in to close on the bear and prevent his escape completely. The bear managed to slip out of Seria’s grasp briefly as he ran by Arthak. Arthak touched the stone rune on his bracer, and a stupor suddenly washed over the bear, and he slumped down. They had a moment to take in what the bear looked like, and it appeared that even to those that had true sight, he had lost himself so much that he had truly become the bear. Except for his eyes, which still had the faintest trace of manity.
The bear was slain quickly and painlessly. Hilaire said that the jarl would appreciate any number of trophies from the creature, and they set about butchering it. Sol created another vehicle to transport the trophies.
As Seria examined the body more closely, she realized that the druid held similarities to what happened with Alpha Prime instead of any sort of Nightmare corruption. It seemed that he had been corrupted by life magic itself, much in the same way the form of the pack had been a prelude to the worgen.
Zar’Kaa saw flashes of violence in a vision. The bear stood against vrykul and demons, dragons and other monstrosities. Everything. Eventually the feeling turned to despair, and then abandonment, as his control over himself slipped away. Zar’Kaa was overwhelmed by the vision for a moment, as he felt a kinship to the experience, and Nyxxa checked in on him, and he said he was alright, he was just getting used to the unexpected nature of the visions.
Seria buried a part of the once-druid and planted a seed over it so that his body could create something new.
Symma moved to clean the blood off her talons, and Huginn hopped over to her. He commented that she missed a spot, and Symma said she was working on it and splashed water over at the bird. The raven made a startled squawk, but then he started to laugh.
Huginn shuffled over closer and started to preen some of Symma’s feathers. She asked him if he was always more thoughtful than his brother, and he confirmed.
He croaked at the skull on her back.
Symma took a deep breath and asked where she should start, and Huginn suggested the beginning. He listened as Symma spoke, and he asked if Blaithe was her father. Symma said her people didn’t have fathers, but he was everything to her. Huginn said that he didn’t have fathers either. He said that she told good stories, and she thought of him a lot, and that was good, because thinking was powerful and it brought life to everything.
Symma smiled and preened his feathers.
Meanwhile, Munnin strutted indignantly over to Nyxxa and dropped her earrings back on her lap. She said that he didn’t have to do that, and Munnin insisted he did.
He puffed up indignantly.
Munnin bushed up.
She produced the Raven’s Eye, and Munnin cawed angrily and demanded to know how she got it and where He was. Nyxxa said he was dead.
Munnin argued that they were not even at all, and Nyxxa asked him if he was stealing from other people like her. Munnin said that he only stole from her people because they stole from them. Nyxxa repeated they were even then, but one day, she would return to the land and if he was good and stopped stealing from her people, then the Eye might be returned.
Munnin thought long and hard and argued Ravencrest made promises too but then he lied, left them with candy, and died, and now he can’t get his revenge on him. Nyxxa said life was just like that sometimes.
Munnin fluffed up angrily.
Nyxxa admitted that she would likely need someone else to fulfill it, and Munnin said that she could die and fulfill her promise, but she was not allowed to break her promise and then die.
He deflated and asked for her promise again, and Nyxxa agreed, and she asked if she could scritch his head. Munnin allowed it.
The group settled in for the night, and Arthak approached Nyxxa for a chat, and they went on a walk.
Nyxxa said that she reflected it seemed Arthak had gotten further away ever since he started getting the visions, and it didn’t really fully hit her until today. But then, she was becoming more distant too, in a way.
Arthak agreed it was a pleasing sentiment, and Nyxxa said she wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t the case. Arthak refuted, however, that what was true for Nyxxa, did not mean it was true for him.
December 29th
The next morning, the party was given a horn and Hilaire said that if they blew it, she would come to them. However, she warned them not to grovel as the vrykul would see it as weakness, but compliments might smooth their way, especially with the men.
She smirked and added to the men present that she meant no offense, before she headed off on her own way.
The group used [Transport via Plants] to arrive near Hyrdshal, and they gazed upon the city that was built into the very mountains.
