With their inventory thinned and their party reduced by one, the Feinting GOATs stepped through the North Pole Gate. The Feinting GOATs found themselves not in an immediate new location (like most portals), but on a seven-day trek across the flat, frozen terrain of Mysterra's north. The journey was disorienting; beneath an increasingly starless sky, the landscape seemed to bend in non-Euclidean way;half the trip appeared visually uphill, culminating in a starless summit, followed by a descent that felt flat but looked steep. Devoid of wildlife, they survived on rations until they finally stumbled upon a forest and a road that led them to the Antalian village of Skardvang.
Seeking warmth and information, they entered "The Broken Shield" tavern. The locals wereeager for stories, and it wasn't long before they began comparing Korloth to their own local legend, Böðvarr Bjarki, a retired hero jokingly said to have"killed all the Titans" (a jest based on the fact that no one ever sees any). When Korloth expressed a desire to meet him, the bartender, Olaf the Sour, sarcastically suggested he issue a challenge. Korloth, missing the sarcasm, did exactly that. The bar went silent, sympathy rounds were poured,and Olaf promised Böðvarr would arrive in an hour to beat Korloth senseless.
True to his word, Böðvarr arrived. A Jötunn-Kin of immense stature, he stood as tall as Korloth in his huge raged form, but frosted with the blood of winter titans. He accepted the duel. At first, the old hero seemed rusty, fumbling his massive greataxe and resorting to a half-bear form to fight with claws. But once he got his bearings, the fight ended in a blink. With a single, decisive round of legendary violence, he took Korloth down. Bao Bao was ready with psionic healing, bringing the barbarian back from the brink. Unsurprised by the resurrection, Böðvarr noted that Korloth must be a "Legendary Hero" (for in Mysterra, Legendary Heroes, like Titans, cannot truly die.)
Impressed, Böðvarr invited the party to his cabin, a structure built for giants, where they were served by his mortal human and Jötunn servants. He explained his past with "The 12 Berserkers" and their encounter with a strange "Bug-Lizard" named Enik. Centuries ago, Enik had helped them banish Böðvarr's great-grandfather, the Titan Grindill. Enik had mentioned that other "Bug-Lizards" might come looking for him oneday and asked Böðvarr to give them an object. Seeing Cut-Cut, Böðvarr mistook her for one of Enik's kin which was a simple error given his limited experience with insectoid races, and assumed she was the one Enik had prophesied.
However, Böðvarr was reluctant to hand over the item immediately. He felt he owed Enik no great favors and wasn't entirely sure Cut-Cut was the intended recipient. Furthermore, he had a personal score to settle. In his last encounter with Grindill 200 years ago, he had accidentally left his sword embedded in the Titan. He struck a deal: if the party helped him defeat Grindill to retrieve his sword, he would give them the clues Enik left behind.
While examining the cabin, the party found the first of these clues: a strange, out-of-place painting of an hourglass with diamonds in a gold frame. Its abstract style clashed with the traditional battle scenes adorning the hall. Böðvarr confirmed it was a gift from Enik. Nearby, they found a locally made tapestry featuring a target pattern of red, yellow, green, blue, and purple bands with white dots—matching the colors of the painting. Böðvarr explained this was a lesson for trackers: a way to always find home by weaving the center white diamond last. After a night's rest, they traveled three days to a mysterious extra-dimensional Pylon containing a control panel with an array of 81 glowing crystals. Böðvarr handed Cut-Cut a string of beads, assuming the "Bug-Lizard wizard" would understand it. It was a group effort to decipher the code, realizing the beads represented a spiral sequence of colors leading to the center. When they input the sequence and placed the center crystal last, the Pylon transported them to a rocky plateau overlooking a frozen inlet.
Grindill, the Ice Colossus, was waiting. The battle was epic. Böðvarr warned Korloth to keep his fire magic away from the ice, preventing anyone from falling into the freezing depths. The party chipped away at the Titan, weathering his freezing aura and massive reach. In the end, it was Elyn's undead fire dragon that swooped in to deliver the killing blow, shattering the Titan enough for Böðvarr to reclaim his blade. They chose not to use the Anubis Box, knowing Grindill would resurrect shortly anyway.
Böðvarr then demonstrated the "Origin Configuration" from the tapestry (placing the center white crystal last) which returned them to his lands. He bid them farewell, and the party input the "Hourglass" pattern from the painting. The Pylon hummed and shifted, depositing them in a sweltering hot scrubland.
They were immediately set upon by primitive, aggressive Sleestaks (the bug-lizards Böðvarr spoke of). Korloth attempted to intimidate them, but was too successful as one of the creatures suffered a massive heart attack from fright. Bao Bao quickly healed the creature, which scampered off in terror. This act of mercy drew out a different kind of Sleestak: Enik. Wearing civilized clothes and speaking common, he beckoned them into his cave, which was furnished with smooth, futuristic stone furniture that looked more alien than primitive.
Enik was initially abrasive, launching into a rant about the nature of the cosmos, the Old Gods of Law and Chaos, and the tragic devolution of his race. He revealed that he was a time traveler from the past who had come to the future, only to find his people reduced to savages in Ka's "museum." The party offered him hope: a new start for his people in Alluria. In exchange, Enik reluctantly agreed to calculate the locations of the Titans they sought. He also exhibited a bit of racism towards the Aearee-Krocaa (the aarakocra of the Aviary that had helped the party in previous adventures), which the party tried to mitigate. As the session ended, the Feinting GOATs settled into the cool, alien comfort of Enik's cave, waiting for the calculations to be completed.
Note: The following writings are from the character's perspective and are often private to the character. They are not considered "in-game" knowledge to the other characters, and any in-character reference to this information would be considered meta-gaming.
Letter to Master Kagemitsu at Tengai-no-mori Monastery by Caylen Redden
Dear Master,
Since the Stamp of Sending was among the items we sacrificed to be allowed entry into Mysterra, it may be quite some time before these letters reach you, but writing has become something of a meditative habit, so I will continue chronicalling our adventures in this way. After another week’s travel through arctic terrain, we finally found a hint of civilization, a rustic but welcoming tavern called The Broken Shield. We were grateful for a warm fire and some fresh food, and the locals inside the tavern pressed us for stories about our aventures. They responded afterward with stories of their own hero, Böðvarr Bjarki, who was supposedly a killer of titans. It may only have been a boastful jest, but since we are actively seeking titans, we expressed interest in this hero in case he could provide useful information. The bartender suggested issuing a challenge to Böðvarr, which drew laughs from the crowd, but Korloth did so without hesitation. This was met with a moment of stunned silence, but Korloth remained unconcerned, and the Feinting GOATs were undeterred.
Böðvarr arrived about an hour later, and he turned out to be Korloth’s equal in height and blue-skinned, revealing his frost titan lineage. Korloth’s inner fire seemed to be a suitable challenge, and at first he appeared to have the upper hand, but Böðvarr was surprisingly agile for his size and difficult to hit. After a short skirmish, Böðvarr landed a massive blow, dropping Korloth instantly. Bao Bao was ready and waiting to administer psionic healing, but the battle was decided. Although Korloth did not fare well, he did earn Böðvarr’s respect. He declared Korloth a fellow legendary hero and invited us to his cabin for more refreshments and swapping of stories.
In his younger years, Böðvarr was a member of an adventuring party called the Twelve Berserkers, and he related a story of how they had banished his great-grandfather, a titan named Grindill, with the assistance of a “bug-lizard” named Enik. Afterward, Enik had left behind an object, telling Böðvarr that other “bug-lizards” may come looking for it. Böðvarr considered that I might be the prophesied individual (although I certainly bear no resemblance to a lizard) but was unsure. Rather than simply handing over the object, he offered a deal. He had lost a sword in that centuries-ago battle against Grindill, leaving it embedded and frozen into the titan’s back, and asked us to help him retrieve it. Böðvarr’s information was the first good lead we had on our quest, and fighting Grindill would allow us to test our mettle against our first titan, so we agreed. Before we set out, Böðvarr allowed us to examine two pieces of art in his cabin. One was a painting that stood out because of its stark contrast to the rest of the décor, a strange multicolored hourglass in a gold frame adorned with clear diamond-like stones. Nearby, we also noticed a tapestry that appeared to be made in the local style, but with colors matched the strange painting. Böðvarr explained that the painting was a gift from Enik – a possible clue – and the tapestry represented a lesson for wayfinders, following the pattern, which always ended in the center, to find the way home.
The following morning, Böðvarr led us to a futuristic machine and handed me a string of colored beads, assuming that I, as the most similar to a “bug-lizard,” would be able to decipher the code. After some trial and error, we realized the sequence of colors represented the input needed to travel to a specific location – Grindill’s realm – and that the pattern should be replicated with gemstones on the machine’s control panel in a spiral, working from the outside inward to the center. Once we finished placing the stones in the correct configuration, the control panel flashed, and we were quickly transported to yet another frozen waste.
We didn’t have long to wait; Grindill was aware of our arrival and prepared for battle. However, the ice titan was wise enough not to charge straight for us. He remained in the middle of a frozen lake, where he had the advantage, and forced us to go to him. This was a dangerous prospect, since Böðvarr had warned us of the titan’s aura of cold, which threatened to freeze anyone who remained too close for too long, his great reach, which would complicate maneuvering, and his propensity for dragging foes into the icy depths with his chosen weapon, a giant anchor. Korloth was able to get into melee, since his inate fire offered some protection from the cold, be he was warned against unleashing too much fire damage lest he melt the ice below. I chose a different strategy, stationing Kuu a safe distance above the titan so that I could drop, attack, and quickly teleport back to safety. Although this was effective at preventing freezing, I found it a rather frustrating battle since I expended so much energy with each movement that I was unable to unleash my usual repertoire of rapid attacks. I can be very maneuverable or deal a lot of damage, but now I see I need to focus more of my training on being able to do both at once. Fortunately, the GOATs are skilled adventurers, and we were able to chip away at the titan and achieve our goal despite my shortcomings. As soon as Grindill was unconscious, Böðvarr retrieved his sword and we quickly departed. We briefly considered using the Anubis box to trap the titan, but Grindill is not one of our planned targets, and we reasoned that introducing extra titans into Alluria would likely have undesirable consequences. Back at the machine, Böðvarr demonstrated how to return home – to his home, at least – by arranging the gemstones on the control panel into the same pattern as the tapestry on his wall, again, finishing with the center stone.
We took some time to recover from our battle, then parted ways with Böðvarr and returned to the machine. This time, we arranged the stones to match the hourglass design of Enik’s painting, and the machine transported us to a blessedly warm desert scrubland. There we were set upon by a pack of the aforementioned “bug-lizards.” Despite several of the GOATs possessing a gift for languages, we were unable to communicate with the creatures. We didn’t want to needlessly harm primitive beings, so Korloth attempted to simply scare them away. Unfortunately, Korloth can be very intimidating and was a bit too successful, because one of the creatures nearly perished on the spot. Bao Bao quickly healed it and allowed it to flee. This finally drew the attention of the “bug-lizard” we had come to meet, Enik. Unlike the others, this Sleestak (as he identified himself) appeared more evolved. He spoke common flawlessly and soon launched into a lecture about the history of his race and the role of various deities and forces within the cosmos. He was dismayed by the fate of the Sleestaks, extinct but for these savage de-evolved creatures preserved by Ka within Mysterra, so he agreed to help us if we would transport them and give them a new start in Alluria. I’m sure a place can be found for them, perhaps near my people. They do bear some similarities to Thri-kreen, and that may provide a basis for building trust. For now, we are waiting in Enik’s cave while he makes calculations and determines the proper inputs for his machine to take us to the titans we are seeking. I will write more when I know more.
Until then,
Cut-Cut