Hunter or Prey

Teaser

Carrunos and Danu have been estranged from the gods due to Ratri’s “seduction” of Carrunos — at least if you listen to Danu. In the Wind Age they have left the other gods and taken up residence with the Alfar in Alfheim.

Now the giants come and while Carrunos and Danu oppose them, their split from the other gods weakens the defenses for Godheim and may spell disaster in the fated Final Battle.

Inspiration

Carrunos was our Freyr-analog. During Ragnarok he participated in an epic fight against the Fire Giant Surtr — which he lost. Freyr was also a god of fertility (and I think that came across), was married to the giantess Gerðr (or Gerd), and had given away his magic sword (potentially Lævateinn/Hævateinn) which fights on its own “if wise be he who wields it”. Without it he lost to Surtr.

Of the primordial giant that opposed him, Hione said this:

“Let me tell you a story of gods and giants,” he began. “Once upon a time Sjinnar, runt of the giants, lived among the gods, and they were friends. Back then, Sjinnar was the greatest of trackers. It is said that he could follow a falcon on a cloudy day. But Sjinnar was alone, and jealous of Carrunos and Danu. One day, Sjinnar proposed to Carrunos that they should hunt for a glimpse of Mimir’s children at play, and they went to a very misty place that no one had explored before. It was Sjinnar’s intention to lose Carrunos there in the Mist between worlds, but Carrunos has an unerring ability to find his way in the wild. Instead, Sjinnar still wanders that other land.”

Also the fact that Carrunos and Danu had left the rest of the gods in the Wind age, and we’ve got a lot going on.

So, Sjinnar, primordial creator of the Jotnar, becomes our Surtr-analog. However, the Jotnar cloak themselves in illusion and are tricksey instead of being associated with Fire, so they get others to do much of their dirty work for them, involving Trolls, Tetrakh, and even Ratri and her Cult of the Serpent. However, the giants always being half a step less powerful than the gods, Ratri was actually playing him.

Sjinnar hungers for revenge. The best he could do would be to blind Carrunos and let him wander forever lost in the mists behind the nine realms. Killing Carrunos would not be as sweet. And those mists, which he has learned to walk over the Ages he’s been stuck in them, allows him to move others between the nine realms without using the normal bridges between them.

Sjinnar knows he needs to lure Carrunos out of his place of power, and will use his own hubris to do so. He convinces Drótten (warband leader) Skirnismal, a renowned Tetrakh archer, that he has a plan to allow Skirnismal to overcome Carrunos. Several tricks would be used. First it is set up to kill the most in the shortest time, and with four arms he could fire two bows of haste and outshoot Carrunos. Second the targets would be the Bálhaukr, firehawks, little cousins to the legendary Bálroc, Fire Roc, which slept in volcanos. Without special arrows, they would burn up or melt before hitting.

But all of that was for Carrunos to discover and become complacent, because the biggest trick was causing them to overload and immolate to hurt and blind Carrunos so Sjinnar could pull him into the mists. This is homage back to Surtr the Fire Giant.

Now, Sjinnar is nothing but opportunistic. The Bálhaukr were available because the Cult of the Serpent, one of the two organizations that were part of the Open Door of Night, Ratri’s secret organization. They were attempting to anger the Bálroc to set off the volcanos, and part of what was done was to steal their little cousins away. (To find out more about them, and also the final straw to setting off the volcanos with the Thumpers, please see Andy’s and Alex’s scenarios.) He gets Trolls to make fireproof cages out of volcanic rock.

He later brings Trolls to cut of the Svartalfar’s supply of Star Metal (3rd run), and sends some Jotnar into Godheim itself to bring back the Stone Egg from the giant’s ancestral valley from before they were exiled (Steve Wolfson’s run). And finally, he waits in the mists to ambush Carrunos and enact his revenge.

Run the First: Old Friends and Old Enemies

Friday evening, 6 hours.
Haldir (Michael B.) Alfar Hero of Carrunos
Ilyeria (Zen) Alfar Guardian
Keith Belgerent (Ron S.) Riddari Guardian of Magus
Sven Silverbeard (George M.) Mannfolk Paladin of Carrunos
Thornflower (Suzanne B.) Alfar Hero of the Storm Lion
Thunder (Spencer K.) Katterfolk Cleric of the Storm Lion
Tosinsthal Wilfsyn (Corwin K.) Svartalfar Hero of the Storm Lion
Vegt (Alan Z.) Mannfolk Mage of Hione

Run the Second: Geld Unsettled

Saturday morning, 6 hours
Armoladd (Jeff D.) Alfar Hero of Danu
Athelia (Shannon D.) Alfar Cleric of Danu
Pfferdsensen (Greg N.) Riddari Guardian of Carrunos
Ragnaroc (Rob T.) Svartalfar Hero of the Storm Lion
Vinnelop (Liz T.) Alfar Guardian once of Janda

Run the Third: Metal, Fire and Words

Saturday evening, 5 hours
Keith Belgerent (Ron S.) Riddari Guardian of Magus
Riffington (Kelly W.) Alfar Archer Ambusher (Hero)
Rogar Ironheart (Corwin K.) Svartalfar Hero of Daglir
Sven Silverbeard (George M.) Mannfolk Paladin of Carrunos
Vegt (Alan Z.) Mannfolk Mage of Hione
Wussun of the Narwal Tride (Hugh H.) Alfar Cleric of Danu
replaced with Wuswosun (Hugh H.) Alfar Cleric of Danu

This run needs a bit of a preface. It was intended to give the PCs two (but really three) spread out goals that all involved investigation and travelling and a limited amount of time to achieve them. They would have access to the Valkyrie to transport them, but sounding the horn would put forces on alert. How would they spend their time and resources, which goals would their prioritize.

However, directly before this run started, the Mirror/Eye of Oodlask was recovered. This meant that they had perfect visibility over the entire world including perfect retrocognition. So they found out people involved, and played them back in time until the found everything. It was gorgeous how effective they were in using it, and they were able to accomplish all three objectives with time enough to go back and stomp on some Ettins that they had stealthed through the first time in order to get more loot. Smart murderhobos, I salute you.

Run the Last: The Hunt is On

Sunday morning, 5 hours
Archion Stormfriend (Ryan R.) Mannfolk HERO of the Storm Lion
Bruce Battlestandard (Josh G.) Svartalfar Berserker Mage of Daglir
Dimrodel (David R.) Mannfolk Cleric of Carrunos
Hattero Hex Monkeybane (Ryan C.) Katterfolk Guardian of the Storm Lion
Riffington (Kelly W.) Alfar Archer Ambusher (Hero) of Carrunos
Wuswosun (Hugh H.) Alfar Cleric of Danu

(covert to carrunos)

Carrunos would be wounded by overloaded immolating firehawks, but even though it would put him directly in the blast radius his cleric Dimrodel cast Immunity to Fire on him. Carrunos was still blinded by the light of the burst of the magically enhanced firebird. Carrunos was then almost killed by Ratri with Kjallintar’s god-slaying spear, with Dimrodel again casting to stabilize. Ratri struck again the next round, yet Wuswosun bent fate and god vs. god became a narrow miss. Ratri struck a third time, and this time Archion Stormfriend, locked in a one-on-one duel with the leader of the Tetrakh Honor Guard,

Carrunos was blinded and dragged into the mists by Sjinnar, but with the aid of Dimrodel, Wuswosun and the more-giant-than-giant Bruce Battlestandard was able to overcome and slay him. Dimrodel, his cleric, and Wuswosun, his beloved Danu’s cleric, replaced his eyes with carved ones of Oak and Holly (thank you Regrowth spell) and given an extra boost from Bruce’s Second Sight, was abel to lead all four of them out of the mists.

Resolution

Carrunos was convinced by the players to rejoin the other gods, and once her Fatestone was broken and she stopped turning a deaf ear to him, Danu relented and came as well. His eyes have been burned out and replaced with one of Holly and one of Oak. One of his saviors, his cleric Dimrodel, now bears similar eyes. Perhaps he will be the next High Priest of Carrunos.

Katterfolk have done several important tasks for him, but when Hattero banished Ratri who was attempting to assassinate him at the eventual cost of his own life, his friends asked Carrunos a boon to honor his sacrifice. Carrunos acknowledges Katterfolk as true hunters, the closest thing he’s get to an apology, and his blessing now work on them.

But Carrunos has spilled his lifeblood and will be weakened for a long time to come. Luckily he can call upon his strong arms, such as his paladin Sven Silverbeard or the instrument of his vengeance and now wielder of his bow, Wuswosun.

Sjinnar is slain, his bashed and arrow riddled body lost in the mists that will now forever be his final resting place. The soul of any Jotnar that now dies will go to Baenheim, but those Jotnar souls that died before him and went to Sjinnar will forever be trapped in the mists behind the realms, haunting them and turning them dark.

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