roleplay-geek: Trouble in Sommerlisse - Part 5

Sunday, 11 July 2021

Trouble in Sommerlisse - Part 5 - The Thrymstone Curse

Trouble in Somerlisse is a Savage Worlds campaign using the Hellfrost setting. The Games Master is Mark Hamilton and play takes place every Friday night at Dragons Keep Roleplay Club.

Examining the Thrymstone

As the night and the cold draws in Vigo drinks and dances in the firelight casting strange shadows around the room. Athura and the others sit by the fire examining the stone. It is long, flat, icey blue in colour and very, very cold to the touch. Carved upon its flat side are frosttongue runes, just a single word, POISON.

Historians call this is a Thrymstone a creation of the followers of Thrym the God of Frost also known as The Ice King. During the Blizzard War, the Thrympriests used Thrymstones to curse the land and the people as they spread their influence South. Athura surmises that this explains how the quarryfolk of Lier were poisoned, but not why the Ridder’s daughter, Aylsluf shares their affliction.

Vissarel wonders if those who died at the quarry of the poison became the zombies which attacked them. It sounds plausible but a more learned opinion from some priests would no doubt say that zombies are the bodies of those who have been cursed and occupied by Demons released by Hela.

They retire to sleep their dreams filled with ancient mysteries and a sense of dark foreboding. Athura feels the connection to her Goddess strengthen and she feels as though she is being watched, her actions scrutinised.

A Return to Somerlisse

Thingol lights a fire and cooks a small breakfast of venison and dried fruit. They need to return to Sommerlisse with haste but he wants to secure the Forge before they leave. They cross the bridge over the small river. Winter is approaching and the river is beginning to freeze.

They search the forge and find evidence of the work of the quarrymen. Pottery in all stages of production, mostly homeware such as bowls, pots and plates. Some are raw clay others have been fired in the kilns, their lustrous green hues dance in the light.

They find tracks of the goblins who were clearly searching for something, but find none of the foul creatures. Vigo finds a cache of seven gold shields,

“goblins don’t know where people like to hide their money, but I do”

he chuckles brandishing his find like a prize. Athura tells him to put it back, it’s owner will need it when he recovers from sickness caused by the curse. Vigo grumbles and makes a show of returning the money to its hiding place whilst deftly transferring it into one of his many hidden pockets.

It is time to head back to Somerlisse and our heroes retrieve their horses from the barn. Vissarel takes the time to milk the goat for the journey.

They lead their horses out of the quarry on foot and soon leave the rocky section and mount up. As they get on to the road to Somerlisse it is still very cold and with a light snow covering and by mid afternoon they arrive back at Somerlisse.

The Saviours of Sommerlisse Return

Athura heads immediately to the infirmary whilst the others had for the warmth and ale of the Copper Kettle Inn.

Vigo is looking for someone to sell his loot to. The last time he was here he thought he saw a couple of Engrosi. He was right and he speaks them out engaging in loud conversation whilst secretly speaking in fingerspeak to arrange a more private liaison where they can talk business. Thingol has never seen Vigo with his own kind and notices how animated their hands are, it's as if they are having two conversations at the same time. "What a curious folk the little people are" he muses.

Vissarel and Thingol talk to the innkeeper who tells them that the people of Somerlisse had started to give up hope. Their return has really lifted the peoples spirits and their return is the talk of the town. Some have even begun to refer to the four of them as the Somerlisse Saviours.

The Infirmary

When Athura enters the infirmary she is greeted by Ydonia who inspects the Thrymstone. Athura once again tries to appeal to the Goddess to use her as a conduit to heal these people of the sickness but to no avail.

Runa arrives shortly after and thanks for retrieving the Thrymstone. Now that they know that they are dealing with a thrym curse they can help stabilise the sick. However, the only way to lift the curse is to kill the one that put the curse on the stone. The heroes must find and kill the Thrympriest.

Athura says that it still doesn’t explain my Aylsluf is sick. She didn’t drink the poisoned water from the well at Lier. Ydonia says that Aylsluf frequently visited her step mother's burial mound in the Somerhlaw Valley perhaps the answer lies there.

Athura returns to the inn. “Our work is not done” she tells her comrades explaining everything that Runa and Ydonia told her.

Somerhlaw valley lies an hours ride Southeast following a less well travelled path. They leave immediately and ride out with haste.

Among the Burial Mounds

An hour later they are overlooking a small valley dominated by 20 or so earthen mounds. The paths between the mounds are overgrown with bushes and small trees and there is a gloomy somber feel to the whole place. The people of sommerlisse have abandoned the ancient practice of burying their dead in mounds and this site hasn’t been used for nearly 20 years.

Athura explains that Penfrick's first wife and Aylsluf's mother, died in child birth and it was his second wife Friggyth who raised her as her own. Friggyth died almost 20 years ago and that it is her name which will be carved in the lintel of the tomb.

The heroes move between the mounds searching the lintels for the name Friggyth Skalsunu. they find it on one of the newer mounds.

In Frosttongue Athura shouts “Servants of Thrym, the Ice King, reveal yourself”.

Athura repeats her cry and Thingol booming voice ads “we are waiting!”

Still no response and so Athura clears her mind and attunes herself to the sounds of the animals whispering a prayer to the goddess. Nothing. Has her Goddess abandoned her? As she ends the prayer she suddenly feels feint and staggers on her feet.

Vissarel watches Athura intently realising that this is some form of prayer magic and she weaves a spell of mimicry. She calls out to the beasts of the valley, their voices fill her ears and a deer bellows

“undead are near”

Lying in the snow in the doorway of the mound is a Thrymstone. Athura brush the snow off of it revealing a crude flint like knife with traces of a rune for wounds carved into it.

"Reveal yourself murderer" she cries into the sky.

Vissarel hears the restless chatter of the the birds, "The undead are here" they sqwalk, as they launching themselves into the sky with a cacophany of cawing.

Hurriedly, the four climb up onto the mound to get to high ground. With the birds and the beasts silent all that can be heard is the cracking of branches.

Something wicked this way comes...