Journal - The Lands of the Gods
Asgard, or How Visiting the Gods is Never Simple
Entering the ethereal greyness caused us to hallucinate and see visions, something that I was more used to than the others. These were particularly vivid, though, and again we saw visions of the White Council and how the monk Hintzu in particular was in danger in the old Dwarven halls of the far east. We also gained an insight into how we might deal with the particular predicament we found ourselves in, namely not knowing where the fuck to go or how to get there. Apparently the old songs that Baldir, with his Elven heritage and faith in Odin, had sung to memorise legends also had some power in places between worlds. Of those he knew, he most wanted to journey to Asgard to meet his Gods, and Odin in particular. This was unsettling, but at least I knew he wouldn't intend to stay as only those killed in battle could stay in the halls of Valhalla (which is why he is so keen to die all the time).
As he was the only one who could sing the right ballad, we roped ourselves together so that we would not get separated. It was a good job we did, as the pace of travel picked up rapidly and we would have soon been lost if left to our own devices. Takeda beat a tempo for Baldir to follow and his voice was surprisingly musical in the way that only Elves and the fey folk seem to be capable of. As the song progressed we travelled rapidly but without any wind in our hair, visions of strange places flashing past, not from our world. Some were brilliant and others terrifying, and then we passed through a great tube and suddenly stopped as if we had never started moving in the first place.
It was clear that we were no longer in the same place, though, as huge clumps of earth smashed into each other far above our heads and magma rained down in gouts around us. We descended, again with no feeling of movement, to land softly on a world in the depths of winter, with snow all around us. Sensations returned as I felt the earth beneath our feet and a biting cold wind whipping at my exposed skin. A fierce, thunderous noise echoed above us, although the sky was now obscured with grey cloud and snow was blown into our eyes with the wind. We quickly pulled out the furs we had set out in from Fontainver, wrapping up as best we could against the elements.
Squinting against the snow we started to make sense of the landscape. We stood on a snow-covered path running across a steep slope, with rocky outcrops on one side and a drop to an ice covered lake on the other. Baldir called on Odin to protect us, and we were at once warmed as if standing in a brisk summer breeze, relaxing a little and removing the rope we had depended on to get here as one party. We set off along the path, with no other obvious way to travel.
After a short while we saw, to our left, the head and shoulders of a huge humanoid, ape-like, giant cresting the rise. He saw us at about the same time and started to run towards us. He was wearing furs and a backpack, and carrying a large battleaxe that he obviously intended to put to use. I quickly conjured some magic missiles, sending two into his bulk and then moving to put the fighters between him and me. I need not have worried, as Rhion and Takeda killed the thing with arrow fire before he could reach us. They rolled the corpse over to look in the backpack, finding swords, gems and a cloak. The brief encounter over, we continued our journey along the single path, first moving up the slope and then zig-zagging steeply down. Despite the constantly falling snow, we were not impeded by it as long as we kept to the path, which I found curious and suggested that a kind of dweomer was in place.
An ice river, flowing down towards the lake, crossed our path ahead. Spanning this was a beautifully carved gemstone bridge, about twenty feet or so in length. Looking up there seemed to be a glacier far above us, making this the only sound crossing point. Unfortunately a massive dog, as tall as a human at the shoulder, stood in the centre of the bridge, and as we approached a howling of wolves arose from around us. This was all very symbolic, with a 'wolf' (Fenrir?) and a bridge (Bifrost?) on the path to Asgard!
Baldir, without hesitation, sprinted forward shouting "for Odin!" The rest of us were left standing, preparing to meet our enemies together. For his efforts Baldir was chased down by a giant wolf and bitten. Twat. Other wolves emerged from the dead ground around us and advanced more cautiously. Rhion reacted first, hitting one with an arrow, and Takeda followed his mark, killing it with an arrow of his own. I conjured a web, hoping to trap one of them, but it leapt free; this brought it into Takeda's line of fire, though, and it was soon dead beside its pack mate. Baldir approached the massive dog on the bridge, ordering it to "stay" with a word echoing with power, and ran past to reach the other side. The wolves had closed with us now, and both Takeda and Rhion were bitten. Takeda responded decisively, killing the wolf that had attacked him. I smacked the one attacking Rhion, causing a yelp of pain, then Rhion and Takeda in turn landed hits that finished it off.
Baldir was still going along the path, and I called for him to hold. I warily made my way past the dog on the bridge, not threatening it in any way and it let me pass without harm. The others followed, and Baldir offered a prayer of thanks to Odin as we caught up with him. This journey felt like a test, and I was sure we could expect more challenges before we reached our goal. Sure enough, as we continued on the path, undead mummified Norse warriors rose from the ground around us; their eyes burned with a cold fire and they wore white and black capes. They appeared so close to us that one of their grasping hands closed on Takeda before we could react. He seemed to visibly drain of energy and weaken at its touch, and I quickly used my mental powers to levitate out of reach of the accursed things. Takeda responded with a well-aimed shot, but his arrow passed straight through the foe without effect! Baldir called on Odin to banish the undead abominations, lifting his holy symbol where all could see it, and in a moment they had vanished as if they had never been there.
Despite this affirmation of his faith, Baldir started to have doubts. He questioned why his Gods would put such obstacles in the path of one of Odin's faithful, wondering whether we had taken the wrong route. "Is this the path of wisdom?" Although I could not know for sure, my reading of his holy texts made me believe that these tests had so far represented Thor (might), Loki (the wolf), and Hel (death, black and white). Symmetry would demand one more test - from Odin himself - to judge whether we were worthy. I urged Baldir to continue, despite his doubts. Whilst we debated our way forward, Baldir healed Takeda; his healing was very powerful in this place, and Takeda was much refreshed.
Eventually we agreed to continue forwards, down the constantly winding path. Rivers were flowing from our left to our right, not completely covered in ice now, and the snow was thinner here. We approached a pool to our right, eddying with chunks of ice, and three brilliantly white swans idly swam in its centre. The path forded the river ahead, beside a waterfall where it fell from a rocky outcrop above us, and stepping stones made their way to where the path continued on the other side. We approached peacfully, with weapons stowed or at our sides, and Rhion kneeled at the edge of the water; he called out to the swans, hailing the "ladies of the lake" and asking to speak with them.
The swans responded to his call, swimming closer and then transformed before us into a young girl, a beautiful woman and an old hag. They spoke in turn: "from the Prime you have come," "in Gladsheim you are," "to the Prime you return." Takeda also knelt, offering gifts of gold, but they spurned this offer, having no use for such things. Baldir, focused on the test of his faith, stepped up to the stones and declared "I accept my fate." He quickly crossed to the other side, without incident, and then paused, turning to see if we would follow. Takeda tried the same, but as he came near to the centre of the river a pit opened up before him. The lady said "uncertain is your fate; will you jump or stay?" Takeda steeled himself and jumped, just reaching the stone on the far side, steadying himself, and then crossing to join Baldir, embracing him in celebration.
I tried to use my powers of levitation to cross over the water, but an invisible barrier prevented me from crossing over the pit. Instead I landed on the nearest stone and attempted to leap across. As I entered the air the pit seemed to grow and moments later I was falling into blackness. I awoke as if from a pleasant dream to find myself surrounded by beautiful women, food and fine wine. The girls were willing to see to my every need... and I mean EVERY need, anything I could think of was no problem, and they were very good at what they did. I have no idea how long I stayed in this place, and I think I might have been happy there for all time, but eventually I was forced to leave. I think this will only make sense if I continue the tale of my companions.
Rhion crossed safely and the rest of the party made their way up the slope on the other side of the river onto a warm plain, spring-like in temperature and growth. The sound of horses heralded the arrival of nine riders, all atop white horses, dressed as Norsemen with axes and shields. They were not aggressive, though, and knelt to welcome the living, seldom seen in their realm. They announced that Heimdall awaited their arrival, and summoned three horses that almost immediately trotted into view and waited patiently to be mounted. Glad to be within reach of his Gods, Baldir did not hesitate and they were soon riding up to a great feast hall, being handed flagons of ale almost as soon as they had set foot on the ground.
Heimdall himself greeted them, and they sank to the floor instinctively, awed into supplication by his brilliance. He spoke knowingly of the path they had taken to reach his hall, and welcomed them as guests. He showed some recognition of Baldir's shield, and then ticked off the various motivations - you (Baldir) seek to know where to go, you (Takeda) seek a standard, you (Rhion) seek a future. But first, he insisted, they must feast; food and ale was brought to part of the long tables in the hall and everyone tucked into a hearty meal.