By: Matt “Vesper” Hewitt
After many years of waiting, we can close the book on the Saga of Ragnarok.
While many adventurers traveled to Norlund this past weekend, I personally answered the call eager for the opportunity to no longer be a deadbeat godly parent. We reunited with Jarl Ulric of the Jomsvikings who informed us that, while yes Norlund was now safe from Bedlam and new Aesir gods were doing their jobs well, the plane still faced much hardships due to an out of control world tree as well as many spiders which had mysteriously found a way to travel between Yggdrasil’s branches to spread destruction. Suddenly a humanoid spider appeared telling us he was one of the new Aesir and we could call him The Huntsman, which I must admit is a very cool moniker, and how he was created by some dashing adventurers in an unholy ritual with stolen godly sparks. The Huntsman let us know that while yes, he was a god of death he was also a god of the hunt, thus we were challenged to a competition. If we could fix the tree despite his forces he would give up on the destruction of all living things as well as eating one of the cupcakes I had baked him as an apology for being an absent parent.
Thus the game was on, we entered the web covered branches of Yggdrasil which the spiders had made their home and found the first acorn that was required to guide the growth of the world tree, the bones of some mysterious creature, and many enemies. Sir Jean Baptise, Tony of Stonewood, and Sir Nos formed an elite spider milking team dubbed “Milk Team Six'' who would milk the venom from all dead spiders to create magic tattoos. Sir Orion led our dinosaur cavalry’s galant charge through many walls and webs. The first acorn was returned and the tree partially guided. Upon the newly formed path was a nicer one of my grandkids named Bartholomew who had made his web on this branch in an attempt to make friends. We freed some trapped vikings, promised Bartholomew to be his friends then continued on our way. Another trip through the web covered branches, another acorn found, and another part of the tree guided.
Another giant spider named Eduardo, a single father of a clutch of babies rested near the edge of a branch. More vikings sat on the other side of the void between the two branches and asked us to kidnap the baby spiders and create them a bridge to cross. We consulted the fae of our group on how to properly kidnap a sleeping child and began our task. A bridge created, another trip into a web maze, much glory earned, more bones found, and another guided tree section.
Lastly we entered a room with a giant spider named Ricardo who was chained to a wall and starved by the vikings. We freed and fed Ricardo who gave us the final acorn we would need and left for Saurabia under the guidance of Alpacasaurus. Upon returning the last acorn a path opened to the center of the Yggdrasil where we would need to assemble the mysterious bones we had gathered into a Vanir god which would become bound to the tree as its arborist. When the bones were assembled correctly they transformed into a small triceratops which was promptly named Kota. The Huntsman had lost, threw a tantrum about losing, did not eat his just deserts, and left. Children, what can you do?
With Yggdrasil now managed, I believe the realms of Norlund may finally be back to a balanced state of existence.