Kingdom's End Chapter 9 - Priests and Warlords Report

General Summary

The Warband still needed to make the ghostly warrior retreat into the Arx, so they made their way back to Isuer and stole the artifact from Father Marshall while Aesc distracted him. The Warband made their way back to the warrior and upon giving him the item, he retreated to seal the Arx. They buried the entrance to the Arx, hoping that it would lay undiscovered this time for longer. When they returned to Isuer, they found out that their ruse had been discovered and Father Marshall had whipped the villagers into a frenzy. Someone had attacked and burned one of their homes and Father Marshall blamed the actions of the Warband, bringing God’s wraith upon them through the Warrior. He accused them of trying to work with the creature to undermine the village. Ketilløgh turned the priests own words against him and Aesc challenged him outright. Between the two of them, they were able to sway the villagers against the Father. Kelton appeared and supported their arguments and Marshall retreated to his Church. The Warband knew it would not be the last they heard of Father Marshall. Kelton thanked them, but said he would be leaving the village, his home, as the people would soon turn back to Father Marshall’s side and he did not wish to stay unwelcome. Upon investigating the burned home, Aldwyn found tracks that showed a small party of Northmen were responsible. They tracked the party to the rivers edge where they found a horrible sight, 10 longboats making their way down river towards Jorvik; Ivar’s fleet was on the move and ready for war. The group realized they could beat the fleet back to Jorvik if they hurried as the overland was far closer, so they rushed to Jorvik to raise the alarm. When they arrived, they found others had announced the arrival of the fleet and there was disorder throughout the city as people began to panic. The Warband went to King Guthred to personally tell him what they found, and the situation was worse then initially thought. Alvis let them know they had less then 150 warriors that they could muster in the city and that the fyrd could be called but would take time. Quickly the group assisted to Marshall their forces, enacting several plans to delay Ivar’s men and make the cities fortifications look more intimidating than they were hoping to dissuade an attack. Ketilløgh even convince Alvis to assist them by bringing his reputation to light so that it might intimidate Ivar due to his prowess. Their ruses appeared to work as Ivar asked for a meeting and hostages were exchanged. Ivar met with the Warband who let him know they had captured his son, but kept the discussion cloaked from King Guthred as they did not wish him to know of the exchange. The King also negotiated with Ivar and offered food and supplies for Ivar’s men while they rested to go raiding, with the intention of trading silver for supplies. The Warband was also introduced to Verdandi, Ivar’s sorceress, who was even more intimidating up close. Ivar’s daughter, Sigrid was also present, and they noted that she seemed to care even more deeply for her brother than even Ivar and was prone to anger nearly violating the peace when she learned her brother might be dead or injured. So the Warband left the peace talks with the intention of reconvening the next day. King Guthred seemed pleased that it had gone so easily. Huw was the first to question how easily it went, wondering if there was some other motive to Ivar’s efforts.

Campaign

Saga of a Dark Age

Protagonists