Returning Home

After convincing Middaeg that we should meet his father, the mysterious Faelsian, he led us back into his home and through a tunnel in the cellar. With his hasty pace, though, he quickly left us behind. As we continued to wander, unsure of ourselves and somewhat lost without our guide, we came across a strange snarling beast chained to the wall. Obviously a guardian of some kind. Godmund tried to placate the animal but was unsuccessful. The chain holding the beast was just short enough to allow us to possible slip by without being attacked, but both Godmund and Gwynaeth were reluctant to go any futher. So we returned to the village.

Back in the village, I took the opportunity to talk with Caelin again. The runes on Aelwyn's seax (and that of Enni and others) are in Dwarvish. Although the basic shapes of the runes are the same as our own, the language is quite different. Which is why I was unable to translate them. There is great power in written words. According to Lothar, runes upon a weapon can be a source of great power. A sword, for example, with its name engraved upon its blade has the power of an awoken spirit.

Caelin also told me more about Faelsian - that he is known as a sorcerer and that he has apparently seduced many women and fathered a great many children. If he is an enemy (as appears to be the case), he is undoubtably a dangerous one.

In addition to talking with Caelin, we informed the Reeve and the Ðegn about what happened at Faelsian's tower. They decided that the sorcerer should be destroyed. In ten days time, they would gather a small force of Fyrdmen to take Faelsian's lair.

The Assault on Faelsian's Lair

In addition to our group of four, the Reeve and some 24 of his best men made their way through the tunnel of Faelsian's lair. And again, we came across the strange guardian beast. Arrows fired at the beast seemed to bounce off an almost rock-like skin. With no way of dealing with the beast, we decided to creep around it - just outside its reach. Unfortunately, only a handful of us had made it past the guardian when Gwynaeth, leading the way tripped upon a rope. A trap! The creaking sound of wood alerted us to falling beams and within seconds the tunnel had collapsed.

The screams of men burried alive were brief, but haunting. We managed to drag out a few injured warriors and Aelwyn attended to their wounds. Winni, Wilfred and the Reeve were unharmed, while Oswy and Peda were left with some broken bones and bruises. And of course, myself, Gwynaeth, Godmund and Aelwyn were ok.

We continued on our way through the corridors until Gwynaeth came upon a doorway leading to a set of stairs. As we made our way down, we were engulfed in a thick black mist, almost sticky in nature. Sorcery in no mistake. With a collapsed tunnel behind us, we had no choice but to proceed forward.

As Gwynaeth felt her way to the bottom of the stairs, a sword swung out from the mists. It was Middaeg again, and he was joined by another son of Faelsian, Frecne. We all tried to push our way forward, for the stairs opened out to a room that the dark mists did not touch. A fierce battle ensued, with Gwynaeth and myself bringing down both Middaeg and Frecne. A third son of Faelsian appeared - a great giant of a man, over 7 feet tall with blood red eyes and pale white skin. He quickly knocked out poor Godmund; who now seems to be quite familiar with the feeling of unconsciousness. Numerous blows from us all, including even Aelwyn, could not bring him to his knees. And a single strike from the great giant's staff crushed my hand leaving me unable to wield my sword.

The battle was going badly, but there was still a small chance of victory when three more warriors emerged from a corridor. Three more, fresh, able-bodied fighters would be more than a match for us and so we surrendered.

And then, from out of the darkness boomed a voice "Who has slain my son?"