Text by Paul O'Connor, Dungeon Master
"He kneels before his queen, but he shall rise a king!"
Bjornhild Solvigsdottir
Avoiding the siren call of a ruined hill fort where they might have made a stand against the pursuing Wolf Barbarian tribe, our heroes set their spurs to their mounts and pressed on to Sommpher's Rest. Cresting up and down into the crater where Sommpher's Rest resides, they saw a sea of tents as seemingly every Reghed Barbarian in Icewind Dale had descended upon the sacred site for a great event.
The crowd parted for the returning heroes, opening a path for them to the island at the bottom of the bowl-like depression, where a visibly beaming Queen Bjornhild Solvigsdottir received the Axe of Axton from a kneeling Blah. "Rise, as my King!" the Queen commanded, to a general cheer from the crowd ... but then came hisses and cries of "Orc! Orc!" from the late-arriving Wolf Barbarians. Their king Isarr Kronenstrom claimed the right of truce at Sommpher's Rest and said Blah was not a Reghedman, so he could not be king. Orc!!
Perhaps because his britches fell down (and Arthur had something to do with that), the crowd didn't immediately rise at Isarr's challenge. Instead, they agreed with Bjornhild that the newcomers should be made part of the tribe by passing tests of Strength, Courage, and Song on the morrow.
Retiring to the Queen's massive tent, there was much canoodling. The Rider Sisters reclaimed Arthur. Some quick work by Sarkagan foiled a conspiracy to poison or drug Blah's drink, and while Arthur's reconnaissance linked the plotters to members of the Wolf, Elk, Bear, and Tiger tribes working with the shaman Sha-Ga, they lacked proof to do anything about it.
The fires burn low, the drunks stagger off to bed singing their savage songs, and the sun will rise on a day of trials for our intrepid heroes ...
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