An hour after I returned to the Tribe of the Elk’s section of the encampment, I was still explaining the situation (and retelling the tale of my fight in the ring) to the warriors of my tribe when a warrior of the Bear tribe approached. “In accordance with the rules of honor, that which was wagered has been turned over to you, Melinda Eriksdaughter of the Elk. But do not think that this is through. The rules of Indsamling may not allow for Yorlunn Bloodaxe to claim a wergild against you for the death of his son, but he is filled with wrath. You have made a deadly enemy this day.”

I looked at the warrior, and said, “If Yorlunn dislikes the fate that befell his son, that is none of my concern. Tell him to not put the shame of failing to raise his boy properly on others. And it was not I who offered further insult when he had the chance to offer a price for his son’s life. His son is dead to his own failings.”

The warriors of my tribe that surrounded me cheered at that, but the warrior from the Bear scowled. Still, he did nothing except turn, and stalk off into the night. Oglaf clapped me on the shoulder, and said, “Don’t worry about it too much, lass. You’ll be safe enough, at least through Indsamling. After, well, we’ll just have you avoid the Tribe of the Bear for a while, yes? Now, show us what you have won in battle, girl!”

Handy Haversack

Type

Tool

Weight

5 lbs

A backpack of this sort appears to be well made, well used, and quite ordinary. It is constructed of finely tanned leather, and the straps have brass hardware and buckles. It has two side pouches, each of which appears large enough to hold about a quart of material. In fact, each is like a bag of holding and can actually hold material of as much as 2 cubic feet in volume or 20 pounds in weight. The large central portion of the pack can contain up to 8 cubic feet or 80 pounds of material. Even when so filled, the backpack always weighs only 5 pounds.

While such storage is useful enough, the pack has an even greater power in addition. When the wearer reaches into it for a specific item, that item is always on top. Thus, no digging around and fumbling is ever necessary to find what a haversack contains. Retrieving any specific item from a haversack is a move action, but it does not provoke the attacks of opportunity that retrieving a stored item usually does.

(120 lbs of space remaining)

+1 Scale Mail

Type

Medium Armor

Weight

30 lbs

AC Bonus

+5

Max DEX Bonus

+3

Armor Check Penalty

-3

Arcane Spell Failure

25%

This set of masterwork scale mail armor has been enchanted, making it a set of magical armor.

Speed reduced to 20ft (assuming 30ft base).

+1 Greataxe

Type

Martial Weapon

Weight

12 lbs

Damage

1d12

Damage Type

Slashing

Critical

X3

Hands

Two

This masterwork two-handed greataxe has been enchanted, making it a magic weapon.

Masterwork Dagger

Type

Simple Weapon

Weight

1

Damage

1d4

Damage Type

Piercing / Slashing

Critical

19-20 / x2

Thrown Range

10 ft

This masterwork quality dagger is an effective weapon in the hands of any wielder proficient in its uses.

Masterwork Longbow

Type

Martial Weapon

Weight

3

Damage

1d8

Damage Type

Piercing

Critical

X3

Range

100 ft

This masterwork quality longbow is an effective weapon in the hands of any wielder proficient in its uses.

Ring of Protection +1

Type

Ring

Weight

This ring has been enchanted to provide a +1 Deflection Bonus to AC.

Cloak of Resistance +2

Type

Ring

Weight

1

This cloak, made from the fur of a winter wolf, has been enchanted to provide a +2 resistance bonus on all saving throws.

Everlasting Rations

Type

Tool

Weight

2

This pouch contains enough trail rations to feed a Medium creature for one day. Each day, at sunrise, the pouch magically creates another day’s worth of rations.

Other Items

Items

Weight (lbs)

Arrows (20)

Mirror, Small Steel

Manacles

Lock, Very Simple

Flint and Steel

Grappling Hook

Rope, Hemp (50 ft)

Waterskin

Whetstone

Bedroll

Blanket, Winter

Tent

Everburning Torch

Entertainer’s Outfit

3

0.5

2

1

0

4

10

4

1

5

3

20

1

4

Currency:

289 GP

3 SP

8 CP

This was the single greatest haul of my young life. Of course, several of the items in that haul were useless to me. I didn’t have the strength to wield a greataxe properly, and even if I could manage the scale mail, it would hamper my movements far too much. I also didn’t need the longbow, but the haversack, cloak, ring, and dagger were all very welcome. Switching my gear from the unenchanted backpack I had to the handy haversack lightened my load dramatically, so that even when I had finished loading the pack up with the bits of new gear I wanted to keep, I still had plenty of room in the pack, and I was no longer toeing the edge of what I could carry while in flight.

The collection did raise some dark suspicions about the late, unlamented Grold. Why had he brought restraints and an entertainer’s outfit clearly designed for a woman to a meeting at Indsamling? Clearly, he had hopes, if not outright intentions, on making some woman his plaything during the meeting. It was his bad fortune to have picked a target that was capable of defending herself. I kept the outfit, but threw the rest on the growing pile of things I was not interested in. Who knows, there might come a day I found someone worth putting on a show for.

My father came up to me as I was setting aside the pieces of gear and kit that I didn’t want or need. “Well, my daughter, I knew when you first decided on being a warrior that a day like this would come, but it is good to see that your first honor fight ended well. And without doing anything that the other tribes could argue against, as well. What do you intend to do with the gear you cannot use?”

“I intend to give it to the tribe, of course. The bow is of good make, as are the arrows. I already have a bedroll, and don’t need another, and some of the other minor things, like these restraints, aren’t to my liking. The axe and mail, of course, are magical, but they are wasted on me. The warriors of the tribe will get far better use out of them.”

Smiling at me, my father nodded. “Good, you have learned well. A warrior may be strong, but a tribe relies on the group, not an individual. I have spoken with the others. The priests had managed to enchant these items, and feel it is a fitting trade if you would take them for the armor and the axe, as well as the other unwanted items.”

Replenishing Skin

Type

Tool

Weight

4

This waterskin is constantly replenished by magic. Even if emptied, it will refill itself over the course of four hours.

Bracers of Armor +1

Type

Arms

Weight

1

This set of enchanted bracers are enchanted to provide a +1 Enhancement bonus to AC.

Amulet of Natural Armor +1

Type

Neck

Weight

This amulet has been enchanted to provide a +1 Enhancement bonus to Natural Armor.

My eyes widened as I looked up at my father, who chuckled. “Just as you said that the mail needs to go to the one best suited to using it, so, too, are these items going to one who can best use them. Your powers give you a unique ability in the tribe, Melinda. You will need to travel light and fast at times, and the other warriors of the tribe all use armor. While the amulet would be useful for many of the tribe, it is most useful to you, right now.”

He paused, and then continued, in a softer voice. “I just came from the meeting hall. You have brought honor to yourself and the tribe, but it has come at the expense of the Tribe of the Bear, and their chief. You publicly told him that him wanting to take you as his wife was an insult, implying that you, a young warrior and a woman—” he held up his hand to keep me from responding. “And yes, the tribe of the Elk does not care about your being a woman, only in the strength you bring to the tribe, but I have told you before that we were one of the more… permissive tribes, yes? In the tribe of the Wolf, you would have been killed at birth for being ‘unnatural’. The Tribe of the Bear would certainly have never let you train as a warrior. You likely would have been already married to whoever your father decided to give you to, and would have had no say in the matter.”

I frowned at his words. It was easy to see that this was not going to end well for me. “What are they discussing in the high hall, Father?”

He sighed. “As we thought, Yorlunn is trying to convince the tribes to band together and attack the villages by the lakes. It has been thirty years since the last time the tribes united for a raid, and it was Yorlunn’s performance in that raid that earned him his name as Bloodaxe, and gave him the deeds needed to challenge for leadership of the Tribe of the Bear. Now he hungers for more blood.”

My eyes narrowed at that. “I remember you telling me about the villages, including the city on the central lake. What good are axes against walls of stone? And the villages can load up their valuables in their boats and push off into the lake, safe from our blades, while the people retreat to the city. Assuming they don’t get enough warriors together to make a fight of it. And even if we sink their boats, all their treasure will then be at the bottom of an icy lake, and we still would not have it. What good does this do the tribes?”

My father nodded. “That is what I, and others of the tribe think. Worse still, if we commit to an attack on the villages, the preparations will mean that we would have to venture away from the herds of elk and other animals. All the tribes have rations for days of poor hunting, but sending all the warriors off to battle would make the tribes depend on the spoils of war to survive until the spring. If there are no spoils, then things will be dire for the tribes.”

He sighed, looking out to the horizon. “Unfortunately, those who think clearly about battle on the horizon, and what it will mean for the tribes, are in the minority. I have told you of the story of my slaying the Fireshell, yes? I was young and foolish back then, full of the battlefire, and eager to throw myself into the fray. If I had been a wiser man, perhaps we would have found some way to escape a foe that was beyond us, and live to fight another day. I said before that I would have died then, but for the gods? Well, it was one god in particular who called to me.”

“I found myself before a throne of blue ice, gazing upon the Frostmaiden in all her terrible glory. She told me that my actions amused her, and that she needed a vessel to pour power into, for when the time was right. Yes, I’ve known from the day you first began growing in your mother’s womb that you would be bound to the Lady of Winter. For on that day, I felt the spark of icy power she placed in me flow out, and nestle itself within your mother’s belly. I knew then that you would be strong. Different, certainly, but strong. Never forget that.”

I was about to ask a question, when I saw Stalfar Greatsoul, Chief of the Tribe of the Elk, walking up to us, a bitter look on his face. I knew, then, that things had definitely changed for the worst. While the Chief had never been overly kind to me, or to anyone, the expression he wore now was one of someone doing something he very much didn’t want to do.

“We must speak.”