The Ageless Promise

While finishing the last purchases at the harbour, Sigurd is approached by Rosa, a young woman from Skarvik who, struck by the Ulfar’s physique, invites him to a party that same evening. At the party Sigurd slips away with the girl, while Ragnar is doomed to spend the evening languidly thinking about Dahlia. The next morning Astrid, on Freya’s advice, manages through meditation to get back in touch with her aunt, apologising for ignoring the lesson and wanting to do things her own way. Later they meet Captain Vanessa Macow, who reassures them about the apparent dangerousness of the Daughter of Black. That same evening the Ulfar board the ship and begin the voyage to Promise.

They soon discover that the Daughter of Black (Blackie) is a magic ship, able to hide its appearance with illusions, and that the spirit of a millennia-old elf is imprisoned inside its figurehead.

The voyage to Promise takes six weeks, and during this time the Ulfar get to know the rest of Blackie’s motley crew, finish learning the Common tongue and learn new skills. Our heroes will not see Promise, only its walls, because the dragon Brumargenta forbids the ship to dock. However, a rowboat is allowed to land at the outer harbour; it leaves with a cargo and comes back with two people, who will spend the rest of the voyage unconscious.

Freya responds warmly to the captain’s tender advances, and so has her first intimate experience with another woman.

The next leg of the voyage lasts only two weeks, and finally they reach Vyre, the city of vices and masks. Almost at once the Ulfar notice that people seem to know them already, and they witness the public humiliation of Armand Vexley because of the booklet “The secrets of…”. They soon find out that a week earlier another booklet of the same kind was released, titled “Journey to Vigil”, which talks about them and the relic they are carrying. Caught off guard, they are approached by Serelis, one of the Masks of Whispers, who offers them a deal: she will give the Ulfar all the information she has about the booklet, and they will commit to getting to the bottom of the matter.

The Ulfar, however, do not accept right away: they are worried about how expensive the city is and look for a way to leave quickly.

They are then attacked in the middle of the street by a gang of thieves set on stealing the relic, but they easily get rid of them without killing them (and so without breaking one of the promises of Vyre). They go back to Blackie, which will stay moored for two more days, and ask the captain for passage to nearby Kintargo. Vanessa agrees, but since she has no way to call back the whole crew they will have to wait at least two days before leaving. Vanessa will also use this time to look for another job.

Back at the inn where the Ulfar are staying, they are attacked again, this time in their sleep, by another thief. His assassination attempt fails, but the thief manages to escape by throwing himself out of a window.

NPCs

Vanessa Macow, Brumargenta