Chapter 3 : Braving the Storm! - Tornuaq

[Andrew]

Seeing the vikings go, Tornuaq jumps on his sled and snaps the reins. "Go! Go!" He called out. He had to get the knife then, Thoriin wouldn't have taken it and come here, pratically dying if it was meant to fall to these Vikings.

"I don't know. Running off like this is stupid, talking to a voice in my head that I don't even know who it is is... well maybe not stupid, just insane. However I am glad to have your company even if it's mostly for moral support."

[DSIGFUSS]

The voice in Tornuaq's head continued for most of the trip, telling him even more legends about other Eskimos that had won the hearts of women in their tribe others had thought taboo. Some stories were filled with heroic deeds and others with terrible violence. Tornuaq was surprised to hear the voice later tell a tale about a hunter forcing himself on a Dorset woman. It wasn't the story that Tornuaq thought off, but that the voice told it with such unconcerend cander. The worst part of all was that the story made sense and the hunter justified as the voice told it.

Tornuaq continues for the next hour and finally arrives at the Beach where all the Beluga Whales had beached themselves and he and his brother Unulaq had found Thorrin. The Viking encampment had moved on and a silent cold wind blew through Tornuaq's hair.

ooc- Spot Hidden.

[Andrew]

OOC: You can roll from now on. Every roll I do I fail. Spot Hidden 72% rolled 88%.

[DSIGFUSS]

ooc- Man! You do fail more rolls in my game than I've ever seen. You even beat one of my characters in Lure of the Nile. Tell you what. I'll make all the non combat rolls for yah if yah want. Is it just my game that you rool so shitty in or is it everywhwere man? OK then...

Tornuaq pulls up to the same snow bank he had climbed when he had last approached the Thule hunting grounds. All is quiet and the night air bites at his neck as he dismounts his sled. The moon shines bright and full.

I sense something child of the Frozen Rain. Someone else is here and seeks what you seek!

[Andrew]

OOC: No I just roll this crappy in your game actually. I never roll great in other games but this is the only one I fail every roll.

As Tornuaq began looking around for the other the Voice spoke of, he quietly pulled his sword. He thanked Sedna that it was such a clear night and prayed that if he died she would take him swiftly.

[DSIGFUSS]

Tornuaq surveyed the hunting grounds as he reached the peak of the snow drift. The snow was still stained read from where Tornuaq and Unulaq had fought and killed the Ijiraat polar bear. He had lost most of the memory of the encounter but as he revisited the event in his mind, so close to where it happened, the memories flooded back. Unulaq had valiantly killed the bear while Tornuaq had stood idle, another reason Unulaq would be the better choice as chief.

Do not dispair child of the frozen rain... Your time and your glory will come...

The icey beach was empty. Tornuaq thought he saw a ripple in the water from the corner of his eye but the ocean was as smooth as glass when he turned his head.

[Andrew]

A chill ran up Tornuaq's spine, he had a feeling that this was going to become a very bad situation. 'Voice, will you still be able to talk to me while I die out here? I don't think I'd like to die alone.' He thought to himself as he went back searching the beach for the knife. 'Dammit Unulaq! Why the hell did you have to hide it out here?'

[DSIGFUSS]

Tornuaq spends the next few hours searching for the Viking knife on the shore of the Thule Hunting grounds. The voice of the strange Inuit man grows tired of Tornuaq’s relentless search and for a while, Tornuaq is left to his own thoughts. Then just as the sun peeks its head over the horizon the voice whispers.

Do not trust her… She is not like us!

The light of the sun dances off the snow and warms Tornuaq’s to his core. The search becomes easier in the light and the Dorset Hunter is able to cover more ground. As he moves his hands through the snow another voice returns to him; that of a Dorset woman.

You still seek the knife child of the frozen rain? Why is this so important to you?

Tornuaq remembers the beautiful voice had come to him once before when he had pulled himself out of the freezing water. He can barely remember what she had said to him as he shivered in the throws of hypothermia.

ooc – roll Idea

[Andrew]

OOC: Oh my fucking God! I can't believe I made a fucking non-crucial roll! I rolled a 36.

[Andrew]

Tornuaq freezes for a moment as he realizes that the man's voice speaks to him only at night and the woman's only during the day and it hits him harder than any bone club could as the identity of the voices come to him. Malina, the Sun Goddess and Anningan the Moon God. The Gods were speaking to him! What could that mean?

"Because Malina, Goddess of the Sun, I must find it to save my people. I know you hate men but I believe that if I find this knife I will not only save men but women as well. I must find it!" Tornuaq thought as he frantically kept up his search.

[DSIGFUSS]

Yes, child of the frozen rain. I believe you will save as many as you can. With the light so short in these lands, my time here with you will be brief. You males are all the same... your lust clouds your vision.... No matter what deeds you champion, they will not be enough for the Shaman's heart.

[Andrew]

"Never thought I'd say this to a Goddess but... Shut up. You obviously don't know her heart, that much you just told me, thankfully there will be little sun so I do not have to deal with a man hating Goddess. How in the world did I get stuck talking to not only one God but two none the less? I must be going crazy." Tornuaq stated still frantically looking for the knife and now a feeling of desperation was beginning to wash over him. "If you want to do something that helps, help me find this stupid knife!"

[DSIGFUSS]

The voice does not answer back but off in the distance about 50 yards away, Tornuaq spots something glint in the snow; a flash of color in the morning light.

As Malina is now certain that Tornuaq has spotted his prize, she continues...

Men are so compulsive. Always one thing on their mind... never truly seeing the big picture, even when it is right in front of them. It is for this reason that my brother continues to pursue me. Do you beleive that if you are relentless enough in your own pursuit of the Shaman's heart, child of the frozen rain, that you will eventual catch the Shaman?

[Andrew]

Tornuaq's eyes went wide upon spotting what was hopefully the knife and he quickly took off for the glint, making sure he didn't loose the spot. When he dropped to his knees to inspect what was glinting he said, "It's not a one sided feeling and I know that I can never actually have her. I have already done acts that will get me banished and I do not wish her to live my life of shame or supposed shame. A shaman is a woman on top of being who she is, she should have the right to marry, anyway it's not my rules, I just try to break them as they come along."

[DSIGFUSS]

The voice giggles. The peculiar sound sends Tornuaq's mind into a tail spin. What starts as the pleasant chuckling of a child erupts into an etherial cackle... Melodious and terrible, heating the young Dorset Hunter's mind and playing at his heart strings like a long lost lover. The laughter is contagious and Tornuaq soon finds a twisted smile plastered onto his face and he starts to laugh uncontrolably. The feeling was euphoric... as if Tornuaq were breastfeeding from a sea of milk that flowed from the godess Malina like divine inspiration. If ever there was any doubt that Tornuaq was in the presence of a goddess, there now could be none. As Tornuaq held his hands in the snow, Malina released him from her embrace.

ooc - Sanity Check please.

I like you child of the frozen rain... I must admit. A part of me wishes that I was the female who had your soul so entrapped. Were I not such a man hater, I would wish even more for you and I.

Tornuaq's hand touches the hilt of the knife.

[Andrew]

OOC: Wow... guess what? I failed my sanity check. Weren't you supposed to make the non combat rolls?

"Oh Goddess Malina, you do me great honor. I'm just a small man in the world, I could never measure up to the love of a Goddess. Besides, when I'm all alone in exile I will greatly enjoy your company. You'll see, I'll show you that all men aren't bad. I'm a goofy fun loving sort. I've always enjoyed jokes and pranks and try to take little serious, but when I do..." Tornuaq said and then he touched it, the knife!

He pulled it free from the snow and held it before him. "Thank you Malina for helping me find the knife! If there is ever anything you need of me you have but to ask and I will be there for you. You have helped me to save my people from these devil invaders."

Tornuaq then put the knife in his belt and quickly scampered to his dogs. "Now to get back to the village and and discuss the land where the knife showed me. Perhaps the elders, chieftain or other hunters know of the mountain."

[DSIGFUSS]

OOC- Sorry for the long delay Andrew. We're finally caught up and ready to rock and roll. Here's what I've been waiting for.

Tornuaq races up the snowy incline, heading towards his sled on the other side of the embankment, his precious dagger held tightly in his hand. The sun god whispers encouraging words.

Keep going child of the Frozen Rain. Soon you will be a light for your people to follow through the coming darkness….. Unless…..

The voice of the sun god giggles to herself.

Oh my!

As Tornuaq reaches the top of the hill he spots Five Viking soldiers making their way up the slope. Two others are going through his things at his sled and three more Vikings stand off a ways East from the others. One of them is missing an arm and seems unnaturally off balance.

Of the Four Vikings charging Tornuaq.

Two carry swords similar to his own, one carries a long wooden axe, another a short double sided axe.

Tornuaq hears one of the three men at the bottom of the hill, away from his sled call out to the Vikings in a gurgled booming voice. Tornuaq’s eyes catch a glint of bright blue skin peeking through gray hair dangling in front of his face.

Koma með hann til mig lifandi

ooc- what do you do.

[Andrew]

Tornuaq's eyes go wide and on the spot he invents a new word in the Inuit tongue, "Fuck." He scans the area around him seeing no actual way of escape and thinks to himself, 'Well I'm glad you think this is funny. Looks like I'll get to meet the Gods in person soon enough. Think you can tell Yuralria that I thought of her while I died?'

He'd seen what these Vikings do and knew that surrendering to them was out of the question and talking to them was not an option. Now that they had his sled he was on foot and he knew that those horses they rode would even out run his sled to begin with. His only hope was getting a horse.

looking around frantically for a horse, Tornuaq decided to lead the Vikings on a long goose chase, he hoped to out run them long enough to be able to get close to a horse and quickly get away.

[DSIGFUSS]

Spot hidden check passed:

Before he turns to run.... Tornuaq's notices (from his vantage point) a horse behind a short drift of snow nearly 50 ft behind the blue skinned Viking. An older looking Norse man holds it's reins and stands ready with his spear planted in the snow.

The voice of Sun godess continues to giggle through Tornuaq's mind.

Surrender Child of the Frozen Rain. giggle giggle! They mean you no harm. giggle giggle!

ooc- roll 1d10 and add your DEX. You could possibly run back down the hill to the beach and then double back. If you avoid the Vikings long enough.

[Andrew]

Rolled a 3 plus my dex makes it a 15.