"I don't know about the nobles here " says Thurston obviously amused by the display of the miners " But I do think that you will be the perfect leader for this place. They need you " he says pointing to the men and dwarves that are still chanting his name "we need you. You will be seen as the perfect fit for this place by the Thanes, much better that we outlanders that's for sure and I tell you what " he get closer to Bründir "I promise that the rest of us will throw you to the pig's mud to take a bath if you start to become stuffy! HAHAHAHA" the norscan stands and raises his mug 

"All hail Bründir Halfshiled!!! Lord of Sheercleft!!" 

"Settled, then! Got a good 'ome, an' good frien's. Seems that's worth it all these days." Bründir continued to celebrate for several more mugs and until retiring to his quarters. He laid Dumdrengi on his bed and knelt before the blade. It was as close to an altar as his muddled mind could picture as he sank into a quiet contemplation. It may have been the excessive drinks, but he felt oddly at peace floating in the quiet space of his own self. Soon, he reached out to whomever would listen - Moradin, Dumdrengi, or some other Dwarven deity - and gave thanks for all he'd been given, then for strength to succeed in the coming weeks.

A few hours passed, and Bründir shook awake, hunched over his bed. He judged it to still be well before dawn, and his foggy brain somehow grasped at the memory of....something special. An event, but not a celebration. Something....religi- Shite, he thought. Donning his armour and blade, then washing the sleep from his face and beard, Bründir rushed out to find the blot to be held by Thurston and Aiden. While not for his gods, it was as much a celebration of their collective accomplaishments.

As passionate as he is about his intentions, Vark is happy when the focus shifts from himself to Bründir, and he nods in agreement at Brynja's words. Bründir was loyal, charismatic, and shared the half-orc's sense of optimism. Through all of Vark's dealings with Matthew, the dwarf had always been a kind source of support, even when Vark could only understand half of what the man said. As the chants of "Halfshield" begin to fill the room, Vark joins in with magic-laced words that cause the celebratory thunder of voices and percussion to rumble even louder, so that all of Sheercleft can hear their newly elected leader's name. He stays for the cheers and for a few more drinks, but eventually he tugs at Seid's arm and the pair makes their exit.

"I'm not worried about you making it there, I know you can handle yourself, Vark." Seid says as they step around piles of stone and sheets of heavy canvas into what was once the town hall. The construction has only just begun but already Vark can visualize the tower that will stretch up above them as he enters through the door. "I'm concerned about what you'll find when you get to Endelfjell. Yes we know Aureaonus is alive, but the barriers you faced when attempting to contact him are... troubling. It's possible that he erected those wards, but it could also be that those blue-skinned interlopers placed them. You'd potentially be dealing with powerful extraplanar entities and you would be completely alone." 

Vark crosses the room and begins throwing drop cloths from the crates where the small library of books they've accumulated sit safely stored away from construction debris. "Yeah but... I mean, it makes sense that Aury would've put up those wards after getting attacked, right? And if he sees that it's me trying to get in then he'll drop them. And if not..." He continues rifling through tomes as he speaks, searching for the spellbook he'd remembered.  "If it gets too dangerous then I'll turn back. I'll be able to get back here really fast and then I can help with the Baron and then we can all travel to Endelfjell together, but if I'm right about all of this then we can all just teleport there and back whenever we want. And ya know, maybe there won't even be a fight here for me to help with. I mean, if I have to sit around for weeks just for Bründir and Jex to talk to the Baron about iron while they all sip on a pint I'm gonna lose my mind!" At last he finds the book he seeks and pulls it from the box with a wide grin. But the smile fades as he turns back to Seid and sees the concern in his companion's eyes. "Seid..." He places the book down on the edge of the crate and he takes the man's hand in his. "I'll be careful. I won't get into any trouble. I promise." He leans forward and their lips finally reunite. Vark lets out the softest moan as Seid embraces him and pulls him to the ground. Neither of them takes any notice as their legs sprawl out and send the spellbook tumbling onto the floor.

Of course, Vark's grand plan all depends on how close the baron and his forces are. Some time after the mages have gotten reacquainted and the phantom steed spell has been uploaded to the codex, Vark sits with the relic before him and begins to reach out through the ruby's power to... "You said his name was Gareth right?" he asks, to which Seid replies with an amused nod. "Gareth, this is Vark. Forces from Cambria march for Sheercleft. Have you heard or seen anything? We need to know how close they are." The ruby pulses with each syllable Vark speaks as it sends his words directly to Gareth Jones' mind.

"Dee-owl bach! Do us a good 'un an' gimme a touch o' warnin' before y'go jumpin' into m'noggin next time, would ye, lad?" Gareth's voice comes streaking back through the weave at Vark, full of shock and surprise.

Meanwhile, Aiden and Thurston arrive at the southern edge of the village, on the northern slopes of Old Shearpeak that the firbolg druid Dorno has come to call his home. Where little over a month ago the mountainside was mostly bare earth and rocky outcroppings, a verdant sprawl of terraced farms and goat pastures has sprung up. In the weeks since Sheercleft was freed, a handful of the village's herders and would-be farmers have gathered here as disciples of the otherworldly druid, in an effort to make the community less reliant on supplies brought in by traders.

"Friend Thurston!" Dorno welcomes the larger man with enthusiastic open arms when he sees the pair approach. "What brings you and your brother to Dorno's humble home?" The towering firbolg reaches down to envelop Aiden's hand in his own and shake it vigorously.

"Oh, uhm, s-sorry.... Is... is this a bad time? It is important...." Vark responds sheepishly. 

"Ah, never mind," Gareth replies with a recalcitrant grumble. "Y'sure know how t'catch a man off guard, Vark. As for Cambria, the Lady only knows. We were there trading for a-" he manages, before the sending cuts him off.

Vark lets out a sigh. "Maybe I should've just used one of the telescription scrolls..." he grumbles before casting the spell again. "Gareth, I'm sorry but... I need you to be brief. Have you seen any Breannian forces heading towards Sheercleft? Heard anything at all concerning?"

"Ye listenin' to a word I say, lad?" Gareth quips back with a touch of irritation. "Nothin' that I saw, but we were only in Cambria for a day. Maybe the Baron took-"

Vark takes another sigh, this one much deeper as he tries to summon patience. “This magic is limited, only 25 words at a time. Maybe the Baron took what?”

"Offence to summat we sold or said!" Gareth explains. "If 'e sent men north, then it was after we'd left. That was three weeks ago."

"Dorno my good friend!" Thurston hugs the firbolg and then introduces his companion

"This is Aiden, a good friend of mine, cleric of Thor. Aiden this is Dorno, a dear friend and an excellent druid. Look what you have done with the place!! We are lucky to have you near. Listen my good Dorno we've come for two reasons. First, to warn you. It seems that a stupid baron is heading towards Sheercleft in order to boss us around, and we are not going to allow it, of course not! We've just decided that Bründir is going to be named Lord of Sheercleft so he cannot come and claim it... " Thurston waves his hand " or something like that... I only know that Bründir is going to be the oficcial Lord of the place and that we expect problems from this Baron. Be sure to stay safe ok?. Second. " Thurston tries to find the right words "The Thor temple is almost complete back in the city you know? And we would like to offer a proper present to Thor and to the village in order to celebrate such an event. As you know, Thor used to prepare his goats for dinner and they are reborn each morning. We would like to offer a goat to our god and to the people of Sheercleft, a goat that, thanks to the proper rites that Aiden will perform, will be reborn in Asgard and will always enjoy green pastures. I was wondering if you do have a goat that could serve to this noble porpouse..."

"Oh, that sounds lovely!" Dorno tells Thurston squeezing the Norscan enthusiastically, his eyes sparkling. "Will Thor come here for you to give him the goat? When does he arrive? Dorno will talk to the goats and explain... maybe one will volunteer to go to Asgard with Thor!"

The firbolg pauses in thought as he contemplates this.

"Sometimes, when a goat is too old to make baby goats or give milk anymore, the dwarves take them down the mountain to an elven farm. Maybe one of the older goats would like to go to Asgard instead!"

"The Aesir walk among us Dorno, but we rarely see or hear them. I am sure that Thor will be quite pleased with your goat and guide her to the green plains of Asgard" he smiles to his friend. 

"Please go and talk to them we will wait here " 

As the firbolg goes to talk to the goats Thurston follows him with his eyes. 

"A kind soul as you rarely will meet one " he says to Aiden " But he is a fierce warrior too. You should had seen what he did with those bandits on that camp. He was with us on the first fight against the Morrigan bandits that were attacking merchants on the roads near the elves. That was when I found all of them, we were after the same quarry and we joined forces. " 

“They hadn’t left three weeks ago when Gareth was there... and it was probably that caravan arriving that gave the Baron the idea to try and claim Sheercleft so they would’ve needed time to prepare. That means we have at least a whole week, probably more!” He shares with Seid, excitement building in his voice. “I can totally make it to Endelfjell and back in that time.”

Aiden chuckles. "You were quite gentle with him," he says. "But I see that he cares deeply for these animals. The gods hold a special place in the afterlife for those that care for animals." After a moment, he says, "But perhaps it would be best that he not attend the blot. He may not...enjoy the method of delivering the goat to Valhalla."

Thurston seems confused "But I already said him that we want to share it with the people of Sheercleft why don't you want him to ea.... ooooooh I see... " Aiden sees Thurston realizing what is really happening "Oh! that elven farm on the mountain.. I see... oh poor Dorno... now I feel bad for him... yeah probably better if he stays here... " 

Dorno is crouched besides several of the goats who have gathered around him, conversing with them, when one of the dwarven goatherds joins the firbolg. The two exchange a few words, before the fair-headed dwarf approaches Aiden and Thurston.

"Efternuin. Th' nam's Harbek an' it'll be a scuttle gorl fur th' goat," he tells the pair, staring them down with sky blue eyes that broker no nonsense.

Scuttle gorl. Six gold pieces?

Aiden was pretty sure he had that right, despite the thick dwarven accent. He pulls six gold coins of dwarven weight from his coin purse and hands them to Harberk. "Thank you, Harbek," Aiden says. 

He looks to Thurston. "I have a good deal of preparation to do. We'll begin at dusk in the temple courtyard. I leave it to you to invite those curious about Thor's ways -- those that aren't squeamish when it comes to blood."

Thurston nods to Aiden and walks towards the barracks of the members of the guard that he had been training. 

After a brief stop at Jex's cart he finally made to it and saw, not without surprise, that their numbers had increased in the past weeks. Not by much, but he saw at least three more recruits who, at the moment when he entered the small courtyard in front of their barracks, just an old barn repurposed to hold some beds for them to rest and as an storage for their equipment, the new recruits were making some push-ups. 

"I see that your record is going to be beaten Ratgur" he said as a salutation to one of the first recruits of the guard that decided to follow the half crazy Norscan on his training methods. 

The young man smiled to Thurston and replied.

"Well, at least you will be still below me old man" despite that they were almost the same age they call the more veteran Thurston that way. 

"Naah I only let you win once, you know... for keeping up the moral..." 

They both laughed and hold the other one forearm in a firm greeting. 

The rest of the Naked Guard greet Thurston enthusiastically and more when he offered the small barrel of mead that he had collected from the cart on his way. 

After sharing the latest news Thurston, he says.

"Well.. as I said, I found Aiden, a cleric of Thor and an old friend of mine. As you all know I was planning to build a temple to Thor and the Aesir here in Sheercleft. Now, Aiden will conduct a ceremony to consecrate that temple to my God. " he stops for a moment and remember Aiden's words "I must warn you, this ceremony includes sending a goat to the Aesir for them to feast in Valhalla, and that offering involves some blood. After that we all partake on the God's feast, and we roast and eat the goat. Now if you want to join us you are more than welcome, but remember, the Aesir doesn't want anyone to follow them if they don't really want to do. Every woman and man are free to choose who do they pray. " he looks around "I assure you that I find myself more comfortable charging into battle knowing that Thor is by my side and he will lend me some of his strength. But attending this ceremony or don't doesn't make you more or less follower of the Aesir or Thor himself. Only your heart or actions can do that." 

He takes a sip of his mead and stands, taking out his shirt. 

"Now, I think we do have time to see who really hold that record..." 

With Thurston off recruiting and evangelizing, Aiden begins to gather what he needs. A drinking horn full of mead. A wide, shallow basin. A knife. His old hammer. He also arranges some bricks into a firepit and stacks wood inside, ready for the roasting fire. The goat watches him collect everything with passive, disinterested eyes. Finally, Aiden takes the knife and cuts a wide branch, one with many offshoots and small leaves, from the tree at the center of the temple courtyard. 

With that done, he mixes charcoal with bit of water. With his thumbs, he spreads the mixture under his eyes and down his cheeks. He returns to the courtyard and kneels down, hammer resting against his bare shoulders, and waits for Thurston and his friends to show up.