To counter Inkeri criticism that he's a religious outsider, Beowolf undertakes an animal spirit trial on Kerava Glacier. The party fights the dragon Vecassitrix there, and defeating him, receives animal spirits. The Witches' Chorus appears, answering Ord's questions about the Caliphate's Ninety-Nine Gods and suggesting that Kasskar has started unseen wheels in motion by killing Lahar.
With Beowolf in control of the Knarr Clan, the party was now free to leave the Aden Sea and sail for Byrthing Clan's refuge, in caverns near their former city of Hodge. They reached the refuge on the Dempster Sea after about three weeks of sailing.
Byrthing clan was headed by Ferja, the father of Leutwin, one of the young Inkeri who challenged Beowolf in the Inkeri camp in Gibb Park. With both Belwe and Faering beaten, Ferja said he would recognize Beowolf's claim if he would adopt the Inkeri religion. As the potential Inkeri leader, Ferja suggested that Beowolf undertake an animal spirit trial like other young Inkeri, specifically a trial on Kerava Glacier. But, he did not tell the party that no young Inkeri had survived the Kerava Glacier trial.
So unaware of the danger, the party left for Kerava Glacier with Kajal as their guide.
When they get there, they see that over time Kerava glacier is moving down a steep-sided valley and is calving icebergs into the Dempster Sea. The sun reflects brightly off the glacier to the point where they have to shield their eyes. They can scale the face of the glacier above the bay to begin their journey over it.
The glacier surface is irregular but they're able to hike over it. Sometimes you have to scramble over a ridge on all fours. Sometimes you have to jump over a crevice, sometimes using climbing gear to get across, and occasionally you'll see running water below in the crevice. In a few places, series of crevices in perpendicular directions make a field of square-ish ice towers that you have to get past. Once of twice you see a polar bear in the distance who moves off when he sees the party. On each side there are mountains. If you go to the boundary between glacier and mountain, you can see that the glacier is in fact moving at a slow pace and it grinds away stone from the mountain as it moves.
The glacier is about 40 miles long. About half way up, they reach their destination: a mountain crag hanging out over the glacier - over time much of the mountain under the crag has been ground away by the glacier.
Kajal then explained how the animal spirit trial worked.
Kajal tells the characters that to attract an animal spirit, they need to temporarily set aside their normal identity or ego and become one with the larger spirit world. He says that by taking them away from their normal environment and concerns and focusing them on survival, the harsh journey they've just undertaken helps open them to this, and now they might be able to become one with the spirit world naturally. But, most young Inkeri on the animal spirit quest also need doses of quinine to get into the necessary altered state, and he has some quinine cakes for them. Unfortunately, quinine has unpleasant side effects.
In game terms, the characters can achieve oneness with the spirit world on a WIS check with DC 22. Each dose of quinine you take will have some unpleasant side effect, based on a FORT resistance check, but will allow you to reroll the WIS check with a lower DC.
The party began the spirit trial, taking quinine and suffering ill effects after each failure. For instance, Keith's journal shows Kasskar temporarily suffered labored breathing, dizziness (which gave him -2 DEX), and paralyzation.
When each character had reached oneness with the spirit world, they were visited by the dragon Vecassitrix - who attacked them. Vecassitrix had these statistics. But even though they were still partially under the effects of the quinine, they still defeated him.
With Vecassitrix beaten, Beowolf took some of the dragon's hide to make armor later. More importantly, the characters each received an animal spirit as they laid exhausted on the glacier. Beowolf, Kasskar, and Aeris received Celendril the White Drake of the Waste, Marwolaeth the Hooded Dragon, and Isaf the Black Worm, respectively.
Celendril, the White Drake of the Waste
After the fight with Vecassitrix, Beowolf is kneeling on the snow, and he still has ringing ears and vomiting from the quinine. But in his exhaustion, he looks up, past the cliffside toward the horizon, and sees the spirit of a regal white dragon come to him, then disappear as he joins with him. This is Celendril, the White Drake of the Waste. With Celendril as his animal spirit, Beowolf gains Heroic Effort as an encounter power.
Kajal or an Inkeri chief can tell Beowolf that Celendril is traditionally believed to be the guardian of the Inkeri nation, who protected the Inkeri from the horrors of Hilde's waste. But now with Highpyre destroyed and the Inkeri in hiding, the Inkeri believe that Celendril was killed.
Marwolaeth, the Hooded Dragon; also called Poeri, the Spitting Dragon; or the Dancing Dragon
A Cobra-like dragon comes to Kasskar. Kasskar gains the daily power that he can immediately interrupt any melee attack and instead respond with a free spitting attack that blinds on success.
Isaf, the Black Worm; also called Llyngyr, the Brimstone Dragon; or the Nether Dragon
The spirit of a wingless dragon, black as the void and breathing burning liquid sulfur, comes to Aeris and joins with him. This is Isaf, the Black Worm; also called Llyngyr, the Brimstone Dragon, and the Nether Dragon. With Isaf as his animal spirit, Aeris gains the daily power Hellfire, which is a burst 5, range 10 fire attack that leaves enemies and the affected area burning with glowing blue sulfur and choking gas.
Unlike the animal-like dragon spirits that the others received, Ord received a speaking spirit, the djinn Waifa. Waifa gave Ord the power of flight, but otherwise remained a mystery until Game 36.
After the party received their animal spirits, they woke from their exhaustion to find the Witches' Chorus gawking at them. When they spoke with the party, they were condescending and questioned their actions as usual, and now they thought they saw a lot of chinks in the party's moral armor. But their main goal was to spur Aeris on to his dark plan.
Aeris: Agent of evil against man, we're here to whet your almost blunted purpose. As one of Kasskar's associates, the Hobnails will soon find your parents, just as they found Beowolf's parents, and we shudder to think what they might do to them. But clearly, vengeance against them belongs to you. Time is fleeting now, and you are disturbingly slow to anger.
What is the ambition of your revenge? Your parents, your enemies, humanity, or who?
Beowolf: You continue to believe that you're king of the Inkeri, although the Inkeri have never had a king. But, you still carry the wolf helmet, which is offensive to all Inkeri - are you sure you are one? How far are you willing to take the fight - against the great trading cities? The Hobnail Bering is a heinous criminal and dumped your parents into the divine prison, but you've let him live. What's to stop him from killing your parents while you're away again?
Kasskar: Plain dressing, average-faced Kasskar. Until now you've kept a low profile. But by killing Lahar, an ancient personification of death, you've maybe entered history as an assassin of death itself. But every one, and every personification of death, has a mother. No man, and no personification of death, is an island. So who has you on their radar now? You chose the correct strategy for opening the niche door trap, but against all odds, you were still almost killed. Is it possible that you're cursed?
Why has he not moved against Bering and Horst?
You signed a blank check to Chill Touch in your own blood. Why do you think they asked for you?
Ord Redding, Foreigner. The Volkers killed Prosper, but you've let Gerholt Volker live. Alaric Volker could raise the dead and Harlan Volker could bend spacetime, so it seems like the Volkers' abilities were growing exponentially. Have you already missed the chance to defeat Gerholt?
You wonder what happened to the Gradskan religion in Hollin. As someone who's already considered a heretic, are you sure you want to go there? You signed a blank check to Chill Touch in your own blood. Why do you think they asked for you?
The Witches' comments to Beowolf reflect the fact that the Inkeri never had nobility or a king, but Steve bravely asserted that Beowolf was Inkeri nobility anyway.
The party went to sixth level after this game.
