Our heroes poked their heads into the Giant’s tomb attached to Ukuma’s ice rink, saw two frost giant skeletons brandishing anchors, and left, closing the door behind them.
They decided, rather, to beging Auril’s trials and open the way to the Codicile of White.
The first trial they chose was the trial of Cruelty. upon opeing the door they were whisked away to a remote area in the Reghed wastelands. They were in a camp of the Bear Tribe, with holy symbol of Auril floating above each of their heads. Apparently this identified them as emissaries of the Frostmaiden
The chief of the bear tribe, Gunvald Halraggson, asked them to assist or leave. Assistance meant slaying 4 of the tribe’s most feeble members in order to feed the rest of the tribe. Yrso and Largo complied (for.. very different reasons) and before anything else could happen they were all returned to Grimskalle.
Hoping all of these trials might be so easy, our heroes embarked on the trial of isolation. Yrso was surprised to find herself here face to face with a clan of the Tribe of the Tiger, who she immediately recognized as the butchers of her own tribe.
Throwing caution and prudence to the wind Yrso attacked without any warning. after a bloody battle the clan was slain, and the camp razed to the ground when a clan member was immolated by Lynaea’s fireball.
Yrso plunged her greatsword into the ground, and sat down in silence.
Our heroes remained here for 6 days, slowly losing their grip on sanity before being returned to Grimskalle. On the final day in the Tiger clan’s camp, Yrso wandered off, only to be returned by friendly members of the Elk clan.
Our heroes questioned whether these events were truly occuring or simply illusions. Yrso could not conceive the possibility that these events were occuring in their minds.
Next, the trial of Endurance. Our heroes appeared in a relentless blizzard where members of the Elk tribe were packing up camp for a long voyage across the waste. Our hroes assisted, although the clan leader Jarund Elkhardt was hesistant to accept the aid of Auril’s emmisaries.
The grueling journey took 16 hours, and was joined by the very members of the Elk tribe who found Yrso wandering in the previous trial. When it was done, our hroes, exhausted, were returned to Grimskalle where Ukuma was waiting. He offered the warmth of his body to allow them to rest comfortably in an alcove and recover from the exposure they endured. He also explained that Auril had come and gone at least 6 times since they last spoke.
During their rest, they could hear Auril leave the island on beating wings.
Finally, it was time for the trial of Preservation. Our heroes were transported instantly to a camp whose inhabitants had been slain by an unknown foe. Vultures were feasting on remains outside the largest tent, and our heroes drove them off to find a child hiding inside. It was clear that this child was the last surviving member of this clan.
Yrso privately offered consoling words to the child when a loud howl could be heard from the edge of the camp. The child pleaded with our heroes to ‘hide from the King Wolf’ while tents around the perimeter were being systematically pulled down.
Our heroes obviously had a different idea.