Shadows of Winter
Hjorn's Rest is covered in a thick blanket of snow that muffles every sound of the wilderness around it. With the fishing harbour frozen in, the small town has fallen into a deep slumber, families huddled by their fires to keep warm as the dark of winter closes in. The nights are long, and the days are cloudy. Sunlight hasn't touched this land in months.
But things shift in the shadows. As winter draws close, the branches of the Yggdrasil shift and bend in the cosmic winds, drawing the Shadowfell ever nearer to the Middle World. And when that happens, things cross over, jumping between the branches of the Yggdrasil from one world to the other. They slip through the shadows, coming out from the darkness of the night, stealing into houses.
The Shadows of Winter close.
To all those hardy and strong, who seek fortune and glory.
In the name of the chief of the gods, Odin, and of his general Tyr, I, Cheiftain Baervar Rolfstadt, call upon you.
A town under my protection, the village of Hjorn's Rest, has come under an attack most foul. Children are disappearing from their beds in the night, and my clanfolk, who I sent to defend the village, have found themselves under attack by a force they cannot see, and cannot fight.
I beg of you, men and women of fortune, to come to Hjorn's Rest and help my clanfolk to address this terror in the darkness. Provide your assistance, and honour and fortune will be yours from my hand.
The notice hangs on the wall of a meadhall, catching the breeze and fluttering gently against the smoke-stained wood. Hjorn's rest is far to the north, and it's ports will be frozen in this time of year. Yet there are still those who will take horses or dogs through the treacherous mountain paths to the village. It would be a hard journey, not for the faint of hearted, but you are not faint hearted. You are a seasoned warrior, a slayer of beasts both beautiful and foul, a soldier of faith, or perhaps a master of spells. You command great power, and no matter why you have chosen to answer this call to arms, you will. And it is in Hjorn's Rest where you will truly prove yourself...
