1.2.8 - Loki's Kiss

You ran Brelka to ground in Loki's temple, and Gunnar walked out wearing a god's ring he could not take off.

Loki's temple opened out so vast and dark it made you small. Torches guttered against a void of a ceiling. Brelka was already there, crouched among giant vases and a circular altar still wet and red, hugging her knees and muttering. She had done what was required. She would raise them higher than Kvarrac ever dreamed, if only he had understood. Then she saw you, called you pups, and said what a shame it was that you had to die too. Her bones cracked and stretched, fur forced through her skin, her teeth doubled, and a long hairless tail slammed down behind her. She came at you hungry, and you put her down for good on the cold stone.

In the chest behind the altar, under a mural of Loki's gluttonous feast, you found the haul: a striking rune, ghost-touched gloves, boots of striding, a skeleton key, and a steel ring set with a small recess shaped like a pair of lips. Loki's Kiss. Gunnar slid it on and gave the god a cheeky kiss back. Everyone walked away a level stronger. And somewhere under all of it, though most of you could not yet say how, every one of you is tangled up with the name Tarod.

Remember For Next Time

• Brelka is dead: the hunt is over. Loki's Hand can be rebuilt now, or buried with her.
• Loki's Kiss: Gunnar took the lips-marked ring and put it on. That may prove to be a decision rather than a trinket.
• Tarod: each of you has a thread tying you to him, even if you cannot all see it yet.

Where We Are

Standing over Brelka's corpse in Loki's temple, richer by a chest of treasure and one questionable ring.