OOC: this meeting is only for the official members of Hjarrandi. Those paying off a debt will get their own meeting thread after this one is complete. Those attending this one, please be vague about the market if you mention it! Posts are due by September 5th!

With the season coming to end it was time for Hjarrandi to move on anyway, but Valkyrie was eager to leave for a different reason. Everyone had been invited to the market. Anyone who had attended an auction knew the band was now stuffed to the gills with profit. They were sitting ducks. It was time to spread their wealth out among caches across the east and move to another section of Boreas to throw off any would-be thieves.

It was also time to discuss raids. Valkyrie had received and accepted a bid for two seasons worth of raiding and as a whole the band would decide how that would be integrated into their agenda. To put it simply, they had a lot to discuss.

After returning to the now empty market grounds, Valkyrie loosed a low call to the members of Hjarrandi.

dark mists are cloaking what the eyes can see

Éldi finished packing up his wares with a smile on his face. The first market had gone well and he'd sold a reasonable amount of his wares and returned got a few items on his wish list. Namely, a nice thick buffalo hide. He felt wealthy indeed to be able to spread this on the floor of his den and it was bound to make for a nice warm blanket when winter finished blowing its way into Boreas. His green eyes, flecked with amber, turned to the northern horizon where clouds streaked with dark gray were growing steadily darker. Likely they would bring rain to the south but as cool as the fall had been he expected snow at any day. Perhaps it would start as rain and he would away to white on the ground.

Éldi's thoughts had been in a number of places. With his wares, with the weapon he wished to fashion himself, and even if he should start up his own band. Hjarrandi was swiftly growing full. They'd need to branch out soon but he had never really considered himself to have a leaders intellect. Valkyrie was sharp and cunning. Éldi preferred a simple life. Raid when called to and otherwise keep everyone fed. Would he really have the talent required?

His ears flicked back and he turned his head at the call of Valkyrie. Éldi finished packing his wares onto a makeshift travois and headed to the place where se waited. He dipped his head in greeting and settled down to await the others.

Eisleif felt like the market had indeed been a success. She sold all of the wares she brought with her and had a few more useful items for herself. A couple of sheep skins and most valued of all the tiny trinket she had procured for what she hoped to be her future husband. She smiled down on it with dark lips before covering it back up in the lambskin and placing it away in its hiding place. Valkyrie was calling for her vikings and Eis wasn't about to stand her up.

The tailless warrior drew herself forward, bright blue eyes taking in the sights of both Eldi and their leader. She gave a quick nod to both, knowing how hard they worked for the markets events. She lowered herself back onto her haunches, her expression cool but tinted with the hint of an amused smile. Raiding season was coming, she could feel it.

The market had been... interesting. Valkyrie had certainly secured quite the selection of slaves. They had all varied so much - big ones, little ones, strange ones. She certainly had a knack for discerning quality goods. Of course, while the auctions were being held, Dag had been hawking his own wares. Which usually meant sampling them alongside his customers. It had mostly been a long few days of intense hangovers, and he was dog tired and ready for a change of pace.

He settled down nearby the band leader, greeting the other members with a gruff hello and nod. When it came to raiding, he was a bit out of practice (and frankly, though he would never admit it, out of shape on the whole). Dag was curious where everyone's head was at now that the market had concluded.

Alfrun drifted in after all the others, her half-sightless gaze shifting with an uncharacteristic restlessness. She kept glancing behind her, a faint frown furrowing her brow. Something was strange in the air this day, some faintly reddish mist swirling through her Othersight. Tanken, sensing her unease, circled overhead cawing an ominous lamentation even when she had joined the rest of the band. Alfrun hummed softly to herself, a low barely-vocalized chanting incantation of protection. Otherwise, she said nothing to her band-mates, not her half-sister nor her brother's daughter, staring off over Valkyrie's shoulder absently, watching the way golden lights wove through the reddish mist like threads on a loom. The shadows of Tanken's wings multiplied into a flurry of raven wings upon the mists to blot out many of the golden lights, and the seid-kona's lips pressed together briefly, interrupting her chant. Interesting. Ominous, but interesting. She itched to trance fully to explore this hint of fate, but it would need to wait until after the meeting - perhaps after they had reached whatever new destination their drottin had in mind, so that the exhaustion of travel did not interfere with her magic.

With a satisfied look Valkyrie watched the members of her band settle in. She was pleased with her agenda for today and it showed on her face. Their market had been a success. Her people had done well both for themselves and for the band. They'd put on a good show and given the packs a taste of what Hjarrandi could produce.

 

"Friends," she said warmly once they were settled. "We have done well. The market was a success thanks to you." Buy selling slaves Valkyrie personally had profited tremendously, and though she expected the rest of the band to keep their profits, she had made more than she could ever use on her own. So she was going to share.

"Your friendship, service, loyalty - these things mean a great deal to me so in thanks I wish to share with you my profits." She motioned to her left to a mountain of gear. There was armor, weapons, bags, satchels, harnesses. "Take what you will my friends."

She waited a beat to let that settle in, but didn't pause long enough to let them try on things or look the items over because it wouldn't bother her if they looked the stash over while she spoke; this was not a formal occasion and they were free to multitask. "I didn't call you here just to divvy these things up. There are matters we need to discuss. Firstly I want to inform you of a development. We will have...shall we say indentured help for the next several seasons who you will meet shortly." Offhandedly she added, "One of whom is a lioness so don't be alarmed."

"Secondly I want your opinions on the three most important things: where we will go next," North, South, West. "And who we will raid."

Her eyes glittered mischievously as she paused to see if anyone caught onto what she had said. "You are correct," she said with a small smile. "I said three things and only mentioned two. That is because the third is delicious and deserves to be served with an explanation. At the market a northern alpha, Acere of Winterfell, agreed to raid on Hjarrandi's behalf for two seasons." Valkyrie quirked a brow and looked to each member in turn. "How shall we use his pack, hm?"

OOC: So a couple things. 1, for anyone who wants to take an item from Valkyrie's stash, I'll pay half the price of a battle accessory or large companion so long as it goes to your Hjarrandi wolf. 2, the next round of posts isn't mandatory and I'll post again on Monday, but I want the band to pick where they go next and what they do so get those opinions in! And 3, we'll get to the omgomg volcano thing soon, promise ;D

""

dark mists are cloaking what the eyes can see

Éldi settled in and turned his focus to Valkyrie as she began to speak, letting out a whoop at the mention of the market's success. It had truly gone quite well in his opinion. He grinned as she offered them their take from the pile. "Valkyrie, you are most gracious." Éldi carefully eyed the pile as she spoke, his eyes settling on a pair of bladed bracers that looked like they might just fit his muscular forearms. He strode over and nabbed the pair, taking them back to where he sat so he could inspect them more thoroughly. All the while he listened as Valkyrie continued to speak with them.

He looked up at the mention of a lioness. Now that was interesting indeed. He couldn't wait to see the cat in action, especially as an ally. He pondered her question on where to go next. His first thought was heading farther south but Auster would likely be experiencing its dry season now. The winters up north would be bitter but more familiar to him. "I propose heading west. The north will soon be in the grip of winter and Auster will be in its dry season. The weather in the west should be milder this time of year. As for raiding, what is it we need to raid for? That should determine the target. If we need more healing supplies let's pick a pack that resides on rich land. Or perhaps in the bidding someone flaunted their herbal supplies? Otherwise, if this is for a test run and to test our mettle and gain experience then really about anywhere will do. Perhaps we can try one of the packs in the west if we move there."

The news of Winterfell pledging themselves to the vikings was an interesting piece of information indeed but he wasn't quite sure what to do with it. After all, Éldi wanted to get his battling in. He didn't really want some other pack fighting for him when he could do it himself though he understood that the pack and those that had sworn their help would need to fight. Debts must be paid.

Shit. Eyrun was late. Perhaps unluckily for her, her attention had been captured by something quite interesting - and redirecting her focus had never been an easy feat for the Finnvi woman, even if her loyalty to the cause was unquestionable. Slowly she pried herself away, answering Valkyrie's call.. albeit a bit too late. When she made her way to the empty market grounds, she increased her pace until she was nearly sprinting there, and by the time she arrived she was panting hard. She did manage to catch the tail end of what Valkyrie had been saying though, and her ears perked attentively after she offered her a quiet apology in the form of a nod.

Admittedly she was less interested in the goods they'd collectively earned, and more interested in their new... companions that would be following them. She found herself grinning wickedly at the thought. "I like the idea of raiding to the west as well," she agreed with Eldi quickly. "And for the sake of seeing if this Acere's word is as good as he claims, I propose we find a pack he's friendly with and encourage him to raid them. So long as we can be reasonably sure they possess resources we desire," Eyrun added as an afterthought, her eyes flashing with wicked amusement at the thought.

Eisleif listened and grew a little excited as Valkyrie offered the band their pick of the spoils. Her bright blue eyes looked over the stash and the animals behind for what she thought she might like. There was much to choose from and the woman was going to have to debate about the decision before taking her pick.

A toothy grin lit up her features as Valkyrie continued to speak, and it seemed their market day turned out better than any of them had imagined. Eldi and Eyrun spoke boldly as Valk finished and asked their thoughts. What direction did Eisleif wish to see the band go? The West seemed an appropriate choice, there were three packs in that direction. They could have the most access to the most packs there.

”I agree, the West seems the best direction for now.” She offered her opinion as she stood to look over the items presented. ”After the Market what are our greatest needs?” She was curious. There seemed to be a wealth of usable items, but how did they do on herbs, food, would they have access to clean water during the winter?

 

Eldi spoke up first, followed by Eyrun and Eisleif. Valkyrie allowed her chin to drop to her chest as she listened to them speak. She waited until each said their piece, her eyes roving between them as they spoke, and then she lifted her chin. "The West it is, then." Had she had hands Valkyrie would have steepled her fingers. "I haven't had a chance to take stock of everything, but I think it's safe to say we will want for nothing for the next couple of seasons. But it would be a shame to let our temporary workforce get off easy, wouldn't it? At the very least we wouldn't be getting our money's worth out of them. What do you all think of raiding to ransom what we take? Or raiding to build stocks for the next market?"

She nodded to Eyrun. "Those are my thoughts as well. No one in Boreas does what we do. No doubt it will earn us enemies and if we are to have enemies it is in our best interest that they not be united." Valkyrie was quiet for a second as she considered who all she had seen him with. And then it hit her - the answer was obvious. Shed had first seen Acere and Shaye at the battlefield when he had been Shaye's subordinate. No doubt they were allies. "Though their relationship appeared strained at the auction, I do believe the alphas of Abaven And Winterfell have history that will serve our purposes nicely."

The volcano behind her had been smoking for so long it had faded into the background and was now beneath Valkyrie's notice. It would have stayed there indefinitely had it not taken that exact moment to explode like a whale carcass. The shock wave the struck Valkyrie was enough to cause her to leap to her paws and spin to face the mountain. She watched with widening eyes as a dark cloud filled with fire rose off the mountain. Welp, that was it, meeting cancelled. "It is no longer safe here. Friends, help me pack all of this onto the sleds," she said quickly, motioning to the pile. "We will discuss this more later. For now, we gather our things - quickly - and we leave."

After pursing her lips Valkyrie loosed an urgent to call all of the new wolves - and the lioness - in. Together they would haul what they could and get out of Dodge before the shit had a chance to reach them.

OOC: Next round ends Sept. 22nd! It's mandatory for all the temps but optional for the regulars. Hjarrandi will be moving to Sweetgrass Basin if that helps you plan future things.

""

They were to head west and Éldi nodded, pleased that his suggestion had been supported. His eyes fell on the smoking mountain and he almost didn't hear the rest of what Valkyrie said. His eyes narrowed. Now, what was going on at Mount Volkan? At first he didn't think too much of it. Sometimes volcano's would have fits but soon the earth started to rumble beneath his paws and then the mountain blew its top, sending plumes of smoke into the air. Éldi swore under his breath and quickly moved to pick up his items and to gather up his remaining supplies, including his precious buffalo hide. Once packed he looked to Valkyrie, ready to move out as soon as she gave word.

Cannival heard first the earth-shattering cry of the volcano and next the commanding howl of her temporary commander. Her head shot up, ears swiveling to pinpoint the noise before she got to her feet to sprint in the direction. The lioness took no time at all to respond to the call, arriving into the group of vikings like a bullet. Concern was in her eyes - In the back of her mind she worried for her first family - Abaven - being so close to the destruction. She surveyed the gathered wolves quietly - though she had not been introduced to any of them yet - before turning to Valkyrie. "I'll take a sled." She volunteered. Her size difference over even the largest of their wolves was still significant, and she'd likely have a much easier time hauling their goods. The faster they could get away from this eruption, the less likely there would be injury or casualty. "Is everyone accounted for?" While this band might not be hers forever, she had promised them her loyalty. If there were members to be rescued, the lioness would head out immediately in search. As she waited for Valkyrie's reply, she spent the downtime looking for the heaviest items and loading them into the sleds herself. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

He and Cloud had been released from the pack to join the band that they'd be helping for a while. Though both had apprentices in Winterfell, they would keep training them when they were able to. They were loyal to Winterfell. This would only be temporary. Though they wouldn't go around spilling secrets about the pack nor the band during their stay, they'd keep to their promise of training those who needed it. Both had discussed this during their trek to meet with the band, as they drew close, Dragon could feel a sense of foreboding looming over him. He could smell the tinge of smoke in the air, and even his companions felt unsettled. He and Cloud were strapped to the sled they brought with them, the young lion they had among the items was sedated and sleeping heavily. The newly horned male cast a sightless glance Clouds way, and as they neared the location they were told the band was at, a powerful and loud blast sounded in the air. He faltered in his steps for a moment, surprise and shock on his face as he heard the eruption. Shortly after, he heard the band leaders call, and with haste he was guided in that direction, the sled they were pulling making it a little difficult to flat out bolt towards them. Still, they made it in time to find the others and the mingled scents of the unknown hit him. "Looks like we made it just in time," He mused, but didn't worry about introducing themselves for now. The two wolves and the three companions would wait for further instructions, and figured it wouldn't take long once everyone else was gathered up. They needed to leave immediately, after all. It was no longer safe here. "Dragon"||Kimahri||Shiva

He and Dragon pulled the sled while discussing some things they still wanted to do while in the service of the band. For one, he refused to flat out abandon his apprentice, and would continue to train her regardless. It seemed the earthen male felt the same, so that was something they'd continue to do. They were only going to help the band, after all. And he didn't feel inclined to let them abuse the agreement. He didn't know what these wolves were like. Decent, he hoped. But it didn't really matter to him as long as they didn't try to control everything he did. His life was still his. And already he was set in what he wanted to do and if they had a problem with it, then oh well. While he loved his brother, he'd have no problem throwing the tusked man to the wolves, so to speak. With a harness wrapped around his body, he continued to pull it with Dragon. And when the Volcanic erupted, he staggered on his feet for a moment as the earth buckled and swayed beneath him. Wide bi-colored gaze stared at the mountain, frozen for a moment before his instinct kicked in. With the help of their companions, he helped steer Dragon in the right direction when he heard the band leaders call. He said nothing when they arrived, instead he followed Dragon's lead and came to a stop, panting and feeling wary of both the volcano and the wolves that were rushing about gathering their supplies. "Speak"||Osprey

Oh gee whizz! What a day! What a week. First with the kidnapping, then the freedom, and him and the Ground-Legs stuck in this camp with these meat-headed mud-crawling vikings, and now the whole world was ending! He didn’t expect to be stuck here in Boreas for the end of the world, but Cannival had promised her time to Valk. Ramesh? Well, he was here for the ride, he owed Canni for what she had done for him, even if he scarcely admitted it. Perhaps she knew, just because he stuck around, or maybe not.

He scrambled up the cat, using her tail as a rope as he crawled onto her back and huddled by the back of her neck. “We'll take a sled” he amended, as though he was contributing something by standing on his friend. This was his default position, since there wasn’t always trees handy for him to hang out on, and he generally tried to avoid the ground like it was the plague. “At least the angry Mountain won't eat me alone, eh?” he said to Canni, giving her a friendly pat on the back of her head.

Four of the temps were there in a flash. Valkyrie packed as they arrived, her hard gaze flitting between them and the horizon all the while. When the lioness and her tree climbing companion offered to take a sled she didn't protest. To Inga who was dragging a large, heavy bundle, she said, ”On that one. It is the heaviest but I have no doubt you'll manage better than a team of wolves.” She ended the statement by looking at Cannival.

Valkyrie's eyes roved over the gathering before she answered Cannival's question. ”No.” All of her members were present; they were missing temps. Her jaw worked in agitation and she glanced first to the tantruming mountain and then around her in search of the other temps. There was no time to go after them. ”Two are missing.” The red giant and the winged dwarf. Most of her oddballs. ”I doubt it will be safe here much longer. I will trust that if the mountain doesn't get them, the deals they made and the slave they want will bring them back to me.”

She howled for the trio and told them where they were headed. Once that was done she went back to packing. There was nothing else she could do about them. She couldn't risk any of her wolves for them, and she still had the captive they wanted so it wasn't like she was out anything if they didn't return.  ”Inga help Cannival into that harness. Ramesh...”

When at last everything was done Valkyrie shouldered the straps of her own sled and barked to those gathered, ”Come, we head for the west.”