Ironsworn RPG, Session 1
Okay, “Session” is going to be a misnomer, because it’s just going to be published whenever I have done a bunch, or whenever I feel like it. We kinda have to start with a whole bunch of exposition and dialogue. Here’s the teaser from last time, again:
Kori Morgan thanked the couple for the night’s shelter against the storm as he left. Rythane, his raven, was waiting for him outside, perched above a tall stack of split firewood. Kori looked east, into the Flooded Lands that bore out before him, further than he’s ever been. The breeze did not keep away the smell of rot. He wondered if he should have taken them up on their offer of breakfast before he came out, as his appetite suddenly left him. Kori’s thoughts were interrupted by the pained scream of a woman. The people working outside jumped, looking in his direction. Children were ushered into the nearest houses, some shrieking for dolls or toys that were left behind. Kori looked to Rythane before she startled the people again, and asked “What happened? Show me.”
Rythane took wing and flew south. Kori slung his bag over his shoulder and began walking through the village courtyard. A man came around the corner in front of him, brandishing a tanner’s knife. “You’re not going anywhere. Do you think you can just walk out of here after what you’ve done?”, he says.
Kori tried to calm him, saying “Be still friend, I just took some of your circle’s hospitality last night. What has you on edge?”
If I follow this move up with a Gather Information move, then I get a bonus to it as well.
I also rolled for a bunch of people’s names, which you can see below. I haven’t named this village yet at this point lol.
Kori’s host Shekhar came out, and helped diffuse the situation. “This man did not leave our home all night, Bevan. Has the circle been searched yet?” The tanner, Bevan, replies “Avella is missing. Her father was just taken last year.” Kori turns to Shekhar, who seemed to be the more level-headed of the two, and asked “Will you tell me what’s going on here?”
They explained a curse that fell on them since they started building here. Once a year, on the first storm of spring, someone will disappear. And it has happened again. “Why don’t you leave, make shelter elsewhere, closer to the Havens?”, Kori asked. “We were part of a much larger circle a decade ago, but the barren lands and a long winter starved us out. We took everything we had, and left that spring. Here, the land is blessed, we can fill our stores easily, and trade away the excess. Did you not notice the vibrant shade of grass? That tree over there was planted as a sprout ten years ago. It would be a paradise, if it weren’t for the curse. We are a stubborn people, we won’t go back to starving again.” Kori looked to the tree, looming over roofs of the circle, and an annoyed raven sitting on a budding branch.
Piecing things together, Kori recalled his less than warm welcome the previous day, “I believe I had to knock on several doors before you answered, Shekhar. So when a stranger walks into your village right before a storm, not many people would let him in. What happens when a person is taken? Did Avella live alone?” The two exchanged a glance, and began leading him through the circle. Along the way, they shared more: “If you had come a few hours later, during the storm, I might not have let you in. It differs slightly each year. Sometimes the victims hear something urgent outside, like a scream or a knock. Others have gotten up and left their families as if bewitched in a trance. I’m afraid we won’t know the means this time, as she lives-… lived alone since the curse last struck.”
The three of them arrived at a meager shack. A small group of men and women were already there, eying the outsider as they approach together. Kori ignored the stares and walked around the building looking for any strange tracks, investigating the door, and any belongings that seemed out of place. “You won’t find anything,” he heard.
unwelcome truth that undermines your quest. Pay the Price.” It also says I need to make the Pay the Price move, so we’ll make failure hurt.
Kori knelt down by the door in the mud, looking at the lock. He barely noticed the scratches on the inside, indicating someone had tried or succeeded in opening the door without the key. Kori stood back up and heard the scraping of daggers. “You should have just ran this morning,” spoke the gruff voice of Bevan. Sharp iron split the throat of Shekhar.
Kori ran, barely escaping their weapons and hands. His traveled legs gave him a temporary head start, but they had an advantage knowing the terrain, he couldn’t run for long. His hand reached to the iron arrowhead hanging from his neck. “I will swear your justice.”
Kori thought, if he ran for too long, they may assume he won’t come back, and it’s unclear what may happen to Shekhar’s wife. He needed to force a confrontation soon, on his terms. Kori turned slightly, aligning in the direction Rythane started only a few minutes ago, towards some strange shapes up ahead.
Blue text is my thoughts or meta commentary
Red text is backfilled, added after the fact some time in the future, and was not present when originally written