Ironsworn - Deshi the Healer: Session 4, A friend in a high place

 

Session Start

Health: +5
Spirit: +1
Supply: +2
Momentum: -2
Tethered: Nabuma village

We dive straight in with an Undertake a Journey roll for the new journey to get back to the village. Please actually be just troublesome this time.

Journey to Nabuma village (Troublesome)

Undertake a Journey + Wits +1 (Tethered): Weak Hit
Mark progress. -1 Supply (+1)

Journey to Nabuma village (Troublesome)
***_ _ _ _ _ _ _

Waypoint: Beautiful Hovel

Unable to believe his eyes, Deshi sees lights through the dark and the storm. It's only been an hour since he started walking downriver so it's definitely not the town, and he's not aware of any settlements in this location. He gets closer and sees that there seems to be a very well kept little house that blends into the hillside. With nothing to lose, he walks over and knocks loudly on the door, trying to be heard over the sounds of the storm. To his relief the door is opened and framed in the doorway is a figure.

Deshi doesn't know this figure's name yet, but we need to.

Name: Dotani
Role: Mystic
Descriptor: Affectionate

Disposition:  Unfriendly
Goal: Defend a place

 

And this is one of those occasions where my brain just latched onto something in the random Oracle results and the storytelling followed it. This was going to be a hunter's cabin, but as soon as I rolled up the Character Oracle attributes I thought "who might you bump into that's Mystic, living in a beautiful but isolated hovel in the middle of nowhere, unfriendly to the human traveler knocking on their door in middle of a horrific storm, and dedicated to trying to defend a place"? And I immediately went back and re-rolled the name on the Elf Names table.

 

At first with water in his eyes and in the darkness that now surrounds him Deshi doesn't notice anything unusual, but when seconds pass and he hasn't been greeted, let alone invited inside out of the rain, he wipes his face and takes a closer look at the figure in front of him. It doesn't have a face. And it dawns on him that the figure is wearing a mask. He's never met one of the firstborn but he's heard the tales, and most of them end badly. However, the storm is lashing down around him - though as he now notices, a little less fiercely in the vicinity of the building - and he has very little to lose. Deshi does his best to adopt a respectful stance, averts his eyes downward, and chooses his words carefully, speaking them loudly but firmly over the storm-noise.

 

"Greetings friend. My name is Deshi, a healer of Nabuma village. I am honoured to meet one of the firstborn of this land. On any other day I would respectfully take my leave, as I understand the firstborn do not welcome the company of humans and I do not wish to intrude upon your home. But the storm is fierce and my supplies are low, and I am on a mission to gather herbs to treat an outbreak of disease in my home village. It is imperative for my people that I find my way back to them. I beg leave to shelter here until the worst of the storm has passed."

Deshi keeps his eyes down for a full count of ten before glancing up to see how this has landed with the elf. He can't read their expression through the mask, but they regard him for several more seconds before warily gesturing him forward and watching him closely as he enters the house. The elf closes the door and the noise of the storm disappears entirely. Deshi is no mystic himself, but he has his own connection with the magics of this land and there is a feeling here of a web of ritual workings and effects. He doesn't begin to understand what they are or how they work.

Removing his sodden cloak and boots, Deshi arranges them as best he can beside the door but keeps his silence until the elf finally speaks. Her voice is soft but utterly controlled and gives no hint of her inner thoughts.

"Greetings Deshi, healer of Nabuma. You should know that this place is warded, I was surprised you were able to find it. But now we are close I think I understand. You have the spirit-sense, yes?"

Deshi explains, briefly, the connection that healers traditionally held with the magics of the old world and the tether-sense he has with his home village. She nods and he senses that, though she is still wary, this is a common thread that could help bridge some of the divide between them.

 

"You may call me Dotani, that is my glade-name that we share with those outside our families. I too have the spirit-sense, you humans would call me an 'elder mystic' I believe, yes? One who is experienced in ritual and magic? It has been long since I had news of the wider world. Please, I understand you are tired from your journey but perhaps we can talk a while? I too was a healer in my community, and I would hear more of this disease you mention."

Deshi is happy to oblige and they talk for a couple of hours of the vow he has undertaken and the finer points of herb-lore. Gradually Dotani lets down her guard and eventually she steers the conversation toward the problems she has been having with a nearby human hunting camp.

And we get to roll one of my favourite Tables! The Settlement Trouble oracle. This Oracle is where sidequests are made and tangents are born.

 

Settlement Trouble: Roll twice

    - Broken truce

    - Revolt against a leader

 

This is a pretty neat result for a double-roll. A classic case of new leader deposing the old and reneging on a long-standing agreement that the old leader had agreed and abided by.

Under the old overseer the hunters of the camp would leave her glade alone. There was little contact, but the couple of times she had met him he seemed honourable and keen to co-exist. However, recently hunters from the camp have been trespassing onto her land, taking advantage of her charms and rituals to trap wildlife and harvest her provisions.

 

Deshi does his best to sympathise and follow the conversation but his eyelids are heavy and he is betrayed by a drooping head and a sudden jolt as he snaps back to wakefulness. Dotani apologies, it's been a long time since she had company and she has been talking much longer than she intended. 

 

Sojourn: Strong Hit

+2 supply (+3)

+2 momentum (0)

 

She offers Deshi a pallet in front of the hearth and the chance to restock his supply of medicines from her warded enclave in the morning. Deshi gratefully accepts. She's also able to share a sketched map of the paths and major landmarks down to the coast which should help him on his journey. He barely remembers putting his head down before waking rested to a bowl of nourishing grains and rejuvenating herbs warmed by the fireplace.

Come the morning the storm has abated and Deshi is ready to leave. He feels that he's made a friend here, and would like to return once his mission is complete.

Forge a Bond: Weak Hit
They ask something of you first. Envision what it is and do it, or swear a vow.

Dotani is happy for him to return and actually seems pleased that he might want to come back, but asks that he helps to stop the hunters from trespassing in her enclave and stealing her provisions. As a human, she hopes he can wield some influence with his fellow men and women.

 

Swear an Iron Vow (I will stop the hunters trespassing and stealing from Dotani(Troublesome)): Strong Hit

+ 2 Momentum (+2)

Deshi stands and closes his fist around the pendant to Eir that he wears around his neck. Closing his eyes, he focuses on the feeling of the iron talisman in his palm and speaks clearly.

"I swear on iron that I will stop these hunters trespassing and stealing from you. I will speak to this new overseer at their camp and I will make it right."

I mark a tick into my bond tracker to represent my new bond with Dotani.

 

I also mark progress on my background vow to Heal the Ironlands. This is an epic vow and I don't expect to get anywhere near completion in this series, but I think finding a magic user that he could learn from is a big step for Deshi, and a potential route to getting some of the skills and tools he'll need to understand what's wrong with the land and how it can be fixed.

 

Of course, actually becoming a student of Dotani means earning the ritualist Asset, which means fulfilling a Formidable vow for her. Maybe we'll come back to that.

 

Session End

Health: +5
Spirit: +1
Supply: +3
Momentum: +2
Tethered: Nabuma village