Black Cinders - Ironsworn: Entry 11
Session 4: Until Nothing but Embers Remain - Part 2
Welcome back to my Ironsworn playthrough. This week, Kanno and Kalidas learn a little more about the Scorching and determine their path forward.
Entry 10 - The Scorching of Cliffell
If you’re new here, use the Journal Index to start from the beginning.
Before:
Previously, Kanno and Kalidas reached their first respite on their journey to Crowcrest up in the Tempest Hills. The Circle of Cliffell was plagued with a strange, mystical phenomenon. Embers crawled and burned their way across the structures and homes. In visiting the Circle’s Black Iron Temple, they learned from Reader Audhild and his acolyte, Cera, that this curse seems to stem from some outside influence affecting or conflicting with the temple’s Iron Spear. When Kanno reached out to touch it, his vision went white.
What the Flames Reveal
3rd of the 5th (Third Bloom) 394.IL
Move: Gather Information, (+1 Spirit-Bound)
Miss: 4 vs 5, 6 | Burn 8 Momentum > Strong Hit: 8 vs 5, 6 | Mometum Reset, +4 Momentum
Oracles: What does Kanno see?
Action/Theme: Hunt, Desolation | Shame, Cowardice | Wreck, Agreement
Action/Theme: Destroy, Warning | Resolve, Sickness | Disrupt, Blessing
An unfamiliar environment resolves into Kanno’s view. His sight is tainted with a cold, bluish haze and his eyes feel as if they are freezing solid inside his skull. The haze breaks slightly, revealing greater detail. Before him stands a Circle. One smaller than Cliffell but similarly sheltered in the shadow of sloping cliff. Kanno could tell such a place is hidden, nestled in hills and valleys. The village extends upwards with buildings resting at different tiers of elevation. Upon the cliffs are pools and hot springs that generate a faint steam. Kanno can feel no heat.
Ba-dum. Ba-dum.
His heart beats and the scene changes. Ironlanders, weary from travel or injury, find their way to this settlement and bathe in its waters. Its heat is rejuvenating. The waters clean the soul and those that enter leave in a far better state than when they arrived. The Circle trades access to these healing waters in return for supplies and it quickly establishes the hot springs as the life blood of the town.
Ba-dum. Ba-dum.
The scene flashes away and is replaced by the visage of the greatest pool within the centre of the Circle. It’s waters bubble and boil with incredible heat. From a distance he observes figures standing around it. A pillar of water and steam erupts from the pool. A great geyser.
Ba-dum. Ba-dum.
The scene repeats with each heart beat. The figures around the pool. The foaming waters. The jet of steam. Repeat and repeat with every beat of his chest. Year after year.
Ba-dum. Ba-dum.
The final repetition is different to the others. That chill in his eyes begins to melt and he feels the warmth of this settlement around him for the first time. The heat is oppressive . The collection of people, only ever seen in silhouette, stand around the geyser once more. It erupts. A pillar of flame bursts free from the earth and the waters. Fire engulfs the people and indeed Kanno. The last thing he sees before his eyes are fried, is the silhouette of a single man standing at the centre of that pillar of fire.
The temple resolved back into view. Kanno found himself panting and sweating. His eyes burned hot within their sockets and he could swear steam drifted out of them. In contrast, his cheeks were cool. A single tear ran out of each eye and froze to his skin. After a few moments his body heat evaporated the streaks off. The Reader was still talking as if nothing had happened. Barely a second passed since he touched the pillar.
Kanno wheezed.
“Come now child, you barely touched the rusted thing,” Reader Audhild sneered, “Even young Cera could stomach it.”
Kanno ignored him and took a deep breath. “Hot springs. Hot springs around a great geyser, hidden in the hills. Are either of you familiar with a Circle matching that description?” he asked.
Settlement: Scaldvann
Tiny, Old, Hidden, Sacred
The Reader shook his head and said, “Boy, I have been a Spearspeaker in this region for over fifty passings. No such Circle exists in these lands. No hot springs in these hills and certainly no -”
“Actually,” Cera interjected, her eyes alight with recognition, “There is a small village nearby. Not far. Maybe two or three days hike through the hills.”
The old man scowled at his student. “And just how would you know of such a place, girl? You, who has scarcely set foot outside of this valley,” he snapped.
The young woman stood her ground, “Aric once spoke of it. The poeple there don’t follow the Iron but the Old Powers.”
“Heathens!” Reader Audhild spat.
Cera continued, “It is remote and quite hidden. But the waters are mystical. Rejuvenating even. So Aric said.”
“You know better than to listen to the words of that outcast Cera. Only the Iron can provide such boons.” He turned to the other men and said, “I demanded no time wasters in my temple boy. If you need respite the Lodge is always open, but I require you to remain focused on the task at hand.”
Kanno stood straight, irritated by the old man’s demeaner. He said firmly, “I saw it. When I touched the Spear. A vision.”
The scowl across the elder’s face deepened. “Utter nonsense. You, a stranger and a child untrained in the Iron. Untethered from its flow. Granted the seer’s sight?” he snapped and then cursed under his breath. “Cera, see these two out and then return home. My temple is closed for the day. We’re done wasting my time.” With that, the Reader marched away and into the chambers deeper within the sanctuary.
The room was silent for moments, before Cera spoke, “Sorry about him. It may not come across but… he is a good man, who works hard to keep Cliffell safe. He worries that our current plight are the result of his failings.” She began to direct them down the stairs and out of the temple as instructed.
“He looks down on others,” Kanno remarked, shaking off the irritation of the encounter. Cera did not commen on his statement.
Meanwhile Kalidas nodded understandingly, “No need to apologise, truly. An Ironlander doesn’t reach that age with out a few nicks in the metal.” He opened the temple doors, allowing the other two to cross the threshold, before asking, “You speak the truth Kanno. You were granted a vision? By the Iron?”
The cooling night air greeted the three of them as they stepped outside. Kanno nodded, “Be it by the Iron or something else, I saw the village. I saw the erupting waters and hot springs. Nestled within the cliffs.”
“Scaldvann,” Cera affirmed.
“Its connected. I am sure of it.”
“Well, I believe that should be our first step.” Kalidas said, “Perhaps further insight can be gleaned by visiting the Circle.”
“Firstly,” Cera began, “I will show you to the Lodge. You must be tired after traveling and I’m sure you’ll need your rest for the days ahead.”
Move: Sojourn
Strong Hit: 5 vs 3, 3 - Match | +2 Health, and +2 Companion Health, +2 Momentum
Lodges are a blessing to any wandering soul in the Ironlands. Most sizable Circles will have one that offers shelter and warmth to those on the road. Often they are run and stocked by the community, though each one will have its own rules and stipulations. Some may provide food. Most will not provide much. Treasure seekers and hunters are frequent users of the Lodges across the continent.
Cliffell’s Lodge was closer to a barn, that sat on the northern end of the settlement. Inside was a large space that could probably be used as a gathering hall should the temple be unavailable. No rooms or space for privacy here. The building was a single room with a large fire pit in the centre. Only a few travellers had found refuge in the sanctuary that night, for which Kanno was relieved to discover. He never slept well in crowded room.
Cera stayed for a few hours of conversation. She was eager to learn of the two’s travels and the world beyond her own Circle. The spirit of adventure roared like a fire within her as she hung onto every word. Kalidas regaled her with some of their tales but Kanno was more reserved. Both neglected to mention their hardship months ago. When asked what their path was, Kanno merely stated they were to find a man in Crowcrest, far to the north.
In return, the young woman shared a little of herself. As she informed them previously, she was a follower of the Old Mother, but showed some aptitude with the Iron. She was not suited to the practice she feared. She felt the Reader was forcing it upon her because Cliffell will need a new Reader after a few more winters. “I think he is worried how his home will fare if there is none to take up the Spear when he officially abdicates the role,” she remarked.
Kanno sensed the conflict within her. Her heart pulled her one way, but this duty pushed her in another. All he could offer was to ensure she walked her own path. They are all young. They all have their own lives ahead of them. Her choice was what mattered the most.
The young woman helped Kanno tend to the wounds of his companion and himself. Her stitching was exemplary and her touch was gentle. After another hour conversing, in which Cera gave them loose directions to Scaldvann, she departed for home, leaving them both with a gentle smile.
Move: Gather Information
Strong Hit: 6 vs 5, 4 | +2 Momentum
The rest of the evening was spent sharing tales of the road with the handful of wanderers that found respite in the Circle. Some brought advice for the road ahead, others only had warnings to give. “You watch yourself on the roads feeding into the Pioneer’s Path you hear. Lonely travellers such as yourselves are easy pickings for even a small band of raiders. The cowards strike the less patrolled paths that converge on that great road. Many traders have fallen over the years,” one grizzled Free Warden informed them, as his journey took him southwards.
Towards the end of the evening they were joined by a couple of the Wardens performing final checks on the Lodge. Kanno asked if any had seen anything in the direction of Scaldvann in the recent weeks.
“Aye, I believe I did,” a middle-aged warden mused. He was lean and sported a large, bushy beard that looked ridiculously proportioned compared to the rest of his body. “Must have been, say, a week and a half, maybe two weeks back. It was faint but there was an almighty glow from across the hills. Like a pillar of light and warmth on the horizon.”
Kanno and Kalidas thanked the warden for his information and pondered its meaning. The pillar of fire with the man at its centre. Could it be same one? Questions that would have to stay unanswered until they reached Scaldvann. Tiredness was setting in and Kanno was eager to get as much sleep in a proper shelter as he could. He fell deeply asleep in a matter of minutes after his head hit the pillow.
Post-Session:
Very much a set up chapter as we prepare for the quest ahead. While I was playing it actually took me so long to figure out just what was happening in Cliffell/Scaldvann and just what Kanno saw when he was given his vision. Once again, I’m playing it that Kanno doesn’t know about Elva, his Spirit-bound asset, at the moment.
We got a strong hit with a match on the Sojourn roll which is perfect for something I had in mind regardless. We won’t see it bare fruit for some time though.
Check back next week as Kanno and Kalidas travel to Scaldvann to uncover the mysteries of that mystical place. If you’ve enjoyed this entry or the story so far, please consider subscribing.
Entry 12 - Until Nothing But Embers Remain