Black Cinders - Ironsworn: Entry 5
Session 2: Keeping One's Friends - Part 3
Hello folks! Hope everyone one had a wonderful Christmas. Back with more Ironsworn and the last entry of 2025. This one specifically grew quite long and I found it really hard to find a good break, so apologies in advance. Not as many rolls this time, fairly dialogue heavy and character focused. With a bit of lore. An opportunity to breathe after the more action orientated entries that came before. Anyways, check out the index for the rest of our tale and lets jump back in!
Entry 4: The Dead Still Whisper
Before:
Kanno and Kalidas were on the trail of their kidnapped friend, Zhan of Thorns. Their search led them to an abandoned hamlet, where, within a lonely stone watchtower, they fought against the bandit Lio. Kanno elimated her by shoving her off the watchtower, but not before she summoned her ally — an Accursed Troll named Leech. Though Kanno nearly faltered in fear of its dark magic, Kalidas was able to crush Leech’s life beneath his club.
Unveiled Motivations
15th of the 4th Moon (Second Bloom) 394.IL
Black, ichorous blood and fragments of bone splattered against the partially rotted shield upon Kalidas’ powerful arm. Leech’s towering form had been pinned against the cold stone of the watchtower, before Kalidas smashed is club down upon the Troll’s cranium. The shield’s wood had blackened and withered deflecting the Troll’s foul spell. Kalidas grunted and pulled it free. Leech’s headless body slumped forward onto the floor. More blood oozed slowly out of its veins and pooled into the cracks of the stone floor. Kanno had only ever seen a Troll once before, while traveling with the Black Cinders. Encounter had resolved far more peacefully back then.
Kanno panted, bent over and bracing his hands on his knees. The battle was won. The tower fell quiet and still.
Kalidas patted him on the back with one massive hand. “Well fought Kan. I think it is safe to say we are still fighting fit.”
Kanno wheezed, “Fitter than ever.” He breathlessly chuckled and then paused. “Kal. Did that remind you -” he began.
“Of the hells we faced within Dain’s Dread? Aye. Gramarye no doubt. Nasty work. Not something one forgets easily. Nor the ones we lost to it.”
Kanno winced at that comment. “Sorry I faltered,” he remarked, his voice barely carried in the air. Kanno was unsure if he was apologising for today or for months ago. He didn’t dare to meet Kalidas’ eye either way.
Kalidas stared at the leaking corpse beneath him. “Think nothing of it brother. Few would not stumble when faced against such darkness.”
“You didn’t.”
Kalidas’ eyes softened, meeting his friend’s gaze. His mouth curled gently upwards. “Aye, true. But, as always, I had you at my side. When you stumble, I stand. When I falter, you are beside me. It is the way of things. Our path.” He dropped his large, spiked club to the ground. It landed on its head with a thud. Now free, he brought that hand out in front of him and studied the pristine, iron gauntlet he wore upon the arm. He glanced towards an identical gauntlet on Kanno’s arm. Identical in design, though marred by various scrapes. Kalidas continued, “Iron binds us after all.”
Kanno nodded, “Iron binds us.”
“What happened to the lass with bow. Lio, I think?” Kalidas asked, scanning the tower’s top floor.
“Oh, I tossed her off the tower in the fight. Not sure if she is dead. Didn’t sound it.”
Kalidas flexed his fingers in the gauntlet, then grasped the wrapped handle of his club. He hefted it up onto his shoulder with little effort. “Best to act cautiously then?”
“Aye. The Remnants may still lurk within the hamlet. Mysticism is… not my expertise in the slightest. |The darker powers even less. Is a spell tethered to the mystic? Does that magic fade once the connection has been severed? I have no idea,” Kanno said, wrapping his sling back around his right arm. “Come, lets search the tower for Zhan,” he continued, and pulled out a small axe from a loop on his belt. A weapon more suited for close confines of the tower.
With the embers of the fire extinguished, Kanno quickly lit a torch. Its flickering light gently ate away at the darkness. Meanwhile, Kalidas struggled to throw the corpse of the Troll off the side of the tower. Its lanky form and dead weight made it hard to find a strong purchase on the headless corpse. But as always, Kalidas prevailed. With both tasks complete, they took their first steps into the tower itself, down the old stairs. Every groan and creak of the wooden boards underfoot made Kanno wince. The stairs hugged the interior wall of the tower, twisting round its perimeter, into gloom and shadow.
After two turns, they reached the first floor. Darkness had found its home here, before the torchlight hastily burnt it away, sending the gloom fleeing into the corners of a rather sparse room.. A few broken chair legs or tables, and crates had been piled in the corner alongside other debris and rubble. A small bedroll had been set up in another, close to the descending staircase on the opposite side of the room. A few supplies and a pack had been left beside it. Kanno stepped further in to the room, with the illumination of his small, blazing light revealing a figure suspended in chains.
[Zhan]
Role: Trader | Bold, Resourceful, Generous, Obsessed | Goal: Searching for a weapon + Slay a beast
He was an older man, just on the cusp of middle aged. A lean build. Dark hair flopped over his brow; the closest of loose strands stuck to the thin layer of sweat upon his skin. The rest of his shoulder-length hair clung to the back of his neck. It was damp with sweat and glistened in Kanno’s torchlight. Zhan’s characteristic goatee with a thick moustache adored his face, though it was greatly dishevelled and ill-maintained. Eyes closed, head down. His tunic had been torn a little, revealing the lasting marks of a life led dangerously. Scars with a story to tell. Chains bound his hands above his head, hanging him from a fixture on the wall. His right leg barely touched the floor. His left leg was missing the iron replacement that Zhan needed to walk.
Oracle: Is Zhan alive? | Likely
Yes
Does Zhan need medical attention? | 50/50
No
“Zhan!” Kanno and Kalidas exclaimed in unison. Kanno rushed over and dropped the torch. The flames flickered as it fell.
“Lets get him down first!” Kanno suggested, “My friend, please hold on. You’re not due for The Shepherd this night!” Kanno shook his old friend gently, as Kalidas unhooked the chains. Taking a side each, they softly laid Zhan down on the prepared bedroll.
Kalidas brushed the older man’s hair out of his eyes and checked his breathing. Ragged and slow. Kanno held the man’s wrist and searched for a pulse. Zhan murmured a little. Kalidas assessed the older man and said, “Water. We should get him some water. The poor man has probably had barely a drop since the attack. Hand me your skin Kan, mine is practically dry.”
Kanno cursed under his breath and his hand slapped against his forehead. “Pig’s Iron! That Lio sunk an arrow into my waterskin during the fight. Hold a moment, I’m sure there will be something of use inside their supplies.”
Move: Resupply
Strong Hit: 4 vs 2, 1 | +2 Supply
Oracle: Does he find anything unusual? | Unlikely
No
He stood and lit a fresh torch with flames of the old one, before searching the assorted supplies Lio and Leech left on the first floor. In the pack, he found a few trail rations and dried fish. Some rope and other useful wilderness gear but no waterskins. A quick search by the campfire upstairs yielded no success either.
He returned downstairs, crossed the room and descended to the ground floor. The smell of damp grew thick down here. The light gust of wind that managed to worm its way into the tower did little to alleviate that odour. The ground down here was soft, with mud and earth covering a good portion of the tower’s ground floor. The deepest part was flooded with a small pool of stagnant water. The torchlight did little to penetrate the murk that lingered within.
Towering out of the pool was a strange collection of objects. Many objects. Many, useless objects piled high and haphazardly. Trinkets and baubles that no man would seek or claim as a prize. Broken bits of wagon. Crooked and bent cutlery. Torn banners soaked with marshwater. Kanno had heard of such a thing before. This was a Troll’s Hoard. Great collectors, or so Kanno had been told, though the mind of a Firstborn is alien in many ways to the Ironlander. No man could have use for such objects or even covet them, yet Trolls do so with a fanatic drive. During their ill-fated travels with the Black Cinders, the band had parlayed with a problematic Troll through trade rather than violence, leaving Kanno with a good impression of these Firstborn.
Half a door, nearly crumpled, sat at the entranceway to the tower. The moon was hidden behind ominous clouds, leaving Kanno to fumble around the tower with just his meek flame. He moved quickly. Lio’s body had fallen limply over the rubble around the tower’s base. Bent painfully at her back; it was clear she died on impact. Kanno paused, studying her features. Much like Zhan, she was marked by the scars of the Ironlands’ struggles. Though she didn’t earn it, Kanno closed her eyes in respect. He paused and struggled to recount the words. “May The Shepherd guide you to the Lands Beyond. May you find peace, child of the Ironlands,” he murmured, before searching the body for anything he might find of use.
Move: Gather Information, (+1 Spirit-Bound)
Strong Hit: 7 vs 5, 2 | +2 Momentum
As the words difted off his lips and hung in the nigth air, his heart grew cold and still. Just like at the palisade wall eariler that evening. His vision blurred for a second and a chill slowly crept up his spine, its gentle bite piercing every vertebrae, clawing its way up. His hand hovered over the corpse of the bandit, moving slowly over the patchwork of leathers. As he did so, he felt that coldness rush out of him and touch something trapped between within the confines of her armour. A cold, ghastly murmur in his ear goaded him to investigate.
A quick search of her corpse yielded a full skin of water, alongside a handful of other supplies. Not one to waste, Kanno pocketed what he could and diverted his attention to the mysterious item hidden beneath her leathers. Something was sewn into a hidden pouch within her armour. Careful to not disturb the broken body too much, he gently pried open the stitching with a short, iron knife. Within, Kanno found a small, battered journal. He stowed the book away and returned to the tower to aid his friend.
[Mark Milestone] Discover what happened to Zhan and his caravan - 6/10
“Found and tended to Zhan.”
Oracles: What did they want with Zhan and why did they keep them alive?
Lio Goal: Obtain an Object | Leech Goal: Avenge a Wrong
Action/Theme: Clash, Survival | Magnify, Progress | Diminish, Dominance
What was the item?
Action/Theme: Secure, Barrier | Isolate, Madness | Obscure, Exposure
He closed the door the best he could with its crumpled state, and bounded back up the stairs. Kalidas had sat Zhan up and spoke to him softly. Kanno rushed to his side and gently raised the waterskin to his lips. Zhan drank greedily, forcing Kanno to set the pace. His friend had heavy eyes. Occasionally he would murmur something inaudible under his breath. It continued this way for the better part of an hour. Zhan would stir, Kanno or Kalidas would offer some water, and then he would succumb to his stupor. Kanno spent the rest of this time skimming through Lio’s journal, seeking some clue to her motives. It was crude penmanship but it wasn’t difficult to parse the pertinent information.
She lived a life banditry. As one of a band of brigands named the Harrowed Hand. Leech was there too, though how the troll came to join such a group, Kanno could not determine. They were a close knit group for common bandits. Mostly outcasts for one reason or another. Fortune Hunters were their primary target of choice. Exhausted from perilous journeys and haunting expeditions. Packs laden with untold wealth. Easy prey for the opportunistic marauder.
Their assessment of their last target was found lacking and cost them greatly. A small crew of Fortune Hunters plundering an ancient ruin up in the Hinterlands. The Harrowed Hand had them vastly outnumbered. An easy payday Lio wrote. But man-power amounts to very little in the face of Old-World Sorcery. One man against nearly twenty. The Harrowed Hand crumbled against the Sorcerer’smight. Only three survived the confrontation. Lio, Leech, and another bandit named Birkir. None of the Sorcerer’s party lived; his magic torn through friend and foe indiscriminately. Lio wrote that she saw “he did not shed any concern for his allies, let alone those he faced in battle.”
The Sorcerer introduced himself as Bevan Blackwater and took Birkir as hostage. Lio and Leech were coerced into servitude, with their friend’s life as forfeit should they disobey Bevan. He set them to task, searching for a relic. One said to shroud a man in darkness and hide them from the gaze of others, even the most trained eye. A cloak that lessened the influnce of dark powers. He called it the Gloomstep Mantle. Lio and Leech had been searching ever since. Zhan was their main lead. The fomer fortune hunter was a wealth of knowledge concerning the matters of ancient artefacts.
Kanno recalled a Firstborn amulet in Dain’s Dread. The thrum of dark power within it. Stolen from its resting place. No mere prize to sell, but a relic with ancient purpose and might. A power one might covet and do anything to claim.
He pointed out these passages to Kalidas, who studied them intently under the dancing torchlight. The journal was tiny in his large hands. Kalidas’ brow furrowed slightly and he closed the book. He gave Kanno a knowing look, before Zhan spluttered to life.
“Where where am I? What ha, happened?” he stuttered, looking over at his companions and squinting in the dim light, “Kalidas? Kanno? Lads.”
Kalidas was already by his side, propping up Zhan as best he could. “Easy Zhan, easy. You’ve evaded the Shepherd’s sight so far, best not to tempt him further.” He raised the water skin to Zhan’s lips, who took a more measured mouthful this time.
“We’re not sure exactly where we are. Some sorry, sunken hamlet a few hours east off the road. You were taken in the ambush, do you remember?” Kanno stated as he knelt down beside his friend.
Zhan paused. “Yes. Yes, I, there was. The floods confined us then… Gods, a Troll leading the Dead.”
“Aye, the beast is slain though,” remarked Kalidas. Zhan smiled a little at the sound of that.
“Kal smashed its skull in and threw it off the tower.” Kanno said, before adding, “This tower. We’re in an old watchtower.” He gestured to the stone walls encompassing them.
Zhan paused once more. His eyes studied the other two for some time, before he smiled gently to himself. “To think I still see you both as children, but...” he muttered. Both of his hands reached up and touch a shoulder of the two men in front of him. His grip was weak. “Thank you. Both of you. You risked life and limb to save me. It is foolish of me to think of you both as mere boys.”
“We couldn’t just stand by and wait for the Shepherd to decide your fate.” Kalidas said.
“You warm my heart, my friend.”
“Lio is dead too. Read her journal. She took you hoping to find information on a relic. A cloak.” Kanno said, placing his own hand over Zhan’s and giving it a gentle squeeze.
“Aye she did. She was very insistent that I tell her all I know”
“And what do you know?” Kanno asked.
Zhan paused for a third time. “In truth? Next to nothing.” His response hung for a moment. His eyes darted from Kanno to Kalidas and back again. He gave them a weak smile and a brief shrug. Kanno looked at Kalidas and shrugged himself. Kalidas didn’t respond. He merely stared at Zhan intently. His brow creased ever so slightly before shaking his head.
“Well I guess they wasted their time then,” Kanno said.
“And unfortunately, their lives,” Kalidas remarked, before asking, “Did they hurt you my friend?”
“Not much. The Troll was nightmarish. Tempted by the Dark Powers. An Accursed. Emotional too, though I can only understand a small sliver of their tongue,” Zhan replied. He yawned a fraction. “It was quite frustrated with my responses…” he said, his words drifting away.
Kalidas laid him down in the bedroll, “Come Zhan. It is late. You must rest. Regain your strength. Have no worries, the two of us will keep watch.”
Zhan yawned again. “Aye. You’re right. Of course. The Iron bind you. Both of you. My thanks again,” he said as he closed his eyes. It didn’t take long for him to drift off after that. Kanno and Kalidas moved the remains of the fire on the upper floor to the middle room so they could enjoy a little bit of warmth during the night. Their clothes needed to be dried too after a harsh day trekking through marshland and swallowing floodwaters.
[Mark Milestone] Discover what happened to Zhan and his caravan - 8/10
“Discovered why Zhan was kidnapped.”
The pair made their way down to the ground floor and did what they could to secure the door against intrusion. Occasionally they heard the rasping moans and the shambling, splashing footfalls of Remnants outside. It would seem killing the Accursed does not kill the flock, Kanno thought. When they had finished the barricade as best they could, both of them stopped to admire their work and take a breather.
Kalidas broke the silence first. “He’s lying you know Kal? About the Mantle. He has information.”
“You think?” Kanno responded.
“Aye. They wouldn’t bother him if they weren’t sure he had something. Not with the life of a friend at stake. They may be brigands, but the bonds formed under the outcast’s banner are strong. Zhan is well travelled. People seek his knowledge all the time. He must know something.”
Kanno yawned and cricked his neck. “True, true. Perhaps something to pester him about when we’re back.”
“We need it” Kalidas stated bluntly.
“My thoughts too brother. Bataar stabbed us in the back for a relic just like this. That necklace. An artefact of power. If we are every to see justice then the playing field must be even. Every advantage.”
“For Elva, Shepherd guide her soul.”
“For Elva…” Kanno repeated, softly. He turned his head slightly, away from his friend. The moment hung in the air.
“Rest brother. I’ll take first watch.” Kalidas said breaking the silence once more. His hand lightly grabbed Kanno’s shoulder and gave a reassuring squeeze.
“You are peerless Kal. Thank you, I’ll only need a couple of hours. Wake me then.”
The pair returned upstairs. Kanno removed his sodden clothes and set them by the fire to dry. The night was brisk, but the growing warmth of spring lessened that bite. Kanno just hoped his boots would dry by the morning. The last thing he saw before nodding off was the silhouette of Kalidas marching up the stairs to take his vigil.
Move: Camp
Weak Hit: 10 vs 10, 1 | Relax: +1 Spirit
Post-Session:
Settling down for camp felt like a nice place to end here, because trust me, this would have been so much longer. I did like taking the time to get to know the characters a bit more here. I think it was helpful on my end. I really liked the scene where Kanno found the journal. Exploring the relationship between Kanno and Elva’s Spirit is slow but it has been fun to explore.
Something I like about Ironsworn is how easy it feels to generate narrative direction with just a few rolls. Those oracles can give you a malleable skeleton to work with. You will notice that I roll 3 times on the Action/Theme tables. I’ve found I work better with a limited pool of prompts rather than just one.
In hindsight, I really should have only awarded one milestone for this session — for finding Zhan and the reason for his kidnapping. No big deal in the long run though.
Thank you for reading and I’ll catch you next time, when the three return to Hound’s Grave and complete this first vow.