Black Cinders - Ironsworn: Entry 8
Session 3: One Foot in Front of the Other - Part 1
Hello all, welcome back to Black Cinders. Today Kanno and Kalidas begin their journey northwards as they continue their quest. As always, you can find the very start of this tale using the Journal Index. Lets jump straight into today’s entry.
Before:
After rescuing their friend Zhan from a pair of bandits, Kanno and Kalidas learned of a powerful Elven item known as the Gloomstep Mantle. Their friend, due to guilt and fear for the safetly of the two men who were inspired by him, would not yield what information he had willingly. After a difficult conversation, he was convinced to reveal that the Mantle was said to rest in Myrkur Vaskur, in the Deep Wilds. If the two wished to know more then they would have to travel north to Crowcrest and find a falconer named Esben. Upon the iron, both swore to acquire the Mantle for their fated confrontation with the man who betrayed them: Bataar of the Black Cinders.
One Foot in Front of the Other
20th of the 4th Moon - 3rd of the 5th Moon (Growing Bloom) 394.IL
The Sodden Plateaus stretched out ahead of them, bathed in the growing light of day. Its warmth bode well for the journey ahead. Both Kalidas and Kanno stood on the edge of Hound’s Grave watching the sun drift up from the horizon. No words were said. None were needed. They waited to greet the night Wardens as they left their perches, before they took one last look at the Circle and set off down the hill.
Zhan had hobbled out to see them off and gave what advice he could of their journey ahead. Their first bearing was reaching the Pioneer’s Path. After the Iron Landing, during the Time of Claiming, the first Old-Worlders to travel the Ironlands pioneered this passage across the Havens. It stretched from the Ragged Coast to the southwest, to Ravgulundr in the northeast. The largest Ironlander Circle in this land. It was there that the first Old-Worlders of the great exodus had first arrived at the shores of the Ironlands.
Move: Undertake a Journey - Travel to Crowcrest | Formidable (Region to Region)
Strong Hit: 9 vs 7, 3 | Mark Progress
Travel to Crowcrest - 1/10
The valleys here were well trodden and snaked their way through the plateau-like hills that gave the region its name. Such hills were often marked by signs of life and civilisation. Small Circles that clung to the world like the hardy shrubs grew around the region. Very few had a Spear to shield them and most were enclosed by protective wooden walls. Navigating through the region proved simple enough and, though the trails were not busy, Kanno and Kalidas encountered enough passing travellers to right their way as their march continued. “If you see the Stacks, you’re on the right path. You can’t miss them,” they would say.
Move: Undertake a Journey
Weak Hit: 9 vs 9, 6 | Mark Progress, -1 Supply
Travel to Crowcrest - 2/10
Sure enough, these directions proved true as the pair ventured further northwest. The plateaus faded behind them and a steady, rocky rise grew ahead of them. In the distance, one would mistaken the multitude of silhouettes for towers, looming over the land around them in haphazard fashion. As Kanno and Kalidas drew closer, their forms resolved into view. Large stones or boulders, some the size of a prized ox, stacked irregularly atop one another. They towered above those who travelled the road. Over a meagre lunch of some slightly stale flatbread, Kanno mused about their origin. “Giants,” Kalidas answered confidently, “Has to be. What other creature could lift a boulder of such size and stack them so high.” Kanno had no explanation himself so he could not refute him. He had never met a giant or even seen one. Their purpose would forever remain a mystery.
The day drew on. Though the warmth of Growning Bloom had removed some of winter’s bite, the land here was not as generous as they had hoped. Very little could be scrounged from the berry bushes. The game birds were clearly smart enough to avoid Kanno’s sight and those that did not were too swift on the wing for the young man to land a shot with his sling. Their packs grew lighter during these days of travel, as they left the lower reaches of the Havens behind. Neither man despaired however. Though the Ironlands has a whole were sparsely populated, the Havens contained more Circles than any other region. They would find shelter there if it came to that.
Region: The Havens | Lands: Colossal Grasslands - Grasslands
Observed from Afar - Gently Rising Foothills
Geography - Seasonally Flooded Plains
Characteristic Nature - Maze-like Grasses
Regional Feature - Wild Tallgrasses
The rugged rises of the Cloven Hills and the Sodden Plateaus give way to large open plains. Gentle hills slope out of this wide valley. The grasses grow wild here, dominating the landscape to the detriment of most other flora. During the wet seasons, this area slips into freshwater marshes.
Move: Undertake a Journey
Miss: 4 vs 5, 4 | Pay the Price - Roll Twice: Current situation worsens + A surprising development complicates your quest
Action/Theme: Evade, Direction | Terrorize, Beast | Unearth, Territory
The sixth day of travel saw them summiting that gentle rise. Ahead of them was a wide valley. On the horizon, barely visible, were the hills that marked the other side of the valley. A thick sea of bristling green stood between there and them. The wind rippled and whipped across the tall grasses like waves. From their high vantage point above the strath, both Kanno and Kalidas could spy twisting paths through the thick greenery. Though mostly flat, there were islands of elevation that could prove useful during their passage. Few trees grew in this valley, but a handful of those familiar stacked stones were seen towering over the high grass. Markers to guide them on their hike through the sea of grass.
They stood for some time as they tried to gauge the best way through and agreed on a rough starting point. A small trail that appears to snake its way through the grass and towards one of the few small hills. Impatient with their delay, the wind whipped up behind them and ushered them into the strath below.
The wind was reduced to a mere murmur as the pair reached the shelter of the tallgrass. The green grew high above them and its tips waved in the rushing wind overhead. While Kanno was grateful for the shelter, he knew that navigating through would be testing. He drew a small axe from his belt and kept his guard up. The dense grass would surely hide many terrible things from his sight. Best to be prepared. He nodded to his friend, whose stature seemed quite unremarkable while standing under the thick blades that grew around them. Kalidas had hefted his spiked club ready and checked the strap of his shield. Its Ironwood glimmered in the light that filtered down from above.
The rest of the day was a trying one. The near labyrinthine trails that weaved through the grass were difficult to properly navigate. Multiple times they found themselves searching for higher ground to regain their bearings, only to find they had veered off course rather drastically. Even worse, at one point Kanno had to stand atop his friend’s shoulders and peek meekly over the tips of grass in a desperate attempt re-orientate themselves. Frequently, Kanno would spot shapes and shadow traversing through the grass. Curious beasts and stalking predators, Kanno could not determine which. None made a move against them and slipped away into the brush before Kanno hunt them down for dinner that night. Neither man dared to step off the trails for even a second and certainly neither man would do so alone.
They made camp under the canopy of a thin tree that sat on a rare rise within the grass. They lit no fire. Kanno was certain such action would give away their camp like a beacon. The summer months of Short Bright were approaching, but even still there was a chill in the air. A bitter breeze blew in from the north over their exposed high ground, with the tree providing only limited shelter.
Kanno woke to the sight of Kalidas standing in the morning light. He was staring off into the ocean of grass around them. Kanno yawned, “Trouble?” He pulled himself out of his bedroll and lazily walked over to see what his friend was looking at.
“Can’t say for sure brother, but likely,” Kalidas replied, though he did not turn to face the man beside him. He rose one hand and pointed down towards the grass. “There, do you see the disturbance?”
Kanno rubbed his tired eyes before squinting down in the direction Kalidas pointed. As his friend had said, a small trail through grass curved round their ‘isle’ in this grassy sea. The tips were uneven. Some jutting high over the surrounding blades, some dipping below the surface. Often at odd and irregular angles. Something or someone had passed through during the night. “Aye,” he remarked, “Did you see anything during your watch?”
“The grass swayed but not through the wind’s efforts. A low grumble followed its wake. I surpised it didnt disturb you.”
“Perhaps a beast beneath the soil? We would do well to keep our steps light as we move forward today.”
Kalidas nodded, before settling down to warm up the little bread they still had. Once they broke camp and set off down the rise, it was clear that the earth beneath their feet had been churned by the passage of some large creature.
Move: Face Danger, (Shadow, +1 Kindred)
Miss: 3 vs 10, 10 - Match | Pay the Price - Current situation worsens
Match - Action/Theme: Sieze, Ally
Their alreaddy slow passage through the Colossal Grasslands was hampered further by their cautious steps. As best as they could, they avoided the land where the burrowing creature had passed through. The difficulty there was the seemingly meandering path the beast had clearly taken. Often their current trail intersected with that familiar sight of raised soil and dishevelled grass. However, by mid morning they appeared to have left its roaming territory and pressed on with renewed vigour, eager to make up the lost time.
Under the midday sun they found a gentle river that cut though the grasslands. No doubt the remnant of the great river that would have once cut through this strath. Lunch and a brief rest was a welcomed course of action. Kanno had been fortunate enough to find a small fruit bearing tree on the last hillock which made their rather meagre trail rations go down better.
Kanno had taken a seat on a large flat boulder that rest on the edge of the river itself. One half was nestled on the bank, the other in the flowing waters. The gentle current splashed against the stone as it was diverted, providing an equally gentle melody. Kalidas was several paces downstream filling up their water skins while Kanno finished up his lunch. The rock rose above the riverbed and gave him a pleasant vantage of the flowing water in front of him while keeping him out of the mud. From here he turned back to Kalidas who had just tied off the first skin and had bent down to fill up the second. However, Kanno’s gaze was drawn a little further downstream.
The slow waters rippled with a growing violence, pushing against the flowing current. Flecks of wet earth and mud bubbled upon the water’s surface. Within moments a ridge of earth crested out of the water and hurtled in the direction of Kalidas. Kanno barely had time to react before a massive shape erupted out of the riverbed. A shower of water and mud sprayed upwards. Kanno watched in horror as his friend was almost completely swallowed, not just by the exploding earth beneath Kalidas, but the large, serpentine-like creature that emerged from under his friend.
[Barbed Lurking Worm. Formidable]
As its name suggests, the Barbed Lurking Worm is an ambush predator found in regions of soft earth, often within floodplains. This large, serpent-like creature will swallow its prey whole with a successful ambush. Around its soft, grey flesh are a multitude of venomous barbs that make battling this creature up close particularly hazardous.
Post-Session:
Short entry today and I think this was a good place to take a break. Travel in Ironsworn feels really easy to build up a picture of what you encounter on your journey. Its quite cool to see how applying context to a few rolls and prompts can build out the world and its history a little more, while you don’t always need to go into any depth. I really enjoyed writing up this entry.
This entry retroactively made use of the Steelforged region generation oracles which I found really useful in future sessions and wanted to apply them here. They have really help me flesh out the nature of the land as Kanno and Kalidas travel.
Thank you for taking the time to read! Join me next time as Kanno and Kalidas face off against the Barbed Lurking Worm!