# 002 - The Wrong Lie Believed tags: #play/the-solofull-fane #game/rpg/ironsworn #game/rpg/shadowdark [[001|We proceed from Session 001.]] Having determined that his head is still attached to his body despite a ride-by swiping by a hobgoblin, and rather than being taken for a sorcerer, suspected of being a raider or assassin, Brynn makes his way to Stagkirk with several ranchers to talk about the daylight rustling. How could this possibly go wrong? --- ![[Stagkirk Dawning.jpg]] ## A Short Beer in a Short Break [[Aida Shivers|Shivers]], [[Delkash]], [[Brynn the Con]], and [[Masias]] fetched up into the local brewesses' home, confined to the front room with a bare minimum of chickens and mud tracked in on the straw by a rambunctious swarm of kids. Shivers, as far as anyone could tell, immediately resumed a complicated story with the lady of the house cut short by some previous interruption. Delkash sipped his short ale with the dedication of a long addict. Masias shot back two of his in quick succession; a trained eye could tell that man was the one to get to talk, no matter what. "Surely," Brynn prodded gently, "there was someone in the hommet that would want to know the truths of the hobgobblin attack and the cows that went for a walk with them. Someone in charge?" > [!faq] **Gather Information** > > **Weak hit**: 3 + 2 (wits) = **5** vs **4**, **10**. > [!info] Commentary > Looks like we have a complication again. Versus a 4 and a 10, one of which was kind of rough. We could probably use some sort of figuring out what kind of problem they have, though, having worked our way through knowledge about the characters before now. We could just go with the obvious, but out of curiosity, because curiosity killed the cat, let's roll for some inspiration. > [!faq] Oracle: Action + Theme > - **Action**: Secure. > - **Theme**: Desolation. > [!info] Commentary > That's a fun one to work out. Desolation. Security. Maybe Jardi's not so good a leader as we might have thought or his people would prefer. Masias burped into his mug and his head seemed to hang a little lower. "[[Adda Jardi]] cares little about such petty things as we. 'Tis his inaction that has brought us so low that even the green firstborn can brazenly steal our cows in the daytime. They do not even wait for sunset, the scum!" Masias slammed his hand flat on the table, making the stoneware jump. ^8136ab Delkash pushed the foam from his lip with a grunt of pain before lowering a finger at Masias' face. "I'll hear no more of that, Masias. He's got time for this. And our visitor, I guess." Again, Brynn felt their consideration of him veering pretty far afield from the story he'd prefer to weave, but opportunity was a fickle bitch. Brynn polished off his beer and pushed himself back to his feet. "I guess we'll be seeing this Jardi then. Maybe he'll have need of a willworker." "Maybe." Masias gave him a dubious look then glanced quickly at the iron-shod staff. "He might have a use for you." ## A Brief Audience Brynn expected a longhouse and was surprised to find the center of the village was instead a stone structure, half-submerged in the soil.[^1] A broad ramp with retaining walls to either side passed into a squared stone arch, blocked by hanging furs. The man sitting on the carved stone seat within was solemn-eyed and lethargic. He was old, even for a headsman. "What is this you say? A hobgoblin raid? At midday?" "Yes, Adda."[^2] Masias seemed genuinely pained by the disbelief. "Three big green firstborn and as many smaller, running bold as you please in the light of day." "And they took part of the herd?" "Five, Adda. They were pasturing in the south fields. Four cows and a bull." "And you did *nothing*? Were they not your cows?" "Two were, Adda. Three were Delkash's. Now, I guess, they're the hobs." "Not necessarily." Brynn felt the moment was right to step up. "They're still yours, if you can get them and keep them, right?" "Who is this - free warden?" The old man Jardin eyed the staff just as Masias had, seeing the rare iron at the heel and head. "Brynn, free warden and *sorcerer*," he responded, with a faintly sketched bow. "I was coming up the south road as your men were trying to deal with the thieving gobs. Brave men, one and all. Not a single one scratched, though I took a club to the face standing with them." He turned his face to catch a bit of the light coming through the skylight roof. "Good men, sturdy men." > [!info] Commentary > Looks like it's time to see if Brynn's story holds any weight with the Adda here. He's not only trying to sell the *sorcerer* thing again, but also covering for the three guys, which should be fairly interesting to see how it turns out. > [!faq] **Secure an Advantage** > > **Miss**: 5 + 3 (shadow) = **8** vs **8**, **10**. > [!info] Commentary > Every time. For a really competent conman, Brynn is not having much in the way of luck here, even with the addition of it being a +shadow roll. On the other hand, we do have something established for misunderstanding in this case, and I think we have to go with it. "Maybe not so good a sorcerer, then? Or not one at all? I see those hands, warden. Oh, yes, I believe you're a free warden alright, and an ironsworn besides, but sorcerer? Pfeh." He spat on the floor. "If you work magic, it's in the middle of the night with your blade." Brynn opened his mouth to say something, then just shook his head and shrugged. "Perhaps my small blade has seen some nightly action. And my staff."[^3] There was a general outbreak of laughter which the Adda cut short with an annoyed gesture. The old headsman leaned forward in his seat, gnarled fingers as clawed as the ones carved into the arms of the chair. "I'll give you a chance to show how penetrating you can be then, boy. Go get our cattle back and deal with our little goblin problem. They've given us grief for two seasons now; it's time they be dealt with. And take one of these useless idiots with you. Try not to get them killed, but not too hard." "Would you mind if we set out in the morning? I'd like to start on a fresh belly." "I'm sure that'll make your *sorcery* easier to work. Go. There's an inn a little further on. I'll make sure it's seen to if you bring our cows back. If not, you'll be thralled until the harvest's in for payment and my time." Brynn sighed and swung the staff around with a theatrical flourish, planting the shod base with a cold ringing thud on the swept stone floor. *"In the name of iron and my own, I so swear I shall deal with the hobgoblins such that they will not bother you again for a year and a day."* > [!info] Commentary > Here we are, the core of the whole point of *Ironsworn*—swearing an iron vow. Let's see how this goes, because my luck with the dice hasn't been all that great so far. > [!faq] **Swear an Iron Vow** > > **Miss**: 1 + 1 (heart) = **2** vs **10**, **6**. > [!info] Commentary > You know what? I should have expected that. Really, frankly, I should have known that's exactly how this would turn out. A roll of one on the action die, and Brynn's +heart is really not that high to begin with. This should have been obvious. What happens when you get a miss on *Swearing an Iron Vow*? Well, you face a significant obstacle before you can begin your quest. We have to envision what stands in the way and choose either to forsake the vow, which we definitely aren't going to do, or suffer minus two momentum and do what we must to overcome the obstacle. Let's see what the Oracle suggests we might want to deal with here. > [!faq] Ask the Oracle > **Building a Prompt** > > D100: **82**. > > Action + Descriptor + Focus > > - **Action**: Communicate. > - **Descriptor**: Watery. > - **Focus**: Vegetation . > [!info] Commentary > That's actually a really challenging prompt: communicate watery vegetation. > > Though there is some structure for us to think about here. > > After all, there is a river that runs by the village that flows down from the Delve. > > We know that to be the case, even if Brynn doesn't. > > We also know, since we wrote and read the scenario, which is another source of our prompts and thinking, that some of the inhabitants do work their way out and may come down the river. > > But how do we work vegetation into this? > > I've got it. It's a little strange, but that's sort of how this game works. > > We don't want to waste a lot of time here, but what if we need to go deal with cleaning out a little bit of an infestation of some of the cave flora and possibly fauna that made its way out into the river and perhaps is making the area where people gather water and wash clothes unsafe or unpleasant. > > We'll drop +momentum by 2 to represent the setback (bringing it to +1) and pursue a quick and simple, Troublesome journey to do the research and clean things out. That seems to be the best idea. We shall see. So far, nothing that's supposed to be quick and easy has been quick and easy. Adda Jardin sneered, seemingly satisfied with the theatre but unimpressed. "I'll accept your oath but first you'll need to prove I can trust you to see it through. The washerwomen tell me there is some unpleasant debris on the side of the river where they do their washing. Take your man and go clean it up. You'll prove you can at least be a useful thrall if you don't deal with the gobs, *sorcerer*." Brynn sighed and leaned on the staff; *the things you have to do for the bit,* he thought. "Done and done. I'll be taking Masias with me. I'm betting he wants his cows back." "You're fucking right I do," the man muttered under his breath. There was another burst of laughter as Brynn quirked a smile at Jardi and turned to leave. The heavy stone doors which flanked the opening, hidden on his entry to the underground lodge, caught him for a moment. They were intricately carved with long, sinuous shapes which wove across the surface in knots, ending in reptilian heads where he could only assume the handles were. Dragons; unusual. ## Exunt And so we reach the end of session two with the setup for session three laid out for us. A brief journey to clear out some detritus which has flowed down from the temple. Some foreshadowing has been appropriately placed, which ties certain elements together, and now it's just a matter of doing. Well, okay. It's a matter of hoping the dice don't continue to screw me over at every opportunity, though I suspect that's exactly what we're going to have. Stay tuned for the next session, which will come about the next time I get motivated to do it. Maybe there'll even be some combat. We shall see. Poor Brynn. I wonder if he's ever actually going to get to pull off that particular con, or whether he's going to have to shift to play into what people actually believe he's up to, which is itself absolutely wrong. How could this possibly lead to misfortune? [^1]: Foreshadowing! After all, we know that the Sunless Fane is underground. Why might it be that way? Or what else might be affected by that? I'm just letting the ideas flow like water here. [^2]: Turns out "Adda" is a title here. Who knew? I didn't. [^3]: No, I can't resist double entendre. Why do you ask?