Ironsworn Session 7: The Return to Wrennsfall Continues

Valryc's status: Momentum: 4; Health: 5; Spirit: 5; Supply: 5
Undertake a Journey: Return to Wrennsfall: Progress:2
Vow: Find the ruins, discover what the Shadiri are seeking and return to Wrennsfall: Progress:4

Valryc continues on, following the curve of the valley as it slowly twists and turns through the mountain range. He still gingerly places his foot down, as his ankle still throbs with a low ache from the sprain yesterday. The ointment he used would ease the pain, but it would not heal the injury overnight. He grips his walking stick to steady himself as he makes his way on, more slowly than he started yesterday. More caution. More awareness.Yet still he finds there is a feeling of peace on this journey, even with all that has happened and all that he still must do. The silence is broken only by the sounds of the forest. No one else is around, a blessing he doubly counts as he continues to keep his eyes peeled for any Shadiri that might be between him and Wrennsfall. He knows that there will come a time where he will run into them before the end of this journey. He only hopes that it is later rather than sooner. But he presses on nonetheless. He cannot fail in bringing what he has learned to the Council.

Undertake a Journey-Valryc continues through the valley, still deep within the mountain range that he must traverse
Roll +1 For Strieg’s Far-seeing
Weak hit: Action die 4; Challenge die 2/7
+1 Progress; -1 Supply; Reach a waypoint
Oracle (Location/descriptor): 29/86- Peaceful Road

The day has dragged on, especially after the slow start of the morning. Though he is glad he will keep his belly full and his energy high with those berries, he covers a fraction of what he hoped to today. The valley floor was a much easier journey than the mountain passes of the day before, but his ankle slows him down more than he had hoped.  “We’ll I’ll have to make up some time tomorrow. Rushing may be unwise, but this is no stroll through Wrennfall’s gardens. A bit more haste tomorrow will be needed.” He plans an early morning, making a small camp before retiring for the evening in a secluded grove of trees that makes for a decent shelter. Continuing on the next day, Valryc stumbles upon a strange sight from the top of a small hill. “Is that… A road?” He moves closer cautiously to inspect it. Sure enough, the familiar shape of cobblestones and the winding nature of a road following the contour of the land is evident. Though it is overgrown, several stones displaced by who knows how many years of disuse and disrepair, the evidence of a well laid road lies before Valryc. “Must have been an elven road through these mountains. It makes sense if that ruin was any sort of temple… It may have been an important site for the elves when they still inhabited Wrennsfall.”  Two thoughts strike him almost simultaneously. The road's disrepair is obvious, which makes the fact that it has not been used by traveling groups even more obvious. The dirt is undisturbed by the telltale signs of troop movements. Even a small band of five or six Shadiri would have left tracks in the dirt layer that covered much of the road. If the Shadiri had discovered this path, they chose not to take it. Secondly, this road could be just what he needed to make up for his slow going. A well laid path, no matter how meandering a way it went, would always be faster than climbing through brush and bramble. Even the game trails he had been following before were a blessing. This could be an even greater blessing. But the danger of an open road crossed his mind as well. A traveler on a road was an easy target. Easy to spot and easy to trap. It would be a risk. He cast his eyes to the sky, spotting Strieg flying high overhead still circling lazily. “Well my friend, you’ll need to be ever more vigilant than you already have. We’ll be taking this road. And you’ll need to spot them before they spot me now.” Resting his faith in the hawk’s eyes, Valryc pulled his pack up tight against his shoulders and continued on, now following the ancient road that he hoped would lead him home, quicker than the dangers that were yet in front of him.

Undertake a Journey- Valryc follows the road onward
Roll +1 For Strieg’s Far-seeing
Weak hit- Action die 9; Challenge die 10/8
+1 Progress; -1 Supply; Reach a waypoint
Oracle (Location/Descriptor): 25/17- Shadowy Fen

Valryc enjoys several days of travel unhindered by the difficulties of traversing the natural terrain of the mountains thanks to the road that he discovered. Always with an eye to the sky, his watching hawk never made any indication of trouble ahead. And though the mountains stretch far between him and Wrennsfall yet, their peaks are lower and lower the farther south he travels. The road has been good to him these last few days. But as he moves along the road as it gently slopes down into another valley, his heart sinks. Ahead is a dense marshland. The forest grows thick and the smell of bog permeates the air as he closes the distance to the forest edge. The road heads directly towards the bog, looking as if to travel through. And then he sees it. The road disappears under the swampy bog’s soil, the ancient path obviously cut short by the growth of this dense fen. Valryc takes a moment looking to see if the path might pick up deeper into the forest, yet he finds no trace. “It was too good to get me home, obviously”  He thinks to himself. The forest is dark and eerie, even in the bright light of midday. The shadows seem to grow deeper and darker the farther into the fen he searches. “I’ll have to find another way. I’m not risking getting lost in that place. I’ll have to head back up the mountain. Hopefully the ridge of the valley might travel around this bog and I won’t have to take my chances going through it." He resigns himself to the long way around. Heading off the road that has taken him so swiftly through these mountains, he again finds himself searching for a decent path up and out of the valley. The ridge above is a steep climb and will take him several hours before he might even find a traversable section of ridge to get him around the bog. This would delay him, yet the afternoon of delay would be well worth not taking his chance through the fen. Its shadows left Valryc feeling a chill to his core. He hefts his well worn walking stick, gripping tightly, and begins making his way up and out of the valley. Finally he makes it to the top of the ridge. There is evidence of game trails and animal tracks at the top. It seems that wildlife of the area might take to the ridge to avoid the fen as well. Valryc is assured that he’s made the right choice not to risk traveling through the bog. It is nearing evening by the time that he has finally made it to the ridge of the valley. He decides to make camp and set snares on the game trails nearby. The last few days have been swift in travel, but have not offered any opportunity to search for any supplies. Setting his snares, he hopes that there might be a decent breakfast waiting for him in the morning. He’ll need the energy as the way ahead will be more difficult on the morrow.

Resupply-Valryc has set snares along the game trails he has found along the valley’s rim in hopes of replenishing his dwindling supplies.
Roll +1 for Strieg’s Far-seeing
Strong hit: Action die 7; Challenge die 3/6
+2 Supply

Valryc awakens in the morning to find several of his snares have caught small hares. He quickly sets a small fire to cook them to break his fast. The fresh meat is the most substantial food he’s had since leaving Wrennsfall. The meal invigorates him for his journey. He is also glad that he won’t need to continue digging into his supplies, at least for the rest of the day and possibly the next. He breaks camp and douses the flame, doing his best to make any evidence that he rested there scarce before continuing his journey along the ridge of the valley.

Undertake a Journey-Valryc continues on along the Valley’s ridge in hopes of making his way around the dense mysterious fen below
Roll +1 For Strieg’s Far-seeing
Strong hit: Action die 9; Challenge die 3/5
+1 Progress; +1 Momentum; -1 Supply; Reach a waypoint
Waypoint: End of the Fen

Over the next few days, Valryc travels quickly along the valley ridge. The going is much harder than the road was, but he gladly takes the hard travel over the possibility of going through that strange fen. The hares that he had caught a few mornings ago had sustained him well over these few days, making these hard travel days possible. After reaching noon of the third day after finding the bog, Valryc peers down into the valley. From the ridge he sees the trees beginning to clear below. The ground appears less marshy, and the fact that he can see the ground means the fen must be almost done. Another hour later, the forest has thinned significantly. A stream moves gently out of the bog and through the remainder of the valley. And then he spots it. The road has picked up after the fen. Though it may have succumbed to the fen over the years, it continued on the other side. Those few days of hard travel would be rewarded now, as Valryc begins making his way down into the valley again. He whistles sharply to Strieg as he continues to circle overhead, pointing down into the valley. The hawk begins making a wide turn as he begins scouting ahead for any dangers. Reaching the road, Valryc takes a deep drink from his water skin and sets off down the road homeward again.

Undertake a Journey-After finding the road again on the other side of the Shadowy Fen, Valryc continues towards Wrennfall again with speed.
Roll +1 For Strieg’s Far-seeing
Strong hit: Action die 9; Challenge die 6/5
+1 Progress; +1 Momentum; -1 Supply; Reach a waypoint
Waypoint: Outskirts Village
Oracle (Settlement names): 78/58 Rockmark

Valryc’s journey continues at speed as the road allows for a much easier way through the valleys and mountains. Over the next few days, the road leads Valryc out of the mountains. The road may end, but it has left him in the wide open plains and forests that he is used to traversing. With a smile he sighs a breath of relief “Almost half way home now… Maybe more. And finally out of the mountains. Now I can really make some speed. I may even search out one of the villages on the outskirts of Wrennfall’s territory. Borrow a horse and finish this journey once and for all.”  Valryc pulls out his map from his backpack, the notes of the locations that the orb indicated in that strange chamber underneath the elven ruins brings a stark reminder of the gravity of his situation back to the man. Nodding, he sets about studying the terrain in hopes of finding where the nearest village might be. Tracing his finger along the ridges and valleys, he estimates where he exited the mountain range. Moving his finger along the nearest river, tracing until he spots it. “Rockmark… Can’t say I’m familiar with the place, but it must be at least well established enough to include on the scout maps. If I just find this river, I should be able to follow it right there.”  He stows his map and begins heading in the way of the river. After an hour of travel he finds it, a slow meandering river coming down the mountains and towards Wrennsfall. He follows its flow and after several more hours of travel he comes upon the outskirts of a village. The tides have been favorable in this journey. He’s nearly home. Hopefully these folk will be able to supply him with aid and send him even more swiftly onwards. He heads into the village, hoping that these things would be true…

GM Note: The rolls were very favorable after Valryc’s injury. But there is still something we need an answer to before we finish his journey. Where are the Shadiri? Did they not come this way? Was their destination Wrennsfall or are they headed elsewhere? I’m going to roll to see what has happened with them. I’m going to say that the shadowy spy that saw everything Valryc found in the secret chamber was able to return to its master. Relaying that information to the Shadiri has likely changed their course, they are likely onto the next site. 

Oracle: Have the Shadiri changed course, heading to the next suspected elven site? Likely: 26 or greater; 65- Yes. Initially the Shadiri forces, still an unknown amount, were going to be making their way to Wrennsfall. But the information that has been found by Valryc, and subsequently their spy, has shifted their path. They are heading to the next site directly. They’ll have the advantage and yet again be ahead of anyone who might try to stop them.


Valryc's status: Momentum: 6; Health: 5; Spirit: 5; Supply: 3
Undertake a Journey: Return to Wrennsfall: Progress:6
Vow: Find the ruins, discover what the Shadiri are seeking and return to Wrennsfall: Progress:4


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