Session 12.5: We don't talk about Odo (Part 1)

The party searches for the truth in the mountains. Padrig delves into his bloody past. Vahid ponders his reasons.

Recap

Last episode, our heroes had a pleasant sit down with three of the Bosses that run the mountain town of Gordin’s Delve — Jahalim of the Keys, Honest Draigh, and Mutra the Teeth. A wide ranging discussion ensued (to my relief, nobody seemed too put out by the NPC theater!) The discussion concluded with the party agreeing to help Draigh and Mutra — the first, with rooting out a possible spy in his household, the second with protecting her logging crews from attack by the nomads in the foothills.

We left the action with Mutra accepting the party’s offer of aid, which will involve an expedition out of the Delve. The events of the last few sessions have taken place over only a couple of days, but now that we’re getting into more time-intensive actions, we’ll start tracking the time til the hdour’s arrival in the abstract, using a countdown clock. We’ll use an 8 segment clock, and mark two.

Housekeeping

I had a solid, long play session this week and took a ton of notes, but sadly I ran out of time writing them up, so I’m splitting this session into two, like we did with Session 9.2. I try to have each episode have a tidy arc where we accomplish something specific, and this episode in particular I was hoping to end with an interesting dilemma, but I didn’t quite get there during my writing time. So, this is part one of a two-parter, with the conclusion coming next week!

With that, we’ll pick the action back up mid-mission, with the party investigating the presumed site of one of the nomad attacks:

Scene 6: The Wilds

For two days, the party has trekked down from the rocky heights of the Huffel Peaks down into the foothills with a half-dozen of Mutra’s men. They are led by a grizzled forester Keep¹, Finbar, whom his fellows call ‘Lucky.’ A few of the bosses’ daggermen, disguised as woodcutters, come along, led by a sandy-haired Manmarcher named Cerdic Snake-Eyes.

The bravos grumble their way through the hike, having no love for life in the wilds, and the whole party is on a knife’s edge, waiting for the nomads to attack. All save Lucky Finbar, whose taciturn calm never falters as he guides them through narrow ravines and down rocky slopes until finally, they reach the treeline.

The foothills of the Huffel Peaks are beautiful but dangerous to the unwary. Source: Midjourney

It is near sunset when they reach the site of the most recent attack. It is a rocky clearing, dotted with granite slabs and hemmed in by tall pines and spruce trees. “We are here,” Finbar says simply. He gestures to a scattering of discarded gear -- a few rusted wood axes, dirty canvas bags, collapsed tents, and unspooled coils of rope. Here and there are bloodstains against the rock, and in this clearing, the birds seem quieter. Cerdic and his men hold cautiously at the clearing’s edge, anxiously scanning the woods and underbrush for any sign of an enemy.

“What do you know of the attacks?” Padrig asks, circling the campsite slowly.

“The nomads usually don't come up to the high places, but this season is different -- we've seen their scouts, moving among the trees, watching us,” Finbar says. “Around the time they began taking caravans, the attacks on our crews started. As best we can tell, they come at night. My people aren't helpless -- they can protect themselves from beasts of the wild and thuggery. But I've lost two dozen men and women out here -- when they strike, they leave no survivors and not even the bodies to bury.”

Anwen comes to Padrig’s side. Vahid stands aloof, studying the scene on his own. “What do you make of it, Pad?”

Padrig kneels to pick something up. He holds it up, slowly turning it — a broken, bronze-tipped arrow.

Padrig triggers Read the Land. He is able to ask one free question from the list, and he chooses What here is out of place? He shares the answer in the fiction:

“Something isn't right. The Hillfolk don't leave behind their arrowheads, for one. And they wouldn’t leave behind good iron axes,” he says, gesturing to the broken campsite. “They don't dig for metal or trade for it -- they steal it or take it in battle and hand it down to their sons and daughters. Each band holds their cache of iron and bronze dear, and riders who lose it are given flint instead -- what they arm children with.”

"And why would they take the bodies?" Anwen asks. "Vahid? Would the hdour have some... use for them?" Anwen grimaces as she asks.

Vahid triggers Know Things:

6+1+2 Intelligence = 9, Weak Hit.

Vahid can rule out the hdour, but he doesn’t have a lead on who might be responsible.

Vahid frowns. He is intensely reminded of the vision in the roots the fate-tree², for a moment remembering what it was like to see and feel as Cirl did. "No, I think not. He is enthralled by the elements, and the works of Indrasduthir, not the darker mysteries of the Last Door and the Lady of Crows."

One more roll here — Padrig triggers Seek Insight. He’s not studying the scene, exactly, but more the situation and his knowledge of the Delve.

Padrig triggers Seek Insight: 6+1+2 Wisdom = 9, Weak Hit

He asks “Who or what is really in control here?” and shares the answer with the party.

“I think someone is hunting your people, Finbar, and it's not the nomads. It's a lesson I learned from Brennan: Hide a flower in a garden, hide a murder in a feud. Is there anyone else who would want to drive you out of these foothills, and be happy if you blamed it on the nomads?”

Cerdic shakes his head, coming into the clearing. "What about the scouts they claim they saw?" .

"Belike they were about some other business -- we know the enemy is searching the foothills for the goat trails leading to the Delve. But they have limited forces, and the bulk them are still on the Flats, taking Draigh's caravans to starve us out. Now tell me: Who are you feuding with?”

Finbar and Cerdic exchange a look. "Don't," Snake-Eye mutters.

"Odo?" Pad asks.

“Better we speak to the boss about that. If you're certain it's not the nomads, there's no reason for us to be out here,” Cerdic says gingerly. “Pack it up, boys! And be lively about it!”

They ascend from the Foothills to the craggy passes through the Huffel Peaks, until they reach their campsite -- a fallen tower, grey stone and bronze pillars, shielding the bowl of a shallow valley from the elements. Hidden from view, they stoke a fire and warm themselves against the chill night air. Cerdic and his bravos, unaccustomed to the hard climb, fall heavily into sleep. Vahid, Anwen, and Padrig stay awake, hoping to confer when their fellow travelers rest, but Finbar is restless, staring into the fire well into the night.

Finally, Vahid breaks their silence. “What can you tell us of this Odo Thriceborn, Padrig?” he asks quietly. Finbar’s eyes dart to him, but he does not interrupt them.

Padrig triggers Know Things: 6+5+0 Strength = 11, Strong Hit

Lucky roll here! Padrig is using his Penitent background move to roll Know Things with Strength instead of Intelligence (+0 instead of -1). This also gives the GM an opportunity to inject some grudges or bad blood into the situation.

At this point in my playthrough, I also decided to trigger the Keep Company move — in sharing information about Odo Thriceborn, Padrig is also answering the question “What new thing do you reveal about yourself?” from the Keep Company list, and it also opens the door for the PCs to have a bit of an extended conversation with the NPC Finbar. To portray his character, I rolled on the Ironsworn Theme Oracle and got “Decay.” That’s a weird one to try to define a personality and instinct, but after some pondering, I envisioned that our man Finbar is dying of a wasting disease, and knows his time is nearing its end. He probably won’t share this readily, but I’ll keep it in mind as I think about his responses and actions. I recorded his instinct as “To see through his last days with dignity,” and soldiered on:

“He was Odo Twiceborn, when the Claws arrived in Gordin’s Delve. He and Brennan were both Manmarchers, they had bad blood from back in the old country. He was already a Delve Boss when we came here — he killed the last Boss who ran the tenements and took over her gang, though to hear him tell it, she came at him and he defended himself. The folk who live on the last terrace³, they love him and fear him by turns. He was always open-handed — every feast day, he’d set out a table for beggars, and lotus flower, for pain and despair, was cheap and easy in his tenements. But his gang was the most savage pack of bastards I’ve ever laid eyes on, and folk who spoke against him would tend to go missing. They say he could hear any word spoken in the Delve.”

“Thriceborn, they call him now,” Vahid says. “When did he die a second time, to be born again?”

Padrig sighs. “When Brennan stabbed him through the guts, I suspect. He was the first of the Bosses we quarreled with — Brennan figured everyone hated him so much, we could kill him and take the tenements for ourselves. We realized too late that Jahalim was using us as a weapon against Odo. Once we had done that bloody work, he denounced us to the other bosses, and they ran us out of town.”

Pad’s eyes flick to Finbar, who is watching the conversation impassively. Vahid follows his gaze, and turns his attention to the old woodsman. “You do not seem afraid to hear Odo’s name spoken aloud,” he says. “Why?”

Finbar shrugs. “Don’t scare easily, I suppose.”

“Then what can you tell us of the man? How did he return from the dead?”

“Hard to say he was dead in the first place — word is his body disappeared after the fight. Might be he survived, and made his way back to his people.”

“No chance,” Padrig says. “I saw the blow. Brennan knows how to turn a knife.”

Finbar shrugs again. “All I know is what I heard. He was back in the tenements three days later — one of Jahalim’s bravos had tried to take his place, Odo cut his throat and hung him to bleed in the middle of the Swap.”

Vahid strokes his dark beard. “Curious. Was he different, when he returned?”

“He got worse, mostly. More dangerous, wilder. That’s when the feud between him and Mutra went from harsh words and fists to iron and blood. Came to a head six months ago, Jahalim and Mutra threw in together and killed a half-dozen of his bravos in a melee on the fourth terrace. Odo took a nasty wound, and he’s been laying low since — building up the tenements on the sixth, moving more and more poor bastards in, pressing them into his mining gangs.”

“Is that all?” Vahid presses. “That does not seem the stuff of such a fearsome reputation.”

Finbar pauses. “There are rumors of what goes on, deep in the tenements.”

“What kind of rumors?”

“They say Odo and his inner circle cull folk from the tenements and use them for bloody amusements — fights to the death, torture, and worse.”

“The people tolerate that?” Anwen asks. “Why does anyone follow him?”

“Folk need a place to live and food to eat. Simple as.”

Anwen’s jaw sets with anger. Pad puts his hand on her shoulder. “Best get some rest, I think. If we make good time up the mountain, we’ll be back in the Delve by noon tomorrow, and we can sit in council with Mutra on this.”

Finbar grunts in agreement. “I will take the first watch. I don’t sleep much, these days,” he says, shifting uncomfortably against the stonework he rests on. “I’ll wake you in a few hours for the next shift, Padrig.”

Padrig and Anwen make for their bedrolls, but Vahid remains. Padrig looks as though he is about to say something to the Seeker, but then thinks the better of it.

The Lygosi and the Manmarcher stare for a time at one another over the fire as it begins to burn down. “How long have you served Mutra the Teeth?” Vahid finally asks.

“Fifteen winters, at least. Don’t keep careful count.”

“Is she a just leader?”

“I wouldn’t follow any other,” Finbar says with a hint of pride. “She is hard as black iron. Uncompromising. Has no time for folk who can’t swing an axe or a pick, or who won’t obey her. But she’s fairer than most. She doesn’t loll around in luxuries like Jahalim and Draigh. Doesn’t hand out unfair beatings like Smiling Ffransis.”

Finbar’s eyes narrow. “Why do you care so much, zoubar⁴? What are you about in Gordin’s Delve?”

Vahid hesitates — so far, the Bosses have not spread the word of the coming attack. “We are seeking allies here, and I wish to know who is true to their word.”

“Maybe you’d be better off leaving us be. Your friend Padrig learned that lesson. He and his people thought they could meddle with the Delve, and the Delve taught them otherwise.”

Vahid smiles. “Brennan learned nothing from his time in the Delve, I assure you. And I think Padrig learned a lesson very different from the one you imagine.”

“And what lesson is that?”

Vahid ponders this for a moment, trying to put the changes he has seen in Padrig into words. “Why you fight matters far more than what you fight,” he says at last.

Finbar’s grey-speckled eyebrows quirk up. “You’re an odd one, zoubar. Why are you fighting, then? What led you to seek the Delve?”

Vahid is momentarily taken aback. ‘Why am I here?’ he wonders. ‘For Stormcatcher’s Crown? To bring Cirl’s schemes to ruin? To learn what I could not in the Lycaeum? All these things? None?’

“I suppose I fight to ensure that great power is in the hands of the wise and the just, and not the vain and the cruel. This place — the whole of the World’s Edge — is a treasure trove of the wisdom of the ancients. But all around us, petty tyrants seek to take it for themselves. I would not see it so.”

“So you’ll take that power instead?”

“If I have to.”

“And if it makes you vain and cruel?”

Vahid smiles. “Then I hope my wise and just friends bring me back to myself.”

Finbar looks over to Anwen and Padrig, sleeping soundly. “Trust them, do you?”

“They have yet to fail me.”

He snorts. “We’ll see.”

We’ll close out part one of the episode here! Hopefully, this character stuff has been interesting — I’ve had fun playing with a wide range of NPCs in Gordin’s Delve, and in at-the-table play, these sorts of single-serve NPCs have been some of my most memorable gaming experiences, even if they can slow the action down a bit. Let me know what you think in the comments, and I’ll see you in your inbox next week!

1. Keeps are the underbosses of Gordin’s Delve, leading work crews and overseeing tradesfolk on their behalf, taking a cut of their charges’ earnings, and paying up to their boss in turn.

2. Vahid’s hallucination, where he received a vision from the hdour’s past was in Session 7.6.

3. Recall that Gordin’s Delve is built onto seven terraces that ascend the Huffel Peaks, and are the site of ancient ruins of the Forge Lords, a clan of Makers who mastered fire and artifice.

4. Marshsprech for sorcerer, cribbed from proto-Germanic.