Session 11.5: Pay the price

Vahid learns the enemy's plans. Anwen ascends the Delve. The Seeker contemplates a price most dear.

Last episode, Vahid was able to squeeze three questions out of the Valerix after cowing the Ustrina’s leader with a show of the Azure Hand’s power (which left one Ustrina dead and another badly burnt). But as he was about to leave, the Valerix enticed him with more information — details about Cirl the hdour’s machinations, which the Ustrina had become entangled with.

Meanwhile, Anwen passed the time with Baraz, the bouncer at Madam Parvati’s, and a new friendship was born. The episode closed when Padrig returned, and he and Anwen learned from Madam Parvati that Cicatrix, the Lygosi assassin who hunted Vahid on the Makers’ Road to Gordin’s Delve, is still alive and still hunting for the Seeker.

We closed out the episode with a question for the readers: Will Padrig risk going back out into Gordin’s Delve and running afoul of the bravos who keep the peace on behalf of the Bosses? Or will he let Anwen walk the mean streets alone to aid Vahid in whatever danger he’s found?

We’ll get to the results of that poll shortly — we’ll rejoin the action with Vahid, grappling with the Valerix:

Scene 5, cont’d: The Serai of the Red Arch

“We know this man after whom you seek. The sorcerer who sings the song of storms. Hdour, the nomads name him.”

Vahid stops in his tracks and slowly turns back to look toward the Valerix. “What do you know of him?”

“There is a long pause, and Vahid senses a smug satisfaction behind the Valerix’s gleaming golden mask. “That is one question too many. Now the Vahid must bargain.”

“How much do you know of him?”

“More questions, the Vahid has.”

Vahid coolly considers this. The Valerix is pressing its advantage -- it is growing bolder, more confident that Vahid will not use his power. The Seeker realizes that if he wishes to know more, he must disabuse it of this notion. 

"Listen well, doulos¹: I would know whether I bargain for jewels or glass."

The Ustrina sits up straight, almost as though it comes to attention. "The Valerix was deep in the Cirl's council. Many bargains we have made."

“And what would you have of me, to tell of these bargains?”

With his storm-marked eyes, Vahid can see the fiery spirit coursing within the Valerix, its machinery whirring, plotting.

"Leave us," it calls out to its attendants, its voice rising to fill the serai like a tolling bell. The black-robed Ustrina filter out of the chamber, busying themselves in the other parts of the serai, their dark shapes still visible through the trellised walls.

Now alone, the Valerix beckons Vahid closer with a gauntleted finger. The Seeker stifles his growing unease and strides forward with a magus' authority. He halts before the Ustrina's dais. There, he closes his eyes, and after a brief meditative moment, he wills his mind's eye open. The Valerix's thoughts are strange at first -- flickering like a burning flame and only perceived in glimpses, but the Seeker can perceive the ebb and flow of the vis as well, and together the visions resolve into clarity.

"If I am to pay you to betray your confidences, I will buy the full weight and measure. You must tell me everything -- all you know of the hdour and his business with you. I will know if you deceive."

"Of course,' it replies. Beneath its golden mask, Vahid can sense its eagerness.

The Seeker draws close -- close enough for dagger-work. Now, when the Valerix speaks, its voice is a whirring whisper. "In tales of the Indrasduthir, it is said that she sacrificed her left eye for wisdom. Has the Vahid heard this?"

Vahid swallows. His mouth is dry, but he does not dare to reach for his waterskin and show human frailty in front of this creature of fire and metal. "I have read many tales. Continue."

“To learn the high craft of binding spirit to flesh, Idrasduthir gave the Green Lords her eye, which could look into the unseen world,” the Valerix concludes.

Vahid's mind races. "You are not offering something so valuable as that, O Valerix."

"Your eye is a pale imitation of the Indrasduthir's," the Ustrina replies in a chilling monotone. "But the Valerix sees some small value in it."

Vahid breathes deeply. His heart is racing in his chest. "Very well," he replies carefully. "Tell me everything you know of this man and his plans."

Scene Breakdown

Two moves triggered here — One, Vahid is putting on a bit of a show for the Valerix, pretending to be a bit more ‘subtle and quick to anger,’ as another writer might put it, than he truly is. It’s a risky move — if the Valerix sees through his posturing, it might attempt to take the Azure Hand by force again .

Vahid triggers Defy Danger with Charisma + 4+5+1 Charisma = 10, Strong Hit

No problem there. The other move is a brief period of meditation, opening his third (soon to be second?) eye and guaranteeing the Valerix’s truthfulness by looking into his thoughts.

Vahid triggers Seek Insight: 5+2+1 Wisdom = 8, Weak Hit

Vahid gets a single question, which he can use to ask Are you trying to lie or mislead?” in order to evaluate the Valerix’s answers.

Before we delve deeper with the Seeker, let’s go back to Anwen and Padrig, back at Madame Parvati’s. Padrig has a decision to make: Will he stay in safety and let Anwen go into danger alone? Or will he stick by his champion’s side, whatever comes? This is a tough one for old Padrig — his instinct, Caution: To keep everyone safe, to agonize over decisions, is in full force here, and pulling him in both directions.

His duty is clear: He chooses to protect Parvati, one of his few remaining allies in the town, and rely that Anwen can handle herself. To the action:

Scene 6, cont’d: Madame Parvati’s

“We have to go find him,” Anwen says, rising hastily to her feet. Padrig follows suit.

“No. Not you, Padrig. You came here to hide out, not climb to the top of the Delve in front of all the gods and every bravo in town. The sun has set, and the Bosses’ lanternmen will be on the streets, keeping the peace and doing violence at their whims. If they find you, they will knock on my door next.”

Padrig searches Anwen’s face and sees her resolve, but beneath it, he can sense her uncertainty. Both women await his reply. "Damn. She's right, Anwen. We need to find the Seeker, but I can't go with you."

Anwen nods firmly, rising and slinging her axe over her shoulder. "I'll go on my own, fetch him back. Don’t worry, Pad — I can do this." Pad can see a moment of hesitation in her eyes, but all the same, he believes her.

"The Serai of the Red Arch is at the top of the Delve. The first few terraces have stone stairways cut between them, but the last two don't -- you'll have to climb through the tenements and scaffold. That's where the lanternmen will be thickest."

"Who are the lanternmen?"

Parvati answers. "Bravos paid by the Bosses to break up fights in the streets before they get out of hand -- if two members of different work gangs quarrel, it can spread through the town like wildfire. At night, they carry lanterns to mark themselves and to spot trouble. If they see someone they don't recognize — a soul who seems without friends in the Delve — sometimes they will help themselves to that unfortunate's valuables. I recall some of the Claws were quite familiar with the practice," she finishes with a sharp glance at Padrig.

Padrig confirms this with a short nod. "Right on all counts, I'm afraid. But Anwen, listen to me -- you're made of sterner stuff than they are. Walk through like you belong there. If they challenge you, stand fast. They'll turn cur, I'll wager."

Anwen nods firmly. "Right. Walk through like I belong there."

Parvati smiles encouragingly, and Anwen takes her leave. "She's made of sterner stuff than our cutthroats, eh?" 

Padrig nods firmly. "She is. I hope they see it too. For their sakes."

Outside, Anwen moves with purpose through the darkened streets of Gordin's Delve, up from terrace to terrace, as the night air grows thinner and colder. On the fifth terrace, she reaches the mass of wooden shanties and scaffolds that crawl up and cling to the terrace wall, packed with miners and laborers sleeping and drinking off the day's toils.

We adjudicate Anwen’s journey through the Delve with a single roll — we don’t want to bog down in lots of stealth, negotiation and the like (unless she rolls a miss or a weak hit, of course!)

One question to consider for the GM — does Padrig and Parvati’s briefing to Anwen constitute Aid on this action? On the one hand, they do have helpful knowledge (and they are exposed to the dangers of Anwen’s action, since if she finds trouble, the lanternmen’s next stop could be Madam Parvati’s). On the other hand, Vahid has a move called Sage Advice, which allows him to grant advantage simply by offering advice, which is very similar to what’s happening here. When a PC has a move like that, it’s a little incumbent on the GM to play defense and not let other PCs appropriate that narrative ability, but in this case, I decided to allow it — they’re not only giving advice, but sharing intel, and they are exposed to danger (which Vahid would not necessarily be when using Sage Advice).

Anwen triggers Defy Danger with Charisma, with advantage: 5+5+2+0 Charisma = 10, Strong Hit

No problems here.

Anwen puts on a hard-edged stare and makes her way into the tenements, climbing up rickety wooden stairs to the first tier of rooftops. The ramshackle wooden construction climbs, stair-like, up the terrace wall, and narrow wooden scaffolds and ramps allow climbers to make their way over the rooftops, but they are packed with the Delve’s humanity: Men and women who’ve toiled the day away at back-breaking labor in the surrounding foothills or deep in the Delves take what little ease they can with their work gangs. They laugh, shout, drink and play at dice, or more deadly games — Anwen passes by a small circle of men squatting around a beaten iron bowl with a few silvers at its bottom, and skittering about with the shine are a pair of shiny, black scorpions, their tails raised high to sting hands questing for coin.

She sees the crew of lanternmen coming from afar in the twilight: Three of them, garbed in fighting leathers and yellow silk, armed with iron-shod cudgels and chain whips, and their leader bearing a heavy staff of ashwood topped by a burning oil lantern. When they approach, Delve-folk fall silent and give them respectful nods, or simply get out of their way. As she passes them, she meets their leader with an unconcerned eye, and sizing her up briefly, the bravos move on in search of easier prey.

When she reaches the top of the delve, she breathes a sigh of relief, and for a moment, looks down from the high peak. Beneath her, the town is laid out, a multitude of campfires and lanternlights -- more people than even Marshedge. But where Marshedge seemed enormous to her, Gordin's Delve seems small somehow -- packed between the mountain's arms, and crowded beneath the clear, star-filled mountain sky.

Behind her, the seventh terrace's plaza is deserted, save for a few miners, sleeping near their ore stockpiles for safekeeping. Across from them stands the Serai of the Red Arch. In the lanternlight by the doorway, Anwen can see three bravos -- Two are seated, sleeping slumped against the serai walls, while the third -- a big, barrel-chested Manmarcher, stands a lazy watch. She takes a breath and approaches.

Scene 6, cont’d: The Serai of the Red Arch

The Valerix leans back in its bronze throne and tents its gloved fingers meditatively. “The Cirl -- he styles himself the Cirl-of-the-Storms -- first approached us with a messenger on the breeze, the Andalau². It is said Indrasduthir could command the spirits of the breeze to be her messengers, and this one claimed to be her heir. Through the whispering wind, the Cirl made towering promises to the Valerix and my clan, the Rubedix. Among them, that he was in possession of the Azure Hand, and once he was finished with it, it would be granted to us.”

"And what did he ask in return?"

“He asked us to cast a key from one of our masters' long-disused patterns.”

“What does this key unlock?”

“The doors to the great foundry of the Gordin's Delve. And for a demiurgos³ who can speak the tongue of the unseen world, it can awaken the slumbering fire spirit that lives within, and stoke the furnace's fury.”

"The Delve-folk have used the Foundry for years, with no need of the spirit within," Vahid probes.

The Valerix dismisses this with a contemptuous gesture. "They swarm the hills like locusts in search of fuel to burn and build little fires to do their meager work, while a god of the flames slumbers beneath them. Pathetic."

“Why did he request this?”

“The Foundry's doors were a gift from the Stone Lords, wrought in makerglass. Unbreakable by any craft wielded by your kind. The Foundry is the last redoubt of the Delvers, unbreakable, unassailable. The one called the Jahalim holds the original key, and has made it into a fortress.”

Vahid’s breath catches, but he stifles his unease. “Does Cirl intend to strike at the Delve directly?”

The Valerix leans forward, and Vahid thinks he senses a note of glee in his voice. "So it seems."

“To what end?”

The Ustrina waves dismissively. “We have no interest in the Cirl's grand ambitions, nor would he share them with us if we did. The Valerix has made a bargain, nothing more.”

"You claimed you were deep in the enemy's council. Did you deceive?" Vahid asks, allowing a dangerous note to creep into his voice.

“We do not know what hatred for the Delve animates him or those beneath his banner. But we know what he intends: To gain access to the Foundry and to release the spirit within from its bonds.”

“When released, what will the spirit do?”

“What it wills. Burn, no doubt.”

“When does he plan to strike?” Vahid’s heart is quickening, and he finds himself wondering if the Valerix can sense his unease.

“He has called upon his thralls among the nomads to muster on the next twin moons.”

Two weeks from now. Vahid swallows, his mouth is dry. Around him, he can see the dark forms of the Ustrina through the trellised walls, moving purposefully in the Serai’s side chambers.

Much like in the previous round of questions, in this part of the scene, the GM needs to create time pressure to prevent Vahid from asking endless questions, which would cause the scene to drag at the gaming table and would probably not be as much fun to read, either. To provide that pressure, we remind Vahid of the danger he’s in with the Ustrina all around him, and bring that jeopardy to a sharp point by again triggering the Defy Danger move to see how well the Seeker is keeping it together.

Vahid triggers Defy Danger with Charisma: 4+2+1 Wisdom = 7, Weak Hit

We envision that the Valerix isn’t going to call Vahid’s bluff and go for the Azure Hand again, but he’s getting close, and he’s going to try to press Vahid to wrap it up and pay his price.

The Valerix leans back, satisfied. “This is all I know of the Vahid's enemy. Now, to our price.”

"Not yet. I would have this key, for your price." Vahid deflects.

The Valerix waves a chiding finger. “Not the bargain. And in any case, an agent of the Cirl collected it.”

"What agent?"

"A  Lygosi, like you. A killer, like you. Now, my price." The Valerix reaches down to a low table alongside his throne and rings a strange, dissonant chime. From a side chamber, a silver-masked Ustrina enters, and after a whispered conference, it draws a small cube of intricate golden clockwork from its flowing black robes, handing it to the Valerix.

A small price to pay, for wisdom. Source: Midjourney

The Valerix performs a few curious manipulations, and the cube unfurls a dark, circular aperture in its center with a whir. An eerie red glow emanates from within the device. He holds it out towards Vahid. “Gaze into the oculus, and the price will be paid. Such a small thing, for the secrets the Valerix has given. For the trust betrayed."

Vahid looks at the cube, a shiver running down his spine.

We’ll pause there for this week. Vahid is in the tall grass, here — bargaining with an alien creature for his very flesh and blood. This can represent a turning point for his character — his current instinct is “Curiosity: To seek answers that maybe you oughtn’t,” which I think we can agree he’s doing here. Two of the choices I’ll outline will also involve a change of Instinct — he’s playing the part of a dangerous and powerful magus here, and as the Ustrina can no doubt tell you, when you don the mask, sometimes you become the role you play.

Pay the price: A bargain is a bargain, and Vahid has sight to spare, after all⁴. If Vahid chooses this route, we will update his instinct to "Vision: To think big and pursue grandiose goals.” Following in the footsteps of Indrasduthir, and sacrificing his eye for wisdom in a struggle with a powerful adversary is big magic, and Vahid is stepping into the role.

Escape: Vahid was bluffing — both in terms of his willingness to kill more Ustrina and his desire to sacrifice his eye. He’s still wearing his flying cloak and can call upon His-Laughter-Is-the-Thunder⁵ to help him escape. This option could make quite a ruckus, perhaps attracting the attention of the lanternmen in the tenements below. If Vahid chooses this option, we’ll keep his instinct the same — he pursued answers, got in over his head, and fled.

Destroy the Valerix: The Ustrina have revealed themselves — let the mask slip, so to speak. They are butchers that deal in the bodies of the dead, they are willing to betray their so-called allies, and they care nothing for the Delve and its inhabitants. And who knows what arcane mischief they might make with Vahid’s eye? Better to turn the Azure Hand on the Valerix than to pay his bloody price. If we choose this option, we’ll change Vahid’s instinct to “Hubris: To assume you know best, that you can’t fail” — step by step, the power he wields comes to wield him in turn.

For this vote, you can choose any number of options — pick the ones you find compelling, and the option with the most total votes will be our choice!

Look into the oculus and click below to make your choice:

As always, thanks for reading. Next week, we’ll reunite the party, and see what they decide to do about the revelation that the hdour intends to strike Gordin’s Delve!

1. The Ustrina referred to Vahid as ‘a doulos’ when they first met, in Session 11.2. It is ancient greek standing in for the Makers’ language, meaning ‘slave.’ Of course, the Ustrina were just as much slaves to the Forge Lords as the humans were to the Stone Lords, so Vahid turns the insult back on the Ustrina.

2. For those who are very familiar with Stonetop’s playtest materials, this spirit comes from one of the Arcana Cirl possesses, a cracked flute. We first hinted at this during Vahid’s vision of the hdour in Session 7.7. We now know that the hdour can communicate over long distances with his allies, another dangerous capability.

3. This is the word the Ustrina use for the Makers, which was also introduced in Session 11.2

4. If Vahid goes this route, we can stipulate that no major mechanical penalties will befall him. He probably shouldn’t take up archery, but he will still have his mundane sight, his storm-touched vision, and his mind’s eye to call upon.

5. The powerful storm spirit that inhabits the flying cloak, whom we first met in Session 7.5.