The Redemption of Brynn - session 11

The Cure and the Cost

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The Cure and the Cost

Art by Andy ‘onegraydot’ Gray

They descended the spiral stairs in silence, now just the two of them. At the base of the tower, Asha finally broke the silence.

“You were thinking it, weren’t you? That I could take his place.”

Brynn nodded. “You’re the only one I trust to lead.”

“I won’t do it. Not while the varou still haunt the roads. The people wouldn’t follow a Warden who can’t keep them safe. You want me to wear the circlet? Then help me finish what we started.”

“Not yet. We’ve got the cure. Every step we take away from Bleakbarrow without delivering it is a risk we can’t afford. You want to take the circlet? Good. But first we make sure there’s a boy left to see it happen.”

“Once Sarria sees Keelan live, he’ll listen. That’s when you tell him. That’s when he steps down—for you.”

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The sanctum was as they had left it: dimly lit, heavy with the scent of damp wood and fire. Keelan lay beneath a pile of furs, his breathing shallow and uneven. His skin was pale as birch bark, his lips tinged blue. The cough wracked him as they entered, and it seemed to pull at his whole body, folding him in two.

Sarria dropped to his knees beside the bed, brushing damp curls from his son’s forehead. “He’s burning up,” he whispered, more to himself than anyone.

Brynn carefully unwrapped the cloth bundle from his satchel. Inside, the vials Thorne had prepared glimmered faintly amber in the firelight. Three in total, sealed with dark wax, each bearing an unfamiliar rune. He held them out to Sarria.

“Thorne said to give him all of them, in sequence. Wait between each one. It’s a... delicate balance, apparently.”

Sarria took the first vial with trembling hands.

“Help me lift him.”

Together, they raised Keelan enough for the bitter liquid to pass his lips. His face twisted in discomfort, but he swallowed. Then they waited.

Minutes passed like hours. The second dose, then the third.

When it was done, they lowered Keelan back into the bed. His breathing was still ragged. His skin still flushed. But there was something different: the coughing had stopped. Sarria looked to Brynn, eyes wide, stunned into silence. Keelan’s chest rose and fell, slowly now. Evenly. And then, as if in a final sign, the boy let out a long, quiet breath... and slept. Real sleep.

Brynn let his own shoulders sag, not realizing how tightly they’d been locked. The relief hit him like a wave.

“He’s going to live,” Asha said softly.

Sarria said nothing. He only wept.

Quest move: Reach a Milestone
Bring Ashvine’s relics to Thorne of the Hollow Spires: 8/10

Quest move: Fulfill Your Vow
Weak Hit: 8 vs 8 | 5
Track: Bring Ashvine’s relics to Thorne of the Hollow Spires (completed)

Fate move: Ask the Oracle
Action: 33 - Aid
Theme: 19 - Death

Move: Forge a Bond (Bleakbarrow) (+Heart)
Miss: 2 + 2 + 0 = 4 vs 7 | 5

Fate move: Pay the Price
It is stressful
(-1 Momentum in lieu of Spirit, since Spirit is already 0)
-1 momentum = 1

Suffer move: Endure Stress (+Heart)
Weak Hit: 2 + 2 + 0 = 4 vs 6 | 3

Quest move: Reach a Milestone
I will prove myself worthy of the iron, and reclaim the right to swear an oath upon a pillar: 0,5/10

Quest move: Reach a Milestone
Find the mystic Ashvine and bring her to Keelan: 7/10

Despite all Brynn had done, the more devout members of the village still viewed him with deep suspicion. They whispered in corners of the longhouse and chapel yard:

“Ever since that Faithless set foot here, Sarria’s been... different.”

They didn’t know that Sarria had requested help from mystics, but it would only be a matter of time before the information leaked out.

Relationship move: Sojourn (+Heart)
Miss: 6 + 2 + 0 = 8 vs 10 | 8

Fate move: Pay the Price
-1 momentum = 0

Evening settled in, the wind carrying whispers from the village. Brynn sat on the outer wall of Bleakbarrow, the flame of a watchfire flickering low beside him. Below, he saw little knots of villagers talking quietly. He didn’t need to hear the words to know they’re about him. He didn’t turn when he heard boots crunch behind him. Only when she sat beside him did he glance—Asha, wrapped in her cloak.

“You feel it too,” she said. Not a question.

Brynn nodded. “Like moss growing over a gravestone. Quiet, but choking.” The silence between them lingered. “Tell me about the roads north. About the Varou. What are we really facing?”

“Let’s get inside, I’ll show you.”

Adventure move: Gather Information (+Wits)
Add +1 (Bond with Asha)
Weak Hit: 1 + 2 + 1 = 4 vs 3 | 9
+1 momentum = 1

Fate move: Ask the Oracle
Has the Varou also attacked Hollowmere? (26+ Likely)
48 - Yes

Asha leaned over the rough-drawn map spread across the table in the Warden’s barracks, her fingers tracing a line through the wooded hills north of Bleakbarrow.

“We’ve had attacks here,” she said, pointing to a trail-crossing near the Ironwood Verge. “But something’s changed. The last scouts followed tracks deeper east, toward Hollowmere.”

Brynn stiffened. “Hollowmere? Are you sure?”

Asha nodded grimly. “The other guards told me—a runner passed through four nights ago, claiming the varou had gone past the old salt flats. Straight toward the lake.”

Brynn stared at the map, then at the door as if already halfway out of it.

“Then we go,” he said. “If Hollowmere’s in danger, we don’t wait.”

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Afterthoughts

Thanks for reading! Some thoughts/explanations for this session: I figured Sarria would be surprised that they actually got the cure with them immediately, and so I had him ask, and since Brynn had told Asha he planned on convincing her to take the circlet, she intervened in the discussion as well. I’m not sure how to make that part happen, yet, but I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.

As for the weak hit on the vow fulfillment, that was a punch in the gut - it hasn’t been easy going to get that much progress on said vow, and still it isn’t over - or well, I marked that as finished. Thorne’s and Ashvine’s cure might have had some unintended side effect on Keelan, though… it just didn’t make sense to reveal that immediately after taking the medicine.

Bleakbarrowians refusing Sojourn was another gut punch here - but I guess, being devout followers of the Iron Faith and Brynn being Faithless, that plays into the story pretty well. This is an aspect I quite dislike in Ironsworn, though - as if it isn’t bad enough to not get the benefits of Sojourn, you have to Pay the Price on the miss, spiraling your character even further.

Lastly, I needed to come up with a reason why Brynn would return to Hollowmere other than “Bleakbarrow refused Sojourn so he has to go somewhere else” so I figured, maybe the varou have been harrassing them as well.

Anyway, that’s all for this session.

Click here to read the next session: The Echoes of Ash and Fang