Iron & Gold
Credits
This is a solo play-through of the adventure “Ironwood Gorge” by Eric Jones, published by Ludibrium Games.
Because I am not really an old-school guy, things have been converted to (originally) Iron Gauntlets by Precis Intermedia Games and after about chapter 6, Iron & Gold, also by Precis Intermedia Games. Where necessary, I use Mythic Game Master Emulator by Tana Pigeon, published by Word Mill Games.
This is the second Ludibrium Games module I’ve used for these characters, and I enjoy them. (The first was “The Sanctuary Ruin.”)
As usual, rules misunderstandings are mine and I try to present it as (bad) fiction, with game mechanics in footnotes. The italicized subtitles after the chapter title are prompts from Mythic Game Master Emulator; I try to work the intent into the scene. I am not always successful, but it keeps me a bit more honest.
“Ironwood Gorge” is meant to be the basis for a campaign, where the Bleak Tower is a home base for adventures. I have not yet decided whether I will do that; there could be additional Bleak Tower adventures, or they'll wander away until the third adventure in the trilogy is published.
14 — To Odend’s Hut
Ruin Elements - NPC Negative
“I don’t want to send the goblins unarmed to the nest,” said Kagandis.
“It’s not our trip, though,” said Felewin, after Ninefingers translated. “It’s up to Uthrilir and Hrelgi, not us.”
The crew — they called themselves “Taliesin’s Raiders” — had been heading to the Sanctuary ruin, lead by Hastwine. They were looking for survivors of the orc raid, unaware that the orc party had been killed off. They had discovered the guard at the Petrified Orc but the guards disappeared before they could catch any of them.
Bodkin remained a problem. Felewin refused to let them kill him now that combat was over. Uthrilir grudginly agreed. Hrelgi objected but then stopped. Kagandis insisted on killing him and then Hrelgi bent down and whispered in Ninefinger’s ear; Ninefingers in turn whispered to Kagandis, who stopped.
Bodkin’s look of satisfaction turned to worry.
Felewin said, “I’d be worried too. They have something in mind, but I’ll try to keep you alive.”
“You’re not the boss?” asked Bodkin.
“No, he’s not,” said Uthrilir. “But I agree that we should not take lives casually.”
Ninefingers said to Bodkin, “Feel free to try to escape by force.”
“I’ll sit still,” Bodkin said.
Felewin said, “Hrelgi. No turning the air in his lungs into water or dirt or lava. I’ll know.”
Hrelgi looked annoyed. “You wouldn’t know.”
“I’ll know,” Felewin insisted to Hrelgi. “Now, I agree that the goblins shouldn’t go untended, but we need Kagandis to lead us to Odend. The only other two who know the way are me and Ninefingers.”
“Well, you should go, then,” said Hrelgi, smiling sweetly.
“And I don’t speak the goblin tongue, so Ninefingers it is,” said Felewin.
“I suppose I can navigate the wilderness,” said Ninefingers doubtfully.
“We’ll blaze a trail for you so you catch up,” said Felewin.
“Thanks so much,” said Ninefingers.
“Don’t let them hear you say that. We’ll go slow. Kagandis will tell you which direction we start in.”
Ninefingers made a rude gesture to him and Felewin laughed.
At sunset, the goblins started out, with Kagandis leading them for a bit; the human, elf, and halfling had to wait for dawn of the next day. Kagandis joined them by midnight; her report was, “Ninefingers is fine. All good.”
Felewin said, “Good. Get some sleep; tomorrow will be a long day for you. Uthrilir has the watch until he wakes me,” and went back to sleep.
#
In the morning, Felewin cheerily fed people with the last of the food taken from Taliesin’s crew. “We’d better hope that Odend has something we can eat. Feeding over a dozen people eats into supplies.”
“How can you be so cheerful?” asked Bodkin.
“Habit and I’m not under threat of death,” replied Felewin. He checked with Kagandis and then made an arrow out of rocks.
“You know,” said Bodkin, “that’s also a sign to anyone looking to follow you.”
“Yes. Unavoidable,” said Felewin. “We’ll stop when he catches up. My guess is he’ll sleep today with the goblins and catch up with us by tomorrow at dawn.”
“What if something happens to him?”
Felewin shrugged. “What if, what if. What if you die before noon?”
Hrelga said hopefully, “I can arrange that.”
“Hush, you,” said Felewin. “We’re going to act as if you’re worth keeping alive.”
“I am,” assured Bodkin.
“So you say. I happen to think you are, but others disagree with me. Ready to march?”
“What if I say no?” asked Bodkin.
“Then we’ll go anyway, with you tied up.”
“Ready,” said Bodkin sullenly.
They followed the stream all day without incident. At one point, a female halfling appeared and summoned Bodkin without words. The group stopped. Felewin blazed a tree, and the woman halfling winced. Felewin looked at Bodkin and said, “If you want to join her, I won’t stop you.”
Bodkin was immediately suspicious. “Why?”
“He think it would kill you,” said Hrelgi. “I utterly think it would not. Go ahead.”
Bodkin looked at the female halfling. “I’ll wait.”
“She’ll be disappointed,” Hrelgi said. “I assume you see a female halfling. For the record, I see a female elf.”
“Female dwarf,” said Uthrilir.
“Male goblin,” said Kagandis.
Felewin asked, “Ready to proceed?”
“I guess.”
They continued.
A couple of hours before nightfall, Felewin said, “This is a good place for camp.” It was a bit off the trail they had made, by a high cliff, leading up to a hilltop; some distance away was the stream they were following. Felewin made another blaze in another tree, and then waited; but no woman appeared. “Dryads,” he explained to Bodkin. “Sometimes you’re unlucky and you mark a tree with a dryad.”
“Is that what I saw?”
“Before? Yes. A kind of dryad.”
Bodkin was quiet and helped set up camp without being asked.
Felewin[114] looked but found nothing edible. Kagandis had felled a giant rat, but nothing else. The rat did not seem so giant when all of them were sharing the meat.
Ninefingers showed up at dawn. He looked exhausted, and he drew Kagandis to one side to avoid waking the others. “The sanctuary is fine,” he told her. “Nothing has happened to them.”
“There’s a ‘but’ in the way you say that.”
Ninefingers shrugged. “They are getting ready for another attack. Bodkin told us that Hastwine was leading them to a source of goblins for the bounty. Of course, he didn’t tell them that the bounty had been cancelled. He wants revenge.”
“He tried once; he’ll try again. I feel so impotent,” she said.
“Hey, you’re the one who got the bounty lifted. Maybe it was luck that Lady Anwen had associations that helped, but you were the one who made it possible.”
“I just wish…”
“Sure. We all wish our problems could be solved with one arrow strike or sword thrust, but the real world is more complicated than that.”
“You make me suspect that finding Odend will not solve everything for Uthrilir and Hrelgi.”
“He won’t.”
“Now you sound too certain. It does happen, you know.”
“It can, but I don’t think that Uthrilir’s problems can be solved by one person. All Odend can do is point him in a direction.”
“Tell me about the nest.”
“Some people say hi.” He named names. “Gotthid is curious about what Lady Anwen wears, and my answers were not enough. They’re concerned that Hastwine knows where the nest is. He set up some of the defences and he knows them. He might be a magic user with a single trick, but that trick can be potent if used well.”
“I should be there, helping,” Kagaindis said.
“I understand that,” said Ninefingers. “And do what you must. But when you leave us, I’ll miss you.”
She grinned suddenly. “Even though I’m not an Aprak?”
“I am starting to think that the Aprak are bigoted in their own way.”
“You think?”
“Don’t rush me,” he said, and she laughed.
“Get some sleep,” Kagandis said. “You have had a journey, and there is more to come.”
Game Mechanics
[114] Felewin rolled an 11 on his survival roll. No dinner tonight. Kagandis manages, with a 7 on 7-; Uthrilir rolls a 7 but he’s 5-. Others are untrained and roll 7, 9, and 6.
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