Episode 1: The Sin’glyyd Selash
Dramatis Persona
Ag'yajiri Port, Kingdom of Al'jymoor
Cassian closed his eyes softly as he stepped down onto one of the long wooden piers of Ag’yajiri Port, allowing the orange and pink rays of the partially-risen eastern sun to warm his face. His wavy black hair danced lazily back and forth in a light breeze and the scent of sea salt mixed with the sweat of laboring dock workers.
The dock was a flurry of activity, workers rushing to and fro, quartermasters shouting orders to their crewmen, all in preparation for the coming day. Gentle waves of dark waters entering Danya Bay from the Gulf of Vyndria lapped against the hulls of a myriad of ships. Mischievous glittergulls cawed from high above, excited about the prospects of snatching fish or any other treasure left sufficiently unattended.
It’s an simple job. He reminded himself. Four ports of call. Four chests. Four deliveries. Easy money.
The crash of a chest onto the pier jolted him from his daydreaming.
“YOU THERE,” Cassian yelled, marching toward a pair of salty characters. “Be careful with those!”
A weathered sailor, skin the color of rich earth, looked up with a raised eyebrow and snickered. “And here I was thinking we should just toss ‘em around.” His partner, chuckled. “Maybe you wanna load em up yourself. What you got in these things anyway? They damn heavy.”
“The bodies of the last chaps who asked too many questions,” Cassian countered with a scowl. In truth, he had absolutely no idea what was in them, and the people paying him to ensure they arrived safely were not ones to be trifled with. It was unnerving to think they very well might be bodies.
The sailor, a human man - shorter and thinner than Cassian, with bloodshot brown eyes and a full black goatee - studied Cassian for several long moments, clearly trying to gauge the man’s mettle.
“Get a move on, Mwangi,” called an authoritative voice stepping up beside Cassian. “I want to be out before the tide shifts.”
“Aye Captain,” the dark-skinned sailor responded, grabbing one side of the chest and moving on his way.
Cassian turned, meeting the bushy eyebrows, sunken, pale green eyes, and caramel-colored face of an elven sea captain. A skull emblem sat affixed his teal head kerchief. On his right cheek he bore a red tattoo roughly outlining a hawk’s head. A slightly scraggly grey-and-white beard boxed his angular face, accented by dangling earrings and long black braids of hair that had yet to grey.
“Word to the wise,” he began. “Don’t piss off my master-at-arms. If anything goes sideways on this trip, he’s the one you’ll want looking out for you.”
"Captain Shaukoor, I presume,” questioned an irritated Cassian.
"Just Kryvat, or Captain if you must" the elf countered. "We don't stand on formality around here."
“Well,” Cassian bristled. “I guess decorum is out the window then."
The elder elf captain chuffed with a smile. “If you wanted decorum, I think you wouldn’t have hired the crew of the Sin’glyyd Selash. But no, as I hear told you wanted speed - speed and discretion. We're your best option in that space."
My only option in that space, thought Cassian. No other crew would even consider the job without divulging the contents of the chests.
As if reading his thoughts, Kryvaut smiled attempting to look genial but came across more like a hungry shark. "Come now. We’ve a long journey ahead. Let’s get you settled so we can get underway.”
The Longest Journey Map by Azgaar's Fantasy Maps
What follows is an Ironsworn RPG solo session. My notes will generally be captured in the form of:
Character Initials: action
six-sider/ten-sider/ten-sider-result(Strong, Weak, Miss)
Effect
Actual Play
Swear Vow to deliver mystery cargo
8/2/4-S+2M-Confident!
Action/Theme:
Reveal Memory
Action/Theme:
Escalate Vow
Mwangi Braum
Role: Master-at-arms
CL: Compel (+shadow +scoundrel)
9/6/7-S+1M
Kryvat Shaukoor
Captain
Nickname: The Demanding Hawk
Disposition: Demanding
First Look: Unassuming
Ship: Sin'glyyd Selash
"Golden Sails"
CI: Deliver the Chests
Progress: 2/10
An entry for:
Congratulations on completing the first chapter of "The longest journey". As promised, here is a little memento to remember your travels - I hope to see you in chapter 2!
Unfortunately, there was a slight mixup with the article link for chapter 2. Here is the correct link for Chapter 2. Hope to see you there!