Quinn of Axeford (Ironsworn Actual Play - Session 9)

Session 0

Session 8

Going into this, I had a few different thoughts about what I could do with the EXP that Quinn was sitting on. There are a few upgrades for his existing assets that I want, and there are also a handful of rituals that felt fitting to pick up based on the experiences with the mystic site resulting from the initial miss on fulfilling the vow to help Redmoor. I ended up deciding to roleplay out some more of Quinn's time at this settlement, and with the way that went, there was one choice that ended up seeming like the perfect fit, since it can also tie in with the vague outline I have in mind for his background vow.

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While Sibila and Eleri gathered the rest of the items that had previously been under the raiders’ lean-to, Quinn took a more thorough look around the henge basin. He had been searching for any more signs of mystical forces, but instead, he found a spot in the grass, the earth bare and loose. He dropped to his knees and began to dig with his hands, revealing a small bronze lockbox.

Resupply: 2 + 2 Wits = 4 vs 1/5 -> Weak Hit

Supply: 1 + 2 = 3

Momentum: 4 – 2 = 2

"Did you find something?" Sibila called out from across the basin.

"Yes, but I’m not sure what." Quinn pulled it free and limped over to show it to the other two. "This was buried openly, so I think it was brought by the raiders. Does it look familiar?"

Ask The Oracle: "Do the others recognize the lockbox?" (Likely) = 55 -> Yes

Oracle 1/2 (Action/Theme): 23/11 = Manipulate/Leader

Eleri’s eyes opened in shock, and he looked at Sibila, who nodded back. "Yes, I recognize it, too, but I don’t understand how they could’ve gotten it. Unless they took it from Kiah’s home? But why would he…?"

Shaking his head to dismiss whatever the thought was, Sibila took the lockbox and gave it to Eleri, who laid a hand on it reverentially. "Thanks for finding this, Quinn," Sibila said. "I can’t explain how much this means."

Confused but understanding that this was not a time for prying, Quinn let the matter drop there.

The three of them returned to Redmoor, where Sibila gave the villagers a brief explanation of what had happened, skimming over the details of the ritual at the henge. Cheers erupted, joy and relief intermingling as the villagers felt the removal of the raiders’ shadow from their lives.

Sojourn: 4 + 3 Heart + 1 Bond + 1 Bonded = 9 vs 8/9 -> Weak Hit (choices: Recuperate, Consort)

Health: 1 + 2 = 3

Consort: Focus: 5 + 3 Heart + 1 Bond + 1 Bonded = 10 vs 2/8 -> Strong Hit

Spirit: 1 + 2 + 2 = 5

Gather Information: 4 + 2 Wits + 1 Bond + 1 Bonded = 8 vs 2/6 -> Strong Hit

Momentum: 2 + 2 = 4

Quinn left them to celebrate among themselves, retreating to Sibila’s hut. With the sense of urgency gone, the pain in his ankle was flaring up, and he felt that his earlier wounds could also use more care. He stripped off his outer garments to clean and tend to his forearm, wrapping it in a fresh cloth when he was finished and then turning his attention to his leg. Testing it gingerly, he was confident that there was no serious damage and that the pain would subside in a day, maybe two with the added strain of traveling on it. Relieved, he sat back and sighed, only then noticing that he was not alone.

A young man stood just inside the leather-curtained threshold across from him, Eleri’s son Morell. He stayed there, blushing and fidgeting nervously, until Quinn waved him over. He crossed and sat on the bedding next to Quinn, intimately close.

"You’re Quinn, right?" he said, his voice surprisingly deep for his tall and frail form. "I…I wanted to thank you." He raised a hand, thinking about laying it on Quinn’s shoulder, then lowered it to brace against the bedding instead so that he could lean closer. He whispered into Quinn’s ear, "Would you sit with me for dinner tonight?"

Quinn swallowed audibly, his heart racing. He tried to breathe in, and he was suddenly painfully aware of his binding harness. "I’m…I mean, I would," he stammered, "but…I’m not a woman."

Morell pulled away enough to look at Quinn’s face, and then his eyebrows furrowed when he saw no hint that Quinn was making a joke. "I know," he said slowly, unsure why he had to confirm something that seemed obvious.

Quinn’s heartbeat was thunderous in his ears, and he could feel his cheeks burning. He turned away and wrapped his arms around himself, as if he could squeeze himself into nothingness. "Sorry, I must’ve misunderstood."

Quinn had been about to say more, but he stopped at the feel of Morell’s arms embracing him delicately. Morell rested his head against Quinn’s and simply held him for a time. "So," Morell said eventually, "you’ll sit with me, then?"

In that moment, it was all Quinn could do to say, "Yes."

Morell kissed the side of his head and, as if only then realizing what he had done, pulled away suddenly. "Gr-great," he said, nerves back in even more force than when he had first entered. "I’ll see you then, Quinn." Blushing wildly, he leaned in for one more quick hug before hustling away.

Quinn sat stunned for a long while before laying back, smiling. "He saw me as a man."

That thought, and the anticipation that it spurred, circled in Quinn’s mind until he heard the calls for dinner. Dressed in his spare clothes while his main set was hanging to dry, he met Morell at the village commons. They both took a large bowl of boiled crab and wapato stew, and then Morell led him to a nearby secluded spot where they could sit together at the base of a tree, the lingering mist almost making it feel like the two of them were alone in the world.

"Thanks for inviting me," Quinn said.

Morell smiled easily, seeming much more relaxed than he had been earlier in the day. "It’s my treat to have some time alone with you."

Morell shifted over slightly so that their thighs touched, and Quinn was suddenly much more aware of how closely they were sitting. He swallowed his current mouthful hastily and said, "Morell, can I ask something stupid?"

"Sure," Morell replied warmly.

"Why are you being so nice to me, when the others still look at me like they’re sharing a room with a hungry sea snake?"

"It’s not enough that you helped with our bandit problem?" Morell laughed, then cut that off to say, "If you must know, Quinn of Axeford, my heart feels ready to burst every time I look at you, and I don’t want to regret not acting on that before you leave."

Taken by surprise, Quinn had a coughing fit after inhaling some of the stew by accident. "Nobody’s said anything like that to me before." He pushed aside the unwelcome memory of Basira’s misplaced affections.

"Their loss," Morell said softly, caressing the side of Quinn’s face. Quinn’s blush returned, and Morell pulled his hand away. "Sorry, I shouldn’t be so forward."

"No. I mean, it’s fine."

"Let me know if I’m going too far."

Quinn nestled against Morell’s side, inviting the taller man to drape an arm around his neck. He hunched forward instinctively at first, then sat up straighter, letting the dangling limb rest against his chest. "I’m glad for this."

They finished their meals and sat for a while, enjoying the silent company. The sky started to darken, though they still had some time before nightfall. "My turn for a stupid question."

"What is it?" Quinn asked.

"How are you feeling? About…everything that’s happened, I mean."

Quinn shrugged slowly. "I did what I had to do."

"You don’t want to talk about it?"

"It’s not exactly conversation for a date." The final word slipped out before Quinn could think about it, and it made him smile when he realized how well it fit, despite the current topic.

"Fair," Morell admitted freely. "It’s just that…well, when I was a lot younger and my family was living in a different place, a much bigger one than this, with a wall and everything, my dad helped the town fend off a raider siege. He always shut down when anyone asked him about it, until he finally cut out his tongue. To make the questions stop, I guess. Anyway, I don’t want something like that to happen to you."

Quinn tightened his embrace. "In the moment, there wasn’t anything to feel," he said. "They were going to kill me if I didn’t stop them, so I fought as I hard as I could, and whatever happened, happened.

"Afterwards," he continued, after pausing to swallow as an excuse to blink aside tears, "when I’ve had moments to think back, that’s when it’s hard. I didn’t want to do that, even when Sibila thought I was being a fool for it. I wish I could’ve found another way. But I couldn’t, and what’s past is past, and that’s that."

Morell kissed his forehead, offering the physical comfort of his quiet proximity, before eventually breaking the silence again to ask, "You’re leaving soon, right?"

Quinn nodded, the side of his face resting against the other man’s chest. "I should go in the morning."

"Will you ever come back?"

"I’d like to," Quinn said genuinely. "I don’t know how long it’ll take, but once I’m ready to return to Axeford, I’ll try to see you again."

"Can I ask where you’re going?" Quinn gave the same explanation as he had to Sibila and Eleri when he had arrived, and he felt Morell jolt with surprise. "Wait, you’re going to Greatstead?"

"Why’s that a problem?" Quinn asked.

"It’s not," Morell laughed, before explaining, "Greatstead is where my family used to live."

It was Quinn’s turn to jolt upright. "So you can tell me how to get there?" he asked excitedly.

Morell smile sheepishly and scratched his head. "I mean, I was just a little kid when we left, so I don’t remember exactly how, but here’s what I remember." He described what he could, then added, "If you don’t mind adding a favor for the road, there’s something I left undone there. It probably doesn’t matter after all these years, but just in case, it’d be an old weight off my shoulders if you could help with it."

Reach A Milestone: "Confront the figure…" Progress: 1 + 1 = 2

Before Morell could say more, the calls of nocturnal wildlife make them realize how dark it was getting. They gathered their belongings and hurried back to Redmoor, where Morell led Quinn to his family’s hut.

"Here it is," Morell said, producing a simple straw doll, lacquered to seal it against aging. "I’d made some of these for my family there, but I never got to give this one to my cousin Serene. I know it’s a silly thing, but if you happen to get a chance, could you give it to her?"

Vow: "Deliver the doll to Serene" – Troublesome

Swear An Iron Vow: 5 + 3 Heart + 1 Bond + 1 Bonded = 10 vs 4/9 -> Strong Hit

Momentum: 4 + 2 = 6

Quinn held the doll in one hand and grabbed his talisman with the other. "I swear I’ll see this done."

Morell laughed off the display, but there was a warmth to his eyes that showed he appreciated Quinn’s promise. He took a step closer and asked quietly, "And, since you’re here already, why not spend the night? With me?"

Forge A Bond: 5 + 3 Heart = 8 vs 4/5 -> Strong Hit

Momentum: 6 + 2 = 8

Smiling, Quinn leaned against him and held him in a tight embrace. "I should warn you that I have nightmares."

"I’ll do what I can to keep them away."

In his dreams that night, Quinn found himself back in the henge basin, reliving the sight of the dark energy flowing forth from the stone disc towards the dead raiders. This time, however, there were sigils in the flow, glowing, etching themselves into his mind. In the logic of the dream, Quinn drifted away from his body, turned around to look back at it, seeing the writing reflected in his eyes. Their essence poured into him, flooding his being until he felt ready to burst, standing under a sky where the sun was replaced by a blood-red iris gazing balefully upon the scene.

Advance: new asset: Awakening

EXP: 6/6 spent

Reach A Milestone: “Heal the scars…” Progress: 0.5 + 0.25 = 0.75

Quinn woke with a start, sweat-soaked and breathing heavily. Vestige memories of the dream played in his mind, after-images of a script he could not read dancing like elusive sparkles in the darkness. The solidity of the arms wrapped around him, the earthy smell of Morell laying behind him, grounded Quinn as the dream faded. He kissed Morell’s hand gently and smiled at the feel of the other man’s body shifting to fit better against him.

A deep sadness threatened to envelope Quinn, knowing that this would not last, but at least for now, the contentment of the moment held it at bay.

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Character Summary: Quinn of Axeford

Edge 1 / Heart 3 / Iron 1 / Shadow 2 / Wits 2

Health: +3 / 5

Spirit: +5 / 5

Supply: +3 / 5

Momentum: +8 (max +10, reset +2)

EXP: 0 available / 6 total

Bonds: 1.25 / 10 Progress

Vows:

Heal the scars left by the haunt that had attacked Valeri (Epic, 0.75 / 10 Progress)

Confront the figure from the ruins (Formidable, 2 / 10 Progress)

Deliver the doll to Serene (Troublesome, 0 / 10 Progress)

Assets:

Bonded (x / - / -)

Sighted (x / - / -)

Trickster (x / - / -)

Cutthroat (x / - / -)

Awakening (x / - / -)

Session 10