#we have updated from “sweep dirt off floor” to “wipe mud off floor”

[idontwantrobyntodie]

“Get OUT of the washing machine”

-thing I did not thing I would be saying today

“Dig your brother out of that hole right now”

-other thing I did not think I would be saying today

[knittedkikwi]

Ironsworn update

Ok, this one’s kinda long. I keep trying to have an adventure where Mira doesn’t need to fight, but I just roll SO BAD! I got 2 or 3 complication rolls this time around. I’m honestly surprised she was able to finish the vow. But ended with an opportunity, so now she has an entourage for the next couple of days! Story is below the cut. Summary down below.

Summary: Mira dissects a vine. Realizes she’s seen this magic before. Loses her way then loses her owl. Has weird dreams that tell the past (I wasn’t sure how to fulfill the price of an alliance is revealed when she’s by herself in the woods, so prophetic dreams it is). Runs into the guy who took her owl and beat the shit out of him. Killed the vines, turned the bad guy over to the town, got an escort to her next stop.

Where were those vines coming from?! Mira kept seeing them randomly sprouting from the forest floor, but she couldn’t find a source. She’d certainly never seen them while she was living here. What could they be?

Mira found a decently large vine and kneeled down to take a closer look. The vine itself was maybe 3 inches thick with a tough, mud colored outer shell. While the skin of the vine might have been smooth, here were dark bristles covering it. Mira pulled out the axe she’d gotten from the bandit and used it to barely sweep across the bristles. She could see some sort of spore fly off into the air. Anywhere on the axe it touched immediately started to rust. Mira then cut off a chunk of vines. Using the head of the axe, she maneuvered it into a position that let her see the inside of the vine. She’s not sure what she was looking for, but what she found was a perfectly normal bit of ivy. The shell turned out to be half an inch thick. The rest seemed to be more of those bristles growing out of what seemed to be your everyday, run of the mill ivy.

“I guess that explains why it climbs buildings, but I’ve never seen ivy do this.” Mira looked at Gabriel, face scrunched up in a look of confusion. For his part, Gabriel’s head twisted 90 degrees, like an exaggerated version of a dog confused by a sound. “It’s like something twisted them. Corrupted them.”

Mira looked at the bandit axe and realized the rust was spreading. She quickly tried wiping the axe down with leaves and was pleased to see that the rusting stopped. The axe still looked fairly solid. A bit of vinegar would probably get it back to good condition.

Mira glanced back to the vine in time to see the section growing out of the ground send out tendrils to close the gap between it and the rest of the vine. She watched with fascination as the tendrils formed that smooth shell. No bristles, but Mira didn’t doubt that those would appear soon. Was the other piece doing that? She looked to the side, afraid that she just sprouted another vine. Fortunately, she didn’t see any tendrils. Instead, she watched as the corrupted parts of it started to rapidly decay. In a matter of minutes, the ivy was the only thing remaining.

“It went back to normal,” she said, “like the gaunts…..THAT FUCKING MYSTIC!!!!”

Gabriel fluttered to a higher branch in surprise.

“It’s exactly like the gaunts! Something from nature being twisted and used against Ironlanders. Maybe the gaunts weren’t done yet and that’s why they went back to normal? Either way, there’s got to be something still powering this, or else the vines wouldn’t still be here. If we keep following them, we’re bound to find it.”

“Screech!” Gabriel landed back on Mira’s shoulder and looked further into the forest, in the direction of more vines. Mira started walking.

She followed the vines for hours. They slowly started to thin out, until eventually only one vine continued into the forest. However, her luck ended with the vine. She found the origin point, but saw nothing different from any of the other vines.

“Gabriel, let’s split up. There has to be something. A main plant? Or maybe a cave leading down to the roots? You check from the air and I’ll search down here. Meet up in 10 minutes?”

The owl gave a small hiss of agreement and soared off to the right. Mira started walking increasing semicircles around the vine. It had to be connected to something. If she could kill that, she could hopefully make all the vines wither away. Ten minutes of searching revealed nothing, though. She walked back to where she was supposed to meet Gabriel and sat down to wait. And wait. And wait.

Mira was getting nervous. The sun was starting to set and she wasn’t used to being alone at night. Admittedly, Gabriel wasn’t great at tracking time, considering he was an owl, but he didn’t usually stay away for this long. Unfortunately, she couldn’t see in the dark. It would be far easier for him to find her than the other way around. Maybe a fire would help him find her?

She started clearing a space and finding stones to ring in a fire. Fortunately, the almost ever-present rain of the Deep Wilds seemed to have taken a few nights. She managed to somehow find some sticks that were relatively dry and got a small, albeit smoky, fire going. Surely Gabriel would find her during the night. Mira prayed that Ferrous would guide him back to her, before falling into a fitful sleep.

*********

Her dreams were odd that night. She dreamt that she was back in Black Hall, but there were no vines. The village bustled with people, seeming very much like Grimtree. Mira walked to the edge of town closest to the forest. It felt like something was pulling her into the trees. She wandered deep into the woods, until she heard voices.

“The cave’s over here.” said a voice. It sounded like a young man, vaguely familiar.

“Excellent. This will work nicely.” This man sounded older. Mira found herself reaching for her axe, before realizing that it wasn’t there. She continued forward until she found a small passage in a pile of large boulders, leading down into an underground cavern.

“You promise this will work?” There! She saw two silhouettes in front of her, outlined by the light of a torch. One rough 6 feet tall, the other about 6 inches shorter with wild looking hair.

The shorter man was running his hand along the wall as they walked. They reached an area where the tunnel widened slightly. Mira watched the shorter man stop with his hand on a crack in the wall. She could see some small mushrooms growing from it. The taller of the pair stopped and turned around, letting Mira finally see the pair in the light. She recognized both of them.

“Yes, Hirsham, this will work.” The shorter man, covered in familiar tattoos, pulled the mushrooms free, causing a small amount of dirt to fall to the floor. He pulled something from a pouch and pressed it into the crack. “Place your hand on mine.”

Hirsham slowly reached out with his right hand. He seemed nervous about whatever this mystic was doing, but Mira could also see a hungry gleam in his eyes. “This will ruin those bastards’ farms?”

“Yes, it will ruin their farms. You’ll get to be the hero. The only one able to leave. Now quiet, I need to focus.” The mystic started to mutter under his breath. Ever so slowly, ivy started to creep around their hands and into the crack to the earth beyond.

********

Mira’s eyes snapped open. The world was gray around her, caught in that predawn moment after the night creatures settled down to sleep but before the rest of the world awoke. The small fire from the night was completely cold, burned out hours ago. She looked around, expecting to see Gabriel perched on her pack or in a nearby tree. But she was alone.

Mira stood, trying to get a better look, hoping to find some sign of her friend. She grabbed her bag, kicked some dirt on the fire for good measure, and started walking. She hoped he’d settle down and wait for her now that it was almost day. She walked maybe five minutes before coming across a small, haphazard pile of boulders. Her dream came back to her in a rush. She’d seen the boulders yesterday, but hadn’t noticed a passage. This time she knew what she was looking for. She cleared the leaves from the center of the formation, revealing a slope leading down into the earth.

“That motherfucker! He helped the mystic ruin his own town!” Mira was angry. How could he?! Those people were just trying to survive and he sold them out to that weird old man.

“Technically, I guess I did. But they had it coming.” Mira whirled around to see Hirsham walk around a tree. He had a burlap sack in his left hand, which was making a familiar hissing sound. “They really should have been nicer to those less fortunate than them.”

Mira’s eyes narrowed at the site of the bag. “They were mean to you? So you decided to burn their livelihoods. I don’t understand.”

“They weren’t just mean, they treated me like dirt!” Hirsham started circling around Mira, eyes full of rage. “All my life, I was the kid no one wanted. Forced to steal because no one would help me. Then punished because I did what I had to in order to survive. Then Kataka came into town. Said he could tear them down and lift me up at the same time. I just needed to help him find somewhere to plant something.”

“My dream WAS true.” Mira whispered to herself, eyes darting in confusion. She managed to refocus on Hirsham after a moment. “I don’t care how they treated you, this was too far. Betraying your town so you could pretend to be important. How many people actually managed to get out before you became the only person able to escape the vines?”

Hirsham smirked, “Maybe a third. The rest are huddling in their houses, completely dependent on me for food, firewood, everything. They take what I give them, and they’re happy about it! They think I’m helping them out of the kindness of my heart. You don’t understand the power I have right now! And you’re threatening to take that away.” Hirsham tossed the sack to the side with a thud that made Mira’s stomach turn. He reached behind his back and pulled out two hatchets. “I really can’t let you finish what you’re trying to do.”

Mira saw red and pulled out her own axe. She didn’t even respond before rushing at him. He was too fast for her though. He ducked out of the way, tripping her as she ran. Mira went sprawling and almost slid face first into a vine she hadn’t noticed poking out of the ground. She grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it towards Hirsham as she tried to stand. He brought his hand up in time to protect his eyes, but it at least gave her time to stand up again.

Hirsham lunged at her with his axes dancing in a pattern that would have been mesmerizing if he wasn’t trying to kill her. Mira pulled her shield off her back and moved in to meet him. They clashed back and forth for a few moments until Mira was able to knock away one of his hatchets. She took advantage of the opening and swung hard with her axe. He leapt towards his axe with incredible speed. For a moment, she thought Hirsham had managed to dodge her completely, until she realized he was holding his side. She saw a small trickle of blood leak through his tunic. Her satisfaction lasted only a moment as she realized an axe was flying at her face. She dove to the side and raised her shield over her. Hirsham was stalking towards her slowly though, like a wolf who’s prey was caught in a trap.

Mira took a moment to breathe, before realizing her wrist was starting to burn. She looked down and realized her axe arm had landed on a vine that she swore was not there earlier. Shoving down the panic welling in her, Mira quickly grabbed some dirt and rubbed at her arm where it was starting to blister and turn black. Unfortunately, Hirsham was running towards her again. Mira pushed herself into a squat and then lunged for his legs. He tried to jump over her, but she twisted at the last second and brought her shield up into his stomach. He landed on his back, near one of the vines. Mira watched as he stretched out a hand towards it and the vine started to stretch and move in his direction. His hand moved slowly in her direction, but Mira brought her axe down on his wrist before the vine could follow. Hirsham screamed.

“You’re able to control them?” Mira asked. “How?”

Hirsham shuffled backwards, trying to get away from Mira. He threw his remaining hatchet at her, which she easily knocked out of the way with her shield. She stalked up to him and brought the flat of her axe down on his ribs with a satisfying snap. Several, actually.

“How?!” She yelled. He continued trying to crawl backwards, slowly. Mira swung again, this time breaking his other arm.

Hirsham curled in on himself with a soft sob. “It’s part of the ritual! Kataka said since I participated I would be able to control them! It’s how I can leave the city.” He tried to cradle his bleeding arm to his chest, only to wince as it came in contact with his broken ribs.

“Ugh, you’re useless.” Mira said, as she rummaged around in her bag. After a moment, she managed to pull out the rope she had bought as part of her tent. She supposed now it technically was the tent, considering it was the only part left. For now, though, it would work nicely to keep Hirsham from running away. She took a moment to tie up is legs and bind his remaining hand to his ankles, eliciting several gasps of pain in the process.

When she was satisfied he wouldn’t be able to escape, she ran to the bag and opened it. Gabriel peered out at her blearily. He gave a small hiss of annoyance as she pulled him out checked him over for injuries. He seemed fairly sound, excepting a small bump on his head that she hoped would go away soon.

Mira planted a kiss on top of his head and said, “I’m so glad you’re ok! Would you be willing to watch him while I got get whatever…Kataka planted down there?”

“Screech!”

“Yes, you can sit on him if you want. Just try not to shred him too much. I think the villagers might want to speak with him.” Mira walked over to Hirsham. His eyes grew wide at the sight of talons as she plopped the owl on his head.

Mira walked back to the entrance to the cave, taking a moment to light a torch. She followed the path, which was exactly the same as from her dream. She walked quickly, until she reached the small room where she’d watched Kataka plant the seed. It had grown to roughly the size of her head now, with dozens of small vines sprouting from it and disappearing into the earth.

Mira arranged a couple of larger rocks together to make a holder for her torch. She then pulled out the bandit axe and started to work severing all of the vines growing from the seed. It took a few minutes work, and resulted in a solid layer of rust on the axe head, but she was finally able to detach the seed from the wall. Small shoots tried to grow from the seed towards the rest of the vines. Mira retrieved her torch from its makeshift sconce and used it to set fire to the seed. It lit quickly and burned with no smoke, which surprised Mira more than anything. After a minute, all that remained was ashes and a small, black seed, no bigger than the head of a nail. She flipped the axe around and poked the seed with the handle. Mira was relieved to see that nothing happened to the handle. No rot started, no new vines sprouted. Mira let out a small sigh and then gently picked up the seed and placed it in a small pouch before putting it in her bag.

She then headed back out to gather Gabriel and her prisoner. Gabriel had refrained from using his talons to tear up Hirsham’s scalp, but he hadn’t refrained from holding on tightly. She could see small streaks of red running down from where is toes connected with Hirsham’s head.

Suppressing a small smile, Mira undid the ropes binding Hirsham and gently pulled him to his feet. He let out a soft sob, but followed her without complaint. They walked back to town, Gabriel refusing to move from Hirsham’s head the entire way. Mira was gratified to see the vines dying, the outer shells falling away in flakes to leave only plain ivy. By the time they made it back to town, the sun was heading towards setting and most of the vine wall had collapsed. The other plant life that was being corrupted by it either dying or showing signs of returning to normal.

Mira marched Hirsham into the town square, looking around for any of the thugs she’d met the other day. “People of Black Hall!” she called, “I have stopped the vines that were destroying your town. One of your own had partnered with a rogue mystic to bring this blight upon you.”

Hirsham’s men had appeared from the shadows as soon as Mira started speaking. Others followed as she continued. “I killed that mystic for trying to do something similar to my town. But I leave the judgement of Hirsham to you. The man is a coward who preferred to hurt you and control you than talk with you.” Mira scanned the faces of the villagers. She saw shock, anger, and confusion throughout the crowd. The men who had stood with him before refused to look at her. “Now, he said you slighted him first. I suggest you all sit down and try to figure how what led to this in the first place. Maybe you can avoid this from happening in the future. For now, will you hold my oath fulfilled?”

A man shuffled forward, wizened with age and lean from hunger. His voice was surprisingly strong when he spoke, though. “Yes, we hold your oath fulfilled. Thank you, for freeing us from the vines. And our own foolishness, it seems. How may we repay you? We have no money or food, but we may be able to offer you something else.”

Mira gave him a smile. “I’m making my way to Longmark and then on to Baku. But you do not owe me anything. I’m sure that Hirsham will uphold his part of our deal, after all.”

The man nodded. “Perhaps, then, we could escort you part of the way. Now that the vines are dying, we’re free to leave. We’ll need to get supplies if we’re to restart our lives here. We can travel with you to Stonehom. It’s a couple days down the river road, which will give us some time to talk.”

The man had a strange look in his eye as he made this offer. Mira sensed that he might know more about Longmark or Baku than the average villager. “Thank you, sir. I would be glad of the company.” And she wanted to know what that look was about.