Rhodri

(The second chapter of my character from the RPG Ironsworn. I have changed how I am writing this, though I will continue to include gameplay notes in parentheses)

Chapter Two

Rhodri set himself a simple camp, not daring to light a fire lest other Wardens from Elkfield chose to pursue him. His mind was troubled and he wanted to continue his seach for Eilif, but even with an almost full moon, he feared he might miss clues as to his friend’s whereabouts. Better to wait for morning.

He slept only lightly. His years on the road had taught him never to rest fully when in the wild. He’d seen too many travellers meet their end that way.

With dawn’s first light, he rose, stretching his cold, sore muscles. He broke his fast with some dried venison and set back out, following the river as it flowed east toward the Flooded Lands. He split his attention between what lay ahead and what lay behind; he still considered it possible that others from Elkfield might be searching for him even as he searched for Eilif.

The morning hours quickly evaporated as he walked, his only companion the sounds of the rushing river at his side and the mud of the thawing ground as it sucked at his boots with each step. As his boots sank deeper into the wet earth, so too was his heart sinking. Eilif was a skilled warrior-- in fact, he had taught Rhodri much of what he knew-- but what good was that against a frigid river swollen with melted snow?

As the sun reached its zenith, he paused again to eat, but only briefly, and it was only a few moments after he set out again that he spotted the body up ahead. ((Gather Information: Miss. Reveal an unwelcome truth Pay the Price -1 Stress. Endure Stress: Weak Hit)) Even at a distance, there was no doubt in his mind; he’d found Eilif.

Suddenly weary, he walked forward slowly, as if he could delay acknowledging his friend’s death, but a moment later, he stood looking down at Eilif’s face, green with the early stages of decay. Scavengers had already found him and eaten their fill, but enough remained for Rhodri to see the grievous wounds he’d suffered. It was not the river that had killed him, nor was it any animal.

Rhodri noted that Eilif’s sword was missing. Though it was most likely lost to the river, he found himself wondering whether the Wardens of Elkfield had followed and finished him off, or if they had, in fact, killed him and dumped him in the river, with only chance having brought his body ashore.

Filled with anger and anguish in equal measure, Rhodri chastised himself for not having returned to Cinderhome sooner. Had he done so, he likely would have joined Eilif on his journey, perhaps saving his life. Now, all he could do was attend to his corpse, far from home. ((Gather Information: Miss. Pay the Price: Cause a delay. -1 momentum)) With no tools to dig a grave and no dry wood for a pyre, Rhodri set about gathering rocks for a simple cairn.

It didn’t take him long to find a second body.

A heavily-muscled man in a similar state of decay as Eilif lay no more than 200 feet away partially concealed in the underbrush of the trees along the riverbank. ((Gather Information: Miss, rolled Doubles Uncover a Dire Threat. Pay the Price: Action has Unintended effect)) Almost immediately, Rhodri noticed Eilif’s sword in his outstretched hand. Kneeling for a closer look, he noted what was clearly a fatal wound from a bladed weapon. This had to be a Warden, he thought, reaching for the sword. ((Face Danger with Wits: Miss. Health -2 Endure Harm: Miss))

Without warning, the corpse sprang to life, grabbing Rhodri by the throat. Eyes wide in shock, Rhodri tried to pull away, but the icy fingers held him fast. Unable to draw breath, he was forced onto his back as the newly-animated creature rose up.

In his travels, Rhodri had heard tales of bonewalkers, the rotting remains of the restless dead. Often described as skeletal creatures with exposed, yellowed bone and the tattered remains of clothing, this one hadn’t yet had time to decompose to such a state. Rhodri swore silently to himself that it never would. ((Enter the Fray with Heart: Weak Hit. Take initiative)).

As the bonewalker forced him deeper into the mud, Rhodri struggled to break free. Unable to reach his weapons, he brought his fists down on the creature’s arm. With a loud crack, he was released. Surprised but grateful that its bone had broken so easily, he rolled back and to his feet, drawing his swords. ((Secure an Advantage with Edge: Weak hit +1 Momentum)).

The bonewalker lunged at him with Eilif’s sword, a groan escaping its throat. ((Clash: Miss. Pay the Price -2 Health. Endure Harm: Strong Hit. Regain 1 Health, lose 1 Momentum)) as the blade found its mark on his thigh. Knowing better than to hesitate, Rhodri pushed past his pain, making his own attack. ((Strike: Weak Hit)) He slashed it across the torso multiple times in quick succession, but it did not fall, instead launching itself forward again. Eilif’s blade missed his head by scant inches. ((Clash: Miss. Pay the Price. Endure Stress with Spirit: Strong Hit))

Rhodri ducked out of the way, fear clenching at his heart. If he was to die here, so be it. Embracing the fear, he let his years of training take over, turning terror into action. His swords began their deadly dance, cutting away pieces of the bonewalker’s flesh with every strike. ((End the Fight: Strong Hit)) With one deft move, he disarmed the creature by taking its hand off at the wrist, Eilif’s sword falling to the ground. Several more rapid strikes drove it back and it swayed on its feet. Seizing the moment, Rhodri swept forward, taking its head from its shoulders and then driving a blade through the skull, pinning it to the ground.

The body hit the earth with a wet thud, twitched once, and was still.

Falling back several steps, Rhodri steadied himself, watching to be sure that his macabre opponent would not rise again. When it did not, he approached it cautiously, poking at it with his remaining sword. ((Gather Information: Miss. Reveal an Unwelcome Truth)). He noted a leather thong with a wooden pendant by the severed head. It was the mark of a Warden and all the confirmation he needed, but as he scooped it up on the tip of his blade, he realized it was the same mark that he himself had worn years ago, and which Eilif still possessed: the mark of a Warden of Cinderhome.

He looked more closely at what remained of the bonewalker’s face, but did not recognize the man he had been. This Warden of Cinderhome was unknown to him, but he and Eilif had seemingly come to blows, each dying at the hands of the other. Why?

Tucking the pendant into his pack, he dug out a clean strip of cloth and bound his wounded leg. ((Heal with Wits: Strong Hit)). With questions racing through his mind, he returned to the body of his friend. Though he was loathe to do it, he cut Eilif’s head from his body to be certain that he would not also rise again, then continued to build the stone cairn.

It was dark by the time he was done.

Wounded and weary, he set back toward the west. His lifelong friend was gone ((Bond Broken. Pay the Price -2 Spirit Endure Stress: Miss -1 Momentum. Mark Condition: Shaken)) There would be no rest for him tonight. Though the river would lead him to Elkfield, he would not stop there. He would return to where this had begun: Cinderhome.