Solo Tabletop RPG Actual Play – Sundered Isles Part Three

You can purchase Sundered Isles here.
You can purchase Starforged here.
You can purchase Sea of Sands here.

Read our previous chapter where Jadyn began her journey.

Oracle: Pillaged Enclosure

Jadyn wakes up to find her hand and arms bound behind her. She’s sitting on the hard ground of a courtyard in the center of the Haqiq monastery, which sits on the top of the Great Burrow, looking out over all of Jahar and the ocean beyond.  However, her view at this moment is just of monks scattered through the courtyard, preparing weapons and barricading the doors of their home. The other two members of the Erasmus crew are similarly tied up but unconscious. 

Jadyn knows the Haqiq monks well enough from her journeys to Jahar. However, she understands their anger at her for awakening one of the worldbreakers. Their belief system holds that the universe will be shattered by the worldbreakers. This is why the Haqiq monks believe inhospitality is taboo and visitors should join in the revelry before all joy ceases. The brewing district in Jahar exists because of this belief. Reasoning with them would be tricky.  

Jadyn tries to escape her bonds, realizing the monks don’t appear to be in a mood to chat.

(Secure an Advantage w/Shadow – 2+2 = 4 vs. 2, 10 – Weak Hit – Take +1 on next Move)
She feels the resistance on her arms loosen, and her hands move freely. Untying her crewmates seems like an impossibility for now. Her weapons are missing, too. She hears squawking and spots Raaya in a wooden cage tied together with fibers. Jaydn decides to see if she can lie her way out of this situation. She announces herself to the monks. One comes over.

NPC – Idris
Role: Pilgrim
Rank: Formidable
Goals: Conceal a true identity 
Faction: Haqiq Monks
Found in Jahar
First look: visibly disabled, tattooed
Trademark accessories: frayed straw hat
Trademark weapon: brass knuckle dusters
Details: Cunning, Influential

Jaydn can immediately tell he’s not officially a monk. He walks with a pronounced limp in his right leg. From the looks of his clothing, he’s a pilgrim from an al Raml settlement in another part of Audun, but likely not too far from The Crimson Gulf. He doesn’t look hostile but seems curious about Jaydn. 

“What you want?” he asks.

“General Selima requested me and my crew to help her with the siege of the fortress,” Jadyn lies. “She’s depending on us.

(Asset: Scoundrel – add +2 when lying)
(Compel w/Shadow 2+2+6 = 8 vs. 3,3 – Strong Hit w/a Match)
(Asset: On a strong hit w/match, unexpected opportunity and Shadow as +Momentum [2])

The man smiles, “That’s where we were about to head, eh? You know, Selima?” He ponders for a minute, then shouts something in the oldtongue of Audun. One of the monks rushes over. They whisper something, and then the monk walks over and begins cutting the bonds of the tied-up crewmen.

“Name’s Idris,” he says while undoing Jadyn’s bonds, finding them already untied. “I see you are prepared to leave without my help. Didn’t think to attack us?”

“I didn’t see any way I could defeat the Haqiq monks single-handedly,” she replies. “You’re not one of them, are you?”

Idris shakes his head. “Pilgrim from the south. I was visiting Jahar as one of the stops. Was a warrior in another life.”

(Make a Connection w/Heart – 1+3 = 4 vs. 10, 3 – Weak Hit)
(Idris – Role: Negotiator, Formidable)
(Complication: Jadyn notices when Idris leans over to help her up off the courtyard ground a tattoo becomes visible – a bull, the symbol of House Linnaeus)

Jadyn, her two crewmates, Idris, and twenty-one Haqiq monks grab their weapons and march down from the monastery to General Selima’s fortress, where a mass of Verfault soldiers have gathered. Jaydn finds Captain Hardin and the rest of the crew and explains their encounter with the Haqiq monks and how everything is good now. Now that the two groups are gathered, they discuss a plan of attack on the Verfault with Jadyn, detailing the geography of the fortress.

(Secure an Advantage w/Wits – 2+1 = 3 vs. 7,10 – Miss – Burn Momentum – Weak Hit – Take +2 Momentum)

Jadyn identifies that if the Verfault are driven further towards the edge of the Great Burrow, they will surrender or plunge down into the chasm to their deaths. The smugglers and monks split into groups, make formations and go in for the attack.

(Enter the Fray w/Shadow – 2 + 3 = 5 vs. 5, 3 – Weak Hit – You are in control)

Goal: Drive the Verfault Soldiers away from the Fortress (Dangerous) 0/10

(Strike w/Iron – 3+1 = 4 vs. 4, 3 – Weak Hit – Mark Progress twice, in a Bad Spot) 

Goal: Drive the Verfault Soldiers away from the Fortress (Dangerous) 4/10

Jadyn and the forces behind her take the Verfault by surprise, with many dispersing. Their inherent individualist indoctrination makes them typically unwilling to defend each other unless a fatal threat is attached. Some go plunging over the edge of the Great Burrow. Others scatter into the surrounding streets – likely looking for a hiding place or even headed to the port to steal a ship. 

(Bad Spot – Oracle: Control Defense)

Katulla, the Shredder of Men
Role: Soldier
Rank: Formidable 
Goals: Slay a worldbreaker, acquire knowledge about the muqadas Essence
Faction: House Verfault
Found in Jahar
First look: Scarred, Tattooed (snake wrapped around a dagger)
Trademark accessories: Serpent’s hide cuirass, gold trim epaulets
Trademark weapon: Military cutlass
Details: Incompetent, Boisterous

Just as Jadyn feels like things are going her side’s way, a roar erupts, and stomping through the clashing mashes is Katulla, the grandson of Viscount Verfault, the leader of the House. Katulla served as his grandfather’s obedient weapon on Audun, driving the enslaved people harder and harder until many dropped dead from exhaustion. Jadyn had assumed Katulla would have been on the ships that returned to Xanthous, but here he stands, part of the sleeper cell. Katulla roars again, doing fancy work with his cutlass before charging at Jadyn.

(Clash w/Iron – 3+1 = 4 vs. 10, 7 – Miss)
(Pay the Price – You are separated from something or someone.)

Katulla kicks Jadyn’s legs out from underneath her and then, using his Essence-enhance brute strength, picks her up and chucks the smuggler so that she hits the walls of the fortress, the Verfault troops between her and her own side. She seems to be ignored for the moment, assumed out of commission. After catching her breath, she stands and jumps back into the fray, swinging her staff to break the wall between her and her people.

(React Under Fire w/Iron – 3 + 2 = 5 vs. 4, 8 – Weak Hit – Suffer -2 harm)

Jadyn stands shoulder to shoulder with Idris again, striking her way through the armored Verfault soldiers. Despite this, the smugglers & monks are being backed into a corner. 

(Clash w/Iron – 3 + 2 = 5 vs. 9, 1 – Weak Hit – Mark Progress and Pay the Price: It is stressful.)

Goal: Drive the Verfault Soldiers away from the Fortress (Dangerous) 8/10

Jadyn points out weak spots in the wall of Verfault she’d noticed when on the other side of the fray. Dozens of monks leap into action, swinging their makeshift spears and slicing through the Verfault.

(React Under Fire w/Iron – 3 + 2 = 5 vs. 6, 4 – Weak Hit – Make Suffer Move)

The monks break the line, and the smugglers rush through but find themselves surrounded. Katulla laughs and stomps forward to quench his thirsty blade.

(Take Decisive Action – 8 vs. 5, 3 – Strong Hit)

Jadyn motions to her crewmates, who chuck some improvised explosives into the circle of Verfault, sending them flying, turning the scene into a fiery massacre within moments. Katulla picks himself up off the ground after being thrown to the ground, and a line of blood trickles down his head. The monster looks terrified and runs off in a panic, likely towards the port.

(Fulfill Your Vow – 6 vs. 7, 2 – Weak Hit)

While the greater Verfault threat may be over, Jadyn dislikes Katulla running free. She’ll need to hunt him down sooner or later.

Jadyn thanks Idris and checks on Captain Hardin.

Oracle question: Was Captain Hardin badly injured in the fight? Odds: 50/50. Answer: No

The captain looks exhausted, but he’s going to be okay. She tells him he fought well, and he replies that they must ensure General Selima is okay. She’s barricaded inside the fort with her soldiers. She thanks the smugglers & their monks for driving the Verfault back. The monks pledge to help clear Jahar of Verfault until they are truly safe. 

Jadyn’s staff speaks in her mind again, reminding the woman that she must descend to the bottom of the Great Burrow. Jadyn asks if she might talk with the prisoner Qasim. 

Oracle question: Will General Selima allow Jadyn to speak privately with Qasim? Odds: 50/50. Answer: No

Selima refuses this request. The traitor is locked up in the catacombs beneath the fortress, and he will await his execution at dawn. Jadyn knows Qasim has a strange connection with the Burrow and muqadas Essence. He’s one of few people who have gone down into the Burrow and survived.

Jadyn attempts to convince Idris to help create a diversion so she can enter the catacombs and find Qasim, vowing to let him come with her, which would be an even more significant boon for his pilgrimage to holy sites. She offers this plus passage aboard The Erasmus to his next destination.

(Asset – Diplomat – When you Swear an Iron vow as part of gathering support, add +1)

(Compel w/Heart – 1+1+5 = 7 vs. 7, 7 – Miss & a Match)

Idris refuses and says he has other business to attend to. Jadyn worries that she has been too quick to trust this mysterious stranger but goes to the rooms Selima has set aside for her guests. That night, as the smuggler sleeps, she is awakened by banging at the door. Upon opening the door, she finds General Selima and six guards. Idris has exposed her plan.

Selima orders Jadyn, Captain Hardin, and the rest of the Erasmus’s crew to be thrown into the catacombs.

“You’ll get your chat with Qasim sooner than you think, smuggler,” she spits.

End Session Two

Vows

• I vow to avenge Addahak’s death against the Verfault (Extreme) 0/40
• I vow to stop the House Verfault attack on Jahar (Formidable) 6/10 – Fulfilled
  Summon a worldbreaker to terrify the Verfault (Dangerous) ⅖ – Failed
• I vow to uncover the true identity of Idris the Pilgrim (Formidable) 0/10
• I vow to hunt down Katulla the Shredder of Men (Formidable) 01/10

Progress

• Get to General Selima’s fortress (Dangerous) ⅘ – Failed

Read the next part here