015 - To Bittermoor
The journey to Bittermoor starts… bitterly. Heavy winds with a rain make for a rather unpleasant walk. The first landmark was not hard to find: a large mesa, one of the highest pieces of elevation around. On a sudden whim, Solana decides to scale it. Seeing the world around her, was spiritually uplifting, the sight made even more beautiful by the clearing, yet still drizzling, weather. There’s so much to see, so much to explore… but right now, she still has her mission to focus on.
The paths become less tamed the further Solana goes. It’s getting pretty remote… there are ruins all over the place. Apparently, the edge of the havens were not as abandoned in the past as they are now. Solana feels uneasy, as though something is waiting to ambush her at every crumbled stone wall or long-decayed pile of wood that may have once been a home.
Bittermoor is not what Solana expected. Soft ground make simple walking a challenge. The outpost is more defense than settlement: spiked barriers, piles of rock, rough tents of cloth or hide. That this is at all a permanent settlement is baffling… there is not much reason for someone to want to live here. But, then, the few reasons that exist: exploration, wild stories of treasure or long-forgotten secrets in the Flooded Lands, or simply trying to maintain a safe haven in nowhere are enough for those who live here.
Solana’s arrival causes quite a stir! Visitors are hardly common. She’s well-supplied, and well-fed, at that. The flooded lands are uninhabited by ironlanders, but not by beasts, and Bittermoor have mastered its bounty out of necessity. A fine roasted meat with heavy spices, with leaves and some sort of starchy root. A long walk and a full stomach, Solana has almost no choice but to retire.
Still a full stomach even after sleeping it off - that’s some hearty food. Solana asks some questions of the people there. There is an undead problem in the Havens, and an undead army came from this direction. Has anyone heard anything?
Yes, actually, not too long ago, a large entourage of armed forces arrived, looking like they were lead by a rather pudgy fellow in far too ornate wear. They had asked some questions about the flooded lands and the ruins in it, a few things about magic, left a lot of fine food (did you like it?), and marched further into the flooded lands.
Solana thinks. A pudgy guy, with a lot of food and men… Kjeld? Is this where he went after she kicked him out? He’s asking about magic and the ruins around here?
Oh, no way.
Hold on! Tell her everything you told that guy!
Well, there’s plenty of crazy stuff in the Flooded Lands, apparently the people who lived here before the Ironlanders ever arrived had it as a major hub, or something. Most interesting thing we’ve heard of is a cliff face fell apart, revealed a big cave in it, strange markings around it. We talked about that and they just up and left. Never seen them again, might have died or something.
Marching into a dead man’s land, second only to the Shattered Wastes themselves, into some kind ancient cave complex, to face off with the personal army of some guy, who was a racketeer she beat up, who is probably also doing all this necromancy stuff? Alone?
This is beyond insane. How did everything pile up like this? She had no intention of getting into any of this, it just kind of… happened. Solana has pushed her luck, but this might be pushing it too far. Solana looks at the eastern gate: the gate to the Flooded Lands. She hesitates.
She turns her back and sits down by a fireplace. She… isn’t feeling ready. Not just yet. One more day here.
Mid-Story Commentary
That first mesa landmark on this journey I remember bending the rules a little and letting myself get +1 spirit "for free". I don't think I rolled a match or anything, it just seemed like a moment to do it. By the rules, that's not a thing you get to do: recovery only happens by recovery moves (or when some ruling of assets or otherwise says you can). I wasn't particularly strict with RAW in this playthrough, not that it matters too much because I never wrote down the mechanics side of things, so all you have are my vague memories from this commentary.
I will say Solana is not in great shape here, and Bittermoor was a much-welcomed Sojourn attempt. She's eating, because I felt like using food and hunger as a metric for her supply track for some reason.
So the Flooded Lands suck, it seems, if Bittermoor is any indication. There's also an interesting nugget that people lived in the Ironlands before the current era. It really makes me wonder how they came to know these things and who these original settlers were.