This is a prompt from a random table of events. Initially, I was going to re-roll, then I thought, what the heck, lets see where this goes.
Ironsworn is the sibling game to Starforge.
“A large burly man has started a daily ritual of throwing a goat at the side of a local noble’s house. He is not damaging the house, so he is not doing anything that will make the local law enforcement arrest him. However, the noble wants him dealt with, and will pay you to get rid of him.”
Curiously, no one knows what happened to all the hurled – and presumably dead – goats.
Turns out it’s the same goat, over and over.
The goat is cursed – it’s a “misfortune attractor”, and whoever owns it will suffer accordingly. The current owner, Mortimir, was a prosperous farmer before he bought the goat from the shady merchant, Yaldanel. But since then, his fortunes have steadily declined, and hardship has been his lot.
A shaman identified the goat as the cause, and Morti attempted to kill it. But the curse makes it an undying thing. Cut it up, burn it, bury it under an avalanche, and it’ll be back the next morning. Morti tried crating it up and sending it south with a caravan, but it was back within a week.
So Morti is making it as clear as he can to Yaldanel that he wants the merchant to take back the goat. But the latter is aware of the curse – knew what he was doing. He refuses to even acknowledge selling the beast in the first place.
Every morning, Morti smashes the goat against Yaldanel’s wall with bone-shattering force, and stalks away. Minutes later, the goat jumps to its feet and trots after him.
There is, however, a rumor that a mage residing in a wilderness keep a few days’ journey to the north may be able to dispel the curse. There’s even a chance that the mage can “reverse the polarity” of the goat, as it were, and turn it into a fortune attractor.
Morti’s last remaining bit of wealth is a large ruby from his adventuring days. He implores Rho to take the ruby and the goat to the mage and ask him to remove the curse. If Morti tries to make the trip, he will likely die from the curse itself. And while the curse will remain with him in Stoneford, Rho should be free of it, despite his continued proximity to the goat.
At least he needn’t worry about the indestructible goat, except to keep it tethered. It appeared happy to go where it was led, only returning to Morti when left to its own devices.
So a few days on the road with an odd sort of goat.
What could go wrong?