Urbs Magna VIII: A Price Paid in Blood Report

Raya shambled back to her feet after her brief attempt at levitation. She brought her addled-minded into focus briefly and attempted to shape the Ar into an arcane spell against Asbjørn. However, she was unable to fully execute it, so Asbjørn only felt a tingle up his spine and his neck hairs standing on end. With Flavio Merula safely tucked out of the way, Brother Theo returned to the dining hall to render aid to his companions; his progress was slowed, but not halted by a guard after they merely exchanged words. Meanwhile, Asbjørn effortlessly struck down another guard.

Towards the southern entrance to the tricilinium, melee continued with the patriarch of House Kerularios and Raya on one side and the team of Kegho and Alex on the other. Kegho noticed that what appeared to be Gallienus's young son and daughter had entered the room, following the rest of the household that had rushed to the battle. In an attempt to force Gallienus to parley, Kegho grabbed Gallienus's children and lifted them into his arms. Seeing his children scooped up by the Ashkuz barbarian, enraged Gallienus and he could only see red. He disengaged from Alex and ran over to Kegho, dagger in hand, to save his youngest children. With Gallienus no longer splitting his attention, Alex redoubled his attack on Raya and landed a sword strike across her thighs while she stood on the table.

As Alex and Kegho battled at the south end of the hall, towards the north, a house guardsman leveled a crossbow at Asbjørn and fired. The bolt pierced Asbjørn's chest near his shoulder; vital organs were missed, but only barely. Unable to extract it in the heat of combat, the bolt remained lodged in his chest and the barbarian’s confidence was shaken as he bleed profusely from the wound.

Meanwhile, Kegho escalated the situation even further by asking Gallienus. "Which child should I kill first?" At the same time, Teleptyon, the young Eknoi mage drew his attention to the flow of the Ar around him. As he chanted mystic words and concentrated on a paradox, he extended his open palm towards Gallienus's eldest son, Liberius. A swirling mass of violet energy shot forth from Teleptyon's hand and struck Liberius with a bolt of arcane energy! Seeing his son battered by magical force, Gallienus instructed him to flee so that he might avenge his family's honor. Before running for the door, he swore to avenge his 'papa'.

Suddenly, Raya buckled over in a fit of coughing! Black clotted blood filled her mouth, parting her lips. She only had a brief moment to be confused before she convulsed and spew black ooze from her lips as she choked and died.

Despite the mysterious death of his guest, Gallienus remained unfazed as he was deep in his paternal rage. He attacked Kegho even though the Ashkuz was holding Theodora and Leo in front of his chest. Because of this, despite Gallienus's skilled knife-fighting, he is unable to find a good opening in which to strike the barbarian down. Alex snuck behind Gallineus and began slashing at his hindquarters. Seeing this, Kegho attempted to toss Theodora at Gallineus to catch him off guard, but she manages to run off and out of the room instead.

Asbjørn began missing strikes as he fought of the swarm of household guards, his stamina worn down by the blood loss from the crossbow bolt. Brother Theo saw him in distress and ran to render aid, while Kegho attempted another strike at Gallienus with his short sword but was unable to connect. Gallineus continued his assault upon Kegho, but the finesse he had previously displayed had degraded into rageful slashes and stabs. As he lept forward to attack Kegho with his dagger, he instead struck his youngest son Leo through the heart. Alexandru called out for Brother Theo’s aid, but the boy had died instantly from a mortal wound. Upon seeing this, Gallineus’ rage only intensified and unable to cope with his own culpability for the death of his baby boy, he externalized his guilt and blamed Kegho for the death.

Realizing that they would not be able to take on the entire contingent of guards, Teleptyon and Kegho began to make a tactical retreat into the atrium. Teleptyon and Liberius danced a bit in the doorway, both trying to leave the battle while not to exposing one's flank to the other. Once free of Liberius, Teleptyon tried repeatedly to call Ükhilflin, Kegho's war dog, into the house. However, he struggled to make his voice heard above the din of battle inside the house and the revelry of the Dance of the Silver Chalice outside. Eventually, Ükhilflin heard the cries of the young mage and ran to his location.

Brother Theo managed to rejoin Asbjørn and Teleptyon in the atrium as they made their way out of the west entrance of the tricilinium. Filled with concern over the grevious wounds they received in battle, Brother Theo began to intercede with Maya on their behalf to bringing both of them back from the brink of death. The gash on his chest healed by Lamos, Teleptyon realized that if he could get out of this building, his new scar may get him some action with a girl who isn’t his cousin or a she-goat. As he passed between the two offering his ministrations, Brother Theo was attacked by a guard but managed to escape harm. Asbjørn responded by nearly bisecting the guard with one swipe of his longsword.

With the last of the guards in the atrium taken care of, Asbjørn found himself unengaged and reentered the tricilinium to deal with Gallienus once and for all. While Gallienus was busy fending off Kegho and Alex, with a mighty warcry, Asbjørn charged at Gallienus, dispatching him handily with a sword thrust through the belly.

With Galliienus dead, and the party avenged, they begans searching the dead guards, while Teleptyon searched Raya and Asbjørn searched Gallineus. Alex found that Raya possessed an amulet of unknown purpose and two vials of a liquid Teleptyon did not immediately recognize. Asbjørn reported that Gallineus had an ornate signet ring and a keychain.

With the seeming calm settling in the house now that they had dispatched their foes, Asbjørn distracted himself by musing the ways he’d ritually desecrate Gallineus's corpse while Theo fussed over him to provide first aid and attempting to discourage such heathen practices.

Alex moved into the study south of the tricilinium and saw walls lined with scrolls. After a quick scan of the room, he discovered a frail old Shemitic man huddled in a corner. Alex attempted to convince him to assist in locating his possessions. He learned that this man was the tutor for Leo and Theodora, and that knew his patron was criminally inclined. Nevertheless, he still refused to help the party. The tutor asked to be released, but Alex instructed him to not leave the room, ensuring him that no harm would come to him if he did so. The tutor was disinclined to help any further than acquiescing to that request.

Kegho, Teleptyon and Ükhilflin began looking for the majordomo in an attempt to settle their accounts and get some information, but Teleptyon came face to face with an obstinate guard protecting the mistress of the house as she attempted to feel the home. Teleptyon tried to parley but was shot point-blank in his thigh for his troubles. He screamed out in agony as the crossbow bolt shredded the musculature of his upper leg as it sank deep into his flesh. Teleptyon's partners in vengeance, who had been exploring other parts of the domicile, rushed to rescue their new friend. Before sprinting out of the room, Alex shouted to the tutor that he could go free, if he agreed to find Theodora and keep her safe until she could be returned to her older brother.