Episode 2: Inevitable War Comes Again
General Summary
Following the events of the previous night, the Embassy temporarily closed its doors for the first time in living memory. It reopened the following night, with no sign of a fight having ever taken place in the fountain room, but nonetheless there is a noticeable difference in the atmosphere and a “No Summoning or Interplanar Travel Allowed” sign hangs at each entry point.
The session began with four days of downtime leading up to the first meeting of the Accords.
Tyra Dawnbreaker began their downtime by visiting the encampment of goliath merchants just outside the city. Almost immediately, they were violently inducted into a game of goatball when they were nailed in the head by a rogue toss. Iravek Goatsriker, the apparent leader of the band of goliaths, offered to wager them a selection of magical items in repayment for the injury, should they win a game of goatball.
Goatball is played by two teams, each stand interspersed on concentric rings of stumps. The goal of the game is to throw the ball to knock the opposing team off of their stumps. Last team standing wins. No one is allowed to wear armor, reducing their AC to 10 + Dex. Everyone makes a combined Athletics or Acrobatics ability check, tallying the scores of their team together. The team with the lower score then makes Dexterity or Strength saving throws. If their score is still lower than the Ability check total, they lose the round. First to three wins.
After winning the game, Tyra selected an arcane tattoo as their reward. They received an unarmored AC through a ritual process which Iravek conducted, something which is incredibly rare to find on someone who is not a goliath, as their captain Remnik Dawnbreaker enlightened them to later. Receiving a tattoo like this is an incredible honor.
Valeria Bouclier was the next to visit the goliath encampment, but unfortunately she did not have as good of luck as Tyra did. When Valeria arrived at the encampment, Iravek introduced her to a selection of fine meads which they brew at the different locations which they visit in their travels. He proposed to her a game, if she can drink him under the table, she could choose from the collection of magical items left over from their previous sales. Unfortunately, what Valeria did not count on was that Iravek could probably drink a small army under the table, and she went home with a consolation prize of a keg of Stronjaw Ale.
At the same time, Valan Sildurflame went to the Arcane Sanctum in the bowels of Downtown Helorus. Surrounded by the bustle of the market square, the Sanctum is hidden behind stalls of exotic spices and silken rugs. Walking inside, the one room shop is filled with a magical hum, everything reverberating with the power of the Call. It was filled with a number of magical artifacts; dark swords, gemstones swirling with green liquid, a disembodied hand groping for an eye incased in green jade. A portly man dressed in silver and blue robes smoking a small opium pipe introduced himself as Beedle Darebin and welcomed Valan into his shop. After briefly insulting Valan's station in life, he offered him the opportunity to do a side job for him, delivering a lead-lined box with something mobile in it to a nearby farm, and promised a reprisal of his services if the quest went well. Not only did he do it well, but Valan did four days work in two days, and Beedle said that if he ever wants to do something like it again, he need only seek out one of the Sanctums; each capital city should have one.
While Valan was adventuring, Charles Aurus-Valoric was busking, and made a decent wage for himself during that time. Afterwards, he spent time with the Vagabond and the Speaker, playing a game of Dragon's Gambit which lost Idris five gold. After this, Idris made an offhanded comment about how he's been losing a lot, but sometimes you need to make the moves with the highest risk to get the greatest reward, to which the Speaker replied to with prolonged, judgmental eye contact. This was foreshadowing and would make more sense later.
If you have made it this far in the recap, message me on Discord saying "The Vagabond was framed" for inspiration going into next session.
The Accords began in proper on the fourth day after the beginning of the campaign. Everyone gathered in the Halls of Amphiaraus, an ancient Heloric war hero, to discuss their new terms of peace. For a while, it was awfully boring. Everyone sat with their associated factions in the Hall, looking down onto the crowd from their operatic booths above. The floor below was designed amphitheater style, with the Aurelian Empire and its subsidiaries claiming the main floor, the best floor in the house, of course, and the Fulminarian Empire occupying the raised seats beyond. On the second level, members of the Tenebric Vanguard and other overflow seats took up the rest of the space. Gargon, the King Gorgon, was also there. He vied for fewer patrols on the roads at night, and also clean drinking water for all. It's a mortal right.
Most people are uninterested in what is happening. The Vagabond has been eating shrimp cocktails and sending the Speaker drinks the entire time, contrary to the beseeching of Valan, who has noted that they have increased taxes on mercenaries by 10% in the coming four years. Of course, the Vagabond did not pay attention because he was about to throw the whole world into disarray. For a while, Dahlia came and discussed the etiquette surrounding flirting with people to buy drinks while Callisto listened intently.
Around the room, each Signer of the Accords can be seen in their booths. The Vagabond, of course, is sitting with Valan, Charles, and Callisto, sending Day-Enders to the Speaker. The Speaker is politely declining them, sending back pastries with notes to stop drinking. Archmage Raharis of the Zhestian Order can be seen above the Vanguard's booth, scribbling away in his journal, only occasionally glancing up at what is happening below. Valeria is seated in the Matriarch's booth, guarding Sonilyth and Vyra. Dahlia is supposed to be there, but is unsurprisingly not. The Dawnbreaker family is seated in their royal booth. Tyra is recieving advice on decorum sometimes, but is mostly participating in a drinking game with Remnik, taking a swig every time they mention a border or boundary water dispute.
However, the booth of the Fulminarian Emperor Nicodemus Anduriel is noticeably empty.
It was nearly dusk when Emperor Valus Aurelius took his stage, surrounded by his retinue of guards and his general, Leonidas Crane. As Emperor Valus made his entrance, so did Emperor Nicodemus, angrily striding out of the door after him. Nicodemus exchanged heated words with the other Emperor, as well as with Leonidas, before stepping off the stage, but not before Leonidas cracked the sheath of Dawnfire, raising the temperature of the room several degrees. It is unsure of what was spoken between the three.
Emperor Valus began his speech, bidding everyone a good evening and saying "We are living in a world of disquiet. There are a great many people who fear getting trampled, thwarted, left behind. This year marks the fortieth year that in a world built on war, we have found peace. But we are a dry field in the heat of summer, on lightning strike away from sending all we have worked for, all we have built, up in flames."
At this point, the Vagabond spoke to Valan and Charles in his booth, alerting them to something that the Speaker had told him not to do. He warned them that they're probably not going to understand what happens next, probably not even going to like him after it, but assuring them he would have been a fool to pass up the opportunity.
Valus continued: "It is our duty for not only ourselves but for the good of our future and our children's future that we move foreward in this life. I motion that we forge to a new era; not one of war, not one of peace, but one of expansion. Our world has been stagnant for long enough; we were locked in war for eons, and now we have done naught but lock ourselves in another gilded cage, one we cannot see it for the supposed prosperity before our eyes. From this day forward-"
At this point he was cut off. The Vagabond Idris Epoch leapt off of the Vanguard's balcony and used the Stormdancer to assassinate Emperor Valus. The room erupted into chaos. Most fled, including Idris, but High Matron Sonilyth descended to the halls floor to inspect the body of Emperor Valus and declare war on whoever did this.
Following the assassination of Emperor Valus, the city is put into lockdown. Immediately following the conference, a curfew is put into place and harshly enforced by a coalition of the Aurelian Garrison and the mages of the Rose Protectorate, but also bolstered by members of the Tenebric Vanguard. By this reaction it would appear that people don’t know it was the head of the Tenebric Vanguard who assassinated the Emperor.
Tyra and the Dawnbreaker enclave retreat to a saferoom beneath the Embassy while the rest of the adventurers carry out their duties, running patrols through the city. Valan and Charles stick together with their conspirator, Callisto, who worries quite a bit about others finding out what happened in the assembly.
As the night finally settles down, the adventurers were finally able to get some rest. As they did so, they dreamt.
In Charles' dream, he awoke in a field after battle, dressed in the old Fulminarian Empire regalia, when a messenger dressed in the earthen tones of the Tenebric Vanguard approached him saying "Go to the Rivermill Inn and request to see the key for room 207." While the messenger spoke in a Zhestian accent, the world rotated, leading Charles to face a riverside inn near the fish market in Helorus. A wooden waterwheel spun lazily in the current on its side. "Speak 'lion' and enter" the messenger bade him, and the dream ended.
As Tyra meditated, they had a vision. Walking through the gardens surrounding Franrider, the Garden seemed to bloom to life around them, vines curling up lattices and flowers unfurling as they passed. They arrived in an open courtyard where one of their family members waited at on the ledge of a fountain. They stood as Tyra approached, saying "Come to the fountain in the Valoric plaza." Similar to Charles' dream, the world rotates, guiding Tyra to the courtyard. "When you arrive, tos in this coin to enter," and the messenger tossed them a golden coin emblazoned with the Sylvan rose on the tail side and Emperor Valus' head on the other. In the dream, they felt their body move, tossing the coin into the pond. They awoke to a soft splashing noise and a coin laying in front of them, droplets of water drying on the rug around it.
Valan's dream took him to the Red Mountains after the first night he arrived there. The morning dew was still fresh when a mesesenger from the Tenebric Vanguard appeared to him saying "Go to the underbelly of the Peters & Co. Haberdashery. Underneath, you will find a stone with this symbol.” As the messenger spoke, the world shifted around to take him to a tunnel underneath the store and a brick marked with the Aurelian sun. “Push forwards and enter.” The dream ended with the stone depressing against the wall and a secret passage opening up, rushing into darkness.
Valeria's rest was disturbed by a soft knocking at the metaphorical psychic door of her mind. She allowed the Dream into her mind, waking up in the court of the Matriarch, beneath the Tree of Silver Night. Waiting for her was a dark elf messenger. “At midday, face westward to the halls of Arctiax and draw the symbol of the dragon on the nearest wall you face.” On front of her, in silver light, a silver tree wrapped in the form of a slumbering dragon appeared. “When you are done, call upon his power to join us.” She heard the name “Arctiax” ring through the hall, and as it did so the silver tree flashed with brilliant radiance, and she wake up.
In the morning, after some deliberation and investigation into the issue, it was discovered that Callisto had also had this dream, but no one from the other factions shared the experience. Each of the adventurers committed to going to their local in time, and was teleported to an inquisition where they were all asked the same three questions by the remaining Signers, Emperor Nicodemus, the Speaker, High Matron Sonilyth, Archmage Reharis, and Leonidas in Valus' stead while in a Zone of Truth: Where do your allegiances lie? Were you involved in the assassination of Emperor Valus Aurelian? and Do you have any information that could help uncover this conspiracy?
After everyone had been questioned and the matter of the Vagabonds guilt brought to the table, the Speaker also was brought forward to testify. She proclaimed that while she had had an inkling of an idea of what Idris was planning, she had not thought it would be something like this, but had discouraged him from doing something rash nonetheless, even though he had claimed it would be something that would change the world. In this time, it was also revealed that Emperor Nicodemus' sword, the Stormdancer, was stolen from him during the Fomorian attack, and then used by the Vagabond to kill the Emperor. The other Signers admitted that they did not know what Emperor Valus was planning with his grand announcement, but the High Matron believed it was going to rejuvenate the stale peace treaties, and everyone seemed to believe they should trust the Matriarch's word.
Leonidas then enlightened the adventurers further as to why they were there: they were to become a coalition of agents from various nations that would investigate this assassination and hold the guilty parties accountable. It had begun to sound like the Vagabond wasn't wholly at fault here; someone had to have paid him or threatened him or replaced him to do this. As the newly forged party was beginning to prepare for their next step, a mage dressed in the Rose Protectorate's blue military garb teleports into the room. He was haggard, his coat was undone, and his hair is a mess. As he staggered in, he braced himself against a table and as he pulled away, his hand left a clear smear of blood across it.
He then made a mad dash for the Fulminarian Emperor, revealing a glyph of warding carved into his chest. As he rushed forwards, beginning to explode in a horrendous fireball, the session came to a close.
The session began with four days of downtime leading up to the first meeting of the Accords.
Tyra Dawnbreaker began their downtime by visiting the encampment of goliath merchants just outside the city. Almost immediately, they were violently inducted into a game of goatball when they were nailed in the head by a rogue toss. Iravek Goatsriker, the apparent leader of the band of goliaths, offered to wager them a selection of magical items in repayment for the injury, should they win a game of goatball.
Goatball is played by two teams, each stand interspersed on concentric rings of stumps. The goal of the game is to throw the ball to knock the opposing team off of their stumps. Last team standing wins. No one is allowed to wear armor, reducing their AC to 10 + Dex. Everyone makes a combined Athletics or Acrobatics ability check, tallying the scores of their team together. The team with the lower score then makes Dexterity or Strength saving throws. If their score is still lower than the Ability check total, they lose the round. First to three wins.
After winning the game, Tyra selected an arcane tattoo as their reward. They received an unarmored AC through a ritual process which Iravek conducted, something which is incredibly rare to find on someone who is not a goliath, as their captain Remnik Dawnbreaker enlightened them to later. Receiving a tattoo like this is an incredible honor.
Valeria Bouclier was the next to visit the goliath encampment, but unfortunately she did not have as good of luck as Tyra did. When Valeria arrived at the encampment, Iravek introduced her to a selection of fine meads which they brew at the different locations which they visit in their travels. He proposed to her a game, if she can drink him under the table, she could choose from the collection of magical items left over from their previous sales. Unfortunately, what Valeria did not count on was that Iravek could probably drink a small army under the table, and she went home with a consolation prize of a keg of Stronjaw Ale.
At the same time, Valan Sildurflame went to the Arcane Sanctum in the bowels of Downtown Helorus. Surrounded by the bustle of the market square, the Sanctum is hidden behind stalls of exotic spices and silken rugs. Walking inside, the one room shop is filled with a magical hum, everything reverberating with the power of the Call. It was filled with a number of magical artifacts; dark swords, gemstones swirling with green liquid, a disembodied hand groping for an eye incased in green jade. A portly man dressed in silver and blue robes smoking a small opium pipe introduced himself as Beedle Darebin and welcomed Valan into his shop. After briefly insulting Valan's station in life, he offered him the opportunity to do a side job for him, delivering a lead-lined box with something mobile in it to a nearby farm, and promised a reprisal of his services if the quest went well. Not only did he do it well, but Valan did four days work in two days, and Beedle said that if he ever wants to do something like it again, he need only seek out one of the Sanctums; each capital city should have one.
While Valan was adventuring, Charles Aurus-Valoric was busking, and made a decent wage for himself during that time. Afterwards, he spent time with the Vagabond and the Speaker, playing a game of Dragon's Gambit which lost Idris five gold. After this, Idris made an offhanded comment about how he's been losing a lot, but sometimes you need to make the moves with the highest risk to get the greatest reward, to which the Speaker replied to with prolonged, judgmental eye contact. This was foreshadowing and would make more sense later.
If you have made it this far in the recap, message me on Discord saying "The Vagabond was framed" for inspiration going into next session.
The Accords began in proper on the fourth day after the beginning of the campaign. Everyone gathered in the Halls of Amphiaraus, an ancient Heloric war hero, to discuss their new terms of peace. For a while, it was awfully boring. Everyone sat with their associated factions in the Hall, looking down onto the crowd from their operatic booths above. The floor below was designed amphitheater style, with the Aurelian Empire and its subsidiaries claiming the main floor, the best floor in the house, of course, and the Fulminarian Empire occupying the raised seats beyond. On the second level, members of the Tenebric Vanguard and other overflow seats took up the rest of the space. Gargon, the King Gorgon, was also there. He vied for fewer patrols on the roads at night, and also clean drinking water for all. It's a mortal right.
Most people are uninterested in what is happening. The Vagabond has been eating shrimp cocktails and sending the Speaker drinks the entire time, contrary to the beseeching of Valan, who has noted that they have increased taxes on mercenaries by 10% in the coming four years. Of course, the Vagabond did not pay attention because he was about to throw the whole world into disarray. For a while, Dahlia came and discussed the etiquette surrounding flirting with people to buy drinks while Callisto listened intently.
Around the room, each Signer of the Accords can be seen in their booths. The Vagabond, of course, is sitting with Valan, Charles, and Callisto, sending Day-Enders to the Speaker. The Speaker is politely declining them, sending back pastries with notes to stop drinking. Archmage Raharis of the Zhestian Order can be seen above the Vanguard's booth, scribbling away in his journal, only occasionally glancing up at what is happening below. Valeria is seated in the Matriarch's booth, guarding Sonilyth and Vyra. Dahlia is supposed to be there, but is unsurprisingly not. The Dawnbreaker family is seated in their royal booth. Tyra is recieving advice on decorum sometimes, but is mostly participating in a drinking game with Remnik, taking a swig every time they mention a border or boundary water dispute.
However, the booth of the Fulminarian Emperor Nicodemus Anduriel is noticeably empty.
It was nearly dusk when Emperor Valus Aurelius took his stage, surrounded by his retinue of guards and his general, Leonidas Crane. As Emperor Valus made his entrance, so did Emperor Nicodemus, angrily striding out of the door after him. Nicodemus exchanged heated words with the other Emperor, as well as with Leonidas, before stepping off the stage, but not before Leonidas cracked the sheath of Dawnfire, raising the temperature of the room several degrees. It is unsure of what was spoken between the three.
Emperor Valus began his speech, bidding everyone a good evening and saying "We are living in a world of disquiet. There are a great many people who fear getting trampled, thwarted, left behind. This year marks the fortieth year that in a world built on war, we have found peace. But we are a dry field in the heat of summer, on lightning strike away from sending all we have worked for, all we have built, up in flames."
At this point, the Vagabond spoke to Valan and Charles in his booth, alerting them to something that the Speaker had told him not to do. He warned them that they're probably not going to understand what happens next, probably not even going to like him after it, but assuring them he would have been a fool to pass up the opportunity.
Valus continued: "It is our duty for not only ourselves but for the good of our future and our children's future that we move foreward in this life. I motion that we forge to a new era; not one of war, not one of peace, but one of expansion. Our world has been stagnant for long enough; we were locked in war for eons, and now we have done naught but lock ourselves in another gilded cage, one we cannot see it for the supposed prosperity before our eyes. From this day forward-"
At this point he was cut off. The Vagabond Idris Epoch leapt off of the Vanguard's balcony and used the Stormdancer to assassinate Emperor Valus. The room erupted into chaos. Most fled, including Idris, but High Matron Sonilyth descended to the halls floor to inspect the body of Emperor Valus and declare war on whoever did this.
Following the assassination of Emperor Valus, the city is put into lockdown. Immediately following the conference, a curfew is put into place and harshly enforced by a coalition of the Aurelian Garrison and the mages of the Rose Protectorate, but also bolstered by members of the Tenebric Vanguard. By this reaction it would appear that people don’t know it was the head of the Tenebric Vanguard who assassinated the Emperor.
Tyra and the Dawnbreaker enclave retreat to a saferoom beneath the Embassy while the rest of the adventurers carry out their duties, running patrols through the city. Valan and Charles stick together with their conspirator, Callisto, who worries quite a bit about others finding out what happened in the assembly.
As the night finally settles down, the adventurers were finally able to get some rest. As they did so, they dreamt.
In Charles' dream, he awoke in a field after battle, dressed in the old Fulminarian Empire regalia, when a messenger dressed in the earthen tones of the Tenebric Vanguard approached him saying "Go to the Rivermill Inn and request to see the key for room 207." While the messenger spoke in a Zhestian accent, the world rotated, leading Charles to face a riverside inn near the fish market in Helorus. A wooden waterwheel spun lazily in the current on its side. "Speak 'lion' and enter" the messenger bade him, and the dream ended.
As Tyra meditated, they had a vision. Walking through the gardens surrounding Franrider, the Garden seemed to bloom to life around them, vines curling up lattices and flowers unfurling as they passed. They arrived in an open courtyard where one of their family members waited at on the ledge of a fountain. They stood as Tyra approached, saying "Come to the fountain in the Valoric plaza." Similar to Charles' dream, the world rotates, guiding Tyra to the courtyard. "When you arrive, tos in this coin to enter," and the messenger tossed them a golden coin emblazoned with the Sylvan rose on the tail side and Emperor Valus' head on the other. In the dream, they felt their body move, tossing the coin into the pond. They awoke to a soft splashing noise and a coin laying in front of them, droplets of water drying on the rug around it.
Valan's dream took him to the Red Mountains after the first night he arrived there. The morning dew was still fresh when a mesesenger from the Tenebric Vanguard appeared to him saying "Go to the underbelly of the Peters & Co. Haberdashery. Underneath, you will find a stone with this symbol.” As the messenger spoke, the world shifted around to take him to a tunnel underneath the store and a brick marked with the Aurelian sun. “Push forwards and enter.” The dream ended with the stone depressing against the wall and a secret passage opening up, rushing into darkness.
Valeria's rest was disturbed by a soft knocking at the metaphorical psychic door of her mind. She allowed the Dream into her mind, waking up in the court of the Matriarch, beneath the Tree of Silver Night. Waiting for her was a dark elf messenger. “At midday, face westward to the halls of Arctiax and draw the symbol of the dragon on the nearest wall you face.” On front of her, in silver light, a silver tree wrapped in the form of a slumbering dragon appeared. “When you are done, call upon his power to join us.” She heard the name “Arctiax” ring through the hall, and as it did so the silver tree flashed with brilliant radiance, and she wake up.
In the morning, after some deliberation and investigation into the issue, it was discovered that Callisto had also had this dream, but no one from the other factions shared the experience. Each of the adventurers committed to going to their local in time, and was teleported to an inquisition where they were all asked the same three questions by the remaining Signers, Emperor Nicodemus, the Speaker, High Matron Sonilyth, Archmage Reharis, and Leonidas in Valus' stead while in a Zone of Truth: Where do your allegiances lie? Were you involved in the assassination of Emperor Valus Aurelian? and Do you have any information that could help uncover this conspiracy?
After everyone had been questioned and the matter of the Vagabonds guilt brought to the table, the Speaker also was brought forward to testify. She proclaimed that while she had had an inkling of an idea of what Idris was planning, she had not thought it would be something like this, but had discouraged him from doing something rash nonetheless, even though he had claimed it would be something that would change the world. In this time, it was also revealed that Emperor Nicodemus' sword, the Stormdancer, was stolen from him during the Fomorian attack, and then used by the Vagabond to kill the Emperor. The other Signers admitted that they did not know what Emperor Valus was planning with his grand announcement, but the High Matron believed it was going to rejuvenate the stale peace treaties, and everyone seemed to believe they should trust the Matriarch's word.
Leonidas then enlightened the adventurers further as to why they were there: they were to become a coalition of agents from various nations that would investigate this assassination and hold the guilty parties accountable. It had begun to sound like the Vagabond wasn't wholly at fault here; someone had to have paid him or threatened him or replaced him to do this. As the newly forged party was beginning to prepare for their next step, a mage dressed in the Rose Protectorate's blue military garb teleports into the room. He was haggard, his coat was undone, and his hair is a mess. As he staggered in, he braced himself against a table and as he pulled away, his hand left a clear smear of blood across it.
He then made a mad dash for the Fulminarian Emperor, revealing a glyph of warding carved into his chest. As he rushed forwards, beginning to explode in a horrendous fireball, the session came to a close.
Rewards Granted
Tyra's new tattoo
A cask of Strongjaw Ale
A cask of Strongjaw Ale
Missions/Quests Completed
Arcane Sanctum Delivery
Character(s) interacted with
All Signers of the Accords
Leonidas Crane
Dahlia Dreux
Callisto
The Stranger*
Leonidas Crane
Dahlia Dreux
Callisto
The Stranger*
Created Content
N/A
Related Reports
N/A
Notes
N/A
Report Date
22 May 2021
Comments