Episode 40
General Summary
Hope leads the Unlikely Association around the back of the Royal Palace, stopping at a section of wall and pawing at it. Godric and Atlas proceed to smash the wall down, creating a hole big enough for the party to climb through.
Hope leads the way through the palace, taking the group up a set of stairs in the western wing of the building. Once there, they find a fallen Valkia Orbeck, clutching a wound in her side and barely breathing. After healing the Knight-Princess, she reveals that Devianne attacked her from behind whilst she fought off one of the black oozes. The attack was poisoned, and left her unable to go on - though she sent her mother, the queen, ahead into a safe room.
The party rush on, just in time to witness not Devianne, but Ariadne Knightsbridge reforming one of the Kurete walls. Using Valkia's ring, Leah melts the wall to find the queen held at the point of a Ariadne's sword. The would-be assassin admits that she thought she'd have more time, and seems to be looking for a way out.
As Eva begins casting a spell, the assassin reacts on instinct, slicing the queen's neck. As the queen slides to the ground, Eva completes her spell - taking control of the assassin's mind. The attacker is ordered to put down her weapon and lay on the floor - which she does. As Atlas attempts to tie her up however, she jumps up - the damage from her magical brand breaking her out of the charm. The assassin pulls a dagger, throwing it at the queen to finish the job whilst shouting "For freedom!"
The dagger buries itself in the queen's chest, and she slumps to the floor. The assassin attempts to flee but is caught by Godric, who chops her down... and keeps chopping. The paladin is overcome with anger, and single-mindedly continues to mutilate the attacker - clearly a changeling - into pieces. The party make various attempts to calm the tiefling, and eventually manage to get through to him. Something seems to have taken over Godric for a time, and as he comes to terms with this, he moves away from the group, falling into a chair.
The queen is brought back from the brink of death through healing magics, and helped into a chair. Valkia is similarly healed, and explains the recent goings on in relation to Nakaba to the queen. The queen is somewhat aware that something is amiss in the coastal city, and asks the party to return in the morning to discuss how they are going to deal with this. The curious cleric of Colere is brought to the palace, where she heals the queen and Valkia back up to full strength. The body of the assassin - which now appears as a bloody mess with a featureless face - is taken away by Knights of the Shield.
Leah's pixies return and report that the whole of the city is under attack - but seems to be mostly under control. The combined efforts of the Order of the Shield, the wizards of the university, the bard college and various others in the city seems to be enough to defeat the oozes - though there have been many casualties and injuries. Leah witnesses a large blast of ice to the west, as evidence of the ongoing battles.
One pixie does confirm that they found a solitary old gnome, carrying a silver chain, heading west in the city's south-western quarter.
Leah and Godric are the first to leave the palace, and Leah takes a moment to speak to her kind-of-adopted son about what happened. After a heart-to-heart chat, the pair make their way to the Water Dragon Tavern as their usual spot to regroup. At the tavern, they find the gardens to the back covered in sheets of ice and snow, with many oozes frozen within.
The rest of the party take the lead from the pixie, and head south. Quickly finding the lone gnome, they follow him to a small home near the Platinum Vaults. The gnome is clearly drunk, and stumbles into his home. Atlas picks the lock on the back door, and sneaks inside. Hidden in the shadows, he hears the gnome talking to himself about his old friend, somebody called "Astolfo" who he misses dearly. The gnome proceeds to head upstairs, as the group decide their next course of action...
Report Date
22 Oct 2020
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