The session starts with the first combat instance against the sorcerer-baron Voghtairi. He has become the main villain of the game through his actions, and they finally get a taste. The Friends know the barons True Name, rendering his spells useless, but the baron knows they know. He uses his magic staff to blow them back with a dragons roar, but only sticks around for one round before teleporting away. He got corrupted on his roll and got a “lava appears” catastrophe, which was very fitting. For the rest of the fight (there were still some Black Rose Knights to fight) the volcano was slowly opening cracks of molten lava.
It’s into one of these cracks that Voghtairis lieutenant, Sir Valamo is pushed, where he dies screaming (10d6 damage!!!). He actually had something very very important to tell The Friends that might have changed the course of the game, but alas, it is how the dice fell.
After the fight, The Friends regroup with Marquis Rosse and Melony-Zoshk-Laquor, who saw the whole thing. The Friends were very careful to get them to stand far away and out of earshot, and also to make it look like Voghtairi attacked first. (Not entirely a lie, but he was certainly provoked.)
In a short cutaway, we see Voghtairi arrive at this keep after his teleportation, now bearing a horrible burn scar across his face.
Back in Solemnity, Rosse gets a meeting with The Lawful Council. Under the influence of a Zone of Truth, The Friends tell them what Voghtairi said. They beg for audience with the queen, but the council must confer first.
While waiting for their decision, The Friends find an inn in Ason Rodear, the distrcit just beneath the cliff upon which sits Castle Solemnity. The organize with a sending spell for their horses to be brought from Fort Duvno to Solemnity and hear an interesting rumor.
“Come one come all, hear the words of the divine Prolegomenon on Tromba Boulevard!”
This greatly interests Balthazar, who attends with Friend.
At Tromba Boulevard on the docks of Nuvola Volai, where they disembarked, Balthazar and Friend find a group of 100 people listening intently to an old man talk about his encounter with an angel. Balthazar recognises the man as the old man he once played chess with, the man who contained Balthazars patron long enough for him to speak with. The old man whos blindness he cured. The man is yelling about how the divine shall soon appear to claim “The Sceptre of Languard” and tell them how to overcome the coming calamity.
I like putting Balthazars player in the spotlight because he’s often quite quiet. (I may have gone a bit overboard, the other players are calling him the main character. (An opinion I resent but they’re not entirely wrong, stay tuned)) He really took to Balthazar in this moment. He got up on stage and preached about the dragon and how he is a true angel. At this moment Friend noticed the small Ajiran noble sitting in the front of the crowd, and realised the power that this kind of religious zeal can inspire.
Meanwhile, Siriel stalked her old haunts to see what has become of the old members of her guild since it was destroyed by a corrupt guard captain. She saw the blacksmith from afar, but didn’t want to get near (he told her to stay away.) She did see a small boy discretely trade a sack of coins for a small bag with the blacksmith. Following him, she found him to be a half-foot thief involved in the Redmint trade. From him she learned of Ruxis Oris, the smugglers guild, and their redmint trade. She also met with an old lady that managed one of her old guild safehouses and learned of the three major thieves guild operations in the city.
Balthazar and Friend go to investigate the sceptre they heard about at The Tenebrous Church. There they have a run in with Lord Alamander the Flame, lord of The Black Rose Knights. He is in debate with The Lawful Council. He has heard about the Prolegomenon, and something scares him.
"Don't forget the church works in service to the crown. I don't know what it's like where you come from, Angel, but on Orthos, kings come first."To wrap up the session, The Friends tune in to the decision made by the lawful council. A summons has been issued to The Baron Voghtairi. They have been ignored. A council shall be held in two weeks to decide the actions of Orthos.
I had written here that I had a lot to say about my new method of prepping the city game. I certainly had many thoughts on it at one time, but in review it’s really not relevant. What I should have done was properly flesh out each faction and focus on who might be relevant to the direct actions of The Friends. Too focused on the sandbox I missed the forest for the trees - the game is coming toward an end, it’s okay for things to be a little more closed off so that everything can get tied up. I’m on the fence about whether I like that style of game, but it’s undeniable it would have worked here.
Lot’s of set up today. Lot’s of foreshadowing, though we had no way of knowing it. Religious zeal spreading again, the black rose knights in conflict, Voghtairi growing ever desperate. This session is the beginning of the lead up to the finale.