Shades of Thrones
Maps
Maps
-
The Plain Cup
The Plain Cup inn in Demophon, the Narrows burrough. -
Seraphiim Dominion: City of Demophon
The city of Demophon, circa 3907 SR. -
Hallowlight Tunnel Base
The secret underground resistance base in Westport, Demophon.
Supporting Cast
-
Aulus Drusus
-
Gavrielle
-
Jakko
-
Oliver Cadaval
-
Samaan Asenath
-
Sammael
Book 3 | Chapter 10
Sessions Archive
Book 3 | Chapter 9: The Afterparty
After the coronation, the party investigates several leads concerning those who attacked and a mysterious person who slew some of the assassins. Lupe, Sera, and Samantha interrogated the one remaining assassin and learned that he was created in a ritual in a place Lupe recognized as the Tower of Duchat. Aurelie and company discovered trace elements of poison used on the dead assassins and tried to follow it to its source. They discovered that it was most likely extraplanar in nature. Reports come in of undead sprouting up around the city, as well as Ungese troops landing in Apostis. The party tracks down the undead attacks to the corpses left by the Hasashin attack. They manage to save a little girl, Samar from her family which had been killed by their patriarch.
Book 3 | Chapter 8: The Coronation
Selena is crowned Archduchess of Demophon. Selena declares the party heroes and allies of the Archduchy, Sofia an assistant to General Ozker, and that she has accepted a marriage proposal from Drusus. During the coronation, the Head of the Bardanes household crashes the ceremony with a necrotic bomb along with Hashashim. The party is able to protect Selena from the assassination attempt.
Book 3 | Chapter 7: Weekend at Lena's
Two weeks pass leading up to Selena being crowned Archduchess of Demophon, and declaring independence from the Seraphiim Dominion once more. Lurch spends some time reviewing the guest list and trying to screen the prospective attendees. Lupe talks to Gavrielle and convinces her she has more in common with Sera than she realizes. Sofia tags along with Cam Ozker. Arbane introduces Kalina to his mother. Jazelle supplicates before the Cat Lord. Aurelie gets into shenanigans with Selena, and kisses Ristin.
Book 3 | Chapter 6: Black Site
The party confronts the Mismatean Legionary command staff and reestablishes Imperator Drusus in control. Antoninus is captured, imprisoned, and interrogates in the meantime. Ristin arrives to show the party where he's discovered the Arcanii's hideout. The party kills Antoninus, and are released in the ensuing apprehension. They travel to Seaward and an industrial plant. There, they break in and are able to clear the above ground floors, eliminating some QRTs and an Arcanii sniper in the process. The party then found a hidden entrance to the basement and went down, clearing the remaining arcanii, and explosives expert, in the process. At the bottom, they found a note from Marie, "See you around." and no sign of Martius. They found prisoners that appeared to have been experimented on, and an expansive lab. Among the prisoners were Samir Almasi and his wife. Out on the street, one of the prisoners revealed themselves to be Martius, shapeshifted into an elven boy, and injected Aurelie with a mixture as well as taking her blood. A fight ensued in which Martius cycled through several mutagens before the party finally brought him down.
Book 3 | Chapter 5: A Tree Falls in the Woods
The party spends a week taking their time and carefully approaching the situation at hand. Scouting out a location for the General Staff of the remaining legions arrayed against them, they interrogate a clerk officer and determine the location. In the meantime, they move into the Citadel to plot their next moves.
Book 3 | Chapter 4: Surprise
The party accompanies Drusus on a march to his old HQ. Coming to their second checkpoint, close to the HQ, they finally meet some resistance in the form of Marie Devaroux, dressed up as a Mismatean centurion. Aurelie jumps her and nearly guts her before she sets of hidden explosives at all the checkpoints around HQ. In the aftermath, Drusus disappears and the party recovers as most of the Mismateans are killed and the Arcanii seem to be staging it in the moment to look like an elven magical attack. Regrouping, the party evades Mismatean patrols to approach Drusus' HQ, hoping he's been taken there. While preparing to approach the heavily fortified building, Lupe receives a sending from Edvard warning that they have Drusus back at base and he's wounded. Doubling back, they steal across the straits back to base to find that Selena absconded with Drusus in the aftermath of the explosion, protecting him from the Arcanii. His left arm was blown off below the elbow in the blast, but Sera is able to heal what's left. Over the next week, Aurelie impersonates Corvinus and attempts to discredit him amongst his men. A standoff ensues between the Mismateans loyal to Drusus and those loyal to Corvinus. The resistance leadership moves into the Citadel. Lupe takes a trip to the Void with Lurch and meets Deoksuls, the fate eater, who claims to know of the Av'ok Whyx that originally took Vivian. Sofia starts a "relationship" with Shaw.
Book 3 | Chapter 3: Imperator, my Imperator
The Arcanii that betrayed and attempted to assassinate Imperator Drusus have claimed his death at the hands of elven insurgents and usurped control of his legions. The party intends to restore Drusus to his command so that a ceasefire can be arranged. The party teleports from one ship to another, managing to convince or else depose and promote the next in line for each of the fleet admirals, effectively securing control of the Mismatean invasion fleets. Afterwards, they confront Legatus Classis Sextus Calpurnius and apprehend him, finalizing their control. Sofia gets Calpurnius to reveal his complicity in the conspiracy to remove Drusus from command. Samantha, wrestling with her memories from the future has some volatile encounters with Maskar and Sofia before finally accepting that her future self fell in love with Maskar. She then proceeds to elicit help from the party in order to get him to give her a chance. In the process, she apologizes and then reconciles herself to Lupe and Sera, nearly commits suicide several times upon rejection, and Maskar is stabbed in the throat by Sofia. In the end, Maskar's near death experience prompts him to give Samantha a chance, and she finally gives up on her plans to betray the party.
Book 3 | Chapter 2: The End is the Beginning is the End
In the wake of capturing Imperator Drusus and Ristin's shocking revelations about the future, as well as Sekhmet once more on their scent, the party determines how best to move forward in wake of the occupation, and implications of their possible future. The party wakes an interrogates Drusus, who proves to be an honorable man of integrity, embodying the Mismatean virtus. They forge a preliminary alliance with him, discovering their goals to be in alignment: taking down Seraphus. Drusus claims to be a scion of the gods, and to have a divine mission to pursue Seraphus. The party parades Samantha out in front of him and shows him that "Jupiter" and "Mars" were nothing more than Sammael's manipulations. They also introduce him to Selena, who does her best to get under his skin. Later, Drusus attempts to dig into Selena and understand her better if he is to ally with her. Selena drugs and trolls him mercilessly, until eventually he gives up on her. She then shows a rare display of magical ability, and teleports him around the city, showing him all that the party has done to help it. When confront as to why she would do this, she explains that she fully expects to be killed by her father very soon and that she intends to leave her mother's city in the hands of capable individuals when she's gone. Drusus tries to change her mind about being so fatalistic. Lupe confronts Drusus about Selena kidnapping him, and lays into Selena. Drusus defends her, however, expressing some sense of responsibility for how she was treated while married to the Emperor's son and suffering Mismatean hospitality. He offers to work on improving her disposition, and Lupe agrees to allow him.
Book 3 | Chapter 1: The Ides of March
The party learns of a secret meeting between Imperator Aulus Drusus and the Bardanes family, and attempts to ambush the leader of the Mismatean occupation in Demophon. Stealing into the Bardanes mansion, Ristin and Aurelie are attacked while impersonating Mismatean guards, by an Arcanius named Thorstedd. Fighting ensues, and the party is able to fight off and kill most of the surrounding Mismatean and household guards. In the process, Antoninus ambushes and fatally wounds Ristin. Lurch orders Gavrielle to heal him and in the confusion she makes him disappear. The party then confronts Aulus Drusus and his honor guard, soundly defeating most of them. In the midst of the fight, Marie Devaroux backstabs Imperator Drusus, infecting him with a lethal poison, tailored for him. He attempts to escape but is weakened and goes unconscious. The party apprehends him. Later that night, the party pushes Gavrielle until she is able to bring Ristin back, discovering in the process that he had been transported about 20 years in the future where Samantha and Maskar have organized a refugee village, hiding in Seraphi mountains to the east, while the world below has fallen apart in the wake of Sera snapping. Gavrielle, horrified, is taken out by Amon to experience alcohol and drinking. Ristin asks Aurelie to go somewhere private with him and spend some time together. While out, Gavrielle, drunk, admits to Amon that she has been helping him the whole due to his mother committing suicide and cursing her for not protecting her son. They happen upon Sekhmet, having possessed a Seraphi woman, and Amon is goaded into attacking her. In the resulting fight, he leeches her psionic energy, and she flings him away into the Straits. Gavrielle is revealed to not have access to her powers and, confused, Sekhmet attempts to kill her. She is fatally wounded, but kills Sekhmet's host body. Amon finds her later, carries her back to the hideout and Sera is able to restore her. Ristin takes Aurelie out to a restaraunt, steals in and makes her a Retrian meal, something new. They converse some, and flirt with the idea of their past relationship. Lupe finds Sera and warns her of what will happen in the future. She becomes determined to change it.
Book 3 | Introduction
Three months pass in wartorn Demophon as the Mismatean forces under Imperator Aulus Drusus consolidate control over the city, facing off with Seraphi military remnants marshaled by Major Cam Ozker. The resistance succeeded in robbing a Mismatean transport ship and then smuggling the supplies to a besieged Citadel. They flew the Archduchy of Demophon's flag atop the Citadel and Captain Elam Sagiv supported it, even in the face of mutiny from the Seraphi military contingent within. The party used this to open a political door with the Kurkuas noble family, making a tentative ally in Ravi, the eldest son and de facto head of household. Between them, they arranged to hire several thousand Rhodesian mercenaries from abroad, and ally with Cam Ozker with an offer of a top military position in the new regime beneath Selena. Meanwhile, Selena's existence has started to spread amongst the denizens of the city, even while Aulus Drusus signed a treaty with the major noble families and consolidated control over all of Rhodesian-side Demophon. Cam Ozker, emboldened and informed, was able to capture most of Demophoneia, driving Drusus' legion there back to the coast.
Book 2.5 | Chapter 4: Swan Song
The gangsters convene to attack the thieves in their hideout. Along with Xavier and a few lackeys, they invaded and went room to room, killing each of the thieves. After clearing out the whole underground base, they start to notice something odd: it's almost too easy. Stend realizes that the whole thing was an illusion and the thieves attack. In a flurry of confusion and fire, most of the gangsters are captured, however Xavier and his cronies are killed. Afterwards, Ristin recognizes Dii and confronts him in private, revealing him to be his shapeshifting, presumably dead wife, Aurelie
Book 2.5 | Chapter 3: Aggressive Negotations
The gangsters have learned the location of the organization that might be responsible for the theft of Golden Circle money a fateful encounter with their prey, the female tabaxi, Jazelle. The gangsters decided to scout out the lair of their targets, but Dii noticed they'd picked up a tail. Over the course of the night, several of the group were tailed. Romero hit it off with a ditzy woman in a bar and later realized, back at a house that was not hers, that she was actually Selena and was giving a warning to stay way. They looked into Roussou's knowledge but it proved less than informative. The next day, Stend was summoned by Strauss where he learned that their targets had paid him a visit, hoping to negotiate but with little success. Instead they attacked and slaughtered a number of the Golden Circle goons and wounded Strauss himself. Xavier pressured Stend to take his info and assault the thieves directly. Antoninus offered to conscript the teens into a mercenary company he runs, for 500s a piece. The gangsters decided to try and take the Maries up on their offer to turn Dii over for 10,000 shillings, and staged an ambush. The Maries counterambushed them and wounded a number of the group before being run off themselves.
Book 2.5 | Chapter 2: Penny and Dime
The gangsters continue on the trail of the female tabaxi suspected to have robbed the Golden Circle. Merkomer arranges for Jaal to report on what he's learned of her thus far, and he certainly has a story to tell ... Stend and Romero put some pressure on Mortimer (formerly known as Merkomer) to give up Jaal for a meeting. He does so, and they have a civil conversation with the erstwhile information. Jaal agrees to lure Jazelle out from hiding to a place of their choosing. When he returns to the Hallowlight Tunnel Base to inform Jazelle, Dii follows him covertly. The next morning, Jaal arrives with Jazelle in tow. The gangsters interrogate her for a few minutes before making one threat too many and revealing that they are looking for the money she stole. She attempts to flee and fights off the gangsters, knocking out Romero soundly. Just barely making it away, she circles back around to retrieve Jaal, who is waiting with Ristin, who was watching the whole thing unbeknownst to Jazelle or the gangsters.
Book 2.5 | Chapter 1: Got the Axe
A little over a month after one of the Golden Circle's couriers is robbed in broad daylight of a florin-filled briefcase, a group of low-level gangsters is assigned to hunt down and retrieve it. Their only lead? A tabaxi woman named Jazelle. Renton Stend is summoned by his boss, Nikoli Strauss, an underboss of the Golden Circle crime syndicate, where one of his fellow lieutenants is murdered by Strauss for being robbed of Circle funds and then hiding the fact. Strauss gives Stend the undesirable job of finding the money and making an example of the thieves. He gathers several other employees of the Circle and goes off to pick up the now-cold trail. In investigating the tabaxi woman, they learn that she was an erratic, strange figure, but working alone as far as they can tell. A few strangers take an interest in them while they search, or namely Dii, the young human boy of effervescent cheer and pickpocketing insanity. A Mismatean man, Antoninus Martius, the same man who stopped Jazelle briefly the night of the invasion, tells Dii and Frances that he saw the tabaxi in question, along with a male tabaxi, about a week ago. Stend contacts one of the other lieutenants, Merkomer, who says he'll dig up the male tabaxi, Jaal, who has done some work as an informant for them. While relaxing at their inn of the night, The Plain Cup, Romero strikes out with Maleeka on her way through (after succeeding with Roussou the night before), and the two teens put on a show for the inn. Afterwards, they are approached by two identical woman, like twins, both named Marie, who praise their talents and prove highly inquisitive of Dii.
Chapter 29 & 30: Virtus Fortunasque
The Mismatean surprise invasion of Demophon continues while the party watches on. Most of the Seraphi forces are leaderless, disorganized, and scattered while three legions land and proceed to seize the coastal portions of the city and lay siege to the Citadel. The party robs a Seraphi supply cache of weapons and armor with the help of a rehabilitated Indivar Koule. They then proceed to enter the Void together under Sera's power to face off with Amon's alter ego, Epitaph.
Chapter 28: Check Soul Mate
The party tracks down Indivar Koule's soul and arranges to meet with her to return it. Jazelle works on building a friendship with the enigmatic Jaal. Indivar Koule resists having her soul restored. Samantha notices an Elophiim riding Amon and Lupe and Sera conspire to capture her. They discover Ma'at/Gavrielle in the second Oubliette. The Mismateans decimate the fleet at Demophon harbor and launch a massive surprise invasion to capture the city, under Imperator Aulus Drusus.
Chapter 27: Sweet Sixteen
Lupe finally discerns the psionic amplifier. Lurch gets Selena and Koule to converse. Jazelle discovers another Tabaxi. Amon starts a garden with Kit. The party decides to give Sammael another chance as their loyal ally. Ma'at is replaced and warns Amon the gods are watching him.
Chapter 26: No Country for Cadaval
Selena warns Arbane that the SNS Or-Tal is in port and Captain Shadid might be looking for her. Roussou brings Lupe information about Cam Ozker's rise to prominence in the military. Sofia determines definitively that Oliver was sent by her father. Lupe kills Cadaval. Ursula arrives back in the world, summoned by the daemon that escaped Arbane's farm.
Chapter 25: The Invalid
The party springs a trap and captures Cadaval. Jazelle gets the "Cat Lord" to speak to her more. Sofia and Ristin stake out Demophon Securities and learn more about the people behind the underhanded attempt on Arbane's lands. Lurch trains with Aliya and Jakko to test their mettle, and learns that Aliya was killed and resurrected by the Gray Man. Lupe engages in some extreme torture of Cadaval.
Chapter 24: Hit the Deck
The party tracked down the Red Letter Killer, Marut Sr. and reunited him with his son, restoring Marut Jr. to life and altering their memories to send them on their way. The party staked out the Ithacan bounty hunter and he narrowly escape. Later, he killed one of the bartenders from the Plain Cup and attempted to murder Doerthe before one of the two goliath bodyguards Indivar Koule had gifted Lurch intervened. Lupe chose Sera over restoring Vivian. Arbane had an argument with his uncle over fleeing the crimnal element plaguing his family.
Chapter 23: Lorquen Detective Agency
Lurch and Lupe meet with Indivar Koule via radio again, and she expresses morbid curiosity in an alliance, telling Lurch to track down someone who's been killing her people lately, and she will consider it. The party spends most of the week investigating the seeming murder of Red Letter Rebel cells. Lupe and Sera remove the shadow essence from Sofia and transfuse radiant energy from Sera in its stead. Sammael gives Sera and Lupe a hard time after buying some good will from Sofia with information. Lupe investigates the soul from the Vivian creature, and discovers it is Vivian's actual soul, learning how she met her tragic fate. Sera works on bringing Vivian back for Lupe. Jazelle accidentally bites off more than she can chew when she robs a man on the street. Amon has a visit from Ma'at and she steals the alien corpse.
Chapter 22: Strange Bedfellows
The party attempts to make contact with the Red Letter Rebels, and Indivar Koule in particular. After following a rabbit trail of dead drops around Demophoneia, they find Dorotea Arcos and Black Company waiting for them with a radio connected to Koule. Lurch speaks with the Red Letter Rebel leader and leaves a sample of Selena's blood, hoping to forge an alliance.
Chapter 21: Death of a Vivian
The party attacks Vivian's lair, fighting their way through her thralls until they reach her. She activates a portal prematurely and an alien creatures comes through. After nearly downing most of the group, they take down the alien and Vivian. Later, they perform some autopsies.
Chapter 20: Third Rule of Fight Club
The party learns of an inquisitor, a mercenary group, and an Ithacan man all looking for Sofia. They spend some time at fight club. Later, they investigate Vivian's lair a little more and make plans for how to deal with her. Sera and Kalina learn the truth from Sammael.
Chapter 19: Ozker on the Move
Ozker has the support of the military governor, and meets with an inquisitor captain and an Ithacan bounty hunter about finding Sofia. Lupe and Lurch convince Ristin to work for them to restore Selena to her throne. Lupe and Sera find Vivian's lair.
Chapter 18: Sammael's Due
The group resolves their looming tensions with Sammael when he comes to collect what he's owed.
Chapter 17: Ozker of Demophoneia
The party stalks Major Ozker in an attempt to gain better insight into his motives and resources. Lupe stacks the deck at high-stakes gambling and the party buys a ferry business. Arbane takes Kalina to meet his parents and discovers a demonic possession. Amon attempts to break Kit's funk and proclaims his love for her. Sammael shows up to collect what's his.
Chapter 16: Sekhmet's Revenge II
The fight against the Avatar of Sekhmet concludes when Amon is defeated and Jazelle shoots him before he can escape. The mansion is destroyed around them in a huge blast. Amon realizes that the Avatar was his father, Samaan.
Chapter 15: Sekhmet's Revenge
The group decides to neutralize the Avatar of Sekhmet, and Amon challenges him to single combat after attempting to persuade him to join forces against Seraphus.
Chapter 14: Red October
The party resolves to rob a Seraphi military base to distract Ozker's force from occupying the Narrows.
Chapter 13: Wizard's Folly
The group ambushes the "Gray Man" in his house and finds a patsy instead. The Hallowlight Tunnel base is completed. Captain Ozker makes a grand entrance outside the Plain Cup.
Chapter 12: Second Chances
The group decides to make a new place to live using the services of a Red Hag. Lurch gets one step closer to Indivar Koule by first tracking her associate, the "Gray Man". Lupe takes a second chance at youth in acknowledging his feelings for Sera. Arbane shares a drunken kiss with Kalina. Amon and Kit duel it out for keeps.
Useful Links
The Protagonists
Sofia Lopez
Aurelie
Amon Asenath
Guadelupe Lopez
Lurch
Arbane Lorquen
Jazelle
Find your way!
Resources
WHO WE ARE
LEGAL
Get the news
Listen to our Podcast
Our Allies
