Urbs Magna VII: Ator's Vengeance Report

Justina's perch was disturbed by a merchant’s cart filled with amphora of wine to facilitate the Dance of the Silver Chalice event. The merchant shouted at the party to get out of the way and as the cart passed, Teleptyon pulled an amphora of wine off the cart instinctually, as if he were a laborer hauling bushels of radishes. He walked with purpose to the main door but skirted into the garden out front. Alex played his 'best lost tourist' scam and wandered back and forth before the entrance of the domus to get a fairly good lay of the building before the party moved in. Carrying the amphora of wine into the atrium of the home, Teleptyon announced that it was a gift for the master of the house. The guards stated that they would deliver the wine to their lord, Don Gallienus Kerularios; however, Telepyton insisted that they deliver the wine themselves, so that they may extend their good wishes to their 'patron' in person. However, the guards explained that their lord had given explicit instructions that he was not to be disturbed. As a compromise, they suggested that the party meet the majordomo of the house at the kitchen entrance on the west side, so that he would personally inform the lord of the gift and the clients who sent them.

Upon meeting the majordomo, Teleptyon managed to successfully bluff the party's way into the home and intimated to the majordomo that he knew the whereabouts of Don Kerularios's lost 'property'...intimately. The party was led into the home's triclinium and brought before Gallienus himself. A servant scurried between tables to serve an intoxicated Raya reclining on one couch, and a drugged and helpless Flavio on another. Gallienus's personal bodyguard stood to the side of his master keeping a close watch on him and his guests.

Surprised by the entrance of the party into the heart of his sanctum, Gallienus still had enough wits about him to make a sardonic observation about the 'return' of his missing property. Nevertheless, Alexandru and Teleptyon attempted to convince Gallienus into releasing Flavio and returning their personal property, as well as sharing the whereabouts of Elissa. Alas, their entreaties were to no avail, as Raya was deeply unimpressed with the 'rudeness' of these guests', which sunk any hope of the situation ending peaceably. Teleptyon sarcastically asked Raya for training in the mystic arts, but was brutally rebuffed with Raya attempting to immolate the party by summoning a fireball. However, at this point, Raya was deep into the lotus dream and spell was miscast, filling the room with an eldritch glow instead.

Everyone then leapt into action. Brother Theo called on the goddess Maya to grant him divine sanctuary while he attempted to pull the stuporous Flavio from the room and to safety.

The guard attempted to avoid bloodshed by attempting to subdue Asbjørn Þórsteinnsson with his mailed fists. On the other hand, Gallienus elected to seek a cleaner resolution to his wayward gladitorial problems. He pulled his dagger from his belt and the melee began in earnest. Asbjørn quickly slew the guard with a brutal decapitation, while the tip of Gallienus's dagger bit Alex, whose characteristic nimbleness failed him when he attempted to tumble over the dining table. Teleptyon demonstrated abilities heretofore unknown to his companions when he fire bolts of thaumaturgical energy at Raya and Gallienus. While the magic missiles were enough to injure the two, they still stood. The chaos of the situation led to guards and servants running pell-mell and attracted the attention of others in the domicile. Alex and Teleptyon tried to defuse the situation again, but were answered by Gallienus thrusting his dagger into Alex's shoulder. The Oameni, however, managed to slash Raya's back with his short sword, leaving a grievous wound.

Led by Liberius, Gallienus's oldest son, guards flooded into the dining hall from the north and west. Likewise, hearing the sounds of combat, Gallienus's two youngest children, Theodora and Leo ran into the room from the southern entrance and wailed upon seeing such a traumatic sight. The Ashkuzi horseman, Kegho, standing near the entrance the children arrived from, scooped them up into his large arms - perhaps to threaten Gallienus, perhaps to protect the children from harm. Kegho's motivations are often only known to the notoriously secretive and mercurial barbarian.

Raya, who had entered a state of hysterical laughter due to the effects of golden lotus, continued to attempt to manipulate the flow of the Ar but could not summon enough noetic strength to do so accurately. In an attempt to escape the reach of Alex's sword, she briefly levitated above the dining room table but then fell onto it. Meanwhile, Brother Theo continued use the chaos of battle to mask his attempt to drag Flavio to safety. Unfortunately, as he turned a corner to enter the impluvium from the east, he ran into an approaching guardsman. At this moment, Ator's vengence seemed to overpower Maya's mercy, as the divine sanctuary collapsed and the guard raised a crossbow. A few feet away, Teleptyon turned to face Liberius and another guard bearing down on him.