Session 21: Raid on the Estate Report
General Summary
The group opened the session by noticing Aes in a sluggish state, immobile and as cold as ice. Zeal and Geraldt probed her mind, and she awoke irritated that they had done so, hurriedly fleeing the castle within the Castle Quarter. The group then proceeded to the royal library to learn more about specific topics. They then headed down into the Civil Ward, where Orion purchased a cloak of protection to aid him in battle. The team then proceeded with their mission, infiltrating the raid on the Durallane estate in order to acquire a valuable artefact that not even the Queen was aware of. To be cautious, they took the long road around the Warduff Marsh to the estate. As they arrived, they investigated the estate using Orion's Familiar, learning that the attackers were a gang of violent bandits who revelled in the raid and quickly slaughtered the residents. They decided to conduct a nightly assault, waiting until dark to sneak inside the location. They spotted a troop of soldiers led by one of the estate's knight, Sir Alonne the Dragonheart, who took his men to battle the raiders down the estate while the part slipped southwards to the top of the estate, where the artefact was hidden within a church. They hopped over the walls of the estate to quickly and silently reach the chapel, but they confronted a mage in fight whom was joined by a "Shield Guardian". She seemed to be injured and barely fighting back against the invaders, surrounded by their dead and barely standing. The group instantly sprang into fight, easily dispatching the bandits, and Geraldt learned the name of the mage, Lizette Dosk, before being hustled away by the rest of the party to return to their work. They carried on, reaching past another set of wall and discovering this location almost free of bandit life. They observed one young Tiefling bandit girl sitting by a little campfire who was aware of the group but did not wish to engage in combat. They also noticed an elderly man from the estate hiding in an alleyway. When they neared the church at the estate's end, they noticed it was reinforced by a bunch of bandits attempting to break into the church, with a considerably higher ranked bandit at the head of the burglary. The party decided to ambush this group, but failed and engaged in standard battle with the invaders. The bandits were soon dispatched, and the party made their way into the chapel. The secret entrance within the church was discovered, and as they approached a massive set of finely built doors, and it echoed a warning to turn back, by the king's decree. Once they passed through the doors, they found themselves in a big underground hall with a stream dividing it in half and brazier pillars lined the walls. This same booming voice boomed across the hall, calling the "Divine spears of Yore", identified as the "Sworn defenders of Princess Filianore". On the other side of the stream, three golden runes began to appear, and figures began to emerge as the voice boomed once more, relaying "Protect our dear princess".
