Session 5: Abat Artayin Report

Party enters the camp of the Atamani and navigates the oceans of canvas to reach Calista’s family. The family is sleeping, but Helon the slave, being a person captured by the Atamani in battle, was awake and greeted Calista and friends. He explained that people were asleep, but bid Calista go inside while he tended to the horse. The others remained around the fire. Her mother, Rani, was still stirring and greeted her warmly. They spoke and Calista requested that she help heal the wounds of Azidael. She stepped outside and was introduced to the rest of the group. They were each given places to sleep within the tents for the night, though nothing spectacular at that late hour.

Auron was apart from the rest of the party- awake and cleaning his gear after the terrible slaughter on the streets. The night was cool and crisp, nothing to disturb the peace. Yet, not all was right. He felt a strange feeling, something spawned from the deepest subconscious, that old feeling of being watching. Looking about, nothing in sight… strange. Auron returned to camp and fell asleep against a tent. Time passed. Hours later, that strange feeling descended upon Azidael. He was tucked into the Artayin tent, but was startled awake. Looking into the gloom, he saw a pair of red eyes pulsing with veins. He remained stone still while they scanned the room, one end to the other, before passing along. Azidael rose from bed and slowly stepped outside, seeing nobody in camp besides sleeping Ballisar. He woke up Ballisar and informed him that there were evil eyes watching the camp. They quickly rushed into the tent where the empress slept and saw a horrid sight. The girl with those evil eyes, one of the assassins from before, was standing just above the empress, ghoulish smile on face and knife in hand. The stage was set for a short but violent battle.

They fight. Ballisar shoots Hirriat with Vojûn, causing her to tumble over the empress in pain. He then charges her, but Hirriat takes the dagger and lunges over the dais at Ballisar, wounding him with the knife as both of them tumbled into the grass. Auron now charged into the tent and battered Hirriat from Ballisar, yet she rolled back onto her feet. She used Vojûn to launch fire against the side of the tent, catching it on fire. Azidael rushes inside to save Cesstecia while Calista gathered people to try and stop the fire. Hirriat shoots a bolt at Cesstecia, Ballisar steps in the way, but Auron destroys the shot with a blast of Vojûn. Helon the slave rushes out for safety. Eryssis holds her own, but then Wayfarer shows up and the odds stack against her. Near the entrance of the tent, Azidael brings Cesstecia, but is stopped in his tracks by Eryssis. She stands there, sword pointed forward, Helon the slave dead just behind her. Azidael pushes Cesstecia aside for safety, and gets into a bitter duel with Eryssis. He cries for help, and others begin to rush over, Hirriat cuts a hole in the remaining tent side and dives to safety. The Wayfarer chases her. Party collapsed upon poor Eryssis, the weaker of the two fighters, and beat her severely. They capture her by the will of Cesstecia and the fight near the tent ends. The Wayfarer continues to follow Hirriat, exchanging blows on the run. When he finally leapt upon her, Atamani stirred from nearby rushed over, unaware of what was happening, pried the Wayfarer from her. Hirriat scrambled to her feet with a hiss and rushed into the shadows. The Wayfarer was furious, and chastised those people for their intervention, but only one spoke his language. In the end, he simply returned to camp in a huff.

Ballisar, Cesstecia, and Callista quickly depart to speak with King Yardok and Queen Deivora following the brutal battle of the tent. Calista speaks to her father just beforehand, and he gives her advice. Meanwhile, Azidael speaks with Eryssis, questioning her like a prisoner. The Wayfarer and Aragos ignore the scene to tend recent wounds. Auron sits silently listening. Auron and Eryssis share some superficial information- who do you serve? Isn’t it obvious? Yet, Eryssis is impressed with Azidael’s demeanor. He is not like the others, prone to slaughter and destroy a surrendered enemy, but rather speak with them. She offers him a conversation, perhaps some clarity, but only if she is untied and they speak as equals. After some reluctance, Azidael agrees and they depart the camp, just the two of them. They speak at length on many things, more than can be accurately described here. Azidael learns that Syrgus is indeed the real Third Son, pulling to rest the rumors that he is a Vallisian puppet. Eryssis also explains in cryptic terms that the arrival of Syrgus was calculated for this time, rather than any other, by powers greater than the two of them. Azidael asks how they can be in contact again, and she responds that she will be watching, and when the time is right they will meet again. By the time the conversation ended, they were standing beneath the great walls of Pyrgoros. They departed from one another. Eryssis simply pressed upon the vast doors, and they slowly ground open.

While Azidael spoke with Eryssis, Ballisar, Cesstecia, and Calista travelled to the tent of Yardok and Deivora, and spoke with them about the previous days. They arrived and found the place guarded by members of the Menon Artem Kezon. Coincidentally, the guard who first approached them was none other than Calista’s brother, Pazit. They embraced and shared greetings and good wishes. Calista also explained that dire occurrences were causing new dangers in the western part of the camp. They needed to speak with the king and queen immediately. He allowed them inside, which another member of the Menon Artem Kezon might not have done. Inside, there were the king and queen, but also Berisal Mitras, a traitor of the Mitras dynasty from Varikon and the representative of the empress in the Atamani camp. The party spoke with the royal pair, and Berisal was dismissed from the tent, which he responded to with annoyance. In the end, they managed to convince the Atamani to seek neutrality during the coming conflict. They would not openly defy Syrgus, but they would delay their involvement so long as it did not cause open conflict. With that knowledge, the group departed. Calista received 10 dolns from Pazit, and they said a fair goodbye for the while.

The embattled party managed to steal only a few more hours of sleep for departing the Atamani camp, much to the fear that Syrgus would quickly sweep down and capture them. In the wee hours of morning, they began their trek- moving for hours before arriving at a suitable settlement once their energy was completely depleted. It was a small village named Tharsyan. They bought supplies from the warehouse, now full from produce gathered during the harvest. The group of them also purchase rooms to stay for the day from the master of the barracks house, named Dathyros. The commander of the local militia is Iochas Zenas, but he did not appear beyond name for the party. Among them, the decision was made to sleep during the day to regain strength, then attempt to move during the night.