Session 04 - Arrival at Tannith Vale
General Summary
The Massacre
You're starting to get a good idea of what had occurred that led to the current situation. Several weeks prior, it appears as though some senior members of a mystery cult arrived in the city of Tannith Vale. They were purported to be devoted to either the Divine Usurpation, or the King-in-Exile. In addition, they had already turned or embedded several junior mages of the Arcanum at Tannith Vale as agents and fellow members of the cult. All of these cultists together were able to assail the Autumnal Equinox ritual being undertaken by the wife of the Count, and they were successful in murdering everyone in the castle save the Count's wife and their toddler son. Everyone else in the castle, including the Count himself, were killed. They were largely successful because of the preparations that the junior Arcanum mages put in place, and the fact that the Steward, the Guard and the Guard Captain had been sent out to reinforce the Barons from incursions from outside.
The good news is that the Count's wife, a full-blooded wood elf named Beryl Oakhart, and her son were saved from being the centerpiece of the vile sacrifices that were being undertaken inside the castle. This was achieved when the resident battlemage inside the Arcanum caught wind of the plot and she was able to act to save who she could. Despite her efforts, she was late, and thus she was only able to protect the Countess and her son. Her efforts, with the later support of the leader of the Arcanum in Tannith, were just able to disrupt the rituals that might have opened a gate to the Underworld or freed a fiendish agent of the Usurpation. The cost, however, appears to have been the general sanity of both the two loyal Arcanum Magicians: the chief Barrinor Lada, and the battlemage Errina of Abenton.
The Arcanum's Response
Slightly ahead of the agents dispatched by the King himself, the Mistress of the Arcanum in Eos sent a pair of investigators to find out what happened and make the necessary changes to protect the magicians' guild from what had occurred. Her agents were a well-trained human battlemage of some nebulous repute, and a notorious halfling investigator renowned for her unsubtle use of the subtle arts in interrogations. They arrived a day or two short of a week after the incident, and presided over the harsh interrogation and swift summary execution of the junior mages that fell under the sway of the cult. Allegedly innocent of wrongdoing, the surviving mages were then questioned using the halfling's enhanced techniques, and ultimately cleared of any direct wrong-doing. Both Barrinor Lada and the battlemage Errina of Abenton did come away from that experience traumatized, however, and that has coloured their words and actions since that time.
Tension with the Barons
While this was all happening, the Barons of Tannith Vale's surrounding territory had been on-campaign against external threats: a goblinoid incursion, and an invasion by an alliance of ogre tribes, and military probing of defenses by an opportunistic neighbouring realm. They had been reinforced by the personal guard, personal knights and men-at-arms of the Count himself, and that additional force made much of the difference between a pyrrhic victory and manageable losses. Upon their return to their home fortresses, they received word that the Count and his entire household, save the Countess and their son, had been murdered. What's more, they received a string of letters blaming the absence of the Captain of the Guard and the Steward for the success of the wholesale massacre; and cast doubt on the honour and capacity of the Barons to protect the realm on their own.
For their part, the Barons have looked upon the actions of the "foreign" Countess with great and serious doubts. She has since expelled the remaining humans in her service from the castle: the Guard, the Knights and men-at-arms, even including the well-respected Steward and Captain of the Guard. Lady Oakhart has since invited the elves of the Tannithi Rangers into the castle for her protection. They have watched with dour feelings as the Countess turned away from the Church of the Divine King and invited elder Priestess of the Old Faith to see to her spiritual needs. And despite the general popularity and support of the city's inhabitants, the rural Barons look on with serious concerns. It has gotten to the point that the Barons, save one of the four, have come together to send a joint plea to the King asking for support in the face of a hostile County seat.
Character(s) interacted with
Errina of Abenton - [Human Warmage 5]
The only practitioner of the arcane arts devoted to combat and warfare in the tower, Errina is informally the second in command of the Arcanum in Tannith Vale. Originally from a realm in the northeastern region of the Free Realms called Abenton, Errina has been drifting through her assignment here for years. Trained as a battlemage, Errina cut her teeth on the field of battle against the goblinoids just across the border from her homeland in territory controlled by the dwarven Imperial Remnant. Released by her mentor on very good terms, she took to her first assignment with great enthusiasm. That spirit was largely wasted, however, as the Port City of Adia was a thriving commercial hub on the border between the human Lakelands and the elven Garden of Geniche, but it was not in any way needing a blooded veteran of battle. In that time, she got into deep trouble with her Tower Chief, a halfling Enchanter named Garrett Greycloud, mostly because she grew very bored and restless. Given several chances, she was summarily transferred to Tannith Vale several years ago.
Life in Tannith Vale was a much better fit for a woman of her skills and proclivity. She was able to join in on efforts to lay low bestial and supernatural threats that lurked in the forests, ruins and wildlands in and around the remote province. In her experience, Errina has had good interactions with nearly everyone of substance in the area: the late Count, the Countess, the County Guildmasters, and perhaps most-importantly now, the Barons. Errina had thought she was already inured to death and violence through her campaigns against the enemies of the Imperial Dwarves, but the depredations of the rituals truly horried her. She was able to act in time to help save the Countess and her young toddler son, but guilt over her inability to unravel what wasn't the most deeply hidden secret has shaken her confidence considerably. All this is to say nothing of the impact that the harsh interrogation techniques used by Arcanum investigator, Ansa Greycloud, who happens to be the elder sister of her first tower chief, which has contributed to both sleepless nights and obsessive thoughts.
Personally, Errina has several aspects of her life that don't fit her role as a battlemage nor necessarily as a magical practitioner. She has a pair of beloved warhounds -- a hybrid of an energetic shepherd and lanky hunting dog. The result of her breeding has produced a great pair primed for mating with a breed of timber wolf rumoured to have magical traits. The other aspect is a deep love of music, specifically playing the harp. She has an heirloom harp from her life in Adia, and can be heard playing it in the evenings, sometimes well into the night. Other than these hobbies, Errina is a known personality in the markets and gathering places, and enjoys a general level of popularity and renown with the small to middling adventuring community.
Barrinor Lada [Human Wizard 6]
Heading up the Arcanum presence in Tannith Vale, Barrinor Lada is an Abjuror -- someone trained in magical means of protection and defense. Originally intending to go into magical architecture and design of arcane fortification, Barrinor found himself rebuffed by his mentor in the Seat. Despite his protests, Barrinor was streamed toward using his talents to embed magical protection in the homes and persons of wealthy and noble clientele. In this, he was more than proficient, but the constant friction with his mentor led to his apprenticeship being dragged out longer than expected. That fact led to his career and reputation amongst the Arcanum decision-makers being hamstrung. Barrinor found himself assigned as a floater, he would move from assignment to assignment throughout the entirety of lands where the wizards' guild was present. This, he took to much better than the overbearing nature of his life under his mentor. While he wasn't ever able to pursue his dream as an arcane architect, Barrinor made a good life for himself as a ringer who could come into a situation and ensure gaps in any given situation were filled until permanent personnel could be identified and assigned.
Recently, Barrinor has been feeling "off." Behaviours weren't adding up, but he had coasted into an easy routine of handling the big clients and keeping busy with protective creations. While things didn't add up, Barrinor was comfortable for the first time in his life, and he took the time to seek out enjoyment in his work and his life. Things didn't come to a crashing halt until Errina burst into his chambers and began frantically telling him of what was happening and what was planned. At that time until he was "debriefed" by the Arcanum agents, Barrinor has been in shock. He acted in concert with Errina to burn their way into the castle with the aide of some friendly knights on errantry, and do what they could to save lives. By the end of the night, however, it would only be the battlemage who would be successful in saving anyone -- mostly due to luck, even by her own measure. His interrogation was thorough, and by any standards, harsh. Those who sit at the high tables of the Arcanum do not look kindly on lackadaisical governance of their towers, and much blame lands at his feet and upon his shoulders. Now, Barrinor carries that judgment around in his heart and his soul, and even if he could shake it, he does not appear to want to leave it behind.
Torra Hirna Brigidsdottur [Human Fighter 4]
A trusted and blooded chosen warrior of the Baroness of Roanberg Castle, Lovisa Cold-Eyes. Unlike the other Baronies, Roanberg is commanded by a matriarchal people. They were originally a roaming mercenary tribe, their original home having been annihilated by falling stars. They came upon an independent Roanberg and the ruling family immediately hired them to help protect them from an imminent invasion by goblinoids. They survived that incursion, and went on to protect the family for several generations. One year, the goblinoids returned with massive legions of hobgoblins, and the ruling family found themselves wiped out. With the aid of the King of Eos, the Roanberg territory was cleansed of the incursion and brought into the protection of the Throne of Eos.
Torra Hirna Brigidsdottur is one of Lovisa's Chosen, which is a very loose equivalent of a knight in a standard regime based in the Free Realms and holding to the Divine King. She enjoys greater benefits but also has more responsibility. She is a capable warrior and a wiley captain. She has her own fighting unit called a chain, who are similarly equipped and treated more like a group of individuals than subordinates. Most Chosen Warriors and their Chains have free companies of men and women fighting alongside them. These free companies tend to be lightly armoured and equipped with cheaper weaponry, and they act with more unity and tend to obey orders given by Torra or her trusted seconds. In the days previous, Torra was sent to join up with a pair of knights to watch the highway approaching Tannith Vale alongside a small number of her Chain.
Upon retrospection, Torra was not surprised that the others had wanted to betray her Baroness, but she was angered that she had assumed that it would not occur until the Barons returned back to their own fortresses. Having been revived on the field of her betrayal, Torra now wishes to return back to her Baroness and inform her of what had occurred. It appears as though Torra expects the Baroness to throw in with the Countess, and as a result, she has been given free movement throughout the city and she has met with the Countess twice since being returned to health.
Personally, Torra is tall and she has a strong presence. Her helmet being damaged beyond repair, she has since had an elven armourer replace it. Out of goodwill, the Countess has paid for the armourer to improve the fit and protection of her current harness -- fitting plates and chain with mithril instead of the rough steel she was originally afforded. One of the Chosen Warriors of the Baroness, Torra has been impatient to return to here home, but the Countess has not yet allowed that to happen. It seems as though she is waiting for something, but it is not yet known what it is she awaits.
Report Date
23 Jan 2021
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