Session 18 - Problems With Paramounts
General Summary
The party runs into the ballroom to bear witness to the horrors in front of them. Some people are crushed under the mantle of the chandelier, others are in a panic, everyone looks towards the ceiling where the five bodies dressed to mimic the survivors of the Long Winter Expedition hang. Prince Carnys rushes forward, followed by his father and a few others. Laurent Dayne is present, immediately rushing to help those in desperate need. The younger party attendants are all pushed together, adults standing in front of them to block vision of the bodies.
Other attendants work in tandem to help those who are injured, however, it’s clear to the party that this situation has fallen to disarray. They send messages to Carnys frantically informing him of Lady Abraxan’s potential assassination, but the prince is unable to assist without rousing immense suspicion. Instead, the party is sent to do what they can, with the knowledge that Carnys will send his sister, Princess Aydrea, to support them if necessary.
The party splits up, with Calum standing near the stairs getting a vantage point of the entire ballroom. While he can’t recognize everyone, he keeps an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. Luckily for the party, or unluckily, he does not see anything during his entire time on the perch. There does not seem to be many shadow-slinkers in attendance, meaning that he either missed them, or this had been heavily orchestrated.
Alastor and Violet split to go to one side, heading towards Laurent Dayne and using their healing magic to help the people injured in the crash. Asha and Celeste go to the other side of the mantle, notably staying out of the vision of Wrenwick Ayr and wrapping to either speak with Carnys or Lady Abraxan.
When Alastor appears, his reputation precedes him as many immediately suspect him as the one who did this. Murmurs spread, and Violet attempts to defend him, forgetting her place. In the end, it’s Prince Vaelyx Tandor’thal, the Kingsguard, who comes to his defense, explaining that there was no way for Alastor to have done this. If he had, Prince Vaelyx would have looked foolish for letting him past the front door. Laurent Dayne also comes to his defense, offering a position beside him to help drag bodies out from under the chandelier, which Alastor immediately follows to do.
The others head towards Lady Pytha Abraxan who appears to be in the process of resurrecting someone. Asha approaches her, creating a mental link with Lady Abraxan and warns her of Heulwen and Melior’s call to assassinate her. She initially is quite skeptical, asking Asha who she is and who supports her. When Asha fails to give a trustworthy name, remaining mysterious to keep suspicion off of Prince Carnys, Lady Abraxan finds it hard to believe her. It’s worse when a man is clearly dying under the chandelier and must be resurrected, but Lady Abraxan has used the last of her resurrection materials already. She needs to return to her senses now if she intends to keep this man alive, something she voices to those around her.
Alastor jumps into action, begging Laurent Dayne to help him convince Lady Abraxan and speak on his party’s character. However, Laurent is honorable and cannot lie to his Lady Paramount about people which he does not know nor trust. Laurent tells Lady Abraxan that she should be wary, and that the words appear true, but that he cannot speak necessarily on their character. The overload of information seems to impart itself on Lady Abraxan’s mind, but she still makes the decision to cast Teleport. Violet tries to stop her, but fails. With Lady Abraxan gone, the party can only do one thing, run.
Immediately they sprint out of the party, informing Prince Carnys of their plans. He assures them that Princess Aydrea will be on their tails, but that they will be on their own. Together, the party runs to the tent grounds. They are stopped by the same guards which stopped them when they had tried to enter to see Kettlewyck’s body. As they do not have a tent here or serve anyone, they are turned away. Alastor tries to lie for the party, but does not know which noble houses are here to make a believable lie. Eventually, he resorts to bribing the guards, who let them pass with a warning. One of the guards tells Alastor to be careful who he lies about, as House Hrutvor, the name he listed, is surprisingly not in attendance so far. Which does make sense given House Hrutvor’s position as the stronger bordering house between the Everwinter and the Farnorth.
They rush to the Abraxan tent, following the phoenix banners and bright flames towards the source of the action. As they run towards the tent, they don’t hear anything out of the ordinary. When they open the flap of the tent, instead of a bloody combat they see Lady Abraxan and Heulwen speaking. The party has a brief conversation with Heulwen outside of the tent, where she tells Alastor and Celeste that their words resonated. As a daughter of Heliad, notably the God of Order, causing such chaos would go against her morals. She refused to kill Lady Abraxan, and fully expects to die in due time.
In fact, the conversation the party interrupted was a discussion of Heulwen’s execution. She wants to return to the Farsouth to visit the Citadel of High Harkin, a noble place to die. Hearing this news, the party is elated, especially Alastor and Celeste who feel a burden lifting off their shoulders as they realize their words actually meant something. The party briefly stops to discuss with Lady Abraxan, who thanks them for their warning. She tells them that she did take some of their advice, but that it is her responsibility to protect the lords and ladies loyal to her as well as her people. It is the least she can do as they manage parts of her realm.
Lady Abraxan invites them to Abraxus, the capital of the Farsouth, should they even return. However, it’s certainly a little strained, a courteous gesture which all nobles must do. But she does reaffirm that Alastor will not experience any damages should he return to the Farsouth. She cannot say anything about returning to Starfall, but in Corondor there is no double jeopardy. He cannot be punished again for the same crime, and, as a thank you for helping to warn her, she will at the very least make sure he is not killed the moment he steps foot into the region.
This causes Calum to pipe up, nervous of the potential of his father, Lord Farscythe, being in attendance. He aggressively questions Lady Abraxan, causing her to pause and Heulwen to stand in her defense. Calum continues to be jumpy, even more nervous now. But Lady Abraxan remains aloof, not answering his questions until he can tell her why it matters so much. Calum does not give her much information, telling her a little about his heritage before repeating the question—where is Lord Farscythe?
Before he can get an answer, the party, sensing the tension, moves to leave. They grab Calum and make their departure, with a few staying behind to have a handful of parting words with Lady Abraxan.
As they walk out, they’re met with Princess Aydrea, who arrived shortly after them. Gun in hand and missing her shoes, she seems quick on her feet and ready for battle. However, the party lets her know that everything went fine, that no assassination occurred. At the mention of assassination, Aydrea is incredibly confused. It appears that Prince Carnys has left out a few details when he sent Aydrea to follow them. Regardless, she’s happy for the party’s success and safety. She tells them that she’ll relay the message back to Prince Carnys and that she will return with a letter before the end of the night.
The party then heads back to their tent, aside from Celeste who slinks away back to the Manticore for some… stress relief. The night of chaos ends, but the tournament is far from over.
Other attendants work in tandem to help those who are injured, however, it’s clear to the party that this situation has fallen to disarray. They send messages to Carnys frantically informing him of Lady Abraxan’s potential assassination, but the prince is unable to assist without rousing immense suspicion. Instead, the party is sent to do what they can, with the knowledge that Carnys will send his sister, Princess Aydrea, to support them if necessary.
The party splits up, with Calum standing near the stairs getting a vantage point of the entire ballroom. While he can’t recognize everyone, he keeps an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. Luckily for the party, or unluckily, he does not see anything during his entire time on the perch. There does not seem to be many shadow-slinkers in attendance, meaning that he either missed them, or this had been heavily orchestrated.
Alastor and Violet split to go to one side, heading towards Laurent Dayne and using their healing magic to help the people injured in the crash. Asha and Celeste go to the other side of the mantle, notably staying out of the vision of Wrenwick Ayr and wrapping to either speak with Carnys or Lady Abraxan.
When Alastor appears, his reputation precedes him as many immediately suspect him as the one who did this. Murmurs spread, and Violet attempts to defend him, forgetting her place. In the end, it’s Prince Vaelyx Tandor’thal, the Kingsguard, who comes to his defense, explaining that there was no way for Alastor to have done this. If he had, Prince Vaelyx would have looked foolish for letting him past the front door. Laurent Dayne also comes to his defense, offering a position beside him to help drag bodies out from under the chandelier, which Alastor immediately follows to do.
The others head towards Lady Pytha Abraxan who appears to be in the process of resurrecting someone. Asha approaches her, creating a mental link with Lady Abraxan and warns her of Heulwen and Melior’s call to assassinate her. She initially is quite skeptical, asking Asha who she is and who supports her. When Asha fails to give a trustworthy name, remaining mysterious to keep suspicion off of Prince Carnys, Lady Abraxan finds it hard to believe her. It’s worse when a man is clearly dying under the chandelier and must be resurrected, but Lady Abraxan has used the last of her resurrection materials already. She needs to return to her senses now if she intends to keep this man alive, something she voices to those around her.
Alastor jumps into action, begging Laurent Dayne to help him convince Lady Abraxan and speak on his party’s character. However, Laurent is honorable and cannot lie to his Lady Paramount about people which he does not know nor trust. Laurent tells Lady Abraxan that she should be wary, and that the words appear true, but that he cannot speak necessarily on their character. The overload of information seems to impart itself on Lady Abraxan’s mind, but she still makes the decision to cast Teleport. Violet tries to stop her, but fails. With Lady Abraxan gone, the party can only do one thing, run.
Immediately they sprint out of the party, informing Prince Carnys of their plans. He assures them that Princess Aydrea will be on their tails, but that they will be on their own. Together, the party runs to the tent grounds. They are stopped by the same guards which stopped them when they had tried to enter to see Kettlewyck’s body. As they do not have a tent here or serve anyone, they are turned away. Alastor tries to lie for the party, but does not know which noble houses are here to make a believable lie. Eventually, he resorts to bribing the guards, who let them pass with a warning. One of the guards tells Alastor to be careful who he lies about, as House Hrutvor, the name he listed, is surprisingly not in attendance so far. Which does make sense given House Hrutvor’s position as the stronger bordering house between the Everwinter and the Farnorth.
They rush to the Abraxan tent, following the phoenix banners and bright flames towards the source of the action. As they run towards the tent, they don’t hear anything out of the ordinary. When they open the flap of the tent, instead of a bloody combat they see Lady Abraxan and Heulwen speaking. The party has a brief conversation with Heulwen outside of the tent, where she tells Alastor and Celeste that their words resonated. As a daughter of Heliad, notably the God of Order, causing such chaos would go against her morals. She refused to kill Lady Abraxan, and fully expects to die in due time.
In fact, the conversation the party interrupted was a discussion of Heulwen’s execution. She wants to return to the Farsouth to visit the Citadel of High Harkin, a noble place to die. Hearing this news, the party is elated, especially Alastor and Celeste who feel a burden lifting off their shoulders as they realize their words actually meant something. The party briefly stops to discuss with Lady Abraxan, who thanks them for their warning. She tells them that she did take some of their advice, but that it is her responsibility to protect the lords and ladies loyal to her as well as her people. It is the least she can do as they manage parts of her realm.
Lady Abraxan invites them to Abraxus, the capital of the Farsouth, should they even return. However, it’s certainly a little strained, a courteous gesture which all nobles must do. But she does reaffirm that Alastor will not experience any damages should he return to the Farsouth. She cannot say anything about returning to Starfall, but in Corondor there is no double jeopardy. He cannot be punished again for the same crime, and, as a thank you for helping to warn her, she will at the very least make sure he is not killed the moment he steps foot into the region.
This causes Calum to pipe up, nervous of the potential of his father, Lord Farscythe, being in attendance. He aggressively questions Lady Abraxan, causing her to pause and Heulwen to stand in her defense. Calum continues to be jumpy, even more nervous now. But Lady Abraxan remains aloof, not answering his questions until he can tell her why it matters so much. Calum does not give her much information, telling her a little about his heritage before repeating the question—where is Lord Farscythe?
Before he can get an answer, the party, sensing the tension, moves to leave. They grab Calum and make their departure, with a few staying behind to have a handful of parting words with Lady Abraxan.
As they walk out, they’re met with Princess Aydrea, who arrived shortly after them. Gun in hand and missing her shoes, she seems quick on her feet and ready for battle. However, the party lets her know that everything went fine, that no assassination occurred. At the mention of assassination, Aydrea is incredibly confused. It appears that Prince Carnys has left out a few details when he sent Aydrea to follow them. Regardless, she’s happy for the party’s success and safety. She tells them that she’ll relay the message back to Prince Carnys and that she will return with a letter before the end of the night.
The party then heads back to their tent, aside from Celeste who slinks away back to the Manticore for some… stress relief. The night of chaos ends, but the tournament is far from over.
