Session 34 - A Feast for War
General Summary
The session begins with the party shopping during their downtime, compared to their opponents, their magical gear has been lacking. Furthermore, Prince Carnys, as said when they first arrived in the Crownlands, makes good on his offer to provide them with any necessary magical items to make their ability to complete the mission easier.
Prince Carnys provides the party with:
Violet, Celeste, and Calum are curious as to who the Undertaker really is behind the mask, and why they are here in the same place every morning. The Undertaker informs the party that the grave he stands above is “ours.” When Calum presses to find whether the Undertaker is alive or not, they reply that they are alive in all the ways which matter. If they are not yet forgotten, then they have never truly died.
In the end, they provide the Undertaker with the location of the outside of the tunnel and where it leads. They all decide to give no further information. By working with the Undertaker, the party keeps in good standing with the Consecrants, but giving too much would lead to complications with their friends in the castle. As a result, the safest option was to provide the Undertaker with only what they had promised in their deal.
When they returned back to the barracks, the party was relieved to find themselves without any particular mission, at least for now. There were about two-weeks before Melior Ljonguard’s trial-by-combat where Ser Laurent Dayne, representing the accuser, Lady Paramount Abraxan, is set to fight Yara Ljonguard, representing Melior. Without anything to do, the party finds ways to keep themselves busy.
Celeste spends most of her downtime in the castle, notably the royal library and archives. While not as grand as the Scalescend Academy, the royal library holds many notable historical texts. As a result, she’s able to understand the general movements of both the royals and the visiting nobility.
Lady Licht Gadiel, unlike all other nobles, spends most of her time in solitude. She never leaves her rooms unless she is to meet with another noble. This is useful information for Celeste as she had been meaning to present Licht with an apology gift for her behavior during their last meeting. Her emotional outburst at seeing one of the former Lord Paramount Robin Ayr’s feathered quills in Licht’s possession was something Celeste intended to apologize for. She had spent some time gathering goods of the Everwinter to give Licht a hopeful taste of home.
When she went to deliver it, ideally without meeting with Licht face-to-face, she had been called from behind the door to enter the rooms. With Licht was Szorvyr Dro’Ungul, although Celeste had not noticed Szorvyr ever walk towards Licht’s room in the halls. Szorvyr has Celeste apologize in person and give Licht her gift, allowing Celeste the opportunity to see Licht studying a copper coin in her hand. The exchange is overall strange, sending Celeste back to the library further renewed to follow the movements of everyone important in the castle.
Celeste is able to follow the movements of Prince Carnys, Lady Paramount Pytha Abraxan, Lady Alecto Nevertide, and Lady Leora Ljonguard.
Prince Carnys is easy to follow, given that he walks with his glaive hitting the floor with each step. It's easy enough to know where Prince Carnys goes without looking up from her book, and wherever he goes, Jayme is often soon to follow. Prince Carnys constantly travels around the castle, meeting with nobility and his father. Never can Celeste go very long without hearing Carnys travel somewhere. Frankly, she does not know if he ever trances.
Lady Paramount Abraxan is also quite easy, given her slew of guards following her. Never since Melior’s assassination attempt has she traveled anywhere without at least three guards flanking her. She can often be seen meeting with nobility as well, but most of her routine is centered around visiting Alecto and Licht for conversations about their alliance. She’s also met with the usual suspects within the Crownlands such as Prince Carnys and Lady Paramount Szorvyr Dro’Ungul, likely attempting to get them to join her alliance.
Lady Alecto is not as easy, given her light footsteps and happenstance to simply wander the castle rather than vie for any official meetings. She meets on occasion with any who want to speak with her, namely Lady Paramount Abraxan and Lady Leora Ljonguard. But otherwise, Alecto spends a lot of time outside or away from the castle. She always stands close to the grounds, but seemingly prefers to be out of the court politics at the moment.
Lady Leora Ljonguard, like Prince Carnys, is always walking through the halls. She holds meetings with many Crownland nobles and can often be spotted accompanying the royal family around the castle. Leora seems to find the company of Princess Aydrea, Prince Lucerys, and even King Rahaevor quite often. She’s a common face in court, making herself, and her family’s generosity, known throughout court.
Eventually, during the start of one of these people-watching sessions, Celeste spots Lady Abraxan heading into Alecto Nevertide’s room. However, Celeste can very easily recall having seen Alecto outside as she came into the castle standing next to a suspicious-looking guard who Celeste could only presume to be Kit. Alecto had not come inside after her, and Celeste did not remember seeing her pass either. She ran back out to check, and sure enough there Alecto was.
Celeste asked Alecto if she had some sort of meeting scheduled, but Alecto had no answer for her. Something was certainly afoot, and Celeste rushed to contact the group as she walked with Alecto to check on her room. When she arrived, she found nothing out of the ordinary except for a copper coin which had not been there when Alecto first arrived—most certainly the work of Szorvyr Dro’Ungul. When she inquired about it, Alecto simply said that she had received the coin long before.
Alecto mumbles about how “the stench of war haunts these halls” but provides no further information of use, continuing to mumble about how “beneath the earth golden crowns keep their vigil.”
Eventually, the rest of the party arrives to search the room. Calum and Celeste take a closer look around while Violet attempts to soothe Alecto. As Calum searches around the bookshelf and finds light threads of silk—spider silk. They cover a few of the books, the ones the party can intuit that Alecto is most likely to pick up.
Prince Carnys provides the party with:
- Rings of Shared Stealth
- Bag of Holding
- Sending Stones
- Goggles of Night Vision
- Jewels of Shared Luck
- Broom of Flying (Violet)
- Talking Doll (Violet)
- +1 Rod of the Pact Keeper (Asha)
- Scroll of Revivify (Asha)
- Helm of Comprehending Languages (Celeste)
- Light Hammer of Warning (Celeste)
- Cloak of Elvenking (Calum)
- Scroll of Dispel Magic (Calum)
Violet, Celeste, and Calum are curious as to who the Undertaker really is behind the mask, and why they are here in the same place every morning. The Undertaker informs the party that the grave he stands above is “ours.” When Calum presses to find whether the Undertaker is alive or not, they reply that they are alive in all the ways which matter. If they are not yet forgotten, then they have never truly died.
In the end, they provide the Undertaker with the location of the outside of the tunnel and where it leads. They all decide to give no further information. By working with the Undertaker, the party keeps in good standing with the Consecrants, but giving too much would lead to complications with their friends in the castle. As a result, the safest option was to provide the Undertaker with only what they had promised in their deal.
When they returned back to the barracks, the party was relieved to find themselves without any particular mission, at least for now. There were about two-weeks before Melior Ljonguard’s trial-by-combat where Ser Laurent Dayne, representing the accuser, Lady Paramount Abraxan, is set to fight Yara Ljonguard, representing Melior. Without anything to do, the party finds ways to keep themselves busy.
Celeste spends most of her downtime in the castle, notably the royal library and archives. While not as grand as the Scalescend Academy, the royal library holds many notable historical texts. As a result, she’s able to understand the general movements of both the royals and the visiting nobility.
Lady Licht Gadiel, unlike all other nobles, spends most of her time in solitude. She never leaves her rooms unless she is to meet with another noble. This is useful information for Celeste as she had been meaning to present Licht with an apology gift for her behavior during their last meeting. Her emotional outburst at seeing one of the former Lord Paramount Robin Ayr’s feathered quills in Licht’s possession was something Celeste intended to apologize for. She had spent some time gathering goods of the Everwinter to give Licht a hopeful taste of home.
When she went to deliver it, ideally without meeting with Licht face-to-face, she had been called from behind the door to enter the rooms. With Licht was Szorvyr Dro’Ungul, although Celeste had not noticed Szorvyr ever walk towards Licht’s room in the halls. Szorvyr has Celeste apologize in person and give Licht her gift, allowing Celeste the opportunity to see Licht studying a copper coin in her hand. The exchange is overall strange, sending Celeste back to the library further renewed to follow the movements of everyone important in the castle.
Celeste is able to follow the movements of Prince Carnys, Lady Paramount Pytha Abraxan, Lady Alecto Nevertide, and Lady Leora Ljonguard.
Prince Carnys is easy to follow, given that he walks with his glaive hitting the floor with each step. It's easy enough to know where Prince Carnys goes without looking up from her book, and wherever he goes, Jayme is often soon to follow. Prince Carnys constantly travels around the castle, meeting with nobility and his father. Never can Celeste go very long without hearing Carnys travel somewhere. Frankly, she does not know if he ever trances.
Lady Paramount Abraxan is also quite easy, given her slew of guards following her. Never since Melior’s assassination attempt has she traveled anywhere without at least three guards flanking her. She can often be seen meeting with nobility as well, but most of her routine is centered around visiting Alecto and Licht for conversations about their alliance. She’s also met with the usual suspects within the Crownlands such as Prince Carnys and Lady Paramount Szorvyr Dro’Ungul, likely attempting to get them to join her alliance.
Lady Alecto is not as easy, given her light footsteps and happenstance to simply wander the castle rather than vie for any official meetings. She meets on occasion with any who want to speak with her, namely Lady Paramount Abraxan and Lady Leora Ljonguard. But otherwise, Alecto spends a lot of time outside or away from the castle. She always stands close to the grounds, but seemingly prefers to be out of the court politics at the moment.
Lady Leora Ljonguard, like Prince Carnys, is always walking through the halls. She holds meetings with many Crownland nobles and can often be spotted accompanying the royal family around the castle. Leora seems to find the company of Princess Aydrea, Prince Lucerys, and even King Rahaevor quite often. She’s a common face in court, making herself, and her family’s generosity, known throughout court.
Eventually, during the start of one of these people-watching sessions, Celeste spots Lady Abraxan heading into Alecto Nevertide’s room. However, Celeste can very easily recall having seen Alecto outside as she came into the castle standing next to a suspicious-looking guard who Celeste could only presume to be Kit. Alecto had not come inside after her, and Celeste did not remember seeing her pass either. She ran back out to check, and sure enough there Alecto was.
Celeste asked Alecto if she had some sort of meeting scheduled, but Alecto had no answer for her. Something was certainly afoot, and Celeste rushed to contact the group as she walked with Alecto to check on her room. When she arrived, she found nothing out of the ordinary except for a copper coin which had not been there when Alecto first arrived—most certainly the work of Szorvyr Dro’Ungul. When she inquired about it, Alecto simply said that she had received the coin long before.
Alecto mumbles about how “the stench of war haunts these halls” but provides no further information of use, continuing to mumble about how “beneath the earth golden crowns keep their vigil.”
Eventually, the rest of the party arrives to search the room. Calum and Celeste take a closer look around while Violet attempts to soothe Alecto. As Calum searches around the bookshelf and finds light threads of silk—spider silk. They cover a few of the books, the ones the party can intuit that Alecto is most likely to pick up.
