Session 9 - Lance Macabre
General Summary
The chill of the altar to Touarch, God of the Underworld, dissipates as he makes his return into the mirror. Finally, the party can breathe safely once more, unimpeded by the mounting pressure of a fallen Aspect. Their task weighs heavy on all of their minds. Hemlocke’s life is in the balance and time is running out to save him. It is only with the newfound power of Touarch’s grim boons that the party is able to gather their strength in such a quick amount of time before rushing to the jousting arena.
The party hurried over to the jousting area only to find themselves caught by the guards. Bumbleford almost immediately summons them to her side, and despite trying to slip away, the entire group is brought up to the stands where Bumbleford awaits them. When they reach the stands, the group is able to spot Lord Hemlocke and Kettlewyck preparing for the joust below. Neither have gone atop their horse, but the sight of Hemlocke alone makes the situation tense—especially as they stand next to the lady who aims to kill him.
Lady Bumbleford addresses them with a warning. She tells them she knows exactly why they’re here, and is frankly impressed that they got through her castle so quickly. However, they had made a crucial mistake—taking her shit. She goes one by one, telling them exactly what they had each stolen from her. Should they try to warn Hemlocke of her plans, she fully intends to have them punished in turn. Essentially, it was either their head or Hemlocke’s. No doubt, they were more valuable to her having stolen from her than not.
With this warning in mind, the group acts cautiously as Bumbleford sends them away to assist Hemlocke in setting up for the joust. Calum stays atop the stands, keeping an eye out from above while Asha, Alastor, Violet, and Celeste approach Hemlocke with trepidation.
Hemlocke is friendly while they address him, insisting that they help him set up for the joust. On the other side of the arena, Kettlewyck is nearly done getting ready himself in armor much too big and pride much too small. As Alastor quips about Kettlewyck’s attendants getting paid, Hemlocke gives each a hefty payment for their efforts. While Violet and Alastor attempt to give Hemlocke his money back, he insists.
While Alastor’s plan likely would have worked against a more inexperienced rider, Hemlocke is a talented rider. Although, his opponent was clearly not. While Hemlocke struggled to steady himself on his loose saddle, Kettlewyck struggled to manage to ride his horse at all as the speed was clearly unexpected. In the end, the two knights crashed into each other. Hemlocke was flung from his horse while Kettlewyck and his horse impacted the jousting barrier hard. In the end, both lords were sprawled on the floor, unconscious and bleeding heavily.
Immediately Xavien and Brass Loreflower jump into action, with knights bringing Kettlewyck to be healed while Xavien tries to drag Hemlocke out from the other side of the arena. Alastor tries to stop him, but finds himself out muscled by the would-be Kingsguard. A few attempts are made to heal Hemlocke by Violet and Celeste, however neither manage to wake him.
While the party tries to figure out a way to get past the Loreflowers and reach the increasingly distant Hemlocke, Dustin, Calum’s dueling opponent approaches Xavien. A brief moment passes where Celeste sees Dustin draw his blade as she attempts to heal Hemlocke. However, the blade was not meant for her as to the party’s surprise it sinks into the neck of Xavien Loreflower. In his other hand, the blackened heart Dustin holds beats and the ground shakes with movement as creatures are summoned all around the arena.
As the group springs into action, Alastor is quick to cast Compelled Duel on Dustin, causing the other man’s eye to glaze over and direct his gaze away from Bumbleford and towards Alastor. The “Manticore” jumps from the top of the stands to the ground while the Treevine Blights move around the arena towards either the party or Lady Bumbleford.
Bumbleford moves to protect the general public by creating a dome-like barrier around the top of the arena and vine-like barricades around the arena’s sides. As a result, Dustin and the “Manticore” are trapped inside—but so are Alastor, Celeste, Asha, and Violet. The resulting fight is messy. Alastor and Dustin traded blows, Dustin clearly weaker under the effects of Compelled Duel. Violet was toe-to-toe with a handful of blights which, while undead, were surprisingly resistant to her Channel Divinity. Celeste and Asha fought on the backlines, trying to keep away from incoming blights while either trying to heal Xavien Loreflower or take potshots at the “Manticore.”
In the end, Dustin is able to best Alastor by biting into his neck, dealing much more damage than the average human bite should. Once Alastor went down, the compulsion ended and Dustin raced to trade blows with Lady Bumbleford while the rest of the party tended to the “Manticore.”
Dustin is able to break through Bumbleford’s barrier and attack her, but Bumbleford is able to hoist him magically into the air. She reaches into his coat, grabbing that blackened heart which had been seemingly used to summon the undead creatures which accompanied him. As she took it, Dustin flung himself forward to bite into her forearm in the same way he did with Alastor. However, he was quick to face the consequences of his actions as Bumbleford flung him away to the opposite side of the arena where he hit the vine barriers hard and went prone.
Celeste, just as she did with the Displacer Beasts the day before, aims one final shot at the “Manticore” with her mechanized crossbow that hits it through the eye. The “Manticore” mid swing with its poisonous tail, collapses to the ground in a heap of rot and ichor. With the “Manticore” dead and most of the blights killed in the crossfire of the party and Lady Bumbleford, the last man standing is Dustin.
Realizing he’s lost, Dustin casts Dimension Door, escaping the fight, his injuries just as critical as the parties own. Following his retreat, the party groups together once more. Xavien Loreflower, while in critical condition, had been healed and stabilized just in time by Violet and Celeste to live another day. He is carried away by Brass Loreflower to be healed properly. Now, only the party (minus Calum) and Lady Bumbleford remain around the area.
The party hurried over to the jousting area only to find themselves caught by the guards. Bumbleford almost immediately summons them to her side, and despite trying to slip away, the entire group is brought up to the stands where Bumbleford awaits them. When they reach the stands, the group is able to spot Lord Hemlocke and Kettlewyck preparing for the joust below. Neither have gone atop their horse, but the sight of Hemlocke alone makes the situation tense—especially as they stand next to the lady who aims to kill him.
Lady Bumbleford addresses them with a warning. She tells them she knows exactly why they’re here, and is frankly impressed that they got through her castle so quickly. However, they had made a crucial mistake—taking her shit. She goes one by one, telling them exactly what they had each stolen from her. Should they try to warn Hemlocke of her plans, she fully intends to have them punished in turn. Essentially, it was either their head or Hemlocke’s. No doubt, they were more valuable to her having stolen from her than not.
With this warning in mind, the group acts cautiously as Bumbleford sends them away to assist Hemlocke in setting up for the joust. Calum stays atop the stands, keeping an eye out from above while Asha, Alastor, Violet, and Celeste approach Hemlocke with trepidation.
Hemlocke is friendly while they address him, insisting that they help him set up for the joust. On the other side of the arena, Kettlewyck is nearly done getting ready himself in armor much too big and pride much too small. As Alastor quips about Kettlewyck’s attendants getting paid, Hemlocke gives each a hefty payment for their efforts. While Violet and Alastor attempt to give Hemlocke his money back, he insists.
- Asha, Alastor, and Violet: 75 gold pieces
- Celeste: 50 gold pieces
- Calum: 50 gold pieces (did not pick up)
While Alastor’s plan likely would have worked against a more inexperienced rider, Hemlocke is a talented rider. Although, his opponent was clearly not. While Hemlocke struggled to steady himself on his loose saddle, Kettlewyck struggled to manage to ride his horse at all as the speed was clearly unexpected. In the end, the two knights crashed into each other. Hemlocke was flung from his horse while Kettlewyck and his horse impacted the jousting barrier hard. In the end, both lords were sprawled on the floor, unconscious and bleeding heavily.
Immediately Xavien and Brass Loreflower jump into action, with knights bringing Kettlewyck to be healed while Xavien tries to drag Hemlocke out from the other side of the arena. Alastor tries to stop him, but finds himself out muscled by the would-be Kingsguard. A few attempts are made to heal Hemlocke by Violet and Celeste, however neither manage to wake him.
While the party tries to figure out a way to get past the Loreflowers and reach the increasingly distant Hemlocke, Dustin, Calum’s dueling opponent approaches Xavien. A brief moment passes where Celeste sees Dustin draw his blade as she attempts to heal Hemlocke. However, the blade was not meant for her as to the party’s surprise it sinks into the neck of Xavien Loreflower. In his other hand, the blackened heart Dustin holds beats and the ground shakes with movement as creatures are summoned all around the arena.
Encounter - Dustin, “Manticore” (1), “Treevine Blight” (7)
Atop the spectator stands appears the “Manticore,” a large beast with an unnatural appearance that Violet and Celeste quickly deduce as undead. The other creatures are similarly undead summons. The four on the ground quickly spring into action. Brass Loreflower runs to his fallen nephew while Lady Bumbleford assists from a vantage point on the stands. Calum, on the other hand, finds a way to sneak down and trail wherever Hemlocke is being taken. Instead of fighting, he follows Lady Woodhollow and a band of commoners as Hemlocke and Kettlewyck are taken into Lady Bumbleford’s castle.As the group springs into action, Alastor is quick to cast Compelled Duel on Dustin, causing the other man’s eye to glaze over and direct his gaze away from Bumbleford and towards Alastor. The “Manticore” jumps from the top of the stands to the ground while the Treevine Blights move around the arena towards either the party or Lady Bumbleford.
Bumbleford moves to protect the general public by creating a dome-like barrier around the top of the arena and vine-like barricades around the arena’s sides. As a result, Dustin and the “Manticore” are trapped inside—but so are Alastor, Celeste, Asha, and Violet. The resulting fight is messy. Alastor and Dustin traded blows, Dustin clearly weaker under the effects of Compelled Duel. Violet was toe-to-toe with a handful of blights which, while undead, were surprisingly resistant to her Channel Divinity. Celeste and Asha fought on the backlines, trying to keep away from incoming blights while either trying to heal Xavien Loreflower or take potshots at the “Manticore.”
In the end, Dustin is able to best Alastor by biting into his neck, dealing much more damage than the average human bite should. Once Alastor went down, the compulsion ended and Dustin raced to trade blows with Lady Bumbleford while the rest of the party tended to the “Manticore.”
Dustin is able to break through Bumbleford’s barrier and attack her, but Bumbleford is able to hoist him magically into the air. She reaches into his coat, grabbing that blackened heart which had been seemingly used to summon the undead creatures which accompanied him. As she took it, Dustin flung himself forward to bite into her forearm in the same way he did with Alastor. However, he was quick to face the consequences of his actions as Bumbleford flung him away to the opposite side of the arena where he hit the vine barriers hard and went prone.
Celeste, just as she did with the Displacer Beasts the day before, aims one final shot at the “Manticore” with her mechanized crossbow that hits it through the eye. The “Manticore” mid swing with its poisonous tail, collapses to the ground in a heap of rot and ichor. With the “Manticore” dead and most of the blights killed in the crossfire of the party and Lady Bumbleford, the last man standing is Dustin.
Realizing he’s lost, Dustin casts Dimension Door, escaping the fight, his injuries just as critical as the parties own. Following his retreat, the party groups together once more. Xavien Loreflower, while in critical condition, had been healed and stabilized just in time by Violet and Celeste to live another day. He is carried away by Brass Loreflower to be healed properly. Now, only the party (minus Calum) and Lady Bumbleford remain around the area.
