Dramatis Personæ
Brother Mendel (Herodian)
Dane Sardock (Winston)
Gabriel Auditore (Rigil Kent)
Gestlin the Unpredictable (CommJunkee)
Magnifico the Clown (Feste)
Rainald North-Hammer (Gigermann)
Of Diplomacy and Intimidation
23 Apr 2014
Brother Mendel met with the rest of the Heroes for breakfast in the common room of the Crimson Mug Inn and showed them the threatening note he had discovered next to his bed, secreted in the night by someone he believed to be a Templar brother-knight, a near-certainty given his Seeker vision and Gabriel’s reconnaissance from the previous day; they deduced the enemy’s location in the vision to be the same tower in town to which Gabriel had followed “Valorus’” Templar escort. They briefly discussed kidnapping the Templar from his bed in the tower using a portal, as they had in the past when Pachacuti traveled with them, but Brother Mendel considered the difficulty of the “weave” and determined it was beyond his skill. Instead, they decided to meet with Aamir Rachmani as promised, at the estate of Proximo, and perhaps draw their foes out of the shadows as they conducted their business for the day. As they were expecting trouble, they geared up for a fight before they left.
The Heroes traveled through the city without incident, across the river, to arrive at Proximo’s impressive estate. They were met there at the gate by a guard, who took their names and escorted them to a nearby garden area where he introduced them all to Proximo and Aamir. They were offered food and drink by their host, and got straight to business, though not initially regarding the dragon show as was expected—the Heroes instead inquired of Proximo what he might know of Lord Wallace, the Templars, and slavery in-general, telling him of their mission to find the wayward baron. Brother Mendel presented as payment the enchanted necklace they had recovered at Ferrier upon their return from the Otherworld, a “priceless” artifact that granted the wearer special favor with the opposite gender when under the light of the moon; he offered to allow Proximo to wear the necklace out that night to prove its effects. Proximo was so impressed by the gift that he told them much of what he knew (but not all, as he appeared to hold something back), and promised to speak to his many contacts in the area on the matter. When the subject was eventually changed to the dragons, the Heroes expressed a willingness to perform at Bannock, as the event would likely prove useful to their mission. Proximo was almost insistent that they perform in the arena, with the dragons fighting slaves, but Heroes were reluctant to shed blood needlessly, lest the dragons should make a habit of it. Magnifico swore that Brother Mendel’s illusions would be more than adequate to appease the bloodthirsty crowd, but before Proximo would relent, he desired a private performance to prove its “realism”; Magnifico agreed to a demonstration on the morrow, at the estate.
The Heroes left Proximo’s manor satisfied of their success, and started toward the docks to inform Captain Finn they would tarry another day or two. As they left the gate, a suspicious fellow was spotted down the street a bit, inattentively carving a piece of wood while not-so-discreetly observing their activities. Gabriel brazenly strode toward the man to ask him his business; the man at first tried to pretend to innocence in lacing up his boot, then broke into a run down an alley as Gabriel neared him; Gabriel decided to let him go.
Rainald spoke to Captain Finn, and after helping get Gestlin’s wagon loaded back on the ship, spent the day talking with the other sailors here and there on the docks, doing loading work, and fishing for a while, to feed the dragons. At the same time, Gestlin opted to make use of the Mages’ Guild in town to learn some new spells, taking Brother Mendel to aid his studies; Gabriel followed along to watch their backs. The time passed without incident.
As evening approached, the Heroes assembled back at the Crimson Mug. As they arrived, a youth seated on a barrel outside the tavern door jumped down to deliver a written message—upon reading, it said they should meet with Proximo at a monastery just outside town at sunset. The Heroes suspected a trap—perhaps just naturally suspicious—and girded themselves for battle before setting out on foot for the monastery; Gabriel knew the place.
As the sun settled and the shadows grew long, the Heroes strode boldly down the secluded riverside path leading up to the monastery. They spotted an overturned wagon up the path, and presumed it to be the inevitable ambush spot. They spotted a tiny light flitting about in the trees above, identifying it as a pixie (having encountered them before in the Harkwood), before it disappeared into the foliage ahead of them. Then the ambushers revealed themselves; first, a handful of crossbowmen emerged from a high cliff to one side of the road, followed shortly by riders appearing from (figuratively) nowhere before and behind them, all bearing Templar colors. The Heroes were boxed in by the cliff, the riders, and the river, and they took up a defensive stance; Gabriel darted into the shadows next to the fallen cart and disappeared from view, while Gestlin readied an Explosive Fireball and held it. One of the Templars to the fore rode forward a step or two, the pixie they saw before now resting atop his horse’s head; he addressed the Heroes, demanding they lay down arms and surrender or be slain. A few of the Heroes questioned their ability to best such a band, but held fast, wondering internally if this would be their end; after a minute or two of blustering back and forth, Dane, atop a large boulder, impatiently loosed an arrow at the Templars’ leader. Action ensued.
The Leader ducked below Dane’s arrow, but Gestlin threw his ready Fireball at his horse’s feet, releasing a massive fiery explosion, felling the horse and setting the Leader ablaze. The mounted Templars bearing sword-and-shield charged the Heroes, while those bearing two-handed swords quickly dismounted and rushed in on foot; the crossbowmen loosed their arrows at the Heroes’ casters; none were struck, but Gestlin had to dive to the ground and crawl for the cover of the boulder. Then the unthinkable happened:
[“Sir” Magnifico] begins a dance hereafter to be enshrined in Anglish dictionaries under “suggestive,” though perhaps it commands rather than suggests. His sinuous, liquid movements awaken something primal in the human soul, evoking dim racial memories of Lovecraftian horrors beyond time. The concepts involved confront vows of piety, obedience and chastity and evert them—the very concepts of right and wrong lose, for a long, horrid moment, all semblance of meaning…
To be continued…
Notes
- The Necklace was a random bit of treasure we ended up finding in the ruin of Ferrier, our first stop after we returned from the Huallapan homeworld—the Vasa had razed the town, and had no use for treasure, so everything was left behind; Mendel was later able to identify the necklace’s properties. We had all but forgotten we had it
- The PCs really have no intention of touring Al-Wazif right now, though they won’t burn any bridges in that regard, as it may be useful before or after they recover Lord Wallace; however, having the show set up in Bannock is good for the mission, so we definitely wanted the sponsorship there, as well as Proximo’s slaver contacts. We spent a good bit of time thinking of ways to give the audience a vision of bloodshed while still being able to say, “No slaves were harmed during the performance of this show” afterward
- Dane was ready to take a shot at the spy outside Proximo’s estate, sparking a discussion about whether or not one could hide or disguise that sort of thing with an Illusion spell (Mendel doesn’t have proper Invisibility yet)
- We had a brief encounter with pixies in Harkwood in Book I; some of the PCs lost some silver to their sticky fingers, but Gabriel (at least) gave some shiny up willingly—otherwise, the encounter was benign. It did have us expecting an Elvish ambush, though, until the Templars revealed themselves
- Magnifico’s Infernal Dance was intended by his player to distract the crossbowmen from being able to effectively fire upon the other PCs, being unable to look upon the spectacle directly. Mags didn’t have any skill/spell/etc. to allow for that effect by RAW, though it certainly did draw attention. I think it had a greater effect on the players listening to its description—bear in mind that Magnifico is an old man, Unattractive and Hunchbacked, wearing a jester’s bright, silly-looking garb—and it was suggested he might be using Rainald’s spear as a stripper-pole. Just for giggles, the GM made everyone viewing it roll a Fright Check, the results of which included more than one Critical Failure
- We ended up stopping for the night mid-combat; I decided to defer the report until next time, to put it all together into one
