Tag: A Beauclair Delegation

Previously, the heroes decided to help Céleste deal with an intruder into her shops wine cellar, only to discover that Sadwick, Atilesceon’s former familiar, had been left behind by Daerlan saboteurs. Luca tricked Sadwick in sharing a lot of information about the perpetrators and rewarding him by with a banishment back to the Nine Hells.

Sixth Day, Second Ride, Autumn Twilight, 1262

(Silvermoon is waning, Bloodmoon is in low sanction, Darkmoon is waxing)

After departing the wine cellars underneath Céleste’s shop the heroes decided that it was time to visit the Newport Vault and that it would be an excellent place to store Muirgheal. And so, before heading to the Careless Wanderer to prepare for a trip to the vault, the heroes headed towards the river to visit the Baths of Sedna, the place of worship lead by Emma.

After being welcomed by Dagmær, the heroes were brought to Emma’s private chambers inside the bath halls. Emma warned Quentin, who was taking the lead in the conversation, that she was in harmony with the bitterness of Winter, and that the troubled dreams induced by Muirgheal were weighing her down. A visible weight fell off Emma’s shoulders when Quentin explained that the heroes had come to take custody of the trident.

The conversation turned more pleasant once Emma had parted with the weapon. She explained that she was determined to stand in opposition of Epidemius, which was wryly accepted by Quentin.

“If your eagerness has turned to resolve, then you should make good use of it.”
– Quentin Morvrayne to Emma Desmarais

The heroes discussed Epidemius’ influence on the city, the resurgence of the plague maidens, and the burden on the sick and the wounded. Emma’s devotion to the Lady of Lakes would be very invaluable in opposition of the Lord of Decay.

The conversation turned to Queen Isabella, and what was happening inside the palace, and Emma suggested that Bláthnaid, the spring which had its origins deep within Garamond Hill upon which the palace stood, and which was responsible for feeding the water gardens, might be a good source of information. She insisted that Bláthnaid had an awareness of much of what went on within the palace walls.

The heroes departed the bath house, taking Muirgheal with them, and returned to the Careless Wanderer where they enjoyed the warmth of the hearth and a modest meal. Quentin spoke with Céleste, who was still drowning herself in wine, and explained that the heroes had taken care of the problem in her cellars. Showing the her some tough love, Quentin convinced her to rebuild her business and prepare for Pip’s recovery from her injuries. Céleste seemed to take this to heart and went to freshen up before leaving the warm embrace of the Careless Wanderer’s warm hearth and bad wine.

Quentin shared his suspicion of Monsieur Beauregard’s complicity in the attack on Céleste and Pip’s wine shop, as well as the sabotaging of the royal wine cellars. He even suspected him of orchestrating the bandit raids on the overland deliveries, as well as the pirate attacks on the overseas shipments. The vandalism had left only Beauclair wines spared, and some of their bottles had gone missing. While he did not have any proof, Quentin knew enough of how the spymasters of the noble houses of Beauclair operated to recognise their signature.

Chakuq shared that he picked up a slender rod which had been discarded by Sadwick during the short fight in the cellar, and Luca added it to the ever-growing list of curious items which needed to be investigated. He then convinced everyone that it was time for them to head down to the vault underneath Kingsport. Falka was nowhere to be found, so the heroes figured they would need to find James in order to get inside. They packed up what they felt they needed and headed out to find Goodman just off Steward’s Square. If anyone could get in contact with James, the heroes reasoned it was him. It turned out to be less complicated than that, as Goodman referred them to the Silver Cross, a brothel in a part of Northside referred to as The Lace.

They were admitted entrance by a Carcerian named Samuel, who knew James well and was convinced by Luca that they were close friends with James. Inside there were people of leisure talking and flirting with potential customers. After being granted passage by the mistress of the Silver Cross, Samuel lead the heroes down to the basement where there was an entrance to what the Carcerian referred to as the “underthing”, which was a shaft leading into the waterways.

The heroes learned that Falka used this entrance to the waterways to get to the vault, and had taken a boat that usually was moored at the bottom of the shaft. Having to do a lot of walking through the muck, Chakuq scavenged a pair of old boots from the basement so that he could keep his own boots clean. After a receiving some directions, the heroes headed down.

Neamhan, unwilling to get herself dirty by wading through sewage, transfigured into a raven and perched on Quentin’s shoulder. Luca used Blackstar to illuminate the passages they travelled through, but instead of it emitting light, it absorbed the darkness. It did not take long before the heroes arrived at a landing in front of a walled archway. A small boat was moored on the landing. Unfortunately, it was not immediately apparent how to get beyond the archway.

Previously, the heroes decided to press Céleste for more information on the attack on her shop. She revealed that a demonic creature had been left behind by the intruders, which had taken up residency among the destroyed stock of the wine cellar. The heroes decided to investigate.

Sixth Day, Second Ride, Autumn Twilight, 1262

(Silvermoon is waning, Bloodmoon is in low sanction, Darkmoon is waxing)

Céleste’s wine cellar was a heavy, vaulted basement with a mezzanine that ran all the way around it. It was old; clearly once part of the ancient waterways and built with the same materials and in the same style. The shaft of the ox-driven dumbwaiter that lowered the heroes from the surface to the cellar was etched with faded runes, which Emrys and Luca recognised as wards of abjuration, once used to secure the waterways against incursions. Faded and eroded statues of winged warriors stood in archways along the mezzanine, further proof of the cellar’s age.

The cellars themselves were chaos; shelves pushed over, bottles broken, and barrels smashed. There was a sour stench in the air, coming from burgundy puddles of stale wine on stained stones where it had not been washed down the drains which connected the cellar to the waterways.

The enormous shadow of a horned creature with leathery wings was project against one of the walls, originating from behind one of the wine racks, and a booming voice demanded the heroes identify themselves. Most of the heroes were curious rather than intimidated. They had faced adversaries from the outer planes before and felt all the more confident for it. Chakuq melt away into the shadows and started to circle around to the other side of the wine rack, while Quentin called for the creature to show themselves. This was met with threats.

“I will slit you open and splash around inside you like a child playing in a muddy puddle. I’ll string a fiddle with your guts and make you play it while I dance.”

Luca engaged the creature in its native tongue and quickly managed to identify it as Sadwick, the once familiar to Atilesceon the Artificer, whom the heroes defeated in the realm of Old Llygad. It form was small and slender, with leathery wings and a vicious looking stinger as a tail, and certainly not nearly as intimidating as the big shadow that it cast suggested.

Before its identity was established, Sadwick engaged in a battle of insults with Neamhan, properly rubbing her the wrong way. And while it was being approached by Quentin from one side, and Chakuq from the other, it used a slender rod made of engraved silver to summon a large beast of burden, must like the one that Epidemius rode on steward’s square. Quentin quickly engaged the beast, together with some of the other heroes, and found that the beast’s rider, a woman dressed in shepherd’s clothes and wooden shoes, had also materialised with the beast. She was quickly cut down by Quentin, which revealed her to have radiant, pupilless eyes; something which troubled the young knight.

With a combined effort, spearheaded by Neamhan and her connections to wind and air, the beast was quickly put down. Luca dealt the killing blow, using Blackstar as a conduit for his magic, and predictably a jolt of excruciating pain ran through his body as he absorbed some of the creature’s vital energy, reinvigorating himself through clenched teeth. Neamhan disapproves of what Luca has done, and tells him that “it is better to fade with the leaves, than to steal the root’s breath.”

Chakuq, Luca, and Neamhan worked together to capture Sadwick, who turns out to be a foul-mouthed, cantankerous little prick who constantly belittles Quentin and takes the piss out of Neamhan. In return for a promise to let him leave the cellar unharmed, Sadwick explains that he was brought to the cellar a group of Daerlanian infiltrators. They had been smuggled from the Fields of Strife, through Northshire, and into Kingsport by the Procyon, a group of elven outlaws under the leadership of Cendelius, a notorious bandit that some of the heroes had come in conflict with in Allenham, on their way to Pinefall.

Jeroen, a familiar Kingsport ruffian was among the Daerlanians, as was a Lyrian warlock by the name of Tiberius. It was that warlock who had summoned and bound Sadwick, and it was his intention to leave the imp behind to make it seem as if the perpetrators of the vandalism were devil worshippers, possibly the Cult of the Dark Queen. Tiberius was described as a balding man with a neatly trimmed  white beard and icy blue eyes.

After smashing up the wine shop and its cellar, they intended to infiltrate the royal palace. The heroes had already learned that the royal cellars were infested with wood worm, which had laid waste to the royal wine stores.

After some investigation it was clear that not all the wines had been destroyed, but certainly most of it. The wines that survived all happened to be Beauclairois, but since that was the most popular source of high quality, well-regarded wine, that could be a coincidence. Sadwick also shared that the Daerlanians took one bottle from each surviving vintage.

This, coupled with the Sadwick’s claim that while travelling to Kingsport, the Daerlanians were in frequent contact with an employer, told Quentin that Monsieur Beauregard was behind it all. He just could not understand how or why he had set all of that in motion.

Luca, true to his word, repaid Sadwick by letting him leave the cellar unharmed… but not quite in the way that Sadwick had intended to leave. The young warlock had created a powerful arcane circle around Sadwick and banished the imp back to the Nine Hells.

With their work at the wine shop done, the heroes departed for the Careless Wanderer, keen to inform Céleste that they had taken care of the problem.

Previously, the heroes spent an evening at the Careless Wanderer together with Lord Andrew, trading rumours, playing songs, and enjoying each other’s company. Chakuq went on an excursion to validate the presence of the restless dead in the city, and Quentin sent a discrete invitation to Ser Croy, his father’s master-at-arms, to join him for a conversation the following day.

Sixth Day, Second Ride, Autumn Twilight, 1262

(Silvermoon is waning, Bloodmoon is in low sanction, Darkmoon is waxing)

The first of the heroes to wake up on a calm but bitter-cold morning is Neamhan, who shapes into a cat to take a stroll around a dark Kingsport. She followed the smell of rats to a sewer drain. As the rest of the heroes slowly wake, Ramsey is experimenting in the kitchen with a new cream filling for his sugar wheels.

Quentin, still shaken from a stressful dream, cut himself while shaving and was reminded of the maiden, the mother, and the crone chanting “sangreal” and was left wondering how it related to the Blood of Alban. In the taproom he met Dame Pauline who was getting ready to depart for the Black Alder Farm. Quentin sensed a tension in the bannerette, but could not discover the reason for it.

Luca was roused from a bad night of sleep by a presence in his room. He reached out for Blackstar, for without the staff in hand he was not gifted with dark sight, and heard the voice of Aurion; “The staff has become a crutch for you, Luca.” Once Luca realised his patron has graced him with a visit, relief and trepidation filled him in equal measure. Aurion was keen to understand what the status was of the tablets the heroes had recovered, as well as where Luca stood on subjugating Blackstar. Luca’s patron suggested that Quentin and his devotion to the Raven Queen would align with his own goals in the near future, which the celestial suggested lay somewhere in the east.

Chakuq decided to sleep in and woke up well past eight bell. After a modest breakfast he spoke to Wojciech about finding a jeweller or gem cutter to carve the teeth he had harvested from Epidemius’ mount into talismans. He was given a name, Eustace, who operated from a small workshop in Southside, just off the Street of Spices.

Lord Andrew also spent the night at the Wanderer and has a vicious hangover. Neamhan, still in her cat form, comforted him by sitting in his lap. His face brightened up briefly as he said that it didn’t happen often that a beautiful woman wanted to sit in his lap, but when the flirtation passed the misery of his hangover returned on his face as he continued to pick at his breakfast.

Emrys came down after spending some time in the peace and comfort of his luxurious room. He made sure to freshen up, and take a deep breath of fresh air from his balcony before coming down, and was delighted to see that he was doing significantly better than his dilettante friend, Andrew.

Astrid was last to come down and was carrying some of her travelling gear. She grabbed a quick bite off the table and announced that she’d be spending a few days on a barge, travelling up and down the river Lyn with Aram the boatsman. Before she hurried out she gave Neamhan a couple of scratches behind the ear and spoke to her in a way that gave Neamhan the impression that they were able to communicate, despite Neamhan having adopted her cat form. Astrid was out the door before Neamhan was able to discover the truth of it.

After the heroes broke their fast, the conversation turned to next steps, and the heroes decided to refocus themselves on the Liber Bubonicus, which they believed might reside in the Upright Man’s library in the Newport vault. Chakuq had a lot of questions about the vault, and Emrys explained some of the basics, including vault guardians.

When Céleste once again came into the taproom, Quentin decided to have a word with her. She shared more of the details of the attack on her shop and how Pip got so badly wounded. She believed there was a connection to the Steady Hand, since she had recognised Jeroen the Daerlanian as one of the people vandalising her shop. The group that was responsible had also left something demonic behind in her basement.

The heroes retreated to Emrys’ room to talk in private about the problem with the wine shop. Neamhan pleaded that, after days of inaction and indecision, finally a problem presented itself that the heroes could quite easily solve; exorcise the demon from the cellar of the wine shop.

Before departure, the heroes did continue to discuss the attack on the wine shop. Oddly, not all wine had been destroyed, but about eight in ten bottles and barrels were destroyed, and of the remaining wine, samples had been stolen. Neamhan recalled that there was an odd incident at the diplomatic delegation from Beauclair, where a quartermaster has lost his thumbs because he disobeyed the strict orders not to part with any of the delegation’s wine. That, coupled with the wine shipments from Carceres lost to pirates, and from Beauclair and Daerlan lost to brigands, there was an uncommon level of scarcity of wine. It felt as if someone was out to manipulate the market.

The heroes were determined to do something good for Céleste and hopefully discover more that would unravel the mystery of the wine shortage. They prepared their gear and took the keys they were given by Céleste and headed over to the shop.

Once at the shop they gained entrance to the shop and found it in disarray. There were two trapdoors which lead into the cellar, but neither could be opened with the keys they were given. In the courtyard behind the shop they found an ox-drawn dumbwaiter that lead down into the wine cellar.

Neamhan had a chat with the ox, whose name was Rudolph, who could explain that there was an angry creature in the cellar who was getting steadily drunk on the spilled wine. Rudolph also explained that not all of the intruders went into the shop or the cellar, but that one of them, an elf, stayed outside.

When the heroes used the dumbwaiter to descend into the cellar, they found that there were faded wards carved into the walls of the elevator shaft. It was clear from the type of stone that the walls were made of that the cellar was once part of the halls which lead to the vault. This was supported by the old statues of winged warriors that could be seen when the cellar, which was in as much disarray as the shop, came into view.

After careful inspection a booming voice could be heard, demanding that the heroes identify themselves. The voice came from behind a large cabinet, and a large shadow of a winged creature with wicked horns could be seen on the wall behind it.

Previously, after returning from the diplomatic delegation at Black Alder farm, the heroes spent the evening talking in the Careless Wanderer. Neamhan got better acquainted with Toruviel, who appeared to have been of the aen gwynt, in its mortal years.

Fifth Day, Second Ride, Autumn Twilight, 1262

(Silvermoon is waning, Bloodmoon is in low sanction, Darkmoon is waxing)

Previously, Quentin and the heroes visited the diplomatic delegation from Beauclair at the Black Alder farm north of Kingsport. Lord Dorian’s mood, while initially warm and welcoming, quickly turned hard when it appeared that his goals were not aligned with those of his son.

Fifth Day, Second Ride, Autumn Twilight, 1262

(Silvermoon is waning, Bloodmoon is in low sanction, Darkmoon is waxing)

The city was cold and empty as night was falling. Crownsguard were hurrying people along, back to their houses, while lamplighters were tending to the lanterns and braziers that kept the main streets lit. The warnings of the crownsguard about the resurgence of plague maidens in Grimsdown was echoing in their minds as the heroes arrived back at the Careless Wanderer. Inside, it was warm and inviting, with several regulars quietly spending time together. Lord Andrew had come by, eager to hear the gossip from the delegation. Dame Pauline was dining by herself. Falka had her feet up at the hearth while reclined in a chair, reading through a stack of books she had brought back from the vault. And Céleste was seated by herself, enjoying a glass of wine while staring out of a window at the darkness beyond.

The heroes spent some time discussing the resurgence of the plague maidens in the city. Chakuq and Neamhan had never heard of them, let alone encountered them, so the rest of the companions were able to share what they knew. Plague maidens, also called pesta by some, were spirits that were drawn to sites of disease and death and carried pestilence in their wake. It was clear to all that in order to get rid of the plague maidens the underlying problem would need to be addressed, which seemed to be the grasp that Epidemius still had on the city.

Emrys had a flashback to the things he saw on the other side of the portal through which Epidemius wanted to make his escape. Feeling unsettled he made his way to the bar where he, together with Durham and Lord Andrew, shared a glass of mediocre wine. It was the best that the tavern could offer because Céleste had bought up all the decent wines, seemingly in the entire city! It was clear to Chakuq, who had gotten the slightest glimpse of what lay beyond the portal, understood what had shaken Emrys to such stillness. The Silesian noticed the slightest tremble in Emrys’ lower lip whenever he spoke.

Once steadied, Emrys returned to the rest of the companions. Quentin had asked Emrys whether the group should retreat to his luxurious room above the stables so that they may avoid prying eyes and piercing ears, and Emrys was once again in control of his faculties and lead the companions up.

Once in the room, Chakuq found a spot in a corner where the wall was warm from the kitchen’s chimney right below, and found that the dragonling that followed Luca around had similar ideas. It eagerly curled up in his lap and promptly closed its eyes and started purring like a cat.

Neamhan, attuned to the sound, heard the softest tingling of windchimes come from the rafters of the room, but could not spot the quickling anywhere.

The companions spoke about Epidemius and when he would return to Kingsport for his book. It would be another seven days before the Darkmoon’s cycle would be complete, giving them some time to deal with the delegation.

Quentin summed up his thoughts on his father, his father’s goals, and the challenge that lay before him; his father, and by extension his house, did not have any power, though his father was fooled into believing he did. His father believed that the key to solidifying the power he believe he had was to relinquish Róisín to House Lys, which was not something that Quentin was willing to do. Chakuq seemed to have picked up on a distinction he wanted clarified; did Quentin not want to give up on Róisín, or was he not able to? To which Quentin admitted he did not want to.

Neamhan, who had stopped paying attention to the conversation the moment it became too political, had started to focus on Toruviel, sitting in its beautiful scabbard. Emrys noticed her focus and offered to tell her more about the sword when there was a moment available.

When Quentin was lamenting about his father’s reluctance to listen, Neamhan mumbled that it reminded her of her own father. Quentin picked up on it and wanted to know more, but Neamhan was unwilling to engage. The conversation continued and this time it became clear that there had been a change in Astrid’s demeanour. Normally dispassionate, her eyes had focused on the middle distance and she was rubbing her wrists, as if dealing with an old injury. Neamhan, snapped Astrid out of her reverie and asked her bluntly whether she had ever been captured, suspecting that her wrists may have been bound in the past. Astrid’s face went dark as she admitted that she had, and that the talk about fathers had forced her to remember some unpleasant memories.

Meanwhile, Quentin entertained the idea of getting a note to Ser Croy without Monsieur Beauregard noticing. Quentin trusted the old knight and thought that it would be good to catch up with him away from the Beauclairois at the Black Alder farm. Neamhan offered to sneak the note to Ser Croy, but Chakuq suggested using Dame Pauline and make a public showing of summoning the knight, allowing Quentin to exercise his power. Quentin was unsure about using Dame Pauline, suggesting that she was his father’s bannerette. Astrid scoffed at the notion;

“If you think that Pauline is your father’s bannerette more than she is yours, you’re even dumber than you look.”

– Astrid, Fifth Day, Second Ride, Autumn Twilight, 1262

The conversation returned to Epidemius after Astrid assured Quentin that the heroes were able to deal with both the delegation as well as Epidemius’ return the next ride. Emrys reminded everyone that Epidemius’ goal was not death, but rather to study disease so that it maybe used “to oppose the great desolation.” This resulted in a quick explanation of the differences between demons and devils for the benefit of Chakuq and Neamhan.

Réonan had explained to Emrys that something was wrong; that Epidemius should not have been able to cross the Seal of Divine Animus, and that it must have taken an enormous sacrifice to make it happen. In turn, Luca was reminded that the heroes’ return from Old Llygad took an fey crossing and a large sacrifice as well. He was also reminded of the ghost orchids; flowers that grew in places of blood sacrifice, and he mused that the flower might allow the heroes to do the same; cross the Seal.

When Lord Andrew could be heard singing downstairs the companions decided to go down. Neamhan heard the first peal of thunder coming from the south as a storm rolled in from the gulf. She stayed behind with Emrys and spoke to him about Toruviel. She was keen to learn more about the blade, about its origin, and about the soul inside it. Emrys, initially hesitant, unsheathed the blade and communed with Toruviel and introduced Neamhan. Toruviel seemed more focused than the normally aloof blade. In the past communication with the blade had been slow, vague, and almost dream-like, but it had grown sharper and clearer over the past couple of rides.

When Toruviel was confronted with Neamhan it revealed that it recognised her to be aen gwynt and revealed that it too had been one of the sky elves. It was as surprised to learn about that fact as Emrys was. It explained that it was growing stronger, which it likened to waking up from a deep sleep. It believed that its power was connected to Emrys’ power, and that it would not be long before it would be able to speak and introduce itself to the rest of the heroes.

Toruviel also revealed that this was not just true for itself, but also for Blackstar, Muirgheal, and even Lash and the Twins, referring to the whip that the heroes had taken off of the dreadlord, and the twin swords that Lord Marcus had retrieved from below Lynnecombe. It would be true for all the Arms of the Senhadrim, Toruviel claimed. When asked to make a guess at how many others there were, it said;

“I do not remember enough to make an estimate, but I know enough for an exact number; there are one-hundred-and-forty-four Arms of the Senhadrim.”

– Toruviel, Fifth Day, Second Ride, Autumn Twilight, 1262

The blade explained that sometimes memories would come to it in a moment. Toruviel recounted the moment that it realised that it was a person; it was when Emrys had escorted Quentin to the rookery in Quayhill where they had encountered an elf that shared its name. That was also the day that the blade started speaking to Emrys, it claimed.

Lastly, Toruviel shared that it believed that in order to understand on how to deal with Epidemius they would have to find and understand the nature and provenance of the Liber Bubonicus, the Book of Woe.

“I am a child of whimsy. I believe that any innocence which can be saved today is preferable over a theoretical salvation in the future.”

– Toruviel, Fifth Day, Second Ride, Autumn Twilight, 1262