Siege Stories IV
Story Emits
Word among the merchants is that Lord Karadoc Saik has decided that alcohol shouldn't be sold during the siege, since it takes grain to make the alcohol. The merchants don't like that at all, and one Lazarus Mercier is particularly upset by what he sees as an attack on his livelihood. As friendship turns to bitterness, a protest is organized. Merchants turn away members of the Saik family from their stores. Rumor has it, Lazarus is making them whole again on the flip side, so that no one protesting really gets hurt. Even those who do serve the Saik family do so with a cold shoulder and a thumb on the scales. Fortunately for those turning to alcohol in these siege-filled times, the Mercier family and those who support them are still selling those delicious grain-based stress-relief products.
While many chose to avoid the Blue Potion after its closure, it was not so for the group composed of Aureth, Agnarr, Princess Freja Redrain and Lady Khanne Halfshav, who went inside to uncover the strange disappearance of Master Athris, a well-liked apothecary. Inside, they uncovered a recently dug-out passage that led deep beneath the city, to the dangerous catacombs. There, they encountered the Demon of the Cathedral. Though he left them bloody and wounded, Aureth especially so, they nonetheless survived the encounter and were even able to uncover the demon's plans to unleash dangerous poisons within the city. They also found Master Athris, his mind unfortunately broken by the loss of his wife and being made to work for the cruel demon. Before they could destroy the poisons already created, they were forced to flee the catacombs, having disturbed something that slumbered within. The group was able to escape before the stairs they had taken were shattered by the moving catacombs, only to arrive on the scenes of a fire. Aurum Texts was lost, undoubtedly the victim of the demon's cruelty, especially when the remains of young apprentice Tivathy were found within.
The Most Lamentable Tale of Thyrimus and Prisbe, A Comedy of Errors Disguised as a Heartwrenching Tragedy - the streets were positively abuzz for several days with the tales of the plays glory, with it reaching a fevered pitch amongst the populace the day of the public opening as rumors swirled that the King himself might be in attendance that night! The crowds pressing to try and enter the famed Blackrose Theater created such chaos that additional Iron Guard had to be deployed to the area, and the Valorous Few and Crimson Blades were both present in the employ of various nobles as guards. As those lucky enough to gain entry vanished within, donning ornate masks given to them as they entered, the crowds outside gradually dispersed as the play got underway.
The quality of the play remains, ultimately, lost amidst the chaos which follows as the tales emerging from the theater are wildly mixed. People seem to agree that Princess Isolde, the hostess, got things underway and that at some point Lady Tikva Riven was called upon to sing, either just before or right as intermission began. But from there, the tales become a mix of horror and fancy, as people speak of some kind of coordinated ambush or attack, launched by dozens of fighters in green masks. As the rumors swirl and spread it, details seem to bubble forth about the night. These tidbits are usually attributed to a Guardsman who a sisters friend knows, or a Crimson Blade who came to check upon an injured comrade, or perhaps a member of the Valorous Few who was overheard boasting amongst his comrades at the tavern, lending that splash of credibility to what is at best hearsay!
Soon though, the rumormill is telling of a cunning trap laid, no doubt with the conspiracy of the Princess Isolde Velenosa herself, as well as the entire company of the theater (to which the Lady Tikva Riven, as a featured performer is assumed a part). Of a combined strike force of Iron Guard, Valorous Few and Crimson Blades secreted into the theater's nooks and crannies. Storytellers declare their oaths that certain blades which are, in this time of struggle and war becoming renowned as the weapons of certain champions, attest to the presence of Prince Ainsley Grayson as Threnody held the stage, and that clearly Lord Commander Silas Mercier was amongst the green masks, as he was heard to call orders while Dirge set about it's gruesome busines. That Coinspinner emerged at the lead of the Valorous Few, proclaiming that Captain-General Audric was personally in command of the troops, and that the force of Crimson Blades holding the exit, allowing citizens to flee the chaos was under the crisp command of a man wielding spiral guarded Requiem, no doubt Lord General Tobias Telmar. The silvery pink short sword Devotion is becoming as known as Princess Reese Grayson, and the incredibly nimble figure fighting in tandem with her, ever the two returning together as the battle raged was most assuredly her betrothed Prince Luca Velenosa, his Viper's Soul in hand as he danced nimbly through the fray. Some claiming to have witnessed the aftermath say that Prince Aiden Grayson was seen in the care of Lady Eirene Malvici, being supported by Nisaa Whisper as he left, though others swear it was another archer. There are even wild stories going about that Princess Reese Grayson somehow struck the fiercest of the beasts and it was snuffed out in a blinding flash of light!
What is certain though, is that the bodies of over a half dozen Bringers, and over two score of their minions, along with several mercenaries and guardsmen, were removed from the Theater which, one might hear, is going to need cleaning and renovation.
There is always a calm right before a storm. On a particularly calm and pleasant evening in the Thrax quarters, noise suddeny rang out from the Darkwater Reach. The stories go out that it was an inside job and that servants of the house had become entranced under some sort of cultic influence.
It was the Count of Darkwater himself that noticed things were out of place. After confronting strange people in his own gardens as to why they are there, a fight ensued. Marquis Ford Kennex, Count Maximilian Darkwater, Mikani Tideborn, and a rather large mountain of a Redrain man called Shadow attacked the intruders without mercy.
Despite their bravery, the group they encountered were but a mere distraction. The true danger came from the cliffsides. Cultists were so daring they began to scale the cliffs to assault the Reach! It was through the efforts of Sir Elrych Holzfahller and the seamstress Alarie Harall that reinforcements were roused to come assist.
In the end, their are stories of cultists raining from the cliffs as a ginger giant threw them over. There are tales of great strength of men as they hoist giant hooks off the cliffside and send cultists falling to their death. There are tales of even Thraxian women showing their claws and taking down cultists in defense of their home.
The docks were a scene of activity and bloodshed in the wee hours of the morning. A ship was brought into the harbor by one of the Kennex patrol ships, having been found adrift and full of refugees. Marquis Ford Kennex, Lady Caelis Malvici and Mistress Mikani Tideborne boarded the ship and met with the leader of the refugees, a battle hardened elderly woman by name of Krarstin Tidelord, Jarla of the Tidelord Tribe. If rumors are to be believed, she claims she and her people escaped from the Darkwater Deeps themselves and were seeking refuge.
Based on what reportedly happened next, those rumors may well be true. When Jarla Krarstin swore her fealty to Ford, an agent of the Deeps King who had been hiding aboard turned into some kind of onyx skinned monster and attacked Ford Kennex, declaring there was only one true king as unnatural darkness blanketed the docks.
Though Ford was badly wounded in the attack, Caelis raised her blades in defense of the Marquis of Stormward and with the help of Mikani and the Jarla herself, the group manage to kill the tainted attacker. The casualties were not without note however, as what remained of the Tidelord Tribe was lessened by half again in the attack, leaving only about 30 survivors.
Word spreads through the Ward of the Lyceum that there was an assassination attempt on Archduke Niccolo Velenosa during the charity event House Velenosa was hosted after the wedding ceremony of the archduke and Archduchess Deva Velenosa. The attack was thwarted thanks to the combined efforts of some of the guests present. Patrons of the Hundred Cities inn speak of the bravery of Prince Darren Redrain, the cunning of Princess Isolde Velenosa, the beautiful voice of Mistress Calandra Whisper and the courage displayed by Mistress Joslyn Manicelli as she came to the Whisper's rescue. They also speak of Master Rickard Corsetina's blade, Princess Eleyna Velenosa's leadership, and even claim Master Orathy Culler might have helped directly save the archduke, while Duke Cassius Pravus helped keep the archduchess safe, even though the former Redrain princess once again showed her ability with the bow. The wounded certainly swear by Mistress Malena Black's healing touch, in what by all accounts seems to have been a very memorable gathering, to say the least.