The Pharox Thas Catastrophe

The Pharox Thas Catastrophe was a tragic event that occurred on the 21st Veltai 1510. A series of unlikely events unfolded at the rich island port of Pharox Thas, in which subterfuge at a party led to a great beast's summoning, which caused hundreds of deaths and thousands of displacements. It was devastating for the colonial Empire and was another nail in the Empire's coffin.
== Right Place, Right Time ==
The evening was set out to be the birthday party of Admiral Vaselka de Seditus, the woman in charge of the Lusken fleets of North Lakay and the Wolcott Straits. The Admiral, envoys, and other nobles set off several days prior from the port of Sauheromu Anchorage, where the rest of the Lusken fleet was moored. Travelling aboard the Admiral's flagship were three unlikely privateers, who had returned to the Anchorage at just the right time to be brought on as voluntary security. They were Helrus McCraggan, Marrik, and Vladimir, who had just returned via a merchant vessel. Alongside them were three knights too. Along the journey, the fleet was caught in a storm, and the flagship was boarded by a crew of pirates. The trio and their three knights repelled the boarders with incredible efficiency. Due to this, and their flattery toward Vaselka, she appointed them to organise the security for her birthday party.
== Golden Ticket ==
Meanwhile, further east, a small pirate crew of the Scaleskull were in Larawak territory clearing out a Lusken logging operation. They did so ruthlessly and efficiently likewise, sparing only a few workers and the boss, a rich half-orc man named Erdő. Erdő was allowed to gather his things and leave to never return. However, the crew swiped an envelope which contained a handwritten invitation from the Admiral to Erdő, congratulating his success as a lumber baron and inviting him to the party. They decided to accept the invite, disguising Ubba as Erdő and sailing off.
== Security Detail ==
Marrik and Vladimir arrived with the Admiral and her troops, and began fortifying the palace. They set out the guard shifts and positions themselves, designated the cellar as a last-resort bunker, prepared the dining room as a panic room if the guests were to be under threat, and more. They stationed snipers on the roof, and hired special mages as guards. They also set up a Zone of Truth at the front door, and an antimagic field on the Admiral's necklace that moved with her. They also were given another set of hands - a helpful ranger named Dagor.
== The Party ==
By evening the party was in full swing, and the Scaleskull crew arrived at sunset. Both the pirate and privateer crews were poised for action. They actually met face to face briefly - the privateers got the feeling that something was off, but it was hard to act without making a scene yet. Patch and Mallacith turned invisible and swiped the guards' roster from the headquarters - and as Helrus tried to find them, they hid a mere few feet above him on a cart roof. Patch then eavesdropped on the privateers as they discussed the missing roster and the potential attack that could come. 
Everything was going well, until in the drawing room, Syl, Lass, and Ubba bumped into none other than Viliers Sedlow, the captain they had stolen their ship from a half-month earlier. Viliers went pale and tried to slip off, but Ubba slung an arm around him. However, Marrik then came to ask the issue, and Viliers took him aside to tell him that the pirates were in their very midst. Marrik and Vladimir gave orders to the guards that the three above were to be stopped on sight - and indeed, though Syl tried to pretend she was going to faint, several guards apprehended Syl and Lass and took them to the gate. In the Zone of Truth, Marrik questioned them, and they were silent when asked if they were associating with pirates. But all at once, everything happened.
== A Lakayan Standoff ==
Mallacith appeared from nowhere, grasping the palace herald by the neck. At that same moment, Ubba emerged from the crowd with another hostage, a foreign dignitary noblewoman. There were a tense few moments, until Dagor emerged from the crowd behind Ubba, loosing an arrow at the chandelier above. Dagor tried to shove the woman out of the way, and he and Ubba took the brunt of the glass chandelier on their heads. At that moment, Patch lobbed a roaring fireball down and incinerated a dozen honour guards in moments. Lass emitted a great cloud of fog - and as the fight raged on, no one could even try to penetrate the great cloud of fog. Barely a minute had gone by of fighting when Marrik ordered a retreat, whilst nobles fled into the garden in fear. Three illusory doubles of Lass, Syl and Ubba appeared - and Marrik launched an all-out attack, yet when the dust settled, he realised he had been taken for a fool. The palace mages emitted a great barrier of flame to cover the retreat.
Meanwhile on the rooftop, Patch was dodging blows from the flying Vladimir, and Patch launched a flurry of shadowy stabs and knocked him out cold, writhing in shade. Mallacith clambered up, and with his great anchor, dealt a huge blow and brought Vlad close to death. Patch then finished him off with a shadowy blade covered in green flames. 
== The Beginning of the End ==
Marrik began moving gifts as the pirates and privateers were split. However, as Ubba, Syl and Lass had retreated, Mallacith and Patch launched their final attack. With a single command, the clouds in the sky twisted into words, and a single splash was heard as the waters turned inky black.
In an instant, a great tentacled beast emerged from the boating lake, slobbering and slurping. It ripped the palace apart with its meaty tentacles, tossing columns and picking up armfuls of nobles and tossing them into its acidic mouth. The three Furies and the Admiral were slurped up and devoured. Marrik tried to face down the kraken alone, and was tossed hundreds of feet into the air, landing almost dead.
Refusing to surrender, even at the begging of the now-surrendered and disarmed Helrus, Patch stabbed him deep in the ribs, and his fire was extinguished. The pirate crew swiftly left the harbour on their ship, as behind them, the kraken clambered through the city, crushing buildings.
== Aftermath ==
The consequences of this event were far-reaching. The Admiral and countless high ranking Lusken nobles and dignitaries were killed, and several flagships sunk. It was the first of many blows for the Colonial Lusken Empire, and even for the Empire as a whole. The next few years for the Lakayan rite of the Luskens were characterised with a 'war against pirates', but with such reduced strength, it was no surprise that the Lakayan Liberators were able to rid the isle of them.
Category:Events