Episode 181 - The War of Wyrmsbane Keep Part 6

The Oakbacks have been defeated in battle and Aludra is now queen. She has to decide on what to do with them and how to balance her responsibilities to her new kingdom versus her desire to aid Harper in his quest to find the infamous Longcryer, the main figure of his dark past.

## **Story**

Bucky is safe and Aludra wants to avoid having to execute Thorack Oakback if at all possible. She tells him she is open to negotiate and allows for a few moments for each side to gather and discuss how the negotiations should proceed. Independently, they both come to the same idea. They will use Zone of Truth to help raise the level of trust that each side has in each others' words. The Oakback warrior that Jett Razor has compelled to scream is a paladin with the ability to use that spell and is released from his torment. The Aludra, Harper, Jaela, Thorack and some of the other Oackbacks enter an igloo shaped enclosure, the spell is cast, and the negotiations begin.

They test the effectiveness of the spell, and Thorack can't help but reveal that he hasn't made love to his wife in three years. In fact, over the course of the negotiations he reveals that he couldn't if he wanted to both because of age related reasons and perhaps a little because of how much he likes seeing King Harper without his shirt on. He also admits his disappointment in his son for being bad at sports, which also might be a projection for his own lack of ability and might be the root cause of the recent war. Aludra on the other hand confirms that neither she nor Jaela has anything to do with the deal of his son, Baldur. They do have some leads by way of the Animal Mask Assassins, but unfortunately Thorack has no additional information to give them on that front.

Aludra listens to Harpers advice and tells Thorack that she would like to create a council, a Council of Six Hammers, and would like him to be a part of it. She admits that she's not quite sure if she's ready to lead the kingdom and feels it is important for her to have knowledgeable people to advise her. She says that he thinks like an enemy and feels that is something that would be very useful to her. Thorack is open to the idea as long as their family can keep their best contracts intact, and Aludra agrees as long as he understands that their will be some new taxes on their family due to their recent aggression. King Harper suggests that a representative from Paelor's Hope have a seat on this council, perhaps Thorag Ironfist. Thorack warns that he's not open to the idea and this could tear the whole negotiation apart, so Harper concedes and offers up a secondary choice of Storag Ironfist instead, Thorag's brother. They all agree. The council will be made up of Thorack, Aludra's father, a representative from the Stevensons, Coppertones, Ironbeards, and Stoneborn, along with the representative from Paelor's Hope, Storeg Ironfist, with the understanding that whether that final seat will have full voting rights or only just advisory power will be determined later.

Jett is playing marbles with Bucky when the negotiations end. The Oakbacks leave peacefully, and Harper initiates some plans to set up a proper portal are between Deephome and Paelor's Hope to be able to bring in supplies to help recover from the war, and for forces of Paelor's Hope to arrive quickly in the case of foreign invaders. There is still an unknown and organized group out there destabilizing the major cities.

Then King Titus Harper gathers his allies in a circle and asks them to kneel down and get in close. He announces he will not be going back to Paelor's Hope just yet, regardless of the warning from Old Man Weck at how mad Ashayara Dayne will be that he won't immediately set upon saving Galanthis. Galanthis has a few weeks at least before anything serious happens. Instead, Harper wants to act upon the news that Ros has brought him and will immediately set off after Longcryer to bring him to extreme prison or extremely murder him for the crimes against Harper himself and his crimes across the land.

One by one they all agree to join him. They take the tram out of Deephome, the griffons arrive, and Harper, Aludra, Jaela, Jett, Ros, Bucky, Erynn Colleen, and Marlamin Windlore fly off towards the east.

## **Trivia**

* Harper mentions that Pyre is a good friend and ally of his. This may or may not be true since Harper made his saving throw.
* Daisy looks like a normal donkey until her bug wings come out. Occasionally throughout the day her eyes will glow red.
* Erynn Colleen and Marlamin Windlore were not mentioned in this episode. However they were brought over and participated in the war, and will reappear as part of the party in future episodes.

## **In This Episode...**

### **Cast and Player Characters**

* Michael DiMauro - *Dungeon Master*
* Tim Lanning - King Titus Harper
* Jennifer Cheek - Queen Aludra Wyrmsbane
* Mike Bachmann - Jett Razor
* Nika Howard - Jaela

### **Non-Player Characters**

* Bucky
* Erynn Colleen - (Off-screen)
* Grandma Oakback
* Marlamin Windlore - (Off-screen)
* Old Man Weck
* Ros
* Thorack Oakback
* Winston

### **Pets/Familiars**

* Daisy
* Griffons
	+ Bruno Mars
	+ Peter
	+ Sparkles
* Princess Ivy Bluemoon

### **Inventory Updates**

* +1 Kingdom
* +1 Council of Six Hammers
* +1 Blackmail material on Thorack Oakback

### **Quest Log Updates**

* [Complete] - Save Bucky form the Oakbacks
* [Complete] - Check in with Winston and the Chum Guzzler
* [Complete] [Optional] - Stabilize the region of Deephome
* [Active] - *Longcryer!*
* Save the shrinking high elf city of Galanthis

### **Quotes**

**"Listen Thorack, I came here to negotiate. I didn't come here just to wreck you guys. And as you can see, I can easily do that."** ~ *Aludra Wyrmsbane*

## **Rolls**

* **Recap**
	+ Nika - 18
	+ Bachmann - 14
	+ Tim - 8
	+ Jennifer - 7

* **Charisma Saving Throw** vs 18 DC in the Honesty Igloo
	+ Harper - 18 - Success
	+ Aludra - (?) - Fails - She must tell the truth
	+ Jaela - 26 - Success