Session 33 - A Legend Reborn

The morning after our resounding victory, we traveled towards Bresk at the heels of King Steppengard's retreating army. The trail behind them is turned muddy from snow trampled to slush. As we approach the Capital, the slush gives way to a fresh layer of soils spread across the landscape. Our arrival has been honored to walk on the earth of their homeland. There is much fanfare as we enter the city celebrated as heroes, but there is also an air of confusion. The citizens seem a bit unsure about celebrating the arrival of a faction that just a few days prior were branded as traitors and defeated their army in combat. We march through the city and eventually arrive at the castle, where the king and nobility is awaiting us. It seems we are the last to arrive.

King Steppengard addresses the gathered crowd. He seems more put-together than the last time we spoke and speaks with an air of conviction. He gives a typical speech about his failings during these trying times, but emphasizes that it is time to put all of that behind us. Apparently there is important news that will be revealed to us later. He says that the squabbling must be put to an end. He mentions something about thieves among us. Most importantly however, he ominously (foreshadowing) says that it is time for the kingdom to unite not as 8 countries, but as 1. Sooo the fucker plans to kill everyone and seize control of the country himself. At the end of King Steppengard's speech, Lord Gallo leaned in and asked in a whisper if he was talking about the Ragesians (the thieves). The King ignored the question and simply kept smiling to the crowd. We were invited to participate in the Champions' Tournament and then we were dismissed.

King Steppengard's speech was interestingly void of any concrete words denouncing Ragesia. He commended Lord Gallo for his bravery and steady heart, yet the King never once actually said that we would fight together against Ragesia. His entire speech could just as well be interpreted as the opposite. Furthermore, the Ragesian envoy and Inquisitor (Torax?) are still in the city, which also enforces that the King has not cut ties with the Ragesians.

We spent the night in an estate lent to us by an acquaintance to Lord Gallo. The following morning we prepared to participate in the festival and tournament. Lord Gallo expressed concern regarding his proxy: Jinis Green who had previously been imprisoned for suspected treason. He thought it were strange that they refused to release his proxy until after the banquet, despite claiming that all suspicion had been dropped and that we were considered allies once again. He hoped that we would be able to locate his proxy. Lord Gallo also said that he hoped he still had allies amongst the castle staff.

We set out into the streets of Bresk and participated in the festival. Some dude named Sting tried to out-stronk Zunigri, but was promptly shown who's the boss. After graciously accepting defeat, he said that he had to return to Lady Namin. It seems safe to assume that Sting is (part of?) her bodyguard.

The troublesome trio, TTT, (Zunigri, Mergrim, Siveril) crossed paths with a disgruntled chef. It would seem that the common folk had no appreciation for the finer culinary arts. Randas Slavaboles (spell check please), for that was his name, was the head chef of King Steppengard himself. However, for some strange reason, he and his entire staff had been sent away from the kitchens and out into the festival streets to serve their food to disinterested peasants. It would seem that something strange is afoot in the kitchen of the castle. With the banquet being tonight, it seems rather uncanny that the King would replace his entire staff in a day. He claims to have brought in specialist chefs and that Randas's services will not be needed, but the former head chef's skills speak for themselves: he is a master of the culinary arts and practically impossible to replace.

TTT encounters a huddled silent crowd huddled around a booth. A street performer is running a shell game where participants can bet a coin double-or-nothing. He does the typical scammer-spiel and claims that someone got really lucky once and "won an entire week's wages from him!" to encourage the crowd to participate. Having previous experience of running shell game scams, Siveril and Zunigri sees the game for what it truly is: a scam. However, perhaps due to them expressing suspicion of a scam, the street artist *seems* to play it fair. The street artist seems to be a master of his trade, so it is doubtful that they would be able to catch his tricks even with the knowledge that he might be performing them. Stumped, the TTT eventually move on.

Mergrim was approached by a firework magician(?) who, after some small talk, inquired as to whether he knew of any alchemy shop in the city that was open. Apparently all the shops he knows of in the city have been closed for the last three days as the alchemist have been working on something in the castle. He asks Mergrim to come his way if he acquires any Smokesticks, Thunderstones, or Tindertwigs. Don’t drink and play with explosives. Stay in school, kids. It would seem that King Steppengard is mass-producing something alchemic (poison most likely).

Louie and Saphire encountered a methed-out dwarf who practically interrogated them and demanded to know if they were capable entertainers. Saphire didn't seem that excited to do stand-up comedy and instead elected to have a chill day at the festival and enjoy some well-earned relaxation. Louie accepted the proposal to perform for the court and presented his latest work: "Saphire Didn't Start The Fire". It was such a hit that he was invited to perform again before the tournament finale.

Saphire almost fucking killed a spellcaster from Lyceum who was in the city to visit her mom.

The party eventually reconvened and started heading towards the tournament grounds to cheer on Marxiros in the finale when a dark-haired dwarfed snuck inside their midst and started walking with them. He was a guard at the castle and had seen a lot of strange things going on. Staff and guards were being reassigned and moved around spontaneously. He mentioned a hidden watchpost in an old graveyard at the shores of the Nasham (river running through Dassen all the way up to Gallo). The castle sewers has an outlet around this area, but it is usually grated shut. However, this guard had seen a group of priests waiting at the exit of this sewer. A ship came up the river and unloaded barrels that the priests grabbed and carried with them into the sewers. It seems that some liquid is being smuggled into the castle. The guard was later reassigned to the royal vault, but surprisingly he was relieved of duty tonight and apparently nobody replaced him at the vault, so it remains unguarded. He instructed us to tell nobody of our conversation (oops we told Lord Gallo) before slipping away.

We arrived at the tournament grounds and Louie was whisked away quite rapidly to entertain the crowd. This time he performed his original work "Marxiros the Master Baiter", which has apparently spread like a wildfire through the city. Louie did the thingy real good and the King and Lady Dene sang him praises. Lady Dene also awarded Louie with a deed to a 20-acre plot of land in her kingdom for his excellent performance. She also ominously said that she was glad that Seaquen would be safe from Ragesia now. Louie though she seemed honest, which is honestly surprising with all the shit going on in the city right now. Pushing his concerns to the side, Louie took the opportunity to further whip up the crowd and act as a hype-man for Marxiros fand the tournament finale.

Marxiros rode out to the fanfare of the entire crowd chanting 'Baiter! He was facing off against the reigning champion and (previous) fan favorite Silvia Cossala (spellcheck pls). The battle was long and hard-fought, with some incredibly close calls as the tension kept rising. When Marxiros landed the final blow and his foe was struck from the saddle, the crowd erupted with cheers and applause: a new legend has been born. Marxiros The Master Baiter, Master of the Tournament of Champions, stood proud before the King and claimed his reward. 500 gold pieces, a charm of (insert here please), and enchanted barbing +1 (with an enchantment of his choice?). The tournament of Champions had come to an end and he returned victorious to his tent where the rest of the party stood ready to congratulate him. We were offered a short moment of respite and catching-up with Lord Gallo before Marxiros had to be whisked away to participate in the parade.

We informed Lord Gallo of all that we had uncovered during the festival. Our evidence is insubstantial and circumstantial, yet it would seem that King Steppengard plans to poison everyone at the Banquet. Without any concrete proof, it falls on us to infiltrate the castle in search for the truth. The kingdom is in danger, the Book of the Eight Lands has been left mysteriously unguarded, and Jinis Green is held captive somewhere in the castle. With Marxiros leaving to march in the parade, the rest of us start making our way towards the castle and whatever secrets it may contain.