Episode 31: Balthazar di Marte (PART ONE)

**Episode 31: Balthazar di Marte (PART ONE)** (C1E31) is the thirty-first episode of the first campaign of The Table is Yours: A Role-playing Adventure Show. The Faded Fates face off against Balthazar di Marte to stop his plot of blotting out the sun...

## Synopsis

### Evacuation

Having at least a semblance of a plan in tow, the Faded Fates, along with Fiara and Cazamir, set off towards Summit. As they wander through the campus, the group comes to the realization that they should probably warn the student body of the impending doom. One, Shae, Terrance, and Fiara go to find Shae’s old mentor Yolena Theyarus. The rest of the group plan to go to the library to give the student body a heads up on an evacuation. Shae leads her group to Yolena’s office; the professor is surprised to see her old apprentice after so long. Shae tells her there isn’t much time to explain, but the same person who was behind the attack on graduation is planning something else. She tells Yolena that she and her party are there to stop it, but it will be best if the campus is alerted to evacuate as soon as possible. Yolena shuffles about her office, grabs some papers and a small vial of red liquid, and pauses in front of Shae. She presses the vial into Shae’s hand and tells her to be safe before heading out to alert the dean.

Codex, Isa, Wash, and Cazamir set off to the library where Codex sees someone she is very familiar with, Professor Fasalor. She runs up to him and, in her own way, tries explaining the situation. She tells him it is bad news, so it will be best for everyone to get out as fast as they can. He understands, even if he is a bit confused. He asks if he should call for the Volguard, but Codex shuts that down quickly. She knows Balthazar isn’t above exposing them all as vampires in an attempt to gain the upper hand. A  bracelet on Professor Fasalor’s wrist lights up with what seems like an arcane alert telling the students and faculty to evacuate the premises. As he turns to leave, Codex grabs the professor and pulls him in for a hug. She tells him to pass it along to Rheé and R’luth. He hugs her back awkwardly and tells her that he will before turning to leave with everyone else.

### Half-hearted Haggle with the Half-Harengon

The party reconvenes and makes their way to the courtyard area in front of the graduation hall. It is a large, open space with some trees on the outskirts as well as a large sundial as the centerpiece. The tower of the sundial is a statue of Tiebold Bart in his old age accompanied by a young Berengar. Above this statue, on top of the main building, stands Balthazar and his pet, Cyprus. Hidden in the shadows below are his minions, Bryson, Cylia, and Krenar along with four others. Codex looks back at the rest of the group, signaling to them that she is going to move forward and speak with Balthazar alone. He lowers to the ground as she approaches so they can speak face to face. He tells her that he assumes she isn’t there to support his cause, which is a shame. She notes that it seems she isn’t the only one that abandoned his cause and points out that Valentine, one of Balthazar’s other minions, is missing. He tells her they had a disagreement of sorts, so they chose to part ways, but that isn’t what is important.

Codex asks what his plan is. Balthazar tells her that he wants revenge; he wants to demolish, not only The Burg, but all of Zobraria. It is the only logical way for him to fix everything that has gone wrong, or not fix really, just remove. If he turns it all to dust then he can sweep it away and rebuild something better in his own way. Codex tells him that they can’t let him do that, that there is a better way that doesn't involve killing a country of innocent people. He tells her that no one is innocent, and if he had known she was that naive, he wouldn’t have sought her out. He explains that if The Faded Fates aren’t going to accept their inevitable defeat and just leave, then they will have to go about it the hard way. He launches himself back up to the roof as Krenar summons a mischief of rats from seemingly nowhere, and the battle begins.

### And so, it Begins...

Thunder rumbles in the sky as Balthazar pulls out the goblet to make his wish: “I’d like to cover the sun with blood”. From the edges of Zobraria, blood rises up in walls, forming a dome over the country. In the distance the party can hear the footsteps of the undead army approaching. The Faded Fates are mostly left in the dark, but they are not unprepared. Codex makes a quick decision before running back to join her group, and she sends a fireball flying at one of the nearby trees to cast light for a moment. Balthazar snuffs it out a moment later. The rest of the group prepare themselves for the upcoming fight. One raises the diamond and starts to make her wish, but Terrance quickly grabs her hand. He reminds her they should do a little damage before undoing Balthazar’s wish, otherwise he will just run away. She nods in agreement and readies her gun as Terrance commands his light to turn on, downs two serums at once, and runs off. One hangs back because she works better at a distance, but the rest of the party, Wash, Isa, and Terrance, are met with Krenar’s rats and the other vampires. Codex casts Wither and Bloom. Arcane foliage surrounds them all, spitting poison on her rivals and infusing her friends with energy. Behind them, One uses a new command on v2, “big boy”, which doubles his size, and she sends him forward to help her friends.

One of the vampires, Bryson, begins to approach Codex. Wash flicks a cigarette in his face as his eyes flash gold and compel Bryson to take him on instead. Bryson falls for the temptation and grabs onto Wash, which is exactly what he wanted. Wash’s eyes and mouth begin to pour out gold radiance, lighting up his surrounding area. The light, while helpful, also burns those around him with searing heat. Terry scrambles to find something to beat people with; he settles for a trashcan. He joins the group and demolishes the rats that are inconveniencing the rest of the party. Cazamir and Fiara stay by the statue, protecting the tome and waiting for the right time to jump in. Cylia doesn’t let Cazamir off that easily, though. She draws him away from his sister and the two engage in a duel that feels almost personal, slinging insults and blows every which way.

Krenar and Isa are head to head. As she is slashing this rodent-like vampire, she notices someone in the mass of the undead army, her late-partner Guy. She hits Krenar once more before Misty Stepping away to get a closer look. As she appears in front of Guy, or what is left of him, she feels sick with heartbreak. This person that she had cared about and still cares about so much is a decaying corpse in front of her, but she hopes that maybe, just maybe, there is a little of him left. She calls out his name with tears in her eyes and reaches out a hand. He looks up at her, and for a moment, she thinks he is still there, but then he charges forward.