Blades of the Parliament (Campaign)

*For the organization, please see Blades of the Parliament (Organization).*

**Blades of the Parliament** is a one-off episode and the second installment overall in the Band of Fools series. It consisted of only one session and marked the in-game debut of player character Ayumi Tanaka. It also featured Ikarus Stone.

## Plot

After sufficient training and age, Gregory Hampir started grooming Iks to become a Blade of the Parliament, while Ayumi's parents endorsed her to the Blades of the Parliament guild. After several months of training and missions, Iks and Ayumi were paired up on one last mission before their Unsheathing ceremony.

Their mission was to assassinate Giacomo Salvatore, a significant political figure within Kindred society and has murdered around 30 mortals in Grotthaven, Italy. However, due to their lack of coordination and communication, they botch the assassination and encounter two Bloodwilder vampires, Vorrigan and Kozani. While Iks quickly eliminates Vorrigan, Ayumi barely escapes her encounter with Kozani. Just before Ayumi escapes, Kozani recognizes that Ayumi had previously killed one of their own: Fane, and recalls the disrespect with how she treated his body after serial experimentation. Frustrated, Hampir commands them to take shelter in the nearby town of Delsangue and gives them a second chance - if they can somehow dismantle the Bloodwilders, they may just pass their Unsheathing. There, Iks meets Hackridge, a blacksmith who tells him that the Sword of Dracula cannot be modified due to it being made of extremely rare Antediluvian steel. Ayumi, meanwhile, Lady Baeline and Count Brightbury, rival shopkeepers who sell her useful items for her journey and compete for their customers' attention. Meanwhile, a vengeful Kozani is able to track them down after injuring Ayumi and following her blood trail to Delsangue.

Kozani arrives at Delsangue the next day and provokes the village by killing a few of its residents to force Iks and Ayumi to come out. The two Edgelings lure Kozani into a secluded backalley, and though Ayumi wanted to preserve her for interrogation and study, Iks cuts Kozani's limbs off, killing her, much to Ayumi's annoyance. The two head to the town cathedral where they meet the High Priestess, who offers them the blessings of her god to help them on their journey. Hampir tells the pair that the Bloodwilders' outpost is in Colombera, several miles away from Delsangue. After parting ways with Brightbury, Baeline, and Hackridge with Iks being granted an unused hilt, the two depart for their final destination.

After Iks parts ways with Hackridge and is granted an unused hilt, the two depart for their final destination. There, the pair encounter Moldark, the very vampire directly responsible for the Stones' deaths, who says that he was merely contractually obligated to perform the act and even resulted in his and his comrades' exile. An enraged and impassioned Iks takes the fight to the outpost and defeats both Moldark and a mysterious, powerful hybrid vampire named Asphodel through his sword's special power, with the latter act further disappointing Ayumi since she was interested in studying the hybrid while it laid dormant within a hidden room in the outpost. Nevertheless, Ayumi was silent throughout the whole ordeal and managed to collect some of Asphodel's blood and viscera from her carcass.

With their mission accomplished, Iks and Ayumi are brought back to the Parliament headquarters. A week later, they undergo their Unsheathing ceremony officiated by Hampir. Ayumi is inducted as an official Blade of the Parliament, and christened the 'Arrow Blade'. Iks and Ayumi part ways with mutual dislike.

Iks would then go on missions involving the assassination of vampires and dismantling of Kindred bases as one of the Blades of the Parliament, searching for clues as to who employed the Bloodwilders to murder his parents. Ayumi would later on to continue her work at the guild and secretly use Asphodel's remains for study and vow to search for more like it someday.

## Cast

* **Ikarus Stone**: One of two main player characters in the story.
* **Ayumi Tanaka**: One of two main player characters in the story.
* **Gregory Hampir**: One of the highest-ranking members in the Blades of the Parliament who briefs both Iks and Ayumi on their mission. He is also Iks' mentor and father figure.
* **Vorrigan, the Barbarian**: A member of the Bloodwilders who is known for his brutish methods.
* **Kozani, the Vulpine**: A member of the Bloodwilders who is known for her cunning and viciousness. She is determined to kill Ayumi as revenge for Fane's death and experimentation.
* **Moldark, the Undamned**: The leader of the Bloodwilders, and the very vampire responsible for the Stones' assassination.
* **Asphodel, the Lawless**: A mysterious vampire
* **Mr. Squeakeasy**: The talking cat who owns The Three Mugs, a hotel and inn in Delsangue.
* **Count Alonso Brightbury**: The owner of The Count's Associates, a shop in Delsangue. He is the rival of Lady Baeline.
* **Lady Baeline Vaganza**: The owner of Lady Baeline's Ponderous Emporium, a shop in Delsangue. She is the rival of Count Brightbury.
* **Hawthorne Hackridge**: A blacksmith in Delsangue and the owner of Bone and Moonstone.
* **High Priestess Alixandra Strongchaser**: The sole high priestess who maintains the cathedral in Delsangue, and devotee of an unknown god.
* **Giacomo Salvatore**: A vampire and significant political figure in Kindred society. He is the target of Iks and Ayumi's assassination mission.
* **Fane, the Erudite** (mentioned only): A member of the Bloodwilders who was killed by Ayumi and experimented on.