Session 13 Prep

* The players begin following a small time skip from the last session. In the intervening time:
	+ Neille and Roland have finished their fight. There should be some reference to this.
	+ The preliminaries have come and gone - the players can have watched them if they wished. Roland, Murchad, Angus, and Sir William have all gone through.
	+ Roland and Simon have met and become fast friends. This will reflect in their respective attitudes.
	+ Aubrey has investigated and memorised the contents of the book of names/locations/powers that she found. Whether or not she told the party is up to her.
	+ Anything else the players will have wanted to do over the two days skipped.
* The session begins with Aubrey going over the book, finding herself alone in either the bedroom or common room. When looking up she sees Hllsh looking over her, grinning his permanent smile. Hllsh will hint at the danger that awaits, and that she walks into the shadows of the kings of the future, into the shadows of liars and kinslayers. He will warn that the castle, both above and below, hold secrets that may cost a life, and have cost several lives already. He will refer to her as her who is chosen for the paths she might take (showing visions of would-be future Aubreys), and that he wonders which will be hers in the end. Chuckling, he vanishes as suddenly as he appeared.
	+ Would-be future Aubreys include one of her dead in the arms of an older Roland vowing vengeance, one of an older Aubrey listening to the sounds of children as she looks fondly into the sunset, one of her in noble dress in a court, laughing at the jest of a nobleman, one of her standing over two graves, with a familiar English horizon behind her, one of a much older Aubrey, with grey hair and a patch over one eye working a compass on a map, and one of her fighting against monsters in some battle alongside the other players.
* The first day of the tournament's true fights begin. Brian and Neille will both be part of the fights, which are one team combat and a series of single melees. Brian and Neille will be in one single combat each and the mass melee.
	+ Brian will have to fight the Blue Heron.
	+ Neille will have to fight the Lime.
	+ The mass melee will be free for all between 20 people total, but teams will form (Brian can get in on this). There will be 3 supers in the fight besides the players - Emin, Red Rock, and Cedric the Tall (can increase size and strength x3).
* Before any of the fights, Simon should be seen getting into an argument with Sir William about the ideal future of Ireland. A player might choose to intervene.
* *After's Neille's fight with the Lime, her cousin Congalach will appear, asking her how she's been and telling some of home. If Neille's armor/gear is damaged in her fight, Congalach will help her out with that.*
* After Brian's fight, he will be summoned to speak with Lord Mitchel of the English Court. If he does so, his conversation will be short, and Mitchel will be disinterested and snooty. His daughter however, Lady Emily, will wish to speak with him (in actual fact, she is the one who arranged for him to be summoned). She will commend him on his bravery and prowess in the melees so far, and ask about his life overall, as well as his intent regarding the tournament, and finally about the power he displayed in his fights.
	+ It is worth noting that Sir Harold is there, and standing next to Emily and not Mitchel. He might pipe up with snarky comments here and there, but can be quieted by Emily.
	+ The conversation will be interrupted after sufficient time by the arrival of Fergus, who has come to speak to Lord Mitchel (but really Emily, but also Brian). He will exchange pleasantries with her, and turn to Brian to do the same. They can thus have a conversation. Be sure to mention Fergus' outfit, a dress of thick yellow wool and slippers, sleeves of his undershirt bound at the wrists, with a red sleeved cloak.
		- In this talk, Fergus should mention wistfully his boyhood dream of becoming the king of Ireland, and that he is too old to ever see that dream come true. He hopes that perhaps his heir might step up and do what he never tried.
		- He is excited about the developments surrounding the mists, and while worried about tales of monsters with big heads and thin bodies, he is confident about the valor of men empowered by the mists to defend the innocent.
		- If asked about his recent odd decisions, he will only say that circumstances require that he make preparations for the future. He will not elaborate further.
	+ Fergus will leave, and Brian will be with Emily and Harold. Brian can pick up on the fact that she seems more intelligent than she might have him believe, and be suspicious when Sir Harold asks for a word with him alone and her farewell to him (this is a chance for Emily to meet with another super) Harold will ask what Brian hopes to get out of the tournament, to make sure it will not hurt Emily. The conversation will be interrupted by the call for "The Mighty" and "Sir William of Canterbury". The convo can continue, but Brian will most likely want to see this.
* The fight between Simon and William is enflamed by their prior argument. William is the better fighter, and will prioritise not allowing Simon to close the distance. Simon will win with a gambit of throwing his kite shield, leaping over William and flinging him into a nearby structure, causing fatal damage. Simon will be shocked at what he'd done, and will attempt to help William, who has broken neck. William will forgive Simon, and wish him all the best, hoping that Simon can make Ireland a better place. He will then die. The players will probably not hear this conversation, but Simon will probably want to talk to them about it.
	+ William will reappear later, possibly next session, having revived but not revitalised his body.
* The players will be able to approach Simon, who is being chastised by one of the men-at-arms acting as referee. Simon will be silent, ashamed of what he'd done.
	+ They of course can also follow up on William, following as the guards are stopped by an English lady who redirects them to her tent. This is Lady Esther, who William was hoping to marry after winning the tournament to create Irish-English Alliance. She can be followed up one, revealing her concern for William, though she acts more like he's hurt than dead. If asked by he is in her tent, she will just say that he needs to be there.
* There is a fight to witness between Murchad and Red Rock (she can turn to rock like the Thing). He will evade her attacks, until finally she charges, enraged at him, she suddenly trips (Murchad has used his ice powers to slick the ground) as he dodges, and she slams into the structure, knocking it onto herself, finding Murchad standing over her. She will yield after an unheard dialogue between them (he uses his ice powers and threatens to kill her on the spot with them).
	+ A perceptive player might notice the puddle where she tripped.
* Murchad will approach Simon, attempting to recruit him. Should he agree, Murchad's victory would include a position for Simon, should Simon win, he should ally with Murchad. Simon will want to refuse, but Murchad will remind him of the civil war, even Murchad can't stop his own brother if it came to that after all. He will attempt the same deal with Brian, especially if Brian is there to begin with.
	+ He will, if pressed, reveal a twinge of regret, having only wanted to help his brother, though he won't be overt about it.
	+ He will play coy if asked about whatever powers he might have, though will change the subject to the player's powers.
* Roland will have watched this alongside one of the players, probably Aubrey. His time to fight will come, and he will have to fight Lord Geoffry, the Golden Star (who can shoot gold lasers from his eyes). Roland will ask Aubrey not to help him as he saw her help Brian. Roland will play evasively, using the structures to his advantage. He will seem to actually have a chance...
	+ He may win with Aubrey/Brian's help, but will resent that.
	+ He may lose, jumping to a structure to flank Golden Star, but Star's lasers will cut down the structure, causing Roland to break his arm and nose. Golden Star will close in with him and shoot him with lasers, low intensity, but enough to cause agony. Star will do this sadistically, affronted that Roland would shame him so, until he is stopped by either a player or Fergus forcing an end to the match.
* This day of the Tournament will have a few more fights to close, that the players are unlikely to notice or care about, as they are likely to be dealing with Roland's injury if that's what happened, or alternatively wrapping up affairs with Angus, Simon, etc.

## Aubrey's Quest

* Aubrey will have the information from the book, and will probably follow it up. Each person she finds is of course a super. Most will know nothing about Odo's having stalked them, though they will know who he is. One or two will have seen him hanging around them however. Some of them live in the castle.
	+ She might have the insight to try and use Meive, and realise she is not there.
* Aubrey will eventually bump into the castle jester, Odo, dressed in motley dominated by red. He will ask her on what she hopes to find in [whatever room she has ended up in]. He will seemingly buy whatever excuse she gives. He will be very playful and coy in his interactions with her, putting on voices and occasionally smacking her with his tiny wooden sword. He will see her off, and continue to spy on her after she has left.
	+ Aubrey might notice during the conversation the sound of metal slowly tinkling against the floor. Turning around, she will see that it is a [metallic item] from the nearby room. It is no longer moving. (Odo has copied her powers and tested them). He will play it off, asking if perhaps she had too much to drink or something similar.
	+ Odo is the only person in the castle, save Fergus himself who is aware of Fergus' powers, and aids him in his endeavors. He has powers himself, being able to copy the powers of anyone he can see within a 30ft radius, only one person at a time, lasting 5 minutes, can be swapped at any time.
* Aubrey can continue investigating as she will. She might hopefully go to the dungeons, where she will find Meive. She will find Johan in the same cell having been brutalized to death. She is here because Johan had confessed her involvement. Next to her is the corpse of the guard (slit throat) who had been body-swapped by Fergus. The guard will have written in his own blood on the wall "Fergus".
	+ By Meive's account, the guard walked into her cell, and questioned her on who else knew what she and Johan had found. She will say she told him of Aubrey and Brian, apologizing for that. The guard then took out a knife, and stabbed himself right through the throat. His face was one of satisfaction, then rapidly turning to panic a few seconds after he stabbed himself. This happened yesterday evening.
	+ Meive is scared that it will look like she killed the guard, and she will be killed for it, and will beg for Aubrey's help to escape. Aubrey can help her or leave her, or whatever else, as she will.
* If Aubrey investigates Fergus' solar, she will find it normal, a combined study, bedroom and cabinet. The room is stone, with fine rushes on the floor, tapestries on the walls depicting amusing scenes such as a rabbit riding a dog shooting a bow, or a man fighting a giant snail, or other tapestries with scenes of hunting or battle. The candles are unlit, and sunlight streams in through the large windows.
	+ The desk contains letters from other nobles, relatively uninteresting accounts regarding marriages and deaths, as scandals of certain peoples, no one that Aubrey recognises.
	+ The bed has a harness underneath, which is capable of restraining a man as well as gagging him. The harness is spattered with dried blood, particularly on the wrist straps.
	+ There is a opening onto the balcony facing the courtyard. Everything of the inner baily at the back of the castle can be seen from here.
* A successful Perception will reveal dust on the bottom of the heavy tapestry on one wall (indicative that it has been brushed against the floor many times). If she investigates, she will find a secret door behind it, revealing a room with a small desk and writing implements, with letters from Lord Phillip (last seen at Maynooth).
	+ There is a recipe detailing that sufficient blood of those touched by the mist, will open the way to the world of the Outsiders, and the power that lies therein. There is a long row of pillories facing a table with a large silver bowl and an ornate knife.
	+ Phillip's letters detail the experiments on the people of Maynooth, and what he believes will be possible if the way to the outsider's world is opened, such as advances in technology and wealth beyond anyone's imagining. The power that men touch by the mists wield could become a tool of the common man, or indeed his liege.
* Angus will be waiting for Aubrey's report at the White Duck, and will not be participating in the tournament until the next session.