Arc XIII: Escaping the Ember Keep

## Arc XIII Characters:

* Archer Lovejoy [He/Him] (played by Reagan - He/Him) - A High Elf Arcane Archer Fighter.
* Kendal Inagwyn [He/Him] (played by Nora - She/Her) - A Wood Elf Warrior of the Drunken Master Monk.

## Arc XIII Synopsis:

### Session 1: The Attempt

On the same day of Lucas Alaric’s coronation, the two Chosen Heroes of King Henric Alaric hear the sounds of explosions and run to go help. By the time they reach the chambers of the King they are stopped by guards and placed under arrest for “aiding the treasonous Prince Donovan Alaric”.

A few days later they are transferred from the holding cells within The Ember Keep to the Kings Dungeon, where the worst of the worst criminals are kept. They are greeted by The Warden, a man in a pressed suit, bald head and long curly mustache holding a cane with an Amber Gemstone on top of it. He greets the two jovially, welcoming them to the worst place on Earth. He replaces their bindings with arcane armbands that can jolt them with arcane energy if they disobey or cause any trouble. Despite Archer’s protestation, the two follow orders and are taken to Cell #5.

Left alone for the first time since arriving, the two discuss their plans to escape because of how fishy everything is regarding their imprisonment. As the two search around their cell they find a crack in the wall that they are able to pull open like it is made of rubber and find some small things inside. Archer also find his arm blades have reappeared on his wrists thanks to their Dinferni enchantment. They soon head to bed after being unable to find any sort of way to escape for now. IN his dreams Kendal sees flashes of images that don’t make much sense to him.

The two are awoken by the Warden performing his daily cell checks, where the guards are unable to find anything so they are sent off to breakfast. On their way they meet Krolad Hatebad, a Dwarven man who was imprisoned alongside his brothers Herrick and Wenduc for upsetting Gem Lovejoy. Archer and the Hatebads bond over their shared hatred of Gem and they begin to discuss escape plans quietly, promising to meet again later to discuss more. Kendal has taken a liking to a Grung who has been within the prison for longer than anyone, as well as a Kentucky who is muttering things about King Alder Pinn and his assassination attempt.

Throughout the first day they also meet an Orc named Nol who Archer bonds with more after hearing about how he was imprisoned for listening to teh wrong man and killing Goblins under the order of Declan Helvan during the events of Arc II. Everytone else they meet within the prison seem either useless in terms of their escape or outright antagonistic. At work time they begin digging tunnels by order of The Warden, and when questioned, he just tells Archer to dig, while giving him an arcane shock through his bindings. During their free time, they meet with The Hatebads who explain their escape plan.

Their plan entails a distraction while Herrick and Wenduc break into the confiscated equipment shed to get all of their items back in orde rot also break the cuffs off. During the next meal, Archer recruits Nol while also giving his name to an Eladrin who was talking to Nol and demands that she comes along with them. They also chat more with the Kenku, giving him phrases to say like “Gem Lovejoy is dead”, “Down with Lucas, Donovan is King”, and a message from Kendal who is doing the Warden’s voice saying things about how he’s going to keep the guards longer than their scheduled shifts. On their way out they are also confronted with The Ironscales, a group of Lizardfolk who Archer and Kendal had put away a few years ago for holding up the stores of important merchants within Tyle. Kendal is able to use his new ring to charm them, telling them to go cause trouble and keep the guards away from them.

With everything set for their plan, Archer begins the distraction by saying some hurtful things to Nol, unfortunately he was a little too effective and gets Nol actually mad at him and tries to hit him. At the same time the Kenku is ring chased saying his new phrases as well as the Ironscales keeping the guards off of the fight for long enough to attract to The Warden, who sends a jolt through all of teh prisoners before throwing Archer and Kendal into solitary for one day. In the night, once again Kendal has strange dreams, but then finds himself in a dark cave where he hears a voice, asking him to free him from the gem on the Warden’s cane, and that he will grant him anything that he could ever want. When the two are let out, Kendal tells Archer about his dream, and while Archer is hesitant due to Kendals Hell induced Madness, he can’t help but trust his friend and promises to get the cane before they leave.

Thankfully their distraction is proved to have worked, as they meet with the Hatebads once again in the Garden pocket dimension within their cell their equipment is all sitting inside. Herrick then takes the time to deactivate their bands, telling them that he has already done theirs as well as Nol’s and the Eladrin woman who insisted that she was joining them in escape. Re-arming themselves, they prepare to storm out and make their attempt through the tunnels they have been digging.

They bust through their cell and rush the doors, with Archer firing an explosive arrow to stun the guards at the main door as well as blowing the door open. They instruct the others to go ahead of them and make a break for The Wardens office. He sees them and asks how they got their quipment back before slamming his name down trying to give them a jolt and is shocked when it doesn’t work. Archer smiles as he draws his bow, firing a Banishing Arrow at The Warden , sending him to the Feywild for a minute. Kendal runs to grab the cane and shatters it on the ground, with a flash a large man made of stone with gemstone hair stands in front of them, thanking them for setting him free. He snaps and they have met up with the others in their group. When he sees them digging his raises his hand and the earth moves out of the way creating a doorway.

As they all are running through the tunnels, the come face to face with the Warden, whos eyes are glowing and all magic is suppressed, stopping them as he laughs, telling them that he should kill all of them. But he was impressed that they were not only able to escape, but also free his power source. As Archer rushes forward to fight back, he puts the group to sleep.

The group wakes up within a new room where the Warden has them all bound, and the man from the cane within an Anti-Magic circle. The Warden welcomes them all to his secret project, a fighting ring where he takes the worst of the prisoners and makes them fight to the death. Archer and Kendal had impressed him, and so rather than kill them himself, he will put them into The Pitt. After being taunted, he overconfidently makes a deal, saying if they can survive two rounds within The Pitt, he will fight them himself and if they somehow manage to beat him they will be free.

The man from the cane wishes them luck after The Warden leaves, and finally introduces himself as Bolland, the Earth Genie. He senses a power on Archers person asking him about it. He reveals that he still has the Fate card form The Deck of Many Things. Bolland tells them that the card could solve all of this. Just erase the circle from existence and he could get them out of there. Archer refuses, wanting to use the card as a last ditch scenario and save it so that it could be used for something else someday.

Instead the two steel themselves for battle, and to kill The Warden and finally be free.

### Session 2: The Pitt

The next day, the two wake up with Bolland and everyone else gone, and two guards waking them up. They take the two through more tunnels to a gate where they are told to wait until it opens, they head through. They could hear through the gates cheering and hollering from the crowd before the gate opens, making it louder and louder as they walk through the gate into a sand covered pit. The Warden stands in his booth, telling them that they will be playing a popular game here known as “Hide and Seek”. The lights dim as a magical darkness is cast over the arena. The Warden tells them that their friends are all scattered about the arena, and that all they have to do is find them without dying. As they hear the walls raise and the crowd roar, they suddenly hear a pop and the nothing at all, adding another twist.

Thankfully after all their time together, the two were able to communicate no verbally and split up, each looking for their allies, and occasionally running into Were-beasts. Each one they encounter makes one or two attacks, attempting to infect them before running off or being killed. They make their way through the maze, with Kendal being bitten twice seemingly being infected, but are able to gather all of their friend and are brought back into the waiting room. The others gear up as they’ve been told that they will be assisting Archer and Kendal in their next challenge. When looking at Kendals wounds, they real size that their training has allowed them to burn off the lycanthropy without becoming infected.

After a short rest they move on to the next round, where they are all placed within an arena with two Gorgons and a Stone Golem and are told that tall they have to do is win the fight. Thanks to the overwhelming numbers on their side they are able to handily take care of the enemies, which further frustrates the Warden. He then tells the boys to pick two allies to bring into their fight and they choose Wenduc as well as Nol. Once again they are taken to the waiting room to rest before their next battle.

In the final round, The Warden steps down and reveals his true form as a Beholder and begins his attack with the walls that rose moving back and forth as well as spinning while the fight rages on. While posing a large challenge, the group are finally able to defeat The Warden, but not before he takes Nol into his mouth, biting down and throwing him across the arena. After climbing on top of him, Archer stabs and cuts many eyes across his head and finally sending one last Banishing Arrow, dumping his body to The Feywild. Rushing over to Nol, he uses minor illusion to give the two of them a moment. Nol with his dying breath, asks Archer to take his body back to Far Ridge, and not to leave him here to rot. He passes in Archers arms as the High Elf begins to cry.

After taking his moment he carries his body to the viewing box where Bolland is being held once again within and anti-magic circle. Kendal breaks the seal and allows him to get his powers back, where he asks what Kendal would like his wish to be. Kendal, seeing his friend still heartbroken by the loss of Nol, uses his wish to bring Nol back from the dead. Bolland smiles and nods waving a hand out and healing the Orc.

Bolland congratulates them on their freedom, and tells them he will take them wherever they’d like, but he has an idea of somewhere they should go first. Archer and Kendal agree, and Bolland sends their other allies back to their home, while Nol stays with them as they teleport to a small island on the southern coast of Hyranor, to the home of Robin Lovejoy that she has made for herself since leaving Glycaria and being framed for the murder of her mother. Archer and Robin are left to reconnect after she explains to Bolland that she is working with the Fire Genie Ambrosious. Kendal is brought aside by the Genie and is asked if he would like a similar deal to Robin, where he gives Kendal power in exchange for being his champion. Kendal accepts in his way, further concerning and confusing Bolland, but like Archer, he just can’t help but trust the strange Monk

### Epilouge: Arc XV SPOILERS

After the war between Donovan and Lucas, Archer and Kendal return to Tyle in order to speak with King Donovan. Donovan, remembering all they did for him and his family over the years, reinstates them as his Chosen Heroes, alongside Nol, who stayed with them due to also being wanted across all of Hyranor. He also grants all of them royal pardons so that they will be able to return to their former lives without having issues with the law. Robin is also granted a formal pardon, but denies her brothers offer to join him in being a Chosen Hero, as that life never called to her, preferring to serve Ambrosious and return to her thieving lifestyle.

## Arc XIII Trivia:

* This Arc started as a Myth, but changed when Walker realized the opportunities presented by a prison break Arc
* Kendal was originally an Open Hand Monk but switched after his time in Hell made him “too goofy”