Session 9

> *"Boom, bitch! Everybody get in here!"*- **Vay during the Ghastly Tome Brawl**
>
>

## New Friends

### Location(s)

Val Royeaux* Spider Caverns
* The White Spire
* Lady Aveline's
* Alienage
* du Chambronne Estate
* The Ghastly Tome

### Characters

BalbusCaspar

Drystan (joins)

Kynedrin

Saidra (leaves)

Vay

**As the Party does battle with their first major threat, an unexpected turn shifts their mentality completely. Upon safely returning to Val Royeaux, they set about dealing with the repercussions and take a few days to recover from the event. Deciding to follow through on a previous suggestion during a night out drinking with Kynedrin, Vay tips off the group to a possible task of retrieving some ancient artifacts in the city. What awaits them are a new companion, some new allies(?) and a whole heap of classic hijinks.**

## Session

### The Worst Happens

Sprouting arms from its form, the Entity laughed before reaching towards its attacker. Having noticed the severity of the situation and the consequences of what she did, Saidra tried to pull back, but as the ethereal hand passed through her she let out a guttural grasp before collapsing to the ground unconscious. Instantly the tone of the encounter changed, the sudden removal of one of their members catching them all off guard. Balbus reacted automatically and began to pull her away, being the only one to lands blows on the Entity as he fought a delaying retreat. Vay and Kynedrin tried to strike blows against its form, only for both to pass effortlessly through the shadows the billowed from the rags.

Yelling out in anger, Caspar raised his blade and charged forth, dissipating one of the Entity's ethereal minions with one strike. Completely unsure of what to do in this situation, Kynedrin readied his Battleaxe as he asked what the plan was. As the remaining minions moved to surround Caspar, he called out with a genuine plea for help as multiple blasts struck him in the chest, instilling a growing coldness within as each blow landed. Sighing an almost reluctant sigh, the Dwarf ran forth to join his friend, one strike also dissipating another minion. Distracted by his need to protect Saidra, Balbus was unable to strike true as lances of arcane energy billowed forth from his taff and arced past the Entity's form. Taunting his foes, he followed them slowly and methodically, watching particularly the fallen form of Saidra with glee. This brief distraction allowed Balbus to strike true a few more times, drawing an angry response from the Entity as he shrieked in pain. Having been unable to land any blows, Vay fled towards the entrance way, followed soon after by the rest of the party as Caspar and Kynedrin blocked the being from reaching its quarry.

Falling back to the crossroads, the Party tried to take a moment to breathe, before the Entity called out "My children! To me!" and the rushed sound of skittering emanated from the tunnel to the party's left, where they had not yet explored. Nocking an arrow and readying his sword respectively, Vay and Caspar seemed intent on continuing to fight before they saw the number of spiders emerging. Managing to catch one square in the maw as he loosed an arrow, Vay tried to reason with the entity one last time out of desperation. Asking what it wanted, it demanded compensation, revealing that the compensation was a sacrifice for the now worthless time he had sacrificed for his creations. Deeming this nothing short of impossible, the nimble elf fled the caverns. The rest of the party followed suit, with Caspar now picking up Saidra and running while Balbus landed one last blow

The entity cackled another guttural laugh, it piercing the minds of every member bar Kynedrin as if it were still right next to them. It revealed that the barrier they had broken had been put in place to disrupt him. It asked the party if they were arrogant enough to just automatically break down any barriers they saw, without questioning their purpose. It revealed that it had seemingly been discovered by the White Spire party that had followed the groups initial venture, and with that barrier now broken by Balbus, it was now free again. It declared that now "He will know of me" and that its children will rule these forests once more.

Hastily making their way back to the city, now in full flight and desperate for any form of safety, the group breathed a sigh of relief upon re-entering Val Royeaux a few hours later.

### Retrieving History

Making their way successfully back to the Alienage, meeting up with the various forms of the party, they head towards the Ghastly Tome, presuming this to be a better course of action than to return to Lady Aveline's. Kynedrin is barely able to stand still, and neither is Vay, as the two are seemingly overrun by their own adrenaline over having escaped successfully. As they approach, they see that the bouncer is not there, and the whole area is quiet. Chalking this up to it being the wee hours of the morning, Vay nonetheless sticks his head in the door. Seeing far fewer individuals than before, and no barkeep or musicians, he grows steadily more nervous. He does however give it the benefit of the doubt, and that this was just a non-social hour, and nobody is acting suspiciously out of the 7 figures he can see.

Noting the oddness of these circumstances, only Vay and Caspar enter, quickly finding the figure of Healara sat in the same area as before. Not sitting by her, the elven rogue simply appears beside her and informs her that the deed is done. Seeming to smile under the hood, she asks if it all went as planned, and receives the affirmative. At this point, her head dips, as the other figures in the room begin to move. Lifting her head up for the first time since meeting any of the party, Healara reveals a deceptively aged face, and lets out a sincere sigh. Stating that she is truly sorry, and appreciates their efforts, she then calls out

"Come on boys, seems we have a bounty to claim by morning!"

Immediately the 6 figures shoot up to standing, drawing their mauls and maces, while 4 more barrel out of a back room...

### Brawl at the Ghastly Tome

Upon seeing the blades drawn, Vay instinctively grabs her by the head and smashes it into the tables. Taking advantage of the momentary confusion, he calls out for the rest of the group to join him. Outside, the group hears the outbreak of violence, only to be caught off guard as two groups of three individuals suddenly approach them. The first, led by the Dwarf spotted several times at the Ghastly Tome before, donning gauntlets adorned with rings. He looks at Balbus, cracking his knuckles, and asks "So, have they started?". Receiving a confused agreement, he turns to the other group. This one, comprised of Elves and led by an unrecognized individual of platinum blonde hair, look tense and wary of the Dwarves, before the gauntlet wielder asks if they're ready to go in. Nodding to each other, they then collectively storm the entrance to the tavern, the Dwarven leader kicking the door nearly off its hinges.

The party follows in close behind, with Kynedrin striking the first actual blow, his throwing axe taking one of the thugs clear off his feet and crashing onto his back with a heavy thud. Drystan rushes forward and tries to slice the throat of another, but their armour blocks the majority of the impact. As another figure closes with him, he realizes the danger and retreats back behind Kynedrin, who finishes off the guy on the floor with a vicious punch to the fact. The Dwarves have engaged a trio of individuals on the right-hand side of the Tavern, with the bruiser leading the charge. His fellows, brandishing vicious hammers, begin to wail on their respective foes, and take some strikes in return. Grabbing the man in front of him, the bruiser draws back a fist and throws a wild haymaker. The tavern resounds with a sickening squelch as the figures face is utterly concaved from the force of the blow, his body limply falling off of the bruiser's fist. Laughing loudly, and the same fate awaits another of the three thugs, this time after a hammer had connected with his clavicle. As they all closed in on the third member in front of them, the figure suddenly clenches in agony as ice begins to rise up his form, and then shatters into several pieces that scatter across the tavern floor. Looking behind him, the bruiser and Kynedrin note that one of the elven party grins with hands outstretched, seemingly magically attuned.

As this was happening, the leader of the Elves, named Felrin, charged past the entire Dwarven group to close with an individual throwing knives behind the rest of the thugs. Drawing a shortsword, he manages to get the better of his foe, knocking the blades from his hand and thrusting his blade clear through his chest after a couple of back-and-forth strikes. Taking him a while to do so, he immediately rejoined his kin at the back of the tavern, observing the rest of the fight unfold.

As Vay pulled for his dagger, Healara loosed her own in his direction, sinking the blade deep into his right shoulder. Caspar tries to aid with a heavy strike across her chest, but she moves just enough to suffer a glancing blow, the main brunt of the impact dissipating into the table as his greatsword carved through it. Vay and Healara exchange blows repeatedly for the rest of the fight, his dagger inflicting numerous small cuts, while she is unable to find purchase on the agile Elf's form with her warhammer. Caspar turned his attention to figures that closed with him, and within seconds instantly decapitates one of their number, shortly after Balbus unleashed a vicious torrent of lightning through a trio, leaving one stunned for a number of seconds. The other two pile onto the mage, bringing him to within an inch of his life, though his next spell frightens them, causing hesitation and allowing him to fall back to Vay and Caspar. The remaining two figures pursued him round, only for the sudden appearance of Drystan to spell their doom, with one suffering a vicious thrust in the throat that snuffs his life away. Seeing a chance, the young human then charges forward and slides between the other thugs legs, severing the muscles at the back of his knees, intending to cripple him and take him hostage. However, the cuts run deep, and the figure's life drains as his blood hastily pours out of the wounds.

As this was going on, Kynedrin continued Drystan's previous fight in the centre of the tavern. Angry at seeing their cohort felled, the two figures strike hard and true, delivering crushing blows with their mauls on the Dwarf's form, though he shrugs it off and with one fell strike cuts almost entirely through the mid-section of one. Struggling to free his battleaxe, he turns to face the other individual. After another blow lands viciously on his torso, he readies to strike him down, only for the other Dwarves to swarm this thug. Sickening crunches are heard as their hammers find their marks, before an implosive splurting crunch rings out when the bruiser punches almost entirely through the man's skull. Taking a few moments to pull his now blood-covered gauntlet free, he revels in the carnage. After a few moments pass and it becomes clear that Healara and Vay are the only combatants left, he and his group stop to converse with Kynedrin, for what purpose it is not known.

Her plan in tatters, and her underlings massacred around her, Healara continued to fight on, her warhammer gliding only just over the head of Vay. Taking the chance to finish her off, he deftly snakes under her swing and then sinks his dagger deeply under her shoulder, almost to the joint. She screams in pain, as her right arm falls limp and the hammer clatters to the floor. Entirely at their mercy, Vay raises his dagger to her throat as Caspar asks her questions.

As Balbus takes a moment to recover, Drystan cleans himself off, and Kynedrin converses with the other Dwarves, who are now joined by the Elves, her eyes dart around the room, the pain in her eyes clear. Demanding to know what all this was for, she smiles before spitting a mouthful of blood at Caspar, whose demeanour darkens rapidly. Upon being asked again, she vehemently denies any higher power than her, stating that this was all her plan, though the purpose of it she refused to reveal.

Seeing that he is getting nowhere, Vay and Caspar ask if anybody else has questions, namely the two figures that showed up to their rescue. Felrin and the bruiser nod and come over, their faces displaying deep disappointment and regret at the circumstances. As the bruiser notes the sadness of a wasted life, all in the name of competition, Felrin notes the shield and sword strapped across the back of Caspar. Turning his gaze back to Healara, he sighs a heavy sigh, before ordering her execution. Vay happily obliges, still smarting from the betrayal, as she gargles and spurts blood, her neck opening in a visceral slash.

And so the Brawl ended, 11 lives claimed, and a slew of new individuals to be conversed with. Was Healara operating independently?