Tahldar walks along the city and feels out of place.  It's been some time since he's been in any sort of civilization.  But it heartens him to see others going about relatively normal lives and that perhaps that could be his life again someday.

He enters the temple and joins Herrendon and listens to what he has to say.

Tahldar takes a quick measure of his funds and realizes he has very little in the way of gold and quite likely what he does have is not the type being requested for.  Plus he doesn't like the idea of take a mysterious vow.

"Unless someone steps forward and can pay the gold, I think we'll take option number two.  As I recall the majority of our funds were in the portable hole, which sadly is now closed."

Herrendon indicates the pool of orange incandescent fluid in the giant tub. "This liquid was brought here from the Source of Magic itself. If we put any object in here, it will either restore a lost magic or gain a new magic. Because the magic is wild, we do not recommend trying it out in the latter method, as it can be as enigmatic as wishes gone awry. But in any case, if we put your items immersed in this--what we call the Milk of Magic--then in about three days' time, the magic will be restored. This includes accessing your portable hole once more."

He waits to see if Tahldar's course is what everyone wants, and if so, he will tell you the deed he needs done.

Shae agrees with Tahldar's plan. "It's been awhile since I attended a party," she muses, wondering what she will wear.

Since it appears you will be taking the party route, Herrendon explains further:

The King of this kingdom is King Lombard. The party is an engagement party for the King's second son, Prince Romalus. His bride-to-be is Esther, daughter of King Zheklah in the neighboring kingdom, which is set upon smaller rock yet desirable as an ally.

The party is in two days. I will procure a schedule for you.

Your party will enter as attendant guards--extra security, in other words. You will need to wear garb provided to you, which will mean no armor. You may only carry with you one melee weapon, no bows, crossbows, or anything like that. And the melee weapon must be sheathed at all times.

Prior to the party, you will be able to meet the bride to introduce yourselves. They want everyone's face to be recognizable so there will be no strangers present to create suspicion. You will also have about one minute with the prince. Prior to your meeting, our temple representative will tell them that you are there on a special mission to ensure nothing out of ordinary happens--special emissaries, if you will. Therefore, they may confide in you.

Here is what we need you to do at the party:

First, of course, you must protect the prince and princess. The king will surely have every member of the guard put to death if harm comes to them. He is not light on punishment, which we will get to in a moment.

Second, keep your eye out for anything suspicious, and mingle politely with guests who seem to be worth talking to.

Third, and this is where it gets tricky, if you can get info on the king's state of health, we would like that. If he is suffering from some illness, we may be able to help him with our healing, but remember it is treason to speak of the king as dying or of his death. Also,  although he is normally kind and thinks of his people, i dare say that lately he has been aggressive, has increased executions, and many report that he has been moody and withdrawn. We are concerned for him but cannot do much directly to help. Please investigate what is going on. You will be given mostly free reign of the castle, but you must obey any Sergeant of Arms or higher in rank, as well as anyone of noble birth.

Shae says, a bit disappointed, "I suppose if we are glorified security guards, we will have to wear a uniform. Hopefully, we will get to taste the food." She is ready and helps put any items out there to regain their magic.

I'm going to assume no further discussions wanted with Herrendon.

He bids you good day, and will send for you on the morrow.

Zaron takes you aside as you walk back to his place.

"This reception will be attended by many important people. And by this, I mean members of the Syndicate or their lackies will be there to pay respects, I think. You can use this chance to find out more about who they are and where you can find them. And also maybe the location and identity of artifacts in their possession. Of course, you will have to be sly and wise with words to draw that out."

Anything in town you want to do or purchase before the next day?
Spellcasters: think of any spells you want to prepare, but also remember the new rules to give you more flexibility.

As you can see from the map, there are two castles in the city. The smaller one to the southeast is the one where the reception will be held. The king normally stays in the more fortress-like large castle in the center, but this one is good for pleasantries and parties.

You are given a map of Lombard Castle:



You are to arrive at 6:00 p.m., at which time you will be given a tour and will meet some of the royal guests, including the betrothed couple.

Guests will be allowed in starting at 7:00 p.m. Your duty will start then. You will not be assigned a station, but may wander about looking for signs of danger or security breach.

(Zaron, who will not be attending, says you should try to engage the guests and anyone else to get info about the Syndicate, its members, and what artifacts each has.)

The reception will then proceed as follows:

8:00: Banquet begins (guests will dine in the Great Hall and servants will dine in the Servant Hall)

9:30: The King arrives to greet the guests.

10:00: The couple can meet for the first time formally in the "Precoupling Ceremony." Dancing and merriments begin.

12:00: Guests depart

A dwarf is brought to you by Herrondon. "This is Kromram Steelbane, also a veteran warrior like yourselves. He will accompany you."

Tahldar nods Harrondon as he looks the map over.

"Well met." he says to Kromram.  "Do you have any experience with parties like this?" he asks of the warrior.

Kromram is unremarkable looking for a dwarf, of average height and build with dark hair. You can see he is starting to get a little age on him judging by the grey wisps in his hair and tidy beard.

He nods politly in return, ''well met. No, nothing on this scale anyhow. But you needn't worry, I'm plenty capable.'' Kromram smiles reassuringly, though the smile seems a bit forced. ''So where do you want me Mr...''Kromram gently waves his hand, prompting Tahldar to introduce himself.

While waiting for Tahldar, Shae says, "My name is Shae Shadowglen. I am a druid, and yes, only half elf. I carry this ancestral spear of magic to honor my ancestors." Shae is dark haired and she clearly has elven features. She also looks very uncomfortable in the recent magical suit of armor found by the party, but she did go to have it altered and adjusted by the armorer, so now it is clearly more feminine and lets her have more freedom of movement.

The only other thing Shae wants to do before they start is take a long, hot bath and brush up on the skills she hasn't used in awhile.

Whenever you guys are ready, I can advance this. ONce we get moving, I'd love to make it fast-paced, as this has mystery elements I wouldn't want to get stale.

I think Kromram is finishing up the character sheet. Not sure who else is definitely still here. I may deprecate Kahan to staying out if he is not active. Borimer's player also expressed interest in coming back if RL gets easier.

You return on Saturday to Herrendon at the temple. Next to him is the king's Commander of the Guard, Percival.

He doesn't care what armor you wear, but you must wear the royal blue and red cape, boots and gloves that mark you as one of the chosen guards for the ceremonies. You each also receive a clasp with the sun breaking out from behind the moon, which is the symbol of the king.

Percival says:

"Here is your schedule. Arrive at 7:00. You will meet the bride, Esther, at 7:00 and the groom, Romalus, at 7:15, for a brief discussion. Zaron mentioned your exploits to me, and when I mentioned it to them, they were each impressed, and they may have specific tasks for you to watch out for during the party.

At 7:30, guests will arrive in the gatehouse. You will be standing at the inner ward area to watch for anything amiss. The guests arriving are all of extremely high rank in the nobility, in their wealth and power, or in magic, and all are highly honored by the king. Therefore, treat them with the greatest kindness or you will find yourselves thrown out into the moat for the alligators.

At 8:00, the primary feasting begins. You will have leave to wander around the castle grounds to look for anything suspicious. Given the high notoriety and caste of people in attendance, everyone is on high alert. You will have my lieutenant, Garand, to help escort and guide you...and yes, be your babysitter since you are not known in these parts but come highly recommended by Zaron and Herrendon.

At 11:00, the festivities end. The septon arrives and the wedding is held at exactly 11:30, with all guests directed to leave by midnight.

There are a few rules:

Rule 1: Ensure no harm comes to the gardens, the livestock, or the fresh water. In these troubled times with the Angry Earth curse, nothing is more precious than food sources.

Rule 2: Ensure no harm comes to the royal family or their guests, and investigate any potential threats.

Rule 3: We understand that some guests are a bit notorious, but we must abide by the law of the king and ensure no harm comes to them regardless of our thoughts about the. If there is any crime committed, they must be apprehended peacefully. There will be no violence except in self-defense.

Any questions?"


NOTE: This is an adventure that could have many different endings. It is the least scripted of any I have ever given you, so things could go very well, very badly, or somewhere in between.

You arrive at the castle early, change into your appropriate uniforms, and take your favorite weapon. (Remember, only one weapon is allowed per guard.) Your weapon is checked and catalogued. This way, every weapon is accounted for within the castle walls.

You notice one thing right away. The uniforms of soldiers denote rank:

Percival, as commander of the guard, is in full regalia:

Percival: blue and red cape, matching boots and gloves, epaulettes, ribbon mounts and badges, matching helmet and full regalia.

Percival looks something like this:


You: As visitors, you have only the cape, boots and gloves

Low level Guards: They have the boots, gloves, helmet, and a red and blue drape over a breastplate.

Percival introduces you to Antoine. He is dressed identically to Percival but without the epaulettes.

Antoine is very polite and formal. "I shall be assisting you as needed," he says. "I will take you from room to room. If you have questions or concerns, I will do my best to answer."

Seeing you are all here, Percival excuses himself to attend to duties. "Shall we?" Antoine says, extending an arm to lead you to meet the bride.

NOTE: I am hoping we have enough players. We have a new joiner skilled in roguish arts, an elf named Mallisar, and a warrior named Kromram. I think we also have with us Tahldar, Shae, and Renakaris. I think we have lost Kahan. I actually think we could use 1 or 2 more, so if anyone joins (old or new), we can easily add them in.

With that said, I want to get this going full speed ahead since there have been many delays. I will try to keep clues and info in the separate thread, but please make your own list and notes. This is part mystery, part investigation, with some action and use of skills. There is no set ending. i see at least 4 or 5 different ways this could go, good or bad.

You enter from the south. Antoine leads you to the right (east) and up some stairs to the guest quarters and private chapel.



An elegant room is decorated. When you enter, you see the princess sitting on a divan while being waited on by a lady in waiting.

With her are two guards from her own kingdom. They are dressed in Green and yellow uniforms. She excuses them to talk with you privately. Only her lady in waiting remains in the room. The Princess introduces her as Anne.

Princess Esther is about 20 years old--a brown haired human. She is informally dressed currently, though her hair is made up elaborately in preparation for the wedding. A wedding dress hangs on a nearby manakin.

She looks you over for a moment. "I hear you are brought as special watchguards," she says. "And so I need to warn you of a concern I have."

She nods to her lady in waiting, who closes the door and stands near it so no one will overhear. Then the princess leans in to talk confidentially to you in a low voice.

"Prince Romalus is an only child and I am the only daughter of my father. Thus, it makes political sense for us to be married. King Lombard never before decided on an alliance, so it came out of the blue about 30 days ago. My father's kingdom is not as rich, but is a favorable strategic position. Again, this makes sense. I heard King Lombard was letting his son choose his own wife, but that would go against tradition anyway."

She takes a deep breath. "It is my duty to wed Prince Romalus for our two kingdoms, and I will do so, though I have never met him. But that is not the problem. You see, until this sudden 'arrangement,' I had my own love. His name is Jak. I immediately had to break it off with him. It was my duty. But he was not happy. He said if he could not have me, no one can, and he swore revenge. I don't know if he will be here or not, or if he will try something, but please keep an eye out. He can't be allowed to stop this wedding."
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:57, Fri 18 Nov 2022.

Tahldar arrives but carries no apparent weapon, relying on his bracers and spells if the need arrives to defend himself.  The elf is smartly dressed in his cape, boots and gloves.  He is glad for the new wardrobe as his old clothes had gotten thread bare and quite shabby.

He follows Antoine to princess Esther's room.  Tahldar looks the elegant room over and is reminded of the home he left behind.  Now certainly destroyed he will never see it again.

He approaches the princess and moves to speak, but hesitates.  Though he is aware of etiquette's formalities in such situations, he also knows that for some reason his personality can grate on people and he is loathe to start off on the wrong foot.

OOC:  Tahldar has the Etiquette skill but has a bad charisma.  He'll hold off to see if another character wants to start speaking first.

Malissar is new to both the city and this group, though he was happy to make their acquaintance. He too is not well versed in social situations, which is probably what led to his ouster from the elven communities to this ragtag city where everyone seems welcome.

His most noticeable feature is his piercing violet eyes, and he is extraordinarily tan for an elf. But the scar on his face is off-putting, and his voice is somewhat raspy and grating when he speaks.

He says, "We are happy to help, your Highness, or Grace, or whatever you want us to call you. But I have one question which I would have expected you to tell us straight off. How can we recognize this Jak? How do we know him when we see him?"

Shae steps forward to intervene on behalf of her companions.

As a half-elf, she enjoys the striking beauty of both races, the best of both worlds. Her eyes are arresting in their beauty, but also carry the authority that would rival any man. Before her tribe of druids was slaughtered and scattered, they had trained in the etiquette and courtesies of both races. (Charisma: 19)

"Your Grace, what my friend here means to say is that we want very much to help you in this matter. If you could please provide us every detail we might need to accomplish this for you, it would be greatly appreciated. Does this Jak have any distinguishing features? Tattoos? What is his height and hair color? Is he large or slim? Is he your age? Any details will help us protect you."

Princess Esther frowns at Malissar a moment butt nods. Upon Shae's questioning, she lightens up. "Yes, I see," she says. "Jak is about my age and complexion, average height. He shaves his head bald." She points to the left side of her neck. "He has a large mole right here on his neck." She pauses, thinking, "And when he talks, he overuses contractions. A slight bit banal and plebian for my tastes, but he is an excellent fighter and can drink most men under the table."

Like the other two, Kromram is not great at charm (CHA 9). He is a fighting man. He says, "So when you say he is good at fighting, just how good is he? There are a bunch of us against one. Does he have magic or something?"

Tahldar remains silent and lets the others speak.  Especially Shae who is clearly particularly skilled when speaking to aristocracy.

Adding to what Kromram said, Talhdar asks evenly "Princess Esther, in introductions my name is Tahldar.  This Jak, is there a particular weapon he prefers?"

Princess Esther listens to the questions and responds, with a knowing look at her lady in waiting, "He was asked to be captain of the guard, which would have made him the youngest ever. That's how good he is. And quite handsome, even with the mole. But he did not want to take the oath of chastity--obviously--and, well, his favored weapons are a dagger in one hand and longsword in the other. He is quite skilled with dual wielding.

"He is no spellcaster and has no magic, but he has resources. His family is the richest in my fief, and he has access to magical items. Perhaps more importantly, he has three close friends who will swear any allegiance he desires. Nom is a spellcaster. Angus is a stealthy roguish sort, and Librus is a fighter almost as good as Jak. They all shaved their heads as part of their group allegiance.

"Nom normally has striking red hair, but he shaved his head and face. He carries a want made of cedar, and his spellbook is quite small and portable. Angus does not have any striking features, but he is quick to anger and very defensive. He does have thick black eyebrows. And then Librus--well, he has several scars over his body from battles. I can't remember them all, but there were some on his back, a big one on his hand, and a large burn on his left--no, on his right--calf going all the way to his foot."

Kromram says, "When you say access to magical items, do you have any idea what items he has access to? What should we be on the lookout for?"

Princess Esther thinks for a moment. "I cannot say exactly what he has. His family has a chest where they keep magical items, so I do not think it will be anything very large. I do seem to recall something related to invisibility. Nom is a mage, so I am sure he must have something magic, though I would not know what. I do remember he was angered at me once and threatened to cast an irritation spell on me. Angus is a rogue and has several items that help him, including ventriloquism and things of illusion like something called audible glamer that creates noises. He is quite the show off. Some say he was a mummer in a former life. That is about all I know. His friends were not my friends."

There is a knock on the door, and a lady in waiting appears. "My Grace, we must prepare you for the ceremony. Time is short."

Princess Esther nods. She says to you, "I must perform my duties now. Please keep watch for these rascals. Jak would like nothing more than to make tonight a disaster."

You bow and leave. Lieutenant Antoine leads you out of the upper guest quarters. "We are off to see the Prince now. We do not have much time. Guests will be arriving before long."

NOTE: Please note the Clues thread which is separate from this. I will update it as you move along for easy reference.

You leave following the green path.

Your group is stopped at the inner ward. Percival brings another warrior guard to join your group. "This is Gaelin Tanner," he says. "He will be joining you."

You make brief introductions (you can do this on the side--just saving time here) and continue up the stairs and to room directly opposite where the princess room was at (this time on the west side).


The design of the Prince's room is exactly the same as the princess, though it is masculine and decorated differently.

There is a bed and a sturdy oak desk. Several chairs are lined up against the wall, and a table with chairs is in the center of the room with a half-played chess game set up. Instead of a wedding dress manakin, you see a suit of mail armor in the corner.

The prince is lounging on a couch talking to a friend. The prince stands to greet you without ceremony. "I am Prince Romalus. Don't you dare bow or kneel. This is Lord Damon, my friend since we could pick up wooden swords."

There is also a valet nearby, and the prince dismisses him from the room too.

Prince Romalus is of average height, very athletic build. He has grown a slight moustache and beard. He is dressed in formal regalia armor. Instead of red and blue, it is red and black.

Lord Damon is similarly dressed as Prince Romalus, but has darker skin and hair. He has purple tinges to his clothes, including a scarf.

PRINCE ROMALUS:


LORD DAMON


Romalus dismisses the guards, leaving only your group, Antoine, and Damon.

Romalus says, "Look, you probably know this, but my older brother died several months back, leaving me next in line for the throne. I didn't want it. I don't want it. And I'm sure as the levels of the Abyss don't want to marry this princess. I was meant to be out fighting and exploring. But my father is a different man since my brother's death. He is more stern. He shouts orders. And now this marriage. He broke his promise to me that I can marry whomever I choose."

Damon tries to calm him down. "But Romalus, you haven't chosen anyone."

"I don't want to be tied down."

Damon says, "You need to do this. For your father. For the kingdom."

"Then why doesn't he marry her? He's a widower."

"You are the heir."

"Heir shmeir." Prince Romalus looks at you. "Have you seen her? Is she at least pleasant to look upon? I haven't even seen this bride to be."