06 Jun 2021 12:03
Setting
Karentha was trying to get Aria moving towards the Shaker Temple. Certain other political forces, chiefly but not only Lord Eril, were trying to protect Aria.
Plot was chiefly from https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/307504/The-Duel-at-Dangerford?affiliate_id=205935 with some start/end points added.
IC Play
Karentha attempted to have Aria ride at night on beetles to the Shaker Temple, despite Aria having mules. Karentha also wanted to leave behind the day-time bodyguards and go alone for speed. Aria was unconvinced, as was Kosa and everyone else, but Karentha set out to arrange it anyhow, as travelling at night was, to her mind, safer. However, she found out that there were no troll bodyguards available, despite having been assured there would be, a few hours before1.
Eril ordered Saronil to take the Black Sword, relic of his Temple, to Galen the God-talker in Alda Chur. He added that if that were not possible, Saronil should draw it at Dangerford. Just touching the Black Sword nearly killed Saronil.2
On seeing the sword, Kosa was immediately attracted to its aura, and the feel of it3. Saronil bought some expensive black cloth to wrap the sword up in, so he did not have to wear it, and to keep its aura back. That night, he dreamed of fighting a Holmgang, of glory, bringing death to everyone around him. He was holding an iron sword in his left hand, although he fought with his right.
The group set off for Alda Chur, but only got as far as Dangerford, where they found that the Lunars were building a bridge on the other side. It looked like a very impressive bit of military engineering. Saronil drew the sword4, and its spirit, Skaal, emerged, and asked the group to volunteer to fight the army in single combat. Meanwhile, an island coalesced in the ford area, created by the sword enforcing its own reality upon the world. Having made sure to send the word about the army, they stepped onto the island, and challenged the army. Skaal was delighted to have them sitting down and eating and enjoying themselves and accepting his hospitality, and the food from magical cauldrons5 was good.
The Lunars sent over boats and tried to take the island by storm, but Skaal proved himself entirely able to dismember a landing force, even cutting down their arrows. After that, volunteers rolled up. The island could enforce waiting for magic to be over or dismissed before the next fight, and thus Saronil went first, fighting a huge warrior, Robustus, and taking him down. Everyone else did put helpful magic on each other, but it was not much needed.
The next man to step up was in iron armour, and he turned out to be rather important. Prince Orontes of Tarsh, nephew of the King, obviously entirely outmatched Androus, and the whole party, but he had come to surrender in the hope of defecting. He just needed to make it look good, and said he would go down at the first blow. Skaal had no ruling on this, and so with some compunctions, Androus fought him; indeed, Orontes surrendered once he had fallen to a head blow, and so the rules of the island were kept, although Orontes was obviously a slimy and unclean thing…
Orontes gave the group some news about what might be going on in the palace of King Moirades, and went to hide on the back of the island and be grateful he was alive.
After that, the Lunars took people who were probably not even volunteers, and made a massive four-armed demon out of them, sending it against the island. Kosa stood up against it. It turned out to breath fire. As she cut off bits of it, ghosts came out and fled, making it marginally less effective. She slew it, and it seemed to die with relief.
A little later, they spotted the Lunar Magicians being arrested on the orders of the general of the army, who was there in person. Fazzur Wideread was Not Pleased, and came out to the island under a flag of truce to apologise, and to have snacks pressed on him by Skaal. His apology include an offer of a two-hour window in which they could leave the island, and a promise that if they did not, he would send one of his bodyguard or a high ranking officer of Yanafil Tarnils every fifteen minutes until they were all dead. He let them talk about it for a while, and retreated to go have food on the shore.
The group decided they had done all they could; they had held up the army for several hours, effectively giving Sartar an extra day, and they were convinced of Fazzur's honour and his intention to destroy them if he got in the way. They decided to accept the offer, and signalled him back to the island to tell him.
Suddenly, as they were in the middle of talking, everyone knew that there was an assassin present, and Fazzur was the target. Kosa got in the way, while others attacked the assassin, and then Fazzur was at least technically in their debt, although he seemed more angry than scared. However, he mastered his emotions quickly and offered Androus 5000 Lunars as ransom for Orontes. Androus agreed to it before he realised what he was doing, and everyone felt that his word was his bond, so a horrified Orontes was handed over.
The group looked at the money for a while, and even considered burying it on the island. They did not want it. Finally Androus decided to lodge it at his Temple to be used when he decided what to do, wishing it to be used for the captive's family or some honourable cause, but not wanting to have any hand in its distribution. Orontes was taken off in chains, and the army marched away towards Alda Chur. The group decided not to walk through a war zone, although Kosa followed Fazzur's army to be sure that Orontes was being treated well.
Other Things
The PCs had been around Dangerford a lot without mention of this island, so the GM decided that the sword would create the island and the conditions in which it could be used. This is a major relic, and it can only be used under certain circumstances, but when it IS used, this sort of thing happens.
"That ritual they did is not a nice situation. If you lose, you die and your ghost gets bound into a demon as a power source. If you win, you turn into a demon." - Saronil
"It was not. It was very not nice." - GM