cawshis wrote: 
i kid. it's not the baron's wife. it's the baron's son.
anyway, here's the ~real~ summary of what happened, though i might miss some things.
We began with the peasants
Clem and
Mathias who had been captured by a noble hunting party in the South. The Lord in charge serves the
Baron Alther (the ruling noble in the South). They gave Clem a puppy and put him in the wagon, and travelled back towards Plowcrest - seemingly not taking Mathias or Clem's warnings (or insinuations of dog slaying) to mind. However, while Clem was training his puppy, the pup wandered into a tent and Clem overheard the Lord talking about how "the peasants will ruin our plan - we must kill both of them."
Clem, without warning his uncle, took the puppy and ran away. He then had a change of heart and decided to turn back and warn Mathias... FADE TO:
Some weeks have passed in Twinstad, and the
Baron Enech is off in Silent Dale raising his army. The others have to do an Upkeep test and everyone fails by a few dice (except the Doc, who only had an ob1 "did you rip a hole in your only pair of breeches" test). The
Bishop Evan has to deliver a sermon to get his flock to contribute a bit to the church coffers. However, his nemesis
Bishop Myron of Wryst is lurking in the back of the church, and causes Evan to falter during the sermon. Enraged, Evan begins to preach against the duplicitous Myron. The sermon is impressive enough that the Church coffers begin to fill. But Myron must be dealt with... and swiftly...
Meanwile,
Barrister Tilan has legal affairs to attend to. The distribution of the slaves from the Wrystian treaty to the various noble houses. He researches historical precedent, writes up the Royal opinion on the matter, and argues it before the court. The matter is quickly settled to his satisfaction.
On the road to collect the royal taxes and do other Knightly things,
Sir Crassus meets an older Knight along the way,
Sir Simon. After making some small talk, Simon reveals that he too is part of the Lost House - and that he has been to the North, knows of the powerful sorceror there, and that the Northern King may be the path to the ascension of the Lost Noble House. He says that
Doctor Tomas has a part to play in all this.
The Doctor has been in his chambers in Twinstad for the past weeks, but requests an audience with Crassus. Crassus arrives with Sir Simon, and the Doctor tries to convince them that they should work together against the King and the Prince. He reveals his involvement in the political opposition, with a goal of establishing a Parliament of the non-nobles to help govern Lunalt ("any King who will do this is the King I will serve"). He also reveals of his understanding of sorcery, and his desire to find the Old Man who instructed him in the Tower dungeons. However, when he reveals that he knows of the Lost House, Sir Simon becomes frustrated and leaves the room with Crassus, feeling that Crassus has revealed the truth to the Doctor.
Meanwhile, the Bishop is scheming against Myron. He knows that Barrister Tilan has a reputation as a "man who can get things done." He wants to ruin his opponent, so he has Tilan hire someone who can steal Bishop Myron's belongings en route to Twinstad. Ryan fails his circles test... the evidence is delivered, but their scheming has been revealed. Both the Bishop and the Barrister have their careers on the line.
Sir Crassus, after talking with Simon, returns to his quarters. He is immediately set upon in the dark by an attacker, wielding a sword. A vicious battle ensues - with Sir Crassus delivering several rounds of fisticuffs before going for his sword. Never stopping to assess who his opponent is, he delivers a brutal B7 wound to the gut before his opponent falls to his knees and begs for mercy... his opponent
Prince Garrett, Crown Prince of Lunalt.
Crassus considers slaying the Prince, but instead ties him to the bed and sends for Doctor Madero. The Doctor, seeing his arch-nemesis - the man who threw him in jail and stole his wife - in such a compromising position, struggles with his urge to mutilate the bastard prince versus his instinct to help the sick and injured. He decides to interrogate the Prince while carefully patching him up.
Prince Garrett reveals that he merely intended to scare Crassus - for letting the Doctor go free and embarrasing him with magick in the middle of the Castle. However, he also explains that he is part of a conspiracy. "The Monarchy is outdated. My father will be the LAST King of Lunalt." He says he had the Doctor thrown into jail for these years so that he could become a powerful sorceror - it was a set up and part of his master plan. Crassus brings the Doctor's wife, Carlota, and she also reveals that the Prince is part of a conspiracy against the throne - but no details are forthcoming.
In exchange for the Doctor healing his injuries, Garrett agrees to slink back to his quarters and not reveal that Sir Crassus hurt him. He will also have Tilan draw up papers authorizing the Doctor's free movement, though the Doctor has revealed his desire to leave Lunalt, and that just doesn't fit in with Garret's "plan." Crassus warns the Prince "If the King is not dead within a week, you will be." He keeps the Prince's armor to make sure he's easier to kill next time. Doctor Madero is left alone with his wife... but...
Evan and Tilan have more complicated matters to tend with. The evidence they have received - Bishop Myron's personal journals, insinuating that Lunalt should become a "province" of Wryst, and that King Dominic Olach is a conspirator with witche and demons - is damning evidence indeed. They rush to the Castle to present this evidence, however both the Spymaster and Prince Garrett are unconcerned. They go strait to the King, only to find he is in council with Bishop Myron as they enter.
Evan launches forth with his accusations of this poisonous worm tongued viper spitting poison in the King's ear. Myron responds that Evan has clearly been sick and is misguided. The King is not convinced by either of them, and does not agree to have Myron executed, nor to have Evan committed to an asylum. A hearing of sorts is to be held.
Tilan, in this matter, represents Evan in the Duel of Wits. Their formidable dice are up against the lawyer of Bishop Myron. It is, unfortunately for our GM, a decimation of Bishop Myron by the silver tongued Tilan (who manages to control his horrid coughing throughout the exchange) and the fire-brand Evan. Bishop Myron is to be banished to Wryst, but Evan must agree to be examined for his "sickness." The truth of the matter is that Tilan's evidence was fake - but none of this matters in the end. Their careers are safe, but they have incurred the wrath of the powerful Wrystian orthodoxy. Evan may also have outed himself as a believer in the Old Faith.
That's about it. I may have missed something. We had a rousing sequence of Fight!, a Duel of Wits, circles and resources tests abounding, and it's obvious both the effort to overthrow King Dominic and the "Orcs" in the South are part of broader conspiracies within the nobility of Lunalt.
Now we have to figure out what WE want to do about it.
by mtiru on Fri Oct 21, 2005 11:48 pm 
