Characters:
Granmarg The Striking Vanguard, The Boulderstruck, Member of the Earthling Triumvirate
Pomegranite The Treefallen, The Spymaster
Pomegranite The Treefallen, The Spymaster
Mielikki The Field Marshal, Member of the Earthling Triumvirate
Thicket The Grandmaster Terramorpher, Member of the Earthling Triumvirate
Breakout
Having just returned to the dining hall when Ulrich made his declaration that they would elect him Emperor or die, Mielikki took a look around to see who was still there. They'd passed the dwarves going the other way in the hallway, obviously, and most of the other delegations had filtered either out onto the veranda overlooking the waterfall, or to the ballroom. The only ones present were the delegation from the Imperial College, Eremon of Lumene, and the Court Magister of Wrost, Nikolai.
Granmarg rushed across the room and leapt over a table in a burst of lightning, while the rest of the triumvirate readied their improvised weapons and ran toward the stone wall that Thicket was planning to open with his earth magic. Though they were disarmed, they had little trouble dispatching the Knights of the Blazing Sun, and Eremon and the Magisters joined in; Eremon disintegrated a pair in a pillar of fire, while Eva cut one into pieces in a net of void magic. The Magister none of them recognized picked up a fork.
The melee with the Knights continued until Thicket made it to the wall and, after asking the stones politely, the bricks moved aside and created an opening to the hallway. Bramble was the first one through, followed by Vasili, Eva, and then Thicket. The unknown Magister failed a spell and attempted to stab a Knight with the fork, but it barely even scratched the plate armor. Garmnrag, Pomegranite, and Mielikki finished clearing out their side of the room, and Granmarg punched out the only Knight on his side, leaving only the one by the other Magister still standing.
After narrowly dodging a swing of the Knight's sword, the Magister finally cast his spell successfully, and a flurry of hundreds of magic bolts launched out in a sphere around his target and fatally converged on him from every angle. Everyone fled into the hall, but when Pomegranite turned to face the balcony and flip off Ulrich, the Vizier was already gone. The triumvirate suggested they work together to retrieve their weapons and foci from the guardhouse in the city, and the Magisters and Nikolai agreed, but Eremon had already run off in a different direction.
Pomegranite remembered the way to the drawbridge, and they headed there at a sprint. When they arrived, they found it had been raised, and despite their best efforts, the earthlings couldn't break the chains. While the Magisters stayed behind to try to cut them with magic, the triumvirate went to the gatehouse above them that housed the lever and wheels that controlled it. Pomegranite attempted to use his illusion magic to trick the dozen or so guards inside, who were clearly off-duty imperial guards and not Knights of the Blazing Sun, into thinking he was their superior but they saw through his disguise and ordered him to leave.
He spotted the lever that would free the drawbridge's chains, and as he turned to leave the room, he "accidentally" walked over and pulled it. Predictably, the guards figured he was a spy or assassin or something here to meddle with the Great Court, and went for their weapons and attacked him, at which point the rest of the triumvirate piled into the room. They made quick work of them, through Granmarg was knocked down and injured quite badly in the process. Though some attempted to only wound the guards, Thicket impaled four on stone spikes that shot out of the ground.
They returned to the floor below and were annoyed to find that the Magisters had already left. The triumvirate proceeded through the city to the guardhouse where their weapons had been taken. It was now late at night, and only the occasional lantern lit the streets. On the way, they realized that nobody seemed to have raised the alarm, which was curious, and they made it to the guardhouse without further trouble. Inside were a number of dead Knights of the Blazing Sun, who looked to have been slain by magic (one had a third arm growing out of one elbow, a certain giveaway); the Magisters had helped them out after all.
Rearmed, the triumvirate debated what to do next, with Mielikki suggesting they gather the other earthlings at their embassy across town, while Thicket wanted to just leave as quickly as possible. The argument reminded Pomegranite that he had a lover living there, and so it was decided to "rescue" their fellows. Again, they traversed the city without issue, and the alarm still had not been sounded. They arrived at the embassy, a proper, squat stone building with just a boulder for a door, woke everyone up, and, despite the complaints of Petra, the woman in charge, that this would be seen as highly suspicious, prepared everyone to flee the city.
On that note, Mielikki realized something: they didn't actually know if that had actually been Ulrich on the balcony making a power-grab, or even if the Emperor was actually dead. The only other people who could back them up were Eremon (who was acting strangely, and might be involved with the Knights of the Blazing Sun), the Magisters of the College, and one other Magister from Wrost. What if they were being set up? By fighting their way out, they'd given more than enough justification for the Emperor to ask for their heads.
It was too late to back out now, though, and so the party of earthlings headed to the city gates. A trio of guards who had been seated rose to meet them as they approached, and Pomegranite announced that they had been given leave to exit the gates in the middle of the night. He produced an illusory scroll bearing the signature of Ulrich, but only when the guard attempted to take it did he realize that he'd forgotten to simulate the sense of touch.
A fight ensued, and the guards were dispatched quickly, but not quietly, and their compatriots in the guardhouse fired on the earthlings with crossbows from above as they opened the gate and fled out into the night. One of Pomegranite's arms was grazed by a bolt, but some of the embassy servants had been less fortunate, and now lay dead in the mud. There was no time to mourn, though, as they still had a long march ahead of them, all the way back to the Highland Forests.
The Way Home
The group now travelled mostly by moonlight, with Granmarg using his lightning magic to make a weak light arcing between his fingers. After an hour or so, they heard a large number of horses approaching and turned off the light. Thicket concealed their tracks with his magic, melding them into the dirt as though they'd never been there, and when they crested the next hill, they saw a sizeable army encamped, which was probably related to the possible coup at the palace.
They moved closer to take a better look at their heraldry that was barely visible in dim torchlight, and discovered that these were more Knights of the Blazing Sun. Pomegranite was able to pick out some of the officers. Reinhardt von Lohengramm, the master of the order, was speaking to Dietrich, a famed mercenary assassin who was trained in the Path of Secrets. In another camp, captains Siegfried Kircheis and Oskar von Reuenthal were dismounting from horseback.
While the rest of the Knights weren't much concern, the officers, and especially Dietrich, would be difficult foes, and so the earthlings detoured back into the hills where they moved along cliff edges only in moonlight. Thankfully, nobody fell, and the Knights didn't notice them. Though it took several more weeks, they arrived at the border of Halberst without seeing any more of the Knights, and ultimately made it back to the Highland Forests.
Preparations
Pomegranite had come to the conclusion that the dwarves had likely killed the Emperor; they had gone to see him when he had died, they were looking to usurp the military, and they had access to the Path of Forging, which could simply make weapons anywhere. Granmarg shared similar suspicions, but Mielikki didn't want to be too hasty. At any rate, the first action they took was to use the Imperial Messengers stationed in Bedrock, the earthling capitol, to send out sealed letters to the leaders of all provinces of the Empire denouncing the coup attempt by Ulrich at the Great Court, and requesting a meeting on neutral ground.
While the loyalties of the Messengers were unknown, they were the only ones protected by Imperial decree, whereas earthling messengers with certain allegiance could be detained as spies, or simply killed by "bandits", never mind that they didn't know the far corners of the Empire and could easily get lost. Granmarg and Thicket organized scouting parties in the meantime, looking to keep an eye on Lumene and the dwarves in particular.
Pomegranite sent out his own messengers to activate his spy network in Lumene, Halberst, and with the dwarves, limited as it was. Earthlings stood out, so they often had to rely on humans who were paid with money. It was difficult to appeal to them ideologically given the fact that most earthlings viewed humans as incompatible with earthling society, but there was a religious minority of Minerva worshippers in the city of Monte Villay, just over the border in Lumene, who worshipped at an ancient mountain temple dedicated to Minerva and Astraeus.
Shortly, the earthlings that had been stationed in the Dwarven Undersands arrived at the edge of the Highland Forests: the dwarves had kicked them out, and were declaring neutrality. This meant that at least some of the dwarves had escaped, and lent some credence to Pomegranite's theory that they were behind the coup, though the claim of neutrality was odd. It also meant that his spy network in the Undersands had been removed; dwarves were even less likely to be bribed than humans.
Then, disaster struck. A powerful earthquake hit the city of Bedrock, and in the aftermath, it was discovered that the Mountain's Maw, the great temple to the earth god Terra who was the highest deity in earthling religion, had collapsed. Rescue excavations found that the high priest had died in the quake. The triumvirate declared a day of morning, and appointed a moderate from the ranks of the priesthood as the replacement until the next round of the Games, which were still years off, when the best candidate could be selected properly.
Thicket led the investigations into whether earth magic had been used to cause the collapse, while Pomegranite interrogated those in the region, and between the two of them, they determined beyond a shadow of a doubt that no foul play was involved, which Thicket interpreted as a sign from Terra. Of what, though, he was unsure, and the others were not so convinced. Before they could properly finish the recovery, though, the first Messenger returned with news of Lumene.
The letter they received was dire. In it, Edelina declared, that the end times, as foretold in the Book of the Sun, the imperial holy text, had arrived, and that all those who did not recognize the primacy of Astraeus must be made to repent and convert, that they can be saved for when he returns. Given the earthling religion's refusal to recognize Astraeus, while this wasn't technically a declaration of war, it was as close as one could get. Mielikki wanted to consult a human religious text, but they quickly realized that there were none in Bedrock; why would such a heretical text be allowed to exist so close to the Mountain's Maw?
For now, their standing retinues were sent to reinforce the Sunstone River (or, as it was known to the humans in the region, the Bloody River), which marked their border with Lumene, but they did not raise the levies. They were somewhat relieved when Halberst, their last neighbor, responded with a positive message that announced they were happy to meet. Shortly after, they received the official response from the dwarves: they were neutral, and would not attend any meetings held by anyone.
Granmarg pointed out that, though they hadn't said it directly, this gave the dwarves all the excuse they could want to continue the border incursions and rockflower theft. It was a massive insult they couldn't take standing down, but it quickly became the least of their worries when Baronde's response blamed the earthlings for assassinating the Emperor. With that weighing on their minds, the triumvirate went to meet with the delegation from the Imperial College at their shared border.
Summit
The delegation was much the same as at the Great Court: Grand Magister Vasili the Wise, Eva, the Unknown Magister who they were finally introduced to as Curzo, and a halfing Magister, Jasper Sunmeadow, who had dyed his hair bright red. The first subject was the aggression from Lumene, and it turned out that the College had received the same message heralding the end times as well. Vasili sought common ground on this point, pointing out that they did not enforce religious beliefs at the College, which would make them a target the same as the earthlings.
Moving on, they'd also put out feelers with the other provinces, and though they knew that the Segretan delegation had made it out of Kaskorata, they had yet to declare a position. Wrost, meanwhile, was entirely silent. Pomegranite suggested that the College could host a summit, due to their central location in the Empire, but this was not received well; it was apparent that they did not want to risk hosting armies on the brink of war. Vasili also opined that it seemed unlikely that everyone would attend if they believed that the earthlings had killed the Emperor.
They mostly talked around the concept of a military alliance, with no one actually suggesting it. Mielikki figured that Halberst's central location would leave it too exposed in a wider conflict, and the College weren't looking to take sides before something larger happened. Pomegranite brought up the dwarven expulsion of earthlings, as well as their declaration of neutrality, which the College actually took as a good sign: if the dwarves stayed out of things, it meant they could focus on Lumene as the bigger threat.
Eva brought the last topic: had there been any ill omens in the Highland Forests? The earthlings attempted to deflect, stating that was a very odd thing to ask, but Vasili responded that, as they'd likely heard back in Kaskorata from the Chief Dreamer's rather animated conversation, the Path of Prophecy was no longer reachable. The College could now confirm that this was the case, and then there was the business with Lumene, of course. Further, the astrologers at the college could verify that stars in the night sky were disappearing. Pomegranite admitted that there had been a massive earthquake, but left out the part about their main temple collapsing, as that could be seen as a sign of Terra's disfavor with the earthlings.
With a pledge to send out their own messengers to attempt to negotiate a wider meeting with the other provinces, the delegation from the College left, and the triumvirate returned back to Bedrock, just in time for another message to arrive, this one from Tauschun. They declared that the triumvirate had assassinated the Emperor, and that war would be declared if they were not offered up to be tried (and almost certainly executed). It was signed by Emperor Ulrich von Varnhagen.
Granmarg took this as an insult; did they really think that the earthlings would act so secretively? If they wanted the Emperor dead, they would have done so publicly, and his head would be on a pike! Pomegranite calmed things down, suggesting a stalling measure: they would not recognize Ulrich as Emperor until a proper election could be held. Shortly, though, they received a reply from the Segretan League, who were apparently declaring allegiance to Emperor Ulrich.
On closer inspection, however, the seal had been tampered with and re-melted. This was a fake. It appeared that the Imperial Messengers were loyal to Ulrich, and so the triumvirate passed a motion to expel the Messengers, though it meant they would be unable to communicate with the wider Empire for now. Pomegranite joked that if they took Halberst, they'd have open communications with everyone.
War!
As was expected sooner or later, an urgent message arrived from their scouts stationed on the Sunstone River: Lumene was massing troops on the border. The triumvirate moved quickly to respond: for the first time in centuries, the armies of the earthlings were raised, and Pomegranite spread (false) rumors of Lumene being behind the earthquake that had destroyed the Mountain's Maw and killed the high priest. Mielikki, as Field Marshal, gave a rousing speech to the assembled soldiers, and they marched into the east.
Notes:
It's been so long since we last played that Granmarg forgot to take the -4 for move and attack on his first turn, and nobody noticed. He missed anyway, so no big deal.
The Knights of the Blazing Sun had 1HP and dealt 1 Damage on a hit. As with Dynasty Warriors, mooks are not a threat.
During the fight in the gatehouse, I suggested perhaps twenty times that they could simply jump from the window instead of running all the way back through the castle, but sadly reason prevailed.
Acrobatic Stand exists, but Acrobatics doesn't. Going forward, we'll use Combat Skill -8 instead.
Earthling buildings look like buildings from the Flintstones, IE solid rock construction with holes carved out for doors/windows.
Pomegranite's player: "Act 1 is the humans, Act 2 is the dwarves, and Act 3 is the secret evil beings that are behind it all" Me: "The dwarves" PP: "Exactly, the dwarves that are underneath these dwarves, the double-dwarves"
Mielikki's player, on hearing that the stars were going out "My god, it's just like in that video game!", referencing The Outer Wilds, which is a very good game.
There were jokes that the reason the end times were happening/there seemed to be no other habitable lands outside the Empire was due to the events of the Path to Godhood campaign from years back.
Pomegranite: "Without the Path of Prohecy, the halflings will become rather short-sighted." Jokes such as this carry the death penalty in Baronde.
Mielikki's speech was just the speech from Independence Day, with "human" swapped out for "earthling", and "Independence Day" swapped out for "New Blood War Day".
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