The Prince's Fate

Once the Legion earned permission to land on the West Isle, we were able to find the location where the dark elves planned to enact the ritual and open the World Portal.

We arrived at the temple that the dark elves constructed for the ritual. Blocks of moon granite concentrated magic, making their incantations more effective. I am grateful we stopped them from acquiring more.

Note: If the dark elves had acquired more, then I would have reduced the time required for the ritual.

I, Comes Elias convened a council of war and we made our plans for battle.

Conferring with the wizard

Entering the Temple

I led the first company in an assault on the temple entrance. A swarm of redcaps blocked our way. There was a mad melee. We had a new wizard helping us. His spells helped us push back the redcaps. Finally, we made our way into the temple.

Beyond us was another door, closed and guarded. I suspected that the dark elves' altar was beyond it.

"That way!" I cried, pointing with my sword.

While the rest of the company pushed forward, I led a small contingent on a flanking maneuver. We swung around the right and then made a beeline for the door. Some redcaps tried to stop me, but my armor kept me safe. Hacking and slashing, I made it to the door and flung it open.

The remaining redcaps retreated past the door.

The Inner Sanctum

While my company caught their breath, Ulveblod led the second company into the inner sanctum.

At the far end was a dark elf priest, chanting an incantation and holding a knife over a figure bound to an altar. Prince Henri!

Alas, between the Legion and the altar was a swarm of redcaps!

The Legion charged, hacking their way through the mass of goblins. They reached the altar and cleared away the redcaps.

One legionary tried to kill the priest. But the dark elf was protected by a magical field. The only way to stop the ritual was to recover Prince Henri.

Next thing I knew, Howl had the prince and was making his way to the doorway. But the goblins converged and cut him down. They grabbed the prince and carried him back to the altar. Fortunately, our healers were able to reach Howl and restore him to health.

A big scrum erupted near the altar. All the while, the priest chanted. Then Ulveblod ended up with the prince. But the redcaps swarmed around him and the priest's incantation was reaching a crescendo. Ulveblod was nearly out of time. There was only one option for him.

With a quick strike, Ulveblod killed the prince. As the royal blood spilled on the temple floor, the priest screamed in rage and frustration.

"Foolish mortals!" he cried. "You shall pay for this!"

In an instance, he disappeared through a portal. Then an earthquake shook the temple. The redcaps fled to the four winds.

"Hurry, let's get out of here!" I cried. Fortunately, someone had the presence of mind to retrieve the prince's body.

The Legion escaped as the temple collapsed.

The battle was over. The World Portal remained closed. The world was safe. But the cost was high.

GAME NOTES

And thus closes our third season. As usual, I embellished the account a little. Still, it is mostly accurate, at least from my perspective.

The Legion has triumphed again, but at a high cost. We were not able to save Prince Henri. What are the ramifications? We'll find out next season.

Thanks to everyone who attended today. We actually had 11 people show up. Besides myself, we had regulars Howl, Celer, Lionhart, Ulveblod, and Brian. It was good to see Xeno again. Thanks to Kenny and Beast for coming by. And thanks and welcome to the new blood - Blaine and Adrian.

Also thanks to Kenny for creating the first image. He based it on this photo he took.

The original photo.

As far as the scenarios:

1. This was a castle battle. Get through the door, make our way to a checkpoint. It was a quick scenario. We ended up playing it multiple times, but I recorded our first attempt.
2. The second was a heavy object game. The Legion had 5 minutes to rescue the prince from the altar and get him out of the temple. Adrian, a new player, arrived just in time to play the priest. Thanks! There was a caveat to the game. As established in our lore in previous battles, we could stop the dark elves from opening the portal by killing the prince ourselves. Ultimately, Ulveblod chose that option. An exciting and dramatic finish! Note that I initially gave the Legion one life. They got shattered so I granted them bonus lives. The game worked better with extra lives. I chalked it down to maesters doing healing.

I hope everyone enjoyed the scenarios and the season. If you have any ideas for improvement, let me know.

We will meet for practices for a few more weeks before convening for tabletop gaming during the summer.

The Leprechaun's Gold

Having retrieved one of the incantations, the dark elves are set to enact the ritual and to open the World Portal. If they do, they will plunge our world into war.

The Legion must get to the ritual site and stop the dark elves from completing the ritual.

To the Western Isle

We were able to use the magical orb to return to the Isles. However, the dark elves have erected a magical barrier on the Western Isle. That must be the location of the ritual site.

We sailed to the Western Isle, but were confronted by King Diarmid. He refused to let us land, unless we paid him 30 pieces of leprechaun gold. When we agreed, he directed us to a glen where the leprechauns live.

I, Comes Elias, tried to negotiate with the leprechaun leader, but he sided with the dark elves. With that, the hunt was on.

The Leprechaun Hunt

Scattered through the glen, the leprechauns carried gold upon their persons. The Legion just had to defeat each leprechaun in turn and take their gold.

We split into two wings, each one advancing along opposite flanks of the glen. Upon seeing us, the leprechauns swarmed to the attack.

The right wing included Ulveblod, Jayden, and Celer. They rushed into the pack of leprechauns, slashing away and taking the gold of the defeated. But more leprechauns arrived, forcing the legionaries to withdraw. Still, they had a nice take - with Ulveblod pocketing the most gold with 8 coins.

Meanwhile, Brian, Howl, Lionhart, and I advanced on the left. While the leprechauns focused om the right wing, we swung in on the flank, wreaking havoc on our target. This allowed us to secure heftier prizes. I garnered 7 gold and Howl had 12!

Ultimately, we had to retire. No deaths but plenty of wounds. Still, we achieved out goal. We had well over 30 gold, enough to gain access to the island.

I then sent scouts throughout the island, looking for the site of the dark elves' ritual. We will find it soon enough, and stop them!

GAME NOTES

• The bit about Diarmid and the leprechaun king is made-up backstory. For the event, we jumped straight into the leprechaun hunt.
• In reality, the two teams fought in sequence. Ulveblod, Jayden, and Celer were legionaries first while the rest were leprechauns. Then we switched.
  
• Leprechauns had 0 hp. Upon death, the leprechaun had to hand over its gold. We had a no backstab rule when a legionary was collecting gold.
• Howl gets the Eagle for the day with his 12 gp haul.
• After the scenario, we played some goblin ball.

A Visit to the Library

As we learned from Jayden, the dark elves need the incantation to open the World Portal. The incantation is on three scrolls. The Legion has one. The other two are in the Biblioteca [library] dell' Aurora in the Duchy of Valenova (part of Nevora).

There is a clue to identify the correct scroll. It will be in case with a symbol that matches the clue.

Heavenly bodies in the sky of night

Among them is one within our sight

This fair lady soars at great height

As the oceans below dance in her light

Using the magical orbs we obtained from the dark elves, I, Comes Elias of the Chimera Legion, send two detachments of the Legion to the library to retrieve the scrolls.

The First Scroll

The first detachment led by Howl and Brian arrive in a vault in the basement of the library. There, they meet the librarian, Fabio Librotelli.

They explain their need for the scroll. Fabio is adamant; the scroll must not leave the library!

Just then, the redcaps arrive and rush the stacks of scrolls. 

The Legion charges past Fabio to engage the redcaps and secure the scroll.

As swords clash and blood spills, confusion reigns. Which is the correct scroll case? To what symbol does the clue refer? Both sides grab scrolls, but they are the wrong ones.

Finally, the redcaps grab the case with a crescent moon. They rush to the portal, exulting in their victory. But they celebrate too early. The scroll falls out of the case. Howl grabs it and escapes through the portal. It is the correct scroll!

The Legion has secured one of the two scrolls.

The Second Scroll

Ulveblod and Jayden lead the second detachment. They arrive at a different vault in the library. There they meet Flabio, Fabio's brother. He also forbids the Legion from taking the scroll.

Again, the redcaps arrive. The Legion rushes into battle and the clash of swords echoes off the vault's stone walls.

Once again, confusion reigns. Neither side is sure which case holds the scroll. Multiple times, both sides make off with a scroll, but it is the wrong one. Finally, the redcaps grab the case with the crescent moon. They make a mad dash and escape.

Now, the dark elves have one of the incantations. They grow closer to opening the World Portal!

Feast

After the battle, the Legion enjoyed a Nevoran staple - pizza!

I did a make your own personal pizza, using some store bought crust and various toppings. We then cooked them on the grill!

GAME NOTES

As usual, I made some changes to the story for narrative purposes.

• We only had 5 players. So when I write that 2 players "lead" a detachment, I really mean that they were the detachment.
• I rearranged the order of events. Ulveblod and Jayden actually were first. 
• I also switched up some of the interactions with Fabio/Flabio. For the event, I only used Fabio. Then it dawned on me there should be two librarians so I changed the second librarian's name to Flabio.

The game was essentially capture the flag.

• In the center of the battlefield, there are 4 boxes filled with cardboard tubes. The tubes represent the scroll cases. Ten of them have astronomical symbols on them. One has the crescent moon.
• RJ created an incantation scroll, which we put in the moon case.
• The combatants are placed on opposite sides of the field.
• Redcaps have infinite lives. For the first run through, the Legion had 1 life. It was not enough, so I gave them some extra lives. The second time, I gave the Legion 5 lives. That worked better.
• Fabio/Flabio the librarian (played by me) is a wild card. He tries to prevent either side from getting the scroll. So he can fight on either side.

The scroll falling out of the case really happened! I love when unexpected events like this occur.

The Rescue

Another report from our scout Jayden.

This means that we need to travel to the Biblioteca dell' Aurora immediately to retrieve the two scrolls. Fortunately, we have the orbs that can transport us there magically. Alas, the dark elves have orbs also. It will be a race.

OOC Note

• Thanks RJ for putting together the letter.
• This is an account of a mini lore scenario I ran a week ago. The Legion had to rescue the scout, played by Jayden. We had 5 people so I divided up the teams into 3 redcaps vs. 1 rescuer and 1 scout.

Defending the Moon Granite

To the Imperial High Command

From Comes Elias, commander of the Chimera Legion

I submit further intelligence from the Isles. I received this missive from Jayden Rannal, one of our scouts.

Armed with this information, I set up defenses around the moon granite quarry in the Isles.

I was with the defenders when the first attack came. The redcaps seemed to swarm out of nowhere, bypassing the ramparts we constructed. 

Celer and Howl led a counterattack, slaughtering the goblins by the score. I remained by the ore, cutting down any redcaps that managed to get by our forces. Fortunately, very few got that far.

Later, a new shift took over and I retired to camp to get some rest. Several peaceful hours went by, then the alarms sounded. Swiftly donning my gear, I led a detachment of reinforcements to the quarry. I arrived to a sickening sight. The quarry was littered with downed legionaries and scores of dead redcaps. Lionhart was one of the fallen. Fortunately, we have excellent healers, who restored him to health.

At the outskirts of the quarry  I found Ulveblod, bloodied and battered. He told me the tale of the night. The redcaps seemed to emerge from the very ground, cutting down the guards before any could react. Lionhart managed to slay a number of the goblins before he went down. Ulveblod then led the few remaining defenders who waded into battle, cutting swaths through the attackers. Some of the redcaps managed to grab the moon ore and fled. Ulveblod tried to pursue but they got away.

We have done an inventory. The goblins stole about half of the moon granite. We fear that they acquired enough for their temple. But it will be harder for them because we kept a lot of the ore out of their hands.

Through the Portal

Once Lionhart determined that passing through the portal was safe (sort of), I led the Legion through.

Our Arrival

I met with Donnell, laird of the MacGallivrey clan. We came to an understanding to work together against the Faedwyr.

While we were setting up camp, a swarm of redcaps attacked us. Fortunately, we were able to drive them off.

Concerned about the safety of the orb that we used to transport ourselves to the Isles, I entrusted its safety to Ulveblod.

Night Attack

By nightfall, our fortified camp was ready and sentries posted. The rest of the Legion sat about the fires, enjoying a meal and a few moments of rest. Donnell stayed with us and entertained the troops with stories about the wonders of the Isles. With his thick accent and the amount he drank, however, I doubt my men understood most of what he said. I decided to retire for the night.

My sleep was interrupted by alarms. I stepped out of my tent to the clash of arms of the sight of bloodshed. Redcaps!

I could hear those monstrous little creatures calling out "Get the orb! Get the orb!"

Grabbing a sword and shield, I waded through the fight, looking for Ulveblod. Then I saw him swarmed by redcaps. I tried to rush to his aid but more of the marauders held me up.

I saw a redcap rip a bag from Ulveblod's shoulders. Ulveblod pursued but got ambushed. A strike on the back of his head put him down. The redcaps ran off, screaming "We gots it!"

I was furious. "How did they get into the camp?"

Donnell came over to me, nursing a series of wounds. "Magic," he replied. Great, how do we defend against that?

But I had more immediate concerns. I called for my officers. "We have to get back the orb! Gather the men for pursuit!"

"Nae, laddie, no need for that." Donnell said. He pulled his hand into his sporran and pulled out the orb!

And that was our first day in the Isles. What will happen next?

OOO GAME NOTES

As typical, I have exaggerated for narrative purposes. The game was not at night. I was not sleeping in a tent when the redcaps attacked. Actually, I was one of the redcaps.

The switcheroo was real, however. I gave the bag with the orb to Brett (Ulveblod). As a redcap, I stole the bag from Brett and ran off. Once the scenario was over and I was proclaiming victory for the redcaps, Robb (Donnell) came over and pulled the orb from his bag. Well done!

We had 6 fighters today - me, Ulveblod, Donnell, Celer, Jayden, and Howl.

The Scout

The Portal

Last time, we recovered a magical orb from the orc's den. Our mystics inform us that the orb is a key that can open up a portal.

I, Comes Elias, order them to open the portal. Then I turn to my legionaries.

"Who will be the first through the portal? I ask.

Lionhart steps forward.

Legionary Lionhart

I give him his orders. Go through the portal, determine what's on the other side, and report back.

Lionhart steps through. Then, unexpectedly, the portal closes!

"Get him back!" I command the mystics. But they are unable to reopen the portal.

"We can't, Comes." they explain. "Someone has locked it from the other side!"

"Unlock it!"

They try various incantations without success. In frustration, they begin consulting various mystical tomes, looking for an answer. Then suddenly, the portal opens and Lionhart steps through.

💀💀💀

Lionhart's Report

Lionhart tells me that he appeared in a clearing and met a man wearing a kilt. The man introduced himself as Donnell, a laird (lord) of the local clans.

They were conversing when a swarm of redcaps, murderous goblin-like creatures, appeared.

A redcap

They managed to fight off the monsters, although each took some wounds. Fortunately, Donnell had a healing potion to negate some of damage.

Lionhart told the laird of his predicament. Donnell knew of a way. There was a dark elf nearby that had an orb. Retrieve it and Lionhart could return. Donnell offered to show Lionhart the way.

Along the path, more redcaps ambushed the duo. Again, they drove off the creatures.

Finally, they found the dark elf lord. 

Haughty and proud, the dark elf lord mocked them then cast a web upon Donnell. He then attacked Lionhart. His wicked elven blade sliced deep into Lionhart's arm. But Donnell escaped from the web and joined the fray. The dark elf used magic to blast Donnell, knocking him off his feet. Lionhart took this opportunity to attack. Soon, the elf was down.

Lionhart tended to Donnell's wounds, bringing him back to consciousness. He also searched the dark elf's belongings, finding an orb! Using it, Lionhart returned to the Legion.

What We Now Know

From the information we got from Donnell, we know that the dark elves are in force in the Isles, which lay northwest of Chevalia. However, some of the local clans are fighting back against the dark elves, whom they call the Faedwyr. Sounds like useful allies.

We still do not know the location of the lost prince. But it seems likely that he is now captive on the Isles. The Legion will pass through the portal to find out!

OOC Game Notes

Lionhart told us that he would miss the December event, so I created an end-of-the-year quest for him. This is his story.

Thanks to:

• RJ for the picture of Lionhart
• Gencraft AI for the other pictures
• Robb for his magnificent portrayal of Donnell
• Ryan and Neath for playing redcaps