The Championship in Chevalia

From the Diary of Comes Elias

23rd Day of the First Month

Even though we successfully reclaimed the dwarven strongholds from the Duergar, we still face doubts from our Chevalian allies. The King of Chevalia scoffed at our abilities. The Emperor retorted with assurance of our quality. This ultimately led to a challenge from the King. As a result, the Legion is sending its best soldiers to participate in the Thorned Rose Tournament. We shall see who is superior - the legionaries of the Empire or the knights of Chevalia.

I, Comes Elias, have been temporarily recalled to the capital to confer on strategy. In addition, Jayden cannot attend due to some familial entanglements. I leave Howl in command of the detachment sent to Chevalia. I have every confidence in the abilities of our representatives.

14th Day of the Second Month

I received word from Howl.

The Legion received a rude welcome from the knights of Chevalia. They mocked us, laughing at our defeat at the hands of the pirates. They dismissed our victory over the Duergar, saying that there was no honor in defeating half-sized men.

We did quite well at the tournament. Lionheart and Chris tied for third with a Chevalian knight. There was one knight, Chevalier Guy de Loimbard, who was particularly obnoxious. 

The perfidious Chevalier Guy

Guy defeated a number of our legionaries. Then Bentley humbled him.

This Guy was not humble for long. His victories saw him in second place behind an undefeated Howl. Then the two met with the championship on the line. If Guy won, he would have the same number of wins as Howl and become champion on the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Howl rose to the occasion, taking out Guy's leg and then finishing him off. His victory secured the tournament championship and restored the Legion's honor. As a result, I have recommended Howl for the Order of the Eagle.

15th Day of the Second Month

I have received word that Chevalier Guy and the King of Chevalia have protested the tournament results. They claim that Howl used an enchanted sword, which is a crime equivalent to witchcraft in Chevalia tournament customes. Once again, our honor is questioned.

I do not know the ramifications of these accusations. I fear that our alliance with Chevalia may be shaky.

OOC GAME NOTES

• Comes Elias was not at the tournament because I played Guy. Jayden and Louis also played Chevalian knights. Howl, Lionheart, Chris, Wren, and Bentley represented the Legion.
• The Howl-Guy bout actually occurred in the middle of the tournament. I recounted it last for dramatic purposes. The stakes are accurate - if Guy had won, he would have won the tournament.
• Howl had a new weapon today - a great weapon with a carbon fiber core. Super light! This is the basis for the accusation of witchcraft.

Defeating the Duergar

No rest for us, even in the wake of a devastating pirate attack. We received word from High Command that we were needed in the Dwarven Mountains. The duergar joined the Dark Alliance and had seized a couple of dwarven strongholds. Our mission - oust the duergar and reclaim the strongholds for the dwarves.

Fort Ken'vi

The first of the strongholds was called Ken'vi.

The gate

I led the first century. Celer, Bentley, and a new legionary named Nathan were with me. Nathan and I went straight for the gate. Bentley covered us with archery while Celer skirmished on the flank.

At first, the attack went well. We pushed through the enemy, reached the gate, and began raising the portcullis. Then the duergar surprised us. They rushed from the stronghold, ran past us, and assaulted our camp.

We fell back but were not in time. They scattered our healing totem, leaving us vulnerable. Still, we were not ready to quit. We advanced on the gate. The duergar buzzed around us like flies. We struck down many, but they kept coming. Meanwhile, their attacks whittled us down.

I reached the gate again, but was beset by the enemy. I sustained many wounds and had to retire. The rest of the century joined me. Our attack failed.

Fort Nar'dall

Meanwhile, the second century assaulted the other stronghold, Fort Nar'dall.

Jayden led this century, with Sprouts, Wren, Lionhart, and Chris. The duergar tried the same trick - flanking them and destroying their camp. This time, however, the Legion was prepared. They were able to hold off the the raiders while still advancing on the gates.

Soon, the Legion had opened the gate. They pressed into the stronghold and cleared out the remaining duergar. Nar'dall was ours!

Fort Ken'vi again

The victorious second century joined us at Ken'vi and we planned another assault on the duergar. Hampered by wounds, I stayed behind, leaving leadership to Celer.

Celer followed the same strategy that worked at Nar'dall - protect the camp and send the rest of the Legion forward against the gates. Again, the duergar harassed the Legion mercilessly. But Celer's century held them off, drove forward to the gate, and pried it open.

Soon, legionaries streamed into the stronghold. The Legion's blood was up; they cut down the foe wherever they found them. Finally, Ken'vi was in our hands!

It took some effort, but a successful mission for the Legion!

GAME NOTES

• Welcome to new player Nathan!
• Congratulations to Sprouts, who was awarded the Order of the Eagle for her efforts against Nar'dall and the second assault on Ken'vi.
• Sorry, I don't remember who else was on the Legion side during the second attack on Ken'vi.
• The game was essentially mutual annihilation. Both sides had unlimited lives until their respawn point fell. For the Legion, it was our camp - represented by the Flame of Justice (my torch). For the duergar, it was when the Legion raised the stronghold's gate.

The actual gate. The tarp rolls up like a portcullis.

• In the first run, the Legion was outnumbered 5-4. I think that made a difference as we did not have the numbers to attack the gate and protect our camp. The Legion had a 5-4 advantage in the second battle. We decided to try a third time with even numbers. I sat out. The Legion succeeded, which I report as the second assault on Ken'vi.

The Legion gathers