Developments in Chevalia

From the diary of Elias Artocopus, commander of the Chimera Legion in exile

I have learned about recent developments in Chevalia from Brother Pitor.

• The kingdom heard of King Bertrand's death, but never received confirmation.
• Instead, the King suddenly appeared in Luminia, the capital city of Chevalia. However, his public appearance occurred at night. He was far from the crowd (speaking from a balcony of the palace), and he was masked.
• Sir Guy, our adversary from last year, was made regent. The King hasn't been seen since.
• There are rumors that the king did die, and that the the person who appeared is either an imposter or undead. Most people discount the undead rumor.
• Prince Omri, the heir to the throne, has disappeared.
• Duke Etienne, the king's brother, was assassinated by shadowy figures. His family likewise disappeared.
• Since then, one of Pitor's fellow priests discovered that the king is actually a lich. He shared that information but was arrested by Sir Guy. He has disappeared.
• The news reached Selina, daughter of the king's cousin. She is the closest living relative to Bertrand. Her council investigated the rumor and found it reliable.
• Selina then challenged Sir Guy's regency and claimed the throne herself. Guy accused her of treason. Both sides are arming for war.
• Pitor sent word to the Empire. He is not sure if the Emperor received it. He was shocked when I told him of the Emperor's murder.

It makes sense for us to ally with Selina and unite in effort to destroy the lich king.

Abomination in the Abbey

From the diary of Elias Artocopus, commander of the Chimera Legion (now in exile)

After being banished from the Empire, I invited my comrades in arms to follow me on my quest to destroy the lich king. I am pleased that many did.

We booked passage to the port city of Baronne in Chevalia. From there, we made our way to the abbey of St Swithins. At the abbey, we met a priest named Brother Pitor. We learned that he is on the same quest as us - destroy the lich king.

Quest for the Book
Pitor explained that he acts on behalf of Princess Selina, the surviving heir to the throne of Chevalia. She needs a book in the abbey to destroy the lich and claim the throne. We agreed to retrieve the book.

I sent in First Company, led by Jayden and Sprouts,.

They entered the church of the abbey. They were accosted by thralls of the lich king - once human, now undead minions. The Legion hacked their way through them to the altar.

That's when they came upon a demon. 

Bathed in fire, it wielded a flaming two-handed sword. It smashed shields and cut through armor.

While Jayden tied up the thralls, Sprouts ran past the demon. It slashed at her, but she avoided the blows. She reached the altar, grabbed the book, and ran for the exit.

The demon and some thralls gave chase. Weapons bit into her flesh. She went down.

But Jayden retrieved the book and escaped. The legion managed to pull out our wounded, including Sprouts. Our quest was a success!

Quest for the Crown

Brother Pitor was pleased! He then asked if we could complete another quest. Also in the church was a crown, an ancient crown of the kings of Chevalia. With it, Selina could further her claim to the throne.

This time, Second Company went in, with Lionhart and Gian leading.

Gian attacked first, diverting the attention of the enemy. Lionhart then used his stealth abilities to sneak past the enemy. He reached the crown, grabbed it, and ran off. The rest of the company covered him. He escaped with the crown.

Another success!

Aftermath

Pitor has asked us to deliver the crown and book to Princess Selina. She has taken residence at Castle Valcoeur. We have accepted.

Banished!

I, Comes Elias Artocopus, once commander of the Chimera Legion, have received a troubling missive from the Imperial Council.

By the order of the Council, the Legion has been disbanded and I have been banished from the Empire.

I fear for the future of my soldiers. They will have no future in the Empire. The reputation of our Legion will cling to them like the stench of death on a battlefield. The army will not accept them and they will not be able to find work. They will spend the rest of their days begging for scraps from passersby.

As for me, I see only one honorable course of action. I will hunt down the lich king and destroy him, or die in the attempt.

I invite all my comrades in arms to join me. Together we will restore our honor.

The Emperor is Dead!

This is the personal diary of Comes Elias Artocopus, commander of the Chimera Legion.

What we expected to be a cushy posting turned out anything but that!

The First Battle

We were in reserve while the Imperial Guard protected the Emperor. Suddenly, there was an alarm from the Emperor's quarters. We rushed to assist. First Century, led by Lionhart and Ryan were first on the scene.

They found the guards and the Emperor lying in pools of blood. A dagger protruded from the Emperor's back!

Suddenly, the Emperor arose. But he was not the Emperor; his face was skeletal! Lionhart and Ryan were frozen in place.

The thing that was the Emperor then taunted them, saying that it was King Bertrand of Chevalia, come to wreak vengeance on the Empire and the Legion. He then commanded the dead guards to rise and kill the legionaries!

Thus ensued a pitched battle. The guards kept swarming the century, who hacked them to bits. The Emperor-thing kept throwing spells at the legionaries. But Lionhart and Ryan finally broke through the guards, and struck down the Emperor-thing.

After the battle, we found a note on the Emperor's person. This is a copy.

This is the message that the Patriarch received from a Chevalian monk.

Ingkay Ertrandbay isay ayay ichlay. Ehay osespay ayay reatthay otay allay ivilizationcay. Ouyay ancay indfay ayay ueclay onay owhay otay efeatday imhay atay ethay abbeyay ofay Aintsay Ithwinsay inay outhernsay Evaliachay.

We were able to translate it. It reads:

King Bertrand is a lich. He poses a threat to all civilization. You can find a clue on how to defeat him at the abbey of Saint Sithwin (sp. should be Swithin) in southern Chevalia.

The Second Battle

The Second Century, led by Jayden and Sprouts, arrived in relief.

Suddenly, another group of undead guards, led by a death knight, burst in the Emperor's chambers. Again, there was another pitched battle. Undead swarmed the century, but they slashed the enemy to ribbons. Sprouts then broke through, hacking at the death knight. With a rattle, it collapsed.

Aftermath

We have returned to our barracks, bloody but victorious. I plan to nominate Ryan for the Order of the Eagle for his role in destroying the undead Emperor. I also commend Sprouts for destroying the death knight.

I have sent a messenger with news to the Imperial High Council. They will need to take control of the Empire until the Emperor's heir is crowned. I will also volunteer to lead an expedition to Chevalia to find and destroy the lich.

OOC GAME NOTES

• The scenarios were essentially one-sided Kill the King games. The Legion had to kill the Emperor and death knight. The bad guys won if the legionaries ran out of life.
• I gave the legionaries 3 lives. The undead guards had infinite lives.
•  The big bad guys had 1 life, with 6 hp. They probably should have had more hp.
• We had 5 players today - myself, Jayden, Sprouts, Lionhart, and Ryan.
• Ryan is new - welcome to the Legion!

Orders

Legionaries, we have our orders.

As a reward for our sterling service in the war against the Dark Alliance, we have been posted to the Imperial Palace to protect the Emperor. It should be a relatively safe and simple posting.

In service to the Empire,

Comes Elias Artocopus