Strange Time Rifts Disrupt Ashbury City
by Oliver
Nirab
For the last few weeks, time
seems to have been reacting quite strangely around Ashbury. Several people
would come into town claiming that the year was different. Some even claimed to
be important figures from the past. Other people who appeared made claims that
were patently incorrect like that Ashbury was called Valkenkyrie or that Icenia
was ruled by Queen Lilyth Avacar, for example. Others claimed that Ashbury was
ruled by vampires or the Kanoredhil. Even more distressing was that sometimes
time would cause some citizens to simply vanish.
On Friday the 15th of Dragon,
Duke Frost summoned all of the Ashban adventurers in the city to the Dragon’s
Flagon to inform them of these strange events and ask them to keep their eyes
open. In the middle of Duke Frost’s speech, a figure, later identified as
Tarvin Plathus, rifted in wielding a strange staff with an hourglass at the
head and similar runes and carvings upon it. Tarvin immediately used the staff
to stop time and began searching the crowd for someone. Upon spying the crow
scavenger Bran, Tarvin began berating him for not killing some trolls and was
about to slay him. Suddenly, a future version of Sage’s Guildmaster Cedric
Fruvous rifted in, distracting Tarvin.
Cedric attempted to convince
Tarvin to give up his plans, to which the figure merely shouted that he had to
save his family and would not be stopped. With those words, Tarvin attacked
Cedric and Cedric responded with an array of spells, including some dragon
magic. Tarvin, realizing that he was outmatched, rifted away. With Tarvin’s
departure the Ashbans were able to move again and immediately began to question
Cedric.
The wizard explained that
Tarvin was a brilliant student of time who was overcome with grief when his
beloved son was killed in a troll attack. Since then, he somehow acquired the
Staff of Endless Time, a powerful artifact created by the Time Elementals that
allowed Tarvin to travel in time. With this wondrous item, Tarvin constantly
attempted to save his son, but the boy continued to die in other tragic ways no
matter what Tarvin did.
While explaining the
situation, a time rift suddenly swallowed Duke Frost. Sir Eros Clearbrook, the
ducal magistrate, immediately demanded an explanation from Cedric and the time
traveler said that all of the mucking with time that Tarvin was doing was
damaging the timestream, causing not only figures from the future and past to
appear, and present people to vanish, but also causing figures from alternate
timelines to appear as well. Cedric explained that he came from eight hundred
years in the future, and that in his time Ashbury was a vast wasteland that has
been destroyed by hundreds of armies and monsters and heroes constantly appearing
and battling one another.
When Cedric was asked where
the Time Elementals were, he explained that he didn’t know. Cedric told the
Ashbans that he had tried to summon one several times but had always failed. He
suspected Tarvin was able to keep them at bay with the Staff of Endless Time.
The Ashbans quickly asked
what they could do to help, and Cedric told them that he needed to summon the
staff to him. Squire Gabriel Bruce of Blythedale offered a Conjure Artifact
scroll and components to Cedric, but the venerable mage suggested that with
such a powerful artifact he would probably need a Talon Scroll and whatever
components it called for. The Talon Scrolls were last used by Duke Oliver
Songbringer to destroy the troll general Fangthorn before Ashbury was even
founded.
With that, Cedric called
forward Bran and explained that Tarvin would continue to try to kill him and
that the crow scavenger would need protection. Cedric then offered to grant him
a magical sword, arcane armor, and a protection aura to help protect him. Bran
accepted, but when Cedric used his dragon magic to cast the protection aura, he
began to cry out in pain and rifted out.
Just then, two dog-like
creatures rifted into the tavern and attacked. Although they were powerful, the
Ashbans were able to destroy them. Cedric later explained that they were called
Paradox Beasts and that they were created by the Time Elementals to try to kill
people who alter time. He told the Ashbans that every time he performed a spell
on anyone who wasn’t also out of time, such as the Ashbans present in 605, or
gave them information on the future it would cause a paradox and cause the
beasts to appear and attack him. Cedric suspected that the Paradox Beasts, as
well as the Time Elementals, could not attack Tarvin because he wielded Staff
of Endless Time. Occasionally for the next couple of days golems, presumably
sent by Tarvin, appeared and attacked Bran, but he was able to defeat them with
the help of the Ashbans.
Cedric returned a little
later and explained that he could open a rift through time that would allow him
to take six people to Mourna’s cave, where the Scrolls were found, while she
was out fighting Sir Kabar Fenwyck in the battle that would slay her. Cedric
did warn the Ashbans, however, that his time portals were not stable and that
repeated trips could cause physical degradation. He also explained that he
wouldn’t be able to assist on the missions because he would need to hold the
gateway open. Sir Du’Gaul Mornavor, Squire Gabriel, and Sir Jonathan Dragonheart
Vardik of Blythedale, Sir Rorii of the Ash Forest, and Lord Daniel Star-Grimsby
and Scarn Whiteleaf volunteered to get the scroll, figuring that since it was
the most important of the components needed the most powerful adventurers
present should go.
Cedric opened a rift for
them, and they found themselves outside a large cave and in the distance they
heard the fateful battle between Mourna and her minions and Sir Kabar and his
forces. Unfortunately, Mourna did not leave her lair unattended and the Ashbans
were held for some time. At the entrance of the cave, death knights and death
rouges were standing guard. After
slaying over a dozen of the monstrosities, the Ashbans were able to sneak into
the cave and determine a puzzle of how to open the door that led to the Talon
Scrolls. Lord Daniel plucked the scroll from on top of a book containing the
other scrolls and the group returned to 605.
After examining the scroll,
Cedric announced that they would need several components: A Wand from the tower
of the infamous wizard Penthanthos, ashes from a powerful fire elemental drawn
by a great fire, a leaf from a corrupted spirit tree, a piece of a sword of a
true hero, and the catalyst necessary was a tooth of an ancient wyrm.
Later that night, Cedric took
a group of Ashbans, consisting of Ezri Telnasse, Koshinara Murakami, Squire
Darlassia Fairseer, Jezebel, Lauroc DerWyvernhaus and Bosh to Penthanthos’ tower to acquire a wand.
Cedric explained that it was the absence of the wand that caused the wizard’s
ritual to go wrong and create the Gaffe, but that it was necessary to stop
Tarvin. The Ashbans were able to infiltrate Pentanthos’ tower, slay several
iron golems protecting it, and depart with the wand. They left everything else
as they had found it. After going through the gate Cedric stayed behind to
replace the Golems that were destroyed so that Penthan-thos would not realize
that they had been there.
The next day Cedric returned
and explained that he was going to take some Ashbans to the Ash Forest just before
the Amani Elves settled there. He explained that the Kiergani elves were
fighting a vast fire, and that the Amani would come and help put it out and
would be allowed to settle in the Forest as a result. Cedric pointed out that
although some of the Fire Elementals would need to be killed to get the
component they needed, if they killed too many the fire could be put out too
quickly, thus changing history.
The Ashbans understood and a
small group consisting of Scarn, Cuar Hyanda, Gulo Axrock, Squire Darlassia,
and the gypsy known as Ket went. They found themselves in a vast, burning
forest and were forced to do battle with several fire elementals before they
got a chunk of ash that they could use. At several points it looked as though
the elementals would overwhelm the Ashbans, but they were able to pull together
to complete the mission and return through Cedric’s portal largely, though not
entirely, due to the leadership and sly tricks of Scarn.
That afternoon, a Paradox
Beast entered town. Although, instead of rifting in, as others had done when
someone changed time, this one entered on foot. The beast couldn’t speak, but
it indicated that it wanted the Ashbans to follow it. Scarn, the mystic wood
elves Issalaura Weatherlight, Mori and Joshua, as well as Ahurak and Cassandra
followed it and were transported to what was believed to be the future. They
found themselves in Ashbury, but it was an utterly destroyed wasteland. The
city appeared to be completely burned out and destroyed. In the distance, the Ashbans
saw the burned out husk of the Ducal Manorhouse, with Duke Frost’s tattered
flag fluttering in the breeze. In the other direction they saw the remains of
the Dragon’s Flagon and a broken statue honoring Dame Natasha.
The Paradox Beast led them to
the only building that looked somewhat intact even though it had clearly
suffered a fire. The building was guarded by several iron and stone golems.
While battling with the creatures, Issalaura attempted to sneak in the back
door, only to find herself confronted with three more golems. In short order
all the golems were defeated and the Ashbans escaped with several small
treasures, including the remains of a journal.
Upon returning to 605 the
journal was examined and it turned out to be Tarvin’s. Amid the mad ramblings
it was discovered that Tarvin had accidentally released a criminal Time
Elemental named Immodius. It was Immodius who had given Tarvin the Staff of
Endless Time and was encouraging him to alter history. At first, motives for
Immodius’ actions were unclear, but after the journal was examined by Lauroc
and Cedric it was discovered that Immodius grew more powerful whenever history
was altered.
This information filled in
another puzzle, as there was a large silver figure with an hourglass symbol on
his head that had been periodically pulling people from time and either aging
them or making them younger. Additionally, many Ashbans were being transported
to some of the most traumatic moments of their lives and it was believed that
this was Immodius’ doing as well, especially considering the temptation to
change history for the better, thus giving Immodius more power. Sparticous was
the first adventurer to be rifted out by the time; he rifted back shortly after
and appeared to be fine.
Later that day, Cedric
returned and explained that he would need to take six adventurers to get the
fang of an ancient dragon. He told the Ashbans that the dragon was asleep, and
that they would need to disarm the many traps that guarded him while also
making sure that he did not wake up. Cedric explained that he would probably
only wake up if they were extremely loud, or if a biata or stone elf entered
his mind. With that, Redcloud, Alopex, Ket, Katyreena, Mori, and Guildmistress
Keely from Chiram’s Hollow went with Cedric. Although initially the task looked
incredibly daunting, Alopex was able to slip past most of the traps without
disturbing them, cut out the dragon’s tooth, administered a healing elixir, and
slipped back out. They only had to disable one trap and were able to reset it
with no problem. After returning the Ashbans, Cedric was especially grateful to
Alopex for his skill in the task.
That night, Cedric again
rifted in and explained that he would take a group of adventurers to the
alternate future that many Ashbans experienced when pulled forward in time by
Black Annis. He explained that he would take them to one of the corrupted trees
that the Ashbans of that time would come and destroy soon, and that their only
task was to pluck a leaf from it and escape. Cedric told them that if they
killed the tree, it would cause a paradox since the Ashbans of that time were
supposed to destroy the tree.
Sir Rorii assembled a group
consisting of himself, Mace Ravik, Lentis, Vincent, Kerrigwen, and Bosh. They
found themselves facing not only the very powerful Tree of Shades, but also
several undead guarding it. However, they were flawlessly able to slip in,
pluck the leaf from the tree and retreat back to Cedric’s portal.
The only piece left to get
was the piece of a true hero’s sword. Unfortunately, Tarvin had apparently
caught on to what Cedric was doing, because he summoned several earth
elementals and sent them to kill the wizard when he was only an infant.
Cedric returned to Ashbury
Sunday morning looking transparent and worried. He quickly explained what was
going on and said he’d need six people he trusted to go and save his child
self. While talking, he completely faded from existence a couple of times, but
quickly returned each time. A hasty group of Issalaura, Mori, Mace, Ahurak,
Kerrigwen, and Cassandra were assembled and Cedric quickly opened a portal to
send them.
The Ashbans found themselves
on a large Asitikir farm, with several stone elementals attacking a nearby
house. They were no sooner out of the portal when both it and Cedric vanished
from existence. Inside, they found Cedric’s father trying to fight off the
creatures, the clothes of Cedric’s brother who had died in the attempt, and his
mother trying to protect the baby Cedric. The Ashbans were able to quickly slay
the initial creatures, but soon three more elementals rifted in and quickly
overwhelmed the party.
Only Mori was left standing
and she was outmatched by the creatures. Fortunately Cedric’s father was able
to administer one of Issalaura’s own healing potions to her, and she was then
able to heal the rest of the party and destroy the creatures, at which point
Cedric and the portal reappeared.
Unfortunately, Ahurak,
Cassandra, and Cedric’s mother all required Life spells and Kerrigwen was without
them. Thinking quickly, the rest of the group threw the downed people through
Cedric’s portal. However, Cedric’s mother never exited on the other side. It is
presumed that since 605 was not her proper time she remained in her time
instead. The rest of the party was granted life by Squire Glorianna Wyndancer
of Nordenn upon their return and thanked by Cedric.
The elven dragon mage then
said he was ready to take a group to get the final piece, and revealed who the
true hero was: Lieutenant Mangar Grimsby. Cedric explained that he was going to
take them to the battle of Two Towers in 522 where Lieutenant Mangar had
originally been killed fighting off against a barbarian attack on the garrison.
Lord Daniel Star-Grimsby, presumably anxious to meet his ancestor, led the
group and was joined by an all human group consisting of Aria Devonshire, Cora,
Paythin Alderin, Koshinara, and Vincent.
The group was transported to
a garrison and found Lieutenant Mangar defending a breach in the walls from a
horde of barbarians alone with the clothes of Mangar’s fallen soldiers around
him. Mangar quickly announced that he was glad that reinforcements had arrived
and ordered the Ashbans to aid him.
The barbarians were fierce
opponents and were able to shatter Mangar’s silver sword, allowing the Ashbans
to surreptitiously pick up a piece. The Ashbans continued to fight the
barbarians and at one point, reluctant to let Mangar be killed, Lifed him.
However, Lord Daniel’s group realized that Mangar had to die to preserve the
timeline and, after he was once again taken down, they retreated to Cedric’s
portal, leaving the young lieutenant to history.
With all the components
gathered, Cedric performed the ritual in front of the Ash Forest manor house as
soon as he returned to Ashbury of 605. Although there were few witnesses to the
ritual, it was successful. However, when the Staff of Endless Time appeared in
Cedric’s hands, he quickly fell to his knees and yelled that it was too much
power and rifted out.
In short order, Tarvin and
Immodius appeared in town with a large pack of Paradox Beasts that the rogue
Time Elemental controlled. Immodius immediately began berating Tarvin for
losing the staff. Tarvin countered by saying that Immodius was supposed to help
him save his family and that he hadn’t. Immodius quickly struck Tarvin down and
ordered his Paradox Beasts to attack the town.
The battle was incredibly
fierce and more Paradox Beasts kept appearing to join the fight. Twice during
the battle Immodius stopped time and slew several adventurers, once taking down
nearly half of the Black Unicorns. It was only through luck that Immodius was
finally defeated. Having slain Air Raksa of the Black Unicorns at one point
during the fight, Immodius administered a killing blow, only to be slain
himself when the Lempur Dagger that the unfortunate orc carries slew the Time
Elemental with a Vengeance ritual. Once taken down, Immodius immediately
vanished and the Paradox Beasts ceased to appear as well.
Mere seconds after the
battle, Cedric and a female Time Elemental, who wielded the Staff of Endless
Time, rifted in with the bound and defeated Immodius before them. The Time
Elemental apologized to the Ashbans for all the trouble that Immodius had
caused, and thanked them for defeating him.
She then presented the
Ashbans with several valuables that had been misplaced in time as a small token
of the gratitude of the Time Elementals. Finally, she told Cedric that he could
not exist as he was and to say his farewells before he faded from time. With
that, she took Immodius and rifted away. Cedric thanked the Ashbans and told
them that they were the heroes he remembered before collapsing and fading from
time.
In a strange twist of fate,
the Tarvin of 605 also entered town. He explained that his son had just been
slain by trolls and wanted to see if he had resurrected. He was summarily slain
by Scarn so that he could not begin his mad time traveling journeys. Squire
Gabriel was overheard saying that Tarvin’s death was just punishment for the thousands
of lives that he had taken when he had the Staff of Endless Time.
Time Twisting
Causes Many Problems
During the recent
disturbances in time, many people from the past, future, and alternate times
appeared in Ashbury. Early Friday night, a large force of yellow snake
creatures appeared carrying a banner of an eye with two fangs around it. The
creatures attacked Ashbury and accused them of murdering their baron, who had
been on a mission of peace, and stealing a valuable artifact of a scorpion
encased in amber from them. Since no Ashbans were aware of what the creatures
were talking about, it was presumed that these creatures were from the future.
However the creatures seemed bent on vengeance and were not interested in
providing answers, a great battle erupted. Fortunately, Ashbury’s adventurers
were up to the task and defeated them.
Saturday morning the dark fey
prince Silva arrived and began to mock the Ashbans as they floundered in the
chaotic times. Shortly afterwards, the Cedric from 1405 arrived in town and
began to converse with Silva. Silva mocked Cedric too, calling him “Old Man.”
Silva did offer to give the Ashbans an hour free of the time-twisting so that
they could talk to Duke Frost to discuss the matter as a thanks to Cedric for years
of chess and tea during their many talks. When Cedric explained to the Ashbans
that he had tried to acquire information from Silva during these times the fey
laughed and said, “True, I did help you when your frustration ceased to be
amusing.” When Cedric agreed to this, Silva snapped his fingers and said “It is
done,” and Cedric immediately vanished. Before rifting out, Silva announced
that anyone out of their proper time would also be pulled away during the hour.
Duke Frost appeared in short
order and explained that he had found himself in Niman and did what felt right
to him—fighting the slavers. Shortly after the ducal meeting, Duke Frost seemed
to return, but it was quickly apparent that he was from a different timeline.
Accompanying him was Dame Darleena, whom no one had ever met, and Baron Eros of
Nordenn. It was also noted that this alternate Duke Frost was carrying the
sword usually wielded by The One. They brought with them the liche, K’tharduk
Addikan of The Brotherhood, who was bound and whose bottle they carried. Duke
Frost explained that since the adventurers of Ashbury had put aside greed and
petty disagreements and banded together they had defeated all of Ashbury’s
enemies, and that K’tharduk was the last enemy left and was now about to be obliterated.
With that, Baron Eros flawlessly performed the ritual and destroyed the liche.
Shortly afterwards the party vanished.
It wasn’t long before strange
happenings occurred again. Sir Eros entered the city wearing the old tabard of
Duke Aramis. However, it was quickly realized that he was a different Sir Eros
from the one they knew. He seemed surprised to find the Ashbans there and said
that Requin had just slain Duke Aramis and the last army that had been
assembled to defend the city. He explained that Count Requin and his Galanthian
and troll allies had conquered nearly all of Ashbury except the city itself and
that he was now marching on the city after defeating Duke Aramis. The Ashbans
quickly assembled to meet Requin’s Army.
The Ashbans arrived to find a
large force of trolls, Galanthian Swords of Lore, and Requin’s personal forces.
Requin called a parlay and spoke to several of Ashbury’s nobles. He offered
them one last chance to join him and rule while keeping vows to King Mykel of
Evendarr, but the Ashbans refused. When Sir Eros asked if Calis was present so
that he could enact vengeance, Requin responded that General Calis was ruling
Trellheim as a reward for destroying the Vessel of Vapors. The battle was
challenging, but ultimately the Ashbans slew Requin’s forces to a man. Requin
himself was felled by Scarn Whiteleaf, who struck him unconscious from behind.
Later the same day, a large
force of Kanoredhil and ogres attacked Ashbury, but they were led by several
elves who are known allies, including Sir Rorii, Sir Indorian, Auric of the
Black Forest, and even Corbin who was permanently slain years ago. The
Kanoredhil boasted that they had defeated both Imladar and The Wold and that
they were giving the elves of Ashbury one last chance to join them. Not
surprisingly, the Ashbans quickly attacked them. Most of the Kanoredhil and
ogres were slain, and Sir Rorii and a few others were forced to retreat into a
Ward that they had cast when the fight began. As they were trying to determine
how to defeat them, the figures faded away as time twisted again.
Late that night, the city was
attacked by a combined force of lizardmen and dark elves, led by House Ryujima.
The dark elves demanded that the Ashbans turn over their nobles and prisoners
of war. The Ashbans refused and attacked. Unfortunately, the battle went badly,
and the Ashbans were scattered and killed. There were five resurrections,
including Sir Rorii and Baroness Glenduria of the Ash Forest, and Sparticous,
who was told upon resurrection that Ashbury had surrendered and no one was to
attack any of the lizardmen or dark elves. Documentation was found on some of
the dark elves that showed that they were from a future seventy years from now
where Icenia and Tarzaterranzan were at war. Several of the Ashbans were
scattered to their Wards, but fortunately, after a while the Dark Elves and
lizard men faded from time.
In addition to these
dangerous and large scale battles, many figures from different times were
encountered, including Bretton Darkwood, one of Trellhiem’s Barons, and members
of the now defunct criminal organization known as the Fist. Fortunately,
Ashbury’s heroes were able to stop these strange time shifts.
Ashbury
Guildmistress Arrested; Royal Mages’ Guild Outraged
Brianna, head of the Ashbury
Mage’s Guild was arrested on the 16th of Dragon
in connection with the assault and robbery of numerous Ashbury citizens.
It seems she was leaking
information about the various magical items throughout the community to a band
of thugs who would later assault and rob individuals of their property.
It was discovered that it was
she who was behind the attacks on many adventurers, including Scarn Whiteleaf,
and, most recently Cuar Hyanda, Fishercat Warbird, Gulo Axrock and Redcloud
Blooddawn, who were lured out to the woods by a fellow Kiergani and attacked.
Only their magic items were stolen in this incident. In fact, it was Scarn
who had noted the suspicious coincidences and brought his accusation to Sir
Eros that led to the investigation.
Squire Daralassia of the Ash
Forest was put in charge of her trial, with Sir Eros watching over the
proceedings. Brianna sealed her own fate when it was discovered that she kept a
book describing who had what items, and notes like “no good, spirit linked” or
other descriptions indicating whether a person was a good potential
target.
Brianna was found guilty and
has been relieved of her position as Guildmistress and will be executed.
The following day,
Guildmistress Lizarra Trynn of the Royal Mages’ Guild arrived in town.
After verifying with several
nervous adventurers that she was indeed from the proper year and day, she
reported: “We are outraged that somebody we trusted could behave in such a
manner. She will be dealt with according to the law and has been removed from
the Guild.” Lizarra replaces former Guildmaster Tiriflorn MacMannon, who has
now been appointed the King’s personal mage.
The Circle of Power in the
Ashbury Mages’ Guild has been destroyed and a new one put up in its place, as
there is no way to tell whether or not Brianna has invested other people.
Lizarra’s assistant, William Lenox, will take over as the Guildmaster of the
Ashbury Mage’s Guild. Guild members who need to be re-invested should make an
appointment with the new Guildmaster.
Sir Harrison
Appointed Paladin
On a rainy day this month,
the Sheriff of Ashbury City, Sir Harrison Ryat, was appointed to the position
of Paladin. He will now, along
with Sir Eros and His Grace, act as a judge when deciding cases where a noble
has been accused; and he will be testing squires for their advancement to Lord
or Ladyship.
Paladins are appointed when a
knight shows exemplary behavior, honesty, and integrity; and when a specific
need for one arises.
Sir Harrison’s family has
long served Icenia in the capacity of Royal Knights; he was appointed Sheriff
and Knight to his Grace Duke Sir Frost just under three years ago when His
Grace corrected an oversight. It seems that before Icenia fell under the great prophecy
of Glantri that Sir Harrison was a royal knight under King Thrombolis, but when
the lands were freed of the curse by the Adventurers of Ashbury, Sir Harrison
was not immediately reinstated.
Lord Harrison worked humbly
under the title of Sheriff, asking for neither lands nor extra reward when His
Grace heard of Harrison’s past deeds as Knight when on a hunting trip with King
Gareth. Harrison was immediately knighted and awarded the estates of Dockside
and Descante, estates that he will maintain with his new title of Paladin.
It is presumed that some
small ceremony will mark this occasion at the Duke’s annual tournament.
In other related news,
Goodman Daedric has been appointed to the Town Guard, sharing duties with other
adventures Ahurak and Osrik, among others. Sir Harrison states that he is
always looking for new recruits..
12th
Annual Tournament to be Held on the 21st
The Twelfth Annual Ashbury
Tournament will be held on the last weekend of the month and looks to be an
exciting event. The competition is open to all, noble and commoner alike, in
groups of six.
A team gets one silver noble
per team member for every point they receive in the Tournament, so it is clear
that a winning team can turn quite a tidy profit.
A first place win in one
category, worth five points, is thus worth three gold. There are nine competitions,
so a team could conceivably earn 27 gold nobles. Even a team coming in 5th
place in every event can still earn four and a half gold pieces without having
to exert itself. And since battle
is just a small part of the competition, even a beginning team can win.
In addition, the teams win a
pouch full of supplies, as well as possible suits of armor, weapons, or magical
items. In previous years, magical swords have even be provided as prizes.
Duke Frost Vardik will, as
usual, judge the competition, and the entire duchy is hoping that nothing in
his schedule will prevent this.
He will continue a tradition
started by his wife, and will be choosing a “champion” at the conclusion of the
Tournament. As her beloved Grace once said, this award goes to someone “who is
not necessarily a winner of every event,” said Her Grace, “but someone who is
fair, honorable, and who shows themselves well during the competition.” The
winner will have the title of Champion until the next tournament.
As usual, Sir Eros will be
overseeing the Tournament, as well as preparing the Hunt items and puzzles.
Rules for the Tournament are
available in a treatise written by former Ashbury Times editor
Eric Woolcott. The article is publicly available in most learned libraries and the
Sage’s Guild, along with advice on how to win each one.
There are nine competitions
in total which seek to test all sorts of skills, including teamwork. Since the
scores are generated per each competition, it is entirely possible to win the
Tournament without ever winning any of the individual contests. The Tournament
was designed this way in order to encourage teamwork and cooperation. A well
rounded team will always do much better than one that excels in only one or two
areas.
Teams may register at the
very last minute but most contain exactly six participants.
The competitions will be held
in this order:
Colors: This is the
opening ceremony in which the teams present themselves to the Duke, introduce
each team member, and show off their bearing, their finest clothing, their
banners, and other displays. Gifts may be presented to His Grace but they will
not be a part of his decision-making. This will take place at 11:00 a.m. on
Saturday on Gwendolyn’s Field.
Combat: In this,
each team presents three fighters who compete against another team using padded
weapons. It will be held immediately after Colors.
Hunt: The Hunt
list will be handed out immediately after the Combat competition is over, and
will conclude at the very end of the entire Tournament on Sunday afternoon.
Spellcaster’s
Battle: One spellcaster from each team will meet on the field and
the last one standing is the winner. This will be held around 8 p.m. on
Saturday night.
Entertainment: Here, the
team has approximately five minutes to tell a story, perform a skit, sing a
song, or otherwise entertain the audience. This will be held right after the
Spellcaster’s Battle.
Riddles: This could
include puzzles and other mind games as well as riddles, and all six members
should participate. This will be held immediately after Entertainment.
Archery: In this
competition, one team member competes to get the bulls-eye more than his or her
competitors. This will be held Sunday morning at 11 a.m.
Race: This is an
exciting relay race in which four of the team members compete against the other
teams at the same time. This will be held immediately after the Archery
competition.
Hero’s
Battle: This is a one-on-one battle performed in the same manner as
the Combat Tournament, after the completion of the Race. This will be
immediately followed by the submission of the Hunt list superlatives and the
announcing of the winners.
Hopewell Attacked by the One
On the first day of Hawk, the Plane Touched
rifted into Hopewell and, led by the being known only as The One, attacked
Hopewell, bashing through the garrison posted there and slaughtering hundreds
of Biata citizens, most permanently.
This has been called the most gruesome battle since the first time the
Plane Touched made an attack on Bloodstone. It was at a fortified cave entrance that the tide of the
battle turned against the Plane Touched and they were finally pushed back. The One was defeated and dissipated
instantly when cut down by a combined effort by a number of notable Hopewell
citizens led by Council Elder Shoran Vardik. Many members of the Council of Hopewell fell permanently
defending this fortification.
Several families of Hoblings that live in
Hopewell have closed down their businesses and temporarily left their homes
until The One can be defeated permanently.
The One has been defeated a number of times in
Ashbury City in the past by the combined efforts of several powerful warriors
there. It is surmised that, since
The One dissipates immediately upon his defeat, he may be an extra planar
being, meaning being killed here in Fortannis does not weaken his spirit. It is notable, however, that permanent
bodies of the Plane Touched have been found after large scale battles, but the
ranks of Plane Touched appear to be growing at a steady rate. The One seems to be recruiting soldiers
from the Plains of Rage.
The attack was wholly unexpected as The One
has only been known to lead attacks against Bloodstone. The past several battles in Bloodstone
had been low on Biata casualties as the Ducal army is growing more skilled in
fighting the Plane Touched.
Blythedale Festival a Success
Sir Regent DuGaul Mornavor
has erected, in the aptly-named “Unicorn Square” in the estate of Dragonheart, a
20-foot statue of Sparticous of the Black Unicorns. It is scheduled to be unveiled the 1st of the month. People who have previewed the statue
say that the likeness is uncanny and that The Immortal Sparticous’ grave but
kind features and intimidating stance will serve as a warning to enemies and an
inspiration to the people of Dragonheart.
The first annual Blythdale
Youth Festival and Games were held on the 9th and 10th of last month.
The Games were in the style of the Ashbury annual Ducal tournament, but
with some minor changes. Food,
drink, entertainment, and the Games were all part of what people hope to be a
new tradition. There were two age categories for teams (8 to 11 years and 12 to
15 years, or equivalent maturity groups for non-humans). The younger groups had
no combat games, but instead had an agility course and dodge ball. The older
group had light, non-lethal combat. Spellcasting was left out of the tournament
as so few youngsters grasp magic.
Local merchant houses and
other businesses were encouraged to participate and help sponsor. The theme of the festival this year was
“The Future.” Among prizes for the tournament (older group) were weapons
hand-crafted by the Regent himself. Also, for the winning team, a baronial
scholarship to the institution of their choice! For the younger bracket, prizes
were tailored towards children—practice weapons, books, sweet foods, and small
purses of coin.
A standout was chosen from
each age group where the honorable competitor won the ability to be “squire for
a day” and spent the day with the regent, visiting the capital, meeting with
the court, and seeing what it was like to be a Noble. This year’s Champions were Neville Smyth, the eldest son of
a local blacksmith and Johanna Quillion, the youngest daughter of Bernard
Quillion, a local scribe.
Bardic College Reconstruction Completed
The structural damage caused
by the mysterious fire that swept through the Bardic College late last year has
been repaired. The fire destroyed one dormitory, and severely damaged two
others, along with the administrative office. Minor damage spread to other
buildings, including the library and schools of history and philosophy.
Fortunately, the incident occurred during Sunday brunch hour, so injuries to
student and staff were minimal.
Unfortunately, a wealth of
material was destroyed in the fire, and that cannot simply be rebuilt with
stone and timber. Several documents were lost or damaged from the history and
philosophy schools, and most of the Ancient Icenian History section of the
library was incinerated.
The Bardic College is
actively seeking replacement texts, and is willing to pay well for copies of
historical and philosophical works.
Also of note, while the
administrative office as a whole was damaged by fire, the private office and
quarters of then Dean Calwan were utterly reduced to ash. None of his private
writings nor official paperwork appear to have survived the fire; indeed,
scarcely a word written by his hand can be found at the college anymore.
According to experts from the
local fire brigade, the dean’s offices were the largest starting points of the
fire. There is little doubt now that the fire was directly related to the
unfortunate incident involving former Dean Calwan at last Halloween.
Nevertheless, the Bardic College has not changed its position of defending
Calwan’s character and declaring the incident a tragic accident. A
representative of the college has announced that they still plan to dedicate
the newly built Ancient History wing of the library to the former dean, and
that the ceremony will take place on or around the anniversary of the fire.
Healer’s Guild Report
This transition time comes to
Ashbury during an unusual series of events. While the frequent time alterations
caused much upheaval, the devastating defeat of the town during a trip to a
dark future, which resulted in several resurrections, only proves the need of
our brave adventuring groups and Baronies to work in a positive, united way.
This effort was begun when several of the Nobles utilized the security of the
Healer’s Circle for a meeting to discuss events during the time
fluctuation. However, the Healer’s Guild was able to aid several
adventurers as well during the trips through time. Three Necromantic Ritual
Scrolls were destroyed successfully with the use of the Anvil of Purity. Each
of the adventurers was paid fully for the scrolls, and the Healer’s Guild urges
anyone who finds a necromantic item to bring it to the guild for immediate
destruction.
As Tournament approaches, the
Assistant Guild Leaders remind each of the competing teams to be careful while
participating in the events. The Guild will once again provide free water and
refreshments for the participants, and also for spectators, and will also be
providing alchemical substances that are said to help block the damage caused
by the rays of the sun. However, each individual should be careful of the
effects the heat may cause.
The guild will also be
holding a Healer’s Guild meeting at 11 bells on Friday night before the Tournament.
Any healers who are current members of the guild should meet at the Guild Porch
at that time. Those Healers who will not be competing in Tournament and would
like to aid in the care of the participants (handing out water during events,
healing the combatants, and such) please see Assistant Guildmaster Lauroc
DerWyrvenhaus, or send him a private message.
In Service,
Assistant
Guild Leaders Lauroc DerWyrvenhaus and Squire Glorianna Wyndancer.
Letters to the Editor
To all those that travel
Ashbury and All of Icenia,
Lest people forget, there are
only two people who may administer justice within Ashbury City, Sir Eros and
myself. Even our esteemed sheriff, Sir Harrison, may not. Any member of a recognized
race may not be executed or punished by anyone save Sir Eros and myself unless
we are at war with them. When in doubt, bring them to the proper authorities.
I will not have vigilante
justice in my lands, whether it be commoner or noble, rich or poor, adventurer
or farmer. Those that do so will be held accountable, up to and including the
charge of murder.
In Service,
Duke Sir
Frost Vardik
The
following letter was found nailed to the front door of the Ashbury Times’ main
office. While it is never our practice to publish such outright and baseless
slander against our fine commoners and nobility, we felt it our duty to inform
the people of Ashbury of this possible danger.
All hope is lost for Ashbury.
As a society of justice and compassion, it is dead. When a man cannot look to
his brother for mercy, because all he finds is murder, we are a people of
savagery. When a man cannot look to his father for mercy, because all he finds
is murder, we are a people of tyranny.
Assembled before me, stand
the great adventurers of Ashbury. Mighty warrior, powerful wizard,
compassionate healer. Chief among them, I see knights, squires, and barons.
Upholders of the Code of Chivalry. Those whose deeds of greatness surpass the
wildest tales of traveling bards.
I seek from them, a chance to
save my son. They deliver to me, sharp death upon the sword-edge.
Now it is that I see that
assembly for what it is, where stand the great mercenaries of Ashbury. Brutish
thug, power-mongering mage, deniers of life. At their ugly head, I see the
warlords, the boot-lickers, and the tyrants. Usurpers of the Code of Chivalry.
Those whose deeds of greed and slaughter surpass the wildest ambitions of the
vilest monsters.
This tyranny cannot remain. I
will see it destroyed before it destroys our duchy. Lawless adventurer and
corrupt noble beware: you have abandoned justice, but I will foster and nurture
it, until the day shall come where I will rightly pass judgment and execution
upon you.
Your time will come.
Tarvin
Plathus
To the Adventurers of
Ashbury,
We have been very sloppy on
the field of battle as of late!
Death is a natural part of a battle, but if we work together and listen
there will be no need for any of us to die. I’ve been in battles and wars where we were out numbered by
hundreds, but because we listened and followed orders of those who were in
charge we survived those battles without anyone dying. We need not fear death if we all work
together and listen to those in charge!
We will stand strong; we will
not fall; we shall work together!
Let us not give our enemies reason to celebrate again!
Sparticous,
Warlord of the Order of the Black Unicorn
To the Townsfolk of Ashbury,
Sorry I could not fight
better against the enemies. I hope I can learn how to fight better when I
return to Ashbury.
Semaj
A Little Birdie Told Me
by Sue
D’Onym
I regret that my gossip is a
wee thin this month. With all the comings and goings of people from the past,
future, and other, I could barely keep my head on straight. In the middle of a
juicy tale, my informant would just go off and vanish. That’s no way to treat a
gal who’s just trying to make a living off of the unfortunate lives of other
people.
Lentis
Dae’Osta, Bosh Rimatano, and Ezri Silverthorn all swore
fealty to the Ash Forest recently and are now members of the Baronial Court.
The Manor House seems to be getting awfully cozy. In related news, Baroness
Glen was seen hugging both Sparticous and Paythin after she
had told them she was at a loss of words for their continuous actions within
the past year. Getting a little friendly, aren’t we?
Is he immortal or isn’t he?
Members of the Order of the Black Unicorn are now worried about their Warlord
Sparticous because of the seven resurrections he has taken in the past three
months. Perhaps he isn’t as
immortal as he claims to be. If he
has died as many times as he claims to have, he should be permanently dead
three times over!
Crimson Star and Wings
of Pol-aris destroyed a necromantic scroll on the forge of purity in
the Healer’s Guild. Good for them! I wonder how much gold they pocketed. I hear
the Guild pays well for such things. I wonder where I can get my hands on
one…just kidding! And without a Guildmaster or Guildmistress to keep an eye on
things, who knows to what degradation the Guild might creep. Apparently,
Lauroc is actively pushing to be named the new Guildmaster which is not
very likely given the fact that he has already swore fealty to another land.
And then there’s that nasty rumor about necromancy that has been floating around
for years...
I’ve heard through the
proverbial grapevine that Squire Gabriel thinks he is a magistrate. When
the present-day Tarvin came into town looking to see if his son had
resurrected, he was struck down and killed. When an objection was made by the
future version of Cedric, Gabriel replied that the death of Tarvin was just
punishment for the many deaths he had caused by screwing with time, even though
from Tarvis’ view he had not done anything yet. A pre-emptive strike, I
suppose. Still, maybe that explains His Grace Duke Frost’s letter found
on this page.
By the way, when a youthful Rorii
appeared during the time shifts, members of the Court of Nordenn proceeded
to get him drunk as he named many as his squires.
Squire Glorianna has
banished from the Nordenn Manor House the necromancer Veil Kee-Koree who
had trespassed upon the property. “Do not mistake that instance of saving
townsfolks lives that you are welcome in our home!” she said. Scarn was
not surprised, saying “Seriously, did you expect a monster to respect your
home?”
With the coming Ducal
Tournament, there’s sure to be a lot of goings on. Unless Shokan Ryujima shows
up again, most bets are on the Ash Forest to once again win the top spot. But
you never know, because anyone could show up. Usually a team gets formed at the
last minute by unaffiliated adventurers.
So until next time, remember:
if you can’t say something nice about someone, come sit by me.
Public Notices
Lhasa Skamar and Lord
Kuwo Mushtee: Your
presence is missed sorely in Ashbury.
I hope all is well with you and your families. If you are in need of assistance please seek me. - Glorianna Wyndancer
SEEKING: Two Copy Formal Magic scrolls and
catalysts; two Permanence catalysts; one Regenerate catalyst; one Arcane Armor
scroll. Will be used to keep Sir Rorii alive. Seek the Court of the Ash Forest
for trade.
SCROLLS AND CATALYSTS WANTED: The Order of the
Black Unicorn is looking for the following Ritual Scrolls: Race Change,
Channel, Enchant, Expanded Enchant, Race Reaver, Monster Slayer, Spell Store,
Protection Aura, Copy Formal Ritual, Preserve Duration, Permanent Duration,
Regeneration, Elemental Blast, Elemental Aura, Damage Aura, Earth Aura, Spirit
Store and Controlled Spirit Store. We are also looking for the Catalysts for
Permanent Duration, Race Change, Controlled Spirit Store, and Copy Formal
Ritual as well as any reagents. We are willing to buy or trade, please contact
Sparticous, Paythin or Lira.
THE SAGE’S GUILD can teach skills for a
nominal fee. If you find yourself without a spell book or recipe book, you may
rent ours. We also sell potions, weapons, armor, alchemy and wine when we have
some available.