Session 2 Recap
Session two opens with Arik Ka'Mael in the tent of the would-be assassins. He's subdued Ravadi Al'Afik and is attempting to question him. Ravadi resists the interrogation, so Arik uses his spear to "soften him up" and asks again, this time using more torturous techniques. Ravadi screams, but claims he does not remember who hired him. When pressed, Ravadi begins to spasm and convulse. Before Arik can react, though, he and his henchman, Dumik, are attacked. Two assailants slit the tent walls and enter, engaging Arik. A third presses the attack against Dumik, who had been guarding the entrance to the tent. Arik springs into action and, with almost supernatural speed, dispatches one of the attackers and lays the second low with a blow to the head. He quickly finishes off Dumik's attacker, but not before Dumik takes a wound to the abdomen. Ravadi, who attempted to crawl from the tent during the melee, is pinned to the earth with Arik's spear and killed. Dumik, seeing a crowd gather outside the tent, suggests that they take their interrogation beyond the borders of the tent city. Taking the remaining assassin, they mount their horses and ride a few miles into the rolling hills to the south of Erenhead. There, they uncover some of the plot. Ravadi and his henchmen were tasked with smuggling a cask of vile poison into Erenhead, which they accomplished this very morning. They turned the cask over to young Dornish woman, dark of hair and dark of eyes. Her left ear, the assassin remarks, looked like it had been chewed on by a rat. This assassin also could not remember who hired him or when. He is dispatched to Jahzir's tent in Dumik's custody while Arik rides hard for Erenhead.
The Lord Constable, Fergus Redgard, sets out from his apartments in the Ducal Palace. He intends to visit the inn currently occupied by the Earl of House Orin, Skotha. He is intercepted by a messenger with an order to proceed to the docks and arrest one Magnus Sedrig, who will be coming in today on a ship called the Grey Lady. Fergus gathers his personal guard around him and proceeds to the docks, where he is met by a representative of House Sedrig, their Galdr, Vallo Embridge. Vallo, a vile man, is there to ensure that Magnus is properly arrested. When Magnus disembarks, he is arrested by Fergus without struggle and taken to the palace dungeons. On the way, he attempts to convince the guards that he has an important mission. He backs up his works with a show of illusory magic. The guards do not release him, but they report the incident to the Duke. Magnus is not in jail long before his father, Earl Agnar Sedrig, visits him. He asks why Magnus ran away from the academy all those years ago and accuses him of betraying his trust and dishonoring his house. Magnus tries to tell his father of Queen Aradil's warning of the gathering shadow in the north, but Agnar dismisses his words as madness. He asks that Magnus be escorted out of Erenhead and not return.
<Flashback Scene> Magnus is preparing to depart Caradul, the capital city of the Elves deep in the forest of Erethor. He is called before the Witch-Queen, Aradil, ruler of the Elven Nation. She bids him farewell and asks that he take warning of the rise of Izrador in the North to his people. It is imperative that the human lands be prepared to do their part should Izrador rise again and threaten the people of the South. She also asks, if he can, to investigate why the Dwarven nation of King Dhurik has stopped communicating with the elves. She fears the worst and would know what is amiss. To aid in his quest, Aradil gives Magnus a ring that she has imbued with a thread of her own magic, called the Spirit of Erethor. The magic of the ring will aid him in his attempts to warn his brethren. She also gives Magnus an ancient scroll, the Eredane Compact, a treaty signed by the elves, dwarves, and all the original Great Names of the Dorn. This treaty, she hopes, will remind the human kingdoms of their promise of mutual defense should the need arise. She, once again, impressed upon him the importance of this task and sends him on his way.
After arresting Magnus and sending him to the palace dungeons, Fergus proceeds to his original destination, the Duke's Bounty Inn, which has been taken over for the duration of the moot by House Orin. He requests an audience with Earl Skotha Orin and his dwarven advisor, Kharak of the Kurgun. At the meeting, Fergus reveals that he knows of the Orin plot to assassinate the Sharif of the Bitter Wind Host to avenge the attack upon his caravan and the subsequent battle that saw Orin's eldest daughter and heir killed. The battle that also saw the loss of the House Legacy Weapon, a dwarven-made axe called the Moonblade. Orin, at first, denies the claims, but when pressed, admits that he would not be turned from his course and would see Sarcosan blood spilled. Fergus detects a hint of madness in Orin's demeanor, yet still offers his sister's hand in marriage to Orin's eldest son to strengthen the bond between the Houses. Orin refuses, but is intrigued by the prospect. Kharak asks to speak to Fergus privately after the Earl had departed. He informs Fergus that the Earl is a bit mad and that a marriage into House Orin would not be a good idea. He informs Fergus that Orin had hired a mad-dog insurrectionist by the name of Vijur to carry out the assassination. He tells him that Vijur can be found in a house along the north wall of the city, in the tannery district. Vijur's group, The Blood of the Dragon, is the group that has been known to paint their symbol around the city and, previously, had done nothing more than bully and harass Sarcosan merchants. Fergus departs, intent on gathering as many men as possible to assault the house and arrest Vijur, whom he has a history with as his sister, Caitlin, claims to be in love with this vile criminal.
Fergus and Arik meet up and they share the details of the two plots they are both investigating. They spot Magnus as he is being escorted from the jails and Fergus takes custody of him. Magnus, a trained Galdr, agrees to help Fergus in exchange for letting him stay in the city and setting up a meeting with the Duke. Fergus rallies a small group of soldiers and they locate the house in question. They decide to assault the structure. Arik leads a force through the backdoor while Fergus leads his group through the front. Magnus lends his magical aid in covering the windows. A massive battle ensues as the resistance is fierce in the house. Arik, once again, fights like a zephyr and impresses the Dornish men. Magnus rains magical fire on the assailants who attempt to hurl burning oil down upon the attackers. Fergus' tactical planning is perfect and many insurrectionists are killed, but a few are captured, including Vigur's second in command, Sven Ar Dor. Vigur is not in the house as he was expelled by Ar Dor in a power move and has formed another splinter movement. Vigur is still expected to carry out the attack on Jahzir this very evening....
Thus ends Session 2
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