From the Journal of Magnus Sedrig, Sessions 6 and 7

Moonday the 1st of Redfall 890 TA - After the feast

I write this entry from the Dragon Hall once more, I am exhausted and hope I can find respite soon. Unfortunately the day’s work is not yet complete, I have one more task to accomplish before the day is done. The feast was every bit as eventful as I had expected, and fortunately I think the outcome was largely a positive one. As positive as we could hope for at least.

The atmosphere during the celebration was tense. The Lords of Dorn sat in forced companionship, each sizing up the rest, probably waiting for House Redguard to make a move or the heir of house Dayne to burst into the room and slay the Duke or some other dramatic turn of events. At one point, Fergus and his father, Roland, got in quite a heated argument about something. The entire hall stopped to listen, and for several moments we all bathed in heavy silence before Fergus recovered with a disingenuous Toast to the Duke.

I spent the evening trying to remaining vigilant for any foul play, though I wasn't entirely sure what to look for. I had hoped for a chance to corner Sahi Sunulael and discuss this Elven captive of his, but the structure of the event didn’t really allow for casual mingling. At some point from across the great Hall I saw Arik approached by one of his men, they exchanged a few words and then both left in a hurry. I thought it likely that there had been some sort of development with one of the two assassination plots we knew about and recalling Arik’s previous eagerness to slay Vijur I thought it'd be best if I was present.

As I made my excuses and attempted to quietly leave the hall more chaos erupted from the Redguard table, a young Redguard lady had appeared from somewhere and was speaking heatedly with Roland and Fergus. Once again all eyes were upon House Redguard so I took the opportunity to slip out and make after my Sarcosan acquaintance.

I found myself in the kitchen's, which were suspiciously empty. After wandering around aimlessly for a few moments I came upon Arik and his man, they had their backs to me and seemed to be stepping into a pantry for some reason. Suddenly, the other Sarcosan struck out with his foot and sent Arik sprawling into the pantry. He slammed the door behind them and I was cut off.

I sprinted to the door and listened in briefly. I heard something along the lines of “I'm sorry my lord…” and “daughter of house Esben”. All I needed to hear, really. Our enemies were making a move, and I needed to do something! I took a step back and unleashed an explosive spell upon the door, shattering it to pieces and stunning those on the other side. Admittedly I'm a little rusty at using such unstable magic and I scorched myself during my dramatic entrance.

Stepping into the room I quickly dispatched the traitor Sarcosan with a sword strike to the head, not a fatal wound, but enough to take him out of the fight. Arik was engaged in a duel with a dark haired woman, she had found her way inside the guard of his spear and cut him deeply several times. I charged forward and attempted to drive the witch away from him. She was fast, but the longer reach of my blade made it easy to put her on the defensive.

When the odds looked to be turning in our favour, the mysterious woman bolted. I gave chase but was no match for her quickness, and Arik was in no shape to go sprinting anywhere after the wounds he'd received. I lost her somewhere in the upper levels, she dove from a window and then vanished into the night like a ghost. I rushed back to the great hall, somewhat out of breath, and began to try and raise the alarm. Once again I found even my own father thoroughly uncooperative and unwilling to take any action despite the overwhelming evidence that something foul was going on. I got rather frustrated and I believe I made quite a scene before finally some guards were dispatched to investigate my claims.

art by John Love

Eventually I re-joined my family’s table and began to fill my father in on the situation with House Esben’s agent. As if on queue Fergus stormed into the hall dragging the bloody corpse of the woman in question by the hair, he tossed the limp form into the centre of the hall. That got everyone’s attention. The room was deathly silent, I could hear the creak of wood as the assembly shifted nervously in their chairs, anxious to see what would happen next.

Finally the Duke began a shrill protest which was immediately buried under the avalanche of Fergus’s deafening voice. I’ll try to transcribe the epic speech that followed as best I can at a later date, but take my word that it was truly inspiring. Every Dorn present, including my cynical father, must have felt an overwhelming sense of patriotism as they listened. Fergus listed the various wrongs committed by the Duke, today and in the past, making the argument that the man was not fit to rule. Towards the end of the tirade, Fergus paused, then delivered the killing blow that would destroy the Duke forever:

Allow me to introduce Vijur …. Dayne….. My soon to be brother In-Law. And king of Dorn.

So, not only have Redguard seen reason and spared Vijur, but they have decided to ally themselves with the rightful ruler of our land. Combined they have the divine right to rule and the military might to defend that right. This is our chance to unite Dorn for generations to come!

Duke Ivass Torbault

Fergus challenged the Duke to single combat then and there, the coward had no choice but to accept. If Fergus wins the Duke will cede the throne to Vijur, but if the Duke wins Vijur will be exiled and house redguard shamed. Things looked to be going well, but the Duke had one final trick to play. Tradition allows that a competitor in a combat challenge name a champion, the Duke, the magnificent fucking bastard he is, named Sharif Ka’Mael as his champion. The meat headed fool accepted, so now if Fergus wins the duel, he still might start a war with Sarcosa!

The feast ended then, the guests dispersed and I finally had a moment to reflect on the evening's events and write this entry. In the chaos I missed my chance to confront the elusive Sunulael once again. I got the impression from his hurried departure that he may be taking leave of Erenhead soon, so now I must track him down and do my duty as an Ambassador of the Caransil.