Session 41: Arc Finale, Part 2 - Dinner and Duels
The three duelists who came in are very austere and kitted out. An Aldori swordsman, one who has foresworn family and titles to solely study the sword. The others are noble, bearing Khavortorov crests.
The first to walk forward is introduced by the jesters as Ivan Khavortorov, a distant cousin of Lord Khavortorov. Ser Dori sniffs derisively.
"If he was anybody worth worrying about, they would have listed his accomplishments. This man is a joke, why he is going first."
Polite applause from the crowd as Ivan steps forward and draws his sword.
"I shall make my name of you, serpent!"
Izith does not move.
"Draw your blade!"
"Why?"
The jesters call for the duel to begin.
Ivan swings four times, missing each time.
Izith swings his left arm, his nails extended, and cuts a straight line across Ivan's face.
"Point Izith! Do you yield, Lord Khavortorov?"
Ser Dori explains this is scored to three points, scored by injury. After each the judges ask if the injured wishes to yield. They never do.
Ivan spits and continues.
The rest of the fight is much the same. Izith eventually disarms Ivan by catching his wrist.
Lord Domovoi Khavortorov orders Ivan to yield.
Izith and Ivan yield, and Ivan leaves.
Ser Dori is growing increasingly agitated, muttering to himself about how that battle was a disappointment, that wasn't Aldori swordsmanship. Anyone in a five foot radius could hear him.
The Aldori swordsman Peter approaches next. He gives a deep bow but does not speak.
Izith nods, steps back, and pulls his blade for the first time. It is a dagger about as long as his forearm, with two blades protruding from the crossguard, side by side.
This fight is utterly silent and goes on for a full minute before anyone scores a point. Every dodge is met by a follow up met by a riposte met by a counter attack, each swiftly delivered.
Just once, the Aldori swordsman overextends on a thrust. Izith catches the sword between his blades, twists, and snaps the blade. The tip lands embedded in the carpet in front of a nobleman who nearly faints.
Izith says the swordsmanship of the Aldori is storied for a reason. He and the Aldori bow to each other, and the Aldori leaves.
The next challenger is a head taller than everyone else. Lord Borris Khavortorov, Domovoi's direct heir, and a knight of House Surtova. The jesters list his accomplishments and defeated opponents, 8 deep. This is the first time Ser Dori shuts up and nods.
Borris pulls out a sword that is half again as large as an Aldori dueling sword, giving the impression it could easily shatter anything in its path.
With a nat 20 on Perception, Rutana notices Izith gently press his thumb right where the blades meet. A little trickle of blood runs between them. She asks Ser Dori about it. In a proper duel, duelists would use just about anything at their disposal. At the highest level he has seen people enlist the aid of magi to give them the needed accoutrement for their style. Whatever you bring to a fight. If you lose to a cheater, you were ill prepared.
Rutana rolls 32 on Esoterica. She knows Izith's race has poisonous blood. That's just as they are.
Given Ser Dori's answer, she figures this is not cheating, and just watches
The fight starts. Izith immediately jumps forward but misses, and Borris slams him with the flat of his blade, sending Izith flying. Izith coughs up a little bit of green.
Point to Borris. Does Izith yield?
Never, not on this grand a stage.
The fight continues, Izith gets one glancing hit in on Borris. Borris is unphased, but point to Izith.
Next round begins. When Borris goes to lift his blade, it does not come up all the way.
"Oh Borris. You should have yielded. Now your body will yield for you."
Izith walks up to Borris, still weakly trying to raise his weapon. Izith draws his blade across Borris's chest, completely unopposed.
Borris turns gray, his eyes roll up in his head, and he collapses.
The party claps the loudest in the crowd.
Izith is given an incredibly joyous welcome back by the king.
"If this is not proof of his skill, I ask any man in this hall to test his skill, to test his might!"
Clarence and Rutana look down at Ser Dori.
Ser Dori is watching Domovoi.
Domovoi turns around and starts to issue a challenge.
"My King Surtova, I seek the right—"
"Hold there!" Ser Dori calls. He walks out and says, "Blademaster of the Aldori school you know as well as I that contest after three rounds is no contest at all, but I would test your mettle."
Domovoi looks down at this doll that wasn't invited, who just saunters out, and stares through his spectacles.
Clarence, Sartorii, and Rutana realize that Ser Dori created a scenario where Domovoi cannot ignore his challenge without looking like a bully or a coward. He is essentially forced to grant Izith a reprieve.
The next round is Lord Domovoi Khavortorov, master of the Aldori sword of schoolmanship, vs. the doll, Ser Dori, Seneschal of House Sylva.
Ser Dori gestures for a blade. "I apologize for not meeting you with steel of my own. It was a blade of inferior make, however. Noble steel would do better for this!"
He gestures for Ivan to give him his sword. Ivan is wtf, but Domovoi presses him to acquiesce. Being a short-sword or scimitar, Ser Dori can wield it just fine. Heavy, but it will do.
One of the jesters introduces the challenge, including a long list of Domovoi's accomplishments.
"You will not even be a footnote."
The fight begins.
Ser Dori crits on initiative. The moment the start is called, Ser Dori surges forward and scores a cut on Domovoi's leg.
Domovoi looks to the fools like fools when asked if he yields, then turns to Ser Dori. "Who are you?"
"With words? I couldn't tell you. But when I'm here, when I'm fighting, when I meet steel with steel...I know who I am. And that is how I will show you who I am."
Fight continues.
Dead set for four rounds, near half a minute. The last clash ends with Domovoi overpowering Ser Dori, pressing down until his blade cuts into Ser Dori's face. The fibers split, and a few pieces of fluff hit the floor. Point for Domovoi.
Ser Dori does not yield.
"The techniques you use, they are advanced, but they are incomplete," Domovoi says. "You truly are an enigma. Like a puzzle missing pieces. Perhaps if I take you apart fully, I will understand exactly what kind of being you are."
Another clash, ten short seconds before one last strike and a lock of Domovoi's hair hits the ground. No mark on his flesh. Ser Dori's sword his the floor, and his left arm begins to sag unnaturally. Second point for Domovoi. He bows a bit deeply and goes to walk away.
As Domovoi is walking away, he turns back and says, "How many times, Ser Dori?"
"Three."
Domovoi shakes his head. "A puzzle indeed." He walks back to his spot next to Lebeda. He does not challenge Izith, too lost in his own thoughts.
Ser Dori returns to the party. He uses his cape as a makeshift sling.
Clarence offers aid, but Ser Dori says he's fine. He doesn't expect anything else to happen this night.
The king calls out asking if anyone else wishes to challenge Izith. No one immediately steps up, but Labeda says maybe later and not in front of so many people.
All in all, the duels lasted about thirty minutes.
"If that was spectacle enough, we will allow our talented jesters to entertain you all until our dinner is prepared."
The jesters take up juggling, acrobatic acts, some fire juggling, some tumbling. Generally jestering around the room.
At 6:30, the chefs call that the food is prepared. Everyone is invited to the dining room to end the evening on a high note.
A lot of people get their plates and head back to the smoking room or main hall. The party, being the guests of honor, get to sit at the king's table.
The Sprite gets to sit at a little table that's sat on the table.
Dinner is served!
Dinner, in this case, is a three-course meal, with different meat dishes set out in the middle as the second course. The first course is cheese dishes, breads, vegetable medleys. After that's eaten they bring out suckling pigs, whole roasted cows. Limitless mead, limitless wine.
Even Natala Surtova cracks a couple smiles! Clarence does try to get her to have fun, he wants people to be happy. He rolls a nat 20 on Diplomacy, with Rutana Aiding to add a +1. Yeah, Natala loves cats. Between that, sitting next to her brother, the cozy fire, and the mead, she does loosen up a little bit. She ribs Domovoi over the duel, she's never known him to be so easily distracted! Domovoi begrudgingly admits that Izith is skilled, and what he gained by fighting the doll was much more valuable to him in the moment.
That's how she gets along in a conversation, picking at something to see how they react or fold. She does this to a couple people, including some racist remark to Rutana. Noleski elbows and scolds her for that, he will not stand for her needling their guests of honor.
"I wouldn't know, but if you find out, let me know." Rutana runs her mouth before she realizes what she's doing. She gets a little laugh and a stare from Natala. Rutana turns her attention to having conversation with the other half of the table.
Izith seems to be enjoying a smaller portion of meat than everyone else.
The Sprite asks Labeda about how he conducts his studies.
Labeda starts to talk about the Pathfinder Society, how they're a great way to find experts in everything, though with swords he would only learn from Aldori. For history, he learned from an elderly leshy. An old curmudgeonly tree! The tree's rooted down south now. There's a moment of contest between Labeda and Lodovka. Gurrev laughs very loudly, very intentionally, and pours them both more mead.
Sartorii compliments Izith on his duel victories, especially on his super cool sword.
He laughs and thanks her, and shares the name of his sword, how it was ancestral to his people.
"Was that poison ancestral to your people too, boy?" Lodovka chides, a bit drunk.
"Acutally, yes."
"Better than outsourcing your venom," Sartorii adds.
Izith takes up a mug. "Yes, I'm too busy to spend days milking the serpent. I suppose you wouldn't know anything about that in retirement, would you, Lodovka?" He takes a long drink.
"I've changed my mind, I like him!" Lodovka responds.
Noleski elbows Izith, but nods approvingly. (A kingdom can be rurn like this, you just gotta put in the elbow grease!)
Throughout the meal the party receives various questions.
Some ask Clarence where the Front Yard is. He actually doesn't know, he was left in a human's yard with actual kittens, so he took that as his title. And now he's of House Sylva, so he's come a long way! He includes a make sure to take care of your kittens!
Labeda asks Rutana what the core subject of her studies is.
Esoteric lore!
Would you care to expand upon that?
The knowledge of weaknesses and how to exploit them! The weaknesses of anything, of the strange things you wouldn't think of.
There's some discussion of what those gathered don't know the weakness of. Ghosts gets shouted down because obviously silver, but Rutana presses them, what if you don't have silver?
"I would make a circle of salt!" Gurrev says.
"That doesn't work."
"I would sic my wife on it! She is a much greater warrior than I!"
The Sprite is asked the third time this night to recount the tale of why he doesn't have a name. (I do have a name now, it's Sylva!) He's also asked what his goal is. He implies he just got distracted while researching something, found his way here, found a library with some really cool old books and just stayed there. And they've got really good grilled cheese!
The table toasts to House Sylva and everyone shares a drink!
Right at 7pm, the Sprite feels his dream message spell complete. Ikrit has slept and received her message.
Dinner over, dessert and wines served.
It's cold as fuck outside, so most people are still hanging around inside.
Clarence hangs around with Astrafel. Astrafel plans to stick around for two more hours before heading home to sleep off the mead. Clarence will go home with him! They take Kimber, who gets to curl up by Astrafel's fire.
The Sprite talks to Labeda about various things, and then asks about Segrid First's sword.
Labeda is devastated to hear the sword was sold. Super curious about where it got off to, party doesn't know who Segrid sold it to.
Labeda says in no uncertain terms that he would pay handsomely to get his hands on that sword.
Sartorii plans to search for people left out in the snow on her way home.
Rutana mingles nonspecifically, and volunteers to go with Sartorii to ensure no one is freezing to death in the alleys. Gives her a good excuse to be in fox form.
They find no one, and are satisfied no one was left out. Everyone was dragged into a house.
The Sprite sticks around for a couple more hours, just mingling, before heading home alone.
Clarence wakes up at Astrafel's. They had a good visit, talking, trading tragic backstories and such. Clarence makes Astrafel breakfast before going home.
The walk is chilly. Clarence drapes himself over Kimber to keep her warm.
Meanwhile, at the tower!
Everyone makes fortitude saving throws. Sartorii and the Sprite wake up with a slight headache.
At 7am, Clarence and Kimber bust in, shed their gear, and plop in front of a fireplace with icicles hanging from their nostrils.
It would take the party 6 days to get to their destination.
25g to rent a wagon, or purchase a carriage. Carriage is better defended, better insulated. Carriage is 100 gold, not including the price of horses.
Two horses plus their barding is 8g.
Animal feed for a week is 1 copper.
Winter clothes, 4 silver each.
Excluding personal expenses over the course of the journey, 112 gold, 6 silver, and 2 copper is spent on travel preparations.
Property tax will come up to 80g.
Clarence leaves 118 gold behind in storage.
Some other items are sold, and general inventory management happens.
The party was invited to travel to a gnomish village in the river kingdom. Nothing of importance has ever happened there.
The renovation for Besh's manor will cost a fair amount. The land was transferred to House Sylva, full payment can happen later after there's an itemized list and Ser Dori checks that list over.
Sartorii crafts arrows!
The Sprite crafts heling potions to pass out to everyone!
Next session is visiting/talking to people before the party leaves. The party will leave on Saturday.