Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Dungeons & Dragons Night: "The Thunderhaven Joust" (Part 1)


This time, instead of simply describing the adventure as it happened on the game table, I’ve decided to dramaticise it a bit, and write it more as a narrative.  I hope you all enjoy it.  This story is an interpretation of how the events of the game played out from the character’s perspectives.



            The Lygers, having proven victorious against the Fire Elemental Lord, returned to the fortress city of Thunderhaven.  Most of the shops were closed now, and the people of the city had migrated to the center court, where a jousting field had been erected.  The stands were full of cheering townspeople, awaiting the exciting joust that would determine their future ruler, for the winner of the jousting tournament would receive a great prize: the hand in marriage of Princess Camille, middle daughter of King Rast, ruler of Thunderhaven.



The party quickly made preparations for the upcoming event. Both Reinhardt Van Nystrom, and Kaluryn Parfore had previously registered for the tournament using forged documents.  To be eligible to participate in the festivities, the champions needed to prove they were of noble blood, and also register a horse, and squire.  Gjertrude volunteered to play at squire for Kaluryn, and Faye would be the squire for Reinhardt.

            After a brief ceremony where the combatants shared a glass of wine in front of the king, and with each other, the champions moved to their places to begin the first round of battles. Champion Gillroy sat atop his white steed, his silver armor shining brightly in the hot sun of the day.  Reinhardt sat atop his own horse, quivering a little with the anxiety of the moment.  Gillroy’s stance was disciplined and perfect.  His lance held out straight and unwavering.  This is going to be a hard match to win, thought Reinhardt, reaching up a moment to see Princess Camille’s kerchief nestled into the wrist joint on his armor, neatly tucked away behind his shield.  The princess had chosen Reinhardt to accept her favor before the match, and something about that act empowered him slightly.  He wanted to do his best to impress her.  Still, he knew this would not be an easy challenge.



    The horn rang out, and both combatants charged forward, their horses galloping swiftly.  Reinhardt did his best to hold both his lance and shield steady, which was difficult enough without the horse moving as well.  There was a loud thunk, and Reinhardt felt Gillroy’s lance strike his shield, the impact of which nearly ripped the protective item out of his hand, and caused him to almost lose his balance on his horse.  He steadied himself somehow, and made the round to face his opponent again.  There was another trumpet blast, and the two combatants charged forward once more.  This time, Reinhardt felt the lance strike his armor straight on.  A few chaotic moments later, Reinhardt found himself lying on his back in the dirt.  He had been unhorsed and lost the first phase of the joust.  If he had any chance of winning, he would need to beat Gillroy in martial combat.  Faye, acting as his squire, approached with his sword, and helped him out of the dust before taking his lance and horse back to the sidelines with her.


          Reinhardt readied himself, and the trumpet blast out for the third time.  Knowing he had the disadvantage, Reinhardt attempted to use the wooden pillars as cover to help protect his back from his foe.  Gillroy, however, simply walked forward, poised and ready to strike.  Reinhardt thought he saw an opportunity to land a blow, but as he swung, he overextended, exposing himself to attack.  Gillroy, having trained in combat his whole life quickly took the advantage, and landed multiple heavy blows to Reinhardt, ending the fight in a matter of moments.  Reinhardt was simply outmatched, and no amount of luck, favor from the princess, or skill was going to add up to a winning combination against this dangerous foe.  With Gillroy’s final blow, Reinhardt dropped his sword and yielded, knowing he had been defeated.  Now that Reinhardt had failed, the Lyger’s chances in the tournament rested on Kaluryn’s shoulders.

          The next match was between the stout and domineering Ogden Stonedealer and Kaluryn Parfore.  Kaluryn mounted his horse and rode out to face his enemy.  Ogden was a large man, wide around the belly, with a big busy beard sticking out the bottom of his helmet.  He also appeared to be very powerful.  Kaluryn knew this would be a tough foe to beat.  Using one of the two ‘spell-secret’ marbles given to him by Taymos’ friend Loquo, he quietly cast a haste spell on himself.  Instantly, he felt quicker and more alert.  This would help him react faster in combat, and possibly give him an edge.
          The joust match played out much like Reinhardt’s had, except for that Kaluryn had been fortunate enough to land a very lucky blow with his lance that somehow had snuck between Stonedealer’s lance and shield.  The burly man was knocked to the ground.  Success!  Kaluryn had managed to get lucky.  If he could somehow win the hand to hand combat phase, he’d be able to move on to the next round and possibly win back some of the money that the party pooled together for an entrance fee / dowry.  Kaluryn hopped off his steed and led the horse over to Gjertrude who was approaching with Kaluryn’s sword.  He handed the reins off to the druidess, and took his place on the martial combat field.  The trumpet sounded, and with a speed he wouldn’t have expected of it, Ogden Stonedealer charged forward, his flail swinging wildly.  Kaluryn ducked behind one of the wooden pillars.  If the burly adversary landed a direct blow, Kaluryn knew he would be done for.  Stonedealer approached rapidly, and took a large heavy swing for Kaluryn’s head.  The nimble wizard managed to duck just in the nick of time, and Stonedealer’s flail impacted with the wooden pillar, sending wooden splinters raining over him.  Fortunately, the attack left the burly man’s flail stuck in the wood, and Kaluryn took the opportunity to go on the offensive.  With a reflexive speed, Kaluryn slashed and stabbed at the brutal giant, skewering him several times, his blade sliding in between the plates of heavy armor that the bearded man wore.  In a matter of lucky moments, Kaluryn had brought the big foe to his knees, and forced him to yield.  Kaluryn would go on to the next round of the joust!

            The final match was almost no contest whatsoever.  Ryn Redclaw, the mysterious warrior in black and red armor had effortlessly dispatched of his opponent, Gleiss J’ho.  The last match went quickly too.  Hogan Hiro faced off against McHali Na’avi, losing in a close finish to the knight.

            With the first day’s matches completed, the King announced that a royal ball celebrating the jousting festival would be held that evening, and the party left to their rooms to prepare for the festivities.

          The ballroom was full of all the noble lords and ladies of Thunderhaven, as well as many of the more affluent citizens.  The King and Queen had a fair sized crowd around them, and musicians were playing music on a small stage that had been erected on one side of the room. Kaluryn, Reinhardt, Grimnash, and Faye all entered, impressed with the classy festivities, atmosphere, and merriment of the ball.
          Gjertrude and Constance followed behind too, but when she saw the large crowds, Constance decided to head back to the Inn to get some fresh night air.  Gjertrude followed after her, as she wanted to go back to the Inn as well, to check on some of her animals.
          Grimnash immediately moved for the refreshment table at the ball, burying himself behind a stein of ale and a large plate of food.  He shoveled the hors-d’ouvres into his mouth so quickly that much of the food and ale dribbled down his chin and made a mess of his beard. He finished off the meal with a triumphant belch, garnering rude stares from other party patrons.  Grimnash didn’t care, though, and disappeared in search of a place to take a nap and sleep off his meal.

            Reinhardt was enjoying a glass of wine, when suddenly he heard a voice from behind.  It was the princess.  She expressed to Reinhardt how truly disappointed she was about how his match had gone during the first day of the joust, and how she still desired and wished that he could be her champion and marry her.  The two of them left the party briefly to go on a short secret tour of the castle.  Princess Camille even showed Reinhardt her collection of books in the expansive library of the castle, where she would spend hours reading about the adventures of knights fighting dragons, and the heroes of ages past.  Reinhardt flirted back, hoping that perhaps this might sow the seeds for a future option, should they somehow need to convince the Princess to help them later.

            Meanwhile, Gjertrude and Constance had arrived back at the Inn, The Foggy HallwayConstance was quick to return to the room, but what she saw when she reached the hallway was alarming to her.

            The door was ajar?  Had anyone left it open before they had left?  No, thought Constance, and in a swift moment, she slinked up to the door and peered inside.  Whoever had invaded their room at the ‘Foggy Hallway’ had already left. The window was open as well, and the curtains flapped in the cool night breeze.  Hoping to catch a glimpse of whoever had escaped, Constance quickly dashed to the window and peered out of it.  The infiltrator had disappeared, but she  thought she caught a shadow moving into the alley down the street.  As she was about to climb out the window and use her spider climb ability to creep down the side of the Inn, Constance spotted a shiny chain hanging from a loose nail in the window frame.  Here a small amulet had gotten caught on the nail while whoever had been rifling through the party’s belongings was escaping.  In a moment, Constance snatched up the amulet and hunted down Gyertrude, who had been following behind her after the two of them had left the royal ball.

With little time to explain, Constance grabbed Gyertrude’s hand and led her along, explaining the situation as they ran. They moved into alley after alley in pursuit of their prey, Constance using her powerful sense of smell, and Gyertrude using her tracking experience to eventually arrive at a small stable in the North side of Thunderhaven, deep in the slum district of the city.  In the stable was a single mount: a black warhorse with deep red eyes that almost seemed to glow when the two women adventurers examined it.  Next to the stable was a small shanty, and Constance, without thinking, quickly moved to kick the door down.

“Wait!” hissed Gyertrude, attempting to stop her companion. “We don’t know what’s in there!”

“I got this!” was all Constance said before bursting through the door to confront her foe.  It was Ryn Redclaw, the joust participant who had been mysteriously absent from the royal ball.  For the first time now, Constance was able to see her foe.  Ryn was a sinister and powerful looking man, hidden beneath twisted black armor, and thick black wool strips that were wrapped around the larger plates of armor. His face was more than half obscured by the black cloth, as it stretched across his face and mouth, leaving only his eyes exposed.  Through the cloth, Constance could see the heavy scratch-scar that darted in a diagonal across his face. His skin was unusually dry and cracked as well.  Wherever he was from, it must be hot, thought Constance.

          Not wasting time, Constance summoned her deep vampiric intimidation skills, lowering her voice, and strengthening her piercing gaze.  “Stop there!” she shouted, not desiring Ryn to attempt to flee.  “What were you doing in our room at the Inn?” Her voice dripped with power as she interrogated the dark knight.

          Ryn hesitated for a moment, then denied the accusation.  Constance would have none of it, however, and swiftly brought a blade against Ryn to further empower her threatening talk.  Her other hand began to harden with the stone-charm bracelet on her wrist; becoming a stone weapon she could use if things got messy.  However, she would not need them.  Her intimidating glare was enough for Ryn to cave.  “How did you know I was there?”
          Constance held out the amulet.  “You dropped something, didn’t you?”  As she and Gjertrude had been tracking Ryn to his shanty, they managed to contact Taymos the Wizard back at the Lyger Farms, using the mystical portal hoops as a tool for communication.  She had explained the nature of the magic spell locked away in the charm: a polymorph spell that would allow the wearer to take the form of a minotaur. Immediately they knew that this was the man who had framed their friend Zax for murder.  Using her influence, Constance bullied Ryn into promising to come forward and absolve Zax from his crime in Thunderhaven.  With that she left, as quickly as she had entered the shanty, hoping that Ryn would be true to his word and fulfill his promise.  As she left, Gjertrude was waiting.  Constance explained the entire situation to her, and the two of them returned to their room at the Inn to rest up, and await the next day’s jousting events.
           
            The next morning came, and the party traveled to the jousting grounds together.  This would be a difficult match, as the drawn lots for that day’s match-ups had Kaluryn facing off against the dangerous Champion Gillroy who had bested Reinhardt in the previous match.  This would be another difficult match.

            After a second wine ceremony, Kaluryn put on his helmet and mounted his horse to ready himself for the jousting phase.