Calm in the Storm (BrieCS)

The night of the wedding, after the Duke had hurriedly chased everyone from the palace, Ursula walked leisurely to the shop of Valen Tydrom, where she insisted he come along with her to the Capital, and that he bring the items that he had obtained so tidily from the Duke’s lab. They stayed out of the way of the guards until morning, when they went to the Tower of the Archmage to teleport to Pact.

The Small Hours (Liam Rothspar)

The hours following the end of Ursula’s brother’s wedding were hectic, to say the least, and as much activity as the University of the Archmage had seen since one wizard pupil had decided to summon a pet imp and instead brought forth a hell-hound into a far-too-small circle of protection.

Around 2 of the clock following midnight, the Duke had his guards usher everyone brusquely from his palace, with no chance for Liam to slip into the caverns beneath the palace to deal with the Caller in the Dark. His apprentice, while “walking his familiar”, noted that the lich potion was missing. Within 15 minutes of the rough departure, Liam had sent word to Maurissen with news of where the cavern was and the disappearance of the lich potion. It seemed as if the Duke was pushing his ritualistic plans ahead.

During this time, the town watch had mobilized, mere minutes after the Duke had rushed off from the wedding ceremony and unceremoniously had everyone ushered out. Liam could only assume that this was connected in some way to the seemingly imminent sacrifice.

Unfortunately for Liam, the rumors seem solid that the palace is well-guarded, both by physical and magical means. Simply having his apprentice James cast invisibility upon them, or splurging for a more expensive teleportation scroll, may well be thwarted and bring retribution on their heads. But Liam, the wise one, decided to elicit the help of an infernal creature that he knew to be in the employ of the Earl.

Botis, he’d learned, was an imp, explaining his pitch-black skin and odd demeanor. But despite Liam’s slight hesitation to work with him, Botis was the Earl’s valet and the only other person in the city that Liam knew to have knowledge of the foul plot. And imps tended to have better abilities in infiltration than master sages.

Botis knew of the plot and knew the location of the spirit, and despite some hesitation to anger powerful mages, agreed to go to the spirit’s cavern and see if the ritual was underway. Afterall, if the Duke would likely perform the ritual in the caverns where the spirit already resided, as opposed to risking bringing it elsewhere. If the spirit still remained trapped and undisturbed, the Duke wasn’t in the middle of the ritual yet, and Adalia was yet safe… for now.

Far Away (Mousetrap)

While political gears were turning wildly in Blackwash, Maurissen was far away in the eastern mountain range. As she made her way through the range looking for a bandit camp, she found some unlikely friends: a group of cave-dwelling wild men called the Dog Clan. They led her to the warrens of their sister clan, Wolf, which was wiped out utterly by just four men. These, it would seem, were the “huge” band of well-organized bandits. Illusions and well-placed force were all they needed to terrorize the countryside. Maurissen hid, fully prepared to talk it out and convince them, as she did the dragon, that the Duke of Blackwash was only using them. It seemed to Maurissen, however, that the Red Dragon had higher morals. Enraged by their actions, she turned the four men to stone.

In their dreams… (Liam Rothspar)

While Botis was out, Liam conversed with a rather odd man in… well, “unique” lower-body garments. He at first seemed to be the imp’s plaything, but in talking with him, Liam soon gathered there was more than the man let on. He mentioned that the city watch was looking for an elf... the very elf that Adalia supposedly fancied and, by recent rumor, had ceased speaking with. The elf was untrustworthy, a con-artist, and had even stolen money from this guest of Botis’. But the real ticket was when this man inquired about Liam’s interest in Adalia, and offered to help find her… which Liam leapt upon immediately.

It seemed this man was a spellcaster and could send their consciousnesses to the Dreaming, a trip Liam had not made in quite a long time… the University offered to take him on various infrequent expeditions into various parts of the world in order to further his experience and expertise in various lore, but such trips were not frequent enough for Liam not to be fascinated by the vastly unique look of the world from the Dreaming. An etherealness to everything… and a significantly expedited time in searching for whatever one might look for. If Adalia was in trouble, she would likely be unconscious at this point, and thus accessible to the dreaming… but after more than an hour searching the University tower, the Palace, and the docks, there was no sign of Adalia or the elf. Liam’s new companion was convinced the elf had some hand in her disappearance, and while Liam thought it possible, he wanted to be assured that she was not with the Duke. So, the spellcaster worked his arcane talent and pulled Adalia into the dreamworld to commune with them.

To Liam’s reassurance and yet concurrent dismay, she appeared. She was indeed unconscious or asleep, wherever her body was. She was understandably hesitant and scared, and to a point, uncooperative. Liam attempted to assure her they meant her no harm as he plied her gently for information as to her whereabouts and what had happened before she had fallen to unconsciousness. She reported that she had been with Ursula and Elren, the elf that she reportedly fancied. But, after a few more minutes and a few words of caution as to what she should do if she awoke, particularly in the Duke’s chambers, she retorted with a Burning Hands spell and departed. The spellcaster was unable to track her, but Liam took them to outside the Duke’s chambers. It was one of the few places in the palace that they could not enter, and in this state, she would not be able to return to her body either, and thus would be stuck outside the chamber itself. She was not there, which was proof enough for Liam that she was not in actuality inside with the Duke.

Why would she have been knocked unconscious with Ursula and the elf? The Duke could have ambushed them, but the story that she was with the elf was more plausible. It didn’t stand to reason that Ursula would have had any part in the plan, she had been protecting Adalia… and that was when it dawned on him. She was protecting Adalia by abducting her, with the elf’s help. Protecting her from the Duke. It was feasible, and while not the most logical or safe plan, something they could find out. There were a few hours left before Ursula was to leave for the King’s court.

Lost in the Woods (jimtheduckie)

Terasian Goldbraid wasn’t used to physical threats. Typically people didn’t realize what they lost until he was long gone, or if they did, took only a little convincing before they were suckered into an even bigger heist. However the teleport failed him. And instead of appearing in one of the many elven civilizations found across New Andar, he found himself at an unmarked crossroad. To make things worse, he hadn’t packed anything onto his horse save the 17,000 gold he had stashed in the Golden Oak Exchange. While making his way through the wilderness, he was attacked by Gnolls, and only survived because his horse was by far the luckiest beast alive, charging wildly through the woods, in the middle of the night, and managing not to break a leg. Soon enough the odd pair found a town of Wildmen, which happily outfitted them with proper tools for travel, and also pointed them to the south to get the the city of Brightstar.

Welcomed News (Liam Rothspar)

They returned, and Botis reported that nothing was changed in the spirit’s cavern, which Liam himself had also confirmed. He returned to the University and waited for Ursula, who confirmed that Adalia had been kidnapped for her own safety, to protect her against the Duke. Even more gratifying, the lich potion was not moved by the Duke, it had been absconded by someone in Ursula’s company, explaining why it was no longer in the Duke’s tower. Missing a sacrifice was only a small matter, but missing a key ingredient like a lich potion fouled the Duke’s plot far more succinctly.

A Narrow Escape (BrieCS)

After arriving at the Tower of the Archmage before dawn, Ursula and Valen Tydrom ran into Liam Rothspar and Karl of the Church of the Protector. They quickly discussed the matters at hand, and in the middle of the conversation, Botis, the Earl of Murra’s valet, materialized to announce that the guards were invading the Tower. It was beneficial that by this point Ursula was beyond the point of being surprised, or Botis might have been in for a little more than a shock. After hearing the news, Ursula took her leave, leading Valen behind her to the teleportation room. The hall leading there was occupied by a guard of Blackwash, who indicated that they should stand down and wait to be interrogated. This, however, was not in Ursula’s plans, and she began to pass him, but he stood between her and the door.

She had the Gavel out, and in true reactionary fashion, she swung it at his head, not imagining it would hurt him much, but hoping it would knock him out and keep him from shouting for other guards. Apparently, she misjudged her strength, and it did little but shake him, so she swung again, and this time, unfortunately, her misjudgment had the opposite effect – the strike smashed the guard’s brains into the wall. Saving her shock and discomfort for later, she rushed into the teleportation room, closing it tightly behind her and Valen, and commanded the mage who was to transport them to teleport out now because of the guards. When he resisted, she reacted with a loud shout of “They’re killing everyone!”

This, obviously, spurred him to action.

Relief (Liam Rothspar)

Liam knew the raid on the Tower was ill news for him, even if he was not personally responsible for Adalia’s disappearance. He decided, however, to wait it out. He was pulled from the tower, along with everyone else, and questioned, but gods be praised, they were not suspicious of the old man. He learned that Ursula had been teleported as planned, which was more good news, and now it was on her shoulders to give the evidence to the king. And even if that failed, Adalia was safe for now, wherever she was. Despite the momentary chaos, it seemed as if everything was going to be in order soon.