The Ruins of Auromia: Session Three - The Cavaliere Rosso
When the roof fell in, Forza and Sorrel realised they were in a tight spot.
The dragon-souled knight and the itinerant herbalist-musician had met on the road months before. Forza was seeking the man who had killed his mother so he could get revenge, and Sorrel decided to accompany him - it sounded like an interesting story, and ever since her father had retired, she had found herself at loose ends. They travelled together, following the trail of the man. At last they lost him, but then heard rumours of a Red Knight in the outskirts of Auromia who was brutally taking over the bandit gangs there, who wielded an antique two-handed sword like the one that had been stolen from Forza's mother. The two wanderers went to Auromia. The outskirts of the Cavaliere Rosso's territory was marked by the crucified bodies of his enemies, and birds feasted on their remains. The pair located a sentry post, in an ancient thermopolia (fast-food restaurant), and clambered on to the roof to eavesdrop. They might be able to hear more about the Cavaliere Rosso or where he was located. But they did not realise that the roof had grown frail over time. It collapsed, dropping Forza and Sorrel right into the middle of the bandits.
The bandits disarmed and secured Forza and Sorrel, and then started going through their posessions. Their mood changed, however, when they saw the symbol on Forza's medallion. He had taken it from his mother's body as a keepsake. It was an antique, with an image of a sword upon it, and it made the bandits extremely nervous. If they delivered their captives to the Cavaliere Rosso and he saw this, he might react violently - they had seen him encounter this symbol before, and men had died. But if they did not deliver the captives, then if he learned about it he would definitely kill them! Forza tried to use this to his advantage and intimidate the bandits, while Sorrel surreptitiously tried to loosen her bonds. Just then, the two saw a face peering through a window, and realised that there were intruders about to attack their captors. They kept talking to create a distraction - the enemy of my enemy is my friend, after all. Suddenly the door burst open, and nearly twenty ragged men and women burst into the thermopolia, weapons drawn. Their captors were caught unaware. Sorrel used this opportunity to free herself from her bonds and charged at the bandit with their weapons, wrestling them off him. Meanwhile, Forza used his draconic gifts to exhale a great gout of fire, that set many of the bandits on fire. Sorrel freed Forza and gave him his weapons, and at this point the last surviving thugs surrendered.
The new arrivals were, of course, Vittoria's gang from Baraccopoli, accompanied by Accluso, Dova, Ilaria and Noke. Their plan was to swiftly silence these sentries before going after the Red Knight himself. Forza and Sorrel agreed to help their rescuers against the Red Knight, in exchange for his sword - a deal to which Vittoria was happy to agree. Meanwhile, the captives were interrogated. The bandits said that they were from a gang that had only recently come under the Cavaliere Rosso's control, after they saw him brutally kill their previous leaders with his bare hands. They drew a crude map to the makeshift fortress that he was holed up in, and then agreed to take their families and move to Baraccopoli. If Vittoria won, they would join her gang; if she lost, they should keep running before the Cavaliere Rosso came after them as turncoats.
The small force continued deeper into the southern outskirts of Auromia, where they discovered the ruined castello that the Red Knight was using. Once, Dova realised, it had been the headquarters of the Knights of the Sword, the most militant arm of the orders of the Knights Austere. Unlike the other church knights, they did not have their barracks in the heart of the city. This way, they were better able to respond to attackers (as well as being removed from the central palace to prevent any military coup.) The keep was badly damaged - it had been sacked during the fall of the Auromian Empire. Its front doors were ajar, and its upper stories had collapsed entirely. The doors had been repaired as best as possible, and a ditch dug around the keep. Noke used his gifts to summon a flock of pigeons to him, and used them to scout out the defences. They revealed that the main doors led to a central courtyard, with a further set of doors to breach to gain entry into the castle, and that on the south-western side of the castle, there was a gap in the wall through which someone could slip.
The group decided that the courtyard looked too defensible, and to enter the ruined keep through the gap in the walls, while using a diversion to distract the defenders. Ilaria and Fidelio, a dog-folk bandit with whom she had made friends, made an explosive using rags stuffed in bottles of alcohol. Fidelio threw the bomb towards the courtyard, and Ilaria used her magic to nudge the trajectory of the bottle to get it over the wall. She used a little too much force and the bomb exploded in midair, but it should serve its purpose as a distraction. She and Fidelio rushed around the keep to join the others. Meanwhile, Vittoria's bandits began climbing one by one down the bank and up the rubble to slip into the keep. The breach led to a grand bedchamber, although with very spartan decorations. They could hear the Cavaliere Rosso's guards rushing back and forth to investigate the explosion. Suddenly the door opened - they were discovered! Sorrel and Forza rushed forward to fight, while Noke concentrated his will on the weeds growing through the cracked stones of the keep. Using the aether, he encouraged them to grow wildly, so they tangled around Sorrel, Forza and the guards. It wasn't enough to completely restrain them, but it made it very difficult for anyone to get into the room. Meanwhile, Accluso used his hunting bow and Vittoria, Dova and the bandits used crossbows to shoot at anyone who approached. Soon Ilaria rejoined them, and conjured up blasts of fire to fling at the enemy. When the enemy became too numerous, Forza breathed a great gout of fire and set the tall weeds ablaze, scorching many of the Cavaliere Rosso's guards and creating a smokescreen to block the defenders' own massed crossbow volleys.
Vittoria's bandits emerged into the hallway under cover of the smoke and charged into the Cavaliere Rosso's warriors, who were led by a lieutenant. The assault was going extremely well, and some of the warriors turned and fled... when the Red Knight himself finally appeared. He was a youngish human man, wearing antique armour and wielding the antique two-handed sword that he had taken from Forza's mother. He slew his fleeing men, drenching himself in the blood from which he got his name. Then he saw Forza and seemed to pause for a second. In that moment of distraction, Accluso shot an arrow that punched through the armour and deep into his stomach. The Red Knight reeled. To everyone's surprise, his lieutenant then turned on him and slew him, before seizing the two-handed sword and attempting to flee. Forza ran forward and grappled with him, but the man flung him off and made for the door. Just as he was about to escape, there was a loud crack! The lieutenant's eyes rolled up in his head, and he collapsed, dead: Noke had struck him in the temple with his sling.
The attack on the Cavaliere Rosso had, to everyone's surprise, succeeded beyond their wildest expectation. The Cavaliere was dead, Forza had had his revenge and reclaimed his mother's sword, and Vittoria was now the most powerful slum lord in Auromia. She affirmed her promise to Accluso, Dova, Ilaria and Noke to help them enter the magical forest in the heart of the city, and Forza and Sorrel agreed to help them as well.
The dragon-souled knight and the itinerant herbalist-musician had met on the road months before. Forza was seeking the man who had killed his mother so he could get revenge, and Sorrel decided to accompany him - it sounded like an interesting story, and ever since her father had retired, she had found herself at loose ends. They travelled together, following the trail of the man. At last they lost him, but then heard rumours of a Red Knight in the outskirts of Auromia who was brutally taking over the bandit gangs there, who wielded an antique two-handed sword like the one that had been stolen from Forza's mother. The two wanderers went to Auromia. The outskirts of the Cavaliere Rosso's territory was marked by the crucified bodies of his enemies, and birds feasted on their remains. The pair located a sentry post, in an ancient thermopolia (fast-food restaurant), and clambered on to the roof to eavesdrop. They might be able to hear more about the Cavaliere Rosso or where he was located. But they did not realise that the roof had grown frail over time. It collapsed, dropping Forza and Sorrel right into the middle of the bandits.
The bandits disarmed and secured Forza and Sorrel, and then started going through their posessions. Their mood changed, however, when they saw the symbol on Forza's medallion. He had taken it from his mother's body as a keepsake. It was an antique, with an image of a sword upon it, and it made the bandits extremely nervous. If they delivered their captives to the Cavaliere Rosso and he saw this, he might react violently - they had seen him encounter this symbol before, and men had died. But if they did not deliver the captives, then if he learned about it he would definitely kill them! Forza tried to use this to his advantage and intimidate the bandits, while Sorrel surreptitiously tried to loosen her bonds. Just then, the two saw a face peering through a window, and realised that there were intruders about to attack their captors. They kept talking to create a distraction - the enemy of my enemy is my friend, after all. Suddenly the door burst open, and nearly twenty ragged men and women burst into the thermopolia, weapons drawn. Their captors were caught unaware. Sorrel used this opportunity to free herself from her bonds and charged at the bandit with their weapons, wrestling them off him. Meanwhile, Forza used his draconic gifts to exhale a great gout of fire, that set many of the bandits on fire. Sorrel freed Forza and gave him his weapons, and at this point the last surviving thugs surrendered.
The new arrivals were, of course, Vittoria's gang from Baraccopoli, accompanied by Accluso, Dova, Ilaria and Noke. Their plan was to swiftly silence these sentries before going after the Red Knight himself. Forza and Sorrel agreed to help their rescuers against the Red Knight, in exchange for his sword - a deal to which Vittoria was happy to agree. Meanwhile, the captives were interrogated. The bandits said that they were from a gang that had only recently come under the Cavaliere Rosso's control, after they saw him brutally kill their previous leaders with his bare hands. They drew a crude map to the makeshift fortress that he was holed up in, and then agreed to take their families and move to Baraccopoli. If Vittoria won, they would join her gang; if she lost, they should keep running before the Cavaliere Rosso came after them as turncoats.
The small force continued deeper into the southern outskirts of Auromia, where they discovered the ruined castello that the Red Knight was using. Once, Dova realised, it had been the headquarters of the Knights of the Sword, the most militant arm of the orders of the Knights Austere. Unlike the other church knights, they did not have their barracks in the heart of the city. This way, they were better able to respond to attackers (as well as being removed from the central palace to prevent any military coup.) The keep was badly damaged - it had been sacked during the fall of the Auromian Empire. Its front doors were ajar, and its upper stories had collapsed entirely. The doors had been repaired as best as possible, and a ditch dug around the keep. Noke used his gifts to summon a flock of pigeons to him, and used them to scout out the defences. They revealed that the main doors led to a central courtyard, with a further set of doors to breach to gain entry into the castle, and that on the south-western side of the castle, there was a gap in the wall through which someone could slip.
The group decided that the courtyard looked too defensible, and to enter the ruined keep through the gap in the walls, while using a diversion to distract the defenders. Ilaria and Fidelio, a dog-folk bandit with whom she had made friends, made an explosive using rags stuffed in bottles of alcohol. Fidelio threw the bomb towards the courtyard, and Ilaria used her magic to nudge the trajectory of the bottle to get it over the wall. She used a little too much force and the bomb exploded in midair, but it should serve its purpose as a distraction. She and Fidelio rushed around the keep to join the others. Meanwhile, Vittoria's bandits began climbing one by one down the bank and up the rubble to slip into the keep. The breach led to a grand bedchamber, although with very spartan decorations. They could hear the Cavaliere Rosso's guards rushing back and forth to investigate the explosion. Suddenly the door opened - they were discovered! Sorrel and Forza rushed forward to fight, while Noke concentrated his will on the weeds growing through the cracked stones of the keep. Using the aether, he encouraged them to grow wildly, so they tangled around Sorrel, Forza and the guards. It wasn't enough to completely restrain them, but it made it very difficult for anyone to get into the room. Meanwhile, Accluso used his hunting bow and Vittoria, Dova and the bandits used crossbows to shoot at anyone who approached. Soon Ilaria rejoined them, and conjured up blasts of fire to fling at the enemy. When the enemy became too numerous, Forza breathed a great gout of fire and set the tall weeds ablaze, scorching many of the Cavaliere Rosso's guards and creating a smokescreen to block the defenders' own massed crossbow volleys.
Vittoria's bandits emerged into the hallway under cover of the smoke and charged into the Cavaliere Rosso's warriors, who were led by a lieutenant. The assault was going extremely well, and some of the warriors turned and fled... when the Red Knight himself finally appeared. He was a youngish human man, wearing antique armour and wielding the antique two-handed sword that he had taken from Forza's mother. He slew his fleeing men, drenching himself in the blood from which he got his name. Then he saw Forza and seemed to pause for a second. In that moment of distraction, Accluso shot an arrow that punched through the armour and deep into his stomach. The Red Knight reeled. To everyone's surprise, his lieutenant then turned on him and slew him, before seizing the two-handed sword and attempting to flee. Forza ran forward and grappled with him, but the man flung him off and made for the door. Just as he was about to escape, there was a loud crack! The lieutenant's eyes rolled up in his head, and he collapsed, dead: Noke had struck him in the temple with his sling.
The attack on the Cavaliere Rosso had, to everyone's surprise, succeeded beyond their wildest expectation. The Cavaliere was dead, Forza had had his revenge and reclaimed his mother's sword, and Vittoria was now the most powerful slum lord in Auromia. She affirmed her promise to Accluso, Dova, Ilaria and Noke to help them enter the magical forest in the heart of the city, and Forza and Sorrel agreed to help them as well.
Image: Detail from 'Mars and Rhea Silvia.' Peter Paul Rubens, 1617.
Comments
Post a Comment