Castle Xyntillan Session 17: The Groomsmen and the Quest for the ...

In the last session, the party discovered the meaning of the Will of Aristide, and what it could mean for the future of Xyntillan. They faced down an ambush by another Malevol, but their kill and loot were stolen by a masked warrior, and one of their hirelings was killed in cold blood by the same. They made their peace, then returned to town and forged a new magic item! Who is this mysterious enemy? What will the party do with the Will? What is happening in Tours-en-Savoy? All this and more in this week's session of Castle Xyntillan!

The Party

Longo Lightfoot, Halfling Thief, wears a sky-blue headscarf. Played by CaptainSabatini.
Corby the Joyful, Human Cleric of Sucellus, wears a short, conical hat. Played by diregrizzlybear.
Idred the Most Omniscient, Human MU, wears a full-visored greathelm. Played by David Perry.
Boroth Swinney the Joyous, Human Fighter, wears a masked helm depicting a happy human face. Played by Justin Hamilton.
Francois, Light Footman, noticeably dogless. 

Rodolfo, Heavy Footman, running from a warrant in town.

Hubert, Heavy Footman.

Gwynefa, Arbalist.

Herman, Arbalist, escaped convict and former boar.

Emil, Lightbearer, strange obsession with some Malevols.

Karo, Arbalist.

Allan, Arbalist, claims to know a great secret, pursues a Malevol for past crimes.

Clovis, Heavy Footman.

Eric, Light Footman and cart driver.

LaBeouf, Camp Cook.
Raymond, Mule.

Casualties

None

Loot

Crusader's shield +2

The Game

• Before the game proper began, the party recapped the last session in their own words (Longo's player hadn't been present last time). Semi-out-of-context explanations are always fun.

Corby: Then the Grim Reaper showed up with a boat.

Idred: There's always another Malevol.

• The party returned to town in a gloom, but soon got back to work. Corby forged the Joyhammer, and along with Longo hired on a pair of new henchmen, Clovis and Eric. Reliable men, if a bit dull. They didn't find their stolen horses in the stable, but were informed that a man matching the description of the masked warrior came through, bought a week's supplies and rode off in the direction of Chamrousse. Also in the stable was a gigantic warhorse. When asked if it was for sale, the stablemaster just laughed.
• They were concerned by the behavior of the young town priest, Father Brenard, who was unusually rattled. They leaned on him a bit, and learned that there was an inquisitor in town, under orders from the Bishop in Chamrousse.

GM: I like big tithes and I cannot lie, you other friars can't deny.

• To the priest's dismay, the party insisted on going into the cloister and seeing the inquisitor. He was a tonsured monk, accompanied by a tall, shaven-headed assistant, sitting with Giacomo... who was handcuffed to the table. There was also a thin figure swathed in blankets and sipping porridge in the corner.
• The inquisitor was Brother Michel, with his assistant Murk. He had been about to send the party a summons anyway. He cross-examined their story with Giacomo's and interrogated the party on their own activities in the Castle.

Brother Michel: Have you discovered any objects of power in the castle?

Longo: I have things that go boom, booze, and money. All things of great power.

Idred: [Insert 'why can't I hold all these magic items' meme here].

Oh goodness would you look at all the magic items I've got

• He confided to the party that he was actually searching for several items of great power and value to the church: among these, the Crown of the Lost, the Libram of Heinous Damnation, the Book of Valorous Deeds, and the Heart of Roland. The party had already recovered one of these items, which he was very thankful for. But his true goal was greater: he was looking for Aristide's phylactery!
• While he had no idea where it would be, he had been doing some research. The blanketed figure in the corner was Lisette the Lucky, the party's old lightbearer who had been lost in the dungeon so long ago. She had been recruited into conducting some of the lich's experiments, and had actually seen the creature.
• The party considered telling him about the Will, but decided against it. They left him on good terms. Their next objective was to figure out what to do about the Will, and to do that they needed to figure out how the hell inheritance law works when people rise from the dead. So they visited their old friends, the Royal Secret Police, Tax Division. They still had Vincent, the Malevols' lawyer, locked in the dungeon under the prefecture. A short conversation told them that undead can't hold lands - it passes to the next living relative. 
• Armed with this information, they went to visit Claude. He was as friendly as ever, and gave no indication that he knew about the will. He had also been in town all week, so he couldn't be the masked warrior. They spoke with him at length, filling him in on the inquisitor and the artifacts he was looking for. Claude knew about them, but not where to find them, though he suspected Aristide would have his phylactery hidden in some ultra-secret location in the dungeon.

Party: Is it possible that the Heart or the Crown might actually be the phylactery?

Claude: I don't think so. You can't really change the nature of items like those. Also, Runcius just wears the Crown all over the place, that's not very secure.

Party: facepalms

• They left Claude to his drinking. Next, the question of the Will. They hadn't revealed its existence to anyone, and nobody else seemed to know about it outside the castle. After a long discussion, they settled on sticking the Will in a wizard locked box, then putting that box in Ben Mordechai's super-secure magic chest, along with the Libram. They instructed him to open it on request of themselves, Claude or the Secret Police.

It's baaaack.

• With that business done, the party got down to carousing. Longo did his usual gambling, while Idred stuck by Claude and drank, trying to see if he knew more than he let on. Also, he made several stones of continual light as backups for others. 
• Meanwhile, in the course of just a week, Corby bought a winery, dedicated it to his god, drank it all and burned the place to the ground.

GM: I think this is only your second arson in the entire campaign.

Party: Yeah we really need to step up our game.

• And with that, they returned to Castle Xyntillan. The first order of business was to visit Medard and see to their reward for his quest. Using the secret passage they knew, it was a quick trip, and they found his bust in an excellent mood.
• Lying by the bust was his old campaigning shield, bearing a red background and a rearing golden lion.

Party: Well this is all very English.

• They conversed with Medard briefly, and he grew very interested when they mentioned Brother Michel. They told him about the items he was searching for, and Medard became incredulous when he learned that the inquisitor mentioned the Crown and the Heart by name. Medard told the party that Michel must be a very special fellow, and that they were being deceived by him. The inquisitor's true goal, Medard insisted, wasn't Aristide's phylactery, but something greater.
• He began to mutter to himself. But it wasn't muttering, it was a poem.

“A king’s staff of old, sought by a hero’s heart; 

Are the only things which allow its sight. 

Another king’s case, or heart’s miraculous blood, 

Shall make the vision firm, and subject to touch! 

Yet cleansing oil or a headpiece of gold, 

Are required to break a shadowy fate of old. 

And what came of them, that is rarely told, 

The Meroving sceptre is seated in marble cold; 

Roland’s heart, yearning for the hunt, 

Has found a rest in a brotherly fold; 

A pretty regal case decorates its home, 

But only where the ragged beasts roam; 

Wherefore art thou, crown of the Indoornesse? 

The oil is captain’s prey, the X you must guess!”

• The true goal of the quest, he revealed, was the Holy Grayl! 

Medard: The Hunt begins anew! It was I who hid it last, and I shall not cut the fun short. Now go forth, and quest! 

Longo: Okay, but first can you say 'he chose poorly?'

Medard: He chose... poorly.

• With this new objective, the party decided to explore a new area of the castle, the living quarters above the east wing. The first floor was a vast central room, with a large number of doors leading in all directions. They messed about with a strange dragon statue, and a dark, dusty room with a bunch of preserved brains that gave the party a headache.
• They were ambushed by 8 rigormortises coming up the steps, and they simply annihilated the undead. Corby just leveled last session, and with the silver cross helping him, he was able to reduce them to dust with turning.
• The session ended there, with no loot and only a little combat XP, but also no injuries. They are set to plunder a whole new wing of the castle, and with the revelation of the Grayl quest, the situation around Xyntillan only gets stranger.

Takeaways

This session was almost entirely talking in town, getting caught up and strategizing. Not too much happened, but it's nice to have a session like this in between several of straight dungeoneering.

Brother Michel was polite, but the party seems a bit suspicious of him. Casting Detect Evil on a monk isn't very nice.

Somehow, the party went from running away from combat all the time in the early sessions, to stomping on almost everything in their path. The Libram was probably part of it, but nowadays, they largely explore Xyntillan with impunity. Let's see how long it lasts.

Next Chapter: Don't Trust a Malevol