Castle Xyntillan Sessions 26 and 27: The Great Count Caper

After a long hiatus, Castle Xyntillan has returned! In the last session, the party concluded their latest expedition to the castle, battling and losing an ally to the shambling mound, fulfilling another hirleing's revenge against the Malevol skeleton Tristano, and fleeing the vampire countess' wrath as she found that they had killed her husband.

But all is not well. The party returned to find Tours-en-Savoy taken over by Rel and his band of orcs, with the assent of the Count of Chamrousse! The homes of their allies were under siege, Rel had taken over the Prefecture, and both Claude and Giacomo had been arrested and taken to the dungeons under suspicion of treason! Now the party are criminals, their closest friends imprisoned. Will they rescue their allies? Bring the fight to Rel? 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. 

Clovis, Heavy Footman.

Eric, Light Footman and cart driver.

Oscar, Arbalist of unusual strength

LaBeouf, Camp Cook.
Raymond, Mule.

Casualties

None

Loot

None

The Game

• Fernand Bonnel, the proprietor of their favorite tavern, got the party up to speed. They were wanted men, suspected of treason against the crown. Three hirelings—the arbalists Karo and Allan, and the lightbearer Emil—left the party. They expressed a willingness to rejoin if the dust settled and they were no longer wanted men, but until then, they would return to their homes.
• The majority of the hirelings stood strong with their benefactors, wanting their own payback against Rel for the murder of Bruno.
• And so, the party began to plan. 
• They pushed forward to Tours-en-Savoy, arriving soon after Brother Michel and his party did. They spotted the paladin being harangued by an orc guarding the gate, and caught up with him as he moved around the town walls. Idred enchanted an ivory fan with Invisibility 10', and used it to remain out of hand while they conspired with Michel.
• They exchanged information, and formed a pact to help get Claude and Giacomo out of prison and expel Rel and his orcs from the town.
• The party snuck in under invisibility, evading patrols and making their way to the safety of the church. It was full to bursting with townsfolk looking for comfort in this strange time, and the parish priest was preaching his heart out.
• They let Fernand go to collect information. The party waited for cover of night to break into the prison.
• At sundown, they were surprised by a man who appeared in the cloister, dressed like a Jester. He introduced himself as the Black Comedian, after whom Fernand's tavern was named. The one who died years back.
• The Black Comedian thanked the party for slaying Patrice Desjardin-Malevol, his killer. He gave the party a magic ring, and told them where to find a secret entrance to the dungeons beneath the Prefecture.
• The party followed his instructions, and gained access to the dungeon. In one of the many cells, they located Stanislas, another of their hirelings who had been in the hospital when Rel took over. They broke him out, got him up to speed and armed him.

• In a common cell, with an unlocked door, they detected the presence of orcs. They backed away, not wanting to alert them.
• In the dungeon's main chamber, they spied a lone figure working at a desk, silently and diligently. Corby and Idred cast their spells against him. Corby's attempt to Hold him failed, but Idred's Charm took effect. Idred left invisibility to speak with the figure.
• This was The Auditor, the leader of the ninja accountant clan retained by the Malevols, and recently hired on by Rel to join his own party. He and Idred spoke amicably, but despite their newfound friendship, the Auditor refused to break his contract with Rel, and regretfully informed Idred that he would be obligated to kill him tomorrow.
• Idred excused himself and rejoined the party under invisibility. Corby enchanted another item, a small stone with Silence 15'. Under both invisibility and silence, they snuck past the Auditor into the secure cells. A luxuriously appointed cell for VIPs contained the Malevol lawyer, Vincet Godefroy-Malevol, but they didn't disturb him.
• They located Giacomo and Claude in a pair of Wizard Locked cells, which Idred Knocked open. They freed their friends, and high-tailed it out of the dungeon, whereupon they told Claude about the Will.
• He insisted on going to retrieve it, and the party returned to Mordechai's Curios. The orcs had tried to siege it when they first arrived, thinking it was a possible hiding place for the Will, but Mordechai's magical prowess and the threat of a clay golem on the premises drove them away. It was fortified and boarded up. They were let in by his sons, and the party requested that Mordechai open his chest. Mordechai did, and returned the Wizard Locked box which contained the Will. At Claude's direction, Idred dispelled it, and let Mordechai read it. 
• Seeing he was in the presence of the true Count of Chamrousse, Mordechai bowed. The party escaped back to the church, where they picked up supplies prepared for their journey by the nuns, and left town. They rejoined their wagon in the forest, and made the journey to Wolkmarstal.
• The party has now spent several weeks there, establishing contact with the local Count, helping Claude form an alliance with him, and laying the groundwork for the overthrow of the false Count Jean-Giscard. Completion of their plans requires returning to Castle Xyntillan, though viable paths are many. 
• They could travel to the Beast's court deep in the northwest, or to the court of the Judge's Guild in the Lake Tower. If they just want to cause havoc on their way out, Claude suggests they break open the crystal coffin containing his aunt, the vicious mummy Aurora Malevol, and hope the resulting chaos upsets the balance of power to their advantage. If all else fails, they could even search for the lich, Aristide Malevol, and tell him that his Will has been subverted. Claude heavily discouraged this.
• Which strategy will they choose? Will they survive the journey to any of these locations? And will they continue to seek the Holy Grayl—which they have not told Claude about—or will they abandon that sacred quest? All this and more in next week's session of Castle Xyntillan!

Takeaways

These last two sessions were composed, in large part, of planning and discussion. The typical dungeon delve scenario of the campaign limits this, but taking the party out of the dungeon into an open ended social situation without a default action made it move a good deal slower. Talking with The Auditor also took a lot of time, and I've cut most of that from the session report (in large part since I don't recall most of it enough to render it accurately).

Still, it's presented a different kind of challenge to the party, and it's served to shift the campaign situation. Now, the party has a new home base, a new political situation, they have to juggle Claude's ambitions, and they have to figure out how to leverage actions in the dungeon to change the feudal structure around them. Potentially very good stuff.

Next Chapter: Judgement Day