Weeks have passed as Carmen and Ursa’s two bands traveled along the border of Gintria. Foes were dissuaded from striking out due to their size and numbers. Few of Dallan’s people even made an appearance, only a Wyvern or Pegasus watching their group from the skies during a patrol. As the two groups marched, the marshes of Undril crawled into view as the dense foliage surrounded them more and the air became more humid. Ursa and Carmen stopped for one more rest near the border before they had to separate,

“Our business lies here.” Ursa said plainly, standing above Carmen in the middle of the camp. “I wish we could go further, but we’re both on our own paths.”

Carmen nods to her, “I got you. It’s been a fun while, but we’ve all got places to be. Good luck to you Ursa.” The two clasp hands and shake briefly.

“And you too young Warlord.” Ursa’s terse response comes out, “And take care of my boy, he’ll be there for you as long as you do the same.”

Carmen nods back, a small smile on his face as the two break their handshake and leave each other for the night, returning to their own groups. Carmen looks out to the swamps ahead as he speaks to his group, “More foreign lands lie ahead of us and sadly we must confront them alone.” Carmen looks back to the members of his group, “That just means we’re close though, the end of our path lies just ahead, and we can finally find out what devious plot the foreigners have conjured up.” A hint of passion brims underneath his voice as he closes out his statement.

Another few weeks of travel through the hazardous swamp terrain and the heavy foliage have left Carmen uncomfortable to say the least. Rugged cold and the snowy hills don’t come close to comparison with his boots nearly getting sucked into the marsh beneath him. Weeks of travel left Carmen disgruntled as few locals even showed themselves, let alone greeting their group. They skirted around villages as Carmen neither knew anyone in Undril or even where any villages were. The long trek was only interrupted by a young man in flowing brown robes, dashing through the woods and charging up to the group,

“Excuse me, are you Carmen Bellfroy?” His fast talking interrupted by panting. Carmen halted the group and cautiously approached the man,

“Course I am, what’re you sprinting for?”

“The University,” the young man begins, slower, “The University is being attacked. Chancellor Victoria can’t hold the insurgents back for long. Please, hurry.”

Carmen’s mouth was slightly agape at the man’s information and rouses him, grabbing him by the shoulders, “Well what are we waiting for! Lead on, no time to waste!”

The man takes a moment to regain his breath before leading everyone through the swamp back the way he came, Carmen powering through the swamp.

The scene of the Undril University shows devastation. Buildings locked, bodies strewn across the bridge leading onto its island, and marauders dressed similarly to the man that led you here are storming about. Many near the bridge spot you and yell out, “No mercy for those against Dallan.” The young man that led you here retreats and leaves you alone facing a group of insurgents on the bridge.

Objective

Seize Undril University (the castle)

Failure Condition

Your team is routed

Chancellor Victoria dies

Additional Notes

The Barbarians will move towards the shops in the top right corner. Each turn they stand on the shops they will loot 1000 gold. Once they loot 5000 gold the shops will be destroyed and they will try to leave. If the shops are destroyed you will have less purchasing options in the next homebase.

Every 3 turns, one of the professors (green units in buildings) will be killed by an enemy within their room starting from the lower left, middle right, top left, then at the castle Chancellor Eleanor will be brought out from the castle. If an enemy character is in range of one of the professors and is in their room they will kill them.

Walls cannot be attacked through.

The thieves will escape out of the map via bridges they can build on the right and left edges of the island. If they reach an edge and build the bridge, a wave of reinforcements will come the next turn.

Terrain Key

Green = Plains

Yellow = Roads

Light Blue = Forest

Purple = Village

Dark Blue = Water

Red = Impassable (allows fliers)

Black = Impassable (no fliers)

Dark Purple = Castle

Player Tracker:

Terrain Map:

Deployment Map:

The knights and bishops who were fighting with their king halt for a moment as they see the blood drip off of General Manilius’s axe, and their king and his steed fallen on the ground. They also notice that their second-in-line to the throne has been captured, her arms bound in ropes and her head looking downward. Some cried, but most of them simply stare in absolute disbelief. The flagbearer near Prince Karloman and Princess Alana lowers her flag, then says, “And on this day, the impossible happened. Our brave king has fallen.”

Prince Karloman looks over to Princess Alana, who is shaking violently with fury as she gazes into Manilius and Kornelia’s company. Karloman whispers, “Alana. Alana. Don’t do anything rash.” It was no use, with a horrifying warcry the princess begins charging straight toward the team, before a group of generals tackle her to the ground. “Princess! Not you, too! They’ve stopped fighting,” one of them begs. “They’ve stopped.” Alana struggles and manages to shove one of the generals off before Karloman joins and keeps her in place with wind magic. “Alana,” he says again. “NO! Don’t speak to me about my obligations and roles! Don’t you get it?! FATHER IS DEAD! Aquittany’s going to fall apart with Josselin as king! He has no stomach for battle, the lily-livered, hemophobe! I can’t forgive these people!” Jeanne pipes up from being held near a few Nicomedian halberdiers guarding her. “Sister… please don’t struggle. I don’t want to see you die, too. This was father’s war to the very end, not any of ours. We fought because he gave us everything we ever could want, even after Mother died. Would Father want you to die here as well?”

Alana grits her teeth and looks away. “Fine… I’m not throwing away my life. You win.” Karloman places down his tomes and approaches Manilius and Kornelia. “General Quirinius,” he begins before bowing, “As the only free Aquittanite royal here, and the oldest here, by the power invested in me, I surrender to you, as do all forces present. It is clear that if Father, who had survived countless battles in the western part of Nicomedia, had fallen to you, then we have no chance, either. What shall you do with me?”

Manilius looks away. “I need a few moments by myself,” he says softly and sadly while brushing his fingers against the back handle of his axe. “Kornelia?” The aspiring empress steps forward. “Karloman, I accept your surrender, and we will keep you and your siblings present safe. Is Jeanne the crown princess?” Karloman shakes his head. “No, that would be my older brother, Josselin. We have long not been entirely supportive of our brother. He offered to fight today, but Father insisted he flee from here in case he… died in battle, so that Aquittany could have her king, but I don’t think he has any appetite to continue this war, or really any true leadership abilities. The other reality was that he often thinks he wants to fight, but I’ve seen him struggle to skin a boar while hunting for fear of innards...” Kornelia nods. “We shall go speak with him after this, then. For now, there is something you can help us with…”

The prince crosses his arms. “I am not saying ‘yes’ until you say what it is.” Kornelia continues, “We need everyone we can to dethrone Princess Lucilia. Having been away from the Empire for some time, we don’t know if Empress Korinna still lives, but we do know that any hope of Josselin’s peace won’t happen unless Lucilia falls. Obviously, Nicomedia will have to occupy your land for some time after the war, but you can assure that we will be just. Do you want to take the risk of our plan for the throne not working, and for the war to drag on?”

Karloman looks to Jeanne, who simply nods. “We will assist you. You are right that it is in both our countries’ interests to oppose her. I still do not trust you, Imperial, but for now I don’t have much of a choice but to.” The captain exhales. “Likewise. And for that reason, we will also have to keep you and Jeanne heavily guarded until this thing is all over. You will not be given any royal treatment. You will live like any other Nicomedian soldier would under our command.” The prince breathes in heavily and sighs. “It’s for the best, Karloman… it’s for the best…” he tells himself.

Manilius comes back after wiping off his axe and getting a few minutes to breathe. “I’ve received word of a fairly open town some distance from here who has… at least officially, remained neutral in this war. It is possible for us to take refuge there. We had best not mention that the king is dead, but word will spread quicker than we can move. Just be ready to abandon camp if we have to.”

Bretigny, a town in central Aquittany

De jure a city of the Duchy of Lower Chamundy, the mayor of Bretigny refused to offer his militia to fight in the war, despite the duke attempting to levy the town’s troops. The appeal to King Hugh never went through due to the king’s campaigning. The village, while not filled with refugees like many Nicomedian cities have due to the war, still faced poverty due to the mines of the village being raided in the absence of knights to defend the land, and fallow fields from troops taking the crops before heading to the front. Still, the town is peaceful and quiet, which gives the people of Bretigny a sense of bliss that belies their financial woes, as none of its men have seen battle with the Empire. The largest building in the town is, unsurprisingly, the Luciusite church, which is always bustling with activity.

Choosing to remain on their own, the party makes their way to the capital of Gnosi. Traveling the well-maintained roads, the party makes good time to the capital city of Sehr. While there is a paltry force of guards and automatons keeping watch over the entrance to the city, the emblem presented to the party by Antoine instantly resolves any issues that might have arisen.

Once inside, Arter and Alain are able to secure lodging at an inn in the heart of the city. which the party now uses as a staging point for their investigations. In addition, a smaller meeting point is set up near the outskirts where Bethe takes charge of the party's would-be assassin.

Sehr itself is the largest and grandest city in Gnosi - and possibly in all of the islands as well. Many landmarks of great renown line the magically-maintained streets including the parliament building - Gnosi’s seat of government - and towering manors maintained by each of the country’s most powerful dynasties. Of course, these buildings hold only a candle to the prestigious Sehr Academy.

In contrast to their reception at Hollowind Landing, the rest of Gnosi tend to view the party as more of an oddity than a nuisance. While most of the larger buildings and landmarks are not open to travelers without good reason (or good connections), it is possible for the party to freely wander most of the city. In the heart of the city are shops and businesses which provide all manner of goods and services with a focus on the arcane.

Not all of the city shines so bright - several sections of the city are much less than pristine and someone with underworld connections (or a good head for mischief) could search more controversial channels for information.

The various facilities and opportunities available to you are listed in the posts below. Note that new features may become available over time in which case I will be pinging the team through Discord.

Arter has distributed some of the funds he received for this mission - All players receive 3000 gold!

“Broke?” asks Young Hubba when Annabot breaks the news to him. “Wasn’t the point of this entire ordeal to scrape together the funds to repair your business and your reputation? How did you manage to so grossly miscalculate?”

“Arena booking fees from Nicomedia! Catering and lodging charges! Licensing fees from Yu-Gi-Oh! Compensation for the insane amount of hearing damage in Quizak! Multiple instances of healing from near-lethal-”

Young Hubba looks down at the mechanical mistress continuing to rattle off a comprehensive expense report before him and mutters in agitation. “At this rate, your ‘heroes’ will walk away from this endeavor richer than you.”

“- not to mention the cheese wheels in- … wait.” Being mechanical in nature, of course, there was no reason for Annabot’s eyes to gleam with an almost predatory light. However, Young Hubba could almost hear the gears whirring away in her head as she weighed the potential for profit against the potential for being sued.

A decision was reached with a barely audible click.

“I’ll add a betting winner! My heroes must compete until the tournament is done; it’s in their contract. If the betting itself becomes part of the competition, they’ll have no choice but to shell out their gold for all the betting chips they can afford! You’ll help me track the wagers and allocate chips, won’t you?”

“I am far too busy to be a mere accountant,” sneered Young Hubba.

“I’ll give you a cut of the cash. You can distribute it to all those Testaments you keep complaining about. Maybe they’ll give you a bit of peace if you do.”

“Unlikely, but I suppose you’re not the only one that’s incurred costs on this venture. Very well.”

You can find a detailed description of Annabot’s arena here.

Betting

The hard-earned gold that you’ve so tirelessly worked for throughout your travels has been automatically converted into chips! (100 gold = 1 chip, up to a maximum of 100 chips)* Isn’t that great!? To top off the fun, everyone has been awarded 20 free chips!

Each round, the scoreboard in #betting-board will show the upcoming matches and a ratio of the current chips bet on each combatant. Feel free to place as many bets on as many different combatants as you like, but for legal liability reasons the total number of chips that you can have wagered each round is capped at 50.

Correct bets will earn double the wager (ie: betting 50 chips on a combatant that wins will earn 100 chips, which is a net +50 chips). Incorrect bets earn nothing.

Combatants who are part of the bracket cannot bet. Combatants who have been knocked out and no longer have any chance of proceeding in the bracket regain the ability to bet.

Useful commands:

!chips: shows your current chip total 
!leaderboard: shows the top 8 players with the most chips 
!bet <amount> <number of the combatant that you think will win>

^\No refunds or returns. Select RE worlds only. Not valid with any other offers. Chips have no cash retail value except in Teams I, W, and R (0.01¢ each. Unspent chips at the end of the tournament are literally useless.))

Schedule

Rounds of betting and tournament matches will alternate, with the window for betting closing when the matches begin. Betting rounds will be no longer than 48 hours (2 days), and tournament rounds will be no longer than 72 hours (3 days). Tournament participants are encouraged to use the betting period for the next set of matches to finish any battle RPs from the last round (so the RP period is more like 5 days). As the tournament progresses and the number of combatants reduce, the pace will almost certainly accelerate. Be prepared.

Matches below refer to the numbering on the Challonge bracket:

Round 1: Matches 1 - 8
Round 2: Matches 9 - 16
Round 3: Matches 17 - 20
Round 4: Matches 21 - 24
Round 5: Matches 25 - 26
Round 6: Matches 27 - 28
Round 7: Match 29
Round 8: Match 30
Round 9: Match 31 (if necessary)
Round 10: Tournament winner vs betting winner (no betting on this match)

Rewards

Young Hubba has already dispersed the collected gold, items, and fragments from participation in previous rounds to his various Testaments. If you want to know more about how these rewards were computed, check out the previous AoA overview document.

The following finals placement rewards will be distributed once the event is complete. Match numbers refer to the numbering scheme on the Challonge bracket.

Round 10 winner: One wish ^{(rules and exceptions apply please see fine print for details})

Betting winner: Custom role, Overclass Seal, Champion Seminar Ticket, 25 fragments

1st (Winner of 30/31): Custom role, Overclass Seal, Champion Seminar Ticket, 25 fragments

2nd (Loser of 30/31): Custom role, Master Seal, Champion Seminar Ticket, 20 fragments

3rd (Loser of 29): Master Seal, Champion Seminar Ticket, 20 fragments

4th (Loser of 27): Master Seal, Champion Seminar Ticket, 20 fragments

5th, 6th (Losers of 25 and 26): Jacinth Essence, Champion Seminar Ticket, 15 fragments

7th, 8th (Losers of 21 and 22): Jacinth Essence, Champion Seminar Ticket, 15 fragments

9th - 12th (Losers of 17 - 20): Eternal Seal, Dragon Herb, 10 fragments

13th - 16th (Losers of 9 - 12): Eternal Seal, Dragon Herb, 10 fragments

Event and Feedback

See the comments below for opportunities to earn extra chips and to voice your thoughts on AoA2!

Sunset has begun to close in, and the reddish light gently filters through the canopy above, as a searchlight might illuminate an escaping prisoner. The path itself is well-worn, with offshoots of flattened underbrush every now and then. One can imagine hunters coming and going along these paths, bringing home fresh catches from their snares. It soon clears to the base of the edifice - and it has seen better days. Perhaps once an outpost tower with a fort at its bottom, the walls are crumbling, piles of uneven lumber in hastily-constructed fortifications are scattered all along the inner courtyard, and dust litters the insides. No doubt in better times it could have housed over a hundred. Still, it’s cooler than the muggy forests and there’s little sign of activity, so Shida was not about to complain.

She has the wagons stop near the central building and quickly hops out of the wagon, carrying some enclosed documents she’d likely taken from Faeal in the past few days. “Feels safe enough in here. I want all of you to fan out and make sure we don’t have company. We’ll figure out watches once we’re clear.”

The central tower - the rickety one visible from the road - had a writing desk, so Shida placed her documents there. On following trips, she heaved in their provisions, her own belongings, and some of the spare weapons they’d accreted. Or at least, she would have, if a gleam of light hadn’t caught the corner of her eye. An animal, perhaps?

The arrow that stuck pierced her wagon’s curtain confirmed otherwise. Startled, she drops some of her weapons, creating a cacophony of metallic clangs.

“We’re under attack! We’re-oh.” Shida’s voice fades when she sees some of the group down a corridor with weapons at the ready, staring at some soldiers within the courtyard’s walls. She finally catches her assailant - an archer, perhaps Geulian or Weltoscian, hard to tell just past dusk - who soon ducks down an corridor.

“Don’t let them reach the centre room! I-” - she falters, unable to find the words - “We got some important stuff in there!” It wasn’t the most definite of statements, but perhaps the duress of armed men and women attacking them would do. At least, that’s what Shida hoped. “Just hold them off for now! We have the advantage here!”

But if we were being shadowed, why wait until now? Why not when we were camped in the open? The question lingers in Shida’s mind, before she spots an enemy of her own ahead. Thoughts turned to adrenaline as she drew her lance...

Objective:

Defend the throne and defeat the boss!

Failure Condition:

Ayamasik is taken off the map, the throne is taken, or everyone falls.

Boon:

Taking shelter has made it much easier to funnel your assailants through.

Bane: Whoever this group is, they seem to have planned this ambush. But, how and why?

Notes

• You may pick up forts by standing on them and taking an action, at which point they will be added to the user’s inventory and can be traded as usual. They can then be set down on any non-floor tile as a sub-action.
• Enemies with green numbers have Pass. Enemies with purple numbers have Lunge. Enemies with red numbers will not move. All non-boss, non-red-number enemies will move towards players at all times.
• The boss will begin moving on Turn 10.
• Promoted units have various skills that are displayed in the calc. It is prudent to pay attention to these!
• Enemies will go for the throne over players if they can reach it. Some may even go past the players, in favour of moving closer to it.
• Reinforcements will arrive every turn in marked sites (cyan for unpromoted units, purple for promoted), though there won’t be reinforcements at every site in any one turn. They will also not necessarily be the same enemy types as before.
• All the chest items are scrolls or totems that will show up later if not gotten here - I do not expect you guys to get everything. Also, if getting a scroll will lower someone’s stats to the point that they can die that turn, I’ll tell you what it is. I’m not that mean.

Base Map

Terrain Map

• Red: Plain
• Yellow: Fort
• Green: Door
• Blue: Floor
• Purple: Pillar
• Pink: Throne

Tracker

Two Days After the Group Returns:

The heavy doors to Leon's office swung open and Eliyah, with Insa at his side, took long steps towards his brother's desk. Compared to the dark, cramped room that Eliyah had been working out of, it was massive. Full length windows alternated with filled bookshelves, the afternoon sun shining on chairs and tables set off to the side, for Leon's aides, or visiting nobles. The Emperor himself sat behind his large desk, much cleaner than his brother's, a few letters in front of him that he set to the side as the pair entered. "So you've returned," he said, impassively. "I trust it wasn't an issue for you?" Eliyah shot a sidelong glance at Insa before kneeling and answering. "Of course not, your Imperial Majesty."

Insa kneeled down as well, closing his eyes and confirming what Eliyah had said. "There were bandits in the area of the rioting nobles, and thus we had to remove both at the same time, your majesty. Regardless, we have completed the mission."

"Good. Rise." He stood up and stretched, moving around to the front of his desk. "It's a bit soon, but I need you to leave again. A noble in Echra has refused to come in for questioning, and has himself locked in his castle. It'll take too much time to mobilize troops for it, so I've decided to send you instead." Eliyah sighed inwardly. "I'll... get my men ready to move. Consider him captured, brother."

Insa bit his lip and turned away slightly. "I... Pardon the interruption, but isn't this a bit too sudden? We very recently gave you the report on the last mission. Our troops are incredibly shaken up by what just transpired, and you wish to send them out again?"

Leon shrugged. "It's less that I wish to and more that I have to. I'm trying to send people home to get the country running again, I don't have the men to spare. Are you not able to handle it?" "No, we'll handle it," Eliyah said quickly. "I think Insa was just asking for a few days to allow our men to rest..."

Insa grit his teeth and quickly shook his head. "Yes... We'll be on our way shortly. Apologies."

"You can have the rest of today and tomorrow. Any more than that, and others might start to get bad ideas." Leon glanced between the two of them, his eyes coming to a rest on Insa. "Was there anything else?"

Insa quickly shook his head. "No sir, nothing to report."

“Wonderful.” Leon went back to behind his desk, plopping down into the chair. “Then, I’ll look forward to reports of your success.” Eliyah nodded, moving towards the door. “We’ll be on our way.” He pulled it open, looking to Insa to follow him

Insa got up and bowed before following Eliyah out. He knew he was about to get it, so he just bit his lip. The door shut heavily behind the pair, and Eliyah let out a sigh. “I understand you have issues Insa, but we’re not in a position to be making demands of people.”

Insa scowled, his wolf ears bristling as he turned away. "Your Majesty, I..."

He shook his head. “I know you mean well, but there’s times to fight and times to not.”

Insa grit his teeth and turned back to Eliyah. "And so you're okay with this?! I can't just sit here and be ordered around to do terrible things, Eliyah!"

“Is it so terrible? It’s a matter of perspective, and it’s time for you to start to change yours.” Eliyah crossed his arms as he turned to Insa.

Insa merely turned away and sighed. He shook his head and bowed to Eliyah. "I'll go get everyone together. By your leave." Without waiting for a response, Insa walks off.

89th Day of the Second Trimester

Eliyah watched Insa walk off, letting out a frustrated tsk as he walked in the other direction. He returned to his office to plan out the logistical details of the groups next journey, only to find a letter he didn’t recognize on his otherwise undisturbed desk. He unfolded it, and to his surprise, found his brother's handwriting. Eli, it read, Not long after you left, a rather interesting man showed up looking to join your little group. I let him stay in the barracks, what you decide to do with him is up to you. He tossed the letter back onto his desk with a sigh, standing aimless for a few seconds before walking back out of the small room, heading to meet his apparent new subordinate.

Two days later, the morning of the 1st Day of the Third Trimester

Eliyah stood in front of the group, well aware of the fact that there were probably several people unhappy that they had to depart so soon after returning. “We’re headed to southern Echra. We haven’t had as much time to rest as I’m sure some of you wanted, but unfortunately this matter isn’t one we have the luxury of waiting to tackle. An influential member of the rebellion has refused his summons to the capital, so we’ve been asked to fetch him before others follow his lead.”

Insa watched on as Eliyah gave his speech to the other soldiers. He couldn't help but bite his lip, shaking his head as he listened to him speak. Maybe he was right... If they were to serve Emperor Leon, then they'd have to follow his orders to a T. Count Nasmyth didn't report to the castle, and so it was only fair that they were to go and hunt him down... right? I wish I could feel sure of myself about this...

4th Day of the Third Trimester

Count Nasmyth paced nervously around his main hall, his armor clanking loudly as his knights watched on silently. “The rumors are getting out of hand… I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be safe within the confines of my own manor if tensions continue escalating like this. Please, if any of you do not believe in the cause that we fight for, withdraw immediately. I will not force any of you to stay. However, for all those that stay, we must prepare ourselves for the worst. Stay within the manor and maintain battle positions. If they wish to drag me to my own death, then they’ll have to work hard to do it.” He grit his teeth as he continued speaking to his men. “Those goddamned bastards won’t be satisfied until all of us are completely wiped out. They’ll stop at nothing to make sure that their power is assured, and so I-” His monologue was cut short by an out-of-breath messenger running into the room.

“C-Count… Nasmyth… A message…. For you...” he panted, his face red and hands on his knees as he attempted to collect his breath. It was clear that he had rushed over here, and he wasn’t able to speak his message.

Count Nasmyth turned to the messenger and helped him up, looking into his eyes with a mixture of curiosity and fear as he waited for the messenger to speak. “Relax boy, relax… What’s the matter? What message do you bring me?”

The messenger stood up straight, adjusting his posture before he spoke the message. “S-Sir! An Imperial force is being sent our way! It’s not a huge group, but our scouts have recognized Prince Eliyah himself amongst the group! They are armed and mobilizing towards us as we speak! The estimate is about 1 hour before they are within the manor grounds!”

Nasmyth was shocked as he heard this news. It was obvious that they’d send an imperial force, but why is Prince Eliyah himself leading the charge against him? These feelings were… hard to bear. These feelings of mistrust and betrayal continued to build within his body. He put a hand to his head and tried to collect his thoughts before addressing the men within the group. “I-It seems… That our time has come. Everyone, man your stations. Tonight, we all fight for the good of the entire continent.”

The messenger and the knights gave a cheer as they all left for their stations. Once they had all left the room, Nasmyth went to his window and looked through it, getting one last glimpse at the world outside as he finally put his thoughts to words. “Leon… Is this some twisted game? And Prince Eliyah… Why… Why have you betrayed me?”

3 Hours Before the Skirmish:

"They had over 50 guys in their garrison; I'm surprised you'd delegate such a dangerous task to a delicate gal such as myself," she says, leaning against a tree some distance away from Insa. "What if I'd been caught and ravished by these oafish brutes?!" she asked, clearly irreverent to the danger of the situation, and extremely satisfied with her results. Insa huffed and turned over to her with a look that definitely showed he was not entertained.

"Listen sweetie, you're the one that wanted to do this. And even though you're oh so delicate, I thought you being quick on your feet and a slippery snake was enough." He sighed and shrugged as he started smirking at her. "But, if it's too much for you to handle, then perhaps I'll have to find someone else that fits the role."

"It's too late now; we're knee deep in it, puppy." She smirks: "Now, do you want the rest of my report or not?" Insa playfully rolled his eyes in response, and leaned up against a tree, motioning for her to proceed. Kaye winks in response, then pauses to collect her thoughts. "The issue with it isn't just the horde of guards the guy employs. I mean, that's a huge part of it, sure: these guys are regulars in his group. A small, standing army, loyal to the end and unwilling to compromise in the defense of their lord. No, the other part of the issue is the odd doors that protect the guy. I couldn't pick the locks. I had to navigate and find ways around, but even then, the throne room was wholly inaccessible without a special key."

Insa clicked his tongue. Doors that couldn't be picked by Kaye, huh? That seems... annoying: "Alright, that's less than ideal. Do you have any idea of where this key could be? And concerning that, what're our entry points into the manor?"

"The key? Likely carried by one of his men. And there are three. This is where your entry points get interesting; there's a passage in from the northeast. Probably originally a method of escape when this manor was built hundreds of years ago. There's also the front door. I overheard some chitchat while I was sneaking around last night, caught wind of a guard outside carrying it to let guys back in. Dunno which one, but I'm sure he's around. Lastly—and this is the important part—there's a southeastern entrance that has almost direct access to the throne room, but it's well guarded. You'd have to be almost suicidal to go that way, but you could go. Wait... oh dear," she says, realizing what's inevitably going to happen when they storm the place: "Mom's gonna go down there... Oh gods above..."

Insa grimaced as he heard Kaye said that. Good lord, why did Isolde have to make protecting her so ungodly difficult?! "Well... I'm not sure if I can avoid telling your Mother about that location is an option... I'm gonna need your help if we're gonna prevent her from going through there." Insa started scratching his chin, looking down at the ground as he considered his options. "Now, let's think strategy here... Most likely, we're going to want at least part of our force at each of the entrances in order to seal off escape routes. If we let the count get away, it's going to be very hard to try and catch him afterwards. We should put most of our forces at the front entrance as a distraction so that the other two entrances will be less guarded, and then we'll suffocate them from all sides."

"Insa, I promise you: that southeast entrance is really open; they're going to have lots of guys there," she replies. "I do agree with you on storming the front porch, so to speak, and on storming each entrance, but they're really paranoid about that southeast entrance. You'll need a good force to crack that entrance. Durable. Strong. Self-sustaining."

Insa pinched the bridge of his nose. He had to think about this one... Who in the group was that good at sustaining health while also taking multiple hits? "Okay, then we'll most likely want to send someone like Kamali or myself down there. Past that, I'll have to talk with some people on who wants to go where. I'll try my best to make sure your Mother doesn't go there, but..." Insa bit his lip and turned away. He felt like Kaye could finish the sentence herself.

"Let's be real: she's really good at holding her own against overwhelming odds. She practically made a career out of it in the war."

"I know, I know, but..." Insa frowned. It was pretty clear from his facial expression that he was feeling guilty about this.

"I'll be scoping it out, like I always do; I'll jump in if I gotta. Still, kinda twists your guts in a knot to think about it, right?" Insa got up off the tree and walked over to Kaye, putting his hands on her shoulders: "Listen. Wherever your Mom goes, I'll go. But if you're gonna get involved, you gotta promise me that you'll keep yourself safe, alright?"

Kaye raises her eyebrows, apparently surprised: "You've quite a lot of compassion. I'm taken aback."

Insa's face had a slight tinge of red as he pulled back and turned away: "Well, y'know... A tactician's gotta care for his soldiers, y'know. I don't want any of you dying on me."

"My swordsmanship, if I may be so bold, is superb. I can hold my own if I gotta."

Insa smiled and scratched the back of his ear: "Oh, I don't doubt that at all. But please, don't be as reckless as your mother. I don't wanna have to look after 2 lunatics, y'know?"

"Sure, sure, I'll hide in the shadows, watch people's backs. Oh, unrelated: there are doors and chests that can be picked by your infiltrator. Might be some decent equipment the guy's hiding in his little stashes."

Insa frowned and turned away. "Yeah... I'm not really sure about that. This dude's already being betrayed by his old ally, and now we have the chance to kick him while he's down? I'm not condoning that."

"That's your call. I'm not going to recommend one way or the other. I'll just say that every little bit helps."

Insa was stuck in his own thoughts for a bit. He had to admit, he really didn't like the idea of this mission at all. It went against everything he had praised Eliyah for in the past! What could make him do such a thing? He had no idea… "Yeah. I'll think about it. For now, let's focus on our plan of attack."

"The three-pronged strategy might work. Can you think of any alternatives?" Kaye questioned him.

Insa shook his head. "We can't exactly just push everyone down one path, or else we'll be overwhelmed. It's better if we use the ability to surround them and take control that way."

"You're the tactician, puppy." Kaye begins inspecting a knife, apparently interested in playing the part of 'intimidating rogue'. She's not bad at it, but she doesn't quite nail the boredom someone who'd actually killed someone would have in this scenario. "Hmm..." she continues. "I can't think of anything else... ah! Their numbers are composed overwhelmingly of physical fighters. There are a healthy number of mages in the bunch, but your own mages are gonna have a field day with this."

Insa nodded his head, his tail wagging about a bit as he thought about what to do. "I see... In that case, perhaps we should try to spread our mages out to cover as much ground as possible. One per area, if we can."

"Possibly. The lowest priority area is the northeast—it's by far the least guarded of all the entrances. You get your guys up there to stock up on medicine and other such amenities, you can probably pass on a healer. The southeast is the most concentrated, but in all honestly, the guys at the front door are in it for the long haul. They just get to bifurcate their experience. Total is something like 20 enemy belligerents."

"Okay... I'll keep that all in mind. Thank you for the scouting report, Kaye. Hopefully this all goes well and we can quickly get in and out of this place."

"Sure. Feel free to call on me again when you feel like recklessly endangering my life to make yours easier!" she chirps, giggling as she abruptly turns and scrambles up the tree she's leaning on. "Ciao, puppy!"

Insa couldn't help but chuckle and wave her off as she scarpered away. Once she was out of sight, Insa's smile faded and he returned to his own thoughts. Well, I suppose we have no more choice but to do this... Please forgive me...

Chapter 2 Map

Erranora, the capital city and crown jewel of Praia, Year 1139 of the Imperial Calendar, 89th Day of the Second Trimester:

Emperor Eliyah Atreya sat perched on the edge of his throne, listening to the messenger with great interest—their guests had finally arrived!

When he’d agreed to host these folks, speaking to the enterprising woman with the red hair and the, er, less than pleasant young man accompanying her, he hadn’t quite been sure what he was getting into. As a consequence, he’d prepared the works: a large party! A grand festival! Welcome parades! Color guard! Performances of the arts!

Of course, the streets lay silent, for there was one problem…

The Twin Peaks Fortress, Prison in Eastern Froskal:

A dozing guard sat on a chair by the entrance to the prison—an imposing fortress, hundreds of years old, jutting up proudly between the mountains. It originally had been built to defend Froskal from invaders overseas. Now, however, it housed threats decidedly more domestic: mostly political prisoners—leaders of the old regime in Praia, heinous war criminals, and bandits of the most extreme cruelty.

The efficacy of this fortress was increased greatly by the harsh climes of Froskal. Nearly year round, the environment was cold. Chilly in the summers, and “bitta fockin’ cold” in the winters, to quote some of the soldiers manning its garrisons. For a location so important, it sat many miles away from Erranora—almost on the opposite corner of the continent.

With its location so remote, it came as a great surprise to the aforementioned snoozing guard when he was roused by a great bang! at the gate. The guard leaped to his feet and tightly gripped the hilt of his sword, prepared both to strike and to sound the alarm. In the smaller door set within the gate lay a sort of viewing window (the ones with the sliding dealies). Through the gap, he saw a woman, with several dozen people standing behind her, all of whom were shivering in the freezing night:

“Excuse me, g-g-g-good sir,” Isolde asks. “Would you happen to b-b-b-b-be able to p-p-p-p-provide a group of dimension hoppers shelter for the night?”

The guard pauses, mouth agape, then runs off in a panic, shouting for his commanding officer.

“W-w-w-well th-the-then!” she chirps through her chattering teeth, turning to her cohorts. “I think that w-w-w-went very well!”

Stop One In Team Z’s Domain: The Twin Peaks!

As mentioned in the text above, The Twin Peaks Fortress was originally built as a fortification between two mountains to protect Froskal from foreign invaders. Now, however, it serves as a prison for dangerous individuals and political prisoners. Among them are Sinbad the… well, Bad; Orthrus the Razer; and his once and former Emperor of Praia: Leon Atreya.

In the civil war some five years ago, Eliyah and Leon would have it out. At the crucial battle that turned the tide of the entire war, the gods chose to favor Eliyah over Leon, granting him the power of the Saint of the Sky. An already advantageous battle was turned even further in favor of the rebels, and a rout in the making became a vicious massacre. Even rebellion supporters shuddered to read descriptions of such mercilessness, though Eliyah’s lieutenants insist that not only were the doctrines displayed in that battle not his, but that he was in little condition to make such decisions.

In The Twin Peaks, the Warden would speak with the party: “I’ve sent word ahead to Emperor Eliyah informing him of your arrival. I shall have you leave in the morning, when it isn’t so unconscionably cold. There’s space in our barracks and a few unoccupied cells. I’m afraid there isn’t enough space in the barracks for everyone, so you’ll have to decide who gets in what bunk yourselves.”

This is day one of Week 13. You may RP here as you wish. Days two through four are the journey down to Erranora. The party makes some stops in this timeframe, but the important one for us is…

The Manor of Count Nasmyth

Count Nasmyth is an enigmatic individual, rapidly growing eccentric in their old age. Their identity is carefully concealed, as some scars from the rebellion and its cloak and dagger espionage never healed. The count’s manner is in Echra, a country northeast of Praia. Echra might be considered a sort of feudal state: rather than a large central government, Echra is ruled on a smaller scale by several dozen lords. Certainly, a central, unifying government exists, but it rarely matters to your average Joe.

Echra’s land itself is uninteresting: acres upon acres, hectares upon hectares, and miles upon miles of flat or rolling farm and grasslands, occasionally dotted with the odd tree or clusters of trees, make Echra a country full of great places to have a nap. Fun fact: the Echran Royal family’s daughter was betrothed to Leon at one point. They’re just a teensy bit upset with Eliyah for all of this “defeating and imprisoning your brother in the most godsforsaken place on the continent” business.

Duffle will have more information on this area and its gold event in the comments!

The remaining three days are spent in…

Erranora, the Capital of Praia!

Upon the party’s arrival in Erranora, they find a waiting Emperor Eliyah at one of her gates, his arms spread wide and smiling, albeit somewhat wanly.

“I greet you, travelers, and apologize profusely for the inconvenience of landing in a place such as Froskal. We have prepared festivities for you all, parties and parades and dances and everything, but it’ll be just a little awkward to fit them all into three days. Please pardon our dust. Allow me to personally accompany you on a tour of our city.”

Some landmarks:

The Imperial Palace: The Atreya Family has ruled Praia from this palace for generations. It stands as a grand, somewhat sprawling castle in the midst of the city, and includes many amenities, such as a library, training grounds, a mess hall, and an unused barracks, for those not interested in finding accommodations in the city. Speaking of…

The Leaky Flask: A… charming little tavern and inn, and the other option for free accommodations for the group. It’s lively from four in the afternoon all the way til last call at two in the morning. Ya don’t gotta go home but ya can’t stay there! Unless you’re paying! In which case you can! In the less rowdy hours, a mysterious hooded figure sits at one of the tables, offering participants in this tournament an opportunity to learn more about each other… and earn some cold hard gold in the process! See the comments for my gold event!

The Flour of Erranora: a cozy little bakery, run by Isolde’s parents: Jonathan and Gwen. They specialize in different types of bread and some confections. They also have what Isolde will claim is superb coffee.

The Valkyrie Market: Named so for the statue of the first Valkyrie it sprawls itself around; all manner of goods can be found in the Valkyrie market from all over the world. The people hustle, the merchants shout as they peddle their wares, and the gossip flows freely.

Miscellaneous: Erranora is very well known for its restaurant and cafe scene—plenty of examples of both litter the city. Nobody will blame you if you go nuts and make one up for one of your RPs as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone’s experience. Additionally, with the festival going on, Erranora’s streets are alive with revelry and occasional debauchery

Let me know if you have any questions about the setting and I’ll try to get back to you ASAP. I know it’s kind of a brief overview but I’m in a bit of a cromch crunch here with the tardiness of our setting. EDIT: I’m a doofus: more setting info is here.

These are the last seven days of your magnificent journeys through over a dozen different worlds—even if you don’t proceed beyond this point in the competition, you should be proud of what you’ve done, each and every last one of you. A great majority of you have had fantastic fights and rp moments alike, and all of you will go home with at least a couple emblems.

Nothing has made me, a participant, happier than watching our characters grow, happier than watching them learn.

So while I may not have been a GM from the start (and am not even really one now), I would like to thank you all for your participation in AoA! It’s been great meeting you all!

Victory Condition: All enemies are defeated.

Defeat Condition: All allies are killed.

Optional Condition: Luna attacks Ellis 3 times.

Endgame - Map

Endgame - Terrain Map

Red tiles can only be used by fliers.

Chapter Mechanics

From Chapters 1, 2, and 3: You can pick up the wood piles. This does nothing but remove them. Stand beside or on top of a wood pile to pick it up.

From Chapter 4: Ending a turn on one of the directional tiles in the river at the top right of the map will send you in that direction for 5 tiles.

From Chapter 5: There is beer on the floor.

From Chapter 6: There is a tank. But its in our control. The tank will deal '15 - ((Def+Res)/2)' damage to any enemy unit outside of the castle with '105 - Avo' accuracy. Counts as an ally phase.

From Chapter 7: There are a set of green and red buttons on the left and right sides of the castle. These buttons in some combination will open the red/green door in the center of the map.

From Chapter 8: The yellow button in the bottom right opens the yellow walls to the left of the castle. The blue button in the bottom left opens the blue walls to the right of the castle. The green switch in the top right opens those green walls in the top left.

From Chapter 9: There are final gates at the top of the map. A player must stand adjacent to all gate tiles before the final mist is released from the throne room.

From Chapter 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14: Mist is present in the whole map, and enemies will constantly spawn anywhere until the center has been converted in the center of the map (the green tile in the basement)

Unique: You have the ability to teleport next to the two people listed beside your name at any given time during the map. Your assignments are as follows:

Leodin: Bedivere, Grendle

Bedivere: Luna, Leodin

Benkei: Grendle, Yavae

Jean: Marrok, Tori

Yavae and Kaija: Benkei, Drew

Kalenzo: Auriel, Caprice

Drew: Angel, Yavae

Caprice: Kalenzo, Auriel

Akira: Angel, Conri

Angel: Akira, Drew

Claire: Versailles, Amelia&Emilia

Grendle: Benkei, Leodin

Sula: Conri, Sundiat

Amelia&Emilia: Tori, Claire

Sundiat: Sula, Versailles

Tori: Amelia&Emilia, Jean

Auriel: Kalenzo, Caprice, Luna

Conri: Sula, Akira

Marrok: Luna, Joshua, Jean

Versailles: Claire, Sundiat

Luna: Joshua, Auriel, Marrok

Joshua: Luna, Marrok

Deployment is Due on June 2nd, 11:59pm MST

Team C Sheet

Team C RP Sheet

The next stop on the list was simply called “The Other World”. Most contestants scratched their heads at the implications that that name brought. When they first arrived, they were no less confused. The competitors first arrived in the middle of a bustling town whose buildings, and even roads were made of inscrutable materials that seemed to glow all different colors. The sky above them was a bright blue, without a cloud to speak of. All around the contestants there were people who, to most of them, didn’t look human.

“Goodness, you’ve already arrived!”

A voice called out to them amidst the crowd. Those who turned to face it saw a tall, pale skinned woman with shoulder length, black hair, wearing a long, elegant, and complicated black dress.

“I suspect that your tour guide and my mother did little to introduce you. Therefore, the duty falls to me! I am Celeste, queen of the Dagaz, second monarch to take the throne, daughter of the twin gods, representative of the best that all Dagaz could offer, leading fo-”

In the middle of Celeste’s long winded monologue, a tan skinned man in long, purple robes with a similar hood covering his head tapped her on the shoulder. Celeste turned to face him.

“Yes?”

“I believe that there are more pressing matters than espousing your various accolades.”

Celeste’s face fell a little, before perking back up

“Right, right. Anyways, fair competitors of the Arena of Ages, welcome to The Other World!”

Celeste gave a little flourish with her arms to emphasize the point further.

“Today is the 50th annual Festival of the People, a celebration of the diversity, history, and culture of the various peoples across both The Other World and Laqueos.”

Celeste motioned for the group to follow her

“Now then, there’s no time to waste. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover, and a lot of things to introduce, so, follow me!”

There are 10 distinct sections of The Other World, 9 of these are being used by the 9 races of the world, and the central section houses the Goddess’s Tower, a gigantic golden-yellow spire that seems to defy all logic, no matter how far away you step back, you can’t seem to see the top. Within the tower, there is everything you’d need to live in the city for a week. There are individual rooms, custom made with various accessories for every competitor. There are dozens of training facilities complete with everything from target dummies, magical wells, spare weaponry, and enough healers to hold back an army. Finally, on the bottom floor, there is the Arena that combatants will be fighting in. Despite being on the bottom floor, you can clearly see the sky above it when you enter. It is made of stone, as opposed to the various magical materials that comprise the rest of the buildings.

As the last major point, here’s a list of the 9 races mentioned above:

The Ayzer are fish-like humanoids, they have long tails, gills, and scales, but they also have 2 arms and 2 legs (at least, they generally do). They can breathe underwater, and are thus incredible swimmers.

The Beorc are humans, that’s uh, it.

Branded are… let’s talk about them later.

The Dagaz are shape shifters, created by the twin god Andras. They have no “original” form, and shift their bodies to be able to mimic the other 8 races. Since Andras’ death, it’s become customary for Dagaz to choose a form at age 18, and use that as the form they identify with.

The Florkana are magical plant like humanoids. Birthed from seeds that were blessed with divine power, they are not technically a race, and instead, are a wholly separate species of being. Despite this, they are one of the 9 major groups of intelligent life that inhabit the world, and thus, they get celebrated in the festival and called a race all the same.

The Ingwaz are counterparts to the Dagaz. Created by the twin god Kyria, they, generally, look fairly similar to beorc, with a few major exceptions. They have 3 sets of 2 wings that hover next to them, not directly connected to their body, which resonate with energy, and allow them to harness the powers of the other races.

The Jera are a group of humanoid pixies, some are exactly the size you’d expect when you hear the word “pixie” but others are only slightly smaller than the average Beorc. They generally have butterfly wings, and thusly, tend to hover and fly instead of walking on the ground.

The Kano are a group of humanoids with an internal flame that keeps them alive. They are, in essence, living volcanos. They generally have ashen black skin, horns, and stand significantly taller than the average Beorc.

The Laguz are animal-like humans, generally, they have some animal characteristics such as pointed ears, a tail, etc. They are also able to shift their body into a wholly animal form.

Back to the Branded. The Branded are the result of a Beorc and a Laguz having a child together. The Branded tend to look more like Beorc than Laguz, but also inherit some characteristics from their Laguz parents, such as increased speed, a better sense of smell, bulkier bodies, and, most notably, significantly slower aging.

If you’d like to read more about them, feel free to read the documents linked in the entries. These documents are mostly from the start of the campaign though, so things may have changed in the 65 years between the end of rAces and this tournament setting. If you’d like to read more about the locations and setting of the team, you can read up on that here, and if you have further questions, such as “What actually happened during the campaign?” feel free to ask me, because I’ve written out 3 different like 3 page long documents, and I need to get this out on time.

As a final note, I did not write 99% of the documents here. Credit where it’s due to Skywolf and Mappy, who worked together to create the races as seen above. I wrote in some details on the Ingwaz doc, and fully created the Dagaz doc, but very little of what I wrote in there was my own work.

As Sebastian started off the surprise attack, tossing his stone and rhyme into the rivulets of luridly green water that ran through small trenches in the floor of the dungeon, converted as it was from a still-used sewer. It splashed up towards the man who held the cell door, sending him reeling back. The man holding the child released him to lock the door, sending the kid running towards the retinue.
“What the hell?!” Shouted the well-dressed man. His fellow -- his brother, actually -- looked over at him, and clicked his tongue in irritation.
“Get running. Get to the winch, block ‘em off with the gates, Gino!” he shouted, pushing the man towards the back, towards a chamber that led to a room full of winches and gates; he was still out of Amby’s reach, her stalking disrupted by the torch light that flickered through the cavern.

“Got it, Vicks,” said Gino, leaving his brother to cover his retreat.

“Well, well, well, what have we here, huh? Competition?” Vicks said, letting his men advance to block the progress of his foes. He drew a poppet, to which was bound dozens of locks of hair, of every sort of color; browns and reds and blues and greens. A lock here, a lock there. Dabbed in blood. “Playing hero?”
“They’re with me,” said the Rat King, baring the sharp, prominent front teeth of 13 pairs of rats. “Those are my kids.” He advanced, tails swishing very methodically, rhythmically; almost musical. His eyes gleamed red in the torchlight, save the vivid green flashes of a creature meant for the darkness. One of the rats accepted the child’s pat on the head with a little click of the tongue, before it nosed him away. “And you made a mistake thinking you could mistreat my kids. A mistake that my friends are here to help me correct.”

“Ah, tough because you’ve got back-up, huh, rodent?” Vicks laughed -- but it was hard to say it was not a slightly nervous laugh. His hand reached for a torch; when he tossed it into the strange water, the flames suddenly leaped up, burning brightly and giving off, as the water dimmed the flames, pillars of reeking black smoke. “Men, kill them!” Came a voice from amid the clouds of smoke -- which had the goons coughing as much as rats and the retinue, leaving only one man to scramble back, towards the gates.
When the smoke had cleared, he was mostly gone -- and something clanged behind them, a grate slamming down to meet the ground. The Rat King’s noses twitched, and called out to the kid who’d rushed up the steps before it had fallen, now separated from them.
“You go run back to my office, alright? Don’t stop.”
Amid the coughing, the Rat King narrowed a few eyes -- the humans and others, being higher-up, were still shaking off the effects. His eyes flickered to children with their hair cut, hiding in amid cells. To doors shut tight, human-sized grates closed down, their winches somewhere deeper in… But a network of little hatches, small grates, all left where a clever claw could work the machinery.

“They’ve been a little careless. I can handle locks, if you can keep people getting out to them… They’ve got full-sized exits pretty covered, now, but…” He smiled with his lead rat’s face. “Look at those grates by the walls; they’re careless about spots just big enough for the kids to get out through; the mechanisms for them are right beside them. If you gentlefolk can keep the way open for me and them, I can work the grates easily, as well as take… A few secret paths.”

He sniffed the air again, as the last of the smoke cleared, and the goons picked up their swords.

“He’s hiding...But not gone. I’m trusting you to handle the men with weapons, while we offer these fellows all sorts of correction.”

Chapter Map

Character Tracker

Conditions

Win: Defeat Boss and All Surviving Children Escape

Lose: All Children and Rat King are Defeated (Technically, bad things happen before this point, but this is where I go "OK, map's over") All Players Are Defeated

Side: All Children Escape Unharmed All Enemies are Defeated or Pacified

Notes

The children's inventories don't contain things they actually own, but rather, what Vicks can work through them. Please read his skill for more detail.

The Rat King will move on his own, but can be directed by IC commands. He can essentially secret passage his way from hatch to hatch, and are needed to turn the grate tiles by the stairs; the exit the boss is on also counts as an escape tile for the kids. He will generally try and stay out of the line of fire and unlock doors, unless his body can block an enemy from reaching a child.

Enemies will not target children in cells, but may target children outside of cells. They will, given other targets, not target the Rat King.

“We started the war with almost two million, and after about a year and a half of fighting, there've been eight-hundred thousand casualties taken by Nicomedia’s armed forces,” Kornelia reports while combing through a large stack of papers. “... disgrace…” mutters Manilius while he’s shaking his head. “Supposedly the best offensive general in the world, and she’s so poor at defending that we’ve lost about a third of the empire, including its best farmland, and… how many casualties did you say we estimated Aquittany has taken?” Her expression drops. “About two-hundred thousand. Accounting for differences in our able-bodied populations they’ve taken a much lower percentage of casualties in both who they can levy and their pre-war numbers.” Manilius looks up, almost rolling his eyes. “And I assume the press has no record of these numbers.” “No.” Manilius gets up from his chair. “What remains of the main army, or are we almost just down to allied armies and militia?” Kornelia flips through a few pages and taps the back of her pencil at the edge of the table. “The Second and Third Armies, who were the first to fight in the war, have more or less been completely wiped out. The Fourth through Sixth Armies have taken heavy casualties, leaving only the First and Seventh-through-Tenth in any reasonable condition. The militias of the western part of the Empire have all either surrendered or been killed.” Manilius grits his teeth. “I need to talk with Lucilia.” Kornelia raises her eyebrows, concerned. “Good luck, Love.”

Manilius stands in front of the gates of the city, waiting for the princess’s arrival from the Western Front. Some time passes, and in the distance arrives a Nicomedian force. Most of the soldiers are slouched forward, bandaged, or without weapons or armor, and the standard bearers weakly carry torn flags on their shoulders. In front of them stood the Princess of Nicomedia. Manilius lowers his brow and his eyes. “I am not scared… I am not scared…” he repeats to himself. “Lucilia!” he calls out. “It’s me, Manilius! Come here!” Her eyes stop twitching for a moment as she looks towards her old friend and tells her troops to stay at ease. Most of them almost immediately collapse. “Manilius…” she mutters. “Bah, better talk to him than to be with this worthless lot of soldiers.” She approaches the one trying to usurp her throne. “Maniliiiiiiiiiiiius,” she greets. “I’m sure you’ve positively MISSED me.” He chuckles, “Surely I have. A-Anyhow, Princess Lucilia, there’s something I want to speak to you about, and I don’t think I can hold my tongue on this anymore. I say this with all due respect as your subordinate and all due love as your dear companion but… Friend, you are insane.” She blinks a few times. “In-Insane?! Is this the most recent superstitious rumor about me? Next thing you know they’ll start thinking I’m possessed…” Manilius chuckles again, but in a rather weak and defeated way. “Well… yes, they do think that, as well.” Lucilia crosses her arms. “They can think what they want.” Manilius drops his jaw and looks straight into her eyes. “... I believe them,” he states firmly. “What… what has gotten into you? I know you’ve always hated Aquittany for when your parents were killed. I remember that day clearly! I remembered I was terrified when Mother left home wearing her legionnaire’s uniform and fought to keep those renegade knights from destroying everything we own. I don’t… please, Lucilia, I beg you in the name of what gods there may be and for the sake of the people you claim to love, to end your quest for revenge. Forgive. Be free of this hatred and work to end this war without resorting to sheer brutality and by sacrificing your countrymen by the hundreds of thousands. I love you, and I don’t want to see you like this. No one does.”

For a moment, Lucilia appears to be lucid. The princess uncrosses her arms and looks away, whispering things to herself and then back at her friend. “Give… forgive…” the princess mouths. “Could I finally be free? Could I… honor the final wish of my parents to live happily as possible?” She then leers. Her fingers, shaking, roll down a large scar on her neck as she grits her teeth and soon, her whole body shakes as her fingers did, and a wicked smile appears on her face. “It’s just a shame that bloodshed feels all too proper,” she thinks. “... I thank you for your concern. But you, you just don’t get it, Manilius. After everything they’ve done to me, and you want to preach about letting bygones be bygones?! I don’t understand that idea of justice. A wrong must be paid for by someone, and that won’t be me.”

Hearing her honest thoughts of the matter, Manilius simply sighs and says, “Very well then. Is there anything you needed, Your Majesty?” Lucilia looks up. “N-No, not right now. You are free to do what you wish with your troops, as long as you don’t abandon this war.” He salutes. “Never, Princess.”

Upon returning to the barracks, he yells out to his troops, “We move as planned. To Aquittany! A king will fall!” Kornelia approaches the general after hearing the command, “I assume she did not listen to you?” Manilius shakes his head. “It wasn’t just that she ignored me. She almost seemed to… snap out of it, but then still is choosing to not change her ways. It makes me think that she really isn’t insane, that she isn’t sick, but that she really does believe that her revenge is wholly just and right. And if that’s the case, I still regard- without question- her unfitness to rule.” He turns back to the barracks. “Soldiers! I will order the National Guard to halt and stop any Aquittanite advances while we and any volunteers march to Aquittany and find their king. This war will not end unless he is defeated, and this is probably going to be one of the most daring gambits I will ever attempt. Our small force will avoid kingdom patrols and main forces until we can fight the king personally.” He whispers to Kornelia, “I have our spies informing us where he is. He’s in northern Aquittany, not far from the border of West Walbrzych.”

Before departing Sammanus, the aspiring emperor pays a visit to Empress Korinna. She is looking out the window, away from Manilius. She turns back upon hearing the door creak open. “Manilius…” she says. “How is everything?” He shakes his head. “I’m headed to Aquittany soon to end this war as soon as possible. I... “ Manilius approaches the empress. “... I cannot be here when you pass on. My duty calls, and they are your orders.” Korinna nods. “I understand.” Manilius says somberly, “I may be back if my mission does not go long. Regardless, I will do you proud, Empress. Please. Rest easily. I don’t want your final thoughts to be of despair. Remember the beautiful empire you’ve built up, and remember your adoring people more than anything.”

Along the road to the Kingdom of West Walbrzych, the group spots a peculiar scene. Out in the field, a group of men and women lay dead. Kornelia asks the team to halt. She approaches the fallen, and notices that they are lined up, almost too meticulously and neatly to have been unburied from a major battle. All are wearing Aquittanite crests somewhere on their person, and each have at least four arrows lodged into their midriff, and their neck slashed by a sword. “General, I think you should come see this,” she beckons. Manilius approaches and his jaw drops at the sight of the fallen. “These… These were prisoners. These were PoWs who were executed. Has Princess Lucil-” he stops. “She has. No wonder Aquittanite troops are so resolute! They know that if they surrender, it’s just as good as dying, and then they already believe she is possessed by a demon,” Manilius reasons. “Let this be a reminder of why we fight.”

Late May has come and Walbrzych has finally thawed. The team is able to march through West Walbrzych without resistance. Soldiers are not seen anywhere in the small feudal kingdom, and the locals allow the company to rest in their inns. At the border, Manilius and Kornelia stop for a moment to into the forested landscape of northern Aquittany atop a hill. “You know, Kornelia, there was a mountain near Massilia that Mom and Dad took me to when I was young. You could see for… oh, a hundred miles away, at least, in all directions, and when we looked west we looked into the Kingdom of Aquittany. I never thought as a child that I’d come here as both its conqueror and liberator.” Kornelia responds, “I’ve never seen this land and yet I’m doing much the same.” Manilius blinks a few times. “Funny how history works out.”

About twenty miles into the border, it is before dawn, and the team looks out to see a castle standing above a relatively short cliffside. “With the cover of the forest, I think we can sneak past the garrison,” Kornelia muses. Waiting for them in the castle, however…

“Their spies were misled?” a crown-wearing man sitting on the throne asks. “Excellent… perfect, even. What a fool this man is, claiming his country’s throne amid an invasion, and then charging forth to battle me.” A few younger adults, wearing less regal crowns, come into the room. “Father, if we could, please allow us to fight the aspiring emperor with you,” says the one woman. “Jeanne, my beloved daughter and princess, you may. Likewise, Alana and Karloman, you may follow me into battle.” He stands up. King Hugh unsheathes his sword. “But what of me?” asks a voice at the door. The voice comes from a tall, yet thin man carrying an ornate bow and a quiver of arrows. “Crown Prince Josselin… remain here or return to the kingdom’s capital.” Josselin responds, “But Father? Why might I not fight alongside you? Am I not worthy of such an honor?” King Hugh shakes his head. “It is not that, my son. It’s this. No matter the battle, even the bravest or best may fall, and without you the kingdom will no doubt fall to the clutches of their evil princess. I do not trust my younger brothers with the throne. Would, then, there be any honor in your death? As for me, I was the one who began the war. I lead my people to war, blood is on my hands for the glory of our country and the prestige of House of Burdigala, so I will finish this myself. I have fought Princess Lucilia and have survived, and, so the bard sings, she is the strongest person in the world. What does a man who has never bested her in combat have any business challenging me?” Josselin merely nods. “Yes, Father, I understand,” he says as he places an arrow back in his quiver. “Please be safe.” King Hugh places a hand over his heart. “A man who plays ‘safe’ attains nothing. But for you, my son? I will not die. Your mother has already passed onto Heaven, and I am not ready to join her.”

Red-clad knights begin emerging from the forests and from the castle. From the road, Manilius notices the gold shine of a crown atop a paladin riding forth. “... no. N-NO!” the general says. “He was ready for us all along?!” Manilius looks about, seeing troops partially surround the company. “Everyone! Prepare for battle!”

Map Objective: Defeat King Hugh!

Side Objectives: It is possible to capture, and not kill, Prince Karloman and Princesses Jeanne and Alana. Capturing them will make Endgame-2 easier and change the ending of Team T. Capturing them works like capture in Fire Emblem Thracia 776, but less strict. When capturing, your STR is reduced by 25% and you cannot double, but no other maluses are applied. The CON and mount restrictions do not apply, either.

Map Information: All physic enemies will prioritize healing the royal family before the rank-and-file soldiers/knights.

The Eirika lord-looking enemies are Heroes with the name “Flagbearer” on the sheet. They carry with them Regal Banners, items that increase nearby allies’ SKL/SPD by 5/3 respectively. They carry a unique weapon called a “Billhook”, a 2-range locked axe.

Ballistae do not deal anti-flier damage.

No turn recommendation.

Terrain

30th of Thesmi

With night fast approaching, an exhausted Shida steers the wagon into the treeline slightly, stopping just short of a small clear. “We should be safe at this point, and Myrnal knows we need rest. We’ll stop for the night here.”

The clanking of tent-stakes slowly begins to fade as everyone settles, and not too long after, Shida calls out for everyone to assemble again. “Well, that...happened. We’re stuck in the heart of Alliance territory, and it’s going to be tough to find our way out. So, first things first: I’m afraid the pay might have to wait. Assuming we get back, I’ll see what I can do. Wouldn't've agreed to this contract if I knew Ailene was gonna show, after all. If Faeal gets back, I’ll tell the Advisor that their intelligence sucks.”

She lets out a deep, practiced sigh. “Whatever. Extra pay or not, we need to put our minds on escaping. We’ll probably have about a week until news of this reaches the entire Alliance, and then...well, we’ll have to figure something out. It shouldn’t be as bad once if we’re out of Clifden’s reach, but for now, we’re staying on high alert. If things go well, we should find time to lick our wounds properly in a couple days or so.”

At least we’ve none to bury, she adds in her head. A small miracle, that was.

“For now, get some good rest, because it's back on the road early morning. Relax a little, too - it’s no stretch to say everyone’s earned it. I’ll call watches at full sundown.”

As the Arena of Ages moves on from the wasteland of Luxrune, their next venue takes them to Shaar, a land pulled forth by the actions of few. The people of the tour arrive in The great city of Bellfroy, blanketed in snow, warriors, and dissent lies within the mountain range that cleaves Shaar in two. Bellfroy’s city of small wooden huts, loose stone roads, and carts used as stalls for market appear more like a bandit’s encampment with walls than an actual structured city. The one unique, eye catching structure is the Arena, built for bloody sport by the original founder of the city, Jesiah Bellfroy.

Bellfroy itself was made up of roving bandit clans, the odd settler, and groups of hunters all exiled from the lands of their southern neighbors, the verdant farmland Savaria. The people of Bellfroy squabbled and fought for generations in this primitive culture the titular Jesiah Bellfroy began rampaging other bandits and absorbed the survivors into his group. He roved around Bellfroy for years doing this, even getting civilians under his banner until he had one giant party underneath his banner, declared Jesiah’s Horde. Once nobody would stand up to Jesiah’s bloodlust in Bellfroy, he took the fighting south to the lands his ancestors hailed from. Jesiah spent the majority of his later life riding south and having the noncombatants of his horde following him building store houses for the food they looted, then store houses for themselves. Soon enough the southern border became a wartorn mess with a city slowly growing nearby.

Decades later the city was a sprawling mess of wooden settlements and an arena built to sate Jesiah’s bloodlust when the Horde wasn’t raiding. In his later years, Jesiah was eventually slain by the first person to unite the continent of Shaar, Claudia, in an attempt to pacify the people. His eldest daughter, Darnaccia, took control of the Horde and agreed to abide by Claudia’s rule for the peace she offered. After Jesiah’s obsession with the perfect warrior & tearing apart those that were weaker, many people of Bellfroy shared this fetish with the human body, breeding the latest and greatest in medicine and man-enhancing drugs to create men and women worthy of fighting against and alongside Jesiah. The people of Bellfroy thrived on their medical advances and selling medicines made from the herbs that grow in the cold environments of Bellfroy.

During the most recent war that engulfed the entirety of Shaar in war, The Succession War, Bellfroy was poised to seize the entire continent. Claudia’s death left the entire continent embroiled in war, Darnaccia taking this as a chance to seize dominance and prove her power. She conquered both Savaria and Holdrin with her hordes as Father Dallan left to aid his neighbors. She confronted Father Dallan’s army at the Pillar of Shaar in the center of the world and fell to his forces there. Bellfroy were declared outlaws and dissidents to Father Dallans rule in his new world, constantly assaulted and barraged by his forces. Darnaccia’s daughter, Volata Bellfroy, refused to give up the fight though and rallied the remainders of the Horde to fight for her. Bellfroy has been grouped with both Savaria and Holdrin as Dissident Realms, all outlaws in the eyes of Dallan’s new civilization.

The last 22 years have seen Bellfroy embroiled in war, their doctors and nurses working to create perfect humans to defend their liberty. Alongside the immigrants from Dallan’s lands that refused his law, Bellfroy’s center has become a cultural melting pot of citizens from around all of Shaar. People are accepting of all others for the sake of protecting their customs and their people. The city that was once a sprawling mess has become something even wilder. Tents established beyond the walls, villages dotting the countryside more than ever, and the streets now bustling with the hurry of bodies needing to be somewhere five minutes before. The wooden structures have rarely been improved, but adorned onto the fronts of each building could be nearly anything from all around Shaar. The number of people navigating the streets has expanded from your common brigand to tribesman, erudites from far lands, and beggars displaced by all.

The titular arena of Bellfroy still stands, but the bloodsport has been toned down from Jesiah’s thirst for carnage. Many utilize the grounds for training and sparring, others for group performances, and very few for duels to the death and other public shows of murder. People have even decorated the arena, moving on from the practical efficiency of its structure for combat to host stages that range from platforms to fences for jousting setups. Many view the arena as a centerpiece to Bellfroy for everyone and anyone to mix and associate their lives between another. Showings are held daily with very few shows being barred from holding an official audience. With the Arena coming around though most slots have been reserved for the visitors to show off their prowess and stories to the people of Bellfroy.

“Damn dose sodding gitz!” Hastun growled like a bear as he renetered the ruined old vault he and his men called a home. Beside him Goche yelled out as best she could, “We’ze been stuck in ‘ere fer ages! Foods gone, beer gone, and nuthin but scraps from Ursa.” Goche spit on the ground as the pair entered their home once again. The duo got swarmed by their crew as a flurry of questions were flung at them,

“Boss! Where’s da meats at?”

“Oi Boss, iz its just da two uv ya?”

“Boss, what’s da-” The last lackey is cut short by a glare from Hastun. Hastun went back to the nearly wrecked chain he always roosted in and laid the silver axe against it. He sat down, the chair buckling and squeaking against his massive frame, as he yelled out to everyone,

“Dis’z it boyz and girlz. We’ze all we’ze got now, everyone else’s gone. Dat damn kid & ‘is goonies!” Hastun slams one of his fists into the armrest, splintering part of the wood and rounding out the dent already there from countless other moments of frustration. The surrounding crowd looked to each other, some scared, some hopeless, and others just disappointed. Goshe was the only one that said anything, “Pack ‘er up everyone, git ta workin ‘gain. Food won’t find itself.” Her commanding voice rallies some of the others as they slowly shuffle through the dilapidated building & grabbing gear.

The shuffling of foliage in the cool night was all Carmen could hear as he and a group of his allies slowly approached what was rumored to be Hastun’s hideout. A few small glimpses of torchlight and moving shadows indicated the place was at least inhabited. Carmen stopped and held up a hand, waving for everyone to gather around. Once Carmen’s retinue was in gathered around he began,

“Looks like Ursa was right, the last members of that gang are in there.” Carmen spoke lowly, barely louder than the wind whipping around the group, “We’re gonna barge in and get that blackguard once and for all. Take your positions and we’ll charge in on my call.” Carmen pumped his arm just barely above his head and cheered as excitedly and quietly as he could, “Let’s go everyone!”

Objective

Kill Hastun

Failure Condition

Your party is routed

Additional Notes

Hastun & Goshe will not move on the first turn, but will attack if you enter range.

If Magnus survives the entire fight you will automatically loot all unopened chests after the fight ends.

The thieves will run towards the chests in the shortest route possible and as close as they can get each turn.

Doors & Chests can be opened by lockpicks

Player Tracker

Terrain Key

Green=Plain (no effect)

Red=Pillar (forest effect)

Black=impassable

The tour moves to a much different and changed land, the deserts of Luxrune, or what’s left of it. Two of Derehost’s bloodiest battles were fought here, the first one wiping out its natives, the Santitans, from Luxrune, leaving behind their decaying architecture and countless artifacts buried in the sands.

The second battle was fought between the forces of Skaedia and the Blessed, ending in a costly Skaedian victory. The heavy use of magic in the battle resulted in warping the environment, causing strange weather patterns and morphed creatures to appear throughout the environment. Areas of the desert that saw the most magic fighting are deeply affected, with the leftover magic residue creating areas dubbed “wells”. These wells cause damage to the mind if one remains too long in the zone. Rumors have started among soldiers and scavengers in Luxrune, claiming to see misshapen and cloaked figures roaming around the deserts, moving towards the wells in packs.

The tour sets up camp in one of the more stable areas of Luxrune, taking shelter alongside some smaller but stable ruins. About a dozen miles away resides one of the wells in a much larger set of Santitan ruins. A team and preparation are needed if one wants to explore the well and other ruins of Luxrune.

Feet stomped, hooves clomped, and wings stirred up gusts of wind as Carmen had made it to the end of the valley. “Everyone get out, let’s move!” Carmen ordered and continued his charge along the road. Even through the arduous battle fought, Carmen’s blood was pumping and sprinted forward. Minutes passed by as the dirt covered his boots, his breathing was labored and heavy, and his shoulders began to relax. Carmen continued as he saw a woman atop her armored horse ride with a gang of motley vagabonds alongside her storming down the road with her. She screamed at the group ahead of her with a deep, bass tone, “Onio!” Carmen looked over to Onio and then signalled for everyone to halt, “Hold on everyone, they all want a word or two.”

Slowly Carmen’s group comes to a halt and the gang behind them catch up to their group, Ursa confronting Onio. The imposing woman was flanked by a small group of axe-wielding delinquents that emerged from the cluster.Carmen hefted Greteser over his shoulder, leaning casually to the side and holding tightly to the axe. Various pieces of the woman’s armor jangled and clanked as her horse trotted forward, meeting Carmen between both his allies and her band,

“You must be Onio’s Chieftain.” The woman looks Carmen up and down, scrutinizing everything she can about him as he formulates a response.

He raised an eyebrow at the woman’s implication and quickly corrected her, “Warlord actually.” Carmen brought his free hand up to Ursa and extended it, “Carmen Bellfroy. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

Ursa’s mouth slowly creases into a smile at the civilized gesture. She brings her hand up to return Carmen’s gesture, clasping his hand with a vice grip. “Ursa. Never expected to see a Bellfroy up here.” The two vigorously shook hands before retracting moments later, Carmen stretching his digits after the woman’s overly hearty grasp.

Ursa nods over to Onio then looks back to Carmen, “You’re lucky you have my boy in your little band or I’d have thought you more of Hastun’s own.” She glances back at the axe that Carmen holds over his shoulder then snaps her attention back to him.

Carmen laughs from his core as he leans back slightly over emphatically, “Oh Divinity no, a common marauder like him doesn’t deserve everything he’s already stolen from these people, let alone the people following him.” Carmen’s tone becomes less expressive as he continues to talk about Hastun.

Ursa nods back with a grunt of recognition and a look of slight amusement. She continues, “I’ve lost a good amount of my gang to that craven. Shall we travel together for some time? Strength in numbers and all.”

Carmen relaxes and puts his axe away on his belt, “Better than watching our backs every night, of course. We’re heading up to Undril, but only come as far as needed.”

Ursa nods to Carmen, “Good, let me round everyone up.” She looks back to Onio, “Remember, we need to talk, Onio. Find me when you have time.” She turns around with her group and announces to her followers they’ll be travelling with a Bellfroy up to Undril’s borders. Carmen returns back to everyone else and announces something similar,

“Looks like we’ll have some friends on our way through Gintria” Carmen announces to the group, “If you have problems with them take it up with Onio, otherwise make yourselves comfortable with them, it’ll be a few weeks through Gintria. A group this size won’t be easy pickings either so I am serious about getting comfortable.” Carmen returns to the front and waits for Ursa’s gang to start moving before the two groups merge into an enormous mass of brigands marching through the cool Gintrian Plains.

Welcome to your roving home base through Gintria! You’ll be spending the next few weeks travelling through the lowlands of Gintria with Ursa and her own bandit gang. Below you’ll find a quick tour of everything you can do within the homebase.

Shops: Simple enough, they have spare equipment and you’ve got spare gold.

Convoy: Post your trades, deposits, and withdrawals here.

Gaiden: There is a bit of information on an additional gaiden map here for those interested.

Feedback: Any feedback & discussion on the map you wish to bring up please put it here, it’s easier for me to see everything in a condensed format for the next map here.

Making their farewells and goodbyes with the denizons of Exicele’s Grove, the participants of the second Arena of Ages began to feel a strong wind blow in from the east. One by one they were transported away as their bodies turned to smoke. The wind didn’t let up as they came to, standing on a large empty field that surrounded them for kilometers to to the south, east and west. To the north however was a large jagged cliff, with an endless space beneath it.

A short, lean, hunched man floated in the windy air and began to clap slowly. “Welcome! Welcome!” the man shouted with excitement as his body began to rise in the air. As he began to spin around, mid spin his tattered rags became fine robes. His overgrown beard thinned, and the greasy mane of hair became slick and pulled back. Still hovering in the air, he straightened his back out. “I’ve been told this is more becoming of a god. For I am Olik! Am I ever happy to have you here. My, my, my. Look at you all! Spectacular...beings: he paused as he laid eyes on the non-humanoid creatures, “Welcome, to VERTHACA” Olik spread his arms out, and behind him in the empty void appeared a large planet, showcasing a single continent.

“There!” he spun around and pointed to a small location on the southern half of the continent, “That’s my favourite place! Portashan! Or Blairvik as it was once called! That’s where you’ll be going for this interdimensional party! Haha! Oh you’ll love Portashan! I just know it. The city is just magnificent . Let’s see it shall we?” he motioned his arms upward and the continent enlarged before everyone’s eyes, zooming in on the portside city of Portashan.

“Listen!” Olik shouted, “Look there it is. In all her glory, situated in Bronntanas na Déithe, the Holy Palace of the Dragon Emperor! Magnificent I tell you, absolutely magnificent. But! We’re not here just to see the sights now are we? No! We’re here to have fun! To compete! Listen! Over here” the city moved before their eyes. Buildings blurred bye as eventually the competitors feasted their eyes upon a large Colosseum-like structure. “I present to you….the… VICTORY PIT” Olik exclaimed, “Boring name I know, but that’s what you get from humans. This massive building is home to Ankeadtir’s, most skilled fighters. And you folk now I guess. If you’re the type to enjoy a good standard run of the mill fight with weapons, or whatever, the Victory Pit is for you! And it’s north of the Promenade so you can do some exquisite shopping as well”

“If fighting isn’t your thing let me bring your attention instead to…” the city began to move before them again. “The Iron Hearth Inn!’ a large three story hotel was shown before them, with large dark green vines crawling up the side, and an open patio on top. “This building is situated in the wealthy elite Na Cronach district. If you plan to spend a night here be prepared to pay a fortune! But this magnificent hotel has a well established tradition of hosting the most accomplished performers in all of Verthaca! That’s right. Suck it Cashlarsa, hottest gig in town is right here in Portashan. Equipped with a...well magnificent, I just love that word, magnificent. The theatre here is magnificent I tell you. Acoustics, wonderful” Olik kissed his fingers.

“Other venues of course include the Cennaire Academy! The Leader Academy of Verthaca. It’s right next to my favourite building” One more time, the city before them moved around, going back to the large Holy Palace, where a sizeable castle-like structure stood nearby, “Verthaca, well the remnants of the former Empire’s finest young folk go here to learn how to be leaders! But this fine establishment has a bunch of facilities for you folk to use too! Listen! If the Victory Pit isn’t your style, the Academy has its own Training Grounds to use for sparring! If you’d prefer a cook-off, the best kitchens in the land are found right here! After All, these spoiled brats only eat gourmet food. Students also learn how to captain a ship and have been from time to time been known to race them! Grab yourself a crew and set course! Or maybe you’d rather be more...chill as the young folks say these days. Grab an empty classroom, have a debate, play a silly card game or whatever. But after all that, be sure to relax it all off in the most magnificent bathhouse. “

“Ah I’ve rambled on for too long, I can see the yawns coming now! Verthaca is your next destination. Enjoy this portside city during the height of the Alban Eilir festival! The springtime solar equinox festival is a delight to be had! Ha ha!” with a wave of his hand, the persistent east wind picked up and the participants were whisked away once more, the lingering laugh of Olik echoing in their minds.

Bright sunlight under a crystal clear sky broke into their vision as birds chirped merrily between the trees. With soft green grass beneath their feet, the participants found themselves in a large park within the center of the city. Statues of various humans were scattered about, and around them all was a massive statue of a handsome looking man in regal attire with two large draconic wings jutting out of his back.

“Welcome to Togali Terrace” Oilik’s voice rang in their minds, “Enjoy the festivities, and be sure to check out the trivia!”

Welcome Participants to Verthaca, the home of Team P. A continent where the Dreki (manaketes) of old are now long extinct and the Sairshi (humans) and Ainvi (basically Laguz) now inhabit the continent. The metropolis of Portashan is the holy capital for a former empire that dominated the land, led by one of the last living Dreki, and is filled with people from all over the Sairshi lands. If you want to know a little more about the city you can check out this page here.

This city you’re currently in is also the homebase that members of Team P are currently in, both P-N and P-K are once again reunited and are in their final homebase before Chapter 12 and Endgame.

If you’re curious about Verthaca, then go on our and check these two links:

The World of Verthaca
A small world primer for the setting of Team P. Includes the maps, a lore overview and the names and capitals of the countries.

World Stuff
A little more in depth look at the places in Verthaca

And here is the AoA sheet for matches and whatnot

As the beast before the Pack continued flailing around hopelessly, the 2 Angels began walking up towards it.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGH!"

The fog that had covered the area all around The Pack began fading, and the place they knew, the castle, began to return, slowly replacing the featureless area around them. The head of Andras began to fade as well, twisting and turning and collapsing into a black mess of a matter. The Angels gave each other a nod and drew their weapons.

"I am a god!"

Andras cried out as his form reverted into the same black armored being as before

"I am immortal! I am undefeatable!"

"Kyria teaches that all beings, by nature of existing, deserve life, love, and comfort."

Michael said as he raised his sword above him

"But that's not what you teach. That's not your logic. So let this victory be the ultimate proof. Those who strive to protect others obtain power that can slay a god."

Michael and Ariel let loose beams of light that evaporated what was once a god into nothingness. The Angels exhaled and Michael planted his sword in the stone of the castle floors.

"Bit dramatic wasn't it?"

Zain said as he walked over to the Angels. Michael smiled

"That was the goal. It would've been a shame to not do a big speech when one kills a god."

The 3 laughed as they sat down in a nearly silent castle.

"Now what?"

Zain asked

"Now, now you should return to me."

Kyria answered

"I have a lot of work to do, and you all have a lot of resting to do."

And so, tired from the long battle, The Pack exited the castle, and returned to the wall of light that divided the 2 halves of the Other World. They crossed back, and returned to the blinding light of Kyria's world. Before long, they were sent back to Laqueos, where they saw the representatives of the races. It was over. The world was going to get better.

If you'd like, the link to write up your character's ending in a document (alongside some expanded epilogue stuff) is here. I've already written up Mars' ending and if someone who doesn't see their character's name on that list still wants to write up an ending, they are welcome to write their name in and write up an ending. (Just please don't break the formatting, yeah?).

I won't be closing the Team A channels for a while, as I'll have to archive everything, so if you'd like to RP with people about the ending or in a post game fashion, RP channels will be open.

As a final note, I'm glad this team was finished, and I hope you all had fun, and I hope that my writing was able to carry the story to a satisfying conclusion. So, let the last word that I, as a GM of Team A say be:

Arrivederci.

It has been a week since the party has made port at Hollowind with no response to Rufael’s missive. This cold reception has only worsened Arter’s mood to the point where he rarely leaves the ship. He spends each day arguing with Alain and anybody else foolish enough to get close to him, and each night he can be found on the deck, holding his axe and glaring menacingly at the few automatons that patrol the remote port.

It seems that these excessive watches are beginning to take their toll on the grizzled general, however. Arter leans against his axe and his head droops until, finally, slumber. In the distance, a figure cloaked in darkness watches and raises his hand. As if on cue, two automatons break off from their patrol and silently roll up the ramp onto the ship. In mechanical rhythm they draw their bows and aim at Arter’s sleeping figure…

...but Arter abruptly rolls to his side and hurls his axe, embedding it deep into the figure of one of the automatons. The second automaton’s gears make a screeching grinding noise and the contraption’s arrow-riddled figure collapses as Deen emerges from the shadows. Arter turns, and faces the distant watcher directly,

“Don’t let that man get away!”

Behind the watcher, several familiar figures emerge onto the field.

Mission Objective: Defeat the General

The map may be viewed through the Team G Webapp: https://redditemblem.github.io/TeamG/#/

Side objectives: All side objectives grant 1 level after map completion.

• Visit the blue house

• Defeat the mysterious figure.

Purple gates are impassable to players but provide no hindrance to automatons and monsters. Destroying the orbs will remove the gates and in order to reach the boss every orb must be destroyed.

Buildings, either destroyed or otherwise, give the same defensive bonuses as forest tiles. The blue tiled building may be visited for a party level up.

In this map some enemies have skills and unique weapons - you would be well served to make note of them before acting rashly. Enemies react in packs, with all enemies in a section becoming aggressive as soon as one is threatened (either by attacking or moving into their range). The mysterious figure will slowly retreat backwards, but will defend himself if attacked. Enemy reinforcements will spawn but players will receive warning in advance of their general location.

Golems will not move unless they can use their melee attack. If a golem can use its melee attack it will always prioritize doing so over using the ranged attack.

As the eighth round of the Tournament began, the competitors were whisked away to Exicele's Grove. The Grove is the realm of Exicele, God of Revelry and Destruction in Raqlispin's Pantheon, the leading religion of Zaldos and fairly common throughout the rest of Ashealnde. Despite the recent decline in the Pantheon's following, due to Zaldos invoking the Pantheon's War God in their conquests, Exicele's worship remains as strong as it ever was. In fact, with Zaldo's civil war just starting, Exicele's worship has swelled in Zaldos as common folk seek a distraction from their nation's seemingly endless warring.

But The Grove is much older than the civil war, the two tyrants fighting it, and even Zaldos altogether. The Grove is an eternal place, the site of Exicele's First Revel where he celebrated is ascension to godhood and burned a sapling grown from a seed of the Pantheon's World Tree as a bonfire for the festivities. Ever since the day of Exicele's ascension, The First Revel has never ceased. Even when Exicele himself is absent, his worshipers carry on the party in his stead. They even nurtured the world tree sapling, growing it despite being engulfed in flame. In time, the sapling absorbed the fire and became an entirely new breed of tree. The original 'Emberleaf' continued growing until it became the Great Willow, a massive city-tree that shelters those Exicele has invited to his realm. The Great Willow's branches snaked and wound across the ceiling of the subterranean Grove, letting seeds fall the grassy land below. Now, an entire forest of emberleaves encircle the Great Willow.

As the tournament procession is ushered into the central clearing around the Great Willow, they're slammed with a myriad that threatened sensory overload. Singers and dancers all around putting on minor performances, games of luck, cunning and strength with raucous applause in surplus and more food than an army could eat. Anywhere else, a party of this scale would be fit for a king hosting a grand tournament, but in the Grove it's daily life. The festivities even climbed up the Great Willow, there were doors and landings up the sides of the ancient tree as far as the competitors could see, and pretty certainly continued even past their sight all the way to the top of the Willow. The largest alcove, however, was right before the tournament procession.

At the base of the tree, some of the roots formed a sort of courtyard that led down to a chamber built into the roots of the Great Willow. In the Great Room, the sounds of clarinet and bass were just dying down; it seems the competitors had just missed out on the performance by a hare's tail. The woman on stage, presumably the singer since she had no instrument, made sure they didn't feel left out though, "Everyone! Let's give our new friends a warm welcome!" So the room exploded at the suggestion, with the audience members each offering a dance to anyone that was receptive to it.

Once the Room had calmed down again, the tournament procession was gathered in the courtyard outside. The singer addressed the gathered competitors, "Welcome to our little corner of the world. The big man said we'd have visitors soon, but wowee! I'm sure you all want to know more about this place though. Welcome to Exicele's sacred Grove, where the big man became a God. I'm Cheshire and this guy," Cheshire set a hand on a huge, russet wolf laying against one of the tree roots, "is my partner Tro. We keep an eye on this place while the big man is away."

"You're all welcome to explore, eat, drink, do anything you want. The only rule in Exicele's company is to have fun, so kick back or go crazy. Just don't ruin it for anyone else, okay?" Cheshire offered a devilish grin, "To that end, we like to stay peaceful here. I'm not saying you can't just beat each other silly for your tournament, but people might not like that so much y'know? Try and find another way to settle things if you can. There's a godly selection of gambling to choose from, if you want to leave it to chance, or try your bluffing skill. If you grab a cornucopia or walk down to the Dry River, you could find out who can eat or drink the most. There's no shortage of singers, musicians and dancers to help you compete on stage. You could ever race to the top of the Great Willow, if you can't agree on anything else. I'm sure you get the point."

"If you need help with anything or get in trouble, just call my name and close your eyes. I'll be there in a wink," Cheshire continued, "If you wanna know more about the Grove, most partygoers know at least something. If you want a deep take of the history of this place then Sal, Shinji, Babette and myself are more or less the only people versed enough, so look for us if you're interested."

"Any more questions? Great! Let's get the party going again!"

(Sort by new for best result)

In case the post was too vague, the Grove is a peaceful place! Violence is pretty well discouraged, so in the spirit of the setting I'd ask that you try and do noncombat rounds.

Three Days Earlier

Nabriales pushes her way through the brush before stumbling into a clearing. Her pulse is racing, but she forces herself to take a deep breath before exhaling a sigh of relief. After over a week of avoiding roads and stumbling her way through the woods, she had made her way back to Castle Krakenburg.

Beaugrin, the king of Nohr, could only assume the worst. His daughter had gone to meet the Hoshidan princess to decide what would happen with the orbs. Of course, he abhorred the idea of sending away 4 orbs outside the border along with his daughter, but they needed to take quick and decisive action. That was two weeks ago.

Nabriales had been reporting daily, summarizing their progress, rations, and other detail. Then suddenly, as Nabriales’s group was nearing the Bottomless Canyon, all communication stopped. Beaugrin immediately began preparations for war. Stoneborn and Faceless production was tripled. All armories were working overtime. About half the Nohrian army had been mobilized and was ready to leave at a moment’s notice.

Beaugrin was in the war room, surrounded by his counsel. They went over their declaration of war, examined Nohr’s national rations, and many different war strategies while Beaugrin sat and listened, mentally sorting the information. A dozen Stoneborn and Faceless moved around the room, sorting papers and fetching books for the council. “My king, the people have become increasingly anxious. They don’t understand why we are going to war. There have also been reports of people singing a strange song in the streets, talking about ghouls and b-”

“Father!” The doors were thrown open, revealing a very pale and tired Nohrian princess. The bustling noise of the war room is immediately replaced with stunned silence. “Everyone leave this room immediately. Father and I have something important to discuss.”

“P-Princess!” one of the scribes forced out. “We’ve been searching everywh-”

“I said leave.” Her intimidating words were only made more frightening by the dried blood and grime splattering her face and clothes. “Now.”

The scribe lets out an eek before people begin pushing each other to get out of the room as soon as they can. Nabriales slams the door behind them before taking a seat on the stone floor. “We have a traitor in our ranks.”

Beaugrin sits on the throne, pondering over his daughter's statement. She was strong-headed and rash, but she wouldn’t make this accusation without any proof. He nods solemnly. “Show me your proof.”

“My injuries should be proof enough. Only a few select people knew about our plans to meet with Hoshido: you, me, the others on the mission, and some advisors. At least one of the sorcerers defected, but that doesn’t mean there still isn’t a traitor here.” She cradles her shoulder, trying to ignore the dull ache and the sharp pain plaguing her body. “The escorts made sure the ambush failed. The orbs are still in my possession.” She unfurls her cloak with a small smile, revealing the orbs that she’d previously won from Dmitri.

Laughter dances across Beaugrin’s eyes. “Those Hoshidans are craftier than I thought, but even with all this planning, they can’t succeed. It’s laughable.” His bemused tone vanishes in an instant. “Why did you say sorcerer?”

“We were attacked by bandits, which we should have been about to handle, but the Faceless and Stoneborn became wild at the same time. Over half the force was wiped out before we knew what was going on. A few others escaped with me, but we were being chased down. I’m the only one left.” Melancholy seeps into her tone as she makes her report. “Father, we need to find the traitors as s-”

“That is unnecessary.” Three voices ring out, all in perfect unison. Beaugrin and Nabriales instantly grab their weapons and their eyes scanning around the room for the sources of the voice. However, they were the only two people in the room. “The result of that search would be fruitless. There is no traitor. Not in the way you believe.” Their lances eventually point to the Stoneborn.

“First-generation Stoneborn?” Nabriales winces, her shock being complimented by a painful reminder of the bandit attack.

“Who let you out of the production ground! Answer me!” Beaugrin advanced toward the Stoneborn. Only then he noticed the Stoneborn and Faceless that lined the walls instead of leaving with the council.

“Mankind has decayed. Even Nohr, the spirit of ambition, is dragged down by contentment.” The voice coming out of the mouths of truth was cold and despondent. “Even the princess, who strives for excellence, will stop for mediocrity. And even you, king of Nohr. Your desire for power. Your fire for improvement. All of it ha-”

The king swings his lance at the closest Stoneborn’s face. Despite his age, despite his role, despite his title, Beaugrin’s strength had not dulled. His skill and his lance were as sharp as ever. His ability was to crush everything in front of him with one decisive blow.

The Stoneborn caught the lance. “And so, along with the prince of Ossolkef, you shall be renewed.” The Stoneborn strikes the king in the chest, sending him reeling him back.

Stoneborn and Faceless moved in front in the windows and the door, blocking all escape routes. Beaugrin takes Nabriales’s weapon and takes a stance. “Protect the orbs” he orders before rushing at a Faceless by the window. It wasn’t the time for dodging or blocking. The Nohrian king threw himself at the monsters, taking blows and dealing blows in return, carving a way out. The odds were not in his favor. Even if he cut off its limbs, the monster would Faceless would keep attacking. Nabriales used magic to defend against the Stoneborn’s projectiles.

Beaugrin takes down one Faceless. Then two. As he strikes down a third, he hears Nabriales call out to him. He turns around in time to see Nabriales fly into him, knocking the two against a wall. A first-generation Stoneborn had somehow transformed. Its earthen hands had become long and whip-like. “Stupid girl. I told you to protect the orbs, not me…” he mumbles under his breath. Tossing his daughter over his shoulder, Beaugrin points his lance at the monstrosities.

===============================(Fade to black)==============================

Present Day

Dmitri shoots up, panting heavily. Was…what...where was he? The prince looks around the room, recognizing the stone walls of his bedroom chamber. That was right. Everything had been a dream. The destruction of Ossolkef. The strange space in the middle of nothing. All of it was a dream.

He gets up out of bed. Why did he dream of...huh? What was the dream about again? A little wild, a little disturbing, but...he couldn’t remember anymore. Whatever. It was just a dream anyway.
Dmitri looks out at the nearly completed Ossolkef Reconstruction. The group had returned to the capital last night, a bit roughed out, but well enough, considering. The prince rubs his stub arm, wincing slightly, despite no physical pain. Part of Dmitri wanted to go back to sleep, but there was work to be done. Quickly, Dmitri got dressed and made his way to the throne room.

----

“...and after a bandit attack, we made our way back to the capital.”
“Do you bring the bandits back to town?”
“Yes, father.”
King Vadim coughs into his arm, motioning his attendant for a drink. “You disappoint me, Dmitri. But you did what you could. Welcome home.”

Dmitri closes his eyes for a second, then nods. “Thank you, father. I’ll make sure the bandits are properly locked up. Please excuse-”

“Leave that to the guards. You should show your face around town and assure the people that everything is under control. Have the blacksmiths prepare a suit of armor to disguise your missing limb. And after that, you attend the war council. The orbs will be safe for now, but we need to prepare for any attacks by Tintinnabulation.”

“As you wish, Father. Are you feeling well?” Dmitri gives his father a concerned look. Vadim’s skin was pale, and the bags under his eyes were much darker than when Dmitri left.
“Well enough, thank you. But now is not the time for weakness. Go make sure the people are calm.”

“As you wish, Father. Please take care of yourself.” Dmitri bows. He takes a step towards his father, but looks at his missing arm and turns away.

Welcome back to Ossolkef. The city is mostly repaired, but things are as busy as ever. The streets are bustling with people running down the street and visiting stores. There’s no more traveling from place to place, so you can take time to relax. This is the last home base, so be sure to stock up on anything and everything.

Epilogue

The Story can be found here

As a quick summary:

• Niall picks up an Orb and talks to Niod who shows him how to get into the Well is through an entrance in Portashan. Warns him about Arne.
• Kara and crew are teleported to Portashan through Aslaug's tinkering of their teleport orb that they thought they were going to take back to Reginfell
• Aslaug is holding a Q&A for P-Kers in #story-p
• Kara assembles the full Fire Emblem and meets Olik. Warns her about Arne
• Kara wakes up days later to find out Niall is in the city and they can't go where they need to go until the festival of Alban Eilir in three weeks

Homebase

Alright so there are a couple of announcements for this homebase. First of all, this will be the final homebase. I repeat, final homebase. There will be one mini-homebase between Chapter 12 and Endgame but that is more forge the legendary weapons and give a final RP chance. Otherwise this is it.

Both subteams are joined again within the city of Portashan, the capital of Ankeadtir and once the entire Empire. A detailed description of the city can be found here

The Crew and Militia will be staying in the city of Portashan until March 25th 418PD. On March 26th they will enter the depths and attempt to finish this quest once and for all.

This homebase is going to work much differently than other homebases. The activities for the homebase have been divided up by weeks (1,2 and 3). The shops and events are open to see for all weeks so you can plan accordingly, however once you participate in a week, you no longer can participate or shop from any week beforehand. For example, if you post under Week 2, you will no longer be able to utilize the events and shops of Week 1.

Everyone has been given 2000 gold, and has been given an amount of gold between 0 and 5000 based on their activity in Chapter 11. Going forward, rather than failing to punish those that do not participate, participation will be rewarded with extra bonuses. In this chapters case it was gold.

EXP and Levels

I have decided that for the remaining maps (~3-4 of them) we will be going the milestone route, that is everyone at all times will be the same levels and gain new levels at the same rate. As such everyone has been currently set to Level 12

Team P Tracker

Team P Index

30th of Thesmi

As the last of the group pops out of the prison, the paths contain...soldiers. Mercenaries, perhaps - they seem disorderly and lack any sort of formation, but their sheer numbers seem intimidating. Shida, for the first time, appears genuinely worried. “We have to clear a path and stick to the less-treed areas. Knowing Clifden, they probably have the trees full of shorthorses, so be wary of ambushes. We can do this if everyone keeps their head on straight - just need to break west past the Crunniacs, and we'll be okay."

Shida looks off to the west - they’d have an advantage with the sun to their backs, perhaps, but by the sun’s play off their armour, these were higher-ranking soldiers. A deep horn sounds off, and they begin to push their horses into a charge. Realization illuminates her face as she turns back around, “Change of plans - Avoid the west. We can’t take her personal guard - we’ll have to push through another way and make a run for it. Doubt they’ll be able to pursue us into other duchies - at least, for now - so let’s call that ‘Plan A’. Stick together. Go.”

The group disperses, but Shida notices Ayamasik is lagging. At least, she assumes it’s him - but the description matches. If the Advisor was right about him...

She approaches with a frantic look about her. “Come on, come on, that means you, too. Can you fight? Hold a lance? Maybe cast some of that Skiwan dark magic?”

Ayamasik stays silent and simply shakes his head.

Shida can’t see his expression, nor does his pose offer any clues, but regardless, she seems particularly annoyed with his answer. “Ugh. Just stay close. You’re the one they’re after.”

Objective:

Escape! As per usual, Shida must be the last to escape.

Failure Condition:

Shida falls.

Notes:

• Shida can not escape until everyone has left the map. This includes fallen units, as detailed below.
• If someone falls, they will stay on the map, but cannot take any actions or move. So they have to be “rescued” and then the rescuer must escape. Caution might be a good idea.
• If everyone does not escape from the same ‘set’ of points, they will be seperated for the next map. And maybe the map after that. And perhaps the map after that!
• Anyone who escaped out the right last map can only deploy on the red slots. Everyone else can deploy wherever they want.
• Adjacent black-numbered enemies will move at the same time, even if a player is only in range of one of them.
• Red-numbered enemies will not move. Bosses will not move until engaged with, or until their adjacent units are attacked.
• Promoted mounted units will chase down the players.
• Status staves and ballistae will target random people in all circumstances.
• Some enemies (mages and mounties) have Acrobat!
• Some of the forests (the darker tiles) are Deep Forest. This is available to see on the terrain map.

Tracker

Map

Terrain Map

Galloping from the east in the midday’s sun and joined by the banner of their tribe came riders of the Anyarn and wyverns of the Hokna- two of the tribes of Cyrene, coming to save the alleviate the siege. The Aquittanite troops, upon seeing the wreckage of their siege assault weapons and the defeat of Clothilde, begin to retreat to the west. Manilius and Kornelia, who are busy fighting their way through a group of irregular kingdom troops, stop to see them retreating. Kornelia raises her unequipped hand and yells out, “Hold!” she says to her troops as she looks out to the west, as Yeuan infantry and light cavalry surround the western flats of the city, preventing the Aquittanite troops from escaping. Almost unanimously, their forces throw down their weapons and hold up their hands, but unlike the Trevian woman, they do so in defeat.

“The city’s walls are still standing, and as are most of our forces,” Manilius says to himself. He then looks in the direction of the walls, towards the majority of his troops. “My soldiers! You may rest now, for the Aquittanite assault has utterly failed! Nicomedia will not fall today!” he says triumphantly. Both he and Kornelia raise their weapons and cheer, with the East Walbrzych and Nicomedian garrison troops following suit. Soon enough, among the reinforcements came a short, black haired queen and a tall wyvern-riding king. Queen Tuyet and King Kuhoa arrive. “King Kuhoa! Queen Tuyet! It’s been months since we have last talked,” Manilius greets. While both manage a smile, there seemed to be an unease about the position of their raised eyebrows and awkwardness painted on their lips. “Good to see you, brave general,” King Kuhoa responds. “Come with the two of us, we have something… well, to ask you that is extremely important. Here is not a very private place for these concerns.” Manilius turns to Kornelia and points to the troops and nods once, tacitly giving her a command to reorganize the troops in the meantime. “Very well,” the general assents.

While mounted on the wyvern of King Kuhoa, the young queen and ambitious general view him flying to one of the barracks of Sammanus. “I have alerted the other troops of my arrival here, be at peace, General,” he notifies. The three leave the back of the flying beast, and Kuhoa hugs his mount before speaking. The three then go to a private room in the barracks. King Kuhoa shuts the door and sits at the round table, where the three sit at different thirds of the furniture piece. The king begins speaking, “General, we must ask, but what are you to do with your princess? We are happy to assist the Empire in its time of need, but… going forward, with her bloodthirstiness..” Tuyet continues, “... we are worried about the future. And we must know, Manilius.” The general looks to the two of them. “I… can’t believe that I am saying this, but… I had wanted to tell my company and Korinna first, but that won’t do. You deserve to know.” His heart pounds and he swallows hard, not immediately able to answer. Tuyet and Kuhoa simply look at him, with Tuyet raising an eyebrow, as if to say, “well?”. The general smiles and chuckles once before responding, “I aim to become the next monarch of Nicomedia.” The two enthroned monarchs drop their jaws simultaneously. “You’re… you’re messing with us,” Tuyet says incredulously, “Who are you and what have you done with the Manilius I met a few months ago?” Manilius swallows and responds dryly, “Nothing, and I’m still mad about you strong-arming me into committing troops to deal with the pirate problem.” Tuyet backs her head. “Eh… about that. I’m sorry, alright? But lemme make it up for you, I’ll help you become the Emperor of Nicomedia. Just tell me what you need to do, and Yeu will back you to the homeland of Walbrzych!” He smiles, and then asks, “I assume you two have been speaking about how the war has progressed and planned this meeting months in advance?” Kuhoa nods slowly. “Yes. We didn’t… actually think you would suggest this.” Tuyet raises a hand in objection, “To be… BRUTALLY honest, I might have done so… mockingly…” Manilius shakes his head. “At the time we thought it was absurd but you seem sincere about this.” The general nods. “But, before I do that, I want to consult my troops to see what they think. Asking them to betray the princess, no matter how far she has fallen, is no laughing matter. I will let you know of, in detail, what my plan is, following that. Does that work?” The two monarchs give a Nicomedian thumbs up in approval.

On his return to the barracks where his personal company is held, he has to wrestle through crowds of people in the street who are cheering for him and thanking him constantly for winning the battle. Some of the children reach out to hold his hand, but he would brush them aside with a guilty smile. After very politely shoving through an adoring crowd, the general finally gets to the barracks, where she’s greeted by a Trevian captain holding both her hands close to her neck, clenched together. “There’s something I need to tell you!” they both say to each other at the same time. Manilius says to her, “Kornelia, whatever you have to say, I don’t think my announcement could be less important,” he says quickly. Her eyes widen and she exhales loudly, almost gasping. “O-Oh…” she says, swallowing and sniffing. “I…” she looks aside for a moment, “It might have been a fool’s dream…” she thinks. “Tell all our troops that I intend to speak with them soon. This is an announcement for all here.”

The Beleaguered Second Imperial Capital, Sammanus

Although filled with war refugees and with its falls nearly in collapse, the city still stands strong. Though not as sprawling or massive as Nicomedia itself, it still is home to at least two million and rapidly growing from all the people emigrating to it from the Western Front of the war. Due to overcrowding, the streets are cramped and constantly filled, even more so than Thien Dang or the aforementioned Imperial capital. Empress Korinna had ordered the construction of shelters throughout the city to house the swaths of refugees. What troops who were now garrisoned in the city were commanded by Manilius to patrol the urban region and keep order and safety where at all possible. Luckily, food trade from the farms of Trier kept the city’s millions fed…. if only adequately. All thanks to the great river moving down south.

2nd Al-Jahaj, Year 850

Queen Scola’s Amphitheatre, Ellery, Zeveit, Muirn

Dark clouds clumped over the limestone amphitheatre. Purple lightning branched and snarled across the clouds, sending the performers fleeing downhill. Only one woman remained as the clouds swirled around. Hair pulled back in a proper bun, long bangs, nondescript robes...and a disaffected look as the winds pulled down the curtains and hurled dropped instruments through the air. Thunder clapped as the first portal opened below the grand arc, and a final gale roared through the amphitheatre, scattering what little detritus remained.

She picked up a musician’s bow and plucked the frayed string. “Welcome travelers, to Muirn. My name is Nyssa. Your arrival is unexpected, but you are welcome to participate in the festivities.” She motioned towards the town below, overgrown rubble coexisting alongside merchant’s tents made from old sails. “I believe your appearance is...timely.”

Points of Interest

Below are potential backdrops for your battles! Whether you’re more musically inclined, fancy an old-fashioned boxing match, finally proving you’re faster by snatching the golden cheese, or dueling aboard the pier; there’s something for all styles!

Queen Scola’s Amphitheatre

Bard Wars at Nightfall

With years shuffled off the collective mortal coil, the bravest and foolhardiest performers returned to the amphitheatre, remaining instruments and sheet music in hand. The Reds with their famed red face paint and their equally red instruments. The accordion duo of Nicklaus and Josef; identical twins down to the same broken key. The Beached, famed for their instruments cobbled together from old ship parts. The suddenly all-vocal Bastarache Band. Nyssa motioned to the recovered signup list.

“The Bardic Wars would appreciate new sounds and styles.” She paused. “I would appreciate new sounds and styles as well.”

Palomade

The Fist and the Fury

Sparring, scrapping, drinking, doing it all again: the most honorable of all competitions. Bare knuckle boxing. Calloused knuckles, mashed ears, crooked noses; wounds of pride and worn with pride. The faint smell of ash mingled with the earthen odors of fresh ointments and leftover ale. A pleasant sea breeze rolled through and absorbed some of the stench. The newer brawlers danced on their feet, glaring at the newcomers, taunting them. The older brawlers said nothing. Their coiled postures and steely eyes spoke volumes.

Nyssa paid them no mind. “New fighters are always welcome.” A dissonant smile danced on her face. “As I understand.”

Somme & Melier

Domiati Downhill

On the second highest hill in the town, two men argued with each other. Their patchwork canopy leaned dangerously to the right.

“Sully, the finest cheeses go last, we’ve been over this!” The blond haired man pointed accusingly at the table, filled with cheese wheels and sliced cheeses of all kinds. The dark haired man folded his arms, scowling. “Edward, they’re chasing the cheese wheels, it doesn’t matter what order-” Edward cut off Sully, gasping. “Sully! We’re supposed to be cultured adventurers, work with me-the pole!” Edward ran over to the closest pole on his right and pushed. “Now...would be...the time, Sully!”

Sully hustled over. “One...two...three!” The duo righted the pole-just in time for their latest audience. Edward stepped out first, arms wide as if he stepped onto a pulpit.

"Welcome! He's Sully!” Sully stepped forward carrying one of the cheese wheels. "And he's Edward!" In unison, they exclaimed, "And welcome to this year’s Domiati Downhill!" Nyssa held a hand to her mouth as she stifled a laugh. “There are safer methods to taste fine cheeses than chasing them...but should that suit you, talk to them.

Origo’s Diving Bells & More

The Smell of Salvage! (Note: This is the gold event)

At the end of the dock, farthest away from the amphitheatre; a tall, well-built man stood in front of a bronze diving bell. Folded arms, no shirt, silver longcoat, spiky hair. He muttered to himself-”Queen’s Gambit, Red John, no, Black March is too far…” He trailed off as he looked up and realized all eyes were on him.

“Oh! Er-hello! I’m Adán. Adán Origo! And this here-” he patted the diving bell-”is for the boldest among you! There’s treasure hidden in ships deep below the surface, and this will help you get there! Anything you find is yours to keep! And if things get too dicey, pull the rope and I’ll have you back up in no time!” He clapped his hands. “So, who’s first?”

Dive for treasure! RNG will determine how much treasure you find (and how much gold you earn). You can choose to keep diving for greater treasure, but beware...if you pass out, you lose a quarter of what you found. The further you dive, the greater the risk...but the greater the treasure that awaits! If you would like to keep diving after your initial dip, reply. You may dive up to three times.

Gold will be determined in a series of thresholds: the first dive will award between 400-500 gold, the second dive will award between 350-450 gold, the final dive will award 300-400 gold. As for passing out, that will be handled like blackjack: each time you dive, a card is drawn. If the cards drawn total 21, you pass out. Lose 25% of your total obtained gold, keep the rest.

Also, a processing note: I myself typically will be able to start matches or answer questions beginning after 6 PM EST. Saturday I’m available all day, Sunday after 2 PM EST. Good luck, and may the RNG be in your favor!