A Violent Birthday Celebration

See Also: Bardic Knowledge

Everyone is seated at the tables for drinks while Brizanthimus preforms his original ballad. He struggles to maintain his composure as skeletal spirits begin to float about the room. There is a merchant and his wife that have ghastly double images and appear to be giving the spirits directions. Several of the spirits float near Countess Beatrice, but she stares them down – and appears to be the only other person in the room that can see them; although several people physically react to when the spirits are near them. Briz finishes the ballad to great applause and the personal praise of the Lord Marshall.

As the servants begin to move about with heavy trays of food, Ian Fist attempts to trip on of the disguised assassins. When the man avoids his attempt he glares at him aggressively, which is noted by those around Ian. Briz finds out that the merchant and his wife with the ghostly visage is Otto the Goldsmith and his wife Viktoria. He clearly spent a great deal of money on getting an invitation to this party, which the wife was unhappy about. As dinner proceeds Briz moves about the room staying well clear of the spirits that are still floating about.

After dinner a noble near the head table stands and presents his gift to the Lord Marshall – Turanian Fire Dancers. Two large muscular men carrying poles and a petite woman in hundreds of silk scarves enter the center of the room. Using a brazier of coals and clay pots filled with oil or water they begin the entertainment. The troupe is very skilled and soon the woman has removed a dozen burning scarves as she moves ever faster. Briz has seen fire dancers before and notes their skill, but he also notices that there is far too much smoke in the room. The routine calls for enough smoke to hide many of their movements, but this smoke is thicker and leaves a burning sensation in his lungs.

As Rakul Shaleem sees people begin to pass out, he jumps over his table and runs into the kitchen where he finds several servants murdered and others putting soaked cloths over their mouths. Briz enters just a few steps behind Rukul, but when he casts a spell three of the floating spirits suddenly physically appear and scream at him. This does give Rakul the opening to drive the assassins away from the door. In the main hall Ian moves to defend the people at the head table, while Xarth begins casting his own spell to transform the smoke.

Briz hears a voice in his head, “I have found you child, your blood shall be mine,” as he blinds several assassins. Rakul drives the other group of a assassins towards the hearth, dousing several of them with boiling water; however a smaller group of them manage to reach the main hall, but are shocked by several screaming spirits. Ian grabs the Countess and rushes towards the main door into the hall, passing amer_terrante who is working to get the windows open. Amer is having problems because a sticky web covers the latches.

The assassins finally reach the head table and kill Hochwürden Ortwin, before they are driven away by one of the spirits. Amer finally gets a couple of windows open, but the smoke is making it difficult to see. Xarth uses his magic to solidify much of the smoke in the main hall which falls to the ground – the more natural smoke from the Fire Dancers is drawn out the windows by the night breeze. Unfortunately when Xarth used his magic, the spirits rush him and “steal” a part of his magic.

Ian rushes out of the main hall, carrying Countess Beatrice and calling for the guard. The guards rush in and deal with the remaining assassins. Briz left the kitchen, but was immediately attacked by one of the spirits – it merges with his soul, leeching his connection to all magic. Suddenly he gets a vision of an over-sized throne, glistening with gemstones, upon which is seated a large skeletal man.

He steps towards Briz and says, “I need your blood and I will have it whatever the cost.” It is the last thing he sees before passing out.

Lanzo, Dawn Watcher of the Temple of Luminous Kaskade, dispatches the spirits and eventually finds that the assassins each have a spider living in their throat. He immediately has the bodies sent to the temple for purification. The Queen's Own and Lord Marshall's Guard each escort the guests back to their homes to ensure there are no more assassination attempts. Rumors of the attack and the death of the Hochwürden spread around the city.

In the morning, as the sun touches the land, Xarth leaves through the north gate for a secluded patch of woods. As the Champion of the Ifrit, he summons forth a score of hunters to seek out the spiders in the city. The Esideor, as the Ifrit known them, are the eternal enemies of the Ifrit – hated above all others. Xarth worries about unleashing the Ifrit, but he knows these spiders must be hunted down before the city falls under their influence.

Amer meets with his “cousin” Pox, who has been doing odd-jobs (those best left unmentioned) for Girardino da Liovia. He has not heard from Girardino in a few days, so he checked in with Amer to see if anything needed to be done. It seems that a letter from the Lord Marshall has arrived inviting Amer, Briz, Xarth, and Rakul to dine with him this evening. There will be much to discuss during lunch.

Amer introduces his cousin to his guests when they arrive – not in any great detail, just that he is here to help. Rakul an Xarth manage to escalate the tensions between them and eventually draw steel when Rakul is too jocular about Xarth's status as a Champion. After lunch Rakul goes to the docks to drink, while Xarth and Briz visit the Temple of Illustrious Kaskade to get the spirit attached to Briz's soul removed. As Briz is being cared for Xarth meets up with Rakul at the docks – heavily drinking after a disagreement is often the best way to smooth over problems.

Amer dispatches Pox to fetch Master Friedhold so that each of them can get new clothes and discuss what happened at the party. When Pox arrives he finds Friedhold unconscious on the ground and surrounded by neighbors trying to help him. His shop is a smoldering ruin with at least two charred bodies inside. The talk of everyone is that two large dark-skinned men, their bodies on fire, attacked the master clothier and killed everyone inside the shop. Pox tries to get close to the master, but the crowd pushes him back.

Xarth and Rakul eventually stagger their way towards the Kendi house, where they speak with the Irrishite Sage Fabiana. Amer wants information on magical gates and portals and Priestess Fabiana was open in her use of magic at the party the night before. She tells them that only Master Ephesus or Silune of the Elves would have that kind of knowledge in Bornheim; she does give them the names of three masters in Valparia that might suit their needs as well.

Rakul speaks with her about magic. She tells him that his spirit is strong enough and should he pursue it – he would make a fine magician. She knows that he is a Talarakian and when she hears his tale she offers him a chance to once possibly captain a ship if he would be willing to become a Valparian buccaneer. Theodova have long controlled the mouth of the Black River, which restricts Valparian trade. Her husband is in Bornheim looking for allies and someone of quick wit might eventually captain his own ship. Especially one trained in the art of manipulating the storms and seas.

Briz is released after the priests exorcise the spirit from him soul. In a haze he stumbles through the market – eventually arriving before the shop owned by the lady who left the service of Tminir Tower. He finds her in the back room and just sits and talks as if they are old friends. When he describes the throne and large hall he saw in his vision. She brings out a scroll that she took from the tower and shows Briz the Throne of Corvis, which looks exactly has he described. Corvis was known as the City of Wizards for its long history and fabled libraries. The writing of the scroll is in elven and so neither of them can read it. Briz leaves the shop in a much better mood.