Adventure 9: Heroes Feast
Training is completed on 7th Ulunacon, and the party finally get to put their feet up a little. A short meeting with Magnus Elberman begins with his commiserations at letting those who were creating and manipulating the undead slip through their fingers, he seems quite pleased with the party's achievements in handling the undead and removing the threat to the people, though.
That same afternoon a messenger from Lord Browley, the Earl of Nuneith arrives. The party are invited to a banquet in their honour at Eversham Castle, followed by a civic reception at the Earls city house, where they will be honoured for their contribution to the undead problem in village of Wimlow. The banquet is on the 11th, but the Earl is making one of his aides available for the party to help them with attire and to ensure they present themselves well before the city. The party are overawed at first, but never pass up the chance for a free meal.
The invitation reads...
Lord Browley, Earl of Nuneith respectfully requests the attendance of Messrs Insorce, Odervay, Ironnut, Jim, and Fax for a banquet in their honour and afterwards for the receiving of Civic Trophies in reward for their efforts in overcoming a Vampire problem in the vicinity of Eversham City in this past Abanacon.
The Earl is especially pleased at this mighty deed, and would be honoured with an opportunity to express the gratitude of the City, the County and the Nation. This feast will take place on 11th Ulunacon at Eversham Castle, where the afore named heroes will be invited to stay overnight, before departing for a civic reception in glory at the Lord’s home in the City on the following morning.
A day is spent in the company of the Earls aide, manners are checked over, the party are cleaned and polished, and prepared for a day with the local society. Some fit in easier than others; Formil has a bit of trouble getting some of the worst tangles from his beard, but his armour shines up really well. Jim's personality and skills at entertaining show through, and he needs little help to walk in these circles. Fax is a little overawed; as an Elf, he feels he is naturally superior to the political arena of the mortal folk, and tidies himself only by picking out the little pieces of twig that have gathered in his cloak. Randy excelled at the dancing lesson the party underwent.
They arrived at Eversham Castle mid afternoon. They were given plenty of time to settle into their rooms, and were given a tour of banqueting hall, the ballroom, lounges and the grounds. They followed this with a light meal, and then prepared to meet the guests as they arrived in the early evening.
Social standing mattered little when the banquet began. Those society members who might have looked down their over-long noses as the commoners in the party were well behaved. Maybe they had been too well brought up to allow such distaste to show, or were too relieved at the contribution to public safety that the party had made, or maybe even were under strict orders from the Earl to be extra polite to the 'doers' of the land rather than the 'spectators'. As the guests arrived, and were greeted by Browley and the party, those who had felt out of place began to calm and feel much more comfortable.
Perhaps the high society of Nuneith isn't as snobbish as the party had expected it to be. Many of those who attend the Earls court were practical people who make real contributions; many were keen to talk to the party - not just for inspiration, but also to share ideas. There were many senior guilds folk here too - not just those of high birth, but those who had earned their place in these circles by making a contribution to the wider society.
The party met with several important figures. The first noble they encountered (other than Earl Browley) was Winston McGraid, heir to the Viscountcy of Ridstock. He and Earl Browley had been friends since their childhood, it is McGraid who tells the party of the Earls opposition to many of the Kings decisions. Next they meet Viscount Tobias Grove, a greasy little man at first sight, but who comes across as slick politician. Grove is the Baron of Hallow, which is outside the county of Nuneith, just to the west. Browley tells them that Grove is a meddler, who is loyal to his own liege lord, the Marquis of Camarth; he suspects Grove has been involved in some of the political in-fighting that seems to have spread to the court at Nuneith. Grove seems well liked by many of the attractive ladies in the court too, and many jealous eyes follow him as he chats to them. Grove eventually works his way back to talk to the party out of the Earls hearing. He tells them, confidentially of course, that Browley is something of a troublemaker at the Kings court - that some of the things he does are bordering on treason. He chats with them several more times over the evening, telling the same story in different ways. He is very persuasive.
The next important guest introduced to the party is something if a surprise. Marquis Edward Patrais of Camarth is visiting Browley, and so has been invited along to the banquet. He's older than Browley (he's in his mid fifties) and is both a capable politician and a strong supporter of King James. Like Grove, he spends some time with the party, passing on several warnings about Browley, about how the Earl seeks to elevate himself, and how he undermines the King, and with him all of Arthea. He calls Browley a 'Liberal', almost spitting the word, clearly a title he holds in contempt. After the first session with Patrais, the party meet the Baron of Ireby, Stephen Hunary. Hunary is a loyal supporter of the Earl, who he holds up as a man of principle and honour, who maintains his standards when others do not (he says as he glances over at the Marquis of Camarth). Hunary is an entertaining man, with plenty of charm, but his real strength comes through when others join the conversation. From the party's perspective they see the expert way he plays the politics game with others of the court - he is particularly good when on conversation with Marquis Patrais.
Browley introduces the party to Marcus Garrick, General of The Kings Guard in Eversham. Garrick's guard unit are outside the feudal peasant system, and he falls under the direct control of the King; and this shows in his barely hidden mistrust and dislike of Browley. Garrick thinks the Earl keeps important information from him which hinders the Guard in the work they have to do. It is also clear that the man is simmering with anger towards the party - they seem to have interfered with a problem that should clearly have fallen in the domain of the guard, and they're being rewarded publically for a task the guard should have been allowed to resolve in their normal way. He thinks the whole reward banquet is a sham, and that it'll turn all kinds of people into vigilantes. Stephen Hunary eventually calms the General down and leads him off to mingle with others. When the party meet him later he's more civil, but still agitated.
At last in all this, the party get to meet a familiar face - not that familiar, but Baron Roderick Peabody is a friend of the Earls and was granted his Barony in return for operating the Library service in the city. He is known to the party as the head of The Pale Flame in Eversham. Randy has not met him often, but recognised the face. Peabody is a quiet man, clearly a thinker, yet does not mix well until after the meal when the brandy loosens his tongue. He is quite pleased that one of his sect's trainees is being honoured in this way. After meeting Peabody, the party are introduced to an attractive young woman, who calls herself just Ennile. After some time spent flirting with her, the party discover that this is Ennile Hunary, daugther of the Baron of Ireby; and she is only 16 years old.
The last important guest the party meet seeks them out. He introduces himself as Cornelius Golundreth representing "the Kings Guard, executive". Browley comes to join them when he sees the party talking with Cornelius. Unlike General Garrick, this member of the Kings Guard seems to get on well with Browley. Golundreth seems to have an air of quiet competence about him; and he doesn't seem to talk very much. He has a knack of asking one question and then the party fill the answer with plenty of both useful and useless information. He already knows that the party are seeking the vampire Charles Derren, and he offers to help, he knows the situation has to be dealt with and he does not seem to have much faith in the ham-fisted regular Kings Guard. When he finishes talking with the party and moves on to talk with others, the party struggle to remember just what it was they told him. And they cant quite recall what his face looks like.
Eventually the banquet proceeds in the usual manner for such events. The party bring a liveliness to the event that is not normally present. They sit upon the top table as guests of honour with Earl Browley and his wife, the Marquis of Camarth and General Garrick. The food is excellent, and both wine and beer are available in vast quantities. Despite the bickering between Browley and the Marquis, the General and the party, and between the General and Browley, it seems good natured for the most part, and the event is quite enjoyable. Towards the end of the meal the Earl recites the version of events as it was reported to him, with a little embellishment of the party's prowess, and general toasting of the good deeds. After the meal everyone retires to the ballroom, where music is played and dancing commences for the younger folk present. The older generation eventually drift off to the lounges for smoking and brandy.
Over the course of the meal, many more interesting aspects of court life are exposed. The weaknesses of the Nuneith county are exposed by the Marquis, and the friction between the Earl and General Garrick becomes more evident. Eversham, it turns out, has undertaken a move to a more industrial rather than agricultural footing over recent years. Patrais is concerned that this is starting to affect the food supplies across central Ticetia. It is not so long ago that Ticetia could not support itself agriculturally, and it is a situation that he is keen not to see happen again. Browley argues that everything is covered, and jokes that Patrais is more concerned about the contents of his plate than the progress of his people. Patrais is not impressed by such remarks. Underneath all this, the party discern that Patrais is showing signs of jealousy over this improved commercial output of Nuneith. It also comes to light that King James and Browley don't exactly see eye-to-eye over many issues, and don't get along very well personally. They're not out-and-out enemies, in many ways the King has a fair bit of respect for Browley because he's prepared to stand up and challenge the Kings decisions, he isn't a lapdog who will just agree with every idea the King presents. The impression the party get of Patrais is the opposite; he tries to stay firmly behind the King's political position, almost to the point of fawning over him. General Garrick and Edward Patrais seem to get on extremely well. They both seem to have a similar outlook on policing. Patrais, it would seem, has been keeping on the good side of Garrick for many years. It also becomes known over the course of the evening that the Duke of Aberenent (that is the duchy comprising Nuneith, Camarth and Heddonvale) is 66 years old and has no heir. In a few years, a new duke will be sought by the King.
The following morning the party arose late; they were not awoken, and the peace and quiet in the castle was very refreshing. After a hearty breakfast they were allowed to prepare themselves for the triumphal ride into the city. The Earl provided the services of his aide once again, and the party were organised to provide an impressive image to the people of the city. The route into the city from the castle is a very short distance, but it was taken slowly on this occasion. Word has gone around about the party's achievements, and there were many peasants around the gatehouse to greet them, while a smattering more lined the route through the town. The big crowds were to be found a the city's main square, though, where many had gathered to see the heroes and the Earl arrive. After a few short speeches, the heroes were presented to the people, and then brought inside for their civic reception.
The reception was a reasonably short affair, it consisted of a light lunch followed by presentations; the Earl made the party Esquires of the County of Nuneith, and they swore their fealty to the Earl. Cornelius Golundreth was there, although he seemed to have missed the latter parts of the previous nights festivities. He sought a private meeting with the party after the reception was over, he had some information he wanted to share with them. They agreed quickly.
The meeting with Golundreth lasted an over an hour in the end. He was keen to find out as much as he could about Derren and the work that had been carried out to raise him from the dead. Public safety seemed to be his major concern. He wanted to know where the body had been taken, and who was holding it; he wanted to know the part played by The Pale Flame and (more importantly) Magnus Elberman. He asked what the party had been up to since leaving northern Caldonacia, and why they attacked the graveyard north of Eversham. He also asked about elemental god worship, a subject that had recently come to his attention, and what Danethrae were up to with books of Wish Magic. The party answered these as truthfully as they could; they were quite honest, and had no reason for keeping information back - they knew this would not reach the main arm of the Kings Guard. In return for this information he told the party what he knew of The Valtannarin Ennethdor; he knew where one of their houses in the city was located, it is at 44 Coopers Gate, in The Vale District. He also told them that he did not like Magnus Elberman; he couldn't put his finger on it, but something was not right, and that he could not be trusted. He also told them that he'd been frustrated by General Garrick's gung-ho approach since he'd discovered what was going on. He'd also confessed that, for the first time ever, he found himself questioning Danethrae's motives. They'd paid the party to recover a wish magic book, yet normally they're very honourable and this looked like a concerning development. He couldn't understand why they didn't use their own paladins for the job unless they knew in advance there was going to be bloodshed and conflict and an ending without honour. This is very unlike Danethrae. The final impression that the party picked up is that Golundreth feels he is above the local politics; he will not be a pawn of Patrais (or the Earl or anyone else), and does the Kings bidding but needs to work with Browley because he's a pretty level-headed fellow, and he does keep the Duke informed of much of what passes in his duchy.
After this meeting, the party returned to their hotel in the city; they had much to discuss.