Baronial Feast, August 17, 18 and 19, 1212
by Amizar Wuzwhir, Baronial Scribe
Major Topics Begin in Bold
• Minor topics are bulleted
Proper Names are Italicized
Days and times are Underlined
Bounty on Heads
A man name Bernard Halfst came to town on Friday night offering a bounty on Goblin, Orc, and Ogre heads. The bounties were paid Saturday evening. Many citizens of Travance fought and slain Goblins, Orcs and Ogres, so there were many heads to be collected.
The Nex Venatus
On Saturday, a circle called the Nex Venatus appeared near the inn. Bound to the circle were the four Oathbreakers, men doomed to fight in the Nex Venatus until they die a thousand deaths. Attached to the Nex Venatus was a shadow creature, which had the ability to touch a person and force them to fight in the Nex Venatus. Many citizens of Travance were thus forced to fight each other.
Anyone who won a fight against an Oathbreaker was granted a boon of fate. Due to the skills and dedication of the town’s Physicians, no one from the town died fighting in the Nex Venatus. Approximately seven or eight hours after it appeared, it faded from Travance. It seems that the Nex Venatus appears and disappears in various places and various times.
Cult of Kagen and the Obsidian Raptors
Some people received warnings from former allies of the Cult of Kagen that some kind of ceremony was in the works. Around nine bells on Friday night, a column of pure darkness was noted in the sky, rising up from where just less than a year ago the town fought the Cult of Kagen trying to stop a ceremony. Many town members were organized for an attack on the dark column.
When the town arrived they found that one of the paths to the ceremony was only able to be entered by the less seasoned adventurers, and was defended by the various goblinoids. The path that the rest of the town had to take was filled with Obsidian Raptors, and the town needed to fight their way to through countless of them.
When they reached the top, they found Archanda, a mage named Vimka, several priests of Galmachis and more Obsidian Raptors. During the ceremony, the Demon Knight named Archanda was purged of his demon and became a Devil Knight, a creature of immense power.
The town had fought Vimka and Archanda nearly a year before, but they were able to escape the town to return. The area where the ceremony took place was so connected to Galmachis that no god of light's powers were able to be used there, nor any healer's abilities or witchhunters' positive energy. Also atop the mountain where the ceremony was held, a Death Herald winked in and out of this world, hunting those near death--ripping the last bits of life from them. It was only by the town's quick vigilance in removing the injured and dying from the area and getting them healed that only three fell victim to the Death Heralds. In the end, Vimka, Archanda, and their forces were broken.
What plans the Cult of Kagen are considering is still unknown. After the battle a former Obsidian Raptor wandered into town, his name was Ned, he claimed to have abandoned the Cult of Kagen when he found out about the Devil Knight ceremony. Ned talked to a few members of town, such as the Arch-Bishop Kwildar, and Magnus.
Mountain Rises in the Shire
What was described as a "ball of dirt that fell from the sky" landed in a halfling shire and where it collided, a small mountain arose. On top of this new mountain were found a large number of lizardkin of different colors. One lizardkin stood out different from all the others: it was far more primal, almost like an ancient ancestor of the lizardkin race. When it was killed, it melted away leaving nothing behind save for a rank, musty stench. The rest of the lizardkin dispersed soon after. With them gone, we found that the cause of the mountain's sudden appearance was a large chunk of meteoric earth.
The Ballad of Sakatha
An elderly woman walked by with the song called the 'Ballad of Sakatha' stuck in her head and felt compelled to sing it. This song was a tale about a cunning lizard king who rose to power due to a magical ring, but was slain by a notable hero. His subjects entombed his body, but the song later said that he was waiting to "awake from the cold sleep of death."
Lake Freezes Over in July
Around the time of the July Baronial Feast, a ball of ice fell from the sky into the lake, freezing it over. It was reported that lizardkin were seen gathering around the area.
Prime Material Plane Healed
Within the proper of Travance, an area of the Prime material Plane weakened, allowing other planes of existence to exert influence upon it. There were areas of the four elements, divine energy, and negative energy. The stress on the Prime Material Plane also caused areas called Phase Zones to appear. When one stepped into a Phase Zone, he or she was immediately transported to a random other zone within the area.
Also within this area, creatures known as Ethereal Marauders had taken up residence. Seemingly unbothered by any of the zones, the Ethereal Marauders could use the Phase Zones to jump around the area at will, and were immediately aggressive when townsmembers arrived along with a mage and scholar of the planes by the name of Pheugal Ratkiller to fix the Weave and heal the damaged area of the Prime Material Plane.
The townsfolk fought valiantly against the Ethereal Marauders and were able to heal the area and slay the Ethereal Marauders. As the different zones were healed, the Phase Zones began to disappear as well.
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• Oriphin the Sorcerer entered a self-imposed exile from Travance after refusing to obey the commands of Mage Guildmaster Ardin Silverbow.
• A bomb was planted in the Baronial Manor but Orias Wormwood was able to alert the people sleeping in the Manor and the bomb was safely disposed of.
• The Baronial Guard was successful in defeating a small group of the Black Crow Gang members near the lake and recovering stolen goods.
• The Office of the Constable ordered the arrest of Alexander Van Zandt for breaking the law.
