The Stag Lord’s fortress was formidable, located atop a rocky plateau with excellent visibility over the surrounding area.
And the paths up the plateau proved both treacherous and infested with zombies.
When they reached the top, they found Kressle – Svetlana’s estranged sister they had met before – encamped with a number of bandits. But rather than fight, they wanted to talk. Apparently they were all defectors who had grown disillusioned with the Stag Lord’s false promises. She said all he did nowadays was drink and prepare a place for his ‘queen’ – whom none of them had ever seen and whom few of them even believed was real. They wanted to storm the fort! Rather than that seemingly foolhardy plan, Darius convinced them to wait until nightfall – when he and his companions could sneak in and let them in to take the Stag Lord by surprise.
At night Maha found a way over the palisade wall. It was treacherous, but once she scaled it she let down a rope to make it more manageable for the others.
Inside they quickly came upon Akiros – the Stag Lord’s lieutenant that they had originally met with Kressle. He too was wavering in his commitment to the Stag Lord. Darius could not convince him to turn against the Stag Lord completely… but he did talk him into walking away.
They carefully eliminated isolated and small groups of guards, until they could safely open the front gate undetected.
They discovered an abused owlbear chained up in a central pen. It was angry and hurt, but reachable. Angelique was able to calm it long enough to remove its chains.
And then they encountered the Stag Lord’s two other lieutenants – the infamous Dovan and Ox. Dovan was a sadistic predator, fond of turning invisible and toying with his prey. He was not at all prepared for someone who could match his speed, negate his tricks, and bring tricks of their own he could not counter.
Ox was a giant of a man, known for keeping trinkets as mementos of his victims. Including an especially prized collection of children’s toys… But strong body and weak mind was *not* a good match when going up against Darius.
Finally, they were prepared to assault the central keep. They let in Kressle’s crew, and the battle began.
Bandits menacing Angelique quickly discovered their error – as a large shadow fell over them from behind…
Before long the Stag Lord himself appeared on a balcony, drunkenly threatening all present.
It turned out he was both quite skilled with his massive bow, and quite clever in his choice of targets. Kwan – already distracted with bandits – soon went down from the hail of sniper shots.
Unfortunately for the Stag Lord, this put him squarely in a *very* angry Maha’s sights. A Maha who had already been creeping up behind him. She shattered his bow, and then cut loose on the Stag Lord himself.
Fortunately, Angelique was able to get to Kwan before the worst happened.
After the battle, they entered the keep to explore. The Stag Lord’s quarters were obvious. A filthy,disorganized mess permeated with the stench of wine.
Strangely enough right next door was an almost pristine room in immaculate condition with matched vine motif on the rugs and furniture.
Further in the keep they discovered a mad old druid, ranting and raving about his son calling to his Queen of dreams. Darius knocked him out cold when his ranting turned to incantations and magic was afoot.
After driving away the remainder of the Stag Lord’s crew, Darius left his companions in charge of beginning the work to restore the keep. He returned to report his success to Lady Jamandi, stopping in at Oleg’s on the way to share the good news. Lady Jamandi gladly welcomed his success, and introduced him to her adoptive son Kassil. She suggested Kassil would make a good liason between Darius’ new barony and the Aldori in Restov.
A few days later she held a large banquet to celebrate the occasion, inviting both Darius’ companions and the politically connected from all over Restov.
There Darius met Maegar Varn – a fellow adventurer who had won just earned a similar a barony in Dunsward – just to the east of Darius’ own new lands. They got along well, and discussed possibilities for future cooperation. Maegar invited Darius to come visit Varnhold after he had settled in.
Darius also met a man named Hannis Drelev, who had taken control of the lands to his west. It appeared that Hannis’ ascension was purely due to noble connections. He insulted Darius’ “common origins”, and claimed he should have take the whole area outright. Darius gave the man and his suggestions all the deference they deserved – none.
The tiefling woman Kaessi was there, and apologized for her earlier distrustfulness. She said she planned to take up residence in Darius’ new capital, and hoped discuss a “joint opportunity” in his new lands at his convenience.
He met several others who offered their services in his new barony. A young man named Lander who claimed wide connections but would not reveal them. A noble woman named Shandra who seemed competent enough, but who’s offer seemed laced with veiled threats if he did not accept. In the end he chose Kassil as his liaison. Kassil had his own divided loyalties, but at least he wore them openly.
At the end of the banquet Lady Jamandi formally pronounced him Baron Darius Irfan, Lord of the Stolen Lands. And several others in her court pledged funds and support to help convert the Stag Lord’s well positioned fortress into a keep and capital city.
When he finally returned to his companions in his new capital, Kesten Garess showed him around the new construction. Kesten had offered his services leading Darius’ personal guard.
There was a fine view of the outlying farmland from the precipice of the plateau.
Inside the Keep, Darius appointed his initial advisors. Jhod would be his Minister of Religion, as he already knew the area and served Erastil – a popular diety in the region. Kassil – with his contacts and background in the Aldori military – would be his General. Valerie would – for now – serve as his Community adviser, while Tristian would serve as his general Councilor. That left Treasurer unfilled for the time being.
Tristian and Jhod wished to meet with him right away. They explained that something still seemed… unusual… in the pattern of events in the Stolen Lands. They had been doing their own research – both mundane and magical – and believed that a nearby landmark named Bald Hilltop was involved in some way. Darius wished to investigate immediately, but they claimed the connection waxed and waned in cycles. It would be a few months before whatever was there to see would once again be visible.
An ancient blind elf calling himself “The Storyteller” had made himself comfortable in the keep. His origins were vague, and asked his purpose he merely said he was “following the Story where it led”. He said he would be willing to serve as either a Cultural or Arcane adviser if such a position became necessary. And he also offered his services as a buyer of ancient artifacts and “reader of stories” in any unusual items they found.
The Guardian of the Bloom made another appearance – once again visible only to Darius. She thanked him for freeing the land from the Stag Lord, and invited him to visit her at a nearby keep for his reward at his convenience. He asked about his companions, but she insisted he visit alone. This definitely did nothing to alleviate his growing concerns about her.
Finally, Darius stopped to visit Kaessi at her new residence. She told him she had something very important to tell him, and that she needed his help. She was not really “Kaessi”, but “Kalikke”. And had a twin sister named “Kanerah”. “Kanerah” had died fighting a being called a “soul eater”. In order to recover her sister, Kalikke had made a deal with a herald of Nethys, the god of magic. But there was a catch – as there always was when dealing with Nethys. They could never meet in person, they would share one body, and they would switch at random – befitting the chaotic nature of Nethys. Kanerah had found the location of something called a “Disk of the Eclipse” – a relic of Nethys that may enable them to at least control the switching. It was in a hazardous ruin called the Sorrowflow – where uncontrolled elemental magic had drowned a town long ago. But another term of her agreement was that she could only tell others in very specific circumstances, so she would need to travel there with Darius alone… He agreed to find a way to help her. It seemed an undertandable request.
Author’s Notes:
Wow. And that completes…. Chapter 1 of Kingmaker. With plenty more to come.
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