As they once again headed back towards Caer Cyflen, they found themselves having to stop and rest early, as Tess was obviously dragging behind. She did not look well, but she still refused to part with the crown. Roland was growing increasingly concerned for her. But after a nights sleep she claimed to be feeling better, and so they continued on.When they arrived and reported to Lord Carran, he took one look and their “evidence” and immediately whisked them away to the Council. Word of their return had already spread through town, and guards had to escort them past curious nobles and townsfolk alike. When they arrived before the Council, it only took one look at the grisly head before even the greatest doubters agreed that it was, indeed, the remains of a Sorak. A sharper eyed member of the Council then asked about Tessa’s new crown. Several members made them offers for it, but Tessa refused to part with it. But when Grandmaaster Danantar – headmaster of the Wizard Academy – requested to examine it she could not refuse. She stepped forward, handed it to him, and almost immediately collapsed… Fortunately, the Grandmaster still had pretty good reflexes for a Mage.She was immediately whisked away to the Church of Einar for recovery. The Mages and Priests of the Council cast a variety of Divinations on both Tessa and the Crown, and could determine only that the Crown was ancient – of old Manacalon origin. And Tess was “unusually strongly attuned” to it. They recommended she not be separated from it again until they knew more.When she recovered and awoke in the temple guestroom, the others filled her in on what had happened while she had been unconscious. Once she felt up to it, they were summoned back to the Council to complete their report.
Before they left, Beric Sunblaze (the paladin of Einar) filled them in on what he knew of the Sorak threat that had driven humanity from the old world of Tirmar. There were numerous varieties reported in the old Scriptures. But the most feared of all were the Infiltrators. Capable of reading minds and shape-shifting, they could read your darkest desires and secrets, using them for blackmail and betrayal. Or worse, take someone’s memories and form and masquerade as them for *years* – observing, reporting, and corrupting. They thanked him for the knowledge, but they were not certain they were not happier not knowing.
He also warned them that they would now be at the center of political intrigue and should be wary. Between their skirmishes with Soraks, their possession of the Crown, and their continued acquisition of relics and magic from the Badlands numerous political entities now had a keen interest in currying their favor and seeking a leg up on the others in information and access to artifacts. Just what they needed.
Once they had returned to the Council Chambers, one of the Councilors – Chancellor Gormsdottir of the dwarven Snow Alliance – wished to compare the magical gem recovered by the earlier patrol with the sockets in the Crown. But as soon as she even drew close, the Gem leapt from her hand and embedded itself in the Crown, there was a flash of light, and Tess faded out once again.This time Tess found herself in a… dream? Vision? She was in an cave, with a huge magical rift floating in space. She was a lone Tirmarian Paladin fighting to hold back legions of Soraks emerging from a Rift. Fighting to give the Tirmarian Priests and Manacalon Wizards time to close the Rift. It was the original Event! It was literally the moment the Rift was sealed, shutting out the Soraks and setting off the Cataclysm!
When Tess emerged from her vision, mere moments had passed in the Council Chambers. She described her vision to the unsettled Councillors, and claimed that it was seeking five more gems. And that it could guide her to them. Roland was not at all certain of the wisdom of this. They still did not know what, exactly, the Crown was for and what it did. But the Councillors voted that Tess should do exactly that – seek out the rest of the Gems and report what she learned. Meanwhile, the Council would deliberate how best to deal with the threat of the Soraks
With that settled they made preparations to set out. They still had to negotiate with the various factions wanting the scrolls and artifacts they had recovered from the Badlands. They had a variety of messages delivered – everything from requests for “privileged information” to the requests for favors. In particular, Arwen Merton – one of the original explorers of the Badlands who had been disgraced due to his insistence the Soraks were out there – requested their help. Not for anything seemingly related to their current endeavors. No. He wanted Kat to use her old Thieves Guild contacts to find a stolen sword… And one of Tess’s old Academy professors requested a visit “to discuss an urgent proposition”
One thing was certain. Their lives had just become a *lot* more complicated… And Roland and Kat were beginning to think that, all things considered, some time away from the city might be healthier for them all right about now.
5 responses to “Solasta: Heavy is the Crown”
atcDave
A lot of more urban/civilized/political issues in this game. Interesting.
I can see where the more care giving sort of scenes would cause some problem with the filters. But they all came out well, Tessa and her crown look great. Although seriously, I wouldn’t want that crown around!
This set is actually mostly adapted from cutscenes. Its important to capture because it sets up one of the central themes of the game – the party grows more ambivalent towards both the crown and several members of the Council as a direct consequence of how this plays out, as well as not being quite sure how much to trust their own companion’s perceptions of the crown. And paranoia about who might have been replaced with a Sorak Infiltrator ramps up as you go.
One thing Solasta does nicely is tying in your character’s personal backgrounds. Each character picks a background – like Kat has “lowlife” representing her past with thieve’s guilds and the like. Roland has “aristocrat”. Falcon has “wanderer”. Tess has “academic”. These offer minor bonuses in terms of skills and such – but also influence how some other characters react to each. And each gets a questline dedicated to that background. The things with the stolen sword and Tess’s old professor are the openings to the quests associated with their backgrounds. Entertainingly, they also influence how the characters talk – combined with you picking some cues like “formal” or “slang”. I can give Falcon and Roland the same soundset, and they are still easy to tell apart because Roland speaks in a very proper, formal manner while Falcon is heavy slang and far more prone to cursing.
I really wanted Kat having fallen asleep in a nearby chair watching over Tess in the “Tess wakes up” scene. But that’s the one I just couldn’t get. Between Tess’s look being iffy to begin with, the AI having funny ideas about how that role should be a man, and the AI desperately wanting to turn it into a romance scene I just couldn’t get a high enough percentage to make it work.
Although I suppose some of that is just fantasy art. I remember years ago our running joke was about the tragic incidence of female characters dying of chest colds!
atcDave
Sounds like an interesting setting and game!
And yeah, I’ve had a number of those I considered completely innocent that the AI tried to get a little racy with. Even currently, every time I mention a skin color for the women it determines to show a lot of leg or cleavage. Funny, full plate but total thigh and chest exposure…
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