The caravan swayed back and forth gently on the worn, unkempt path, the clacking of its wheels as they rolled a pleasant accompaniment to the rustling of armour and chainmail. Kite, nestled atop the goods they were transporting, was half-asleep; lulled into a doze by the rocking back and forth. She lifted her head as Alistair and the Baron spoke, pushing herself up to catch a glimpse of the rest of her group. She didn't know most of them well, outside of Alistair and Aicara themselves; Quellena, a druid elf, Abe, some kind of mercenary hired along for the ride, and Will, a half-breed. The latter didn't matter as much to her as it did to others, Kite had never had an issue with those that were different - given her and her sister Aicara's backgrounds, how could she be judgemental? Wisely though, she often chose to keep that information to herself. The last thing her and Aicara needed was more trouble, to be completely honest. Their lives had been followed by frustration and heartache at every step, these days she avoided it where possible, which was a difficult feat as a knight of the Hood household. She listened to Alistair and the Baron explain that they'd go up ahead, a flutter of discontent running through her at the idea of letting Alistair out of her sight. She brushed it off and sunk back against her wolf's fur, yawning and stretching out her limbs. It was a warm day, the soft glow of the sun doing Kite no favours when it came to the simple task of staying awake.

Something rustled to her left. She ignored it, certain it was just a bunny or some other small, forest critter. After some time passed by though, and the sun had begun to sink lower towards the horizon (mid-afternoon, she'd guess), the rustling started up again. Curious, Kite leaned over the edge of the caravan, scanning the ground around them. The only thing she noticed was their own tracks in the dirt, but she was relieved to note that Abe had his weapons drawn, the mercenaries eyes warily scanning their surroundings. Well, at least someone's as paranoid as I am, she thought to herself, starting to feel a similar sense of discontent. Though she tried to assure herself that it was nothing more than an animal, she couldn't help the feeling that something bad was about to happen. She bent her knee up towards her body, hand coming to rest over the dagger strapped to her calf - just in case. As she leaned back to nestle against Vesryn's warm, cozy fur, Aicara's voice pierced through the otherwise quiet group of acquaintances. "There's something up ahead," Aicara said, prompting Kite to sit up and lean over the edge of the caravan to catch her eye. "What do you mean?" Kite called in response, though she spotted what Aicara was talking about a moment later. There were odd, indistinct shapes in their path on the horizon, though they clearly weren't supposed to be there. "I'll go investigate," Aicara said, and before Kite could even volunteer to come with her, the other elf was jogging off to go look. Kite smiled fondly and shook her head - Aicara had always had an 'act first, think later' attitude, and though sometimes it gave Kite a heart attack, the elf wasn't overly concerned about what was most likely roadkill in their way. She sat up after a moment, her eyes trained on Aicara's retreating figure, keeping a watchful eye over her beloved sister. Even if Aicara was more than capable of handling herself, Kite always liked to make sure that she could leap to her sister's rescue if need be. So focused was she on Aicara, though, that she didn't notice Will moving to inspect the trees to her left until, suddenly, his shout of warning pierced through the air as he fell to the ground in his haste to get Aicara back to the rest of the group. Kite startled, her heart leaping into her throat as figures seemed to be born the shadows themselves and move ominously into Aicara's path. Kite's eyes widened and she turned back, looking behind them to see that there are two others there as well. She barely had time to think before Aicara was rushing to rejoin them, shouts of alarm running out through the knights of the Hood household as they all lunged into action as fast as they could. "Stay," Kite said in elven to her wolf, drawing her dagger and moving to jump off the caravan. She barely had a moment to think before her dagger was loosed from her own hand without any conscious thought, slicing right into the side of one of the men as he just narrowly missed crushing Will's head in with his morning star.

All hell broke loose. In spite of the situation, Kite found herself smirking as her enemy was injured, her body moving forwards of its own accord to meet the assailants' attack. He raised his sword to her, slicing through the air in a move that she just barely managed to avoid, lunging to the side and dropping down to the ground. She rolled quickly, pushing herself back to her feet and gritting her teeth; though fortunately, Will had recovered himself and lunged for the enemy. Quicker than the both of them, their foe dodged out of the way and easily turned from Will's attempt to wound him.

Quick Synopsis for the rest: Fight scene. Aicara comes to help. Abe comes to help. Kite kills a man with her staff. Will reminds one of their faith, and they break free of the lust demon's control to run back to town. The others move up ahead and discover that the lumps that were in their path are Alistar and the Baron's horses. Aggravated, they decide to go ahead to town to find out where they went. They go to the cathedral and discover the converted man there. Grateful that Will's reminder of faith in God turned him back to the righteous path, he volunteers what he can remember beyond his daze - that they had kidnapped two nobles, and most likely taken them to their lair. he explains where the lair is and warns of traps. The group decide to go rescue Alistair and the Baron at night, because being elves they can see clearly in the darkness, whereas the humans cannot. They get to the lair and encounter no issues, discovering that their enemy is not all that difficult. They take down the guards and go into the cave, following the stream. They enter into a cavern with a bridge up above it, and another corridor ahead. They move ahead, discovering the place is empty. Its midnight, why aren't the guards asleep in here? They go around and up to the bridge, an ominous chanting entering their ears. They step out onto a ledge, with a walled staircase leading down to a small, constructed stage. Below are seven hooded figures, chanting to a lust demon; they have the baron. Kite seduces the lust demon with her holy dagger, distracting the demon with oral sex while the others engage in battle. The demon kills two of her followers without meaning to from her sheer bliss, and all is going well until a mis-aimed arrow fired by Will hits the demon in the leg. She takes a moment to recover herself, and Kite swipes with her dagger but the demon is faster. The demon begins to lift Kite up into the air, but she's saved by Aicara slicing its arm off. They kill the rest of their enemies and the Baron thanks them profusely for his rescue, offering them double the pay for their deeds. They begin to interrogate one of the men, but in Kite's anger at discovering Alistair is still injured, she punches him in the face and accidentally knocks him out cold. They leave with the Baron, forgetting about the men they tied up and returning to town to sleep. The Baron makes his leave to return to England, promising pay when they get back to him. They stay behind to find Alistair. The next day, they discover an odd lack of children around town and decide to go question the noble on the hill. He is clearly hiding something, but what? They don't know. He kicks them out when Kite asks one too many questions. Frustrated, they go to the markets to stock up and one of the shopkeepers hints that children are often sacrificed. To what? They don't know. The group splits up; Kite and Aicara to interrogate the men they tied up, Will and Quel to investigate the brothel. Kite and Aicara don't get along with the men, but when Kite starts to get frustrated and upset that she can't find Alistair, the men relent and volunteer the information that there is another demon in the town. They return to the town and discover from Will and Quel that there is something very abnormal about the brothel, and Quel noticed a room that people went in to but didn't seem to come back out of. They snoop around and find a magically sealed door around the side of the brothel. They enter and get trapped in a dark corridor. The others are fine, but Kite who was weakened by her engagement with the lust demon, starts hearing a scream of STOP echoing in her head. They press on, even though Kite has lost her ability to hear anything else. She falls to the ground in pain and struggles to use her magic to identify the spell. She lessens the auditory illusion, able to think clearer through her head. They are trapped in a white room. Quel uses her magic to find the door, letting them out of the white room. They move into a cellar. A bag appears. Aicara opens the bag and see's her mother's decapitated head inside, frozen in terror like the last time Aicara ever saw her. Aicara disappears into thin air. They leave out of the cellar but keep coming back to it, as if stuck in a loop. Angered, Kite uses her magic and realises that none of them have moved since they entered that corridor, and this is all an illusion by the trickster demon. She musters up all of her strength and just barely manages to break herself out of it, waking up in a new room that they had entered. The trickster demon stands before her, and beside him is Alistair - weak, his life force drained. Kite and the demon mock one another, before the demon begins to drain Kite's life force. She notices that the more he takes from her, the stronger Alistair gets. She musters up all of her strength to send out a magical pulse of energy to Alistair, restoring his life force and almost depleting her own. Alistair cuts the trickster demon's head off, releasing them all from the spell. Kite collapses. They return home.

--

After their previous adventure, Kite and Alistair are left rather weak; particularly Kite, who expended most of her life force to Alistair so he could cut off the trickster demon's head. They pick up a cleric, Zvonimira, and take her with them to heal Kite as they make the trek to the empire to meet the emperor and lend their strength in the Holy War, which they are losing.

VERY quick synposis
- Arrive at the gates
- Chatting peacefully with Captain Avalo
- They are attacked by assassin's
- They kill the assassin's and imprison one of them, finding out that they were hired by someone who wants the emperor dead
- Kite sleeps with the captain in an attempt to get information, but finds out that he is mostly a spoiled rich boy wimp
- The rest of the part goes to talk to the emperor about who would want to attack him and find out that he is anti-mage and suspects the court wizard
- The group questions the court wizard, who is definitely suspicious
- They all meet back up to try and determine who is responsible for this assassination attempt and agree to try and find out more information - Kite and Aicara go to search the captain's room. Aicara slips in but Kite is spotted by Captain Avalon and asks him to show her around the castle. At the conclusion of this tour, he asks her if she would like to retire to his quarters. She declines, as she has already gotten what she wanted from him, and the lust demon has temporarily been sated by her... prior engagements. The captain becomes forceful and grabs her, attempting to drag her off. She hits him over the head with her staff and storms back to Aicara. Aicara has discovered a large sum of money was paid f
rom the captain to LA. They don't know what LA is, but it is suspicious. His room is also oddly devoid of things you would expect a captain to have; spare armour, weapons, personal artifacts, etc. They go to meet back with the rest of the group. - Meanwhile; Zvonimira, Will & Kurajina have been investigating the mage's room. I really wasn't paying enough attention to this, but Zvonimira and Will failed their stealth checks and had to pretend they were getting something for the mage. Meanwhile, Kurajina was investigating a reinvigorating thingy (I forget the name all of a sudden!!!) that keeps you young. Will finds an odd potion and decides to keep it.
- They all meet back up and share their information, though Will does not divulge the fact that he found an odd potion. They aren't ready to make any accusations yet, so they split off again to go and interview the guards; Kite and Aicara head for the Emperor's personal guards, while Zvonimira, Will & Kurajina head down to the barracks to talk to the regular guards under the command of Captain Avalon.
- Down in the dining halls, the guards are sitting in groups of race; elves, humans and dwarves. Despising dwarves, Kurajina elects to go and talk to the humans. Will talks to the elves, Zvonimira to the dwarves. Zvonimira builds a strong rapport with the dwarves and discovers that they are often the victims of racial discrimination in the castle and are treated poorly, though they are very fond of captain Avalon who does not treat them as different for their race. Will discovers that the elves have no strong feelings of fondness towards the "humans" who run this place, thinking them idiots and ineffecient. The humans aren't particularly welcoming of Kurajina's presence, and she goes to talk with the elves as well. One elf suggests Will meet him, subtly, at a certain place later on if he wants to know more about the captain...
- Kite and Aicara are, at first, met with a room full of snobby guards who question what the hell they are doing there. Once Kite explains, however, that they are investigating the attack against the Emperor the guards become more reciprocative - they are very fond of the Emperor and want to protect him. They quite willingly explain to Kite and Aicara that Captain Avalon is the only one who knew of the House of Hood's arrival on the day of the attack, and who also knows the Emperor's schedule. They are suspicious of the mage, but don't have much to say about him - other than that his name was forcibly changed when he camed her, and it was originally something with the initials L.A.
- This leads our group to believe a shocking truth - the court wizard and Captain Avalon are working together!
- Unsure how to proceed, our group seeks out Alistair and takes him aside to ask his opinion. Alistair suggests a political takeover, replacing the current Emperor who is racist and anti-magic, with someone else... Himself, perhaps. The group agrees with this suggestion and decides they must first take care of the courd wizard and captain Avalon, before they can begin turning the lords of the council against the emperor to overthrow him.
- The group moves on to talk to the court wizard. Zvonimira suggests that they convince him they're on his side - and so Kite, being magic herself as well, tells the court wizard that the Emperor is plotting to murder him. The court wizard asks if they have come to carry out the task; but they say they came to warn him. He asks if they are with "them" - "them" being the Sultan and the Dragonborn. The party says they are to win his trust, and the court wizard gladly tells them his plan; he is going to blow up the council & the emperor in a suicide mission, taking out all of the leaders of the Christian side of the Holy War, allowing the Sultan and his dragonborn to take over.
- The group goes off to talk amongst themselves after agreeing to help the court wizard. Zvonimira suggests that, being the member of a Pagan religion, she is not fully on board with assisting Christianity in winning this war, OR Islam. The others murmur their assent, before Kite pipes up in agreement - she is Pagan herself, following Norse Gods, and doesn't want to see her faith swallowed by Christianity or Islam. The group then suggests and agrees upon something much bigger than themselves - taking down the entire system. First, they will replace the Emperor with Alistair Hood, and then they will convince him to abstain from involving faith in his decisions, and allowing all faiths to live and peace, harmony, and prosperity; none of them are to be paraded above the other. Religious freedom, if you will. They also intend to destabilise the Islam institution as well, ending the war and halting the spread of religion upon those who are unwilling to convert or practise it.
- First, they have to take care of Captain Avalon, who is indeed a dumb ass working with the court wizard, and the court wizard. They decide to convince Captain Avalon to join their side, and to take out the court wizard. Zvonimira makes a sleeping draught, which they will convince the court wizard is a potion to enhance his magical prowess so that he might survive the blast from his potion (which is the one Will has stolen). But they need somewhere to keep the court wizard, and decide that his rejuvinating device can possibly have the arcane markings altered to instead drain power rather than give it, effectively serving as a prison.
- Aicara and Kurajina sneak off to the court wizard's room. Aicara keeps watch outside the door, but they're both caught trying to slip in. They tell the guard they are gathering ingredients for a potion, and he seems reluctant but lets them go. Aicara watches while Kurajina slips in and successfully changes the runes. They both slip out to go and wait for the others.
- Meanwhile Kite, flanked by Zvonimira and Will (two half-orcs and a tiny bundle of rage? fuck yeah), goes to confront Captain Avalon. He is immediately intimidated by their presence and backs up a little. Kite, agitatedly, tells him they know of his plot. He tries to deny in, so she takes out her staff and slams him against a wall, pinning him by the throat to it with the handle. She tells him to cut the crap, sweetheart, they know what he did, while she caresses his jaw. She suggests that from now on he behaves himself and do as they say, or they'll turn him and have him killed. All they ask in return is his eternal servitude - and maybe, if he's good, there'll be a nice castle somewhere far away for him to retire to when this is all over. He stammers and agrees, while Zvonimira repeats the threat that she will crush his bones if he does not listen to "little warlock" (HEART EYES!!!!!). As you can imagine, having a russian half-orc threaten to crush your bones is a little bit terrifying, so he's not thinking about betraying them anytime soon.
- They join back together and, with Avalon on their side, and everything ready, they go to the wizard. Kite uses her intense powers of deception to convince the wizard to drink the potion, and he does so unhesitatingly. (I'll probably write that she drank it herself, first, to show him that it wasn't poison - lo and behold, due to her fae ancestry, she cannot be put to sleep). He drinks it and immediately passes out, allowing the party to drag him off. They shoo away a concerned librarian, take him back to his room, lock him in the prison and that, my friends, is that. Mission accomplished. Let's take down the monarchy \o/

- We move to the next day, where everyone is joined together in some festivities in the throne room; a welcome banquet, if you will, ahead of the tournament that is starting tomorrow
- The group decides to leave Zvonimira and Will behind, as Alistair suggests some of the nobles may find them intimidating
- They are sitting at the head of the table with Alistair and the Emperor. The group is considered honoured guests. Duke Michael approaches the ladies of House Hood and invites them to dance; after a quick glance amongst themselves, Kite accepts
- Kite and the Duke dance; she is unimpressed by her skills (rolled a nat 20 for dancing LMFAO) while he is quite taken with the way she dances. He suggests to her that he can help win her favour with the rest of the court (given she's a warlock and magic-users are not particularly welcome), if he will help her win the tournament. It's in House Hood's best interest to have Alistair win the tournament, so Kite is reluctant to offer her agreement. The Duke is unimpressed and leaves.
- Meanwhile, Kurah notices that Lady Grey of Hispania is suspiciously off to the side. She tries to sneak up on them but fails. Fortunately, Lady Grey is very friendly. They talk for a moment, before Lady Grey is whisked away by her paladin.
- - Aicara takes the first hit in the joust and falls off. She climbs back on and they go again - Louis hits her but it doesn't knock her off. When they turn back around, he can't get a hold of his horse. Aicara uses her strength against him and slams her joust into him - the force is so hard he is knocked clean unconscious. Aicara is proclaimed the champion of the joust! Her title is proclaimed as "Aicara the Unshakeable".
- First round of the archery, Kurah against Lady Grey. Kurah wins a point, as does Lady Grey. Lady Grey completely misses the target, while Kurah immediately gets a bullseye. This awards her five points. Kurah gets 1 point, Lady Grey gets 5. Kurah hits another bullseye and gets another 5 points, Lady Grey loses the tournament. She looks over at Kurah and nods her head in a friendly manner, before moving over to squeeze Kurah's forearm and say "Well played". There is no animosity on account of the fact that Lady Grey has a huge fucking crush on Kurah. Kurah smiles and accepts this compliment, before returning it to Lady Grey.
- Kite picks on all of the other minstrel's to make them insecure. They need to win. She first versus someone playing a lute, but they clearly didn't know how to. She next plays against someone with a flute, but they're a little better than her. Kite plays another flutist and is much better than them. Kite returns to play against the second opponent she played against, they're both eyeing each other up. This flute player is an absolute master, however, and Kite loses to them.
- The final battle is about to begin. Louis has woken up from Aicara knocking him out, and everyone is occupying a corner to fight one another. Aicara, Kurah and Kite stand guard around Alistair; they need to win. There is a large box brought into the center of the arena and it's clearly some kind of beast. It's being kept under control by ancient runes, and the runes have something to do with fire. The emperor seems pleased and eager about whatever is hidden in the box, and everyone is certain that this must be some kind of rare creature. Alistair believes the creature will be more of a threat than those they're in the arena with.
- Kite feels uneasy about this. If it's a rare magical creature, she doesn't necessarily want to kill it...
- A large claw grabs the side of the box, and a young wyvern steps out of the box. it's wings spread open, but it's magic has been dampened and it cannot take off. House Hood grabs one another, they don't want to kill it. It's beautiful! Dragons are incredibly rare. The wyvern is enraged. Aicara calms the dragon while Kite rushes to implore with the Chieftain not to attack. He understands her concern, but he cannot risk his people, and he has a responsibility to uphold the tournament. Prince Louis attempts to attack Aicara, but she dodges out of the way. The others converge, aiming for both our group and the dragon. Kurah yells at Lady Grey to not attack the dragon - but there's too much commotion, Lady Grey cannot hear her. Alistair has absolutely no idea what the rest of his party is doing and doesn't realise we're trying to defend the dragon, but fortunately goes for one of the knights instead of the dragon. He uses a warhammer on one of Prince Louis' knights, but is completely stuck in the man's chest. He takes out his short sword instead. The Dragon turns towards one of the knight's but misses the knight. The creature is clearly upset and feels completely surrounded and moves away from the attackers.
Kite runs to the Chieftain again and changes tactic, imploring him to attack Prince Louis instead if he insists on still participating. He agrees, but warns her he won't throw the competition for her sake. She thanks him and tries to yell at Alistair not to attack the dragon - he doesn't hear her. Aicara instead tells him not to attack the dragon, Alistair airs his doubts that this is going to help them but agrees to attack the others for now. Aicara rushes to the dragon and tries to calm it down, but the dragon thinks she is going to attack and re-enters a rage state. Lady Grey turns to attack the Chieftain, going to stab him. He takes a cut to the arm, and he immediately knocks her out with his axe. Sir Nevara, her paladin, is immediately enraged. The knights turn on one another, while one of Louis' knights tries to attack the dragon, but the dragon avoids it.
Kurah tries to attack Prince Louis but misses, and shouts for Alistair to please not attack the dragon. He is still reluctant, but agrees that he will let you attempt to save it before he pulls rank on you. The dragon turns towards the knight that tried to attack him and goes to bite the knight, but is scared to get too close and misses alltogether. It keeps backing up, nervous and anxious about the fighting visibly. Kite runs in-between Lady Grey's knights and uses thunderclap, attacking both of them. The lightning shocks them both. Aicara rushes to the dragon and tries to calm it down again, and the wyvern settles a little. It's clearly terrified, but it lowers it's head a little. Aicara reaches out to pet the wyvern, who is completely calm to Aicara now and see's her as an ally. Louis turns to attack Alistair, but is intimidated by Alistair and drops his weapon. He's also concussed and a bit confused. Alistair slams the but of his warhammer aganist Louis' chest, as the Prince groans and is completely winded. Prince Louis' knight rushes to defend him, turning to attack Kurah but she reacts too quickly and hits him on the helmet. He staggers back, visibly wounded.
Kurah lunges forward and and knocks his helmet again, completely knocking him out. Alistair, smirking, knocks Louis again rather lightly. It's too much for Louis, who passes out and is taken off field. Alistair swings his warhammer over his shoulder, looking smug, and says, "Who's fucking next?" (this is just cause Anthony is having a great time). With Prince Louis taken out, the Chieftain moves towards the wyvern and attacks without hesitation. The wyvern looks around the arena in panic, blood dripping down his arm. In fear, he goes to bite the Chieftain but the Chieftain waves his battleaxe and the wyvern backs up into a corner. Aicara moves towards Lady Grey's knight and, with the dragon calm towards her, attempts to take out some of the opposition. She slams into the knight hard, knocking him back and then hitting at him with her sword. He stumbles, visibly a bit taken-aback by the attack, before whirling around and missing entirely in his attempt to hit Aicara in return. Aicara rushes back to stand in front of the dragon, protectively.
The knights closest to Kite turn towards her and attack viciously. Their swords slice through her cloak, and in rage she electrocutes them both. They fall to the ground unconscious. "This is expensive silk you dicks!" She snaps at their unconscious bodies. Kurah rushes towards one of the Chieftain's knights and attacks him, disarming him.
The Chieftain moves over to attack Kite. They banter playfully as the Chieftain attacks, but doesn't do much damage. Kite half-heartedly zaps him in return. He clearly doesn't want to hurt her, and she doesn't want to hurt him. The dragon moves over to the Chieftain, and his throat is visibly red - he's building up to blow fire again. The dragon is terrified though of the Chieftain still, and struggles to commit to attacking him. The Chieftain easily dodges out the way of the dragon. Kite stands in front of the dragon and shields them, showing the dragon that she's a friend. The wyvern lowers it's head, and Kite quickly turns to hit the Chieftain with lightning, keeping him away from the wyvern. Kurah attacks one of the knights again. The knight in front of Alistair picks his weapon up and drops it again, clearly a bit dizzy and out of sorts. Alistair feels bad for the knight and reluctantly attacks, but doesn't do much damage. Kurah and one of the other knights are locked in a battle of strength, sword to sword. Alistair hits the knight again who is still fumbling with his weapons, and just absolutely obliterates him. "Stay down this time, kid." He warns.
The chieftain attacks the wyvern again, who stumbles back. The wyvern rears it's head and unleashes it's blaze. Everyone dodges out the way but Kite misses and is burned. Aicara rushes to drag Kite away from the dragon and out of the danger zone, while Kite passes out. Aicara rushes back towards the chieftain to attack him; they need the enemies out of play so the wyvern will calm down. Completely enraged, Aicara knocks the chieftain out without hesitation, fuelled by anger and fear for Kite's health. Kurah knocks out the last knight, and Alistair turns towards the wyvern. He is angered by Kite's near-death experience and wants to kill the wyvern. The others stare amongst themselves, trying to decide what to do. Kurah decides to try and calm the wyvern still. Kurah successfully calms the wyvern down, the creature upset and visibly scared but less likely to attack.
Alistair bolts for Kite's prone body, falling to his knees and desperately attempts to help her. She is a charred mess, however, and there is nothing he can do. Angry and shaking, he attempts to attack the wyvern, but he can't manage to do it successfully out of panic. The dragon retaliates and bites his leg. Kurah and Aicara, realising that Kite is dead, and Alistair might die as well, they turn on the wyvern with great reluctance and remorse; they have no choice. Aicara and Kurah attack the wyvern with great remorse, and the creature visibly starts to fail. Alistair grabs his warhammer and slams it down against the dragon hard, smashing through it's skin and crushing the bones in one of it's clawed feet. The wyvern screams in pain and crumbles forward, leaning forwards to lunge for Aicara but misses entirely and slams it's head into the ground, stunning itself.
A silvery figure stands over Kite and runs their hands over her. Her body glows slightly, encased in silver light, and when it dissipates her body is clear of all harm. She looks as if she simply fell asleep.
Aicara and Alistair attack in unison, wounding the wyvern a little. It attempts to snap at the two of them, but misses and starts to shy back, visibly terrified as it cages itself in a corner. Aicara runs and intimidates the dragon, yelling at it and throwing her arms up. It cowers into the corner and tries to curl in on itself, terrified. Kurah runs forwards, the grief thick on her features as she hacks at the dragon. She is closely pursued by Alistair, who is bleeding profusely but seems to be running on adrenaline. Aicara and Kurah both have tears streaming down their cheeks as they continue to attack the wyvern, which desperately tries to attack back, though the creature is visibly shaken and weak. The dragon curls back in on itself, panting and scared, lying on the ground. Aicara, sobbing, moves over to the dragon. She kneels down and stabs it through the heart, and watches as the dragon peacefully passes away. Alistair, looking grim, moves over to put his hand on Aicara's shoulder as she grieves.
The Emperor, pleased, happily proclaims Aicara his champion and asks her to pick their new commander, to slay the dragonborn as you slayed this dragon. He clearly doesn't realise that the party is grieving the needless loss of this creature. The party weakly bows and make their leave. They are livid. Aicara nominates Alistair his commander; he is now in a very good position to be the commander of the Christondom armies. House Hood currently has a very good standing in the court. Prince Louis is somewhat displeased with the House, the Chieftain and Lady Grey view them favourably, the Duke is not at all a fan.
As everybody clears the arena, Kurah moves to the dragon and runs her fingers over it's scales, apologetic for it's suffering. She feels an odd energy wash over her, a gold glow rushing up her arm and inside of her. The dragon may be physically gone, but the spirit watches over us.

New session ovo
Alistair takes the group aside to ask if they're certain they want to go through with this action of making him the emperor. The group confirms that they want to do it. Alistair stresses the importance of forging alliances - we need some co-conspirators. Once the Commander is picked, there's nothing stopping us from going on the march. We need to start making moves soon or it'll become too late and anything we do will ensure our defeat in the war. Rulav, Kite & Aicara have a strong rapport already, while Kurah has a bond with Lady Grey.
The group decides to approach Rulav first. Kite and Rulav embrace enthusiastically. He sympathises with the party's grief over not being able to save the dragon's life, but Kite tells him that she understands he couldn't risk his people's lives. Kite mentions the war to him and brings up the question of whether Christianity will stop at simply eradicating the muslim faith, or if they will continue on to paganism. Rulav is deeply concerned about this prospect and suggests that he doesn't think pagan's would stand a chance against Christianity's united front. Zvon notices that it's not that he's merely concerned, he is deeply afraid of this future prospect. Zvon plays on his fear and talks of how she has seen Christianity crush everything under the fist of their one God before, and that it will come to this again if they triumph over the muslim faith. Rulav is distressed by this, but he doesn't know what they can do and asks - what can we do. Kite suggests we could replace the emperor with someone more sympathetic to our cause. Rulav pensively looks towards where his homeland is, nods his head, and then turns back to Kite and says "This is a difficult choice but, if it will save my people, you will have my axe." HELLLL YEAAHH. "Tell us when the time is right and you will have us by your side." Rulav puts his hand on Kite's shoulder and says, "I knew I saw something in ya when we first met. You're an amazing lass. You're not just an ally, you're a part of the clan. I've never had a daughter, but I'd be proud of you if you were mine. I've never seen a more proud, noble, or brave woman, and I just want you to know that I'll be there whenever you need me."
Kite says that Prince Louis will be hard to win over. Zvon suggests removing him from the situation. Kite says that would send France into disarray. As far as Zvon's concerned, France doesn't even have a King! No one knows what to say to that.
Kite takes Zvon aside "France does have a King. France is something that we like to call a 'monarchy', and King's exist in France because of this aforementioned 'monarchy'. Now Louis, is a prince, which means once daddy's dead, he'll become King, potentially, unless he has an older brother." "Still sounds fake but will trust judgement. Little warlock is intelligent. Still say France is place of chease-eaters and wine-drinkers," "Oh no they are that! They just also have a King and I would argue that they eat more cheese and drink more wine." "Still think we should replace Louis with someone that is not wet sock."
Aicara approaches Lady Grey, who is in the dining room investigating the surroundings. She notices Aicara, but doesn't acknowledge her. Aicara apologises for interrupting her, Lady Grey assures her it's fine; she was simply looking at the kitchens, while her Captain Nevarro investigated the food storages. Lady Grey is just waiting for him. He is within earshot. Lady Grey smiles and says that they don't think they've met before - but says she saw Aicara unseat Louis in the joust. Wil smacks Aicara on the back. Aicara smacks Wil back. Lady Grey spoke of their conquest of the dragon, complimenting their skill in battle, suggesting the Dragonborn won't know what hit them.
You can flex AND talk.
Aicara nervously says 'thank you' and fucking flexes those sweet biceps. As she's introducing Wil, she squeezes and lifts Wil up. Lady Grey flushes and has that 'oh my' energy. She is very flustered by how fucking hot Aicara is. "It's uh, it's nice to meet you!" She is literally dumbfounded by how fucking swole Aic is, like she just cannot take it. As this is happening, Nevarra re-enters the room and announces to her majesty that the food is ready. He introduces himself to Aicara and bows honourably, recognising her as the champion. Once he re-enters, Lady Grey remembers herself and collects her thoughts, moving off to attend to her meal. Captain Nevarra steps up to Aicara and quietly intones, "My majesty is the sensitive sort and if you touch her, or hurt her, I will get you." Aicara mistakes his threat for him hitting on her. She scoffs and looks away.
Anthony would like to eat out a fridge. This is not related to the campaign but it's an important fun fact.
"My lady needs to be protected, and I will do anything to keep her safe." Wil assures him that we don't intend to harm her in any way. Nevarra visibly doesn't trust the group. He is not impressed and lectures them on what Lady Grey has been through, but he doesn't trust the group, and he doesn't trust the english. He marches off to stand by her side while she eats.
Alistair hates the french so he makes a point of not knowing anything about them. France is our enemy, we FIGHT them, I don't get paid enough to like, deal with them. My job is to take more land from them, as far as I'M concerned, I'm the French King - Alistair Hood, 2k20
Kite and Zvon approach Prince Louis, who is bandaged. He huffs that our friend really did a number on him. He asks what we want. Kite charmingly tells him that he was really brave out there and offers for Zvon to heal him. Prince Louis laments the lack of mages around and accepts the offer. We can tell that Louis might actually be a secret magic-user, reading between the lines of what he's saying, or that he has deep sympathy for mages. Zvon heals Prince Louis and he thanks Kite and Zvon. Prince Louis commends Kite on being involved in killing the dragon, he's sucking up a little, commending her on how she gave up a good fight. He suggests we'll have to duel some other time and he can show me some real moves. Kite takes him up on the offer, but he backs up immediately, saying his head hurts too much. Zvon says "Little warlock, she is eager but do not take her to heart." Louis reacts positively to this and finds them both amusing. He says he's having a bad month, and Zvon suggests he tell us about it. Louis doesn't say too much, just suggests that his concussion has dampened his mood, and that the rest of it is french business. Kite makes a joke about how we aren't english and you can tell us. Louis explains that he's been deligitamised. He's not a prince he's a bastard - he still has his titles, but it turns out his father was not so faithful and he is no longer the crown prince of France. Due to the pope disenvowing my father's betrothal to my mother, I am no longer considered the prince, and his younger brother has taken over. You can't tell if he's here out of honour, anger, vengeance, or arrogance. But he's here for something, and that's for damn sure. Kite squeezes his hand and says "that's rough buddy". He holds Kite's hand back.
Wil and Aicara ask Lady Grey her opinion on Alistair Hood. Lady Grey seems reluctant, but Wil encourages her to be honest. Lady Grey was attacked by the dragonborn first and a lot of their land was taken - she reached out to Lord Hood and France, but no one came to her aid, and now her home has been torn apart. Lady Grey doesn't like to speak ill of others, but without the support of their allies they weren't able to hold the dragonborn back. She doesn't think ill of the House of Hood, but only of Alistair Hood. She thinks poorly of Alistair. She wishes that the help the Byzantine Empire was receiving was also extended to her country. Wil and Aicara can tell that Lady Grey is bitter and wants her land back more than anything else. Wil asks what she is expecting to happen next, and what she expects to get out of it. Lady Grey says there will be a weakning of the dragonborn if we win, and hopefully with this, the Pope and other rulers will be more inclined to have further crusades. She wants Christianity to take over. She wants to restore Christiandom in Spain. Wil asks if she believes the current Emperor is capable of making this happen. Lady Grey is evasive about whether she thinks he can or not; she's very diplomatic, typical politician speak. "I don't NOT have faith in him." They ask why she thinks it's so important to defeat the dragonborn. Lady Grey sharply says they simply need to be defeated.
Kite asks Louis what brings him here to join the crusade from France. "Without my lands and titles, the Pope was offering redemption from my sins. I was hoping if I proved myself in the Holy Lands, I would be forgiven for the sins of my mother and father, and I could regain my titles and lands if I became a great Templar." Kite asks, "What if there was an easier way to reclaim your title?" Louis looks confused and asks, uncertainly, what we're saying. He asks what she means. "We are not implying anything, but if there was a way you would not have to die on the battlefield and still regain title and power, would you take it?" Zvon asks, Russianly. Louis again asks what we mean - he wants to know how big a title we're talking, if it's a dukedom in England or... Zvon continues, pressing him to think bigger than France. Louis asks if House Hood has sway over the Pope. "The Emperor has sway over the Pope, and if we have sway over the Emperor... ;)" It finally clicks. He understands what you're suggesting - that you replace the Emperor. Louis asks who we would replace the Emperor with and we would say one of our own. Louis says he will decide when he see's who we nominate.
The group meets up once more and goes to pursue Duke Michael. You find him in the throne room, glaring at the throne. He is alone. He turns as we enter and says, "Ah, so you finally arrived. I've been waiting to talk to you for a while now. Kite, you should've accepted my offer of assistance the other day. I know a liar when I see one, and I could tell that you were trying to double-cross me. I had a deal. You could've listened. But instead, you tried to jerk me around. Now, I don't know what you want with me or why you've tried to find me, but you're going to say out of my way - and if not, I'm going to make your silly little plan fail. And yes I do know about it, my agent's have seen you stalking around the place speaking to the nobles, and we saw you exiting the mage's room. I appreciate the plan, I too like a big plot every now and then, but I have my own plans. You can either help me, or you can back down." As he says this, out of the shadows emerges a white-haired man in a leather outfit, flanked by four robed men. All the robed men seem to be watching for the white-haired man's command.
The group asks what his plan is.
"The emperor as you know is not as stable as he once used to be. His reign has lasted for a while now, and most of us are waiting for him to shuffle off this mortal plane. We're happy he's begun this crusade, an endeavour everyone can get something out of - some land, some glory. I want my piece, that's all. Your House is going to help me win this crusade, and then I am going to become his regent. I can give you time to think if you want."
Aicara and Zvon can tell he's bluffing about knowing the plan. Kite can tell there's something off, but she isn't sure if he knows the plan or he doesn't. Wil thinks he knows everything. Wil is panicking.
"Yes, we have plan, but our plan much better than your plan. You join our plan, and everything will go well for you."
"I am Duke Michael of Milan. I am the man who convinced the King into thinking I am a good man to send on a war effort when I have never left the comfort of my castle. I am the man who convinced the entirety of the Italian court that frilly tops are INTERSTING. What do YOU know about political intrigue - you're some slack-jawed, slavic, orc barbarian, and you're trying to step to me?"
Kite calls him out on saying too much. He agrees that he has said a bit much, but he's not too concerned by the Italian court.
"Do you expect us to listen to someone who's lied his way to the top?" Aicara attempts to intimidate him. The Duke is not concerned.
Michael nods at the guard when our group asks who he is. The guard says in a German accent, "I am Vilhelm, and this is all you will have to know for now. I am here on behalf of the Duke, my company is in service of him, and you will listen or I will fight."
"You're going to kill honoured guests in the throne room of the Emperor?" Kite questions. Vilhelm looks at Michael, uncertain. Michael says "Never you mind, I will take care of it." Vilhelm moves back into position.
"If you are so aware of our plan, than we could offer you more power than you could achieve on your own." Zvon says. He pauses for a second, his eyes narrowing. "That's... True. That... Would be more beneficial... Are you saying that you could give me higher than regent? Could I be given, a kingdom? If you promise me Italy, I will help you in your endeavours."
Will and Kite can tell he's being honest. He will help if we can give him Italy, but he has his best interests at heart still. They are also aware that he didn't know the plan at all. He's reserved - he's gonna help, but only when he knows that we will actually pull through with this. "Do we have a deal?" He asks. Aicara shakes his hand. They share some snarky remarks.
Wilhelm says "You have to understand, it's only business." Kite can tell he's legit bro. She shakes his hand. "And the name's not Wilhelm it's Albert. Albert Wilhelm. I hope we can meet again in nicer circumstances because... that dude really is a prick."

We begin in the mess hall. Everyone has assembled in a group and is discussing the events of the previous day. There is a tribex (cat person) serving drinks. Everyone is immediately excited. 

"Oh, it's you again. I assume you've come to see Lady Grey?"

"Yes, I haven't spoken to her since the tournament."

"Right. My Lady has already set to let you pass." He opens the door and Kurah steps inside. She is met with a room illuminated in candlelight and sunshine, dressed in modest undergarments. Lady Grey smiles, instinctually, at the sight of Kurah.

"Oh! I see the grand victor has returned. You showed me up in my archery skills the other day, and slayed a dragon - very impressive," she says, coyly. 

"You look pretty," Kurah compliments, softly. Lady Grey flushes and rises to her feet, walking towards Kurah.

"I've never spoken in this manner before with another woman," Lady Grey murmurs, wringing her hands together as she comes to a halt in front of Kurah. She's struggling to find the words, visibly lost for how to proceed. "Would you like to help me out of this?" She asks.

Kurah leans in and kisses Lady Grey, who yelps in surprise. "Are you okay in there?" The Captain calls out.

"I'm fine!" Lady Grey returns, shakily. "Should we truly do this? This is forbidden..." She breathes. "It's all so sudden, and our feelings are so strong. But, I want you just as much as you want me."

"Let's get you out of those clothes," 

"What happens if Captain Navarra walks in?"

"He won't." Kurah assures Lady Grey. The Spanish woman unfurls her clothing and sits back as Kurah begins a strip-tease. She's taking off her clothes normally, but pretending that it's being sexy. Lady Grey seems amused. Kurah and Lady Grey spend a few hours together doing ;) sexy stuff ;) Kurah is a dom apparently. They chillin'. 

"I hope you'll have my back on the battlefield," Lady Grey says softly.
"Of course I will. How do you feel about the emperor?"
"He's helped me in the past, I'm sure you've heard that my kingdom hasn't been doing so well, a band of dragonborn have invaded and taken most of my land. I lost my father, and I lost my brothers. The only reason I'm on the throne is because they're all gone," she says quietly. Kurah kisses her forehead. Lady Grey smiles, though there's a weariness in her eyes. "I don't really feel much about him, but I feel loyalty to him because he's helping me. I'm barely holding onto what I have now, if this crusade fails I don't know what I'll do. What about you? Serving under Alistair?"
"Alistair has been very helpful to me. He took me in when I was on the street, alone and looking for my parents. He took me in and has taken care of me," Kurah explained.
"I wish I could say the same of Alistair," Lady Grey said quietly. "It seems to be that we owe a great deal to these men. But it feels a little lop-sided, doesn't it? They seem to take pity on us, rather than seeing us as equals."
It's obvious that Lady Grey likes and trusts Kurah.
"I don't like the emperor. The tournament was barbaric, and I have been disheartened since. I feel as if the emperor could've helped you more and earlier, but he chose not to until it benefitted him," Kurah said. Lady Grey looks thoughtful, brows drawing together in contemplation.
"I can't speak of the dragon, I believe that these creatures are burdensome beasts, but I understand your meaning. I trust you, I support you. What is the plan?"
Kurah explains that her party wants to overthrow the emperor and take control of the crusade.
Lady Grey is dubious, and questions how we would plan to do this without losing to the dragonborn. Kurah explains that we already have the other lords on side, and that we intend to restore the glory of the throne. Lady Grey is unconvinced, she thinks that there will be more instability in the land. She apologises, sadly standing and getting dressed. She asks Kurah to leave. Kurah does so.
The party decides to go and see Captain Avalon and ensure that he will back us.
"Hello little man," Zvon greets Captain Avalon, a sinister grin on her lips.
 "Hello orc lady... What can I do to help you and your house once more?" Captain Avalon all-but-whimpers. He won't even look Kite in the eyes as she tells him what she needs. She caresses his cheek and he whimpers, telling him "Good boy" when he agrees to their plans. He scampers off when she dismisses him.
The party investigates the throne room. The windows have wrought iron around them, not viable as an escape exit. It's mostly an empty room aside from the throne.
Wil has been observing the emperor over the past week and, when the party questions if the emperor will go quietly, that while the emperor is a racist, dragon-hating dickhead, he's not an idiot. If he knows the odds are stacked against him, he'll back down.
Kite suggests herself for emperor, making the argument that if they can't get Louis on side, they'll lose. Zvon, Wil, Kurah, and Aicara all agree. The party goes to explain to Alistair that they want to present Kite for emperor instead of him. He is fully taken aback. He seems a bit upset. "I already have a standing in the court, I am a Lord. Would you know how to rule the kingdom?" Kite offers for him to be advisor. "We could do this together," Alistair offers. "If we were married, I could be your consult and advise you more directly."
Kite pauses for a long time, before quietly she agrees. Alistair drops onto one knee and removes one of his family's rings to place on her finger. Kite stares at her forlornly. "The deal is set." He shakes her head. Kite nods her head and pulls him to his feet, smiling weakly.
Standing in the courtroom. Aicara is preparing to state their nomination for Commander of the Armies. Aicara steps before the emperor and bows. "Arise warrior. Please give me your nomination for who shall lead our army against the mongrel hordes against humanity." Aicara rises from their spot. "I nominate Kite of House Hood."
There's an audible gasp around the room. Alistair, Ruvlik, Louis agree with the nomination. Michael waves his hand in agreement. Lady Grey abstains.
Kite addresses the room with Alistair and denounces the Emperor. The Emperor is aggravated. Ruvlik rushes to her side "I stand with her, he is not fit to serve us and we will no longer be crushed beneath him."
Kurah convinces Lady Grey to side with them. Louis sides with them warily. Michael agrees. The Emperor attacks and creates a forcefield between our party and our allies. He claims he has God on his side. Zvon calls in the power of her own Gods and singes him with sacred flame.
The Emperor turns to attack Kite. She smirks and lifts her hand, summoning a hellish flame and burning him to a crisp. His defences fail. His guards surrender. Kite stands amid his ashes. There is silence, before Ruvlik lifts his axe, and shouts "HAIL TO THE EMPRESS!" And everyone mimics him. Kite is coronated immediately. The people cheer from outside as Kite steps onto the balcony and makes a speech about a new era has come. Everyone seems convinced the empire is in good hands. The lords swear fealty to their new empress, even Duke Michael begrudgingly bows to her. The transition of power has been very smooth.