Lost Children of Ivalice [Campaign Journal]

[afroakuma]

Alright, I've decided to restart this campaign journal and hopefully bring it up to speed.

As the title implies, our tale follows a group of young people a century after the events of Final Fantasy Tactics, living in a world of encroaching darkness, fearmongering clerics and scheming nobles vying for power at the price of rebellion and war. Relevant NPCs will be identified in bold on their first appearance - let me know if you'd prefer not to have relevance displayed in this fashion.

Our cast:
Angelus Lucien, Baron of Ardennes
Océane Lucien, daughter of the Viscount of Lenalia
Emma, a thief and poisoner known as "the Scorpion"
Tajiki, a missionary
Alvis, a scholar studying the mysteries of the Dark
Sir Caellach Soren Randall, Knight of the Aster


Chapter I: Blue Moon Rising
Act I: Lost Courier of Ivalice
The province of Gallione is one of the most powerful in the kingdom of Ivalice; ruled by Duke Danroth, himself a brother of the royal line, it is a prosperous and influential region.

Between the Duke's seat at Igros Castle and the royal capital runs the Duke's Road, which is rigorously patrolled by the province's lawmen, the Knights of the Aster. Perhaps the most treacherous part of this road lies high in the mountains, running through the Viscounty of Lenalia, and it is here where malcontents have been interfering with traffic.

Three days ago, a Royal Courier traveling the Duke's Road was accosted by a bandit. His purses, documents and chocobo were stolen, and he was left to walk the rest of the way to the next town, Ardennes. Although the thief was apprehended several times by the Knights of the Aster (and escaped each time), the courier himself has not turned up.

The Baron of Ardennes (Angelus Lucien), the son of the Viscount, has taken it upon himself to hunt for the missing courier and restore the important documents he carried. Arriving at the local Reeve's office with Sir Caellach, he meets with Tajiki the missionary, who has been keeping the thief, Emma, in check.

The situation is explained, and a search of the stolen property reveals that Emma stole only the courier's purses; his insignia was left with him, thus making him a target for anyone with an interest in the dispatches he carried. Of further concern is that, at the time he was robbed, the courier was without escorts, suggesting that he had been attacked at least once already. The Baron and his group make plans to have Emma lead them to the ambush site.

Siblings and Rivalries

A knock at the door heralds the arrival of the Baron's sister, Océane, and her suitor the Baron of Marne, Arturo Giraud. The latter is a known womanizer and tremendously cunning, expanding the holdings of his barony through several clever maneuverings. It is well known throughout Lenalia that he has an eye on acquiring Lucien's lands and inheritance as well.

Lord Arturo wastes no time establishing himself as a particularly revolting prat, rudely manhandling Emma and laughing at her attempt to retaliate. When Angelus intervenes, Arturo drops a piece of news: the Luciens have been sidelined by their father for this investigation in favor of he himself, a change he surely helped instigate. The distraction allows Emma to steal a purse from the prat noble's belt.

Perhaps hoping to curry favor with his lady, the Baron of Marne offers to return the duty to his rival so that he will have time free to spend with her. Océane agrees that her brother should take charge, but carefully sidesteps the notion of her departing with her loathsome suitor. As Arturo realizes he's been had, Emma decides to rub it in by throwing his purse back at him, snidely remarking that the Baron should learn to pay more attention to those he touches.

The Scorpion Strikes

Infuriated, Arturo pushes past the others to deliver a stinging backhand to Emma, who employs her Scorpion Heritor powers to transform into a venomous stinging creature. As the nobles recoil, the scorpion leaps on the Baron of Marne, attempting to sting him, but some magic on his person blasts it away. The scorpion reverts back to her human form, and Sir Caellach interposes himself between Emma and Baron Arturo. The furious Baron threatens to go to the Viscount to see her hanged, pardon or no pardon, and storms out of the office. The tension broken, the Reeve takes the opportunity to faint.

With the Knights now realizing why Emma was so hard to keep in custody, the missionary Tajiki intervenes to keep her reined in. Angelus' conversation with the thief takes on a decidedly hard edge - though he has no love for Arturo, her scorn for civility, the nobles and propriety seem to have struck a nerve. He brings up prison, a veiled threat, but again the situation is defused by the young missionary.

Sir Caellach and Sir Elaine are sent by the recovered Reeve to accompany the Luciens' party along the Duke's Road, and the dispatches given to Baron Angelus for safekeeping. With Emma safely surrounded on every side and the carriage at the ready, the party departs for the Road.

The Rebel on the Road

The section of the Road where Emma ambushed the courier is reasonably wooded and very well-worn from frequent use, though there is a very narrow section to the north, which suggests a practical choice of location. Tajiki scouts ahead as the party exits the Baron's carriage, discovering signs that confirm Emma's story. He also discovers fresher tracks indicating an altercation, a shallow drag suggesting a hostage being hauled away, and no corpses or traces of corpses. The air is, however, disturbingly still and quiet. There are no corpses, or traces of corpses.

Caellach's sword emits a white glow, and he suddenly grows tense and wary, though he does not mention anything to the party. Sounds from ahead herald the appearance of a woman in commoners' garb, who stands with arrogance and imperiously challenges Angelus to identify himself. When he asks her the same, she will only call herself a "proud daughter of Ivalice," prompting the Knight Elaine to curse her as a rebel. Insults are volleyed between the two women, but the Baron interferes, asking the woman her business while attempting to read her thoughts magically.

The rebel shrugs off the magical intrusion and challenges Angelus, asking him if he is in fact the Baron and the son of the Viscount. Though he hedges at first, he eventually acknowledges it to be true. The rebel demands the courier's dispatches, which she claims will expose "crimes being done in the Duke's name." She confirms that her band of rebels (of which none are presently in sight) have the courier as a hostage, and when Angelus points out that a courier is no real hostage if the nobility is as cold-blooded as she claims, the rebel triumphantly crows that she has now captured the Baron himself as hostage, too. Alvis spots blasphemous markings on her hands and cautions the Baron that they are sigils of the Dark - likely those of summonings. His observation is late - as Sir Caellach challenges her ability to hold anyone hostage alone, she begins murmuring a call to forces outside of proper magic... a call to the Dark.

Once Set In Motion...

The party snaps to attention. Tajiki has been scouting behind the rebel, and as he prepares to drop from the trees and take her down, Baron Lucien calls for her to be taken alive. Alvis unfolds a tome and attempts to bind her with his recital, but her will is overpowering. A powerful blackness swells in front of her as the runes on her hands writhe. As blood begins to run from her nose, howling noises and the sounds of flapping wings can be heard from the growing vortex of the night. Caellach and Elaine draw their swords and ready for battle, while Angelus focuses his mind and Dominates the rebel, breaking her mental defense and calling out to her to stop the summoning.

The power of the Dominate effect forces the woman to yield, and she lowers her hands, but Alvis screams out that she needs to be killed, and now. The woman falls to the ground, as the runes on her hands shoot out chains of blackness that force her down, and the whispers of the Dark sing.

A Summoning has begun, and the Dark will not let it stop.

Tajiki lands and rushes at her, calling forth his acidic spittle and spraying a jet at the rebel. It burns her badly, breaking her concentration and dooming her to her fate. Blood runs from her mouth and eyes, black blood that spills out and pools on the ground. As her life ebbs from her and her mind breaks, the vortex shrinks back and fades into the earth, the creature it was bringing forth trapped back in the outer night. The twitching, grayed corpse of the woman falls to the ground.

The whispering voice of the Dark is not yet satisfied, however. As the party examines the body and expresses disdain for her actions and pity for her fate, the ground heaves and the Dark exults. From below have been raised walking corpses, animated from the ancient skeletons of soldiers from old wars. The Dark chooses well, for the walking dead arise surrounding the party. A quick count is tallied - sixty-six undead monstrosities advance on the Baron and his group.

Alvis summons holy light to aid him, while Angelus fires a small crystal shard at a nearby undead. Elaine charges the monsters, blade blazing with holy power, and strikes into their ranks, causing one to explode outward into shards of cutting bone. Elaine recoils in pain as the sharp cutting fragments use their last vestige of animation to seek her flesh.

The whispers of the Dark surround and mock the party as they back towards one another. Sir Caellach strikes out at two of the corpses with fiery rays, causing their putrid flesh to liquefy instantly. Océane Lucien begins a bolstering melody on her mandolin, and as Emma waits to see an opening to strike, Tajiki uses his acid jet once more.

The undead advance as one, surrounding Elaine. The rebel woman's corpse twitches, going unnoticed by the harried party. Angelus and Alvis lash out with fire and light, respectively, driving back in ones what have come in tens. Alvis wracks his brain trying to determine how to deal with the corpses, but this is a Summoning gone wrong - he has no idea the hows or whys of the situation. The Knights combine spell with blade to dispatch a few more of the shambling corpses, but space grows dear and their numbers are great. Emma entangles the largest group, slowing them marginally and opening a slight gap. As the party retreats to the carriage to break through, a voice sounds from behind the corpses - an unwelcome voice.

Baron Arturo has arrived with a few Knights, and offers aid to Baron Lucien. When the latter is noncommittal, Arturo attempts to teleport his love away, but she tells him "Family first" and resists the spell. Mollified by Angelus' admission that he could use the help, Arturo casts a fireball to clear away some of the entangled undead; however, even this is clearly insufficient.

As Tajiki turns from the northern line to see the arrival, he spots the profane twitching of the rebel woman's corpse and shouts out to the party. Alvis releases the remainder of his sacred light as a bolt shooting towards the corpse, which explodes. The seal destroyed, the Dark has lost the thing holding the door open for its creatures, and the remaining corpses vanish back from whence they came, disappearing without a trace.

The battle is won (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iBCqz9gnK0), but the two rival Barons are greatly perturbed by what has happened - and by the true scale of the threat these rebels may pose. They agree to a temporary truce until the situation is resolved.

Act II: Lost Dispatches of Ivalice (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=12153122#post12153122)

Act III: Lost Rebels of Ivalice (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=12153158#post12153158)

Act IV: Lost Village of Ivalice (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=12153540#post12153540)


Chapter II: The Eagle, the Dove and the Stag

Act V: Lost Baron of Ivalice (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=12154224#post12154224)

[afroakuma]

Act II: Lost Dispatches of Ivalice
Barons Arturo Giraud and Angelus Lucien discuss their next move in the wake of this obscene and blasphemous act by a rebel, but are soon given an uncomfortable reminder about the limits of their authority: One of the Knights of the Aster who has come with the Baron of Marne declares that the Duke's Road must be closed until the rebels are dealt with. Though Arturo hedges, not wanting to answer to either the Viscount or the Duke for such a closure, the decision is not ultimately his to make.

In an attempt to mitigate the fallout that would result from such a closure, Arturo proposes that he accompany the Luciens' party to Lenalia to speak with the Viscount directly. Tajiki, however, has found the trail and will not be swayed from the rescue. Angelus agrees that Arturo should return to Lenalia, but says that additional forces are unnecessary and that delaying the search even further will only complicate it. Arturo leaves to make preparations for the Road's closure, while Tajiki locates the trail and forges ahead.

Sir Elaine is left behind to watch over the carriage, while the rest, anticipating an unpleasant fight ahead, go with the missionary. By early evening, the rebels' campsite has been found, but despite clear signs of occupation it is now deserted save for the courier, still alive but barely conscious.

A Calculated Thrust

Returning with the courier to the carriage, the party finds the clearing in disarray, with Sir Elaine badly wounded. While the party was at the rebels' campsite, the rebels were preparing a swift strike against their carriage. The lady knight speaks of their speed and precision, and the prowess of their leader, a blond-haired man who bested her in single combat without killing her.

The carriage is ransacked, but the fake dispatches Angelus prepared are still within. He realizes that they know exactly what they are looking for; however, the real dispatches are still on his person. With the rebels having vanished and the courier rescued, the Baron decides there is little else to do this night but return to Ardennes.

The thief Emma, her job complete, contemplates leaving, but her attachment to the missionary and Angelus' offer of hiring her convinces her to stay for the time being.

Upon arrival in Ardennes, however, it's clear there will be little rest this night. As the Reeve comes out to meet Angelus, Knights run in all directions, and the manor house is in disarray. The rebels are one step ahead of the Baron, and have already made a sortie against his own home, turning it upside down in their search for those dispatches. A bloodless skirmish this time, but with the rebels this audacious and this numerous, it is clear to Baron Lucien that he has a problem.

Papers and Puzzles

Alvis, at least, is curious about the man leading these assaults. The Reeve confirms his suspicions, that it was the same blond-haired man, and this time he has even left a message. The Reeve gives the letter to Angelus, who reads it over in brief.

The rebel leader's message states that he knows one of the Lucien family has the dispatches, and demands that the Baron depart the very next day to carry them to the Duke; if not, the letter threatens, then the rebels shall have to come and retrieve the documents themselves.

Angelus is derisive and more than a bit skeptical - demands and threats from a man he should be arresting, who offers nothing in return? His sister Océane is even more scornful; the rebels have acted with violence and arrogant presumption. However, both Elaine and the Reeve note that this man seemed to be avoiding actual murder, more focused on the search for the dispatches.

It is Alvis who finally broaches the topic, asking what exactly is contained in these contentious dispatches. Angelus considers reviewing them himself, but the Reeve is uncomfortable with the idea; he is, after all, a Knight, and opening a royal dispatch unlawfully is a criminal offense, even for a Baron. Sir Caellach, however, is (strangely) in agreement with the Baron on this matter, and Sir Elaine is herself curious. Out of a sense of personal loyalty to the Baron, the Reeve offers to look the other way, recusing himself for the evening. Océane lightens the man's mind by suggesting they will leave the dispatches be, and the unimaginative and overtaxed Reeve accepts the lie almost gratefully.

Sir Elaine and Sir Caellach make ready an evening guard around the manor, while Tajiki and his charge seek rooms for the evening. The Luciens retain Alvis for his scholarly aid with the documents, should it prove necessary. However, the dispatch case has three seals on it, one of which is magical in nature. Alvis believes he can employ a dispelling to subdue the seal's magic temporarily, but grows concerned when he examines the labyrinthine sorcery and finds that it is not designed for a recipient - it is linked to its caster, who is the only one capable of releasing the seal. The three ponder the implications.

Océane fears that any tampering will alert the caster, and suggests they use a scapegoat to open the seal... perhaps one already accused of a crime involving this very case. Angelus gives the idea some thought, before examining the seal himself. He grows more confident when he determines that, whatever it is, it is an abjuration only, and as such is unlikely to be designed to alert anyone.

Alvis proceeds with his dispelling, but comes up woefully short. Océane makes a better attempt, but the seal on the case is very potent. The two agree to combine their next attempt, and the twinned dispel succeeds - however, the suppression will be for less than 30 seconds. Alvis opens the case, sees six scrolls, and casts a clever spell to copy the text from each onto blank paper. The spell works its magic quickly, leaving them just enough time to close and reseal the case before the suppression fails.

Dire Dispatches

Six scrolls in the dispatch case, six near-identical documents: writs of war. Military readiness and authorization for a preemptive strike against the nation of Romanda. Writs signed by Duke Danroth of Gallione, but sent from the capital... and the Duke is leader of the Parliamentarians, a political party concerned with demilitarization and interested in opening trade with other nations. Angelus and Alvis reach the same conclusion within moments: these are forgeries, dangerous ones. The desperation of the rebels in retrieving them grows clearer.

Morning comes, along with a scout's message: the rebels are moving on Lenalia, where it is likely they will attack the Viscount in their search for the dispatches. Alvis debates with Caellach regarding who would stand to gain from a war with Romanda; he privately suspects the Federalists, another political party with colonial ambitions, but cannot understand why they would attempt a war with a peerless naval power.

The party leaves for Lenalia, and travels without incident. The Knights have doubled their number around the Viscount's chateau, perhaps expecting difficulties with the rebels. The party is admitted, and received warmly by the Viscount Damien Lucien, who has company this day: Marianne Danroth, the Duke's daughter, and Cassius Merachai, Bishop of Zeltennia. Both were traveling east and stopped by the closure of the Road. As the party settles in, their least-favorite person arrives - Baron Arturo.

Marianne shows no ill will for the closure of the Road; rather, she is more concerned with resolving the tensions with the rebels. Alvis considers the dramatic difference in styles between the lone rebel from before and this blond-haired man who is keeping just out of reach, and suggests to the Viscount that there may be more than one rebel faction in play.

Océane tries to understand the motivation of the rebels; the Viscount and the Bishop explain that the growth of the Knightly Orders increases the power of the law in exchange for reducing the number of youths working on farms, building homes, having families; in short, the rebels feel that the Knights are causing Ivalice to become a shell, hardened but hollow. The Luciens realize that for the rebels, a declaration of war would only accelerate this process - and this one is false.

The Viscount brings up their movement, the "Blue Moon Rebellion," which apparently got its start in Lionel, far to the south. The nobles of the north fear the same movement taking hold in their lands, and some such as the Countess Marianne are taking steps to conciliate them. The Viscount, however, has no such sympathies.

The Rebels' Raid

Into the room comes a repulsive man; a bowlegged hunchback with a twisted face, smelling of citrus and urine. This is the Duke's son Blaise, the Marquis of Mandalia, who is most decidedly not at ease with the delay and wants the rebels dealt with by any means necessary. He leers at Océane greasily as he declares in a halting, mucus-filled lisp his intent to see the rebels crushed. The party alternates between revulsion, pity and thinking he's a zombie. Emma and Alvis are visibly ill.

A man strides into the room, tall, focused, with blond hair, and addresses the bishop for a few minutes before making his exit. Sir Caellach, Tajiki and Angelus are all instantly on edge, and their concerns appear justified: not five minutes later, a stone crashes through one of the windows, and the riotous sounds of a mob can be heard. Outside the room, swords clash, and a voice calls out to the Viscount, demanding the dispatches. With the Duke's children trapped in the room, it seems the rebels have the situation completely in hand.

Emma opens the door and bursts out, getting behind a rebel and nearly felling him. She spots the blond-haired man as well as the speaker, a muscular ruffian the rebels call Rickard. The blond man cautions him to proceed with minimal bloodshed, but Rickard appears eager to fight. Angelus and the Viscount have a telepathic conversation in which the younger Lucien explains the nature of the dispatches. The Viscount suggests they yield the originals and retain the copies.

As the Marquis vomits, the Bishop offers to take the dispatches out to the rebels. The Viscount yields them, and although Emma tries to stop the trade (being unaware of the copies), the case is handed off. As Rickard and the blond man (Conrad) retreat, Alvis advances to stop them, casting a spell of binding that ensnares Rickard. One of the rebels dispels the bind, however, and rather than escalate the situation, Conrad makes an offer to the Viscount. The Marquis prepares to charge everyone in the room with treason, but his sister is at the ready with a chloroformed cloth and heads him off.

On the other side of the room, Arturo has gone to the broken window and begun casting fireballs to disperse the rebel mob, much to the chagrin of the others. Meanwhile, Conrad is offering to leave half of the dispatches with the Viscount and take the rest to the Duke himself. The deal is struck, Conrad unbinds the seal and removes three scrolls, returning the rest to Lucien. Conrad and Angelus share a glance of mutual respect, although each acknowledges that they do not wish to cross paths again, and the rebels make their retreat.

[afroakuma]

Act III: Lost Rebels of Ivalice
Blaise Danroth, Marquis of Mandalia, awakens from his chloroform-induced slumber to find Angelus holding the dispatch case. Though he and his sister were not returning to Igros, the Marquis has apparently decided that he should take the dispatches to the Duke himself. Angelus plays on the Marquis' self-importance to head off this new desire, and Bishop Merachai takes him away to the shrine to receive private blessings.

By the time they return, the Marquis has completely forgotten about taking the dispatches himself, and both the nobles and the clergyman make ready to depart. However, Baron Arturo has been standing at the windows, and he sees that the rebels are not dispersing as they should.

The Rebels Return
Some brief flirtation transpires between Angelus and the Countess Danroth, who raises the question of attending Parliament in the capital. The Viscount is in favor, as he does not plan to himself attend and would like some degree of representation. Arturo attempts to finagle an invitation as well, which the Countess awkwardly grants. It is the Marquis who is most eager to have Arturo along, however, much to the Baron's horror.

Emma has been watching at the chateau's gates, and sees the rebel leaders riding back - hard, fast and angry. Quickly retreating to the Viscount's offices, she warns all present that the rebel threat has not yet abated. The Marquis is adamant that this time there should be rebel blood spilled, and even the Viscount's steady composure shows signs of irritation.

Outside, Conrad shouts angrily for the Luciens to show themselves. Angelus emerges with the party and several Knights to hear the rebels' reason for returning, and in response the blond man throws something over to him: a charred and broken human arm. The remnants of one of his men who read over one of the papers the rebels took.

Conrad believes Angelus responsible for duplicity, but the Baron of Ardennes is just as stunned - especially when the rebel claims that the remaining pages are not at all the dispatches he wanted to retrieve. The rebel Rickard suggests that the Luciens deliberately gave them decoys and wants to stage another raid on the chateau. Rickard takes a few minutes to banter rudely with the Baron and Sir Caellach, warning Conrad that these so-called "negotiations" are merely a delaying tactic to have them outflanked.

Madness of the Marquis
Conrad restrains Rickard as Alvis and Océane suppress the seal on the case once more, pulling out the three remaining papers. Sir Caellach volunteers to test for a trap himself, but Angelus takes one a safe distance away and chances reading it. As Conrad warned, hidden runes on the paper begin to glow and dance, fulminating in a display of crushing force that singes the Baron.

Rickard rides up to give the nobles one of the rebels' remaining papers, whose trap has already been dispelled. Handing it to Océane, he makes sure to get a long leer and a salacious comment in. Océane ignores him and scans the paper briefly - and it is nothing like the copies created the previous night, containing only a threat from an anonymous source suggesting the same provenance as the original falsified dispatches.

Rickard remains certain that the Luciens have the original case, and Conrad seems frustrated enough to allow the more hotheaded rebel to handle the matter. Not willing to risk another battle on Lucien land, Angelus tries to keep Conrad there, revealing the existence of his duplicates. Sir Caellach proposes a bold compromise: have the rebel accompany Angelus' party to Igros to see the copies delivered. Rickard thinks it is an obvious ploy to have Conrad captured and arrested, but the arrival of the Bishop changes matters for the blond rebel. Conrad submits to the sanctuary of the Bishop and agrees to come to Igros.

Matters are not yet settled, however, for across the bridge sounds of battle ring out. In retreat, Rickard has been trapped by another force, one with far less restraint. Baron Arturo and the Marquis of Mandalia have come from behind with a large force of knights, and are intent on finishing off the rebellion this day.

Rickard's fears appear to be confirmed, putting the fiery rebel in a violent temper, and casualties mount on both sides. The Marquis calls to Angelus to help outflank the rebels, but the Baron of Ardennes hedges for a moment. This gives Conrad time to ride forward and shout at Rickard to flee. With several of his men dead and no hope in a pitched battle, the rebel lieutenant does just that. The Marquis considers the day a success, and makes preparations to depart for the capital. He invites Angelus to come along, but the Baron of Ardennes is determined to deliver the copies.

Fiends in the Forest
The parties depart from Lenalia, with the Bishop deferring his return to Zeltennia in order to come to Igros with Conrad. Seven days' overland travel sees the party within the territories of the Duke, but their carriage is accosted by a horde of minor fiends while passing through a wooded area (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaHEJ6O0-rw).

Several floating round creatures, bright red with large malevolent grins, approach from the northwest. These are Bombs, fiery fiends capable of self-destructing. As the party readies for a fight, two more fiends appear from behind the trees: Dread Hounds, which pounce on Tajiki and Océane, savagely tearing with their claws.

Conrad leaps down and charges one of the Dread Hounds, while Alvis advances to provide healing to Océane. As the Bombs close in, Sir Caellach draws his cursed sword and unleashes a line of profane energy from the blade, following up with an incantation that releases searing flames into the flesh of the Dread Hound.

A giggling Bomb exhales a plume of oily flames on Caellach and Conrad, coating them in flammable resin. Meanwhile, Emma spits a poisonous tar on her weapon and strikes at the nearest Hound, flanking with Tajiki. Océane begins strumming her mandolin, creating an aura of courage. Her brother moves forward, raising his cane and causing two of the oncoming Bombs to stop dead in their tracks. Another giggling Bomb comes at Emma's mount from the south, treating it to an oil breath attack.

As the Hounds continue their attack, Conrad strikes one down in retaliation, but as Alvis begins to warn the party of the properties of Bombs, one of said fiends decides to give a demonstration. Cackling sadistically and shaking with infernal glee, it approaches and explodes in a violent burst of flame, setting off one of its brethren that was caught in the blast radius. Caellach, singed from the burning oil, whirls on a Bomb attempting an ambush from the northeast, striking it down with such speed that it cannot even consider exploding.

Angelus approaches the remaining Dread Hound, touching it with one hand. His wounds and burns fade as the Hound howls in pain, and within moments it dies. Océane charms one of the Bombs, directing it to flee. The remaining Bomb swoops toward Emma, flames dancing in its eyes. Conrad rushes over and creates a protective barrier, but the Bomb's explosion still deals noticeable damage to both.

With the fiends slain or fled, the carriage continues on safely, arriving at Igros three days later.

The Duke and the Dispatches
Duke Danroth grants the Baron of Ardennes a brief audience, and so Angelus and his party come to Igros Castle, where they meet the Duke and the Marquis of Zeakden, Matthieu Séraphin. They discuss the presence of the Blue Moon Rebellion in eastern Gallione, and Angelus reveals the copy dispatches.

The Duke examines them and confirms what Alvis and the Luciens suspected: his signature on these pages was forged. Séraphin realizes that he was the intended recipient of these falsified orders, and makes preparations to ensure that such dispatches are caught and dealt with properly in his territory.

Of pressing concern to the Duke: that the dispatches came from Lesalia, implicating someone of power and importance; that the dispatches were switched, suggesting some power within Gallione had an interest in perpetuating the scheme; and most dangerously, that the dispatches read as a conditional authorization for war, and that said precondition is an attack against Ivalice's capital.

Faced with a disastrous conspiracy unraveling around Ivalice, the Duke makes ready to attend Parliament and roust out the plotters. Angelus and his party decide to go as well; as a Baron, Angelus is entitled to sit in Parliament, after all. Before anyone is able to depart, however, a courier bursts in from Lesalia, carrying an urgent message for the Duke. Danroth reads it with curiosity, wondering why this request has come now, but he reaches into his desk drawer and withdraws the bequested item: a sparkling, violet Holy Stone.

[afroakuma]

Act IV: Lost Village of Ivalice

Alvis and Caellach debate the revelation of the Holy Stone and its meaning. Conrad overhears and makes a point regarding the power a famous icon can have over the minds of men, and Alvis recalls that the Stones were divided up between the King, the Dukes and the Church to prevent exactly that - someone creating a new party of "Zodiac Braves" to win the hearts of the populace.

Departures

Danroth bids the party good day and makes ready to depart for Lesalia. Outside the Duke's chambers, Caellach asks Conrad what he will do now that the war plot has been exposed. The rebel states that he will head to a new front to continue his crusade, and politely says farewell to those gathered, shaking Angelus' hand and receiving a pledge of support from Bishop Merachai. Without further ado, he leaves Igros.

As a pageboy comes to arrange rooms in the city for Angelus and his guests, Caellach is called aside by his superior, Lord-Commander Clovis Chanel of the Knights of the Aster. She interrogates him on the status of his charge, the cursed blade Arondight. Caellach claims the demon's curse has been manageable thus far, and requests to be placed on the Duke's convoy to Lesalia, over Chanel's concerns. She provides him a hefty stipend, and assigns him to the flanks, away from the Duke's carriage.

The Knights tithe to the Monks of Anastasis in recompense for Tajiki's aid with Emma, and the missionary decides to make for Lesalia. Angelus offers Emma the choice to continue on for him, or be paid out now, and she chooses the former. Angelus draws sufficient funds for travel. Alvis expresses his suspicions about Caellach to the knight directly, prying for just how much Caellach knows about the Dark.

The train of carriages and knights sets off; Caellach and Elaine riding together, the Luciens sharing a carriage with Alvis, and Emma and Tajiki sitting with Bishop Merachai. As Oceane ponders the strangeness of the group they have assembled, Elaine begins grilling Caellach on the week he has spent avoiding Alvis as much as possible. Tajiki begins an ecclesiastical debate with Merachai over the fearmongering ways of the Iocus sect. As the various conversations ebb and flow, the caravan train comes to an abrupt halt.

The Hand of the Law
The smell of smoke fills the air, and curtains are drawn back to reveal a town in flames. The party exits the caravans, taking in sparse trees and overtaxed fields in the area. Approaching the burning village, they can see a group of knights advancing into the streets, directed from the rear by two men in armor.

The Luciens advance toward the town with Caellach, demanding an explanation from a fleeing peasant woman. She cries that a "Baronet" has come to collect on tax he is owed - though the Luciens' reactions suggest that the method is quite extreme. Caellach seeks orders to act, but Angelus insists on learning as much as possible first. It appears that a man named "Moreau" owed significant tax to the local baronet, but when knights came to seize his coin, the town rallied around him, concealing him from the law. Angelus examines the destruction and determines that no amount of tax could be worth so much damage. He orders the party in to put a stop to the fighting.

They advance to accost the clear leader, a weedy-looking man in gaudy dress. He assumes they are reinforcements, and declares that rebels have occupied the town to repel his knights. Realizing just who he is addressing, however, the Baronet weakly switches to protests that the town has been condemned for aiding the rebellion, and indicates that several knights have already been killed in the fighting - three of them by a blond rebel.

As Oceane and Angelus attempt to order the knights to stand down, however, another interested party approaches - Blaise Danroth, with Arturo in tow. As Blaise savors the violence, Arturo takes Angelus aside to explain what's really taking place in this town.

Plots and the Profane
It seems Moreau was a farmer who pooled his resources with other peasants to acquire sufficient gold for him to purchase a Baronet's title from the local lord. The ramifications of the peasantry being able to elect amongst themselves a leader were not lost on the feudalist Viscount Lucien, who arranged for another purchaser; a minor knight. This man, who had not the funds to buy the title, would acquire it, use the position to impose a sizeable tax on Moreau, and in doing so purchase the title used to tax the man with those same revenues - the funds Moreau intended to use to purchase the title himself.

Angelus is surprised that his father was involved, but understands that the situation has escalated beyond what the Viscount planned for due to the arrival of Conrad and the rebels. He asks Arturo to stave off the Marquis for a time so that the party can defuse the tense situation.

As the nobles and the Knights squabble over justice, the combat continues. Angelus orders the party to go in and stop the Knights from committing further violence, then mentally dominates the Knights' captain. As combat is joined, the rebels see only new targets until Conrad specifically calls them off. Elaine, torn between the letter of the law and the spirit, and also her hatred of rebels, is told to stand down rather than have to choose a side. The Knights immediately move against the party.

Caellach teleports Oceane into safety, where she dominates the Baronet. However, the Knights have managed to reach and capture Conrad. As the Knights question their Captain's mysterious orders to release the rebel leader, one of the rebels sees fit to take matters into his own hands.

This man, a brother to the rebel woman who first attempted to accost the Luciens, decides to enact his revenge for her death using a power he does not fully understand.

The Dark rises.

Conrad screams at the rebel to release whatever forces he is meddling with as Caellach rushes to end the spell by striking the man down. Even as his blade strikes, however, it is too late - this rebel knows the words to call the Dark to him, but has little power over their meaning. He is overwhelmed, and the Dark bursts forth like lightning. The town explodes.

The Aftermath
The party looks for any sign of Conrad, but he has vanished in the chaos. Blaise arrives, looking quite pleased; this evidence that rebels have been summoning unholy magics will surely turn the Church away from supporting their position.

As the party resumes its ride towards Lesalia, news of the disaster spreads across the land. With the vanishing of Conrad and the failure of his leadership and doctrine to enact change, bolder and more violent men begin to assume command of the rebellion.

[afroakuma]

Act V: Lost Baron of Ivalice

After the disastrous outcome at the village, the party begins to draw together. Alvis reveals the secrets of his power to the party; though tension arises, the consensus is that for the time, he has acted in good faith and done nothing to warrant concern.

Caellach is confused over the direction the Knights have taken, and begins to question whether or not he can obey a nobility that would treat people in this fashion. He is equally concerned that Conrad was somehow aware of the Dark's existence. Elaine firmly tells him to quash such thoughts.

The Bishop, meanwhile, has a different take: those poor people need more God in their lives, and this disaster is exactly what will transpire without a strong faith. Alvis plays along, "agreeing" that the Church has lost too much power in Parliament. The Bishop, thinking he has found a kindred spirit, inquires toward Alvis' position with regard to wizards. Alvis maintains a neutral tone, but Merachai stresses that under the regime of the archmage Zantaire, the mages' city of Gariland has become a threat to the Church. Tajiki expresses his faith in the inherent goodness of man, to which Merachai responds with derision.

Arrival at the Capital
The party arrives in Lesalia (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meTxfoImrmI&feature=related), where an escort comprised of royal Knights of the Crescent appears to greet them. The leader, Anders, is to be the party's guide.

Anders begins gushing over the city, the Cathedral, its arts and architecture. Alvis takes some time to study said architecture keenly. There appears to be a restoration project underway... but not all the work seems entirely constructive. The party inquires of Anders as to the purpose of the construction work, but Anders surmises that Parliament is in charge of it and has no more useful information to give.

Anders offers an offhand warning about an increasingly superstitious urban population. It seems people are having nightmares and odd experiences more often of late. Supposedly, some have even seen the dead walk, though Anders discounts the rumors as nonsense, possibly related to a spreading influenza. In any event, Anders says that the populace has made a game out of topping one another with increasingly ludicrous stories, so the guards are warning all visitors to remain highly skeptical.

Blaise attempts to charm Oceane, offering her his personal chambers while he attends the opening of Parliament. She cleverly demurs, however. Blaise presses the issue, but Arturo steps in, offering his own rooms to his betrothed, to the great irritation of the smitten Marquis.

As the party moves into the center of the capital, they cross paths with a noble of Blaise's acquaintance, who speaks derisively to the Marquis, mocking his elongate hissing, exaggeratedly sniffing at the air and even taking jabs at the legitimacy of his title. The noble, a viscount from Fovoham, takes his leave from the now thoroughly discomposed Marquis, who has reverted to his lisp in anger.

On the Grand March, another party of important nobles awaits: the powerful Duke Aroldain Lannast, along with Marquis Séraphin and a pale, black-haired mage with a cruel grin. As Angelus, Arturo and Blaise depart with the Duke for Parliament, the mage stays behind to converse with the party.

Mages and Murder
Introducing himself as Norca Zantaire, the Archmagus of Gariland, he entrances Oceane with his assertive, seductively predatory manner. Caellach narrows his eyes; having served in Gariland before, he knows Zantaire by reputation as a blasphemous madman. The archmage locks his eyes on Alvis and smirks before departing.

Anders escorts the rest of the party to the nobles' district, as Caellach relays what he knows of Zantaire. As Anders begins to gush over the security in Lesalia, however, he suddenly explodes from stomach to throat in flame, collapsing. A group of black mages appear on the rooftops around the street (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f49JZ9v79iM).

The mages demand the party's surrender, warning that they do not need to protect the lives of all five. Alvis immediately guesses that he is the target, believing Zantaire's hand to be behind the attack. Alvis offers his own surrender, but the party will not hear of it. Tajiki steps through a dimensional doorway, appearing next to one of the mages on the rooftop, to the wizard's shock. The other mages hastily begin casting, raining fire down to the ground, as the mage near Tajiki attempts to turn him into a frog, to no avail.

Caellach raises his sword, indicating one of the rooftop mages and saying one word: "You." Channeling arcane power, he leaps high in an impossible arc. As the mage frantically begins chanting a spell of protection, Caellach's blade comes down, nearly bisecting the hapless black mage.

Two more mages advance on the ground, casting spells of slowness and paralysis to no avail. As the mages on the roof prepare another assault, this time of ice, Tajiki advances with fury on his foe. Alvis drives off one of the groundlings, while Emma turns into her scorpion form and poisons the other to death. Injured, vengeful and slightly mad, the remaining mage steps off the roof, casting a spell of death at Tajiki as he falls. Though the missionary resists, he is shaken by the black mage's last spell.

Employment
But the party finds a pack of thugs surrounding their location. Oceane believes they are also out to kidnap Alvis, until a mysterious nobleman steps forward, greeting the scholar by name. The noble introduces himself, rather presumptuously, as Alvis' new employer, identifying the body behind the black mage attack as "Lords of Cedar."

This employer informs Alvis that scholars in his specific field of study have become a commodity in the city, and that Zantaire's careless identification of Alvis as a student of the Dark has resulted in two factions wanting to either employ him or dispose of him. Leaving Alvis a token through which to summon him again if needed, the nobleman departs, and a force of knights arrives soon after, helping the injured Oceane to the estate of a Lord Mondain, an acquaitance of the Lucien family.

[Gralamin]

You are actually bringing this back and updating? Awesome.

[afroakuma]

Yes indeedy.

To reassure people: yes, it's definitely coming back. This is just a stress-filled week. I'm hoping for another update after next Wednesday.