CW / TW: Light Themes of mind control within what is considered by most people in this scenario to be a romantic relationship.
These themes are present throughout. Please read with caution. No victims of this mind control were physically harmed in this session.
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Present Party: Keviks, Lupan, Nana, and Wren.
Setting: The city of Lanti, in Midtia. The party spends this session entirely inside the Mulcaster Estate, home of Wren's parents and siblings.
The party was recently invited to dinner at the Mulcaster Estate. They've figured out now that Orion is being charmed (and aware that he's being charmed) by his fiancee, Vekea Keenstalker: a knight of the neighboring kingdom of Erdia. The party had been suspecting Erdia of a potential invasion since they'd started their quest, and now it seemed to all be coming to a head.
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Nithea Keenstalker |
Lupan and Keviks entered the dining room along with Orion. Prince Fang and Nana's eidolon, Castilian, were already there. Fang was having a very polite discussion with Baron and Lady Mulcaster. Just as the three of them entered, Vekea Keenstalker and her mother, Nithea, entered from the other side. Vekea was wearing plate mail armor and carrying a longsword with her. Her mother was in chain mail, and completely unarmed. Nithea was also being sought out by Keviks previously, though the party was unsure why.
The Mulcasters welcomed everyone in, and the party chose seats. Nana and Wren weren't far behind. Cassandra and Sebastian, Wren's younger siblings, were the last to arrive. Cassandra, being part of the Selection, was invited to sit beside Fang. The party and Wren kept to the left side of the table while the Mulcasters and Keenstalkers kept more to the right. Orion was seated across from Lupan, and between Vekea and Lady Mulcaster. Keviks sat across from Nithea, who did not acknowledge him. Throughout the dinner, he watched her eat without partaking in any of the food at all. His body started to shake.
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| Vekea Keenstalker Orion's ex-fiancee (Edited art from "Fire Emblem") |
- Nana asked Wren's parents about why Wren wasn't at home any longer, to which they explained that they wanted her to pursue her passions. They seemed quite pleased with her success.
- Nana also pried into Vekea and Orion's relationship. Orion didn't speak at all about it, allowing Vekea to give her opinions. When asked about how they met and the nature of their marriage, she replied that love was not at the forefront of her mind. However, as she has come to know Orion, she has fallen in love with him. Orion silently agreed, nodding along with her story.
- Baron and Lady Mulcaster spent much of the dinner talking up Cassandra to the crown prince. While she seemed embarrassed, Fang took it with grace, and made sure to keep Cassandra comfortable.
- Lupan asked Sebastian about his hobbies, and discovered that, much like Wren, he was incredibly musically inclined. He performed very often at the local opera house, and he was composing a piano sonata that he was very excited about. It was through this conversation that the party discovered all of the Mulcaster children seemed to have an affinity for music that came from their mother.
It was at this point that Wren noticed Keviks shaking, and caused a distraction using Keviks's wolf familiar, Kindred, in an attempt to remove him from the situation. He left the dining room and told Wren what he wanted to do: he desperately wanted to kill Nithea, and he admitted that if her family hadn't been there, he might have. Wren advised him to take a walk, and went back to the dinner.
Instead though, Keviks attempted to find the door Nithea and Vekea had come through. He used Disguise Self to turn himself into a human guard of the Mulcaster Estate. Then, he investigated the premises until he was able to find it. There were two guards down the hall, and although they took note of him, both of them eventually moved on their way. Keviks set up his spell, Cordon of Arrows, and waited until he could hear the dinner wrapping up.
The Keenstalkers were the first to move to leave the table. Sebastian also stood to leave, and the three of them walked to the door where Keviks was waiting. Vekea opened the door. The Cordon of Arrows, only set to target Nithea, shot its first round into her, and Keviks shot his own bow at her from the hallway. Then, he shot out a nearby window, and told Kindred to jump out and run. She obeyed, leaving the scene so as not to be tied back to Keviks.
A fight ensued, and with a quick successful Insight check from Wren, she determined that the guard was no guard. She also saw Kindred escape from her vantage point. She informed Lupan and Nana that it was Keviks, and the party aided their ally in his attempt to kill the Keenstalkers. Meanwhile, Castilian ushered the Mulcasters and the prince out of the room through another door. Everyone except Sebastian was able to make it to the door on the first round.
In one single critical strike from Vekea, coupled with a divine smite, Keviks was knocked unconscious. The rest of the party peppered both women with spells, to the point where Vekea called out the word "failsafe" to Orion. He started to leave the room, and Castilian was able to see that he was distressed. He attempted to grapple Orion, and succeeded, holding him in place as the rest of his family escaped into the hall.
Nithea grabbed Sebastian, and shouted, "No one move, or I'll snap his neck!"
Wren attempted Polymorph on her, but failed. Luckily Lupan had been holding his Fey Step until just that moment, and teleported beside her where he managed to grapple her instead. At that moment, in a last ditch effort to save Sebastian and end the fight, Nana shot a Lightning Bolt through Nithea and Vekea, catching Lupan and the unconscious Keviks in the crossfire. It seemed that would be enough, and both of the women fell dead against the wall.
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| Orion Mulcaster Human, age 25 Wren's older brother (Art by Tina Yeh on Art Station) |
Wren used Healing Word to bring Keviks back up and ran to help Sebastian away from the bodies. Lupan was furious, yelling that Keviks could've gotten everyone killed. He stormed off in disbelief and anger. Keviks, meanwhile, was the most at peace the party had ever seen him.
Guards flooded into the room, led by Baron Mulcaster. He checked in with Wren and Sebastian briefly, where Wren explained that Orion had been charmed. She promised to explain everything to him later. For the time being, he accepted this promise before crossing over to Castilian to collect Orion. Fang assisted him, and the two of them helped Orion out of the room. Wren, Sebastian, and Castilian followed.
Nana lingered for a moment and ordered the guards to arrest Keviks for the murder of two prominent members of the Erdian Army. Keviks didn't resist, and was removed from the Mulcaster Estate. Nana made sure to confiscate Axel's staff from Keviks as well. Then, she followed after Wren, Fang, and the other Mulcasters who'd just left.
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Orion was escorted to his room, muttering apologies to anyone who would listen, and being consoled by his father. The baron requested a moment alone with Orion, and shut them both in Orion's room.
Nana took a moment to hug Fang, and he assured her that he was alright, despite the situation.
Sebastian said that he would go find Lady Mulcaster so she could talk with Wren and the baron about what happened. He'd also check in with Cassandra. Wary of the fact that Xade and his magic bow were still around, Wren insisted Sebastian find a guard to escort him.
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| Steel "Fang" of the Mountain Crown Prince of Midtia, age 18 (Made by me, on Heroforge) |
Despite all of this, the arrow shot from Xade's divine bow - created by the god, Hodr - flew up and around Nana and broke through the magical barrier. It connected with Fang's back, and the entry point exploded outward as the arrow embedded itself deeply into Fang's back. With only one shot, Fang was conscious, but barely and bleeding profusely from his back. Wren and Nana pulled Fang into Orion's room, and had Castilian act as a barricade on the door. The baron and Orion were shocked to see them, but even more shocked that the prince was hurt. Nana used the last of her spells to turn Fang invisible, just in case the bow's abilities had something to do with sight.
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Lupan, on his walk outside, had found Kindred on the grounds of the Mulcaster Estate, and spent time with her to decompress. He didn't stay out long though, and quickly collected the wolf and went back inside. On the way, he ran into Lady Mulcaster. He asked her what was going on, and she assured him that Cassandra and Sebastian were safe. She was on her way to see her husband and other two children. The guards were searching for the Erdian lieutenants, but hadn't found them yet.
The party, sans Keviks, reconvened in Orion's bedroom. Lupan was informed that Fang had been shot, and of Keviks's fate. Lupan feared that Xade or anyone else working for the Erdians might intercept Keviks on his way to the local prison. He went after him, to be sure.
Nana and Wren knew the laws. Keviks was, technically, an Erdian citizen, not a Midtian. He'd just killed two high-ranking Erdian officials on Midtian soil. The king would have to be called in for this, as would, perhaps, the Erdian dictator. The death of the Keenstalkers could be perceived as an act of war.
Fang was upset with the decision made to arrest Keviks, knowing that Erdia would likely want him back. If that happened, they could torture or kill him.
"He'll be better off with us!" the prince argued.
Nana claimed that Keviks made a decision that put not only the Mulcasters in danger, but also Fang - the person Keviks was meant to protect.
Regardless, it wasn't their decision. In these situations, the king of Midtia and his negotiations with the Erdian dictator would be the determining factor. King River, Fang's father, was ultimately going to be Keviks's judge, jury, and potential executioner.
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ART LINKS:
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/4blGw4
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