1. Journals

Session 24: The Name Within

Session

Continued from Session 23: The Prince's Aspect.

As the party ate a quick meal while working at the Tradefair Seat of Law, Amos received a message from Lady Zara fae'Fournius. She had sent a courtier to the Imperial Palace to see Prince Tobias er'Ceasian directly, but the courtier was not allowed inside. The courtier, along with others, were made to wait outside while a large group of Keepers were escorted inside. The group decided to head to the palace themselves and see what was going on.

After name dropping Captain Nikoros Gaura, Amos helped out with calming and dispensing the crowd that was starting to gather around the entrance to the palace. Captain Gaura allowed the group through the main gates into an outer courtyard. Tor'in noticed the tall walls, arrow slots, murder holes, and the overall defensibility from where they were standing. Captain Gaura arrived, and although Gaura did not dismiss their concerns, he did not seem to be overly worried about security in the palace. He mentioned a number of security procedures, including protection against illusions and passageways have arcane defenses to restrict access to members of imperial House Ceasian by blood.

Tor'in showed them a section of the rope used to bind their prisoner, which had some of his blood on it, and asked them to check it. After a brief time had passed, Meriel, Ren, and Tor'in noticed that there were more guards subtly and quietly entering the courtyard from higher vantage points. With a steely voice, Captain Gaura asked everyone to accompany him inside. Wary, the group followed. In an empty dining area, they encountered a mage and several palace guards. Captain Gaura said that there was imperial blood on the rope, and wanted to know where it had come from. Amos was able to convince them to come to Seat of Law and meet their prisoner.

Entering through a side entrance and trying to remain unnoticed, the Vigilants led Captain Gaura and his mage to the interrogation room where the prisoner was being kept. After some discussion, Tor'in lifted the bag over the prisoner's head, revealing the face of Prince Tobias er'Ceasian. To say that the two were surprised would be an understatement. Captain Gaura tried asking some questions of the prisoner, but received more of the same near-nonsense answers that Ragor and the others heard before, but they were at least consistent. His mage friend was by his side the entire time, occasionally nodding along to the prisoner's responses. Ren gave Captain Gaura notes on when each body was discovered and when it was known someone was impersonated, but left out the names of Braelyn, Kith, and priest Allan to protect them. Captain Gaura said he would compare them with times that Prince Tobias was around, and sent one of his imperials back to the palace to confirm the Prince's location. Gaura also said he would have archivists look for information on Hezra. Overall, he seemed willing to share information but not exactly eager.

Captain Gaura tried a different approach to questioning the prisoner, and asked him if he wanted to know who he was, since the prisoner himself did not seem to know. The mage placed his hands on the prisoner's head, and with focus and concentration, was able to find the answer. "His name is Cephius. Cephius er'Ceasian."

Continued in Session 25: A Song for the Listener.

Player Notes