As Reported by the Avalon Press
The Heroes of Avalon found themselves dealing with a hellish series of events during the November gathering, one that may have dire consequences in the future.
Friday evening, the Heroes of Avalon stumbled into the Inn several hours after they normally start the gathering. Apparently, on the Sunday of the October gathering, just after the Heroes had sealed Bazmodeous away in what we have now confirmed was an Enigma Box, a terrible tremor ripped through the Wolfskael Mountains. While we do not have hard confirmation, based on reports from that evening, the corrupted energies already growing in the Wolfskaels during the October gathering reached a tipping point. A massive explosion rocked the mountains, causing one of the many mountains in the range to fall in on itself. At some point in the chaos, it was discovered that the Crown of Hell had been taken from Shaun Vicks. It is unclear, although our best guess is one of the Fae Titles, possibly the Yeshmayak, took the Crown from the newly minted Seated Hierarch. As the Heroes escaped from the collapse, they fought bainites, which all curiously were missing an eye. As they returned to Avalon, the Heroes discovered that they had returned just in time for the November gathering. According to reports, it appears something about the explosion caused a curious time effect, as the Heroes saw time advancing rapidly.
On Saturday morning, Duchess Silverpool made several announcements to the host. First, the destroyed area of the Wolfskael Mountains, now a valley between Avalon and Barconia, was a no-entry zone for the time being. Second, the Duchess explained more of what had occurred during the October gathering regarding a Dalesman taken by Bain. Sargent Deg had been taken to Hell by Bain and Baroness Keldyn tried everything she could to get her back.
Baroness Keldyn in her panic had been manipulated by an evil artifact, we believed is called the Horn of the Balrog, which wanted to be returned to Hell. When Baroness Keldyn asked Lady Cora for help, Lady Cora, under a curse to help Avalonians, was compelled to do everything in her power to get Sergeant Deg back, including using the Horn asleverage. To get Sergeant Deg back, Baroness Keldyn traded the Horn for her to Bain. manipulated by an evil artifact, she would receive no punishment for her actions.
Finally, the Duchess clarified a situation regarding the Avalonian Lucretzia. During the October gathering, members of the Coventry Defense Force came with warrants of arrest for several individuals. Lucretzia’s warrant was among them for inciting a riot that ended up killing twelve guardsmen by trapping them in a burning guard house. When questioned, Lucretzia admitted to this crime and the Avalonian nobility agreed she would be tried in Coventry. Duchess Nimue explained that Lucretzia’s punishment in Coventry, one death and three months in jail, was more than As Baroness Keldyn was being lenient. During this announcement, several Avalonians were quick to mention rumors that perhaps Lucretzia escaped her punishment through the help of the Void, although nothing had been confirmed.
On Saturday Night, the Heroes were transported to Fae. But instead of the normal shenanigans of Samhain, they were greeted by Lady Chaos. She explained that she had taken over the maze this year for the Crown of Hell had been hidden in Fae. Avalon would get the chance to find the Crown. But they would be competing against several Demon Knights to find it. What followed was a scramble to find and secure the Crown. In the end, Roland, using his vampiric abilities of celerity, was able to flee with the Crown. It is unclear what happened next, but to the best of our understandings, the Heroes of Avalon were able to steal the Crown back from Roland. After all of this, Lady Chaos revealed her plan. Lady Chaos needed Avalon’s help getting all the Hierarchs on this plane in an effort to destroy the Crown. When the Crown was first forged, the Hierarchs used a piece of the Altar of Chaos to forge it: a chip in the Altar of Chaos showed the damage but it was only visible through True Sight. Lady Chaos said that this chip was proof that this could cause damage to the Weave itself should the damage worsen. As a result, Lady Chaos needs the Hierarchs on this plane to destroy the Crown fully, restoring her power, and as a result possibly stopping the Hierarchs from coming to the mortal plane as often.
After all this chaos, Sunday gave one final fight. Several years ago, the Avalonian Farron made a deal with the Fae Title The Legacy. The Legacy foretold that Farron would become “the best swordsman in Medici” but die at a set point. On Sunday, the prophecy came to pass. Several beings from Vaerinheim arrived to give Farron one final challenge: he would have to fight every member of Medici amongst the Host to earn his spot in the Vaerinheim afterlife. Farron fought bravely, falling several times but never giving up, becoming blessed as a Paladin before passing a warrior’s death. Farron will be missed amongst the Host.
As Yule approaches, rumors have been swirling of a final confrontation of the Hierarchs. There have been rumors of Hierarchs not currently on the plane being summoned. Many are preparing for one final fight. Only time will tell what will happen next.