Baron Daedalus

Last Week Recap:

Last week, the Irish Knights started the damage control and the friend-making. They made social contact with the Yardies and then met a wise Sage in the North, who helped them to better understand their enemy, the Baron D. Armed with knowledge that the Baron was a foreigner with an absolute respect for laws and order, but still an ease with violence that makes even Ash pause.

They have sent him letter, with enough clauses that they hope it make them safe, and asked him to meet with them within the next 24 hours. After spending the better part of the afternoon driving around Dublin and making these alliances the knights have now returned back to the House to see what’s been happening in their absence.

Scene 4 Return to the House:

Entering the hardpoint of the House, Davey feels at ease while Ash and Ragnall feel the drain of lost magic. The clock on the wall says it is 4 in the afternoon and when the knights step into the main conference room they find Dante and Roland sitting on the table, playing acoustic guitars. The Duo are pretty good.

Dante stills his strings and nudges Roland, who quickly gets off the table top and returns his guitar to its case. Dante merely shrugs and pushes two pieces of paper toward Davie, but Ragnall snatches them up off the table.

Only two reports waiting for them.

Castle Issues Again:

The Castle on Tara Hill has broken its pattern of appearing and disappearing again. It was supposed to disappear at 3pm but it is still there. Every time the Castle breaks its pattern, problems arise. Cheryl’s tight handwriting tersely mentions the loss of all the previous storm knights, not that Ragnall or the other’s needed to be reminded why they were here.

Ragnall shakes his head, they can only keep an eye on it. THIS group of knights are not going to be so stupid as to enter into that house of horrors.

Sidhe Hunters:

The second note talks about reports from some of the citizens, peasants, on the western edge of town reporting that a group of sidhe has been assaulting and even torturing people for information. They appear to be hunting down a person, either a smith or maker. The men who came to the door both were beat up and one of them was missing two fingers. The knights in Dublin House used to look out for them.

Ash: “This actually sounds like the type of problem we could handle… unlike all of this gangs and politics. I say we go out there and beat up some sidhe.”

Ragnall: “Yeah its much more our speed, but I think it will have to wait for the morning.”

Ash frowns but stays quiet.

Settling in for the Evening:

The knights then decide to take their dinners and to actually relax a little. They wander around the House, after all they have multiple floors they haven’t even seen yet. They pass the time getting better acquainted with their home.

It is several hours of peace with a lovely meal in the center of it, and then a relaxing talk in the main office, drinking brandy.

An hour or so into their drinking and relaxation period, Cheryl enters the office with a man in a perfectly tailored suit. He has an air about him that matches Cheryl’s own aura: capable, efficient, and no nonsense.

He comes in with a sweeping bow and begins a well-rehearsed greeting that slowly peters out as he looks at the three faces arrayed before him. He stares at Davey sitting behind the desk and looks confused.

Ragnall: “This House is under new management sir, but we still get the job done. What do you need?”

Owen: “New… management. This might be part of the problem… I represent the interests of my Master, who might have sent previous messages that were… misinterpreted and possibly… mis-delivered.”

Ash: “Baron D?”

Owen nods his head, “The letter should have been a clue. But I digress. I have a message, an answer to your own letter. ‘Blood has been spilled between us, we will meet this night, as per the terms and conditions of your letter. The mas… New Master of the house must be present as I will not speak with underlings, but prefer to deal with someone who can make the decisions needed for peace. I shall bring only 2 guards and I expect the same of the Master.’” Owen obviously replaced a name with ‘master.’

Owen then goes through the details of the meeting place and they agree to the meeting. Owen then assures them that he will relay to the Baron that the House is under new managers and that things are much different. He then departs.

Ash: “A midnight meeting in a cemetery with a man who drinks blood and crucifies people. Should be fun.”

Midnight Meetings with Baron D:

Baron D is not quite what they expected. They figured on a monster but the man before them is tall, good looking, and dressed in a perfectly made suit. He looks to be in his mid-40s and the first word one thinks upon seeing him is “dapper.” He leans on a cane, that seems more affectation than actual aid to walking, his cravat is red silk, his pocket square is perfectly folded and the short cape around his shoulders is also lined in crimson silk.

Beside him are two of the men who look like the same thugs who had backed up Spurs. They are so alike that they could be twins and Davey makes a joke about clones that neither Ash or Ragnall understands.

The baron takes a few steps toward them as they arrive, leaving his guards sitting on grave markers at his back. His lip curls in a sneer that quickly disappears as the façade of gentlemanly charm reasserts itself. The trio stop 10 feet from him and they eye one another for a full minute before the Baron breaks the silence.

Baron: “I see that we have gotten off to the wrong foot. My message was intended for Henry… and I assume that he is either fled or dead?”

Ash: “Everyone under Henry is dead or gone, we’re the new owners of the House. Your inability to check before sending a message is more your problem and less ours.”

And those two lines of dialogue are slightly more civil than the actual lines uttered at the table.

War of Words:

The first exchange is a heated one, with the Irish Knights very angry about the crucified man and the fact that this was an “acceptable message” to send to Henry. The Baron manages to smooth it over though and keep most of the anger to just Ash, and a little bit with Ragnall. The Baron’s calm demeanor has an affect on Davey and we get past the first hurdle. The body was a direct message to a man who was already dead, it might have been in bad taste but it was a reciprocal reply. Henry’s previous message was equally as vulgar.

Ash thinks this through, he really has no idea what Henry did to illicit this response. And Henry was responsible for killing over 20 storm knights in fool hardy missions into the Castle and into other things. But he still counters that Spurs was a vile piece of garbage and using him as a representative wasn’t good optics for the Baron.

Baron: “Spurs was a useful sociopath, a product of his environment and the fear and respect that created was worth having a scumbag as a mouth piece.”

The use of the term ‘scumbag’ mollifies Ash, things return to a neutral footing, until Ragnall steps up.

Restoking the Fire:

Ragnall: “You still murdered a man to use as a sign post.”

Baron laughs, “The Yardies use fake and real heads to scare people. The [Romans] have crucified people for centuries. The men who built this city used to tie people to stakes and cut open their backs and pull out their lungs, the blood eagle. You want to preach to me of barbarity! I have already acknowledged that the message wasn’t meant for you and I’m willing to forgive the death of Spurs as the price of the inconvenience.”

The trio retreat a step. The baron has a point, they could make a peace right at this point. Wash both sides of things and step back and start fresh. They are right on the edge of peace. But these knights love to steal defeat from the jaws of victory!

Davey: “Who was the body? Someone died for your message, some family is wondering where he is.”

Baron; “No. No one is waiting. Henry was his only family; it was his brother.”

Shocked silence followed by rage. Ash draws his sword and the two lazy thugs in the background stand from their grave seats. The baron holds a hand to slow them.

Baron D gives them Another Chance:

Baron: “So angry for a man you don’t even know… both of them!”

Ash; “You murdered the man’s family, his only brother. It is vile.”

Baron; “I am a harsh man, but blood must answer blood. Before you condemn me for my actions perhaps you should understand the man you replaced. I sent many lesser messages to Henry before I decided on a final one. Your House is responsible for awakening a creature beneath Phoenix Hill, for freeing a bunch of creatures from the outer tombs in the hill that murdered people all over the north, including my territory. Henry drove a band of ghouls out of the south and into the north side of the Liffe, and then used his wizards to ward the bridges so that the creatures couldn’t cross back into the south.

He started a war between the Hoodies and several other lesser gangs that dragged the Irish into the fight. It was only my intervention that created the neutral ground at the Church. I brought peace to the north, I brought stability. Your Henry killed off most of the storm knights in the city and didn’t seem to care about stability.”

Baron’s anger changed his whole appearance. Where before he seemed a tall, dapper, gentlemen; now he appeared taller, darker, and more menacing. The Irish Knights settle back another two steps. Ash opens his mouth to reply and Davey interrupts him.

Davey really tries:

Davey: “Ok, we don’t know about any of that, we’ve been in the city for only a handful of days. We’re willing to make peace here, but we might butt heads if we’re not on the same page. We are charged with protecting this city from greater evils, and the greatest evil of all is Ulthorion. If you’re an agent of Ulthorion or looking to become his regent in this city then we will have a problem and be enemies.”

Baron: “Ulthorion! Fah! I’ve heard this name, people whispering about him with fear. I have no ties to the creature nor do I care to. If he came to this city and tried to claim rulership, I would fight him for it. No one will rule in my stead. This is a solemn vow.”

Davey turns back to Ragnall and Ash. Ragnall nods slightly, the baron is a villain, but he might be a villain on their side. Ash on the other hand seems unwilling to let it all go. Davey leans in and whispers; “Look, I think we might be able to work with this.”

Ragnall: “I’m a little worried that he doesn’t know who Ulthorion is… Ulthorion ruled all of Aysle for decades. What the hell is the baron and where does he come from?”

Ash: “He killed a man’s brother as a message…”

Ragnall: “And he accuses Henry of a whole list of crimes. Many of which we would have kicked his ass over.”

Ash, sputters; “He’s a monster… and you trust him?”

Ragnall; “He’s a man of his word, literally bound to laws and order. He might twist the details, but I’m sure that Henry did the things he’s accused of.”

Baron: “I have not lied tonight, and sorry but my hearing is quite good.”

Peace, Or Death:

Baron: “I think we’ve reached the end of our talks. If you walk away tonight there will be peace. I’ll even allow you to come into the North, ignore the message. My streets will be open to you and I will not impede your efforts to make the south a better place. But if you keep coming after me, if you murder any more of my men, I will crush you. I will burn your house to the ground and I will take your servants and visit on them so much death and despair that they will beg me to make an end of it. But I will not. I will keep them alive for years, slaves to my will and a reminder to any who would raise a hand against me after I have offered them friendship.”

The trio blink. Ash has never put away his sword, he shrugs and leaps past Davey, who merely shakes his head. The Baron grins, the smile stretching wider across his face than humanly possible, his body seems to shift slightly and somehow the two guards are right in front of him and he is slightly moved back. Ash lands in the spot the Baron once stood and slashes his sword with pure rage fueling his stroke. At his back Ragnall intones a quick prayer, blessing all of their strength for the coming fight.

Ash’s blade cuts down both guards in a single swipe and hisses across the Baron’s chest. Baron D leans back, hissing like a cat, and cursing that this is his favorite suit. He also seems a little shocked at the speed and ferocity of Ash’s attack, and the two dead guards.

Boss Fight!

Dave lunges in next to Ash and strikes with his vanquisher blade, the blade glows with an intensity and in the light they can see that the charm of the Baron evaporates and a snarling beast lives within the suit.

The baron leans away from the sword strike and counterattacks with his bar hand. Razor-sharp talons erupt from his finger tips and Davey falls back with his armor and chest torn open from throat to gut.

Davey: “Ohmygod! Ohmygod! This is not good!”

The baron steps forward, almost in a glide, with his left hand he waves away Ash, purple arcs of energy tossing the elf aside and burning the possibility energy from him. Then the Baron’s mouth opens even wider, fangs bursting from his jaw he grabs Davey with his right hand and bites the man in the throat. Davey is quickly losing consciousness.

Round Two!

The preceding all took less than 10 seconds to occur. The baron goes for a second bite and Davey burns a possibility to change reality, he slips free of the grip on his torn armor and gets away before the bite can land. He then attacks back as he retreats, his sword shredding the baron’s suit further and the energy of the sword reacting to the Baron’s evil.

The baron cringes away from the sword’s light and snarls; “Damn it! I can’t get this suit remade in this shithole cosm!”

Ash, recovering from the possibility rend, lunges forward and jams the black-sword into the Baron’s side. Thick black, blood wells from the wound and the Baron seems even more shocked.

Ragnall pulls David back from the fight and heals him. The wounds across his chest and neck close and the massive man breaths easier. “What have we done?”

Dave; “Should have made the deal.”

Round three!

Ragnall pushes up his sleeves and begins to summon his lightning bolt, his one big hit. He then challenges the Baron, “Come spawn of darkness, whoreson of the Night! Face me, a full priest invested in the Light!” [Plays a cosm card that forces the enemy to face him or take penalties and all of the other knights regain possibility energy]. He’s trying to time the attack; the lightning takes time to build.

Ash and Davey move in tandem to attack the Baron, but to no avail. The Baron moves smoothly around the attacks and steps up between Ragnall and Ash, he lashes out with both hands. The claws miss Ragnall [played Opponent Fails] but hit Ash, who soaks the damage by altering reality. It’s a wash, no blood shed on either side.

The Baron doubles down and backhands Ragnall across the face, but the priest soaks the damage and in response he unleashes his lightning bolt. The Baron is thrown back, most of suit smoldering ruin, and his face twisted and burned. Finally, the Baron looks hurt and perhaps scared.

Rally!

Ash and Davey attack in combo again, and are shocked when the baron turns aside their blades with his bare, burned forearms. Davey looks down at the sword in his hands which is still vibrating after bouncing off the steel-like forearms.

The Baron unhinges his jaws and roars again, the sides of his mouth tearing open and his eyes burn with red rage-light. Ragnall clucks his tongue and steps up and raises both hands above his head, he summons a massive ball of light and suddenly the cemetery is lit like noon. The Baron hisses and covers his eyes, cringing away from the light but there is nowhere it doesn’t reach.

Davey lashes him with the glowing vanquisher blade and the sword leaves a red mark in the Baron’s flesh. The Ash lunges, his sword hitting perfectly though the Baron’s armpit and then thru his heart. [rolled 74 to hit!! GLORY card played!!] The Baron releases an unholy howl, a sound so loud that the knights are forced to step back and over their ears.

The Baron then bursts into a cloud of smoke and whisks away. The cloud moves rapidly and Ash moves to intercept, but what can he do to a cloud of smoke? And the serpent of smoke quickly disappears between houses and is lost to sight.  

Ragnall yells after to Ash to let the smoke go, to stay away. The old priest then looks over the bodies of the thugs and the discarded cape and cane of the Baron. A little cash and few trinkets. He has Davey take them and Ash returns.

Enemies:

Ragnall; “So, that was Daedalus… perhaps we should have let him go. But hey, hind sight. We’ve made a powerful enemy, which means we need to bolster our allies. We should see the Irish first thing tomorrow.”

Davey; “At least we have until nightfall…” The other two look at him. “The Baron is a vampire… sunlight kills vampires.”

Ash; “And this is something from your mythology in your lands? Which might not correspond to our lands?”

Davey; “Well… yeah… I mean maybe he can come out in sunlight, but he’s never been seen in sunlight and the light sure made him flee.”

Ash; “I stabbed him in the heart, he should have been dead.”

Davey, pointing at the thick clotted blood on their swords and on the ground, “Except he’s already dead and his blood has rotted.”

Ash wipes the blood from his sword and looks at it closely. His face twists in disgust. They all agree that they will feel better locked up in the house and they flee the cemetery.

End of ACT 7

And with that, the Irish knights tuck themselves into their beds and think long and hard on whether they really needed to start this fight.

Next week we start ACT 8 wherein the knights meet the Irish, try to plan for revenge from Baron Daedalus, meet a troll, and start acting like the protectors of Dublin they are meant to be.