Criminal Quandaries - S29
The party approached the capitol building to find the courtyard had been turned into a large arena with people bustling every which way, and that the festivities had already begun. Not wasting time however, they made their way to the familiar room where they had met General Highcall many times before. This time, a full armory greeted them along with an army of squires and assistants.
Highcall greeted them asking what they had for him. They presented them with everything they had found. Bastle, however, had an ace, or so he thought. The pocket watch Petra provided summoned Estrum, the creator of the warforged as they exist today- more sentient and capable than ever before.
It came at a price however. Estrum detailed how he was experimenting, created his first prototype, Vincent. But Vincent was stolen after Estrum deactivated him by the opposite Cannith faction. He had discovered, however than souls were the best way to progress his inventions. He struck a deal with a rural family that buried the deceased for free, relying solely on donations. Estrum could sustain them if they ripped the soul from the bodies before they buried them.
From there, Estrum created Bastle, and just as Blade was being Born, Estrum sent Bastle away citing fear that he was in danger. The new Warforged, the Lord of Blades, was created with the soul of the incredible fighter- Tiberius, at the request of his parents. Blade was the most powerful warforged to date and ravaged the lab he was created in killing both Estrum and Quinta Cannith.
Estrum didn't have any more he could offer to Highcall except that Blade reveled in cruelty, but to not lose hope that he could win. Estrum left, saying his final goodbye to bastle sating he needed to make things right.
Alia- wait, Mario- dangit- KRAID, Highcall's assistant took the party down a long hallway to pick out their companion for the team-based capture the flag game. Team Barnaby chose Zerxes, the flame skull, and team Better Barnaby chose Brian the Minotaur. The martial characters leapt between boats to rush to the other side, while the casters stated behind to defend the flags. Bastle tried his best but could not defeat Kaige in one-on-one combat, perishing at her hands.
Brian's Mad sprint paid off despite Yeet's best effort to charm him otherwise. Brian took the flag back to his base. Meanwhile Yeet Teleported to the enemy base, doing his best to avoid the trap that Gus had set. He successfully polymorphed Gus into a bird, but it wasn't enough. Kaige Killed Yeet, and the Kraken tentacles turned Gus back into himself to allow him to finish the job.
The Victory was awarded to team better Barnaby. Gus, Kaige and Brian all get to split 1,500 gold, and a chance to pull from the deck of many things. Brian went first pulling the skull- a Shadowy figure appeared on the boat ready to attack Brian.
