Session 57 - Blood on stone

09/08/300 (Early afternoon) - The group see more troops beginning to gather. A storm cloud still hovering above the battlefield, the troops spend time mustering in force to deal with the party. Heskan asks the surrendered guards where the shrine is and one guard, a man named Fergus, agrees. The other guards argue with him before fleeing.

The party discuss their situation as move, eventually forcing their foes to deploy scouts to follow them. Up ahead they see the ruins and Ruric stops to drop a card from the deck of illusion. A gargantuan Red Dragon is projected on the area and the party move to investigate. The dragon image causes the guards ahead to flee.

The group poke round an abandoned weighing station that has been converted into a shrine, Ruric finding remnants of blood on the alter. Elnorin scares the fled guards into full flight whilst Braith and Heskan search around. Eventually Braith finds a hidden door but Ruric isn't sure how to open it. Elnorin notices that the illusion has stopped holding the enemy forces up. Braith rides out with Heskan, Elnorin and Bankanir to parley. She meets a man named Colman. He agrees to take them to the Ri under a number of conditions, namely their surrender. He says if more than one of them leave then he'll assume they are fleeing and pursue them. Braith returns to Heskan, Elnorin and Bankanir. They briefly discuss what happened. Braith heads to Ruric whilst the others wait. 

Inside Ruric has traced the runes around the hidden door Braith found earlier. They are in a language he doesn't recognise. He uses a ritual to comprehend languages to discover that it says 'Bow before me and swear allegience'. He asks Fergus to do so. Braith arrives and they decide to fetch Elnorin. Ruric switches places with Elnorin who speeds off. This seemingly frustrates Colman, who then moves his troops forward. Ruric runs but Heskan and Bankanir stay, keeping Braith's word. 

Heskan and Bankanir area taken to the Ri's hall whilst Elnorin breaks in finding a more elaborate shrine below the other shrine. It is seemingly a meeting space for an inner circle. Here a circular altar is bathed in dry blood. They head upstairs to find Ruric arriving. Ruric realises that the other remained behind. A discussion ensues in which Elnorin becomes increasingly frustrated at not being able to communicate. Door claims to understand him but is cowed when Elnorin looms over him. Elnorin shifts back and the three have a heated discussion about their plan. Fergus points out that there is an access tunnel to the aqueduct that may take them inside the wall. The three search the basement more thoroughly to find a mostly exsanguinated body of a young woman named Bonnie. Braith and Ruric use this sight to galvanise Fergus' motivation.

Meanwhile Heskan and Bankanir are presented to the Ri. Here he meets Ri Bryon Tiarnwen who seems addled. Lil, his advisor, does most of the talking and orders the pair of adventurers held. As they leave Heskan notices the bard in the room, Saraid, drop a facade of her being oppressed and begins a spell upon the Ri.

The others find an entrance to the aqueduct from the river and begin to infiltrate. They decide to wait for nightfall before emerging. 

Bankanir and Heskan rest. Bankanir is taken for questioning and is returned several hours later with no memory of his interrogation.