It was an early morning on the Crown Isle. Tradesman slowly woke up and made their way to their shops using the aid of lanterns, as dawn had not yet come to light the many streets of the capital. Criminal elements slowly lurked back into the undercity, knowing that as the sun rose, so too did the morning patrols of the Violet Order, ready to relieve the second night watch from another vigilant patrol. In the harbor district, fishermen moved their nets and rods into their boats, prepared to catch the food necessary to sell at the noon market, with hope that their catch of the day would be on someone's dinner table that evening.
It was therefore rather out of the ordinary when a band of armed individuals made their way to the end of a pier, moving to board a vessel destined to the Calderlia Merchant Cities a half hour trip away. Indeed, the composition of this group would raise many brows from the typical dockworkers. A few Ularen Lion pelts draped over the arms of a half dozen or more, a few tricorne hats donned on some more darker clothed individuals, and familiar crimson capes worn by a few more. Clearly, these were Knights of the realm, and it seemed that circumstances once again found several Knightly Orders working together to succeed on a mission. Some believed that they were on a mission from the Conclave, while others suggested that they might be deploying to the warfront earlier than the rest. And yet still others thought they were on a secret Imperial assignment, sworn to secrecy. So came the rumors as the ship sailed off to the northern ports of the Waldmark, with a single destination in mind: Tirgunn.
After the first few hours of the trip from Ubeck came and went, and morning turned to afternoon, the Knights began to pass the time conversing with each other, inquiring on why everyone was on this mission. While it was true that the majority of the Knights agreed that saving some villagers was more important than Hadarian ruins or Mythical shields, everyone had their own reasons. The Darkwald Knights were the first to respond, not surprising anyone. Geoffrey and Minerva Broussard, Victoria of Tirgunn, and Garrick Wernher all shared a common history in the region, having fought against Vampires many times in the past. They saw it their duty to eliminate the Vampiric group that moved into their lands, regardless of the collateral lives lost in the process. While understanding their convictions, the Villiers-Eclaire Knights spoke up next, with Gerard Kreiburg and Aldüir Stormblade adding that the lives of the villagers needed to be prioritized, and that curing them would be a necessity. This would be echoed by the Bloodcasts, with Lazarus Lupenzi, Lee Min Qie, Lyonel Deceres, and Yue Liang hou all perefing to cure rather than kill, knowing that the townsfolk turned were only victims of misfortune. Saoirse Laoir rode alongside the Darkwalds while Lynmar Lomstedt meanwhile kept quiet, looking about the group of knights for any signature green capes draped over armor. Alas, it appeared that no Viridian Knights were present for this mission, perhaps wholly unwilling to even ride alongside the Bloodcast Order at this time, or perhaps other duties forced them away. In any case, whatever Lynmar wanted to say would have to wait for the return back to Regalia.
Making up the rest of what would soon be known as Group A included the Lion Pelt Order. Humaira Reinard sought redemption for her past mistakes in Crookback Bay, while Eopinia Eledhwen was concerned with keeping her neighboring duchies from being the next target of Vampiric encroachment. The rest of the Order's representatives, including Camille Reinard, Amicia d'Deux, Michetta Gocciolo, Fiona Mac Connall, and Tim Borros, were just there to provide additional security for the party, and no doubt to help out some fellow Leutzman who held cultural ties with the Emprizais du Lion Castle. Finally, making up the last of the entourage were two men making a few friendly wagers with each other. Rafael of the Blackguard Order and Aesgeir av Hedryll of the Great Oak Knights each were looking for a chance to prove themselves in combat. With a shared desire to defeat the most Vampires and bring personal glory to themselves, the two of them agreed that whoever subdued the most Vampires would be awarded a free night of drinks by the loser. And so the group of Knights continued on their journey for the next several days, arriving to the border of Gorzas and Tirgunn in the middle of the day after leaving Ivenna.
Moving down the pier, the smaller group was not too surprised to see a similar gold-armored man waiting for them with a wave. Juan-Carlos Henrique, the Monzon Knight, greeting the group, before asking for the "ticket to Tirgunn." The first two to present themselves were Harlow Ketch and Albon Konig of the Bloodcast Knights. Handing over their papers, Juan-Carlos would simply laugh, giving a side remark to Albon as he directed them over to the boat: "I'd have written my own name myself if I had the same connections you had, Militia Commander." Next up was Altea the Oranjen Knight and Kopec of the Parthas Order. Upon receiving the letters, the Monzon Knight directed them to the boat as well: "Good contact given the results of the Imperial Audience a few days back." Next was Yue Liang Hou, alos a Bloodcast Knight. Being directed towards the boat with the rest, the Golden Knight remarked out: "Seems they're going through some rough spots right now. Hopefully you dealing with some leeches will give them some new ideas to work with." Finally the Wards of Fae Knights, Wilvamair Arnyn, Gwyn ad Dothwaite, Rhiannon do Doithwaite, and Gistetirre Brecael, all delivered their letters. The Monzon cleared Wilvamair to board with his Crookback Councillor voucher, but paused the other three. "Now, it looks like you all got a lump voucher from one of these Kathar in the Capital. While we'll still toss you with the rest, always be wary of pooling your lot together. Always make room to cut ties when a job goes bad, as sometimes you just have to look out for number one before others." Ending his vetting process, he moved back towards the city itself, as a few Daendroque sailors started to ferry everyone into the Tartane.
As expected with a smuggling operation, the accommodations aboard the small sloop were not for pleasure cruising. The smell of alcohol barrels and hay filled the boat as the sailors began to instruct the Knights on how things were to go down. Once they made it within sight of Maraisburke, the Knights were expected to fit themselves into a few supply crates and barrels, all stamped to be shipped to Calemberg. They would remain in the containers as they were moved to a horse drawn wagon, after which they would wait until they heard a knock from the outside, giving the go ahead to get out. Upon hearing that they would be cramped into several barrels, many of the Knights had second thoughts on coming along. However, by the time they considered abandoning the quest, the Tartane had already departed Venitiane, already on its way across the strait. With little other choice but to continue, the band of Knights organized how they would fit in each container, and before long found themselves tossed around as the ship made port.
After what felt like days, the knock of liberation came for everyone, and soon the Knights were freed of their cramped compartments, free to breath the fresh air and move their stiff joints around. Looking around their surroundings, all they would see were the dark green needles and leaves of the forest around them, with only a cobblestone road giving any sense of direction. With the group was an old Leutzman, sporting a worn, brown overcoat with a tricorne on top. Thinking that this was a Moznon betrayal, some of the party began to draw blades, before the old man rose his hands to defuse the situation. Referring to himself simply as the Guide, he explained that it has been about an hour since they arrived in Maraisburke, and that by now the Darkwald's patrols had been cleared. It would still be a few more hours until arriving at the target village, but the worst of the journey was over with. Or so they thought…
Leaping right into action, Rafael and Aesgeir immediately drew their weapons and charged right at the first vampires that came at them. Despite the friendly wager the two made, it became apparent that the heavy defenses of a Blackguard Knight paired well with the variety of a Great Oak monster hunter. Whenever Rafael became swarmed at the front with a couple of Vampire soldiers, Asgeir would be there to pick them off. And when the Great Oak Knight was about to be struck by the same couple. Rafael would swing his greatsword into the enemy, ensuring that the two of them continued to tally up their counts. Together, the two of them held out against the Vampire targets, until the coven cleared room for one of their champions, a von Kërle knight which both men suspected was one of the baron's soldiers that was corrupted a few weeks back. Together, the two Knights worked to overpower the Vampire champion, though it did not come without some consequences, as Rafael would suffer a broken arm during the final moments of the fight, causing it to need about a week of non usage once he got it looked at by a doctor, no doubt causing him a few issues with the conclusion of this quest.
Far less direct than the vanguard, the Darkwald squad slowly moved around some of the houses, seeking out a few of the more formidable Vampire soldiers in the vicinity. Seeking to divide and conquer, the Broussards elected to move as a duo, while Victoria and Saoirse acted as their own pair. However, in their attempt to cover more ground, the two pairs opened up additional risks which would cause complications. As Geoffrey was firing his Puretek out as cover fire, Minerva began to reconstruct her own weapon into a Switchtek Blade. However, during the construction process, a longbow arrow flew towards the couple, before landing into Minerva's leg. Forced to retreat to cover, it would be determined that she would have to walk around on crutches for at least two weeks. To add insult to injury, the second pair did not fare much better. As Victoria fired her Puretek shots at the Vampires, Saoirse was taking aim with her own bow, looking to hit a few Vampires herself. However, with both women on the offense, it came to a surprise to both when yet another longbow arrow made its mark on Victoria's own leg, leaving her with the same two-week injury as Minerva.
As the Darkwald Unit began to buckle, the Lion Pelt Knights moved into action. Moving to form a line in front of the downed Knights, the group would slowly move to deal with the approaching Vampires, with mixed results from the group. While Humaira and Camille managed to hold their own, Eponia would ultimately roll her ankle over a divot in the ground, causing a small sprain that would last a week, forcing her to rely on her Beorl Axe as a crutch as she moved out of the line of attack. Amicia would also sustain a week long injury as she helped with defending the lines, this time pulling her shoulder out when cleaving her axe down on an enemy. Next down the line was Michetta, who would eventually be forced to hold her part of the line herself as Fiona Mac Conall suffered an arrow to the shoulder, causing her own week of recovery on the limb. Unfortunately, the worst victim of the failed rescue was Tim Borros, who managed to take his own arrow to the leg guarding the others, causing him to rely on a crutch for the next two weeks.
Moving to turn the tide began with the Wards of Fae Knights, who upon revealing themselves caught the Court of Crimson Blades by surprise. After all, they only planned to be dealing with mundane knights, and their strategies revolved around such. It therefore came to no surprise when one of the Vampire officers suddenly found himself dragged up into the sky by Wilvamair Arnyn, before falling back down into his companions below. Gwyn and Rhiannon moved into action next, fighting some of the Vampiric soldiers in melee combat. However, both of them would suffer matching wounds as another von Kërle knight engaged the two of them directly, with both ending up with deep gashes on their sword arms that would take a week to recover from. Gistetirre meanwhile would assist her wounded comrades, dispatching the Vampire warrior with a few precise swings of her blade.
The next group to engage was the Bloodcast squad, who now saw it as their duty to reinforce the Darkwald and Lion Pelts that still needed extra aid. Leading the group was Lazarus, who continued to receive updates of the battle from his White Owl, allowing the squad to find the path to victory. Lee and Lyonel would follow up behind him, moving to provide additional cover to the fallen Knights by fighting off the remnants of the assailants. Lastly, Yue and Lynmar followed up behind, but not before yet another arrow hit Yue in the shoulder, leading him to have a one week injury as well. Not wanting to leave a brother in arms crippled, Lynman kept back with Yue, ensuring that the two of them would make it back to the city.
Meanwhile, off to the side near the Castle itself was Harlow and Alban, who seemed to be avoiding most of the fighting themselves, hiding around the bushes dotting the road, and moving from building to building, it was anyone's guess as to what they were doing. However, their stealthiness would soon be put in vain, as they would stumble upon some of the Vampire Coven's best forces, standing guard right in front of the Castle. Drawing their blades, the two of them expected to be in the fight of their lives as the enemies engaged. While capable fighters, it would soon show that the two Bloodcasts were not going to make it out in one piece, especially once Harlow was stabbed in his arm by a Vampiric blade, causing him to go a week of no use for recovery. With half of the duo now incapacitated, it seemed like they would find themselves at the end of their quest, had it not been a surprise turn of events. Out of the corner of Alban's eye came the flail of Kopec's, quickly ending the life of a Vampiric soldier. Seemingly with a similar mindset as Rafael and Aesgeir in some other part of the village, the Parthas Knight aided in pushing back the Court's rearguard, before they barricaded themselves into the Castle, for now.
With the reinforcements of the occult Knights showing up, the Vampires began to flee back into the forests, knowing that their time assaulting this nameless village was at an end. Knowing that the Darkwald Order would soon be dealing with the runaways, the Knightly Orders moved back to a nearby dock to form up once more. In all, roughly half of the Knights sustained notable injuries that would make the rest of the mission slightly more difficult, though not impossible to win. Some Knights were simply ready to be done with the Vampiric Curse in the town, while still others had other matters to deal with once they reached the Castle. And sure enough, after a few moments of rest, the doors to the Castle opened up, beckoning the Knights to enter. No Vampires appeared from the entrance, leading to only one possible outcome: The Baron and the Court of Crimson Blades were all that remained, and wished for a formal end of this apparent liberation attempt...
The finale of this quest will take place Friday, February 12th, at 8pm EST. Please arrive to /tp Knights HQ before then.
