Kingmaker: Sound of a Thousand Screams, Session 15, Part 4

The Fable

Epilogue

Nyrissa’s eyes opened, and she slowly sat up in her bed to regard those standing over her. There was a dwarf, a gnoll, and two humans; on their faces she recognized confusion, or wariness, or both. As the faerie looked around in wonder at the room, and then at her hands, and her arms, and her torso, and her legs, the handsomer of the humans tentatively spoke up. “Nyrissa? Or… Briar? Is that you?”

It all came back to her in a flash. Reigning as a Queen of the First World. Her affair with Count Ranalc, one of the Eldest. Her hubris in declaring herself one of their number, and the subsequent punishment from the other Eldest. There was a… splintering. After that, there was a period of darkness. But she remembered gradually waking up and realizing she was trapped within a blade. And she was now, finally, herself again.

Or was she? She felt different than she used to, it seemed to her. There was no anger at the Eldest for what they had done, no rage at having her existence stolen by an impostor for so long. There was just… a pleasant warmth within her. Looking at the assembled mortals, it struck her that it was because of their actions that she had been released from the Eldest’s prison, and she felt a great love and boundless gratitude for them.

“Yes, Emperor Zieros, I am Nyrissa,” she declared as she rose from the bed. “I am the Queen of Forgotten Time, the Mistress of Whispers, the Green Lady, and am known by many other names besides.” In her past life, this statement would have sounded imperious. Instead, her new self spoke proudly yet simply. “You and your companions have returned me to myself, and for that, I am grateful.”

“So…” ventured the Emperor, “does that mean you’ll stop trying to destroy the Stolen Lands?”

The faerie queen paused, and searched her heart to uncover how it now felt. “Yes,” she said after some moments. “I repudiate the Other’s (for that is how she regarded the Nyrissa-that-was-not-her) attempt to seize your kingdom. And I find that I no longer have a desire to prove myself to the Eldest, or to count myself among their ranks.” After another pause, she added, “I am… content. Or I will be, I believe, once Thousandbreaths is healed and returned to the First World.”

The party was very pleased to hear that, and offered to help Nyrissa in any way they could to speed that process along.

Parting Gifts

Finally, the queen offered each of her saviors a boon. “Name your fondest wish, and if it within my power to grant, I will do so.”

Aakif the arcanist immediately requested arcane knowledge. “The magic of the fey is different than that of the humans, I believe, but you are free to come here and study our works and glean what you can from them. You will always be a favored guest in Thousandbreaths, and many others of my kind will regard your requests favorably, if you carry the mark of a queen.” She tugged gently on some strands of her hair, pulling them free. She then wove the hairs into a ring, and magically bound the braid with gold filigree. When the process was complete, the queen held out the gleaming circle for Aakif to take.

Kwin the dwarven cleric of Cayden Cailean wanted to learn the recipes for brewing the strongest faerie ales and meads. The Queen smiled and laughed at that request, bathing the group in her radiant and joyful beauty. “I do not have the knowledge you seek, but I will ensure that the most highly regarded brewers of Faerie will see you, and that to you they will reveal their secrets.” And once again, she pulled some hairs from her head and fashioned a ring for the dwarf, which would mark him as one who bore her favor.

Orseen the gnoll warpriest scrunched up his furry face and asked, “Can you tell me about my tombstone? You see, we were in the Boneyard trying to destroy this sword…”

The Queen listened to the warrior’s story, and when he had finished she replied, “Alas, we fey are not bound by the cycles of death and fate as you are, and so I do not have the answer you seek. But in looking at you, I do not see your futures as I do with your companions. I suspect that the breaking of the tombstone has untethered you from your mortal end; you appear much like a faerie would to mine eyes. What that means for a mortal I could not guess. But I invite you to stay with me and serve as my champion. In the First World I believe you would be shielded from the ravages of time, and perhaps even live forever. And I have need of new retainers.” She did not need an immediate answer, and so she created another ring of green hair and gold for Orseen, with which he could use to return to her when he wished.

Finally it was Satampra the swashbucker’s turn. He told the Green Lady, “I feel like Caerelia is safe, for now. My wish is to rule it wisely. Well, that and a laser gun.* No? Then, I wish for benevolent wisdom.”

* When Satampra had learned that Numeria, land of barbarians and spaceships, was just off the edge of the Pitax map, he had become infatuated with idea of procuring a laser gun, which I had previously not allowed for various reasons.

“Then wisdom you shall have, Emperor,” Nyrissa declared. She wove and bound another ring and handed it to him. “Your ring not only marks you as carrying my favor, but shall make you one of the wisest rulers of your kind. Your legacy will be one of wise counsel and sound judgments, and in time Caerelia will be known for its tradition of justice tempered by mercy.”

Satampra bowed as he took the golden band from her and regarded it warily. “You’re not going to use these to scry on us, are you?” (that was a persistent, and untrue, belief of the players’ of the other green-hair rings they had discovered) “Or drive us crazy?” The Queen laughed and shook her head, and so the Emperor grimaced and reluctantly slipped the ring onto his finger. He felt wiser immediately!

Farewells were spoken, and the Queen returned the party to the House at the Edge of Time. From there they teleported back to Caerelia’s capital of Stagfell and reported that the faerie threat was, at long last, finished.

With Aakif’s and Kwin’s assistance, Thousandbreaths was healed and did return to the First World. The damage done to Caerelia by the blooms and the wars was repaired, and the upstart kingdom was soon expanding once more. Caerelia prospered as it served as a trading hub for the land that was once Brevoy in the north and the River Kingdoms to the south, and it became known far and wide not just for its wealth, but also for having the wisest of rulers and its many mighty champions.

Caerelia at the End

The campaign started on Desnus (May) 1st, 4710. Caerelia was founded in Lamashan (October) 4710. Here is Caerelia as of Abadius (January) 4726, the end of the campaign:

Caerelia
NG Autocratic Kingdom (pop. 118,600)

Size: 224; Cities: 12; Control DC: 264
Economy: +397; Loyalty: +323; Stability: +349

Fame: +68; Infamy: +8; Unrest: 0; Unrest/Turn: 0
Treasury: 1271 BP; Consumption: 2 BP/turn; Income: +99 BP/turn

Kingdom Corruption: +6; Kingdom Crime: +3; Kingdom Law: +4
Kingdom Lore: +9; Kingdom Productivity: +5; Kingdom Society: +12

Settlements

• Stagfell [Capital], Small City (pop. 7,200)
• Last Hope, Small City (pop. 6,000)
• Tatzylford, Large Town (pop. 3,600)
• Shrike Crossing, Large Town (pop. 3,700)
• Oleg’s Gate, Small City (pop. 7,200)
• Varnhold, Small City (pop. 6,500)
• Fort Heptamus, Small City (pop. 7,200)
• Silverstep, Large Town (pop. 3,600)
• Arcmere, Small Town (pop. 900)
• New Salar’s Rest, Small City (pop. 6,600)
• Pitax, Small City (pop. 7,700)
• Feywatch, Large Town (pop. 2,400)

It should be noted that kingdom-building faded into the background after book 5, and not much was done in book 6 other than raising an army or two and repairing some of the damage done by the blooms.

What Next?

I did ask the players what they wanted for their characters and kingdom in the future. Bill, Orseen’s player, immediately responding that he wanted to conquer Brevoy! It was noted that that would be a tall order, given that Brevoy was several times the size of Caerelia at its largest. And also, they were allied with a good chunk of the remnants of the kingdom. Perhaps they could just conquer the Surtova-held part, in retaliation for all of the attacks?

Drew, Satampra’s player, additionally wanted to ensure that the Rogarvians – the vanished royal bloodline – never returned. For if the family failed to reappear within 100 years, then the side they were nominally allied with would break further apart, thanks to deals made in the wake of the Brevoy civil war. This was a change from his previous desire to find the missing royal bloodline, but perhaps he figured the damage was done and there was not much point in reuniting Brevoy at this point.

House Rogarvia’s fate is the one real dangling plotline remaining. I regret not being able to address it during the time we were actively playing, but by the point where the PCs reached a level that seemed sufficient to solve the mystery I was focused on trying to wrap things up.

Satampra also wanted to finally get a laser gun. As the campaign was over, I relented, and he was finally able to locate a functioning one within the ruins of Numeria.

Orseen desired to live forever, and more importantly, forever young – there’s not much point in living forever if your body continues to break down over time! Whether this was possible while the champion remained on Golarion, I was unsure of. But either there or in the First World, the gnoll lived on, fighting countless battles and performing lots of awesome deeds.

Aakif, after spending some time learning the magic of the fey, was glad to return to his family holdings in southern Brevoy and continue his research into the furthest reaches of the arcane.

Kwin learned the secrets of faerie ales and wines, and came back to become the finest mortal brewer of the age.

And they all lived happily ever after…

End Book 6

Next: musings on book 6.