The Black Emperor vol 15

 

Session 15:

The time has come, the party gathers its forces in the druid’s forest and marches on the capital. Their army consists of druids, villagers, pine knights, fae, regular soldiers, and even Lugh’s men, a formidable force. When the army arrives they find that the capitol has been buttoned up, prepared for the siege but having left the people of the slums to fend for themselves. 

Colossal spies an opportunity and heads into the slums. She seeks out the gang she was accidentally inducted into, the Black Back tribe. After some negotiations she convinces them to assist in getting a strike team into the city. Their price is that they get full plunder of the city’s major guard post. Colossal agrees and returns to the army which has already begun construction of siege weapons.

A party rides out from the capital under a white flag of truce. This party consists of Jagh-Deesh, Cormac, and the emperor’s hand. The party is asked to disband its unlawful rebellion. Atreyu states that the rebellion is lawful and declares that the emperor has forsaken his people. Cormac states that Atreyu’s honor is above reproach and he will hear out his case, asking them to collect seven peasants to speak before them. The party presents a slew of peasants along with the fury, Pluto. Most of the peasants are dismissed by the hand, their responses and stories are not backed by law. Pluto, it seems, came prepared. He makes declarations and with the two Kenku of his party he quotes the exact letters of the law that are violated by the emperor. The end result of this is that Cormac declares his clan must begin an investigation through the empire, as a result his clan cannot assist in any conflict the empire finds itself in for at least a month while his clan rides out and surveys the villages. In frustration the hand of the emperor rides back into the capital. With the official gone Jagh-Deesh and Cormac relax. Jagh-Deesh informs the party that without the support of the Buryn clan, the walls wont have enough defenders to adequately cover every inch. He further advises that they may be able to take the wall with little more than ladders. Jagh-Deesh laments that the emperor may have lost his way but in his own way he has brought peace to the rest of the world who remains in a stalemate, fearing the black army. After some pleasantries they part and return to their respective camps.

That night the party discusses their plans for the assault and while arguing they realize they have the powerful magical shovel, The Dirt Devil, and could simply undermine the walls or dig into the sewers. They agree that the best course of action is to use the dirt devil to get the army into the sewers while the knights distract the troops on the walls. Then, using the black back tribe’s advice, they position the army around the city. A separate team consisting of Illanth, Atreyu, and Homlet is set to attack the keep itself, making an attempt on the emperor. 

The assault on the capitol is better than expected, the walls quickly surrender and the troops lay siege to the keep, lead by Lugh and the rest of the party. This draws the emperor’s house guard to the keep’s walls and out of the party’s way for the most part. Ilanth draws on her divine senses and leads the party through the keep, avoiding all remaining guards and possible threats.

The trio enter the throne room and are confronted by the emperor himself. He laughs and explains that he has waited a long time for this. He explains that he has been alive as long as his empire has stood, and he cannot die until the empire does. He has spend ages trying to make himself the enemy of the free world to no avail. So he turned against his own people, trying to spark a rebellion all this time. He comes at the party with all his strength, crossing blades with Atreyu. Homlet, in a moment of brilliance draws another magical nova out of himself, casting a powerful spell to make everyone in the capital believe that the empire is broken and that the emperor has betrayed his people, filling the need for the empire to die before the black emperor can. The emperor disarmed Atreyu and used a magical blast to strike down Homlet. Ilanth picks up Homlet, healing him and protecting him against further attacks. Atreyu takes up the Beryn clan shield and his sword, using them to fend off the emperor while Homlet reaches deep and draws on another magical nova, shielding his allies and leaving his body withered and weak, a moment away from death. Even with the protections it seems the party is only evenly matched with the emperor. Ilanth draws on the mightiest powers of her god and paralyzes the emperor. After some deliberation the party realizes they cannot let this man live, he will only find away to be a threat later, so they finally put down the mad emperor.