Hunting the Royal Assassins
Description
DescriptionLady Aurelia reveals that at least two assassination attempts have been made on Kanata and Marika, the two eldest royal siblings, in the past week during the season. Whispers among kitchen staff and castle servants suggest a coordinated effort to eliminate heirs to the throne. The Red Shepherd Games provide perfect cover for a third attempt—combat accidents happen, arrows go astray, and deadly mistakes in tournaments can appear tragic rather than murderous. The Heroes must identify who hired these assassins and prevent another attempt, all while suspicion falls on the obvious candidate: Lilifa, the firstborn child of the Queen's remarriage, who stands to gain most from her half-siblings' deaths. But Aurelia admits they cannot find any correspondence or evidence linking her to the attempts, leaving the true conspiracy shrouded in mystery. Session 18 update: The assassination plot against the Stormweather siblings reveals its nightmarish nature when Caelum discovers Deep Speech script carved beneath Marika's tent and encounters the Moth Assassin—a creature with wrong proportions, dark hair, and bright red eyes that speaks in fragments about 'the eye always watching' before bursting into hundreds of moths when touched by sunlight. Daria's investigation among servants uncovers that strange guttural chanting has been heard from the sisters' rooms at night, with assassination attempts beginning after these sessions started. The conspiracy runs deeper than political rivals—it involves aberrant magic and creatures from beyond normal reality.
Timeline
The Lady's Commands
Aurelia briefs the Heroes on the assassination attempts, providing a vial of Vidianthan Flower sedative and tasking them with protecting the royal heirs during the Games.
Schemes and Celebrations
The group plans protection strategies, with Caelum offering to seat Kanata and Marika in his box where watchful eyes can guard them.
The Games Begin
The Heroes pursue both investigation threads. Caelum uses invisibility to infiltrate Marika's tent, discovering Deep Speech script carved into the ground that resists his attempts to destroy it. Daria achieves spectacular success questioning servants, learning about multiple prior assassination attempts and strange guttural chanting coming from sisters' rooms at night—the attacks began after the chanting started. Major breakthroughs in understanding the supernatural nature of the threat.
The Moth in the Shadows
The investigation becomes confrontation when Caelum leads Marika back to her tent and they discover the Moth Assassin already there—a creature of wrong proportions speaking in fragments before bursting into moths when touched by sunlight. Caelum confesses his protective mission and proposes they work together to ambush the creature on their terms. The supernatural threat manifests directly, transforming political intrigue into horror.