The Finale (or natural 20's aren't always a good thing)

 

From the stage, Fantastic Freddy looked out at the sea of faces. The Contest of Song was one of the last contests of the Solstice Festival, and was always well attended. Hundreds of people swarmed Cathedral Square as the four remaining contestants performed their final numbers.

Freddy was scheduled to go on last.

Over to his left , he could see the three masked and robed judges watching him from the second story balcony of the Customs House. He smiled and waved at them. On of them, the woman, blew him a kiss. Freddy was pretty sure that was Bella Bell, under that mask and robe.

As his eyes scanned over the crowd, reading them and trying to judge what tune would go over the best, his eyes were drawn to a fourth masked figure, a tall, regally dressed woman in a plumed formal masquerade mask . Not one of the judges, but the masquerade ball was tonight so masks were not exactly an uncommon site. Still, there was something special about this woman. She stood at the head of a small group of what were probably servants or lady's in waiting. At least their deference to their mistress was obvious to Freddy. Even from under the mask, Freddy could feel her dark eyes on him.

He'd never seen her before, of this he was sure. She must have only arrived in town for the final day of the contest. "Clearly a music lover" Freddy thought wryly. 

Freddy considered his song choice. Originally he had been planning to go with one of his classic upbeat swing tunes, Zuit Suit Riot maybe or King of Swing. But for some reason that didn't seem like the right choice anymore. The lady with the mask reminded him of another lady, one he had met far away in a dark place. And the song he had composed for her and only ever sang for her. Up till now.

That song had been too good to shelve though, so why not?

Freddy sat down on the edge of the stage and quietly started to play, looking down at the frets and lightly picking out the notes on his guitar. The instrumental bridge was ethereal and haunting. Slowly the noise of the crowd died down as people strained to listen. Soon, silence reigned over the entire square. 

Freddy looked up and smiled. And then he started to sing.

"There's a lady who knows all that glitters is gold..."

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"Sweet Mithra are they still rioting?" asked Dakhir. "Are we safe here?". The party crouched behind the old watermill, on a quite street well away from the square and the noise of the riot that was still very much ongoing. 

"I think so" answered Whisperleaf. "The invisibility spell after the third encore seems to have thrown them off the scent."

"Never seen a crowd lose their minds like that, great job Fred." Ricmo remarked.

Ozraeline nodded. "That was the best I've ever seen you Freddy." she remarked thoughtfully. "I don't

think I've ever heard or seen anyone play like that. Except maybe Red Alice." 

"I agree" said a musical voice from Freddy's right.

Freddy started. It was HER. The masked woman from the audience. Where had she come from?

"A truly remarkable performance" she smiled. "Quite inspired."

Even behind her mask, her smile was electric. Charisma oozed from her.

Freddy wasn't sure where this strange woman came from, but he was never one to be impolite to a fan. Or a beautiful woman for that matter. And somehow he was sure that under that mask she was beautiful.

He bowed, took her hand and kissed it. 

"Only because I saw you in the crowd and you inspired me, Lady...?"

"Oh, where are my manners. Names are always so...complicated. I am known as Lady Tragos of the Halflight, Queen of Bitter End"

"Bitter End" said Freddy. "I have never heard of that kingdom. Is it close?"

"Oh very close Freddy. Closer then you'd think." she smiled. "You must really come to my court and play for me."

"I'd love to" he said.

"Fuck" thought Dakhir. Something strange was happening. Dakhir was by nature and training, highly paranoid. This strange, probably supernatural person had appeared out of nowhere, out of the shadows, normally Dakhir would be very much not ok with that. But for some reason he felt...disinterested. Lethargic almost.  Like this was natural, like Freddy was just talking to a friend. no need to intervene or interfere. He looked around and saw the rest of his companions also ignoring the woman, chatting amongst themselves. 

But still, even through whatever glamor was effecting him, he heard the toll of magic when Freddy replied "I'd love to." The ring of a pact being struct.

"How wonderful" The Lady of Bitter End trilled. "I am so excited! Freddy I have a gift I'd like to give you, a gift of appreciation for your upcoming visit.  We all know that a true musician doesn't just think of the instrument, but also the strings. Here I have for you golden strings, that I spun personally from the rays of the dawn rising. No other strings will sing so sweetly for you"

She reached out and in her hands was a small jeweled casket, half opened, revealing softly shining guitar strings of gold.

Dakhir tried to open his mouth to tell Freddy not to take the offered gift, but somehow he couldn't get his mouth to work.

"Why thank you my Lady, they are lovely. said Freddy, taking the strings. It was like Dakhir heard a second bell toll in his head.

"Enjoy them!" she said. "And do come visit me? "

"Of course my Lady, but unfortunately my friends and I are about to set forth on an urgent voyage."

"How disappointing" pouted the Lady. "Winter Solstice then? We always throw such a celebration for Winter Solstice at my castle of Bitter End"

"Very well, I shall be there!" said Freddy

And she walked away.

Dakhir groaned.

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"Well I guess that priest from Mbo really wanted that amulet." exclaimed Ricmo brightly as the amulet sold for the yearly income of a small barony. 

" Good thing too" groused Dakhir. "That thing looked dangerous to me."

Ricmo smiled to himself. Dakhir clearly had been interested in that gruesome amulet, but just as clearly the party could never have afforded it, especially given how much that priest was willing to pay for it. Ricmo had a suspicion that buying that thing may have been the entire purpose of the priests voyage here.

"The real question is who is going to buy that scary scary sword" he pointed out.

"Oh look, the chest is up next!" Tello mentioned excitedly as the stagehands rolled out a large ornately carved wooden chest. "The Wizard of the Yellow Tower was telling us to keep an eye on this one. I find it fascinating."

Lum, the auctioneer, quietly looked out at his audience. Lum was clearly something of a showman, as all good auctioneers were. 

Finally he spoke.

"Chests are made to put things in. That much is obvious. But what, Bartholomew the Stoic pondered one late night in his workshop, if you could put more than physical items in? What if you could put in your sickness, your hurt and your pain?

He knew that something similar had been done with a famous painting, and he respected the natural laws enough to know that there would have to be balance. He wouldn’t be able to create a chest that simply had everything negative placed in it. That wouldn’t work.

A busy court magician, he worked on this in the background over many years. Potentially, he would never have finished it if the queen hadn’t become ill. Healers came and went, but to no avail. She was dying.

Working feverishly, Bartholomew finished his chest in a matter of weeks. Nervously, he approached the queen’s adviser and physician, Malarith, and told him of his creation and what it might do.

With no hope and no other ideas, Malarith agreed and persuaded the queen to use the chest. As she opened it, willing it to take her sickness, an unearthly green glow sprang up from its depths.

She was transfixed, gazing into the light. And, with horror, Malarith and Bartholomew saw her face and skin fade away on one side of her body. She didn’t scream or cry out but just kept staring into the light and nodded in agreement.

After the queen closed the chest, Malarith inspected her. She was still ill, but only about half as ill as before. Also, her right side was skeletal, whilst her left had tissue and organs, all working perfectly.

She assured Malarith that it was okay. She was whole, it is just that half of her was elsewhere.

The queen lived on for another sixty years before dying of old age. It is said that, moments after she died, her body withered and her skin and organs melted away, leaving only a skeleton behind.

And so I present to you, worthy buyers, the legendary Half Life Chest, into which the owner may place any baleful allocation troubling them. Or half of it anyway.

What am I bid?"

Whisperleaf was also pretty interested in the chest.

"Weapons, armor, protective amulets, all these things are easily understood by the denizens of our not incredibly subtle town." the Wizard of the Yellow Tower had explained. "Anything that kills others or protects you from being killed, anything that can hide or find, all will fetch a heft price, some a price that far outweighs their actual usefulness. But the less straightforward arcana, the items, with the less obvious, or at least less obviously violent, uses, these will often attract much less interest. There, bargains can often be found."

Whisperleaf raised his hand. "100 gold".

-----------------------------

"Well we are now the proud owner of a magical wooden box." said Dakhir. "and for the low, low price of only 5000 gold pieces."

“This thing is fascinating” said Tello. “I wonder what would happen if I tried to put gravity in it”.

“Let’s not” said Dakhir. 

"Quite a deal" agreed Ricmo. "That armor just went for 20,000".

"These pirates have too much money." said Whisperleaf. "Hold on, here comes the sword."

Lum looked grim as he walked up on the auction house stage. In one hand he carried a long, sheathed sword. The hilt and the wooden scabbard were black as night.  The scabbard was covered in golden runes that both Whisperleaf and Dakhir recognized as runes of binding and containment. The sword, even sheathed as it was, radiated cold and unease.

"Some weapons are forged to defend the weak and bring peace to the land; others are designed to cause chaos. This blade is one of the latter.

A sickening scar on the face of reality, the first of these blades is believed to have been forged on the Realm of Chaos, although some scholars think it was somewhere in the depths of the hellscape. Two other blades are rumored to also be in this world

The Green Hag of Corr is infamous for wielding one of these blades and riding her nightmare into battle.

Her blade is said to been forged by the same weaponsmith who created the first one.

Its gut-wrenching screech can be heard when it is drawn from its scabbard, and pale blue opalescent waves of light ripple off the blade and hilt in waves.

Up close, a searing cold, far worse than the harshest winter, can be felt if the blade passes close to flesh. Near to the naked blade the air is filled with a sense of ennui and darkness, as if all the futilities of life have been gathered in that one spot.

Few can stand to be in the presence of the naked blade for long, and even a creature such as the green hag sheathes the blade as quickly as possible.

Almost exclusively in the hands of fiends or crazed aberrations who relish the madness and pain the blade can create. Master T’Gom, a legendary weapon collector and mage, was rumored to be examining a captured one of these blades in his tower when the tower was destroyed by a freak storm. He is believed dead, although no body or weapon was found in the wreckage. Some weapons are forged to defend the weak and bring peace to the land; others are designed to cause chaos. This blade is one of the latter.

To prove the authenticity of this blade I will now briefly unsheathed ..."

"NO!" cried Dakhir. The blade had been screaming wrongness to his mind since Lum had brought it on stage. One thing he was sure of is he didn't want to see it unsheathed

"Unsheathe that and you die" Dakhir promised.

Lum seemed taken aback by Dakhir's threats, but he laughed it off.

"I guess we can take that as proof of authenticity then" he chuckled.

"Well lets get ready to start the bidd..."

Another disruption, this time from the back of the crowd, some kind of new arrivals. From where the party was standing they couldn't immediately see what was causing the disturbance, but the crowd was shrinking away from the newcomers.

An elderly merchant standing in from of Freddy suddenly blanched.

"Baron Bone and Mr. Blood. It's the crew of the Judgement. Mithra protect us.

The twenty or so crew of the Judgement were not alive. Had not been alive for quite some time from the look of things. Flesh hung from ancient bones, empty eye sockets gazed contempt on the crowd, exposed rotting rib cages peaked through ancient threadbare coats, very much not alive. And yet they moved with intelligence, and the light of a terrible purpose shone in their empty eye sockets.

Judgement attacked without reason or warning, and took no prisoners, or plunder. It’s crew seemed to only want to kill and often left their prize drifting aimlessly, crewed only by corpses with valuables intact. Judgement could appear anywhere, at any time. It’s tattered sails rising out of the fog where the last sight of many a mariner.

They were lead by a tall skeletal figure with cold burning eyes and a wide ornate hat and frock coat. Baron Bone. Captain of the most feared pirate ship on the seas. Judgement.

One other member of the crew seemed to stand out, a tall striking, well dressed, pale man who stood at the right side of the undead captain. Not rotting at all, human by all appearances, but pale, so pale. The first mate, Mr. Blood. 

Noticing all the attention, the skeletal figure of Baron Bone suddenly swept his large hat off and bowed to the crowd. "No need ta fear" he croaked, eyes burning. "We just be here for the auction. Carry on Mr. Lum, carry on."

To his credit, Lum didn't seem phased. 

"The bidding starts at 10,000 gold." he stated. 

"I so bid". A clear voice. Lady Tragos, Freddy's new fan.

"I guess we know why she is here  now" murmured Ricmo. "Other then stealing Freddy's soul".

"50,000 gold" replied Baron Bone.

The price escalated quickly into truly stratospheric levels. 

As the the masked queen and the skeletal pirate bid against one another, Dakhir noticed a low fog creeping in, covering his feet. The temperature of the air grew noticeably colder.

"It's getting shadowy out here" Ricmo observed.

And then without skipping a beat the bidding changed

"I bid the souls of twelve murderers, with hearts black as coal" said Baron Bone

Lum wasn't put out by this strange bid, merely acknowledged it with a nod. He then turned to the Lady, all other bidders having long ago recused themselves.  

"The memory of a summer day,  a day from childhood, sweet as honey and long as a thousand years" replied Lady Tragos

Lum nodded and turned to the Baron, who radiated annoyance.

"The pain of a hundred men, tortured by the rack, distilled into an elixir of madness" he replied.

"The first part of the true name of the Faerie Lord of Lost Hope" replied the Queen of Bitter End

Baron Bone hesitated, and then spoke slowly and carefully.

"A lock of hair and a drop of blood from Lucifer Morningstar, first of the Fallen" replied the Baron

"He's all in" thought Ricmo. "Check and call".

Lum looked impressed. He turned to the Lady and raised a questioning eyebrow

"Hard to beat my Lady"

The Lady of the Halflight frowned under her ornate mask, considering

"A true wish, granted by a Power in my service" she finally answered. “A wish without boundary or limits save that placed by the highest power of all”

Baron Bone let out a blood curdling cry and threw his hat on the ground in frustration.

"Sold, to our Lady Tragos, Sovereign of Bitter End, Lady of the Half Light" exclaimed Lum, wrapping his rod on the stone floor

"I guess now we know who bought the sword" said Ricmo, impressed.

"Yes, but why?" answered Whisperleaf.

“I expect that will become clear soon enough” remarked Tello