Assault On Barkham Court

"'This was not the plan!' - Vitaar, Session 4"The Assault On Barkham Court was an impromptu invasion of the small keep of Barkham Court in Southern Ferelden by the travelling band of adventurers known as "the Party".

Spurred on by the suspicion that something was wrong, increased by concerns of the prior Skirmish In Lothering, the group sought to unseat whoever was in control of the village.

Initially unsuccessful, faced with a greater resistance than expected, a majority of them were arrested, while Reese escaped back to the village itself. Approached by Jonan with a way to help, the elf and his dwarven allies infiltrated the Keep and after negotiating the long hallways they faced down the usurper in his Great Hall. While the party and Jonan engaged Maven and his guards, Jonan's allies and the Dwarves held off reinforcements in the forecourt.

A brutal fight followed, with many near deaths, with some civilians sadly losing their lives before the spell could be broken.

The Fight Outside
Growing confused, concerned and disturbed by the nature of the village's inhabitants, they went perusing at the Keep to see what they could find out. Coming face to face with the Guard Captain first met at the Skirmish In Lothering, he turned them away with statements that visiting hours were over.

Seeing the same telltale signs of something wrong, the group tried to ambush him and his guards, only to spark a fight when he retaliated with unexpected ferocity.

The fight itself quickly turned deadly, the Party suffering numerous close calls, while three guards lost their lives. Havus himself was knocked unconscious alongside the lone remaining guard, before the Party broke through the gates and aimed to storm the Keep itself.

The Storming Of The Keep
Their hopes of storming this are quickly stymied when they realise the predicament they are in - the gate was not to the Keep itself, but to a courtyard surrounded by walls and overseen by other guards.

The village below seems to be stirring in response to the noise, as torches begin emerging from homes and gathering in the centre square. Noticing this they rapidly drag in all the bodies from outside and rest them against one of the walls before sealing the gate.

Trying to find a way through the wall, the group are watched over by an elderly man who says very little until he is confronted by Vitaar. Reese hides away, as the others try to find other paths through, noticing a growing number of archers present on the walls ahead of them.

The man remains soft spoken, querying what they're doing there. He reveals that they were noticed on their first entrance by the watchtower, who also informed them of the attack going on outside the curtain wall. The group try to explain their way out of it, but struggle and eventually surrender to their authority.

All are bound, with Reese still undiscovered, and are led into the Keep and towards the Great Hall. There they find a trio of individuals, one man sat on a stone throne who is addressed as the 'Shire Reeve' Maven. He repeats the question of what they're doing here. He easily evades any questions, and controls the conversation - especially since all the group have done so far is arrive in a village, get unnerved by people being too happy, so they assault the guards and then try to storm the Keep.

He states that while execution would be interesting, there's only a matter of time before the people below demand justice, and so they will have their trial. The group are then disarmed and led down to the jails, all three forced into one cell. There they meet the wonderfully mannered jailer, who wishes them a good night's rest before their trial begins.

Held For...Actually A Fair Reason
The group then wait for several hours into the evening before Reese unexpectedly reappears at the head of his own group. With him are Kynedrin and Venghest, as well as a balding man and two people in Templar armour. The man is revealed to be Jonan, the former Shire Reeve before Maven, and here to unseat the usurper. He demands only two things for the rescue, that they do as little damage to the place as possible, and to be silent.

He leads them through the rest of the Keep, right up to the Great Hall before the sound of heavy footfalls begins echoing down a nearby corridor. Almost expecting this, Jonan signals to the Templars who each nod and begin to hype each other up. As the party (plus Jonan) prepare to enter the Hall, Balderic then casts Flaming Weapons to add a little excitement to the mix. Kynedrin and Venghest then fistbump and call for the party to go as they seal the doors behind them.

Inside the Great Hall, no words are exchanged, and battle is joined quickly. A shaggy-haired and fur-wearing individual rushes the group, and manages to hold his position while seemingly shaking off otherwise fatal blows. The third cloaked figure teleports across the room, and initially targets Reese before focusing on Balderic. This would prove to be a mistake, as he is soon engulfed in flames and runs frantically around the room as his skin is seared.

Jonan rushes Maven, only to be easily defeated and sent flying across the room, the usurper's weapon seemingly heavily imbued with magical properties. Gallus also joins the fight with Maven, only to suffer the same fate, nearly dying in the process. Balderic is able to bring both back from near death, while Vitaar duels with Maven.

A fierce back-and-forth ends with Vitaar victorious, but not conscious, as the final blow sends a piercing blast of green shadow out from Maven's weapon, knocking the Qunari out cold.

Reese wakes Vitaar, who then in a panicked state of mind rushes to the cloaked figure to put the flames out...

Aftermath
With Maven defeated and everybody restored to their own minds, the villagers were shown to not remember a single thing from the past week. All expressed shock, confusion and panic to being in an unfamiliar place, as would be expected.

The cloaked assassin was revealed to be Jeren, the missing son of the Lothering blacksmith, heavily traumatized by what he woke up to, and deeply concerned that he had done something horrible during his blackout. While Vitaar comforted him and reminded him none of this was his fault, Reese spent as much time as possible healing his burns until a small scar streaking across the left side of his scalp was all that remained.

Balderic and Gallus made their way back through the great doors that had been sealed behind them, coming upon a concerning sight. Bodies were strewn throughout the forecourt, some sadly showing the telltale signs of battle wounds. Venghest and the Templars had sustained heavy injuries during the brawl, and despite trying their best not to kill anyone, focusing on knocking them out, inevitably some got in the way and met their end. Jonan thanked the group sincerely, his voice soft and true, a far cry from the stern and standoff-ish man from before. He then addressed those present, saying that he is sorry to have let such a tragedy happen while under his watch. While it is not his fault, he regrets not being able to do more, and will devote the rest of his life to restoring what can be, if not what once was.

As Reese entered the forecourt, Vitaar departing fairly quickly to escort Jeren to the village inn, Kynedrin called the young elf aside. Placing his arm on the mage's shoulder, he applauded him for doing what he did. For staying when he could well have fled to save himself. He advised him not to let his panic and fears govern his path, he's better than that, so much more than what he let's himself be. Kynedrin would know, he says, as he used to be just like him. Such a path is why he and his brother's now wander the surface as opposed to the depths below.

While Vitaar got his new ward some sustenance and a bed for the night, the others worked well into the early hours of the morning tending to the wounded, comforting the mourning, and giving rites to the dead.