by Hannah "Ryu" Boucher
So I guess I better start with the goose….
The night before the coronation we received a plea for help retrieving Todd, a giant fire breathing goose, who had escaped from his caretaker and was terrorizing the denizens of the great Cinnabog. Like most fire breathing creatures, this did not surprise me (or anyone else for that matter) so we set off into the swamp to find Todd. We immediately happened upon a friendly group of ogres who loudly yelled at us to “get out me swamp!”. We continued anyway. We next came across a village that had been turned into swamp skeletons which are like normal skeletons except… swampier. The last surviving member of the village warned us not to drink the crystal clear and purified water in the well, as it had turned the rest of the village to skeletons. We assumed this was due to the natural diet of the swamp people and opted to un purify the well back into swamp water. We made it most of the way there with swamp guts from the skeletons, but after running out, Lt. Bogen used his 6th regional, Swamptervention, to pour the essence of the swamp into the well. It worked a little too well…
After, we ran into a massive, wild swamp boar… or rather it ran into me… 4 times. I guess growling and taunting it was not the correct way to calm it down. That’s on me. It’s hide was too thick for our normal swords to cut through and even magic had no effect on it. It trampled quite a few of us before we managed to find the broken pieces of a massive hunting spear. It had no trouble getting through the tough hide and we were finally able to pass through the village. We found ourself in a circle of statues all with different runes on them, clearly connected to a floating incorporeal leash. After some trial and error, we figured out the rune names; two Deltas, Tao (like t - ow not Sir Tao), and Omicron but not the order we had to fight the statues in. I’m ashamed to admit it, but it feels like it took us nearly an hour to solve the statues until Griffin realized the answer. T-O-DD. That was the order. We promptly beat the statues up and took possession of the now corporeal leash.
Last was a group of bandits with a very strange accent, something reminiscent of Insectafae. The boasted about having captured Todd and that their “El Capìtan” would make us sorry we ever met him. We began a rather lively discussion about who the better Captain was, El Capìtan or Captain Sir Orion. I may be slightly biased here but I think we all know the answer. Then Todd escaped the bandits (obviously) and what followed was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. Todd was on the loose, breathing fire on bandits, adventurers, and the landscape itself. He was out of control. Sir Orion looks at the leash in his hands and knows what he has to do. Unarmed, he charges into the fray and leaps onto Todd’s back, grappling with goose and leash bare handed hoping to tame the creature. He very nearly succeeds! Unfortunately, Todd gets the upper wing and managed to blast the Captain with fire. A few of us adventurers leaped to distract Todd while Lt. Bogen snuck up from behind and leashed him, stopping his fiery rampage.
The next day brought tournaments. Everyone brought their A game, including the marshals. Personally, it was some of the best fighting I had done and I’m sure others feel the same way. Winners of the various tournaments include Sir Temorse, Sir Tao, Vesper, Sir Tolorof, and a few others who I unfortunately cant remember (there were many tournaments). Additionally, sir Aelias ran a tournament for those who preferred the Magic arts. I am not sure what it entailed as those that participated were compelled by magic not to share. I do know that King Hygar won that tournament by a large margin. The winners of each tournament were presented with a sword, handcrafted by King Shandar himself during the coronation.
Speaking of which, the Coronation itself was an impressive ceremony. I had never been to a Coronation before but I was blown away by the presentation, the food, the speeches, everything was just at the next level! It started with the soon to be King of Invictus being escorted into the Great Hall with his family, after which, he swore an oath to protect the people and nation of Invictus. The current members of Invictus then swore their fealty to the king. After an impressive ritual over the crown, His Majesty King Shandar was crowned the first king of the Kingdom of Invictus. What followed was a whos who of the Realms as other kingdoms, knighthoods, and individuals presented gifts, words of encouragement, personal stories, and advice. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many nation leaders in one place before. The most touching presenter was King Shandar’s own mother who spoke of how proud she was of the new king. There was not a dry eye in the great hall after that.
The last item of business was the first court of the Nation of Invictus. Most of the business of court was handing out Tournament awards, including the overall winners of the tournament. Traditionally, this has been decided based on who had won the most tournaments, but in this case, King Shandar watched every tournament and kept his eyes peeled for the person that most impressed him. In this case, he chose the second place winners of the Spirit and Steel tournament, Captain Sir Orion and Lt. Bogen for their amazing display of teamwork and coordination while fighting. The night ended with a wonderful brownie Sundae dessert and a lot of good alcohol. It really was an event to remember, and I look forward to the next time Invictus throws an event!