Session 24 Recap: Millions of Minigames

Needing to relax after the stresses of war and burying friends, the team spent some time exploring the rapidly growing community inside Liberty Castle. Ace had already set up a rock climbing game up one of the inner castle walls, so we had a climbing race with Daisy, Harold, Kuarjav, Royce, Ace, Hai Yo, and Casey. It was a close race with some surprising performances and pitfalls; Kuarjav actually climbed quite swiftly until he missed a handhold and fell, luckily coming out unharmed. Daisy reached the top first, followed by Royce and Casey, and Ace rewarded us with a couple of special items and accessories.

Down in June’s parlor, Daisy took another stab at the dice-rolling game, chinchorin, and rode a wild stream of luck to win 96,000 potch. The young berserker popped in to confess her love of gambling to Lucius before running off to try her hand at fishing with the kraken. Kuarjav seemed especially proficient at this one, being an old man, and with his help we caught some salmon, tuna, and shrimp in the waters around the castle. Jacques agreed to give us an archery lesson, and we did so well that he gave us all the prizes he had.

Getting back to business, we flew down to the Grasslands with Caesar to enlist the help of the Karayans. We did some trading and bought a deer, then headed for the chief’s house, which was distinguished by the presence of a huge griffin outside the door. Sciath recognized it as Fubar, and she and Daisy treated the puzzled griffin like a kitten. Hugo came out to see what the fuss was about and introduced himself as the village chief and the Flame Champion who Caesar helped win victory for the grasslands some years before. Caesar quickly filled Hugo in on the war, introduced us, and let Harold the diplomat make his case. The fancypants offered to return Harmonia-controlled Le Buque to the Grasslands once we liberated it, and Hugo readily agreed to help us. He mentioned that he would send a message to his friends among the Zexen knights as well to let them know what was happening, but he didn’t expect much response; Zexen had been known to ally itself with Camaro in some past conflicts, and Zexen politics move very slowly.

With Hugo’s forces now pressuring Camaro from the south, the rest of us carried out Caesar’s plan to liberate as much as we could of Camaro-controlled Harmonia with a massive pincer attack. At Olmir, Grant holed up in the fortress while Yuber led his demons against us, but they were no match for our new combined strength. As we surrounded the castle, Caesar unleashed his secret weapon, the “holy water arbalests”, while Royce and Vasuki jumped in and dropped holy water from the sky. It was encouraging to see our chief strategist lending an ear to the wisdom of our old spokesman, who once said, though we are grateful for the assistance of our new friends from the Howling Voice Guild, “A battery of field artillery is worth a thousand muskets.” -- William Tecumseh Sherman

Scores of demons dissolved and scattered before Grant broke and ran. And with that, southern Harmonia was freed in one day from the Camaro invaders. Oshollow, Lindlake, and many other regions were opened to us at once. The only places left under Camaro control are Coldwall Castle in Osthill, Ordin Castle (biggest stronghold), and Fort Falfax (poorly defended).

The team wasted no time in traveling to all of the liberated lands and sending relief to the hardest-hit villages. At Osil castle, we found an otter swimming in a fountain and named her Smidge. In Caleria City, we bought some nice equipment, a play script, and the recipe for hot dogs (a culinary revolution!). In Le Buque, the town of the mantor-riders of Suikoden III fame, chief Maximus was too concerned about the fate of his wife Patricia to listen to us, and our reassurances about her safety fell on deaf ears.

Finally, another cooking battle! With our help, Hai Yo faced off against Takagi, the Drunken Chef of Kanakan!

This super-refined lady is super-hard to please! It’s Harold’s sister, Anna!

She may be rich, but she likes simple foods like Pizza and Pasta! It’s Katherine!

The head librarian of the One Temple, this man of knowledge knows Japanese food is the best! It’s Brian!

The junior tactician of our Union Army, it’s Dexter! To win his vote, try some brain food!

Appetizer: (sushi+salt) Smoked Salmon Sushi, Daisy and Harold, 6787

Main Course: (pizza+salt) Mushroom and Olive Pizza, Sciath and Royce, 7888

Dessert: (fresh fruit+no spice) Fresh Fruit, Hai Yo and Kuarjav, 5666

Total: 92

Takagi: fancy caviar 3444, filet mignon 2333, bananas foster 8999

Total: 61

Poor Takagi staggered off drunkenly to the bar, leaving us with Recipe #7 “Bananas Foster”. Delicious!

Recruited:

Investigations: Katherine, Luther, Joker, Jacques, Queen