Session 94 - The Trials Of The Gale Knight

Wed 10th September 2025

In-game timeline: Alturiak 14 - ??? (In the Feywild)

Our "Heroes" discuss further. Options. So. Many. Options.

Faith is still worried about his friends and family in Easting. Sanada wants Songs of Power. Alwaith wants to get away from this far-too-colourful place, and Solveig wants to find a way to destroy a dragon with a single spell and little effort.

After a while, they decide to head for the Songs of Power. But which one? All have pros and cons, which leads to more discussion. They think about asking the Fey Council for advice, before realising that the Fey Council have long since departed - perhaps they had better things to do than listen to ongoing discussions.

It is decided. Stopping the dragon's ability to fly seems like a good starting point, so they decide to head for the Ballad of the Tempest from the Gale Knight. Solveig wets his lips and attempts a rendition of the Ride of the Valkyries needed to transport them to the correct place in the Feywild.

The performance sounds ok to the other Heroes listening. But there were a few bum notes in there, so their heading through the portal that subsequently appears is a little tentative.

It turns out that the performance was good enough. The portal leads them to the edge of a wood, beyond which can be seen a number of floating islands above the ground, with a violent storm raging around the main island before them. They approach and assess their options.

The largest floating island amidst the height of the storm is the most obvious place they need to go. They have some options for getting there…

A stone stairway, in the form of a bridge, stretches from the ground to the island, once a simple and obvious route upwards. But the stairway is ruined and in pieces, each piece floating independently of each other, and moving wildly in the storm. Some jumps are simple, but others more difficult, and it seems a number of dangerous leaps may be needed to get all the way to the island.

A pinnacle of stone reaches from the edge of the island all the way to the ground, and could potentially be scaled. But the climb is perilous, and the lightning strikes seem to be attracted to the rock.

A nearby wind seems to circulate upwards, in a form of mini-cyclone. It seems powerful enough to lift heavy rocks upwards and possibly our Heroes could attempt to ride the uplifts all the way to the island above. But this seems risky.

Simply flying to the island seems an obvious choice, as this option is available to at least some of our Heroes. But above them, dark creatures fly ominously as if patrolling for any such foolhardy flyers.

Options weighed up. Some options seem more suited to some party members than others, but they are keen to stick together, in a rare display of solidarity. The broken bridge option is chosen.

They each need to make a number of dangerous leaps. The result of failure on each of the leaps increases the higher they go, but some leaps are more difficult than others. Each of them are able to use their skills in reading and predicting the movements of the wind and the storm to time their jumps as best they can.

Sanada shows a grace and power in her jumping that the others expect. What is less expected is Solveig showing similar grace, though his knowledge of nature makes his jumping less difficult than it would otherwise be, though he does need to Misty Step to avoid falling at one point.

They make it. Not without issue, however. Solveig and Sanada have to both grab at Faith to stop him falling at one point. Alwaith is less sure of his jumping abilities and instead relies on appearing one each level using his magical abilities instead, thus reaching the floating island first. The others, as a team, all make it to the floating island and are all confronted by a tall knight in impressive, polished armour.

The Gale Knight congratulates them on their progress so far, but wants to test their combat abilities, and their honour, before giving up the Song of Power to them. He challenges them all to individual duels, where they each need to face him on a floating platform within strict rules of combat.

Alwaith steps forward, keen to show his prowess in battle. He steps forward to face the Knight, and they are taken into the raging storm, where both are buffeted by the strong winds, though the Knight seems particularly unaffected by them. The battle commences!

The Knight is powerful, but not unhittable. The rules of combat dictate that the challenger only needs to survive for 10 rounds, or land a skilful (critical) hit upon the Knight in order to win. They do not need to actually defeat the Gale Knight.

Which is lucky, as he is powerful, and the combatants can see that he is holding back on his attacks somewhat. Unless the attacker does something that displeases him - something that he perhaps considers in some manner dishonourable - in which case he holds back less, and unleashes some of his more powerful attacks. Alwaith is the first to test this, and his Cursing of the Knight does not go down well. But the warlock still does well, withstanding many hits from the Knight, and lands many attacks of his own. But the violent storm proved his undoing, and, caught off guard, he slips and falls off of the platform, losing the duel. Landing on the island below, he is automatically transported back to the wood where they originally arrived, away from his friends, and no longer able to help gain the Song of Power.

Seeing Alwaith's attempt does help the others, however, as they now know what to expect. It is still difficult, however, but the other three do all manage to pass the test. Sanada lands a perfect blow, impressing the Knight and passing his test. Faith manages to survive the full minute, landing a few good blows, but primarily using his abilities to keep himself alive and heal after the repetitive hits. Solveig tries to impress the Knight with a performance, but this falls flat, and instead he needs to fight but, like Sanada, manages to land a graceful and penetrating attack, ending the duel with a victory!

The three winners are congratulated by the Gale Knight, and await being presented with the Song of Power. But it is not as easy as that, as the Gale Knight leads them forward and gestures towards a hill which seems to be the source of the surrounding raging storm. There seems to be one more test to pass, and only three of them to attempt it…