Once a year on the queens birthday she opens the doors to the castle to receive gifts from her nobles and well wishers alike. However she never keeps them and instead she uses the gifts to bolster the coffers of the kingdom so that she can alleviate taxes for her people and provide support to them. She is a popular queen because of this but not everyone agrees with her methods.
So let’s sit down, grab a coffee watch the procession of well-wishers!
Queen Maribeth has always been beloved by her people and its not just the way that she rules the kingdom or her beauty but by how she supports them out of the kingdoms coffers. She never asks for taxes or tithes but instead uses what she receives from other kingdoms, nobles and well wishers on her birthday to fund the coffers for the next year.
However, not everyone thinks well of the queen and her methods in funding the kingdom. With her life in peril and the party hired to protect her will they rise to the occasion and protect a beloved monarch or will they fail and be held accountable for more than just failing a job, but failing a kingdom.
The Queens Palanquin
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Queen Maribeth glanced over at the extra guards on the stairs to her palanquin and sighed. Her guard had received intel that this year there will be an attempt on her life, but none can say where, when or how just that it will happen. Despite her men warning her Maribeth still decided to go ahead with the normal festivities and opened the doors to her castle once again to receive donations and gifts from nobles vying for power, visiting royalty and dignitaries who come to pay respects and any well wisher who wants to give her a gift.
As for the majority of her reign she looked forward not just to this day but using the gifts, small or large, to support her people, the common folk, merchants and labourers of the Kiptaken kingdom instead of taking taxes she uses her own funds. A large portion of her funds comes from the sale or trading of gifts that are given to her and rarely does she keep anything.
As she looked and thanked the latest well wishers, nobles from her own kingdom who’s people would benefit from their generosity she smiled and allowed the mercenaries acting as her personal guards to allow them to approach her. Taking the hand woven bag that was filled with gems and jewels from their mines she thanked them for their generosity and handed it to her chief guard to confirm there to be nothing dangerous about the gifts.
This had been the norm for the day and it slowed the process down as each item was investigated before put into an open chest near by. The chest itself was enchanted to hold hundreds of times more space than what would normally fit. Her wizards had explained to her that it was much like a bag of holding, a traditional magical item that was sought after those who pursued adventuring.
“The bag itself was a gift from one of our vassals.” the lord said proudly. “Hand woven from across the sea using local materials. I believe its made from Lamia hair if I am not mistaken.” he said with a bow. Maribeth smiled and thanked the man, the mercenaries had already assessed no weapons were concealed on any of her well wishers so far and she the thanked them again as her head guard placed the bag in the chest.
“I am sure that it will continue to make your vassal proud as it assists the kingdom. I think you again Sir Roderick for your families continual support.” she said with a smile at the man and his wife. “Do come for a visit once this month has quietened d…” she was cut off as a sound like ripping fabric burst forth from the chest. Within a moment there was an explosion of energy and magic as a shimmering rift of green energy opened up before the queen and her procession of gift givers.
A force so powerful that the chest imploded sending the entire contents so far tumbling into the shimmering green curtain before it snatched at the resplendent palanquin and a heartbeat later, the queen. As the force took hold The queen, her guard, half the throne and the chest of gifts were snatched up and pulled through the shimmering curtain of energy before it disappeared showing a scene of destruction.
The panic that ensued as guards launched at Sir Roderick and his family to restrain them as the party, the mercenaries who were hired to protect the queen looked over the scene of the crime. An astral portal had materialised and ripped the queen through its shimmering curtain, taking her and her head guard into the beyond.
Their job had failed as without proper guidance or knowledge of the plane the queen would never find her way out. The party would find themselves held accountable for the loss of the kingdoms ruler and, likely, never find work in this land again as they would be known as the guards who failed the Queen.
Thanks for visiting tonight for another week of adventure. Tomorrow I will introduce the queen and a few other people in more details so you wont want to forget to come back tomorrow. Don’t forget that each day this week we will expand this adventure until its conclusion on the weekend and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe
Brazen Wolfe Tabletop 