While seeking Sir Corwin Janus near the Tantus Valley, Lothar and his friends, accompanied by Vulpian, the head of the Order of the Collar, were ambushed by a sextet of escaped prisoners, and were lucky to earn the victory (and probably would not have succeeded without the aid of a surprisingly spry and combat trained Vulpian). From this victory came several prizes for the party, including what for Lothar became known as his "magic stick that becomes a snake." Unfortunately, the price of victory was the deaths of Emerson and Demetian, the party torch-bearer and Lioto's ward, respectively. These two had, in their time with the group, grown to be loved and valued members of the family, and no one took their passing lightly, in particular Riordan and Lioto. Watching Lioto process the grief of Demetian's passing, Lothar was reminded once again of the pivotal night which had come to define his life. He empathized with Lioto as the monk turned the guilt inward toward himself, and Lothar vowed to shepherd him through this process, and hopefully bring him back to the understanding that one cannot prepare themselves for all of life's dangers, nor can we be accountable for the vile deeds of evil doers in this world.
The ambush, coupled with news of the prison break, brought the party and Vulpian to the prison proper, where they met the warden, Stanislaus, a corpulent churchman who's ethics and very nature riled our heroes' righteous instincts. Fortunately, they managed to suppress those instincts long enough to attend to a task helping to contain the break, a breach in the sixth sector of the prison. To get there, they accompanied Smith, a young employee of the facility gifted with an eidetic memory, which proved necessary as the prison at Tantus Valley was constructed as a maze, deliberately confusing those who wished to seek escape. Of the group, only Lothar managed to denote a course out should Smith abandon them or fall in the course of action.
Within the sector, none of the magic the party had collected would function properly due to powerful wards set up around the area (the result of keeping so many wizards and sorcerers here, no doubt). Along with a team of guards, the group acted as a task force, taking down two cells of escaped inmates. While the first one proved fruitless, the second yielded a prisoner who surrendered, and was so intent on proving worthy of his release that he agreed to help our heroes navigate the passages of the sector.
The second battle also brought Lothar face to face with an ogre of considerable might, and our warrior once again found himself sectioning off a powerful combatant from the rest of his party to give the group proper what he believed to be better odds of success. Much like the fight against the escaped wizards, Lothar ultimately prevailed, but found himself pushed to the brink. This caused him to rethink his combat strategy somewhat. The experience of the stadium had done wonders for the barbarian's confidence, but had shifted him out of a party dynamic way of thinking. Eventually, it would catch up with him, and would likely cost him his life if he wasn't careful.
Fortunately, that day was not today, as the rest of the group, seeing the state Lothar was in after his encounter with the ogre, agreed to fall back for rest and recuperation, before coming back with a renewed effort to secure the area.
FF
