Royal Coronation

Emperor Gregory has decided to abdicate the throne to his son because he is growing advanced in years and his health is beginning to fade. Rumors have circulated that there may be influence from the Merchants Guild in this transfer of power. Tempus, the heir apparent, has been vocal about reducing the power that the throne holds over the economy of the empire and wants to promote more freedom of trade (perhaps under influence of the Black Talon Trading Company?).

At the same time, a small but growing number of citizens are calling for a change in the rules of power transfer within the empire. The empire only recently (relatively speaking) conquered the northern regions and the citizens there were accustomed to granting power to their rulers according to great feats of character, such as victory in battle or philosophical prowess. Despite his age, some citizens do not feel that Tempus has proven himself worthy of the title, never having fought in battle or written any great works of literature.

Story arc:

One of the Erudite, Glimglom, has decided for himself that the coronation of Tempus is undesirable and must be stopped

    He saw this "in the tea leaves"

He has hired the Katars to capture Gregory with the intent of framing Tempus so that Julian would take the throne

    The Katars don't have a political stake in the matter, they are just in it for the money

Glimglom has a complicated plan for the kidnapping but is sloppy in his details. The other Erudite do not know about it or approve of it.

    He has also hired some actors to attend the celebration and try to sow the seeds of his fake story about Tempus. Glimglom is also going to be there in disguise to coordinate the parts of his plan.

    Glimglom thinks that when people see what's happened, they will start to wonder if there is a conspiracy at hand. To get people to point fingers at Tempus, he has poisoned Julien's food. When Julien gets sick, Glimglom thinks that people will start to suspect he is trying to eliminate his competition. He has also planted the poison in Tempus' room.

The royal family will dispatch the guard citywide to investigate the disappearance

    The city is basically in lock-down, so everything is tense

    Everyone at the party will be questioned. Glimglom will try to leave the party because he knows he has to get payment to the Katars. His disguise will fail, pointing the investigation to the Erudite.

The different groups involved are all trying to sort out the situation and save their own skin

    The Erudite will attempt to talk to the royal family in order to distance themselves from Glimglom, although many of the royal guard are inherently distrustful of them

    The Katars, knowing that this was a risky mission, are impatient for Glimglom to deliver payment so they can flee the city

    The royal family, fearing the potential impact of an assassination on the coronation day, will be turning the city over to find Gregory

A Royal Invitation

Once the matter of abdication was decided, Gregory put out a royal decree that there would be a coronation ceremony in Wy-Tir. Every major city in the empire received notices that are posted on all major bulletin boards. Also, callers in the city centers are announcing the coronation. The notice was sent out on 2017-01-15 and the date of the coronation is 2017-02-15, the longest day of the year. The Ceremony

The ceremony proceeds with little incident but much pomp and circumstance. Desdemona, head priestess at the Temple of Pelor, has traveled from Pelor Bay to preside over the ceremony. The order of events:

Music played by a well-equipped string and horn ensemble

Arrival of the Grace, Solemnity, and Fortitude

Arrival of Joy, Thomas, and Julian

Arrival of Gregory

Arrival of Tempus

Enumeration of Gregory's accomplishments

Religious portion by Desdemona

Passing of the crown

Announcement of the new king

Parade to Philosopher's Garden and the Soldier's Memorial

Return to the Keep for a feast

The Celebration

It’s not until the ostentatious after-party that things start to become complicated. Everyone has arrived and the food and ale are served, so the party begins to get going. After about an hour or so, everyone gathered starts to notice that Gregory isn’t seated at the head table and hasn’t been for quite some time. Rumors start to form as people watch Tempus talking to his mother. They are looking for clues as to what is occurring, but none arise.

It is traditional for the new king to give a speech at his coronation dinner, but Tempus hasn’t given one yet and the party seems to be dragging for some reason. The food is all gone but there is no speech.

Glimglom’s hired lackeys start trying to spread rumors about what the cause is.

Investigation: A guard says he last saw Gregory ascending to his chambers after the parade arrived back at the Keep. In the king’s chambers, not much is out of place, but players can find the following clues:

The wardrobe doors are hanging open (this was booby-trapped with the sleeping spell)

A sabotaged lock on one of the windows

A small piece of cloth snagged on the bars outside the window

A Trail of Clues

If adventurers take the time to talk to people at the party, they can uncover these motives:

A group of Northerners has been protesting Tempus' coronation because of his lack of military experience

(Unbeknownst to most) Griznr is planning a major assault on the kingdom

The Black Talon Trading Company is looking for ways to subvert the Merchants Guild to gain more control over trade in the empire

    Tempus wants to see more freedom of trade and less control from the MG

Julian is second in line for the throne

The Erudite are known to meddle in the affairs of the empire when they feel that it is against the will of their Great Being

The Katars have taken Gregory to a house in Salt Lick and have him tied up. They entered the room through the window and incapacitated the emperor with a sleeping spell. Their escape route consisted of taking Gregory out the window, up to the roof of the keep, floating him to an adjacent building’s rooftop via a spell, then through the building to a cart on street level, where he was placed under a load of hay. They then transported him by cart to the house where they are holding him. There, they are waiting for Glimglom to deliver their payment.

With sufficient investigation, players can find a drunk nearby who saw the body float across the alley. Confrontation

When the adventurers eventually find Gregory, they will have to sort out the political tension between the Erudite, the Katars, and the royals. It will be difficult to avoid a battle.

When the fighting is over, Glimglom will have to face trial for his plot and will almost certainly be sentenced to death.