Princess Nakatomi

Princess Nakatomi is chapter one, part two of The Salvation of Erivale.

Plot
While traveling from Roth Koria to Maneray, the yet unnamed group encountered a woman being attacked by a Dark Creeper. After fending off the villain, the group learned that the woman they saved was Princess Nakatomi, who invited them to stay overnight at her palace and be thanked with a feast. At first glance, her palace appeared to be little more than a shack by the river, but it soon became clear that there was magic at play. The palace sat on another plane that the shack merely transported the group to.

After a great feast, the group retreated to their rooms. They were awoken in the middle of the night by the sound of Princess Nakatomi telling them to hide. Unknown to them, the palace had been infiltrated by a group of thugs led by Hans Reburg. In searching the palace for residents, one of Reburg's thugs was alerted to the presence of the group, and quickly got the thug's wizard. These two proved a mild challenge for the group, who proceeded to search the palace for Princess Nakatomi.

In their effort, the group learned about the magic properties of the palace's Great Hall. Each of the Hall's eight doors worked as a teleportation portal, which sent passers-through to another plane housing one of the palace's wings. Those not proficient with the use of these magic doors were subject to a random outcome, potentially being sent to a different room than what was intended, or returned to the Great Hall.

While searching the wings of the palace, the group witnessed a couple events through mirrors found in most of the palace's rooms. They saw Princess Nakatomi taken from her room forcibly, and they saw an old man interrogated and killed by Hans Reburg. Not wanting to miss the thugs leaving the palace, the group split into one party guarding the exit, while the rest continued to search for the now hostage Princess Nakatomi.

Eventually, the group guarding the exit caught the thugs passing by, and attempted to apprehend them. Unsuccessful, the search party came to find their friends tied up, and themselves tried to put down the thugs. An intense battle ensued, but the thugs got the upper hand. The whole group found themselves tied up, and they were interrogated by Reburg.

The group learned that Reburg was after a mirror which was imprisoning someone by the name of Harkin Mageblood. Reburg forced Lewin and Rukiya to search the palace, using their magic abilities to navigate the palace and operate a magic wand. Unable to find the prison, Reburg grew irate, and escalated his threats. Rukiya managed to stall, and eventually figured out that it was the entrance which led to the prison.

Once in the prison, the group found themselves in an impossible situation. Mageblood was being held in a mirror of life trapping. Any person who looks in the mirror runs the risk of being trapped in one of its unescapable cells. Some of the group found themselves inside the cells after looking in the mirror, but those who remained out of its grasp found themselves dealing with an increasingly unreasonable Reburg. He demanded that Lewin or Zova release Harkin from the prison. Zova was able to convince Reburg that she had to first release the imprisoned members of the group, and was successful in returning them naked and unbound the the prison chamber. Chaos began to ensue when Princess Nakatomi was able to cast Ghost Sound, provoking Reburg's thugs to look in the mirror, and trapping one.

As several members of the group managed to break their bonds, Reburg became unhinged and rashly decided to knock the mirror over, a move he wasn't sure would result in the release of Harkin. Reburg's gambit paid off, however, and Harkin, along with the captured thug, were returned to the prison chamber.

The conflict which ensued from this point was truly epic. Jarus and Apollo ended the druid in Reburg's ranks, while Ràn faced her fellow rogue in Reburg. Harkin dashed for the exit, while Oro, Lewin, and Lothgar made every effort to prevent his escape, including some genuinely heroic acts. Though naked, Harkin proved dexterous, and escaped the palace. He was chased by Jarus, Apollo and Lothgar, who managed to wound Harkin further, but were unable to stop Harkin's escape when a powerful spellcaster teleported to the scene, and teleported out within a six second timespan.

While chasing down Harkin, Rukiya managed to summon a number of eagles, who prevented Reburg and his barbarian thug from killing Ràn and advancing on the members of the group escaping their bonds and retrieving their weapons. The group ensured that Reburg and his brute did not follow Harkin in escaping.