New Year's Eve in Holystone

I haven't done a Holystone entry in over a year, but I thought a "Dick Clark" lich would be cool and the city provides a great backdrop for him.

New Year's Eve in Holystone

On the last night of the year, the 30th of Icemoon, everyone in the city celebrates the coming New Year. A large party is held outside the castle for the nobles of the city. All of the other districts hold their own parties, as well. Even the tent city holds special performances, featuring the elderly giving gifts to young children. 

The High Church holds services on this day, focusing on their followers renewing their relationship with the gods. After services, a large feast is held in honor of the gods. The Archbishop knows that the food and wine will bring in otherwise absent congregation members.

Followers of the Seelie Court meet in hidden glens and dance the night away. Most of the participants are more interested in drinking and sex than worship, though. The Fae are happy with this, as it shows that nature is more important than rites.

Devotees of Mabb have services, as well. Her followers have orgies, with some duels occurring between followers vying for her favor.

The Demon Lords have feasts punctuated by duels or human sacrifices. The priests of Orcus hold a ritual featuring the raising of an undead through magic. They often feed an enemy of their church to the undead. The Cult of Asmodeus holds duels and torture sessions. Lilith's cult has orgies, often featuring unwilling participants.

Near midnight, a lich named Rickard uses magic to appear in the sky over the city. He does a countdown during the last 10 seconds of the year, and his voice reaches even into the caves below the city. As he counts down, a bright light appears in the east, traveling towards the city. Just as Rickard reaches zero, the fireball that was approaching explodes far above the city. It creates a number of smaller explosions, which range in color from orange to red to purple and even blue. 

The sky shakes and it gets as bright as a clear sunny day for a almost a minute, as thundering blasts shake the walls. Everyone cheers and toasts the lich. He then disappears until the following year.

The Count has tried to find this creature, but with no success. Since Rickard causes no actual harm to the city, and even provides a great diversion for the masses, the Count isn’t really sure if he should do anything about the undead mage.  

Of course, some thieves use this distraction to pull off otherwise impossible heists, since their targets are distracted. Most of the wealthy have guards ready for these attempts, but there are always a few who get robbed.