Jarha stands with his back to a wall, mesmerized by the spirit. He allows the others to do the talking, since they seem to know her already.
Segang, humbled by the appearance of the spirit only moves forward, and nodding sits down.
"Zellara, we would love another Harrow reading. This is Jarha, a friend. Jarha, this is Zellara, who has guided us and housed us. It is good to see you again, Zellara," says Melianthe with a bow and a soft smile.
"She's dead, but not the eat-your-face, suck-your-soul dead that we have been running into more recently."
Seren settles in next to Segang.
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Zellara nods a welcome to Jarha. "Be at ease. As Seren infers, I am not a ghost or soul-sucking wraith. Desna has bid my spirit to help guide you through these difficult times. If you would permit, I will try to divine your fates in the Harrowing." As she speaks, her Harrow deck shuffles fluidly through her hands. She separates nine cards from the deck, setting them aside.
"The Harrowing begins with The Choosing, which gives one the role they play in the divination. If you wish to participate, please select a card." She fans the nine cards out, face down, for you to choose.
"One hopes you have been .... well, Zellara," Absinthe says in a very careful tone - and selects a card.
Seren draws a card wordlessly.
"hasn't she been in your purse, Abby?" murmurs Melianthe.
"Indeed, but we have not spoken. One does endeavour to keep the pouch reasonably clean, of course, but still...."
"It is good to meet you Zellara. Thank you for your assistance. I have met many followers of the Song of the Spheres in my travels; I have great respect for her and am comforted to know she looks well on our efforts."
With that, Jerha leans forward and picks a card:
"...One does endeavour to keep the pouch reasonably clean, of course, but still...."
Melianthe recalls that Absinthe grew up in a brothel and struggles to keep her eyebrows from climbing right off her forehead.
"I selected the suit of Books for your Choosing, for I sense you will be facing situations where reasoning, logic and attention to detail can save lives -- your own and those you mean to protect."
Zellara reads off the cards as you pick them in turn. Absinthe goes first, turning up The Wanderer. Seren next picks The Vision. Melianthe then selects The Idiot, eliciting a wince from Zellara. Segang draws The Joke. Lastly, Jarha selects The Inquisitor.
"The cards in the Choosing are not directly indicative of you or who you are, but rather give a sense of significant influence should your role card appear in the Spread. Although, if what you choose closely matches your demeanor, it is a fortunate sign."
"The opposite is also true -- Melianthe chose The Idiot... a threat from those lacking logic or intelligence, or to your own mind." She lets that sink it as she starts to shuffle the cards back into the main deck.
You remain silent so Zellara continues. "And now, the Spread." She finishes shuffling, cuts the deck, then sets down nine cards in a 3-by-3 pattern.
"The Past..." she declares, turning over the top three cards in turn. "The Liar, the Tyrant, and the Unicorn." Zellara's eyes widen in surprise. "Two cards appear in significant places. The Liar is an opposite match for its position, signifying a new relationship has begun, meaning good Jarha here most likely. The Tyrant appears dominant here, symbolizing Queen Ileosa. The Unicorn is a true match for its position -- you have been successful, finding what you sought after, defeating Blood Veil and its creators."
She then turns over the next three cards, calling them out in turn. "Now we see the Present: The Courtesan, the Desert and the Waxworks." She chuckles grimly, "Seemingly another mismatch, but the chaotic Courtesan is never truly misaligned. This infers the political intrigue of those closest to the powers that be. The cords that tie the Queen, Sabina Merrin and Marshal Kroft are a complex knot." You find the blank mask depicted on the card eerily reminiscent of the Gray Maidens' helmets. "The Desert symbolizes a trying journey -- certainly you are in the midst of one now, and forces are at work against your good health. The Waxworks represents the helplessness that pervades Korvosa, drained and demoralized after so much tragedy, increasing with oppression and martial law."
Zellara turns over the bottom three cards. "The Future: The Inquisitor... Jarha's chosen card, the Vision, Seren's choice, and the Eclipse. She sits back and ponders the cards for a few moments. "Intriguing that two chosen cards appear together." To Jarha and Seren, she speaks directly, "You will seek one whose visions empower him to knowledge beyond his reality. Beware those who seek to pry such information away, or yourselves should you become so driven. As I said before, knowledge and information -- those who have it, or desire it -- are tied closely to your fates." She then points the last card, adding, "The Eclipse signifies self-doubt, or the dark triumph of mind over body. Keep to your path, and eventually the light will return."
She leans back again, "Have you any questions?"
"The queen has suddenly demonstrated rather eerie and worrisome powers. What says the Harrow about THAT? Where did they come from and how might we bypass them, if necessary?"
Zellara frowns, shaking her head, "I see nothing so specific about Queen Ileosa or any powers that be. Likely, this knowledge is held by those you seek."
You feel the subtle nudge of fate as Desna's blessing passes to you through the Harrowing.
Jarha is started to to be featured in the draw for the future. He steps forward and speaks tentatively: "I mean no disrespect, but I'm not sure how I'm supposed to take a lead in finding this one with the visions. I don't know anyone like that. Is it maybe the person Kroft said we're supposed to be finding? And I'm a little confused. We're supposed to find this person without getting the information from him or her? You said we are not supposed to 'pry' the information, but how can the visions help us if we don't try to gain it ourselves?"
"I'm thinking that we're to gain just what we need, not to abuse this individual's power or to try and take it for ourselves? Perhaps an oracle or seer of some sort? Or maybe something more mundane like an information fence or snitch or well-placed heel? Zellara can be a bit obtuse sometimes. Often we figure it out after the fact. Bears looking into, regardless,"
Seren speaks humorlessly, still nonplussed from their previous encounter.
"Finally, a dark triumph," says the dusk elf. "Maybe we can wander at night for a change. I agree, Seren, an oracle sounds like the person we'd want to find. In Old Korvosa, or elsewhere? And I wonder just how tangled together Kroft, Sabina and the Queen are..."
She turns to Zellora. "Any idea where Jarha and Seren should find this seer?"
"I'm sorry, no. I'm sure the path will be clear to you soon, if it is not already."
Segang looked honored that the ghost wold harrow them but also confused about the reading. Perhaps focusing on the wrong aspect he asks The Joke? What does that mean for me?
Zellara smiles, "On its own, nothing really. The Choosing establishes your role should that same card appear in the Spread, which, in this case, it did not."
Jarha muses over Zellara's words, but he can't make much sense of them.
He thinks to himself:
After looking at the cards a bit more, Jarha returns to leaning against the wall, clearly at a loss for what to make of the prophecy.
"To Old Korvosa, then. Zellara, we shall be mindful of the signs you've revealed," Melianthe says. "Oh, Hloire!" Her scorpion emerges from the hood of her outfit to wave pincers at Zellara. "Yes, it's Zellara. Zellara, Hloire says hello."
"Until next time, may Desna smile upon us." Zellara nods and disappears, leaving behind only her Harrow deck.
What does the party know about access to Old Korvosa at this point?
The street rumors you've heard recently say that getting into Old Korvosa is not especially hard. The old stone bridge is still standing, and the Gray Maidens patrolling it are not stopping anyone who tries to go in, only those who attempt to leave.
They are also patrolling the waters, but mainly along the Narrows and focused on keeping people from crossing into the city. Theoretically, you could take a boat over from the river docks or, if you wished to be more discreet, after dark from Thief Camp or Trail's End on the far shore of Jeggare River.
"Let's walk right in," suggests Melianthe. "Too many sharks and things in the water."
"Fine with me. I'm ready to go when the rest of you are."
"I'd prefer the boats and sharks in the water then chancing those vicious women in steel, but whatever you wish, Mel."
"We also need to think of our exit strategy," Absinthe says. "If we take a boat in after nightfall and hide it in Old Korvosa, we can also use it to get out. That, and admittedly one is pining for some honest sailing."
If there is a boat to be had I'd prefer to have it as well. We are already in trouble for fighting with the maiden and I'd rather not have to kill more of them.
Melianthe shivers for a moment, then nods. "All right, Abby, good points. Boat it is."
You make your way to Thief Camp and surreptitiously acquire a rowing boat big enough for the five of you. It is past midnight by the time you set out across the river, and the cover of darkness and patches of low fog keep you out of sight from eyes both in the main city, and along the banks of Old Korvosa. You circle the isle to the western edge and find an out-of-sight nook to park the boat in. Nearly impossible to keep it completely hidden, you do what you can to make it difficult to notice.
You climb up to the streets of Old Korvosa well into the small hours of night. The streets are largely empty and quiet, but the place has a subtle tension in the air -- desperation mixed with fear, bringing out the most feral instincts for survival. As you gain your bearings and make your way towards Vencarlo's academy, you see many signs of the district's turmoil: corpses lie naked in the gutter, victims of vicious beatings or stabbing; buildings boarded up and barricaded like makeshift fortresses, and others burnt to skeletons of charred timber frames; and starving scavengers picking over the wreckage and remains, who scurry away like mice as you approach.
You reach Vencarlo's home, a humble building just east of his academy -- or where his academy once stood. The once-proud structure is no more, burned to the ground by a recent fire. The home is a modest two-story structure with a number of barred windows and a single door. It appears locked and dark within.
Absinthe mutters prayers while the group creeps through Old Korvosa; prayers to Pharasma to shepherd the dead to their destinations; prayers to Qi Zhong to save the living from the possibility of even more pestilence; prayers to Hei Feng to bless and guide the rapier in her hand: the skull-marked rapier that strikes humans deepest.
Once the group has arrived at Vencarlo's house, Abby gestures at the others to wait while her eyes probe the house's door and the darkness within.
It is a strange thing that Segang, or a people of the open planes is himself a creature of the city. And normally he would relish an after midnight stroll through Old Korvosa. But what he sees here sickens his heart and he takes no pleasure in the walk. He wishes he had thought to bring bags of food with him but also realizes that such a deed would have drawn interest to his group if not started a riot and done little to help the total suffering of the people here. So he focuses on the mission and watches for danger, the scythe he now carries in his hands and his trusted hammer over his shoulder.
Jarha follows the group through the streets of Old Korvosa in absolute dismay at the misery on display all around him. He had spent the worst of the period of the plague administering to those in need in Thief Camp, without realizing the depth of the misery inside the City walls. He questions what he is doing with this group of adventurers, when there are so many around him who need his immediate help. He silently prays to Khepri for guidance, doubting that his god would want him to abandon the lowliest to pursue Marshal Kroft's mysterious mission. But, reminded that this group was responsible for STOPPING the plague, Jarha continues forward, keeping faith with whatever hand guided him to join this mission. His scarred cheeks are wet with tears by the time the group reaches Vencarlo's house, but Jarha quickly and discreetly wipes his face so his companions will not see.
Melianthe draws her cloak about her and shivers. This is not the night time stroll she was expecting. As she walks toward the house, she begins to speak in a low voice and gestures with one hand, then stands a good ten feet behind Absinthe, concentrating.
No traps or magic are apparent. Segang's keen eyes catch a sliver of firelight from the upstairs window, mostly blocked by shutters.
"Give one to the count of twenty, then follow."
Absinthe drifts in through the open door, every sense alert to danger, her hooves making as little noise on the floor as possible. Her eyes start to shimmer oddly as she advances.
Absinthe pushes open the door and moves inside. The entrance room is dominated by an elegant and colorful Vudrani throw rug, but is otherwise empty. A corridor runs westward, two doors on each side, before opening into a comfortable-looking living room. From the entry, you can see a fire burns brightly in the hearth there.
Jarha will follow Absinthe's directions and then defer to anyone who obviously wants to go first, but he is anxious to follow and enters quietly. He is surprised by the quiet and calm inside. Finding it suspicious, he focuses on the aether around him and turns invisible.
...18, 19, 20. Segang says quietly before following.
Moving with her native stealth, Absinthe slowly edges towards the living room. Her eyes probe the darkness for traps both mundane and magical....
Melianthe follows after Segang, watchful. She continues to Detect Magic.
Absinthe leads the group down the hallway, silent and cloaked in shadow. She does not see any traps, nor do her or Melianthe pick up any magical auras.
In the living room, two sofas face the blazing hearth. A stairway to your right climbs up to the second floor.
Absinthe holds up a hand, signalling the others to hold back while she strains her senses to detect even a hint of life. If there is none, she slowly circles around to see whether there is anyone or anything in the couches.
Melianthe points to the fireplace and shrugs. How? she mouths.