Alessio draws his shoulders into a tightly clenches position, clearly unwilling to touch any of the filth down here.
"If he is in the barge, he might escape while we are searching the room."
Cassiel keeps an ear out as well.
As you approach the barge, it is clear that there is no entry point on this level of the building. Above, it appears that barge is connected to the upper dock. The only way that appears obvious is the door into the lower level of the fishery.
Cassiel starts moving toward the door. "Well, here goes nothing..."
He reaches out to open the door.
The door swings quietly inward, the air in this large room is somewhat chilly and stinks of the river, no doubt thanks to the huge opening in the floor that drops away to the river shore five feet below. Several pilings emerge from the water to support the roof above, with mossy ropes slung between them. In two places, rusty manacles hang from the ropes over the water. Two five-foot-wide walkways cross the hole's edge to the other side of the chamber, where a collection of old cabinets, lunchboxes, and piles of clutter are strewn about. Chipped porcelain plates, a cracked goblet, badly rusted silverware, an old wooden shield with a crossbow bolt embedded in it, the odd dinged helm, and other "treasures" litter the floor of this entire chamber. Three tables their tops heaped with additional clutter, stand amid this mess, while just west of that wooden door seems to provide access to a walled-off section.
<<| |>>
-----------
Inside it, a decrepit Gaedrem Lamm stands in his alcove of treasure, obviously having been counting his treasures before you were all lowered down onto the old walkway. Upon seeing Cassiel, a look of fear, quickly followed by one of annoyance crosses his face. "YOU! How the hell did you find me? No matter now, I suppose. You'll soon be joining your love soon."
Gaedren fires a crossbow bolt at his pet beast in the water, the monster begins to whip itself up into a frenzy, snapping at moving to attack anyone standing near the edges of his pool.
-----------
-----------
-----------
At the sound of Lamm's voice, Alessio forgets his trepidation and rushes headlong into the squalid room and turns sharply to his right. The sight of his tormentor leaves him sputtering for a moment until he can collect himself and speak. When he does, he explodes in a fury.
"Bastard! Filth! Wretch! You will know suffering beyond what you have inflicted on innocents!"
Then Alessio raises his hand and points at Lamm. "Fall now!"
<<| |>>
-----------
Cackling as Alessio's spell proves completely ineffective, Lamm gives a beady stare to the noble born witch. "Ha, you thought that parlor trick would work on me, boy? I thought you show'd promise as a partner away from that family and school of yours. Forgot that you arcane types are ones to hold grudges. Well, not every plan works out, eh?" Offering Alessio a smile filled with rotted teeth, Lamm turns his attention to the monk.
"As for you, boy" Lamm spits as he draws a dagger, "I should have gutted you the moment you showed up on my doorstep. Sniveling for your father and nearly bringing the guard down on my head!" As Gaedren shouts at Velius, the old man is able to feint the monk out, however, old age has caught up with Lamm, and Velius is able to dodge at the last moment.
Meanwhile, Gobblegut swims swiftly towards Alessio, and tries to grab the scrawny morsel. Luckily for the witch, the alligator is unable to drag itself over the walkway to snatch at him.
-----------
-----------
-----------
Lamm's look of fear makes Cassiel focus entirely on the old murderer. If the glare he's giving him from under his hat is any indication, he has no quips. No taunts. Nothing but utter hate.
When the crocodile swims for Alessio and chomps at the witch's ankles, he strides forward, the blessing of the Dawnflower ensorcelling his scimitar.
He jumps into the water next to the beast, daring its toothy maw, and swings...
Velius sets off attempting to close the distance between Lamm while he his still holding onto the crossbow. "Lamm! This day has been far too long coming!"
Moving past the paladin Katrina moves into the room with Lamm. "Surrender now Lamm and you may yet still find mercy. You cannot defeat us" With her offer offer of surrender in the air she began a soft prayer "Sarenrae please bless us in this upcoming struggle."
At the sound of Lamm's voice, Alessio forgets his trepidation and rushes headlong into the squalid room and turns sharply to his right. The sight of his tormentor leaves him sputtering for a moment until he can collect himself and speak. When he does, he explodes in a fury.
"Bastard! Filth! Wretch! You will know suffering beyond what you have inflicted on innocents!"
Then Alessio raises his hand and points at Lamm. "Fall now!"
Cackling as Alessio's spell proves completely ineffective, Lamm gives a beady stare to the noble born witch. "Ha, you thought that parlor trick would work on me, boy? I thought you show'd promise as a partner away from that family and school of yours. Forgot that you arcane types are ones to hold grudges. Well, not every plan works out, eh?" Offering Alessio a smile filled with rotted teeth, Lamm turns his attention to the monk.
"As for you, boy" Lamm spits as he draws a dagger, "I should have gutted you the moment you showed up on my doorstep. Sniveling for your father and nearly bringing the guard down on my head!" As Gaedren shouts at Velius, the old man is able to feint the monk out, however, old age has caught up with Lamm, and Velius is able to dodge at the last moment.
Meanwhile, Gobblegut swims swiftly towards Alessio, and tries to grab the scrawny morsel. Luckily for the witch, the alligator is unable to drag itself over the walkway to snatch at him.
Lamm's look of fear makes Cassiel focus entirely on the old murderer. If the glare he's giving him from under his hat is any indication, he has no quips. No taunts. Nothing but utter hate.
When the crocodile swims for Alessio and chomps at the witch's ankles, he strides forward, the blessing of the Dawnflower ensorcelling his scimitar.
He jumps into the water next to the beast, daring its toothy maw, and swings. Cassiel is able to nearly decapitate the large reptile, but the monster is made from tougher stuff and remains able to fight.
"Your old bones don't move like they used to Lamm. Your dissolution weighs on you, makes you an easy target." Alessio says coldly while fixing his gaze on Lamm.
<<| |>>
-----------
Snorting at Velius' anger, the monk is able to land several solid blows, effectively breaking Lamm's nose and knocking a tooth out. "Heh, semantics. Lamm mutters to the monk, before turning his sight upon Katrina.
"You. I knew I should've killed you when you began holding out on me. Now you're just a pain in my side, along with the rest of these rejects." Spitting at the cleric's feet, Lamm once again attempts to feint Velius. However, old age has caught up to him, and Lamm must wait to attack.
Gobblegut, meanwhile lashes out at the paladin, stuck in fight relfex. However, the alligator's teeth are unable to pierce the holy man's armor.
-----------
-----------
-----------
Cassiel's shield and armour withstand the alligator's mad thrashing. He glares up at Lamm briefly before swinging his blade at the alligator once more.
After his blow, he tries to haul himself out of the water...
...but doesn't quite make it. He snorts in frustration.
"YOU TOOK ME!" Velius yelled as he unleashed a flurry of blows at Lamm. Velius connects with both of his fists, managing to break his tormentor's nose and knock loose a few teeth. Lamm looks as blood thirsty as ever, but barely conscious.
Hoping that the alligator is distracted from the attack by the paladin and the larger man in front of it, Katrina will move along the plank carefully coming to a stop next to Lamm placing a hand on the hilt of her scimitar.
"Your old bones don't move like they used to Lamm. Your dissolution weighs on you, makes you an easy target." Alessio says coldly while fixing his gaze on Lamm.
Snorting at Velius' anger, the monk is able to land several solid blows, effectively breaking Lamm's nose and knocking a tooth out. "Heh, semantics." Lamm mutters to the monk, before turning his sight upon Katrina.
"You. I knew I should've killed you when you began holding out on me. Now you're just a pain in my side, along with the rest of these rejects." Spitting at the cleric's feet, Lamm once again attempts to feint Velius. However, old age has caught up to him, and Lamm must wait to attack.
Gobblegut, meanwhile lashes out at the paladin, stuck in fight relfex. However, the alligator's teeth are unable to pierce the holy man's armor.
Cassiel's shield and armor withstand the alligator's mad thrashing. He glares up at Lamm briefly before swinging his blade at the alligator once more. In one clean strike, Cassiel is able to remove the gator's head from its body. However the paladin pays it no mind as he attempts to haul himself out of the water, but not quiet able to make it.
With the sickening sound of a neck snapping, the monster that was Gaedren Lamm dies. Lamm's body collapses, limbs splayed and head bent at an unnatural angle, knocking his trinkets off the cabinet behind him. The room is silent in a hushed quiet for a moment as if any noise will recall Lamm's spirit back into the world. Far off, a bell tolls. With the bell, sound rushes back.
There is a creaking of the floorboards above you, no doubt the orphans milling about as they await your return. Out on the street a loud ruckus can be heard. Admit the almost reverent moment, Velius and Katrina notices on Gaedren's belt, a key ring, filled with keys to all the rooms in the fishery.
-----------
Cassiel struggles back onto the walkway in time to see Velius deliver the killing blow. His eyes widen.
He sprints over as quickly as his armour allows, his face paling. When he reaches Lamm's body, it's clear to his eyes that the old man is well and truly dead.
"...g+@%%$N IT." He takes off his hat and wipes his brow. "I was hoping to..."
He trails off, at a loss for words.
I wanted him to face justice. To drag him back in irons and see him HANG. Not die like this...
|
Katrina removed her hand from the undrawn blade and gazed silently down at the body of Gaedren Lamm an unearthly mixture of emotions running through her. Part of her could not help but feel joy at the twisted man's death, another disgust at herself for feeling joy and yet another, perhaps the largest part, felt some sense of sorrow. In some far twisted way he had been responsible for the life she'd found with the temple of Sarenrae.
Moving in her reverie Katrina walked around the body before coming to kneel beside it lowering her head in a silent prayer for the departed man before uttering a soft incantation of his final rites and a blessing to find peace in the afterlife. He had earned his fate through his deeds and she had faith that those deeds would be answered for in his final resting place, but if anything Sarenrae taught to bring mercy and light to the world. When she was finished she extended a hand out and closed Gaedren's eyes before rising back to her feet.
"What we came here to do has been accomplished, however there is still places left to explore here. I suggest we finish searching the area before we return to the children and to our benefactor."
Cassiel watches as Katrina conducts Lamm's last rites. His own emotions flit across his face as swiftly as they roll around in his mind.
Anger at not being the one to kill Lamm. Anger at not being able to drag Lamm back to face justice. Joy at seeing him dead. Revulsion at feeling said joy. Relief that it's finally done.
At a loss for anything else to do, he joins in, bowing his head and holding his holy symbol.
"Blessed Dawnflower, this man has ruined lives beyond counting, brought misery to everything he touches, and has reached out and ended the lives of many. For his deeds, his soul now awaits his just punishment, be it at your hands or another's. Should his spirit find its way to your domain..."
His next words feel like they're being forcibly dragged out of his mouth, kicking and screaming. "...have mercy on him, and grant him what peace you can, though he deserves none."
When Katrina suggests further exploration, he nods and moves to investigate the room beyond. Anything to get him away from the dead wretch that ruined so many lives.
|
A weight lifting off his shoulders Velius lets out a slight sigh, vengeance gained for a father slain, the little he remembered of the Ulfen way told him. He couldn't have left it up to Cheliax law to try Lamm, they might have gotten it wrong.
Expressionless at the services offered by Katrina and Cassiel, watches in silence.
After collecting any useful trinkets and the gear left on Lamm's body, Velius nods at Katrina's statement and follows Cassiel to explore the next room, keys in hand.
Alessio is dumbstruck at Lamm's death. His lips move absently but no voice emerges and his stiffness seems magnified.
Dead at another man's hand, just like that. I wanted him to know humiliation as I have known it. I wanted to drag him through the streets on a leash toward the gallows he thinks.
Katrina and Cassiel's ministration for the dead wretch leave Alessio confused. Although he is not unfamiliar with the faithful of Saranrae, he cannot truly fathom their actions.
Still silent, he looks for a clean place to sit.
As the paladin opens the door into what was Lamm's inner sanctuary in life, Cassiel is assaulted by a terrible smell. The room looks to be a combination of a bedroom and a study. A wooden bed with a lumpy mattress stands against the east wall, while a round table heaped with dirty plates, bread crusts, stained goblets, fruit rinds, and scuttling cockroaches sits nearby. At the foot of the bed sits a large strongbox, a slightly rusted lock securing the lid. A sagging dresser filled with moth-eaten clothes well past their glory days is in one corner-what appears to be a wooden hatbox surrounded by a small cloud of flies sits atop this dresser.
The room is nothing less than disgusting. The old man's personal habits are very much on display -he was as foul in his treatment of others as how he lived. Bedbugs infest his bed, a chamber pot pushed under the bed is in desperate need of cleaning, and bits of food heaped on his table have attracted a large nest of roaches.
Cassiel is able to easily open the footlocker with one of the key's on Lamm's key ring. Inside he finds a box of things wrapped in cloth and tied with twine. There are thirteen items in all, ranging in size of a small pebble to a breadbox.
|
|
Katrina nodded her appreciation to the Paladin for joining in with her prayer and moved to follow him into the room ignoring, for her part, the sideways glances from the other two. As they walked into the room Katrina would take her time to check the room for anything else that might be present while Cassiel went for the chest.
Cassiel pokes around in the chest, unwrapping the things wrapped in cloth and twine.
Picking through the small bundles, Cassiel uncovers a narrow teak cigar case inlaid with tiny bits of jade, a 2-pound ingot worth 100 gp bearing the Cheliax coat of arms, a miniature gold crown, a fist-sized scrimshaw carving of a kraken with garnets for eyes, a highly realistic and scandalous ivory figurine of two entwined succubi, a masterwork shuriken, an adamantine arrowhead, an abalone-shell holy symbol of Shelyn, a tiny glass tube containing a magical oil of some sort, an obsidian wand, and a crystalline vile containing a does of an alchemical agent of some sort. More important to Cassiel, however is a silver ring, worth 150 gp bearing the inscription "For Emmah - the light in my nights".
However, the final bundle contains something far more elegant than any of Lamm's other fine treasures: a bejeweled brooch with a broken clasp. The jewelry is a circular gold brooch that depicts a pseudodragon and an imp coiled around each other in an almost yin-yang pattern. The pseudodragon's eye is an amethyst while the imp's eye is an emerald.
While Cassiel is busy picking through the foot locker, Katrina finds herself drawn to the hatbox sitting atop the sagging dresser. Batting away a few flies, it is clear that the foul smell from the room is originating from this box.
|
|
Pushing away several layers of dust Katrina finds herself drawn to the hatbox choking back the smell that seems to permeate the air from this box. "Sarenrae, please help me to resist whatever is in this box." She whispers calling upon the divine protection before drawing her scimitar and attempting to open it with some distance covering her mouth and nose with her other hand.
Cassiel looks past the items in the box, his eyes fixated on the ring.
He picks it up and lets it rest in the palm of his hand.
'For Emmah--the light in my nights'. She thought it was corny as hell... but she liked it. And now... I've got it back. And Lamm's paid for it.
His eyes water and he takes a shuddering breath. "Emmah... I'm sorry I couldn't do this sooner..."
The brooch looked lovely enough, but he couldn't care less right now. His hand clenches, holding the ring firmly in his palm.
The wooden lid flips off the hatbox easily enough. However the stench of rotting flesh and decay is enough to make both worshipers of Sarenrae gag. Inside the box sits the severed head of a familiar fortuneteller. Zellara's head is poorly preserved and decorated with unsightly makeup in a crude attempt to give her sagging flesh a semblance of life. With a quick glance, Katrina is able to estimate that the fortuneteller has been dead for weeks. Katrina is also able to see a smaller wooden box under the stump of Zellara's neck. The small box detects as magic.
|
|
Katrina coughs and staggers back with the stench of the head assaulting her nearly losing the contents of her stomach as she moved back several feet. "Cassiel, Alessio, Velius! You need to see this." She called out covering her mouth and nose with her hand in an attempt to block out some of the smell.
Katrina's coughing and words snaps Cassiel out of his reverie. He turns, coughing at the smell of death in the room.
He gets up and looks in the hatbox.
And promptly turns pale.
"What. The. F&!@?!" Is all he can choke out before he's overcome by a coughing jag from the stench.
"Ye gods! How could she know so much about us? This is incomprehensible."
Just to distract himself from the confusion and revulsion he is feeling, Alessio turn his attention to the obsidian wand.
From the dock, you all hear a faint voice. "Excuse me, Mr. Paladin? Miss Cleric? There something going on that you should see! This is followed almost immediately by the clanging of alarm bells, along with a rumble of an arcane spell being cast. Something is happening out on the street.
Alessio turns the wand over between his finger and then turns his attention to the vial of oil.
Spellcraft (wand)
Spellcraft (oil)
The oil hones the edge of a blade that it is applied to. The wand fires offensive missiles but is not of a kind that I can use.
When the child yells down from the upper floor Alessio is suddenly reminded of them. "We should see to them."
Spellcraft on Box
Cassiel starts gathering up the articles from the footlocker as well. "Yeah..."
He slips Emmah's ring into his pocket.
|
|
Katrina turned at the sound of the children calling down to her grateful for some excuse to turn her head away from the severed head. With a sideways glance at the paladin she moved to hurry in the direction of the children making out a silent prayer to her goddess for the soul of the fortune teller as she moved quickly towards the door they had came through back to where the children had lowered them. "What is it? Can you pull me back up?"
With the things from the footlocker jangling about in his backpack, Cassiel follows the priestess back to the pulley. He'd have time for figuring out what the hell was up with Zellara later--right now, he has to make sure the kids are safe.
"We're coming--could you give us a hand up, please?"
With the help from the children, the party is safely raised to the main floor of the fishery. Alessio is able to grab the box without too much fuss. Upstairs, most of the absent children from earlier rest in hammocks under the stairs, putting the total to twenty-two. Several are nursing bruises, and one looks to have some of their hair scorched off. "This them?" One of the bruised kids ask, and receives a mumble of confirmation.
"Oi! Is he dead? Didja really finish off Lamm for good?" The kid, maybe a year or two from maturity stands tall, with dark tan skin and thick black hair, obviously showing signs of Shoanti blood in him. Waiting on clarification from the group, the kid glances back at the others. Clearing his throat, he whistles sharply, and all of the kids assemble into groups. "If you're gonna take us to the orphanages, you better do it fast. It's crazy out there." As if to accentuate his point, a sound of something colliding with the roof is heard, followed by a loud thump of it hitting the ground.
Everyone leaves from the front entrance into the street. As soon as the doors open, it is apparent that something terrible has happened. Korvosa is in flames. Smoke rises somewhere from the Heights district. The frantic clang of alarm bells sing out in harmony with a multifarious cacophony of screams, the clash of steel on steel, moans and ever the periodic detonation of arcane power. A wind of Sable Company griffon riders swoops overhead, angling toward Castle Korvosa at breakneck pace. One of the badly wounded mounts rains blood down on the street, sprinkling some of the children and the party, before it succumbs and crashes headlong into a statue, taking its rider and itself to a bone-crushing demise. The others in the flight do not pause to check on their fallen ally.
Amid the chaos, the voice of a Korvosan herald cuts through the din" "The kind is dead! Long live the queen!" The caller is immediately met with open hostility. "Hang the queen!" A man shouts, followed by another disembodied voice screaming "The usurper wh**e must die!"
As you all wind your way through the city, sometimes leading the children, but most it is the children leading you, there are glimpses of hellknights clad in dark iron armor and horned helms pursuing a small gang of looters. It seems that 'Zellara's' fortune for Emmanuel was spot on.
After about an hour of navigating alleyways, sometimes having to double back to avoid a main road, the group makes it to the temple of Sarenrae in the Heights district. The children are quickly whisked away by the matron in charge with a quick thanks. The head priestess offers a bed to everyone as she mentions that the queen, in an effort to regain control of the city has called in the hellknights to help calm the calamity, but it is only making things worse.
The chaos outside takes Cassiel completely by surprise. Eodred is dead?
At least the trip to the temple went well, in contrast to the madness outside. When the head priestess and the matron take the children in, it brings a relieved smile to the paladin's lips.
At least here they'll have a better chance for a normal life.
Then he hears that the Hellknights have been called in to bring order back to the city. His relief promptly turns to horror.
"Oh, great. Lovely. It's always nice to hear that our new Queen is out of her mind." His quip does a poor job of covering up his discomfort. At least the reward the priestess gives the party distracts him somewhat.