Korvosa lies silent, as the living mourn their dead in the wake of the blood veil plague. Whispers on the street tell of heroes who fought grave evil and divine wrath to save the people. Heroes who are not sponsored by royalty.
But something even more shocking soon drives these rumors out of the minds of the people. For the day of the Sable Company dissolution ceremony, people are speaking of the event itself.
As rumor has it, the Queen stepped forward, flanked by her Grey Maidens and by an obese wizard who has become her Councillor, she pronounced the plague over through the work of her Physicians. She made proclamations that her royal backing and tireless support has seen to it that the plague is over. She appoints Sabine Merrin, her personal Grey Maiden, as General of Korvosa and protector of the people. She states that the Sable Company Marines, being devastated by the plague, are being disbanded and folded into the Guard. She orders Marcus Endrin, the commander of the Sable Company to step forward and surrender his badge of office.
What happened next is the subject of much speculation. What seems clear is Endrin stepped forward and fired a crossbow point blank at the Queen while shouting "Your shameful reign ends now! Long live Korvosa!". The bolt struck her in the temple, embedding itself three fingers deep. The Queen, enraged, reached up and ripped it free and jabbed it into Endrin's eye, killing him. She then shouted, "This the fate of all traitors! Mark well his death, for it is only the first!" while blood poured from her open wound. This all happened in the blink of an eye. She then disappeared as the obese wizard grabbed her.
The Grey Maidens then closed on the crowd and beat them out of the courtyard. The Castle was then closed and hasn't been opened since. Or at least, that's what the rumors say...
Then, this evening, you receieved an urgent summons from Marshall Kroft. Arriving at the Citadel, you are shocked to see only a single guard at the guards where once there were at least six, and no Guards in the courtyard at all. You are ushered, not to the Marshall's office, but to a tiny room deep in the heart of the Citadel. Inside the Marshall stands by a small table, upon which sits a coffer. She looks tired, worn and worried. She looks up at you as you enter.
"Korvosa is dying. No, strike that. Korvosa is being murdered. Killed by our queen. The evidence you’ve uncovered that links her to the plague is damning enough, but this recent display at her address… Endrin is dead. She’s more in control now than ever. I dare not move against her—my Guard would be executed to the last man by her Gray Maidens by sundown. She must be stopped. And I know of no one else but yourselves to do this deed."
“Whatever foul magic the queen has wrapped herself in is obviously of the highest order. Endrin’s aim was true—his shot should have dropped her. I had feared he was going to take matters into his own hands like this, but I had hoped he would find it within himself to find a better route. If only he could have waited."
“You see, just this morning, new information came to me. I have received a missive from my friend Vencarlo Orisini, the first I’ve heard from him since Queen Ileosa cut off Old Korvosa and put it in quarantine. A message that gives me hope. Vencarlo speaks of discovering something of vital importance regarding the queen—he mentions something about dark magic and a pact with a devil, but until the events of this morning, I found his claims difficult to believe. Yet now… if Queen Ileosa has entered an infernal pact of some sort, we must tread carefully indeed."
“Vencarlo asked for you in the missive. You’ve made quite the impression on him, it appears. He remains in Old Korvosa now, but has asked that I send you to him, to his home, to hear what he has discovered. Ironically, you should be safe in Old Korvosa—the queen’s quarantine has cut off the island entirely, and word on the street is that she plans on leaving it to rot. She won’t think to look for you there if you maintain a low profile and avoid confrontations with the Gray Maidens."
“Once you find him, you’ll need to escape Korvosa, I fear. This city is no longer safe for you, or for those associated with you. As Field Marshal, I suspect that as long as I comply with the Queen, I shall be safe—and I will do what I can to ensure those friends and family you might leave behind are protected. By remaining in this city, I fear that you put them into more peril. Go to Old Korvosa, find Vencarlo and hear what he has to say. He has contacts in Harse—he’ll be able to help you lay low. I shall be in contact with you when I can, at which point our plan, I hope, shall be clear. "
"Are you sure you will be safe here, Commander Kroft? You are more than welcome to go with us. We can all investigate these leads together.". Pai doesn't argue about having to head back to Old Korvosa, though. After their recent escapade, she wondered if the Queen or her agents would be looking for them.
"a what is the safest path there?"
"I can get us there without being seen. The path will depend on the Maidens' patrols though."
"This morning I recieved word that all bridges save one were destroyed leading to Old Korvosa. The sole remaining bridge is barricaded and will be heavily guarded. I suggest taking a boat from the north shore of the Jeggare River or swimming. The boat is probably best." Kroft sighs and shakes her head. "This room is proof against any scrying; it's why I had you brought here. The Queen is waging war against this city; Old Korvosa is simply the first victim. The Guard patrols there were fewer and fewer as the plague raged; with the bridges down, it will rapidly become anarchy. I would come with you if I could, but I simply cannot abandon my guards to the mercies of that woman. As long as I play the good servant, I am not a threat to her. I believe I can quietly do good here that I cannot do from hiding. I wish you luck, and I have saved some items I think will help you." She opens the coffer to reveal several bottles and two wands. She lays them out, noting their contents: four potions of cure serious wounds, three potions of lesser restoration, two potions of remove disease, a wand of invisibility (10 charges), and a wand of cure moderate wounds (30 charges).
"I saved these when I suspected we might need them. The gifts I gave you from the treasury may be our last; the Grey Maidens came yesterday to take the remaining funds I had, under the name of 'consolidating Korvosa's resources.' They believe with no funds my Guards will not pose an obstacle to them. Take these items, and I will be in touch. Until then, something odd occurred at the ceremony this morning, aside from the Queen's mysterious survival: she was wearing a new crown. It looked like it was made of teeth or something; I hope Orsini might know more. If you have a chance to find out more about the crown, do so."
"I'm worried to leave you here, Ms. Kroft. But, if you think it's best, we will wait for you to contact us.". Pai instinctively reaches for the wand of Invisibility. She smiles,[b-2"I think we can create a little chaos with this if the need arises!"[/b]
Slumper looking even worse than usual merely nods taking a potion and puts it in his pack.
Kroft answers any further questions you may have, but seems to already be planning for the next tragedy. You take your leave of her, heading out northward toward the shores of the Jeggare. Old Korvosa is an island , surrounded on all sides by the Jeggare River. The wooden bridges connecting the island to the mainland of Korvosa have all been burnt, their blackened husks looking like teeth in a diseased mouth. Only a single bridge remains intact, the stone Old North Bridge, and it is piled high with debris and sharpened objects, while the Grey Maidens maintain a heavily armed presence on the mainland side of the bridge. You don't see any violence, but judging by the corpses hanging from the Old Korvosa side of the debris, it looks as if a few brave souls tried to cross and died at arrow point for their troubles.
You reckon you might be able to cross the bridge if the Grey Maidens were distracted, but it would be even odds and if discovered, you'd be sitting ducks. You do know where you can find a boat for sale or rent: near the Soldado's home at Caravan's End, you have seen many small fishing skiffs waiting at pier...
Pai looks around, trying to come up with a plan. "Corbyn, I just don't think we can get across that bridge without being caught. I think finding a boat would be the best option. Do you think you could secure us passage?"
Corbyn will nod and then begin to look for a boat to take them across. He will steal one if he has to.
As Corbyn looks around, he spots an old man sitting on the end of the dock near the Soldado's house. The old man holds a fishing rod and hums a tuneless song. As Corbyn examines the boats nearby (there are three tied to this dock), the old man calls out. "Ho there, young man! You're one of them what helped Tayce's girl, ain't ye? Yer looking fer a boat, are ye? Might as well take that one," He gestures toward the last boat, which is older but well-kept. "That 'un belonged to Michael Harbit, but him and his wife died in the plague. No one's got no use fer it now and I doubts there's any who would miss it. And well, Tayce and her family's one of ours and you helped 'er, so I figure you got as much right to it as anyone, aye." The old man nods at this, and turns back to the river. "Nothin's biting today round here. Devilfish is in the water and Old Korvosa's been pouring blood down; bad fer the fishin'."
When Pai hears the man offer the boat, she moves forward and thanks him. "Thank you so much. We will try our best to take care of the boat. Here, take a few gold for your trouble," Pai says as she grabs in her coin purse and hands the man five gold.
Slumper looks at Paxz and Corbyn. "I don't have any halfling heads this time so let's try and stay in the boat..." Slumper shrugs at Pai and Ruperta after making the comment and shakes his head.
The old man takes the gold with a murmured "Thank ye!" The small boat is large enough to hold all of you and after a few moments of getting the oars straight, you row out into the Jeggare toward the north shore of Old Korvosa.
On the shore you can see numerous small fires, probably coming from cooking or made to keep warm, plus a lot of men standing around the docks drinking. As you paddle closer, several of them look your way, but evidently decide you're not worth hassling. You manage to dock and tie the boat up.
A few feet from the docks you see a group of children sitting in the street, surrounding something you can't see. They're singing a rhyme over and over again while giggling.
“Headless, headless, that’s what you’ll be, brand new dolls in the Emp’rer’s ceme’try! Choppy, choppy, chop, the tall knife calls, waitin’ for the day for Korvosa to fall.”
Glancing at the kids...."I can tell we are going to have a ball here."
"Yeah, not a very pleasant greeting, is it? Well, let's get to Vencarlo's. I wonder if he heard anything about the Queen's recent display?"
The streets of Old Korvosa are dirty and piled with garbage and dead bodies. Apparently the cure for the plague has not made it fully here, for people choke and cough on corners and from windows.
As you thread your way toward Orsini's Academy, you are momentarily distracted by a man standing on his second story balcony, preaching loudly. "When will the plague be over? When will the cure come? Who is stealing our children and why are there worms in the bread? What will the Queen do about the mobs and who will rebuild the bridges? Why have the birds stopped singing? Where is the promised one?" His rants are somewhat distracting, but more distracting is his lack of pants.
Pai immediately turns her eyes to the ground, not wanting to see more of the zealot than she had seen already. "Quickly...things aren't going well here!"
Pai also casts Mage Armor, increasing her armoring for the next seven hours.
Slumper helps push through the crowd as necessary to get the group where they are going.
Between Slumper and Thrak's presence, the crowd is persuaded to part, but the deeper you get into Old Korvosa, the more it resembles a war zone: burnt buildings, dead bodies, feral children.
And then you get to the Academy. Or at least, where it should be. It's gone, burnt down to a few still smoldering timbers. However, the small house where Orsini lives still stands, about a block east of the Academy. As you approach it, it looks quiet.
"The Academy...gone? Can you believe this? Our city is in snambles. We have to figure a way to stop all of this." Pai steps forward, adn moves to knock on Vencarlo's door.
As Pai knocks, there is no answer, but the door does swing open to reveal an entry room. An elegant Vudrani rug covers much of the floor, but the room is otherwise empty. There is a hall heading to the left and a door directly opposite you.
Slumper peers into the room for clues.
percp
Corbyn will begin to silently move through the house, listening for movement and checking the doors.
stealth
perception
Pai casts Detect. Magic, wanting to be sure they don't blunder into a magical trap set by the Queen's followers.
The house is simple, but well-appointed. Pai's spell reveals no magical auras, at least where she can reach. As Corbyn moves in, he checks doors and listens carefully. The first door to the north reveals a small workshop, where disassembled practice rapiers are laid out for repair. The next door on the north is a small bathroom, with an indoor privvy and a large soaking tub. To the south a small room reveals a study, with a large desk and bookshelves. The books seem to be mostly about sword fighting and philosophy. A ledger sits on the desk. Another door on the south side of the hall reveals a pantry, with stocks of food and water. At the end of the hall is a nice sitting room, with stairs going upstairs to a second floor. The sitting room features two large sofas and a fire blazing merrily in the fireplace, despite the place seeming deserted...
"I hate to pilfer through Vencarlo's things, but he's clever. If something happened and he was taken or had to flee, he would have left us a clue. Look around for something, but try not to destroy anything, if we can help it. "
Pai starts exploring in the study, looking through the ledger and other books.
The ledger reveals the business of the Academy; it was doing quite well until the King's death, then attendance fell off and Orsini began taking leaves of absence. However, there seems to be no evidence of where Orsini is now.
Slumper grabs a water, cheese, and bread and sits down in front of the fire to wait.
"Before you get too comfy, Slumper, let's check upstairs. Then we might all get to sit and have some of Vencarlo's foodstuffs while we wait on him to arrive."
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Slumper sighs sitting his bread down, not before taking a bite. and grumbles to his feet.
"Sorry after the last mission, I'm trying to take time when I can."
Walking upstairs, you see a large practice room. This is an open room used to train and practice sword fighting. Practice dummies stand in the western corners, to either side of a brick fireplace. A fire burns inside, as down below. The ceiling is 14 feet high, with exposed rafters giving the room an open feel. A single door leads into another room. The door is currently closed.
Something in this room smells strange.
Perception
percp
perception
Corbyn's nose wrinkles as he recognizes the scent permeating the room, though the others do not. Still it's obvious that Vencarlo is not here, though there is a door in the eastern wall, presumably to a bedroom. It's closed, but not locked.
"Everyone be very careful as this whole place is covered in alchemist fire. I am going to check this room quickly but I suggest we leave very soon there after."
Corbyn will move into the bedroom and check the place.
"Alchemist's fire....wait Corbyn! This might be a trap,"Pai yells, trying to stop the rogue from opening the door. If she's not in time, she starts heading for the exit, if her suspicions might be true.
"Of course it is a trap, but for who? Who is Vencarlo running from? Did he burn down his own school? Or did who ever he is running from do it?"
Corbyn will, of course, check the door first. But I think I had already said that I was checking all of the doors.
The door is not trapped, nor is it locked. It swings open, revealing a small room of spartan design. There is a dresser, a bed and a closet door in the north wall. The entire place looks unused.
Thrak snifs around while Paxs looks around
Perception
Disable Device
"Hello! What have we here?"
With a loud POP, the lock on the chest unlocks and Corbyn has just enough time to catch a glimpse of a folded black outfit as well as a silver hilt of a rapier when from the other room there is a sudden explosion of flames! With a whoosh, the floor in front of the fireplace bursts into flame and a man, dressed in strange crimson insectile armor, drops from the roof beams onto the floor brandishing two serrated swords ! At the same time, an identical man races up the stairs! In a muffled, buzzing voice, the man says "We'll take that chest!"
Initiatives!
Corbyn
Paxs
Pai
Ruperta
Slumper
Foes
ROUND 1:
22 Corbyn
21 Ruperta and Pai
17 Foes!
10 Paxs and Thrak
6 Slumper!
"Pai. Paxs. Get downstairs. If one of you thinks you can grab the cases contents on the way out, fine. But if not, and it is what I think it is, it is better for it to burn than to fall into these assassins' hands."
Corbyn will leap the stairs, pull his short swords out in mid-air and stab the bastard who just came up.
Acrobatics
Attack
Crit Confirm
Damage
Additional Damage
Sneak Attack
and 1 point of Dexterity damage