Quorthos, still stuck in the corner, slashes at the eel again.
Baer's spear crackles with power as she stabs the eel with it, and takes it out.
The eel releases Mavor, who makes sure it'll never bother anyone again with a stab from his dagger.
Tural starts channeling and heals most of Mavor's wounds.
Quorthos scans the room with detect magic, looking for any clues which might help them figure out what is going on.
"Hey, look, a magic ring!" Quorthos pulls an object from under some broken barrels, and gives it a once over. "I wonder what it does."
"Indeed, a shiny piece."
Denario watches it carefully.
Denario's able to identify the ring for what it is: a ring of sustenance.
There's nothing else of interest in this part of the ship, and you've already searched every other part.
"Found what you were looking for?" he asks.
"Maybe... Hopefully...We have found at least something down there, sharks mostly."
Mavor grunts as he climbs on board of the ship that brought them close.
Baer echoes Mavor's grunts with words of her own.
"Yeah, what we found down there added more questions than it answered," Baer says, pulling her wet form up. "That weird physician guy was the strangest. And why did they even start shooting on the ship to begin with? There was nothing scandalous or smuggled on that ship. Heck, nothing on that ship should have warranted taking it out."
Baer thinks more.
"I wonder if Cressida can track back who gave the order to sink that ship and why?"
"Unless someone already salvaged items before we got there."
"Salvaged them but left the ugly sea hag, the eel, and let's not for get this over mawed shark there? No, no one was out there. Something ain't right," Baer rejoinders Denario.
"Why not? It's possible those three came in afterwards.
If nobody came looking for what was in the hold, we'd likely have had found more items down there.
Sometimes it's the unusual theories that proved to be true. Yet, we'll not know, is what it comes down to. No matter, solving the plague situation is top on the list anyway."
"Well there were those chests laden with coins that washed up on the shore, that cargo got lost before we got there."
"Let's report and see if Cressida can shed some light on the situation. I am clueless currently."
Tural replies as he floats to the surface without seeming to do anything. He climbs on the ship with the others and seems relieved.
"Don't mind water but this was a bit too much for me..."
After surfacing and pulling himself and the body he's dragging along up into the boat, Quorthos remains quiet, listening to the others. he sees conspiracies at every turn, but the more experienced members of the group don't seem to. "We should find out why the ship was attacked," he agrees slowly. "I still think we should find out who this guy is, or was."
Baer listens to others.
"Yeah, we need to figure out why the ship was attacked. And who gave the order. And why that physician was aboard. Disappointing that we didn't find any alcohol on board, now we'll never prove how the disease his spreading."
Baer turns the boatguy.
"Take us back to shore."
Back on shore, Baer heads back to the tavern to get cleaned up and rest. Tomorrow, they could report to Cressida.
Quorthos gives the boatguy an antiplague, and suggests he drinks it, just in case.
Allyph gives the man his ten gold and he takes you back to shore. He also accepts the antiplague Quorthos offers him.
"It was great doing business with you! Come back any time you need a boat!"
You head for the Three Rings tavern, where you refresh yourself and Blythe takes your orders. Theandra doesn't object when you bring the corpse inside, but tells you to dump it in one of the vacant rooms no one gets near.
"It's odd how no one reacted to Quorthos dragging that body after him! Maybe it's because the disease causes people to transport bodies all over town?"
Allyph shrugs. "Maybe?"
She takes a sip from her drink before saying, "So we've got the body, the doctor mask, and a pouch with silver coins. Which reminds me, Quorthos, where'd you store those two silver coins you traded with that homeless man? Perhaps we can compare them."
"The Marshall might have heard rumors, that can be related to the body somehow."
"Oh, you're bringing the body too? Oh, we should go see Cressida then. Sure, wrap it up and drink some of that antitoxin before you drag it around...and stay behind me. I don't want to follow that thing, just in case he was drunk when he died and there is disease on his breath," Baer says, leading the way to visit Cressida.
Theandra changes her mind and shoos you out, quickly throwing a blanket over the corpse to save you the weird looks you were lucky to avoid on your way to the tavern.
You head to citadel Volshyenek and are escorted to Cressida's office. The Field Marshal's a bit surprised that you bring a corpse into her office, but figures you'll have your reasons.
"And your reason for bringing me a corpse is...?"
The news that you found the corpse wearing the mask of one of the queen's physicians surprises Cressida even more than the presence of the corpse in her office.
"I can't say that I get it. The first case of blood veil was after we sunk the ship. The queen's physicians weren't even established by Dr. Davaulus before the queen requested his aid, which was when blood veil turned into an epidemic."
Baer nods, Cressida mirroring her own concerns.
"Can you tell us who ordered that the ship was fired upon? Can you tell us *why*? There are many questions that you might be able to get answers to that we cannot," Baer asks, following her own chain of inquiry.
Tural waits for the answers, not being able to think of an answer himself.
"It seems the Queen's Physicians may have been established before then... just perhaps not by the Queen." Quorthos waits to hear the answer to Baer's questions before going any further.
Cressida grabs some papers from her desk and sifts through them.
"When the ship neared North Bridge the guards on the wall tried to communicate with its crew, using signals and shouting. Considering there was no reaction from the ship, some guardsmen even reported the absence of people on board, one of my officers gave the command to sink the ship. The officer's name is Carl Banks."
She look up from the papers. "The guards on the walls are tasked with the job to keep any potential threat to Korvosa from entering the city. I'd have made the same decision, had I been present on the wall at that time."
Cressida checks the papers again before she adds, "If you wish to meet Banks so you can ask him about the event, I can set up a meeting."
"My earlier question remains, though," Cressida says as she points at the corpse. "Why exactly did you bring him here...?"
"I think it's more of a show of evidence, then you just believing our words on it. We've also found an air-tight and shut chest with a dead rat and accompanying sack of coins in it. Apart from the new residents I don't think we've found much else of interest. Perhaps you recognise the man, seen him in the employ of someone before?"
Mavor replies to Cressida.
"Yeah, I wasn't sure either. Why we brought the body, that is. But Mavor explained it," Baer chimes in, while thinking about wanting to meet Agent Banks. "This still leaves a lot of questions. This body, why the ship came in, and what they were doing. Hmmpf."
Baer waits to see if anyone else has anything to report. Internally, she thinks that swordsmaster might be a better target to speak with.
"You say they didn't exist prior to the outbreak.
That's assuming 'officially'...maybe they were already, but doing other work and surfacing only recently."
......"Of course, i could be thinking too deeply.
In my experience, some suspicion can be healthy, but hey, i could be totally wrong."
Quorthos steps forward. "This body was found in the plague ship, with a bunch of boxes, one of which contained a dead rat and a bag of coins. Some of us suspect," he continues, looking sidelong at Baer, "that money was used as the bait to help spread the disease. This person seems to be dressed in the garb of the Queen's Physicians, who have now entered the city with a bunch of Hellknights under the pretext of helping to stop the disease. But the disease has only gotten worse." Quorthos then pulls out the holy symbol the corpse wears around its neck and shows it to the Field Marshall.
"Somehow, this makes me suspect that this Queen's Physician may be moonlighting with another group."
Baer nods with Quorthos explanation. It clearly wasn't really what was happening (the alcohol was offloaded prior to the ship being sank, the coins were payment for the booze, the booze came from someplace else, the physician is clearly an alcoholic who drowned), but it was plausible, what Quorthos suggested.
"Hmmphf."
"I can't remember having seen this man before," Cressida tells Mavor.
Cressida looks at the symbol and shakes her head. "Urgathoa's symbol? That's no good..."
"If money's used to spread the disease, then we have a huge problem. We'd have to find a way to take the infected coins out of circulation..."
"Is there anything I can do for you, besides setting up a meeting with officer Banks? Shall I have this body placed in our morgue, for the time being?"
She looks at Allyph. "Did you already inform them about the corpses that go missing? Yes? Alright then."
Baer looks at the rest of the party, wondering if others are going to speak.
"Yes, a symbol of Urgothoa. Probably means nothing," Baer says, still not having all the pieces in place. "No, no need to speak to officer Banks. I'm sure he'll report the same thing you did."
Baer has nothing else and is ready to go.
"We can ask around the taverns though, see if anybody's seen individuals with the symbol of Urgathoa working in the suspicious places. The beggars or urchins maybe too. The streets have ears and eyes after all. Nothing ventured, nothing gained."
"I'd try not to stick as long as that in this detail, we're not really the kind of people that do the questioning. As well as Urgathoa might upset people even more when they're living this plague in the city. I'd say we should go investigate what Marshall Kroft wanted us to do, see where all those missing dead bodies go to. Why are they being dumped in those dark alleys?"
"I'd say we should go investigate what Marshall Kroft wanted us to do, see where all those missing dead bodies go to. Why are they being dumped in those dark alleys?"
Baer nods at Mavor, liking that plan...
...however, once they leave Cressida's presence and are presumably alone, she speaks more.
"We also need to check in with the swordsmaster, and report back to him. After all, it was he who financed our work. He might have some insight into Cressida's words as well."
Baer follows Mavor to begin researching the bodies being dumped.
"Allyph, where do you think we should start with that?"
"Racker's Alley," Allyph answer Baer. "It's a somewhat weirdly shaped alley with many shadowy corners, near the eastern edge of North Point. It's has long been a site of nasty business like illegal exchanges, murders, and more criminal stuff."
"I'll guide you there. I've already looked into the way there while you were gone."
The high walls of the surrounding buildings throw this awkwardly bent alley into constant shadow. Although littered with garbage and filth, the refuse isn't the most stomach-turning trait of this rundown sideway. Heaped against a bent wooden wall rises a pile of more than three dozen plague victims, their faces blistered and flushed, eyes open and staring. The scent of death is overpowered by the reek of rot, suggesting that some of these corpses have lain here for days. The alley is thick with fat flies and rats gorging themselves on the corpses.
"This is worrying..."
Tural says, just after he puts a piece of cloth over his mouth and nose, as he bends over the corpses. He points out small puncture wounds on wrists and necks of several victims.
"Here look at this. I think this explains the vanishing corpses. But again raises more questions."
He straightens again and turns around, noticing a hole in the wall.
"And I think we found our next destination. There is a hole in the wall over there."
He makes his way over and through the bodies to get to the hole, trying to peek through it.
When arriving at the alley, the strong smell of rot and decay causes him to pull a disgusted look.
"Ugh, the odor is nearly overwhelming.", as he tries to cover his nose as best he can.
With Tural pointing at the wounds on the neck, Denario looks at him and the others.
"Bloodsuckers....how would vampires fit the equation?"
Baer pearls back her Shield spell on the way over.
* * *
She moves into the alley to check on the bodies, trusting her darksight to warn her of dangers before they strike.
Perception
"Hmmph. Someone is killing people and not using a mighty staff like I do," Baer notes along with Tural and Denario.
Perception
"Hole? What hole, Tree-al?" Baer moves and pushes Tural out of the way so she can look in. "Why would there be a hole here?"
She looks at Denario and Mavor.
"Didn't one of them otyughs come from a hole like this?"
You take a peek through the hole and see a room that looks like a workshop. Dozens of crooked glass eyes—hollow and crazed—glare from the heads of malformed and half-carved dolls lining skewed workroom shelves. Rat-gnawed stuffed aurochs, disembodied doll limbs, miniature rolling elephants, unseaworthy wooden ships, and crooked blocks illustrated with deformed or poorly painted animals fill bins and racks about the room. A cracked wooden door leads to the north, while a rickety trap door breaks the sawdust-covered floor to the east. In one corner lies the drying corpse of an old bald man amid the wood chips, rusty tools, and oily rags of a scored workbench.
While inspecting the hole Tural hears a shuffling sound inside the workshop.
Quorthos recoils at the smell of the rot, and drinks another antiplague before entering the alley. "I have one left... does anyone want it?" he offers.
Quorthos examines the corpses, trying to determine what might have made the puncture marks. "Well, this certainly suggests the plague isn't being spread by money nor alcohol." he offers.
"Are vampires known to spread disease? Or are they immune to it? What else could be doing this?"
"They're undead, how could disease harm them?"
Along his questioning:
"Though, it might work like a mosquito. They'd get infected blood on their teeth and spread the infection when biting another's neck."
....
"Hey..there's something shuffling beyond."
Quorthos is able to determine that the distance between the individual puncture wounds of a pair is comparable to the distance between a human's upper canine teeth.
Tural backs away from the hole and motions for silence.
"He is right. There is something beyond. Baer care to go first?"
-Posted with Wayfinder
"He is right. There is something beyond. Baer care to go first?"
Baer snorts at Tural, then smiles, raising her staff and uttering a quick arcane spell.
"Let's see what's in here."
Baer enters.
"C'mon Mavor. This should be fun."
Baer enters the workshop through the hole and immediately notices three men in the northeast corner of the room. Two of them appear to be sleeping, but one man stands and hisses at Baer. The man looks human, but his upper canine teeth are much longer than they should be.
Round 1:
Denario
Blue
Baer
Quorthos
Mavor
Green (Asleep)
Tural
Red (Asleep)
Allyph
Majenko
Denario watches Baer (and likely Mavor) enter the house.
Having no idea of a combat situation yet, Denario just moves to near the door, awaiting Baer's calling for 'it's nothing' or 'come on in'.