Curse of the Crimson Throne

Game Master Something Wicked

Although, Lordship here missed the part where the assassins that attacked you... Oh, and burned your school down, by the way - they're operating out of Longacre. So damaged is a good word for it, Lord Seneschal."

Vencarlo swipes the air with his rapier. ”Years of work, countless lessons! Ah, but it was only a set of walls. Nothing I’ve created cannot be repeated by someone with spirit. A younger person, perhaps. The greater concern is the connection between the assassins and Longacre. The city’s judiciary, as well as the Queen’s security force, operate from there. Don’t say that those bug-brains are now part of the city’s government! Now that you mention it, don’t they have a code against regicide? Perhaps the Queen believes she is safe from them.”

”At any rate, the closest thing to an arbiter you’d find in Old Korvosa would have been the so-called emperor,” Vencarlo says with disgust. He looks hopefully at Neolandus. ”But surely the city’s own seneschal is vested with authority to pass judgment.”

Neolandus, for his part, looks positively ill. ”There is precedent for such an action. During the Cousins’ War. In all my years of service to the Crimson Throne, I have never been required to do such a thing, and I had hoped with every thread of my being that my tenure would conclude before such a thing were needed. Condemning anyone to death, even a creature such as this, is a grave and terrible responsibility.” Neolandus draws himself up, smoothing his hair and futilely attempting to brush away the dirt and dust of the labyrinth. He takes a shaking breath, glancing to Vencarlo before steeling himself with resolve. ”I blame the Queen for this. All of this. Friends, there is much that we must discuss. But not here. Not in House Arkona, not in Old Korvosa, not even in the city. Wake the monster, then. Let us conclude what business remains. Let us hear what he has to say.”

Kynes nods slowly eying Neolandus. Given the circumstances, this is more than most should expect. Whatever outcry that would be brought up against the rarely used procedure will be drowned out by celebrations of citizens, and the maneuvering of Arkona competitors.

Let us doubly check and bind his person so that we can be better assured he will pose no threat.

"Tie 'im tighter, an' mebbe blin'fold 'im too. Or 's there any magic'd keep 'im held in place?" Mouse watches with little sympathy as the rakshasha is tied to the chair, even stepping in herself to tighten several knots even tighter. Could we rule it as a Tie Up check related to grappling using Mouse's bonuses? That'd make it a DC35 check for him to escape.

Once Glorio is defeated and the rest flee, Yaziyah busies herself tending to the wounded, especially Garvid. She swats the guardsman once as he insists moving about and blabbering as she attempts to examine and bind his wounds.

Using the wand of Cure Serious Wound for 29 HP a pop to restore Garvid's health and anyone else's to full.

"I don't think any of my spells can hold him, but I can make it difficult for him to get away, unless he takes flight again."

With a few gestures, a wall of thorns erupts into existence around the rakshasa lord, leaving only a narrow opening. Casting Wall of Thorns.

Glorio is dragged to the makeshift gallows, the rope secured around his neck, and Mouse ensuring the knots are exceptionally tight. Yazi conjures a pyre of jagged thorns that surround the rakshasa. With Garvid poised to pull the rope taught, Yazi releases a final wave of healing energy to bring him back to consciousness.

He jerks awake, reaching for his neck as the rope noose is drawn. Instantly, his rakshasa form melds into something softer, more feminine. "Please!" Meliya Arkona chokes out. "Glor--" she wheezes, gags. "Glorio has deceived you yet again. Do not kill me while he yet breathes!"

Kynes bursts out into uncharacteristic giggles.

Li creeps back into the garden with her crossbow trained on Glorio as the others question him. She doesn't give away her location with speaking but rather watches quietly from her cover. If Glorio tried to escape, her bolt would be ready to slow him down.

Her eyebrows raise slightly in surprise as Meliya supposedly appears in Glorio's place. Surely he wasn't foolish enough to think this would fool any one of them. They all knew them to be masters of deception and his tricks wouldn't be believed. She was beginning to hate such shenanigans. Give her a straight up criminal any day to deal with. These evil creatures were far beyond her understanding or ability to deal with.

stealth: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (14) + 17 = 31

Neolandus pulls his shirt cuffs and attempts to smooth the wrinkles from his vest. His own dried blood still clings to his hair. ”Glorio Arkona, Lord of House Arkona. Your falsehoods and prevarications shall win you no favor. You stand accused of murder. Of attempted murder. Of torture. These crimes carry the punishment of death pursuant to Korvosan Charter Amendments Twelve and Thirteen. Additionally, you stand accused of endangering the public, consorting with fiends without licensure, and unauthorized possession of ferae naturae in violation of Korvosa Criminal Code, the Korvosan Act of Judicature, and the Ordinance of the Lords and Commons in Peerage for the Safety and Defence of the Principality of Korvosa and Her Dominions.” The seneschal grits his teeth. ”The last, I might add, was drafted by the Peerage Review on which you yourself sit. How do you plead?”

Meliya glares daggers, the whites of her eyes darkening to a fierce yellow as Glorio’s voice issues from her lips. The effect is discordant, to say the least.

”You speak as though your laws, your charter, and your precious codes mean something. I invite you to open your eyes and look around you, beyond this garden and the walls of the estate, and consider what remains when all of your laws are forgotten.”

Glorio shifts forms, and Cressida Kroft is strung in the noose. ”The natural order recognizes no law except that only the greater survive. By devouring the weak. I am guilty of no more.”

Now King Eodred’s feeble body, dressed in finery, stands upon the makeshift scaffold. ”You pretend as though you are somehow better than this chaos, more noble, but in truth you are only playing the game yourselves. You’re quite good at it, I might add.” He cackles. ”You too have chosen a side in this war, and have spilled blood just the same as the rest.”

Queen Ileosa stands before you, draped in her crimson wedding gown. ”This hangman’s gallows you’ve constructed has nothing to do with justice. It is only to placate your own fear, as Korvosa itself crumbles under your feet. No declaration, no edict, will wash away the red that stains your own hands.”

Glorio resumes his natural form, that of a tiger-headed rakshasa. ”You are truly Korvosa’s saviors!” He laughs scornfully. ”And she is deserving of you!”

Neolandus doesn’t blink. ”On behalf of the authority vested in me by the Crimson Throne, as seneschal of Castle Korvosa, I do judge you guilty of all charges. I sentence you to hang until dead. Trosker ep Styrk.”

Tag?

Ugh. Had a writer's block for this for a good few days, and GM, you did it better than I could.

"The dagger. Get that gods-blasted dagger out." Garvid whispers before the verdict is pronounced. "Let the other Arkona watch.", he grunts out quietly. As soon as the blade is in sight, he stands up at attention, nodding at Neolandus to lay down his judgement.

Garvid sits at attention as Neolandus pronounces his verdict. His hand on his halberd, he returns the stare from Glorio with a stone-eyed stare. It's done. He's facing his crimes. Maybe not all of them, but that's up to Pharasma to decide. A spark of hatred lights in his eyes as Cressida's voice denounces the law, but it quickly subsides as a vengeful smile graces his lips, locking his gaze with the rakshasa. And those are your final words. Wrong, spiteful. The guardsman's nostrils flare out. And afraid. You should be.

Nodding at the final verdict from Neolandus, Garvid moves forwards to stand towards the tied-up noble's chest. "Korvosa's crumbled many times, Arkona. But that just means we build her up again." With a furious kick, the jade chair tumbles into splinters, dropping the rakshasa to eye level. "Trosker ep Styrk, you rat bastard."

The souls of men are the Lamps of Gods. Walk justly and cast from his neck the yoke of the many calculations that men seek. The Lamp shall be his portion and his lot. Trosker ep Styrk

In his last moment, Glorio’s eyes become fearful, as even the eternal flame of the immortal mind comes to realize that, truly, all things must end.

Neither Vencarlo nor Neolandus avert their eyes from Glorio’s execution. ”It’s time to move,” Vencarlo says quietly, as he surveys the garden. ”Neolandus is being actively hunted by Ileosa. He is a ‘problem’ that she needs to solve. He cannot stay in Korvosa."

Neolandus nods gravely. ”I know,” he whispers.

Vencarlo places his wounded hand on the seneschal's shoulder. ”I will go with you. I want out of the city as well. We need to think, to plan! We cannot do that while the Red Mantis crawl from every shadow.” He turns to the rest of you. ”I recommend the same for you. Having thwarted the Mantis once, you’re now wearing targets on your own backs.” His eyes fall, a look of pain on his face. ”I am… truly sorry for it.”

”Harse,” he continues. ”You remember our good friend, and the package he helped us delivery previously?” Vencarlo is referring to Jasan Adriel, the horse rancher who is hiding Trinia and Vesper. ”I propose that we find the fastest route out of the city.”

Tag?

The Shoanti does not speak the words that are Korvosa's motto, but instead watches with arms crossed and a stony gaze how the man- nay, the creature she had thought a benefactor to the poor is judged and executed. Did those acts of charity hide devious plans, or were they simply a way for the Arkonas to gain the goodwill of the populace? She thinks back on the butcher shop and its grisly secret. No, things were never simple with these two; she expects that every action they took had served them in more ways than one. Ploys within deceit within plots.

At the suggestion of leaving the city, she starts shaking her head, but then sighs heavily and nods. "My heart aches that I cannot do much for Old Korvosa as things stand. We could run around and run ourselves down trying to help those who need it the most, but a long-term solution is required. We already achieved a lot by getting rid of Pilts Swastel and of this one." She flicks her chin at the dead rakshasa.

Yes, but we must take a moment here lest there be powers that in the wrong hands will cause mischief. Also, evidence of the crimes of this family should be uncovered. Korvosan crime organizations will be in flux, knowing the players will be important in their moment of uncertainty. Let us search thoroughly.

"My heart aches that I cannot do much for Old Korvosa as things stand. We could run around and run ourselves down trying to help those who need it the most, but a long-term solution is required. We already achieved a lot by getting rid of Pilts Swastel and of this one."

Neolandus lifts Glorio’s damaged kukri, looking clearly uncomfortable and dropping it. ”Yes. You have accomplished a great deal. You are very resourceful. I can see why Vencarlo thinks so highly of you. Of course, I now owe you my life as well. And, as you suggest, there are other foes yet to face. I cannot ask you to leave your homes to help us, but I would accept any aid you offer.”

”The Lamplighter edicts also compel me to search these premises for further evidence of criminal activity, and to possess such objects of value that will aid the Lamplighter's mandates. We must take a moment here lest there be powers that in the wrong hands will cause mischief. Also, evidence of the crimes of this family should be uncovered. Korvosan crime organizations will be in flux, knowing the players will be important in their moment of uncertainty. Let us search thoroughly.”

Vencarlo looks approvingly at the lamplighter. ”Of course! In my rashness I hadn’t considered. Who is that speaks of the impatience of youth, when here it is the younger who guides the older? Ha!”

Exploring the palace.

Glorio's keyring proves quite useful.

D1
Above the palace’s entry door, the bloodstone set the elephant’s eye socket is a bloodstone worth 1,500gp.

D2
This is the visitor’s lounge in which you first met Glorio. Aside from the posh furniture, you find no treasure.

D3
The statue of Chamidue contains another bloodstone in the left eye of the statue’s west-facing face. It is worth 300gp.

D4
In the garden, two gems in the cobra mouths on the fountain are bloodstones, each worth 150gp. The elephant, now defeated, has reverted to a figurine of wondrous power. It contains an additional power in that it can be commanded to assume the form of a marble, life-sized statue of an elephant. It is worth 34,000gp.

D5
Garden storage. This room contains tools, including five huge casks of water and dozens of buckets.

D6
These storerooms house all hammer of tools, firewood, food, and other necessities in barrels and crates. Folded neatly in a corner is a bag of holding II and a handy haversack.

D7
Two floor-to-ceiling bookshelves decorate the south and west walls of this chamber, facing a curved north wall on which hang a half-dozen grotesque paintings depicting torture, murder, cannibalism, and even necrophilia. Two glittering chandeliers hang from the ceiling, providing more than enough lighting to read by for anyone sprawled on the dozens of cushions strewn about the room.

The six paintings on the wall are all Salvator’s, and among that body of work, these six are among the most stomach-turning and disgusting in subject matter. As always, blue plays a prominent role in the paintings. Each is worth 1,200gp.

D8
A long couch and two stuffed chairs sit around an elegant rug on the floor of this room, the walls of which are carved in depictions of air spirits cavorting in the clouds. The scent of exotic smoke lingers in the air, and four bejeweled hookahs sit in the room, two at either end of the couch, and one next to each chair. A flight of stairs leads up to the floor above, and a glass case built into the underside of these stairs displays a wide collection of cigars, pottery jars, and bundles of dried leaves in a range of colors.

The four hookahs are valuable (525gp each), but the real treasure is the collection of exotic tobacco and cigars in the case. A third eye bloodstone worth 150gp has been incorporated into the pipe of the hookah next to the southwestern chair. The contents of the glass case amount to ten pounds of exotic cigars, smoking weed, and other narcotics. In all, the collection is worth 2,100gp.

D9
Glass cases line this hallway’s north and south walls. The northern case displays exotic weapons, many of which resemble swords, spears, and starknives, hanging on the wall around a suit of bright blue leather and ivory armor. The southern case displays a gruesome tableau of a stuffed tiger feeding upon a extremely realistic sculpture of a dead Vudrani man.

The tiger was one real, but is now stuffed with sawdust. The human it’s depicted as disemboweling is a wax scultpure. The body’s exposed heart is in fact a large carved bloodstone worth 750gp. The weapons in the northern display case consist of a +1 ghost touch kama, 12 masterwork daggers, a masterwork falchion, six masterwork punching daggers, two masterwork sais, two masterwork sianghams, and two masterwork spears. The leather armor is a suit of +2 light fortification studded leather.

D10
A gracefully curving wall lined with tall windows presents a commanding view of the palace grounds. The room is empty save for three human-sized statues, each depicting a Vudrani warrior holding aloft a glittering blue-green javelin with a head carved from bloodstone.

As you enter, each begins to shout loudly in Vudrani.

The javelins are easily removable and, once divested of their weapons, the shouting ceases. All three javelins have bloodstone heads, and each is worth 225gp.

D11
A magnificent mahogany table dominates this room, the surface of which is decorated by an immense cover fashioned from the brightly colored skins of various great snakes.

Moving upstairs…

D12
This walkway overlooks the garden on the ground floor 25 feet below, and as such this area is generally warmer than the rest of the building as heated air rises up from the chamber below. The sound of birdcalls and the gentle babble of the fountain trickle up as well.

D13
Washroom. A large, ornate mirror hangs on the western wall of this washroom and latrine. The air smells remarkably fresh, and the water-filled porcelain commode to the east looks more comfortable than it has any right to be.

D14
Guard Quarters. The floor of this room is thickly carpeted and strewn with numerous throw pillows and furs. The walls are carved with erotic depictions of men and women engaged in all manner of sexual acts. The only real furnishings in the room are the four beds against the western walls.

D15
Bath. The air in this chamber is incredibly warm and humid, filled with steam rising from the bubbling oval bath set in the floor to the southeast. The walls, ceiling, and floor are polished marble tiles of alternating blues and greens, giving the entire chamber a pervasive aquatic feel. Three lacquered wooden benches sit just north of the bath.

D17
This austere chamber is apparently the sleeping chamber of someone quite orderly. The bed is made, sheets drawn tight against the mattress and pillows arranged perfectly at the head, and a dressing table and chair at the bed’s side are both dust-free and polished to a shine. Across the char is draped a stylish +2 cloak of resistance.

D18
The master bedroom. The crowning glory of this dazzling chamber is, without a doubt, the four-posted canopy bed that takes up a full quarter of the room. Silk sheets, gossamer curtains, ebony bedposts depicting tigers and cobras chasing monkeys in an endless circle, and a half-dozen huge pillows combine to create a resting place fit for a king. Strange and ferocious animal heads are mounted on the walls, their eyes looking almost alive. A towering redwood cabinet stands against the eastern wall, while to the west sits a massive desk covered with books and scrolls and a large green paperweight the size of an apple. An exotic-looking, five-foot-long stringed instrument sits displayed on a bronze stand near the desk, and a spherical birdcage containing several brightly colored songbirds hangs from the center of the ceiling above.

The papers on the desk are a combination of astrological charts, maps of the world (including several of Vudra), and various bits of non-incriminating paperwork involving the day-to-day business of running a noble family.

The trophies mounted on the wall all bear names identifying them as Vudrani animals--a Barakot peacock, an Ukhrul wolverine, a Khar skink, a Kothar great bat, a Vimerian tiger, and a Johar long viper.

The bloodstone paperweight on the desk is a third eye bloodstone worth 750gp. The exotic stringed instrument is a Jawassan sitar decorated with gold filigree work depicting crocodiles eating storks, worth 525gp.

D16
A door appears to be made of ebony, but in fact is made of iron. Within the chamber beyond, plain ebony walls seem to glisten with moisture. Above, the chamber rises forty feet to a domed ceiling set with eight wedge-shaped windows; to the north, east, and south three additional glass windows rise up from floor level to the dome. The room is empty, save for a thirty-foot-tall tree with sparkling gold and green leaves, its roots burrowing in and out of the floor. A breeze tickles the branches above, and as the leaves waver, the sound of crystal bells filters through the room.

Loot updated. Tag?

Knowledge Planes: 1d20 + 12 + 1d6 ⇒ (11) + 12 + (1) = 24
Knowledge Religion: 1d20 + 12 + 1d6 ⇒ (19) + 12 + (5) = 36
Will: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (18) + 9 = 27

Kynes grimly searches the rooms methodically, his face set in an dispassionate frown. Little here was of interest, save for the utility of wealth. However, upon reaching the golden tree, Kynes halts, eyes widening in true shock.

A Vudran Tree of Eternal Dawn! Kynes breathes. Kynes stares in wonder as light glimmers off golden red leaves spelling the promise of eternity....Kynes stomach turns...Wrenching his eyes downward precipitously, finding the tree's opulence unexpectedly nauseating.

Swallowing the bile that had reached his throat, Kynes raises his eyes again, but the magnificent and terrible Tree was gone, and its place, a single iron cabinet.

Mouse simply watches. Words were not her weapon - let others bear them to bring this injustice low. Hers was to witness, to know, to bear the weight of the sins of her supposed betters. Glorio's shapeshifting act, though, almost makes her turn away. Seeing Cressida in a noose is almost overwhelming, because Mouse knows it's true, even if no literal rope chafes her neck. Rotten. Rotten down t' the core - fish this rotten woul'n't'a made even Lamm's stan'ards for his slurry.

And yet the poor and downtrodden of Korvosa were forced to live on it, just like any suspect street meat or reeking fish pie. The fish rots from the head, she'd heard before. Korvosa may have been a hydra of corruption, but here at least, one head would be severed. An' the way t' stop 'em's t' burn th' head, righ'? Then le's get everything we can from 'ere, keep someone else from springin' up t' be jus' as bad or worse.

She dives into the recovery work with relish, packing her bag carefully to hold as much as possible and taking advantage of the magically enhanced bags to hold even more. As she enters the last room, the magical tree transfixes her - she can do little more than stare at the graceful branches as they undulate in the soft breeze, wondering at the grandness of the tableau. Even as Kynes retches beside her, she gazes transfixed in awe.

Will save: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14

Li watches Glorio's trail, sentencing, and execution passively from her cover. If anything, there is a small, relieved smile when the deed is done. She quietly rejoins the group and reports, "I be failin' in catchin' up ta Meliya. I be seein' lots o' people fleein' from tha house an' 'cause she c'n be changin' her face, I be losin' her." She looks up at Garvid, "Sorry."

The rogue wastes no time helping Mouse collect the more valuable and portable items as they search each room. When they find the strange instrument she runs her fingers over the strings, "I be thinkin' that Cal be likin' such a beautiful instrument. I ain't be knowin' when we be seein' him ag'in but I be likin' ta take it fer him."

The room with the tree stops Li dead in her tracks. She watches transfixed as the sparkly branches sway and listens to the pleasant sound of bells. "Tha rich be havin' everythin'," she whispers.

Will,DC 23: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24

Li reaches up to touch one of the leaves and when something feels off, she realizes that it isn't real. Disappointment colors her face until she see the iron cabinet. "I wonder what he be hidin' in there?"

perception: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (15) + 18 = 33 For traps
disable device: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (19) + 20 = 39

Sitting atop the iron cabinet is a single bloodstone worth 150gp.

The chest is locked, but Li finds that Glorio’s key opens it easily. The chest contains the majority of the Arkona family’s wealth. Unfortunately, the majority of this wealth consists of oaths of loyalty, debt, and servitude that show just how vast the Arkona’s influence over Korvosa’s crime scene actually is. This serves as a final level of protection, as the Arkonas have effectively spread their wealth across dozens, if not hundreds, of different treasuries throughout the city. Even if their palace were completely robbed of all of its valuables, the family would be able to call in these various debts with relative ease in order to replenish their vast material fortune.

Even glancing through the documents reveals that the entire roster of the city’s thieves’ guild (the Cerulean Society) is in the Arkonas’ pocket.

The most recent bit of correspondence between Glorio Arkona and Guildmaster Boule of the Cerulean Society commands the Society to “bottle up” during the quarantine, and let things unfold as they may so that the citizens will be “properly desperate” when the Arkonas decide to make their move with “the fool seneschal” to usurp the queen and gain control over the entire metropolis. The letter closes with a promise from Glorio to bequeath all of Old Korvosa to the Cerulean Society to do with as they see fit.

This stack of papers is enough to politically destroy the Arkona family.

There are, nevertheless, some actual items of value kept in the chest, including three leather bags of coins (1,110 platinum crowns), 8,300 gp worth of assorted gems and jewels, and a lacquered cherrywood-and-ivory +1 holy light crossbow. Finally, a neatly folded set of noble’s clothes, along with a belt pouch containing coin and key, a +1 rapier, and a gold signet ring, sit next to the chest. ”Ah, my belongings!” Vencarlo claims the noble’s clothing, belt pouch, rapier, and gold signet ring. He adds these to his current possessions, saying nothing of the Blackjack paraphernalia obtained from his home.

Loot updated. Tag?

Shaking his head at Li, Garvid's face turns into an indifferent smile. "Hells, kid, you chased a devil out of her own house, and we made sure she isn't coming back.", he gives the street kid a smile. "That's a helluva lot better than any of the other protectors of Korvosa have done today. If she knows what's good for her, she's never coming back." The idea of the instrument being brought to Cal, prompts a gruff grunt from Garvid. Not like we should be looting this place. But it's either us, the locals, or the Queen's lackies. If anything, we'll make sure it doesn't go actively hurting Korvosa. As the unrivaled riches of House Arkona go through their fingers, Garvid's charcoal scribbles the items found on his journal. "Remember, only difference between looting and confiscating is writing it down.", he chuckles, waving the journal in the air. You never know when someone's going to try and be a smartass about the law, and needs a handful of pages shoved in their gullet.

Garvid's tribulations and notations leave the man mostly quiet through the searching of the vast manor, though when the documents from the Cerulean Society are revealed, he kicks the chest with barely constrained anger. "Well, well. I can imagine the Society will be very interested in seeing this. Seeing as it'll be one of the last things they'll see. I wonder if Boule's response is in there, or is arriving soon." A loud grumble later, he shakes his head. "No sense making any more enemies right now. No point angering the scavengers and corpse pickers, when we have killers to catch."

Hmm..., a thought crawls itself into Garvid's mind as he glances over the letters, then a mischievous grin appears on his face for a brief moment. That just might work, down the line. And to see Boule's rat face... As Vencarlo picks up his belongings, the guardsman nods. "One last thing, before you leave. Vim... Mel...", he roars, "The living Arkona. She could read minds, and she knows about the little farm up river. I would recommend collecting our cousins,", he mutters, "And going somewhere where you'd be safer. Janderhoff comes to mind. At least until it's safe." Grinning grimly, Garvid adds, "Or you know for sure we're dead."

Li's k.local bonus exceeds the DC so I'm just assuming she knows about the Cerulean Society, especially after being part of Lamm's Lambs

Li remembers seeing people in blue uniforms coming to see Lamm when she was younger. You couldn't be a member of any gang in Korvosa and not know who the Cerulean Society was and what they did. "Involvement 'tween tha Cerulean Soceity an' Glorio ain't be good. It be explainin' some stuff tho'."

The rogue's face reddens with shame as Garvid warns Vencarlo about revealing Vesper and Fran's identities. "I don't be rememberin' thinkin' o' tha farm when I be thinkin' o' tha girls but it be safe ta move like Garvid be sayin'."

Eager to focus on something else other than her failure to catch Meliya after putting her friends in danger, Li asks, "So what be next? We need ta be gettin' Vencarlo an' Neolandus outta Korvosa but Ol' Korvosa still be under quarantine."

"I've been considering that, Li." Neolandus says from the window where he's been surveying the palace grounds.

"Down...below. There's a barge, and a channel of water. I would guess the Arkonas use...used it to smuggle cargo in and out of the estate. I would wager it's the safest route out of here."

Everyone...on board with this plan?

Kynes nods. That will work. Now let us burn this monstrous home to the ground, and let it serve as a warning lamp to all those who will value greed and power over Korvosa. From Kynes hands a flame is produced, which he holds out beneath the drawn satin curtains.

Giving Kynes an amused chuckle, Garvid shakes his head. "We executed the bugheads for arson, Kynes. Much as I hate this place, I don't think even throwing the soil in the Jeggare's going to clean whatever happened here.", he harrumphs. Giving a shrug and one more look at the decadent opulence, he adds, "Letting the locals settle in is bound to be more constructive. When Korvosa's back to normal, it'd be nice to have a place with two stones standing ontop of each other, for whatever purpose it gets used." He sighs. Maybe we can turn it to a hospital. Just to spite every bastard that's crossed us so far.

Scoffing at the idea of a boat, Garvid shoulders his halberd. "Where to? We can get off the boat at Cal's manor. You should probably continue downstream. We oughta meet the Marshall and decide what's next." Patting the weapon, Garvid grunts out, "I'm partial to cleaning up Longacre, myself. Do some pest control."

I think our next step, Korvosa continuing its descent down S&#* Creek nonwithstanding, might be checking out the Longacre building, since that's one of our only leads for the moment. But we should probably check with Marshall Kroft first.

As Slinky hisses furiously at Kynes and his open flame, Yaziyah nods at Garvid. "I like that idea. But first we should make sure that the dungeons below cannot be accessed, they still hold plenty of danger."

"I 'gree wit' Yazi," Mouse adds with a nod. "Stop up doors down 'n such. Take a bit, but it'll be safer 'n leavin' 'em open. Gettin' rid o' anythin' lef' down there'd be safest, but I don' know as we got time f'r that."

Vencarlo smiles at mention of the Field Marshal. "I'm sure Cressida will be very glad to see you, and to learn what we've uncovered in Old Korvosa. But first, help me get Neolandus to Harse. From there, you can easily return. Getting into Korvosa doesn't seem to be the problem. It's getting out. And I have precious cargo. It will soon be dark. The better to travel."

He listens to Yazi's and Mouse's suggestion. "That will take time. And it's only a matter of it before people begin to notice that House Arkona's been abandoned. Soon we'll be up to our ears in pillagers. Did you have something more permanent than barred doors in mind, Yazi? Preferably something quick."

Lord Talfryn listens to the discussion, brow furrowed, unsure as to what his own preferences are.

Finally he makes his decision. "Our priority is to escort Neolandus to safety. Let us take him to Harse, and from there return to Cressida."

Li starts to get some tools out of her bag. "I ain't leavin' if'n there be a chance that anyone be able ta be gettin' inta tha dungeon. What if'n it be a kid? I c'n be makin' it be hard ta enter. I be quick an' then we c'n be leavin."

Does Li need to make a Disable Device check to jam the entrance?

Burn this evil down.

Neolandus takes Kynes’s arm as you return to the garden, walking by Glorio’s hanging corpse with a side glance. ”Let’s not act out of passion, Lamplighter. Under Korvosan law, this is still private property. When all of this is over, and civility returns to the city, the magistrates will determine the fate of the property. It may even serve some public purpose, such as housing, a hospital, or even a museum. It is not our place to burn it. Even if we did, it would endanger everyone nearby and threaten neighboring structures. Korvosa is already burning, let us take a care not to fan the flames.”

Twenty steps below the garden’s secret trap door, you recall Glorio’s instruction and activate the hidden wall plate, closing the door behind you. You continue down through the underground garden and across the rope bridges.

The seneschal continues ”But, I agree that the dungeon is far too dangerous to be left wide open. Some hapless pillager will doubtlessly wander down there and become trapped. Li, do your best with the locking mechanisms.”

At the bottom of the vast cavern, a wooden pier extends out into a gently sloshing pool of blue seawater. The shallow-draft barge remains docked at the pier, an unlit lantern hanging from its bow. Supporting timbers and brickwork line parts of the lower edge of the immense cavern to both the west and south, showing where the original sea cave has been artificially expanded. To the north, a twenty-five-foot-wide waterway provides an aquatic exit from the cavern—the distant, muted sounds of the surf and sloshing water echo down from that direction.

Li takes a few minutes to jam the primary lever, preventing the dungeon from activating. This, combined with the secrecy of the entrance, should deter ingress on at least a short-term basis.

Meanwhile, Vencarlo has readied the barge. He holds the lantern aloft, looking to Kynes. ”Does anyone have a light?” He assists first Neolandus, then the rest of you with stepping in.

The seawater in the pool is about fifteen feet deep, and winds approximately one hundred twenty feet to the northwest before ending at a solid stone wall.

Yazi grins, recognizing the wall as a mere illusion.

Beyond, the narrow canal opens into the fullness of the Jeggare River. Vencarlo claims an ore, navigating out through the channel. ”It is only a few miles up the coast,” he whispers. ”Then, we will turn inland.”

As dusk embraces the city, the flickering of torches and the glowing of burning buildings, some smoldering, some blazing, illuminate blackened plumes of smoke that rise into the night. High above, pseudodragons, imps, and the odd hippogriff rule the skies against the gothic frame of Castle Korvosa looming in the distance. And beneath, the bruised, wounded remnants of broken tenements is all that remains of a once-proud city. This, the glorious but rebellious child of Cheliax. This, the Jewel of Varisia.

This, the Kingdom of Korvosa.

Curse of the Crimson Throne
Act 4: A History of Ashes

Give sorrow words: the grief that does not speak
Whispers the o'er-fraught heart and bids it break.

Scene 1: The Road North

The second-oldest Chelaxian settlement in Varisia, Veldraine has long depended on Korvosa for trade and support, even as Korvosa has relied on it for naval protection. It is the holding most reliant on Korvosa for its existence, which it more than makes up for with its nigh-impenetrable defense of Conqueror’s Bay. Veldraine’s ships act as Korvosa’s navy and its small but prestigious naval academy trains the best sailors and ship captains in Varisia. In addition to its powerful navy, Veldraine also guards the bay with its impressive chain. A massive feat of engineering, the chain is miles long and is anchored deep within a basalt shelf opposite the town. An immense winch allows teams of men and oxen to wind the slack links and raise the massive chain to just below the waterline, effectively blocking the bay to ships. To date, Veldraine has only needed to use the chain once, during a raid by Riddleport pirates in 4685.

As the settlement slowly passes on the right, and the little barge floats steadily north, Vencarlo and Neolandus ask about how you came to Old Korvosa, pumping you for information about what’s been happening in the city over the past few days. When they learn the details of the incident involving Marcus’s failed assassination attempt, their eyes grow large and Vencarlo curses under his breath.

”These are dire circumstances,” Neolandus breathes. ”Proof positive that my worst, my very worst fears have, in fact, come true.”

Neolandus takes a long draught from a waterskin, sitting back and taking a deep breath. He turns and regards the shoreline, as if to ensure that Veldraine, now distant, has not lighted its beacons in alarm for the escaped seneschal. ”There is much to tell. But, for now, suffice to say that Queen Ileosa has become something more than hum—”

”Not now!” Vencarlo interjects. ”Not until we are assuredly free from the Queen’s reach. Here--” he removes the amulet of proof against detection and location, recovered from his burning home, and loops it over Neolandus’s head. ”And that dagger! Toss it into the water!” Upon searching your belongings, however, the Arkona dagger is nowhere to be found…

”Soon we’ll reach Palin’s Cove,” he continues. ”We can shelter there. Then we will turn inland, up the Falcon River and on to Harse. I don’t suppose any of you have friends in the Cove?”

Tag?

Out of town. Not out of trouble, but when has that ever happened. As the boat continues its rocking, Garvid seems heavily focused on his journal, only occasionally looking up at the river banks with a watchful eye.

The mention of the dagger brings Garvid back into a surly mood, souring even further as it's found to be missing. "Hanging was too good for that thing.", he spits out, shaking his head at Vencarlo's question. "In Veldraine? I don't trust anyone who prefers water over mud. And besides... I barely have friends left in Korvosa.", he gives a gravely grin. "But we have some sails, and that's as good as a friend in these times, I suppose."

"Nope. No one." The simplicity of Mouse's answer stands in sharp contrast to the roiling turmoil of her emotions. Korvosa was corrupt and rotten to the core, but it had been Mouse's entire world as long as she could remember. Leaving it behind had felt like walking off the edge of a cliff and hoping to sprout wings on the way down - and the rocking and bumping of the boat wasn't helping. All of Mouse's nightmares had ended with churning waves and choking water; now this one was going there as well.

Li sits at the back of the barge, watching burning Korvosa recede from view. Her cheeks are wet from a mixture of tears and spray from the water. Last time she had left the city, she knew she was going back. Now she wasn't sure and that makes her feel sad and lost. She hugs the instrument she had taken for Cal to herself and plucks one of the strings absent-mindedly. Would she ever be able to deliver this to him? Would he still be there if she did make it back?

The revelation that the dagger is missing makes the rogue's blood run cold.
No one had purposefully gotten rid of it so where did it go? It's not like it could grow legs and walk off on its own, could it? Feelings of relief quickly followed because she had never liked that dagger.

Vencarlo's question about Palin's Cove garners a negative head shake from Li. "This be only tha third time I be out o' Korvosa. I ain't be knowin' anyone there unless they be leavin' Korvosa an' be decidin' ta be movin' there."

Also known as Keyra the Wave, Captain Keyra Palin (4385–4429) joined the crew of Admiral Kiameleu’s Tarrasque when barely more than a child. Her adolescent spunk earned the admiral’s begrudging respect, and her promotion to captain at the age of 19 brought about cries of outrage from the established brass. Kiameleu stood behind his decision (some claim he put her on another ship so he wouldn’t need to listen to her incessant prattling anymore) even when she disobeyed him at the Siege of Endrin Isle. Palin first captained the frigate Merciless as part of Kiameleu’s flotilla and remained its captain until her death and its destruction in the Great Fire of 4429. Palin remained behind when Kiameleu’s flotilla abandoned the marines on Endrin Isle, using the Merciless’s catapults and contingent of sorcerers to support them during the months-long siege. In 4415, she became commander of the marines garrisoned at Fort Korvosa, but chafed at being stuck on land. The next year, she moved her command aboard the Merciless. Her long relationship with Waydon Endrin resulted in the birth of their children, Lucien and Mina, in 4421.

As an accomplished and exceptional sailor and commander, Captain Palin is remembered in several ways around Korvosa. The Laughing Wave inn, in Mainshore, takes its name from her epithet, as does Wave Street in Bridgefront. Her name appears elsewhere in the town and beyond, most noticeably in the industrial holding of Palin’s Cove itself, founded in 4485.

For roughly the first century of its existence, the strategically vital Palin’s Cove relied extensively on food and supplies from Korvosa. Surviving as little more than a military outpost for many years, the settlement proved its worth in more than a dozen sieges laid (and lost) by the Shoanti. Modern Palin’s Cove is an industrial marvel, with forges, refineries, smelters, and a plethora of other manufacturing concerns pouring black smoke into the sky. The town bristles with catapults, ballistae, and trebuchets, which also comprise its primary exports.

The Cove’s premier inn, The Hippogriff’s Kiss, is located in what appears to be the slums, but is in fact a respectable area, all things considered. The tavern is a log simple building, with a red tile roof and a small enclosed deck. Despite the late hour, the succulent aromas of duck, sausage, steamed buns, and wine all but implore entry by those wandering by.

”Too obvious,” says Vencarlo from across the square. ”The Queen will have her agents keeping an eye on all the inns. Come. I’m owed a favor or two in this town.” He leads you northwest, through a series of side alleys filled with the scents of animal dung and damp earth.

The Naga’s Apothecary, a three-story tower of glum stone with a slate roof, looms ahead. Despite its size, it seems to be trying to slink into its own shadow. Vencarlo bangs on the door. After several attempts and obscenities, Vencarlo produces a small tool and picks the lock, opening the old wooden door with a groan. The strong aroma of incense and perfume reeks from the doorway, a reminder of Vendra Loaggri and Lavender. Inside, neat wooden shelves hold a sparse but tidy collection of alchemical wares that appear kept with the care given to living creatures. ”Ichond! It’s Vencarlo. I know you’re in here!”

”Vencarlo?!” hisses a voice from the stairs. A moment later, a short human man of Shoanti descent, dressed in a night gown and cap, bumbles down the steps. ”What in the hells?”

”Shh! Keep your voice down. Don’t worry, we’re not here to impose, except to spend the night. We need shelter for a few hours, rest, something to eat.”

Ichond points south ”And you’ve disabled my security trap, I see. The inn--”

”--is too visible for these guests,” Vencarlo says slowly, his words heavy with implication. ”Tourists. From Old Korvosa. I’m sure you’ve heard of recent events. We have coin. And we’ll be gone at first light.”

Ichond regards the rest of you warily, then sighs. ”You know your money isn’t any good here, Vencarlo. Friends of yours are mine. But where do you plan to sleep? The best bedding I can offer you is the odd grain sack and packing straw.”

”That’ll be good enough,” Vencarlo says with a smile, grasping Ichond’s hand. ”May I introduce to you Marigold, Sark, Theren, Vani, Theodric, Gyn, and Clerebold. En route to Melfesh.”

”Yes, yes, I’m sure! Frankly, the less you say, the better. Come! Don’t think I’m dragging out these sacks myself. You can make yourselves comfortable in the storerooms. I’ll see what provisions I have to offer.”

A few minutes later, Ichond reappears with a few loaves of bread, some hard cheeses, and dried fruits and meats.

”The sun will be up soon,” Ichond says. ”You should try to get what sleep you can. I’ll keep the shop closed until noon. I’m suddenly feeling a bit under the weather.” He winks.

Tag? You can recharge your abilities. Ichond can also sell you alchemical supplies/items within reason.

Yaziyah nods at their presumptive host as she pulls the hood of her cloak down, displaying her Shoanti tattoos openly. She snorts at the obviously fake names, but doesn't correct Vencarlo.

"Well met, Ichond, blessing of the spirits upon you and your house." She unshoulders her pack, pulling out a few supplies. "Here, let me help with dinner."

”Thank you... Marigold, is it?” Ichond asks as he spreads a threadbare blanket on a crate marked “Danger: Combustible”. On this he spreads out the available victuals. ”You are Shoanti. Your accent is Korvosan. Were you born there?”

Three loaves of bread. ”My grandparents were full-fledged Skoan-Quah.” He glances at the others. ”The Tribe of the Skull,” he clarifies. ”Their son, my father, took a fascination with the tshamek, outsider, cities, to their great dismay.”

Dried plums, apricots, and raisins. ”He worked out of Kaer Maga for many years, paid to lead expeditions and safaris for wealthy hunters and trappers who took a great interest in the apparently seductive dangers of the Cinderlands. They would hunt and kill firepelt cougars and hippogriffs, preserving their hides and heads to grace the halls of their manors. In this work he met my mother, a teaching assistant at the Lyceum. His tribe would not approve such a union, obviously, and so he renounced his Shoanti life and relocated to Kaer Maga permanently to be with her.”

A hard-rined cheese. ”I was born two years later. When I was a teenager and a student, he died on a safari, killed by a giant scorpion. I have its stinger on display over my bed. After my education was complete, my mother relocated us here to Palin’s Cove, where she was born. She helps me with my business, such as it is. Palin’s Cove is a small town, and xenophobia has made it difficult for me at times. The town is famed for its munitions, a constant reminder of the Shoanti threat beyond the Cinderlands. And perhaps I represent that threat. But what is one to do?”

He smiles at Vencarlo. "Vencarlo has been a customer of mine for many years, ordering certain potions and elixirs that are difficult to find in Korvosa."

It is in the darkness of the pre-dawn hour that the ghost visits upon you.

”My friends.”

Zellara sits on the storeroom’s floor with her feet tucked under her. She glows softly with the ethereal gleam of another world. Before her, of course, lies the tools of her unliving trade: the deck of Harrow.

”It is time again to read of the cards, as they demand. And my purpose, it seems, is to abide them. Ileosa’s power has grown--this, you know--but I fear that whatever fuels her transformation is beyond any of us. Yet, the future is untold. Our fates are not yet sealed. And with that uncertainty comes hope. What, then, may the cards reveal? In such mysteries live the power of the Harrow. First, the Choosing.”

Musical Accompaniment

As usual, this represents an actual and random draw of the harrow deck.

The deck of cards spreads itself before her, and five cards float across the room and come to rest before each of you.

For Garvid, The Paladin. ”The protector. The shining knight. It is both fitting and ironic, is it not Garvid? The card represents both a reflection of yourself, and a telling of what is to come. For you will soon face an equal in battle. Will you defeat this warrior? Will you recognize their prowess and yield? Will you find some compromise in between? That choice shall be yours.”

For Kynes, The Beating. ”Your lamp is a shining beacon in the dark, but I fear it is also a signal to predators that their prey awaits. All the intuition and intelligence in the world may not save you when you are surrounded from all sides by wolves. Yet no wolf was ever clad as the enemies that await, suited in shining crimson and iron.”

For Li, The Bear. Zellara smiles. ”My darling Li. If not for the circumstances wrought upon you, I believe you would not harm another soul.” Her expression grows serious. “But in this world, brute force reigns. You will face a remorseless engine of raw physical power and force. Can you muster the courage to release the beast within yourself?”

For Mouse, The Big Sky. ”You have marched a long road carrying burdens only you understand. And perhaps they are all you have known. But for you I sense freedom from bondage. Yet not without sacrifice. You will suffer. Suffer through a grueling ordeal under the relentless sun. I pray that you have the strength to endure it.”

For Talfryn, The Cyclone. Zellara sighs. ”Once again, Lord Talfryn, you have received a card of ill fate. A tumultuous evil. I see you fighting something...otherworldly. Its power is…overwhelming… I cannot fathom it! But, you will have the aid of friends. Let this card thus serve as a warning to you all.”

For Yaziyah: The Fiend. Zellara gasps as the card is revealed. ”Again I am granted the vision of a beautiful young woman being dragged into darkness. And in that darkness exists only despair. In that darkness, a great evil works tirelessly to destroy all hope. You must enter it willingly. You must defeat it.”

Zellara allows her words to resonate a moment. She then snaps her fingers, and the cards fly back into the deck, which she quickly shuffles. She spreads them before her in a graceful sweep. ”And now, the harrowing...”

She closes her eyes and glides her hands over the card spread, murmuring under her breath. Slowly, she selects three cards at random. Opening her eyes, she places them face down in a line extending from herself outward.

”The past. This column also represents law, for the past is unchangeable.”

She selects three more cards from her spread, placing them in a parallel line just to the right of the first. ”Then, the present. Events that are occurring even as we speak that may bear on our fortunes.”

Drawing three more cards, she places them on the table, completing a three-by-three grid. ”And, of course, the future, the paradox of self-made destiny.”

She begins by revealing the left-most column, those cards representing the past:

The Rakshasa. ”Ah, the cards are fickle in their truth-telling. How clear the treachery of the Arkonas, for the blood of the rakshasa flows in their veins. Deceivers, schemers, and corruptors, the Lord and Lady were far more than they appeared. Sibling demons who devoured their own parents to usurp their places as rulers of their House and, perhaps in time, the city itself.”

The Empty Throne ”We have seen this card before, yet now it represents a time before the Crimson Throne served as a seat of power, before the cold eyes of Cheliax turned its gaze to Varisia. I see an ancient Thassilonian monument on a barren shore. Beneath, a labyrinthian chamber. And many Shoanti warriors. Are they guarding the monument? Protecting it? Or imprisoning something within?”

The Avalanche ”Here is the great fighting that occurred between the Cheliaxian invaders and the Shoanti near what is now Korvosa. There are...so many who died.”

She then turns over the middle column, representing the present:

The Mountain Man ”Yet it is the Shoanti who suffered the greatest losses. Their dead number in the thousands, a mountain of bodies that fill shallow, mass graves beneath Korvosa’s buildings. They still sing in sorrow for any who will hear, but their words are lost beneath the boots of those who tread upon them. Their names and faces are forgotten, lost to time.” Zellara sheds a ghostly tear. It falls upon the next card as she turns it.

The Crows. ”Their lands were overrun, their villages, their belongings, all claimed or destroyed by the invaders. With nothing but what supplies they could carry, and the memories of their homes, they fled out into the burning desert. Their memories still linger, in song and in words, and they look upon Korvosa with great anger. And fear. The Castle… they fear the Castle. No. Something within it...”

The Courtesan ”I see a Shoanti man, old, who lives in two worlds. The world of the Shoanti, and the world of Korvosa. And I see you, all of you, refugees yourselves.”

Finally, Zellara reveals the last column, a prediction of your future:

The Tangled Briar ”Ah, a prophecy! An ancient triumph shall return. Evil forces forgotten shall endanger the present. All shall be at risk. But there is a key that you shall seek.”

The Betrayal ”I see a woman in red. Her mind is clouded, poisoned. She craves redemption, but does not yet understand it. You may have a chance to save her, if you yourselves can survive.”

The Queen Mother ”And...Korvosa. The Queen’s plans unfold, and the city harbors death for all who will oppose her. Tread carefully through those streets, for you have now fallen into Ileosa’s gaze… And another. A man in black, who walks in the shadows and the night...”

At that, Zellara’s ghost begins to fade away. ”Beware the night…”

Neolandus and Vencarlo observe the whole affair in utter silence. At last, Vencarlo whispers to Neolandus. ”I always knew they had more tricks up their sleeves than an Eel’s End harlot. This doesn’t surprise me in the least.”

”Plainly,” replies Neolandus, looking a bit anemic.

Letting out a chuckle at Vencarlo's story, Garvid reaches to sit on a nearby crate, before the host reveals the content of at least one. Letting out a grunt, the guardsman sits down on the floor with a clang, warily keeping away from the crates.

Grabbing a piece of bread, the man's attention is drawn to the alchemists' tale, listening intently. Well, that's a surprise to nobody. Everyone dislikes everyone else., he summarises to himself as the tale reaches the part about Ichond's parents, tilting his head at Yazi to listen to her response, his lips quietly mouthing 'Marigold.'

"Trust us on that, Ichond - there's a lot of threats, represented or otherwise. But people just watching their shops ain't them."

===================================================================

The rustling of the crates sends Garvid jumping up, and through sleep-deprived eyes, he points his halberd at Zellara with a low grunt. His brain making connection with his body, he grunts out again, before sitting down on the ground. "It's you.", he blurts out. Staring at the cards, he lets out a cynical chuckle as his card is revealed. "Sure, that's me. All shining armour, flowing hair and pearly teeth.", he mutters out, shaking his head. It's not the first time I've fought someone stronger. But I'm not stopping, not for anyone.

The drawing, this time, seems to have sent Garvid into a thousand-yard stare. The first time it actually makes sense..., he stares out through the window to glance at the rising sun. Or a sign that I'm buying into the whole b+&@#&+@. Although, the tigers, the mantises... Choosing to rub a hand on his face instead, he stands up. "Well that one was a little clearer. But Zellara's insane if she thinks I'm shining my armour.", he chuckles a moment later, before turning to Neolandus and Vencarlo. "Don't get too excited. She's been there since... well. Since the old king died. First time she made any sense, mind you. It's official - we officially stirred up enough s#+$ that the Queen noticed the smell.", he laughs out, before his face turns towards Yaziyah once more. "Yazi. You know of some Shoanti legends about what liv- exists down in the Castle? Since there's officially been enough magical f*+$ery happening, so we might as well start chasing myths now."

Li sticks quietly to the shadows as their group moves through Palin’s Cove. She felt both unnerved to be away from Korvosa as well as relieved. At The Naga’s Apothecary she moves up to offer her help to Vencarlo when his knocks go unanswered only to see him pick the door himself. If’n he be Blackjack th’n I shouldn’t be surpris’d he be pickin’ locks.

Inside, the rogue wanders around looking at all the bottles, vials, and such with curiosity. A couple times she can't resist tapping the glass as creatures look perfectly preserved inside some sort of liquid.

”That’ll be good enough,” Vencarlo says with a smile, grasping Ichond’s hand. ”May I introduce to you Marigold, Sark, Theren, Vani, Theodric, Gyn, and Clerebold. En route to Melfesh.”

Even after spending quite a bit of time in Cal’s lavish home, Li is no stranger to sleeping on the floor with nothing but your arm as a pillow. At least they were dry and relatively secure. When Vencarlo introduces them, her brow furrows ever so slightly, Which one be me? Better if’n I ain’t be answerin’ ta no name

She snags a couple dried apricots and a piece of cheese and some bread, nibbling on them as she listens to the conversation. With the exertions of the day catching up to her and with her hunger sated, Li curls up in a ball in the corner and tries to fall asleep but fails miserably - or so she thinks.

Li isn’t sure when she fell asleep but hearing Zellara’s voice causes her to sit bolt upright, instantly awake. In her startled reaction, she bumps a table causing bottles to teeter but her quick reflexes quickly settle them back into position before any of them fall.

Knowing there is no point in refusing, Li scoots herself closer to Zellara and watches as the cards are revealed and explained.

Can you muster the courage to release the beast within yourself?”

Li looks down at her hands and her ears turn red. If’n I ain’t be bein’ so timid, Meliya ain’t be escapin’. Her thoughts drift to Garvid’s rage, Kynes’ transformations, and Mouse’s fists before mumbling, ”Ain’t sure how me inner beast be measurin’ up.” She looks up and meets Zellara’s gaze, ”Ya sure I be havin’ a beast ta release? Mebbe tha cards be getting’ mix’d up?”

As Zellara finishes revealing the cards that speak to the future, a shiver goes down Li’s spine. Having the attention of the Queen was not good at all, not if Li wanted to stay in Korvosa without constantly looking over her shoulder. And who was this man in black? So much for going through life unnoticed.

”Ain’t sure how me inner beast be measurin’ up. Ya sure I be havin’ a beast ta release? Mebbe tha cards be getting’ mix’d up?”

”There is no doubt,” replies Zellara. ”You may be the most courageous of us all.”

_________________________________

Mid-morning finds you preparing to depart Palin’s Cove. Ichond keeps the door barred and the shutters closed, and the occasional knocking is obstinately ignored. He offers home brewed ale and several days’ worth of hard loaves, jerky, and dried fruits. ”Melfesh isn’t that far. And, I hope, neither is your true destination. Good journey!”

Vencarlo spends of his own coin to procure basic camping provisions from around town. ”No boat, no horses.” he says definitively. ”We must not be seen unless absolutely necessary. We will travel overland, camping in the forest at night, and following the Falcon (river) inland.”

And so begins the journey through the lush landscape of southeastern Varisia and its temperate coastal climate. Far to the east and north, the Mindspin Mountains rise like ancient claws grasping for the sky. Beyond them to the north, you know, towers the Storval Rise, the immense cliff that serves as gateway to the burning Cinderlands.

__________________________________

”I have never explained the nature of my relationships with Ichond, or with Jasan, to whose farm we are heading in Harse.” Vencarlo sits before the campire, his rapier resting on his lap. His maimed hand, naked in the firelight, tells a story of its own.

”Jasan is one of the two surviving members of an adventuring party that made a small fortune exploring the Storval Rise and the Mindspin Mountains. That adventuring party was known as The Blackbirds, and the only other surviving member is...me.”

”Jasan and I remained good friends after the Blackbirds broke up, periodically exchanging correspondence using a code we had developed in our adventuring days, more out of novelty at first than any real desire to obscure our connection. But as our letters grew increasingly political and critical of Korvosa’s government, we grew more clandestine and conscious of keeping their code. The system has paid off recently, for there are no obvious written records of mine and Jasan’s friendship—no links agents of the queen could use to track down. So when I needed a safe place for Trinia to hide, I wrote Jasan a brief coded letter and got an even briefer reply: ‘Yes.’”

Vencarlo chuckles. ”The Blackbirds. We were quite the rebels. So much in our adventuring prepared me for my…. Well, my future career as a swashbuckler.” He looks knowingly at each of you across the fire. ”You must know now who I am.” He laughs again. ”Ah, but despite all my trials, at the end of the day I am still that young adventurer. Why, I am reminded of the Blackbirds in your band as well. Tell me, have you thought to give yourselves a name?” Tag?

Still pleasantly sated by the simple-but-pleasant fare Ichond had provided, Mouse jumps only slightly at Zellara's surprise appearance - the woman was spooky, there was no doubt, but she wasn't even top ten on the Mouse's Scariest Experiences list anymore. As she wills her heart into its normal steady pace, Mouse settles in to watch another Harrowing with fascination (and only a little nervousness). She still couldn't claim to much understand the process...but she'll take anything she can get for information of what's to come.

Nervously, she sets a hand on the card that appears before her, pondering the image of the slaves raising their hands toward the open skies and committing it to memory. This's wha' this's all for, she resolves. Don' much care 'f I'm the one who's set free - but those little 'uns back at Cal's deserve better 'n a city what's lookin' t' crush 'em." As Zellara's narrative continues, Mouse especially latches on to the numerous references to the Shoanti. If the telling was true, Yazi's people were to play a significant role in what was to come...and from Zellara's words, it sounded like they needed freedom from bondage and suffering as much as anyone else in Korvosa.

"Soun's like 's your folk what we gotta go to for 'elp, then, Yazi, after we get Neolandus an' Vencarlo safe," she finally answers, several moments after Zellara fades away. "If what Miss Zellara says is real. In the 'bout-the-now part, she was sayin' all kinds o' things about the Shoanti. An' tha's like t' be the las' place anyone'd come lookin' for us..."

----------

"I dunno - namin' a crew seems like somethin' f'r the grand adventurers, goin' out an' rescuin' damsels an' slayin' dragons an' such," Mouse answers Vencarlo with a hint of a smile. "Those're some o' my favorite stories, an' I remember gettin' my hands on a broadsheet 'r two 'bout the adventures o' the Blackbirds. But this don' seem quite the same as that t' me. We ain't goin' t' fin' riches an' glory...least, I'm not. I jus' wanna try an' make things a little better f'r home..." She glances down the river once again, toward where Korvosa rests uneasily at its end. "I still ain't sure how this's got so far out o' hand. Jus', one thing after another, an' next I know I'm fightin' tiger-headed nobles wit' backward hands..."

Yaziyah nods at Ichond's question. "Born and raised in Korvosa, yes, but I know my roots. I am also of the Skoan-Quah." She looks like she might say more, but then shakes her head and purses her lips, withdrawing into herself and spending the rest of the evening in brooding silence.

=======================================

Zellara's apparition finds her awake, as she cannot find rest in this strange place, with so many questions and thoughts weighing on her mind. Sighing wearily, she sits up to hear the Varisian's fortune telling.

”Again I am granted the vision of a beautiful young woman being dragged into darkness. And in that darkness exists only despair. In that darkness, a great evil works tirelessly to destroy all hope. You must enter it willingly. You must defeat it.”

"I am no stranger to darkness," the Shoanti mutters, gathering her cloak closer around herself as she shifts position to ease a painful hip.

As the ghostly woman digs into past and present, Yaziyah's face clouds. "Yes, my people suffered greatly. And they had wisdom, knowledge that is now lost, and who knows how many more may suffer for that, if your prophecies are true. As to the man, that can only the Thousand Bones, the chief shaman of my tribe. He and I, we were of a mind in what we sought. Perhaps now as well."

She trails off, staring into the distance, her fingers absently touching the charms at her belt. Garvid's question shakes her out of her reverie. "Legends? I know many. But I wasn't born in the Cinderlands. People there may know more."

Lore, the dead, in case it's applicable: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (5) + 11 = 16

=======================================

As they take their leave of Palin's Cove the next day, the Shoanti woman complains of tiredness and aches, and sighs deeply at the news that they must travel on foot. Her mood hasn't improved by the time they camp for the evening, and she snorts at Vencarlo's question. "Name ourselves? You just went and gave us all new names, now you want us to come up with a fancy name for our group, like we're some adventurers or heroes or Pathfinders? Grow up, old man. When we go up against the Queen, or whatever is under the castle, they won't care a whit for what we're called."

Li sits with the others around the fire, enjoying the warmth and the smell. But part of her can't help but be saddened as the flames remind her of the burning Korvosa that they left behind. She hoped that Cal, Grau, and the others were safe.

You must know now who I am.

She grins back at the swashbuckler, "I be guessin' that be as close ta a confession as we be gettin'. I be kinda wishin' I had been able ta be takin' ya up on some lessons. An' not just ones that be usin' a sword."

Tell me, have you thought to give yourselves a name?

Li is surprised by Vencarlo's question but not for the reasons voiced by Mouse or Yazi. "No need ta be givin' family a fancy name."

"When we go up against the Queen, or whatever is under the castle, they won't care a whit for what we're called.

"Ah, but it's not meant for them. The name is for those who will hear of your deeds, who will know what you've done. And there's the power of it, for the name grows to mean much more than the person behind it. Consider Blackjack. As much a legend and rumor as a known man, he’s remained a fixture of Korvosan lore for more than two centuries, serving the poor and downtrodden of the city, fighting against the injustices of cold-hearted nobles and dark-souled merchants. Because he has existed for more than two hundred years, nobody in the city believes him to be a single person. Who those people were, who they are or will be, is beside the point, for Blackjack is immortal. And so are The Blackbirds. And so will you be.”

______________________________

The gnarled, dense woodlands break out into open pastures and rolling hills. The sounds of rushing water presage your view of the village itself, nestled within the confluence of the mighty Sarwin and Falcon rivers. Great water wheels line the edge of the waterway, smoke pouring from grist and paper mills. Men and women busy themselves along the roads and manage donkey-pulled wagons weighed down with wrought iron, ore, and coarse, unfinished fabrics. The town is positioned perfectly as a trade outpost, and it’s a wonder that it hasn’t grown larger than it has. The village, you know, is a favorite respite of dwarven merchants heading for Palin’s Cove and Veldraine, and serves as a gateway to Korvosa’s other inland holdings. Its outlying pastures also serve as Varisia’s premier livestock region.

You head east, following the Falcon river for nearly four miles before cutting north across an enormous stone and cedar bridge with an attached water wheel. Tuttle’s Crossing. For most of you, this is familiar from your time escorting Trinia and Vesper.

After several more miles, you move off the main road and toward a gated dirt road. An aged, hand-painted sign hanging from the gate reads “Blackbird Ranch: Better’n Nothin’’. Rolling green hills surround an enormous pond. Horses graze and gallop across the fields. A moderately sized horse ranch sits comfortably in the cleft of two low hills topped with small copses of fir trees. It is a minor compound of several buildings and sheds. Several large farm dogs, dirty but well fed, come lumbering up, barking but tails wagging.

Jasan greets you as if you were long lost family members, even Kynes and Talfryn. Trinia Sabor and Vesper are present as well. While the girls share a vague family resemblance, Trinia is a dead ringer for Li.

Both girls are elated, especially Trinia. ”You kept the bracelet!” she says to Li, extending her wrist to show her matching jewelry. ”I’ve got so much to tell you!” she gushes, taking Li’s backpack and hoisting it herself.

______________________________

”I got bored with the rural life!” Trinia confesses, helping you unpack and settle in to your rooms. She looks to make sure Jasan isn’t around. ”I haven’t told anyone. Vesper, don’t you breathe a word of this to anyone. Promise!”

Vesper pouts. ”Fine, but I ain’t even ‘eard it yet!”

”Alright!” Trinia continues, ”After you left, I took to explorin’ the wilderness around Harse, lookin’ for adventure and excitement!” She unsheathes a gleaming dagger and swipes the air, feigning a fight with an invisible foe. ”And I did! For a time, I became a thorn in the side of a local gang of bandits called the Craghawks. But when I heard rumors of a group of green adventurers having gone missing in the hills to the southeast, I went lookin’ for them. I even hired a Varisian tracker named Voris to help. The rat!” She thrusts her dagger. ”I learned too late that the whole thing was a ploy engineered by the Craghawks to lure me into an ambush! Voris was none other than the bandits’ leader!”

The lets this sink in, maximizing the dramatic effect.

”He led me into a narrow gorge the bandits had been using as a hideout. But things didn’t quite go as planned when they sprung the attack. Haha, no! Trinia Sabor led those rascals on a perilous chase along the upper edge of the gorge, resulting in several bandits falling to their deaths.” Trinia throws herself to the ground dramatically. ”I managed to throw off pursuit by dropping down a narrow cave opening,” she continues from the floor. ”I found myself in a mysterious Shoanti tomb haunted by… an ancient sorcereress’s ghost! Ooooooo. Anyway, if I could survive the queen, I wasn’t gonna be afraid of any old ghost. So I talked to her! This ghost had become frustrated at how the Craghawks had despoiled the gorge she had dwelled in while alive. Well, knowing I needed help to escape, I agreed to a risky ploy—I allowed the ghost to possess me.” She lays flat on her back and goes stiff as a board.

”Free now to travel beyond her burial site while my body harbored her, the ghost emerged from the tomb and used her magic to destroy the remaining Craghawks! You should’ve seen it! All lightning and fire!” She crawls to her feet. ”Well, true to her promise, the ghost released me from possession and let me go. I came back to Blackbird Ranch and never told anyone what happened.” She looks sternly at Vesper. ”Jasan continued to assume I had spent my time away from the ranch on overnight trips into the wild to paint. He never suspected I’d had such a close brush with… death. Anyway, the Craghawks were disbanded.”

She throws herself on Mouse’s cot. ”So, where are ya going now? I still have the adventuring bug! I wanna go, too!”

Tag?

Jasan invites everyone to join him and several ranch hands for dinner, after which he leads his new guests into his basement so they can talk frankly without being overheard. Trinia squeezes through the door as it’s closing, demanding to stay and listen with a stubbornness that can only be explained as an echo of the Shoanti sorceress.

When Vencarlo introduces Neolandus by name, Jasan’s eyes widen and he whistles in admiration at the audacity of his home becoming the refuge of Korvosa’s seneschal. Trinia chuckles. ”I thought you looked familiar. I think I seen you in the castle when I was there t’paint the king. I’m Fra--Trinia Sabor.”

Neolandus gives a gracious tilt of the head, but then it’s straight on to business. ”Blackbird Ranch is a large place, but not large enough to accommodate us forever. Worse--we are known fugitives, and Queen Ileosa will spare little expense in tracking us down. Me, in particular. Now, you are doubtless wondering why Ileosa should be so fixated on an erstwhile seneschal. The story is long, and I don’t have all of the pieces yet, but I will tell you what I do know. And yet, by telling you this I make you complicit. Not only that, I am placing a target on your backs. For the information I possess, although limited, is enough for our dear Queen to see all of us dead.”

”She must be stopped,” Vencarlo interrupts, pounding the wall. ”I will gladly wear a target if it means ending her reign of tyranny. Let me share what I know, Neolandus, while the others decide if they wish to join our band of provocateurs.”

Vencarlo paces the room, gesticulating wildly as he speaks. ”I might have hated the queen, but my personal code prevented me from even contemplating assassination as a way to get Korvosa’s government back on track. This left me with few options. When I first heard rumors that Seneschal Neolandus Kalepopolis might still be alive, and furthermore, might be hiding out in Old Korvosa, I grew increasingly obsessed with finding him. My investigations led me to that artist, Salvator Scream, but he was particularly close-lipped in revealing anything; it took several meetings, bribes, and reassurances on my part to prove to Salvator that I wanted to help Neolandus.”

”But when Salvator revealed to me that he’d given Neolandus to the Arkonas for safekeeping, well I was fit to be tied! My rage frightened Salvator so much that he fled from me, and not long thereafter, the Red Mantis attacked my academy as they continued their own search for the seneschal. I suspect their leads led them along parallel lines of investigation that pointed to my… illicit work... and they thought I would be hiding Neolandus. If only! I survived the ambush, but when I attempted to infiltrate the Arkona palace a day later, they captured me. I had thus found Neolandus, but I was as much a prisoner as my quarry. And, you know the rest of that tale.”

He cedes the floor to Neolandus, who claims it as a practiced orator. ”I’m touched, Vencarlo. Truly. And now, if you are all ready?” He clears his throat. ”This story begins decades ago, with the birth of the late King Eodred II’s step-brother, Venster Arabasti. Venster was born first, but he was cursed with deformity, and the corrupted blood of a tiefling. He harbored great jealousy for the successes of his younger brother, King Eodred. The king allowed Venster to live in the castle, a secret, for fear that Venster could not survive on his own. Now and then, when His Majesty was seized with pity or boredom, he would visit to play cards, although those visits usually ended with argument and insults.”

”Then, Venster disappeared. Highly suspicious. I had long suspected Ileosa was up to something, and when the king’s step-brother vanished, my suspicions were confirmed. But I made a fatal mistake: I underestimated Ileosa. I confronted her privately, gave her the benefit of the doubt, not understanding what she had already become. She responded by sending the Red Mantis after me. Through a combination of luck and knowledge of the castle’s layout, I survived the assassination attempt.” Neolandus winces. ”But only barely. I went into hiding among contacts in Old Korvosa, afraid and powerless to move against the queen as long as her Red Mantis allies remained active.”

”Poisoned, wounded, I fled to Salvator’s doorstep. Salvator did what he could to tend my wounds, but was forced to tear apart my uniform to get a splint on my broken arm. I was delirious, but managed to convey to Salvator that I needed a place to hide. Salvator nursed me back to health, whereupon I confided in him that I believed Queen Ileosa had murdered her husband, and that she’d entered into an alliance with the Red Mantis. I told him she had changed recently, grown worse. I refused to divulge more to him, for the less he knew, the safer he’d be. With the aid of Salvator and his network of contacts in the Old Korvosan artistic underworld, I managed to both recover from my wounds and avoid the Red Mantis. Yet, I needed more time to think things through and do some research. “

”Yet as things in Korvosa grew worse, and the assassins grew closer to discovering me, I realized I needed to find a new hiding place. Salvator had just the patron in mind—the Arkonas. Long a fan of Salvator’s grisly work, Glorio Arkona gracefully agreed to hide me in his estate as a favor to the artist. Of course, gaining control of the seneschal played perfectly into the Arkonas’ plans to upset the queen, for according to Korvosan law, only the seneschal can legally depose a corrupt monarch. I became little more than a caged pet to the Arkonas, an insurance policy they were waiting patiently to cash in while Old Korvosa grew more desperate. And, you know the rest of that tale.”

”However, after I recovered from the attack but before Salvator handed me over to the Arkonas, I spent much of my time conducting clandestine interviews, poring through records in Endrin Academy, and piecing together rumors to try to determine what caused Queen Ileosa’s sudden personality change from a petulant queen to a scheming tyrant.”

”I knew that Queen Ileosa had been “borrowing” the treasury key to look through Korvosa’s treasures. I was also familiar with several old and obscure legends about the rooms below Castle Korvosa— chambers, it was whispered, used to hide something of great power or terrible evil. I had heard mention of something called Midnight’s Teeth, believed to be a sacred relic of great import to the Shoanti. Circumstantial evidence indicated that the Shoanti kept these teeth somewhere inside the pyramid that now serves as Castle Korvosa’s foundation.”

”Further research uncovered a chilling old legend. Several hundred years ago, a blue dragon agent of Zon-Kuthon named Kazavon brought the orcs of the Hold of Belkzen to their knees before attacking Ustalav and Lastwall, until he was finally defeated and his remains scattered. According to the legend, some of his body parts, including his fangs, contained fragments of the dragon’s essence.”

”I suspect that Midnight’s Teeth and Kazavon’s fangs are one and the same. The description of the queen’s new crown sounds to me as if she now wears the teeth on her brow, the implications of which are deeply troubling. Hard facts about Midnight’s Teeth remain sparse, since Korvosa’s founders didn’t think it important to preserve much in the way of Shoanti culture. Yet the Shoanti have very strong oral traditions, and if anyone knows the truth behind Midnight’s Teeth, that truth is doubtless hidden among their historians up in the Cinderlands.”

A great deal of information here. Tag?

Li grins at Trinia and practically tackles her with a hug. She then grabs Vesper's arm and drags her into a group hug. Having let her hair go back to blonde once there was no longer a threat of being mistaken for Trinia, Li now looks like they're related. "I guess ya don't hafta be picturin' me blonde anymore. It be real good ta see ya ag'n."

She looks down at her wrist when Trinia mentions the bracelet. Li moves to hug it possessively against her chest. "O' course I be keepin' it! It ain't comin' off me wrist, not ev'r."

The rogue can't help but follow giggling as Trinia and Vesper drag her after them to their rooms. Li sits cross-legged on one of the beds and looks expectantly as Trinia tells her tale. She grins when Trinia says she got bored and she gasps and nods at the appropriate places throughout her story.

"I be knowin' from experience tha' ya be hard ta catch in a chase." Li looks thoughtful for a moment, "I be wonderin' if'n yer ghost be knowin' our ghost. Did ya get a name 'fore she be possessin' ya? I would be likin' ta be gettin' a look at tha place where ya be meetin' her. An' I be sure tha' Yazi be wantin' ta know more 'bout her too."

Li shrugs at Trinia's question, "I don't be knowin' exactly where we be goin'. We be needin' ta be comin' here. Partly ta be deliverin' Vencarlo an' Neolandus." Then the rogue's face reddens all the way to her ears, "An' partly ta make sure ya be safe. In our last fight, there be this bad creature tha' could be changin' her face an' be readin' yer mind. I think she be readin' mine and be findin' outta 'bout tha two o' ya an' where ya be. I think I be puttin' ya in danger."

---------------------

Li listens wide-eyed as Neolandus shares what he knows about history and his suppositions of what had happened with the Queen. "It be lookin' more an' more like we be needin' tha help o' tha Shoanti. An' from what ya be sayin' we be needin' information we c'n only be findin' in tha Cinderlands.". The rogue isn't sure about about traipsing off into the wilderness. She knew and understood the ways of the city but seems a little lost with the vastness of the wild.

Garvid's trip through the rural lands of Korvosa seems to do little to brighten his rather sullen mood. "Smells funny here.", he grumbles on occasion, the rustling of wildlife in the bushes and the unfamiliar songs of birds making him stand at attention, suspiciously eyeing the grass and the trees. The ranch is a relief to the man however, and a smile graces his face as he spies Trinia and Vesper. "Keeping your nose clean, I hope?", he inquires teasingly, before being rushed inside.

_______________________________________

"So, that's a no.", he answers with a deep sigh after Trinia shares her tale. "There does seem to be a lot more ghosts around these parts that I thought." Mysteries and mystics. Choosing to instead latch onto the part of the story about the Craghawks, he nods approvingly. "Good riddance - but everything you survive, you have to learn from."

In the basement, Garvid leans onto the wall, giving Trinia a glance as she walks in. Either she's gained it from getting rid of those a!$~&$$s, or something else..., he lowers an eyebrow. I suppose I'll keep an eye on it. Turning his head at Trinia, he seem to focus on the young woman's face intently. Hey, ghost. I know you can read my mind. You're not the first. You best come out clean soon. Deciding that Garvid's rather suspicious after the whole Meliya/Glorio business!

He listens to Neolandus' tale, the charcoal in his hand rapidly scratching the journal in his hand. As the tale grows more and more incredulous, his expression changes from curious, to disturbed. As the tale finishes with the story of ancient dragons and orcish invasion, the guardsman breathes out a sigh. "Well, things looking better than I hoped.", he adds a moment later, and as soon as the confused faces turn towards him, he shrugs non-chalantly. "Look - if you're right, then we're facing Ileosa with the powers of an ancient, Kuthite dragon.", he says, crossing his arms. "Which is a lot better than what I was thinking - Ileosa backed by Cheliax and their devilbinders. Unlike that dragon, they've gotten what they want for the past several hundred years."

Spotting Li's expression as she mentions the Cinderlands, Garvid nods compassionately. "Not much feeling like going to the wastes, either."

Alas and alackaday, there's too much I've missed for me to catch up with everything, but I shall do my best!

Lord Talfryn is genial company, if a touch subdued; he's prone to long periods of gazing off with a pensive frown, replaying memories, moments of violence, troubled by the horrors they've witnessed in such short order, the truths they hint at as to the mercurial nature of people when presented with opportunity and the chance for evil.

And yet. The company of those with whom he travels is a balm, as is the pleasant setting through which they sail and then walk. He gazes upon each new sight with avid wonder, and though he often walks at the back of the group with his hands interlinked behind his back like a professor interminably trudging toward an unreachable podium, his eyes are bright and his curiosity unceasing.

"Ah! See those black and red markings along that bird's wing? A Korvosian Oreole, if I'm not mistaken! Once common in Bloodhanger Square, but now decades absent..."

"Are these Gravesfoot berries? I do declare! They're said to be poisonous if eaten raw, but when fermented yield up onto the savvy chef a delightful marmalade that was historically served to the Seneschals of Korvosa the morning after a coronation, a metaphor, I'm told, for - oh, my apologies, yes, we must keep walking."

"What a delightful ranch! Horses! So prosaic and noble after all we've seen! I suppose the world can't be all elephants and howdahs, can it? Well, yes, I suppose if we were much farther to the south, it might very well be, that was a little culturally insensitive of me, but you no doubt catch my drift..."

Later, in their secure meeting room once the revelations have been made:

"I, too, am noting the strong overtones of Shoanti involvement. To think: a blue dragon's spirit! And for Ileosa to wear such an artifact as a crown, encaging her mind with this fallen monster's power! I almost feel sorry for her. No, strike that, not at all. A reflexive statement on my part. The Cinderlands - is that to where we must journey next? I can't say I'm not tentatively excited - our adventures have been so urban in nature thus far that I am grown quite weary of seeing the worst a city has to offer. And a quest to visit historians? Ah! Now that is a quest to get excited about! Though I myself am not without a little lore myself, you know..."

So saying, Talfryn sits back and rubs at the fabric of his tunic where it stretches over his iron-hard belly, sinking deep in thought.

Maybe some Knowledge rolls to see if Talfryn can add anything to what they've learned? Midnight's Teeth in particular?

Knowledge History on Kazavon and Midnight's Teeth?: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (19) + 17 = 36
Knowledge (arcana) on Midnight's Teeth?: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (12) + 18 = 30
Knowledge (geography) on the Cinderlands?: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (14) + 12 = 26

Yaziyah's joy at seeing Trinia and Vesper safe and sound is no less great, but its expression is more restrained. She follows the girls inside, listening to Trinia's tale while leaning on the door frame. She half-smiles for most of the telling, but grows serious as the girl mentions a Shoanti ghost. "That was a very dangerous thing that you did. You were lucky, but the undead are not to be trifled with." She pauses for a moment to let the weight of her words sink in. "Did she tell you anything of her name, her tribe?"

==============================

She listens to Vencarlo and the seneschal intently, snorting and shaking her head at times, especially when Neolandus mentions her people. "Yes, the settlers were keen to paint us as ignorant and savages, ignored a lot of our lore - and look where that got them." She frowns for a moment, gaze going distant. "Zon-Kuthon... wasn't that strange girl a follower? The one who was so enthusiastic about Salvator Scream's paintings?"