Bashiel is about to suggest letting sleeping magical artifacts lie undisturbed, but then everyone else jumps in with both feet. He shrugs "Alright then. If everyone is taking a chance, I'll draw one card. Maybe our luck will hold up. Hopefully."
As the group decides to perform the spiritual rite, Venster tells you to sit in a circle and he takes the center.
"Now put the deck inside the circle too" as Ilsa proceeds, Zellara flies out of the deck and smiles at Venster. Staring one at each other, they start to fly in circles inside your own made circle. Then, the cards of Zellara’s harrow deck fly out of their container to spiral and spin in the air between them. As the ghosts concentrate, the anger and wrath of the city’s dead siphon through them to infuse the cards, which begin glowing brighter and brighter.
After only a few rounds, with a final flash of light, the cards settle in a neat and tidy stack on the ground, at which point both ghosts vanish. At this point, both Zellara and Venster have bonded with the haunted harrow deck, which has transformed into a harrow deck of many things.
1 The Avalanche: The character is imprisoned, either by the imprisonment spell or some powerful being.
2 The Bear: The character gains the lycanthropy corruption (Pathfinder RPG Horror Adventures 28).
3 The Beating: While in combat, the character is always considered to be flanked.
4 The Betrayal: The character’s animal companion, familiar, mount, or cohort is alienated and forever after hostile. If the character has no
such companion but has forged a strong alliance with a key NPC like Vencarlo, Cressida, or Trinia, that NPC instead betrays the PC (and
can be found at Ileosa’s side at the adventure’s climax).
5 The Big Sky: Once per day, the character can gain a +10
bonus on combat maneuver checks or to his CMD for 1
round. When he does so, a nearby metal object shatters.
6 The Brass Dwarf: The character becomes immune to
one energy type of her choice. She also gains vulnerability
to another energy type of the GM’s choice.
7 The Carnival: When this card is drawn, it is set aside
and the GM draws nine cards from the remaining cards
in the deck. These cards are laid face up for the user to
view, then flipped over and rearranged randomly by the
GM. The PC selects one card, taking that card’s effects as
normal—a player with quick eyes may be able to keep an
eye on the card whose effects he most wants to gain.
8 The Courtesan: The character’s favorite item—
preferably a magic weapon—becomes intelligent. Use the
rules for intelligent items on page 532 of the Pathfinder RPG
Core Rulebook to randomly generate the item’s abilities. If
the character wields Serithtial, she instead draws three new
cards and picks which one of the three to have affect her,
discarding the other two.
9 The Cricket: Upon drawing this card, the character
can draw up to 3 additional cards. In addition to those
cards’ effects, the character’s base land speed permanently
increases by 10 feet for each additional card he draws.
10 The Crows: The character must make a choice between
his most valuable item or a major ally of the GM’s choice.
Whichever the character does not select is destroyed or
slain and cannot be restored by any mortal means.
11 The Cyclone: The character is drawn into the card,
appearing in an arena-like chamber surrounded by ghosts.
There, the character must fight an elder air elemental
alone. If she can’t defeat the elemental in 1d6+1 rounds,
she is instantly transported to the Elemental Plane of Air.
12 The Dance: From this point on, whenever the character
attempts an initiative check, he rolls twice and selects
whichever result he prefers.
13 The Demon’s Lantern: The character’s body
disintegrates. All that remains are her items and a
glowing gem containing her soul. This gem is worth an
amount equal to the character’s level � 2,500 gp. A miracle,
resurrection, true resurrection, or wish is required to restore
the character; doing so destroys the gem.
14 The Desert: This card grants the character the one-time
ability to travel to any location on the same plane instantly,
bringing with him up to 10 allies and 2,000 pounds
of goods. The character must know exactly where he wishes
to travel. This transportation ignores all barriers against
teleportation or other magical effects. The character can use
this card’s effect as a free action, but only once.
15 The Eclipse: From the hours of dusk to dawn, the
character is treated as being 1 level lower than normal. If
the character has multiple classes, she must decide upon
drawing this card which class is affected.
16 The Empty Throne: The character is seized with an
urge to sit upon the Crimson Throne, but the magic of
the card does not force this action. If the PC decides to
sit on the throne, reality is warped so that everyone save
for the PCs always recalls this character as having been a
member of Korvosa’s aristocracy. The PC knows that his
manor house awaits in Korvosa, and that within are a staff
of servants—the names of these servants and the shape,
size, and location of the manor house are left to the GM to
decide, but the 15,000 gp in inheritance the PC can gather
from his home is up to the player, who can spend this gold
on any combination of items from Pathfinder RPG Ultimate
Equipment (subject to GM approval, of course).
17 The Fiend: *Omitted*, the secret
controller of the Acadamae, takes note of the character
and sets plans to destroy her. An *omitted* arrives at *omitted*, and when encountered, informs the PC that *omitted* has his eye on her. In time, *omitted* himself may take steps to destroy the PC after this campaign comes to an end.
18 The Foreign Trader: The Foreign Trader appears and
offers the PC any treasure she wishes in return for years of
her life. If the PC accepts, she must choose to age a number
of age categories (Core Rulebook 169). The PC takes all the
ability score penalties for her new age, but gains none of
the benefits. For each age category she advances, she gains
20,000 gp worth of credit with The Foreign Trader, which
can be spent on any non-unique magic item. Any credit
a character does not spend is lost. After the character is
done spending her credit, The Foreign Trader vanishes.
Years taken by The Foreign Trader can be restored only by
deific intervention. The Foreign Trader doesn’t trade with
characters who cannot die of old age.
19 The Forge: The PC must choose armor or a weapon he
owns to be reforged into another suit of armor or weapon
of equal or lesser gp value. Any gp value not spent is lost.
20 The Hidden Truth: This card grants the PC the ability
to call upon an omniscient spirit to answer a question
or solve a puzzle. The character can use this card’s effect
whenever he wishes as a free action, but only once.
21 The Idiot: The character’s Charisma, Intelligence,
and Wisdom scores are all reduced by 1d4 points. Roll
individually for each ability score.
22 The Inquisitor: This card grants the PC the ability
to force another creature to answer a single question
truthfully. The card does not grant the character or creature
questioned any special insight, and if the creature is truly
ignorant, it informs the character that it doesn’t know the
answer and this effect is wasted. The character can use this
card’s effect whenever she wishes, but only once.
23 The Joke: The character selects another PC. Three new
cards are then drawn by the GM and revealed. The selected
PC must choose one of these cards and immediately
gains the effects. The original PC then selects one of the
remaining two cards and gains that card’s effects. The
final card is discarded.
24 The Juggler: The PC gains a +2 bonus to two ability scores
of his choice, but must then swap them with one another.
25 The Keep: The PC gains a personal demiplane, as per a
permanent create demiplane (Ultimate Magic 213).
26 The Liar: The character’s favorite magic item manifests
a curse. Roll on Table 15–27: Common Item Curses on
page 537 of the Core Rulebook to generate this effect.
27 The Locksmith: This card grants the ability to open any
one door, lock, set of bindings, or other locked barrier.
This includes magical gates or portals that have specific
requirements to activate. When the character arrives at the
Sunken Queen, she instinctively knows she can use this
ability to remove the restriction on teleportation into and
out of the Sunken Queen for 24 hours. The character can
use this card’s effect whenever she wishes, but only once.
28 The Lost: The PC cannot gain another level in
whichever class he currently has the most levels. This
effect can be circumvented if the character is killed and
returned to life, but the next time he is restored to life he
is affected as if by the spell reincarnate, regardless of what
spell or effect was used.
29 The Marriage: A comely genie of the PC’s preferred
gender appears and proposes marriage to the PC. Should
the PC accept, she must organize a lavish ceremony by
the end of the week and ever after be committed to this
exotic outsider. If the character declines or breaks her
wedding vow, the genie is heartbroken and returns to his
or her home plane, and the associated elemental court is
outraged. The genie’s personality, actions, and possible
retribution are determined by the GM.
30 The Midwife: The character gains exactly enough
experience to advance to the next level.
31 The Mountain Man: The character grows one size
category, but his equipment does not increase in size.
32 The Mute Hag: The character permanently becomes
blind, deaf, or mute (player’s choice). This affliction cannot
be cured by any effect short of a miracle or wish spell.
33 The Owl: This card grants the ability to scry on a target
for 1 minute. The target, however, is immediately aware
that it is being scried upon by the character. If the PC
chooses to scry on Ileosa and the false Ileosa still lives,
this scry effect is not redirected to the simulacrum but
instead reveals the real Ileosa. The character can use this
card’s effect whenever he wishes, but only once.
34 The Paladin: The PC is granted a holy avenger. If the
character who gains this card’s effect currently wields
Serithtial, this card has no effect and the player instead gains
a permanent +2 increase to an ability score of her choice.
35 The Peacock: The character’s skin hardens, becoming
rigid and pebbled. He gains a permanent +2 bonus to his
natural armor, but takes a –2 penalty to his Dexterity score.
36 The Publican: The GM chooses one of the character’s
enemies (other than Queen Ileosa). This enemy has a
complete change of heart and now favors the character. If
this enemy is dead, it has been restored to life by a mutual
ally. The new ally seeks the character out at once, and
serves the PC as an ally.
37 The Queen Mother: When the character draws this
card, a formian myrmarch (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 4 109)
appears and professes its devotion to the PC—this
creature can affect the PC and his entire party
with its inspire hive special ability.
38 The Rabbit Prince: All attacks the PC
makes or that are made against the PC
that threaten a critical hit are automatically
confirmed.
39 The Rakshasa: The character receives a “gift”
from Bahor. The nature of this gift depends on the
standing of that character’s relationship with the
rakshasa. If she has a good relationship, the gift manifests
40 The Sickness: The PC becomes afflicted with incurable
blood veil. The disease cannot be cured by any effect short
of a miracle or wish spell.
41 The Snakebite: Anyone who touches the character must
succeed at a Fortitude save or be poisoned by greenblood
oil. The save DC is equal to 10 + the character’s Hit Dice +
his Constitution modifier. This poison affects even those
who touch the character to administer aid or healing
magic or who successfully grapple the PC, but it cannot
be deliberately inflicted by the character via a touch attack.
42 The Survivor: The next time the character is reduced to
negative hit points (even if it was enough damage to kill
her), she is instantly restored to full hit points. If she is
killed by an effect that slays her without dealing hit point
damage (such as phantasmal killer), the effect fails to kill
her and she is restored to full hit points. If she is killed
by damaging environmental effects (such as a lava flow or
when teleporting to a dangerous plane), she is transported
to her last safe location and restored to full hit points.
43 The Tangled Briar: Once per day, the character can
use speak with plants to ask a single question of a plant.
Using this ability upsets the surrounding flora, however,
causing 1d4+2 shambling mounds with the fiendish
creature template to erupt from the ground and attack the
character, regardless of the surrounding terrain.
44 The Teamster: When the character draws this card, he
receives a vision of a beautiful ghost. With a successful DC
35 Knowledge (arcana or history) check, he recognizes the
woman as Sorshen, Runelord of Lust. The ghost informs
the PC that Ileosa intends to destroy her legacy, and
commands the PC to defeat Ileosa before the passage of 7
days. If Ileosa has not been defeated in this time, Sorshen
is displeased and the PC gains a negative level that cannot
be removed—a new negative level is gained each additional
week that passes without Ileosa’s defeat. If the PC is slain
by accumulated negative levels in this way, he becomes a
wraith. As soon as Ileosa is defeated, any negative levels
imparted by this card vanish and the character immediately
gains a permanent +2 bonus to his Charisma score.
45 The Theater: The next time the character defeats a
creature, she is granted a +2 bonus to the same ability
score as the creature’s highest ability score.
46 The Trumpet: This card grants the PC the ability to
summon an outsider of his alignment once per day. This
outsider must be of a CR equal to or less than the PC’s HD
and serves for a number of rounds equal to the PC’s level.
47 The Twin: A duplicate of the PC manifests at Ileosa’s
side—this duplicate does not have any knowledge about
the PCs that Ileosa doesn’t already know, but does have
duplicates of that PC’s gear (with the exception of minor
artifacts like Serithtial), as if created via a mirror of opposition.
The duplicate is completely loyal to Ileosa, and is
encountered at her side as a bodyguard. The PC who drew
this card understands what has happened immediately.
48 The Tyrant: The character realizes that she has attuned
her soul to Kazavon. She instinctively knows the location
of the closest of Kazavon’s relics (in this case, the Crown
of Fangs), and is immune to all offensive effects caused by
such relics. She also gains immunity to all mind-affecting
effects generated by any creature currently wearing or
using one of Kazavon’s relics.
49 The Unicorn: This card grants the PC the ability to
undo one past choice or action. The fabric of reality is
respun, potentially restoring creatures to life or altering
the course of history, depending on how the character
acted and how he wishes he would have acted. The player
chooses in which situation he would have acted differently
and the GM determines how reality changes to reflect that
act. The change primarily affects the character, affecting
others as little as possible. The character can use this
card’s effect whenever he wishes, but only once.
50 The Uprising: Upon drawing this card, 3d6 unruly,
accident-prone, 1st-level commoners appear to serve
the character. If these followers are killed, the character
takes the usual penalties on attracting further followers.
Knowledge of these commoners’ mistreatment or death
spreads far, with the GM determining any repercussions.
51 The Vision: The PC receives two visions and the
knowledge that only one is true, though she does not know
which is which. The GM determines the specifics of these
visions. The visions may be views of the past, present, or
future; cryptic omens; or total fantasies.
52 The Wanderer: One of the character’s mundane
possessions (chosen by the GM) becomes a magical item
worth 20,000 gp or less (also chosen by the GM).
53 The Waxworks: Upon drawing this card, 1d6 exact
duplicates of the character appear within a 20-mile radius.
These duplicates have an alignment opposite to that of
the original character and oppose his goals. At least one
of them arrives at the Sunken Queen to join forces with
Ileosa before the PCs arrive at that location.
54 The Winged Serpent: The character is granted a single
wish. This wish functions similarly to the spell wish when
it comes to affecting rules and statistics. The GM decides
what the wish can and cannot accomplish.
Ilsa is the first to go. She requests 4 cards.
The Juggler, The Midwife, The Unicorn, The Locksmith
Zamanda comes second.
The Mountain Man, The Peacock, The Lost, The Uprising
Then Kalem goes himself.
The Trumpet, The Fiend, The Big Sky, The Winged Serpent
Finally, Bashiel decides to draw a single card.
The Courtesan
But fate wants him to draw three more, as the others.
Choose one to keep from: The Twin, The Tangled Briar, The Uprising
Zellara and Venster flip the fate acting in your favor, moving away evil and painful souls as they want to come to you.
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It was Kalem's turn. Fearlessly he strode forward and touched the deck. As his fingers touched the deck time froze. The tiefling stared ahead into the void, for that was where his mind was.
Kalem was five years old. He sat on the corner crying, asking passerbys for spare change so that he could eat. The money wasn't for his food, it was for Lamm's thug who watched over him. The story was fake, but the tears were real.
He was ten years old. The child stalked through the marketplace, looking for a mark. A furious storekeep spun around, finding Kalem's hand in his pocket. A backhand later and Kalem was sent sprawling to the ground. He fled, followed by kicks and curses.
Fifteen years old. A handsome tiefling was smiling as he introduced people to a game of chance. A game that he was bad at. A game that he kept losing at, causing the tiefling to get more and more flustered. The crowd laughed at his misfortune. Taunts rolled over him. One elderly man had the temerity to tell Kalem that his poor luck was because of the sin, and that the only way to redeem himself was to ask Pharasma herself. Little did he know that Kalem was losing on purpose, for his accomplice was fleecing the crowd's pockets while Kalem kept their attention.
He was just over twenty years old when Lamm died. Kalem smiled, true happiness in his heart. Memories washed over him, rolling through the years. So very few of them were pleasant, even the ones that were intimate. Person after person came and went, each one using him and being used. And all through it Kalem saw his own fake smile, evolving through the years.
This is what you are. A voice said, as Kalem watched himself steal the purse of a woman who was sleeping next to him. She trusted him enough to sleep soundly, and for that she was going to pay for the next few days of living. You are a liar. A cheat. A fraud. The words echoed through him. A killer. He had never stopped to think about how many people he had killed, but the memories were coming to him. Along with the savage joy that he felt with each one. The feeling of power. Of control. You do not deserve them. But you are better than them. The voice was in his head, in his chest, in his very being. He could see himself, his skin as black as night, his eyes blazing with inner light. His hands were claws and a pair of wings emerged from his back. Bits and pieces of the queen hung from his fingers. At his feet lay the torn apart bodies of his comrades. Bashiel had a scythe in his back. Ilsa's throat had been ripped out by clawed hands. Zamanda's head lay several feet away from her body. They are using you. Everyone uses you. Once they have what they want, they will turn on you. It felt like he was going to explode. He saw Laori...she was laughing. Laughing at him as she walked away. They always leave, do they not? Where will she be in a hundred years? Where will you be? Will she even remember you in two hundred years? Three? You allow yourself to be a toy. Kill. Her. Kalem watched in horror as blood bubbled out from her smiling face. His hands were in her guts. He screamed even as she smiled.
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Kalem screamed, backing away quickly. Tears rolled down his face. The tiefling prayed with all of his heart. He fell to his knees in despair, looking up at Loari, surrounded by the bodies of his friends. "No." Kalem said. "No..." He realized that he didn't care. He didn't care if they used him. If they left him. If he grew old and died and she moved on. He didn't want this, he didn't want any of it. He wanted to stay with them, to stay with her. Even if it hurt, even if it didn't work out. ...kill...stronger, be...mine by contract...belong to me... [i]The voice was fading, it's presence leaving his body, his head, his heart. And with that, the bodies were gone. He found himself kneeling before a dark-skinned woman with diaphanous wings, four large eyes—one pair under the other—and a tangle of night-blue hair. Looking at her he knew that she was not the voice that had been tormenting him. He felt weak. Helpless. Alone. In despair he tried to ask her for help but the words did not come out. The figure knelt down and took him by the hand, pulling him to his feet. She smiled at him and it felt familiar. It was like a dream that he couldn't remember.
Kalem. She said, her voice smooth, sweet, and caring. Long have you suffered. Tell me, what is it that you want? What is your wish? If it is in the power of me or my goddess, then it shall be done. Looking at her, Kalem found that he couldn't speak. He couldn't move. All he could do was express what was in his heart. And what came out was that he wanted to be with Laori...to at least have the chance to be with her. To live with her for as long as she did, and to stay with her for as long as she wanted. He wanted with all of his heart for the world to stop judging him. For an end to the guilt, the shame and the anger. His heart said that it wasn't power that he wanted. It wasn't strength. It was that he did not want to hear the voice anymore. And she smiled. And Kalem...
...fell to the ground. The cards flipped over in rapid succession. The Trumpet, The Fiend, The Big Sky, The Winged Serpent. He screamed as he rolled on the ground. The jet black color ran from his skin, coming out of him and evaporating into smoke. His bones cracked and broke, reforming. His muscles rippled and shrank as his form took on a new shape. He screamed as his body changed forever. Finally, he lay on the ground, twitching in pain, panting for breath, covered in sweat. Trembling he pulled himself to his knees. He couldn't see it, but his prayers had been answered.
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Zamanda's turn to draw cards came up, and she stepped forward. Turning over the first card she got a quick vision of what would happen. Taller. She'd been middling short all her life and she projected a sense of joyful anticipation at the prospect of a higher perspective.
Then it happened. Instead of being 5 foot 6, as she had been all her life, she almost doubled in size, and she was suddenly 10 feet tall.
Her clothing stretched and tore, barely keeping her decent, and she quickly adjusted her sleeves of many garments to project her clothing intact, but larger.
This was more than she had bargained for... this had all been a lark, but now she was freakishly large. Though in some ways, she liked it. She started to wonder if drawing her bow would be easier now, and thought that she would never have to worry about being able to see over her party members again, but she stopped the wild thoughts before they turned to the negatives. This was more than she had anticipated, but was she moving forward or backward?
She reached down... farther down, and drew another card.
From this one she got a sense of tougher, but slower. Was that a good trade off? She looked down at her new body and thought forward. She waited for the change, but it was much more subtle. She felt her skin become tougher and slightly pebbly, which stiffened her up a little, but not a lot. Okay. She was a new person, and she was going with it.
Another card, and she got the idea of being prevented from being a bard again, and although up to this point she had been trying to embrace change, she immediately thought no, tossing the card back down. Singing was her joy, and a good fall back position if they ever got Korvosa back to normal. She didn't want that potential taken from her.
She still liked the idea of doing this overall, even though the changes were ones that she hadn't expected, but she was getting warier.
She drew another card, and the sense she got of this one was Responsibility with a capital R... followers, blame if one of them dies... NO. NO, no, no. She threw it back down, taking a shuddering breath, knowing she needed to draw two more cards, but first she needed a breather to assimilate the changes that she had already undergone. She stepped back to allow the others to complete their draws, but stumbled because she just took up more room this way. She tried to squeeze around everyone and move away.
She made it back to the outer room, with her back against a wall. Breathe. Breathe. Try to stay cool, think it through. Take it seriously for once. You asked for this. You made the choice. This is the new reality. No one is going to save you from these consequences. She could tell she was shaking, and for once, she couldn't bluff her way through. This was all just too much, too quickly. Soon she would be calm enough to try again, and pretend to be fine with all of it... but not yet. She sunk down to a sitting position. Just need some time to adjust... things will be fine.
Luckily, the hat of disguise was easy to adjust to hide her tears... though she just made it seem like stoic Zamanda rather than leaving it on Koriantu. No point in that anymore, though she wondered if the hat could make her look shorter... hmm... ah, yes, escape topic rather than obsessing over what had happened. Good idea. She worked with the hat... hmm, yes on shorter, but only about a foot shorter, not as short as she used to be. Okay... well, she'd have to get better equipment then, but the positive side was that no matter what disguise she used, zero people outside this room were going to think it was actually her...
No, too far, no thinking right now. Focus outward. Observe instead. Trying to process all of this wasn't going to work yet, and watching what cards everyone else encountered should be interesting anyway.
Zellara and Venster play the odds to put away spirits from Zamanda and try bring her new more positive ones.
The Crows, The Cricket
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Zamanda watched first Kalem (now an elf?!) and then Bash select cards, and after they went, she felt a little bit more stable. It still seemed a little bit hard to breathe, but Kalem's dramatic change comforted her a little bit, and she smiled at him and at Laori as she rose and returned to draw her remaining cards from the deck.
The first card she picked up felt even darker than any she had touched before. Instead of background menace, this felt like an actively evil bargain. One that could kill someone. She immediately dropped it, recoiling, not even fully turning it over. Had Ilsa taken all of the good cards from the deck and left none for her?
She shook her head... of course not. Where had that thought even come from? Ilsa was her friend. These cards were getting to her... influencing her more than she liked. Okay, okay. It was fine. It would be over soon, and everything would end up being good. Some of these spirits were trying to help them fight the queen... Just pick another.
Still trembling a little bit against her will, she watched her hand move to the deck and touch a card. Thankfully, this one didn't feel evil or menacing, but there was a sense of ... humor? ... coming through. Oh! Something positive, but prolonging the game. Okay, this was more in her wheelhouse. She would accept this challenge.
She turned the card over, and realized that she was being given a great gift, again in enhancing her body to move farther and faster, accompanied by further risk... but this was a bargain she understood, and more her sort of gamble... the gamble of life. You struggle to improve, only to find heavier challenges ahead. Does that mean you should give up? No. Only that you should continue to reach farther. And she would.
... In just a moment. She just needed a second.
She pressed her hands to her eyes and, though she had never done so before, silently reached out to a god... the only one she could think of was the goddess from the temple of the moon that they had visited. Oh, yes... Desna.
Desna, please... if you can influence this, nothing that will harm others. I know, I am in way over my head, but if it has to be bad, please let it harm me and not others. Please. I'm trying to do good. Just that one thing.
Then she reached for another card.
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Ilsa was only partly aware of what was happening to her companions. It was almost as if each was on a separate plane of existence, dealing with the cards in slow motion. Peripherally, she could see Zamanda growing larger, and Kalem slumped to the ground and no longer looking like himself.
But she had her own game to play, one with high stakes. Her mind focuses intently on the cards as she drew them, and she could sense which cards might be dangerous or advantageous. She was no longer a player in the game, but her mind made her the dealer.
The Juggler. Ilsa could see herself in a former life. A kind shop girl lacking in self-confidence, who had to save her niece from Lamm after the death of her sister from Shiver. She had juggled her circumstances, her inability, torment from a would-be ally cleric, and grown somehow stronger. Her muscles and fortitude increased dramatically upon drawing the card.
The Locksmith. Ilsa's mind had transformed through the last several months. Once, she had thought of selling just a few items from the consignment shop she worked at while she found simple pleasures in her hometown of Korvosa. Now, her psyche could unlock the minds of others, compelling them to do her will or something completely against their own. She could see a key turning in her mind--something she could use later.
The Unicorn. Once a commoner, Ilsa was common no longer. She was something special and--unique. She could leverage this in the future to change the course of time, to undo something she had done, and felt more powerful for it.
The Midwife. Finally, Ilsa drew the Midwife. She remembered a Thing tormenting her, always just outside her periphery or just behind her neck, breathing down her neck. This creature of pure fear had tormented her, troubled her sleep, and taunted her night and day. She had been scared of the dark or of falling asleep. Over time, this Thing of nightmares had drawn closer and closer, until a Shoanti shaman had given her the power to look directly at it. This had been Ilsa's rebirth, for that was when she realized she was the Thing. Ilsa was what went bump in the night, the one who knocked on the door at the midnight hour. Ilsa was reborn as a creature of the night, and grew more powerful in this very moment.
Opening her eyes, she turns to face her companions. Shadows cling to her black-clad form, and her ghoulish claws pulse with purple energy. Even her allies have a hard time looking at her horrific eyes. She is unfathomable beauty and terror--the manifestation of nightmares.
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The cards start flying and some fall in the numbers requested in front of the heroes. Spirits come and go as Zellara and Venster attempt to protect the party from the darker souls. Zamanda and Kalem suffer grand transformations while Ilsa pulses with energy, and the cards keep flipping...
The Big Sky, The Forge, The Brass Dwarf, The Brass Dwarf
Laori is given a card to herself.
The Carnival
The spirits revolve around and she tries to grasp one of them while fighting to remain truthful to her own.
A soul as dark as night enters Laori's spiked chains. The elf remembers the reward Zon-Kuthon gave to Kleestad and Sial and their ends. She looks then at Kalem and observes his transformation. Almost instinctively she drops the spiked chain and extends her hand towards Zellara "No, I do not want this destiny... There was someone... I... could not save... someone whose expression of pain is like none before... help me Zellara... help me to rest my mind... Please protect me, I do not want to end like a worm. Give me a path worth living" she gives another look at Kalem while the spirits spiral around the cards and there is a pulse of force as the spirit of a decapitated artist is brought in front of Laori by Zellara "It tortures me that we lost you Salvador, your art should not be lost. I promised to save you and failed. Let me repay you. Forgive me and I will not let your art be forgotten, the compelling beauty of the troubled souls of this world shall be preserved" you see the spirit makes its travel to Laori's belt pouch. She opens the pouch and takes from it Scream's painting brushes that shine for a second before things settle down.
"Let this be your salvation Laori, to express with art the pain you so fervently seek" Zellara's voice booms in the room as the rage of cards and spirits start to settle down.
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With the last of her harrowing luck, Zamanda asks Zellara to put away the fate of The Big Sky.
The Bear
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So much had happened in but a minute. Zamanda had been a celestial beauty, whose face and voice were a match born of heaven. Now, she was a different kind of beautiful, even with her enlarged form and hardened skin. In Kalem’s mind, Zamanda seemed more akin to a statue made by worshiper of Shelyn that captured the essence of a Savage beauty.
Ilsa, though? He had seen her for so long as a little sister. A sibling in darkness, one of the few people who could understand him. He had been protective of her, wanting to shield her from harm. But now…now he recoiled. She was terrifying in her power. He felt diminished, in that his own muscles had shrunk and the dark anger within him having been purified. For the first time he saw how scary she truly was.
The Deck was not random, he saw it now. It was bringing out what was within each of them, granting them what their soul called for. It was to be seen in Zamanda. An Aasimar who was not a paragon of virtue, whose tongue could convince the sky that it was green. Her strength was now on full display. Ilsa, who had been a humble shopkeep was now fear made manifest. And Laori? Laori…
Retreating from Zamanda and Ilsa’s raw power, one physical and the other psychic, he embraced the elf. Kalem was not especially intelligent, and he certainly wasn’t learned learned. But he could read the signs, and he recognized the path that she was now on. A path that he too was trying to walk. It was not going to be easy for either of them, for both had made powerful enemies. Enemies beyond the strength of any mortal. But together they would walk and they would struggle. Together they would succeed or fall. He embraced her, drawing her in and holding her. For once he did not have words for the occasion. But words were not needed.
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…but Laori wasn’t truly returning the embrace. Looking up, Kalem saw why. Zamanda was in the process of turning over another card. She looked as if though she were in a trance, and the changes that were coming were horrific. Kalem felt Laori move away from him and to Zamanda, rushing to force the card down before it could be turned over. Panic gripped his heart as Laori’s hand touched Zamanda’s and he saw the pain written over both of their faces. Without thinking he clasped his hand over theirs…
…visions hit them all. There was a hunger, a malevolent hunger, within the card. It was feeding off of Zamanda, completing her transformation. She was an Aasimar, but throughout her life she had a rebellious voice in her head that told her to act against the expectations of one touched by the divine. The cards had been leading her to this moment, increasing her size and strength, toughening her skin…and now dominating her mind. This animalistic nature that hid in all mortals was coming out, and Kalem knew that if the card was turned over then Zamanda would be gone. A part of her would become dominant and would fight to remain so. Through the shared connection he felt her pain and fear, and knew that if the card was turned over then his friend and comrade would certainly become suicidal. She knew better than any what lurked within.
The shared connection between all three pulsed and coursed. Kalem saw his brother and the pain of Korvosa’s streets. He felt the pain of the forlorn in Riddleport. He felt the suffocating expectations of the masses when they saw an Aasimar. And he felt the *hunger* and *anger* of the beast that raged against it all. Together all three of them pushed the card down, stopping the transformation from being complete. Zamanda’s body had changed, but her mind was as still her own. She was not corrupted.
He felt light headed. He had just gone through the painful process of having his body forced into a new form, had the emotional rollercoaster of seeing his beloved turn away from the shadows of Nidal, and had just helped Zamanda wrestle with her own personal demons. Feeling far more weary than he had ever felt before he looked up at Zamanda, who now towered over him, and said ”No more cards…” he held Laori’s hand like a drowning man would hold onto the side of a boat. He had a taste of both Zamanda and Laori’s pain, and had come so close to losing both his good friend and his lover. It was terrifying.
It was clear that the Deck reached into the user and transformed them based upon the individual. But the propensity for purification was equal to the chance of corruption. Truly, the artifact was far too dangerous to blindly use.
Zamanda was confused. She was certain that Ilsa had selected all of her cards before she drew the first time, but in this moment everything seemed to be happening at once. The cards flew, Ilsa was transformed. Not just a girl, but a dark power. Kalem, instead of going in the same direction was now a bright spot... good in a way that she also should be be, and, amazingly, so was Laori. She could feel her own body growing taller, stronger, faster as she stood here, but all that had happened before as well.
It was as though she were an observer, watching herself in front of the deck, half in and half out of the spirit world... drawing cards that altered reality...
the next one came up and she... her... the self that she was watching, took a card and casually tossed it aside, but the watcher part of herself was screaming at her not to... well, screaming internally. All of her selves seemed calm, even though she knew in herself that she was not.
the next card came up and she watched her oathbow morph and change into a different bow...
then another card and this one was both good and bad, helping and harming, but at least it was only herself.
another card, but yet not another. the same card that she had just drawn was suddenly in her hands again, helping and harming...
and she knew Desna had intervened. None of these cards/consequences were glorious, but none were evil either. She had been blessed. But of course, being who she was and not able to just be the good, normal, angelic being that she should be, she had to press her luck, and because she had rejected one of the cards that Desna granted her, essentially rejecting that divine gift, another must be drawn.
The self that was watching knew what was coming, but her observed self reached out, unknowing, touching the card and only then realizing that there was no escape--no way out of the evil that would take over her heart and mind and turn her into a thing... a thing of murder and corruption. That's when she watched herself come apart, part of her purely an observer.
As the other sought to fight something that could not be changed, the self that was apart from that had the time to plan the only rational thing that she had left. Her own demise. When the card was turned and she was free again, she would take her knife, teleport to another place in the castle... where? The room with the chairs perhaps. And there, she would take her own life. She could not be the thing that the card would turn her into. The rest of it was tolerable... she couldn't even understand why she had worried about the changes up to this point at all. They were meaningless. But this time her reckless behavior had caught up with her, and it needed to be over.
She waited for her moment to act, and then, unexpectedly, Laori came to her... her other self... trying to fight the influence with her. Then Kalem, trying to save her, of all people. She didn't deserve saving, couldn't they see that? They were going to get too close, and the corruption would reach out for them as well.
She knew it was hopeless, and yet, she could not stand aside and allow them to be harmed by her actions either, so she reluctantly entered her body again. Time sped up, things seemed to return to their proper places, but she also felt the horrible corruption poking at her mind, her body, and her soul. With her last trace of willpower, she joined with her friends to try... resisting with everything she had, pushing away the hunger and the anger, and the other things that had always been there... the selfishness, the greed...
And Kalem did it in the end. The power that he brought forced the corruption away, and she was herself again.
She looked down at him as he said "No more cards..." and she knew he was right. But she didn't know if the deck would allow that. Could she refuse to draw a replacement card? Was this redemption, or just a last moment before the deck once again sealed her fate?
She sank to the floor and waited to see.
Feeling the dark pulse coming into Zamanda, Kalem and Laori help her turn back the card, reject that spirit. And yet, the bargain has its rules, a card has been requested, and a card must be drawn. As one spirit is rejected, another turns up.
The Dance
Zamanda accepted the final card with her head bowed, feeling it meld into her, and then stood up and looked around, wondering if everyone was intact... though changed.
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The Keep
Zellara acts to twist Bashiel's fate, and the paladin is made lord of his own demiplane.
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Ilsa watches in dark majesty as the others are also transformed before her eyes. She folds her arms across her chest as she contemplates the changes to Kalem, Zamanda, and even Laori.
She turns toward Bashiel, the last to draw cards, wondering what would become of the paladin.
"Let us hope this does more good than harm, all told," she muses, trying to conceal how overwhelmed she feels by everything that has happened in a few short minutes.
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Bashiel watches in awe and quite a bit of concern as his steadfast allies start to shudder, twist and change. Kalem's violent transformation hits first, leaving Bashiel to run to the bloodrager's side as his form rearranges itself. Once it becomes clear that the change is not necessarily harmful, he takes a step back. Kalem's new elven form still fills him with a touch of anxiety. Had his ally's mind changed along with his body? Was this a boon or a curse? Knowing a little of Kalem's struggles as a tiefling in a society with certain assumptions about them, he hoped it would be a relief for the man. Still...
He doesn't have time to contemplate for long. The cards seem to flit in and out of Zamanda's hands as she draws and redraws, fighting against fate to avoid a foul future. When she too transforms, he similarly moves to her side and puts a hand on her arm (her shoulder is now too high up). The deck isn't done with her yet though, and he readies to intervene after Kalem should her remaining transformations start to lead her to a dark fate. When her luck finally turns for the better, he sighs in relief and steps away to let her make sense of her new body.
Ilsa's new power on the other hand surprises him less. For a long time now, he'd seen her control grow stronger and her fear ebb. If she could wield the dark magics she had access to with more finesse and precision, that was all for the better. He trusted her to use those powers for the good of the group, the city, and to the benefit of those that needed to be protected.
When it's Bashiel's turn to draw, he finds the cards riffling through his fingers. When he tries to seize one, it turns - revealing itself for a fraction of a second - before slipping away back into the deck. It was... strangely enough... being coy with him. The Twins, the Tangled Briar, the Uprising. Each of the cards briefly appears before disappears. He finally frowns and lunges firmly for the topmost card and seizes it firmly, turning it over.
The Keep.
To those around him, a faint wave of heat and the scent of desert flowers billows forth, but only briefly. In his mind's eye, he sees a vast pyramid, a tomb rising out of the desert. Inscribed along its walls are stories, names and places written in Ancient Osiriani. The history of a bloodline. Brilliant flowers bloom all around the tomb, contrasting the harsh white light of the midday sun above. Bashiel briefly sees himself standing in front of the tomb, surrounded by something like a shimmering haze, but that vision fades as quickly as it came. He's only left with a powerful impression - the knowledge of exactly where this place lies.
As far as the rest of the group can tell, the deck had no effect on Bashiel.
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A two inches pyramid made of stone, materializes in Bashiel's hands as the spirits finally show him the path to the place he has sought for so long.
As the spiritual rage ends, you remain in the room. Just, you are no more only you. Some of the spirits of the city have merged with you, determined to fight Ileosa back together. These spiritual merge has changed you, some physically, some mentally, others have been given new insights, but in all cases Zellara and Venster have managed to keep the worst of the spirits away as promised.
Now, Zellara manifests one last time before you. Her expression is one of peace and hope as she smiles at each of you. The harrowing spirit flies close to Ilsa and gives her a single ectoplasmic kiss before she fades from view.
Her final purpose served, Zellara finally receives her eternal rest bringing Venster with her to the Boneyard. Her harrow deck is now nothing more than a standard, nonmagical deck of cards.
Bashiel thumbs the tiny pyramid thoughtfully, then places it carefully in his pocket. He was certainly fascinated by this resting place - was it the place the spirits of his ancestors rested when they weren't talking to him? But it seemed like the group had more pressing matters to consider.
Seeing Zellara and Venster finally freed from their ties to the material plane floods Bashiel with pure relief. Zellara had lingered so long that he'd started to fear he'd approached her haunting totally wrong. Venster's ties had also seemed uncommonly strong. He offers a prayer to Osiris to carry their souls to their deserved reincarnation.
After a long pause, he clears his throat. "Uh, how is everyone?"
Kalem looked around awkwardly. It was a simple question, but a simple answer didn't feel appropriate. Rubbing the back of his neck he replied "Fine?"
Ilsa was a goddess of fear. Zamanda was eight feet tall with stone-like skin. He was an elf. Laori had broken free from a God. And Bashiel had received a mysterious little toy pyramid, which was ominous in it's simplicity.
With a smile he shrugged his (now diminished) shoulders. "Well, fine or not, we have a job to do. And it seems like Zellara has done all she can to help, so it's up to us now. Let's get to it."
Zamanda gives a thumbs up, but she is feeling a touch claustrophobic, and it was a good thing that she was so flexible. Getting through these tiny doors was going to require some calisthenics. Still, she smiled as though there was nothing wrong... and honestly, compared to what had *almost* happened to her, things were practically perfect.
Zamanda warns the party first, but then changes her hat of disguise so that she looks like the devil that they killed. At least that was the appropriate size.
Now that things are calmer, Laori finally reacts to Kalem's embrace, hugging him back, then taking some distance to look at him "Kalem? You look pale as if you had seen a ghost!" the elven giggles amused "And look at those pointy ears!!!" she taps the tip of his ears then taps her own to finish placing a hand on Kalem's cheek and smiling "The world has always so many surprises around for us!"
The group takes some time to settle down the recent events, then teleports out of Venster's box room and walks to the tower the ghost told you he had felt the Queen many times in. The same magical aura in the ceiling is still active.
Remembering what the ghost of Venster told them, Zamanda uses the deck box with the Arabasti family symbol on it, and touches it to the ceiling.
Zamanda puts the Arabasti's family symbol in contact with the ceiling and the passwall effect opens up for the party to cross to the other side.
This room contains a large bookshelf filled with dozens of books and scrolls. A desk and chair stand nearby. Sitting on the desk is a single large book with a black leather cover. The walls of this study have been decorated—recently by the look—with dozens of spiky runes.
Many of the scrolls and books here are on subjects connected to Ileosa’s plans. As you have not cast long lasting spells on yourselves yet, you are free to spend a few hours here trying to understand the content.
Apparently, Ileosa was fond of using this remote and secure chamber as both a place to meditate on the strange urges growing in her mind and a meeting room where she could interact with infernal callers. The documents here explain how she found the Crown of Fangs and activated the fangs of Kazavon, and that she signed a contract to bind an erinyes to her soul. There is also evidence that she developed here her plans to poison the king, drafted her initial letter of contact to the Red Mantis, and plotted out the use of blood veil to murder many of Korvosa’s undesirables at this very desk.
The large book on the desk is an immense volume written in Infernal.
The book, Truths of the Sihedron is signed by someone called Sermignatto, and chronicle the various cruelties and torments inflicted upon the people of Thassilon by the Runelords. The book, which smells faintly of brimstone, contains seven chapters, one for each runelord, but the chapter on Runelord Sorshen has been heavily notated in Ileosa’s impeccably fine penmanship. Ileosa seems to have been particularly obsessed with something called the Everdawn Pool, a device she believes still exists today in the ruins of the Sunken Queen.
According to her many notes, this magical artifact granted Sorshen her immortality, and the gathering of samples of blood from thousands of “supplicants” is but the first step to replicating this achievement. Once the Everdawn Pool is ready, it can draw forth the lifeblood of these thousands to infuse a single creature with eternal youth.
In short, Ileosa intends to sacrifice many of Korvosa’s citizens to attain immortality.
Among the papers are lists of people whose blood Ileosa has surreptitiously gathered. The list includes many names, but the following strike to you the most: Bashiel Eland, Blackjack, Brienna Soldado, Cressida Kroft, Ilsa Dreambind, Ishani Dhatri, Kalem Darkborn, Malen Arturian, Marcus Endrin, Sabina Merrin, Trinia Sabor, Zamanda Cador. You find detailed notes on how the Red Mantis and other of Ileosa's minions have collected surreptitiously these blood samples after your fights in Korvosa's streets.
Some of the scrolls here are magical:
scroll of banishment
two scrolls of binding
a scroll of etherealness
a scroll of gate
a scroll of greater planar ally
a scroll of greater planar binding
a scroll of plane shift
A copy of Ileosa’s agreement with the Red Mantis assassins is found here as well—a document that has little monetary value but is priceless as hard evidence of Ileosa’s true nature even to her most devoted followers.
An elegant teak and ivory potion rack (itself worth 900 gp) contains 3 doses of fool’s leprosy left over from the king’s poisoning, along with a short note on how to administer the venom.
Sitting on the top shelf of the bookcase inside a permanently invisible gold and ruby scroll tube worth 3,000 gp. Inside the scroll tube is a sheet of human-skin parchment containing a contract written in blood. The writing is in Infernal.
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Ilsa takes in the changes to the others with a steady eye. She has felt the power within herself grow, and hopes the others had similar changes.
We're gonna need it.
She quietly embraces each of her companions, taking a moment to connect with each of them. When she is done, she stares at the now-mundane cards in her hands. A single tear slides down each cheek as she contemplates Zellara's impact in her life.
How strange that she was already dead when all this began.
Not wanting to show any weakness, she quickly wipes away her tears as the group prepares to move on.
Entering Domina's study, Ilsa looks around before focusing on the items on the table. She can't make anything of the language in the book, but she can tell what some of the scrolls do.
"Can anyone read this?" she asks.
*False Flanker: A duplicate of the mesmerist appears momentarily, as though he were fighting in tandem with the subject. The mesmerist can trigger this trick when the subject moves into or begins her turn in a square where she threatens an enemy. An illusory duplicate of the mesmerist appears in any unoccupied space adjacent to that enemy. This duplicate counts as threatening the enemy for the purposes of determining flanking, but can’t actually make attacks. The duplicate disappears at the end of the turn during which the trick is triggered. This is an illusion (figment) effect, and a creature that interacts with the false flanker can attempt a saving throw to disbelieve the effect.
*Mask Misery: The subject can shrug off a condition for a short time before succumbing to it. The mesmerist can trigger this trick when the subject becomes affected by a minor condition listed under the touch treatment ability. The subject can ignore the effect of that condition for 1d4 rounds, after which the subject takes the full effect. This has no effect on any conditions affecting the subject other than the triggering condition, even if those other effects are also listed under touch treatment. The rounds during which the subject ignores the triggering effect still count against that effect’s duration; if the duration of mask misery is longer than the effect lasts, the subject isn’t affected by the condition at all. If an effect that imposes more than one condition triggers this trick, the subject ignores all eligible conditions. If the mesmerist is 6th level or higher, he adds the moderate conditions to the conditions he can ignore with this trick, and this trick ends minor conditions entirely instead of suppressing them temporarily. The mesmerist doesn’t need to have touch treatment to choose or use this trick.
*Free in Body: When constrained, the subject can easily slip loose. The mesmerist can trigger this trick when the subject begins its turn grappled or under an effect that impedes its movement (including paralysis, solid fog, slow, and web). The subject gains the benefits of freedom of movement for 1 minute.
*Meek Facade: The subject magically seems like a weak target, goading an enemy into attacking her. The mesmerist can trigger this trick when the subject misses a creature with an attack (even if it’s part of a full attack in which she hits that creature with another attack). The enemy must attack no one other than the subject, and the subject gains a +2 dodge bonus to AC against the triggering enemy’s attacks. Both of these effects last for 1 round. The bonus to AC increases by 1 for every 5 levels the mesmerist possesses. This is a mind-affecting compulsion effect.
*Mental Fallback: Mental commands placed deep in the subject’s mind trigger when she would fall under mind control, allowing the mesmerist to control her instead. The mesmerist can trigger this trick when the subject is affected by a charm or compulsion effect created by an enemy. The subject acts as though the mesmerist had cast the spell instead of the enemy. For instance, if the subject were affected by charm monster cast by an enemy, that enemy can’t try to give her orders, but the mesmerist could. If the charm or compulsion causes penalties or conditions (such as those imposed by confusion, crushing despair, or hold person), the subject can ignore any of those penalties or conditions the mesmerist chooses. This trick overrides the charm or compulsion for a number of rounds equal to the mesmerist’s level or until the duration of the triggering effect elapses, whichever comes first. The mesmerist can’t implant this trick on himself.
*Mesmeric Mirror: An illusory image appears near the subject to throw off attackers. The mesmerist can trigger this trick when the subject is attacked or becomes the target of a spell that requires an attack roll. One duplicate of the subject appears, and the attacker must determine randomly which it hits (as mirror image). For every 5 class levels the mesmerist possesses, one additional image appears, to a maximum of five images at 20th level. Each image lasts for 1 minute per mesmerist level or until destroyed. This is an illusion (figment) effect.
*Spectral Smoke: A cloud of smoke pops up around the subject, foiling attacks. The mesmerist can trigger this trick when the subject is targeted by an attack or by a spell that requires an attack roll. A smoke cloud appears in the subject’s square and in a 10-foot radius around it. This cloud lasts for 1 round per mesmerist level. The cloud functions as fog cloud, but is an illusion (figment) effect that can’t be dispersed by wind and can be used underwater. A creature that interacts with the cloud can attempt a saving throw to disbelieve the effect. The radius of the cloud increases by 5 feet for every 5 caster levels the mesmerist possesses, to a maximum of 30 feet at 20th level.
*Spell Anticipation: The mesmerist can choose a spell to strike back at enemy spellcasters. When the mesmerist implants this trick, he must expend one spell slot to couple a spell he knows of that level with the trick. That spell must have a casting time of 1 standard action or less and be able to target one creature (spells like dominate person that have more restrictive targeting can be used, but have no effect if triggered against creatures that don’t match). He can trigger this trick when the subject is targeted by an enemy’s spell. The mesmerist’s spell then triggers, affecting only the enemy spellcaster. This takes effect only if the enemy spellcaster is within range of the spell (as measured from the subject of the trick), and functions as though the mesmerist were in the subject’s square. The enemy’s spell still has its full effect, even if the mesmerist’s spell would normally protect against it or make the caster unable to cast it.
Bashiel takes his time perusing all of Ileosa's documents. "The whole history..." He scowls "I thought her powers might just be from the crown, but she also bound an Erinyes to her soul? And here's her hiring the Red Mantis, poisoning the king, everything!" He slaps the documents with the back of his hand. "Our friends will want to see this."
When he comes across the list of names whose blood has been gathered, he inspects it carefully, stopping each time he comes across another familiar name. "Well that's not good."
”The question is thus, do we leave now with the evidence to ensure that the nobility turn against her, or do we rush to confront her? I think the latter. That way, even if we fall, some good comes of this.” The now-elf said.
Answering Ilsa, Zamanda takes a look at the book and says
No... I can't read that... looks sorta like ... infernal maybe?
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As for Kalem's question, I think that we have to do both. We should stop by and deliver all of this to Cressida before we leave so that she has something to work with, but agree that we need to leave soon... otherwise it sounds like she's sacrificing everyone that she has a blood sample from, including us.
The question in my mind is, do we take the time to find Ishani first, and/or take care of his sister?
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Ilsa looks very concerned upon seeing their names on the "blood" list.
"I don't think we have much time," she observes. "I suggest we send our message to Cressida, then go to the Sunken Queen right away. I mean--she could win at any minute, depending on what this will do to us. It could kill us all at once and seal Korvosa's fate."
"For all she might complete her ritual right away, I'd prefer to take a more cautious approach. Do what we can here first, rest, and only then head to the Sunken Queen. We won't do any good there if we rush in and find ourselves in over our heads." Bashiel nods "And I feel we need to rescue Ishani if we can."
Laori examines the large tome, passing a hand through the title "I do not speak it myself, but if we take it, I might use magic to read it, or some of our friends might know the language it is written in"
For the rest, Laori remains watchful while the group decides what to do forward.
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”I can read it.” Kalem said. ”I can read and write infernal, celestial and elven. Never learned any of them, but I just…know how.” He shrugged. ”Weirder things have happened. Here, let me take a look.”
Bashiel listens as Kalem reads the tome out loud. "The Runelords? That's something really ancient, right? In any case, that explains her plan more or less. Based on these notes she already has the blood samples she needs. It's just a matter of when her ritual is ready."
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Ilsa is right... it could kill us all at once, but let's try not to panic. Us discovering this doesn't change her timeline. She likely thinks she has all the time in the world, and we aren't dead yet. Bash is right about rushing in unprepared. We need to think rationally. Are there important things that we need to do before we go, since we are here already, or preparation wise, or should we go immediately?
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The group decides to visit the dragon's lair before leaving the castle after the Queen.
Only Bashiel decides to endure himself with spells, and when he casts the see invisibility one, a permanently invisible gold and ruby scroll tube (worth 3,000 gp) is suddenly made clearly visible to his eyes on the top shelf of the bookcase. Inside the scroll tube is a sheet of human-skin parchment containing a contract written in blood. The writing is in Infernal but Kalem can easily make a quick translation for the group.
While much of the contract is, by design, unknowable by mortal minds, you can distinguish the hidden details of this infernal contract. Essentially, the devil Sermignatto has agreed to provide Ileosa with infernal aid, minions, and even a bound devil to augment Ileosa’s body and mind in return for her promise to turn over part or all of Korvosa to the bdellavritra and his unspecified superiors once she has finished her current goals. Destroying the contract won’t free Ileosa from the payment she promised or release the devils from her service, since a copy of the contract has been safely filed away in the Fallen Fastness in Dis.
MATERIAL PLANE, being the FOURTH Incarnation of
the THIRD Cycle of Mortality, on file in Fallen Fastness
9485784,3728:7845,9888495.
This is a lawful contract between SERMIGNATTO, Lord of the
Bloody Quicksands, and ILEOSA ARABASTI, honored Queen of the
Mortal City of Korvosa.
HEREAFTER shall all agents of SERMIGNATTO be consigned to
the rule of ILEOSA, such that the following agents of the Nine be bound
by her word: MAVROKERAS; the brothers known as YALLOPS; the
erinyes DECABBARA, EVEANIE, SUISHANI, and VERASIA; and
all Imps and Lesser Bodies who report directly to the agents listed above.
IN ADDENDUM shall the erinyes heretic ZANZINARIA be
BOUND body and mind to ILEOSA, forthwith to augment her flesh
and spirit against all things vexing and unforeseen until such time as she
might wither and die, whereupon such bondage shall be null and void.
In recompense, shall all pending debts held betwixt these agents of
the Nine and SERMIGNATTO be declared null and cancelled by
SERMIGNATTO in case of ILEOSA’S successful commitment to
perform the following services on a forfeit basis:
1. Support and preparation for future expansion as deemed necessary
and desirable to one whose name shall be found on file in Fallen Fastness
4420,40200:0,88490 upon the Salt Towers of Dis, whose name is
struck from this contract yet known by the undersigned to be one whose
hand guides these words.
2. Pursuant to her own goals, ILEOSA pledges the fundament and
development of Korvosa as open ground and fertile soil for infernal use,
as recorded by the Infinitium Charters and the Voiceless Vexations of the
First-Flensed.
In code 9485784,3728.7845,9888495. Subject to Asmodeus’s veto,
honor to his name.
Signed in blood and bound by soul—
Ileosa Arabasti
If Bashiel retrieves/Kalem translates that for them, Zamanda whistles and says
Wow. We had evidence before, but this... this is literally damning. ... Is this actually made from human skin? I mean, I hated the queen already, but she seems to just multiply in evil with every breath...
Bashiel cracks open the invisible scroll tube and passes its contents around the group. It takes him a moment to notice the scroll is made of human skin. He suppresses a shudder as Zamanda comments on it. "It's definitely damning. In more ways than one." He pauses "We have the names of quite a few devils serving her here, beyond just the one she's bound to. I suppose they might either be here in the castle or with her at the Sunken Queen. Not sure which option I'd prefer."
You touch again the passwall effect in the stone and return to the battlements. From there, you trace back your steps to the dragon's lair in the fourth floor.
This long hall seems to have once been used as an armory, for several empty weapon racks still stand along its walls in places. However, a huge, fetid heap of rags, marsh grass, and partially eaten bodies fills the far end of the room, and deep scratches mar the walls. A large section of ceiling over the heap has been ripped open.
The mound of rags and filth served the black dragon Zarmangarof as a lair.
Regretfully for you, and despite of the dragon’s impotent rage, Ileosa did not allow him to keep any treasure here.
What a disappointment. No treasure in a dragon's lair? That seemed ludicrous, although many things seemed ludicrous about this whole situation, she supposed.
Maybe the treasure was back wherever the dragon had lived before moving in with the queen. No way to find it now, and no time either. ... Of course that wasn't why they were here, but still, she felt the loss.
___
Zamanda moved forward through the grisly scene to examine the bodies.
Were these Korvosan citizens? Is this how the queen had been feeding the dragon? Had she let it out to hunt, or fed it herself from some source... from the dungeons perhaps? From wherever it was they had taken Ishani?
... Maybe we should go find Ishani. I can't help wondering where these bodies came from. The dragon could have been hunting at night, but it seems like it would be more than rumors if it was killing people in public. I'm worried that the queen was feeding it whoever she had arrested...
”So…an enslaved dragon and a tortured populace. Have to give it to her, she is certainly hitting all the points for being an evil b*tch.” Kalem said.
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Most of the bodies are sheep and other large animals but there are a couple of people two, probably some that made Ileosa angry. None of them is Ishani.
"The dragon had a very spartan nest, I would have expected some art decorating at the least!!" Laori appreciates while covering her nostrils "Where to next?"
No treasure, only more needless death. He utters a quiet prayer, then turns to the group "I'm glad we ended this when we did. Zamanda, I think you're right - Ishani is our next destination. If our intelligence is right, he'll be somewhere on the first floor - which we haven't explored at all. Getting down there by the main stairs will take us through the third floor, which we haven't cleared of threats, as well as the second, which should also still be dangerous. I expect the Maidens probably control those floors still. That means maybe crossing paths with Vavana."
"Descending normally will likely put us against more of the Queen's supporters, but that also means less opposition for the rebellion when it comes." He considers, then says "Although the Sunken Queen is a dire threat, too bloody of a rebellion would also cost many lives. I say we don't skip the second and third floors."
Agreed. Even though the queen is not here, I am sure she is in touch with her supporters. If she hears of trouble here, perhaps it will distract or delay her to some extent. No need for us to be subtle any longer.
She reaches up and adjusts something on her head, and you see the form of the large devil fade, and instead there is a large Zamanda, who by her very nature still seems to be pure, innocent, and perfectly clean even though she is 10 feet tall and searching through half-eaten bodies and body parts. And even though you know that impression is in opposition to her actual experience, something in you still wants to believe it.
Somehow the contrast with the fading image of the devil combined with the size makes her angelic visage stand out more than it ever has before, and in this moment you wonder how anyone could ever have mistaken her for a human.
Come to think of it... I should go as myself rather than the devil now. Anyone who is unsure about their loyalty should see that it is us. ... Although, I don't know if how I look now will scare them any less. Is it bad? I haven't had a chance to see a mirror yet.
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Bashiel grins behind his mask, you can hear him relaxing a little in his posture and voice. "If I get a vote, its for anything other than the devil - it was raising my hackles to have a true devil near us, even if I knew it was just an illusion." He cranes his neck up to get a better look at her "And you look different but its still you. Not bad. Not bad at all."
Disguises down, you take the great stairs towards the lower floor, coming out into the stage hall where you had an encounter with the Gray Maidens yesterday.
The ceiling of this hall is open, revealing the polished balustrade of a balcony thirty feet above and the interior of a lantern dome an additional thirty feet above the balcony. A colonnade along the room’s perimeter supports the balcony and casts a deep shadow on the walls of this hall. Along the southwest side of the room is a theatrical stage built atop a wooden platform.
You notice a cleverly hidden peephole from the royal bedchamber (south wall) looks out over the stage.
As you set your feet in the hall, a patrol of four Gray Maidens step into the hall in their regular schedule. They look at you startled and draw their weapons "Who the heck are you and what are you doing here?!"
"I think they are those rebels that assaulted the Deathhead Vault, Lise" says another maiden.
"What is that hulking beast? An angel?!" exclaims another surprised raising her shield defensively.
Ilsa Dreambind
