Artegall emerges with the treasure, retching and blistering.
"Crystal clear water rank with the Blood Veil."
"The basins are magical as well as the water around the base of the statue and some of the items that Artegall has recovered."
Twilight cast another cantrip to dry off Artegall "With luck that will prevent the cursed water from being spread. Unless there is anything else of interest here we should take our leave and see about getting Artegall some help."
She looked to the guards "This temple is rife with Urgathoa's blessings, I would avoid touching anything here until a priest has cleansed the room of her touch. Do you need anything else from us or can we go recuperate?"
Wait, what about the closed box? If ‘e does be already sick ‘e might as well try opening it. It’s probably important if it do be ‘ere.
Artegall will open the remaining box.
"I would rather be cured of this plague as soon as possible so that I do not spread it," Artegall says while standing well away from the guards.
"Your spells, Mirela, or else that wand we found."
The closed, unlocked box turned out to be empty. Perhaps the group had disrupted whatever plan it had been involved in.
Lets be do this at least out of the sanctuary. I have a feeling that it may be 'arder to cure when standing right next to that unholy statue.
"Fine; let us go back to the room where we fought them, and then you can try. I would like to get cured as soon as possible. Then I would like to go someplace to rest. I don't mind going back to the Citadel with these fine guards, but I imagine they want me free of illness."
Mirela heads back away from the unholy place and when they are clear, calls the last of her divine power together and tries to remove the corruption from Artegall.
Artegall will ask someone to use the newly-found Wand of Remove Disease on him.
Presuming they agree...
On the second try, the wand removes the disease.
After using the wand, Mirela slumps.
I’m exhausted. Can I suggest we figure out what to be doing with the sick, and then go to sleep? I’m all for letting the guards take care of this for a while….
The guards don't appear to want to spend any more time in the Urgathoan temple than any other sane person and return to the surface with the group, setting guards at the elevator to make sure no one can go up or down. They don't appear to have any orders on what to do with the adventurers.
"I am more than happy to go to the Citadel and ask Kroft if we can have a barracks room, a storeroom, or even a cell to rest in.
We have made enemies, and all of us are too exhausted to stand guard. I'd rather be in a fortified location with guards that I mostly trust."
Making himself known as a foe of the Queen has Artegall noticeably on edge. Grey Maidens could come for him at any time, or perhaps subtler forces. At least the City Guard is nominally independent of the Queen. It's not impossible that a member of the Guard could be secretly loyal to the Queen, but he sees few better options.
Nobody knows who we are.
Lets just go ‘one and get a decent night’s rest.
But I do be so Tired I would be willing to sleep anywhere the rest of you want to be going.
Twilght frowned beneath her scarf as she made sure none of the guards were within earshot. "I"m inclined to lay low at the Juggler rather than the Citadel. While I have no doubt that Kroft is not a supporter of the Queen and is even open to working against the Queen's machinations, after the incident with Trinia I'm still not certain how the Field Marshal would respond to direct calls from the Queen to hand us over. Would she defy the Queen and risk a direct confrontation that would essentially be an attempt to undermine the Queen's authority, or would she hand us over to avoid that confrontation and keep the peace in the city?"
Twilight gave a little shrug "Either way, I would rather rely on our own resourcefulness than the uncertain good will of another. And besides, the comfort and amenities of the Juggler are sure to be superior to the Citadel's barracks."
"However"the priestess paused for a moment considering her next words "I have to admit that under the circumstances we should all stay together for the night at least in case the worst happens. I would still strongly suggest the Yellow Juggler but if anyone insists that we must stay at the Citadel I will grudgingly acquiesce."
"The Yellow Juggler it is.
I do not share Mirela's faith that we remain unknown to our adversaries... but I can hope."
Twilight led everyone back to the Yellow Juggler, eager to put the days events behind her.
In deference to the group's desire to keep a low profile she used the back entrance intended for clients that wished to keep their visits discreet.
Once inside she caught the attention of one of the staff "Please afford this man the same courtesy that you have extended to my other companions."
She turned to Artegall "A room, bath and simple meals and drink will be provided. If you would like to partake in any of the Juggler's other offering the staff would be more than willing to accommodate you for the right price."
The priestess stretched to relieve some tension "For now though I am going to get out of these wretched clothes and maybe have them burned after what they have been doused in. Then its a bath and a drink and off to bed. I have some duties to attend to tomorrow morning and then we can discuss our next plan whatever that might be.
As for those items we recovered, I think they should at least have a little cleansing ritual and maybe a closer inspection before we do anything else with them. I can do that tomorrow unless Mirella would like to take care of that?
Unless there is anything else that needs to be discussed at the moment, I will see you tomorrow morning in the private dining room."
I do be close to falling over ‘Ere. Whisper and I will be also taking a bath and the going to bed.
We can be dealing with anything we found tomorrow.
She takes a firm hold on the wolfs collar so none of the grime or gore on her coat gets on anything in the inn before she is washed up.
"Thank you, Twilight. A room, a bath, and a meal will suffice.
I am far too exhausted to make use of the other offerings of such a place. That was... a very... very... long day."
He will take a bath, have quiet meal in the room, and sleep through the day.
With the sets of notes recovered from the Hospice, it takes only a week for alchemists in the city to discover a real cure for the blood veil. Once developed, the cure turns out to be easy to reproduce and apparently magically effective, with each cured person spreading the cure to those they come in contact with as if in reverse of the blood veil's initial spreading.
In a little over a month, blood veil has been purged from the city. Experts say the group's heroic actions and recovery of the notes likely cut the death toll in half. That said, around 2700 people die of the disease before the cure can reach them.
Rewards:
In gratitude for the group's efforts during the plague, Tayce Soldado organizes a large feast at Tayce’s home with the Varisian community, many of whom bring the party modest gifts (such as delicately embroidered scarves, beautiful jewelry, exquisitely illustrated harrow decks, or fine clothing) with a total value of 250 gp per character.
Dozens of families recognize the group for saving the lives of family members or neighbors. Each member gains a favor from a skilled artisan, a local artist, or another member of an NPC class. This favor might be the gift of an item worth no more than 1,000 gp (such as a set of three matching masterwork daggers, a bejeweled ring worth 1,000 gp, or a cloak of resistance +1 embroidered with the PCs’ coat of arms or the symbol of her deity), a place to hide out for a night, help researching a topic (this grants a +5 circumstance bonus on the next five Knowledge checks the PC attempts, provided they recruit the aid of the NPC offering help), or any other useful services of similar magnitude.
Finally, Field Marshal Cressida Kroft personally thanks the heroes for their extensive aid during the plague. She finally and officially deputizes them as members of the Korvosan Guard and opens Citadel Volshyenek’s armory to them. Each member can select equipment worth up to 2,500 gp (including magic weapons and armor) from the stores.
Do you mean you need to go to the local temple of your goddess, Princess? Cause I'd like to come with you, if you don't mind.
"The shrine below, that I tend here. You are more than welcome to join me whenever you wish to pay your respect to the Calistria."
Over the next months Twilight spent her time helping Nargun on his new path, the same path she herself walked. That of vengeance for those who could not seek it for themselves.
She reveled in the attention garnered during Tayce's celebration and graciously accepted the myriad of gifts and favours offered as well as taking a companion or two for a short time.
Being deputized though she was a little more hesitant about. She accepted the role as the authority that came with it could be useful in the future, but she chaffed at the responsibilities that came with the title.
Artegall accepts sort-of-reinstatement to the Guard with some trepidation.
"Okay, Field Marshal. A new arrangement, then, and not my position as it was before. I trust that I have proven myself and my comrades worthy of some autonomy. I will act in the best interests of Korvosa."
In his new role, his skills as an Investigator may be more relevant than those of a Constable, so he focuses on the former. He does take some comfort that he doesn't have to deal with the politics.
"I would ask that we put out a warrant for Davaulus. He escaped."
Artegall graciously accepts the gifts from his neighbors. One, an alchemist and sometime colleague who has worked with Artegall to investigate supernatural mysteries, brews him an Elixir of Spirit Sight.
From the armory of Citadel Volshyenek, he takes a Buffering Cap.
He gives thanks to Torag for the party's success, and in particular for the strength of his own defenses against the myriad foes. He resolves to improve his defenses in the future.
Nargun spends most of his time in the Calistrian shrines, learning from Twilight the basic of the faith. Even if he feels he will always be an ally of Cayden Caillean, Calistria's infinite appetite for revenge suits him better. Besides, Twilight told him both deities are in quite good terms, so that's no big deal.
He's dead set against the pleasures of the flesh for himself, still faithful to his deceased wife, which makes him an oddity among the servant of the Savoured Sting. Nevertheless, he acts as the (sometimes overly) protective bodyguard for Twilight or any female worshipper who needs protection, and proves his worth time and again as a bouncer for holy brothels, where things rarely escalates behind a brawl.
Soon his name is known and feared among the rowdiest customers, enough to calm most of would-be thugs who knows they are no match for the tough dwarf.
One of the followers of Calistria, an half elf bardess named Jaiphra, sympathise with the bard while working in these brothels, and having listened to his tragic tale, gave him a simple sheet of parchment, on which she has drawn, following the dwarf's description, a portrait of Kaertin, his lost love, using a portait book.
This becomes one of the most cherished possession of the dwarf, valued more than any mountain of gold. Of course, anyone threatening Jaiphra after that must have a deathwish.
But where the dwarf truly excel, as always, is these rare missions where blood must be shed, without too much subtelty, to avenge wrongs.
Every wife beaten, every woman molested or worse, every mother whose children suffer from the sins of adults know who to call.
And the wifebeaters, the molesters, the perverts hear the grim, metallic sounds of an axe dragged on the ground, on the walls, and a name unknown to them, a name on which Nargun focuses all his hate
"Lamm... Lamm.. Lammm..."
For these, it's probably the last sounds they will hear, with their sreams of agony.
Nargun's appearance change a little, for the better. He allows Twilight to trim his beard, to cut his wild hair. On official missions for the church, he wears black and yellow make up on his face. He seems, generally, to take better care of himself, to wear better clothes, and drinks only occasionnaly, without drunkeness. He discovers and seems to enjoy honey, honey cakes becoming his favorite.
Artisans give him a set of quality tools to work at a forge. In the Citadel's armory, Nargun replaces his lost Aegis of Recovery , knowing how it saved his life last time, and pays to have his dwarven battle axe enchanted as a backup weapon
Knowing that nobody is coming to help them, After resting the night, Mirela throws herself into taking care of the sick in the Sailors Delight. She can feel her favor with Old Deadeye grow over the next few days, and her Miracles make quick work of the sick girls there.
As much of business is still closed for the final few days of the plague, Mirela manages to persuade Madam Zelendra to let her use a small room in the back as a clinic to treat some of Lost Lambs and other good people in the neighborhood as identified by the women at the Delight identified.
When not working, she spends her time finishing Whisper's training to learn to Stay. It is in this training that she finds the worrisome effects that the chemicals in the cursed Temple had on her Wolf companion. For the wolf began to grow at an uncanny rate. When the Plague finaly ended and the clinic was no longer critical she threw herself into researching what could be causing this growth, both with her divine blessings and using books of magical theory she borrowed from anywhere she could find. But no matter how hard she tried she could never find the cause before the growth stopped as suddenly as it began. But she continued to research fearing that this sudden growth spurt might happen again. Whisper was already uncomfortably large to be in her room at the yellow Juggler. She feared if she grew any more, she may no longer be allowed in the city.
So focused was she on her healing and research, that it was a total shock to her when she was invited to thank you celebrations. Her sisters at the Sailors delight join in the others thanking her and present her with a distinctive leather collar for Whisper, complete with burned in symbols of Erastil's Faith.
This is matched by the Bow symbol located on a embroidered cloak presented to Mirela by the families of those she helped. The cloak was amazing as it was both warm and almost weightless at the same time.
Finally after being officially deputized into the guard, Mirela is overjoyed when she finally is able to get her prized bow enchanted Plus a restock of her arrows.
The next day, the group reports in to Citadel Volshyenek. The streets are still locked down, the frightened, eerie quiet smothering the city like a shroud. By some miracle, the group encounters no Gray Maiden and Physician patrols on their way from the Juggler to the Citadel.
Much like their last visit, the City Guard seems strained near to breaking. There's barely more than a skeleton crew manning the walls and gates and everyone present is either rushing from one place to another or is involved in a whispered conversation that immediately stops when outsiders get close enough to hear.
The group is escorted by a single Guard to Field Marshal Kroft's war room, where they find a handful of exhausted looking couriers waiting in the hallway and only a single scribe taking hasty notes inside as the City Guard's leader leans over a table covered in maps, notes, ledgers, and message tubes. She looks up as the group is escorted in and holds up a finger to indicate they should wait.
"...until relieved. Mattick's Third Company is scheduled to be back on line this afternoon. Send a runner to Mattick and tell him they'll be rotating onto the bridge instead of Northgate." She watches as the scribe quickly finishes the first order, takes the scroll from them and hastily imparts her seal while the scribe quickly writes down the second set of orders. In a matter of seconds, the two commands are in couriers hands and on their way.
Kroft nods at the door. "Close the door on your way out, Melin." The scribe's expression is carefully neutral as she excuses herself, leaving her things behind and closing the door behind herself to leave the meeting with the party with no outside witnesses.
The Field Marshal looks like she's in the middle of a war. There are dark smudges under her eyes from lack of sleep and from the way she slumps down into her chair she's dreading what the group has to tell her. "I had to fight the Queen and her Maidens all day yesterday to keep my people in control of the Hospice. The place was a horror show. I have an entire company locking down the building and a whole crew of investigators combing through it." She shakes her head. "I know what I think. Now I want to know what you think."
Artegall takes a seat, leans forward over the desk, and speaks quietly as he outlines the evidence.
"Davaulus escaped, as I said. And he may be able to identify us. There exists magic to divine identities from even a drop of blood. And our blood was everywhere in that battle, no doubt some of it was on Davaulus. There is other magic as well that he might use. Or even just circulating our pictures and asking around. One way or the other, I believe that he and the Queen know who we are. So we need to be careful.
I have no doubt that the Queen knew what was happening, and is at least allied with the Cult of Urgathoa if not a member herself.
"We know the Queen is behind this, but I don't know what we do with that information. The Grey Maidens will remain loyal to her; if what they saw in the Hospice did not shake their loyalty, then nothing will. And with the Blood Veil still raging they will not mobilize against her.
But what if we pretend to know less than we do? What if we make the claim that Davaulus was behind this, and ignore any mention of the Grey Maidens or the Queen? The Queen may think she can sacrifice him as a fall guy and get away with it - which might make her hesitant to push her luck and go after us. We could work against her more subtly, without drawing her wrath. She is powerful but not all-powerful in this city. She'll probably still try to come after us, but more slowly and subtly. Whereas if we challenge her directly, we have a war on our hands."
He sits back.
"We need other allies, most likely."
I agree, the Queen and the Grey Maiden ‘ad to be knowing.
The maidens were guarding the elevator down and there did ‘ave to be a steady stream of bodies going down there to be making all those zombies.
All the evidence we found tells us the blood veil was intentional. So the Queen and the maidens had to be wanting this to ‘appen for some reason. I don’t know why but they took coins and did be spreading it….
We did be finding it on silver coins every time, so maybe she wanted to ‘arm the merchants? Plus the bankers…. Does she think they do be a threat to ‘er power?
‘Onestly, I’m still in shock over this whole thing.
But in any case Commander, your push to ‘ave us look at the ‘ospice was right. Seeing that Your people are the ones keeping the city safe for now, and you all look streatched thin. I for one am willing to do whatever I can to ‘elp.
Just tell me what you do be needing.
Oh no... Artegall. If the doctor can describe us, the queen may well not need any magic to identify most of us.
Twilight, myself and the Dwarf all met the queen some time ago to return 'er lost broch to her.
'Opefully we did not stand out, but descriptions of our group might call up that memory.... Or her friend Sabita might, as I do be remembering she took an odd interest in me...
I don't think we ever told 'er where we were, but she will 'ave our names recorded from our visit to the castle.
If you recall Commander, that's 'ow we did get introduced to you. The queen sent us to talk to you.
Twilight was more than happy to let Artegall make his report. He seemed to be more in his element here in the Citadell than she was.
"It seems that whatever is to be done next is more of a political question. I wouldn't imagine that the Guard could bring charges against the Queen. But what happens when the city learns that she is responsible for their suffering? Korvosa itself cries out for some sort of..." the priestess paused for a moment as she chose her words to suite the room "...lets say justice for what has been done to them."
I think that maybe the Queen can know who we are. But she might have her hands full with the retaliation of her own allies, who might wonder why they got so badly trashed, and how to continue their evil plans now that they are known, even if only by a few.
A pause, then he adds
I think the Queen is mad. As I'm not totally sane myself, I might be right. And mad people do dangerous things, dangerous for others and for themselves. So we should always be prepared for the worst, just in case.
Field Marshal Kroft nods, sighing. "That is how I see it as well. You all seem to understand the danger you're in, as well. Once the cure starts getting produced and distrubuted and word gets out of how instrumental you were you'll be heroes to many but enemies to a small, extremely dangerous and powerful group. The Queen for one, but she has to have allies to have drawn in resources from far and wide." Kroft shakes her head.
She nods at Artegall. "She's siphoning resources from the Guard to her Maidens and ordering us onto the walls and gates and manning fires and watching so many locations we can barely do anything else but stand around where we've been ordered. The Grey Maidens are going to replace us on the streets. Where she's been able to find so many trained women to fill the streets the way they've done is a mystery to me. I'm working on allies but having to work around the Queen and anyone I suspect might report to the Queen is going to make it slow going."
’Ave any of the women in the Guard disappeared or quit lately? Maybe they do be offering big bonuses to join up?
‘Ells, Right now many people would be doing anything to protect their loved ones. If the Queen really is behind the plague, she might be ‘aving a way to keep ‘er self safe from it. If the Maidens did be offering a way to keep my family safe, It would be very tempting to switch commands for anyone who don’t be knowing the full truth.
"Its a good question. Where are all these Maidens coming from? They are well trained and well armed. You don't just put plate armour and heavy shields on someone you just got off the street. Perhaps looking for where they are being recruited or trained might lead to some answers?
What would you suggest as our next move Field Marshal? As deputies, won't we be tied up in the same bureaucracy that your regular forces are saddled with?"
"Mirela has one good answer to that, Twilight - that she is drawing women from the Guard somehow.
Another answer could be that she is bringing them in from elsewhere. That would be my suspicion - less chance of divided loyalties or sympathy for the local populace.
As to what we should do next, I suggest searching for allies, but I will defer to your suggestions, Field Marshal."
Kroft nods. "For now you need to rest and recuperate. Keep your heads down; the Queen certainly knows your names now and knows you stand against her. I'm not saying you need to go to ground or leave the city but avoiding the Maidens and staying quiet while you recover your strength is the best thing I can think of for you. I will contact the people I trust and see what I can develop from there."
Twilight knelt in the dim light of the little chapel. Sweet smoke curled lazily into the already hazy air from a pair of gold braziers and the quiet sounds of divine indulgence could be heard in the background.
Set upon the altar before her was Twilight's holy symbol, infused with the power of both the arcane and divine. An attribute that she was about to attempt to emulate in herself. In front of her to her right in the position of honor was Callistria's holy text, open to a page outlining a prayer to sooth wounds. On her left was placed her arcane tome, open to a page with the formulae to weave the magic of mortals into a protective force.
Taking a deep breath of the scented air she readied herself for what was certain to be an arduous and taxing ritual. She began a lengthy litany to Callistria that spiritually attuned the priestess and reaffirmed her commitment to the goals and ideals of the goddess. At the same time twilight began a series of mental exercises taught at the Acadamae to the advanced students. The exercises ordered one's thoughts and prepared one's mind to hold the more complex theorems and patterns required of advance spells.
Attempting both of these rituals in tandem required immense concentration and discipline. Twilight's head throbbed as the exertion taxed her, but she had prepared herself for this moment for a year or more now and she pushed onward. After what seemed like an eternity she was ready.
Turning to her arcane grimoir, she began the process of committing the mage armour spell to memory. However, instead of the cold, rational mental constructs and symbology used by the Acadamae to bend the laws of nature to their desired ends, Twilight implored Callistria for the divine power that would form the base of the spell. Then using her Acadamae training and the strength of her convictions to her goddess, the priestess slowly shaped the power with her will into the semblance of a mage armour spell.
It took significantly more effort than building the construct from arcane power, but it was done none the less. Buoyed by her initial success, Twilight then turned her attention to her prayer book. Healing with arcane power would be the final challenge. She knew that the divine magic infused the subject with positive energy which invigorated living flesh causing it to rapidly heal. Taking this knowledge she began to construct an arcane conjuration that could mimic the infusion of positive energy. It was difficult putting together a spell with logic and rules what was easily done with passion and faith, but again after a significant amount of time and effort the incantation came together in her mind.
Sweating and breathing heavily from the intense mental exertion Twilght smiled in triumph. She had finally proven her theories possible and was now in command of both the magics of the Gods and mortals with the ability to use them interchangeably as she desired.
She cast the divine mage armor and was bathed momentarily in warm yellow light and a lingering feeling of arousal that quickly faded leaving behind the magical barrier of force she was accustomed to. Next a quick stick with her dagger to draw blood from her hand. Twilight then uttered the incantation for the arcane cure spell and watched with satisfaction at the blue glow that surrounded the wound and sealing it, all while devoid of Callistria's customary warmth and excitement.
Twilight's transition into a mystic theurge was complete.
A few weeks after their last meeting, the group gets an urgent request to meet with Field Marshal Kroft at the Citadel. When the group gets there they see things are even worse than they had been the last time. Only a single guard stands watch at the gate, no one is training in the yard, and the halls are silent and empty, with dust starting to gather and trash scattered here and there- serious signs of neglect for the City Guard.
Kroft looks haggard and tired when she ushers them into her office. She barely waits for them to be seated before starting. "I hope you're rested. I've been doing my best to gather allies but the Queen has restricted my funds even more. Not only are we being stretched to breaking, the Guard has been nearly entirely defunded. I can't afford to wait anymore- I need your help."
"Vencarlo Orisini’s been one of my most trusted sources of information regarding the public; it’s hard for an officer of the Korvosan Guard to get honest opinions from the citizens, and Vencarlo’s observations on these topics have been a godsend, particularly since the plague started. When the queen quarantined Old Korvosa, I’d feared his messages would end, yet he managed to find ways to smuggle updates to me every day. Recently, he wrote of discovering something of vital importance regarding the queen. He mentioned something about dark magic and a pact with a devil, which any number of people on the street will tell you. If they dare to speak against the Queen, that is."
"More important, though, he hinted he’d found a lead on Seneschal Kalepopolis, and thought he might be in hiding in Old Korvosa! That was the last I heard from him. It’s been several days, and I’ve started to worry for his safety. I need you to go into Old Korvosa and get him out."
"The rumors about riots and gangs seizing control of entire neighborhoods in Old Korvosa are disturbing. Certainly, the plumes of smoke we all see rising from fires on the island are proof that as bad as things are elsewhere, they’re probably worse in Old Korvosa."
“I can see a time in the near future when the Korvosan Guard is disbanded as well. I don't even have the resources to mount my own investigations now. Trusting you may have been my best decision over the past several months, for your group holds the possibility of Korvosa’s salvation. Ironically, you might actually be safer in Old Korvosa, since the Queen’s quarantine has cut off the island entirely, and word on the street is that she plans on leaving it to rot. She won’t think to look for you there if you maintain a low profile and avoid confrontations with the Gray Maidens. Once you contact Vencarlo, we can only hope what he’s discovered will suggest a course of action we can take to save the city!”
You said that Vencarlo did be smuggling messages to you. Does that mean you did be 'aving a way in or out of the Island? We saw the Maidens did 'ave the bridge blocked, and I assume they are watching the river.
Also This Seneschal... I remember 'earing something about 'im being out of reach, but I know nothing else about 'im. What can you be telling us about 'im?
Kroft shakes her head. "His messages came through a cutout. I don't know how he got them across." She shrugs. "From what my people tell me, though, the Maidens hardly care if people cross over into the old city. They pepper anyone trying to cross the Jeggare Bridge with arrows, though, if they're trying to come across the other way. And they don't appear to patrol on the far side of the river, either. It's a surprisingly lax quarantine if you're trying to get in. Getting out into the rest of the city is another question."
"Seneschal Kalepopolis is seneschal of Castle Korvosa- a position that has more power than that title suggests. He disappeared the same day Eodred II died. If we can find him and get him back to the city we might be able to gather more support to our cause- per the law, a seneschal can legally depose a corrupt monarch. We'd thought him dead or at best, long fled to safer climes."
"I have some basic skill at disguise; distance and darkness would be our friends."
"We might pose as vagabond musicians, impoverished tinkers, rat-catchers, or some other such position. We might thereby be below the notice of the arrogant and avoid even being questioned.
The main goal would be to avoid being recognized as ourselves.
Invisibility is also an option, if we have the spells to cover everyone."
Well so we did 'ave to check out a boat at the bottom of the River not long ago. I suppose we could be doing the same thing again, take a fishing boat out into the river and just swim from the boat into Eel's End or something.
I can be making us all breath water for many hours, so if we can be swimming well we should be able to get a long way undetected in that murky water.
Of course, I'm not sure what defenses the city might 'ave to protect the river, or really what dangerous stuff we might 'ave to deal with.
If it does be working and we wait a day, I can probably get us back that way as well if we need that, although taking 5 people might make the time underwater shorter.
"That works for me, Mirela. I am a fair swimmer even in my armor. And, if I can breathe water, I need not fear sinking as long as I can climb out the other bank."
"I will plan on being armed and armored, then, in case there is any danger within the river."
I can swim if needed. Won't like it much, but I can do it.
If we are going to swim, Commander do you ‘appen to know what if anything we might be encountering in the river?
Surely the city must be ‘aving some defense against things from the river.
Kroft shakes her head. "Best I know, nothing. We keep the river clear for ship traffic and fishing. You might know better, though- did you encounter anything in the water when you delved the Direption?"
As we were telling you in the Report, we saw sharks and a hag. So just river creatures
So if there do not be any city defenses this seems pretty straightforward.
"I like the idea of going under the river. I wouldn't even suggest swimming, just walk along the bottom. Then there won't be any chance of being spotted. As for anything we might encounter, we've dealt with sharks and worse before. I'm confident that we can handle anything else we might find down there. But even so, Artegall's suggestion about disguises still sounds like a good plan on the other side. At least try to keep a low profile in case the Queen has informants. And let us not forget that the insane jester eluded us by escaping across the bridge."
Ok…. Then what is our cover story over there?
We want something that will make people leave us alone, but not draw attention.
Kroft frowns and shakes her head. "From the smoke and the yelling, I would wager most people on the other side of the river will be too busy to wonder why you're there. It looks and sounds like things are in a bad state over there."
"Thank you, Field Marshal.
Yes, my idea about a disguise was mostly for this side of the river; we can still try to keep a low profile in Old Korvosa but I will want to be armed and armored which limits the range of plausible disguises. We will be obviously extraordinarily wealthy compared to most everyone else there."
"If they are not trying to stop anyone from going across the bridge, then let's just walk there. And see what we can do to help people."