Donnell slams into the side of a building, fumbling around wildly until he sees a door. He tries it, and it is indeed locked. While still in the cloud, he pulls out his thieves tools and sets to work.
Lorelei presses herself against a door, trying to remain out of sight.
The imps shriek delightfully, and dive into the cloud, trying to find their targets. Godric happily lifts a huge can over his head, pleased at his own strength. As he does so, the silhouettes of the cackling imps appear around him, their horrific stingers ready to end his life.
As the imps get ready to attack, there's a strange sound like a musical chirping from all around. The imps shriek, and more silhouettes fill the cloud! The group recognizes the strange, playful little creatures called pseudodragons, the hated enemies of the imps.
Pseudodragons are tiny, playful dragons which are rarely seen, but known to live in Korvosa. They are extremely shy of people, and subsist off of eating small creatures. Pseudodragons are occasionally known to become wizards' familiars, but prefer to be sen as friends rather than pets.
Lorelei
Sevenspawn
Donnell
Godric
Peusdodragons
---
Imps:
Plain
Red
GReen
Blue
Sevenspawn levels his crossbow at the closest imp and fires, moving slightly to cover Donnell's back as he works on the door.
Glancing back over his shoulder, Donnell's not really sure what's going on. Feeling that incredibly satisfying 'click' as the lock turns, he mutters "well, that should give us some options, at least"
before shouting to the others "Over here! I found us a way out of this mess!"
And, under his breath, "Hopefully, I haven't led us into a deeper one," as he pulls open the door.
Lorelei follows Donnell, mumbling "move, move, move," as she goes. Then she reaches out and gives Donnell a firm shove through the open door.
Having successfully lifted the can, Godric drops it and then pulls out his greatsword once again, this time to attack the Red Imp.
Sevenspawn fires his crossbow bolt wildly into the mist while Lorelei body checks Donnell into the open doorway.
Godric drops the can, satisfied with his performance, and promptly brutally slashes an imp. He finds the creature somewhat resistant to his attack, but it ia badly wounded nonetheless.
The entire alleyway is soon filled with the silhouettes of the pseudodragons, and the imps let out a final shriek.
"WE'LL HAVE OUR FUN WITH YOU YET!"
poof
The imps all vanish, turning invisible as they flee you and the pseudodragons.
End of Combat
The pseudodragons are gone by the time the obscuring mist spell ends. And you find yourselves alone in the alleyway once more.
Except for that tavern Donnell broke into the back of. The door swings open to reveal a dingy kitchen, and further into the tavern is a single man sitting at the bar. One of the casks has been lifted up onto the counter, and he is drinking heavily. He blinks as the door opens, and he spots Donnell and smile soppily.
"Oi there Neffi! Neffi you little bastard I ain't seen ya for a good year now innit? C'mere and 'ave a drink wi'me. No riots in here."
The man before you is a well-liked Watch Sergeant by the name of Grau, also noted for being one of the finer swordsmen in Korvosa. Grau is relatively famous in the poorer parts of Korvosa as being a friend to the downtrodden and a fair arbiter. His efforts are concentrated on the more murderous gangs, and exploiters of the poor while the starvinga and desperate are helped where he can.
Sevenspawn follows, locking the door when everyone is inside.
"Gods, finally somebody with some sense!"
Donnell settles himself in a seat, and pours a drink.
"Grau, my good Sergeant - what the f+!& is going on? We nip out for an hour, finally put down that lowlife Lamm, and come back to this insanity...?"
Sevenspawn slows, almost freezing in his tracks as he enters the room, his eyes on Donnell. He pushes through it, rounding past the halfling and squeezing his shoulder in a friendly gesture - but hard.
"Oh... Neffi. Always quick with a joke." The cleric sits on the opposite side of the Sergeant, reaching over the counter for three more glasses and lining them up. "But he brings up a good point, Sergeant. What is happening that brings you here... instead of out in the streets?"
Sevenspawn glances around the room, checking to see if they are alone.
The tavern indeed appears completely deserted. Grau is extremely drunk and looks to be in a sorry state. He reeks of sweat and doesn't appear to have changed his uniform in a while.
"The King is dead... we're f*~%ed. Everything is burning down. It's been so hard. Oh Gods what are we going to do. They hate the Queen. It's been so hard. I... I can't."
His head slumps on the table and he lets out a moan. He's so drunk he can barely walk straight. He looks up at all of you with some hope.
"Neffi! And... you. Right. There's a guard post near here... c'you take me? I can't go out there alone, I can't even draw my sword."
Glancing gloomily at his tankard, Donnell sighs, drains the remaining contents, and stands up.
"Of course we'll help you, old friend. We were just passing through on our way..." looking hard at Sevenspawn "... to see about a friend."
Handing poured glasses to the rest and downing his own, Sevenspawn meets Donnell's gaze a moment before clasping Grau on the shoulder and forcing a smile.
"Yes. Agreed." He pours a little more into Grau's cup as a he rises from the seat. "One more for the King's memory, though, Sergeant, as we collect our things. Excuse us as we confer with our colleagues about the safest route." Sevenspawn motions for the rest to follow him into the back.
Speaking lowly, he addresses the others. "Puttting aside a moment that the streets are in chaos, we are splattered with blood, and that we have a severed head in a bag and packs full of stolen belongings," he begins, "this man is one of the few good and decent ones amongst the Guard. I am loathe to see such a man taken to the guard post in his state if it could mean his rank or his job. Perhaps there is a safe place elsewhere we could take him where he could sleep off his misery before we head to Zellara's. I bow to the collective wisdom, but we need rest ourselves and should be nowhere near the Guards at this moment."
"Ah yes, good point - I assumed he was looking for something at the guard post, rather than reporting for duty. Perhaps we should let him sleep it off at Zellara's while we investigate. If not, well, I'm sure I can locate a bolthole that'll be safe enough for him - I know this part of town pretty well."
Donnell knows of a family who owes him a fairly huge favour after he managed to find their missing daughter and convince her to give up a bad fadeleaf habit. They're only slightly out of the way of Zellara's.
With the group decided to go in that direction, Grau smiles sadly and leans on Godric, looking up at the blonde superman.
"So you're the big man in charge eh? Lead the way!"
You step back out into the chaos of the streets, and start ducking through alleyways as you head northwest. Sevenspawn and Donnell have a mental map of the city, particularly the popular docks area they're in right now.
The riots are increasing in intensity with the general populace drunk and angry, the austerity that's been imposed on the city and the sudden death of the King being a torch thrown on a bonfire that's been building for years.
You finally cut onto Crab's Way, a long residential street lined with middle class townhouses. Grau sings songs about some town called Sandpoint as he staggers along, leaning heavily on Godric. The riot isn't as intense here, but there's a scene anyways.
"DEATH TO THE WHORE-QUEEN! You'll go first you mincing dandy!"
A mob of six men wielding shovels, chair-legs, and other makeshft weapons surround a beardless young man in finery. One of the labourers, a fat bald man with muttonchops framing his rotund face and addresses the young man with a booming voice.
"Bet'ca never worked an honest day's wage in your life, eh, Queen's Man? M'brother had his arm crushed by a barrel on the docks when he was younger than you. Never worked a proper job after that. Wanna know what it feels like?!"
Godric stops and props Grau against a nearby wall. Resting his hand on the pommel of his great sword, he causally walks up to the mob.
"Did I hear someone mention the queen?"
His smile widens in to a grin that is both inviting and menacing.
Donnell readies a tanglefoot bag, in case there's trouble.
Sevenspawn - usually quite vocal in situations like these - instead says nothing, figuring Goric has this one down cold. He passes Grau to Lorelei, adjusts his shield, and casts Light on his warhammer.
Godric strides up, looking nothing less than Aroden come back from the dead to destroy those who would do evil. The men drop their weapons in fear, backing off slowly before they turn and bolt. The young fancypants stands up, looking around wildly.
"Oh Gods they're killing everyone! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Oh my gallant saviours, my champions. Here - take some money. You'll need it to save others. I have to get the hell out of here."
He tosses a bag of coins at your feet and turns to bolt. The bag contains 15 platinum (150 gold).
---
You manage to finally get into the doorway of the family Donnell befriended, which is just down the street. It takes a lot of banging on the door to get them to open, and a woman lets out a cry of joy.
"The Fox! It's been so horrid. Everything is burning, people ahve lost their minds. And... oh - you're here for that favour, aren't you?"
"Sorry, yes. We have Lieutenant Grau here - a good man by all accounts, but he's become a bit overwhelmed at the loss of his king and needs a place to recover."
Taking the woman's hand in his own, and surreptitiously slipping her a small sack with five silver, five gold, and one platinum: "If you would be so kind, ma'am, he just needs a quiet corner to lay his head"
She looks over Grau and laughs.
"You poor bastard, come here. We'll sober him up and get to where he needs to go."
You deliver Grau into safe hands, and he mutters his thanks after vomiting in a gutter. He staggers into the house, and you quickly bid farewell.
----
Zellara's hosue is not too far from here, and you are largely steered by the riots in the direction you want to go. You finally make your way to the house, bursting in through the front door to figure out why the hell there's a head in your bag.
The house is not as you remember. The well-appointed house groaning with good food and nice furniture is instead abandoned and looks to have been looted weeks ago. The furniture is in pieces scattered around the room, the wall hangings are missing, and there are only a few very stale bread crusts on the table.
Donnell is looking to get a lay of the land, as well as spy out anything from the ordinary.
"Madam Lorelei, if you wouldn't mind barring that door. Lads, let's make sure this place is at least secure and empty - it's time to batten down the hatches!"
Godric looks around the room, studying it intently.
"I can't put my finger on it, but something seems different about this place."
Sevenspawn, totally aghast, searches gently around the place, making a point of looking at the reading table - and alerting Lorelei if there is anything involving Harrow decks.
- Ask the party for 300 gp of his share of any goods that might be fenced tonight or in the future to be split amongst the party in exchange for the statue of Shelyn found at Lamm's fishery.
- Venture back into the streets, avoiding conflict, to visit the temple of Milani, pray for guidance, and donate half his share of any monies to her church - loose coins, if nothing is fenced.
- Donate the Shelyn statue, if he has it, to Shelyn's church as a gesture of respect from the friendly church of Milani. The gods are on good terms. I read something a couple of weeks ago about a Temple of the Many or All that I can't find now, so maybe it's the same place.
- Find a place nearby that is treating those wounded in the chaos and use Channel Energy to heal as many as possible.
- Return to Zellara's to pray for his spells - I'll pick them shortly - and bed down for what remains of the night.
There's a bar for the door and heavy shutters for the window. It's a solid wooden house and unlikely to be an appealing target for rioters. You manage to secure the house as best you can. It's a decent middle-class home with an open area with a hearth, kitchen, and living room furniture. Adjacent to it are a bedroom, storage, and privy. The top floor is open and likely served as a master bedroom.
As Sevenspawn is looking to leave and go on some errands, a voice calls out.
"Wait, Sevenspawn. Stay. We should all talk."
You turn to see Zellara sitting at the table. She smiles sheepishly.
"I suppose I owe you all an explanation."
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"oh good - more illusions, I assume. This had better be good."
Sitting cross-legged atop the table, Donnell fills his pipe.
"Godric, return this woman's head to her. We'll hear her out before deciding if she gets to keep the one she's wearing."
Sevenspawn stands dumbfounded again, staring at Zellara as Donnell pads past him towards the table. He follows slowly, moving in a wide arc around the table as he watches her, his brain ticking away.
"By the Hound Archon Nyla, madam," he replies, "we are all eager to hear it."
Lorelei says nothing, but rapidly flips through a series of cards. Then she lets out a short, high-pitched shriek of laughter and falls silent for a moment, just a mound of patched and faded dark cloth.
"I'm most interested to hear this explanation," she rasps seriously, brandishing The Carnival card at Zellara as if it were a weapon. "Because this card raises a great deal of fascinating questions."
Zellara grins and extends a hand graciously to Lorelei.
"Or better answers. You see, that ghastly thing in your pack is indeed my head. I am not here. Or more accurately, I am ... here."
The harrow deck in Lorelei's hands begins to glow. Zellara's face becomes ragged and emotional as she speaks.
"When my son was murdered, I became desperate for revenge. When I went to the guard, they told me he was trouble, but that they did not know where to find him or what to do. It was clear that my case was unimportant to them."
She waves her hand and an image appears in front of her. Zellara staring down at a harrow deck with a tear-streaked face before sweeping the reading together determinedly. The next scene is her walking into Gaedren's Fishery. She tries to knock out the men with a sleep spell, but Giggles resists and clubs her.
The final scene is Zellara in Gaedren's playground below the fishery. The following scene plays out.
Zellara is held behind the arms by Giggles, who is constantly laughing in an irritating high pitch. Gaedren paces before her, the withered, hateful old man shaking his head.
"Well aren't I impressed, you were willing to throw your life away to have just one shot at me. Too bad you--"
Zellara spits in his face.
"Te śorđol ći gođi po drom, te ćidav la ando dikhlořo!" She cries. Gaedren steps back as if stricken before he shrieks in rage.
"KILL THE B*+*#!"
Giggles throws her to the ground, and his axe comes down. The vision ends.
"I thought it was the end, but my consciousness remained... here."
She steps across the room, through Sevenspawn, to touch the deck.
"My despair and my anguish, and my mastery of hte cards bound me to the mortal plane. And with it I could feel rage and hatred and focus. All of you became known to me through your fixation on Gaedren, and so I did what I could. I apologize for the deception, but my true nature would terrify most. And through the deck I retain some powers."
The deck glows more brightly.
"As Lorelei so rightly predicted, I bear the power of illusion. Illusions that affect all the senses - and so I was able to appear before you. This I can do once a day. I can also know the nature of any item you bring before me. This I can do thrice. And if needed, I will do a Harrow reading for you to let you know the best, and brightest path for you."
She sighs, settling back down. As the illusion is revealed to you, she appears transparent before you. Her unreality is now obvious.
"And my life... or unlife is yours now. Keep the deck, and I will help you in any way I can. I am not done here. Korvosa is my love and my soul and I will defend her. My city is in pain. Something foul has happened. It needs its heroes, and the cards have shown me that you are those heroes."
The visions fade before you, although the illusion of Zellara is still here.
"So, what shall we do next?"
Sevenspawn considers this for a long time. He finally lets out a long hrrrrrmmmm... and sits in a chair by the table, removing his glove and pinching the bridge of his nose between his tired eyes.
"Her words ring true to me. I would not have been so easily moved to action without the ruse. We have the Queen's brooch to get off our hands... but that must wait, with the King dead and chaos in the streets." He half-smiles and half-grimaces as he spits a few flecks on the floor, thinking to himself. 'The Dead Kings'. Ha.
"Well... The Hellknights should have the streets up in a few days at most, once they have spilled enough blood to drive the people indoors. What they do not quell I imagine the Guard will stabilize. But tonight, my healing will be needed and I must pray for the gifts of the Everbloom before tomorrow. Here is what I suggest, if you are all amenable: rest tonight, and once Fox has regained his strength tomorrow, he and Goric can gather more information about what has happened. We will need it, especially if there is something foul afoot as Zellara says. Our errands around our found loot and my trip to Milani's shrine can wait until things have cooled off. I would suggest that a reading to help us decide what path to take would be best done after we have a lay of the land. In the meantime, Zellara can let Lorelei know what she would like done with her head."
He pauses, then looks to the cards in Lorelei's hand, almost addressing them instead of the illusion. "Your cards helped us extract a necessary revenge, Zellara, and while it benefitted us all, it was a righteous killing and the city is better for it. I need no talk of heroism: I am a criminal, a small instrument of the The Blood Rose, and little else. But if the people can benefit from it, I will stand."
Exhaustion clearly written in every corner of his tiny frame, Donnell looks pathetically like a child who's been beaten and starved for the last several weeks. Tapping out his pipe, he rises, stretches, and before catching himself, slips into a sailor's brogue : "I likes da cut of yer jib, mate. Er... that is, that sounds like a good plan, Sevenspawn. Let me know how that reading goes."
Donnell makes his way to a corner of the room and, after carefully arranging the debris, readies his crossbow and shortsword before curling into an unassuming ball of rags on the floor.
Zellara starts shuffling the cards, and repeatedly cutting them with elaborate maneuvers. She then begins to slap down cards on the table effortlessly. The following cards come up:
THE DANCE...............THE LOCKSMITH..........THE PUBLICAN
THE WAXWORKS.......THE EMPTY THRONE..THE COURTESAN
THE TANGLED BRIAR.THE AVALANCHE.......THE TYRANT
"And so the cards speak. The topmost cards show the good in the world, the bottommost the evil. The left and the right show the past and the future. The middle is neutral; the present, and neither good nor evil."
She begins to tap the cards.
"The dance indicates complexity, balance. The idea that several forces worked in cooperation to maintain something which could fall apart, and perhaps has. The Waxworks... are typically an evil card, but in a neutral position. They indicate entropy, something immobile and frozen. I would say that to maintain the dance, something had to be frozen. And finally, the tangled briar, which is a partial match. Something ancient and evil affects the present. THis is relevant, and you would do good to remember this."
She proceeds to the middle row, the present.
"The Locksmith shows the present positive. A key which will unlock your destiny in a positive manner. This is a good match. You have found, or possess and object of importance. But to whom? Well, the cards will say more.
"The Empty Throne... heh, well apropos with the King dead. A great absence, but the King's death is neither good nor evil, his absence will have meaning though. Finally, the Avalanche is a disaster in the evil present, a panicked crowd, and a calamity that can only be averted through great difficulty. Makes sense, there are riots outside. The King died and there's a riot, the cards can be so boringly obvious sometimes."
She then proceeds to the right row, the future.
"The cards here are powerful and well-match. The Courtesan shows dangerous political intrigue in the city's, and your own future. Those that appear kind may be malevolent, and vice-versa. It will difficult to tell friend from foe, but if we look at the other cards..."
To the centre card.
"The Tyrant indicates an entity with power who will misuse it. However, it is neither good nor evil in this position - perhaps for you or for the city. Trust not those with power, but do not avoid them at your peril!"
She taps the top right card finally.
"The Publican. This represents fellowship and refuge. The Cyclops indicates insight and knowledge. You have just met, but your future will be bright if you stick together."
She lets the words hang for a moment before she stitches together her narrative.
"This is about Korvosa itself and your place in it. Some ancient evil occurred, and was frozen in time. Its freezing kept Korvosa safe and prosperous, but that dance has been interrupted. The result is that the King has died, and the city is burning. During this chaos, you found something important."
She points to the future cards.
"You must use this important item, perhaps to approach someone with power, and as a coherent unit. Your way forward will not be easy, and the ancient evil that has awoken may very well be in your future. I cannot say more."
Zellara lets the cards sit quietly on the table for a moment.
"So my question for you is, have you found an object of importance to someone powerful?"
"Alright, alright," rasps Lorelei, impatient and annoyed. She adjusts her skirts. "You don't have to beat us over the head with it. We'll take the brooch to the Queen."
She turns her head to everyone else.
"Right?"
This doesn't appear to be an actual question.
Sevenspawn listens very carefully, trying to memorize and comprehend what is said. When it is over, he looks at his hands a long while. He finally looks up at Lorelei, hidden under her scarves and veils, and nods silently in agreement with a troubled face that seems to show more worries him then just the reading.
Rising tiredly, he puts on his gloves. "There are people hurt tonight... I will use the remaining power granted to me to heal the few I can, and return here. It should not take long, assuming there is no trouble." He looks to Goric and Lorelei. "If one of you wishes to accompany me, it would be welcome. Stealth will not be required, I think."
The cleric pulls out his deity's holy symbol - an old medallion depicting a blood-soaked rose growing from a cobbled street - from under his armour, and lays it prominently upon his chest. Unrolling a grey cloth fastened to a thin wooden plank depicting the same image and fixing it as a crosspiece to a wooden stick from his pack, Sevenspawn takes his standard out into the night in search of a hospital.
Sevenspawn heads out into the street to be a healer of the downtrodden and spends time in this past of town helping out with the injured from the riot. The riots spread into the night and don't appear to be calming down at any specific point in time. Law and order has broken down in Korvosa. Thankfully, Sevenspawn thrives in these situations.
Being not quite as familiar with the Midlands district, he's unable to find a hospital but instead manages to set up out of the way and gets some neighbourhood kids taking advantage of the insanity to lead the injured over to him. He spends the evening setting broken bones, salving burn wounds from some of the fires going on, and helping people recover from smoke inhalation. Although it wasn't his best work, it served to get some people safely home and greatly increase his own standing in the town.
You find yourselves in the middle of the butcher shop called All the World's Meat, where you have stumbled into what is a group of former guards apparently butchering people and serving them to the hungry citizens of Korvosa! Attacking two of them, you've chopped one down to near-death and the other has just surrendered. However, before he surrendered, he called out for help. You recall seeing two more men at the shop-front to the north...
The man falls to his knees, whimpering as Godric and an enraged Sevenspawn stand over him.
"We didn't mean to it was just so easy!"
You hear footsteps as reinforcements arrive from the north. They're not here yet.
Donnell moves into the room, reloading his crossbow, and getting ready for the next wave. To Godric and Sevenspawn: "Will one of you knock that bloody fool out?
Sevenspawn looks to Godric. "Would you mind assisting our halfling friend, please?" He raises his voice to Lorelei, always careful not to use names, and flicks his head towards Godric. "Lady, our leader is hurt, if you could assist him quickly."
Sevenspawn produces his rope, tying the guard's hands behind his back as he lies on the ground after kicking his weapon away.
"Be smart," he hisses at the man. "You are outnumbered and outmatched. Stay on the floor and you may not be one of those to die here this day. Move, and I'll slit your throat and hang you to bleed out myself."
Godric decides to knock out the thug.
But misses entirely.
THONK
Godric slams the butt of his greatsword into the man's head, and he sinks to the ground. As he does, that the front doors burst open, and the two men at the storefront rush in with longswords drawn! The hallway they've run through has stairs leading northwards, and strangely they don't call up and instead seem to be kind of quiet. They rush into the room, closing the doors behind them.
Lorelei
Donnell
---
Guards
---
Sevenspawn
Godric
"Hey a%&+&@#s, we're looking for Verik. Cooperate and you won't end up dead, like your idiot friends."
With the news that you have a room to stay in and an inn you can call your own, you head back to the inn with your mission complete to bed down for the night.
Some shops in the nicer parts of town are now open, and you have a moment to go through your equipment and decide what to keep, and what to sell.
You reconnect with the Dead Kings while continuing to do your work helping the injured from the riots. Your gang is justifiably taken aback by the fact you're working for the guard, but know opportunity when they see it. You're asked to investigate what you can about the Queen and if she intends to continue austerity, and if there will be any serious violence coming towards the Shingles.
The following day you return from your good rest at the inn to the Citadel to meet with Cressida once more. When you enter into the office, she's not alone. A handsome middle-aged man sits at the desk, who stands and bows as you entered. He has a charming, easy manner to him.
"Please, I'd like you to meet an old friend of mine. Vencarlo Orisini."
Vencarlo is a renowned teacher of the honourable arts of fencing and swordplay in Korvosa. He is also known as not quite being a friend of the government, and an outspoken critic.
Vencarlo smiles at you. "Congratulations on your success so far. If Korvosa had more fine folk like you, we'd already be out of this mess. I know most of you by reputation, and you do this city proud."
Cressida cuts him off, getting to the point.
"As much as I would enjoy continuing the conversation, I fear we just don’t have time. Vencarlo has often come to me with news of important changes on the streets, and this is no different—indeed, what he’s learned could degrade into sanctions, embargos, or even war against Cheliax if we don’t act now. This problem is a man named Darvayne Gios Amprei. You might have heard of him—he’s an ambassador from Cheliax whose disdain for Korvosa is well documented, and yet he’s taken great pleasure in what our city has to offer. Even before this recent unrest, this man was ready to recommend to his government a sanction on trade, or perhaps even an embargo. Vencarlo has learned through his own considerable sources that Ambassador Amprei’s actual goals are to undermine Korvosa’s economy to the point where he can buy up large portions of the city from desperate landholders and establish
himself in a position of power here."
"Whatever the ambassador’s reasons, we can’t let his bias or personal plans hurt Korvosa. Yet neither can we take drastic action—not only would killing him be wrong, but it’d simply martyr him in Cheliax’s eyes. “Fortunately, Darvayne has his foibles. Again, Vencarlo has learned that Ambassador Amprei has been making fairly regular visits to a place in Old Korvosa called Eel’s End. This den of vice is run by a dangerous man named Devargo Barvasi, better known in Korvosa’s alleys as the King of Spiders. I’d love to put Barvasi out of business, but he pays his vice taxes regularly and never causes any problems—in fact, since he keeps his business constrained entirely within the five ships moored at Eel’s End, he’s actually one of the least of my worries. Truth be told, I can’t decide whether Devargo is a stirge or a kraken. He seems like a bloodsucking pest most days, but sometimes I fear just how far his tentacles have wormed their way into our great city. In this case though, his insidious web stretching across Korvosa’s underworld might prove to our advantage."
"Devargo would never let someone he recognizes as an ally of the Guard into Eel’s End, but your group’s a different case. I’d like you to pay a visit to Eel’s End and secure an audience with Devargo. Find out what he knows about Amprei, get proof of any illicit goings-on the ambassador might be involved with, and bring that proof to me to use to undermine any forthcoming attempts by him to get Cheliax to cut us off. Devargo might not be willing to part with his information easily. I’ll supply you with some gold to bribe him, and whatever’s left over you can keep for yourself. Remember: the man is dangerous, but so are you—if things get violent, I wouldn’t mourn his passing."
Sevenspawn nods with genuine respect to Vencarlo, holding him in somewhat higher regard than those of his class due to his political stance. "We thank you for your high praises, sir. We do what we can, nothing more."
The cleric listens to Cressida, taking mental notes on her words...
... and checking his memory for the King of Spiders:
"I would loathe to fight Barvasi on his own grounds, Field Marshall, and if he pays his taxes, sometimes the imp you know is better than the one you do not. It would be better to ensure we have enough gold to bribe the man, as you suggest.
"Oh... and that letter of authorization to act on your behalf? It might be worth having now."
Sevenspawn is vaguely aware of the King of Spiders' reputation, although the Dead Kings have never run in with him personally. He's a notorious criminal overlord but his on-the-surface business affairs are within the letter of the law and he's managed to become quiet powerful operating openly.
You're handed over the letter of authorization and Cressida leaves for a moment, returning with 1,000 gold to bribe the King of Spiders.
"Do you have other questions?"
Godric looks at his feet, deciding to keep his mouth firmly shut this time.