Dawn in Korvosa breaks over a city that has seen its shine dimmed in recent years. Slums dominate a large part of the city, while contrasting rich dwellings shine with opulent glory. In the sky above, imps wheel and fly, a common annoyance to the city dwellers below. Occasionally the flash of tiny dragon wings can be seen as pseudodragons flit back to dens and warrens. Korvosa this morning stinks, the smell of rot and waste and corruption; in other words, a typical morning.
As you roll over, your eyes fall on a single Harrow card, sitting on the pillow. As you pick it up, you notice writing on the back. It reads: "I know what Gaedren has done to you. He has wronged me as well. I know where he dwells, yet cannot strike at him. Come to my home at 3 Lancet Street
at sunset. Others like you will be there. Gaedren must face his fate, and justice must be done." Gaedren Lamm. Enslaver of children and pusher of terrible drugs to the poor and rich alike. You've heard tales of even the children of the rich being snatched and taken. The only lead you've found is the name Gaedren Lamm, but despite your best efforts, you have been unable to find the man. Now this? Lamm will pay.
Something fluttered to the ground as you sat up, a single Harrow Card. When you pick it up, you see it has writing on the back. It says "I know what Gaedren has done to you. He has wronged me as well. I know where he dwells, yet cannot strike at him. Come to my home at 3 Lancet Street
at sunset. Others like you will be there. Gaedren must face his fate, and justice must be done." A lead? Finally, after all this time? And with you free to follow it? Lamm will pay. Finally.
Gaedren Lamm. The name had come up repeatedly recently. First a brewer you knew from Alehouse Lane had been found dead, overdosed on Shiver. His supplier had been a man named Lamm. Then the twin 8 year old daughters of the barkeep here at the Thicket went missing. Lamm again, they said. But no amount of searching had lead you anywhere. The man was a phantom. People were too scared of him to talk, or those who did wound up dead. But this was a lead and the first solid one in a week. Finding and stopping Lamm would erase your debts and would definitely be what Cayden would do! Lamm would pay. And maybe those little girls were still alive.
Swinging your legs out of bed, something flutters to the stone floor. It's a single Harrow card. Picking it up, you see it has writing on the back side. It reads: "I know what Gaedren has done to you. He has wronged me as well. I know where he dwells, yet cannot strike at him. Come to my home at 3 Lancet Street at sunset. Others like you will be there. Gaedren must face his fate, and justice must be done." A lead? Out of the blue? Your questions must have stirred the right pot after all. You slip the card into your pocket and stretch. Soon. Very soon, Lamm will pay.
Slumper with barely contained excitement goes about stowing all of his gear and rumaging for anyting of use. Never comfortable around writing it's weird that Slumper can't stop looking at this card reading it laboriously over and over until he has it memorized. percep
As you arrive at the address given, you find a snug little cottage sandwiched between rows of townhouses. The cottage looks worn, but well-loved, with a slightly overgrown flower bed out front and peeling paint. It's obviously been taken care of, but seems to have fallen into neglect. However, the door is open and slightly ajar and you step inside.
The cozy chamber within this small home is filled with a fragrant haze of flowers and strong spice. The haze comes from several sticks of incense smouldering in wall-mounted burners that look like butterfly-winged elves. The smoke itself seems to soften edges and gives the room a dream-like feel.
The walls are draped with brocaded tapestries, one showing a black-skulled beast juggling men’s hearts, another showing a pair of angels
dancing atop a snow-blasted mountain. A third tapestry on the far wall depicts a tall hooded figure shrouded in mist, a flaming sword held in a skeletal hand. Several brightly-colored rugs cover the floor, but the room’s only furnishings are a wooden table covered by a bright red throwcloth and several elegant tall-backed chairs. A basket covered by blue cloth sits under the table.
On the table is a note, written in the same hand as the Harrow cards. It reads: "Thank you for coming. I had to step out for a bit, but shall return shortly. Please, have a seat while you wait. The basket under the table contains bread and drink for you." Indeed, the basket holds several sweet rolls and two bottles of local wine. The rolls are slightly stale, as if baked the night before and the wine is nothing expensive, but a decent white from a local vineyard. Around the table sits 6 mis-matched but sturdy chairs.
However, you do find yourself in a room with four other people, not all of whom you recognize right off.
"Evening, I assume you all received a mysterious note. This is the home of Zelara the fortune-teller, have any of you had dealings with her before?" Pax says to the others around the table. He gently pats the large cat looking creature next to him, its fur is so dark purple it appears black in the dim light.
Brim takes a brief moment to take in his surroundings and new company.
"Greetings! I am Brim Stone. Pleasure to meet you all. I did recieve a note on a Harrow card, so we must all be here for the same reason. The name Zelara doesn't ring a bell, but I have never been good with remembering names."
"I'm Slumper I have card too, It said meet here to find Lamm." Slumper starts munching on the bread more out of habit than want of food. He noticeably doesn't sit as he keeps his hands near his weapons at all times.
I move to one of the chairs, sit down, and begin to pour a glass of wine. "Barrett," I say as I point a thumb toward myself. I will then lean back in the chair and sip the wine.
"Lamm is here I am here for too. Have we all be wronged by him?"
"I forgot to introduce myself. I am Paxs, and this is Thrak,", Pax points at his faithful friend.
A fifth person, whom Brim recognizes as Jebbediah, his clerical friend, enters and greets the others. An uncomfortable silence follows as no one seems to willing to give out too much personal information about themselves...
After a few moments of this, a woman slips in through the door. She is an attractive middle-aged Varisian woman, wearing a simple dress and with her hair pulled back under a scarf. She smiles shyly at you and takes a seat at the table. She has a Harrow deck in her hands that she shuffles nervously, but like a pro. Clearing her throat, she speaks.
“My name is Zelara and I would like to thank you for coming, my friends, and for putting up with my unconventional method of contacting you. I have reason to remain hidden, you see—a terrible man would see great harm done to me if he knew I was reaching out for help. This is a man you know, for he has done something terrible to each of you as well. I speak, of course, of Gaedren Lamm, a man whose cruelty and capacity to destroy the lives of those he touches are matched only by his gift for avoiding reprisal. You see, a year ago, his thieves stole this, my Harrow deck, from me. It is important to me, an heirloom passed down through a dozen generations, and also my sole means of support. When pickpockets stole it, my son, Eran, tracked them down. The thieves were in the employ of Gaedren Lamm, and in reward for finding them, Gaedren murdered my son.
“I sought help from the Guard, but they turned me away. And so I asked around. I paid bribes. I consulted my Harrow deck for advice. And recently, I was rewarded—I found out where Gaedren dwells. He can be found in an old fishery north of here at Westpier 17, where he trains his abducted children to be pickpockets and counts his stolen treasures.
“And now, I need your help. I cannot hope to face this man on my own, and the Guard moves so slowly that if I were to go to them, Gaedren would certainly know of their coming well in advance. Even if they did arrest him—what guarantee would I have he would be punished? This criminal has evaded the law for decades. But you know of these frustrations as well, for word on the street has it that Gaedren has wronged each of you, too. So there we are. It is time for him to pay.”
She begins shuffling the Harrow deck, the cards flowing across her hands. You sense that this is second nature to her, as well as a nervous habit, a way to calm her nerves.
"I for one, want to see him pay for everything he has done. I will help."
"By Cayden !! I shall see to the freedom of thosse wronged, or shall die trying!"
Brim grits his teeth at the thoughts of all that Gaedren has done. A smile peeks through the anger as he begins to imagine cold steel being the last earthly gift he recieves as he dies in agony. If only Brim could get close enough to Lamm to draw his last breath when his rapier strikes true! Eagerness and excitement turn to caution as Brim remembers that Gaedren's influence spreads far and wide. Perhaps this is a trick? Brim listens to Zelara's words trying to discern their truthfullness.
Slumper slides the card back to Zelara across the table and looks around at his new "companions" for the first time.
Hmm a hungover cleric, a mage of some sort, a rogue, and an aristrocrat... Great
At least he won't have to go alone which was his original plan....
Zellara smiles sadly. "I can do one more thing for you. I can use my cards. Here," She shuffles her deck and holds out her deck. "Each of you take a card."
Before I take a card, I lean forward, "With all of the people who were probably wronged by Lamm, why would you give his whereabouts to five strangers? And why choose we five?."
Just our good luck. I'll take that card, lady.
Never one to trust paper or writing "What benefit does a piece of paper give us?"
Paxs takes a card, but also would like to hear her explaination as well.
Brim accepts the card being offered to him with a thanks and a smile. He lets go of his earlier distrust and feels compassion for Zelara's loss.
Finishing shuffling the cards, Zelara replies without looking up. "Why you? Because your losses called to my own. Because rumor has it that you five are quite capable of taking care of Lamm. Because no one else will dare to do it. You are my last and only hope of vengeance. And of keeping Lamm from hurting anyone else as he's hurt me."
Brim, you draw The Peacock.
Slumper, you draw the Avalanche.
Jebbediah, you draw the Cricket.
Corbyn, you draw the Locksmith.
Paxs, you draw the Crows.
Zelara doesn't seem surprised by these results. She murmurs softly to herself as she shuffles the cards back into the deck with the practiced hand of a master.
Zelara begins the reading. She lays out 3 rows of 3 cards each, then flips over the top leftmost card. "The Cyclone. This represents the positive past, which tells me of renewal after a blustery trial. Each of you has faced adversity, but conquered it."
She flips over the middle leftmost card. "The Empty Throne. This represents the uncertain past, a loss brings good fortune. Perhaps it is our shared losses that have brought us together to end Lamm once and for all."
She flips over the bottom leftmost card. "The Liar. This represents the negative past, a new relationship begun. A relationship with someone affected by Lamm, or perhaps a relationship with Lamm himself?" She looks closely at Corbyn when she says this.
She flips over the topmost middle card. "The Vision. This represents the positive present. Arcane knowledge, secrets and keys. You have the knowledge to finally find your foe."
She flips the middle card next. "The Carnival, the unclear present." She frowns. "Illusions and false dreams. Perhaps out goal is not the goal we believe it to be?"
She flips the bottom middle card. "The Courtesan, the negative present. Political intrigue, of a feminine nature. This is, strange I do not understand what the cards are trying to tell me."
Undaunted, she flips over the topmost right card. "The Uprising, representing the positive future. A groundswell of support, an overwhelming upheaval, but for a positive outcome?"
Next the middle rightmost card. "The Theater. The unclear present. Prophecy is true. The cards seem to indicate that the reading is true, even if I doubt."
Lastly the bottom rightmost card. "The Rabbit Prince. The capriciousness of combat is the negative future. Warfare may not prevail. It may require guile and wit to win the day."
She gathers the cards up and sighs. "I do not always understand the reading, but the Harrow never lies. What I see is upheaval, a great change and not necessarily for the better. War will come, though war may not win this day. I do not know... This seems larger than Lamm. I.. I cannot help you further. I have given you the path, it is up to you to take it."
"What will this Avalanche card do, or what does it mean?"
"It represents you. I selected the cards I sent to you through the deck. It won't do anything, but it represents you."
Slumper frowns at the card, never one for deep thought, and puts it into his jerkin. "I stand ready to face Lamm"
"I am sure the cards will make more sense as we come to the time in which they speak of. Though I may be considerably confused right now, I feel that knowledge of these things will be to our advantage. Thank you, Zelara. Now if I remember correctly, the cards that brought us here spoke of knowing the location of Lamm. What is our next play?
"He can be found in an old fishery north of here at Westpier 17." Zelara describes the place in detail until you're sure you will recognize it.
"How much time do you think we have to act? Any recommendations of how to bring his spy network down before we move in?"
"If you act quickly you should gain the element of surprise. Delay and his spies will know of you. If he moves we may never catch him unaware again. The only way to eliminate his network is to kill Lamm."
"You heard her! Let's go now!"
Slumper stands up and prepares himself as he goes to stand by Paxs. "Anyone that happy to face Lamm in his own place, is crazy enough to be friends with me."
I stand, afix my hood, pick up The Locksmith and make it disappear with sleight of hand, and gruffly state, "Let's get this over with."
"That settles it! To the fishery!" Brim tries to sound brave to encourage his new companions. "Fake it till you make it" was one of his mottos. "Oh wait! Zelara, suppose Lamm has a chance to fight back before we take him out. Do you know what type of defense he might have?
Guys, I am out of town for a funeral. Will update as soon as possible.
Zelara shakes her head. "I would imagine he has had time to prepare traps and fortify his ill-gotten headquarters, but I do not know. He will certainly have children keeping watch."
The Old Fishery is a rotting wreck of a building, large and decrepit. You can see three possible entrances from the street: a main entrance, with double doors, a loading dock and a rickety dock heading around the side of the building.
The reek of brine and the stink of week-dead fish hang thickly in the air here. The old double doors in the side of this weathered building are tightly closed, with a drooping signpost hanging above. The sign it once displayed is long gone, leaving behind only a single short length of rusted chain. Bums and drunks stumble past now, reeking of cheap grog and ale. Inside the Fishery no sounds can be heard, but waves can be heard from below the building. A little light escapes through cracks in the walls, indicating faint candlelight inside the building.
"I vote for sneaking in the back door, or at the very least trying to peek through the cracks in the wall."
I grunt in understanding, palm a dagger and hide it under my cloak (slight of hand ) then begin across the street (stealth ). While moving across the street to look into the spaces in the wall, I am judging to see if the drunks are acting and are in fact guards (sense motive ) and scanning for other guards (perception ).
Slumper looks around warily for guards.
Slumper to the rest of the group quiety. "I see no guards, he is confident or has other means of protection"
"Then let us proceed through the back door, unless you all would prefer the dock side?
Slipping over to the side door, you see a loading dock. A fifteen-foot-wide loading dock abuts the side of the building here. A few carts sit nearby, partially loaded with large tar-caked barrels marked with a fish-shaped splotch of red paint on the side. Double doors to the immediate south of the loading dock’s ramp provide access to the building’s interior, while a rickety flight of stairs descends nearly to the river’s surface to the east, where a second door provides a secondary entrance.
The double doors are tightly shut and closed, while the door down the stairs also seems closed, but you'd have to get closer to be sure..
Slumper glances nervously at the stairs as he leads the group towards the back door.
I will fall in behind Slumper in a crouch using his size to aid my stealth [take a 10 on my Stealth = 17].
Following as well, with my Thrak checking for danger. percep