|
Greetings,
I will cut straight to the point. The owner of the Green Market, Zeeva Foxglove, needs our help. I’d
normally require a more substantial explanation than what she’s given us, but Zeeva is a friend, and she
knows a thing or two about prophecies. If she says disaster is about to strike Korvosa, I believe her.
Time is of the essence. When you receive this message, head to Korvosa at once. Travel to Eodred’s
Square and inform the local guards that you are looking for Zeeva, and she will come out to meet you. I’ve
enclosed a letter of credit that should be sufficient to secure you passage to Korvosa. Best of luck to you,
Pathfinders. I look forward to reports of your success.
Venture-Captain Sheila Heidmarch
An ill wind stirs whitecaps on the dark Jeggare River, carrying with it the faint odor of spoiled meat. Travelers crossing High Bridge into Korvosa grumble and pull their collars up against the cold. Past the somber city gates is a sprawling square plaza. Throughout the area, small clusters of people gather close together, stuffing their hands in their pockets as they engage in quiet conversation. Several guards hover around the edges of the plaza. A gray tabby cat rests nearby, its bright yellow eyes seeming to watch over the crowd.
|
="How mysterious" comments a striking woman as she reads the note.
"I wonder what the matter is? Has anyone heard of Zeeva?"
Fargrim looks pleased to once again be on land, and wraps a warm shawl over his shoulders.
"First port of call would presumably be to find Zeeva?"
Even as she speaks, Carax has taken the lead, as one would expect such a man to do.
She nods her appreciation to him. "Well said."
|
|
Zeeva Foxglove is the owner of the Green Market, a lucrative bazaar on the South Shore district of Korvosa. Zeeva is a member of an aristocratic family from Magnimar, but has not lived in western Varisia since tragedy struck the Foxgloves in 4693 AR. Her mother Cyralie went mad and burned down their manor's outbuilding and attempted to set the house itself on fire. Her father Traver threw her from the building's second story to her death on the jagged rocks below and then took his own life. After a short stint in a Magnimar orphanage, Zeeva, her sister Sendeli and brother Aldern were taken in by their father's second cousin and raised in Korvosa.
When you ask a guard that you are looking for Zeeva Foxglove, the cat rises to its feet and scampers off. The guard explains, "Are you agents of the Pathfinder Society? Zeeva Foxglove told us that she had important guests coming from the Pathfinder Society. She assured us that she would know when they arrived in this square. Don’t really understand
it myself, but I suggest waiting right here until she shows up."
Within a few minutes, Zeeva Foxglove arrives in the square. A large-eyed woman in a green gown waves, and then introduces herself by handing out cards bearing her name — Zeeva Foxglove — and the address of the Green Market in South Shore. A cat bearing a striking resemblance to the one that rested on the square’s cobbles walks alongside her. "I owe you an explanation," she says, "But let us travel as we talk, for my market cannot do without me for long. I know it sounds ridiculous, but there are actually three disasters waiting to strike." The merchant walks briskly, slipping gracefully past the crowds and carriages.
"It began after I heard about a Varisian caravan parked outside the city. The vagabonds had lost everything to bandits, and, my marketplace is so profitable now, I can afford to share my bounty with those whom fate mistreats. I brought them some produce, and in return, their fortune-teller offered me a harrow reading." Foxglove’s rosy complexion pales. "The spread foretold good fortune, almost to excess — that is, until she turned up The Yellow Prophet. A legendary lost card, although I didn’t know that then. Its appearance upset the soothsayer. She said the card required that three more cards be drawn, and she did so hastily, giving me hardly any insight. What I’ve learned since is that each of those cards portends a dark fate — a disaster."
She produces a deck of cards from her handbag. "It seemed the fortune-teller was hiding something, so I obtained my own harrow deck and researched the cards’ meanings. But I am still in the dark, and my own auguries tell me that time is running short. I need brave investigators, well-versed in the arcane, to determine where these calamities will strike — or, failing that, track down that fortune-teller, so that she can explain her strange behavior. Do you have any questions so far?"
|
A young woman with bronze skin and red hair that is so fiery it almost seems to lift with heat off of her skin when she moves arrives. She wears light armor and has a rapier and a few other weapons about her but nothing even remotely close to being considered "heavy".
"Ree Soiel at your service, well at least as long as the society continues to pay my bills at least." She winks to the party members.
To Zeeva, she gives a similar sultry smile, "How sure are you that these cards have any actual influence and it's not just coincidence, or worse, the caravaners tricking you?"
|
|
"Few people know this, but I’m something of a witch. Through dreams and auguries, I’ve confirmed that something dire is just on the horizon. I just don’t know what or where it will happen." Foxglove answers to Ree's question.
"I'm not sure what's going to happen. The dark fates may befall me, my market or even the entire city. That's the reason why I asked the Society to send somebody to help me. I have no idea where the fortune-teller went. She and her troupe vanished into Korvosa days ago. They could be anywhere. Maybe ask around? She cut a memorable figure — a Varisian half-elf with scraggly black hair and rotting teeth."
"Listen, The Yellow Prophet is a legendary lost card I've never seen before. Look, my deck does not contain a card like that. It's a chilling card, and not one that appears in a standard harrow deck. It depicts a fortune-teller, clad in black and yellow. My research says it signifies false presumptions and self-fulfilling prophecies. I’d love to find that fortune-teller to study it in depth." Foxglove continues and produces three cards.
"Harrow cards can be tricky: an ominous card isn’t always negative, and a cheery card can turn calamitous. Instead of relying on their traditional meanings, I’m guessing the cards have connections to people or places in Korvosa. Maybe you can catch something I’ve overlooked?"
At this point, Foxglove shows you The Betrayal, The Cricket, and The Unicorn.
|
|
Fargrim examines the cards, while she thinks over the information.
"So... it could be that by calling us here to stop this dire event, we may actually be causing it?" she doesn't look very happy at the thought.
"What do the crowns and key's signify? Suit?"
She picks up the cards and looks at both sides before adding. "How did the fortune teller dress? Not in yellow I hope!"
|
|
"Yes, key and crown mark the suit. The fortune-teller did not dreass in yellow, she wore a blue dress and a white scarf around her head adn shoulders." Foxglove answers.
Foxglove quickly explains the meanings of the three cards card.
The Betrayal: "This card can either mean selfishness or self-sacrifice or a choice between the two."
The Cricket: "A card for quick-witted travelers, some of whom find glory, while others return empty-handed."
The Unicorn: "This card promises rewards from a friend, but some friends are false, and some prizes are poison."
The Heights District, noble foreigners flock to a bed and breakfast called the Frisky Unicorn, hoping to catch a glimpse of the pseudodragons that nest in the turret.
Before you depart, Foxglove offers to give you an abridged harrow reading to grant you luck and insight on your quest. She isolates and shuffles nine cards from the Suit of Books and then prompts each of you to draw a card.
|
|
You ask around to find the mystery deck reader in the city. Several people point towards the Traitor's Mews, one of Korvosa’s poorest districts. Others say that they saw them near The Frisky Unicorn, a guest house for noble people and again others send you to the Kendall Amphitheater located in Cliffside near the South Shore district.
|
|
"The icons on the Cricket’s cards are symbols of Desna—stars, moons, and planets — all of which figure prominently in the architecture of Kendall Amphitheater, the city’s largest performance venue." notes Fargrim. "Perhaps we should try the amphitheater. All threads seem to lead there.
She smiles "As a follower or Desna, I would like to see this anyway.
"What does the Snakebite represent" asks Fargrim who appears slightly impressed.
"I practise the snake style myself, so it may be there is something to this harrow business."
|
Before heading into the ampitheatre Lal Rhem taps himself with his wand of mage armor and wand of heightened awareness.
|
|
Lal Rhem whispers to himself, "That certainly does sound interesting."
He sneaks forward and attempts to stealthily crack open the door, after searching it for traps.
[dice=Perception w/heightened awareness]1d20 + 8 + 2[/dice]
|
|
Ree thinks that the pillars and buttresses near the auditorium’s wooden base suggest that the theater is ingeniously secured above a wide depression in the ground. The hole must be the fabled Kendall Vault, a cave complex from which subterranean creatures have been rumored to emerge.
Lal and Fargrim open the doors to other rooms. Behind the door to the east is a long hallway leading to another door at the other end. Behind the double door to the north you see the big backstage area. Heavy black curtains keep the audience from seeing too much of it.
The voices get louder towards the backstage area.
|
|
Lal Rhem motions his companions forward. Once they have joined him he moves into the backstage area.
While he waits he examines the area.
[dice=Perception w/heightened awareness]1d20 + 8 + 2[/dice]
|
|
Lal does not find any traps and Fargrim opens the double door. Behind the door is the stage. Two pillars flank the northern edge of this two-level stage.
On the stage you see a group of 12 performers scrambling about the stage, rehearsing several scenes. One of the scenes includes a rapier fight. Nearby, a man sitting in a chair tugs at his white top hat nervously.
Unfortunately Fargrim pushes the door into a ladder which crashes to the floor. The man with the white hat jumps up and shouts "Closed rehearsal!" startling the stage combatants, and causing one combatant's sword to slip and graze the other compatant's arm.
The man in the chair jumps up and continues to shout. "That's a disaster! Maximos’s sword arm is the only stageworthy part of the buffoon! The premiere is tomorrow! What are we going to do now!?"
|
|
Lal Rhem shrugs and steps forward.
"Terribly sorry to disturb your rehersal, but I just couldn't resist taking a peek, it just sounded so interesting. I'm sure one of my friends back here can stitch him up though."
"Though I'm afraid there has been a portent of doom which we think might come to fruition here. Has a Varisian fortune teller been in the area recently?"