WIth a nod at Laijiri, Giorgio rests Zellara's head back into the hatbox, then finds the cleanest piece of cloth in the place and wraps Zellara's cards in that before handing them to Laijiri. "I'll lay Zellara to proper rest later, but in the meantime, I think she'd want these to be used."
The bells continue tolling for a few more minutes before falling silent, and it's as if the night has returned to normal.
Aerodus, visibly sickened by the sight of the head, nods as Giorgio reboxes it. "A fine idea. Let's see how the cards read, then? Maybe her spirit lingers through these cards?"
Kazadarin looks at the items and begins to gather them into his back pack.
Knowledge Local:
"I agree, we need to gather everything and make our way back to the children. Grab what you can we will divide our spoils when we get there and be on our separate ways."
The young girl said nothing, but her mind was already thinking about *dividing* the spoils:
Well. I like the crown. Very much. And the brooch. And I could give Fang this statuette. He'll love it! I'll find a way to have them. But I'll leave the rest to the party, she added mentally, as she was indeed a magnanimous friend.
Now in a VERY good mood, Litsy played with the crown and the brooch, admiring their beauty, when she heard absent-mindedly Giorgio tell about his finding:
"What? Someone's dead? Jeez. How sad."
In fact, she didn't realize anything for quite a while.
What? 'I'll lay Zellara to proper rest la-' What! Hm! I didn't think Giorgio was such a womanizer!"
Obsessed with the shining jewelry, she let the party interact with each other without reacting so far. But eventually, she managed to put parts of the puzzle together:
"Her spirit? What? Zellara is dead?!"
WOOOOOOPPPS!
"Wow, waitwaitwaitwait, just... a SECOND," she exclaimed, slowly realizing that there could be another, big disaster. "But if she's got her head in this box, I think it leaves us with a bunch of questions! Who hired us? Can she be trusted? And, most importantly", she caught her breath. "Can she be trusted with the kids that we've left at her house?!"
Gathering the somewhat ill-gotten gains, the party makes its way out the way it came. The last living criminal seems to have left, taking his brother's body with him, and the building is empty. Another peal of bells rings out as you reach the front door, and it's plain to see that, while the night seemed quiet under the fishery, it was anything but on the streets.
The flames of lanterns and improvised torches cast flickering shadows across the streets and alleys as people stumble out of their homes, awoken by the bells. The journey to Zellara's takes nearly twice as long as it should have, between dodging guard patrols (suddenly on alert) and the growing crowds in the streets, but it is informative. Rumors fly that King Eodred II is dead, and among the lower and middle classes, the culprit wasn't old age or sickness, but the queen. Toward the end of your journey, you see a Guard squadron, weapons drawn, pursuing a group of men carrying kegs of ale out of The Bailer's Retreat, the same tavern Giorgio and Aerodus visited just a few nights before, and the shadows of the Sable Company's griffon-riders flit over the city as dawn begins to break.
Inside Zellara's, Zavi, Imperia, and the two orphan boys sit, huddled on the floor. Imperia has fallen asleep, her head in Zavi's lap, while the two boys sit apart from the girls, and each other. The house itself looks as if it's been abandoned for weeks. Cobwebs, dust bunnies, and uninviting-looking furniture are all that can be seen. A few mildewed tapestries hang from the walls, and seven stiff-backed cushionless chairs surround a rough wooden table, complete with soured wine and rotten bread.
A brief shimmer appears behind the children, leading to three high-pitched screams, followed by a fourth. Zavi stands suddenly, tumbling Imperia across the floor, as Zellara appears, this time weak around the edges, in the corner of the room.
"It's over? I...apologize for leading you as I did, but the truth would have been too difficult to accept beforehand. I do not think I lied to you about anything. My son was killed by Lamm nearly a year ago when he stole that deck of cards you now carry, Laijiri. I tracked him down and confronted him two weeks ago, and he took my head in revenge. I was, as I said, unable to deal with Lamm myself, but you've done an excellent job in my stead."
She turns to the children, and as she does, you can see a vague shadow of the table behind her. "I'm sorry for frightening you, little ones. You're all welcome to stay at this house as long as you need to. The rent was paid through the summer, but you'll have to supply your own food.
There is...one more thing, if you'll listen to an old ghost. In the reading I did for you, I saw much more than I told. I may have told you this deck is not ordinary. In the hands of a skilled reader, it shows much, and I saw the coming of troubled days for the city. The Uprising and The Peacock-" She flicks her hand, and the two cards appear "-these cards show the near future, but I also see a chance for you to help make this city (which I loved and which I think you do too, for all its flaws) a better place. The coming days will be filled with strife and struggle, but you may have the strength and the will to drive it along the right path." She stands near the stairs, falling silent.
Kazadarin stands near the doorway with his mouth agape. What in the hells did I vet myself into?
So, she was truly Zellara? Phew!
"You don't need to apologize," the rogue shrugged. "You've done nothing wrong. In fact, you even did your best. You helped people, you saved children. You took your revenge on a monster -and therefore, helped us to avenge our loved ones. Now, you can rest in peace."
It was surely the longest speech Litsy had pronounced so far.
"Nevertheless, there are things that I don't understand. What danger is threatening Korvosa? And why did you choose especially the six of us? I bet there were hundreds of people who wished to see Lamm dead! What's our role in all that?"
Actually, Litsy was frustated. She intended to send a message to Fang, telling him that he could return whenever he wanted, but it seemed like the old city wasn't safe yet.
And I bet that it won't be safe for a looooooonng time... Why are we so unlucky? First Lamm, now the king's death! Surely, fate is mocking us!
Dashing to Imperia, Aerodus holds her as he listens to Zellara. Nodding, he looks at the cards.
"Troubles... The bells!" He looks to the others, a little wide-eyed. "The bells! Why would they have rang out for so long at such an odd time? Something must have happened."
Looking down to Imperia, he helps her up. "I need to get to the Bank. Zellara, you need not apologize, though I am a little off put for your having not told us all your little secret. But thanks to you, a great evil has been dealt with."
"Children..." He looks to the orphan kids. "I'll come by and provide some food for you, drop off a couple of coins as well. But I suggest you come to the Bank. We can always do with a few hard working acolytes."
Zellara looks tiredly at Litsy, eyes shutting for a moment or two. "Litsy, you've seen the beginnings of Korvosa's danger. Those bells weren't for no reason; the king, whether loved or hated, is dead, and already, rumors fly about the cause. As for your second question...the cards told me, of course. Aerodus, would you have trusted me if I'd come to you as a spirit rather than a woman of flesh and blood?"
"Ac a' iya'au, harc." Her form moves closer to Laijiri, stopping just short of touching her, and she smiles. "I entrust that deck to your safe-keeping. It's my last link to this world, and though my heart is at peace, I think it isn't my time to leave." Images flood Laijiri's mind as Zellara reveals the power of her Harrow deck.
The two boys nod at Aerodus slowly, still scared of the manifested ghost and unable to speak.
Item: Zellara's Harrow Deck
With Zellara's images swirling in your head, you can see that this deck is more than a stack of cards. Despite the worn condition of the card backs, the images on the faces are so vibrant they seem to move when viewed out of the corner of the eye. The deck itself handles with surprising ease, almost shuffling itself. A bent, torn, or lost card always seems to mend itself or reappear when no one is looking. These features are subtle manifestations of the spirit that haunts the cards. In life, Zellara lived by this deck, and in death, she has become the deck.
Zellara can sense the world around the deck via sight and sound, and she can communicate with anyone who holds the deck via empathy. She can create a major image once per day, often doing so to generate an image of herself manipulating the cards—in this manner, she can carry on conversations with other creatures. She can also identify a magic item’s properties if one of her cards is touched to it, as the spell identify, up to 3 times per day. When she does so, knowledge of the item identified manifests in the mind of one creature she chooses who is also holding at least one card, or she can opt to describe the item’s functions via a major image.
Giorgio waits patiently, taking everything in. At a lull in the conversation, he adds his voice. "It sounds like we all have a few more things to do. I'll wait here, maybe start tidying the house up and making it fit to live in. Aerodus, on your way to the bank, would you mind taking a side trip to Pharasma's temple to see Zellara laid to rest? If everyone is amenable, we can meet back up here in the morning, maybe after a quick rest."
Cards... Cards... It's a bit too simple. "Showing the near future"? It doesn't feel like they leave us the choice!
Litsy was tired -and irritated. She had been hunting down Lamm for weeks, slept outdoor more than once next to her shortbow, eating little, resting less, constantly on the move because of her paranoid fear of being caught. She only felt relieved with the death of the criminal, thinking that the problem was eventually solved. But it wasn't the case. She still didn't know who her parents were; even worse, her uncle couldn't return; and even worse, bigger problems were announcing, and she was feeling like they would be VERY LONG to solve.
She was at the end of her rope, both physically and morally -and she suspected that it was the reason why she was irritated.
"I'll go with Aerodus then," the rogue said softly. "If you feel like you may need someone to explain how you found Zellara's head. I'll stay to help Giorgio otherwise."
The girl rubbed her eyes:
"I don't know how you are feeling, but having some rest -even for a few hours- would be more than appreciated..."
"You... You're right, Zellara. I apologize." Looking down at Imperia, he pats her shoulder.
"I'm taking my daughter home now, friends. But I feel that the troubles Zellara speaks may be tied to us somehow. Call it a hunch. We should meet back here, say, in the evening? Discuss what to do next?"
Gern had been very quiet since Lamm had been slain. HE felt....empty...lost. The past few months had been nothing but focus for the dwarf. Focus on finding his brothers murderers and exacting revenge.
That was done now, but he hadn't been the one to land the killing blow. Indeed he'd barely done anything of worth during that last battle.
Now he had no goal, no aim. It left him hollow.
The discovery of Zellara's death left no impression on him in this half melancholy. He followed the others, outwardly as stoic as ever, but inwardly struggling with the emotion.
As the conversation lead inexorably towards what happened now, he grunted. "Ye damned sure we need ter meet on the morrow. When a vengeance is exacted and the blood toll is claimed, ye need ter drink togetherrrr in order ta lay ye demons behind ye." He looked at his companions, nodding to each in turn. "I dinnae care for what is done with that Scunners ill gains, but I do know that in me clan, those as do the killin together do the drinkin' together toooo. It's how we make peace and move on. I'll be here on the morrow, and I'll bring what's needed ter make sure we can say farewell to the past right proper."
He turned and left then, moving into the night in a slow walk that brooked no disturbance.
Zellara sighs and fades to nothingness as Laijiri accepts the deck into her safekeeping. Those who choose to travel to their homes in the wee hours of the morning notice the increased presence of the Korvosan Guard on the streets, broken windows, put-out streetlights, and bands of unruly dockworkers, porters, and thugs roaming the streets, but everyone makes it home safely. Those who stay find that the beds upstairs, while covered in dust and cobwebs, are serviceable once shaken out, and quickly fall asleep.
==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==
The next morning, if you can call noon 'morning', the walk back to Zellara's is much more concerning.
Gern: As you leave your uncle's house, you're shocked to see a battalion of heavily-armored soldiers march into town. Unlike the chain-mail and spears of the Korvosan Guard or the bows and javelins of the Sable Company, these men and women wear jet-black plate, decorated with the faces of devils, and carry vicious-looking great axes and greatswords. As you watch, a squad of four breaks off from the group and chases a looter into an alley, blades drawn. The remaining men march inexorably toward Castle Korvosa. A squad of Guards hustles out of their way.
Aerodus: Imperia insists on coming with you and won't take no for an answer. A few minutes after leaving home, a screech fills the air and you see a squadron of the Sable Company overhead. One of the griffons suddenly careens into a spiral and drops of blood rain down as it passes overhead. It crashes into a statue and throws its rider, both falling nearly one hundred feet to the cobbles below. The remainder of the squadron doesn't come back for the fallen rider.
Those who stayed at Zellara's find a few dried fruits and some hardbread that doesn't seem to have spoiled. It's not much, but Zavi and the two orphan boys did in with a gusto.
Kazadarin makes his way to the roofof Zellara's house, it was to late to trudge back to his hovel in the Shackles. On the roof the cool air and the city could aid in calming him after slaying Lamm. The young ranger still had the old mans dagger and he pulled from his belt inspecting the edge. Lam was never a neat individual or even that greatly organized but he was not like this. He pulls a stone from his belt pouch and begins to draw the daggers edge across it the steady sound adding to the calming affect.
No. The man he killed tonight was not the Lamm he remembered, the man that had haunted him for so long. This was a shell of a man, time had already defeated the whore son before Kazadarin ended his life at the edge of his sword. And now he felt ....nothing.
The ranger leans against his back pack and stretches out on the roof so he can look up at the night sky. He test the edge of the blade and frowns, he continues in attempt to bring it back to an edge worth of use.
"Wait! The vial and the wand could be useful. The silversheen might be too. Maybe we could keep them, at least for the moment."
To Laijiri:
"Maybe we could keep this brooch a little longer. It seems precious, and its pattern is... Kind of unique. Don't you think so? I'm wondering how, and where on Earth Lamm could have take it."
Gern moved cautiously through the streets, taking note of the change in guards and soldiers. The King was dead, and now outsiders were patrolling the streets with weapons drawn. That was a bad sign, even for someone foreign to the ways of human cities such as Gern was.
When he made it to Zellara's, he knocks and waits for someone to let him in. He had brought ale and meats for the blood feast. Traditional dwarven repast to ease the soul after such deeds were done.
He had a feeling that this city was getting a little more dangerous, and here they were taking care of a group of orphans with no others to turn to. He wondered if the two lads from the previous night had made it to his uncles or not.
Now his vengeance was complete, his thoughts were turning to what the future held, and his feeling of companionship with those good folk who had helped him last nigh was growing.
(Varisian)"Like Aunt Vadoma? Oh! You mean like..."(Varisian) Zavi makes an exaggerated scowley-face. (Varisian)[/b]"Okay, I'll try to be quiet and stay out of the way."[/b](Varisian)
As you enter Wren's house, she steps out of the kitchen, a tray of piping fresh pastries in her hands. Zavi eyes them greedily, and she shakes a finger. "Now, dear. I have more baking now, but these...well, let's just say these aren't the kind you or I should be eating, and leave it there." She turns to you. "You have your fee, then?"
Wren sorts through the box of goods, separating them deftly into piles with only a few seconds of examination. The ivory statue of the succubi and the golden crown go into one pile, with her eyebrow rising scandalously on viewing the first. The ingot and scrimshaw kraken go into the next, and the silver ring, arrowhead, shuriken, and cigar case end up in the final one. "The ingot alone should cover your fee. What did you get into last night, girl? As for the rest, the Circle can offer a substantial amount of gold."
A narrow teak cigar-case, inlaid with jade: 25 gp
A fist-sized scrimshaw carving of a kraken, complete with garnets for eyes: 200 gp
A silver ring, bearing the inscription "for Emmah, the light in my nights: 150 gp
A highly realistic, and scandalous, ivory statuette of two entwined succubi: 450 gp
1 masterwork shuriken: 7 gp
1 adamantine arrowhead: 60 gp
Grand Total: 892 gp
Finally, she looks at the broken brooch, just for a moment, and looks up at you sharply. In a serious tone, she whispers "I repeat my question: what did you get into last night? This is the queen's brooch. She's had a reward out for anyone who returns it to her, and an axe for anyone who doesn't. I won't buy it off of you; hells, I wouldn't even take it if you offered gold. Now..," Her tone loses its edge and her voice gets a touch louder. "...who's this sweet little girl?"
With Imperia tucked safely away in bed, you step onto the streets. A few crowds have gathered in the largest courtyards, and Guard patrols can be seen periodically, but you make it safely to the Sanctuary of Shelyn, in the North Point district. The sanctuary is an open courtyard with a few adjoining rooms for the priests. In the past, it's been crowded with statues and potted plants, but this morning, a large space has been cleared, and two women seem to be performing a dance, their synchronized movements bringing two wickedly-sharp glaives within inches of each other's faces. An older man sits, perhaps contemplating the glaive-dance, but as you enter, he looks to the open door and beckons you to come to him.
"An honored guest, from Abadar no less! What has the Master of the First Vault need of now?"
"Hello!"
The rogue stretched, with dark circles around her eyes and her hair tousled. She sneezed and sniffed as the dust was cleaning itself around her, and eventually gave the basket an interested look, with watery eyes.
"Excuse me!... Wow! Fresh food! I almost forgot that it existed!", she joked, approaching Laijiri. "Did the sale went well?"
Giorgio had mostly taken the day easy, taking naps and checking his bandages in between bouts of cleaning. He mostly directed the remaining children, and supplemented the available food with bits from his own emergency ration supply. (He'd had to hole up in a sewer for a few days, once, trying to shake a gang of chokers. He'd never wanted to be hungry while on the run again.)
"Lamm, eh? I'm surprised he was still alive, I hadn't seen him in years. Not since he brought that brooch to me, in fact. Was he still holed up in that run-down manor out in the Heights?" Wren ushers you and Zavi into a back room, where a large pile of gold, silver, and copper coins sits on a table, as well as a much smaller one of a metal that shines much brighter than silver. "Now, you two watch your hands here, and old Wren will fly right back with some pastries. Not the first batch, but the second, mind you; wouldn't do to poison you." She steps out and returns with a tray, setting it on a clear spot. Locking the door behind her, she quickly sorts the coins out. "You have no problem being paid in platinum coinage for some of this, correct? A girl your size, carrying a 20 pound sack of coins through the streets. And what's all the racket I've been hearing out there? Bells and riots? What's happened? Speak up, little hatchling."
"A small donation to the Bank of Abadar, and we'll gladly surrender it to you."
He stands and bows in return, admiring the holy symbol as it shimmers in the early morning light. "This is beautiful. I've only ever seen one quite like it, and alas, he's no longer one of us. We will hold it in the hopes that someday, its owner will return to a life of beauty instead of that of madness.
Please, if you have no pressing business, sit with me. The dance will continue for a while yet, and the High Priestess won't be awake for even longer. She had a busy night performing, and then a slow trip home with the streets how they are. Of course, if you must go, you and yours are always welcome, as usual." He sits, entranced once again by the two spinning, clashing glaives.
"Uneventful for us, at least. Wait...wait a moment. The brooch is Queen Ileosa's? As in, the monarch as of this morning Queen Ileosa? Hn." Giorgio hadn't paid much attention to the comings and goings of the upper crust, mingling with the bottom crust as he did, but even the daft and blind had heard the rumors of Ileosa's gold-digging ways.
"Trying to sell that piece of jewelry seems ill-advised. Returning it to the palace might be the best course to take, out of a bunch of bad options. I'll just need to grab some new trousers before we head up there."
"Returning it to the Queen?!"
Litsy's tone was alarmed.
"I mean... Are you sure? We don't even know how Lamm has acquired it... What if it was some kind of...", Litsy paused for thought. "Some kind of payment. It just seems so suspicious... A thug like Lamm shouldn't have obtained something as precious as this brooch. Either he stole it -or someone wanted him to have it. And in any case, our life expectancies could be shortened. I'm not at ease."
"It's nice to meet you too, dearie. Now, Laijiri, Lamm was part of the Cerulean Circle once. Even after he took to commanding orphan pickpockets, he was still one of us. He brought that in one day, and I told him exactly what it was, same as I told you. I told him to bring it in, or get rid of it somehow, but he must've kept it. It's risky to bring it back, so many years after it was stolen, but it'd be far more risky to keep it, so I'll give you the same advice I gave him. Give it back to Ileosa. If you can't do that, lose it somewhere and forget where you put it. Not a single merchant in town will take it from you, that's for certain. Who knows? That reward could still be in place."
She pushes the pastry tray forward. "Now, you two need to eat up. Take a few extras with you as well."
The trip from the Sanctuary to the Bank of Abadar brings with it a further increase in rioting and the scent of smoke on the air. Inside, most of the clerics have armed and armored themselves. Darb Tuttle, the Archbanker, stands in the lobby area, monitoring the clerics, who are keeping order within the Bank itself. The crowds looking to retrieve their wealth or, more commonly, make a deposit on this day have been moved into somewhat-orderly lines, and a pair of clerics stand at the door, inspecting for weapons.
Tuttle sees you and waves you over. "Gaverin! Where have you been? This business with the king's death is swamping us, and we need everyone who can be here on duty. Unless you have a good reason, find a place on the floor-by the First Vault, you look exhausted. What've you been up to, boy?"
Gern sat and listend to the conversation with interest. The intricacies of politics had little interest for the warrior, but the thought of a little notoriety for returning the Queen's own necklace appealed to the dwarf. It might bring honour to his clan, this one simple act.
He carefully broached the cask of dwarven ale he had procured for this morning and carved the haunch of meat head brought. With the food the others had brought, it was indeed a remembrance feast fit to farewell the fallen of the past.
He ensured all those gathered had a tankard or at least a sample of the ale (in the case of the baerns they'd rescued from Lamm). Then he stood and made the traditional toast. "To the fallen. May they be long remembered for the deeds o' good and fame they accomplished."
He drank deeply then, nodding at the others to do the same. Then he continued "Aye, and o the vanquished! May their names be stricken from all record and their spirit serve those they wronged in life, forever more in the lands beyond Pharasma's veil"
And that was it. With those words and the drinking of the ale, he could put his brothers murder behind him and look once again to the future.
He picked up the amulet and turned it over in his thick fingered hands.
"Yon Queen like as not doesn't e'en miss this bauble. Yet ifn we're caught with it in oooour possession.......weeel, the headsmans axe never wants fer feedin' when folk steal from royalty."
He looked at the others. "I say we return it to her Majesty. Might be some good can from the Scunner who's soul we sent to serve the fallen. The Queen lost her husband last night no? Weeeel, maybe the returnin' o' this trinket will bring her some solace, and it might e'en bring us some honour in return. What say ye all?"