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Your adventure begins with a summons from Queen Cressida Kroft, who invites you to Castle Korvosa to address an alarming mystery and growing fear. The queen's initial missive makes it clear she's aware of your reputations and intends to generously reward you assistance in your choice of coin or magic.
One thing you are aware of is that Korvosa's high priestess of Pharasma, Bishop Keppira d'Bear, died a few days before. How this plays into the adventure, remains to be seen...
A pair of castle guards usher you into the castle. Queen Cressida meets them not in the castle's throne room, but in a spacious, well-lit room anchored by a broad, polished, round table. A detailed map of Korvosa spreads across the table with tidy stacks of documents collected along the edges. Cressida invites you to join her at the chairs surrounding the table.
"I thank you for responding to the summons. The situation is a bit delicate, and it's come at an inopportune time. I'm sure you're familiar with the legacy of the city's previous ruler, Ileosa. Well, recently, an alarming number of sightings of her ghost—or specter, or phantom—have been reported throughout the city. Old fears and hatreds linger, and these rumors are stirring them all back up. At first, we thought it was a student prank or the ravings of a drunk that grew out of control, but the most recent manifestation appeared here in Castle Korvosa."
"Normally, I'd look to the church of Pharasma for help in a situation like this. But since we just lost Bishop Keppira a few days ago, the church has its hands full planning today's funeral procession as an event worthy of her memory. So, here we are. Will you investigate these disruptions and track down their source? You will, of course, be well compensated for your services."
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Among the summoned group is a young half-orc wearing a run-down leather coat. He has been very silent since the adventurers have been starting to arrive.
Now he inclines his head, taking in the map and the piles of reports before answering. His Taldane is almost without accent, except for a clear Orcish influence.
"Your Majesty." He pauses, choosing his words with care. "I don’t put much stock in tavern stories, but when the same ghost starts turning up in multiple places—" he taps one thick finger lightly on the edge of the map, "—that’s a pattern. Patterns can be tracked."
He straightens slightly.
"I’ll take the case. Payment in coin is fine; I’m more interested in the truth than the trophy."
His eyes move to the documents.
"If I may, I’ll need access to any witness accounts you already have. Time, location, and description of each appearance of Ileosa, as precisely as your scribes recorded. Also…" He hesitates just a moment at the mention of the dead bishop.
"…any notes Bishop Keppira left on restless spirits, unfinished business, or prior hauntings tied to the castle or the queen’s name. If these sightings started just as the high priestess passed on, that timing is either a cruel coincidence… or a connection."
He looks back to Cressida. "I suggest we start with the last manifestation here in the castle, then work our way outward. Until I -we- can prove otherwise, I’ll assume this is something wearing Ileosa’s face for its own reasons."
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Drallin stands proudly at attention in his freshly polished armor. His hammer glows brightly with holy radiance. As the others move in to begin examining the documents, he stands a step back.
"Your Majesty, I remain devoted to protecting the people from all otherworldly threats. I suspect that my role in the investigation part will be to listen in amazement while the clever people explain their conclusions." While some might say this with pointed words, Drallin seems genuinely glad to be working with people who can solve the problems he isn't suited for.
"But I will be the face of the hammer when we confront these spirits, fiends, or haunts. This I so swear."
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The dark-furred Kitsune, Jinu, enters with his usual grace and air of social limelight, happily taking the time to schmooze with the guards and any members of the court who may pass while he waits for the full group to be summoned in. Perhaps even putting on a dance or three to further his good graces within the nobility. The patches of silver fur on his hands, ringing musically as he does so.
Once invited into the Queen's meeting room, the air about him shifts noticeably from gregarious socialite to lighthearted-but-serious. After she has finished her request, Jinu will step forward and bow extremely deeply. His voice still tinged with a heavy Hongal accent. But practiced in a way that makes it seem more 'exotic' than anything which would detract from his words.
"Your Highness, I am humbled that you have become aware of me. However I must decline your offer of payment for my services." He will stand up to look at her with utter sincerity.
"I was here during the reign of the 'Tyrant-Rose', Ileosa. My heart shall always bear the dark memory of those events. The fear, the chaos, and the devastation wrought across this great city-state." The darkness in his voice as he said these lines is palpable. But then his tone softens to reverence.
"I also remember you, Your Highness. During the sealing of the city, the burning of the bridges, the spread of the Bloodveil... Through it all, you stood strong as Field Marshal, and lead the city guard to the care and protection of the people... If it were not for your efforts, and the aid of another band of heroes, then I am certain the town would have succumbed to chaos, starvation, and worse... There are very few legends across the ages that could have stood in your position, and not fallen to despair or corruption." He will bow again, moving to his knees as he prostrates himself before her. Even though he is now speaking to the floor, his practiced voice still rings as clear as ever.
"The people elected you as our new Queen for many reasons, none more important than this... The sheer fact that I am here today, alive, to discuss a matter with you about such dark tidings in our prospering town. Rather than merely a ghost dancing through the graveyard of a fallen nation. Is testament to the debt owed to you." He will raise his head some, to look at her, his face as serious as his words.
"I shall not accept payment to aid you on this matter. For you have already paid for my aid, and the aid of any who called this nation 'home' a decade ago, a dozen times over and a dozen times again. I am here to provide you whatever aid I may, Your Highness. For my life-debt to you is beyond measure, and any payment for my services has been pre-paid in full." He will resume his fully prostrate position for the precise amount of time to make his fealty and respect clear, but not so long as to make one overly uncomfortable. He then will gracefully return to his feet, as he listens to what Varkos takes note of.
Jinu can't help but admire the way the Detective cuts to the important parts of an investigation. He will add at the end, "I believe, based on her Highness' words. The sightings started prior to the loss of our Bishop. May she rest in the Lady's Embrace.. That said, I would suspect those who knew the Bishop, and anything she may have possessed, such as the notes you desire, can likely be found at the Grand Cathedral of Pharasma in the Gray District... But yes, we should learn the locations of the sightings. Including any that have not reached the ears of the court... I can look into my contacts around town and see what they have heard. But I shall do so quietly, so as to not tip-off whomsoever is behind this atrocious action... Assuming it is not truly the Tyrant's ghost... If it is, I would not mind having a few choice... 'Words'... with her. Before sending her on to the Boneyard, as is proper... Perhaps with a few new holes for emphasis."
Jinu will then turn and smile warmly at Drallin. "If memory serves me well, good Sir Battlehungry. Your tales have shown a deep understanding of religious Canon and their teachings... Anyone who is attempting to flaunt a spirit, whether real or a facsimile, will need equivalent knowledge. I am certain you will prove quite helpful in thwarting such evil deeds."
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Standing near a corner is a somber, towering sentinel clad in jet-black plate armor without any sheen, accented by minimalist bands of gold. On their head is a similarly black jackal-headed helm with an elongated snout and pointed ears. The eye sockets have no metallic covering, but seem to be covered on the inside by a black fabric that appears to be a void that seems to peer directly into a creature’s soul. Over their shoulders hangs a heavy cloak of soot-black that falls in stark, unadorned folds like a shadow cast across a tomb. On one hip hangs a flail and on their back is strapped a large, matte-black steel shield emblazoned with a prominent silver ankh. The armor covers them completely, seeming to hide the person within. The armor itself seems to have some physical or magical padding that dampens much of the noisiness of this type of armor.
The armored figure does not move except when the queen entered and they gave a respectful nod.
While it hasn't been spoken of overly much in Korvosa, in the right circles there is word of a traveling servant of Anubis visiting and has been staying with the church of Pharasma. Further word is that he looks terrifying and hasn't been seen without his armor on. Despite his imposing appearance, he has been seen to be a gentle and kind healer, though he rarely speaks.
Hanako arrives to the Queen's summons wearing her regular outfit; a rather typical wizard's hat and traveling robes, darkly colored and inscribed on the inside with an emergency spell. This is less a deliberate choice and more so owing to the fact that she hasn't bothered with the ownership of any other outfits. She simply cleans it with magic when needed, resulting in an appearance that while perhaps somewhat under-dressed for a royal audience is nonetheless suitably groomed.
In that same vein she has also arrived in her natural form, and has actually taken time to keep her red-accented white fur properly maintained. The wonders of magic allowing such an act to be completed with relative ease and on short notice.
Inside, she chooses to stand slightly apart, so as to not accidentally brush her tails up against anyone. Tails which sway seemingly of their own will as Hanako listens to the Queen's request.
"Oh yes, you can certainly count on me, Your Majesty. I am quite pleased to have received this royal request, as the matter is of interest to me. Not to say I have done anything quite like my own investigation, but it is certainly a noteworthy and likely magical phenomenon, and as such it has of course piqued my interest." She declares, adjusting a pair of spectacles atop her snout.
"And if I might add, I prefer forbidden magical knowledge as compensation, although in the event that such a request is... as one might say, excessive, then regular magical knowledge will do. Tomes, scrolls, rituals and the like. I would be delighted to receive such rewards regardless of their nature!" At this, her tails visibly pick up in intensity, and it seems to take a few moments for Hanako to notice they've done so, at which point she calms them down so as to appear slightly more professional.