Cressida J. Kroft's page

"Well, I was told you visited him on multiple occasions during the plague," Cressida replies to Mavor, "and Vencarlo told me that you've told him pretty much all you knew about the plague and the conspiracy during your visits to him."

And it was Vencarlo who requested you to see to it that Trinia would escape Korvosa and end up in Harse, which you then made happen.

Denario thinks hard and realizes that Vencarlo and Black Jack share quite some similarities. Their physique is the same. Black Jack's main weapon is a rapier and Vencarlo's a renown rapier fencer who owns a fencing school. Both of them openly oppose the queen.

"I was there," Cressida tells Quorthos. "I suspect she didn't saw the attempt on her life coming, and hadn't planned out what to do in case of an attempted assassination. I suspect she'll keep me alive, though. With her display of power she will have convinced most to not oppose her."

Quorthos doesn't sense any ulterior motives or schemes on Cressida's part, only genuine concern for the safety of you and the citizens.

Cressida opens the wood coffer on the table. It contains four potions of cure serious wounds, three potions of lesser restoration, two potions of remove disease, a wand of invisibility (10 charges), and a wand of cure moderate wounds (30 charges).

I assume you will allocate at least most of these items as general party items. I'd like to know who carries what?

After handing you the gear: "I urge you to make haste to Old Korvosa and Vencarlo — the queen won't take long to recover from the indignation of the failed assassination, and once she does, I fear that the increasingly strict martial law might make things very difficult for those who remain within the city walls. I suggest swimming or taking a skiff from the northern banks of the Jeggare to get on the island, optimally under the cover of darkness to avoid notice."

You head to Citadel Volshyenek and find it immensely understaffed. Only one guard stands at the Citadel entrance, and none train in the large inner courtyard. The halls of the Citadel are silent and empty, with refuse and trash scattered here and there, dust gathering in empty barracks, and an overall state of creeping neglect hanging like a pall over the place.

Cressida looks haggard and tired when you arrive; she ushers you into the central keep quickly, leading you into a smaller meeting room in the depths of the keep, a plain-looking chamber with a single long table and enough chairs for you and herself. On the table sits a small closed coffer.

"Allyph's not with you?" she asks, and she listens as you tell about Allyph's decision to leave Korvosa with the orphans.

"You might see her again sooner than you expected to, for Korvosa is dying," Cressida says, a feeling of dread immediately tangible in the small chamber. "No, strike that. Korvosa is being murdered. Killed by our queen. The evidence you’ve uncovered that links her to the plague is damning enough, but this recent display at her address... The commander of the Sable Company, Marcus Endrin, is dead..."

"The Queen called for a meeting, in which she told us that the Gray Maidens have been appointed as the new protectors of Korvosa. They're being led by Sabina Merrin, the Queen's right hand and lover, who has been appointed as General of Korvosa. The Sable Company was dissolved and folded into the Korvosan Guard. Endrin's had brought his crossbow and tried to assassinate the queen, shooting a bolt straight into her temple. She... she just pulled it out... She grabbed him by the throat and rammed the bolt in between his eyes, instantly killing him."

"The queen's more in control now than ever. I dare not move against her — my Guard would be executed to the last man by her Gray Maidens by sundown. She must be stopped. And I know of no one else but yourselves to do this deed."

"Whatever foul magic the queen has wrapped herself in is obviously of the highest order. Endrin’s aim was true — his shot should have dropped her. I had feared he was going to take matters into his own hands like this, but I had hoped he would find it within himself to find a better route. If only he could have waited."

"You see, just this morning, new information came to me. I have received a missive from my friend Vencarlo Orisini, the first I’ve heard from him since Queen Ileosa cut off Old Korvosa and put it in quarantine. A message that gives me hope. Vencarlo speaks of discovering something of vital importance regarding the queen — he mentions something about dark magic and a pact with a devil, but until the events of this morning, I found his claims difficult to believe. Yet now… if Queen Ileosa has entered an infernal pact of some sort, we must tread carefully indeed."

"Vencarlo asked for you in the missive. You’ve made quite the impression on him, it appears. He remains in Old Korvosa now, but has asked that I send you to him, to his home, to hear what he has discovered. Ironically, you should be safe in Old Korvosa — the queen’s quarantine has cut off the island entirely, and word on the street is that she plans on leaving it to rot. She won’t think to look for you there if you maintain a low profile and avoid confrontations with the Gray Maidens."

"Once you find him, you’ll need to escape Korvosa, I fear. This city is no longer safe for you, or for those associated with you. As Field Marshal, I suspect that as long as I comply with the Queen, I shall be safe — and I will do what I can to ensure those friends and family you might leave behind are protected. By remaining in this city, I fear that you put them into more peril. Go to Old Korvosa, find Vencarlo and hear what he has to say. He has contacts in Harse — he’ll be able to help you lay low, something I hope Allyph's also done. I shall be in contact with you when I can, at which point our plan, I hope, shall be clear."

Cressida shakes her head. "I do not think the queen will openly come after any of us if we pretend to go along with her version of the story. I advice to not immediately press the issue by trying to infiltrate the palace, but to wait a moment to see how things develop."

The Field Marshal retrieves a familiar chest from below her desk and removes six pouches from it, each holding a hundred platinum pieces.
She hands each of you one of the pouches. "Since the announcement was made that you operated as agents of the guard it's only appropriate I pay you for your work. Here's 1,000 gold for each of you."

"Your status as covert agents has been compromised however, a result of the spreading rumors about you. Though I'm glad to inform you that according to other agents the bad rumors, about attacking a gray maiden, are generally being dismissed by the citizens. Current rumor is that the person hired to protect the physicians your attacked was a sell sword."

Cressida smiles at you "I guess you've hereby been transferred to a non-covert status."

You say your goodbyes and leave Citadel Volshyenek, heading to the store you usually go to to sell your loot. You also visit Burahl to sell the 'less commonly wanted items' you have acquired.

"I have no idea what Queen Ileosa's motive was, and I'll be very honest with you. I have no idea how we can find out. I cannot picture Queen Ileosa as a follower of Urgathoa, but before all this happened I wouldn't have expected her to let plan for an epidemic either..."

Cressida lets out a heavy sigh, her face troubled. "The cure to blood veil is our first priority. The disease has to be stopped. You really don't have any idea of when this Ramoska will contact you...? You said he took a man with him, for experiments. I don't like that we have to wait for such a vile person to contact us."

You head toward Citadel Volshyenek, where the guards greet you with cheers as they let you in. The cheers continue as you walk through the halls to Cressida's office and encounter more guards, many of whom congratulate you on your victory versus the traitors.

Cressida gets up from her seat as you enter her office and also greets you warmly. "Ah, it's good to see you again! Please, sit down! We have much to discuss."

You report on everything that's happened. All the while Cressida quietly listens, occasionally nodding.

"The queen's definitely behind this, judging by the information you've gathered," Cressida says once you finish talking. "We cannot however not openly accuse her. The citizens of Korvosa won't believe such a 'rumor' and it'd have grave consequences for you and me..."

I added the Hospice of the Blessed Maiden to the map of Korvosa. I didn't realize it was that close to your current location when I had Cressida tell you about it!

"It's alright, Quorthos. Now please tell me when this potion will stop working. I wouldn't want to give a truthful reply if someone asks me where I've been, would I?"

"Oh, and I just realized that this house we're in is actually right around the corner of the Hospice... So I'll take the long route out of here, and so should you. Send Majenko to me when you need to contact me again."

Eventually Cressida leaves, and Baer notices that Cressida does indeed take the long route back to Citadel Volshyenek.

"A logical next step would be to further investigate the queen's physicians and the royal physician, Dr. Davaulus, himself," Cressida tells you. "The physicians have their base of operations in the Hospice of the Blessed Maiden, a former warehouse near Citadel Volshyenek."

"I suggest you go there, after you've ensured your family's safe."

"You were placed under arrest first, for trespassing in a quarantined area," Cressida replies to Denario. "Of course a guard or gray maiden is going to apply force if you refuse to cooperate after being placed under arrest."

Cressida shakes her head. "I'm not saying I want you arrested, and I'm glad you weren't. Just understand that the gray maiden was tasked with the safety of the physicians, and she reported that you didn't cooperate and deemed you a danger to her charge. Her complete failure to protect the physicians from you landed her a place in the castle's dungeons."

"I did not know they were spreading the plague," Cressida replies to Quorthos. "I conducted some careful research on the physicians after what you told me a while ago, about your investigation of the sunken ship and the unholy symbol you found there, but wasn't able to discover a connection to the church of Urgathoa."

She nods at Tural, by now finally calm again. "Yes, I now see why you did it. A bit more caution would've been good, though. Why didn't you disguise yourselves? You were recognized not only by the gray maiden and physicians, but the people who live in that street also gave detailed descriptions of you when they were questioned."

"I believe I know you long and well enough to know you can be trusted, and you're obviously concerned with the safety of the citizens. If you say the physicians are worshipers of Urgathoa and spread the plague, I will believe you. It is however impossible for me to openly oppose the queen, as she'll simply throw me into the castle's dungeons and appoint someone loyal to her as the new Field Marshal. I believe you're Korvosa's only hope, my friends. I will support you to the best of my abilities, but it's paramount I stay behind the scenes to do this."

Cressida looks back to Denario. "And yes, you should get your family to safety. It's only a matter of time before the gray maidens will arrive at their doors, to forcefully interrogate them."

Cressida quietly takes the potion from Denario and drinks it, then hands the vial back over to him.

"Alright, so to my understanding I can only speak the truth right now," Cressida starts calmly, but then raises her voice. "Then let me start by telling you that your actions yesterday were completely irresponsible and idiotic! What the hell were you thinking, if you even were thinking?!"

She takes a couple of deep breath before she continues in a calmer, but still clearly agitated, voice. "The queen personally recommended most of you to work for me. Want to guess how long it took for someone to link your descriptions to you, after the gray maiden and physicians you knocked out were found and questioned? Not even a minute! The amount of times you've walked into Citadel Volshyenek to come see me... Pretty much everyone in the guard knows you worked for me!"

"Worked for me, yes. You can no longer show your faces near the Citadel, because I will have to arrest you if you do. Not because I want to, but because the queen's forced the gray maidens upon me and made it my job to protect them and the physicians! But then you showed up within the area my guards aren't supposed to let anyone in, and guess who's blamed? Me, because you weren't supposed to get in and you attacked the physicians and a gray maiden!"

Cressida turns her head toward the door. "Just get in if you're standing there! I saw you guys outside, I'm not blind!" she sneers.

She visibly tries to calm herself down again while shaking her head. "I believe you guys, I do. That's why I came out here alone, to hear you out. I figured you must have had a reason to do what you did, but... This has turned into a huge mess, and I'm trying to figure out how to solve it..."

Cressida nods in response. "I understand. Then I presume it's reasonable if I first listen to your story, then drink the potion, and then give you my reaction? The potion's to check my reaction anyway, isn't it?"

Meanwhile Quorthos spots nothing noteworthy out on the street and he's able to follow everything inside Zellara's house.

Cressida looks at the potion and shakes her head. "Before I start drinking potions and you start to determine if you can trust me, I need to know if I can still trust you."

"Now I've taken a risk by coming out here all alone, which those who stayed outside of this building can confirm I did, Denario. Why don't you tell me whatever it is you want to tell me, and what the potion's actually for, before I decide if I still trust you enough to drink it?"

"I currently have nothing for you," Cressida responds while putting the box back. "I will of course contact you when I do."

You handled the mission very fast. It's currently 12 noon.

Cressida immediately calls for a guard to take Vendra away. She listens to your report on the mission and congratulates you on how smoothly you handled everything.

"Very well done! We have more than enough evidence to put Vendra in jail. You can keep her personal belongings as part of your reward, along with the 1000 gold per person you get from me. Just don't mention the part about her personal belongings to anyone else."

She grabs the familiar box from underneath her desk and hands each of you 1000 gold.

On your way out Cressida escorts you to the Citadel's financial department, where each of you receives 2000 gp.

"I'll also give you the 2000 gp for Allyph. Tell her I hope she gets better soon."

"Nothing I haven't yet told you," Cressida replies to Quorthos. "They operate under the queen's personal physician, a Chelaxian doctor named Reiner Davaulus. They've been called into existence to fulfill an appointment by the throne to halt the plague's spread, and have the support of the Gray Maidens. The Gray Maidens are the all-female, elite bodyguard for the queen."

Cressida seems annoyed when she adds, "My guards have also been tasked to help the queen's physicians. They now function as glorified bodyguards for them..."

Baer recalls that Vendra is a Chelaxian businesswoman, who owns a high end perfume boutique called Lavender in Korvosa. Lavender is located just off Summoning Street in the Heights district of Korvosa, a district where a lot of nobles live. Vendra began selling a potential cure to the blood veil soon after the plague broke out, swiftly drawing an enormous crowd of customers.

You head for Citadel Volshyenek, greet the guards, and head to Cressida's office.

"Good day, agents!" the Field Marshal says as she stands up from her chair. "Please, sit down."

Cressida sits back down and listens to what you have to tell about your discoveries in the alley.

"I will send people during the day, to remove the bodies. It's probably a good idea to post some people to arrest those who dump the bodies there. The missing vampire, though... He troubles me. I wasn't even aware of the existence of vampires in Korvosa..."

You then tell Cressida about what just transpired at the Bank of Abadar, and what Ishani told you about Vendra Loaggri.

"When you decided to investigate the ship, I couldn't promise you any pay for it. Now you've made the link between coins from the ship to the appearance and spread of blood veil, I can include the time you spent investigating the ship as your contribution to battling the epidemic."

"For the time you spent investigating the alley, a mission I gave you, I'll award each of you with 1000 gp. I'll pay each of you the same amount of gold for your work on the ongoing investigation on blood veil, and task you with the mission to pursue the lead given to you by the priest."

Cressida takes a, by now familiar, box from underneath her desk and opens it. She shakes her head, closes it again, and places it back below her desk. "There's not enough in it. We'll walk to the Citadel's gold storage after our conversation. Do you have anything else to tell me, or do you have any questions?"

"I can't remember having seen this man before," Cressida tells Mavor.

Cressida looks at the symbol and shakes her head. "Urgathoa's symbol? That's no good..."

"If money's used to spread the disease, then we have a huge problem. We'd have to find a way to take the infected coins out of circulation..."

"Is there anything I can do for you, besides setting up a meeting with officer Banks? Shall I have this body placed in our morgue, for the time being?"

She looks at Allyph. "Did you already inform them about the corpses that go missing? Yes? Alright then."

Cressida grabs some papers from her desk and sifts through them.

"When the ship neared North Bridge the guards on the wall tried to communicate with its crew, using signals and shouting. Considering there was no reaction from the ship, some guardsmen even reported the absence of people on board, one of my officers gave the command to sink the ship. The officer's name is Carl Banks."

She look up from the papers. "The guards on the walls are tasked with the job to keep any potential threat to Korvosa from entering the city. I'd have made the same decision, had I been present on the wall at that time."

Cressida checks the papers again before she adds, "If you wish to meet Banks so you can ask him about the event, I can set up a meeting."

"My earlier question remains, though," Cressida says as she points at the corpse. "Why exactly did you bring him here...?"

Theandra changes her mind and shoos you out, quickly throwing a blanket over the corpse to save you the weird looks you were lucky to avoid on your way to the tavern.

You head to citadel Volshyenek and are escorted to Cressida's office. The Field Marshal's a bit surprised that you bring a corpse into her office, but figures you'll have your reasons.

"And your reason for bringing me a corpse is...?"

The news that you found the corpse wearing the mask of one of the queen's physicians surprises Cressida even more than the presence of the corpse in her office.

"I can't say that I get it. The first case of blood veil was after we sunk the ship. The queen's physicians weren't even established by Dr. Davaulus before the queen requested his aid, which was when blood veil turned into an epidemic."

"Very well, we'll keep infected money and alcohol in mind while we work on our solution," the doctor tells you. It's quite obvious he doesn't think highly of your research once Baer's opened her mouth, but he seems too kind to actually mention it.

"We have to go now," Cressida says and starts guiding the doctor, his assistants and Ishani toward her office. "I'll talk to you later, agents."

As Cressida and the others head off, Ishani quickly waves you goodbye. "I'll visit the girl after the meeting! If you don't mind I'll borrow this cloak till then!"

Tural doesn't detect any magic from the silver coins.

"Is that so?" Dr. Davaulus asks surprised. "How did you find out?"

"Do you wish to join us in the meeting, or do you wish to pursue your own leads?" Cressida asks you.

Ishani suddenly looks incredibly pale. "Dear Abadar... It's the money, you say? That's very bad news, especially for places where money circulates as much as the Bank of Abadar!"

Cressida notices you and motions for you to come over.

"Hello, agents! It's good to see you," she says, her demeanor a bit more guarded than usual. "Pleased to meet you, Ishani."

Cressida motions at the middle-aged gentleman next to her. "While you're here I'd like you to meet Dr. Davaulus, the newly appointed Queen's
Physician."

She then motions at each of you. "Dr. Davaulus, these people are some of my best agents. Baer Mytr, Denario Vasquez, Tural Ardas, Mavor Asku, Allyph Yssal and Quorthos."

Dr. Davaulus bows his head slightly and speaks with a calm and pleasant voice. "Good day, agents. As the Field Marshal told you I'm Dr. Davaulus, the new Queen's Physician. Pleased to meet you."

Ishani steps forward. "I came here to ask Field Marshal Kroft if I might be of service in coordinating the efforts of the Grand Vault of Abadar with those of the city. Archbanker Tuttle and several of his assistants are out pursuing alliances with the other faiths in Korvosa, and I wish to do my part in curing this disease."

"We were about to start a meeting," Cressida replies. "If you wish, you can come along."

Ishani nods eagerly. "I'd very much like to."

"Field Marshall Kroft and I still need to confer to form a sensible plan," Dr. Davaulus says while he produces a sheet of paper from a bag one of his assistants carries, "but these will soon be distributed throughout the city—to convey the queen's initial expectations."

Ishani reads the public announcement on the paper. He quietly hands it over to you when done reading.

Cressida patiently listens to what Tural tells her, her face unreadable. "These two incidents, the sunken ship and the girl... The chance they're connected is about equal to the chance they're not connected."

She shifts in her chair and places her elbow on her desk, resting her head on her folded hands. For a minute Cressida's just quiet, apparently thinking things over.

"I can't take any risk if there's a new disease that could spread death throughout Korvosa," Cressida says as she lowers her arms. "I want you to search for a connection between the girl and the ship. Trace the girl's steps back to find out if and where they may connect."

The Field Marshal opens her desk and pulls out a bag, which she places on her desk. "We'll discuss payment later, as I'm not sure about the scale and severity of the situation. In the bag you'll find a thousand gold pieces, which should be more than enough to buy either a potion of remove disease or the services of a cleric. You can keep what's left."

"To sum it up, here's your mission: Heal the disease that plagues the girl so you can trace back her steps to your best ability, and report your findings to me. If the girl's steps indeed trace you back to the ship, you have my permission to search it."

It's nearly evening and shops are closing up while you're with Cressida.

You head over to Citadel Volshyenek and request to see Cressida. After a few minutes of waiting one of the guards escorts you to her office, where she greets you. "Good day agents, what brings you here?"

Cressida motions at the chairs in front of her desk, and those along the wall. "Pull some over, have a seat."

Very inconspicuous, Mavor! XD

Cressida nods at Mavor and gives him a friendly smile. "I say you've atoned for past sins, Mavor. Let them rest."

"I believe I did," Cressida tells Baer patiently. "The execution's at sunset. Until then, do as you will."

Up to the store? Take a good look at the loot list in the Campaign tab, and let me know if there's anything you'd like to (permanently) claim. The remains of the necrophidius' will sell for a total of 500gp, unless you do some good bartering to raise the sell price to a maximum of 1000gp.

As everyone else is about to leave Cressida's office and Citadel Volshyenek, Quorthos suddenly wakes in an unfamiliar bed.

You knock on the door of Cressida's office and a familiar voice tells you to come in.

"I smell a dead body," is the first thing Cressida says when you've closed the door behind you, "but its shape looks weird in that sack. Is it still presentable to Thousand Bones?"

You inform Cressida of the things that happened at the Dead Warrens. She leaves her desk and unties the sack to take a look inside. "Looks like it can be sown back together... Probably should get someone to look at that twitching arm as well, but that shouldn't pose a problem. I'll see to it the body is properly handled and returned to Thousand Bones."

Cressida returns to her desk and retrieves two boxes, one small and one large. The large box holds six bags filled with platinum coins. "A thousand gold pieces for each of you. I trust you'll give Quorthos his share."

"There are some other things I should inform you about," Cressida says as she picks up the small box. "One is that our investigation of the fire at Eel's End has been concluded. We weren't able to find any evidence that could lead us to the person or persons who set the fire. Even if I did know who did it, I wouldn't be able to legally give out a reward for something I'd rather not admit to knowing."

Cressida opens the small box, in which you see six medals shaped like pseudodragons chasing their own tails. "The second thing is that I'd like to reward you for going above and beyond in Korvosa's service. For this I offer you the Pseudodragon's Mark, a medal that symbolizes a character is a champion of Korvosa."

As she hands the medals out she gives everyone involved with the mission at Eel's End a knowing look. "The new members of your group receive medals as well, because they've gone through considerable effort to aid you since they joined. Make sure this message is properly relayed to Quorthos."

These medals are worth 400 gp each, but more importantly, they grant a +2 circumstance bonus on Diplomacy checks made against citizens of Korvosa if worn openly.

"The third thing you should know, is the most important. Trinia Sabor's trial has concluded. Queen Ileosa has announced that the assassin is to be executed at sunset and has invited many of Korvosa's nobles, military officers, and anyone of any real import to Castle Korvosa's public courtyard to witness the event. I want you to be there. Something about the whole affair doesn't sit right with me, and the way things have been going lately in Korvosa causes me to worry that the execution might trigger another riot."

Thousand Bones had already left before Baer's snappy comment, but he'd nodded at Mavor and Denario as he left.

Here's a picture of Thousand Bones, by the way.

"Let me start with telling you about Rolth," Cressida says. "He’s long been a thorn in my side. A failed Academae student, Rolth’s a monster of a man who was expelled after the true nature of his experiments were revealed. He was butchering vagrants, stray animals, and anything else he could get his hands on to try to build some sort of golem from their collected parts. The Academae didn’t press charges because it didn’t want to cause a scene—it just quietly expelled him and the man’s been trouble ever since. We suspect he’s responsible for nearly a dozen slayings, each involving mutilation to the body, but to date we haven’t been able to find him or locate his lair. He might or might not be in the Dead Warrens, but anything you can find there that could lead to his arrest would be greatly appreciated."

Baer recalls several things about the Dead Warrens, but the knowledge is already shared by Cressida before Baer can share it. "Korvosa’s Gray District is riddled with underground chambers, some of them burrowed by ghouls or other monsters, others remnants of ancient Shoanti burial grounds. Some of these warrens are patrolled and kept clear of monsters by the church of Pharasma, yet the Gray District is a large place and the tunnels below are vast and tangled. The Pharasmen focus on containing the problems with undead and necromancers, but as soon as they wipe out one, it seems as if two are ready to spring up in its place. The problem’s particularly vexing in Potter’s Ward, where the bodies of the poor and homeless are buried. According to Thousand Bones, the Dead Warrens were one of his people’s burial vaults, chambers that lie under Potter’s Ward."

"We have the man who sold Gaekhen’s body to Rolth in custody: a simpleton named Elkaris. He spilled everything when we told him what was going on and how much trouble he was in—in any event, Elkaris says he delivered the body via wheelbarrow to a partially collapsed mausoleum deep in Potter’s Ward, near the southern edge. A toppled and headless statue of a sword-wielding gargoyle lay in the dirt near the mausoleum’s entrance—he was told to leave the body behind the gargoyle. This location matches where Thousand Bones believes the Shoanti burial grounds called the Dead Warrens used to be located, so that’s the best place to start the search."

Cressida sighs and rubs her forehead. "I apologizes for his behavior, but I have to agree with his assessment. Someone tied to Korvosa needs to find the dead kid's body and return it to his people. As a gesture of good will. Things will quickly go from bad to worse if it doesn't happen. Normally, I'd contact the Church of Pharasma to organize an expedition into one of the warrens under the city graveyard, but you've
proven capable in the past."

She moves her hand away from her forehead and leans back in her chair. "Don't worry too much about Trinia's escape, which the agents who were standing by in the alleys already told me about. Even the best people can't succeed a hundred percent of the time, and I trust you did all you could. I've heard there were some nasty falls, and I'm glad to see you're all still whole."

"If you can help me with the current issue there's still that 1000 gp a person to be claimed. I'd like you to begin immediately, but feel free to ask questions if you have them."

"You’re back! And what a perfect timing!" Cressida motions for you to sit down. "I’ve already had the report about her from my agents. Let's leave that for later."

"This," Cressida nods at the Shoanti man who regards you impassively, "is thousand Bones, a Way-Keeper for the Skoan-Quah, the Clan of the Skull."

Cressida gives you the same information the guard gave you earlier, but adds some more info: "The dead Shoanti is one of Thousand Bones his grandsons, a young warrior named Gaekhen. He was murdered by a mob that used the unrest in Korvosa as a feeble excuse for misplaced vigilantism."

She turns to thousand Bones and waits for him to speak.

"Trinia lives in a third-floor flat in the Shingles, and I'm pretty sure this is why the mob hasn't found her yet," Cressida replies to Mavor's question. "If you know the singles, you know it's hard to find some people there. I'm fairly sure she knows of the accusations, but she probably doesn't know how to flee with the mob around her house."

"Tural, wasn't it? My agents will be waiting for you in the alleys near Trinia's house. they'll be dressed like commoners, but will try to stay away from the mob. If you approach one by saying "Let's hunt imps," they'll reply by saying "They flew to the Citadel.""

It's obvious Cressida's both nervous and worried, and her attempt to crack a smile doesn't succeed that well. "If you have no more questions, I'll leave you to your mission, agents. Complete this mission and each of you will be rewarded with 1000 gold pieces."

If there are no more questions, I'll move forward tomorrow.

Cressida nods. "Very well. I trust your judgment on that, agents. Just make sure everyone's aware they shouldn't mention working for the guard."

At these last words Cressida gives Tural a warning look. "The idea is you do the work we can't publicly do, get it? And don't let that worry you, because it's important and just work. Not dirty work."

Baer and Tural can recall the name Beltias Kreun. The only thing they can add to the information Cressida and Mavor shared, is that Beltias spent his time in Riddleport after leaving Korvosa.

Cressida confirms the part about Beltias's skill in disguising himself: "He's known to be a master of disguises. That's also the reason I can't give you a proper character description. He's of average height and posture, that's all the guard was able to ascertain before Kreun left Korvosa."

If there's nothing left you wish to share or ask, Cressida walks over to the door of her office to open it for you. "I wish you good luck, agents of the guard. Let me know how you dealt with the issue when I summon you in a day or two."

Tural casts his battle ward and again increases in size, a flash of rage showing in his eyes. Cressida doesn't even blink when it happens. She instead smiles at the aasimar. "Nice to meet you, Tural!"

"Tural's your replacement?" Cressida asks as she accepts the letters from Baer. "That's neat, I hadn't found anyone else yet."

Cressida's voice takes a commanding tone when Baer tries to slip away. "Could you wait, Baer?"

The Field Marshal reads the letters, and when she speaks again her voice has softened. "Hmm... I see... I'd heard Eel's End was no more. Could've figured that was your doing, not that I mind. As you know the guard was unable to act against Devargo, but believe me when I say I'm glad he's gone."

"As for the person who wrote the letters, I think it's someone you should deal with. Today, or else it may be a tad late."

Cressida places the letters on her desk. "The man who wrote the letters, B.K., do you have any idea who he is? The initials match the name Beltias Kreun, a criminal who fled Korvosa some years ago after causing a tavern brawl by hitting the son of the tavern's owner. Some information in the letters also points at him. He used to work a lot with Devargo. Rumor has it he's returned, or trying to find a way back in the city. It may be coincidence, but the owner of the tavern the brawl was at has disappeared yesterday."

"I'm currently looking into something else as well, for which I'll probably require your help soon. I advise you deal with Kreun, if it's truly him, or whoever else is after you. Expect me to contact you about your next mission tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."

You move to Citadel Volshyenek. A guard escorts you into the central keep, where Field Marshal Cressida Kroft rises from her desk to greet you. "Welcome! Please sit down. I see you brought company?"

Cressida extends a hand at Tural. "My name's Cressida Kroft, the Field Marshal of Korvosa."