Seeing the brooch, the guards eyes go wide. He nods and lets you in. He indicates that you should head up the stairs to the courtyard, but asks you to leave your weapons. A group of obviously nervous guards armed with heavy crossbows and swords escort the PCs up to the castle. As they reach the top of the pyramid and the wide stairs curling up to the castle’s third floor, where the Crimson Throne awaits, they are greeted by a beautiful woman dressed in magnificent full plate armor. She nods curtly at the PCs as they approach, then says, “Greetings. They tell me you’ve something that belongs to the queen. Is this correct?" she glances over your shoulder to the guards “You may return to your posts. These heroes pose no threat to the queen.”
"You are correct."
Branahm displays the brooch.
"We believe that this brooch rightfully belongs to the Queen. We found it in the possession of a criminal named Gaedren Lamm, and when we brought him to the Korvosan Guard, Field Marshal Kroft recommended that we return it to the palace directly."
Arius looks closely at the woman, whose face looks familiar.
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DC 10:
bodyguard, and closest companion.
DC 15:
queen’s side.
Garth feels a little uneasy in the castle. He is unused to such upscale surroundings. He also feels a little guilty about getting any credit for returning the broach when he had no part in recovering it. So he decides to remain silent and see how things unfold.
Arius waits for a moment or two. When he realizes that Branahm has no clue who the woman is, Arius bows to her, somewhat clumsily.
"Lady Merrin? I hadn't realized that this bauble was sufficiently important to merit the attention of the Queen's bodyguard."
Sabina looks at Arius and laughs as she responds you think thats all, I'm taking you to see the queen in person She bluntly asks how you would like to be introduced to the queen as she turns and motions for you to follow. As you turn a corner she stops, introducing you in a strong clear voice in whichever way you asked to be introduced, then steps aside, allowing you to enter the room.
Queen Ileosa sits upon the Crimson Throne. She is a vision of celestial beauty despite the black mourning dress and veil she wears in honor of her husband’s death. A small silver coffer sits in her lap. The throne room itself is pristine but strangely empty—an open area with a vaulted ceiling, stained glass windows of past kings and queens looking down from the eastern wall, and crimson tapestries hanging along the others. An immense fireplace offers additional light and heat to the hall, and a silk carpet provides a gently arching path to the throne’s base. Sabina takes the brooch from the Arius, hands it over to her queen with a flourish, then takes up a position at the throne’s left side as Ileosa addresses you.
“This brooch was stolen from me some time ago—I had not expected to see it again, truth be told. And yet, here on my darkest day, you come before me with kindness. The return of this brooch is much more than an honorable deed. It is inspiration. It is hope. “I love Korvosa, as my husband did before me. His death has shocked the city as it has me, but I will not see his legacy destroyed in death, and I shall not see my city torn apart. All Korvosa stands at the precipice of a disaster wrought by her citizens—these riots cannot continue. You have already done my heart a great service in returning this bauble to me on this dark day, and you shall be rewarded. Yet, perhaps you can serve your city more. I see that Field Marshal Kroft has already offered you a post in the guard. The Korvosan Guard is stretched thin, and it can certainly use the aid of heroes such as yourself. Now, I need to retire to my personal quarters—my grief has drained me. Again, I thank you for the kindness you have shown me, and I hope your days of serving the crown are only just beginning.”
With this, the queen directs Sabina to hand over the reward for returning the brooch—the bodyguard swiftly does so, handing the small silver chest (itself worth 50 gp) to the group. Inside the red-velvet-lined interior rest 12 gold ingots imprinted with the royal seal of Korvosa— each bar is worth 100 gp.
At this point, Queen Ileosa excuses herself. With a whirl of the hem of her mourning dress, Queen Ileosa is gone from sight. Sabina escorts the you back out of Castle Korvosa
Arius tries to conceal his dropping jaw.
"Ah, honored, of course."
Sense Motive on Queen Ileosa (1d20+5=9)
"It would be our pleasure to attend Her Majesty if it would not be an intrusion into her time of grieving."
Sense Motive on Queen Ileosa (1d20+8=10)
After receiving the chest: "Thank you for this generous gift."
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“This brooch was stolen from me some time ago—I had not expected to see it again, truth be told. And yet, here on my darkest day, you come before me with kindness. The return of this brooch is much more than an honorable deed. It is inspiration. It is hope. “I love Korvosa, as my husband did before me. His death has shocked the city as it has me, but I will not see his legacy destroyed in death, and I shall not see my city torn apart. All Korvosa stands at the precipice of a disaster wrought by her citizens—these riots cannot continue. You have already done my heart a great service in returning this bauble to me on this dark day, and you shall be rewarded. Yet, perhaps you can serve your city more. I see that Field Marshal Kroft has already offered you a post in the guard. The Korvosan Guard is stretched thin, and it can certainly use the aid of heroes such as yourself. Now, I need to retire to my personal quarters—my grief has drained me. Again, I thank you for the kindness you have shown me, and I hope your days of serving the crown are only just beginning.”
Anju has been simply following the others not saying a word and hoping that the clothes that the barmaide gave her would be enough to pass as "normal". Half expecting to be thrown out of the palace Anju is shocked by the Queen's words and tries to decipher any false pretenses in her voice as she speaks.
"She really does sound sad" Anju thinks to herself...
Sense Motive on Queen Ileosa (1d20 + 4 -> [11+4] = (15))
On the way out of the castle:
"Lady Merrin? The Queen mentioned an opportunity to serve Korvosa, and given the context, I infer that she means helping to quell the riots. Could you tell us anything more about this opportunity?"
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Interesting Elizabeth thinks to herself, she actually looks to be truly sad. It must be a trick surely. The b!tch can't be that soft.
To the Queen, Elizabeth curtseys politely and says, "Thank you for your kindness Your Majesty. I offer you my condolences in your time of grief. We would be happy to assist you in any way possible." As long as it benefits me that is, she thinks to herself.
She then follows the others out of the room behind Sabina.
On the way out of the castle:
"Lady Merrin? The Queen mentioned an opportunity to serve Korvosa, and given the context, I infer that she means helping to quell the riots. Could you tell us anything more about this opportunity?"
Sabine Turns to you with a noticeable sneer. The antiquated group that makes the guard needs help to quell the masses. With the city's love of the military, things would just get ugly if it appeared that the queen were the one strapping down on the rioters, so she asks that you assist them, preserving the city from burning down in the process, if you could... at this point you are back at the palace gates, and Sabine opens it silently, ushering you out.
"That seemed unwarranted. I can only assume that Sabina is better at hacking people to bits than she is at motivating people to work for her."
"In any case, the Queen was charming. What did you think, brother?"
"She seemed as grief-stricken as is politically appropriate for her position. I appreciate her generosity, but it did not make me believe that she is truly good-hearted."
"Still, the riots are hurting our city as well as the Queen. I want to hear Kroft's proposal."
"Hmm, If Lady Merrin thinks that the Guard is antiquated..." Garth muses, "It makes me wonder what she would like to replace it with?"
"I suspect with something that reports directly to her mistress. The Guard may be too independent for her purposes."
"A bit harsh, brother. The Queen has been generous to us, and her grief seemed genuine to me. Let's not condemn her until we know all the facts."
throughout the entire affair at the palace, Keth had quietly stayed in the back, not saying anything and though his common sense told him something more was afoot, he couldnt put his finger on it...lacking the deft mind necessary for court intrigue...
"Hrrrrm, I personally dont care to be doing anything like quieting rioters, This isnt my city. Id just as soon leave and go to Anju's village and investigate the shivers. That will get us away from the the arm of the Queen and that Sabine, she wasnt pleasant at all."
"Yes the Queen seemed surprisingly grief stricken to me. I did not think she would take the old man's death so hard." says Garth. "But she is Chelaxian, so she probably has some ulterior motive."
The field marshal smiles as you as you walk in an motions to a paper on the table. As one of you picks it up, she speaks:
"You’ve been on the streets. You know better than me how bad things are out there. It’s breaking my heart to see Korvosa tear herself apart like this. Every little bit of aid we can get from upstanding citizens like you helps. If you’re willing, I’d very much like to retain your services as agents of the Guard.Korvosa’s got enough troubles as it is without my own men losing their way and going rogue. As much as it pains me to admit, though, this has happened several times already. Many
guards have deserted their posts, more concerned about friends and family than the city. I can understand this, yet not all of the deserters have family—some of them are simply using the riots as an excuse for personal gain. One such man is Verik Vancaskerkin. Worse than a lone deserter, he’s convinced a small group of fellow guards that Queen Ileosa is going to ruin the city. Whether she does or doesn’t isn’t the point—right now, we’ve got a city-wide crisis on our hands, and I need all of my guards working with me to see us through. A deserter is worse than a lost resource—it’s an infection. I can’t afford to pull any of my other patrols off duty to deal with Vancaskerkin, and I’d rather not expose any of them to him anyway, since I neither want Vancaskerkin to infect more guards with his talk of secession, nor do I want some overly patriotic guard killing Vancaskerkin outright. I need impartial, skilled talent. Like you.
“Vancaskerkin and his men have holed up in an abandoned butcher’s shop up in Northgate—the place was called All the World’s Meat. I need you to check out the place. Try to avoid killing any of the deserters if you can, but if you must, they brought it upon themselves when they threw in their lot with Vancaskerkin.
For him, I’d really prefer it if you could capture him alive and return him to me for interrogation, but if he makes that impossible, I’ll accept his body as well.
Finally, see if you can find out why Verik deserted—if there’s more to
it than simple personal politics, I need to know immediately. Bring me Verik alive, and there’s another thousand gold in it for you. Dead,
he’s only worth half that"
"Field Marshal, my brother and I would be happy to try to talk to your men. With luck, it won't come to violence."
"By the way, I forgot to ask you something very important while we were last here. Lamm was involved in the distribution of a vile drug called 'shivers.' We have an interest in stopping its spread and finding an antidote if possible. Thus, I'd appreciate it very much if you could tell us as much as you can about it and its source, and we'd be very interested in helping you with any 'shivers'-related jobs."
"Ok we'll look into this deserter...I for one am very interested to find out why he felt the need to leave his duty, rather than just slay him outright." Keth remarks while thinking 'If not us, then maybe someone who will want him more dead than alive'.
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"By the way, I forgot to ask you something very important while we were last here. Lamm was involved in the distribution of a vile drug called 'shivers.' We have an interest in stopping its spread and finding an antidote if possible. Thus, I'd appreciate it very much if you could tell us as much as you can about it and its source, and we'd be very interested in helping you with any 'shivers'-related jobs."
Shiver is taken by mouth, and its effects are swift. A minute after taking the drug, the drinker can go into a coma for up to 4 hours, during which they have vivid dreams. some people think these are glimpses of the future, but this hasn't been proven. Shiver is extremely habit-forming. We've seen more and more of it pop up in the city, but we have yet to find the source.
"Thank you. I'll let you know if we get a lead regarding the source."
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Shiver is taken by mouth, and its effects are swift. A minute after taking the drug, the drinker can go into a coma for up to 4 hours, during which they have vivid dreams. some people think these are glimpses of the future, but this hasn't been proven. Shiver is extremely habit-forming. We've seen more and more of it pop up in the city, but we have yet to find the source.
"By the way, I forgot to ask you something very important while we were last here. Lamm was involved in the distribution of a vile drug called 'shivers.' We have an interest in stopping its spread and finding an antidote if possible. Thus, I'd appreciate it very much if you could tell us as much as you can about it and its source, and we'd be very interested in helping you with any 'shivers'-related jobs."
"Thank you for that. My village was infected with the vile substance a few days ago. I've been trying to track down a cure ever since or at least find the source and stop its spread."
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"So should we track down leads about shiver first, or try to bring in this Vancaskerin? My vote is for Vancaskerin, but I know Anju has a more personal stake in the shiver problem, so I would not be adverse to delving into that mystery either."
Elizabeth looks around the group, waiting for everyone's suggestions.
"I think that we should talk to Verik first. Shivers is the bigger problem, but I think that we need to approach Verik quickly before he does something foolish."
"Too late."
"Well, something even more foolish then--like trying to organize an armed revolt."
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"So should we track down leads about shiver first, or try to bring in this Vancaskerin? My vote is for Vancaskerin, but I know Anju has a more personal stake in the shiver problem, so I would not be adverse to delving into that mystery either."
Elizabeth looks around the group, waiting for everyone's suggestions.
"It appears that Vancaskerin is the larger problem at hand so I agree that we should take care of him first."
"We could try to gather some information--both by talking to Verik's former companions and discretely scouting the area around All the World's Meats--before going in."
"I suggest that we also try to use Zellara's deck for a reading. It has some unusual magical powers, and I thought that it was useful before."
"Your opinions?"
"We should split up and cover as much ground as needed quickly. I'll go the Meat Shop and look around with whoever else wants to go...It'll give me something to do while you consult the spirit. Once you have gotten the information you need, meet us there and we do what needs doing." Keth spoke putting his suggestion in, wanting to stay as far away from the ghost as possible. He absent mindedly shivered at the thought of her.
"Sounds good, Keth--if you wouldn't mind helping to ask around about Verik first."
"I can do that." The Half Orc said, as he took the few steps to get back near the Field Marshal. *Ahem* "excuse me Sir, Could you perhaps direct me to any of the guardsman that Verik Vancaskerkin was close to or on good terms with? I'd like to talk with them a bit. Soldier to Soldier. Maybe find an angle we can use to help bring him in."
Keth stood, shield and spear in hand but lowered in respect to the officers rank.
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Diplomacy Check for Gather Information. (1d20+9=25)
Elizabeth heads off to flirt with some of the Guards, asking questions about why Vancaskerin would go rogue and who would most likely have contact with him. She makes it seem as though she is impressed by his strength of character, while not actually agreeing with what he's done. This makes her seem acceptable to both those who side with Vancaskerin and those who don't, so as not to get on anyone's bad side.
"Don't you think most of the guards that were closest to Vankaskerkin are the ones that defected with him?" asks Garth.
You find that the guards in question were a close knit, yet quiet group. Many of them came from families that have fallen on hard times. These types of families are usually the most vocal about the Chelish decent of the queen, as they see how the lower classes are dealt with here compared to other countries and kingdoms, and would rather distance themselves from Chelix. This is by far the minority of the city, as even many of the lowest classes believe that the dignity of acting like Chelix will better their chances at being dealt with favorably by the nation they emulate.
"How would you describe his character, based on his actions on duty? What were his relations to his peers? His superiors?"
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The guard looks at you and says Well, he always did as told - until he left at least. His group were always rather quiet, they volunteered for the more dangerous patrols, because they had family living in that area, and were well respected there before joining the guard. That put them a bit apart from the rest of us once they joined up.. That also makes it difficult, because the biggest of the riots are in the areas that that exclusive small group patrolled over the past 2 years.
"My guess is that he's sincere. Perhaps we can appeal to his desire to protect his neighborhood and the families of his men."
"In any case, it sounds as if convincing Verik to aid in stopping the riots would be very useful--if we can do it. Let's see how far the Field Marshal is willing to let us go in negotiation."
"he doesnt sound like someone who would have done this. Sir Field Marshal, When did Verik suddenly have a change of how he did things...Do you happen to remember that last thing he or any of his men discussed before their change in attitude?"