Brin looks down at the body clutched in the sharks jaws. grabs Bashiel and says "I'm sorry he....he... just struggled, and I could not hold onto him. I think the shark must have scared him. Hopefully there is more information to be had inside the place."
Bashiel feels a savage tug pull Lamm's body in his arms.
His eyes widen as Lamm's form seems to spring to one side, one foot scrabbling against the underpier's deck.
He's... trying to escape? Bashiel's arms grip the man, and Bashiel almost gets pulled off the pier himself as Lamm splashes into the water. He struggles to pull Lamm back up when a second vicious tug reveals the presence of the shark below.
Bashiel locks eyes with Lamm.
No. You knew what was here. You're looking for death, aren't you? He hesitates for a second, then releases the old man into the shark's embrace. So be it, Lamm. You'll find Osiris a more just judge than any mortal court.
Bashiel focuses on Lamm being attacked in the water and calls upon Osiris. "թող շնորհի ձեզ երկրորդ շանս դուք արժանի"
With his god's attention drawn to this moment, he watches solemnly as the man meets his fate.
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Bashiel keeps vigil until Lamm completely disappears, and then finally turns to face the others. "He met the end he deserved. The one he earned by perpetuating all of the evils that we found here."
"Brin, I don't think the shark scared him... I think he sought out this end himself rather than face imprisonment. Though all that he will face in death is the judgement of the gods. Don't blame yourself Brin, he may have a chance to redeem himself in his next life, if he is granted one."
Bashiel sighs and nods to Quinlan and Kalem. "Yes, we take everything. Recover what evidence we can find. Secure the children. And... that head in the box... it makes me think we should give our informant another visit."
"I also need to drop our remaining captive off at a guardpost."
It all happens in a blur for Varor he moves quickly but by the time he gets over there it's all over and the shark is swimming away. He just kneels next to Gaedren examining the wounds he knows he can't heal. Caught somewhere between shock and despair right up until he hears Bashiel words, "He met the end he deserved. The one he earned by perpetuating all of the evils that we found here."
"Brin, I don't think the shark scared him... I think he sought out this end himself rather than face imprisonment. Though all that he will face in death is the judgement of the gods. Don't blame yourself Brin, he may have a chance to redeem himself in his next life, if he is granted one." the word he said, no matter how he said it, doesn't make any sense to him. He knows Gaedren better than that, better than anyone here.
And he looks too Bashiel and...
But he can't tell which one of them dropped him and he knows it doesn't matter now.
"You better hope I don't figure out which one of you just dropped him. because you kill the last family I had." Varor leaves.
Family? He likes that Lamm was family? "The man was an unrepentant reprobate. I wouldn't be so happy to call him family..." Quinlan says to Varor's retreating back as the fellow leaves. He sighs, knowing his words likely fell on deaf ears.
"Let's put an end to this place as a den of evil... find the children if there are any here... get them home to their families or safe places if such exist, and collect any loot for ourselves... though I would prefer that drugs, if any are found, be destroyed... or thrown in the river..whatever, lest they find their way back on the streets if we turn them in to authorities. SOrry Bashiel, but I don't trust the system... It's corrupt."
Quinlan heads upstairs to start searching.
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As Lamm falls into the water, Ilsa watches with wide eyes. Instead of seeing the shark the others saw, a circling vision of her sister opens its jaws, revealing row after row of jagged teeth. Her sister clamps the screaming man in vice-like jaws and drags the evil man under the water.
"That is done," she says, though with some sorrow despite hating the man. "Who sent us here? Have we found everything we could? There must be some clue that would lead me to my niece."
Once they have a moment, Ilsa opens the dark wood box found in the cabinet.
Ilsa inspects the dark wood box. The box itself is clearly valuable though of limited utility to an adventurer (it is not watertight, lockable, easily stowed, etc.). Lifting the lid, inside Ilsa finds a cushioned compartment with seven vials of a silvery grey substance. She recognies it instantly.
Shiver.
After Brin watches the final breath of his second victim. He calmly goes back into the room. He looks at the items that have been gained. Erasing his emotionless mask a slow smile comes to his face, "Hey, it looks like this just turned into a party, is there anything I can help with?"
With the group returning from down below Gregor stands up from the chair. "So it's done.." He looks down at his sleeping son, so lucky to have him. "I didnt have any hate left in me after holding Tom, but I wont lose any sleep over Lamms fate."
Looking at each of their faces he knows something not right happened down there and is resolved in his reason. "I'm done, this is all I wanted I thank each and everyone of you for being here and helping me find my son. But I have to stay with him now, we'll put all this behind us. Good luck to you in finding your niece Ilsa."
He nods to each of them as he steps closer to Basiel. "You are a true friend where no one else would listen I thank you deeply, Tom will hear of how you saved him. Good luck my friend, good luck to all of you." He says tucking Tom in while turning for the door.
The tiefling stayed quiet as the halfling talked. He nodded approvingly though. The man had his priorities straight. Kalem respected that.
"Go with the favor of the gods at your back, Gregor..." Quinlan says in farewell to the diminutive rogue. "Take good care of the lad."
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Ilsa is sad to see Gregor go. She bids farewell to the halfling, hoping she may see him sometime soon.
Considering how to proceed, she says "We should go back upstairs and tell the children they are free. But we should also contact the guard and let them know what we have found here. I would rather not just send all these children out in the night. There is still much to fear in the dark. After they are taken care of, perhaps we should visit our mysterious benefactor again, and I also wonder if we could hire someone to decipher this ledger."
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Bashiel nods at the halfling and gives him a small smile. "Stay safe Gregor. I honestly hope the road you travel from here on doesn't require you to use the skills you've shown us here tonight. At least for Tom's sake, if nothing else."
Once Gregor leaves, Bashiel turns to Ilsa and says "I agree with all your suggestions. I'll go gather the children, our remaining captive, and start organizing with the Guard. I'll count on the rest of you to find what else you can here." He stops for a moment to ponder. "There are enough in the Guard that wanted Lamm dealt with that I don't think we'll have trouble. But I know at least some of you aren't going to want to stick around to answer questions... so it might be for the best that we're all out of here before the rest of the Guard arrives."
He hesitates again, and then speaks directly to the rest of the group so everyone is in the loop. "If you haven't seen it yourself, Gaedren was keeping what appeared to be the severed head of Zelara among his possessions. I don't know why, but honestly, I don't know why he did most of what we found tonight. In any case, if we're to believe that head is the real thing, the fortuneteller that sent us here most likely was hiding her identity... and I can't understand why."
"Once we're done here, lets all meet back up at her house and give her another visit. I think this might affect all of us. Are you all in?"
Once he has some agreement, Bashiel heads on to the liberated lambs and does his best to calm them, letting them know that Gaedran won't be hurting them any more, and then trying to organize them for the walk back to a Guardpost.
"The guard has the right of it. Let's loot this place for all its worth, find any evidence we can get our hands on that could lead us to the cultists, and meet back at her house."
Brin gives both tom and Gregor a hug. "Contact any one of us if your in need. your help will not soon be forgotten."
Brin also gives Tom several pieces of candy. (non poisoned)
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The party finds many of the former-lambs have already fled the fishery and disappeared into the night. Those that remain are wary and anxious but are willing to trust in the promise of the Korvosan Guard's aid. While the city's orphanages may not be palaces of luxury, they would surely be better than Lamm's fishery.
A final toss of the operation follows and the remaining gear and loot is collected, with a plan made to meet back at the fortune teller's home in a few hours. The night wears on and exhaustion looms, but the strangeness of this night provides a curious energy and drive.
Summoned in the night, a contingent of the Korovsan Guard arrives, led by a dwarf who introduces herself as Sergeant Fireforge. It only takes a moment for her to remember Bashiel and with typical dwarven gruffness she gets right down to business. When she is told this was Gaedren Lamm's operation, two of his lackeys were killed, a third incapacitated and Gaedren himself lost to a jigsaw shark dwelling under the fishery, she eyes Bashiel curiously.
"And what, guardsman? You and these others just miraculously stumbled upon this after it was all done? No no! Don't answer... I don't want you to lie and I don't want to know the truth." She says the last part quietly so the rest of her patrol doesn't hear.
Louder, so they can hear, "Alright, put the b*~$& in chains and watch her. The rest of you, fan out and look for any contraband or evidence. See if we can't confirm this was Lamm's latest base."
Switching back to a quieter voice again, addressing herself just to Bashiel and those who remain, "Look, we're glad to be rid of this bastard so I'm not going to ask any questions and no one is going to bat an eye if everything seems to have disappeared. But if you happen to come across some additional evidence in your own investigations, bring it to the Citadel. In the meantime, don't worry about the orphans. We'll get them over to Korvosa's Mercy." She refers to Korvosa's largest state-run orphanage. With that, she joins the other guards in searching the place.
Later yet still in the black of night and in the very early hours of the morning , you gather once more at Zellara's. The door opens to your touch, neither latched or locked.
The space has all the appearance of having been abandoned, through probably only for a few weeks. You see no sign of food, there are no wall hangings, rugs and certainly no Zellara. The furniture is in peces, scattered throughout the room and layered with dust disturbed only by the footprints of a half-dozen or so people who came through recently.
almost thrumming in the back of your mind
Quinlan hangs around at the fishery until the guards have arrived and searched, watching them with interest. Eventually he leaves, and makes his way back to Zellara's..
At Zellara's, he gazes around in surprise at the change in the appearance of the place... "Were we bewitched earlier?... it didn't look like this for sure!" After a moment he gets an odd look on his face, and then with a sense of great curiosity mixed with some reverence, he pulls out the Harrow deck and holds it on his open palm... for some reason, not wanting to constrain it by closing his hand around it... He watches it as if he expects it to do something...
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Ilsa looks around, confused.
"It is hard to tell the difference between waking and sleeping and nightmares...for me, anyway. Could all of this be a dream?" she wonders.
"If someone staged this place, they did an amazing job. If not, perhaps our benefactor lives on in some other form..."
As Quinlan draws the deck of cards, she looks over at him, confused as to what he is doing.
He stayed at the fishery to keep an eye on the orphans to make sure that no more of them ran off.
After convening at Zellara's place, Varor examines wreckage of the room listening to the others talk, "If this is a dream it's a dream come true, but I can't imagine that someone would just send us after Gaedren for no reason though. Perhaps she had a twin who is good at spell-casting or maybe a changeling took her guise. Unless any of you can think of a reason outside of a personal grudge that would warrant Gaedren assassination." he says, clearly not leaving it as a question.
After Brin sees the room he immediately starts cleaning while whistling and says, "I wonder if the Imps did this." and after Varor's comment Brin points his finger at his forehead and says," Varor, evil people don't think like we do, they always betray each other without a second thought."
Varor looks at Brin for a moment before shaking his head saying, "If you truly believe that than you have a pitiably narrow worldview."
"Then again I suppose Gaedren didn't put forward a good example"
She looks at all of you with a wan smile. "It is done. Thank you. You've rid the city of a great evil. I'm sorry for any...no, I'm sorry for the deception. It was small, but a deception nonetheless.
"What I told you was true but there were parts I left out. My Harrow deck was lost a year ago to one of Gaedren's pickpockets. I knew of Lamm's reputation, of course...but it was something Eran, my son, did not appreciate. He...he tried to recover the deck. It may seem silly to you -- it is nothing compared to -- well, it is an heirloom and precious to me. Eran saw this so he tried... he tried to cover it." She chokes back some sobs and wipes away a tear.
"Gaedren sent back a box. I... my son..." She struggles, takes a minute to compose herself, and then blurts out as fast as she can, "The box had his head and his hands. I think Gaedren meant it as a threat but he'd taken all that mattered. What was my life to what he'd already done? I went to the guard, but they had no time...
"So, I went myself. I sold what I had left, bought a new deck, and learned where he was. But when I went there to try to find him, his thugs caught me. They took me down to his lair. He killed me. Cut my head off and fed my body to that alligator.
"You have no idea...how...satisfying it was to watch what happened to him. Yes, I saw it. I don't know how, but I think my spirit has somehow been fused with the deck of my mother and her mother before her. I can continue the Harrow readings and weave illusions, like this. I can also divine the nature of the magic infusing another thing."
She pauses, standing before all of you. "I don't know what comes next but I feel in my core this is just the beginning. The king lays wasting in Castle Korvosa and the winds breathe foul air across the water. The coming days will need heroes. It will need people like you, able to do what is needed to protect the people of Korvosa. If you will let me, I would be glad to help."
After the sergeant is done speaking, Bashiel gives her a tired smile. "Thanks for the cover Sergeant, its been a long night. We did recover some of Lamm's records that might be useful for your investigation."
He rummages about in his pack and retrieves the stone slates with transaction records, then passes them over to the rest of the Guard. "Not complete, certainly, but you may find something in them."
Bashiel salutes the sergeant, and starts to trudge back into the streets, when he stops and turns back. "Sergeant, have you heard anything about Urgathoan cultists in the city recently? Especially any that may have been kidnapping Varisian citizens? For some reason I feel like there might be something like that going on." No matter the sergeant's answer, Bashiel thanks her and heads on off into the night.
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Bashiel rubs at his eyes as he enters the house. "Quinlan, I'm guessing you're right. Some kind of illusion maybe? It seemed very real at the time..."
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As the ghostly form of Zellara appears, Ilsa looks at her companions to see if they react. Do they see her, too? I seem to be the only one to see a lot of things...
When it becomes clear they do, Ilsa shakes off some of the despondency she has felt since leaving Lamm's, a feeling there is nothing else she can do to find her niece.
"I am not the hero Korvosa needs to protect it...but if can still find things out like you could before, I will follow the trail to Briget as long as I need to. Can you help me find her?"
At Zellara's: "Yeah. Alright. Look, Lamm is dead. That's what I came here for. But I'm not a hero. Bashiel? Yeah, sure. He protects people for a living. But me? I'm just looking to make my next meal, and killing Lamm was personal. What I guess I'm trying to say, is what exactly are you expecting us to do?"
Zellara's eyes watch Ilsa sadly as the spirit listens to her. "I heard what Lamm said to you. He did not tell you the whole truth. When my spirit was bound to my Harrow deck, I was able to hear and see what transpired around me, unbeknownst to that snake. I'm afraid I can't give you much hope, but I know this much: the cultists came to Lamm through the suggestion of his son, whose name, Gaedren said, is Rolth. It is not much, but it may be a lead."
When Kalem speaks, the spirit-gypsy steps up to him and raises a hand to -- nearly -- touch his face. It pauses, as if against an invisible force, about an inch from his skin and slides down in an intimate gesture of... sympathy? "Master Kalem... you see only darkness for it is darkness in which you have lived. But, you've helped bring justice for the murder of my son. As none could bring him back, there is nothing more that I could reasonably desire."
She pauses, looks down, then turns and steps towards Varor. "And Fair One, I know Gaedren was once as family to you. To see what he had become and to lose a tie to your past, to lose an opportunity to redeem one you had cared for... it must pain you. And I am sorry for that."
Stepping back so she can see all of you, her voice hardens with confidence. "You may not be cut from the cloth of heroes, but as a grieving mother... as a Korvosan... you are heroes to me. But more importantly, I know Gaedren did not lie when he said he'd sold a child to these cultists, and though I don't have the ability to read minds, I have always been good at reading faces. They plan something for this city, a city that is already teetering on the brink. As tragic and terrifying as Briget's situation is, it is only part of something larger and far more sinister." She sighs a breathless sigh. "I wish I could tell you more, but unless you found a clue within Gaedren's lair, all that is left is to let things play out."
Bashiel visibly bristles at the sight of Zellara forming in the run-down house. His hand goes to the longsword at his side and stays there, even after Zellara is clearly visible. A flicker of uncertainty crosses his face as he watches her during her tale. Only after she relates the nature of her bond to the deck and the fate of herself and her son, that he finally seems to let go of the blade.
A vengeful lingering spirit... I imagined they would be monstrous... but this woman is ordinary, with a noble cause driving her.
~Sometimes that is the way of things.~ Harize's voice in his mind is solemn. ~But your responsibility is no different. She does not belong in this world. You must bring this wayward soul to where it belongs, peacefully if you can, but by the blade if you must.~
He nods, seemingly in response to Zellara's story.
"Zellara, I'm... sorry. The Guard failed you, and by extension, I failed you." Bashiel grimaces and then bows deeply to her "The torment that now ties you to the mortal world should never have happened. I only hope that with Lamm dead, your burdens have been lifted and that your soul can now rest."
"As far as the city goes... This place has been rocked by great upheavals before. I fear that small people like ourselves can do little but protect our own hide and those closest to us when the storm strikes. Whatever you think is coming, we appreciate any warning you can provide, but I doubt we can do much."
When Zellara comments on Lamm's son and the link to the cultists, Bashiel says "This Rolth, is he one of the cultists? Do you know anything else about him?" He turns to Ilsa "Maybe there is a record in the ledger of work that Rolth did that would lead us to him..."
Brin picks up a stick and throws it through the Ghost, as it clatters harmlessly through her he looks at everyone and shrugs.
"Rolth? Gadrean has a son? You hear that Varor! you still might be able to help your friend in that way getting him out of it."
Brin takes another piece of broken furniture, and throws it
"Why bother? Anyone who sells people to cultists doesn't deserve a second chance. Pretty sure that gets you executed, right Bashiel?"
Bashiel nods. "If the courts get him, an execution isn't unlikely. This isn't Kaer Maga or Cheliax, where the blight of slavery gets by with a wink and a nod."
He glances over at Varor "If this Rolth was coerced into it, mind controlled, or otherwise not acting of his free will, there may be a mitigated sentence but..." Despite an admirable attempt at being reassuring, his expression betrays a clear skepticism about that possibility.
Zellara nods to Bashiel and replies, "The pain of losing my son is still like a dagger to my heart -- whatever is next for me, I'm certain that will never fade -- but knowing justice has found Gaedren relieves me, it is true. But you should not blame yourself, Master Elund. You are part of a large organization. The failings of some are not the failings of all. Were that the case, as a man, I could hold you just as accountable as Gaedren, and that would make no sense. No, you helped. You had your own reasons, too, which is why I sought you out, but you owe me no apology. It is I who am in your debt."
Zellara looks at Brin with a cocked brow and curve to her lip, as if she's not sure whether to frown or laugh. "You seem inclined to test something, or to learn about it. This is a new state for me, but if you've a question, ask it."
Varor inspects the various pieces and realizes he is coming up with such wild figures that he must not know what he's doing. But what he does know is the brooch is the most valuable of the pieces.
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Seeing the illusion, Kalem realized he didn't really care. Not actually being there just showed that she was smart. Being alone among armed strangers was rarely a good idea. Or she was a ghost. Either way...he didn't care.
However, he did care about Ilsa's plight. It was why when he conned people out of their money he preferred to think of them in the abstract. It made it easier. But she was a 'real person' to him, and her troubles touched home for him.
"I'll help you, as best I can."
Brin looks at the ghost and tries to figure her out, the ghost admitted that she could do illusions but is she a ghost or a mage hiding behind a illusion?
"Do you know what the Shiver is used for?" Brin stares at her awaiting a answer. "Or anything else of value that we found?" holding up the Dagger.
Zellara shrugs slightly regarding the shiver. "I would assume it is...was nothing more or less than another money making scheme for Lamm. Perhaps it was something more, but at the price I can't imagine he intentionally poured good product into the water supplies. Something else must have been going on, but I don't know what."
She walks up and takes the dagger. Despite Brin's knowledge that she is an illusion, she is able to pick up the dagger, hold it and manipulate it. "A dagger shaped like a key? I... I'm not sure, but it vaguely reminds me of something. A murderer from years ago... The Keyhole Killer? Something like that. A serial murderer, he was never caught, but killed his victims in horrible ways. He got the name because the doors were always locked."
Brin looks about the room but can identify nothing else as an illusion.
Bashiel nods along with everyone's questions, then follows with one of his own while taking out the jeweled brooch. "Zellara, you don't happen to know anything about this brooch we found in Lamm s stash? It seems very strange."
After her answer he says, "Now that your grudge is done Zellara, you will pass on to Pharasma, I trust?" He levels a hard gaze on her, not willing to allow her to give an ambiguous reply.