Curse of the Crimson Throne Recap # 25 [RPG]

In the week that follows, it seems Queen Ileosa’s deceitful speech taking credit for “her agents” stopping blood veil is largely successful.  Without hard evidence that she was involved, most of Korvosa’s citizens still only see their queen as vain and unpleasant, but not capable of such evil.  More, they’re eager to get back to their lives, and the city is too wounded to contemplate open rebellion.  Patrols of Gray Maidens become more prominent on the street and progressively oppressive laws and edicts begin to appear, but few have the courage to publicly question them.  And inexplicably, the quarantine of Old Korvosa is maintained.  At least with Dr Davaulus and Lady Andaisin defeated, the creation and spread of blood veil begins to slow. Deaths in pockets of the city continue, but a cure is formulated after several days’ work by alchemists using materials seized from the secret temple under the Hospice of the Blessed Maiden.

For their part, the Harrowed Heroes follow Field Marshal Kroft’s suggestion that they lay low.  The trio spend most of their time hiding out in Skaldwood, occasionally visited by Sergeant Clenkins for sword practice and the latest gossip.  When not training, The Reckoner and Goldcape spend some time (respectively) in the library and with informants to learn more about Ileosa and her associates.  Meanwhile, Yraelzin frets about not having access to his "Temple of Razmir" but shows off some impressive and expensive new purchases, including a pinkish ioun stone that orbits around his head.
There is also time to check in on friends and associates.  Repairs to Old Lady Cloggins' home are completed, and she moves back in.  Grau Soldado is raised from the dead thanks to the scroll discovered by the Harrowed Heroes.  He seems like a changed man when he returns, no longer overwhelmed by sadness and alcohol.  Surprisingly, Grau quits the Korvosan Guard and becomes intent on organizing opposition to Queen Ileosa's evil reign.  He even takes to sleeping in a different place every night to avoid being caught by her agents.

His sister-in-law, Tayce Soldado, and her surviving children decide to move to Magnimar to start a new life.  The other Varisians of Trail's End know what the Harrowed Heroes have done for them in helping stop blood veil, and they are extremely grateful.  They know enough not to believe the queen's lies, and they make it clear they’ll provide a safe hiding place, food and lodging, or whatever other assistance their saviours need.

[26 Desnus, 4708 A.R.]

Spring transforms more and more into summer as the Harrowed Heroes keep a low profile by camping in Skaldwood.  On a dark night beset by rumbling thunder and jagged arcs of lightning, everyone in the camp hears a surprising sound carried on the wind—the gentle melody of flute music!  Goldcape rushes off to follow the sound and emerges into an unbelievable scene: a clearing where the sun is shining, the birds are chirping, butterflies are dancing, and a boxy Varisian carriage-home is sitting.  A door opens, and The Harrower appears, smiling and beckoning Goldcape to join her inside.  Yraelzin and Ralph accompany the vanara inside to see that the inside of the carriage looks like a snug but traditional Varisian fortune-teller’s quarters—a small table, a deck of Harrow cards, and just enough room for the seer and her guests.

The Harrower is welcoming, though she deflects most of her visitors’ questions and instead provides advice through her interpretation of the cards.  First comes a part of the reading called the Choosing, where each participant draws a card to see what fate has in store for them.  Goldcape draws the Snakebite, and the Harrower tells her this means venomous threats will strike suddenly and without warning—but that she will prevail.  Ralph draws the Hidden Truth, and hears that some wear masks that aren’t obvious as such, and that betrayal lies in his future.  Yraelzin draws the Inquisitor, and here the Harrower says the meaning is more literal: the priest’s activities in Korvosa will soon come under scrutiny. 

After the Choosing, the Harrower lays down cards representing the past, the present, and the future.  The past is fixed and thus represents law, she says—and so when she turns over the Empty Throne, she says it means Ileosa’s reign is, strictly speaking, lawful.  When she turns over the Plague, the Harrower says it is a sign that blood veil has run its course.  And curiously, when she reveals the Courtesan, she says it indicates someone who enjoys both pain and frivolity has recently come to Korvosa—someone the Harrowed Heroes will soon meet for the first time.  The Harrower’s statement about the present are vague and cryptic, but become more certain when she turns to the future and reveals both the Fiends and the Labyrinth.  Those who wear masks may be monsters, she says, and betrayal could lead to the gullible finding themselves lost in a lethal maze of darkness and confusion.  The Harrower lingers over the spread a few moments longer, and then taps the Plague card again, admitting her interpretation may have been facile.  She says that one who helped bring the sickness is still a danger to those present—one who helped make her what she is.  Ralph presses, and with a nod she acknowledges the figure could only be Rolth Lamm.  When the Harrowing is completed, she rises from the table and thanks her guests from coming.  Thunder can be heard booming in the distance, and in the time it takes to draw a breath, the three visitors find themselves standing in a bare patch of ground in the middle of a midnight thunderstorm!

The trio hurry back to their shelter to discuss the Harrower’s prophecies.  Ralph is concerned about the ominous references to betrayal from those wearing masks, and pushes Yraelzin to make his loyalties clear: is the queen’s “lawfulness” as ruler of Korvosa enough for him to betray the group?  The priest demurs, noting that even if her reign is lawful, it need not be permanent: for the seneschal of Castle Korvosa has lawful authority to depose a sitting monarch who is oppressing the people.  Ralph muses aloud whether Field Marshal Kroft or Grau Soldado could betray the group, but Goldcape is confident in their trustworthiness as well.  As the insights of a Harrowing can prove just as vexing as they are useful, a troubled night’s sleep awaits the group.

But the Harrowed Heroes are no fools.  Even in the relative isolation and shelter of Skaldwood, they wisely rotate to keep watch throughout the night.  Yraelzin is alerted to the presence of hostile intruders in an exceedingly painful way—by serving as the target for multiple javelins!  A band of bugbears have encircled  the camp and reached throwing range before being detected.  Yraelzin’s cries of pain and alarm rouses his allies.  Goldcape’s  command sends Rocky forth to quickly kill one of the attackers, while Ralph’s hammer quickly crushes the skull of two others.  Yraelzin’s magically-amplified shout bursts the eardrums of a fourth murderous bugbear, and the battle is over as quickly as it began.

[27 Desnus, 4708 A.R.]

In the morning, the decision is made to follow up on The Harrower’s cryptic allusions to Field Marshal Kroft needing aid and not knowing where to turn.  Ralph uses a disguise kit to assume a nondescript appearance, Yraelzin shows trust in his allies by removing his mask, and Goldcape uses a newly-purchased magical hat to look human.  Together, the three return to the city and visit Citadel Volshyanek.  The Korvosan Guard headquarters is in a shocking state: apart from Sgt Clenkins, hardly any guards are visible—the training courtyard is empty, the halls are silent, and refuse, trash, and dust give the place an overall state of creeping neglect.  Once the trio reveal their real identities, Clenkins explains that many guards have quit, others have been reassigned to an expeditionary force to the north, and some—especially female members—have simply disappeared.

Kroft looks more haggard than ever when the visitors arrive, but before they speak she ushers them into the central keep.  She leads through a series of maze-like hallways to a nondescript door and then explains that she used almost the last of the Guard’s resources to commission the construction of what stands behind it.  When she opens the door, the room beyond looks to be shrouded in fog, and Kroft explains that it’s a magically-guarded chamber that should completely foil conventional and magical eavesdropping.

After everyone is seated, she speaks in a low voice.  “I’m going to be blunt.  What I’m about to say will constitute high treason.  If you don’t wish to be implicated, walk out now and you’ll have committed no crime.”  Yraelzin decides it might be safer if he waits outside, and quickly departs through the fog.  Kroft raises an eyebrow but continues.  “Korvosa is dying.  No—it’s being murdered.  By our queen.  The evidence you’ve uncovered that links her to the plague is damning enough, but now that she’s disbanded the Sable Company and reallocated our own funding to the Gray Maidens, she’s more in control now than ever.  I can’t move against her—the Guard would be executed to the last officer by her Gray Maidens before sundown.  But she must be stopped, and I don’t know anyone else but you to do this.”  She sighs and runs her fingers through her tangled hair.  “Whatever foul magic the queen has wrapped herself up in is obviously of the highest order.  Endrin’s aim was true, and his shot should have dropped her.  I had feared he was going to take matters into his own hands like this, but hoped he would find it within himself to find a better route.  If only he could have waited.”

“But just this week,” Kroft explains, “new information came to me.  You’ve met Vencarlo Orisini before—he’s long been one of my most trusted sources.  When the queen quarantined Old Korvosa, I’d feared his messages would end, yet he managed to find ways to smuggle updates to me every day.  Recently, he wrote 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.  But even more astounding, he hinted that he’d found a lead on Seneschal Kalepopolis, and implied the man might still be hiding in Old Korvosa!  If you don’t know, the Seneschal is the only person with lawful authority to remove a monarch from power.  If we can find him and get him on our side, people will flock to our cause.  But that message was the last I heard from Vencarlo.  It’s been several days, and I’ve started to worry for his safety.  The rumors about riots and gangs seizing control of entire neighbourhoods in Old Korvosa are disturbing.  Certainly, the plumes of smoke we all see rising from fires on the island are proof that as bad as things are elsewhere, they’re probably worse there.”

Goldcape guesses what Kroft is leading towards, and she confirms it. “I don’t think it’ll be long before the Korvosan Guard is disabled.  Even now, I don’t have the resources to conduct investigations.  That’s where you come in—trusting you has been my best decision these past few months.  I’m hoping you won’t let me down.  I’d like you to seek out Vencarlo in Old Korvosa to find out what he knows about the Seneschal and the queen’s newfound powers.  Getting into Old Korvosa won’t be easy but, ironically, you might find it safer there—her forces simply aren’t on the ground there.  Hopefully, if you find Vencarlo, he’ll have a course of action we can take to help save this city.”  When they agree, Kroft opens the coffer to reveal a small supply of magical potions and wands, stating that the very last of the Guard’s resources went into purchasing them.

The Reckoner inquires why Old Korvosa is still quarantined given the rapid decline in blood veil cases since the cult was smashed and the cure was discovered.  Kroft says she can only speculate that perhaps Ileosa wished to contain the “undesirables” there, or perhaps it’s a move against the Arkonas, one of the city’s “Great Houses.”  The Reckoner acknowledges the possibility.  He then arranges a signal that Kroft can use (involving raising a particular flag) that will indicate she is in need of rescue or needs additional information.  He tells Kroft something she agrees with: she’s the last symbol of real, legitimate authority in Korvosa, and she needs to remain visible.

Once they emerge from the safe room and fill Yraelzin in, Goldcape and The Reckoner decide to head for Old Korvosa right away.  However, they know they’ll need a good plan to avoid Gray Maiden patrols.  With only one (heavily-guarded) bridge providing land access to Endrin’s Isle, the group decides on a nautical approach.  They walk to Trail’s End and quickly find an offer of help from a Sczarni smuggler who agrees to take them across the channel under cover of night.  To make discovery even less likely, one of the magical items in Kroft’s coffer—a partially-charged wand of invisibility—will be used on the rowboat itself.  With the need to wait until night, Yraelzin and The Reckoner pass some hours waiting in Tayce Soldado’s old house, while Goldcape helps some of the local residents with chores.  She hears a wild tale about a crazy man who has proclaimed himself the “Emperor of Old Korvosa” and wields a magic wand that can do anything and everything.

When the time comes, the midnight crossing is successful.  Even by moonlight, it quickly becomes obvious that Old Korvosa has been hard hit by rioting and fires.  Homes and businesses are vandalised and ransacked, entire tenements have burned into nothing more than smouldering rubble, and raucous mobs can be heard shouting and laughing in the distance.  Yraelzin’s “Temple of Razmir” is very close to the area where the group came ashore, so the group make haste to it.  Alas, Yraelzin is disappointed to realise that not a single one of his “acolytes” stayed behind to tend to the place during his absence.
The Harrowed Heroes decide to push on towards Vencarlo Orisini’s academy.  But they barely get three blocks before a group of armed, jeering ruffians block their path, demanding to know why the strangers have “intruded in the emperor’s domain.”  A show of strength gets the thugs to back down and even earns an offer to take the group to see the “Emperor of Old Korvosa”, but Goldcape is ready for a fight, and attacks!
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GM's Commentary

This session sees the beginning of Chapter 3 (I always give the group 3d6 days of Downtime between chapters).  Developing an actual cure for blood veil was something the PCs never got involved in, so it happened "off-screen" (and they missed out on some XP).

Here we start to see the development of Grau as intent on overthrowing the queen, which will eventually lead to multiple (separate and rival) rebel groups in Korvosa.  I was happy with the portrayal of Kroft and how her charge to the group came about organically.

Doing a live Harrow reading is always a fraught task because it requires a lot of improv.  I hit the theme of masks and betrayal hard to hint about the rakshasa, and was amused that The Reckoner thought it was referring to Yraelzin!  The interpretation of The Courtesan as involving the group soon meeting someone who mixed pain with frivolity ended up being one of The Harrower's rare misses--it was supposed to refer to Laori Vaus, but as the adventure went on, it turned out the group didn't come across her until Chapter Five.