Curse of the Crimson Throne Recap # 58 [RPG]

[Toilday, 14 Erastus 4708 A.R.]

A tremendous victory has been won, but the Battle of Deathhead Vault isn’t over yet!  As The Reckoner and Anorak search the bodies of the fallen Gray Maidens, the sound of reinforcements trying to break down the locked doors to the chamber echoes throughout the Vault.  The Reckoner says he wants to free the other prisoners in the facility, but The Harrower says cryptically that her power is waning and she has much to tell them.  She says she can’t stay much longer, and when she leaves, she’ll never see them again.  But The Reckoner is adamant that there’s more to do in the Vault and, using keys found on Kordaitra Destaid, the Gray Maidens’ second-in-command, he unlocks the door to a series of back rooms.  In one of them, he spots a secret door that opens to reveal a hidden closet full of potions, wands, scrolls, and more—a veritable treasure trove of supplies kept by the Gray Maidens in case of emergency!  But suddenly the outer doors to the main chamber burst in, and Gray Maidens begin to spill in.  The Harrower shouts her farewell, saying she’ll try to find Goldcape to listen to her final Harrowing.  She disappears in a swirling chain of cards.

The Reckoner and Anorak conceal themselves in the closet, shutting the secret door behind them.  They can hear the heavy footsteps of Gray Maidens searching the back rooms thoroughly for the intruders and decide to begin sweeping everything in the closet into The Reckoner’s handy haversack.  But one of the items must have also been enchanted as an extra-dimensional repository, as The Reckoner’s bag—and everything in it—implodes!  Trapped in the closet as dozens of Gray Maidens, led by a superior with an elvish accent, search for them, The Reckoner and Anorak decide it’s time to escape.  Taking the remaining valuables in the emergency stash, they use teleportation magic to vanish, reappearing safely elsewhere.

Meanwhile, The Harrower—frantic and dishevelled and somehow . . . less real—appears suddenly in Old Lady Cloggins’ kitchen!  The house’s owner is understandably quite startled, but quickly regains her composure, promising to make Goldcape and her guest some tea while they talk.  The Harrower pulls Goldcape into a back room, pulls the blinds, pushes a table to the center of the room, and spreads cards on it.  She performs a final Harrowing, pouring out her insight into what the future holds.  When she finishes, her body glows and becomes mist-like as she’s slowly drawn to a realm that perhaps mankind was never meant to witness.  “I’ve held on for as long as I could,” she says.  “But I can’t resist the pull any longer.  I have to say goodbye.  Remember what you’ve learned.  It may just be enough to see you and the others through.”  With a sad smile, The Harrower’s spirit moves on toward its final resting place.

Goldcape emerges into the kitchen to find Old Lady Cloggins feeding Rocky some scones in the backyard.  Goldcape explains she has to leave for a while, but promises to return soon.  She flies on Rocky’s back to Old Korvosa, fortunate that the Gray Maiden aerial scouts still haven’t returned from patrolling the skies above the statue unveiling to the west.  Once near The Reckoner’s hidden safehouse, Goldcape calls out and tries to get his attention, enraging the security-conscious vigilante.  The two argue, and Goldcape ends up flying away in a huff.

As another chapter in the epic tale of Queen Ileosa’s reign closes, the Harrowed Heroes have won a resounding victory against her forces.  But will constant internal fighting tear the group apart just short of their goal?
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GM Commentary

A correction to my commentary from last session.  One of the players reminded me that the reason I had the Harrower appear was as a fill-in for Goldcape's player being absent.  As I said in that post, the memory gets fuzzy the further away we get from the campaign!

When The Reckoner got going after blood and treasure, it was hard to get him to stop!  Thus, The Harrower's final message (meant to be a solemn and sad turning point for the campaign) was delivered only to Goldcape with the other players in another room.

We see here another exploded magic container, and believe it or not, despite warnings, this isn't the only time it happens in the campaign!

In the real world, personality conflicts between Goldcape's player and The Reckoner's player made Chapter Four a bit rocky, but things really come to a head here in a way that affects Chapter Five.  Soon, Goldcape's player decides to take a break from running a PC and instead becomes a temporary Assistant GM, helping me run combats and keep track of things.