Curse of the Crimson Throne Recap # 59 [RPG]

[15 Erastus 4708 to 23 Erastus 4708]

After weeks of exhaustive trudging through the Cinderlands and a narrow escape from Deathhead Vault, the Harrowed Heroes decide to spend several days in Korvosa to rest and plan the next steps of their quest.  The raid on Deathhead Vault has clearly broken the back of the Red Mantis assassins, as rumor holds they were effectively wiped out and are unlikely to return.  In addition, several mid-ranking officers in the Gray Maidens were slain, and the effects are clear: patrols are less frequent and more cautious.  Without adequate troops to enforce it, Ileosa has “graciously” lifted martial law from Korvosa.  Unrest and violence remain—along with the knowledge that the cruel queen could tighten her fist at any time—but for now the city is better off than it has been since just before the arrival of blood veil. 

Across the city, various factions are also planning their next moves.  With the Church of Asmodeus and the Church of Abadar officially endorsing Ileosa, the “neutral” faiths of Sarenrae and Pharasma are coming under increasing pressure.   In Old Korvosa, House Arkona continues to take advantage of the power-vacuum on Endrin’s Isle by exerting more influence over local affairs.  The city’s only thieves’ guild, the Cerulean Society, seems to be laying low for the moment—always an ominous sign.  Merchant shipping has resumed, though at a slower pace, as chaos is bad for business.  Cressida Kroft arranges for word to be sent to The Reckoner that the surface raid on the Longacre Building was easily repulsed, but that she and the others successfully escaped and have set up in a different location than before.  Rumors run rampant that a new vigilante named Trifaccia has appeared in the city—an expert swordsman wearing a gold mask and red robe, he allegedly saves ordinary law-abiding Korvosans from the depredations of violent rebels trying to extort money from them.  And of course, events continue to churn outside the city, with Yraelzin sending a magical message to Goldcape that the giant siege on Urglin has been broken, and that he’ll be heading east after a dream vision from The Harrower.

In the days after their return, The Reckoner commissions Anorak to further enchant Plate (his sapient suit of armor) and gathers information on Trifaccia.  Goldcape collects an assortment of rumors and researches at the University of Korvosa to learn about Belkzen.  Anorak puts in hour after hour in his workshop.  But even during these days of preparation, portentous events still occur.

Goldcape rides Nipper out of Korvosa and to the nearby village of Harse.  There, she easily finds Blackbird Ranch, the place Vencarlo Orisini asked her to come after finishing her time in the Cinderlands.  Goldcape is greeted by a friendly rancher (and former adventuring companion of Vencarlo) named Jasan Adriel.  Jasan invites Goldcape to dinner with his wife and children, and they have a fun meal as Goldcape tells stories and answers a lot of questions from the kids.  They’re especially interested in Nipper, and amazed that Goldcape can speak to a horse!  After dinner, Jasan leads Goldcape to an outbuilding on the ranch, asks for help pushing a bay of hale to the side, and opens a trapdoor underneath it.  After climbing down the exposed ladder, Goldcape finds herself in a fully-furnished underground apartment!  Vencarlo and Neolandus Kalepopolis (Castle Korvosa’s presumed-dead seneschal) are there, and happy to receive a visitor.  Goldcape confirms that in the Cinderlands, she and her allies found information that will lead them to a way to render Ileosa vulnerable to attack.  Vencarlo sends Neolandus to talk with Jasan on the surface, and leads Goldcape over to a small black trunk.  He smiles at Goldcape, and says she probably knows what he’s about to reveal.  Flipping the latches on the trunk, he reveals the distinctive costume and equipment of Blackjack!  Vencarlo says he’s past his prime and needs to keep Neolandus safe, but that Korvosa still needs a hero who will live up to the ideals of Blackjack: justice, mercy, and the rights of the common folk.  “Korvosa needs you, Goldcape, and Korvosa needs Blackjack. Will you be take on the mantle of the city’s greatest hero?”  Goldcape happily accepts.  She gets confirmation of something else she suspected—that Vencarlo had hoped that one of his former fencing students, Grau Soldado or Sabina Merrin, would be suited to the role, but after the three had a falling out, it was clear neither could be Blackjack.  Before leaving, Goldcape shares some tragic news with Vencarlo.  His former partner (romantically and in crimefighting), The Harrower, is dead.  Vencarlo looks stricken and tries not to weep, as Goldcape puts a consoling hand on his shoulder.

Having spent hours enchanting The Reckoner’s sapient armor with new capabilities, Anorak is just finishing up a long, sweaty day when he hears a gentle tap on the door.  He opens it to reveal Mortimont, the unsettling baker from across the street.  Mortimont explains that he’s brought cupcakes, and urges Anorak to try one, but the dwarf remains cautious and declines.  He does let Mortimont in to talk though, and the baker says that unfortunately, he’ll be leaving Korvosa soon.  He asks Anorak to dispose of the mysterious box he had paid him to watch over, suggesting “the heart of a volcano” or “the depths of the ocean” as suitable places for it.  Several times, Mortimont reminds Anorak not to open the box.  Anorak receives the news that the box has been abandoned by Mortimont in good spirits, muttering as the baker departs that he’s certainly going to open the box.

Having returned to his original safe-house in North Point, Ralph Blackfeather is working hard to prepare for the impending journey to Scarwall.  Given that his lair is meant to be well-hidden, he’s surprised to hear a sharp rap at a back exit.  Instead of answering directly, Ralph quickly changes into The Reckoner and sneaks out another exit to see what’s waiting for him.  There, wearing a deep-hooded cloak and signs of burn scarring, is Grau Soldado!  Having been brought to the safe-house months ago by Goldcape during the initial riots, Grau must have remembered its location.  The Reckoner calls out to him cautiously, and Grau says it would be safer to speak inside, out of prying eyes and ears.  When both men are in, The Reckoner says he heard Grau was severely injured.  Grau nods, stating that a battle against Ileosa’s new “seneschal”—a powerful wizard—left him with severe burns.  Fortunately, the Temple of Sarenrae took him in and hid him away, healing him with their magic.  Grau gets to the point quickly: he wants The Reckoner’s band to join his resistance.  He says Cressida Kroft has her heart in the right place, but is too cautious and lacks the edge to get the job done.  When The Reckoner raises the recent raid on the Longacre Building, Grau concedes it was an example of smart planning.  But, he says, that’s the only operation her resistance group has conducted since martial law was imposed.  In contrast, Grau says his fighters’ constant hit-and-run attacks have forced the Gray Maidens completely out of the Shingles, effectively freeing a sizable portion of the city’s population from Ileosa’s grip.  The Reckoner is impressed, but explains that for now, it’s a moot point about which resistance group has the better prospects, so long as Ileosa is invulnerable—but that may soon change.  Grau is intrigued, and says when it does, there’s another reason why the Harrowed Heroes should throw their support behind him; he has a person on the inside of Castle Korvosa.  The two warriors agree to go their separate ways for now, but establish a system of communication involving squares of red cloth should they need to meet again.

In the slums of Old Korvosa, one of the projects Goldcape has expended days of effort (and a lot of gold) to accomplish is to set up her own resistance cell in an abandoned building.  Outfitted with defensive traps, cots and bedrolls, and a small armory, the hidden base seems safe from the Queen’s forces as long as it remains in the still-quarantined part of the city.  Drawing upon thugs formerly loyal to the “Emperor of Old Korvosa”, regular citizens out of work since they can’t cross the blockaded bridge to the rest of the city, soldiers left to their own devices after the abolition of the Sable Company and the Korvosan Guard, and even a former acolyte of Yraelzin’s “Temple of Razmir,” Goldcape has assembled a potentially formidable force.  Her greatest bit of luck was finding Sergeant Clenkins, the aged Korvosan Guardsman formerly responsible for watching the gate of Citadel Volshyenek.  Clenkins promises to train the disparate members of the cell so they can work well together once Goldcape gives them their first mission.  Goldcape says she’ll be leaving for a couple of weeks and that it would be too dangerous to do any raids for now, but when she returns, she’ll have a target for them.

One day, enjoying lunch in his workshop, Anorak hears the sounds of horse hooves, carriage wheels, and marching soldiers out front.  He opens the door cautiously to see that Glorio Arkona, patriarch of House Arkona, has come by with “an exciting proposition”!  The dwarf lets Glorio in but refuses him a seat, putting himself in the power position.  Glorio beats around the bush for a bit, explaining that “a little bird—or an invisible spy” told him Anorak was working on some truly “crafty crafting”.  The aristocrat looks meaningfully at Plate, strapped down to the worktable.  Glorio says that “quality is what House Arkona stands for”, and that he wants Anorak to come to work for him as Chief Armorer.  Anorak is frank that he doesn’t trust Glorio, but Glorio tries to reassure him that all of the danger and manipulation the dwarf experienced was due to his sister, who has surely fled the city.  Glorio goes on to say that instead of the unpredictability and constant danger of adventuring, Anorak would receive a steady, stable, and very lucrative experience working in an exquisite workspace in Arkona Palace itself.  Anorak seems mildly tempted, but still turns down the offer, saying it wouldn’t be exciting enough.  Glorio makes a final pitch, subtly hinting that with someone as unpredictable as Ileosa as Queen, having friends like House Arkona could be very fruitful indeed.  Anorak says that will only matter if Ileosa can be defeated, and right now she has world-breaking magic, is quite evil, and could live for centuries.  Glorio sighs in resignation, remarking that if Anorak thinks he would survive such a direct confrontation, his father told him never to do business with those who have a loose grasp on reality.

Another startling event during this period begins when Ralph Blackfeather makes one of his many visits to Hedge Wizardry to purchase enchanted items for the group.  Phaeton Skoda, the cluttered store’s proprietor, pulls Ralph in, locks the door, and puts a “closed” sign on display in the window.  Looking nervous, Phaeton begins by staying something dreadful has happened.  Before he can continue, Ralph hurries to reassure him that he was responsible for the recent attempted break-in at the back door and was sorry for any damages caused.  Phaeton’s eyes widen, as he had no idea about that.  He mutters something about how it was lucky “the guardian” hadn’t been awakened, but continues to explain that something far more serious has taken place: an inquisitor of the Church of Abadar visited just a couple of days ago and seized Phaeton’s accounts books.  But the inquisitor wasn’t after records of last year’s transactions (taxes on which Phaeton assures Ralph were fully paid), but of the last few months!  In other words, Phaeton thinks there’s a high-level investigation into who has been buying expensive or powerful magical items in the city.  Ralph remains calm, and says he’ll likely be leaving the city for some time.  He promises to work out a way to make future purchases anonymously so that Phaeton can record the buyer or seller as “unknown” in good faith and without violating any laws.

The days of downtime pass by quickly, but soon the time will come again when the Harrowed Heroes need to assemble for the next step of their epic quest.  The stakes are clear: either Queen Ileosa survives, or Korvosa does.

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GM Commentary

In this campaign, I offered the players 3d6 days of "downtime" between each chapter: a time where they could retrain, craft, research new spells, earn coin, etc. with a guarantee that the downtime wouldn't count against any ticking clocks in the background or be interrupted by sudden attack.  I used a slightly modified version of the Downtime rules from Ultimate Campaign (I think) for this, and it worked out pretty well as the rules state how much different activities cost and how long they take.

Most of the downtime stuff was handled between sessions, but I promised my players they'd each get one or two role-playing scenes set during downtime.  That's what this session consisted of.  I knew the PCs would be off for Scarwall soon (and there for the entirety of Chapter Five), so I foreshadowed as much as I reasonably could about Chapter Six:  the vigilante Trifaccia, the new seneschal (the bloodmage Togomor), Grau's "man on the inside" of Castle Korvosa (Sabina!), and more.  I also tried to advance the three factions (Kroft's, Grau's, and Glorio's) plotline by showing what each has to offer and, hopefully, making the choice of which to support not be an obvious one for the group.

Two key moments during this session were Goldcape being selected as the new Blackjack (a rooftop-running, rapier-wielding chaotic good character fit the bill perfectly!) and Anorak being left with the mysterious box and advised to dispose of it (in a volcano or the ocean depths, no less!).  I loved the Blackjack element of Curse of the Crimson Throne, and it makes for a really memorable part of the campaign--and I know Goldcape's player loved it too.  As for the mysterious box, we'll soon see that Anorak was unable to resist temptation, and the startling consequences that has on the rest of the campaign.