Curse of the Crimson Throne Recap # 62 [RPG]

[Sunday, 26 Erastus 4708 A.R.]

In the dead hours between midnight and dawn, three monstrous xill suddenly solidify in Goldcape’s resistance safehouse.  One appears on the first floor, with two more on the second floor.  Fortunately, the vanara insists on maintenance of a constant watch on both floors of the building, and cries of alarm ring forth quickly.  Goldcape, awake herself on the first floor, instantly sends Rocky into battle against the insectile intruder.  The watchman on guard there, a former member of the Emperor of Old Korvosa’s band of thugs, hurls handaxes into the fray.  Anorak wakes to the sound of combat, sees a pair of the relentless xill fighting a lone guard, and quickly realises his own vulnerability—his mithral fullplate is neatly stacked next to his cot!  Hearing more combat on the floor above, the dwarf rushes for the stairs only to run into another xill trying to descend.  The two scuffle in the narrow stairway as the rest of Goldcape’s band get to their feet and grab whatever weapons are closest.  The former Korvosan Guard, still called “Sergeant” Clenkins by everyone, fells one of the intruders while Rocky, a floor below, dispatches a second.  Anorak finds himself bleeding from multiple wounds and has had enough: “I don’t like being woken up!” he shouts as a tremendous burst of electricity springs forth from his hands and blasts the third xill into submission.

In the aftermath of the battle, it’s clear that Goldcape’s band acquitted themselves well despite the surprise attack.  They kept the xill from reaching their obvious goal—“The Box of Passage” said one in the Infernal tongue—and only one of the troops was seriously wounded.  Fortunately, Goldcape’s magic was strong enough to pull his spirit back from the brink of the Boneyard.  Once the unconscious xill are bound securely, Goldcape tells Anorak that he owes her for bringing trouble to her doorstep.  Anorak acknowledges the point.  With magic, they heal one of the xill’s wounds just enough to bring it around so they can try to question it.  Immediately, it begins to fade away towards the Ethereal Plane, but Clenkins reacts quickly enough and knocks out the xill before it can escape and perhaps return with reinforcements.  The group try again with a second xill, and it only issues threats in guttural Common (“I will kill you and make more xill!”) before also trying to escape before Rocky’s beak tears out its throat.  Clenkins suggests bringing in a “specialist” in interrogation—someone they know who is an expert at intimidating his foes for information: The Reckoner.  Goldcape agrees.  At first she plans to send a magical silver raven with the message, but then realises she still doesn’t know where The Reckoner’s new safehouse is.  She’s forced to resort to the pre-arranged signal of leaving an old mattress on the wall outside and hoping he’ll spot it.

Over in North Point, Ralph Blackfeather wakes to what promises to be another hot day.  He decides it’s time to have a frank talk with Plate about their mission, because the sentient armor has recently been acting beyond its role.  Ralph explains carefully why they need to go to Scarwall and can’t just attack Queen Ileosa immediately, how the information he’s sharing needs to remain top secret, and how Plate is a trusted officer in the rebel army but needs to act on his wearer’s command, not impetuously on his own.  Plate is fully persuaded, and promises to merit Ralph’s trust.

Later that morning, Ralph has a quick conversation with Majenko to confirm that there’s been no sign of the mysterious new vigilante, Trifaccia.  As The Reckoner, he turns himself invisible and assesses the situation on the bridge to Old Korvosa.  During his surveillance, he suddenly hears a voice in his mind—that of Bishop Keppira d’Bear: “Message received loud and clear.  Come to Slip 17 at midnight, alone.  Kroft is waiting.  Don’t judge our allies.”  The Reckoner decides to check in with his own allies, and makes his move, leaping invisibly over the fortification the Gray Maidens built to secure the bridge.  Once in the slowly-improving slums of Old Korvosa, well-patrolled by the forces of House Arkona, The Reckoner spots the old mattress outside of Goldcape’s base and knows he’s needed.  Inside, Goldcape explains what happened overnight.  Anorak says the box they’re after has powerful conjuration and summoning magic inside of it, but that they still don’t really know what it does, why Mortimont was so insistent that it not be opened, and why the xill are hunting it so persistently.

It’s fortunate that two xill remain alive, because the first one utterly resists The Reckoner’s questions.  The second, however, is more persuadable, though making sense of its alien viewpoint isn’t easy.  It seems that the “Box of Passage” provides access to where the xill come from (the Ethereal Plane) and that they were sent on a clear mission: “Take Box, Destroy Box, Kill Mortimont!”  When asked who Mortimont is, the prisoner can explain only that “Mortimont is the Maker”.  Believing that the xill must operate on some sort of hive mind like the insects they resemble, The Reckoner decides that killing them would be the same as stamping on a bug.  After the interrogation, the group discuss what they should do with the information, but they don’t reach any firm conclusions.

With Plate’s insistence that Anorak hurry up with his ritual so that they can get on with the job of saving Korvosa, the dwarf promises to spend the day on it.  But first, per Goldcape’s request, he carves a stylized “B” on the front door to show allegiance to Blackjack.  Plate notes that having Blackjack’s support for the rebellion would go a long way toward rallying the people of the city, since he’s Korvosa’s greatest hero.  The Reckoner shares with the others that he’ll be meeting with Kroft that night but that she must have some “dodgy” allies given d’Bear’s warning.  Plate comes to The Reckoner’s defense when Goldcape teases that perhaps it’s The Reckoner who’s dodgy.

Later that morning, Goldcape leads The Reckoner down a secret trapdoor and into the sewers underneath Old Korvosa.  There, she reveals a monumental secret: Goldcape is the new Blackjack!  Having been chosen by the previous Blackjack to continue his legacy, Goldcape now bears the full costume of the legendary vigilante—including, perhaps most importantly, a magical amulet that keeps diviners from learning her location.  The Reckoner is impressed, even if he suspected it given recent events.  Goldcape explains she’s revealing it to him because she could learn from him on how to successfully maintain a costumed identity, and if anyone suspects she’s really Blackjack, The Reckoner could aid in a deception to throw people off the trail.  The Reckoner agrees it’s a good strategy, and thanks Goldcape for trusting him.  Goldcape asks if she should reveal her secret to Anorak, and The Reckoner says it’s an important decision she should make after careful thought.  The vanara says she’ll ponder it overnight.  As the two ascend the ladder back up to the trapdoor, Goldcape hears a welcome voice in her head—from Yraelzin!  “I made it!” says the voice. “Are you coming? Since you guys are late, I’ve opened negotiations.  It’s complicated.”

Upstairs, Anorak expresses concern that yet more xill may come seeking the box.  The Reckoner says if they moved it to his safehouse, the xill wouldn’t be able to find it.  Anorak agrees that it’s a good idea.  The dwarf gets back to his ritual, and The Reckoner asks Goldcape if she would like to meet their spy in House Arkona, the dandasuka named Xoza.  Yet when the two walk over to Anorak’s workshop, the first creature they spot isn’t Xoza—it’s the majordomo of House Arkona, waiting patiently outside.  Has their spy been detected already?
---------------------------------------
GM Commentary

I thought the xill attack on Goldcape's safehouse was a fun encounter.  It was a good opportunity to put Goldcape's efforts at recruiting a rebel cell to use, and a late night attack keeps everyone on their toes! (and reminds folks why the Endurance feat's ability to sleep in armor is worthwhile)  I hadn't expected the interrogation of the xill, but it was a smart way for the PCs to learn more about why they wanted the box.

Plate got a lot of attention in this session.  I think The Reckoner's player was worried I was going to use the intelligent armor to undermine him, when really I was just trying to give it a bit of personality because one of my pet peeves is familiars/companions/sentient items that exist purely for mechanical purposes and are otherwise forgotten about.

Just a touch of Yraelzin in this one, but he's always fun to roleplay and I like how the word cap on sending leads to intriguingly ambiguous messages.