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[Moonday, 27 Erastus 4708 A.R.]
This summer has proven to be a rainy, windy one in Korvosa. Ralph and Goldcape brave the elements to talk to Xoza, their dandasuka spy. Xoza says he asked around about Trifaccia, as requested, and heard there was a (probably staged) altercation in the Shingles the night before. The little gnome-like rakshasa says working as a double agent is a lot more fun than watching Anorak craft all day, and that he wishes “that dwarf” would do something really exciting like open the mysterious box! Ralph asks Xoza how he’s been getting across to the main part of the city from Endrin’s Isle since the only bridge is blockaded, a question that’s answered by the dandasuka transforming into a gillman (and then back) with a snap of his fingers! Xoza is sent to see if he can find out anything else about Trifaccia.
Goldcape and Ralph decide to visit Hedge Wizardry. Ralph, as The Reckoner, uses his usual trick of having Plate turn them invisible and then quickly scaling the barrier on the lone bridge out of Old Korvosa. Goldcape, however, first tries flying Rocky on a long circuitous route to come into the city from the south. She sees the massive statue of Queen Ileosa built on Jeggare Isle, and notices that, perhaps oddly, it’s facing about 285 degrees to the northwest. The sight of a few Gray Maidens guarding the southern gate and walls of Korvosa lead the vanara to believe that it’d be too risky to come into the city from that direction. She makes the long circuitous trip back to Trail’s End, leaves Rocky with one of the ever-dwindling Varisians there, and then swims across the Jeggare, using her nature magic to draw upon the mystical aspect of the frog! When Goldcape and (a disguised) Ralph finally meet up, several hours have passed. Goldcape purchases several magical scrolls from Phaeton that will allow her to turn Rocky into a handheld statue and back. At Goldcape’s suggestion, the two then hurry to the University of Korvosa in the hopes of doing some research, but find, with it operating under summer hours, the Jeggare Library has already closed for the day.
Trying to make the most of their remaining time in the city as they wait for Anorak to finish his days-long magical ritual, the pair decide to see if they can talk with Grau Soldado. Ascending to the Shingles, they find a community celebrating its freedom—no Gray Maiden patrol has dared set foot in the sprawling rooftop shantytown for days. The Reckoner discreetly asks if anyone knows the whereabouts of the “Burned Man”, and ends up talking to the aptly named “Skeevy Jay.” Skeevy Jay, knowing The Reckoner’s reputation for keeping his promises (and utter fearlessness when it comes to fighting the Gray Maidens guarding the bridges and gates around the city), asks the vigilante if he could arrange safe passage out of Korvosa. Skeevy Jay is frank that he and his pals (“Hal Five-Coins” and “Mr. Forget-Me-Not”) have been stealing from nobles and are on the run from the Cerulean Society for “unauthorised theft.” The Reckoner replies that he’ll think about it, but first he wants to meet with the Burned Man.
As the sun sets, Grau makes an appearance. A completely-changed man from the drunken sad-sack he was when they first met him, Grau’s grim, battle-scarred demeanour has earned him a place as leader of the resistance in the Shingles. He talks with Goldcape and The Reckoner about Trifaccia, acknowledging that the new vigilante is likely a fake working for the Queen—but that his deceptions have been effective in stirring up discontent against the rebels. When asked to throw his support behind Kroft, Grau is dismissive, saying the former leader of the Korvosan Guard is too cautious and careful—people are dying in the streets! He compliments his visitors on their raids on High Bridge and North Bridge, saying that striking fear in the Queen’s minions is one sure way to get them to loosen their grip on the city, just like he did in the Shingles. Grau asks again for the Harrowed Heroes to throw their support behind him instead of Kroft, saying “Who do you want at your side? Someone who gets the job done, or someone who looks pretty in a skirt?” Realising that it’s unlikely they’ll persuade Grau to join up with Kroft anytime soon, the two steer the conversation to how dangerous Glorio Arkona is. After explaining that Glorio is really a rakshasa, The Reckoner manages to convince Grau not to ally himself with the aristocrat, despite whatever semblance of order he’s managed to bring to Old Korvosa. Before Grau leaves, Goldcape asks him where he got the burn scars that cover part of his face. He explains that in the last battle for control of the Shingles, the Queen’s new “seneschal” teleported in, and the bloatmage unleashed some terrible fire magic. It was fortunate, Grau explains, that after he was blasted off a catwalk, he was found and hidden in the Temple of Sarenrae to recover.
The Reckoner finds Skeevy Jay and his friends, and they negotiate a price for safe passage out of the city. Hal Five-Coins hints that he’d happily throw in with “Goldcape’s Gang” over in Old Korvosa, but the vanara flatly refuses. The thieves are told to wait nearby, and The Reckoner returns to his safehouse to talk a plan over with Anorak. The dwarf says he could simply teleport them out of the city, but they’d have to wait until tomorrow. The prospect of a magical escape from the city sounds ideal to the thieves, and they quickly agree.
[Toilday, 28 Erastus 4708 A.R.]
In the morning, Anorak tries to teleport the thieves to Kaer Maga, but they end up in the workshop of a very-surprised cobbler in Janderhoff! Fortunately, no harm was done. A second casting works as intended, as the group appear in Kaer Maga in the dimly-lit, cluttered shop of esoterica run by a vampire! The undead proprietor doesn’t blink as the group’s sudden arrival, and remembers Anorak perfectly. As the thieves slip away into the City of Strangers, Anorak politely refuses an untoward proposition from the vampire and teleports back to Korvosa in order to get back to work on his mysterious magical ritual.
Meanwhile, Goldcape and Ralph Blackfeather spend the morning in the Jeggare Library, finding it largely empty of students and patrons. The librarian looks extremely nervous when Goldcape asks if the library has any blueprints of Castle Korvosa, and explains that they were all removed some months ago. But Ralph has a hunch she’s keeping something back, and he and Goldcape look through the stacks just in case. There, in a collection of books on local Korvosan history, Goldcape finds a dusty tome containing sketches of the castle’s layout! She tries to copy the sketches onto a sheet of papyrus, but the results are nearly incomprehensible. Ralph suggests either stealing or hiding the book. Goldcape utters a simple spell that reveals abjuration magic on the windows and doors of the library, leading her to suspect that an attempt to steal a book could set off some sort of alarm. The two agree to hide the book on an out-of-the-way shelf (“Fungi of the Mwangi Expanse”) so they can look at it again later. As they leave the library, the idea of seeing if Bookmaker’s would have maps for sale comes to them. The proprietor does indeed have some hidden away, but only for a dear cost: 900 gold pieces. Unable to come up with the money on the spot, Goldcape and Ralph offer 200 gold pieces as a deposit.
On a lunchtime break from his lengthy ritual, Anorak heads down to Eodred’s Walk and sees one of the shops is a smouldering ruin. He soon learns the location was Trapper’s Hole, bowyer and fletcher Jope Chantsmo’s shop. Jope is sitting behind the wreckage, staring despondently, his livelihood destroyed in the space of minutes. Anorak is able to glean that the shop burned sometime in the middle of the night, and was surely arson—probably from the scattered rioting that has erupted now that the Gray Maidens have lost day-to-day control over the city’s streets. Anorak tries to console Jope and offers help, but the man only mumbles about it being time to start over elsewhere as he starts trudging toward High Bridge. Anorak finds Phaeton Skoda and they commiserate over the tragedy. Not long after, Goldcape hears what happened and also tries to comfort Jope.
Over supper in the Burnt Honey Inn, Goldcape, Ralph, and Anorak are surprised when a small creature flies through the window and lands on Anorak’s shoulder! Looking like a cross between a bird and a reptile, the leathery-winged creature has needle-like teeth and a long tail ending in a diamond-shaped vane. Anorak’s magical ritual was to gain a familiar! But unlike Plate (The Reckoner’s excitable sapient armor), only Anorak can hear what his familiar is saying. The dwarf magus names his new friend Eldritch, and quickly learns that the little creature has a foul mouth and homicidal tendencies! Goldcape is outraged that this was what the group spent days waiting for when thousands of lives are suffering every day under Ileosa’s reign! Everyone commits to leaving for Scarwall the very next day.
That night, The Reckoner and Blackjack (Goldcape) carry out a plan to appear together in the Shingles. Their goals are twofold: first, to try and lure Trifaccia into attacking; second, to provide plausible evidence to House Arkona that The Reckoner is trying to persuade Blackjack into supporting it. Trifaccia never shows up, but the residents of the Shingles are enthusiastic to see two of the city’s greatest heroes teaming up.
[Wealday, 29 Erastus 4708 A.R.]
In the early
morning hours, just before dawn, Ralph and Anorak awaken to screaming outside
The Reckoner’s safehouse!
If Cressida Kroft
is correct, Ileosa’s recent reclusiveness is a sign she is planning something
big. But days have now passed since the
Harrowed Heroes originally planned to depart for Scarwall. Has the delay allowed for better preparation
for the mission, or simply brought the people of Korvosa closer and closer to
utter ruin?
GM Commentary
The building of the giant Ileosa statue is foreshadowing for some really fun stuff in Chapter Six.
I was happy with Grau's evolution, and how he presented a plausible alternative to Field Marshall Kroft (he could be Wolverine to her Cyclops!). The role-playing also revealed more about the Queen's new bloatmage seneschal, Togomor.
Goldcape's player was (I think justifiably) outraged that so much time had been spent (in terms of sessions and in-game days when the city is suffering) just for Anorak to get a familiar. The delay had major consequences, and I don't remember the familiar being particularly valuable. I did have some fun role-playing Eldritch and his desire to murder the other PCs.
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