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[18 Gozran, 4708 A.R. continued]
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| Is Verik Vancaskerkin a hardened criminal or unwilling dupe? |
The fighting is furious. The Reckoner manages to land a couple of blows with his warhammer, but Verik’s training in the Guard makes him a formidable foe. All it takes is one mistake, and The Reckoner is battered to the ground, unconscious! Arrows fired by Goldcape and Yraelzin through the window rarely manage to hit, but fortunately Goldcape has brought his erstwhile friend, Rocky! The young roc crashes through the window to score several deep gashes on Verik’s face and arms. Verik tries to stab the roc with his spear, but the weapon goes flying, forcing the desperate deserter to grab the silver dagger stuck into the top of the nearby desk. It’s a bloody battle of man versus bird, and it’s unclear which will emerge triumphant!
Meanwhile, Grau is forced to dispatch one foe after another as the violent deserters-turned-mercenaries known as the Cow Hammer Boys rush up the stairs in single file. Grau’s training under master swordsman Vencarlo Orisini pays off, as he manages to hold his own until three of the foes have fallen and the fourth, a sadistic murderer named Parns, turns and tries to flee. Grau gives chase as the man races down the stairs and towards the front shop area of the slaughterhouse. But then, the battle takes an unforeseeable turn! Waiting just outside the front window is an old Shoanti man who, with a mere glance, sends Parns fleeing right back into Grau’s arms, utterly terrified!
Back upstairs, Verik is badly wounded and has realised the fight is unwinnable: not only is he cornered, dodging multiple archers, fending off an implacable bird, but his reinforcements have been defeated as well. Verik sighs and drops the dagger, surrendering. Grau marches Parns upstairs and secures the surviving Cow Hammer Boys and Verik. When Goldcape comes into the room, he tells her about the strange Shoanti. After using some primal magics learned in the jungles of Casmaron to bring The Reckoner back to consciousness, Goldcape makes a quick search of the rest of the building. She makes a sickening discovery—at least some of the meat in the slaughterhouse is from humanoid, not animal, origin! When Grau confronts Verik, he proclaims his innocence, saying he knew nothing about how the meat was obtained. He says he just thought feeding people during the riots was a good idea when his girlfriend, Meliya Arkona (a member of the influential aristocratic House Arkona), suggested it. Grau, however, doesn’t buy the story, and dismisses out of hand Verik’s claim to be secretly dating an Arkona.
Goldcape heads outside and speaks to the Shoanti man, learning that his name is Takota Lies-Dreaming and that he is a shaman of the Shriikirri-Quah—the Clan of the Hawk. Takota explains that he received a mysterious message on the back of a Harrow card indicating that Parns could be found here. When Parns was a member of the Korvosan Guard, he used his station to corruptly protect Gaedren Lamm’s criminal enterprises. Because Takota’s daughter, Shonsana, died from a Shiver addiction fuelled by Lamm and her missing boyfriend Varujan, Takota wishes to ask Parns if he knows Varujan’s current location. After first channelling spiritual healing to further help The Reckoner, Takota places hand on Parns’ brow. In the course of just seconds, Parns mind is almost overloaded with images of Shonsana, Varujan, and the pain that the man’s actions have caused others. Parns breaks down, and sobs that the last he heard, Varujan was still visiting a place called Eel’s End for his nightly Shiver fix.
Grau thanks the other members of the assault team for the quality work, and says that Field Marshall Croft will be pleased that Verik was captured alive. He arranges for other members of the Korvosan Guard to help him escort the prisoners back to Citadel Volsyhanek. Takota is about to head off into the night to return to his tents in Skaldwood (a small forest just south of the city where many Shoanti clans have campsites), but he’s persuaded that travelling through the city at night during martial law is a good way to get in trouble with the Hellknights—especially because they’re known to hate “savages” like the Shoanti. Instead, the group walk to the nearby Burnt Honey Inn. The Reckoner slips away to resume his civilian identity as Ralph Blackfeather, while Yraelzin, who had been waiting on the rooftop across the street from the slaughterhouse, arrives quite miffed at having been forgotten sometime later.
[19 Gozran, 4708 A.R. continued]
Incredibly strong winds from the harbor, channelled through the city’s narrow streets, make walking a chore for the residents of Korvosa. With most of the shops closed on a Sunday, and martial law casting a pall over the city, it seems like a good idea to mostly stay inside. Ralph spends some time subtly spreading rumors about The Reckoner to enhance his alter ego’s fearsomeness with the criminal element, while Goldcape watches some patrons gamble in a dice game called Twentybone and Yraelzin shares the “glories” of Razmir with an unimpressed Takota. During the long day, Goldcape hears an interesting rumor that King Eodred was murdered by the castle seneschal, Neolandus, with the asserted “proof” being that Neolandus allegedly fled the city after the king’s death. Although Ralph presses the man for any evidence, it seems like there’s not necessarily anything more to it than idle speculation.
After hearing enough from Yraelzin, Takota decides to endure the howling winds and return to his campsite in Skaldwood. His well-staked tents remain intact. It’s not long before he is visited by a brave of the enigmatic Skoan-Quah (Skull Clan). The young man, Ghaeken, explains that he has come seeking advice from another shaman in his father’s absence. Ghaeken explains that he has fallen in love with a Chelish woman in the city, but is torn about whether to pursue it given their respective cultures. Takota advises the heartsick youth to be cautious, trusting both his heart and his head.
[20 Gozran, 4708 A.R. continued]
In
the morning, Takota returns to the Burnt Honey Inn to find the others enjoying
the city’s best porridge. Ralph asks
Takota about whether he could arrange for him to obtain an earthbreaker, a
well-known Shoanti weapon that consists of a large maul with blunt spikes. Takota expresses pessimism, stating that a
test of worthiness would be required first.
As the conversation continues, everyone feels tremendous heat emanating
from the pocket or container where they’ve stowed the Harrow card chosen for them
by The Harrower: the cards are warm to the touch, and scrawled on the blank
side of each is the same message: “The time has come, return to where it all
began.”
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GM's Commentary
I had completely forgotten The Reckoner got dropped by Verik. Nowadays (toward end of Chapter Four), The Reckoner is such a combat beast, it's hard to remember that took some time to develop.
Folks familiar with Curse of the Crimson Throne will know that the "silver dagger" on Verik's desk is actually a raktavarna rakhasa spy reporting to Meliya Arkona. I was really curious to see how it would play out; they detected magic on the "dagger" but couldn't identify it, and so just assumed it was a +1 dagger. Goldcape held onto it (without using it) all the way until the big reveal at the end of Chapter Three! Speaking of Meliya Arkona, this is the first mention of House Arkona until the campaign. (and we also get the first mention of Neolandus through a rumor). I'm really impressed how the story integrates so many NPCs so well.
A new player joined the campaign in this scenario, running a Shoanti shaman. He only stuck with the campaign for a few sessions, but came at a good time because it allowed me to naturally introduce the NPC Ghaeken who (as a corpse) becomes very important very soon.
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