The Crimson Echo Season Three

**Inspectre** · 2023-02-01, 06:15 PM (ISO 8601)

A continuation of The Crimson Echo Season Two!

Dramatis Personae

Spoiler: Our Heroes

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Spoiler: Allies

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Spoiler: Enemies

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Spoiler: Important People

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Spoiler: Of Korvosa

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**Inspectre** · 2023-02-01, 06:17 PM (ISO 8601)

Locations

Spoiler: Korvosa

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Spoiler: Map of Korvosa

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Spoiler: Districts and Neighborhoods

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Spoiler: East Shore and Gray

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Spoiler: Midland

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Spoiler: North Point

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Spoiler: The Heights

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Spoiler: Old Korvosa

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Spoiler: South Shore

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**Inspectre** · 2023-02-01, 06:18 PM (ISO 8601)

Other Important Information

**Inspectre** · 2023-02-01, 06:21 PM (ISO 8601)

Act 1: Edge of Anarchy

Prelude

Theme Music

Far beneath Castle Korvosa, a stone door that had remained shut for many years slowly ground open. This door was a secret one, flush with the wall it had been built into, and gave no sign that it even existed. Only one who knew where to look would be able to find it, and even that would prove useless were one not to also possess the door’s only key. A large iron key, bigger than a man’s fist, decorated in macabre fashion with screaming skulls and runes from some long-dead language. A key like the one now brandished in one hand by the woman who stood in the open doorway, illuminated only by the light of the candle that she held in her other hand.

Queen Ileosa Arabasti stood in front of the open doorway for several long moments, nervously examining the room beyond. It was an intimidating sight, resembling a tomb rather than a hidden off-shoot of the treasure vault she currently stood in. Runes similar to the ones adorning her key skittered along every surface beyond the door, forming vaguely menacing patterns across the floor, walls, and ceiling. Save for the runes, the room itself was featureless except for the pedestal jutting up out of the floor at the exact center point of the room, the runes racing along its surface until they reached its peak, atop which sat a large stone coffer wrapped in thick iron chains, held in place by a screaming iron skull, a keyhole just barely visible at the back of its yawning mouth.

Reaching out her magical senses to detect sources of magic in the room, Ileosa saw no immediate threat, as the room’s rune artwork was entirely defensive in nature, focused on suppressing whatever was inside the stone coffer – and despite that Ileosa could still faintly feel the presence of magic within it. There was no doubt whatever was inside, it was powerful – and that it was what she had come down here for. And despite that, still Ileosa hovered in the doorway, her fears holding her back – she was down here alone, with no one to stand between her and danger. If there was still some hidden trap within, if she was injured . . .

Ileosa gathered up her frayed nerves and brought the memory of why she was down here at all to the forefront of her mind.

Kneeling beside the bed of King Eodred Arabasti the Second, her head in his too-frail lap, tears staining the fur of the thick blanket separating them. Wishing there was something, anything, that she could do to make him stay at her side. She’d pay any price – her wealth, her youth, her very soul if it would mean they could be together again as they had been, not like this as every passing moment took her Eodred farther away from her. But such pacts only existed in fairy tales, and in reality there was no cure for old age, nothing else she could do but lie beside him as the spark of Eodred’s life flickered out.

“Stay with me. Please”

She begged, and was rewarded with a shuddering groan as Eodred stirred.

“Are you there my queen?” Came the hoarse whisper, at which point she lifted her head to look at her king’s withered face, and raised one hand to gently caress it.

“Yes. I am here my love. Always.”

To her surprise, with sudden strength Eodred reached up and grasped her hand. With his other trembling hand he fumbled the blankets aside and reached inside his robe to remove a key that had been hanging around his neck. A key that Ileosa had often seen hanging around Eodred’s neck, but never received an honest answer as to its purpose. An iron key decorated with macabre designs of screaming skulls and runes from a long-dead language. Eodred pressed the key into her outstretched hand, and then closed her hand around it with his last strength.

“There . . . might be a way . . . for me to yet live. But it will require . . . breaking a promise I made long ago. And I am too weak . . . to go myself. You must . . . you must go down to the treasure vault . . . castle basement. At the back . . . behind the fourth brick from the top . . . seventh from the right . . . key. Go alone, take no one with you! Hurry . . .

Ileosa had flown from her husband’s side that moment, and despite the strangeness of his request, she had done as asked. She had come down here alone, she had found the hidden keyhole at the back of the vault, and now that the item that could save Eodred’s life was in her sight, she hesitated? She would pay any price!

Ileosa took a step into the rune-covered tomb, and then another, the iron key held in front of her like a shield. With growing determination to match her mounting sense of dread, Ileosa crossed the remaining distance to the pedestal, and once there, hesitated only a moment more before ramming the key home into the gaping mouth. There was a soft, raspy click, and then the key was torn out of Ileosa’s hand as it sank into the mouth, which closed around the key as gears groaned into motion. Ileosa jumped back, narrowly stifling a startled scream, although that scream died on her lips as she glanced up to check the ring on her hand that clenched the candle holder, only to see the emerald set into its face had gone completely dark. A magical ring that was part of a pair, its singular purpose was to inform its wearer of the condition of the one wearing its mate. And if the stone went as completely dark as hers was now, then it meant . . .

“No . . . no no no no, please no!”

Ileosa breathed, switching her grip on the candle holder from one hand to the other so that she could stare more easily at the ring’s gem – and more safely shake her hand, hoping to fix the magical fluke responsible for this news. But the stone remained dark no matter how vigorously she shook the ring, and Ileosa sank to her knees onto the merciless stone as the truth of it washed over her. She was too late . . . if only she had been faster, less afraid, maybe she could have done it. Ileosa’s vision blurred as hot tears began their race from the corners of her eyes, and it was a struggle to keep hold of the candle holder as her body was wracked with sobs.

But sorrow turned to terror a moment later as the iron skull finally finished its meal, and with a final rattling click released its hold on the chains. Chains which flew away from the coffer, unfurling from where they had been tightly wrapped a moment before like a hunter’s snare. One such length of chain lashed across Ileosa’s hand, sending the candle holder tumbling out of her hand and plunging the room into total darkness. Wincing at the sudden stab of pain from her hand, Ileosa nonetheless crawled across the stone floor, flailing at the floor out in front of her with her other hand while clutching the wounded one to her chest. Where was it, where was it!? There! Ileosa’s fingers brushed against the length of the candle, and pain flared in her other hand as her outstretched fingers raked through still molten wax. But after another moment her fingers finally found a solid grip, and she drew her prize back to her, already stumbling over the necessary arcane words.

One after another, sparks briefly appeared from her hands to illuminate the tomb for one brief moment before expiring – she couldn’t find the damn wick to light it again! And then suddenly she saw where the wick was, and reflexively lit it, before she realized that she only found the wick because she could see it. The room had slowly been filled with a dim light, coming from all of the warding runes throughout the room – but the brightest light by far now shone from the coffer, through the narrow slit between its lid and body.

The glow of the coffer was hypnotic, and Ileosa slowly felt her terror, her sorrow fade away, to be replaced by a burning curiosity about what was inside. What had Eodred sent her down here to retrieve, with what had been essentially his dying breath? And why had he been convinced that it could save him? Pushing herself back up to her feet, Ileosa ran her fingers across the face of the lid, trying to find purchase with her fingers so she could lift it up. The stone coffer swung open at her touch of its own accord with a low hiss of grinding stone.

Within the coffer was a crown, made of some twisted, jagged shards of black metal with pieces of . . . bone? . . . slid into metal sheaths along the rim. A mote of deep blue light floated above the crown, dancing and twirling in mesmerizing patterns within the coffer’s narrow confines. It ceased its pacing turns a moment later, hanging in place a moment before it shoot upwards – towards Ileosa’s face! The queen jerked her head back, but it was too late as light enveloped her.

The bright light became searing as it poured into her eyes, her nose, her ears. She tried to move but found she could not, held immobile by the light as firmly as if by chains. She opened her mouth to scream, and the light poured itself into the new opening, choking her. She couldn’t move, couldn’t see, couldn’t breathe – she was drowning in the light. No. It was crushing her. And then just like that, the light winked out, the room plunging back into total darkness as the wards all went out and the candle again fell from Ileosa’s lifeless hands. She crumpled to the floor like a puppet with its strings having been cut, and as she fell her hand caught on the edge of the coffer, pulling it off of the pedestal. It shattered as it touched the floor, and the crown skittered across the floor, free at last.

For what seemed like an age, Ileosa lied still on the floor, not moving, not making even a sound. But then she stirred, throwing a hand out to steady herself and push herself up onto her knees – and found the crown. Reflexively, she reached up and set the crown onto her head, adjusting its position to make sure it was firmly in place before wiping the tears from her face.

“Everything will be alright.”

Ileosa promised, and then got to her feet, leaving the tomb behind. She did not collect the extinguished candle on her way out.

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Theme Music

In one corner of the upscale Three Rings tavern, the conspirators met for the final time. The tavern had been chosen as a meeting point for its dedication to discretion in regards to its clients’ privacy. It seemed unlikely, however, that the group’s privacy would be respected if it was known what they had met here so many times to discuss.

“A toast to our future fortunes. Soon the roster will be dead, if he isn’t already, and then the henhouse will be ours.”

Their leader declared, earning a murmur of approval and clinking of wine glasses. It was all so tedious and juvenile to the eldest member of the conspiracy, who had spent years bitterly wishing he was able to kill the king and topple the city’s monarchy. Well now he had finally done it, with the help of these others interested in regime change, and the accomplishment only tasted like ashes. Much like this piss weak wine he was drinking, and finished in one long swallow. Time to leave – let these sycophants bathe in their leader’s afterglow if they must, but he had better things to do with what time was left to him. As he rose to leave, of course the leader’s chief toady chose that moment to open his fat mouth.

“Sulking back to your hole already? The night is young – you might as well enjoy the quiet while it lasts.”

The punk was lucky that they’d never have to see each other again after this. Otherwise he might have learned the painful lesson of respecting his elders while picking the shards of this empty wineglass out of his neck. But attempting to murder one of his fellows would undoubtedly jeopardize his payment, and that was the only important thing left here.

“I’d rather collect my, heh, “commission” and leave the playing with farm animals to younger men, Junior. The streets aren’t going to be very safe in a few hours, and I’d rather be safe aboard my ship as it arrives to take me away to the rest of my life as a very wealthy man someplace far away from here. Unless, of course, the plan wasn’t to kill just one old man.”

All those assembled tensed at his bluntness, but their leader remained stone-faced, betraying nothing about what the real plan was for covering their tracks. Not for the first time was he grateful that he had arranged for some insurance ahead of time to prevent a double-cross. After a tense moment of locked eyes and everyone else holding their breath, the conspiracy’s leader produced a bulging purse and tossed it over to his side of the table. Cautiously, the old man picked up the top of the tied-shut bag with thumb and forefinger, and then let it drop back to the table – just in case there was something else in there instead of coins. But no, the rattling jiggle of coins was the only thing he heard as the bag smacked back down onto the table, and so he scooped the bag back up and shoved it into his shirt, giving an exaggerated bow to those assembled.

“Pleasure doing business with you all. Hope I never see any of you again. Because if I do . . .”

He let the threat of deploying his insurance hang in the air, but the leader’s face remained expressionless, until a disdainful hand waved a dismissal. He was free to go, released from service as if he was no more than a cheap porter, easily replaced and quickly forgotten. The gall of it made his blood boil, and yet he was seasoned enough to not do something rash and irrevocable, like he would have done in his youth. Some battles were not winnable, and some were not even worth fighting in the first place. He had his payment, and now it was time to leave and turn his thoughts to the future. However much of that he had left at this point, anyway.

And so he left, leaving the conspirators to their trite little party on this last evening of peace. While he still half expected a knife to appear in his back at any moment, he nonetheless walked along the docks back towards his “hole”, breathing in the thin mist rising off of the Jeggare River. It would be the last time he would get to do that, for as soon as he collected his things from his stash, he was on the first boat leaving Korvosa. With any luck, the ship would be able to clear its moorings and be at sea before everything went to hell. But first, he had to deal with the ******* coming up behind him. He slowed his limping gait to a stop, reaching for the knife tucked at the small of his back, underneath his cloak, as the footsteps drew closer.

“I don’t like being followed.”

He announced, and then extended his offer to his pursuer.

“So why don’t we skip to the end, where you **** off and I don’t give you a new mouth three inches below your old one.”

Theme Music

A dry chuckle that sounded like dead leaves scraping over the cobblestones was the only reply, and then came the whispered counteroffer.

“So this is how the great Gaedren Lamm ends. A broken old man crawling off to die in safety and comfort, while his city changes hands from one parasite to the next, achieving nothing. And all he has to show for his life is the pittance doled out to him by his masters, a far cry from what he was promised. What he is owed.”

Gaedren Lamm spun about on his good leg, producing the dagger from its hiding place as he snarled at the mocking interloper, who was little more than a silhouette a dozen feet back, concealed by the mists. If this was an assassin sent by his “masters”, he had bungled the job by announcing his presence. Or perhaps not, considering with his limp Gaedren didn’t have a prayer of escaping. Hoping to buy himself some time, Gaedren tried to keep the figure talking – and unleashing some of his simmering resentment felt good.

“You don’t know **** about me or what this city owes me! And this “pittance” is more than enough for me to live the sort of life I was promised!”

Again, a dry chuckle from the figure as it advanced closer. Now instead of a silhouette, it was a cowled figure – another few steps and Gaedren would have a clear throw of his knife at its head.

“For as long as that life lasts. But then you will be gone. Forgotten. All your dreams and efforts for naught. Korvosa will go on without you, unchanged. Is that the result you fought for, sacrificed so much for, clung to these past thirty years?”

The figure continued to draw closer, and as it loomed out of the mists, coming within six feet, Gaedren sneered and made his move.

“This conversation bores me. But however long my life will be, at this point it’ll be longer than yours.”

The knife scythed through the mist and night air, and yet when it flew perfectly into the darkness of the interloper’s cowl, the figure winked out of existence entirely. Lamm swore as he heard the soft plop of his knife continuing on into the Jeggare River beyond, the perfect throw wasted on some kind of illusion. The interloper’s voice chided him from all sides within the mist.

“This doesn’t have to be how your story ends, Gaedren. I can provide you with the means to rewrite your ending. You can still do everything you wanted to do – what you were born to do. All you have to do is accept my invitation. Take some time to think about it if you must. Just know that you are short on time to change your fate. So what’s it going to be, Gaedren? Is your life going to end as a failure, or as the fire that will sweep Korvosa clean?”

From the mist, a card fluttered out to land at his feet. Looking down to examine it, Gaedren saw that it was a Harrow card, much like one from the set he had stolen from that fortune teller bitch some time ago – oh, the irony.

“Harrow, really? What’s next, you going to tell me that in addition to fame and fortune, I’ll find the woman of my dreams?”

Gaedren taunted, but there was no reply from the mist – whoever he had been speaking with, they were gone now. Cautiously, Gaedren picked up the Harrow card, flipping it over to reveal that an address had been scratched onto the back. Apropos, given how ridiculous this whole night had been. And yet . . . the figure in the mist’s offer did hold some attraction. He had forgotten how fiercely that spark had burned in him, forgotten himself. He could always retire to Magnimar later, after things calmed down again. It couldn’t hurt to at least see what this lunatic was really offering him, right?

But first, he was going to need more men – he was going to need a *lot* more men. Which wouldn’t be a problem, thanks to his newfound wealth. Gaedren set off down the street again, but this time his destination wasn’t home, but instead a few local watering holes he knew where the patrons didn’t ask questions, and were rather fond of money.

**Inspectre** · 2023-02-03, 08:36 AM (ISO 8601)

The Story So Far:

The world that you come from has some similarities to the one that you find yourselves in now – the city is still Korvosa, King Eodred is still dead, and Gaedren Lamm was still a miserable blight on every life he touched. But holding up the two sets of memories in your head reveals that there are certainly quite a few differences as well.

Spoiler: How It Normally Goes

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(This is loosely how things happened in the very first go around – Shizu’s CotCT game. It’s more or less how the first book of the AP runs as-written, but feel free to decide if something went slightly differently in your “original” world!)

The party is brought together by Zellara, a middle-aged Varisian woman who is a Harrow (fortune) reader. She claims Lamm has wronged her too, and has brought all of you together to take revenge against the old criminal who has wronged each of you in some way.
Following intel provided by Zellara, the party goes to an old fishery that has been serving as Gaedren Lamm’s base of operations. After fighting through the couple members of Lamm’s gang, you confront the old man in his lair and kill him.
Searching Lamm’s lair reveals Zellara’s severed head, leading to the revelation and confession from her that she is a ghost and has been this entire time. She brought you together after her death to take revenge on Lamm, and selected all of you because she sensed that you had some greater fate to play beyond just killing Lamm.
Amongst Lamm’s possessions is an incredibly detailed and expensive brooch that is the property of Queen Ileosa, King Eodred’s wife – how it came to be in Lamm’s possession is a mystery, although theft by one of his little lambs seems most likely.
Later that night, King Eodred dies and the city is thrown into chaos. The party is forced to seek shelter indoors, perhaps back at Zellara’s old house, or perhaps at your own nearby residence. Along the way, the party has to deal with angry rioters, rambunctious imps enjoying the chaos, and possibly even a hungry otyugh.
After the city has calmed, the party eventually goes to the royal palace to return the brooch to Queen Ileosa. After a brief meeting with the solemn queen-in-mourning, the party is generously rewarded and asked to meet with the head of Korvosa’s city guard, Field Marshall Cressidia Kroft, to aid the city further.
After meeting with Korvosa’s most overworked civil officer, Field Marshall Kroft asks the party to investigate a group of city guardsmen who deserted their posts and have taken up shop in a butcher shop known as All the World’s Meat.
Investigating the butcher’s shop reveals that while the ringleader of the deserters, Verik Vancasterkin, is indeed knowingly guilty of desertion, he is unaware that his men have set up a murder-for-hire business on the side, disposing of the bodies of their victims as part of the free meat distributed out to the desperate citizens of Old Korvosa.
Following the party’s success in capturing Verik and his gang of miscreants, Kroft assigns a new task to the party – dealing with the smarmy ambassador from Cheliax, Darvayne Amprei. Amprei has been taking advantage of the chaos following Eodred’s death and his position as ambassador to enrich himself at the cost of the city, and Kroft wishes to convince him to back-off. How she intends to do this is acquire evidence of his misdeeds, or at least compromising information that could undermine his position back in Cheliax.
A friend of Field Marshall Kroft, Vencarlo Orsini, is present at this meeting and explains that he is aware of someone who likely has such damning evidence on Damprei, and who probably would be willing to part with said information in exchange for a good amount of coin – Devargo Bravarsi, the so-called King of Spiders, who is a major crime boss running a den of sin and inequity known as Eel’s End in Old Korvosa.
The party travels to Eel’s End, bargains with Devargo, and convinces him to part with his evidence against Damprei – a series of love letters between him and his mistress, which also includes details of several occasions where he has exploited his position as the Chelish ambassador for his own personal gain.
By this point, there is a growing belief that Eodred was murdered rather than simply died of advanced age, and one popular suspect in his murder is Queen Ileosa herself. Another potential suspect is a young painter that King Eodred hired a few months ago, Trinia Sabor, who Kroft asks the party to quietly bring in for the girl’s protection.
Despite the party’s best efforts, the apprehension of Trinia Sabor goes sideways, with the young painter proving to also be a talented acrobat as she leaps out of her apartment and races out onto the Shingles, the twisting maze of roofs, clotheslines, and bridges that span across the top of Korvosa’s slums.
Things go from bad to worse when unknown assailants fire crossbows at the fleeing painter, wounding her at a critical moment and sending her tumbling to her death on the streets far below.
If the world has not already shifted to the one you find yourselves in now, Trinia’s death (however it happened) is the last memory you have of your old world before things twist and you abruptly find yourself in this new world, with a similar but much different set of memories.

Spoiler: How Its Gone This Time

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(A similarly rough, general summary of the Crimson Echo, Seasons One and Two, is provided below. While there are probably some slight differences from this in the world that you now all co-exist in, it’s safe to assume that this is basically the exact course of events the new party has jointly experienced in this new world you all find yourselves in. There’s . . . rather a lot of history here, but hopefully it will prove a useful primer on most of the various important movers and shakers in the game world, and how they all intersect with each other.)

Seeking to avoid a repeat of the original disaster, Silas goes to Trinia’s apartment first thing before King Eodred is even announced dead. Silas and Trinia are attacked by several gang members who seem intent on kidnapping the girl as part of some wider conspiracy. While Trinia is knocked unconscious by a poisoned crossbow bolt, she survives the ambush and Silas gets her to safety back at his place. A bit later on, corrupt guards show up at Silas’s place looking for her, seemingly part of the same conspiracy. Silas and Trinia again escape from harm and releasing the girl is in more terrible danger than previously believed, he takes her to Vencarlo Orsini’s house to hideout. While not happy to get a babysitting job dumped in his lap, Vencarlo agrees to keep the girl safe and out-of-harm’s way for now.
Eventually, the party is once again assembled by Zellara, who again sets them on the trail of Gaedren Lamm as his old fishery base, although she notes that the threads of Fate seem oddly out-of-alignment.
Arriving at the old fishery, the party once again fights through Lamm’s goons, albeit considerably more of them this time as Lamm seems to have found the money to hire a local gang for protection. Lamm ultimately escapes from the party aboard the old boat he has moored at the back of the old fishery, a previously ruined derelict that he has suddenly found the money to repair into a sailable vessel. While Lamm makes his escape, the party has to contend with the leader of the hired gang, who consumes a vial of shimmering orange liquid, promptly gains magical powers, and starts ranting at the party about how the city was all going to burn and rot.
The drug that the local tough consumed was almost certainly a new drug called Shudder, a potent substance that (apparently truly does!) gives the drinker magical powers – albeit at the cost of going stark-raving mad. Lamm is apparently the sole distributor of the drug currently, which is certainly one reason he could be considerably richer and more powerful in this brave new world.
The party still finds Zellara’s severed head, along with his stash – although the queen’s special brooch is notably absent from the minor hoard.
King Eodred dies, and the city again plunges into chaos. The party deals with angry rioters, a few obnoxious imps, and a squad of Hellknights, members of the local mercenary band of the Order of the Nail, who are brutally putting down every rioter in sight with horrific amounts of violence. The party manages to largely steer clear of the Hellknights, although Aliani sends one of their officers – a dead-eyed Hellknight named Xerxes – chasing after Lamm.
Through the chaos in the streets, the party rescues several people – a local fisherman known only as Fishguts Jim from some reefclaws, Nadine - a ballerina who is old friends with Aliani - from some thugs, and Beautrice – Nadine’s twin sister – from the psychotic leader of a street gang known as the Dusters who had burned Beautrice’s face with acid, leaving her gravely ill and on the edge of death.
As things begin to calm down, the party is approached by Field Marshall Cressidia Kroft, who is aware of the party’s existence thanks to Vencarlo Orsini as well as Dalen approaching her prior to the riots to offer his services.
The Field Marshall is badly overworked, and lacks the resources to attend to a request from Queen Ileosa, namely to see to the safety of the Chelish Ambassador, a woman known only Lady Andaisin. The ambassador has a small nondescript home in Old Korvosa, and with the riots still ongoing, the party is being asked to find her and escort her to the royal castle for her own protection.
Ambassador Andaisin is unharmed, although the party finds her unsetting and suspicious, particularly after noticing that there seems to be blood and signs of a struggle inside the house (seen through the open front door) despite the ambassador claiming nothing happened the previous night. Nonetheless, the party obediently escort her to the royal palace, where they briefly meet with the ambassador’s old and close friend, Queen Ileosa Arabasti. The queen thanks the party for their efforts at protecting the ambassador, and offers them a new task – escorting her elven handmaiden Elliana, around the city tomorrow to survey the damage from the rioters and present her with a list of problems the crown could attempt to solve.
During the meeting with the queen, Aliani brings up Beautrice’s condition, leading the queen to dispatch her personal physician, Dr. Reiner Davaulus, to attend to her now infected injuries. Dr. Reiner manages to cure Beautrice, although he is unable to remove the scars left on her face from the acid.
While having some misgivings about the entire thing, the party ultimately agrees and returns to the palace the next morning to pick up the curious handmaiden. The queen’s personal bodyguard Sabrina Merrin, believed to be the city’s most skilled warrior, is very insistent that no harm come to the handmaiden.
In the course of escorting the handmaiden around the city, the party comes across the handiwork of the Order of the Nail, in the form of numerous impaled and crucified bodies left in the middle of the street. They also meet the drunk and demoralized guard sergeant Grau Saldado, eventually managing to convince him to pull himself together for the good of the city despite the horrors he had witnessed the previous evening, both from the rioters and the Hellknights.
The tour of Korvosa goes sideways when Aliani suggests to go investigate the suspicious Ambassador Lady Andaisin’s house, which handmaiden Elliana reluctantly but finally agrees to do.
[*}The inside of Lady Andaisin’s house is a death trap full of horrors, including animated furniture that attempts to murder the party (Elliana included), and the re-animated bodies of a kill squad Lamm sent after the ambassador (and surely the source of the blood upstairs that led to this suspicion in the first place). Worst of all, the party discovers a booby-trapped shrine to Urgathoa, goddess of disease, gluttony, and undeath which ultimately sets the entire house ablaze in an attempt to destroy the evidence. The party ultimately escapes, but Handmaiden Elliana is badly shaken and vows to inform Queen Ileosa of this discovery.
While down in the basement the party also learns a bit about Elliana’s backstory - that she grew up as an orphan on the streets of Westcrown in Cheliax, that she came to Korvosa along with Queen Ileosa and Lady Andaisin, and that she is a worshiper of the Empyean Lord Lorris the Savior Hound (with a small medallion of Lorris tucked under her clothes)
On the way back to the palace, the party comes across a group of Hellknights who are publicly executing a group of civilians that they had supposedly caught rioting and looting the previous night. Handmaiden Elliana marches forward to confront the Hellknights and challenge their legal authority to summarily execute Korvosan citizens, when the whole thing is rendered moot by the arrival of Korvosa’s most famous vigilante and masked hero, Blackjack, who frees the civilians and engages the Hellknights in a duel to keep them busy while the remaining prisoners make good on their escape. The party aids Blackjack discretely, and Elliana is injured by a stray lightning bolt after she pushes aside a child who would have otherwise been caught in the bolt and killed. Miraculously, Elliana sustains only minor injuries as well (nothing a few CLW spells can’t fix!), although Sabrina is less than amused when the party arrives back at the palace and Elliana’s injuries are discovered.
The party handles various personal business over the next few days, before they again meet with Field Marshall Kroft. Kroft introduces the party to one of her top detectives, a clean-shaven man named Rhev (who was also a drunk slob, disgraced ex-guardsman, and member of the party in the original timeline). Rhev had been assigned tracking down Gaedren Lamm, due to his Shudder business, his apparent involvement in Eodred’s death, and his stated intention to lead a revolt against the city’s nobility and topple its government. Rhev announces that he is looking into several potential leads into Lamm’s business, including references to a “painter” that he apparently used, possibly to poison Eodred. The trail of evidence Rhev has found so far seems to lead directly back around to Trinia Sabor.
Shortly thereafter, the party is invited back to the royal palace for a luncheon with Queen Ileosa. There the queen presents the party with several personal gifts as a reward for escorting her handmaiden around the city on what the queen felt was a most productive survey. While there, the party broke the news that they believed King Eodred was murdered via poison, leaving Queen Ileosa distraught as she had apparently been uninformed of Kroft’s suspicions.
The topic of Trinia Sabor came up during the conversation, and the party advocated for the girl’s innocence, learning in turn of another possible suspect – King Eodred’s tiefling brother Venster, a quiet embarrassment for the Arabasti family due to his heritage, and thus his somewhat secret existence within the castle. Investigating Venster’s tower also revealed Trinia Sabor’s work area, where she had indeed been diligently working on a secret painting, still half-finished, commissioned by King Eodred to be a gift for Ileosa, rather than anything illicit.
This seemed to be enough to convince the queen of Trinia’s innocence, and ultimately led Silas to petition the queen to protect Trinia, as it was believed she would be better able to protect the girl than Vencarlo. Wishing Trinia to finish the painting that Eodred had commissioned, Ileosa promised to ensure her safety and asked the party to bring her here, which the party did (over Aliani’s protests).
Around this same time, Aliani’s mentor, Haeluna Summersun, had recruited him fully into her secret organization of Milani worshippers. Aliani reluctantly accepted her offer to become a leader within the movement, and encouraged the party to come with him and meet the other leaders at an upcoming secret meeting. During this meeting, Gaedren Lamm made an appearance, announcing his intentions to topple Korvosa’s government, and requesting – as a former member of the Milani group – their formal assistance in his revolution. With Lamm is a certain dead-eyed Hellknight – Xerxes, the same Hellknight Aliani directed to chase after Lamm the night of the riots. Ultimately, thanks to the party’s arguments, the other Milani leaders voted against supporting Lamm, and the criminal leader stormed off.
There were some insinuations from Haleuna that Gaedren Lamm may in fact be Aliani’s father as he was apparently close with Aliani’s mother several decades ago when he, Haeluna, and Aliani’s mother were all leaders within the Milani group – but no one really believed this to be true.
The party has another brief meeting with Queen Ileosa at this point, escorting Trinia Sabor to the palace. They arrive just in time to overhear the queen formally hiring the Order of the Nail to conduct a series of extensive patrols of the roads outside of Korvosa, which will effectively remove nearly all members of the Order of the Nail from Korvosa for an extended period of time.
Shortly thereafter, the party was again approached by Rhev, who had apparently found the drug lab where Gaedren Lamm was currently manufacturing Shudder. Wanting to shut the drug lab down, Rhev offered the party the opportunity to participate in the bust.
The party approached the lab from the sewers, discovering an underground entrance guarded by several wererats. After a brief fight, the party secured that exit and then decided after barricading the door to go back up and enter the lab from the top rather than this secret underground entrance, believing that with this hidden exit now sealed, anyone inside the lab would be trapped.
While the human guards on the ground floor of the lab were easily subdued, what was waiting for the party in the actual lab down in the basement was a much different story. Here the source of Lamm’s Shudder was revealed – a group of derro, insane little blue men that most believed to be urban legend rather than real. Their leader, a derro known as Vreeg, wielded a strange artifact he referred to only as The Eye – a literal eyeball impaled upon an iron spike that slowly leaked a black liquid. While the derro themselves were not that frightful, Vreeg’s pet, a giant cytillipede mutated by Shudder into a fire-breathing abomination that he called Odium, certainly put the party to the test. Ultimately, Vreeg escaped with the Eye through a tunnel smashed out by Odium, and the badly wounded party elected not to follow the two as they made good their escape.
Returning from the drug bust not being a total success, the party yet again gets summoned to the royal palace, only to learn from Sabrina Merrin that Queen Ileosa was missing. Apparently she had slipped out with her Handmaiden Elliana, obstenibly in order to carry out an ill-conceived plan to hunt down Gaedren Lamm and kill him. Sabrina asked the party to find the two and convince them to return to the castle before they got hurt. Worse still, the council of nobles had announced they would be meeting tomorrow to determine the city’s new seneschal, a position with a great deal of influence over confirming Queen Ileosa as the city’s new monarch, or removing her in a favor of a new candidate (and likely sparking a civil war). The front-runner for that position was currently Chelish Ambassador Lady Andaisin.
The party is unable to discover Queen Ileosa’s whereabouts, but they do eventually track down a trail left by her Handmaiden Elliana, a trail leading to Eel’s End and Devargo Bravarsi, King of Spiders. The good news was that Devargo had established himself as a rival and enemy of Gaedren Lamm’s, and had reached out to the party to meet for discussing a mutually beneficial relationship.
With the open invitation to meet, the party is able to be shown into Devargo’s presence with relative ease, and they are eventually able to establish that Handmaiden Elliana had been here as well. Unfortunately, Handmaiden Elliana had been rather rude to the King of Spiders in demanding information on Lamm’s whereabouts from him, including attempting to charm him. Devargo had not been amused, and had his pet spiders capture the handmaiden with the intention of teaching her a lesson in respect, although the party was eventually able to convince him that laying a hand on the queen’s personal handmaiden was a *bad* idea.
As Devargo was going down into the spider-infested hold to convince his pets to give up their prize, his warship came under attack by water elementals summoned by Lamm, who was seeking to eliminate his rival ahead of a meeting amongst all of the heads of the criminal underworld later that night (Lamm had apparently taken to recruiting the crime lords across the city, having failed to recruit the Milanites).
The party battled into the spider-infested hold of the ship has it began to take on water, fighting through several frightened Dream Spiders and invading water elementals, cutting Handmaiden Elliana free and escaping from the hold before it flooded.
Undeterred by her near-death experience, Elliana continued to advocate that the party move on to this meeting of the underworld, being held beneath the Kendell Ampitheater, rather than return immediately to the palace. This resolve softens somewhat when the handmaiden learns why the queen’s immediate return is so pressing (to advocate before the council of nobles tomorrow to try and block Andaisin’s nomination). Ultimately during this discussion, the handmaiden excuses herself and returns to reintroduce herself to the party sans disguise – as Queen Ileosa Arabasti.
Here Queen Ileosa now reveals her reasons for running off alone to attempt to track down Gaedren Lamm – she did not believe that the council of nobles would support her selection for monarch, and she would either be shuffled off into exile or placed in a gilded cage for the winner of the following civil war to claim as a literal trophy wife. As such, she wanted to do one final good thing for the city – purging it of Gaedren lamm, the murderer of her husband King Eodred.
Queen Ileosa also explains that Elliana was a real person, a fellow orphan in Westcrown who looked after her until she disappeared while trying to acquire medicine & food for a gravely ill Ileosa. Shortly thereafter she was found by Lady Andaisin, leading into her relationship as Andaisin’s pupil. In memory of Elliana, Ileosa uses her likeness now as a disguise as a way to honor her first friend.
Queen Ileosa further reveals the nature of her close relationship with Lady Andaisin. More than just a mentor, Andaisin created Ileosa the noblewoman – the real Ileosa was nothing more than a commoner street rat from the streets of Westcrown in Cheliax that Lady Andaisin found and adopted. They came to Korvosa as a pair of grifters, and Ileosa seduced King Eodred into marrying her, and then manipulating him to enact various policies by whispering into his ear – many such policies which were in turn whispered into Ileosa’s ear by Andaisin. Ileosa’s true nature was therefore a secret which could destroy her if it ever got out, and Lady Andaisin was very much aware of that fact.
Despite her misgivings, the party is ultimately able to convince Ileosa to stand against Andaisin at tomorrow’s trial, destroying her candidacy by revealing her status as a worshipper of Urgathoa, technically not illegal within Korvosa but nonetheless strongly frowned upon.
Despite the party’s misgivings, Ileosa is eventually able to convince the party to go forward with interfering with Lamm’s meeting with the various Underworld bosses.
The party sneaks and fights their way inside to the meeting, overhearing that the reason Lamm has called this meeting to get their assistance and fealty, and to prove his capability of becoming the new overlord of Korvosa’s underworld, he will rob the impenetrable Bank of Abadar, a feat of daring that would certainly prove his skill, if he could pull such an impossible task off.
The party then interrupts the meeting, alongside of Blackjack who has also shown up to dispatch Gaedren Lamm. A fight breaks out, prompting Lamm to reveal a new pet spider infused with Shudder that had acid for venom, but the party succeeds in cutting the criminal mastermind down, only to discover that it is only a derro in magical disguise. Quite possibly this derro had also been appearing as Lamm during the previous times the party encountered him.
As if Blackjack and the party themselves are not enough interlopers to this meeting, another group of cowled and masked spellcasters break into the meeting and start arresting various members of the criminal network. After convincing them that they were on the same anti-Lamm side, the party learns these cowled figures are a secretive sub-group of Hellknights, the Order of the Eye, essentially a black-ops splinter group of the Order of the Nail who are still operating within Korvosa and chasing after Lamm.
While the party is dealing with the secret sect of Hellknights, Ileosa in her Elliana alter-ego is negotiating with one of the crime bosses who has not disappeared into the darkness just yet. She manages to strike a deal with the representative of the Scarzni at the meeting to come up with a holy symbol of Urgathoa, which she can present tomorrow as fabricated (since everything burned) evidence that Lady Andaisin is a worshipper of Urgathoa.
The party eventually manages to extricate themselves and return to the palace with Elliana/Ileosa. The next morning, they are invited to the council of nobles meeting by Queen Ileosa to watch their fates play out.
While intimidated by Lady Andaisin, Queen Ileosa ultimately testifies against her before the council of nobles, explaining the party’s presence as a group of investigators that she hired to look into possible misbehavior by the Ambassador. What they uncovered, of course, was a bunch of re-animated corpses, along with a shrine to Urgathoa, which the party testified to the council about while Andaisin futilely attempted to deny everything. Queen Ileosa’s final stroke was the presentation of the (forged by the Scarzni) holy symbol of Urgathoa, which she claimed the party unearthed from the wreckage of Andaisin’s house.
Exposed as an Urgathoa, Lady Andaisin is publicly humiliated and quickly voted as dismissed from consideration by the council of nobles. With a final comment that she was very disappointed in Ileosa, Andaisin stormed out of the meeting, and the discussion turned to other potential candidates.
Ultimately, the field of candidates is discarded for one reason or another, and as they near the end of the list Glorio Arkona of House Arkona finally breaks the stalemate by suggesting the mediocre – but neutral to all of the Great Houses – suggestion of Darvayne Amprei as Korvosa’s next seneschal. Furthermore, in a surprise move, and perhaps inspired by Ileosa’s initiative in exposing Andaisin (although almost certainly due to some ulterior motive), Glorio Arkona further proposes that in order to establish some degree of stability in Korvosa’s usual chaotic succession of rulers, that Queen Ileosa be coronated as Korvosa’s new official monarch. Amprei as his first action as the newly appointed seneschal agrees, and the motion is swiftly confirmed by the rest of the council – Queen Ileosa will be Korvosa’s next monarch, her coronation to be held one week from now, much to everyone’s surprise.
Later that evening, while the party is celebrating their success with stopping Andaisin from becoming the city’s seneschal, they come across a rabble rouser attempting to incite a crowd to riot with the reveal that King Eodred had been murdered (poisoned), a fact which Field Marshall Kroft had been keeping quiet and was going to announce tomorrow. This rabble rouser, a scummy lawyer named Adonis Kreed, was challenged by the party and verbally thrashed, leading the crowd to abandon Kreed’s idea of marching on the castle to demand answers from the new monarch.
The next morning, Field Marshall Kroft approaches the party to formally discuss the matter of King Eodred’s poisoning, which had been confirmed as fact after a second examination by Dr. Reiner. The second examination had revealed the source of the poison as Reaper’s Kiss, an exotic poison designed to make a slow death appear as a natural decline in health. Rather than be ingested, the poison is absorbed through the skin, and traces of it were found on Eodred’s fingers, left from frequently handling something that had been coated in the poison repeatedly over the course of weeks or months.
This new information casts suspicion on both Queen Ileosa, who had regular access to Eodred, as well as Trinia Sabor who was a painter and thus could easily smuggle the poison into the castle amongst her painting supplies. With news of Eodred’s death being a murder rather than natural causes going public thanks to the efforts of rabble rouses like Adonis Kreed and others, there is a renewed potential for widespread riots and Kroft is under a tremendous amount of pressure to produce a guilty party to pin the blame for King Eodred’s murder on.
In an attempt to help clear their names, Field Marshall Kroft requests the party’s help in convincing Trinia Sabor and Queen Ileosa to talk to her. They all return to the palace and Kroft interviews Trinia Sabor, leading to the revelation of several more pieces of circumstantial evidence against the painter – namely that her paint supplier had been found dead and had apparently been mixed up with Gaedren Lamm.
While this meeting is going on, one of the few remaining maids in the castle, a young woman named Violet, suddenly panics and attempts to flee the party’s presence after she is asked a relatively innocuous question about who was working the night of Eodred’s death.
Violet is swiftly apprehended by the party and Kroft, but the strange case takes a horrifying turn as a magical curse begins to cause acid to weep from the girl’s body, nearly killing her and reducing her body into sludge. Only the party and Kroft’s combined efforts manage to save the girl’s life, and from there they discover that Violet has been put under a Geas through ancient Thassilon runes carved into her skin. It is suspected that this may be the handiwork of Rolth, a dangerous and deranged necromancer who was imprisoned in Longacre several decades ago, and was believed to be executed . . . or perhaps not.
Returning to the original conversation, Kroft also learns of the existence of Venster Arabasti, and investigates his residence inside the tower. Venster is presently not home, which is quite curious given he was essentially a reclusive shut-in. Around this time, the party also learns from the maid Violet that she saw Lady Andaisin pay a late night visit to Venster shortly before King Eodred’s death.
Lady Andaisin, who is still living in the palace at this point, shows up, refuses to answer any of Kroft’s questions while citing diplomatic immunity thanks to her position as ambassador, and declares that after Ileosa’s betrayal, it’s clear she is unwelcome here and will be leaving to find another private residence. She then leaves and disappears to some location unknown to the party or Ileosa (and otherwise refuses to elaborate).
Later that night Dalen attempts to learn more about the Eye by casting Pagebound Epiphany. He unexpectedly taps into an ancient trove of Thassilon knowledge about the Eye, claiming it is an ancient evil along with some research notes on the Eye’s involvement in blood magic that result in the transfer of magical traits, along with a seemingly unrelated set of research notes on the existence of parallel dimensions. Dalen’s research is interrupted by the triggering of an ancient magical booby trap as well, which interrupts his epiphany by casting Phantasmal Killer at him. Dalen manages to survive relatively unscathed save for some spontaneous bleeding from his right eye, but learns no more about the Eye.
Additional research into what Lamm’s planning reveal that he has stolen a cache of weapons from Haeluna’s Milani group, and that he is going to do something at the Longacre Building, the city’s courthouse and civil center, or possibly the Deathshead Vault – the prison beneath Longacre. This could be a feint to distract from the bank robbery, or his main objective, and the party endeavors to pass along this information to their allies.
The party attempts to contact Blackjack by leaving a note at a dead-drop the vigilante had told them to use to get in touch with him. Said dead-drop is outside Giotorri’s toy shop, and whoever dropped the note off across the street is approached by Pearl and Garnet Giotorri, his “daughters” who despite appearances do not appear to be human. They are nonetheless friendly and reveal that Blackjack is a “friend of the family”, hence their curiosity before excusing themselves and returning back into the toy shop.
The party arrives at Longacre the next morning to find that the building is suspiciously closed, even the areas open to the public. The party investigates further and discovers that Lamm’s men have taken over the building after entering disguised as guards, and are now holding the civilians inside as hostages. Blackjack also shows up around this time, explaining that he received their message and that there had been an abortive attempt at robbing the Bank of Abadar just now – a couple men with crossbows running inside the bank and immediately getting taken down by the security. The bank robbery was the feint and Longacre or the prison beneath it was Lamm’s main objective.
Breaking into the employee entrance at the back of the building, the party fights its way through corrupt guards and several Shudder-mutated dogs (Thunder hounds). Meanwhile, Blackjack breaks into the main courtroom through a skylight and begins fighting the men guarding the hostages there. The grand melee gets more desperate as a corrupt guardsman named Baldrago who has had several run-ins with the party before now joins the battle as a Shudder-corrupted madman.
Baldrago and the corrupt guards are eventually all defeated, saving the hostages and allowing Chief Arbiter Zenobia Zenderholm to emerge from her locked office, which Lamm’s men had been attempting to break into when the party arrived.
Several members of the Sable marines, Korvosa’s military arm, also arrive at this point to take control of the scene. Their commander, Marcus Endrin, is also present and explains he had provided himself and some of his men to the city guard today to serve as a rapid response team – Kroft and the other city guards were on their way over from the Bank of Abadar.
While Lamm is not here, it seems he went down into the Deathshead Vault below to stage a prison break of some sort. The party, Blackjack, and Marcus Endrin descend down into the prison to attempt to find Lamm, despite the fact that the prisoners had been released and were now in a full-on riot.
The party deal with a group of prisoners who have taken a some prison guards hostage, along with an acolyte of Pharasma, Kira Nightshade, who was there to provide medical aid. Blackjack personally rescues the acolyte, earning himself a fangirl in the process. From Kira and the guards, the party learns that Lamm had passed through here, freeing the prisoners on his way to Cell Block C, only a moderate security portion of the prison rather than Cell Block D where the more dangerous prisoners were kept. Apparently Lamm is looking for a Professor Hans Leithold, who is an expert of Thassilon lore and its language. Xerxes the Hellknight was also here, going into Cell Block D to apparently rescue his brother Darius, a notorious gunman and murderer-for-hire. The party elects to chase after Lamm rather than the disgraced Hellknight.
The party catches up with Lamm just as he is breaking into the Professor’s cell and Vreeg unleashes a magical fog that begins to re-animate all of the dead guards and prisoners within Cell Block C into zombies. Despite planning to get away yet again through a secret derro tunnel, Lamm is caught by Silas and finally killed by the party. This time it’s apparently the real Gaedren Lamm, although thanks to the fog and the low doses of Shudder he’s been drinking, he gets back up as an undead abomination. Lamm is quickly killed again for the second and final time shortly thereafter.
Despite the party’s best efforts, however, thanks to another appearance by Odium, Vreeg escapes along with the Professor. Still dealing with the rising undead and with wounded, the party wisely decides not to follow.
Searching Lamm’s body, in a concealed pocket the party finds the queen’s brooch, along with a letter written by lamm and addressed “To my Killers”. The letter is a written confession that Lamm was indeed responsible for poisoning King Eodred, and exposes several other members of the conspiracy. First, Lady Andaisin as the apparently ringleader of the conspiracy, who provided Lamm with funding along with the queen’s brooch (actually given to her by Queen Ileosa as a gift) as insurance for Lamm’s safety. Adonis Kreed (contact between Lamm and Andaisin), Haeluna Summersun (provided the poison), and Trinia Sabor (smuggled the poison into the palace) are also listed as members of the conspiracy.
With Lamm dead, his revolution is seemingly at an end, although Vreeg is still at large with the Professor. More troublingly, the party learns from Silas’s daughter Vjala – Blackjack’s mole within Lamm’s organization – that Lamm had discovered some sort of ancient Thassilon weapon and was planning on using it, but needed the Professor to translate the controls.
Lamm’s allies are also still in play, as while emerging from Longacre the party overhears Lord Jeggare of House Jeggare berating Field Marshall Kroft over an apparently robbery at his museum, where the thieves stole his owlbear skeleton, which seems like something only a necromancer like Rolth would be interested in.
Returning to the palace the party learns that Trinia Sabor has gone missing. Investigating reveals that it appears she was spirited away from the castle by agents of the Church of Asmodeus, and is now being kept within their great cathedral a short distance away from the castle.
Seeking a diplomatic solution, the party returns to the castle to learn that while they were away Queen Ileosa had finally dealt with Ambassador Andaisin. After learning of her role as head of the conspiracy to murder Eodred, along with the proof via the brooch Ileosa had gifted Andaisin, Ileosa had finally snapped and confronted Andaisin with the evidence personally. This nearly backfires when Andaisin responds with physical violence, grabbing Ileosa and crushing her Lorris medallion, but Ileosa turns the tables when she reveals that she has spoken with Empress Abrogail Thrune of Cheliax about Andaisin’s worship of Urgathoa. In response Cheliax has revoked her ambassadorship, and is demanding that she return home immediately, likely to face a heretic’s death. Or, Andaisin could remain here and be imprisoned from her crimes against Korvosa. Faced with such a choice, Andaisin chooses quiet exile back to Cheliax over Ileosa’s “mercy” and leaves aboard the Direption which was already in the harbor.
The next day, Queen Ileosa, Sabrina, and the party travel to the Cathedral of Asmodeus to negotiate Trinia Sabor’s release. The high priest of Asmodeus in the city, Ornher Reebs, reveals that they have already extracted a confession from Trinia as to her guilt in Eodred’s death (they are very efficient that way), and threatened that they had a secondary confession which implicated Queen Ileosa as the mastermind for this murder. In return for ensuring that the confession where Trinia claims she acted alone reaches the Arbiters, the Church of Asmodeus wanted Queen Ileosa to recall the Order of the Nail back to Korvosa.
There is some negotiation back and forth for the Church to surrender Trinia into the party’s custody rather than execute her themselves, in return for further concessions from Ileosa, when the negotiations are entirely interrupted by a giant mechanic snake smashing through the roof. Lamm’s ancient Thassilon weapon has been activated, by Haeluna Summersun, who reveals that she was always on Lamm’s side, and that she was the one who had killed Aliani’s mother, not Lamm (and Aliani’s reason for going after Lamm in the first place).
while Haeluna continues to smash up the church, the party attempts to free Sabrina from the rubble as Ileosa runs for safety (Orhner Reebs already having used Word of Recall to escape to elsewhere in the cathedral). Xerxes the Hellknight and Darius the gunslinger emerge from the metal snake construct to give chase to Ileosa, but are stopped by the party. Darius shoots Sabrina in the face with a dragon pistol, shredding her face but accomplishing little else but piss her off (thanks to the party’s efforts at freeing her from the rubble, otherwise it would have been a coup-de-grace).
Darius falls in battle, alive but left by the party to be dealt with by the Church of Asmodeus. Xerxes swears revenge and escapes via invisbility.
Haeluna manages to snatch up Queen Ileosa in the snake’s mouth and then flies the construct off, kidnapping the queen. Thanks to magic items produced by Dalen, Sabrina and the party are able to track Queen Ileosa’s location, leading them directly to lamm’s old base of operations within the Grey District, the city’s graveyard.
Accompanied by Sabrina and Marcus Endrin, the party finds a way into the Dead Warrens, a network of tunnels beneath the graveyard, through the abandoned tomb of House Poryphia, a disgraced group of nobles who had been banished from Korvosa by King Eodred’s mother Queen Domina.
Waiting for the party inside the tomb was more re-animating mist and a large group of exploding skeletons, although with Jeggare’s owlbear skeleton, repurposed by Rolth into a dangerous necrocraft.
Overcoming the undead through clever spellwork by Dalen, Aliani’s channeling, and good teamwork (as well as Marcus and Sabrina slaughtering everything that came within reach), the party stands ready to proceed deeper into the tomb, Lamm’s apparent base of operations within the city, seeking Queen Ileosa, Haeluna, and the ancient Thassilon weapon.

**Inspectre** · 2023-02-03, 09:12 AM (ISO 8601)

The Poryphia tomb falls silent once more as the last skeleton falls, leaving only your breath and the faint rattle of your armor to disturb the silence.
It takes a moment to reorient yourself as memories from this world, similar but different from your own, flood into your mind.

You were here to find Queen Ileosa, who had been kidnapped by Haeluna Summersun by way of a giant mechanical snake built in the time of ancient Thassilon, for purposes unknown but warfare certainly seems the most likely answer.
Your magic had told you they were somewhere deep below the surface of the Grey District of Korvosa, and this tomb of the disgraced House Poryphia had seemed like a suspicious nearby feature of the terrain.
Sure enough, that welcoming committee of skeletons, re-animated by a familiar purple mist summoned last by the derro Vreeg down in the depths of the Deathshead Vault to re-animate prisoners to cover his and Gaedren Lamm's abortive escape was a sign that you may be on the right track here.
The cavernous hole dug through the back wall of the mausoleum, and into the soft grey dirt beyond the stone, also suggests that more awaits you deeper into the earth.

"Well, that's the last of 'em." Sabrina grunts as she kicks a moldering set of bones, scattering them across the floor as she hefts her falchion over one shoulder.

"So it would seem. Well, it would seem that we're on the right track. Somebody down here certainly doesn't want visitors."

Marcus Endrin observes as he quietly sheaths his scimitars, brow furrowing as he looks over the group, seemingly not aware that this was now suddenly a different world. The Sable Marine commander nonetheless seems to pick up that something might not be right with all of you, as he glances over the group.

"Is something wrong? You all seem . . . different."

Fortunately, nothing is physically wrong with you, save for some minor injuries on Silas and Aliani, who had each gotten caught by some of the skeletons as they exploded into razor-sharp shards of bone.
Sabrina and Marcus were also lightly wounded, but seemed ready to press on.

(From the previous fight with the skeletons, Silas is still down 13 HP and Aliani 6. The floor is now yours!)

**Starbuck_II** · 2023-02-04, 01:09 AM (ISO 8601)

"I don't like the looks of this..."
Magenta said twirling her mace and slamming the bones of a skeleton one more time just to make sure it stays dead., "I'm a doctor not undead hunter."
She looks around confused, this isn't how things were.

"I don't think ...this is ...I don't remember what....

Hold still Silas, you look injured, I'll fix you up"

Spoiler

Show

Heal check heal - (1d20+14)[20] + Inspiration (1d6)[5]

DC 20 cure 8 hp; DC 25 cure 10 hp, DC 30 cure 14 hp

**DarkOne-Rob** · 2023-02-04, 11:40 PM (ISO 8601)

The short, attractive sun-tanned halfling woman with a scimitar shakes her head violently back in forth as she tries to get her bearing. She looks around for a moment and seems to be having trouble seeing. "Need you all to stop blurring about..." she mutters as images in her mind seem to coalesce into the reality before her. Rubbing her eyes a bit, Bellinda recognizes her companions, but still seems a bit confused.

With a light dance step Bellinda sheathes her curved blade and looks around at the array of recently-undead corpses surrounding the party. "Messy, that purple mist - we're definitely where we should be, though. I'll scout ahead a bit. Once everyone is ready to follow, stay just far enough that you're out of the light from my 'torch,'" she uses visible air quotes and points at her Ioun Torch where it is rotating around her head. "I'll cover the light up if I think there is danger. If I retreat back to you we can ambush whatever follows. If I don't come running, then wait for me to call for you. Everyone got that?" she asks, waiting for a confirmation before she steps further into the tomb.

Spoiler: OoC

Show

Whether she is right or wrong, Bellinda is assuming she is the party's scout (+11 Stealth and +9 Perception) and is a bit uncomfortable with the layered memories rattling around in her head. To handle this she is deliberately stepping away from the other PCs for a moment, both to do what she says (scout) and to try and give herself time to think without interacting with others quite yet.

After looking at the other PCs, she's likely a bit shocked at Silas' appearance and struggling with the behaviors (that she vaguely remembers) of everyone besides Nicious. She's a pretty straight-laced, Lawful Good little blade-dancer and has rejected much of her own rougher, less-than-lawful past life (lives). Bellinda won't be in any way hostile, but has to get her head screwed on for working with these people who apparently she has worked with but doesn't feel like she remembers...

Feel free to engage with her, though! I'm not trying to be antisocial, just RP the interesting setup.

**Stelio Kontos** · 2023-02-05, 03:38 PM (ISO 8601)

Aliani shook his head to clear the proverbial cobwebs, dabbing at his jaw where the owlbear has sliced it a moment earlier. His eyes cast about, trying to take in the peculiar scene.

"No, Mr. Endrin, I think I'm ... probably not fine? Feels like I barely remember half of you. Didn't think the damned thing hit me that hard?"

He heard the halfling speaking. Jakk -- no, wait, that wasn't right either. "Be careful" he offered, as if that wasn't obvious enough. "Mind yourself, don't go too far ahead. These tombs are prone to having all sorts of things designed to, erm, deter intrusion."

Wiping off the trickle of blood on his hand, he took a moment to straighten the rose-shaped brooch adorning his collar, .shaking his head in a mixture of puzzlement and resignation.

**Darvin** · 2023-02-08, 08:36 PM (ISO 8601)

Dalen stumbles slightly in his disorientation, more mental than physical, as he tries to right his mind. Amidst the metaphorical fog clouding his mind and the literal darkness dulling his eyes he darts around to try and piece together the situation. Different people, some that should be here that aren't and others he didn't recognize, and Endrin seemed to be aware of the shift. That made his curiosity alight like a torch, clearing away the fog and sharpening his focus.

"Different? How so?" Dalen asks, "Be specific, there is doubtlessly powerful magic at work,"

Dalen casts Detect Magic, though he expects to spot little other than perhaps a linger aura of necromancy. Whatever just happened is likely far beyond the simplest of divinations.

**PiccadillyPi** · 2023-02-09, 04:08 AM (ISO 8601)

The last lick of unlife landed causing the tiger-stripe tiefling to toil with tips of bone tightly fitted through the joinings of his armour. Not enough to collapse the fellow, but he felt he had enough picks to host drinks at the Floundering Fairy some streets down from the merchant square. His eyes winked and winced. Perhaps it was something he ate, but his stomach gurgled and growled. His feet led him in trust to a friend he had forgotten in all the excitement of this exhumated encounter. He stopped near the doctor and waited for a moment, her hands fast and efficient in clearing his injuries. Flicking far a final fine fragment of felonious framework, Silas slurred his thanks to Magenta. Briefly he glanced down and pondered her strength, and if it all gathered at her back. The private performer was then reminded of a friend from work.

Even Teacup had her struggles.

Once again thanking his newly old friend, Silas stumbled away and toward the bard - it felt more correct if only for a moment - and laid his hand on the man's shoulder. No, less hairy. Just as wiry. A woman?

"An odd question for you, Bella." he inquired, abusing her name as he often would for those he could. "Have you ever thought to wear a beard? Rosy, darling, have you one for her? A dark and mysterious piece full of curses and curls - like this ploughing crypt!"

Finished speaking only briefly, he immediately spoke up again.

"Apologies. My mind! I feel as if I've gone adrift just now. Scattered like sand in snow. I can assist you from behind with a bit of extra vision."

Finally he hunched an inch, unable to stop his body's commotion.

Oof

His tail curled up at the base, swirling down with a quiver and shake. News of his gut health soon emanated with sulfurous silence. His hands clenched tightly against his belly and Bellinda's shoulder as Silas oooed and oofed.

"I should hope not! No magic should treat my tulip like this. I feel like I've munched on some muenster, yet I've not even touched my ravouneli raschera since last week!"

**DarkOne-Rob** · 2023-02-09, 08:35 AM (ISO 8601)

Spoiler: Requested dice rolls

Show

Perception: (1d20+9)[23]
Stealth: (1d20+11)[19]

Note, Bellinda will use her Ioun Torch carefully by holding it in her hand and only letting enough light out for her to see. She lacks Darkvision or Low-light Vision, at least until I can get them some other way...

I suspect this will not help her scout stealthily, as Undead have Darkvision and will surely note the little light she uses, but that's what I've got!

**Inspectre** · 2023-02-24, 12:21 AM (ISO 8601)

Marcus Endrin frowns at Dalen's question, furrowing his brow as he sheaths his scimitars.
He thinks a moment, clearly struggling to put his intuition into words, and then shrugs with a shake of his head.

"I am not sure . . . I can't quite put it into words. Call it a soldier's intuition? Perhaps it's a lingering spike of adrenaline from fighting those undead and nothing more."

The unhelpful vagueness of Marcus's reply and his own lingering sense that things were different yet again urges Dalen on to do something he has not done previously, and he casts Detect Magic to observe his surroundings with magically-augmented eyes. And although the results are certainly intriguing, there's a small part of Dalen's brain that wishes he hadn't done that as his vision is immediately assaulted by a blinding flash of Overwhelming magic auras, centered on each of you - with the notable exception of Marcus and Sabrina. To the relief of that self-preserving portion of Dalen's brain, by the time that the detection magic has refined his viewpoint to be able to identify that the magic is centered on each of you, the auras are already rapidly decreasing in strength. Within seconds the magic auras around each of you - which Dalen determines to be from the Conjuration school of magic - have faded down to a dim, lingering aura of magic. And then to Dalen's surprise (and likely consternation) the auras of magic fade away to nothing at all over another matter of seconds. That shouldn't be possible, as such an overpowering surge of magic should have left traces of itself that lasted for days, not seconds, and yet now there was absolutely nothing to denote that you were "different" as Marcus observed a moment ago. There is now absolutely nothing to denote that you are different.

Of course, Dalen also detects lingering auras of Necromancy magic from the clouds of undead re-animating fog in the mausoleum's alcoves, which was slowly beginning to fade, along with the dim lingering aura of Necromancy magic that suffuses the soil of the Grey District itself. And that Marcus and Sabrina each carry a large number of magical items, also to Dalen's complete lack of surprise.

While Dalen is conducting his magical survey and Magenta sees to Silas's wounds, Bellinda moves over to the tunnel leading further down into the grey, (un)dead earth of the Grey District, its entrance a broken-out wall at the back of the mausoleum. Her fears about easily being spotted due to the necessary light of her ioun torch prove to be unfounded, however, as it turns out the tunnel ahead is illuminated by periodic outcroppings of a fungus growing out of the walls and giving off a pale blue bioluminescent glow. Although not quite enough illumination for fine detail work, the fungus is perfectly serviceable to light up the tunnel enough for easy traversal, and as seems likely inevitable, more fighting ahead. Those taller than the halfling lass will undoubtedly also be grateful for the fact that the ceiling of the tunnel has clearly been dug with human height in mind, and although the tallest members of the party have to duck their heads, it is nonetheless relatively easy to traverse.

The tunnel continues ahead into the earth at a gently descending angle for about 100', after which point it levels off and comes to a split, as the human-sized tunnel veers off to the right (from your perspective, left/West on the map below) while the tunnel continuing to lead on ahead lowers and narrows to a little bigger than an animal burrow. By ducking her own head, Bellinda would be able to continue on ahead without much difficulty, but anyone larger would need to crouch-walk or perhaps even crawl at points in order to continue down that tunnel.

(For the sake of keeping things moving, I will assume that Bellinda continues to scout the area, and we will move along to the set-up for the party's first? next? combat encounter)

Checking out the tunnel leading directly ahead, Bellinda notices that is continues another 35' or so before abruptly cutting to the left (right/East on the map) and seeming to open up into a chamber with thankfully human-standard ceilings. 10' into the narrow tunnel, Bellinda's sharp eyes detect a panel of wood painted to resemble the surrounding soil - a secret door - which is thankfully not locked or trapped. Quietly swinging the door open reveals another narrow tunnel that leads to another panel door 30' away, through which Bellinda can hear a voice quietly grumbling to itself in a language she doesn't recognize as somebody bustles around in that room clicking glass and metal tools.

Following the human-sized tunnel off to the side quickly leads into a spacious 30' x 40' chamber which appears to have been used as a barracks at some point judging from the dozen or so bedrolls tossed haphazardly across the floor. The room has been abandoned, abruptly so given the messy tossed-about nature of the bedrolls and the obvious empty spots here and there about the room to mark where a bedroll once laid but no longer. At the far end (South) of the chamber is another human-sized tunnel leading over to seemingly the same chamber as the small tunnel does. From that chamber, Bellinda can hear more voices speaking in Common, growing louder as the conversation seems to grow more heated.

"Stop jerking me around, you little blue freaks! I were promised coin and a fair lot of it for joining up with Lamm, and I intend to collect! Where's Haeluna!?"

"Does Vorg look like the aspiring Lamb's keeper? But if you insist on being rude, Vicks may be able to produce a payment for you."

"Hmm, yes, blood to recompense the promised blood price."

"What does that even mean? Ugh, why can't you creepy little gits speak proper Common."

There is a hiss of irritation, and then the sing-song voice responds over the rasp of a weapon being drawn.

"It means we'll pay you in your own blood, dolt."

"This one is clearly the most foolish foal in the herd, eh Vorg?"

"Wha -"

The man's grunt of surprise is overshadowed by the soft twang of a crossbow bolt, followed immediately by a grunt of pain and then the thud of a body on the floor.

"Thus, the wage of Rudeness is Death."

"Well said, Vicks. The toads will feast well today."

And then there is the soft scramble of a body being dragged across the earthen floor, and the rattle of a lock on iron bars.

(So, because the derro are distracted by dealing with what is perhaps the very last of Lamm's men, and their perception is . . . not good to begin with, you get a surprise round - a single standard action - on top of your standard first round of actions if you can make a DC 10 Stealth check, which you can take 10 on. So unless you have a negative Stealth score due to dex/armor you just auto-succeed and get the surprise round, otherwise roll against DC 10. You may position yourselves however you like on the map as combat starts, anywhere within the area circled in hot pink. The rooms are standard human sized, as is the barracks chamber and tunnels leading to and from it. However, the other tunnels - circled in red - are Small-sized only, requiring Squeezing from Medium creatures. This will generally only have the impact of counting as effectively difficult terrain, although if you get stuck fighting in those tunnels as a medium creature you will be at -4 to-hit and -4 AC from the squeezing. You can confront the two derro and their unconscious prisoner if you wish, or attempt to bypass that portion of the combat encounter by using the secret door to go into the other room. Either way, you will get into combat before being able to move deeper into this complex. Your objective is that stone tunnel at the far East of the map. Vision is considered normal for now, thanks to the bioluminescent fungus everywhere. Please let me know if you have any other questions.)

Battle Map

**DarkOne-Rob** · 2023-02-25, 01:15 PM (ISO 8601)

Spoiler: Bellinda's Status, Surprise Round

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Bellinda Swiftfoot
Female Lawful Good Halfling Bard (w/ 2 Archetypes), Level 1, Init 4, HP 13/13, Speed 30
AC 18, Touch 15, Flat-footed 14, CMD 13, Fort 3, Ref 7, Will 3, CMB -1, Base Attack Bonus 0
Scimitar +5 (1d4+5, 18-20/x2)
Studded Leather (25 GP) (+3 Armor, +4 Dex, +1 Size)
Abilities Str 10, Dex 18, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 16
Condition Arcane Strike, possibly Charging (-2 AC)
Bardic Performance used today: 0/13 rounds (possibly +1)

Bellinda sneaks around carefully, relieved by the presence of other light sources and grateful for her mostly-quiet companions...even if she didn't remember them all that well. In spite of her confusion, the little halfling takes her role seriously and focuses as she scouts ahead, returning frequently to whisper directions and warnings, especially about the secret door and speakers. "I think the derro just killed someone - they were arguing. If we move quietly we can surprise them," she tells the party as she points them forward down the human-sized paths. "I'm going through the smaller tunnel - less crowded for me that way. Be careful!"

Spoiler: Mechanics

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Bellinda will start at K10.

Initiative: (1d20+4)[18]

It's unclear on the map - can Bellinda charge the enemy at O12? If so, she will after activating Arcane Strike: (1d20+7)[23] to hit, ~~(1d20+7)[12] (13-20/x2)~~, (1d4+5)[9] magic slashing damage, ~~(1d4+5)[6] critical strike damage~~.

If she cannot charge, Bellinda will use one round of her Bardic Performance to activate Word Strike, dealing (1d4+4)[6] (halved) damage to the enemy in O12. (It does not look like this allows a saving throw - all other Bardic Performances that do allows saves explicitly say so in their entries.)

**Starbuck_II** · 2023-02-26, 01:12 AM (ISO 8601)

Magenta nods, she was itching to release some tension the violent kind. She draws her rapier. "Thanks for the look-see, Belinda"; She moves into position: K-12
In surprise round, she uses Study combat on N-15 creature
Normal turn, she moves and attacks the creature twirling her rapier trying to strike a weak spot.

Spoiler

Show

Status:
AC: 22 () HP:28/28 (temp hp 0)
touch: 11, ff: 21, CMD: 16
Saves: +2/+6 /+6
Speed: 20 feet (20)

Luckily, I have no stealth penalty so Surprise round
initiative - (1d20+2)[20]

Attack - (1d20+8)[19]
Dam - (1d6+4)[8]

**Darvin** · 2023-02-26, 04:47 AM (ISO 8601)

"Well, it seems a soldier keeps his intuition as sharp as his blades. But this doesn't seem to be a threat, and we haven't the time to investigate magical phenomenon. I'll confer with my colleagues on the matter after the queen is safe," Dalen's hand subconsciously moves to the pocket where he keeps Zellara's deck.

As they overhear the Derro arguing up ahead, Dalen allows the others to take the lead. He hugs the wall and stays with the rear of the group.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Take 10 on Stealth for a result of 16

Dalen will stand behind whoever is hanging the furthest back. Dalen will be holding his magic in reserve right now, given the number of enemies in play here he's not going to blow any spells

**Stelio Kontos** · 2023-02-26, 06:14 PM (ISO 8601)

Aliani cast an inquisitive glance at Dalen's remark, before shrugging his shoulders and moving on.

He nodded sagely at Bellinda's plan. "A fine idea, Miss Swiftfoot. Before you go, may I suggest ...?"

He went down to a knee, looking the halfing in the eye a he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Warriors of man and nature share akin
The fragile nature of their skin
Of mighty armor they all bespoke
Borne by the tall and mighty oak
Though without bite, they did remark
Upon the power of its bark."

As he finished, the halfing's skin began to grow vaguely wooden and stiff, though it was no less supple than it had been before.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Aliani casts Barkskin on Bellinda; should last the duration of us being down here. +2 natural AC.

He hung back at the corner as the plan was to ambush with great ferocity, an attribute which he had to admit he did not possess. He took a moment to cast a further spell upon himself before advancing behind the others into the battle.

"The invisible hand of fate shields the righteous from harm."

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Start at F12, surprise round: cast Shield. Will reserve normal action until others go!

**PiccadillyPi** · 2023-02-28, 12:06 AM (ISO 8601)

Silas nodded after Dalen's dialogue with Marcus, not completely convinced his comprehension of their conversation could be by chance alone.

"A sound plan, darling."

The wait for Belinda's observations left the tigerstripe tiefling to grow anxious. Her reporting didn't alleviate much as Silas couldn't help but imagine a similar fate for the queen if they were slow to advance. Silas followed closely behind Magenta.

"Mustn't tarry!" he muttered impatiently.

He expected they might sally forth, ablaze with ferrous fury against the blue bastards, but at the last moment she took pause to view the violent villains. Her seeming hesitation gave pause to Silas' own ideas, leaving him time enough to study one near enough to spit upon. Still, he thought he might've gotten one more good hit in those seconds given a clear path, but he was behind by both action and ally.

In subsequent sequence to his sisters in arms, Silas swept his sword so as to slice the scum he saw some seconds away.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Surprise round:
Study target: Vicks

Normal round:
Move to N13, leaving room for Belinda if needed. Power attack Vicks.

Attack: (1d20+7)[8]
Damage: (2d4+12)[18]
Crit (25+): (1d20+7)[23]
C. Damage: (2d4+12)[17]

Silas
HP: 31/34
AC: 21 (FF: 18 / TC: 13 / CMD: 20)
Saves: 6/7/-1
Speed: 20
Current Studied Target: Vicks

**Inspectre** · 2023-03-11, 02:03 PM (ISO 8601)

(OOC: Starbuck_II, the last time I tried to send you a PM it told me that your mailbox was full. Is there a good way to keep you informed for when this thread is updated, or are you already subscribed to this thread and don't need an update from me?)

The group gets set up to assault the next room, Bellinda going down the low-ceiled tunnel alone with the rest of the party piled into the human-sized corridor that has been dug into the soft earth of the Grey District.
By the time everyone is in position, the derro has managed to unlock the rough cage door at the back of the chamber (which does indeed seem to be just the door to a large cage, repurposed to serve as an actual door to the ice-coated chamber beyond).
Before the derro can manage to shove the door open, however, Magenta and Bellinda dart forward from their respective entrances to stab at the two derro in the room, each leaving a bleeding wound in their target's side. Magenta moves to stand over top of the human that had been dragged towards the cage door, able to tell at a glance that the man is still breathing, at least for now.

This attack is followed up by the more heavily armed and armored members of the group charging into the room after them, Marcus and Silas in the next wave and Sabrina bringing up the rear as stealth is clearly not her strong suit (plate mail does not make for good sneaking attempts, so Sabrina is the only member of the group not to get a surprise round).

Silas takes a hard swing that could have taken the derro's head off its shoulders if it had connected, by unfortunately the derro ducks under the swing and leaves it to scour a long line in the soft earthen wall behind it.

"Surrender and you will not be harmed!"

Marcus barks out, squeezing and pressing his shoulder into the sloped wall of the chamber as he maneuvers in beside Magenta to take a wild swing at the derro, the tip of his scimitar just glancing off the derro's armor.

Spoiler: Marcus

Show

Surprise: Moves into the room

Move: Moves to O14, having to squeeze a bit as that's not a full square
Attacks Vorg (-4 Squeezing)
To-Hit: (1d20+15)[17]
Damage: (1d8+6)[11]

Sabrina meanwhile, has finally managed to move up to join the fray, taking up position at the entrance of the tunnel leading deeper into the complex. She growls out a warning a moment later.

"Another of these freaks just came around the corner of the tunnel here!"

Spoiler: Sabrina

Show

Double moves into the room and takes up position at the last remaining square of O13

The derro, predictably, ignores Marcus's command with a mad cackle as it boots the door to the cage open and then pulls out a club topped with a long barbed metal hook.

"Dinner time!"

The derro chortles, while its companion pulls out its own hooked club while intoning the words to a spell. Forced to bring its weapon around to fend off both Bellinda and Silas, the derro stumbles over its pronunciation and quietly curses as the spell fizzles.

Spoiler: Derro

Show

Vorg - Opens cage door, draws weapon
Vicks - Draws weapon, attempts to cast spell, gets an "11" on his concentration, and spell fizzles
Vem - Double move to indicated position on the map, T13

As the cage door swings open, there is a loud, reverberating "RIBBIT!" from the depths of the dark, icy chamber beyond. A massive toad, coated in patches of ice and even icicles in spots on its back, hops into the dim light provided by the patches of bioluminescent fungus, the closest patch beginning to shrivel a bit as the toad moves up to the mouth of the cage, bringing a very painful chill wind with it. Without any hesitation it lunges forward to beside the derro that had just released it and attempts to lock its rime-coated jaws around Magenta's leg, while behind it a second man-sized toad hops into the light.

Spoiler: Glacier toads

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Glacier Toad #1 - Hops forward to M15, and attempts to bite Magenta, starting a grab attempt if it succeeds
To-Hit: (1d20+12)[31]
Damage: (1d8+7)[13] plus (1d4)[3] Cold
Grab attempt: (1d20+16)[36] vs. CMD

Glacier Toad #2 - Hops forward to N16

As the toads move closer, the aura of chill air around them intensifies, as ice begins to condense on the armor of Magenta, Marcus, Silas, and the derro.

(DM Warning! Remaining within 10' of the toads will leave you within their icy auras. On the toads' next turn, Magenta and Vorg will each take 2d4 cold (being within both auras), while Silas and Marcus will each take 1d4 cold (being within Toad #1's aura)

Battle Map

Spoiler: Status

Show

Good Guys
Magenta - 16 Damage, Grappled
Bellinda - Barkskin
Aliani - Shield
Silas
Dalen

Marcus - Squeezing (-4 To-Hit, -4 AC)
Sabrina

Bad Guys
Vicks - 9 Damage
Vorg - 8 Damage
Vem
Glacier Toad #1 - Grappled
Glacier Toad #2

**DarkOne-Rob** · 2023-03-11, 02:49 PM (ISO 8601)

Spoiler: Bellinda's Status, Round 1 and 2

Show

Bellinda Swiftfoot
Female Lawful Good Halfling Bard (w/ 2 Archetypes), Level 4, Init 4, HP 29/29, Speed 30
AC 19, Touch 15, Flat-footed 15, CMD 16, Fort 5, Ref 10, Will 6, CMB +2, Base Attack Bonus 3
Arcane Strike, Battle Dance (+2 to hit and damage) MW Scimitar (315 GP) +10 (1d4+7, 18-20/x2)
Mithril Shirt (1,100 GP) (+4 Armor, +4 Dex, +1 Size)
Abilities Str 10, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 16
Condition Battle Dance (Inspire Courage, +2 vs charm/fear and +2 on attack/damage rolls)
Arcane Strike (+1 damage and magic)
Bardic Performance used today: 2/13 rounds

"Dawnflower give me courage!" says Bellinda seriously as she begins to dance, her curved blade seamlessly flowing about her in both attack and parry as she steps around the dangerously insane derro adjacent to her. Her blade flashes out unpredictably but in an aesthetically satisfying way, as if she were dancing to music only she can hear and the blade was accentuating some unheard burst of joyous sound!

Spoiler: Mechanics

Show

Round 1: Free action to 5-ft step to flank, if possible. If flanking isn't possible, Bellinda will move so she can't be flanked.
Swift action to activate Arcane Strike.
Move action to start Battle Dance (Inspire Courage).
Standard action to attack the adjacent enemy: MW Scimitar (1d20+10)[26] to hit (not including flanking bonuses, if applicable), (1d20+10)[12] (18-20/x2), (1d4+7)[11] magic slashing damage, (1d4+7)[11] critical strike damage.

Round 2: Free action to 5-ft step to flank, if possible. If flanking isn't possible, Bellinda will move so she can't be flanked.
Free action to maintain Battle Dance (Inspire Courage).
Swift action to activate Arcane Strike.
Standard action to attack the adjacent enemy: MW Scimitar (1d20+10)[15] to hit (not including flanking bonuses, if applicable), (1d20+10)[22] (18-20/x2), (1d4+7)[8] magic slashing damage, (1d4+7)[11] critical strike damage.

If any enemy incurs an AoO: MW Scimitar (1d20+10)[14] to hit (not including flanking bonuses, if applicable), (1d20+10)[23] (18-20/x2), (1d4+7)[10] magic slashing damage, (1d4+7)[10] critical strike damage.

**Starbuck_II** · 2023-03-11, 04:39 PM (ISO 8601)

OOC: I deleted mail so in box should be open enough in future.

"Argh, get this guy off me!" Magenta said in anger. "I'm a doctor, not a warrior"

Magenta tries to throw the creature off then backs away to M-12 if successful.

Spoiler

Show

Status:
AC: 22 () HP: 12/28 (temp hp 0)
touch: 11, ff: 21, CMD: 16
Saves: +2/+6 /+6
Speed: 20 feet (20)

Standard action:
grapple - (1d20+5)[19]
adding a roll of Inspiration, takes 2 because being used for non-skill roll (1d6)[1]

Then moving away if succeed.

**Stelio Kontos** · 2023-03-13, 06:44 PM (ISO 8601)

"Come on, you can stay behind me" Aliani remarked to Dalen as he moved forward, taking in the battle.

"Hold fast all! You'll be all right, we're right here, got your back! Just concentrate on what's in front of you! The gods watch over us this day!"

Please watch over them.

With no visible effect, the gods did indeed watch over them, at least a little.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Move to L12
Use defense domain ability; allies within 20' get +2 deflection bonus to AC and to CMD.

**PiccadillyPi** · 2023-03-13, 08:30 PM (ISO 8601)

Silas hopped atop the crate nearby, leaving his safety in the blessed hands of Aliani's magic. Sword in hand, he slashed at the frostbiting bufo.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Silas jumps to M14, provoking from Vicks. AC is currently 23.

Power attack vs glacier toad 1
Attack: (1d20+8)[28]
Damage: (2d4+13)[15]

Spoiler: Crit

Show

Attack: (1d20+8)[17]
Damage: (2d4+13)[18]

Silas
HP: 31/34
AC: 23 (FF: 20 / TC: 15 / CMD: 22)
Saves: 6/7/-1
Speed: 20
Current Studied Target: Vicks
Buffs: Inspire courage / Divine Defense

**Darvin** · 2023-03-16, 03:28 PM (ISO 8601)

Dalen keeps his eyes peeled for anyone attempting to flank behind them, but trails close behind Aliani. Peering around the corner, he scans the room beyond and draws his wand.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Move to K12, move action to withdraw wand of magic missile

Knowledge(Nature) check for any pertinent info about the frogs: (1d20+10)[22]

**Inspectre** · 2023-03-19, 06:19 PM (ISO 8601)

Bellinda tries to find a good spot to flank the derro, but this proves difficult with the little blue freak's back against the wall, and his one flank "protected" by the pile of boxes - as Silas demonstrates a moment later, not an impossible obstacle to overcome, but one that does require effort (i.e. boxes to the north of Bellinda/Vicks count as difficult terrain, so 5' step there is not possible unless Bellinda has something that lets her ignore difficult terrain). Even without help, she manages to wound the derro once before he manages to pull out his hooked club, deflected her second strike and then trying to bury the weapon in Silas's back as he moves off to help Magenta.

At the same time, Dalen and Aliani pile into the room, the wizard brandishing a wand and the playwright summoning a protective field of magic around his allies.

Spoiler: Vicks AoO

Show

vs. Silas (+2 shield from Aliani)
To-Hit: (1d20+6)[9]
Damage: (1d6+1)[3]

Magenta needs the help, as it turns out, as despite her best efforts to slip out of the frog's toothless jaw, it does manage to keep a strong grip on her (escape failed). Silas delivers a brutal slash to the frog's side, shattering rime and drawing blood that quickly freezes over the wound - a hard strike, but not a fatal one (no critical).

Marcus unleashes a barrage of strikes against the derro in front of him, trying to keep it out of the fight between Magenta, Silas, and the massive icy amphibian. The derro reels back from the sable marine commander as blood sprays from his chest, and this is the only thing that keeps him standing as Marcus's follow-up strikes get caught on the corner of the earthen wall between them.

Spoiler: Marcus

Show

Full-attacks Vorg (-4 Squeezing)
Main Hand #1
To-Hit: (1d20+15)[25]
Damage: (1d8+6)[8]

Main Hand #1
To-Hit: (1d20+15)[21]
Damage: (1d8+6)[13]

Main Hand #2
To-Hit: (1d20+10)[17]
Damage: (1d8+6)[8]

Off-Hand #2
To-Hit: (1d20+10)[11]
Damage: (1d8+6)[12]

Sabrina roars and charges off down the hallway at the derro who had just blundered into this battle, who shrieks upon seeing the furious bodyguard squeezing her way into the tunnel at him, sword-point first. The charging thrust rips a long gash up and along the derro's left shoulder, although these urban legends of Korvosa are much tougher than they look as the derro remains standing despite its injury.

Spoiler: Sabrina

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Charges Vem (squeezing, Power Attack)
To-Hit: (1d20+15)[21]
Damage: (2d4+21)[25]

**Inspectre** · 2023-03-19, 07:33 PM (ISO 8601)

Cursing and coughing up blood, the derro that Marcus had just savaged nevertheless raises its hands and begins attempting to weave the same spell that its compatriot had failed at. But due to the choking on his own blood from his injuries, the derro can barely wheeze out the words to the spell, and it fizzles just as the last had.

Spoiler: Vorg

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Attempts to defensively cast Sound Burst, gets a Nat 1 on his concentration, fails.

In the corner, the other derro takes wild swings at Bellinda with its hooked club. The derro gives a cry of victory as his club's hooks descend towards Bellinda's shoulder, only to growl as the blow is deflected - narrowly - by Aliani's double layer of magical protections (Barkskin + his deflection aura together blocks the attack!)

Spoiler: Vicks

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To-Hit: (1d20+6)[22]
Damage: (1d6+1)[3]

From the tunnel, there is the sound of casting, and then more derro cursing as it also fails (lmao 0-3 on Concentration checks for these guys)

Spoiler: Vem

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Casts defensively, fizzles the spell.

The frog - glacier toad as Dalen identifies them upon entering the room - gums on Magenta for another moment, and seems to be trying - without much success - to swallow her. Given she's just as big as the toad is, this over-ambitious plan is doomed to failure, and with an angry ribbit it gives up on this plan, turning on Silas to snap at him now and leaving Magenta free.

Spoiler: Glacier Toad 1

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Free Action: Releases its grapple on Magenta
Standard: Bite at Silas
To-Hit: (1d20+12)[19]
Damage: (1d8+7)[14] plus (1d4)[3] Cold

Behind the melee, the other toad works its jaws, working up a wad of icy spittle which it spits over the heads of the derro and its fellow ice toad, at Silas. A wave of cold emanates out from the two toads, leaving Silas, Magenta, Marcus, and the badly-wounded derro shivering (3 Cold damage from the two toads' auras this round). Both the bite and the spittle end up coming up short against the tiefling dandy.

Spoiler: Glacier Toad 2

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Full-Round Action: Ice Spit at Silas (-4 Cover, -4 in-Melee penalty)
To-Hit: (1d20+3)[11] vs. Touch
Damage: (2d4)[4] Cold

Spoiler: Dalen's Knowledge Check

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Dalen sees the two creatures and notes that they appear similar to glacier toads, arctic-dwelling amphibians that are undoubtedly yet another wizard's joke at the expense of the natural world. These two, however, are smaller than normal glacier toads, which tend to be as large as a horse, not man-sized, leading him to believe that these are yet more shudder-mutated experiments of Lamm's. Even so, they still will likely share their more natural cousins' weakness to Fire, and the more dangerous features of the real Glacier Toads - the freezing aura, the ability to swallow victims whole - are reduced compared to the real thing. The ability to spit ice globes though . . . that's new, likely a "gift" of the Shudder mutation.

Battle Map

Spoiler: Status

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Good Guys
Magenta - 19 Damage
Bellinda - Barkskin
Aliani - Shield
Silas - 3 Damage
Dalen

Marcus - 3 Damage, Squeezing (-4 To-Hit, -4 AC)
Sabrina - Squeezing (-4 To-Hit, -4 AC)

Bad Guys
Vicks - 20 Damage
Vorg - 32 Damage
Vem - 25 Damage
Glacier Toad #1 - 15 Damage, Grappled
Glacier Toad #2

**PiccadillyPi** · 2023-03-20, 01:17 PM (ISO 8601)

With the animal forced to pay him mind, the tiger-stripe tiefling took advantage to refocus his efforts by attempting the removal of a nearby Derro from life and whimsy.

Spoiler: OOC

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Move action to study Vorg.

Power attack vs Vorg
Attack: (1d20+9)[26]
Damage: (2d4+14)[19]

Spoiler: Crit on result of 27+

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Attack: (1d20+9)[12]
Damage: (2d4+14)[17]

Silas
HP: 31/34
AC: 23 (FF: 20 / TC: 15 / CMD: 22)
Saves: 6/7/-1
Speed: 20
Current Studied Target: Vorg
Buffs: Inspire courage / Divine Defense

**Starbuck_II** · 2023-03-21, 11:27 AM (ISO 8601)

Magenta as soon as she is freed moves to safety M-10 then tries to patch herself up. She wraps her bite wound with gauze.
"Those frogs are ferocious"

Spoiler

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AC: 22 () HP: 15/28 (temp hp 0) (+6 from Heal check)
touch: 11, ff: 21, CMD: 16
Saves: +2/+6 /+6
Speed: 20 feet (20)

heal - (1d20+14)[19] + inspiration - (1d6)[6]
Heal: 4 hp
If reach DC 25: 6 hp
If Reach DC 30: 10 hp

**DarkOne-Rob** · 2023-03-22, 02:20 PM (ISO 8601)

Spoiler: Bellinda's Status, Round 3

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Bellinda Swiftfoot
Female Lawful Good Halfling Bard (w/ 2 Archetypes), Level 4, Init 4, HP 29/29, Speed 30
AC 23, Touch 17, Flat-footed 19, CMD 18, Fort 5, Ref 10, Will 6, CMB +2, Base Attack Bonus 3
Arcane Strike, Battle Dance (+2 to hit and damage) MW Scimitar (315 GP) +10 (1d4+7, 18-20/x2)
Mithril Shirt (1,100 GP) (+4 Armor, +4 Dex, +2 Natural AC, +1 Size)
Abilities Str 10, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 16
Condition Battle Dance (Inspire Courage, +2 vs charm/fear and +2 on attack/damage rolls)
Arcane Strike (+1 damage and magic)
Bardic Performance used today: 3/13 rounds
Barkskin (+2 Natural AC) 40 minutes
Deflection Aura (+2 Deflection AC)

"Let the sun shine into the darkness!" exclaims Bellinda in a paroxysm of religious ecstasy as she spins and whirls in place, striking at one of the insane derro with her flashing blade!

Spoiler: Mechanics

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Free action to maintain Battle Dance (Inspire Courage).
Swift action to activate Arcane Strike.
Standard action to attack Vick: MW Scimitar (1d20+10)[23] to hit (not including flanking bonuses, if applicable), (1d20+10)[28] (18-20/x2), (1d4+7)[8] magic slashing damage, (1d4+7)[8] critical strike damage.

If any enemy incurs an AoO: MW Scimitar (1d20+10)[30] to hit (not including flanking bonuses, if applicable), (1d20+10)[26] (18-20/x2), (1d4+7)[9] magic slashing damage, (1d4+7)[10] critical strike damage.

**Stelio Kontos** · 2023-03-22, 10:00 PM (ISO 8601)

"You're doing wonderfully, all!" Aliani encouraged, as he clambered awkwardly over and on a few boxes to assist Bellinda in the fight.

"Remind me to ask you something when we've a moment", an odd remark perhaps, as his morningstar looped out in an overhead motion.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Move (via a northernly route) to O11
Attack! (1d20+3)[22], (1d8)[5] damage

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