You all move a bit further back into the alley. A large pile of crates juts out from one wall and provides you some cover. You have a moment to regroup.

From your knowledge of Korvosa, figuring out a route to the bridges that link Korvosa and Old Korvosa isn't much of a problem. The sound of armored footsteps in the road stop your discussion. A unit of Maidens has arrived. Twenty at least. The crowd quickly disperses, including the guardsmen. You hear one of the Maidens bellowing orders for her troops to search the area. Time to move.

You head north, following the alleyways and ducking into abandoned buildings to avoid further partols of Maidens. Where did all these female warriors come from? Each unit is at least ten soldiers strong, and the further north, the more of them there are to avoid. The Queen seems to have built herself an army while no one was looking.

The sun is dipping by the time you reach the northern shore. The dark is not a problem. There are still enough fires burning to see by. There must have been a riot up here. Buildings are torn down. Bodies lay heaped in the steeet. Crows feed off the dead in the light of burning carts.

Acoss the river, you can see the far shore of the island that is Old Korvosa. Sections of the old city seem to have been leveled. But there are still large sections in which homes are lit and smoke pours from chimneys. So there are people still alive over there.

Three bridges link Korvosa and Old Korvosa. The central and eastern bridges are in tact but part of the western one has been destroyed. It may still be passable, but would probably involve clambering over large holes or piles of rubble. It is however the least guarded. Before the mouth of the eastern and central bridge are barricades, each manned by one of those squads of Grey Maidens. The western bridge seems only guarded by three maidens. At least from what you can tell.

Any alarm raised on any bridge though will bring troops from te other pounts rather quickly though.

Feel free to ask any questions.

Chandanar had major trouble carrying the unconscious Davalus. He had taken the time to bind him and gag him, but even so the headlong flight along the streets to reach the northern shore with a body slung over his shoulder was anything but easy. Many times he had serious doubts about the sense of taking the Queen's man, but he hoped to get some sort of information from him.

Chandanar dumbs the body on the floor and closely watches the scene.
"Maybe we can skip the bridges all together and take a small boat to cross over ?", he says trying to find such a small rowing boat that would be easy to take.
"We cannot force a Bridge quickly enough, or can we ?", he asks, not sure about his new companions' powers. The half-orc looks like a spell flinger of some sort and he might perhaps be powerful enough to dispatch a whole squad. Of course, this would raise the alarm sure enough.

The cleric points to the western bridge.
"Looks like the better choice." he says with an uncertain glance to the dumbed body.

OOC:
I could most likely not have carried Davalus all by myself (low STR).
If your guys have convinced me that there's no info to be had, or that it is useless or indeed that the circumstances have made it impossible to carry Davalus I'm fine with that. Just want to have that clear.

With Davalus in tow, their job was certainly complicated, but there was little time to discuss it with the maidens...everywhere. Izzick had figured them a personal guard, but now they were on every corner. Izzick had considered using the same tactic they got into the necromancer's lab with...but it would be much more difficult to also hide the body. "Maybe we could cause a distraction somewhere and take a different bridge?"

Vaddis sat back and pondered the questions, "Starting a fight on one bridge will bring more from the other bridges to join in the fight. The boat might be a good idea. Has anyone ever even bothered to look at a grey maiden after she died? Could we capture one as a prisoner for questioning?"

Chandanar likes the idea of a causing a distraction, but before he can voice his opinion the warrior surprises him with his query.
Why did I not look at the face of the Grey Maiden ?, he wonders himself, quite perplexed. Annoyed he grinds his teeth.
"No, I did not look at one of the Queen's new guard. I meant to, but somehow forgot about it.", Chandanar pauses before continuing, "The one I fought was human, though, not some unnatural being. That much I know at least."
Still shaking his head he opinions.
"We have trouble enough to carry Davalus. I would not hinder ourselves even more with another captive right now. But it's a good thing to keep in mind on the next opportunity."
"I think we might be able to dispatch the three quickly enough to be able to flee from the reinforcements. But they would know that someone has entered Old Korvosa and I'd rather would not have the Queen know that we have retreated there."
"I think a distraction is the best option. Peferably one where we do not need a scapegoat who will end up imprisoned and at the mercy of the Queen."
"Any ideas ?""

Selvin listened quietly. Then finally he nodded. "Okay. The western bridge is the best bet. You all get moving. I'll give you a little time to start making your way across the bridge before I cause a distraction. Once I start, take out the maidens and don't stop for anything. If you can, keep an eye out for me once you are across and to safety so I can find you again."

His wings flapped a bit, almost impatient, but he didn't take to the air just yet. He took a moment to cast a couple of healing spells on to his outsider friend.

11:21, Today: Selvin Larst rolled 11 using 1d10+5. Lesser Eidolon Rejuvenate.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:40, Wed 10 June 2015.

“I have decided that I am not a fan of the Grey Maidens,” grumped Tarrov as the group observed the barricades, stretching his arms to try and work some life into his tired muscles.  He felt, right at this moment, very put upon.  And with good reason, he felt!  There just seemed to be one bad piece of news after the other.

“You wouldn’t think there were this many women with martial talent,” Tarrov continued to complain.  “Before this all started, I don’t think I knew more than a handful who could even swing a sword, much less who could wear all that armor.”  He pursed his lips, thinking.  “And even fewer who would want to join an all-female martial order.”  Now that he was considering the issue, it was really kind of astounding.  “Who are these Maidens?  And where did Her Majesty find them?”

“Is it just me, or is the Queen turning out to be the worst sort of tyrant?”  Tarrov gestured to the leveled portion of the city.  “Killing her subjects, locking down the city, conducting witch hunts against officers who are, to all appearances, very loyal?”  The bard looked unhappy.  “How did it come to this?”

He returned his full attention to the conversation.  “Well, I’m pretty good at distractions.”  He grinned.  “I think I could create an illusion of rebellious citizens setting up some sort of siege equipment over there.”  He pointed to an area fairly far away from the bridges, but still within sight of them.  “Then, when their attention is fixed, these illusory freedom fighters would launch a flaming attack on the maidens.”  He pointed at the central bridge.  “With access to a source of fire, I can cause some harmless pyrotechnics on the bridge.”  He grinned.  “Think that would be distraction enough?”

Chandanar was not long enough in the city to make a valid evaluation of the state of Korvosa or indeed of the Queen herself. He had grown suspicious upon the displayed brutality, cruelty even, of that new military order. And the disease was a most uncanny sort, clearly not a natural one, but one bolstered by evil magic. He had done his best to help the local clergy, but it had become clear quickly that fighting the symptoms would be futile. It would take deleting the origin of the disease to bring Korvosa back to a peaceful state.
Even so, he had been shocked to see the Queen's doctors killing the patients ruthlessly. And when he had seen Davalus it became clear it was not the act of someone lower in the hierarchy. Further, he doubted Davalus was the single culprit. And that's why they needed to question him. Though, with the power the Queen wielded so openly he had serious doubts what could be done at all. Maybe these four could turn the tide. If so, he sure was willing to help them.

"That type of distraction sounds a lot less risky.", he comments the bard's suggestion.

Let me know which distraction you want to go with.

A scan of the surrounding area does not turn up any usable boats. Apparently the Maidens sank what ones were moored here. There is one boat still afloat. It is manned by a small squad of Maidens who seem to be readying it for use as a patrol boat. It sits on a pier at the base of the eastern most bridge, down a stairwell and under the guard post there.

There is a large amount of lumber, rope, and pitch near abouts. A raft could be constructed easily enough.

Chandanar calls on his goddess to heal his newfound allies.

He approaches Tarrov.
"In case you need to bluff your way out and need to convince the Grey Maidens with your words rather than weapon, I can grant you some help from Iomedae. May I endow you with her glory ?"

---

rolled 17 using 4d6. Channel Energy to heal allies.

Touch of Glory on Tarrov (if allowed by him)
bonus equal to cleric level on a single Charisma-based skill check or Charisma ability check. This ability lasts for 1 hour or until the creature touched elects to apply the bonus to a roll.