It has been weeks since Eodred II's death and thing s are finally starting to get back to normal in Korvosa. Yet still the streets thrum with unrest and wild rumors. Crime seems to be on the rise, with pickpocketings, robberies and assaults skyrocketing. Some still hiss "usurper" and "murdering harlot" at the mere utterance of Ileosa's name and, more shockingly, rumors that the king's death was not of natural causes are on the rise.

On the way back the group overhears snippets of conversation being spoken outside every tavern and nearly every market stall. Some say it was demons or dragons. Some say it was invisible assassins but most seem to speculate that the king was poisoned. A few suspects are floated up but mostly the rumors are centered around the Queen being responsible.

The group reports their findings to the Field Marshall who flashes a rare smile and there is a sense of relief in her voice.

"Praise the gods. I'll send this up to the politicians but this should be enough to convince the diplomat that he should speak favorably or at least fairly of Korvosa in the future. I don't know if I mentioned this before but I was a little apprehensive to have the queen thrust adventurers upon the guard but with your group bringing me success after success I feel the Queen's judgement was more than sound.

Watchmen Figus and Kyra, your services alongside these mercenaries are quite admirable so for the forseeable future I will leave you assigned to the group. You both seem to be flourishing with a more lax hierarchy and I cannot argue the results you've shown me in this past week.

For now I think you have all earned a well deserved respite. There will always be more work for you, and yes more gold, but for now I think a week of recreation is warranted. Consider this part of your reward for dealing with the diplomatic crisis without any bloodshed and I expect you back at the start of the next week rested and ready to help Korvosa once more. Dismissed."

OOC: This will be a period of "down time" and we can use the downtime rules if you so desire. So for now if you would like to craft or hunt for magical items or get some custom masterwork weaponry purchased now is the time. In addition if you want to start investing in teams and buildings refer to the downtime rules either in Ultimate Kingdom or online on the PF SRD.

Please PM me how you want to spend your time as that might spawn little side adventures handled informally via PM akin to a "choose your own adventure" rather then using rules and crunch.

Four Days Later

While a rest from dealing with criminals and traitorous guardsmen was welcomed it was not one to last. Two days into their vacation the group started overhearing a new round of rumors. It seemed that the king had been poisoned and the guards had caught the poisoner responsible. Throughout the following day the rumor mills were spinning overtime. Some say that it was someone close to the king but not the queen. Others say that a guard failed to report a suspicious character lurking around and threw himself to his death when he realized his mistake.

Finally a name starts getting whispered around: Triana Sabor. She was a young artist who had painted a portrait of Eodred not six months before the king's death. The story goes that the now dead guard saw her slip something into the king's tea the day her portrait was completed and shortly afterward the king fell terribly ill.

The citizens latch upon the rumor and soon anger is threatening to boil over again. The name Triana is spat out like a curse word and the commoners start quickly placing all the their troubles upon her. She was the reason the king died. She was the reason a foreign born Queen now sat upon the throne. She was the reason why the city had rioted and the Hellknights had been brought in. She was the reason stores were looted and burned, why muggings and murders were on the rise, why people stubbed their toes and milk soured.

By the fourth day people were angrily shouting for her death and were getting into arguments about what method was the best punishment for regicide. Most favored hanging but a vocal minority suggested beheading or for her to be drawn and quartered.

By mid-day on the fourth day breathless Korvosan guards had run around wrangling the adventurers to report once again to Field Marshall Cressida.

This time Field Marshall Cressida had come out of the watch HQ and travelled to visit the adventurers personally. They meet at a local tavern and she slips a gold piece across the bar and leads the group to a private back room. Once safely away from prying ears she turned her somber face to the adventurers and spoke.

"You've doubtless heard the stories that the king's killer has been named. Yet there's something more going on here, I'm afraid. Queen Ileosa could have quietly had this Trinia Sabor arrested at any time yet she has instead let the news leak and letting the mobs get enraged. It seems to me like she wants the riots to come back. Certainly with the mob and the Hellknights out on the street hte girl doesn't stand a chance at a trial. They'll lynch her the moment they find her. And even if she did kill the king, mob justice isn't the way. Worse, if she's innocent then the real killer can use this distraction to throw us off the trail forever.

Before Trinia is murdered we need to be absolutely sure she did this thing. That means we need to catch her . before the mob. We know where she lives, a flat at Midland and 42 Moon Street, but it's only a matter of time before hte mob finds her. The Hellknights don't seem to care about containing the mob, something about the "order of law" makes it a greater priority for them to antagonize the mob instead of defusing the situation and its only making things worse. The mob's covering most of Midland now and Trinia's flat is near the middle of the mess. I've got every available guardsmen trying to keep things contained and under control but if I were to send a squad right into the heart of the mob it would trigger a riot.

I'm sure you can see where this is going. I need you to get into Midlan, find Trinia, and bring her back to me so we can deliver her, safe and sound, to somewhere where she can be interrogated, preferably with magic so we can be absolutely sure of her role in Eodred's death. Get in there, catch her, and get out without letting the mob get its hands on her. I'll have agents and officers nearby. If you can get her to one of the checkpoints we'll be in the clear. Any questions?"

Downtime: Nothing specific. Ayeesha has more money now than she's ever seen in her life. She's going to go shopping (sent in PM) and then spend the rest of the week in the pleasures of wine, women, song, men, more wine and more women. Let me know if I need to remove any $$$ from her character sheet!!!

Back at the Citadel:

Ayeesha swore at the notion that things might get unstable again. "They were just settling down! I liked them settling down! "

Her eyes took on a dreamy, far away quality for a second. "Doubt the queen's involved in it though. She seems to really care about this city."

She stood up and turned to leave.

"Right then, we need to go get this monster who killed the king. Alive, of course." she looked very disappointed in that last part.

Figus spends his downtime looking for a couple custom weapons and playing around with a pet bird.

"One thing I know is that the mob is always wrong."

Kraw spends the downtime training with the fencing master and learning how to use his speed to inflict pain as opposed to Strength. He also picks up a pair of Masterwork Daggers, a bandolier, and a few potions and oils.

Kraw shakes his feathered head. "I for one will not assume her guilt. It sounds like mob mentality,  not facts. Still she is safer within the palace than out among the mob. Let's find her quickly."

"It is a bit strange that this incident happened six months ago, yet only now it is brought up. You'd think that king's guards would be a bit more diligent when it comes to a possible regicide attempt."

Can't really afford any new gear yet, so I'll just buy an Antitoxin to replace the one I used, DM can take the cost of my total (50 gp). As for downtime, I'd like to get started on creating a personal library of a sort, to boost my Knowledge skills. I'm looking into rules to see what is needed.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:02, Wed 11 Sept 2019.