The guards give a brief inspection of the group for signs of illness before waving them inside. Inside there is chaos to match the exterior as priests look exhausted as they walk back and forth performing their duties trying their best to ignore the clamor and uproar happening right on their front steps. Patrons are likewise upset at having to wade through a small sea of the diseased in order to conduct their business and frayed nerves on both sides have resulted in several arguments breaking out between irate citizens and frustrated clerics.

Passing quickly across the hall is a familiar face, Ishani Dhatri, the acolyte who helped try to heal Brienna before the party took over.

When he sees them he immediately alters course to intercept them with a grave expression on his face.

"Oh that was quick! I only just sent a message for you. Thank you for coming. I assume you already suspect my reasons for calling, having seen the crowd outside and I assume you recognize the symptoms too. I had hoped that the Soldado case was isolated, but apparently we have a bigger problem on our hands than I’d feared.

I'm concerned for the city, but also for my brethren here. The morning after my visit to the Soldado home I came to the temple to hear that three of my brothers awoke with similar symptoms, although they had already been healed. I spoke to each, and aside from their usual duties in the temple, none have had any dealings with the sick. Later in the day, more of my brothers: vaultkeepers, guards, and acolytes, developed symptoms, and folk from throughout the city began arriving in search of healing.

It’s been more than a little bit frightening. I mentioned the name you gave it and so far no one has come up with a better name for it so that is what is spreading through the city.

This affliction has spread fast, yet I'm not yet sure how. Most of the patients we're treating have come from North Point and Old Korvosa. The disease seems to spread fastest through the lower classes. Although we here at the temple can heal some of the ill, I fear that the spread of the disease will soon outpace our resources. The only way to stem the growing infection is to involve all the city;s resources. We need to organize. We need to call upon the faiths of Sarenrae, Pharasma, and even Asmodeus to face this attack.

Archbanker Tuttle and several of his assistants are out pursuing alliances with these other faiths, but even that won't be enough. We need to involve the Korvosan Guard, at the very least. Gar mentioned that you had a good relationshpi with Field Marshal Kroft and I was hoping you could introduce me to her so that I can plead my case. Would you be willing to escort me to Citadel Volshyenek and arrange a meeting?"

Kraw nods "yes, but I think we are dealing more with a curse than a disease. The disease originated, we believe, from silver coins. Silver coins that floated ashore from that ghost ship that was sunk into the harbor." Kraw shows him the sketch of the evil-looking chest. "The girl found the coins in this chest and went into North town to spend them. Then she got sick."

"Curse, disease. What does it matter. It is not natural and people will die either way unless something is done about it. I think that visiting the Field Marshal is darn good idea. Wish you had some supplies to spare ... although as the situation stands, I doubt there is any around."

"That's a theory we have, anyway." Kyra shrugs at Kraw's report. "But sure, let's go talk to the marshal."

The priest pulls out a fat sack of gold and hands it over to the group.

"True to my beliefs, no good deed should go unrewarded. The church as authorized a generous payment to each of you for your troubles."

Looking through the pouch it looks to be about 200gp a person!
This message was last updated by the player at 18:26, Wed 30 Sept 2020.

Figus smiles as he takes the coin "I would not feel right taking your coin, but since it is from the Churches coffers ... It feels right to do so and who am I to deny a god or his official representatives on earth."

Reaching Citadel Volshyenek poses little problem, despite Ishani's fear to the contrary. Although many in the city attempt to conduct life as normal, stilted mumbling and quiet conversations replace the raucous chatter of any normal business day, as if noise might attract the plague's lethal notice.

Along the way Ishani explains what the church knows so far. His first encounter with it, after
Brienna, was at the temple, when three of his fellow priests received healing for the disease's early symptoms. Several other faithful fell ill soon after, but each was healed with
ease. The first sick from outside the temple were a barkeep and his wife from the Three Rings Tavern in North Point. They paid to be cured magically and were sent on their way. Within the next hour, though, three more sick citizens arrived, and more in the hours after that. Soon the crowd the they saw upon entering the temple had formed. Ishani fears that the scene on the temple's steps is but a precursor to the dangers ahead.

As the group approaches the Citadel they can hear the echoes of forcefully spoken words echoing off the imposing granite and iron walls. Dozens of red-and-silver-armored guards stand in assembly upon the pitted stone mustering ground here, mumbling in hushed, somber tones. Before them, atop a weathered wooden platform, paces Field Marshal Kroft, her eyebrows arched sternly as she momentarily tolerates the crowd's murmurs. Behind her upon the scaffold stand three grizzled veteran guardsmen at attention, as well as an ominous-looking group. These men wear cowled robes of oily-looking leather, supple gloves, and wide black hats. Some grip heavy canes, others dark satchels. Each of them, though, wears a dark-goggled mask tapering to a pointed beak. Among them stand two others. The first is a middle-aged gentleman in a simple black overcoat with streaks of white gracing the sides of his short dark hair. He watches the gathered guards with a soft, concerned expression, his hands tightly clasping a heavy-looking doctor's case. The second figure is an imposing one indeed—a woman dressed in full-plate armor, a longsword and shield at her side, and her blank-faced full helm sporting a bright red plume.

The Field Marshal’s fierce tone cuts through the rumble of whispers.

"You will escort Doctor Davaulus and his men in their royal duties wherever those might take them. Furthermore, you are to consider orders from any of the queen's new order of Gray Maidens to be as binding as any superior officer in the Korvosan Guard or Sable Company. You are guardsmen of Korvosa. You will not balk. These are dire times and your city needs these healers. Your city needs you. Your patrol leaders have your assignments. Dismissed!"

As the assembly ends, the guardsmen gathered in the courtyard break up into groups, many reporting for various duties while others loiter for a few moments to quietly gripe about their new orders. The armored woman, one of the queen's aforementioned Gray Maidens, quickly organizes the guards, silencing bickering words with harsh commands and assigning orders for the day. Kroft and her veteran attendants begin to head into the citadel with Dr. Davaulus and his physicians.

Kraw calls out "Marshall Croft! We have critical information about the disease!"

The Field Marshall catches Kraw's call and gives a nod. She motions for the group to approach and the Doctor and his men take a step back to give space to the newcomers.

The Field Marshall pauses at first, giving a nod of acknowledgement to the four. When she gets to Ishani her eyebrow arches up but she carries on addressing Kraw.

"It is good to see you. It seems your fears about a plague are correct. At least this time the Queen seems to be sending help instead of fanning the fires of destruction."

She looks over her shoulder where the Doctor is waiting, conversing quietlly with his men who just nod along silently.

"This is Doctor Reiner Davaulus and his men. He is the Queen's personal physician going back to her time in Cheliax. Doctor Davaulus, these are consultants with the Korvosan guard. Specialists who help deal with unusual or difficult situations. While your average guardsmen is fine stopping a thief or breaking up a bar fight sometimes we are faced with more difficult or delicate situations and that is where specialists like these men and women come into play."

Dr. Davaulus is dressed like a Chelaxian gentleman. In his mid-40s he wears a simple black overcoat and grasps a healing kit at his side. He has short dark hair, with streaks of white gracing the sides and a somber look on his face.

When he speaks it is deliberate and calm, utterly professional.

"I understand completely. Unusual times call for irregular solutions. When the Queen found out a strange new disease was on the loose she contacted me immediately. While the clergy are excellent for maintaining general health typically during plagues there just aren't enough divine magic to go around so that is where I come in, devising mundane solutions that can be scaled up to heal the whole city.

To that note the first order is to establish our authority so I am coordinating with the Field Marshall to get these posted all throughout the city. When we have devised a solution it is important that we act as quickly as possible. Time wasted arguing about authority and chain of command just means more bodies piling up on the street."

He reaches into his pocket and unfolds a flier. Several of the guardsmen leaving the area and dispersing to the city are carrying stacks of them.



While this conversation is going on the men in the plague masks just stand to the side watching silently. Like a group of crows posted on a fence they have an unnerving air about them as if they are just waiting for someone to drop dead in front of them so they can fly down and examine the corpse.

Kraw nods to the physician. He says "Figus and Kyra treated who we believe was the first person to contract this disease. Kyra received some Divine Inspiration that allowed her to put a name to the disease, calling it Blood Veil. They were successful in treating it. But I'm not sure if it really is a disease. I think it's a Curse. We interviewed the young girl who was sick. She was in North Point, and she discovered a chest that washed up on shore. I think the chest came from the ghost ahip that was sunk in the harbor. Inside, she found numerous silver coins. She immediately went on a spending spree in North point. I think that whoever handles the silver coins contracts the disease. The reason I think that? The girl made quite a good sketch of the chest. Take a look and see if you don't think a Curse might be involved?" Kraw shows her the sketch. He adds "that declaration should say 'knowingly spread'. If Sabine pays the troops with Cursed silver, I don't want to be the one who has to try to arrest her."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:27, Thu 01 Oct 2020.

Figus does not look too happy, but does not interrupt Kraw.

Suddenly all the physician's men swoop in, silently looming over everyone's shoulder to get a look at the drawing being shown around. They don't ask any questions or even converse with one another but just alternate between staring at it and the drawing.

Dr. Davaulus takes the drawing once his men have had a good look and studies it very carefully.

"Interesting. You say a young girl discovered one of these? Well there is no way disease like this could be spread through coins but it can't be a curse as we have been able to treat it with nonmagical means. Still it is a clue. Do you mind if I keep this? I know of some scholars I could show it to and see if they have ever encountered something like this."

Although he is earnestly asking the question he is already folding the drawing to tuck into his coat pocket.

Once the drawing is put away the plaguemasked doctors all take a step back, resuming their earlier position of silently watching the group from a short distance away although they seem a lot more animated. They are occasionally looking at one another and then looking back at the doctor and the group.

Figus rolls his eyes as trying to say "Knew it!"

Kyra shrugs at that. The situation is not yet clear enough for her to make a judgement if the disease is even connected with that box or not, and finding the box to confirm their suspicions seems a difficult task now. She is still wondering though, where exactly did the spell pull the name "Blood Veil" from? There have to be some records of this disease somewhere, or someone who knows of it. But she can look into that later, right now they should probably focus on stopping it.

"Any particular orders for us, Marshal?"

I think it was Figus that came up with the name, he casted the spell.

OOC: And yet there are already flyers printed with the name...

Ishani, polite and too the side, takes the moment of pause to introduce himself to the Doctor and the Field Marshall.

"If it would be helpful I would like to help coordinate the efforts of the churches with those of the Queen's Physicians and the Guard. I think that if this goes poorly everyone of noble heart will need to be working together to save the city."

The Doctor and Field Marhsall both readily agree and bring Ishani into the fold as all the physicians head towards the Field Marshall's office for a detailed strategy session.

Before leaving the Field Marhsall pauses to address Kyra's question.

"I am clearing you of all duties to the Guard. Given your past performance I think you're best used independently. While we figure out how to fight this disease across the city there are going to be all sorts of chaos on the street. Do what you can for the people of Korvosa and see if you can find the source of this plague. The doctor doesn't seem particularly concerned by where it comes from, in his mind it is already here so why bother worrying about the past, but if this is some kind of curse or attack we need to know who our enemies are and stop them in case this is just the beginning."

OOC: Translation, time to make some gather information rolls :D

Ayeesha knew that charming people wasn't her forte. Scaring the crap out of them, that she could do. But while she had a certain flair for being engaging and telling a good story, the finer points of diplomacy weren't exactly her strong suit.

So she used coin instead.

Fifty gold through around to address her main questions, relating to what people knew about these not at all suspicious physicians, and the even less suspicious masked warrior women.

She was mostly pissed off because why hadn't they asked her? Sure full plate wasn't really her thing, but still, she felt justified in feeling a little left out when the Queen forms a warrior-woman cult and you don't get the invite.

22:36, Today: Ayeesha rolled 24 using 1d20+7 with rolls of 17.  gather information about Grey Maidens.

22:36, Today: Ayeesha rolled 19 using 1d20+7 with rolls of 12.  gather information about physicians throwing around 50 gold.

As for Kyra, she decides that the best use of her time is to just buy a couple of scrolls of the spell to gather information with. She is uncomfortable talking to strangers at the best of times, and in the middle of a deadly epidemic is certainly not the best of time for socializing.

Kyra will just buy 2 scrolls of Ears of the City. Still cheaper than having to deal with infection, spending 1d4 hours "canvassing people at local taverns, markets, and gathering places" does not strike me as particularly healthy right now. If she finds the scrolls she will focus on:

What is going to happen with all the bodies - this sounds like a good practical question.
What happened with the ghost ship - exactly where did it sink in case we decide to go for a swim.

Ayeesha covered the last two questions, and I think we already got the answers to the first two, more or less, when we treated the girl.

10:02, Today: Kyra rolled 29 using 1d20+10 with rolls of 19.  Ears of the City - ship?
10:01, Today: Kyra rolled 29 using 1d20+10 with rolls of 19.  Ears of the City - bodies?

Kraw adjusts his Sleeves of Many Garments to aid his mission of discovery, presenting a favorable appearance. Spreading some gold around (60 gp), he finds what beggars and urchins he knows to get any information he can on the Old Korvosa outbreak. But it's when he visits the pawn shops he knows that his inquiries bear better fruit. Like any self-respecting thief, he keeps his transactions with these shadowy figures quiet and unseen.


01:55, Today: Kraw rolled 14 using 1d20+10 with rolls of 4.  Diplomacy, Gather Information on the Old Korvosa outbreak.

01:54, Today: Kraw rolled 26 using 1d20+10 with rolls of 16.  Diplomacy, Gather Information on Finding the Ornate boxes.

Figus goes around and tries to gather information on how the disease can be cured and how the people are handling it His results are somewhat mixed.

---

How is it spreading?
08:50, Today: Figus Dva rolled 18 using 1d20+1 with rolls of 17.  Diplomacy (Gather Information).

Is there any way to cure it besides magic?
08:50, Today: Figus Dva rolled 6 using 1d20+1 with rolls of 5.  Diplomacy (Gather Information).

How are the common people handling it?
08:51, Today: Figus Dva rolled 7 using 1d20+1 with rolls of 6.  Diplomacy (Gather Information) .

How are the nobles/wealthy handling it?
08:51, Today: Figus Dva rolled 2 using 1d20+1 with rolls of 1.  Diplomacy (Gather Information).

The group spends the rest of the day speaking with contacts around the city or concocting arcane rituals to discover what is going on with the city and the plague:


Ayeesha actually is able to track down a woman whose sister had been selected as an applicant for the Queen's elite guard but was cut at the last minute. She is quite bitter and very willing to share what she knows in exchange for some drinking money. New recruits into the Gray Maidens are hand-selected from beautiful young fighters, most of whom are conscripted from the Sable Company, the Order of the Nail, and the Korvosan Guard. Conscripts to the Gray Maidens must pass the queen’s own examination for beauty and strength. Those who
apply and are found lacking appear to go missing although the woman suspects they are sent far afield to act as foreign agents for the Queen. The ones that pass forever hide their faces behind their full helms and pledge themselves to utmost loyalty to the queen.

In addition Ayeesha hears other rumors that members of the Sable Company that they are worried that the queen intends to replace the Sable Company with the Grey Maidens as the elite military unit within Korvosa because the Sable Company pledges loyalty to the city and takes its orders from the Seneschal whom the Queen does not fully trust.


Asking around among scholars and travelers Ayeesha learns more about Dr. Davaulus and his men. He comes from Egorian, the capital of Cheliax, the same as the Queen, however he is not nearly the renowned scholar the Queen and the Doctor have made him out to be. When asked travelers from Cheliax mention several other medicinal scholars and doctors who are well known throughout the city. They are quick to acknowledge, however, that Dr. Davaulus is known among circles but he they figure he is a private researcher, not a practitioner and while it is possible he was the family doctor that doesn't seem in line with the kinds of discussions he has been involved in.

One additional oddity is that since the physicians have entered the city only Davaulus has been seen outside of the plague doctor masks. The other physicians absolutely refuse to take off their protective gear for fear of contracting the plague.


Through her spell Kyra finds herself overhearing a group of fishermen at the docks complaining about the sunken ship in the river. While the river is deep enough that it is unlikely to catch on any passing ships, they figure that it will become the den of some aquatic predator and scare off the fish. From their directions Kyra figures she has a good idea of where in the murky water the ship can be found.


Kyra's spell has her eavesdropping on the Field Marshall talking with Dr. Davaulus. She is explaining how plague carters are being dispatched to bring the dead to the Gray District for the clerics of Pharsma to cleanse and bury to prevent an outbreak of undead or further disease but she believes some of them are dumping their bodies in North Point out of laziness and she talks about a place called Racker's Alley where there has been a growing smell of death and decay drifting about.



Kraw asks around, checking out pawn shops and fences but doesn't find anything about the missing box. Nobody has come in trying to sell one at least and nobody has seen one lying around. They do offer up dozens of other ornate boxes though, richly decorated and inlaid but they don't bear any resemblance to the one Brienna described.


Kraw learns nothing new that hasn't already been discussed. People are getting sick and it is ripping through the cramped slums of Old Korvosa.


Figus is cruising the taverns when he hears a pair of merchants discussing the plague.

"It's the rats. It's always the rats. Every single bloody time there is disease the answer is always the rats from the sewers. Someone gets bit and they start coughing on everyone else. You know why it's spreading through the slums? Because everyone there gets bit by rats on a daily basis."

Once everyone has returned with whatever information they managed to find...

"Alright, so we learned some things. But I don't think we are any closer to confirming our theory that the disease originated from the box that came from the sunken ship. Finding that damn box would have helped, but who knows where it ended up. Any ideas on where we should focus our attention next?"

We could check out the wreck of the ship, preferably tomorrow when Kyra had a chance to prepare spells that would give us at least some time underwater. We could also see what's happening at Racker's Alley and if someone is really dumping bodies there. Or we could try investigating the mysterious doctors and / or the gray maidens, though I'm not sure how to proceed with this one.

Kyra would prefer if we check out the Alley or do some other investigating today (she still has most of her spells), and leave the ship for tomorrow.

"Well, I was just gonna spend the night talking with my new friend over there," she nodded her head in the direction of the woman who had told them about the Gray Maidens.

"Two rejected warrior women venting, and then wherever that might lead? I could think of worse ways to spend the night. But if you need me to check out the alley tonight, I can come."

She frowned a little considering the next steps.

"I think we have to explore the ship wreck too, no doubt. Best to do so in the morning. Wonder if the Abadaran priest can help us out? Kroft wants us to find the source of the plague and the temple wants to help her, seems like we're all on the same side. And that ship wreck seems like our best clue to the source of the infection right now. We could try, erm, persuading him to help us out with some underwater support. I should get a weapon that's a little easier to swing underwater as well."