When the party reports for duty at the Field Marshall's she instead gives them a letter from Vencarlo Orisini, the swordmaster who runs an academy in Old Korvosa.

---

Old Korvosa is one of the poorer sections of the city, crammed together into crowded slums and with the rule of law most often in the hands of gangs than any kind of authority. The Orisini Academy is behind the giant walls that lead to Garrison Hill, the last bastion of wealth in an otherwise destitute district. A famed sword school in the heart of the old city center, its large ornate oak doors have knockers carved into them in the shape of an imp and pseudodragon locked in mortal combat. Normally the sound of steel on steel rings throughout the day but this time the academy is silent.

A sign hangs on the front door that reads: "Classes Cancelled Today"

"I guess that doesn't apply to those of us with signed invitations though," Ayeesha smirked as she reached out to knock on the door.

Kraw wonders aloud "wonder if it's too late to sign up for his classes?"

"Do  we have the time? ... Does he?" Figus replies

OOC: did we have the time to do 'shopping' after the encounter with the sick girl?

OOC: Sure, this a day later so plenty of time to resolve personal stuff.

While the group stands outside talking back and forth the door suddenly swings open rapidily causing the sign to swing and bang against the wood.

Vencarlo is inside with a serious look on his face.

"Thank you for coming. Please, follow me."

He leads them down a hall and into a study, the windows of which are tightly shuttered and curtained.

"I hope my faith in you is well deserved because there is a task I need from you. Something of great importance...and great danger."

He looks around the room, locking eyes with each of the heroes before he turns and walks to the door of what looks to be an equipment closet. Opening it up reveals another guest to the academy: Trinia.

The alleged assassin has changed from her prisoner's rags to simple traveling clothes and holds a wide-brimmed rider's hat and a wig of long red curls. She appears both nervous and excited upon seeing the group.

"Sorry about the trouble I gave you in the Shingles awhile back."

Vencarlo gestures towards the chairs in the room although he remains standing, even pacing slightly as he speaks.

"I had only just arrived home last night when that rogue Blackjack and this startled woman arrived at my doorstep. The people’s hero and I have had some dealings in the past, but still, it’s been some years since I’ve seen the scoundrel. He was quick with his words, and soon swooped off, doubtlessly to right some other festering wrong, but not before entrusting Miss Sabor into my protection and care. Although I don’t know Blackjack’s motives or politics, I trust his judgment and have seen much right done by his blade.

He says the girl is innocent of the crime she’s been accused of, and I’m more disposed to trust a hero of the city than the tantrums of some bloody-minded harlot playing at queen.

The matter is simple: Korvosa is no longer safe for Miss Sabor. I’ve arranged for friends in Harse, a couple of well-respected ranchers, to take in our beautiful renegade until this whole 'assassination' foolishness blows over. Its the first leg of the journey where we find our problem, though. Both the Korvosan Guard and the Sable Company have been searching for the young lady tirelessly. They’ve already stopped by here and I just barely was able to turn them away without inviting a search. My most reliable contacts have gone to ground in light of the recent uprisings, and Her Highness’s considerable bounty for Trinia’s capture makes the use of new agents inadvisable. Thus, I turned to you resourceful lot. Care to escort a lady home?"

He paused looking back at her and then back at the group.

"Cressida mentioned how upset you were at having been forced to turn Trinia over to the Queen's forces and between you and I she suspects that you are in league with Blackjack himself. If you are he hasn't mentioned it to me but I trust Cressida's judgement so if she thinks you're in league with him, you at least are aligned with putting the city and its people over the bitch-Queen's political theater. What say you?"

Figus strokes his chin "Is your house protected against scrying? Have you check her for trackers? This could be simple or complicated based on the answers, but overall I am not against helping the lady out ... of town."

"What the..." Kyra exclaims when she spots the sculptor. "Oh, hell. I was sure she would have been half-way to Andoran by now. I take it the marshal does not know about this? And yes, what precautions have been made so that she can't be tracked down using magic?"

Kraw asks "do you know if the sewers are being patrolled? That might be a way out. Of course, I'll help Trinia. I've been convinced of her innocence from the first."

"Nah, you're fine," Ayeesha smiled with respect at Trinia and nodded her head towards the small woman.

"I like a good chase as much as the next girl. And you led us on a good chase. Respect. You can count on us to help you out of town."

She turned to look at Kraw with a frown.

"Surely we can do this without getting all... stinky, no? Hells, all we gotta do is get her across the river, and it won't be hard to grab a rowboat. Or disguise ourselves and just waltz out. I mean if it's good enough for Blackjack, am I right?"

Vencarlo just gives the group a shrug.

"I have none on my home but she stayed here overnight and nobody is knocking down my door so I just have to trust that Blackjack is taking care of that. I would be happier if you were to depart post haste all the same.

With the trouble on the water a few nights past I know the guard has been increased on the shorelines. I do not know about the sewer but the crowds should be such that if Trinia maintains her disguise and you keep your heads down you should be able to, as you said, waltz right out."

He paused and looked at Kyra with a slight smile.

"And of course the field marshall has no idea about any of this. She might be one of the best things keeping the city from tearing itself apart right now but she is loyal to her duty. Truthfully if I told her I do not know how she would react but I would rather not put her, or us, in that situation to begin with. She is a good person, I know that, but her job is to make hard decisions that destroy lives every single day.

Now if there is nothing else I would ask that you leave as soon as you can. If you go now and walk swiftly you should be able to reach the North Bridge right at the noonday rush. With hundreds pouring in and out of the city every second you should slip right on by."

"Just walk out openly? Even with the crowd we can hide in, that still feels a bit risky. What's our story in case we get stopped at the gate? Anyway, if we are going with this, I do have a potion that could help, at least in the short term. Though it would be better if we took measures to disguise her through mundane means as well. That red hair of hers in particular is a dead giveaway."

Kyra digs out a potion of disguise from her bag.

How long would it take to buy some hair dye and change her hair color?

Kraw nods. "I've been saving this for the right occasion. I have a potion of Disguise Self that will last 2 hours. Perhaps this will suffice to give Trinia a new look and face as we bring her out?"

Stroking his chin while thinking out loud "I am not sure that potion is a good idea. They will be looking for magic and illusion. I do like Kyra's idea. Some make up, some hair dye ... a distraction to draw the eye away. If anything, that would work.

Trinia how good are you of an actress?"

OOC: Isn't she like a Bard or something? She should be able to Act.

"Little too loyal, if you ask me," Ayeesha grumbled about the Field Marshall.

"Yeah, that girl's gotta learn when to turn her back and let good people do the right thing. She's coming around though. But yeah, you're right. I wouldn't know which way she'd go if it came down to doing good versus following orders. Not prepared to take that chance."

She stood up and offered a hand to Trinia to lead her out.

"If we get stopped, just tell the guard she has that blood veil thing. Might not be common knowledge on the streets yet, but I'm betting the guard has been told to look out for sick people and stay away from them. That and a little makeup, well. I think we'll be fine."

Kyra nods to Figus. "Yes, that is what I am worried about as well, a hellknight or a bounty houter with a spell to detect magic watching the gate. There is a way to mask an active spell against such a simple way of detection however."

"Once we get her out of the city, what then? Is someone waiting for her outside, or do we escort her to Harse? And how safe is she going to be there? There's a hefty bounty on her head, and Harse is not exactly on the other side of the world." She asks the swordmaster.

Mask Dweomer, a neat little witch spell, that for once wizards don't get. Assuming Kyra can even find it on such a short notice, of course.

Regarding disease, is it still the same day when we helped the kid?

"I not really sure, but for those of you who are more attuned with the word of high fashion and the rich, how common is to use magic as make up?"

OOC: I was told that several days passed.

OOC: Oh, in that case did we find out more about the disease? Question the girl (hope she is doing better), find out where she was and what she was doing the day before she got ill, see if anyone else was getting sick, try to track down the source, that kind of thing? Given the name of this chapter it seems kind of important.

Trinia points to the wig in her hands and her own simple travelers clothes.

"I'm pretty good at disguises and impersonations. I had contemplated becoming an actress in the theaters here before striking it out on my own as a painter. Here...look..."

She quickly puts on the wig, tucking her own hair underneath and settling it down. She then extends her jaw giving herself an underbite and with a flex of her neck it changes her profile. It might not stand up to directed scrutiny but to a casual observer she looked nothing like the wanted posters standing around town.

"Oy! Ya reckon I still need yer magics?"

Her voice deepened and she developed a thick Old Korvosan accent to add to the disguise.

OOC: In regards to your question, it is two days later. Treating the child took most of the first day and the second day was spent shopping and doing assigned guard work that didn't amount to anything notable.

Kraw smiles. "Nicely done. But magic can still be useful. For instance, if 'Trinia' is spotted in another part of town, it might draw the Hellknights and other guards away from wherever you plan to escape the city. I'm nimble enough to run along the rooftops and stealthy enough to disappear when folks get too close. Or should we stick together?"

"Stick together, always. Too easy to pick off alone and no one to watch your back."

She seemed impressed with Trinia's disguise.

"See? Girls got some skills," she smiled at Trinia.

"Better mundane tricks than putting up a big glowing sign saying 'magic being used here!' that anyone from the academae or with a knack for magic can spot. Seems good enough for me."

"Alright then. But just in case take this potion of disguise as well, unless you know the spell yourself." Kyra offers the potion to Trinia. "You still have not explained what the plan is once we are out of the city though. Do we escort you to Harse or is someone waiting for us outside?"

Kraw, if the potion you have is a CL 12, you may wish to sell it instead, it's worth 600 gp. In comparison, Kyra's potion is only worth 150 gp.

DM, Kyra would have really liked to have followed up on the whole possible catastrophic epidemic thing asap, even if she was doing it in her free time yesterday. At the very least question the girl, gather some info (she can do that really quickly with her spell), and report the findings to someone. The marshal maybe? It sounds like the party may be leaving the city for a couple of days, and when we return it could quite possibly be too late.

Trinia just gives a shrug at Kyra.

"Once I pass through the gates I am gone. I've done a fair amount of traveling and I know how to hitch a ride and keep my head down. Let's be honest, the Queen's guardsmen aren't half as good as you lot and I nearly gave you the slip when you caught me by surprise."

Figus shrugs "Well,  no time like the present. Shall we?"

Vencarlo clears his throat to interject.

"Actually if its all the same I'd prefer you not escort her beyond the city limits. While I trust the Field Marhsall's trust in you, you can't reveal what you don't know. Trinia knows where she is going. I know you would never willingly reveal that information to the Queen but once Trinia is out of Korvosa she is no longer a concern for anyone here, understood?"

His serious tone lifts a bit into a much friendlier smile.

"Now then, unless there is anything else it would be best to get moving as quickly as possible. I don't know how serious the Queen's efforts are to recapture Trinia but the longer we wait the more risk we take."

OOC: Last call for any questions or preparations before kicking off the escape!

Figus cracks his neck, and checks to make sure his weapons are lose in their sheaths for a quick draw.

"Give me a couple of minutes to prepare and I'll be ready." Kyra takes out a card from her harrow deck and stars studying the almost unreadable arcane markings on it.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:55, Thu 20 Aug 2020.

"OK, OK!" Ayeesha replied to Trinia with an easy smile.

"Like I said, respect for a good chase. But you don't have to keep reminding us about it," she laughed, enjoying a little easy banter before the tension of sneaking her out of Korvosa.

"But yeah, run like that and you'll be fine. I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

She looked over Kyra's shoulder as she played with her cards, curious but not really understanding what she was doing.

The group prepares and heads out. Given their position their route will have five legs to the journey:

The first is going down from Garrison Hill and into Old Korvosa. Normally the guards are more concerned about keeping the riffraff from crossing in so this crossing should be relatively easy.

The second is passing through the slums of Old Korvosa and across the Narrows. Guard patrols should be very light as the slums are rarely patrolled, if at all. Instead one has to watch out for gangs or opportunistic individuals looking to claim the large bounty on Trinia's head.

The third leg is traveling through Ridgepoint. This is where the party leaves the slums and rejoins the hustle and bustle of the mercantile focused North Point.

The fourth leg is where they travel East hitting the top section of Five Corners before reaching their destination of Northgate. By the time the party hits these areas the city should be in full swing so they should be able to blend in with the large crowds of merchants, workers, and travelers heading in and out of the city, to and from homes and places of work.

---

The first leg passes without incident. Within Garrison Hill there are the occasional guard patrols but none of them take any notice of the group walking about this early. A couple of casual glances is all they get as they pass the wall and into the slums. Here the smell of the unwashed masses is already at full blast as beggars are heading to their corners, pickpockets are starting to eye up their marks, and gangs are giving glares from their street corner perches.

Everything is going smoothly before a beggar suddenly runs up blocks their path. He runs up and grabs Ayeesha by the arm.

"Please noble heroes! A couple coins for a poor man! I'm sick, you see, and without your aid I'll likely die! Be a hero, save my life!"

To punctuate his point he lets loose a wet, barking cough full of spittle and phlegm. A closer inspection of the man reveals that beneath the dirt and grime he has a mask of splotchy red blisters across his face.

"Oh for the love of... what in the bloody hells made you think a 6 foot tall muscle-bound bad-tempered barbarian with a sword bigger than you is the right person to bother for help and possibly pass whatever illness you have to? Here!" Kyra fishes out a handful of coins and tosses them to the beggar, trying to keep her distance from the man. "Take it and run away before she cuts you in half for this! Quickly!"

Kyra throws 10 gp to the beggar, I could also try a bluff roll if necessary to get him away. And when (if) the man leaves...

Kyra points to Ayeesha's arm. "Transfer by contact. We need to wash that, if it's not too late already. Oh, and take this, in case you don't have one yourself." She offers a vial to Ayeesha.

Vial of antiplague, could help if Ayeesha needs to make a roll. DM, could something in healer's kit be used to sterilize Ayeesha's arm? Alchohol maybe? Not sure if that is something that could be found in a fantasy healer's kit.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:34, Mon 24 Aug 2020.

Looking around Kyra notices another beggar sitting in an alcove with a cup out who also has a bright red rash across his face.

Meanwhile Figus starts picking up the sound of coughing piercing through the crowds. A wet, hacking cough here or there heard when the background hum of the city lulls.

"We can't help all of these people ... and its not our job. We need to move quickly. Afterwards we should head to the temple of Abadar. We need to warn them. I would save the antiplague for now. When we get home we will take care of things, just try not to touch them." he nods his head to the infected.

"I agree, though I doubt the poor can expect much help from the god of coins. Let's just get the hell out of here."

I'm fine with using heal skill instead, though it would probably be best we do it somewhere else.

Kraw asks "those symptoms.....are those like what the girl showed? What did you call it, Blood Veil?" He gingerly moves outside the grasp of the sickly poor, advising "you folks need to get to a priest. This is a new illness called Blood Veil. I don't know if they have a cure, but you need to be quarantined before you infect all this district."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:09, Mon 24 Aug 2020.

"Lets not attract attention to ourselves" says Figus as he puts his hand gently on Kraw "There is something we need to take care off."

"Aiee!" she jumped back in shock and stopped short of punching the beggar who lunged out at her, but manages to barely restrain herself.

Despite the risk that she's contracted something horrible, she can't help but smile at Kyra's description of her as 'a 6 foot tall muscle-bound bad-tempered barbarian'. Apparently she considers it a compliment, and blushes a little in Kyra's direction.

"Nothing we can do about it now, until we get our erm charge out. Let's focus on the job, come back and worry about whether I'm coming down with something after."

Given a handful of gold the beggar practically bolts as fast as his hobbled legs can carry him. More than a few beggars and thugs push off from walls and doorways to start following him while others start moving towards the party with arms outstretched.

"I just need food for my family!"

"My little girl, she's sick!"

"I lost my leg in the war!"

"The gods bless those that help others!"


It seems like the poor and destitute are emerging from the cracks in the city to surround the group after seeing a flash of gold change hands. A few passerbys call for the party to run or start using clubs or canes to smack the beggars to disperse the crowd. As the beggars start fighting back it starts turning into a major disruption.

"Back! Off!" she growled in a commanding tone, violence promised by her voice.

"Or things are gonna start to get broken! Let us pass!"

---

16:06, Today: Ayeesha rolled 24 using 1d20+9 with rolls of 15.  Intimidate the crowd to get them to back off.

Not that she needed it, but gave his most viscous scowl to help Ayeesha.

18:52, Today: Figus Dva rolled 26 using 1d20+6 with rolls of 20.  Intimidate aid.

Kyra steps between Trinia and the mob, cursing herself for showing gold in the slums. Like blood in the water, that was bound to bring trouble to them.

Sorry about that, should have paid more attention to how many people were watching us.

Just as flashing a bit of gold drew the crowds in, an angry Shoanti barbarian scattered them again. Like a flock of birds the beggars and pickpockets scattered and the group is able to quickly leave the area.

The rest of the journey through Old Korvosa passes without further incident. Every now and then the group hears that telltale cough. It could be common, or perhaps they are just primed to hear it as they make their way through the tight tangles of the Narrows and across the river into North Point.

"Ayeesha! Over here!"

When the group reaches the first crossroads Grau spies the party, namely the tall Shoanti, and calls out. He muscles his way through the crowd with a big grin on his face.

"Hey! She's awake! Brienna is awake!"

He finally pushed up close to the party and gripped everyone in a tight hug before they could react or resist.

"She's doing so much better! Yesterday she mostly just slept all day but now she's awake and her appetite has returned."

He held up a loaf of bread and some cheap cuts of meat.

"She's just about eaten everything in the cupboards so I ran out to get some more. If you can swing on by I'm sure Tayce and Brienna would love to give you their thanks and..."

He paused, scanning the group and his eyes settled on the disguised Trinia.

"Hey, who's your friend? She looks kind of familiar."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:24, Wed 26 Aug 2020.

"My cousin." Kyra lies quickly before leaning closer to Grau and skipping to another topic, trying to distract the man. "I'm sending her far away from here while I still can, and I'd strongly advise you to do the same with your family, and do so quickly. Have you seen what is happening in the slums? By this time tomorrow half the damned city is going to be at death's doors."

DM, let me know if a bluff roll is needed, or just roll one yourself.

Kraw asks (to further distract) "has Brienna told you anything of what she did that day that might have led to her getting infected?"

Figus motions to Ayeesha to keep their charge moving, while helping Kraw and Kyra distract Grau.

OOC: Please let me know if any rolls need to be made.

Grau spins and falls into step with the group, distracted by mentions of his nephew but not willing to let the party slip away either.

"No not yet. She still wasn't fully with it so I was hoping to give her another day before asking. Would you mind coming with? If you're not busy at least but if we're going to figure this out we should probably talk to her sooner than later, right?"

He gestured, pointing out a merchant who was coughing with angry red blisters across his face.

"Who knows where she caught it."

He paused and then hustled to keep up with the group moving at speed towards the gate.

"So do you think you can swing by? I know Brienna would love to tell you her thanks."

OOC: Just as an FYI I am calling out the sick but for every sick person there are hundreds if not thousands that are healthy and fine Easily < 1% of the city are infected, probably closer to < 0.1% at this point but the other point is the streets are so crowded and there are so many people that you do see them here or there.

Kyra nods as she gives the sick merchant a wide berth.

Kyra was exaggerating for effect, but given conditions in a medieval-ish city and how quickly this thing works maybe not by all that much.

Kraw says "like you said. We'll give it another day for her to recover, then we will swing by to visit, all right?"

Ayeesha was happy to keep moving, but smiled back at Grau.

"Yeah, I'll swing by soon as I can, promise. You tell Brienna that. But this lot need their den mother for now. See you all soon, ok?"

Grau nervously scracthes his head again.

"I...I might have promised them you would swing by today. If you can't make it I understand...and they will too! Just that you're heading the right way, you know..."

He pointed East in the direction they were traveling towards the gate across the river. Truth be told once they dropped Trinia off they would be a hop, skip and a jump away from Trail's End once again.

Trinia had positioned herself to make sure there were at least two people between her and Grau the guardsmen talking their ear off. She let out a quick breath of surprise as up ahead a Hellknight flanked by a half dozen armigers turned onto their street. The armigers spread out blocking the street as the Hellknight took a few steps forward. The traffic on the busy street slowed to a trickle as pedestrians were forced to squeeze between the gaps in the Hellknight formation.

The Hellknights had been creating these impromptu checkpoints quite frequently as of late as a way of filtering out the criminals that would hide among the flow of civilization along these busy streets.

Kraw says "Figus, why don't you and I go see the girl with Grau here. Kyra, is there someplace tou want us to meet you afterwards?" Kraw leans in close to Kyra whispering "hustle your cousin and the others down a side alley. I'll keep the metalheads distracted." He lifts his head and turns to Grau. He asks Grau "do you know if the Hellknights have been made aware of this new disease?"

Grau frowns as the Hellknights set up their chokepoint.

"No, and even if they did they probably wouldn't care. They're here to round up malcontents on the orders of the queen under the guise of law and order. They don't actually care about the safety of the city or its citizens."

Kraw nods. "Actually, I was wondering if they had been made aware of the potential dangers to themselves."

Figus thru back his cloak and picked his chin "Ok, lets do it."

With the air of superiority about him, Figus strolled directly towards the Hellknights. As he got closer, he sneered with disdain ... and 'accidentally' bumped one.

"I beg your pardon!" he exclaimed "That is so rude of you!"

Knowing that Tengu are usually under scrutiny, Kraw nonetheless advances on the Hellknight checkpoint. When he arrives, he uses Figus' distraction to allow his feathered hand to drift near the pouch of one of the Hellknights. He makes no effort to grab anything, but he does deliberately obscure what his hand is doing.

14:13, Today: Kraw rolled 12 using 1d20+10 with rolls of 2.  Sleight of Hand .

Ayeesha waits for the distraction to take effect, to see where the guards are looking and where they aren't. She calls to Trinia and Kyra in a hushed voice.

"If they see me, I'm turning back. You two keep going. I can be a secondary distraction, you just don't stop. Meet you on the other side."

She let Trinia and Kyra slip down the alley first, then tried to follow. If she hears an order to stop from a Hellknight she stops that second, then turns and walks back towards them, hopefully further drawing attention from Trinia and Kyra. Worst comes to worst, she gets in the way.

21:42, Today: Ayeesha rolled 5 using 1d20-2 with rolls of 7.  stealth in armor (at least I think that's the check I need).

"Coz, you look cold. Here." Kyra wraps her shawl around Trinia's neck, while whispering the command word and instructions to her ear. "Stay in the shadow as much as possible."

That done, she points her to the side alley, hoping Ayeesha's frame will shield them from hellknights' attention. "I really can't be bothered dealing with this today. Let's take a little detour."

Side alley it is. Kyra gave her shawl to Trinia.
07:26, Today: Kyra rolled 11 using 1d20+10 with rolls of 1.  Stealth.
Oh ffs, d20 strikes again. I hope Trinia has better luck. If Kyra is stopped, she will motion Trinia to continue on.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:15, Tue 01 Sept 2020.

The commotion turns into a true spectacle. The armiger Figus bumps into starts shoving him back. Another guard grabs Kraws arm, pulling it out expecting him to have a purse or something in it and looking a bit surprised when it comes up empty. He motions and another armiger starts searching Tengu, growing confused as they find the trappings of an adventurer and not a pickpocket.

Then as Ayeesha and Kyra try ducking down the side alley the Hellknight himself points at the trio and shouts.

"You there! Stop! Halt!"

Might this be the same Hellknight from the docks? It's hard to tell with the full-plate armor but the voice does sound familiar. The Hellknight checkpoint dissolves as half the armigers are busy with Kraw and Figus while the other half follow the Hellknight down the side alley in pursuit of Ayeesha and Krya.

Meanwhile Trinia just freezes, stepping to the side and Hellknight pursuers run right on past her. She's just another innocent face in the crowd, nope nothing suspicious going on with her.

Meanwhile Grau is just standing there looking stunned as half his friends are fleeing like wanted criminals and the other half are being apprehended and searched like captured criminals. Trinia just keeps on walking towards the gate and disappears into the crowd.

OOC: Kinda a good news/bad news situation...

Kraw acts affronted. "How dare you stop members of the Guard? We are with Grau here on legitimate business. And don't you know there's an epidemic running around? And why are you following that clown in the armor? Don't you know he's bought and paid for by a Korvosan Crime Boss? I demand you send a messenger to Cressida Croft. Let go of that, it doesn't belong to you."

"Head through alone." Kyra whispers to Trinia when she hears a shout behind them. She shoulders the woman aside and carries on casually down the side alley without her, motioning Ayeesha to follow as well. She's pretending not to realize who the hellknights are yelling after until they come after them. "Who, us?" She asks when the hellknights finally reach them.

Since Kyra knows the city pretty well, where does this side alley lead to? Anything interesting (an inn, tavern, shop, something)?

OOC: Krau/Figus, someone make a Diplomacy/Bluff/Intimidation check (your pick). One person can make the roll, the other can assist. Grau will also assist for a +2.

Same for Ayeesha/Krya. If you're just looking for the name of an excuse then the Three Rings Tavern is headed in this direction although it would still be a weird way to go there instead of taking a main road.

OOC Social skills are NOT Kraw's strength.


23:01, Today: Kraw rolled 9 using 1d20+2 with rolls of 7.  Diplomacy.

OOC: Better than rolling another 1, I guess.
10:03, Today: Kyra rolled 16 using 1d20+9 with rolls of 7.  Bluff.

A tavern will do. As for this not being the usual way to get there, well, that entirely depends on where we were going from, something they don't know. This could have just been the shortest route for us to the tavern. Let me know and I'll put that in character.

Figus eyes begin to throw cold daggers of fire.

11:01, Today: Figus Dva rolled 16 using 1d20+6 with rolls of 10.  Intimidate

Ayeesha stood next to Kyra, towering over her and tried her best to look befuddled and innocent. She looked over her shoulder as if the Hellknight MUST be talking about someone else, then shrugged as if confused.

---

Bluff (untrained) to assist Kyra with +2, if allowed.
22:23, Today: Ayeesha rolled 12 using 1d20+1 with rolls of 11.  Not sure I can assist with bluff untrained, but I'm going to try!

Ayeesha & Kyra

The Hellknight and his armigers aren't willing to listen to their excuses at this point. In a deep bass voice that reverbs under his armor he has the armigers behind him raise up their crossbows.

"You're coming with us. Let's see what your companions have to say about your little tale."

---

Kraw & Figus<?b>

The armigers take a step back but position themselves to block the streets so that Kraw and Figus can't pass. They have their crossbows at the ready and when Kraw tries to talk with them they just shake their heads.

<B>"Maralictor Stayne said to hold you so we're going to hold you until he gets back. If you're not up to nothing then you've got nothing to worry about."

Kyra follows along, squinting at the hellknight. "Hang on, you sound familiar. Didn't you already stop us once before, at the docks? If so, you know damn well we are with the guard."

Eesh, what a mess. As long as Trinia is overlooked, Kyra will cooperate. Not like we have (anything else) to hide. Hopefully Trinia will head through and wait for us out of sight rather than just stand here like a deer in the headlights.

A glance around the crowd near the Hellknights doesn't reveal Trinia.

"Certainly sir," Ayeesha smiles her brightest smile and offered no sign of resistance.

"And which tale might that be? That we're with the guard? That one is true. We've proved ourselves quite useful too, if I do say so myself. Isn't that right?" she asked Kyra but never taking her eyes off of the hellknight.

"But why are we being detained, if I might ask?"

OOC: Ayeesha has absolutely no interest in fighting this out!

Figus continues to stare down the Hellknights, but does not make any moves which they would consider 'dangerous'.

"I certainly hope you have the legal authority to do this, and it is not just a whim of an itchy officer trying to get noticed."

Kraw says "oh, haven't you heard? Certain Hellknights can be bought and paid for by our dear acquaintance,  Ambassador Amprei. I wonder if this is one of them?"

Figus nods "Ah yes, the price of loyalty. The golden rule: He who has the gold, makes the rules."

What follows is a thorough search and about fifteen minutes of verbal abuse, veiled threats, accusations of abuse of power and more. Grau considers it an outrage that upstanding members of the watch are being detained for no crime while the Hellknight finds it outrageous that members of the watch would be out of uniform and conducting themselves as criminals.

Things get a little dicey when Grau looks around and mentions that Kyra's cousin is missing but the armigers don't seem to take notice and ultimately the group is able dig in their heels and the Hellknights are forced to let the group as "looking suspicious" isn't ground enough for detention.

As the party is allowed to leave the Hellknight growls out one last warning.

"Be warned. I know ill deeds when I see it and when we find out what you have done the watchmen won't be able to save you from Asmodeus' justice."

That last word seemed to vent enough of the Hellknight's anger that he gestured for the armigers to release the party and proceed on their way.

Looking around again there seems to be no sign of Trinia. The group is fairly close to the North Gate so it is possible and probably likely that she made the last leg of her journey on her own while the party very thoroughly distracted the Hellknights.

Kraw comments to Figus as he leaves "if I were him, I'd be more worried about Asmodeus' Justice if it turns out that he is one of those Hellknights that Amprei bought."

Figus shakes his head "I am not an expert on these things, but these two words Asmodeus and justice should not be used in the same sentence. With Asmodeus, there is only Law and contract. The letter of the contract at that, and damn the consequences."

Kyra is too worried about Trinia to pay much attention to hellknight's threats. When they finally get away she will try to find her to make sure she is alright. "Where the hell is she?"

Not to mention to get her shawl back. Guess she could be waiting outside the gates? If needed:
11:49, Today: Kyra rolled 18 using 1d20+10 with rolls of 8.  Perception.

"So, do we continue forward?"

Kraw says "let's stroll down to the gates, see if we can find Kyra's cousin. And then proceed with Grau to visit his daughter." As they move forward, Kraw keeps an eye out for anybody following them.


12:04, Today: Kraw rolled 16 using 1d20+11 with rolls of 5.  Perception .
This message was last edited by the player at 19:05, Mon 14 Sept 2020.

The party looks around the entrance and both sides but Trinia seems long gone. No sign of her and no sign of Kyra's magical shawl either.

Grau seems quite sour that the heroes were stopped and hassled by the Hellknights and expresses concern when Kyra's "cousin" seems to have vanished but all that falls behind when talk turns back to visiting his niece.

"She should be in a much more talkative mood and Tayce has been cooking up a storm wanting to give you a feast as her way of saying thanks. I hope you brought your appetite because she isn't going to let you go until your breeches are bursting at the seams."

The smell of roasting meat greets the party as they get closer to the Solado residence. Thick plumes of smoke are coming up from the chimney and inside there is the almost constant clatter of pots and pans. Upon seeing the party enter Tayce sets down a mixing bowl and smiles broadly at them.

"My heroes!"

Her apron is covered in as much flour as her hands but she doesn't hesitate as she rushes across the room and envelopes each guest in a hug that makes even Ayeesha feel a bit squeezed. When she finally lets everyone go there are big flour stains on the front of their armor and clothes and she finally seems to notice the mess and her face flushes dark red.

"I'm so... I'm so sorry I forgot. I was kneading the bread and..."

She is like a tornado of activity, stirring a bubbling pot on the fireplace before dropping a rag in a bucket and sweeping back around to try and wipe off the flour marks.

"Brienna's upstairs. She's still weak but her strength is coming back tenfold every day thanks to you. It's a miracle and I can barely imagine her being as weak as she was when you first came. I told Grau to tell you that I'm cooking you a feast you'll remember for the rest of your lives and I'll not take 'no' for an answer so I hope you don't have anything else planned for the rest of today because you're the guests of honor for the rest of the day!"

"We can't stay," she replied after embracing Tayce and then catching Grau in her own hug for good measure.

"We'd love to, but we have to try to catch up with Kyra's erm, niece. I know, I know!" she held up her hands in front of her and looked Tayce in the eye, reading the woman's disappointment from her face. But better a disappointed cook than a dead fugitive. Or a captured one.

"You have to believe me, there's nothing else in the world I'd rather do than feast and be your guest of honor for the day! We just, it's just we can't. Someone else needs us as much as Brienna did. I'm sorry, Tayce. We'll be back, we will! Tomorrow or the next day. If we're still invited, of course."

Kyra curses herself for losing her valuable magical item. "When I meet my cousin again we are going to have a serious talk. Just taking off like that was most rude. But at least she is safe and out of my hair for now."

"While we are here we might as well talk to the girl, though from what we have seen we may have lost the chance to nip this disease in the bud already. And Ayeesha, you may wish to wash up your arm."

If she's gone, she's gone. Story continues on, I guess. That will teach me to help NPCs, she took off with the potion I gave her earlier and the shawl.

Anyway, does Ayeesha need to make a roll to avoid infection? Or did she already? If one is needed still Figus and Kyra could maybe help out with healing skill, or we could use an antiplague.

It is unclear if Ayeesha was infected or not. She seems to be fine and she pushed the beggar off quite quickly. No open wounds or scratches on her arm and her overall size meant it was impossible for him to really get in her face.

---

Tayce is more than willing to let the heroes talk to Brienna. Just as Grau had described the girl looks better by orders of magnitude. She is sitting up in her bed sipping on some soup but her eyes are clear and sharp and she smiles as the group enters her bedroom.

"Are you...are you the ones? The ones that saved me? Uncle Grau's been telling me all sorts of stories about you. Is it true you fought a zombie golem underneath the cemetery? Or that you kicked down the front door of the King of Spiders? Was he an actual spider? Grau didn't seem to know!"

She rattles off the questions rapid fire, quicker than any archer could draw and loose.

"So many question. Yes, yes, yes, no and no." Kyra rattles out quickly. "Now, if you don't mind, we have a couple questions of our own. Can you tell us what you were doing the day before you got sick? Where did you go, who did you meet? Did you see anyone else sick then?

It sounds like Ayeesha might be safe, but Kyra still has one scroll of Diagnose Disease if we wish to make sure.

Figus will let Kyra take the lead on questioning. A female is generally better dealing with children.

OOC: Let me know if any rolls are needed for questioning.

No need to use a scroll. I get one of those spells per day and can cast it. 

Ayeesha shifted from one foot to another, obviously conflicted.

"Oh, do we have stories, little one," she smiled down on Brienna.

"But it might have to wait until later, so we have the time to do it properly."

Brienna nods, closing her eyes and she tries to think back over the past couple of days. Her smile fades a bit and she shakes her head slightly.

"It's...hard to remember. I've been so out of sorts these past few days. Do you know how weird fever dreams are? I kept getting chased by this great red dragon. It kept lighting me on fire and I was just so hot but no matter how fast I...oh sorry."

She gave a weak embarrassed laugh and started over.

"Okay the day before I got sick I...I found something. Washed up on shore it was a small box. Inside were coins, silver pieces! Too many to count! I didn't know where they came from but I...I kind of raced into North Point to buy somethings. I bought some cheese for mother, some toys for my brothers, and a nice dress but...but I started not feeling very well. I think I set them down or...something. Maybe someone took them? When I got home I didn't have any of it anymore. No money and no presents. That's the last thing I remember. Before that I mostly stayed around Trail's End helping out with chores around the house, nothing really unusual at all."

While there were quite a few infected in Old Korvosa there were a lot in North Point. Whether that was because it started there or just there were more people passing through was unknown. It is possible that Brienna brought the disease to North Point or she was infected there.

Kraw looks at Figus. "Can a disease be picked up by silver coins? Sounds more like a poison or a Curse to me."

Figus sits down to think 'It would be difficult to infect coins, but not impossible with magic, but how long would it last ... exposure to air and water ...'

"You said the box was washed up on the shore. Was the box closed or open? Were the coins ... wet?"

Kyra adds a question of her own. "Ok, so you bought cheese, toys and a dress at North Point. Can you tell us where exactly you bought those? Which shops did you leave some of these these coins in?"

Brienna paused and frowned at Figus' question.

"I think...yes they were dry. The box was closed when I found it. As for the stores I don't remember what they're called but I can tell you where they were at least. I was mostly just window shopping, I didn't go there with a specific destination in mind."

Kraw asks "did you take the coins from the box, or did you carry the box with you to market? Do you know where we can find this box?"

"Uhhh...both? I used the box to carry it there but I took the coins out to buy things. I...I don't remember where the box went, same with everything I purchased. I must have set it down somewhere..."

With some effort she picks herself up out of her bed and crosses over to a desk. She looks around for some spare paper but doesn't find any and frowns.

"If you can find me some paper I can draw out what it looked like though!"


OOC: Assuming someone has some parchment somewhere...

She gets to work scribbling out a quick drawing. It is clear she has some modest talent as she is able to go into far more detail around the box than one would expect.

"It was small and metal with skulls all over it..."

In the end she draws out something like this:



A black iron box with bronze or copper trim and a skull motif on the outside. Inside she estimated there was a couple hundred silver coins but she hadn't taken the time to count.

Watching the girl drawing the box, Figus is both impressed with her skill and is concerned with the implication of what he is seeing. He looks up at the others in the group, looks them in the eyes and nods ... slightly and slowly.

"Hmm ... I see" comes out of his mouth, but what he really means to say "Shit, the city is under attack!"

"Well, that does not look ominous at all." Kyra comments the drawing. "Logically, the box should have been dropped somewhere between here and those shops at North Point. Likely somebody fond it already, but asking around and checking nearby pawn shops and the like might lead us to it. We could also check those shops to see if anyone there has suddenly fallen ill. If so, then the coins themselves could have been tainted."

Kraw mutters " still think it's a curse."
He says "All right, I think we have a mission folks. We need to find that chest and the silver that came from it. Young lady, thank you for the drawing. It will help us greatly, and I think you have a fine gift for it."

OK, OK! I'm going to drop the Trinia thing!

"We can try to find the chest for clues, but there is no way we're going to be able to track down all the coins, not without some pretty impressive magic. Brienna bought a dress, but then the dress maker bought some thread and some needles and maybe some food and poof, coins everywhere. They circulate and by now they're going to be all over Old Korvosa. Probably trickling into other sectors of the city too."

She looked around slowly, thinking.

"figus was right before. We need to speak with the temple of Abadar. If anybody knows how to locate a bunch of tainted silver coins, it's them."

"I think the coins are a dead end. No way will we be able to track down a few pieces among all the others. Its like looking for a needle in a haystack ... even worse. We do not know of any distinguishing features of these coins. How do you tell them apart from all of the others. In addition, even if we do find them, I doubt they are still potent. Its the box ...

I wonder ... we probably should find more information about that ship that was sunk. That was the one thing which was new in the general scheme of things ... The ship sinks ... and the box  washes ashore."

Kraw says "then we should take our story and this picture of the chest to the Temple of Adabar. If any can mobilize the city effort to combat this disease, it may be them. And perhaps some scholar there might be able to identify..." Kraw turns to the girl. "Brienna, are you sure you dont have any of those silver coins left, tucked away somewhere? Or can you identify a specific shop or favored market seller where you used the silver?"

"I don't think we really have anything solid just yet, just an ill child's tale of a suspicious looking box filled with silver. As I'm sure those money grubbers at the temple would be the first to point out, she could have caught her illness in a far more mundane way of coming in contact with someone already sick. I would like to see what we can dig up at North Point before we bring this to someone's attention."

Kyra examines the drawing of the box again.

"We should be able to track down the box at least, it's certainly memorable enough. Unless everyone that knows where it is is already dead, of course. As for the coins, they might be another clue, or not. But tracking down the shopkeepers that we know handled them would at least serve as confirmation of the source of this thing. If they all suddenly started dying as well, that would confirm the theory we have."

"OK so how about this? We go to North Point and gather information about the box, try to track it down. The temple of Abadar is there as well*, so we can swing by and see what they have heard about tainted coins. After that, we see what leads we have, and maybe go diving to check out the ship. We'll need some support for that with scrolls or potions for underwater operations, I'm thinking. We can probably get them at the temple while we're there."

---

In case it's needed (unfortunately my diplomacy is untrained, but even trained, I'm not learning anything with a 2! Anyone any better at diplomacy?)

10:53, Today: Ayeesha rolled 4 using 1d20+2 with rolls of 2.  diplomacy Gather information about the box (or assist if someone has higher bonus).


* I looked this up, hope it's not too meta-gamey

Figus taps a finger on his chin as he considers the possibilities and implications.

"Visiting the church is a good idea. They are most likely to be the ones who know and understand the scope of the situation. Alto them too much though I would be careful of opening up too much to them. As we seen before, their priorities do not always align with what is best for the City.

In terms of 'diving to check out the ship', that is an interesting idea. We may be able to get the Guard to spring for some of the expenses. It is a public safety issue."

"Give me a couple of minutes and I'll try to see what I can learn about this box." Kyra takes the drawing of the box, sits at the nearest table and consults her harrow deck.

Ok, spending 15 minutes to slot in Ears of the City in my last free spell slot. And casting, 4 rounds duration, each counts as spending 1d4 hours to gather information.

I'm trying to pick up, in order: whatever I can learn about weird skull-motif boxes found in or near North Point (most important, so I'm using two rolls for that), mysterious outbreaks of disease in North Point, and lastly the general feel on just how screwed we are right now regarding the outbreak.

13:02, Today: Kyra rolled 20,26,28,18 using 1d20+10,1d20+10,1d20+10,1d20+10 with rolls of 10,16,18,8.  Perception x4  (Ears of the City - Gather Information).

After finishing their talk with Brienna, Tayce sits the group down for a giant home-cooked lunch. It is clear they are not very wealthy as it isn't particularly extravagant food but it has been prepared with tons of care and love and ends up being quite delicious.

Tayce seems to have made it her mission to stuff everyone with as much food as physically possible. Even poor recovering Brienna has a second helping of mashed potatoes shoved in front of her "just in case".

It is mid-afternoon by the time the meal is finished and their visit has concluded and the group heads back to North Point to begin their investigation into the missing box. When they arrive though it is clear that news has spread regarding the disease outbreak spreading through the city. Those with obvious signs of the bloodveil are being shunned and while the Grand Vault of Abadar is always busy this time of the day the sight the group sees is absolute chaos.

For a deity of law, the steep stairs and ramps leading up to the temple’s great bronze doors offer a strangely discordant scene. Dozens of citizens, mostly of the working class, although the silks of a few merchants show through the crowd—throng the entry, scarcely being held back by a group of gold-armored Abadarian clerics. All seem intent on gaining entry to the temple, but the clerics turn away nearly all comers. The clerics’ reasoning becomes clear as one desperate believer is turned away, his pitiful countenance mottled with violent red sores.

It seems the Grand Vault has its guards on alert and are turning those away that show signs of sickness while others who appear healthy are scrutinized and questioned before allowed entry into the Grand Vault. The crowd of the sick though aren't dispersing and instead those turned away are shouting at the guards, even waving pouches at them demanding to be seen inside but their cries and bribes fall on deaf ears as the temple guards maintain their formation and continue to carry out their orders.

Kraw says "First thing is, we need to speak to the temple, tell them what we know, and what we suspect.  They need to be informed of the treatment that worked for Brienna, and what you can tell them of the symptoms, if they do not already know."

Figus looks over the scene "They are overwhelmed. Their magic is potent, but they can not hope to deal with these numbers, and we should stay away from the crowd or risk exposure. We have some limited ... resources which will have to suffice. Our best bet is locating the box, as it will point to source of this contagion and offer clues as how to stop it."

"I'm with Kraw," she replied to Figus.

"We're here already, might as well let them know what we know. Then we can go look for the chest or the ship wreck. As for getting exposed, we just had dinner in the first plague house we know about. And it was delicious."

She burped lightly, then continued.

"But the point is, if we're getting it, we got it already. Let's tell the healers then get out investigating. But it's a good point to not get closer into the crowd than we really have to."

She looked over the crowd, then yelled in a loud, clear voice.

"Hey! Make a path we got business inside. Just 'cause you're sick doesn't mean I'm not gonna thump ya if you get in the way! Clear off!"

---

Intimidate seemed appropriate.
22:06, Today: Ayeesha rolled 20 using 1d20+9 with rolls of 11.  Intimidate, make a path through the plague victims.

"I'd be inclined to agree with Figus." Kyra comments as she uneasily observes the desperate crowd in front of the temple. "I'm not sure how the temple could help us now, even if they do take our story of skull boxes seriously. We really don't yet have anything solid to show. Maybe someone just liked to keep their cash in a really ugly box? Anyway, if the idea is to report this to someone in charge, shouldn't we be reporting to the guard and the marshal? Ah, well."

Sorry, I'm a bit late to the party here. But if it keeps the game moving, sure, let's see what we can learn in the temple.

Kraw thumps his forehead. "The marshall? Right, should have thought of that. If anything, she would know who to tell about what we've found out so far. We still serve the city, after all."

The fearsome barbarian easily clears a way through the crowd of the diseased. They are there to get healing, not to tangle with an obviously angry Shoanti barbarian. Even the guards look unsure whether they want to step in front of her to perform their questions and inspections.

OOC: The path is clear but it sounds like some in the party don't want to enter the temple or not.

I'll let you figure out if you want to try and enter the temple or not but the clear path won't stay that way forever and a new check will be needed if you wait too long.

OOC: Ayeesha at least is going in. She might not be there long, but I want to inform the priests of what we know so far, find out what they know.

Smirking at the way these Chelaxians and Varisians are deep down just scared of Shoanti like her, she jogged up the steps and into the temple.

It wasn't always great being on the receiving end of a city's prejudice and paranoia, but it did have it's perks.

"Wait up." Kyra hurries after Ayeesha before the crowd closes up again, looking uneasily at all the infected people around them. She looks ready to bolt if someone gets too close to her.

Eh. Btw, Kyra's attempt to gather information with her spell was less than successful. We definitely are screwed, but on the topic of boxes she came up with nothing useful, much to her frustration. So unless we can do better than 26 on Gather Information roll, I fear we are going to have to find some other way to track down that box. Kyra still thinks pawn shops or the like would be their best bet, for what that's worth.

Kraw follows quickly. "Ayeesha's opened the way. Come on!"

"... as long as we don't have to get too close ..." Figus follows.

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."