Going Deeper Underground

The Curse of the Crimson Throne

Part 7: The Dead Warrens, part II

We stepped into a corridor that was lined with hundreds of small niches, in each of which was a human skull. The corridor had collapsed in one direction, so we headed the only way we could go. Sabelle, feeling nervous about the area, used her magic to detect the presence of any magical energies up ahead. She picked out some in the walls on either side of the corridor. Curious, she went to see if there was a trap mechanism or something built into the walls. What she discovered was much more deadly. As she moved up the corridor, three of the skulls moved and dropped to the floor. Attached to the skulls was a small ribcage and a long backbone. The things reared up like skeletal snakes in front of us, hissing silently at us.

Quickly, Adam and Reg formed a defensive line between the creatures and the rest of us, and began slicing and punching at them. The rest began to hurl spells and fire arrows, in an attempt to slay these monstrosities.

Suddenly, one rose up from the back, taller than the others, and began a rhythmic swaying action. It was so hypnotic. Even watching as a spirit, I could feel it's effect. Adam and Reda stopped attacking, and began swaying in time with the creature. They were under it's power!

Valiantly, Reg battled on, as Adam was now blocking half of the corridor, making it difficult for the rest of us to reach the snakes. He then cried out, and we could see that he had been bitten by one of them. As he looked down at his arm, he suddenly just stopped. He had become frozen in time, paralysed by the foul creature's bite.

We were now stuck. Both Adam and Reg were now blocking the corridor completely. It was then that Veyron had an idea. Taking his dinosaur out of his robes, he threw her over the heads of our fellows and the snakes, and she landed down behind them. She quickly began to tear into the one at the back.

With this distraction, the snake stopped swaying, and turned to attack the dinosaur. This instantly freed Adam and Reda from their hypnotic state. Frantically, we bombarded the creatures we everything we had, eventually destroying them. The paralysing effect also wore off the paladin, and he helped slay the last snake.

We continued up the corridor and entered a room that seemed to be a laboratory. There was alchemical equipment scattered across the tables. One of the table semed to have had an accident, and it was surrounded by fragments of broken glass. Cleaning up the glass was another Derro. He looked surprised to see us as Adam entered the room first. But before anyone could stop him, Adam drew up his crossbow and shot the Derro through the head, killing it instantly. We were all a little shocked by his action, but there was nothing we could do about it now.

On one side of the room was a door that had been boarded up. Curious, we took down the boarding and opened the door. We soon realised why it had been boarded in the first place. Standing in the room was a large figure, a man made from parts of dead bodies stitched together to form a human shape. The abomination moaned as it lunged at us, it's teeth and claws bared.

Desperately, swords were unsheathed, and spells were readied. It didn't take long, though, before the creature lay on the floor of the room, sliced into several pieces by our weapons.

And in the room we made another discovery. This time, we found a severed arm, also covered with tattoos. Another part of Gaekhen's body.

Weary, we stopped to rest for a short while here, to get our breaths back, and to heal our wounds. What lay deeper in the Dead Warrens to surprise us? Where was the necromancer that worked here? How many more pieces of Gaekhen's body would we have to find? All was soon revealed to us...

Going Underground

The Curse of the Crimson Throne

Part 6: The Dead Warrens, part I

When we arrived at Castle Volshyenek, the Guard were unusually nervous and agitated. When asked what was wrong, one of them told us that during the riots, a Shoanti barbarian living in the city had been murdered by a gang of thugs. This barbarian was no ordinary barbarian, but the grandson of the Shoanti Ambassador called Thousand Bones.

I feel I need to explain the situation between the Chelaxians and the Shoanti before we continue. The Shoanti are a race of people who dwelled in the area that Korvosa is now built. As the Chelaxians expanded their empire, they drove away the local Shoanti tribesmen and built Korvosa, with the royal palace built right on top of one of their ancient monuments. Since that time, relations between the Shoanti and the city have been very strained. The Shoanti are just itching for a fight, and any excuse, such as the mob killing of one of their kind, would be enough to start a war, which would be devastating to both sides.

And so, when we arrived at the Field Marshall's office, we were introduced to Thousand Bones. The man was quite old, and very thin, and we could sense that he was barely controlling his anger. Thousand Bones told us that his grandson, Gaekhen, had not only been killed, but his body had been sold to a nefarious necromancer named Rolth. To ease diplomatic tensions, it had been decided that we were to find and retrieve Gaekhen's body and return it to Thousand Bones, before the rest of the Shoanti heard of if and declared war.

We had been told that the body was located somewhere in the Gray District - Korvosa's cemetary. The Guard had arrested the man who had sold the body, and he had confessed as to the exact place that he was told to deliver it. It was an area known as The Dead Warrens.

Arriving at the area, we discovered a partially collapsed mausoleum. Inside we found a secret door that opened up onto a set of stairs that lead down into the darkness. We also noticed some peculiar tracks in the mud. Upon closer inspection, it was Reg who recognised them. Derro tracks. I had heard rumours and stories of the Derro living in Korvosa - small, blue, dwarf-like beings reputed to steal away children in the night - but assumed they were only stories to frighten children.

We descended the stairs into a domed room. Two pits were on either side of the room, filled with bones. Suddenly, there was an ominous rattling sound, and six skeletons rose from one of the pits. And from the other rose a large skeleton that seemed to be of a bear. With a call to Iomedae for strength, Reg charged in to combat against the large skeleton, his blade blazing with divine light. There was a swift movement from under Veyron's robes, and the small lizard-like creature emerged, leaping at the other skeletons, it's huge claws on it's back legs slashing at the animated bones. (I have since come to discover that Veyron's lizard is some sort of dinosaur!)

Soon the skeletons were destroyed. A hush fell over the tomb once again. Adam discovered a hidden passage in one of the pits. Th passage was only a few feet high, and just as narrow. Carefully, Sabelle squeezed her way down the passage, which emerged into a small, natural cave. She gasped as she came face to face with a Derro, who was using small bat-like creatures to remove the blood from the body of a vagrant. The Derro wasted no time in hurling the buzzing creatures at Sabelle, and two of them latched onto her, sucking her blood. The cry from Sabelle brought the rest of the group running to help her. The Derro, now realising that it was seriously outnumbered, fled down a nearby corridor.

We gave chase, and ended up in a cave which was mostly a large mud pit. Piled in the centre was a revolting mound of body parts. Eating it's way through the mound was a hideous, foul-smelling creature with three tentacles writhing from it's bloated body. It was an Otyugh, one of the foul creatures that lived in the Korvosan sewers. But with arrow, blade and spell, the beast was dealt with. It made a disguting bellowing sound as it died, and the stench that it exuded was overpowering.

We then made a horrible discovery. In the pile of body parts was a pair of legs with distinctive Shoanti tattoos. Gaekhen's body had been cut up! Our task had just become harder, for now we had to search for all of the parts of his body.

We discovered another secret tunnel from this cave, that lead into another cave, this one a living area for four small creatures - probably Derro.

The fleeing Derro had eluded us, probably fleeing out of the dungeon.

We took a passage that opened up into an old corridor, that looked older than the previous rooms we had seen. It was here we had one of our deadlier encounters...

Up on the Roof

Finally, the last part of our marathon session on sunday.

Plus, I've added a new header. I'll work on a new profile picture too.

I look forward to next wednesday. I'm quite excited. And I know what's coming!


The Curse of the Crimson Throne

Part 5: Into the Shingles

We spent the next few days doing fairly normal things. The rioting was easing, the markets were reopening, and Korvosa was slowly returning to normality. The city folk were begrudgingly becoming used to our new queen.

However, it wasn't long before a new rumour began to spread through the city. Apparently, the king had been murdered - poisoned. Gossip began to circulate that it was Queen Ileosa herself who had administered the poison. But then, a statement came from the palace. The murderer of the king had been named - an artist by the name of Trinia Sabor. She had been commissioned to paint a portrait of the king a week before he died. She had been alone with him for many hours and had had plenty of opportunity to administer the poison. To make matters worse, the crown had placed a bounty on her head for her capture. This stoked the people into forming lynch mobs, sweeping the city for the woman. The people now had someone whom they could take out their anger on, and Trinia had become public enemy number 1.

It was then that we received a summons from Field Marshall Cressida Kroft. She told us that this whole situation didn't sound right. Why had the queen made this news public? It was as if she wanted the riots to restart. Our mission was to find Trinia before the mobs, and bring her in to the Korvosan City Guard for questioning. We had been given her address, and that was where we were to start our search.

Trinia's flat was in the district known as Midland, on the third floor of a tenement block. The door was barricaded from the inside, but it didn't stand a chance against the strength of the paladin. Inside, we found a small room with an open window, and Trinia curled up asleep on the bed. However, as we went to wake her, we realised that she was just an illusion. Looking out of the window, we could see her dashing across the rooftops, into the area known as The Shingles.

Let me explain about The Shingles for those of you who do not know it. A few decades ago, various urban renewal projects in the city forced many of the city's poor out of their homes. Desperate for somewhere to live, the people moved onto the roofs of many of the city's buildings. These temporary accommodations soon became permanent fixtures, and then they, too, were built upon, until there was an entire city built on top of the existing city. The Shingles, as it became known, was a quick way to get across the city without being noticed by anyone on the ground, and so it became a haven for criminals hiding from the law. It also became the home to some minor species of monsters.

So, the chase was on.

Trinia had gotten a good head start on us and was already several buildings away. The first out through the window was Sabelle, but she almost immediately lost her footing and plummeted into the street below. Adam and Reda began to give chase too, with Reda trying to slow Trinia down by firing her arrows at her. At one point, Adam was almost within reach of Trinia, but a bird flew up from a hidden perch, startling him, and he slipped and also fell into the mob-filled street.

Reda, her keen eyes never losing sight of Trinia, could see that the girl was starting to tire. Reda had hit her a few times, and Trinia was losing blood from the arrow wounds. Trinia slowed to squeeze through a gap in a wall, and Reda seized the opportunity. With a swift movement, she loosed one of her arrows. Trinia was hit in the shoulder. The girl squealed in pain, and then dropped to her knees, passing out from the pain. We had caught her. When she slipped back into consciousness, she began crying. She had not killed the king, she said. She had been framed. From the tears in her eyes and the plea in her voice, we could tell she was telling the truth. She was being used as a scapegoat.

We were now in a quandary. What were we to do with her? We didn't want to turn her over to the Korvosan City Guard. Although the Guard promised not to hurt her, there was no guarantee she would survive the interrogation process. We certainly couldn't just let her go, as she would be found by the mob and torn to pieces. We needed somewhere to hide her. But where?

It was Sabelle who came up with the answer. She was now quite good friends with the King of Spiders, who owned Eel's End. Perhaps he would hide her on his ship until the mobs died down.

And so, while heavily disguised, we transported Trinia to Eel's End. The King of Spiders promised to keep her there. She would pose as a serving girl, and no-one would know it was her.

We returned to the Field Marshall and told her that Trinia had escaped. I don't think Cressida believed us, but she accepted our story.

We did not have time to dwell on this, however, as the Field Marshall had already gotten us another mission. But this I shall tell you about at another time. Return to me in a few days, and I shall continue this tale of bravery and heroism.

We're the Soldiers of the Queen, my lads

The Curse of the Crimson Throne



Part 4: Guard Duty



After our meeting eith the Queen, we were escorted to Castle Volshyenek, the headquarters of the Korvosan City Guard. We were introduced to Field Marshall Cressida Kroft, leader of the Guard. She told us that the rioting in the city had stretched the Guard to its limit, and she was very happy to have some new agents that she could rely on.


Our first mission was that of desertion. When the rioting broke out, many of the Guard broke from their posts to help protect their families and loved ones. One man, however, had deserted, and had managed to persuade a handful of other men to join him. The Field Marshall wanted us to find this man - called Verik Vancaskerkin - and bring him back to the Castle for questioning and rehabilitation.


Verik and his men had holed themselves up in a butcher's shop called "All The World's Meat". The shop was open and, apparently, doing business. Quietly, we broke in through the back of the shop, where a lonely cow and a few pigs wandered aimlessly around a yard, waiting for their inevitable slaughter. We entered the main slaughter floor. The smell of death and blood was overpowering. We were met by two of Verik's lackeys, both covered in blood stains from slaughtering animals. One got angry and attacked. The other seemed nervous and afraid. After knocking out the aggressive one, the other told us that he was sorry for the killings, and just wanted to help the less fortunate. Killings? What killings? This soon became clearer. In the storeroom we discovered many cuts of meat for sale. However, some of the cuts were from humans. These people were slaughtering people and selling them to the public!


Reg the Paladin was furious! We encountered two more men, and Reg flew into a rage, killing them both. And then we stormed into the offices and encountered Verik. Holding Reg back, we spoke with Verin, confronting him with our findings. The poor man broke down in tears. He had deserted the Guard so that he could open the shop and sell cheap meat to the less fortunate and the victims of the riots. However, the men who had deserted with him had, unbeknown to him, started to kill people when the cattle deliveries ran dry. He returned to the Castle with us, ashamed of what his men had done.


Our second mission was more unusual. There was an ambassador from Cheliax who hated the city and said it should be abandoned. He was up to something suspicious, but the Field Marshall didn't know what. Our mission was to find some incriminating evidence on the ambassador that the Field Marshall could use against him, should he start anything against the city.


Our destination was a places called Eel's End - a collection of five ships moored together at the end of a pier. The ships provided various "services" for paying customers to indulge in. We had been told that the ambassador had been seen there many times. When we arrived, the place was full of nighttime revellers. there was a brothel, a drug den, and a fight club plying their trade on the ships. Our goal was to talk to the owner of Eel's End - a man known simply as the King of Spiders.


When we confronted the King, we realised why he had the title. His cabin was covered with webs, and hundreds of spiders of all shapes and sizes crawled across them. Even the man himself had a few large spiders on him. The man was serious and unhappy to see us. However, it was Sabelle who got us through this one. The Oracle used her womanly charms (and a bag of gold!) to seduce the King of Spiders. After a while, Sabelle and the Kingwere good friends, and it didn't take long for him to admit that the ambassador was having an affair here, and that the King had "acquired" some very scandalous letters that the ambassador had written to his lover. The King gave us one of these letters, and, with a promise from Sabelle that she would return one night, we left and returned to the Castle.


With two missions successfully completed, we were given some time off.


And it is here that I will pause the story, for I, too, need some time off. Return in a while, and I shall continue.

The Silence of the Lamm

The Curse of the Crimson Throne

Part 3: Lamm to the Slaughter

The sun was just rising as we made their way to the Old Fishery at the dockside. The reek of rotting fish and seaweed filled the air. There on the edge of the river stood a ramshackle building that looked like many of the other abandoned buildings in this part of the city. Down one side was an old wooden jetty that lead out into the river and behind the building.

Peering through one of the grimy windows, our heroes saw a handful of young children, dressed in rags and working knee-deep in a trough of murky water. With a swift kick, the door was broken in. The children froze, unsure of what was happening. Except for one. We suddenly realised that one of the children was actually a gnome, a look of hatred and anger across his face. He charged at us, dagger in hand. But he was no match for us. With a flourish of his hands, and a bright flash of magical energy, Kemar put the gnome to sleep with one swift move.

While the gnome was asleep, we tied him up. Once he awoke, he was interrogated. He was really quite informative. he told us that Gaedren Lamm had a secret room somewhere beneath the Fishery that he retired to when he wanted to sort through the day's pickings.

So, we explored the building and the barge tied up behind it, and we discovered a secret walkway underneath the building, right on the surface of the river. We also discovered a very hungry jigsaw shark, but Reda's keen eye and quick reactions sunk it beneath the water in a hail of arrows.

And there, in a room filled with other peoples trinkets, we came face to face with Lamm. Although he tried to kill us using his pet crocodile, the party made him pay for all he had done to them, and soon he was lying in a pool of his own blood, his head removed from his shoulders.

And it was then that the heroes discovered a shocking truth, for there, in a hat box in Gaedren's room, they discovered my head. Yes, I was dead. I had been dead for several months before recruiting the party. It was only my stubbornness and thirst for vengeance that had kept my spirit here. But now I was free. Yet I decided to remain with the heroes. Forever linked to my newly found Harrow card set, I would travel with them, see what they see, and occasionally help them out with Harrowing readings from my cards.

And justice was served. Gaedren Lamm and his gang of little pickpockets would never bother the city again.

Our quest seemed over. But, as we were searching through Gaedren's more interesting possessions, we came across a very ornate brooch, worth a great deal of money. Taking the advice from Reg, we took the brooch with the intention of returning it to it's rightful owner. It was then that we got a shock, for we discovered that the brooch belonged to our very own Queen Ileosa, and that there was a reward for it's return.

However, simply returning the brooch to the palace was a little more complicated than we had thought, for while we were dealing with Lamm, King Eodred II mysteriously died, and Ileosa had taken to the throne. The news spread through the city like wildfire. Normally, in a situation like this, the Seneschal steps in and takes command until the rightful heir is found and informed. However, he had gone missing, and was nowhere to be found, so Ileosa had merely stepped into the role of ruler of the city without anyone to stop her.

This news did not go down well with the people. Many considered Ileosa a money grabbing whore, who used her charms to seduce the king so she could have power. Riots began to appear on the city streets. Mobs of angry citizens roamed the city, demanding that the Queen step down. The city had descended into anarchy!

Despite the goings on in the city, we decided to risk going to the palace and returning the brooch. We pushed our way through angry mobs and into the palace, where we were met by the beautiful Sabina Merrin, personal bodyguard to the Queen. Whispered rumours proclaimed that Sabina was more than a bodyguard, and was also her lover. She escorted us into the palace and to the throne room.

And there, sat on the Crimson Throne, was our Queen, Ileosa. Dressed all in black, she thanked us for returning her brooch, and gave us quite a substantial reward. She also had a proposal for us:

"With the city in anarchy, the Korvosan City Guard is stretched to the limit trying to control it. They need brave heroes like you, and so, if you would like to serve our city, I would like to make you agents of the City Guard."

So just like that, we became agents for the Korvosan City Guard. We were escorted from the palace to Castle Volshyenek, headquarters for the guard, where we would start a new life in the service of the Queen.

The First Session

So, with some excitement, the new campaign started. 8 hours of solid gaming. What geeks we are! And fun was had by all.

Because the session was a long one, I shall divide the story up into manageable chunks, to make it easier to read.

So, without any more chat, let's get on with the story.

The Curse of the Crimson Throne

Part 2: Enter the Heroes

Welcome back, friend. Let me continue my tale.

As you recall, I had scoured the city, looking for people who had suffered like me at the hands of Gaedren Lamm. And I found them. Seven people, all with a dark past. So I summoned them to me. And they came.

First was a young man named Veyron, dressed in brown robes. He had the look of a druid. He kept peering inside his robes and making peculiar noises. The thing is, his robes would answer back, in a high pitched screeching sound. Curious, I looked closer, and there, deep inside his robes, was hidden a small, peculiar lizard.

Next was Adam. He had skin as white as porcelain with hair to match. His eyes were pink. He had the look of a street fighter. His knuckles showed signs of scarring from many fights.

Reda was the third to arrive. She was not completely human. Her pointed ears suggested to me that she was part elf. She had a powerful bow strung across her shoulders, and her clothing and insignia stood her out as one of the Sable Company Marines - the rangers that ride hippogriffs and patrol the city's skies.

The next was a tall, muscular, handsome man. His regal bearing and gleaming armour was typical for a paladin of the goddess Iomedae. He introduced himself as Reg. A peculiar name for someone of such noble stature.

The fifth person was another member of the religious factions of Korvosa. This time, a woman named Baster. Her bright yellow robes marked her as a cleric of Sarenrae, goddess of sunlight and fire.

The penultimate person was a strange woman named Sabelle. I could sense spirits all around her, haunting her every move. As she went to pick up a glass of wine, the glass moved away from her hand. However, she simply sighed and reached for the glass. She seemed to be resigned to having the spirits around her. She claimed to be an oracle.

The last person to enter the room was a halfling named Kemar. He bristled with magical energy and I could tell that this was something natural, not something he had learned. His magic was something ancient, something primal. He was a sorcerer with an eternal fire in his eyes.

And so, they came. They sat at my table and they listened to my tale. The time had come to serve justice on Gaedren Lamm...

And so it begins...

Welcome! This blog will be a story. The story will be of the new Dungeons and Dragons campaign that my geeky friends and I will be starting shortly.

I always said to myself that once our old campaign finishes, I would write a blog detailing the story of the new campaign. It would be useful to my friends, so they could keep track of what was going on (they can be a forgetful bunch!), and it would give me a chance to try out my storytelling skills which were, at one time, quite good.

Well, now that time has come. Castle Whiterock has been dealt with, and it is time to move on. Time to bring on the new heroes.

So, without further ado, let's get this party started. Welcome to the Pathfinder campaign entitled...



The Curse of the Crimson Throne


Part 1: In the beginning...

Greetings, Pathfinder. My name is Zellara. I am a... No. Let me rephrase that. I was a Varisian fortune teller. Unfortunately, I am now dead. However, a wronged soul is hard to kill, so I survive yet, as a spirit, bound to my set of Harrow cards, the tools of my trade.

I want to recount to you an epic story. The story of a group of people who had something in common with me, who went on to save the city of Korvosa from a terrible fate. But first, let me tell you of my home, and the setting for most of this story.

The city of Korvosa, a Chelaxian city in the "wildlands" of Varisia. Many hundreds of years ago, the Chelaxians stormed into my land, drove away the local Shoanti barbarian tribes, and built a city on top of one of their holy sites. Typical Chelaxian behaviour. Always expanding. Always taking what is not theirs to take.

Forgive my rant. Let me continue. The city of Korvosa became a haven for people wanting to escape the hustle and bustle of Cheliax, and soon it bacame a thriving metropolis at the mouth of the Jeggare River. Its ruler, King Eodred Arabasti II, and his very young wife, Queen Ileosa, ruled the city fairly and wisely. At least, they did at the beginning of the story.

Now, let me tell you my tale. As I said earlier, I was a fortune teller by trade, making enough money doing Harrowing readings to allow myself and my only son, Eron, to live a happy, though modest, life. That soon changed. About a year before the story starts, my Harrow card set, a family heirloom passed down through the generations, was stolen from me by a young street urchin. The urchin was one of Gaedren's Little Lambs.

Before I go on, I must tell you of the odious and vile man called Gaedren Lamm. He was a crimelord, who had been operating in the city for decades. He ran legitimate businesses throughout the city, but used them as a cover for his shadier dealings. Gaedren dealt in stolen goods. The unusual thing about his operation was that he used children - his "Little Lambs" - to do the stealing for him. The children were either orphans who he'd "adopt" from the local orphanages, or children that he would abduct from around the city. He was a cruel master, and he would regularly beat and intimidate his children, forcing them to work in fear. And if any child did something he didn't agree with, or made one too many mistakes, they would be killed. Usually in a horrible way.

So, my Harrow card set was stolen. My son took it upon himself to get the set back. The fool boy. I wish I had stopped him. He disappeared for many days. He eventually turned up on my doorstep - well, his head and his hands did. Attached was a note, telling me to stay away from Gaedren Lamm or the same would happen to me.

I went to the authorities. I pleaded with the Korvosan City Guard, but they said they had little extra time and resources to go after Gaedren.

So, with my skills as a fortune teller, and my divinatory powers, I began to search the city for someone - anyone - who could help me. And there, among the thousands in Korvosa, I found a handful of people, who, like me, had had some negative dealings with Gaedren Lamm. It was these people that were to become the heroes of this story.

Forgive me. I see that your time is short, and you need to leave. Very well. When you return, I shall continue, and I shall tell you of the people that I found, the ones who became the great heroes of this incredible story.