Wednesday, 30 December 2009
Peasants and Kings
Tuesday, 22 December 2009
Devil Woman
Thieves in the Temple
Part 12: The End of the Plague
The City Guard had arrested everyone in the hospice, and it was time for us to descend into the hidden temple of Urgathoa beneath it. By this time, Reg was furious. "We're taking no prisoners" he told the others as we descended in the rickety old elevator.
The elevator opened into a complex of rooms that housed a number of the Royal Physicians and priests of Urgathoa. We also encountered the necromancer we had heard so much about - Rolth. He was experimenting on helpless cityfolk who were chained to their beds and injected with new and deadlier strains of Blood Veil. The fight with him was intense. He was a powerful wizard. And just when Reg and Adam thought they had him cornered, he cast a spell and stepped through a magical door that appeared behind him. In a flash he was gone. I had no doubt that we would meet him again.
Further into the complex we came across a huge room with three enormous metal vats. It was here that the priests were brewing the disease that had affected the city. With sword and spell the priests and physicians were dispatched. We had temporarily stopped the production of Blood Veil. It was now time to find the leaders of the operation.
We soon found one of them. He was experimenting on a young Varisian man. Ruan! The missing musician from the masked ball at Carowyn Manor. The man experimenting on Ruan was no ordinary man. When he turned to face us, we saw that we were up against a Nosferatu - a powerful vampire from Ustalav. However, as we geared ourselves up for a big fight, he calmly turned to us and began to talk. We discovered that he had been hired to help develop the plague, but had no interest in the evil plans of the Queen. He was merely interested in it from a scientific point of view. He even told us that he had discovered that 1 in 10 Varisians were completely immune to Blood Veil, and that a cure could be made from their blood. The vampire also realised that with adventurers infiltrating the temple complex, his experiments would be ending. So, without cursing us or attacking us, he simply collected some of his belongings and bid us farewell. Dumbfounded, we just stood there and let him leave.
At the far end of the complex we entered the main temple to Urgathoa. In the centre of the room stood a fountain with a statue of the Goddess of Disease - a beautiful naked woman with long blonde hair, but from the waist down she was just a skeleton. There to meet us was the high priestess who arrogantly introduced herself as Lady Andaisin. Reg was not listening any more, and with holy power, he charged toward her, ready to strike her down. She put up a brave fight, hurling spells at us all. But in the end, good triumphed over evil, and Lady Andaisin was struck down. The evil had come to an end. Or so we thought...
Suddenly, a ghostly image of Urgathoa appeared in the room above the high priestess's body. Unholy light shone from the goddess onto the body. With a hideous noise of cracking bone and tearing flesh, Andaisin's body tore apart, and from it emerged a ghostly figure of the high priestess, infused with unholy energy. We had just witnessed Divine Intervention!
Without a break, we had to fight on. The new Lady Andaisin was powerful indeed, but we fought with every ounce of strength and every iota of magic in our possession. Then suddenly, with a blow from Reg's holy blade, an unholy scream echoed through the chamber, and the ghostly figure vanished. We had finally slain Urgathoa's chosen one.
With the leaders of the temple dispatched, the production of Blood Veil came to an end. With the notes we had discovered, alchemists were able to come up with a cure for the disease. The party had become true heroes of the city. Even the Queen herself acknowledged our work and rewarded us. In time, the city would be free of any signs of the plague.
However, despite a cure being found, Old Korvosa remained cut off from the rest of the city. And a few days later, Queen Ileosa surprised us yet again, but this time with something more horrifying than the Blood Veil...
Wednesday, 16 December 2009
Down with the Sickness
Wednesday, 9 December 2009
Soul Contamination
I just want to say a big thank you to all my players for coming up with such great characters and making this a cracking campaign.
Ok, on with the show...
The Curse of the Crimson Throne
Part 10: Pestilence!
With considerably less resistance than anticipated, we managed to escort Ishani the priest to Castle Volshyenek. When we got there, however, we discovered a large meeting taking place. All of the Korvosan City Guard and the Sable Company were gathered in the courtyard. On a stage stood Field Marshall Kroft, a few of the other ranking officers of the Guard, and some very peculiar figures. A group of figures were people in oily black coats and wide brimmed hats. They also each wore a goggled mask that came to a point like a beak. They stood clutching canes or bags. Among these figures was a middle-aged man, quite good looking, clutching a doctor's bag. The last figure was very imposing. It was a woman, clad head to toe in shining armour, her helmet sporting a long red plume.
The Field Marshall suddenly quietened the crowd and made a speech. She introduced the middle-aged man as Doctor Davaulus, the newly appointed Royal Physician, and the masked figures as the Queen's Physicians. She said that the Queen had appointed these people to help stem the plague that was sweeping the city, and that the Guard was to escort the Physicians on their duties. She also introduced the armour-clad woman, saying she was a member of a newly formed group of soldiers known as the Grey Maidens. These warrior women took orders directly from the Queen, so the Guardsmen and the Sable Company Marines had to follow any instructions that the Maidens gave them.
With hushed murmers of dissatisfaction, the Guard dispersed to their duties, and Field Marshall Kroft, Doctor Davaulus, and the Physicians adjourned for a meeting. Before she left, the Field Marshall told us that she would call on us in a few days, should she have any missions for us.
Over the next few days, we watched the numbers of Blood Veil victims increase dramatically. Even some of our number - Sabelle, Adam, and Reda - succumbed to the disease. Fortunately, they managed to receive a cure at the temple of Abadar. Bodies were starting to pile up in the streets, and mass graves were being dug in the city's graveyard district. The Queen's Physicians and the Grey Maidens patrolled the streets, entering houses and checking for plague victims. Here, in the spirit world, I could sense the arrival of the newly dead. So many souls. Hundreds of people were losing their battle with this terrible plague. I felt such a sadness all around me.
We then received a call from the Field Marshall. She told us that some of the lazier plague carters (the men who wandered the streets collecting the bodies of the dead and taking them to the graveyard) were dumping the bodies instead of transporting them all the way across the city. We were to investigate a likely spot, known as Racker's Alley.
.
In the alley we discovered a large pile of bodies, dumped and left to rot. We also found a gang of vampire spawn, feeding from the decaying bodies. However, this gang stood no chance against the holy might of our paladin's devotion, and they were quickly sent to oblivion. The only unusual thing we could find was a bag of coins the spawn were carrying. The coins were minted in Ustalav, a country far to the east, known for its vampires. Why were there Ustalav vampires here in the city?
A few days later, we received another mission, this one from Ishani the priest. A perfumery in The Heights was selling a cure for the Blood Veil. We were to investigate and see if it was true. We discovered an incredibly long queue of people waiting to buy the cure. As Reg, Reda and Veyron tried talikng to the proprietor of the shop, Sabelle and Adam, our two more stealthy members of the group, broke into the owner's private quarters and discovered the secret of the cure. It was a sham. The cure was nothing more than river water with a few herbs added to make it taste nice. With her con exposed, the owner of the perfumery fled the city, never to be heard from again.
We were then approached by a young Varisian woman named Deyanira, deeply distraught. She told us that her brother, Ruan, had gone missing. Ruan was a talented young musician who had just been been given a contract to play at a masked ball that the Carowyn family were holding at their manor. He had not returned home from the party, and when Deyanira had gone up to the manor to inquire what had happened to him, she discovered the manor locked and seemingly deserted, with the smell of death coming from within.
So, we headed for the South District and to Carowyn Manor, to investigate the place. What we found was very disturbing...
Sunday, 6 December 2009
Shake the Disease
Thursday, 3 December 2009
Off With Her Head!
Friday, 27 November 2009
Going Deeper Underground
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...
Thursday, 26 November 2009
Going Underground
Friday, 20 November 2009
Up on the Roof
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.
Wednesday, 18 November 2009
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.
Sunday, 15 November 2009
The Silence of the Lamm
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.
The First Session
Friday, 6 November 2009
And so it begins...
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.