Adventure Log V

SPIDERS, MONSTERS, MURDERERS & FLOWERS

The party had their orders. To try and get as much information on the Chelaxian Ambassador from Devargo Bavarsi, The King of Spiders, in order to stop him ‘taking over Korvosa’ in a power play. However, the party decided not to head out to Eel’s End until the next day and instead they decided to spend a little time with Orisini. He proved to be very likable, charming and pleasant.  Whilst in his company, Nightingale and Calli made plans to visit him for lessons at a future date, and Nightingale also suggested Calli could even perform for his students. Orisini, taken by the suggestion, explained the academy was currently lacking in ‘worthy students' so they’d be most welcome. Nightingale then suggested it’d be fun if they all went, and that he’d like to see Orisini and Byron spar. It could prove to be a fascinating exercise in different fighting talents. Upon hearing this, Byron, looking at Orisini in shock, replied he’d “have to go easy on the old man!” which seemed to amuse Orisini enormously. Taking advantage of the situation, Nightingale then invited Orisini to a friendly duel right away, who was only too happy to oblige and pulled out a fine looking rapier of his own. It was clear this rapier was special and Orisini looked upon it almost with love. Nightingale and Orisini then assumed their positions with their rapiers, shouted “en guard!” and then engaged in combat. It was an enthralling battle but it was clear who was the master. Orisini moved with a speed and grace that was fascinating and extraordinary to watch. Watching him was like watching a ballerina dance or like water flowing down a hill. When he moved, he was smooth, elegant and also lightning quick. This in turn made Nightingale seem slow and sluggish (which was clearly not the case) but simply showed the difference in their skill sets. In spite of this, Orisini made sure the fight seemed a near thing, staying only just ahead. It showed him generous and without ego to not have torn Nightingale apart like he could’ve done. After the fight was over, Orisini praised Nightingale, clearly impressed by his talents and said he looked forward to their future lessons together.

After this enthralling duel, the party were about to leave Orisini to rest for the day, when Nightingale said to him that they had recently bumped into Grau Soldado. Orisini had heard of Soldado’s drunken behaviour on the streets and thanked the party for helping an ex-student of his. A student that once had promise. He thought their kindness to him was to be admired. Nightingale also said they’d also had contact with Sabina (knowing full well that a rumour existed of some sort of scandal between the Soldado, Sabina and Orisini). At that moment, Orisini paused and a shadow seemed to fall across his face. He then said  “I’m pleased she found her true calling—I just hope that it’s something that deserves her attention.” No more was said on that matter, but there was clearly some sadness there. Changing the subject, Calli then asked for advice on what the King of Spiders was like. Orisini informed them that Bavarsi was a very vain and prideful man, and if they wanted to stay on his good side, to play up to it.

The party said their goodbyes to the weapon master and decided to meet the following day at Ruby’s Rest. The night passed uneventfully but when dawn broke, it brought with it the usual amount of rumours that Korvosa seemed to circulate on a daily basis. The one that caught their attention the most though (and made most of the party laugh) was that apparently Byron, The Korvosan Bear, had an illegitimate son that looked like a jockey’s whip by the name of “Ron’s Tail.”

The party met at Ruby’s Rest and were about to debate how they could get the information from Devargo Bavarsi ‘The King of Spiders’ when a messenger arrived for Taylan. Once again master Roche needed his assistance and once again Taylan made his apologies and left. Clearly there was something going on there, which the party would have to get to the bottom of one day. But for now, they had to deal with the Bavarasi situation. Nightingale believed they should just simply ask for an audience with him suggesting they had a lucrative business venture they wished to discuss. But Trevor, ever the cautious soul, believed it wouldn’t be as easy as that. The King of Spiders was known to see right through people and if he didn’t take to them they would simply ‘disappear’.  Calli then suggested that she could pretend that she had been wronged by the Ambassador and was seeking revenge. That the only person who could help was the Spider and she was willing to pay him handsomely for his services. The party certainly seemed to warm to this plan, but once again Trevor asked why would Byron, a well known ‘celeb’ in these parts and himself be associated with her? Calli replied that as she was ‘not used to this part of the world’ she naturally hired the best of the best to act as her bodyguards for protection. Byron said he was happy to “trust the words,” referring to Calli’s skill at talking them through encounters previously. She changed into an outfit more noble than bard, and engaged the magic in her hairpin to turn herself into a blue-eyed blonde with much lighter skin. The plan and Byron and Trevor’s presence was solid and so without further ado, the party headed towards Eels End.

Eel’s End was a clot of ships at the eastern end of the Narrows in Old Korvosa. The party could see a tangle of five ships permanently moored to one of the longer piers and sounds of music, revelry and debauchery could be heard loudly cascading through the air from each of the ships. Rope bridges and gangplanks were spread all around Eel’s End like a spider's web, which gave access for people to roam ship to ship. The smell of the place was overbearing though. Sweat, human grime, beer, ale and smoke from multiple wood fires filled the ether. But it was the fragrance of rotting fish and stagnant brine that wafted up from the waterfront that dominated. Trevor and Byron were used to such smells but this was on another level.

As the party entered Eel’s End and looked around, they could see various signs which displayed each ship’s ‘business’. One sign stated “The Twin Tigers— Take the Tiger by the Tail and Try Your Luck!” another one “Welcome to the Goldenhawk—No Safer Stay in Old Korvosa!” Another ship had a sign which said “Dragon’s Breath Corridor—Dream the Dragon’s Dreams at Affordable Prices!”, whilst another proudly stated the “House of Clouds—The Caress of Our Lovelies Will Take You Straight to Heaven!” However, the largest ship (a decommissioned warship) bore no signage at all. A menacing and large figurehead could be seen at the prow which was in the shape of a coiling eel with a woman’s head). This was clearly Devargo’s headquarters and base of operations. 

Two guards stood at the entrance to the gangplank of the unmarked ship and Nightingale in his most charming and endearing way, asked for an audience with Devargo Bavarsi, stating that it would be financially beneficial for the King of Spiders if they were seen. The guards were won over, and directed the party to another set of guarded doors where they would have to plead their case. As they went forward, Nightingale, ever the ‘business gentleman’ then flipped them some coins, much to the surprise and delight of the guards.

The party boarded the ship and found themselves on the main deck where various people could be seen drinking and dancing. They walked through the throng and headed to a large pair of double doors which had a painting of a vicious looking spider embossed upon it. Two stern looking guards stood outside and prevented the party from entering. Once again, Nightingale, using his natural etiquette and sophistication, requested an audience with Devargo Bavarsi. However, this time the guards weren’t so accommodating and stated that no-one got to see the Spider unless they already had an appointment booked. At that moment, Calli stepped in and said she was sure that something could be arranged and presented the guards with some gold. Normally, Calli’s charming demeanour would have swayed the guards, but these men were made of sterner stuff. Clearly they were more afraid of the Spiders' orders than a few pieces of gold. Seeing this, Byron made it clear in his most intimidating way that it would be foolish of them not to let them in and to back this up, Nightingale then emotionally blackmailed them, stating that if the Spider found out that they were responsible for preventing a very lucrative deal, the repercussions could prove fatal to them. The guards ceded to the request and let them in.

The party walked into a large room which was thick with spiderwebs and packed with ominous looking spiders of all shapes and sizes. The room itself was furnished with two wooden tables with a plethora of food and drink. Six rough looking men sat on chairs around the table and they were clearly in the throes of drinking and so the room stank of stale ale. Above them, to one side of the room, hung an iron birdcage from the ceiling which seemed to contain a very sad looking Drake. But at the back of the room, on a wooden stage was a large ‘throne like’ chair. On the chair sat a tall man with close-cropped black hair and blue eyes. He wore armour which seemed to weave together like a spider’s web.  Spiders seemed to scuttle over his skin, but the man seemed not to notice. This was clearly Devargo Bavarsi, The King of Spiders.

The guards announced the party’s presence saying they were most persuasive and had an interesting business venture for the King. To which Bavarsi replied, “fuckin bring them in!” Nightingale then stepped forward to introduce Calli -but sticking to the plan- he announced her as Genevieve Tremaine.

As he announced her presence, Nightingale spotted something right in front of Devargo - a trap door. Nightingale, using his refined skills, bowed and swept his hand on the floor trying subtly to point out the danger to the rest of the party. It was at that moment though, Bavarasi, asked Calli to step forward. Calli was unaware of the peril that lay beneath and so, as she stepped forward, Nightingale subtly placed his hand on her shoulder to stop her from fully stepping on the trap door. Bavarsi then asked Calli to state her business. She explained that the Ambassador for Cheliax had wronged her and she was seeking revenge. However, she needed a ‘diplomatic’ way of achieving this and that she’d heard that Devargo Bavarsi, The King of Spiders, was the only man capable of helping her plight. She laid on the praise thickly, and spoke of the ambassador as if he were a rat. Barvasi’s eyes seemed to light up with this opportunity. He said he would indeed be happy to help her ‘situation’ but it would come at a price. 1500 gold pieces to be precise. In his possession he had some papers which proved he was having an affair with a married woman. Papers that the ambassador had written. Having information like that, Bavarsi suggested, could prove to be the Ambassadors undoing! Calli thought this was wonderful but playing ‘the damsel in distress’ card, said the price was too high for some papers and perhaps some other arrangement could be made to reduce the cost. A smile flooded across the ‘Spiders’ face and he replied that he was willing to knock off 500gp for the papers in return for a game of Knivesies. Calli had never heard of this game but both Byron and Trevor knew this was a potentially fatal game.

In Knivesies, two opponents would stand opposite each other on top of a table. Their right hands would be bound to their own sides. Each contestant would also have a belt pouch attached to them. In between the contestants, a dagger would be stuck in the table. Gold coins would also be placed on the table all around them. To win the game an opponent had to either knock the other contestant off the table, or grab the gold and drop it into their pouch. Typically a game would end when any coin was knocked off the table, all coins have been collected, or an opponent was either unconscious, dead, or knocked off the table. You won by either being the last one standing on the table, or by having gathered more coins than your opponent once all were collected. It was a deadly game played by brigands, pirates and thieves.

To the surprise of all, and perhaps inspired by a vision of the harrow card he received from Zellara some time ago, Nightingale volunteered to play the game. This seemed to delight The Spider and wanted the fight to take place immediately with one of his ‘revellers’. But Trevor intervened. First he needed the Spiders word that when Nightingale won, there would be no repercussions from anyone. The Spider agreed but didn’t like being dictated to and gave Trevor a very long hard stare making it clear the Half-Orc was on his radar now. Secondly, Trevor suggested that for a price, Calli would sing a song the likes of which he’d never heard before. Intrigued, the Spider agreed he would reduce the price if the song was good enough. With all agreements made, Nightingale and his opponent lept upon the table.

As this was all happening, Byron could see the Drake that was held in the birdcage looking at him with a pleading face. It was almost as if the pseudodragon was begging him for help.

As Nightingale and his opponent stared at each other, anticipating each others move, gold coins were thrown on the table beneath them. Calli hitched up her skirt and launched into a song making Nightingale feel quicker, sharper, more agile. It bolstered his confidence. Byron threw his coins on the table too, but as he did so he subtly moved himself next to the birdcage. Once all bets were in, The “Spider’ counted down from 3 to 1 and then Knivesies began.

Nightingales' opponent was quick and immediately snatched the dagger from the table, leering and cheering as soon as he got it. Unbeknownst to him though, this was exactly what Nightingale wanted. Normally both opponents would either reach for the dagger or the coins. But instead, Nightingale grabbed his opponent's hand with the metal dagger, and surged a bolt of electricity through it. The man screamed in agony as his hand, tendons and nerves burned like the sun. The first round went to Nightingale, however his opponent still had the dagger and fury rippled across his face.

Whilst the crowd were enthralled with the fight, Byron reached up his hand and quickly and deftly, unhooked the latch of the birdcage. Trevor seemed to be the only one to have seen Byron do this and was even more surprised when the Drake came out of its cage and simply disappeared into the shadows. Once gone, Byron then closed the cage and went back to watching the fight, cheering on Nightingale. Trevor worried his actions, could prove disastrous if discovered and so crossed all his fingers that wouldn’t be the case.

The burnt man viciously slashed the knife straight towards Nightingale trying to cut or main him. But Nightingale, due to his quick and dexterous movement, easily stepped aside the attack and as he did so he slapped the man across the face. Once again lightning arced through his hands and arced into his opponent, but such was the force of the slap, it seemed to double the damage. Electricity lanced into the man's head burning and lacerating his face. Blisters exploded around the skin and the smell of charred flesh filled the room. The pain was so terrible the man fell off the table, clutching his ruined face and screaming in agony. Nightingale stood tall on the table, smoothed the sides of his moustache with one hand and then with the other, reached down, picked up a gold coin and smiled. He had won!

A shocked silence filled the room. No-one could believe what they had seen. No knivesies had ever been fought like this before. Trevor was instantly worried that Bavarsi and his thugs would go back on their word and attack the rest of them. But instead, Bavarsi started clapping his hands and laughing “Never underestimate a gentleman!’ he cried and then the rest of his men started laughing and cheering too. The ‘Spider’ then instructed the fallen opponent to be taken care of, to which Nightingale said he’d happily do that, but Bavarsi replied he meant to be taken care of medically, not terminally. If one looked at Nightingale closely, you could see he was disappointed by that.

Bavarsi, clearly entertained by the evening's fight, then left the room and shortly returned with the Ambassador’s supposedly incriminating letters. Bavarsi explained that he had tried to do some business with the Ambassador, i.e. to have a clear route for him to supply his drug ‘Shiver’ to Cheliax, but the Ambassador in no uncertain terms told Bavarsi to fuck off. As a parting gift, Bavarsi then pickpocketed the Ambassadors house keys and paid his house a visit that same night. Once there, he ‘discovered’ very raunchy and saucy letters to a married woman, which in the right hands, he knew would ruin the man. For Callis revenge, Bavarsi then asked for a 1000 gold pieces but Trevor reminded him, that he’d agreed to lower the price for Calli’s beautiful song. Bavarsi nodded, and agreed that though her voice had slightly faltered during the fight, he knew it was out of concern for her fighting man, and it was still a worthy offering. As a result, Bavarsi agreed to lower the price by another 500 gp. But Calli, wanting to be sure they left on good terms in case they needed his aid again in the future, said “you’re too kind, I’ll give you six hundred.” Thankfully the money for the bribe had been given to them by Kroft when they received the assignment. Bavarsi, impressed, smiled at Calli and said they should do business again in the future. To which Calli replied, “I like a man who gets things done!” An awkward and embarrassed silence descended on then men in the party as Calli’s sexual insinuation hung in the air and they decided it was time to leave. As they left, both Trevor and Nightingale had a look in their eye which suggested they would return here again one day, but not for the Spiders benefit.

As they left Eel’s End and started walking through the back alleys of Old Korvosa, Byron suddenly felt the presence of something on his shoulder. The small Drake that he’d released from the Spider’s bird-cage slowly appeared on his shoulder. It looked at Byron and speaking fast thanked him for his freedom. It went on to say that custom would now dictate that it would now offer his services to the barbarian for a year and a day. If he wanted him to steal, he would do it, if wanted him to sneak into places, he would do it, but if he ordered him to fight a dragon, then he could fuck off! At this the whole party laughed. They liked him! The Drake then told Byron he had to give him a name. To which Byron replied, Little Focher! The drake then introduced himself to the rest of the party and as he did so, Trevor asked him if he was hungry. Little Focher said he was and he’d love a pickled rat! Luckily for him, that was a delicacy of Trevors workplace, The Cracked Weasel, and Trevor suggested that after they report back to Field Marshall Cressida Kroft, they should all head there and eat. Little Focher, full of joy, hope and hunger, delightfully agreed and with a smile on his and the rest of the party, they walked toward the citadel. 

However, after they walked no more than 50 yards down the street, a tentacled aberration arose, bursting from one of the sewers of Old Korvosa. Around 15 feet in height, a greyish-brown quadrupedal creature that was large and heavy, with a blubbery and slimy exterior arose from those murky depths and randomly started attacking people. It had a giant mouth filled with teeth and a large slobbering tongue. Three large tendrils protruded out of this creature's body, and two of them had a long curved tooth-like protrusion at their ends.  The third tentacle protruded out of its head contained three vertical eyes. This was the dreaded Otyugh, Korvosa’s underground sewage disposal solution, that smelt of rot, fasces, and disease, and it was hungry! In an instant it devoured a citizen in one gulp. The party, knowing they had to do something, leapt into action. Nightingale, remembering that Otyughs were intelligent creatures and could talk, shouted at the top of his voice that if the Otyugh were to stop eating citizens he would lead it to a more fertile feeding ground, where it could gorge! In his mind, Nightingale was thinking of Eel’s End but he didn’t tell anyone of this. However, the Otyughs hunger was too much, it needed to eat and it needed to eat now! So, it ignored Nightingale’s plea and continued to attack the innocent citizens of Old Korvosa. Calli i mmediatelylaunched into a tune to bolster the group. Bryon started running as fast as he could down the street to stop the beast. As he ran, one of the Otyugh massive tentacles lashed out of him, but Byron quicky dodged the deadly blow and was ready to tear into it. Trevor was right behind him but as he ran, a strange memory came to him of fighting a similar creature largher than this, but this ‘memory’ wasn’t his. It was strange and unnerving. And perhaps because this it distracted Trevor. The creature lashed out one of its other filthy, offal stained tentacles and it hit the Half-orc hard. Not only that, the tentacle also managed to wrap itself around the barbarbarian and started to squeeze.

Nightingale now ran through the streets, his deadly rapier dawn. He managed to avoid the beast's last tentacle and plunge his blade deep into the slimy, faecal body. As always electricity rippled through the blade and it lanced into the creature. The creature roared in pain and its three eyes stared at Nightingale in fury. The distraction allowed Byron to plunge his own claws into the beast and bits of flesh started flying through the air. The exposed wounds of the creature now released a smell of stinking effluvia into the air which everyone could ‘taste’ at the back of their throats.

The beast pain also proved useful for Trevor too as he was able to break free from the beast's tentacle but as he tried to move forward, once again the beast wrapped its tentacle hit him again and once more wrapped itself around him desperate to keep him at bay. Calli noticed the amount of damage Trevor had taken, and crept forward till she was within arm’s reach, trying to stay low to avoid the flailing tentacles, desperate to helkp the trapped barbarian. Then Nightingale plunged his rapier in again but the surge of electricity that poured into the beast's time was extreme. Massive powerful burns appeared all over the creature's body and each one of its tentacles stopped fighting for a second as the beast bit its own mouth in pain.

Finally released and severely injured, Trevor knew the only way to survive this was to kill the beast outright. And so raising his great axe, and summoning all his strength, Trevor leapt towards the Otyugh. As he swung his axe, it seemed to carve the very air all around him. The dark sharp blade leered menacingly at its target- hungry to achieve its task and slice into it. The axe swung through the base of all three tentacles, dismembering them from its polluted body and flying off in different directions. But ‘Pacifus’, Trevors axe, wasn't done yet. It craved more, Trevor then spun around and the blade slammed down and sliced deep into the beast body, releasing a plume of bile and filth into the air as it did so. The vile, ravenous beast lay twitching on the streets. Its life force bleed into the filthy mud filled streets. What it had taken from the streets was being poured back in. The Otyugh would never feed again.

With the fight over, both Trevor and Byron slumped to the ground in exhaustion. The fight had taken its toll on the fellow barbarians. Seeing this, Little Focher flew over to its new master and was able to heal some of his wounds, while Calli did the same for Trevor. As they looked after the wounded, the sounds of the city guards could be heard approaching to ‘secure the area’. Nightingale, unimpressed by them, made it very clear that they were too late- people had already died and someone else had done their jobs for them. However, rather than continue to berate the guards, the party chose to make their way to the Citadel to tell Cressida Kroft of their successful endeavour with “The King of Spiders’.

After brushing off the filth and excrement of their last battle, the party appeared before the Field Marshall. To say she was impressed with them accomplishing their mission was an understatement. Not only that, but defending the city from a ravenous Otyugh took courage and bravery.  As a reward for their actions and making the city a safer place, she once again handed the party 500 gold pieces. She then dismissed the party and said she had no orders for them now, but she may call again on them soon. With that, the party left and decided to head to the Cracked Weasel.

At The Cracked Weasel, Trevor fulfilled his promise to Little Focher and gave him a dish of pickled rat, which he devoured with glee. However, Trevor also served the dish to the rest of the party, which didn’t go down so well with some- Calli in particular. It was probably the worst meal she had ever tasted in her life, and so Otto, The Cracked Weasel’s Landlord, much to her relief, handed her some water and lemon scented towels, to deal with the ‘faecal Jackson Polack aftermath’ that was to come.

The party began to discuss what they had achieved as a group in such a short amount of time. Lamm was gone, they had found the Queens missing broach and returned it, they’d been employed by the Korvosan Guard, they had stopped a criminal organisation selling human meat to the the citizens of Korvosa, they had helped a noble being lynched from a mob, they had stopped an Otyugh wreaking havoc on the streets, battled imps, fought thugs, and potentially saved Korvosa from an ambitious Ambassador for a Cheliaxian powerplay. And along the way made a few gold coins too (from Taylan’s, Trevors and Byron’s point of view - a fortune, Nightingales a decent amount, Cali’s not even pocket change-but still). Because of their success, Calli suggested they should name themselves- give themselves an identity, like a gang or a company. She wanted their success to be known. However, Trevor, Nightingale and Byron repelled this idea. Byron had his own ‘brand’, and the last thing Trevor and Nightigale wanted was any unnecessary attention. They preffered to remain ‘under the radar’. Their responses both saddened and surprised Calli- she had worked a name for them and everything. She wanted to pay homage to the woman who brought them all together, Zellara. The group weren’t sold on the idea though, and debated different name options, until Byron mentioned there should be reference to flowers, due to the extensive tattoos covering him. Calliandra, herself named after a flower, jumped at this, and dubbed them “The Flowers of Korvosa.” They all stopped for a moment and admitted that did have a ring to it, but some of the party still maintained they’d rather not draw any more attention to themselves. Calli pointed out they were past that now, things had already been set in motion, they might as well take control of their destiny.

The conversation then turned to Trevor. Byron mentioned that he’d seen two ‘versions’ of Trevor. In particular when he was fighting. Trevor replied that was normal- that his blood starts pumping a bit more when he was in the thick of it, so he becomes a more ‘stronger’ version of himself.  But Byron said he wasn’t referring to that, that he becomes something else, something different. But Trevor simply brushed this off.  Calli asked Trevor if he remembered everything in a fight? Trevor responded by saying “well not everything, sometimes it’s all a bit of a blur, but that really isn’t a problem. It was only a second here and there.” Nightingale pushed further, asking if he remembered who killed Gobblegut. Trevor said Byron, but everyone pointed out it had been Trevor’s other self. Byron and Gale kept pursuing this line of enquiry eager for him to realise there truly were two sides to him- i.e.Trevor and Shiv. As they spoke, something in the back of Trevors mind disturbed him, the last time he had the blackouts was when he was back in the orphanage and an image of Benny flashed in his mind. Trevor then got up and told the party he was tired and he needed to go to bed. Clearly he didnt want to talk anymore about this. And with that he bade them all goodnight and left them to it. The party then disbanded and made their own way home.

The next few days were spent apart. Trevor spent time at the church meditating and finding a new place to live. He didn’t feel right staying at the Cracked Weasel for free when he wasn’t spending as much time bouncing at the moment, and he didn’t want to accidentally bring any of the trouble they were getting into back to Otto. Byron organised some fights. Taylan was presumably still helping Master Roche. Calli and Nightingale spent time training with Orisini during the day, and she performed in the evenings. One of the days Calliandra visited with one of her best friends, Daesha, out of her disguise. She got the shocking news that Calli E-K had been booked to perform at her younger sister’s birthday party, along with some dragon boy that Gale knew. This was Taylan, of course. “You simply must be there, I hear she looks a bit like you, and the name is ludicrously close to yours, so we can see with our own eyes and stare daggers if we must!” Daesha gushed. Calli, who was for the first time realizing just how badly she’d chosen her performing name, gave a response about “imitation is flattery, or something like that…” and changed the subject. Internally, Calli was frantic. She only had a few days to figure out how to be two people at once.

Meanwhile, more rumours flew around the city, and one in particular was gathering pace, that the king’s death was not of natural causes-that he had been poisoned. Then the Queen announced that this was the case and that his portrait artist, a lady called Trinia Sabor was the murderer. That rumour caused uproar and once again the city erupted into chaos. People believed that this woman must have been having an affair with the King and she probably killed him out of some jealous fit or something of that nature. The anger and tension on the streets was paltable. Then a letter came for them all. Cressida Kroft needed their help once again and so they made their way to the citadel.

Upon arrival they could see a very agitated and very nervous Cressida. Whatever was on her mind was clearly troubling her. She said they probably heard the stories of the Kings killer- Trinia Sabor. She was uncertain as to why The Queen had announced it so publicly. It was almost as if she wanted the riots to come back. Hellknights, and local mobs were all searching day and night for her and if found would probably kill her on sight. However, she wasn’t 100% convinced Sabor was the killer of The King and therefore she needed the party to locate her and bring her back to her without anyone knowing. When she was in her custody she would interrogate the girl with magic to get to the truth of the matter. Cressida pointed out this very important but no-one must know they had captured the girl.

The party understood their mission, but they could sense a conflict. Was this an official mission? Were these official orders from the Queen? If so, why the secrecy? Also what happens if they encounter Hellknights or a mob? If they got into a fight, what proof would they have to say they were on an official mission? Cressida acknowledged all their points but said this was an ‘unofficial’ mission. The Queen didn’t know about it. Hellknights were to be taken out but not killed if they interfered. She could give them a ‘writ’ to say they were working for her but it probably wouldn’t help if Hellknights found the girl was in their possession. She realised she was putting the party in a difficult situation but she was convinced that it was only right that this girl received a fair trial. 

The party agreed to the mission and Cressida handed them an official writ. However, upon inspection of the writ it had been named for “The Flowers of Korvosa” with all their names underneath it. Clearly Calli had orchestrated this. The party was slightly upset at this but set off anyway without trying to amend the writ. The damage was done. Luckily for them, thanks to Calli’s artistic connections, she knew exactly where this girl could be located: in a tenement building in Moon Street, The Artisans Quarter in Midland and so hastily made their way there.

When they arrived they could see this area was densely built, as they could barely see any sunlight coming through the multitude of lines of laundry above, the homemade bridges of rope and boards, catwalks and overhanging roofs etc. The area had a smell of turpentines mixed with cleaning products and cheap wine. Leaning against a wall sporting a curly moustache, a beret, a light coloured linen shirt, casual slacks and holding freshly baked bread in one hand and glass of green liquid in the other, was a young man sprouting poetry. Calli went up to the man and introduced herself. She politely asked if he knew of someone who could help paint her portrait. The young man said he’d be delighted to but Calli said she was looking for somone of the more female persuasion. When asked if he could recommend anyone, the young man seemed to be deliberately vague-after all why should anyone else get the work if his artistic skill were to be overlooked. Trevor and Byron looked at each other and the Half -Orc stuck in his face right in front of the young artisan. Smiling in the mosts intimidating way, revealing his long tusks, Trevor made it clear this man should not only help the young lady straight away but to also generously give his bread to his friend Byron-the man with the enormous muscles who could break bones like a pencil! The young man quickly admitted there was a female portrait artist on the third floor. Trevor thanked him and then Nightingale made it clear to the young man that he had never met them, that they were hallucinations brought on by the absinthe. The young man nodded and went on his way. Byron and Little Focher then ate the bread and declared it was the best food they had ever eaten. Calli raised an eyebrow at what to her was just a basic lump of common bread.

The party ascended, and Calli listened at the door. Though she heard muttering, she was unable to make out the words. Byron asked Little Focher to fly around to the room’s window and report what he saw. When the drake returned he said he saw a woman standing with a stick. She pointed it and then suddenly there was a second one of her laying on the bed. Calli knocked, saying she was a patron looking to have her portrait painted. But there was no reply. When they tested the door, they could feel it was locked and so Byron, using his considerable strength, barged the door open. As he did so, two chairs flew across the room. They were clearly being used to barricade the door. When they entered the room, they could see it was a painter’s studio. The smell of oils lingered in the air. There was a small kitchen, an easel which contained a painting of a Drake fighting an Imp, an open window (which looked out onto the rooftops) and in one corner nestled a small bed. And in the bed they could see a young woman sleeping. This must be Trinia Sabor. However, upon closer inspection, they could see this was an illusion. Byron instinctively looked out the window and could see a young woman running across the rooftops. In an instance the whole party clambered out and gave chase. 

The rooftops in this neck of the woods were called The Shingles and they had a fearsome reputation. Shanties could be seen on top of the rooftops, hundreds of different shaped chimneys, sloping roofs, eroding tiles, crumbling statues etc. which made it very difficult to traverse. You could slip at any time and fall to your death. On top of that thieves and murderers were known to operate here too. But the most terrifying element of the Shingles were the chokers, hideous aberrations with long boneless arms who would grab and eat you at any given time. All of this ran through the party’s mind as they ran across the rooftops.

And as they ran they had to leap over ledges three storeys high, hop-climb from window ledges to cornices, traverse grey crumbling facades, squeeze through gaps in the wall and balance on narrow ledges. Every step they took was potentially fatal. As they ran, the smallest mistake could force them to slip, fall, injure themselves or even tumble off the edge of the building. And yet what choice did they have? They had to capture Trinia Sabor.

As they pursued the young lady across the perilous landscape, despite their size, both Trevor and Byron seemed to navigate the terrain fairly well. For some reason, the Cricket card Zellara had drawn for Trevor came into the half-orcs mind as he bounded across the shingles. Perhaps this hallow card was the reason for his uncommon nimbleness. But for Nightingale and Calli, it proved tricky and they had to be more cautious. Tiles would suddnly slide from underneath them causing them to be unbalanced. As Sabor ran off into the distance, Calli shouted to her they weren’t there to harm her, but to protect her. However, Sabor either wasn’t listening or didn’t believe her and so she kept running. Byron instructed Little Focher to fly ahead to try and block her path, but with all the obstacles on the roof it proved difficult. Calli then cast an image of a member of the Sable company flying a Hippogriff to try and deter her, but still she ran. Both Trevor and Byron threw their Tanglefoot bags to slow her down, but due to the difficult terrain missed. Little Focher suddenly appeared in front of Sabor but using her wand she cast a spell at him. Incredibly though, thanks to the Drakes special ability, the spell rebounded off him and hit her instead! Undeterred though, she still ran! As she sprinted, Calli sang her song to inspire confidence in all the rest of the party. That boost and Sabors distraction from the spell, proved useful as Trevor threw another Tanglefoot bag and this time it hit its mark! A sticky goo exploded all around Sabor, making it difficult for her to move. This was all that Trevor needed and he leapt at her to grapple her. However, unbeknownst to him, Sabor had a knife and she quickly stabbed the Half-Orc in his side as he tried to grab her which threw off his attempt. But by then, Byron was there too and he grabbed the young lady, locking her arms. Little Focher then flew down and grabbed the wand out of her hand so she couldn’t cause any more harm. Nightingale who had caught up then try to use a spell to ‘daze her’ but for some reason was unsuccessful. Finally, Trevor, licking his wounds, tackled the young woman to the ground, so both Barbarians could keep her stationary.

As she lay there, pinned to the floor, Calli was able to make her way over and tried to ‘Charm‘ her using her skills both magically and diplomatically. But Sabor was resistant. Having had quite enough of the precarious rooftop chase, Calli’s normally smooth demeanour dropped and she spoke over the painter, snapping at her to, “Shut up and listen already, we’re trying to help you!” Byron looked at her with big eyes, “What happened to the words?!” Nevertheless, unable to move, Sabor fell into a flood of tears and begged them to let her go. She didn't want to die. She just wanted to live. She pleaded she had nothing to do with the King's death. All she did was paint his picture.  That she was being set up. But as to who or why, she had no idea. When asked if she had any relations with the former King, Sabor vehemently denied the accusation. She had simply painted a picture of an old man. Calli then explained they were truly there to help her. To give her the best chance out of this difficult situation. Everybody was after her and without their assistance she might be subjected to ‘mob justice’. Sabor asked how she could trust them, and Calli pointed out if they wanted her dead then they’d have done it by now. Sabor then softened and realised the party were telling the truth and ceded any more resistance. Calli explained they needed to take her to the Citadel and meet Cressida Kroft. In order to do that, they had to disguise her. Thankfully, Calli’s performance skills were ideal for this as she was able to change Sabors appearance completely. Once disguised, the party made their way, without incident, back to the Citadel.

After completing another successful mission, Cressida rewarded the party with a full 1000 gold pieces, but also gave each member of the party ‘The Drakes Mark’ - a medal reserved for champions of the city. If someone wore The Drakes Mark openly in Korvosa, people would be more receptive to any diplomatic requests they may make. It was a mark of great honor.

Their mission was complete, so tired and exhausted the party headed home. But as they left, questions ran through their heads. Was Sabor guilty? If not, why would the Queen announce her guilt otherwise? And why would Cressida Kroft keep their mission secret from the Queen. Did she know something that no-one else did? Who knew? None of it made any sense. But one thing was clear. There was something rotten in Korvosa and it wasn't just the Otyughs.