(Pathfinder) The Curse of the Crimson Throne IC

[Blisstake]

"Unlikely, but it's worth a shot. Dastan, Jensi, could either of you wake him up? Looks like he's out cold."

[Leviathan]

Lord Carowyn is brought back to consciousness, manacled and still very weak. He blinks twice, clearing his eyes, looking around at you all in confusion. "Where... Who are you? Why are you in my house..." Then his eyes narrow. "Now I remember. That bitch betrayed me. And then... Well, you've seen for yourself. My house, my friends, all of my guests, likely my reputation, all gone. Damn them."

[Blisstake]

"You won't have to worry much about your reputation while you're locked in the Citadel," Aldrin responds, arms crossed. "We came in here looking for a servant named Ruan, and we end up enterring a madhouse assaulted by zombies, a necromancer, and a demon. So if you haven't guessed, I'm not exactly in a good mood right now. Tell us everything you know, or I might forget about taking you to the Citadel, and just leave your body here with the others."

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Intimidate: (1d20+13)[23]

[Leviathan]

Lord Carowyn pales, his aging face showing clear signs of fear. "I don't recall... My mind has been in a haze these past days. I do not know why these things have happened, but I believe it began when I took into my employ a beautiful young woman, with raven hair and brilliant green eyes." He sighs, half mournful, half enamoured still. "It was foolish. I now suspect that my mind was not my own. She became my mistress, and suggested that a ball would be a great relief to the peace of mind of the nobility, to take thoughts away from the spreading pestilence. I agreed - how could I not. She was very interested in the guests. I do not know why."

At this moment, Rennard returns to the group. The magus has found in Carowyn's desk a finely-written scroll listing a number of noble families. Lord Carowyn confirms it to be the guests list for the ball.

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Knowledge (nobility) checks may now be made.

[SanguinePenguin]

Atavian listens to Carowyn's claims; they sound believable, but Atavian does not trust the man. Show me a noble with nothing to hide and I'll show you a troll with a passion for history. He stares at the man, trying to read him, and then says in a flat tone, "her betrayal should be no surprise. Your consort was a succubus. Now, try to remember, was anyone from your manor sent to any place else? Servants, guests, anyone? Or are there any hidden rooms that living people might be stowed?"

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Nobility is all you Drothmal, Atavian doesn't have that one.

Sense Motive: (1d20)[10]

[Leviathan]

Lord Carowyn snaps angrily at Atavian: "And I had no knowledge of her true identity. I was more than likely bewitched, sir, so do not condescend to tell me I am a fool." He sighs, deflating. "I am afraid that I am already well aware.

"As to your questions, no. They were all killed, except the Varisians. I saw with my own eyes. They were knocked into unconsciousness and taken away by four women in grey armour. I do not to where they have gone. But," he continues after only a slight pause, plucking up his courage, "I begin to suspect the perpetrator of this act: the Queen!" There is defiance in his eyes.

[SanguinePenguin]

Initially, Atavian's eyes widen a bit at the noble's gall. A moment later, with his eye raised inquisitively to the noble, he asks calmly, "okay, let's entertain this for a moment... hypothetically. Why do you think the queen to be responsible? Admittedly, I am failing to see what she gains by ruling a plague infested city of corpses." Atavian looks to the Lord for a moment before realizing the man may be a bit out of the loop, "you do know about the plague, right?"

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Concerning four women in grey armor...
Know (local): (1d20+6)[23]
Know (planes): (1d20+9)[18]

[RocketMan]

Jensi

"The... the Queen? No, I'm sorry Lord Carowyn, but that can't be right. We know the Queen, and she's really nice," he says, frowning. "What would make you think that she did it?"

[Leviathan]

The nobleman sputters, gesticulating, his voice raised. "It had to be her. The guests here, they were all my friends, but also more." A deep breath calms him down some, and then he continues. "We were all of a like mind on many issues of great import. We decided, sirs, that the Queen's appointment of a new Seneschal was a problem. It was based upon a legal technicality, and further, this Togomor is practically unknown."

"We took our complaint to the Throne, to both the Seneschal himself, and the Queen. Ileosa received us, listened to us, and said that she 'understood our concerns, but felt that in time we would come to trust the new Seneschal,'" Carowyn says venemously, clearly not believing the truth of the Queen's words. "And we went to the Seneschal himself. We told him that if he had any honour, he would step down and stand aside for a proper Seneschal to be appointed. He replied, sirs, that it was not our place to question the Queen, and that he was her loyal servant, as we ought to be."

"So you see, it must have been the Queen, because Togomor by his own words is her loyal servant. They must have decided to rid themselves of enemies!"

[Drothmal]

Rennard looks at the guest list as Lord Carowyn makes his accusations. Even though the nobleman's story was in complete agreement with his theory, the fencer remained silent

What is it, Bonded? asks the blade

It's just that.... the fencer replies, a little bit self conscious (and more so that he has ever displayed in front of his companionsI might not have been paying enough attention to the Maestro when he instructed me in this field. I found it rather innocuous and did not pay proper attention. And now we face the consequences of unpreparedness due to my neglect

Don't be so harsh on yourself replies the blade, not unkindly Let us just use what we have and take it one step at a time

The magus clears his throat and joins the conversation

There is evidence that the party and the guests were specifically targeted, but the data available is insufficient to either confirm nor deny your theory. We need more information:

First, when did the succubus come into your household? Second, please describe the four women in armor. Third, we need to see if this is systematic or an isolated event...

A stab of worry pierces the duelist's mind

Under the hypothesis you have proposed, other vocal members of the community that agreed with your position might be targeted. Who else was involved in this complaint that did not make it to the party?

Rennard feared that he might already know the answer

[Leviathan]

"Selene... the demon... came into my house perhaps a week ago. As to the women in armour, it was grey, as I have said. It was plate mail, but it was curious that they had with them no helmets, nor any insignia. I suspected that they were mercenaries, but I know of no such companies that take only females into their number..." Suddenly, his eyes widen in realization, and he starts to speak. But instead of words, what comes out is a strangled gargle. With a shudder, the old man's eyes go blank, and he limply collapses to the floor. A quick inspection reveals him to be dead.

Rennard's examination of the guest's list, combined with the group's knowledge of the nobility of Korvosa, reveals that all of the nobles who had expressed their distaste for Seneschal Togomor were at the party.

[DaedalusMkV]

Dastan frowns at Lord Carowyn's corpse, working through his words silently. He mechanically kneels, closes the elderly noble's unseeing eyes and whispers a short prayer. "Iomedae, light his path to the Lady's court, that he may receive his just reward..." He stands up again and takes a few halting steps away. "There may be no mercenary company which admits only women, but there is a military organization which does..." He sighs, disappointed. "The Queen's newly expanded bodyguard. They wear grey armour, as well, if I recall correctly our encounter with the Queen's representatives at the Citadel. All of the evidence points towards the Seneschal's involvement... And corruption." The Paladin runs his hand through his short, burnished hair, weighing all he's seen since arriving in this city. "I must judge this evidence, along with the rest of what we've uncovered, sufficient to demonstrate the Seneschal's culpability, and possibly that of the Queen as well. We must inform the Field Marshal, before Togomor can strike out again."

[Drothmal]

Rennard nods at the paladin's words, realizing that his companion had made the same observations on the possible identity of the abductors

Though I agree with your conclusions, Dastan, I am not sure if reporting to Kroft immediately is the most efficient course of action replies the fencer Right now we have no proof but what we have seen and the words of a dead man in whose abode many important noblemen died. If we tell the Field Marshal of our findings while not providing tangible proof for her to act upon, she might be forced to use slower official channels that will alert our foes of our level of information while at the same time exposing our only ally in what might be a fully corrupt structure

I say we gather more data before we go to Kroft.

[SanguinePenguin]

Atavian stares dumbfounded at the corpse for long seconds, a blank expression on his face. Finally, in the middle of the other's discussion, he interjects with a frantic voice still full of shock, "wait, he just DIED?!? Just like that?" His hands wave frantically as he nearly shouts, "how did that just happen?!? He looked a little haggard, but healthy enough! Is this the necromancer's doing? Poison? Dark magic? Some demonic input? Could any one of us drop dead any second?!?" The halfling's eyes wide with terror search his mind for any recollection of such a thing.

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While I chalk it up to "plot device," Atavian is not so calm. I really don't know what happened, so...
Spamming Knowledge
Arcana: (1d20+6)[16]
Local: (1d20+6)[21]
Nature: (1d20+6)[9]
Planes: (1d20+9)[26]

[Leviathan]

Atavian

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It seems to you that this must be some sort of magic, and it seems to be connected with what Carowyn was about to say when he died. You can recall no such spell, but whatever the magic was, it is obscure, powerful, and dark in nature. It is certainly beyond the abilities of normal succubus.

[SanguinePenguin]

Atavian's face runs from terrified to perplexed then back to horrified. He says, "I think it was some dark magic, something that killed him when he was about speak. As if the words he was about to make were somehow protected by slaying the utterer... or something, I don't really know, exactly."

The halfling thinks for a moment then says, "Carowyn wanted to tell us, but it cost him his life - perhaps if he is already dead, he could tell us freely under magic..."

[DaedalusMkV]

Dastan stares at Rennard for a moment, considering, then replies. "This information is critical, and the word of a dead man bears much more weight if he is slain by powerful, dark magic for speaking it." He nods to Atavian in acknowledgement of his contribution. "So long as Kroft's mages, or perhaps any priests Lady Dawnflower is able to spare for an hour, arrives soon enough to confirm the cause of his death, it lends strong credence to Carowyn's words. Everything we have seen in this city so far points back to the Seneschal, and that he will continue to commit deeds such as these in the future. If we do not inform those capable of investigating further, we risk allowing him further time to do more harm." The paladin scratches at his nose for a moment. "I trust that Kroft will treat any information we give her with the respect it deserves. She has proven to be a good and honourable woman in the past, and I feel it would be wrong to keep such important information out of her hands."

[Blisstake]

"Well, this solves our prisoner problem," states Aldrin dryly looking at the noble's corpse while considering the suggestions of his comrades.

"No," is the first word he speaks as Dastan finishes his idea. "Remember that Togomor was the one who extracted the "confession" from Trinia. The Korvosan elite will put his word as an interregator well above ours, and we just endanger ourselves by so blindly throwing ourselves in the political arena. It is for the same reason we do not tell the Field Marshal, though I do believe we can trust her. She has dutifully strived to make the city safe above all else."

Visibly exhausted, the sorcerer rubs his temples and sighs, trying to come up with a solution. "I say we continue what we're doing, but keep an eye out for the big picture. We can make innocent inquiries about the Grey Maidens, make allies among the nobility, whatever it takes. Oh, and Rennard," he notes, pointing at the fencer, "Pry as much as you can from Orisini. He's the only person I'm sure is on our side, and if he's holding anything back from us, we're at a huge disadvantage. Well, we already are, really. I can't think of anyone else who has bloody assassains after them."

[Leviathan]

With Carowyn's death still fresh, the party moves to depart the accursed manor. An inspection of Lord Carowyn's body reveals two items, both magical, worn on his person.

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Add a Circlet of Charisma +2 and Bracers of Armour +1 to your party loot.

By now, night hangs thickly about the city, the summer air warm and silent, save for the occasional barking of dogs or the hissing of a startled cat. Most of the lights are out, both in houses and in the oil lamps that line the main boulevards. But before long, the familiar golden candlelight shining through the Temple of Sarenrae's windows greets you.

Entering, you see that the main hall, heady with incense, is not empty, even at this late hour. A few priests pick their way carefully through the sleeping bodies of sick Korvosans. But, moreover, Mother Dawnseeker sits near the altar, speaking with an armoured female figure with hands on hips. Her armour is grey, and she wears a long red cloak that drapes down to the floor. At her hips is a powerful steel blade, and her face is covered completely by a red-plumed helm. She turns away from the priestess and strides towards the doorway as you enter. But it is not to confront you; instead, she leaves as though she has not noticed you at all.

[DaedalusMkV]

Dastan strides directly across the room towards the Mother's sitting form, eying the grey-armoured woman sideways without directly acknowledging her presence, then bows slightly as he approaches the temple's mistress. When he speaks, his voice is quiet to the point of whispering in an effort at privacy. "Mother Dawnseeker, we return thwarted." He sighs lightly, then continues. "A great tragedy has befallen Lord Carowyn, as well as a number of his guests, and the child you bade us seek is... Taken, along with all of the other Varisians present. I fear that the details are... Dangerous, at best, maam. I would prefer to continue this conversation in private, away from prying ears, if possible." The Paladin's voice seems weary, hardly surprising given the battles and trials he's undertaken over the course of the day, and he carefully watches the sick scattered throughout the room for any hint that they may have heard and understood his words; as much as he appreciates honesty, if nothing else Rennard's argument has convinced him of the need for secrecy with regard to the events of the night.

[RocketMan]

Jensi

"Woah, that lady has grey armour! Was she one of those ladies in the Queen's guard? Maybe we should ask her what happened to the Varisians, since she has grey armour?" Jensi asks, before the woman leaves the room. He continues towards Mother Dawnseeker.

"Yes, we didn't find any of the Varisians," Jensi says sadly. "We'll keep looking, I promise! We did find a whole bunch of dancing zombies and necromancers and a demon-lady in a pretty dress and a whole bunch of food and a mystery note though."

Who was that lady?" he asks, as an afterthought, gesturing at the door the armoured woman has exited through. Jensi lets out a yawn. "Wow, we've done a lot today. I'm sleepy!" the youth says, not sounding remotely devoid of energy. "We should rest, since we've got a whole day tomorrow full of wererats. Ooooh and the perfumery! That will be fun!" he exclaims.

[Leviathan]

The priestess of Sarenrae looks concerned, more so than usual, her almond eyes sad. "Please, come this way."

She leads the party into the priests' living quarters, a spartan dwelling adorned only by a few tapestries bearing Sarenrae's sigil. "The Varisians were taken? Then I am most afraid that we deal with no simple pestilence, and that something evil is behind what has befallen the manor. Your valour is smiled upon, even if the innocent could not yet be saved. I would --"

The loud sound of a door being thrown open echoes from the temple's main chamber. Rushing out to find out what has happened, you see armed figures entering the temple through its wide arched doorway. Their red tabards and shields crested with Korvosa's coat of arms mark them as city guards.

"Come here, all of you," Kroft's voice barks as the Field Marshal steps forwards, clad in a deep red suit of platemail, her hard face displeased. "Unless you have a good explanation for what happened at the Carowyn Manor, I have to arrest you for the murder of Lord Carowyn and his guests."

[DaedalusMkV]

Dastan whirls around, reaching for his sword until he sees who is at the door. As soon as she finishes talking, he hastily begins to respond. His voice remains calm, for the most part, but his face reddens slightly. "Ah, Field Marshal, we were going to seek you out as soon as we finished here. I fear that the truth is quite sinister; one of the bodies you will have found at the manor is that of a Necromancer of fair power, and one that you will not is a powerful fiend known as a succubus, who managed to escape retribution before I could deliver the final blow." He gestures to Aldrin, "Aldrin, if you would please show the Field Marshal the letter we recovered?" The Paladin coughs, then clears his throat and continues. "We were sent by Mother Dawnseeker to investigate the disappearance of a Varisian youth, but on our arrival were greeted with the murdered and zombified guests of Lord Carowyn's ball, and eventually the Lord himself beguiled by the Succubus' magic. We destroyed the zombies and killed the necromancer, then knocked Lord Carowyn himself unconscious..." Dastan trails off, not sure how to proceed given the number of people in the room. Raising his suspicions, and Carowyn's words implicating the Queen, in a public place seems particularly foolhardy given Rennard's arguments. "The Lord himself was slain by some sort of dark magic as he explained the night's events to us. That letter appears to be written by the Succubus' master, detailing their intent." He finishes shortly, making a mental note to clarify to Croft the man's exact words at a later date.

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I could make a Diplomacy check here, but I really don't think it's needed. Well, if necessary to make it all sound more convincing to Kroft (though given our work with her so far and the number of Necromancers we've put down, I doubt we'll need it), I'll roll anyways.
Diplomacy check: (1d20+16)[35]

[Blisstake]

"Ah... hah..."

Aldrin lets out a hollow laugh, with his exhaustion and exasperation starting to make him crack. "Right, the letter," he says, reaching into his bag. "This should explain what happened, but you really shouldn't need it to know that we aren't a threat to this city. Along with you, we're one of the few damn people keeping it from falling apart, really. Plus, look at Jensi; is that the face of a killer?"

[Leviathan]

"I see," Kroft says with a frown. "Stand down, men."

"Your account makes a certain amount of sense. We received Delmarin's - that Academae wizard - list of potential necromancers, so we can compare that with the bodies found in the manor. But tell me one thing: why would Lord Carowyn's traumatized mistress have come running in a state of panic to the Citadel to report that people matching your descriptions were slaughtering guests and turning them into zombies?"

She pauses, then groans. "Wait, don't tell me. She was the succubus. Damn it all."

Then Kroft flashes the closest thing you have seen to a vindictive grin. "At least I can get her back for having me for a fool. Carowyn's estate is worth a great deal of money, and his will makes it all out to this demon mistress. But considering the circumstances, I'll order it all seized by the state. You'll receive a substantial sum of it, for services rendered."

[Blisstake]

The sorcerer sighs, quite relieved, and responds, "Well that's a relief. I wouldn't want that demon to get possession of... the... hang on. I think I have an idea." His lips curl into a smile, and he begins speaking again.

"Cresida, she doesn't know that you just absolved us of this crime, right? If you could pretend to arrest us, then we could lower her defenses. The next day you, or someone in the Church of Abadar that you inform will ask her to oversee a financial transaction to gain ownership of the estate. We'll hide in the room, masked by my magic, and ambush her as she signs the papers."

He turns the rest of the party, with a large grin exposing his rather sharp teeth and asks, "Everyone on board?"

[Drothmal]

Rennard hears Aldrin's words and begins to weight the pros and cons of the plan proposed by the sorcerer, with neither course of action seeming like the most clear solution...

Let's get her! Declares the blade, once again showing a particular vindictiveness against the succubus

The balance thus tilted, the magus nods

Agreed. But this time we need to be prepared. We will need protection against mind affecting spells and we need to procure means to prevent her from escaping once more.

Turning to Kroft, the fencer asks

Field Marshal, if you agree to this plan, no one that knows about the ruse should be allowed to interact with the succubus. Otherwise, she might be able to know of our ambush before it takes place by controlling the mind of the messenger

[DaedalusMkV]

Dastan looks sharply at Aldrin, opens his mouth to say something and then stops to consider. "It... Might work, perhaps, assuming that the demon is vain and greedy. Which, I believe, is quite a valid assumption." He strokes his chin thoughtfully, energized despite the long, hard day. "Oh, yes, and we would need some means of neutralizing her ability to teleport. Elsewise, she would simply leave again as soon as the trap is sprung. And, of course, I think I recall something about Succubi seeing through magical illusions... Or perhaps that was some sort of Devil, or a Daemon. I'll admit, I tend to get the lot of them quite muddled." He shrugs. "They all crumble before divine retribution, so I didn't see much need to pay attention when the Magister gave lectures." He quiets down for a moment, considering again. "Assuming we can deal with these problems on such very short notice, I would gladly visit justice upon the demonic whore for crimes this night. With any luck we might even learn something about who she works for."

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I came to something of a revelation writing this post; in Pathfinder, Paladins have virtually no need to learn about the things they hunt, with the possible exception of certain forms of Undead. Because of the way Smite Evil works it's equally effective against a Zombie or a millenia-old Lich, and in neither case does the Paladin need to take any sort of special precaution to learn about their weaknesses. Combined with nigh-unassailable saving throws and a laundry-list of immunities at higher levels you get a class that doesn't need to know anything to successfully hunt and kill their targets other than the fact that they need to hunt and kill them. Which is really, really cool, and kind of justifies Dastan's pathetic Knowledge scores. Sort of.

[Blisstake]

Aldrin nods at Dastan's concerns and adds, "We will need to deal with her teleportation, but I think I know how that can be handled. There was a spell my father always used to stop devils from escaping back to Hell. I think it was... Dimensional Bind? No, Dimensional Anchor. I see no reason the Acadamae would not have any of those. Cresida, if you could acquire one of those, while we're "imprisoned," then we might just be able to stop this demon in her tracks."

[Leviathan]

"Hmm, that's not a bad plan. I'll contact the Academae and get them to send one of their mages. As for you, get some rest: you all look exhausted. Tomorrow the plan should be in place. From there, it will be only a matter of waiting, then springing the trap."

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The night passes restfully, the rooms provided to you in the Citadel's officer barracks comfortable enough to serve their purpose. You are woken by rays of sunshine pouring in through the arrow slits.

Jensi

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You awaken as normal, but as you stretch, you note that a few reddish blisters have formed on your arms.

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You've taken 3 Con damage and 3 Cha damage.

One of Kroft's aides taps on the door, then enters, snapping off a quick salute. "The Field Marshal has asked that I convey her best wishes, and tell you that she awaits you at the Bank of Abadar."

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The Bank is without a doubt one of the grandest buildings of Korvosa. It is enormous, with grand columns of white stone and wide sets of stairs leading up to gold plated doors embossed with Abadar's key. Guards with bronzed breastplates and halberds stand at attention, watching over two lines of citizens - one of healthy folk arriving for prayer or business, and the other for the sick and contagious.

You are quickly admitted by the priest overseeing the crowds outside, who escorts you through the high-ceilinged antechamber to the vaults. Here a line of dark oak desks sits opposite the doorway, with clerks in white tunics and robes in attendance. Behind the desks, a golden door with at least a dozen locks is guarded by a pair of guards.

Kroft stands in one of the room's corners, talking with a rotund man with a completely shaven head that resembles some exotic fruit in its shape. He is clad in flowing gold-embroidered white robes, with a magnificent sash running around his considerable girth. Kroft nods as she sees you. "Archbanker Tuttle, may I present the capable individuals whom I mentioned."

The man nods politely, his head bobbing. When he replies, his voice is aristocratic and erudite. "A pleasure. The Field Marshal has been telling me of your problem, and I believe that we can provide a solution, considering the circumstances." He smiles grandiosely, waving his hand towards the golden door with a dozen locks. "Our vault. It is, I think I may say, the most secure chamber in Korvosa. It is completely sealed from both the inside and outside, and no teleportations, illusions, or enchantments can be cast within. It will render the demon you seek to defeat a mere trifle." He smiles again, self-satisfied.

Kroft picks up where he has left off: "The Archbanker will ensure that this succubus gets inside the vault. You'll be inside. Once she's in, we'll bar the doors you'll kill her. Tap the door three times to signal when it's finished. Understood? Or do you have any amendments you'd like to make to the plan? Your lives will be on the line, after all."