THEChanger's Curse of the Crimson Throne: Edge of Anarchy

[THEChanger]

Avrin pops the lock on the chest with little effort, gaining access to the contents. Of immediate interest to him is an old leather-bound journal - this is almost certainly Gaedren's ledger. There is also a number of other objects within, which seem to be the best of the loot Lamm's Lambs had gathered. Within are the following.

• A cigar case inlaid with small pieces of jade worth 25 gold pieces
• A two pound gold ingot marked with the royal seal of Cheliax worth 100 gold pieces
• A minature gold crown worth 350 gold pieces
• A fist sized scrimshaw carving of a kraken with garnet eyes worth 200 gold pieces
• A silver ring with the inscription 'For Emmah - the Light in my Nights' worth 150 gold pieces
• A highly realistic and scandalous ivory figurine of two entwinned succubi worth 450 gold pieces
• A masterwork shuriken
• An adamantine crossbow bolt
• A masterwork dagger shapped like a key with the inscription 'For an inspiration of a father' worth 750 gold pieces
• A holy symbol of Sarenrae carved from a seashell worth 300 gold pieces
• A glass tube containing a dull gray liquid
• A thin obsidian rod marked with runes
• A crystal vial worth 50 gold pieces with a shimmering silver liquid

Also within is a bejeweled brooch with a broken clasp. It is solid gold, studded with rare gems. The brooch depicts a pseduodragon and an imp circling each other - the pseduodragon's eye is a very large amethyst, and the imp's eye a slightly smaller emerald. Avrin estimates the brooch is worth thousands of gold pieces to the right buyer - but more importantly, it clearly belongs to at the very least a very important noble, if not someone more powerful. What it is doing amongst Gaedren's belongings is something of a mystery. Perhaps the Lady Selancourte could shed more light on who this piece belongs to.

Rummaging through the tables, Carla collects enough scraps and odds and ends that she could reasonably pawn for a total of twenty gold. She also finds a worn bag, suitable for carrying Gaedren's grisly trophy.

As Dirkust clutches the ornate box in shock and fear, a feeling of warmth washes over him briefly, like that experienced by a child being held by its mother. Immediately following is an overwhelming sense that he should return to Zellara's home.

Vestis casts her spell, and opens her eyes to any magic surrounding her. In Gaedren's stash, she detects a weak transmutation in the glass tube, a weak evocation from the wand, and a faint transmutation from the crystal vial. From the box in Dirkust's had, she detects a moderate divination aura, as well as a weak aura of necromancy.

As Ardino marches up the stairs to where Yargin was left unconscious, he can hear indistinct shouting from outside. Glancing out a window, he can see, in the distance, the flicker of flames.

Spoiler: EXP

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For defeating three CR 1/3 enemies, four CR 2 enemies, and one CR 4 enemies, the party earns a total of 3605 EXP, or 515 EXP per person. For saving fourteen orphans from death at the hands of their abusive caretakers, the party earns an additional 1890 EXP, or 270 EXP per person. Your new EXP total is 785.

[digiman619]

Ardino's sense of dread rises as he crests the stairs. Fire in Korvosa is a bad time for anyone near them. He quickly grabs Yagrin and runs back down the stairs with his unconscious form. "There's a fire nearby. I suggest we take our friend somewhere else to talk to him, lest the constabulary start asking questions"

Spoiler: OOC

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Unless he weighs more than 230 lbs, I can get him down with little difficulty

[The_Shaman]

Carla nods, and picks up a few slightly more valuable odds and ends, then carefully - using some of the rags around - puts Zellara´s head in the bag. "Right. I suggest we take the box with that weird stuff, if for no other reason than to have someone tell us just what it is. Also, I want to, hm, take care of Giggles."

Taking care of her would involve binding her feet with the chain of her flail (unless it looks a lot better than Carla´s own, in which case she´d take it as trophy and use her own) to weigh her down, saying a prayer to Pharasma to implore her to keep Carla´s wicked soul away from this world (any of the Hells are fair game), and dumping the half-orc´s carcass in the sea after a small cut that would hopefully bring a shark or two around. A fitting end for the damnable wretch.

After that short interlude, she will rejoin the others outside as quickly as possible, talking Eslivar (and any brat that might have remained inside) with her.

[Corlindale]

Mordin nods in response to Ardino's suggestion.

"I agree, let's get out of here. We should probably head to Zellara's, figure out what all of this was about. "

He tosses the various items from Gaedran's treasury into a sack, quite unceremoniously, although his gaze lingers for a while on the beautifully crafted symbol of Sarenrae. He pack the vials last, carefully wrapping them in cloth to avoid breaking them.

He hefts the bulging sack onto his back, and finally points towards the crate of dark flasks that Giggles drank from.

"I can carry most of these things, but I'm not touching any of that stuff. You can take it if you wish, probably sells for a good price - but I think it's just going to bring trouble. Dangerous to own, dangerous to get rid of."

He then starts for the stairs, eager to get away from the warehouse to safety.

[Inspectre]

Gavin looks at Ardino when he mentions interrogating Yargin elsewhere.

"You sure that's a good idea? Not a lot of people around here but us right now. We take him somewhere else to ask him questions, someone might overhear. Interrogations tend to be loud and messy in my experience."

When Carla mentions what she wants to do with Giggles, Gavin debates a moment, and then decides it's not any different than what he had been attempting to do during the fight.

"Make sure she's dead before you dump her in the water Carla. The last thing we need is for her to somehow improbably survive and come back for revenge when we aren't expecting her."

That was the sort of thing that happened in fairy tales - in real life, people tended to stay dead when you threw them to the sharks. But given how surreal the night had been thus far, Gavin wasn't so sure that he *wasn't* in a fairy tale right now.

When Mordin mentions the Shudder, or whatever those foul black vials were, Gavin stops and just stares at him.

"So, having seen what one of those vials can do . . . you want to leave seven of them lying around for some random scavenger to find? When they find it, they're not going to have any warning of what it is or what it can do. No, we need to take it with us if only to figure out how to destroy it safely. And this stuff, whatever it is, isn't something that you can just make in your basement like Shiver. However it's made, whatever it's made of, has to require special equipment of some kind. That means we might be able to track down where it's being made - and considering he's got 8 vials of it, I'm assuming Gaedren is close with the supplier."

Gavin shrugs and shakes his head.

"We need to take any lead we can get right now until we figure out what bolt hole Gaedren scurried down."

Truth be told, Gavin didn't want to be anywhere near this foul stuff either, but his guardsman instincts had been drilled deep into his psyche.
The thought of some random scavenger finding it and doling out all seven vials to his friends across the city, spreading it like a plague, made him sick to the stomach.
So if no one else volunteered, Gavin reluctantly took the box containing the seven vials and slid it into his backpack.

[The_Shaman]

Carla

"Oh, you can bet on it, I want to see her up and about even less than anyone else here" Carla smirks at Gavin´s suggestion, having done her gruesome business before she went outside. She had checked Giggles for pulse already. The chain around the legs and the predators the blood would attract were simply extra precautions - and something she felt like doing in the memory of Jossie, one of the kids Giggles had beaten to death. A stab in the neck got the blood flowing, and made it rather unlikely that the half-orc was going to live through it. She was careful not to get too much blood on her and to clean herself afterwards, after she sees the brute woman´s body safely sinking beneath the waves. And that´s that. One vengeance complete. Now let the Lady of Graves take you where you need to go, and let whoever claims your soul keep it forever, she thinks as she looks back at the dark waters.

"I got one of the vials, as I have a friend who might know an alchemist or two. If you want, I can take the rest, but I´d rather not have any more of them around me than I have to. We could probably bury it somewhere safe until we know what that stuff is and does, exactly. Plus, I have something else I want to take care of first," she adds and nods with a sour expression at the small sack the overripe head is in.

Spoiler: Spoiler

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Do I need to roll damage for the coup de grace attempt and a dexterity check for the chain? I expect that a dagger in the neck of an unresisting person would qualify as a coup de grace.

[Corlindale]

Mordin meets Gavin's stare.

"Take them if you must. Just note that, right now, these vials aren't our problem. The moment you take them, they become our problem. And the gods know we have plenty of those already. I..."

Mordin hesitates and turns his head slightly, as if listening to some unseen source. When he speaks again, the certainty is gone from his voice. He speaks slowly, carefully.

"... Then again, you may be right. We found them, we saw what they can do. We are responsible now. Just...be careful with them. We'll find out where they came from, we'll figure out how to destroy them.

I still think we should leave the warehouse, at least until we get a feel of how the fire is spreading."

[MesiDoomstalker]

Dirkust looked at the others at the grimly went about their 'clean up.' He tugged the box closer to himself, pressing it into him protectively. Indeed, we should leave. However, let us see what was in that office Yagrin was in initially. There might be more clues there.

[DaedalusMkV]

Avrin goes through the contents of the chest with quiet professionalism, sorting the contents into a few piles; one for valuable but not interesting items, one for potentially useful things, and a third for those few things that interest him, specifically the ledger and a particularly odd brooch. He hands the pile of valuables off to Mordin, not interested in them beyond a payoff at a later date, and quickly calls out. "Lady? Would you mind taking a look at this? This crest clearly belongs to some sort of noble house, but I really don't know much about the upper crust." He hands the brooch out to her, hoping that someone more versed in this particular area of expertise can shed some light on an object which, simply put, does not belong here. With that out of the way, he immediately opens Lamm's ledger and begins perusing it, hoping to gain any valuable insights into Lamm's current whereabouts (or, perhaps more importantly in the long run, Lamm's clients).

When the topic of the Shudder comes up, he grunts. "I'd like to save a vial or two. I've got a friend who's a cleric, he can take a look at the damned things and figure out exactly what's going on with them. But if it's connected to Zon-Kuthon, it needs to be destroyed, not sold."

[aberratio ictus]

Lady Selancourte

"The glass tube, the wand, and the crystal vial have magical properties." Vestis stated, while Avrin went through the chest's contents. She was actually fairly interested in the wand. She had had used some wands during her childhood, while being trained in the art of sorcery, and she supposed with a little training, she could be quite proficient again. The search for Lamm and Acele wasn't over yet, and she had to make use of every advantage she could get. Yargin had a wand, too.

When Avrin handed her the golden, gem-studded brooch, her eyes widened, only a little, only for a split second, more like a short glint in her eyes. A pseudodragon and an imp circling each other. Beautiful. How could this have ended up here? Correcting Avrin's use of "Lady" was fairly low on her list of priorities now. She stole a covert glance at Avrin, wondering if he had noticed her reaction (definitely) berating herself inwardly for her lack of self-restraint - well, it was quite a surprise to find it here, but still...

Lady Selancourte's black-gloved fingers gently moved along the edges of the beautiful brooch, before putting it away.
"I know who this belongs to." She calmly stated. "I'll handle this."

The discussion about the vials arrived at an opportune moment, and she jumped at the opportunity.
"These vials are a danger to all of Korvosa. You all have seen what they can do, and if there is indeed a connection to Zon-Kuthon, it has to be dealt with now, before we are faced with an army of cultists utilising the vials' contents." Zellara's prophecy came to her mind suddenly, but she forced the thought to leave.
"But who can we trust to deal with the situation in a sensible manner?" She glanced at Carla, then at Avrin. "Some random alchemist? I think not. The Guard is incompetent. The Order of the Nail could deal with a cult, but they are unlikely to recognize the vial's inherent danger without proof."

She took a few steps towards the chest with the vials.

"Our only sensible option is the Church of Asmodeus. They have the specialists to analyse the contents of the vials, are bound to take any threat to the city's stability seriously, and have influence among the members of the Order of the Nail, who, again, once convinced, I'd trust most than anyone else to deal with Zon-Kuthon's fellowship. We need to bring the chest to the Church. Only they can be trusted to handle this effectively and efficiently."

[Inspectre]

Gavin bristles instinctively at Vestis's mention of the Order of the Nail. Even though his time in the guard was brief, the stories he heard and his own rare experience with Korvosa's own branch of Hellknights was enough to sour him on them altogether. For a moment he considers just keeping his mouth shut, because his experience as both a guardsman and a smuggler was to under no circumstances argue with nobility or do anything to sour their opinion of you. Because they had the power to make your life a living hell should you draw their ire. But given his personal stake in this whole tangled mess, he decided he was tired of playing the good little lapdog, and so would speak his mind and deal with whatever fallout came of it.

"There are two problems with your plan, Milady. The Order of the Nail does not have the jurisdiction nor temperament to deal with tracking down a new drug - or whatever this stuff is.
Perhaps it is different where you are from, but the Order of the Nail hellknights do not enforce the law here in Korvosa. They're more . . . mercenary, in their focus. Now perhaps the Church of Asmodeus could be convinced to hire the Order to hunt down this drug maker, but therein lies the second problem."

In the back of his head Gavin couldn't believe that he was lecturing a noble like this, but he had already stepped in it. Might as well track it all the way home now.

"I agree with Milady's evaluation of the Church of Asmodeus. Properly convinced of a danger to the city they would take steps to minimize that danger, and would be - competent - about it. But you would need to convince the Church of Asmodeus that the stuff in these vials is capable of doing the things we've seen tonight. No easy task - it's a frankly ludicrous claim, that something could give a person magical ability. Drug dealers have been pushing new varieties of Shiver since this city was founded, making absurd claims about their new version's effects. But we've seen it at work! Despite the seeming impossibility of it, someone out there succeeded - this stuff can give you magical power! But without seeing it with their own eyes, they won't believe you. Carla just thoroughly disposed of the only person we could present as evidence. So they'll need another example for them to see - are you, Milady, going to drink it in front of them to demonstrate? If not I'm sure they'll be able to find some destitute sucker to hire to drink it. But what if they don't take adequate precautions and he escapes? Then there will be one of these . . . abominations running loose in the city!"

Gavin was starting to get a sense of Lady Selancourte's personality, and despite coming here in person to find this Acele, she was much like the rest of the nobility - self-centered and self-absorbed to a fault. Time to deliver the masterstroke of the argument - something that she couldn't just shrug off as not her problem.

Worse, what if nothing happens at all? We don't know how this stuff works, if there are any rules to it, we know nothing at all! If nothing happens in their first demonstration that they grudgingly enact at your request, they won't think very highly of you, Milady. It would be a serious . . . embarrassment, a noblewoman coming to request the Church's aid about a dangerous new drug,
only for it to be revealed that it was about as dangerous as Shiver. Are you sure you wish to take that risk, Milady?"

[aberratio ictus]

Lady Selancourte

Lady Selancourte had held Gavin's gaze during his speech with a progressively cooling expression in her eyes.
"You presume too much." she finally said, in a calm manner. "You also insult me without need."
It was hard to believe that this would be the same man who had scrambled to offer her a chair in Zellara's house. Something she said must have really struck a nerve with him, or he was only now showing his true face.

She coldly held his gaze just a second longer, then suddenly, abruptly, gave him a disarming smile.
"Ah, don't feel bad, Mr Dimir. You're not the worst critic I have ever known. That distinction goes to Lord Idarmont, who was a great admirer of his platitudes and misunderstood quotes of writers greater than himself, but sadly not of thinking too much."

She carried on her response with a tone of playful friendliness, just as if Gavin`s words hadn't been as brusque and improper as they were.
"Even though the art of war was never our primary focus, there were quite a few Hellknights of House Selancourte, so I'd be so bold as to assume I know more than you do about their underlying nature, which transcends the individual temperament of every order. I have also been in Korvosa long enough to have noticed that while the Order of the Nail may not have official jurisdiction - which is appallingly ill defined, by the way - they usually create their jurisdiction, which really is in the best interest of the city, considering the guards' general incompetence."
Which was exactly why they all were here, incidentally. "Furthermore, there is no institution in the world that has more experience in the guidance of Hellknights than the Church of Asmodeus. Under an inquisitor's guidance, they will track down whoever is behind this, and deal with them appropriately."

She slowly, theatrically, lead her left gloved hand to the space just below her neck, and lowered her head a tiny bit.
"Truly, I am very touched by your concern for my safety and my reputation." Frankly, it was most insulting that he had thought her to be swayed so easily. "But neither am I going to be forced to drink it myself;" Her subtly smile broadend a bit at that thought, but not nearly enough to be considered a grin, "As an aside - not only does the Church have ways to analyse the vials' contents without having to resort to such unsubtle measures, there also is no lack of criminals just for such purposes; and we could just let them have Yagrin, once we are done with him, or would you consider that to be in bad taste? -" 'Some destitute sucker to hire'? Expression aside, wasn't that precious? "Nor are they going to let it reflect badly upon my person for whatever reason. They know a Selancourte wouldn't call on them - requesting their aid? No, providing information - without reason, and it is in their own best interest to be discreet, especially since they don't stand to gain anything by not being discreet. Our highly unlikely premise for that thought construct being, in case you've forgotten, that those vials' contents are harmless or unremarkable under close scrutiny."
Which they definitely weren't. What had happened here weren't the effects of a mere drug. This was a magical effect.

"Still, your most esteemed advice on dealings with the ordained priesthood of Infernal Cheliax' state religion is, of course, duly noted."
She smiled, and it seemed genuine, a friendly side blow.
"Now, you certainly wouldn't be a real full-blooded critic if you had any thoughts on an alternative to offer, but on the off-chance that you have, I'd be happy to hear them."

[digiman619]

"As fascinating as I'm sure this is", Ardino drawled, dropping the insensate thug onto the floor, "Is now really the right time to deal with this? You did hear me when I said there's a fire outside, right?" He grabs a vial, gesturing with it for emphasis. "Whatever's in this, we can discuss it when we're at a safe distance. I don't know about you, but I'd rather not draw attention to myself when the authorities are on the lookout for an arsonist, or at least a scapegoat to blame it on. I have more interesting things to do than be tortured to death."

He puts the vial into a pocket as he goes to picks up Yagrin once again. "So we can worry about what to do with these things when we get there, got it? Let's go!"

[aberratio ictus]

Lady Selancourte

Vestis raised an eyebrow at Ardino."Is the fire that close? Are the children still up there?" She turned to leave, shooting Gavin a friendly glance as she did. Her dark red cape fell back over her shoulders as she did, obscuring her body. "Somebody should take a look at that office space above before we leave. There might be some worthwhile information as well."

[Inspectre]

Gavin grits his teeth as Vestis proceeds to lecture him in turn. It would appear she was not so cowardly as to display rampant self-interest after all, but Gavin probably should have realized that considering she *did* come here personally. But she kept bringing up the Order of the Nail, and that was a sore spot for Gavin. So he just couldn't let it go, fire or nobility or common sense be damned.

"Only two final comments for Milady."

Gavin said, forcing his lips back into a smile to match Vestis's own smirk as she turned to go, as if the matter had been settled now that the ignorant rabble had been put in its place.

"First, Yargin isn't living out the night. As the last reliable witness to the fact that we broke in here without legal precedent, attacked him and his men, killed some of them, and stole their belongings. He's a danger to us all, because *if* legal authorities such as the Church of Asmodeus or the Order of the Nail find out where we got these vials from, it won't matter. All that will matter is that we committed murder without any legal authority to do so. We'll all be arrested, sentenced to Longacre for the rest of our lives, and probably tortured for the hell of it. Of course, you Milady will avoid such a base punishment, but I am sure that your activities will be curtailed in some way, and that will make finding Acele rather difficult."

Gavin's smile fades throughout the rant, and by the end it's practically a glower as he stares daggers at "Lady" Selancourte. He wanted to make sure this message was clear - if the idea entered into her head to use the Guard or Order of the Nail to fight her battles for her, and she thought to use them to dispose of this uppity commoner along the way - Gavin would kill her. He'd kill everyone in this room if he had to, if it meant avoiding going back to Longacre. He isn't going back to that Hell-on-Earth, he won't, and whatever he has to do, to anyone or anything, to avoid that fate . . .

Gavin shakes himself, and relaxes the tension in his shoulders that had been building up for the past few moments. He forces that same smile back onto his face.

"Second, if Milady is asking for an alternate to where to bring the vials, why not the Academae? They have the expertise and facilities to deal with strange magical properties,
such as these vials exhibit. And they would be intrinsically motivated to help us, both to protect their students as well as contain any potential source of competition for those seeking to develop magic potential. And they have no legal authority, such that they might question *where*, precisely, we got these vials from in the first place."

And with that, Gavin had said his peace, and started to move up the stairs to get out of this place. Because Ardino was right, they had to get out of here.

[aberratio ictus]

Lady Selancourte

She but barely managed to suppress a sigh. Gavin had weird perceptions on how things worked, and obviously no idea about the Church of Asmodeus. Even if she had been serious, nobody would shed a tear over the likes of Yagrin. "Yes, the authorities will be heartbroken that you broke in an unlawfully appropriated abandoned shack and killed known gang members, especially if all the evidence is this honourable and reliable pillar of the Korvosan community." she spoke, with a somewhat bored undertone, starting to move towards the path back to the warehouse. The Academae would be an option, she had to admit, even though Gavin's reasoning was fairly weak, and the fact that they would very likely crawl to the guard once they found out their claims weren't exaggerated.

[Corlindale]

Mordin has been silent for most of the discussion about the flasks. He briefly considers venturing the Church of Sarenrae as an alternate option, before remembering that he knows absolutely no-one there and - perhaps most pressingly - is probably still wanted for the murder of one of their order, a person whose armor he is literally wearing.

"Hmm... I like the Academae slightly better than the Church of Asmodeus, although I don't know if those bookworms will be of any real use. The people most likely to know about this are in the criminal underground - but obviously it won't be easy to go there for leads, since we just murdered a good chunk of them. In either case, let's figure out what truly happened to our employer first of all.

Anyway, I agree with Ardino. Time to get out of here - but let's check Yagrin's office quickly on our way. If we get separated in the city, we can meet up at Zellara's"

[DaedalusMkV]

Avrin eyes Lady Selencourte as she pockets the brooch, one eyebrow raised. He doesn't prod her for more information, but lingers long enough to make it clear he's not entirely impressed with her attempt to sweep the whole thing under the rug. He mentally notes to bring the issue up later, once they've either dealt with Lamm or lost the trail, then returns to looking at the book in front of him.

Avrin pauses from his inspection of Lamm's ledger for a moment to respond to the burgeoning argument in front of him. "You want to tell the Asmodeans about this, that's your call. You want to give them a vial, that's on you too. But we can figure all that out later. We're here to kill Lamm and this is becoming a serious distraction. I'm not giving up on taking the bastard down tonight, and we've still got plenty of clues between this book and whatever old Yargin has to say once we get him down here and put him to the question, plus whatever we find in the office above." He shakes his head. "Unless the fire's on the gods-damned doorstop, can we forget about all this high-minded politics for a second and focus on what we came here to do?"

He does chuckle slightly at Mordin's assertion, though. "A significant portion? Please. Lamm's a cockroach with a knack for surviving, but he's still just a bit player with plenty of enemies, even if it didn't look that way to you. I know some people who will be happy to hear he's died a slow, painful death. Doubly so if he was dealing Shudder."

[aberratio ictus]

Lady Selancourte

"No need to get angry, Avrin, we're already leaving." she said pleasantly. There was some humour in Avrin thinking they could find Lamm tonight, wo very likely did his best to hide. If anything, they could find him in the following days - but not in a night Lamm used to get as far away from them as he could. "Did you find anything helpful?"

[THEChanger]

As Avrin finishes reading Gaedren's ledger, the group heads back up, Ardino dragging the unconscious body of Yargin behind him. A few ascend the stairs to the room the greasy man had originally come from, as Gavin ducked outside to check on the fire and the children.

In the second story, Dirkust, Mordin, Ardino, Avrin, Carla, and Vestis find a small office. It seems this is where the daily business of the 'fishery' was conducted. A desk in one corner has scattered scrolls, books, and slate tablets with chalk scrawlings. On the eastern wall is a cabinet, with more scrolls and tablets stored haphazardly. Next to the desk is a small chest. The room is unremarkable, aside from the fact that one window affords Vestis a better look outside. She can identify that there is not one, but three small fires some distance away.

Gavin heads out the front door to where the children are supposed to be waiting, but finds none of them. What he does find is a scene of pure chaos. Men, women, and children running about the streets, some carrying sacks, others with weapons both purposeful and improvised. Flashes of colored light break the dark of night, coming from the direction of Castle Korvosa and Citadel Volshyenek, the Guard's headquarters. Above the din of looting and fighting, Gavin can make out some of the phrases being shouted.

"For the Liberation! For Lamm!"

"Down with the Whore Queen!"

"Death to tyrants!"

"The King is dead! Arm yourselves!"

Gavin sees a member of the Sable Company flying over the river on one of their famous gryphons. A bolt of lightning flies up from a nearby building, striking the gryphon, causing mount and rider to plummet to the river below.

24th of Calistri, Year 4708 by Aroden's Reckoning
9:02 PM
Major rioting breaks out in Korvosa

[digiman619]

Ardino shouts to be heard over the chaos. "We need to get somewhere away from this mess! Anyone have any idea where to go?"

Spoiler: OOC

Show

I accidentally wrote shoot instead of shout. Which would make sense if I had a gun, but since I don't, it's a bit weird.

[The_Shaman]

Carla

Carla had been silently following the discussion with some disinterest. She has little interest and less love for the Church of Asmodeus, but if the others wanted to tie that lodestone around their necks, well, it might just mean that she might have to bail on them at some point. For now, it would be good to stick along. "The Academae sound like a good idea, they know quite a lot about magic, and if they don´t know something they know whom to ask. Right now, though, we should check what Yargin knows and after that, well, I´d rather not risk him going back to his old boss or getting a new band of thugs so he can get the drop on us."

The almost palpable wave of chaos that comes from outside piques her interest, and she looks out. "Okay, getting him out to question might be difficult. I am not sure about any place where I´d feel safe dragging a man-sized sack which might start struggling, do any of you? If not, we may have to risk it and get a quick chat with him here."

[Inspectre]

Gavin curses under his breath when he is unable to find the children.
They were *just* here - apparently they had been taking lessons from Lamm on how to disappear on a literal moment's notice.
But the children could wait - the shouts carried to Gavin on the wind told him there were much bigger problems now at hand.
He races back through the Fishery's front door.

"We got trouble!"

He calls out as a greeting to the rest of the group.

"The King's dead and the city is tearing itself apart. We can pretty much do whatever we want tonight, but come morning the city is either going to be a graveyard or locked down under martial law. So whatever we do with Yargin we'd better do it tonight and dispose of the body. *And* we need to find a safe place to ride this mess out in. My rat hole apartment might be burning already for all I know so that's out. Zellara's might still be safe, but I'd sleep a lot better with more assurances than a locked front door that I'm not going to get my throat slit in the middle of the night by rioters.
Oh, and apparently our quarry has become a folk hero as well as learning the ability to disappear at-will. People are shouting his name out in the streets right now."

[aberratio ictus]

Lady Selancourte

As she went up the stairs, Lady Selancourte noticed Yagrin's wand still lying where he dropped it, so she took it with her for later use.

Once inside the office, Vestis frantically went through the books and assorted documents on the desk, beginning with what looked the most recent, looking for anything that could provide any information about Acele, and the tiefling she was 'sold' to.

Her suspicions that had arisen after she had seen three different fires some distance away were validated when Gavin joined them.

The King, Eodred Arabasti II, was dead. With no known heir, the regency went to his wife, Ileosa, who wasn't exactly well-liked. The rabble was rioting in the streets, and if Gavin had heard correctly, they had chosen the right man to lead them. That wasn't good. Vestis felt cold.
She tried her best to concentrate on the task before her, despite the riot, the children, the vials and the brooch, which, to her, felt heavier in her pocket than it should.

'The need to perform many different tasks at once', she thought. Then 'A great loss which brings ill fortune'. And 'Madness, chaos, and fear, threatening to consume all.'

This... made too much sense. She shook her head involuntarily, and continued to read.

A safe place... Her uncle's mansion was safe, fairly safe. The Heights were the last district the authorities would lose to the riots, with castle Korvosa, the Academae, and the nobility being based there. However, they were definitely locked down by now. She would be let in, if possible, Sir Mordin too, probably, but the others... she wasn't too sure. Vestis wasn't too sure if she'd even want to let the others inside her uncle's mansion, either. She had known them for a couple of hours, and if Gavins recent outburst was anything to go by... so far, they could be trusted to go after Lamm, nothing more.

[Corlindale]

"Lamm? A folk hero? He must really have pulled the wool over their eyes if they believe that! Then again, that's exactly what he's best at. I believed he was trying to help the city for a long time as well, I guess he must have told them similar tales. This...complicates everything.

Anyway, I still think Zellara's is the best place to go, even with rioting in the streets. She foresaw this, judging from her strange prophecies. We may find some more clues there. More importantly, it's small and easy to defend, so we should be fairly secure there while the chaos rages in the streets."

Mordin briefly scans Yagrin's office and picks up the chest next to his desk.

"We might as well grab what we can. The more random things we carry, the less likely people are to notice an unconscious body among them...I hope."

[MesiDoomstalker]

Dirkust, still clutching the box, scrambled all the papers, scrolls and assorted documents he could into a satchel, not caring much for keeping them tidy. Zellara's. Zellara's is safe. I... it's safe. We must hurry. We can discuss later. The small man pushed passed the others, grabbing the door handle. He motioned with his head. We should travel together. Less likely we'll get jumped when we are in a big group.

[DaedalusMkV]

Avrin spends the trip to the office engrossed in Lamm's ledger, quietly whispering to himself as he works through the weak cipher the crimelord seemed convinced would keep his journal safe, occasionally cursing as he hits a word which simply does not seem to translate correctly. As he continues through the most recent entries his eyes narrow and he puts the entirety of his attention into the work, following the others without putting any real attention into it. It takes the sounds of the chaos outside to snap him out of the trance, and when he does his eyes widen in shock. "Hells, it actually happened..." He shakes himself, closing the ledger and slipping it carefully into one of his pockets. The book might prove very important indeed in the future, cryptic as it is, and he makes a mental note to confront Selencourte on the owner of that brooch at the next convenient opportunity. It could prove critical moving forwards. Still, for the moment there are more immediate concerns. "Agreed. Grab whatever you can carry and let's get moving. The Guard are slow, but even they will show up in force in the face of... This, and I don't want to risk attracting their attention with all we've got. Zellara's seems a good place to hole up for now." He takes the opportunity to retrieve his buckler from its hiding place, strapping it to his left arm, then frowns. "Let me lead the way. I can move faster and more quietly than... Some of our members." He avoids looking at Mordin. "And I'm good at not attracting attention. Hopefully, if there's anything truly dangerous ahead I can spot it and give enough warning to go around it."

[The_Shaman]

Carla

"Well, whatever we do to Yargin, we better do it fast. Do you think you can make him talk in a minute or three? I'm not sure we can get out of here dragging him, but waiting for the house to be set on fire is even worse. If we can´t, I say let him feed the fish. Also, how in all the hells is Lamm so famous now? I couldn't find hair or word of the bastard for months before I gave up."

Korvosa seems to have gotten crazy. Even by the city´s usual standards. They will probably have a bit of time, but this is going to be tight. She looks outside towards the dark street, and mumbles.

"I hope the older kids were smart enough to get everyone out of the street when they saw what´s going on." Normally, she might be willing to spend some time to look for them, but in this mess and with Yargin still around... all she can spare is a thought, and maybe a prayer.

[aberratio ictus]

Lady Selancourte

She blinked once, then twice, then shot an annoyed look at Dirkust, who hurried away with the documents she had just been reading. Fruitlessly, so far.

Lady Selancourte turned around, facing the others, Carla in particular, who had just spoken.
"We could take the chance to talk to him here. Then again, if Lamm really is in charge of this rabble, what hinders him to send some of them here to take us out? He knows we're here. I propose we leave, and take Yagrin with us. An injured comrade, possibly, to those observing." She slowly started walking towards the stairs.

"They're street rats. They can take care for themselves, and they will find us." she said, under her breath, as she passed Carla.

[Inspectre]

"If Lamm sends more friends, let 'em come. They might have a better idea about where he is right now than Yargin will."

Gavin snarls reflexively, only to wince as it registers who just said that. He really should probably stop disagreeing with a noblewoman who had the power to make his life miserable even without getting the law involved.

"Apologies Milady. But luring more of Lamm's friends, if friends they be, into a trap where we can see them coming may be more preferable to bumping into them on the street.
They might not recognize us, but they may well recognize Yargin."

Gavin's expression turns nasty again.

"And there *is* plenty of fish offal and an accessible dock over the water right here, if we want to do some late-night shark fishing. Yargin can answer our questions or he can go for a swim after we've chummed the water a bit more."