The Party:

Alora, Sorceress Supreme

Darzzo, Blowhard Bard

Tian-Xie, Nearsighted Ninja

Sumack, Disrespectful Druid

Kali, Gritty Gunslinger

Krox, Killer Krox

The Story:

The party had taken a few days off to rest and relax in the slowly settling capital of Varisia, Korvosa. The riots were dying down, trade had picked up once more, and the party hadn’t heard so much as a peep from Field Marshall Cressida Kroft. The only foreboding sign was a rumor, one the party members had heard passing among the notoriously volatile Korvosan population. Speaking to the barkeep of the Three Rings Tavern confirmed their suspicions that something was indeed amiss. The tale on everyone’s lips was that the late King had been poisoned. This rumor, coming so soon after the riots from the King’s death had subsided, was creating quite a stir.

Unfortunately, our motley crew was not in any shape to address this swelling unrest on their own. Many – but not all – of the party were beginning to show signs of morbid obesity and complacency as they stared for hours on end at their entertainment tablets. Newly introduced to the city, these lightweight sheets of obsidian had been enchanted with powerful illusion magic, causing a mild form of hypnosis in whoever stares into them for more than a few moments. If Kroft hadn’t appeared when she did, I can only imagine the horrifying depths of complacency the party may have fallen to.

Let us not dwell on what was not, but what was! Cressida approached the party and revealed the name of the suspected murderer: Trinia Sabor, a young painter, who had been commissioned to paint the King only a few weeks before he died. Kroft herself seemed unsure about the timing of this evidence coming to light, however, and warned the party to be on their guard, and see to it that Trinia was brought in quickly and, above all, quietly, to avoid lighting the powder keg that was Korvosa.

The party set out, braving streets lined with people, a churning ocean of humanity only barely contained by the buildings lining the streets. On their way the group faced a surprise ambush by one of the otyughs held in the Korvosan sewers, enraged by the constant commotion of the streets above. The party handily defeated this foe, and continued their way down side-streets and back alleys until they entered The Shingles, a ramshackle section of Korvosa notorious for its poverty-stricken denizens and towering tenements. The group entered Trinia’s building, sweet talking a few of its inhabitants (and greasing a few palms) until they made their way to Trinia’s apartment. Upon entering, they found her sleeping in bed.

But she wasn’t! SURPRISE! Oh ho ho! That was merely an illusion; some members of the party had attempted to communicate to Trinia when they discovered her door was blocked, which gave the young woman more than enough time to escape out the window and onto the real highways and byways of The Shingles: the rooftops. Thus followed a mighty, merry chase. Various members of the party leapt wide (or narrow) gaps, scaled walls, brushed off chokers, and avoided/reasoned with vicious hounds. Half of the party fell at one point or another, introducing themselves suddenly to the crowds below. Alora was particularly guilty of this, failing to climb back to the rooftops SEVERAL times, with the aid of Krox and his mighty Teflon shield. He eventually decided she was a lost cause, and made his way through the crowds, attempting to keep track of Trinia on foot.

At what was quite honestly the last second, Tian Xie managed to catch up with Trinia and wrestle her to the ground. The girl immediately began sobbing and asking to be released, swearing that she had no idea why these rumors were being spread and that she had nothing to do with the death of the King. When the rest of the party finally caught up, they discussed turning Trinia over to the guards, letting her go, or hiding her someplace. They discussed, and they argued, and they debated, and they took so long that a squadron of Sable Company griffin riders saw them and came to collect Trinia.

Back at Citadel Volshyenek, Field Marshall Kroft commended the group for their success and handed them their rewards. There was no time to bask in the glow of a choice well made (for them, by guards) as Kroft was currently dealing with another matter, a matter which demanded the attention of a certain group of capable warriors and, well, I don’t want to yeah it was the party. Gaekhen, a Shoanti from the north, had recently been killed in Korvosa. In an attempt to retain the strangled peace between the barbarians and Korvosa, his grandfather, Thousand Bones, had come to the city to claim his body. Talk about a bad time to visit the city! His body, however, had been sold to a necromancer named Rolth, and if that sounds awesome because necromancers are awesome, well I’m right there with you. Thousand Bones didn’t think it was awesome, though, and vowed that if his grandson’s body wasn’t found and delivered soon, the Shoanti would send their own soldiers in to retrieve it – and carve their way through Korvosa in the process.

Armed with knowledge of the situation, a degree of wit and even, I dare say, a taste for adventure, our heroes made their way to where the body sale went down, and found an entrance to a subterranean structure inhabited by derro. Traps, goons, and necrophidiuses – necrophidii? – abounded, but our stalwart bastions of righteousness continued onward. Until it got too late IRL, and we had to call it.

Tune in next time for the exciting conclusion of CURSE OF THE CRIMSON THRONE PART ONE – EDGE OF ANARCHY