Savage Korvosa Session 11

Previously on Savage Korvosa, the investigators had been looking into a series of killings where the victims, all shiver addicts, had their torsos ripped open from the inside AND related killings associated with whatever things had come out of the victims torsos. Lieutenant Divo Figus of the Korvosan Guard had elicited their help with these killings as pressure was coming down the chain of command. During the course of the investigation, the player characters had gotten caught up with the street gangs of Bridgefront’s Shingles, found and killed one of these creatures, a spider-eel thing that had been spawning other spider-eel things, became very suspicious of the role of The Sanctuary in all of this, became a bit traumatized by another of these creatures…a jellyfish thing…that was already deceased, warned off of continuing the investigation by Divo (wink, wink…keep doing it on the down low) as that was what was now coming down the chain of command, and had met, befriended–or otherwise interacted–with a good number of Korvosan residents, particularly in Old Korvosa.

These investigations have been going on for two or three weeks in game time and we pick up with it on 9 Pharast after the break.

Adam (and thus Aimar) was missing. Jen (and thus Isabella) was back after missing a couple of sessions.

As always, my GM comments are in italics in the below.

9 Pharast

The characters had retrieved a potential witness, Rostanzo, of what had happened at Silas’ home where Silas and Cassia had been killed. He had drunk himself into a stupor at a nearby tavern, the Watery Mug, of less than stellar repute and returned him to his home, cleaning him up, changing his clothes, and getting him into bed. Mac messaged Isabella and she joined the group at Rostanzo’s home.

• Rostanzo is passed out drunk but is still clearly agitated based on his tossing and turning. Isabella plays some soothing music. It has little effect.
• Mac heads to the Stonefells to see if Matilda could watch Rostanzo while they continue doing other things related to their investigation.
  • She agrees as she has a few days off of work to celebrate her birthday.
  • Mac has forgotten her birthday (not that he knew it in the first place) and ends up agreeing to taking Matilda out for at least one (maybe two) nice dinners later this week.
  • Darcy jumps in on giving Mac grief for forgetting the birthday and (in the most blatant display of metagaming ever seen in an FRG game) made it clear that Darcy had known about the birthday all along. Good times!
• The group heads off to talk with Elvo, the leader of the Street Serpents, to see if they can get some more information about the first Shiver Killing victim, Tobi, and to see if it matches the other information they have already learned.
  • As helpful and welcoming as he always been, Elvo shares that he’s already spoken to everyone that had been at the shiver den when Tobi was “attacked” by the smoke/spirit.
  • Their stories match up with all that Davius had told the group previously. Each was roused from their shiver sleep early but some smoke or spirit thing leaving their body, it eventually entered Tobi, he started to fade away, and all of the witness appear to no longer be addicted to shiver.
  • Elvo, as always, lets the group know how welcome they are in his territory.
• Next stop is to see Mudpuppy. Only Pop and Mac actually go. (It is only after waking Mudpuppy that the players realize that they’ve only spoken with him at night previously.)
  • Mudpuppy was sound asleep but was woken. He is willing to share information but only after a nice breakfast and some coffee (which later also turns into a nice lunch with a nice view.)
  • He has learned via his contacts the following information.
    • There have been rumblings in the ground around the Sanctuary pretty much every night. It is not constant or consistently occurring at the same time of night each night.
    • The Sanctuary has been taking one or two people off of the street each night and taking them inside, definitely against their will. It has all been people who won’t be missed (except by the street community.)
    • Most street folk are no longer going anywhere near the Sanctuary as a result of this.
    • The Headmistress has not been seen leaving the Sanctuary in nearly three weeks. She does have private quarters in a separate building that is attached to the Sanctuary.
    • One recent night (I believe it was 7 Pharast), a few really well-dressed folks came to the Sanctuary. One was clearly from the Acadamae, dressed in the University’s robes. Another was a guard of some sort, a tielfing, dressed in chain and well-armed. The last was clearly a noble by dress and bearing.
      • They arrived between 2 and 3am and were greeted by the Headmistress at the Sanctuary’s entrance.
      • They were spotted leaving some 60-90 minutes later. The nobleman and the Headmistress hugged as the trio departed.
      • The Acadamae member looked really happy.
    • Mudpuppy had learned that the second Shiver Killing victim was Barso, part of a well-to-do group of individuals who gather to “enjoy” shiver periodically.
      • The building where the group meets is right next to where his body had been found. (Players…it is the building that is at 8 o’clock from the pin marking the location his body had been found on the Korvosa map in Foundry.)
      • One of his contacts had witnessed the following the night that Barso was “attacked.”
        • This happened on 11 Calistril.
        • A private guard was stationed outside the door to the building.
        • A ghostly figure in the form of a young girl went through the guard and the door into the building. The guard did not seem aware of this happening at all.
        • A minute or so later, those in the building came running out screaming and this witness left the area themselves.
      • (Mudpuppy has clearly identified Pop as an easy mark. He even shared this with Mac and asked that Mac not tell Pop this. Luckily for Pop, some of the others have been helping him with the coin that has been getting passed to Mudpuppy. A bit on money later.)
• The group returns to Rostanzo’s home. Matilda is sitting on him and trying to tie him up. Rostanzo is awake and, according to Matilda, is trying to leave to go back to the Watery Mug.
  • Bleary-eyed and clearly a bit drunk and a bit hungover, Darcy and Isabella sit next to him and, as gently as possible, ask him what had happened at Silas when he and Cassia had entered.
    • Rostanzo is still clearly disturbed and guilt-ridden and shares the following.
      • When the jimmied the door open, there were just giant hands everywhere.
      • Multiple hands grabbed Cassia and pulled her in.
      • One grabbed him but, since he could do nothing, he ran away.
      • Overcome by emotion, he couldn’t share more. Once he was able to compose himself again, he simply stated that he needed to pee. The group was not going to let him leave and gave him a bucket to use.
      • He asked for all to turn away, saying that he couldn’t pee if anyone was watching. They all did. Mac (or was it Pop?) conjured the sound of running water to help him with his bodily need.
    • Isabella, and Darcy just a moment later, realized that they did not hear the sounds of a man urinating into a bucket.
      • Turning around, they see that he has grabbed an awl from his tools. Both rush to grab him but neither reach him in time.
      • Rostanzo stabs himself in the eye, killing himself. The guilt and things he saw must have been too much for him. (He is the second “witness” to have killed themselves. One of the guards who had originally found Silas had as well…the other guard had been keeping himself very drunk. Divo had shared this information.)
      • (I gave the option of either dealing cars for initiative to see who would go first OR making Agility/Athletics checks to stop him before he could stab himself. They choose to make the check. Sadly, Darcy got a critical failure and so she and Isabella collided with each other and could not stop Rostanzo. I don’t think Rachel has forgiven me yet.)
    • Mac summons Stan. Stan takes Rostanzo’s body and is dismissed. Matilda isn’t too fazed by all that has happened. Mac has told her that there is a lot of terrible things happening that they are trying to stop. She agrees to keep her mouth shut and heads back home.
  • The group decides that the best thing to do is to dump Rostanzo’s body into the river. They don’t want to let the Guard know because they are NOT supposed to be investigating this anymore. So they head to Skiffs & Stuff, a shop in the Dock Marke, to get Mac a new rowboat.
  • Mac gets a bit of a deal on a slightly used rowboat. It helps that Gaedran Lamm’s name is brought up and the owner greatly dislikes the man.
    • There is also some discussion about the death of Silas. His stall was also here in the Dock Market. The party learns that Silas was terrified of jellyfish. He had been stung by one many times as a child. People would periodically slip a jellyfish into his supply of fish and someone would have to come and remove it. Silas would not go anywhere near it.
  • That night, the party heads out on the river and, after making sure that no one is around to see this, bring back Stan and dump Rostanzo’s body into the river. (A summoner’s eidolon disappears with any object that it carries when dismissed and reappears with the same objects when summoned again. It has been used to good effect so far to hide incriminating evidence.)
• In the evening, the group returns to see Elvo again. They want to get a location where they can stake out the Sanctuary unseen. Elvo is more than happy to help.
  • Elvo arranges for a boy, Pappio, and his mother, Ovida, to provide their home for these purposes. It is a couple of stories up and has a window (i.e., an opening in the wall with shutter…go glass) clear view of the front of the Sanctuary. Elvo assures the party that Ovida will be well-compensated for this and the pair will be safely put up for the night. He reaffirms again that he takes care of his people.
  • As Ovida is leaving, Darcy, Mac, and Pop all, independently, try to slip her a gold piece each. Elvo does not object, except to say that Ovida will be paid, but if they’d like to give her more money, to feel free.
  • Elvo has one of his men stay outside in case the group needs anything else or needs to go anywhere.
  • The group starts their stake-out.

10 Pharast

• Later in the night, Mac convinces Pop to go get everyone coffee from a Fishbucks a few blocks away. Pop tries to get Elvo’s man to go do it, but he doesn’t want to. What if he needs to help the group go somewhere or something else that Pop can’t do?
• A little reluctantly, Pop starts off for the coffee.
  • Shortly after Pop leaves, a quartet of large men dressed like orderlies and carrying batons and a couple of lanterns exit the Sanctuary. They look around and then start off at a slow jog, heading down Jeggare Street in the same direction that Pop had gone.
  • Mac messages Pop to hide as four guys from the Sanctuary are headed his way.
  • Pop ducks down an alley that is quite dark and hides behind a box or some other stuff in the alley.
  • It was just in time as he can see the light’s carried by the orderlies.
  • As he watches out onto Jeggare Street, he hears a loud buzzing coming from behind him. A loud buzzing of multiple things…loud because the buzzing belongs to things much, much larger than a typical buzzing insect. It is too dark for Pop to see the source, but deep down inside, he knows it is probably related to the Shiver Killing victim that Mac had found.

And that is where we stopped for the evening…with Pop between the proverbial rock and a hard place.

Oh my…a lot learned this session. I/we continue with a very impromptu campaign, coming up with things on the fly as fits the character’s actions, the underlying premise, and the theme or style of a private investigator.

I’m pretty sure that Elvo did suggest to the party that they could live in his territory, rent-free, if they would like. He also keeps stressing that he’s committed to making the lives of those who do live in his territory better than they had been under Sergio. He even suggested that, with the party’s help, he might be able to take over the territory of other gangs and spread his more benevolent approach.

On the topic of money, we are using a lifestyle sort of approach instead of keeping track of every coin spent. We haven’t fully laid out the rules, but it is the sort of thing that a character pays a monthly amount to maintain a certain level of lifestyle and, by doing so, doesn’t have to individually pay for anything under a certain cost that is commonly available. I’m pretty sure I looked at Pathfinder for this.

We’ve been pretty lose with this. Switching to paying not just when it is uncommon or over the amount, but also when it is more appropriate for the developing “story” or more fun.

I think that’s enough commenting for now…except to say that I fear the look that I’ll be getting from Rachel when she recaps this session for us on Saturday and gets to the bit about Rostanzo. I doubt she is over that yet.