In our last session, we took something of a break from the ongoing investigation into the Shiver Killings in Old Korvosa. Aimar had agreed to help the mother of a fellow acolyte of Asmodeus who was having some issues with a criminal element in her building. That criminal element being none other than Gaedran Lamm. When the party look into this, they found a bit more than they may have expected. We pick up with their exploration and incursion into a temple of Urgathoa below the break.
Everyone was in attendance; although Adam had another engagement and so was a little late in joining us. Good thing he did, they needed Aimar and his healing. Although there are significant changes to it, there are potential spoilers for the Temple of Urgathoa adventure from Book 2, Seven Days to the Grave, of Curse of the Crimson Throne. As usual, my GM comments are in italics below.
15 Pharast
- The party cleans up as best they can after their attack on the sleeping cultists, hoping to at least minimize the chances of someone learning they are here.
- The cultist who was just knocked out is revived and questioned. Laughing as he sees the group, he is more than happy to share information.
- They are in a temple to the Pallid Princess, a title for Urgathoa, the goddess of physical excess, disease, and the undead.
- Shares that there are about a dozen chambers or so here with a dozen or so inhabitants. The complex is working on a plague that they will spread into Korvosa and then beyond.
- He saw an old man (Gaedran Lamm) who was captured in the temple. He was given over to Rolth Lamm, who is the old man’s son. Rolth took his father into his laboratory to see if he can “cure” his father’s old age.
- Rolth has brought a new opportunity to the cult. He has a technique to give an undead creature a greater semblance of life, physical and mental, while still being obedient. The cult is not quite sure what to make of it quite yet.
- The cult’s leader, a priestess by the name of Andaisin, may be merciful to the group by allowing them to choose their own manner of death.
- The best part of all of this is that the people that the cult is experimenting upon and from which they create undead have come willingly. They come to the building above, the Hospice of the Blessed Maiden, thinking and hoping that they will be cured of their injuries and illnesses.
- Having learned what they could…or perhaps all that they cared to learn…the party continues their explorations.
- From behind a set of double doors in the undead display case, Pop hears chanting and some sort of gurgling noise. The group leaves that door alone for now and heads to a couple of other doors in this room. These other doors lead to some sort of infirmary or operating room.
- Within are some more plague doctor types, zombies, and a Varisian who is chained to a bed, his entire torso cut open.
- During the ensuing fight, the plague doctors try to flee, one heading to the dormitory room and one to the lift. Both are caught and dispatched before reaching their destinations.
- Given his wounds, the Varisian is beyond saving. Darcy gives him a quick and merciful end to his life.
- Isabella finds a door around a corner in this room and hears sobbing from beyond. A number of Varisians, adults and children, are locked up in cells. Keys are found on one of the plague doctors. These prisoners explain that they and others had come to the hospice seeking medical care. Instead, they ended up down here where various experimentations have been conducted upon them and others. Most do not survive.
- Meanwhile, the double doors back in the art undeco chamber are opened. A cultists notices the bodies slain by the party and this triggers another battle.
- The chamber beyond the doors is large. There are three vats, gurgling and bubbling with a substance looking much like blood. A catwalk stands about ten feet of the ground, giving access to the vats from above. Stairs lead up to the catwalk. There are numerous exits, including a set of double doors up at the catwalk level.
- Three cultists are in here and one immediately yells towards one of the doors on the floor level, “Lamm, get out here! We’re under attack.” The others engage the party.
- Two other cultists come in from the double doors. The room from which they arrived has a number of tubes filled with a greenish liquid and demonic figures. A cultist smashes one of the tubes unleashing one of the figures, humanoid with a horselike skull for a head and unfurling rotting wings.
- This demon thing turns out to be the most difficult of the party’s opposition. A couple of characters are badly hurt by it before it and the cultists are dispatched.
- The party regroups on the lower level of this chamber and recover as best they can. They have to make a choice as to their priority at the moment: rescue the Varisians, put an end to this cult and their threat of spreading disease, or confront Lamm. They choose the last option and burst into the room at which the one cultist had yelled for Lamm.
- Gaedren Lamm is strapped down to a large table. He is completely cut open from neck to groin. Blood is all over the place. Despite this grievous wound, he is still alive and in significant pain. Lamm begs for them to kill him.
- The group questions him and also notice an odd blade on the table. A blade much like one they had found at Lamm’s old hideout at the Old Fishery…a dagger shaped like a key.
- Lamm’s son, Rolth Lamm, was (is) the Keylock Killer. Rolth is also responsible for Lamm’s current state.
- Although Lamm’s head was strapped down so he can’t really look around, he knows that Rolth left the chamber via a different exit than the party entered. The group quickly looks around but sees no such additional exit.
- Lamm is questioned a bit about the treasures, specifically the Queen’s brooch, the party had found at the Old Fishery. For the most part, they were items gained by the children working as pickpockets for him.
- Many in the group want Lamm to continue suffering, reminding him of all of the horrible things that he has done over the years. Lamm shows no remorse and tries to goad them into killing him. Having enough of this despicable wretch, he is put to the blade…but he does not die!
- Aimar looks at Lamm with that second sight that all spellcasters have and sees that there is magic coursing through Lamm’s body. The magic is almost like a circulatory system through his torso and into his limbs. The source, where these all seem to converge, is in Lamm’s throat.
- Pop reaches in and up through Lamm’s open torso and feels something metallic and hard. Pop grabs it and pulls it out. The object is metal and forged to look like a scarab beetle.
- As soon as this scarab beetle is removed, Lamm’s body relaxes and he is dead.
- Before the group can take stock of what just happened or celebrate the death of a man who has caused so much pain for both them and many Korvosans, Mac gets a message from Divo (remember, Mac had messaged Divo about this place in the prior session). The Queen’s Guard is on the way soon, probably in about an hour. That’s all the time Mac and friends will have to do whatever it is that they are doing.
That is where we ended the session.
I don’t really have a lot of comments to add…except one. Well before we started this campaign, I asked all of the players for three keywords for things they’d like to see in the campaign. Those, along with some other conversations, all got woven into the “blurb” for the campaign. Let’s just say that this has all been about introducing some other elements from that blurb and keywords. If you need a refresher, you can look back at the Savage Korvosa Intro post.
