Things got crazy in the last session. After learning more information from Suria about her past with wild magic and Volshyenek, the party set off to intercept the next Shiver monster. They arrived at the correct location and the victim arrived. A new monster emerged and grew and grew and grew into a giant, Godzilla like creature with a crocodilian head and breathing streams of acid. Panic quickly set in and the creature, which was dubbed Croczilla, began destroying areas of Old Korvosa. The party fled in the panic and did their best to also lure Croczilla away from people. The Sable Company showed up and eventually the Acadamae joined the fight. At that point, all of the characters started to make their way back to the Old Fishery to regroup and join back up with Suria and Elda. We pick up with that below the break.
Although I do not think there are any spoilers for elements of the Curse of the Crimson Throne adventure path, there are potential spoilers regarding some of the movers and shakers of Korvosa. There are also references to sexual assault and abuse and mistreatment of Suria. As usual, my GM comments are in italics.
18 Pharast
- In the absolute chaos, everyone began making their way back to the Old Fishery. Pop was doing so via rowboat when Viria (aka the Green Lady) shows up. She is concerned that she could not sense Pop (she had been able to do that ever since she had started to feed open him many sessions ago) and if he was a threat to Elda.
- Pop responded (and I quote), “Not anymore.” This was not reassuring to Viria and she insisted that Pop stay away from both Suria and Elda. If he does not, Viria will finish consuming him.
- Pop heads to Ellara’s abandoned house rather than the Old Fishery with everyone else. He and Mac communicate via message to update each other.
- Back at the Old Fishery, Viria privately speaks with Aimar. She shares that she has told Pop to stay away and that it is very difficult for her to not finish eating Pop. She also asks about her new “sibling.”
- Aimar explains what had happened and that her new sibling is a very large, rampaging monster. When asked if her sibling could be reasoned with, Aimar says that it might be possible.
- Viria turns into her beetle swarm form and leaves.
- After Darcy takes Elda to go sleep in another room (and after a bedtime story), Aimar has a conversation with Suria. He fills her in on what has happened tonight and that the Acadamae had started to fight the new monster.
- Suria is concerned and asks if Aimar thinks that Volshyenek might be able to track her with magic. Aimar admits that it is possible, especially if Volshyenek has anything of Suria’s. She says that he had taken lots of samples of her blood and other bodily objects.
- With tears running down her face, Suria states that she needs to leave so Elda will be safe. She cannot let her child fall into Volshyenek’s clutches. She gives Aimar a pouch with her savings and makes Aimar and Isabella (who had arrived) promise that they will keep Elda safe. Aimar provides a gem shard to Suria that will allow him to track her down.
- Leaving her scant belongings, Suria leaves.
- After Elda fell asleep, Darcy stayed with her. About thirty minutes after Suria had left, Elda woke and screamed, “Mama! Mama’s dead!” Any attempts to learn more just resulted in Elda screaming the same again and the group moved to doing their best to comfort the child.
- Aimar attempts to locate Suria via the gem shard he had provided and he and Isabella find it sitting on a piece of furniture in another room at the Old Fishery. Suria had left it behind.
- Viria appears again, informing the group that “Grandmother is dead.” She then turns into beetles and embraces her mother (Elda), buzzing softly, until Elda falls asleep again.
- After Elda falls asleep, Viria shares the following.
- She had gone to speak with her sibling. She gave him the name Lacerto. Lacerto headed out to sea and left Korvosa. Viria also fed very well on those that had been attacking her brother.
- Suria arose above a section of the Acadamae, glowing, and shouting for Volshyenek to come out. Yelling that it all stopped now, he glow intensified and she exploded into flames.
- The explosion took out a large section of the Acadamae wall, nearby buildings, and left a large crater. It looked like anything and anyone in the flames were destroyed.
- Viria then returned to the Old Fishery.
- Isabella had left before Viria returned to try and found out what was going on. She could see a glow coming from the area around the Acadamae.
- She came across the crater that Suria had created. The ground is scorched. Charred skeletal remains dot its surface. No structure stands within.
- Isabella sees a badly burned Volshyenek, burn wounds that no human could survive, fly down into the crater. He retrieves a particular skull from the center and flies away.
- Isabella returns to the Old Fishery.
- Aimar and Viria go to Ellara’s home to talk with Pop and determine if he is a threat to Pop. It remains largely unresolved, but Pop and Aimar make it clear that Pop would die a horrible and excruciating death before letting his “friend” Tarquin do anything bad to Elda.
19-20 Pharast
- Over the next couple of days, the party lies mostly low.
- Isabella works with Lucia to arrange for Elda to leave Korvosa with a troupe of Varisians who will care for her and keep her safe. Viria will be going as well to protect her mother. It becomes very clear that sunlight will kill Viria so arrangements will be made to keep her safe during the day.
21 Pharast
- Darcy gets messaged by Captain Vindo of the Sable Company (he’s the guy that Darcy flagged down to save a fallen member of the company in the prior session). He would like to meet…of the books so to speak. A time for during the night and a location are arranged.
- Darcy and Isabella arrive and meet with the Captain. He does share that three members of his company are flying high above…just in case there is any trouble. He shares that Vinnia, the fallen company member, is recovering nicely thanks to Darcy.
- The duo share pretty much everything about having gone after Lamm, the Temple of Urgathoa, the Hospice, the experiments in both of those locations, the Varisian captives that they did free from the temple, the Queen’s Guard involvement, the lying about Pop being dead.
- Vindo asks if they have any hard evidence. The pair shares that they just have some items from the Temple but nothing that proves the Queen or her guard were involved.
- His turn to share information, Vindo lets them know that the Queen’s Guard is causing concern among some.
- No one knows exactly who the members Gray Maidens actually are.
- A number of female members of the Korvosan Guard and even the Sable Company have been recruited, but they then essentially vanish. They never go home, they are never seen again by their family or friends or former associates.
- The Queen’s Guard has been getting larger and some are concerned that there may be a shift in the balance of power in Korvosa.
- He needs evidence…hard evidence…that he can get into the hands of the right people.
- Also, the flyers with Pop’s image on them was very unusual. It was not done via the Guard and the authorities are, in fact, looking for all of the group and not just Pop. The Queen’s Guard, in particular, is on the hunt for the group.
- Darcy and Isabella share that Lamm’s son, Rolth Lamm, was in the temple and got away. Rolth was (is) the Keylock Killer, was working on making undead somehow more compliant but retain more of their living personality (at least according to a cultist that they questioned).
- Vindo wants them to catch Rolth Lamm. Once they do, they can contact him again and he’ll arrange for getting Rolth to the right people.
- Vindo shakes both of their hands and thanks them for ridding Korvosa of Lamm.
And that is where we stopped the session.
There was one thing that I do not recall so if my players could chime in, I’d appreciate it. Did you share with Captain Vindo the state in which you found Gaedren Lamm? Did you share information about the scarab that you removed from his throat?
Okay, I’m totally not ashamed to admit that there is one big advantage to playing online. My players can’t see me tearing up when I have a mother make the decision to sacrifice herself to protect her child. Because I started to as I was thinking about someone makes that decision and steels themself to move ahead with it. Or to put myself in the shoes of the child who knows their mother just died…magically connected and all.
This was definitely not anything that I had planned ahead…it totally grew out the conversations Suria was having with the group so maybe its just that I wasn’t prepared to think along those lines. Or maybe I’m just a softy. Sheesh…I started tearing up writing this recap when I got to that part.
So players…let’s just go kick down some doors and kick some butt for a bit so you don’t make me tear up again anytime soon.
So maybe this is the end of the Shiver Killings…maybe. Mac might have something to share with the group regarding this. It was emotional if a bit anti-climatic. Of course, I’m sure the characters would appreciate anything that can be taken off of their plate given that they very will might be Korvosa’s Most Wanted. Bad Pop, bad Pop, whatcha you gonna do when the Guard comes for you?
