Lamm escapes, Lamm plays innocent, Lamm proves again how horrible he can be. Introductions are made and Dr. Kasensius shares his love of Osirion, Korvosa, and the Queen. Illegal dumping in the bay. Suicide and a planned victory parade. All these things and more came up during this session. This session was almost three weeks ago (as I write this) so details might be a bit hazy. Hazy details below the break.
Everyone was in attendance. Although I do not think there are any specific 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. As usual, my GM comments are in italics.
1st of Gozran
- Leaving Captain Vindo with Elvo with assurances that Elvo will get the Captain to the Guard or Sable Company, the group heads back into the sewers.
- Stefaneto answers the code knocked on some pipes and is distraught.
- Lamm just vanished a few minutes before Stefaneto’s arrival. Everyone is clear to point out that this was not Stefaneto’s fault.
- Group returns to below Rose Point Manor.
- Darcy scouts ahead. No sign of Lamm in the lab or lower level. In the cellars above, Darcy can hear Lamm in a heated conversation with a Gray Maiden.
- The Maiden is asking how a Gray Maiden can exist without a Captain.
- Lamm shots back asking if the bodies of these “rogue” Maidens were examined to see if they had any scarabs.
- When the Gray Maiden answers no, Lamm chides her for not completing the basics of an investigation before coming and harassing him. He reminds her that the Maidens are created to take initiative and not just orders. She should have done her job and the Queen will not be pleased in such sloppy work.
- Lamm does speculate that perhaps Pop was involved in some fashion with these rogue Maidens.
- The Maiden stomps off.
- Lamm and Darcy head back to the lab for the full group to talk.
- Lamm is quite pleased to hear that Varra Ornelos is dead. He insists that the group dispose of her head (which they had taken). Magic could be used to track it done.
- Pop sheepishly admits that he also took Varra’s pinky finger.
- Stefaneto is provided these body parts and he’ll take them to dump in the bay.
- The group also tells Lamm about vials of blood that Varra had in one of the deathhead coffers at her lab. He asks for and is given one while the group keeps the others.
- The group also shares that Volshyenek is actually a devil, but they admit when asked that they do now know which one or which kind of devil.
- It is also shared that it sounds like the Queen intends to spread the plague that was developed in some fashion.
- Lamm shares that he has a cure at another of his labs. Just enough, of course, for himself and the party members.
- Lamm is asked to write a letter of introduction to Dr. Kasensius and to provide the location of the doctor’s home. He does so.
- Stefaneto leads the group through the sewers to as close to Dr. Kasensius’ home.
- Dr. K answers the door and is shocked about folks being out during the curfew.
- Aimar convinces Dr. K that he and his friends have a strong interest in Osirion and couldn’t wait to talk with the expert. Plus, Aimar shares that he has read the doctor’s book (no better way to ingratiate yourself with an academic).
- The group is invited in for a talk and tea.
- Dr. K’s place has lots of Osirion items on display. Some small talk is made and the real questioning begins.
- Aimar focuses on asking about Master Hmah.
- Dr. K is a bit surprised by this focus but responds.
- He shares that Master Hmah was a traitor to Osirion and had attempted to create an undead army to take over rule of the country. However, Master Hmah was never able to complete this research before being caught and horribly punished.
- Dr. K is a bit dismissive of magic.
- He is also quite obviously proud of everything that he has done to help Korvosa and the Queen.
- He admits smuggling the Ankh of Master Hmah here and gifting it the the Queen.
- Similarly proud of the work he has done to obtain scarabs and sand for the Queen. He believes that the scarabs are for necklaces to show support for the Queen and the sand for a park. He is clearly rather naive or simply deluding himself.
- He’s also proud that the civil war is almost over. The Queen is so confident of victory that he has heard that she will be holding a victory parade in the near future. He has no other details.
- Aimar starts to walk Dr. K through Hmah’s plan for an undead army and what it might look like.
- Dr. K does not draw any connections between this and the Gray Maidens despite Dr. K himself essentially describing the Maidens in general terms as what such an army would look like.
- Pop messages Lamm and asks him to come to Dr. K’s. There is a knock on the door just a moment later.
- Lamm is invited in. Dr. K is quite pleased to see him. Lamm is asked to share his own research, information about the Gray Maidens, and about the Queen’s plans. He is told to do it softly.
- Lamm complies by providing the information but in a very blunt and painful fashion.
- He’s completed Hmah’s research.
- The Gray Maidens are the army created from said research.
- The Queen killed the King.
- None of this would have been possible without the help and willing assistance of Dr. K.
- Lamm is told to stop and he bluntly refuses and continues to bring down Dr. K’s entire world, emphasizing how horrifying it would be to be turned into a Gray Maiden.
- Dr. K is turning more and more pale and vomits as Lamm taunts him.
- Lamm is told to leave by the group, but he clearly does so only once he has finished what he is doing…causing as much pain as possible to Dr. K.
- After Lamm leaves, Dr. K writes down the names and locations (in Osirion) of his various contacts who have been assisting him and provides it to the group before asking them to leave.
- It is pretty clear to everyone that Dr. K is depressed, horrified, and likely suicidal after this. They offer to take him into hiding and even offer to give him a merciful death. He refuses all of it, insisting that they leave his home.
- The group leaves and heads back into the sewers.
- A couple of hours later, Darcy and Isabella return to Dr. K’s home.
- There is no answer to their knocks. They enter.
- As expected, Dr. K has killed himself. He took some sort of poison and his body is contorted, looking as though he had horribly painful spasms. It was not a pleasant death at all.
- The pair search the home and find some crates with scarabs and sand.
- They transport these to the sewers.
- Stefaneto is informed that these things are used to create the Gray Maidens. He angrily growls in a way that no human could do and readily offers to dump these in the bay as well.
- Dr. K is a bit surprised by this focus but responds.
- Aimar focuses on asking about Master Hmah.
- Dr. K’s place has lots of Osirion items on display. Some small talk is made and the real questioning begins.
- Darcy scouts ahead. No sign of Lamm in the lab or lower level. In the cellars above, Darcy can hear Lamm in a heated conversation with a Gray Maiden.
And that is were we ended the session.
I felt (and still feel) pretty bad about ending our last session for a few weeks in such a depressive fashion. That’s just where things developed and I really don’t think offering some happy thing at the end would have fit with the session.
I think it is already clear to the group that not only is Lamm perhaps the most evil individual that they’ve ever encountered or heard, but that they also do not have much of an upper hand over him. He’s continued to behave exactly as he chooses. He is definitely one of the most…if not the most…evil NPC we’ve ever had. He has been toying and playing with everyone to cause as much hurt as possible. If I were a player, I might be starting to ask myself, “Who is actually the ‘prisoner’ in all of this? Lamm or us.”
This did represent another likely blow to the Queen. If Dr. K was her only contact to Osirion and the supplies necessary for creating the Gray Maidens, it may be some time before the flow of supplies can be re-established. This should mean that the only supplies for creating more is likely what remains at each of the “production” sites, right?
Also, what is this about a victory parade? Is the civil war going that poorly for the forces of good and freedom? Is it something else on the Queen’s part? Is it a bone tossed to the players who want to get the Queen out in the open? Shrug…who knows? We’re still making up all of this as we go.
