JollyDoc
Explorer
So you've met the League, the Legion, and even the Sandpoint Seven. Now, allow me to introduce you to K.I.A....the Korvosan Intelligence Agency (perhaps they'll have better luck than their predecessors).
THE EDGE OF ANARCHY
'Ratbone', Half-Orc Druid of The Five Companions
* 'Ratbone' was born in the Mindspin Mountains in a small tribe of half-orc barbarians of Shoanti descent. Having been shunned by their human ancestors generations before, the tribe's founders set out on their own and started a small village where they could farm, hunt, and forage in relative peace (for a tribe of half-orcs). Ratbone's given name was Gruzzak Stonesmasher, and his parents both served the village as tribal shamans. When Gruzzak was 10 years old, the village was raided by a group of Chelish slavers, and the entire tribe was either captured or killed. Among the captured was Gruzzak's father and seven of his ten siblings. Among the dead were his mother and the remaining three siblings. Upon delivery to the slave masters, Gruzzak and his family were separated, and he has no idea as to their whereabouts, or even if any of them are still alive. Through an intermediary associated with the Korvosan black markets, Gruzzak was sold to Gaedren Lamm, whereby he became one of his 'Little Lambs'. For four years, he suffered under the depredations of the petty criminal. When Gruzzak had reached the age of 14 (the point where he no longer appeared as an innocent child) Gaedren abandoned the boy, but not before gleefully torturing him and leaving him for dead on a garbage heap. Gruzzak struggled to survive, and found a home living on the streets, eventually making his way to the Shingles above the Bridgefront neighborhood of Old Korvosa. There among the city's poorest and most desperate individuals he lived for four years, making it by on scraps found in others' garbage and capturing and eating small animals, such as stray cats and rats. Due to the numerous carcasses the growing half-orc boy would leave behind him, he was nicknamed by the other denizens of the Shingles as 'Ratbone', a name he didn't like but has become accustomed to. With all that he had seen and been exposed to, Ratbone had developed a deep sense of right and wrong, and he found himself aligning with the former far more than the latter. Before long, this was noted by powers above, namely Kharash the Stalker, one of Talisid's fabled Five Companions. The great lupinal had a soft spot for children, and he ventured on to the Prime and approached the half-orc adolescent. Kharash convinced the youth to take up the cause of good, and in doing so also unlocked his natural druidic and shapeshifting talent. Due to hard living on the streets, the half-orc was physically fit and was very cunning. However, he had never been exposed to any sort of learning and had little ability to develop or comprehend complex plans , and due to his tortured youth and subsequent life as a vagrant he was in no way adept at social situations . The half-orc's ability as a druid was unrefined by any sort of formal training or apprenticeship, but due to his life in the Shingles he was extremely attentive and self-reliant. Ratbone pledged his service to Kharash and the Companions, and also vowed to protect the poor of Korvosa. Kharash told Ratbone that if he were to give up material wealth, then he would be further blessed and protected by the Powers of Good. Ratbone agreed. Since making his promise, Ratbone has taken it upon himself to act as the protector of the poor, weak, and innocent of Bridgefront, especially children. By day, Ratbone continues his life as just another 'bum on the streets', but at night he prowls the alleys of Bridgefront in the form of a large mongrel. One more than one occasion he has broken up a minor scofflaw or stopped muggings as they were occurring. As a result, minor rumors have started about the 'Guardian Hound of Bridgefront'. Against those he finds to be evil and needing to be stopped, Ratbone neither asks for nor receives quarter. Ratbone has recently started trying to learn of the whereabouts of Lamm, so that he might free the enslaved children and put an end to his evil.
Valeris Aquitaine, Human Duskblade
Valeris is a Varisian orphan who ran away to escape abuse, only to fall into the hands of Gaedren Lamm and become one of his "little lambs." For once in his life he loved his new position and really loved the freedom of taking what he wanted and doing what he wanted. With the exception of Gaedren, he had no one to boss him around. Once his powers started to surface, however, and Gaedren realized that he might one day grow into someone powerful enough to challenge him, the crime lord tortured and beat him unmercifully, leaving him for dead. Now all he lives for is to find Gaedren and kill him slowly to make him pay for what was done to him. Over the years he has hired himself out as anything from a guard or bouncer, to roughing up shopkeepers for protection money. When possible, he has tried to study magic at the Theumanexus College when he can come up with gold to pay for it.
Herc Stoneheart, Human Fighter
Stoneheart comes from a long line of fighters and bodyguards. He has been training with arms and armor from a young age and loves the spirit of battle and fighting. Herc prefers his longsword and a spiked shield, although he has trained with all arms and armor. He is always been strong, fairly acrobatic, and has decent intestinal fortitude, although like most of his family, he is not terribly bright or good looking. Still, he has seen some battles and knows the streets. His family has been exclusively employed by the various members of the Orisini family over the last 150+ years, and Herc had been serving as the bodyguard to Vencarlo's 2nd cousin Aberalo for about a year when Aberalo's son went missing. Aberalo suspects his son ran away, since he never received a ransom. Herc Stoneheart has vowed to find Aberalo's son. After all, he had been teaching the boy to fight and look out for himself. He blames himself for giving the lad too much confidence and Herc was not smart enough to instill the need for him to remain at home where it was safer. Herc has been knocking on doors and scouring the streets looking, and has recently gotten a bit of news that a boy similar to Aberalo's has been spotted with Gaedren "Little Lambs."
Katarina, Human Beguiler
Katarina is the daughter of one of Korvosa’s most prestigious Harrowers, the feytouched Varisian Mistress Ilga. Her father is a shameless Korvosan rake who serves as his wife’s “business manager.” While Mistress Ilga is singularly devoted to the Harrow as many are to their gods, her husband understands that those who approach fortune tellers may be taken advantage of just as easily as those religious fools. Katarina has two sisters: The oldest, Siouxsie, inherited her mother’s love of the Harrow. She is a skilled Harrower in her own right and is also a trained Varisian dancer. The youngest is Saryja, a dilettante who assumed all of her father’s larcenous tendencies. Siouxsie and Katarina share their mother’s fey heritage, long raven tresses and green eyes (Cha 14) , while Saryja keeps her chestnut hair cut short in the latest Korvosan style. Ilga trained Katarina and her sisters in the mystical art of the Harrow from a young age. Siouxsie embraced the Deck and grew in power, Saryja thought it was all a bunch of superstitious nonsense, but that their mother sure made a fortune by telling fortunes and it allowed Saryja to enjoy the decadent lifestyle she craved. Katarina was conflicted in her feelings. She acknowledged her mother’s powers with the Deck, but also saw the enormous power that lay in manipulating those who blindly believed every word from a soothsayer. Katarina was certainly capable of studying at the Acadamae. Unfortunately, the daughter of a Varisian Harrower – however famous – would never be accepted, so her father hired private tutors to further her studies. Her favorite tutor was charismatic young man named Tarim, and the two quickly developed a deeper relationship. Later, Tarim revealed to her that he really wasn’t a wizard at all, but a beguiler, somewhat limited in the magical arts, but gifted in many other ways. Tarim’s adventurous life quickly captivated the teenaged Kat, and she imitated everything he did. Tarim’s greatest frustration was the fact that he felt he couldn’t advance further due to his natural limitations, and he longed to impress his brilliant student and lover. He began to secretly experiment with various methods of achieving greater enlightenment. Finally, his search led him to try the dream-inducing street drug known as “shiver.” It didn’t take long for Tarim to become hooked, a fact he tried desperately to conceal from Katarina. His eventual overdose left the young beguiler in a coma and broke Katarina’s heart. It also made her mad. Mad at Tarim. Mad at “shiver”. Mad at the people responsible for the horrible drug - people who would have pay for what they had taken from her. Katarina has combined the powers of her Harrowing with her developing beguiler abilities to discover that a petty crime lord named Gaedren Lamm supplied Tarim with his “shiver.” She learned a lot of other nasty things about Lamm in her research, and now she’s ready to take him out.
Mandrake Sheekmore’: Human Paladin of Abadar
Mandrake never asked to be a paladin, never wanted it, in fact. The choice was taken from him, however, the day his brother, Petros, went missing. It was on that day that he had the Dream, or perhaps it was a vision. In it, Abadar spoke to him. How he knew it was Abadar, especially in light of the fact that he was agnostic, he couldn’t be sure. He just knew. The god told him where to find his brother. He had become addicted to the street drug shiver, and was holed up in the Dragon’s Breath Corridor, a drug house in Eel’s End. All that Abadar asked in return for this revelation was that Mandrake commit himself to the church body and soul. He didn’t explain why, except to say that his new paladin had been chosen for the turbulent times that lay ahead. When Mandrake woke, he set out immediately for Eel’s End. When he arrived at the Dragon’s Breath Corridor, however, he found that Petros had died in a drug-induced coma the night before, caused by a tainted batch of shiver. Once he had…persuaded…Bezzeraty, the proprietor of the Dragon’s Breath, the man had told him where the shiver had come from…a local crime lord by the name of Gaedren Lamm.
O’reginald Rijad: Human Sorcerer
O’reginald had been clean for sixty-four days, six hours and thirty-five minutes…yet he still craved shiver as if he’d last used yesterday. The young sorcerer had not always been thus. No, he’d once been a lesser scion of a minor noble house. True, he would never assume the role of patron of his clan, but still, he had prospects. When he first began to show an aptitude for magic, his family’s name had insured that he would gain admission to the prestigious Acadamae’…at least until it became apparent to all that his gifts were not of an academic nature. He was a sorcerer…a freak, born with a minor talent for the arcane that would never amount to anything of worth…or so he’d been told when his application to the college was torn up in front of him. To make matters worse, his father took his rejection by the school as a personal insult and embarrassment, one which he blamed on O’reginald. In no uncertain terms, he was informed that he was no longer welcome in his own home. He took to the streets, intending to use his skills to earn a modest living until he could come up with enough money to apply to Theumanexus College. As fate would have it, however, he fell in with a bad crowd during his travels thru the seedier sections of Korvosa, and it was thru his new friends that he first met Gaedren Lamm. It was thru Lamm that he was next introduced to shiver, and the rest, as they say, is history. His life began to rapidly spiral out of control from that point on, and he had faced many a debasement in his pursuit of the dragon. It was only as he sat by helplessly and watched his only friend, Petros, die in a fit of seizures that he realized that was the fate that awaited him if he didn’t get clean. Through a ferocious act of will, he endured days of sickness as he went through gut-wrenching withdrawals. Now, it had been over two months since he’d used, and he was determined that he would never watch another friend die to the drug that had almost consumed him. He knew that to kill a dragon, you had to cut off its head, and in Korvosa, the head of shiver was Gaedren Lamm.
THE EDGE OF ANARCHY
“I know what Gaedren has done to you. He has wronged me as well. I know where he dwells, yet cannot strike at him. Come to my home at 3 Lancet Street at sunset. Others like you will be there. Gaedren must face his fate, and justice must be done.”
A simple note, printed on the back of a Harrow card, yet it was the beginning of a series of events that would change the history of the city of Korvosa, and of Varisia itself. Six disparate souls found the cards in widely disparate locations: one while he rummaged through a trash bin in search of his latest meal; another hidden within her own Harrow deck; a third slipped into the straps of his shield; within the secret notes he studied in hopes of fulfilling his dream to become a mage; in his coin purse, which also served as the symbol of his god; and in the bottom of a hookah pipe, reminding him of a past he thought he’d escaped.
One-by-one they answered the call, unable to do otherwise. Their pasts demanded blood for blood. They gathered at the small fortune teller’s shop in the midtown district of Korvosa, their hostess not present as they began to file in. Two knew each other, for they had shared the same unhappy childhood at the hands of Gaedren Lamm, yet their lives had taken very different paths when they had finally won their freedom, and they simply stared at each other across the tiny sitting room, unsure of what to say. Likewise, the others had little to say, unsure of the motives of their fellow guests. They waited, and soon their hostess appeared, a handsome Varisian woman named Zellara. She made no introductions, but simply thanked her guests for coming and proceeded to tell them her tale. Gaedren Lamm had stolen her most valued possession from her: her mother’s Harrow deck. Her son went to Lamm to retrieve the deck, and was killed by the crime lord outright. Zellara found no help from law enforcement, and so relied on her own wits and skill with the Harrow. In time, she discovered one of Gaedren’s many hideouts, and discovered the names of others who harbored grudges against him as well. Thus her divinations had led her to call those before her, and to appeal to them for their aid in seeking vengeance against a common devil. There was no hesitation among those gathered in accepting her request. She thanked them, and before they left, she read the fortunes of each in the cards. All told a similar tale…a coming time of unrest and violence in the streets, and the role each of them would play as heroes to the city in its hour of greatest need.
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The old fishery that served as Gaedren Lamm’s current hideout had stood abandoned after its former owner was killed by a devilfish. Under Korvosan law, buildings abandoned under such circumstances automatically reverted to the city, to be held in escrow for two years. Even after this period, however, the local government was slow to handle such matters, and Gaedren often used this to his advantage, setting up shop in a previously abandoned shop for as long as possible before moving on to the next. Not only was the fishery a convenient headquarters, but it also served as a money-making scheme to supplement what was brought in by his pick-pocketing ‘Little Lambs.’ It was a place where desperate fishermen could sell of their less fetching catches, and where fishmongers could dump their old sun-tainted wares. Lamm’s workforce of enslaved orphans toiled among the guts and slime, creating a foul-smelling slurry that could be resold as bait, fertilizer, or the main ingredient for ‘fish dumplings,’ a local favorite among the poorer dock workers who couldn’t afford a fresh filet of fish.
Zellara’s enforcers made their way along the wharfs from her shop to the fishery, exchanging superficial courtesies along the way, but each harboring suspicions and misgivings about the motivations of his or her companions. By the time they arrived, it was well after sunset, and the building was closed up for the night. This did not deter them. Some of them had waited most of their lives for that moment, while others for a far shorter time, but they all had one thing in common: their desire to see Gaedren Lamm pay for his crimes was all-consuming. Without hesitation, the big warrior called Herc used his shield to batter in the front door. In the front room beyond, they surprised a very startled-looking, sour-faced man, dressed in out-of-date finery. He was speaking with a small boy, and slowly rising to its feet, a deep snarl in its throat, was a powerfully-built cur. Ratbone and Valeris instantly recognized the man: Yargin Balkro, Gaedren’s right-hand man and longest-lived accomplice. Both of them had suffered greatly at his hands during their time of indentured servitude, and those old memories left them in no mood to act with diplomacy. Growling low, Ratbone stalked forward in his mongrel form, his eyes not on the other dog, but on Yargin’s throat. He paused barely three steps into the room, however, as he recognized a familiar scent. Turning, he sniffed the air and for the first time, got a really good look at the boy. It was then that he realized it was not a boy that he was seeing, but instead it was a gnome disguised as a human child. This then was Hookshanks Gruller, Gaedren’s overseer and taskmaster, a cruel creature who took great delight in bullying those who were even smaller than himself. A fresh surge of anger coursed through Ratbone, and he lunged at Yargin, taking the man down in a flurry of snapping jaws and flashing teeth. When Yargin’s dog, Boo rushed for Ratbone’s flank, Herc stepped in, killing the mangy mongrel with one blow. Hookshanks began edging towards the door, begging the ‘grown-ups’ to save him. Before he could make the door, however, Ratbone was on him, much to the shock and horror of his companions, who thought the half-orc had gone insane with bloodlust, attacking a child like that. It was only after the gnome lay motionless on the floor and Ratbone, reverting to his normal form, showed them the nature of the disguise, that they understood and calmed themselves.
Despite Ratbone’s vicious attacks, Yargin and Hookshanks still drew breath, though Valeris was eager to remedy that situation. Mandrake, however, insisted that they be kept alive and taken to the proper authorities for justice. Reluctantly, the others agreed and the pair were bound and gagged and left in the room while the avengers moved deeper into the fishery. They encountered no one else until they came through a door onto a platform overlooking the fishery floor. There, over two-dozen grimy, wide-eyed children cowered among the catwalk supports as a burly half-orc railed at them and beat them with a heavy-wooden flail, ordering them to kill the trespassers, all while he giggled maniacally. Valeris and Ratbone recognized yet another of Gaedren’s cronies: Mr. Giggles, a border-line insane brute who helped Hookshanks squeeze every minute of work they could from the orphans. Terrified as they obviously were of the half-orc, the children did not move to obey his maddened commands, which only enraged him further. As he raised his flail to strike again, however, Valeris and Ratbone were upon him, and this time, they were more thorough in their tactics, and Mr. Giggles did not rise from the widening pool of blood that surrounded him. Afterwards, Mandrake told the children to flee, and they didn’t hesitate, running like rats from a sinking ship. Several of them paused, however, as they passed the tied up pair in the front room. Katarina, who had silently followed the children to make sure they made good their escape, was the only one to bear witness as they drew small knives from their tunics and quickly slit the throats of Yargin and Hookshanks.
Moored to the pier behind the fishery, was the rotten hulk of an ancient barge called Kraken’s Folly. When the six companions found no trace of Gaedren within the fishery itself, they made their way to the boat. Within its dilapidated hulk, they found only a small colony of spiders the size of large cats. Once they had dealt with the vermin, however, Ratbone’s sharp eyes picked out a well-hidden door in the side of the hull. Upon opening it, they found a floating underpier beneath the main pier above. It lead to a lower level of the fishery that was not visible from street level. Within, they found a large, low-ceilinged, open area, with a sizeable hole in the floor overlooking the stinking river below. Standing on the far side of this room was Gaedren Lamm himself. He was a jaundiced, bent corpse of a man, his eyes yellowed and his skin speckled from age. His left leg carried a pronounced limp as he shuffled about, and he wore only a gray, cotton robe. When he saw the intruders, he merely sneered, for he recognized each one of them and knew why they had come. He taunted them each, cruelly and without mercy. He spoke of Ratbone and how he should have fed him to the sharks when he’d first found the half-breed. Valeris, his most promising pupil, was an ingrate in his eyes and deserved to have been left in a garbage bin. Herc, he told laughingly, was too late to save his charge. The boy, according to Lamm, had died just the day before. Mandrake and Katarina he chided for their choices of weak-willed family and lovers, so easily swayed by the offer of a little shiver. And speaking of shiver, he held a small vile out towards O’reginald, tempting the former addict with a bit of hair of the dog. Lastly, he spoke of Zellara, telling them he knew that she’d sent them, then remarking on her beauty and saying how he couldn’t bear to feed her to his ‘pet.’ He went on to say that she was in the next room if they wanted to see her, bringing looks of puzzlement and concern to their faces. No words were spoken as they fanned out around the hole in the floor, coming at Lamm from both flanks. Before they could reach him, however, a large crocodile lunged, roaring and snapping out of the river. This was Gobblegut, Gaedren’s pet, to whom he’d fed any number of his enemies and charges who’d displeased him. Still, such was the pent up rage and frustration of those assembled, that Valeris slew the croc single-handedly, while Ratbone tore out Gaedren’s throat himself.
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Strangely, Gaedren’s death brought no satisfaction, and his final taunt weighed heavily on the minds of the six. When they entered the small office off the main chamber, they discovered amid the filth and refuse a strongbox, and a small, wooden hatbox surrounded by a cloud of flies. Within the strongbox was an assortment of Gaedren’s more prized acquisitions. Most of these were minor trinkets of small value, but one was an exquisitely-crafted brooch depicting a pseudodragon and an imp coiled around each other. The dragon’s eye was an amethyst, while the imp’s was an emerald. It’s value was incalculable, yet even more shocking was the marking on its back…the personal insignia of Queen Ileosa herself!
A larger, and more horrifying shock, however, still lay within the hatbox. When Katarina cautiously lifted the lid, she gasped as she saw the severed head of Zellara nestled within. It was poorly preserved and decorated with unsightly makeup in a crude attempt to give its sagging flesh the semblance of life. Beneath the ragged stump of the neck, lay the fortune teller’s Harrow deck.
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The would-be heroes made their quickly back to Zellara’s shop, but when they arrived there, they found it abandoned, looking as if it had been so for weeks. No sign of food, wall hangings, rugs or Zellara herself could be found, and the furniture was smashed to pieces. No sooner had they entered, however, than Katarina felt a strange warmth emanating from her pocket. When she reached in and withdrew Zellara’s Harrow deck, she saw that it was glowing with a pale, silvery light. The glow grew until it formed the outline of a woman, Zellara, looking ghostly and translucent. She apologized for having deceived them, but explained that when she had gone after Gaedren, seeking revenge for her son’s death, she had only found her own doom there. Such was her desire for vengeance, however, that her spirit had lived on and contacted each of them. She thanked them for giving her peace, and explained that she now bequeathed her most prized possession, her deck, to them. She explained that, through it, she could continue to offer them her guidance and her wisdom. They had only to call.
When they emerged once more from Zellara’s shop, it became immediately apparent that something terrible had happened. Korvosa was in flames. Smoke rose on the horizon. The frantic clang of alarm bells sang out in harmony with a multifarious cacophony of screams, the clash of steel on steel, moans, and even the periodic detonation of arcane power. A wing of Sable Company griffon riders swooped overhead, angling toward Castle Korvosa at a breakneck pace. One of the badly wounded mounts rained blood down on the street around them before it succumbed and crashed headlong into a statue, taking its rider and itself to a bone-crunching demise. The others in the flight did not pause to check on their fallen ally. Amid the chaos, the voice of a Korvosan herald cut through the din: “The king is dead! Long live the queen!” only to be shouted down by the ragged cries of “Hang the queen!” and “The usurper whore must die!” Through an alleyway, they even spotted a contingent of hellknights clad in dark iron armor and horned helms pursuing a small gang of what appeared to be looters. The city had gone mad while the heroes had battled Gaedren in his lair.
THE EDGE OF ANARCHY
'Ratbone', Half-Orc Druid of The Five Companions
* 'Ratbone' was born in the Mindspin Mountains in a small tribe of half-orc barbarians of Shoanti descent. Having been shunned by their human ancestors generations before, the tribe's founders set out on their own and started a small village where they could farm, hunt, and forage in relative peace (for a tribe of half-orcs). Ratbone's given name was Gruzzak Stonesmasher, and his parents both served the village as tribal shamans. When Gruzzak was 10 years old, the village was raided by a group of Chelish slavers, and the entire tribe was either captured or killed. Among the captured was Gruzzak's father and seven of his ten siblings. Among the dead were his mother and the remaining three siblings. Upon delivery to the slave masters, Gruzzak and his family were separated, and he has no idea as to their whereabouts, or even if any of them are still alive. Through an intermediary associated with the Korvosan black markets, Gruzzak was sold to Gaedren Lamm, whereby he became one of his 'Little Lambs'. For four years, he suffered under the depredations of the petty criminal. When Gruzzak had reached the age of 14 (the point where he no longer appeared as an innocent child) Gaedren abandoned the boy, but not before gleefully torturing him and leaving him for dead on a garbage heap. Gruzzak struggled to survive, and found a home living on the streets, eventually making his way to the Shingles above the Bridgefront neighborhood of Old Korvosa. There among the city's poorest and most desperate individuals he lived for four years, making it by on scraps found in others' garbage and capturing and eating small animals, such as stray cats and rats. Due to the numerous carcasses the growing half-orc boy would leave behind him, he was nicknamed by the other denizens of the Shingles as 'Ratbone', a name he didn't like but has become accustomed to. With all that he had seen and been exposed to, Ratbone had developed a deep sense of right and wrong, and he found himself aligning with the former far more than the latter. Before long, this was noted by powers above, namely Kharash the Stalker, one of Talisid's fabled Five Companions. The great lupinal had a soft spot for children, and he ventured on to the Prime and approached the half-orc adolescent. Kharash convinced the youth to take up the cause of good, and in doing so also unlocked his natural druidic and shapeshifting talent. Due to hard living on the streets, the half-orc was physically fit and was very cunning. However, he had never been exposed to any sort of learning and had little ability to develop or comprehend complex plans , and due to his tortured youth and subsequent life as a vagrant he was in no way adept at social situations . The half-orc's ability as a druid was unrefined by any sort of formal training or apprenticeship, but due to his life in the Shingles he was extremely attentive and self-reliant. Ratbone pledged his service to Kharash and the Companions, and also vowed to protect the poor of Korvosa. Kharash told Ratbone that if he were to give up material wealth, then he would be further blessed and protected by the Powers of Good. Ratbone agreed. Since making his promise, Ratbone has taken it upon himself to act as the protector of the poor, weak, and innocent of Bridgefront, especially children. By day, Ratbone continues his life as just another 'bum on the streets', but at night he prowls the alleys of Bridgefront in the form of a large mongrel. One more than one occasion he has broken up a minor scofflaw or stopped muggings as they were occurring. As a result, minor rumors have started about the 'Guardian Hound of Bridgefront'. Against those he finds to be evil and needing to be stopped, Ratbone neither asks for nor receives quarter. Ratbone has recently started trying to learn of the whereabouts of Lamm, so that he might free the enslaved children and put an end to his evil.
Valeris Aquitaine, Human Duskblade
Valeris is a Varisian orphan who ran away to escape abuse, only to fall into the hands of Gaedren Lamm and become one of his "little lambs." For once in his life he loved his new position and really loved the freedom of taking what he wanted and doing what he wanted. With the exception of Gaedren, he had no one to boss him around. Once his powers started to surface, however, and Gaedren realized that he might one day grow into someone powerful enough to challenge him, the crime lord tortured and beat him unmercifully, leaving him for dead. Now all he lives for is to find Gaedren and kill him slowly to make him pay for what was done to him. Over the years he has hired himself out as anything from a guard or bouncer, to roughing up shopkeepers for protection money. When possible, he has tried to study magic at the Theumanexus College when he can come up with gold to pay for it.
Herc Stoneheart, Human Fighter
Stoneheart comes from a long line of fighters and bodyguards. He has been training with arms and armor from a young age and loves the spirit of battle and fighting. Herc prefers his longsword and a spiked shield, although he has trained with all arms and armor. He is always been strong, fairly acrobatic, and has decent intestinal fortitude, although like most of his family, he is not terribly bright or good looking. Still, he has seen some battles and knows the streets. His family has been exclusively employed by the various members of the Orisini family over the last 150+ years, and Herc had been serving as the bodyguard to Vencarlo's 2nd cousin Aberalo for about a year when Aberalo's son went missing. Aberalo suspects his son ran away, since he never received a ransom. Herc Stoneheart has vowed to find Aberalo's son. After all, he had been teaching the boy to fight and look out for himself. He blames himself for giving the lad too much confidence and Herc was not smart enough to instill the need for him to remain at home where it was safer. Herc has been knocking on doors and scouring the streets looking, and has recently gotten a bit of news that a boy similar to Aberalo's has been spotted with Gaedren "Little Lambs."
Katarina, Human Beguiler
Katarina is the daughter of one of Korvosa’s most prestigious Harrowers, the feytouched Varisian Mistress Ilga. Her father is a shameless Korvosan rake who serves as his wife’s “business manager.” While Mistress Ilga is singularly devoted to the Harrow as many are to their gods, her husband understands that those who approach fortune tellers may be taken advantage of just as easily as those religious fools. Katarina has two sisters: The oldest, Siouxsie, inherited her mother’s love of the Harrow. She is a skilled Harrower in her own right and is also a trained Varisian dancer. The youngest is Saryja, a dilettante who assumed all of her father’s larcenous tendencies. Siouxsie and Katarina share their mother’s fey heritage, long raven tresses and green eyes (Cha 14) , while Saryja keeps her chestnut hair cut short in the latest Korvosan style. Ilga trained Katarina and her sisters in the mystical art of the Harrow from a young age. Siouxsie embraced the Deck and grew in power, Saryja thought it was all a bunch of superstitious nonsense, but that their mother sure made a fortune by telling fortunes and it allowed Saryja to enjoy the decadent lifestyle she craved. Katarina was conflicted in her feelings. She acknowledged her mother’s powers with the Deck, but also saw the enormous power that lay in manipulating those who blindly believed every word from a soothsayer. Katarina was certainly capable of studying at the Acadamae. Unfortunately, the daughter of a Varisian Harrower – however famous – would never be accepted, so her father hired private tutors to further her studies. Her favorite tutor was charismatic young man named Tarim, and the two quickly developed a deeper relationship. Later, Tarim revealed to her that he really wasn’t a wizard at all, but a beguiler, somewhat limited in the magical arts, but gifted in many other ways. Tarim’s adventurous life quickly captivated the teenaged Kat, and she imitated everything he did. Tarim’s greatest frustration was the fact that he felt he couldn’t advance further due to his natural limitations, and he longed to impress his brilliant student and lover. He began to secretly experiment with various methods of achieving greater enlightenment. Finally, his search led him to try the dream-inducing street drug known as “shiver.” It didn’t take long for Tarim to become hooked, a fact he tried desperately to conceal from Katarina. His eventual overdose left the young beguiler in a coma and broke Katarina’s heart. It also made her mad. Mad at Tarim. Mad at “shiver”. Mad at the people responsible for the horrible drug - people who would have pay for what they had taken from her. Katarina has combined the powers of her Harrowing with her developing beguiler abilities to discover that a petty crime lord named Gaedren Lamm supplied Tarim with his “shiver.” She learned a lot of other nasty things about Lamm in her research, and now she’s ready to take him out.
Mandrake Sheekmore’: Human Paladin of Abadar
Mandrake never asked to be a paladin, never wanted it, in fact. The choice was taken from him, however, the day his brother, Petros, went missing. It was on that day that he had the Dream, or perhaps it was a vision. In it, Abadar spoke to him. How he knew it was Abadar, especially in light of the fact that he was agnostic, he couldn’t be sure. He just knew. The god told him where to find his brother. He had become addicted to the street drug shiver, and was holed up in the Dragon’s Breath Corridor, a drug house in Eel’s End. All that Abadar asked in return for this revelation was that Mandrake commit himself to the church body and soul. He didn’t explain why, except to say that his new paladin had been chosen for the turbulent times that lay ahead. When Mandrake woke, he set out immediately for Eel’s End. When he arrived at the Dragon’s Breath Corridor, however, he found that Petros had died in a drug-induced coma the night before, caused by a tainted batch of shiver. Once he had…persuaded…Bezzeraty, the proprietor of the Dragon’s Breath, the man had told him where the shiver had come from…a local crime lord by the name of Gaedren Lamm.
O’reginald Rijad: Human Sorcerer
O’reginald had been clean for sixty-four days, six hours and thirty-five minutes…yet he still craved shiver as if he’d last used yesterday. The young sorcerer had not always been thus. No, he’d once been a lesser scion of a minor noble house. True, he would never assume the role of patron of his clan, but still, he had prospects. When he first began to show an aptitude for magic, his family’s name had insured that he would gain admission to the prestigious Acadamae’…at least until it became apparent to all that his gifts were not of an academic nature. He was a sorcerer…a freak, born with a minor talent for the arcane that would never amount to anything of worth…or so he’d been told when his application to the college was torn up in front of him. To make matters worse, his father took his rejection by the school as a personal insult and embarrassment, one which he blamed on O’reginald. In no uncertain terms, he was informed that he was no longer welcome in his own home. He took to the streets, intending to use his skills to earn a modest living until he could come up with enough money to apply to Theumanexus College. As fate would have it, however, he fell in with a bad crowd during his travels thru the seedier sections of Korvosa, and it was thru his new friends that he first met Gaedren Lamm. It was thru Lamm that he was next introduced to shiver, and the rest, as they say, is history. His life began to rapidly spiral out of control from that point on, and he had faced many a debasement in his pursuit of the dragon. It was only as he sat by helplessly and watched his only friend, Petros, die in a fit of seizures that he realized that was the fate that awaited him if he didn’t get clean. Through a ferocious act of will, he endured days of sickness as he went through gut-wrenching withdrawals. Now, it had been over two months since he’d used, and he was determined that he would never watch another friend die to the drug that had almost consumed him. He knew that to kill a dragon, you had to cut off its head, and in Korvosa, the head of shiver was Gaedren Lamm.
THE EDGE OF ANARCHY
“I know what Gaedren has done to you. He has wronged me as well. I know where he dwells, yet cannot strike at him. Come to my home at 3 Lancet Street at sunset. Others like you will be there. Gaedren must face his fate, and justice must be done.”
A simple note, printed on the back of a Harrow card, yet it was the beginning of a series of events that would change the history of the city of Korvosa, and of Varisia itself. Six disparate souls found the cards in widely disparate locations: one while he rummaged through a trash bin in search of his latest meal; another hidden within her own Harrow deck; a third slipped into the straps of his shield; within the secret notes he studied in hopes of fulfilling his dream to become a mage; in his coin purse, which also served as the symbol of his god; and in the bottom of a hookah pipe, reminding him of a past he thought he’d escaped.
One-by-one they answered the call, unable to do otherwise. Their pasts demanded blood for blood. They gathered at the small fortune teller’s shop in the midtown district of Korvosa, their hostess not present as they began to file in. Two knew each other, for they had shared the same unhappy childhood at the hands of Gaedren Lamm, yet their lives had taken very different paths when they had finally won their freedom, and they simply stared at each other across the tiny sitting room, unsure of what to say. Likewise, the others had little to say, unsure of the motives of their fellow guests. They waited, and soon their hostess appeared, a handsome Varisian woman named Zellara. She made no introductions, but simply thanked her guests for coming and proceeded to tell them her tale. Gaedren Lamm had stolen her most valued possession from her: her mother’s Harrow deck. Her son went to Lamm to retrieve the deck, and was killed by the crime lord outright. Zellara found no help from law enforcement, and so relied on her own wits and skill with the Harrow. In time, she discovered one of Gaedren’s many hideouts, and discovered the names of others who harbored grudges against him as well. Thus her divinations had led her to call those before her, and to appeal to them for their aid in seeking vengeance against a common devil. There was no hesitation among those gathered in accepting her request. She thanked them, and before they left, she read the fortunes of each in the cards. All told a similar tale…a coming time of unrest and violence in the streets, and the role each of them would play as heroes to the city in its hour of greatest need.
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The old fishery that served as Gaedren Lamm’s current hideout had stood abandoned after its former owner was killed by a devilfish. Under Korvosan law, buildings abandoned under such circumstances automatically reverted to the city, to be held in escrow for two years. Even after this period, however, the local government was slow to handle such matters, and Gaedren often used this to his advantage, setting up shop in a previously abandoned shop for as long as possible before moving on to the next. Not only was the fishery a convenient headquarters, but it also served as a money-making scheme to supplement what was brought in by his pick-pocketing ‘Little Lambs.’ It was a place where desperate fishermen could sell of their less fetching catches, and where fishmongers could dump their old sun-tainted wares. Lamm’s workforce of enslaved orphans toiled among the guts and slime, creating a foul-smelling slurry that could be resold as bait, fertilizer, or the main ingredient for ‘fish dumplings,’ a local favorite among the poorer dock workers who couldn’t afford a fresh filet of fish.
Zellara’s enforcers made their way along the wharfs from her shop to the fishery, exchanging superficial courtesies along the way, but each harboring suspicions and misgivings about the motivations of his or her companions. By the time they arrived, it was well after sunset, and the building was closed up for the night. This did not deter them. Some of them had waited most of their lives for that moment, while others for a far shorter time, but they all had one thing in common: their desire to see Gaedren Lamm pay for his crimes was all-consuming. Without hesitation, the big warrior called Herc used his shield to batter in the front door. In the front room beyond, they surprised a very startled-looking, sour-faced man, dressed in out-of-date finery. He was speaking with a small boy, and slowly rising to its feet, a deep snarl in its throat, was a powerfully-built cur. Ratbone and Valeris instantly recognized the man: Yargin Balkro, Gaedren’s right-hand man and longest-lived accomplice. Both of them had suffered greatly at his hands during their time of indentured servitude, and those old memories left them in no mood to act with diplomacy. Growling low, Ratbone stalked forward in his mongrel form, his eyes not on the other dog, but on Yargin’s throat. He paused barely three steps into the room, however, as he recognized a familiar scent. Turning, he sniffed the air and for the first time, got a really good look at the boy. It was then that he realized it was not a boy that he was seeing, but instead it was a gnome disguised as a human child. This then was Hookshanks Gruller, Gaedren’s overseer and taskmaster, a cruel creature who took great delight in bullying those who were even smaller than himself. A fresh surge of anger coursed through Ratbone, and he lunged at Yargin, taking the man down in a flurry of snapping jaws and flashing teeth. When Yargin’s dog, Boo rushed for Ratbone’s flank, Herc stepped in, killing the mangy mongrel with one blow. Hookshanks began edging towards the door, begging the ‘grown-ups’ to save him. Before he could make the door, however, Ratbone was on him, much to the shock and horror of his companions, who thought the half-orc had gone insane with bloodlust, attacking a child like that. It was only after the gnome lay motionless on the floor and Ratbone, reverting to his normal form, showed them the nature of the disguise, that they understood and calmed themselves.
Despite Ratbone’s vicious attacks, Yargin and Hookshanks still drew breath, though Valeris was eager to remedy that situation. Mandrake, however, insisted that they be kept alive and taken to the proper authorities for justice. Reluctantly, the others agreed and the pair were bound and gagged and left in the room while the avengers moved deeper into the fishery. They encountered no one else until they came through a door onto a platform overlooking the fishery floor. There, over two-dozen grimy, wide-eyed children cowered among the catwalk supports as a burly half-orc railed at them and beat them with a heavy-wooden flail, ordering them to kill the trespassers, all while he giggled maniacally. Valeris and Ratbone recognized yet another of Gaedren’s cronies: Mr. Giggles, a border-line insane brute who helped Hookshanks squeeze every minute of work they could from the orphans. Terrified as they obviously were of the half-orc, the children did not move to obey his maddened commands, which only enraged him further. As he raised his flail to strike again, however, Valeris and Ratbone were upon him, and this time, they were more thorough in their tactics, and Mr. Giggles did not rise from the widening pool of blood that surrounded him. Afterwards, Mandrake told the children to flee, and they didn’t hesitate, running like rats from a sinking ship. Several of them paused, however, as they passed the tied up pair in the front room. Katarina, who had silently followed the children to make sure they made good their escape, was the only one to bear witness as they drew small knives from their tunics and quickly slit the throats of Yargin and Hookshanks.
Moored to the pier behind the fishery, was the rotten hulk of an ancient barge called Kraken’s Folly. When the six companions found no trace of Gaedren within the fishery itself, they made their way to the boat. Within its dilapidated hulk, they found only a small colony of spiders the size of large cats. Once they had dealt with the vermin, however, Ratbone’s sharp eyes picked out a well-hidden door in the side of the hull. Upon opening it, they found a floating underpier beneath the main pier above. It lead to a lower level of the fishery that was not visible from street level. Within, they found a large, low-ceilinged, open area, with a sizeable hole in the floor overlooking the stinking river below. Standing on the far side of this room was Gaedren Lamm himself. He was a jaundiced, bent corpse of a man, his eyes yellowed and his skin speckled from age. His left leg carried a pronounced limp as he shuffled about, and he wore only a gray, cotton robe. When he saw the intruders, he merely sneered, for he recognized each one of them and knew why they had come. He taunted them each, cruelly and without mercy. He spoke of Ratbone and how he should have fed him to the sharks when he’d first found the half-breed. Valeris, his most promising pupil, was an ingrate in his eyes and deserved to have been left in a garbage bin. Herc, he told laughingly, was too late to save his charge. The boy, according to Lamm, had died just the day before. Mandrake and Katarina he chided for their choices of weak-willed family and lovers, so easily swayed by the offer of a little shiver. And speaking of shiver, he held a small vile out towards O’reginald, tempting the former addict with a bit of hair of the dog. Lastly, he spoke of Zellara, telling them he knew that she’d sent them, then remarking on her beauty and saying how he couldn’t bear to feed her to his ‘pet.’ He went on to say that she was in the next room if they wanted to see her, bringing looks of puzzlement and concern to their faces. No words were spoken as they fanned out around the hole in the floor, coming at Lamm from both flanks. Before they could reach him, however, a large crocodile lunged, roaring and snapping out of the river. This was Gobblegut, Gaedren’s pet, to whom he’d fed any number of his enemies and charges who’d displeased him. Still, such was the pent up rage and frustration of those assembled, that Valeris slew the croc single-handedly, while Ratbone tore out Gaedren’s throat himself.
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Strangely, Gaedren’s death brought no satisfaction, and his final taunt weighed heavily on the minds of the six. When they entered the small office off the main chamber, they discovered amid the filth and refuse a strongbox, and a small, wooden hatbox surrounded by a cloud of flies. Within the strongbox was an assortment of Gaedren’s more prized acquisitions. Most of these were minor trinkets of small value, but one was an exquisitely-crafted brooch depicting a pseudodragon and an imp coiled around each other. The dragon’s eye was an amethyst, while the imp’s was an emerald. It’s value was incalculable, yet even more shocking was the marking on its back…the personal insignia of Queen Ileosa herself!
A larger, and more horrifying shock, however, still lay within the hatbox. When Katarina cautiously lifted the lid, she gasped as she saw the severed head of Zellara nestled within. It was poorly preserved and decorated with unsightly makeup in a crude attempt to give its sagging flesh the semblance of life. Beneath the ragged stump of the neck, lay the fortune teller’s Harrow deck.
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The would-be heroes made their quickly back to Zellara’s shop, but when they arrived there, they found it abandoned, looking as if it had been so for weeks. No sign of food, wall hangings, rugs or Zellara herself could be found, and the furniture was smashed to pieces. No sooner had they entered, however, than Katarina felt a strange warmth emanating from her pocket. When she reached in and withdrew Zellara’s Harrow deck, she saw that it was glowing with a pale, silvery light. The glow grew until it formed the outline of a woman, Zellara, looking ghostly and translucent. She apologized for having deceived them, but explained that when she had gone after Gaedren, seeking revenge for her son’s death, she had only found her own doom there. Such was her desire for vengeance, however, that her spirit had lived on and contacted each of them. She thanked them for giving her peace, and explained that she now bequeathed her most prized possession, her deck, to them. She explained that, through it, she could continue to offer them her guidance and her wisdom. They had only to call.
When they emerged once more from Zellara’s shop, it became immediately apparent that something terrible had happened. Korvosa was in flames. Smoke rose on the horizon. The frantic clang of alarm bells sang out in harmony with a multifarious cacophony of screams, the clash of steel on steel, moans, and even the periodic detonation of arcane power. A wing of Sable Company griffon riders swooped overhead, angling toward Castle Korvosa at a breakneck pace. One of the badly wounded mounts rained blood down on the street around them before it succumbed and crashed headlong into a statue, taking its rider and itself to a bone-crunching demise. The others in the flight did not pause to check on their fallen ally. Amid the chaos, the voice of a Korvosan herald cut through the din: “The king is dead! Long live the queen!” only to be shouted down by the ragged cries of “Hang the queen!” and “The usurper whore must die!” Through an alleyway, they even spotted a contingent of hellknights clad in dark iron armor and horned helms pursuing a small gang of what appeared to be looters. The city had gone mad while the heroes had battled Gaedren in his lair.
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![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
