07-08-2012

Meetup
The story goes that the party met up at the Three Rings and to discuss what action to take after the discovery that the Queen were involved in the plague. The discussion was whether they wanted to confront the queen or find a way to make the cure? Reading the aquired alchemy documents, Tosti concludes that it would probably take about a week to manufacture a sample cure based on the information in the documents.

They also discussed visiting Old Korvosa and try to locate Blackjack, since he took such a public stance against the Queen but Old Korvosa is quarentined and still under the yoke of Blood Veil.

Night Party
As a measure of goodwill toward the party, Tayce Soldado arranges a party where the native Varisians grant each party member a small gift and Jamroar steals some gold. Later in the evening, they meet with representives of Korvosas merchants who grant each party member a Coin of Favor.

Splitting the party
The day begins with Ethain having taken off, explaining that Desna called on him to travel and he was sure they would meet again. He also left a few of his items for the partys use. (List TBA)

Jamorar gets a letter from an old friend from the Cerulean Society, Ticor, requesting to meet him. The party decides to split up and Zyriel, Xian and Jamroar goes to meet him, while Tosti continues to brew the cure for Blood Veil and Kyeran stays behind in case anything happens.

Ticor talks about how Old Korvosa are now split up into 3 areas, Fort Korvosa, under Arkona control, Garrison Hill, where the Cerulean holds a presence, and the rest under the so-called Emperor of Old Korvosa.

When they prepare to depart, a Gray Maiden patrol arrives and tries to arrest Ticor. Jamroar opens their Eversmoking Bottle and in the cover of smoke they escape across a wall.

Meanwhile, Tosti is ambushed by two mysterious shadows who claim they were sent by Rolth, and Tosti is injured, but he and Kyeran chase them off.

Visiting Castle Volshenyk
The next day the party recieved a letter to come to Castle Volshenyk, where they are honored by being officially deputiced as members of the Korvosan Guard. As a reward each are allowed to take weapons and armor from the armory.

Back out in the courtyard, they are greeted by Ishani, who are negociating a deal for magical curation and other supplies to be sent from Kaer Maga and he need 5000 gp now from the party or the deal will fall through. Included are also the ingredients necessary for mass production for the cure against Blood Veil. The heroes accepts and go on their way after being profusely thanked by Ishani and Kroft.

The Mysterious Stanger
A few days afterwards Tosti sits in the bar where he is approached by a hooded man, who asks him a few questions about the immunity to Blood Veil in certain Varisians. They talk for a few minutes and the man gives Tosti a few papers with teoretical discussions about the plague, which help him finish the cure a day earlier.

Message from Vencarlo
A message is recieved from Vencarlo, who has gone underground.

The text is simply: "In Old Korvosa. Decisive news! Kroft will contact you"

The party is unsure what to do, but decides to lay off any forays in Old Korvosa until the cure was complete and nothing can threaten its spread.

The Cure
After about 6 days, Tosti is able to destill a working cure.

During the development and study of the captured documents, a number of interesting bits of information show up.
 * Specific Varisians, and almost exclusively Varisians, exhibit immunity to Blood Veil
 * The notes make it clear that only Blood Veil is affected. None of the subjects mentioned was immune to anything else and several died testing this.
 * There are several references to something refered to as Vorel’s Phage
 * Blood Veil seems to have been specifically created to target the victims Constitution to lower their resistance against the disease
 * There are several groups of siblings in the test subjects, all of them where either none or all were immune
 * Great care was taken to lengthen the time where the disease was infectious but not in outbreak, effectively weaponizing it.
 * The resistance seems to have magical roots as none of the usual techniques for lowering disease resistance seems to have worked at all.
 * Rolth (also known as Rosti) was working on a strain that turned its victims into zombies on death, which was showing great potential.
 * Vorel’s Phage is the viral root of Blood Veil and seems to have come from somewhere up the Varisian Coast, though its specific location is not mentioned anywhere
 * Both Rolth and Devaulus seems to have been working on a theory that Vorel’s Phage are somehow linked to the immunity, but had barely touched on the subject when you invaded.

Saviors
After the cure is discovered and beginning to percolate out in the city, another award ceremony invitation arrives, this time from the court.

At a public ceremony, the Queen gives a speech (which are sensed to be somewhat grudging) praising the heroes, declaring them the Saviors of the City (which translates to a permanent +2 bonus to Bluff and Diplomacy against citizens of Korvosa) and granting each a writ, good for a royal credit of 5000 gp, for any purchase in the city.

The Purge of the Sable Company
A week or so after the ceremony, the heroes are enjoying their new fame and sharing a round of drinks at the Five Rings, when a man bursts in. He turns out to be Jotakar Raeland, a close friend and advisor for Marcus Thalassinus Endrin. He explains that Marcus is dead after an assassination attempt on the Queen that went horribly awry. The Queen then declared the entirety of the Company traitors against the city and has ordered every single marine arrested. Treason carries the death penalty, and many convictions are being carried out at places of arrest. All protests have so far are been met with massacre. The last bit of information is prehaps the most shocking: Zyriel is the highest ranking officer still left alive and if there still is a Sable Company, Zyriel is in charge.

A group of Gray Maidens smashes down the door and a fight ensues. After dispatching the Maidens, the heroes, now wanted criminals, flee to a Cerulean Society hideout and meets Ticar and, most surprisingly, Cressida Kroft herself. She confides in the party her loss of faith in the queen, her fear towards moving against the Queen after what happens to Marcus, tells them that Vencarlo had asked for them to come to Old Korvosa, begs them to leave the city after they are done in there and promises to look after their remaining friends and relatives.