Five people come together in a small house in Third Lancet Street in the Harbour District. Each of them has been given a card from a Harrow Deck, and each is invited because of a grudge against the petty crime lord Gaedren Lamm.
When all five have arrived, a Varisian woman makes her entrance. Her name is Zellara. Her valuable Harrow Deck was stolen by one of Gaedrens little Lamms and when her son Eran went to retrieve it, Gaedren murdered him. Because of this, Zellara wants revenge, and she has gathered these five people to help her.
These are us:
Lauren
Jenny Thorngage
Piousa
Ulfgard Gorunn
Victor Reeves
Zellara offers us a Harrow reading, which contains the following cards and message:
| 1. Bear | 4. Desert | 7. Idiot |
| 2. Midwife | 5. Publican | 8. Carnaval |
| 3. Forge | 6. Courtesean | 9. Paladin |
1. Bear: Symbolizes the genesis of Korvosa by means of brute strength and strong rulers, the good the city has brought
2. Midwife: We have gained access to information which will change our lives
3. Forge: We need to overcome our differences to become a unified group
4. Desert: We will embark on a (physical) journey which will bring us growth (especially useful for the halfling and the dwarf! :p)
5. Publican: We will find friendship, despite our differences
6. Courtesean: There is alot of plotting in the city, all powered by a female force
7. Idiot: By pretending to be stupid you can remain out of reach of your enemies
8. Carnaval: Unrealistic dreams and plans will not be realized
9. Paladin: We will run into trouble if we are not flexible
The woman gives us the address of Gaedren himself: West Pier 17, “The Old Fishery”. She leaves and we concoct a plan.
We decide to start with observing the fishery, to learn more of what goes on there. Jenny and Victor keep watch during the day, and Lauren and Ulfgard during the night. The next day we meet up at Piousas place to discuss our findings.
Our observations have shown that there is a double cargo door at the north side which is open the entire day, the entrance on the west is unused, we have not been able to observe the south. Except for children, unloading the fishy remains of the carts, and the cart drivers, the fishery is visited by a wealthy looking man. Jenny follows him to an old decrepit shop further down the docks, and he returns to the fishery later.
Based on these findings our plan goes like this:
1. Lauren seduces the cart driver away from the cart. Ulfgard knocks him down and we use the cart to drive up to the fishery.
2. Once there, we offer the children candy, spiked with a laxative, to make sure they won’t get in our way.
3. We enter the base and hope for the best.
The first phase goes as planned. Piousa hides under the fish waste, while Ulfgard and Victor drive the cart. Lauren and Jenny remain outside, waiting for our signal to come in.
We talk our way into the cargo room. A gnome accepts a piece of laxative candy. Just when he wants to pay the usual fee, one of the children finds Piousas leg underneath the fish. The gnome immediately attacks Victor. Combat ensues. Halfway through, the wealthy man enters the combat area and whips out a wand. It fails critically and is about to explode. Lauren runs for cover, Piousa uses the gnome as a shield, Victor dives for the wand and throws it into a sludgy pool and Jenny backstabs the man. The wand explodes, covering everything with disgusting fish waste.
Finally the wealthy guy goes down from an arrow. The dwarf digs up one of the remaining children from under a pile of waste. An orc enters the room and beats down Piousa. The dwarf kills him with a few mighty blows.
The child tells us the name of the wealthy man is Balkow and he orders the children around. Down below the fishery are more rooms where another 6 children are working. The child runs off once we let him go.
After searching the upper level and tying the gnome and Balkow to two bunks we find, we explore the rest of the fishery. We find and free the other children and after some more searching, aided by the little knowledge the children have, we discover a passage to yet another lower level.
After we pass a shark, we enter the room where we confront Gaedren Lamm. And his pet crocodile (a gruesome creature). We manage to kill both in a fierce battle but nearly lose Victor and Lauren.
We find some spoils and Ulfgard and Jenny run off to trade a gold ingot they found for healing potions. They discover the gnome has (presumably) killed Balkow and run off. When they reach the outside, there is a huge uproar in the city: the King has died and Ileosa is crowned Queen, but alot of people disagree with her. Jenny and Ulfgard manage to get a hold of two healing potions and rush back.
In the meanwhile, Piousa has searched Gaedrens quarters and she has found an old hat box with the head of Zellara and her Harrow Deck in it. She seems to be dead quite some time already, despite the fact we talked to her two days ago.
When the two return Lauren and Victor are revived. Victor, who loves Harrow Decks, studies Zellara’s deck. When he holds the Vision card, Zellara speaks and asks for her deck to be brought home.
The group makes their way through the riots in the streets to the house where they met Zellara. When they arrive, they notice it’s been abandoned for while. Zellara appears and explains that her son was indeed killed by Gaedren. She herself went to him to demand justice, but he killed her also. Her Harrow Deck is powerful artefact and through it she can communicate, and identify.
She asks for the group to bury her head next to the roads entering the city, the roads her people always travelled, and bestows her Deck as a gift unto the group.
Between the loot the group found in Gaedrens quarters, they also discovered a marriage ring with the inscription “Lavinia, light of my nights”. This ring belonged to Jennys father, and it confirms his death.
————————————– the end of session 1 ———————————-
loot list with Ulfgards appraisal:
teak cigar case, inlaid with jade 15GP
miniature gold crown 350GP
kraken carving with garnet eyes 200GP
succubi statue 450GP
abalone, holy symbol of Shaelin 300GP
Crystalline vial 50GP
Brooch with the coat of arms of the Queen: 900GP
MW dagger
MW hand crossbow
Tags: gaedren lamm, harrow deck, zellara