Book 2, Chapter 1: A Damsel in Distress

Tider makes the symbol of Pharasama with his fingers, tracing the spiral in the air by way of greeting. "Hey! Bishop!" He listens to her words with something approaching reverence, managing to keep his fidgeting down to the barest of minimums. "Yeah, that tracks." He says after she finishes explaining the nature of vampires. "It would be that the nobles screw it up for anything else. You said cooperation with the guard? I take it you don't mean those grey warden ladies?"

"I am referring to the Korvosan Guard, of course" the Bishop answers Tider, before turning her attention to Brackit. "You have already established a channel between our organizations by coming to me with these news. We know of this master vampire's presence now. We know what to be on the lookout for, and anything that surfaces, we'll alert the Guard. Likewise, should you need to face any more undead while in service of Guard and City, do not hesitate to seek the support of our faith. I'll instruct my people to share their knowledge and give you access to our full resources."

Tider knows the Pharasmins are generally a faith that doesn't involve itself with politics, in general and specifically in Korvosa. Their role is usually limited to providing funeral services and preventing any undead from spilling out into the rest of the city, so for the Bishop to not simply take action against a vampire but also suggest cooperation with the Korvosan Guard is a bit off brand.

Abe is also aware of the faith's role in the city, but some form of coordination makes sense to him if they're up against a master vampire. That is an unusual and highly intelligent undead, nothing like the zombies, skeletons and ghosts the Pharasmians are usually up against.

It is Brackit who combines all the information in his head to form the bigger picture. Abadar, god of cities, civilization and commerce is the main religious power in the city, but from his recent experiences, the temple is locked up tight like the vault it is and magical treatment of Blood Veil comes at a hefty price, all due to the faith's tenets of course. Asmodeans, who usually keep their head down and concern themselves with formalities, are collecting blood samples at the queen's behest. Were it not for her directive, people might have thought they were about to conduct some blood ritual, but even so, the purpose and details of this initiative remains unknown beyond the general "find a cure for the plague". And speaking of the queen's polarising figure, the newly formed Grey Maidens report directly to her. The Korvosan Guard on the other hand, as a historical remnant/evolution of the regiment that originally founded Korvosa as a military outpost, supposedly looks out for the good of the city first and foremost. That's not wishful thinking either, as there have been documented occasions where the Guard stood up against a monarch they regarded as going directly against the best interests of Korvosa. Does this mean the Guard and Maidens are headed for a clash eventually? Maybe it means the Bishop does not trust the queen in this? Whatever it is, this is a case of Pharasma's faith going out of their way and taking a stand in all this. The hows and whys might be uncertain, but Brackit surely understands the Bishop's cautiousness and desire to keep this involvement under wraps, at least for now.

As everything starts to click together, Brackit narrows his eyes and nods at the Bishop. "I believe I understand very well. And...I venture to add that we will be most discreet regarding our conversation and any aid you can provide in the future. We thank you, Bishop." He bows his head with utmost politeness, understanding the uncharacteristic step the Bishop is making by offer such aid. He takes out a scrap of paper and writes down the address of Zellara's home. "Should you wish or need our assistance, this is where we've been staying. Needless to say, sometimes it could be best to get a message to us without going through the guard - skip the middle man, so to speak, particularly if its urgent."

He looks to the others, "Shall we make our way back then? I suppose we have some time to pass before we get our next assignment."

"Bishop, Milady, Your Phantasmalness," Tider doesn't actually know her proper title. "Are you telling me that you want us to establish a informal partnership between the Church and the Korovosan Guard to conduct anti-Vampiric operations? Because I'm totally behind that, but if you want me to do it, I'll need a fancier hat."

"That is... one way to put it, yes" the Bishop says with a slight smile. "This master vampire poses a serious and insidious threat that I feel should be dealt in such manner."

As they make their way out, Brackit asks, "Well, we have the day ahead of us. What are you all going to do?"

"I'm going to stick with whoever's not that busy and try to get up to speed. I know about Lamm and it seems you're friendly with Field Marshall Creasida Kroft, but the Bishop and background politics and all that... Something tells me you're involved in a lot more than I initially caught wind of."

"So.... I'm totally down to kill the master vampire. Do any of us know where he is? Or any ideas on where to start looking? Like, is there another place where bodies have gone missing?"

"Hmm," Brackit intones, "I think we let the Church of Pharasma help us with that. The bishop all but said they'd keep their ears open for news on any Master Vampire problem that might be around, but I don't know if we have much more to go on at this time. Might be worth hitting the taverns and listening for some rumors?"

Tider grabs Brackit by the shoulders and looks him dead in the eye. "Sir. Are you asking this teenager to come to the pub with you? Because I accept. But not in a weird way. In an irresponsible way."

"Hey, thats the spirit! Some ale, some music, and we'll just keep our ears open for some stories and information. I know a place not far from where we're holing up, stinks like a gutter but serves the best meat pies you've had this side of Lake Encarthan."

He looks to Abe, "You know the place. Joing us? You too, Kayden."

"I'll pass and go see my contact about news on the streets." Abe means to go see his girlfriend, Zuuna.

At Zuuna's request, Abe meets her at the Wise Dragon Inn, a popular hangout for Acadamae people situated very close to the campus. With the Acadamae still locked down, the place is empty, quiet and prices have dropped considerably. However, Zuuna also gives Abe another reason why she picked this place: Old Korvosa, the poorer and more destitute part of the city, seems to have been hit the hardest from the plague and she wants to avoid that part of town as much as she can.

"It just makes me so mad, meanwhile some of the nobles down in Southern Korvosa are 'fighting' Blood Veil by hosting exclusive shut-ins where they and their friends wall up in a manor to wait the plague out during a days-long party! Interesting story though, remember Deyanira? Chorus girl at the Marbledome? Pretty standard Varisian looks, her brother also plays the ocarina at the 'dome's orchestra? Anyway, I ran into her the other day and her brother, Ruan, got invited to be part of the band at one of these parties, some private masquerade down Carowyn Manor. Pretty good pay too, though he might be doing more than just music if they personally sent out to request him, if you know what I mean. So, Deyanira told me her brother didn't return the following day, I told her hey, maybe they kept him to sleep over, not like the plague's going away in one night, lucky bastard gets to be holed up with the bluebloods while people die in the streets. And then she burst in tears and told me she went to the manor to check up on him, but it was not only closed, the doors were locked, curtains were drawn and not a single sound, as if it were abandoned. I felt sorry for the poor girl, so I told her I might know someone connected to the Guard that might help, but she told me she's been petitioning at the Citadel since and clearly this is too minor of an issue for the Guard to tackle what with the plague and all."

Brackit and Tider head up to the Three Rings Tavern in North Point. The elf chats up Tauk Par at the entrance to find out that here too, business has been in rapid decline due to the plague. Knowing that, it takes some sweet talking on Brackit's side to convince the establishment's owner, Theandra Darklight, to let him perform. The usually quiet tavern could use something to lift the ambient mood and hopefully revenue as well.

Indeed, between songs, few of the patrons do send the occasional complementary Varisian sweetbread or a Gebbite cream-filled pastry his way, which creates an opening for him to join their tables during his break. Politics seems to be the topic of choice for patrons of the Three Rings Tavern. At first, it's subjects the gnome is pretty familiar with: Doctor Dauvalus, being the Queen's personal physician in Cheliax seems to be considered a saviour or a hack depending on what a speaker thinks of her majesty. The Physicians seem to enjoy a perception of being helpful, or at least trying to assist battle Blood Veil. The Grey Maidens are seen as either more troops to help in this situation or a spreading out of the city's forces and resources too thin across several organizations, though some criticize the existing organizations for failing to help thus far, some even rumored about to give up and disband. Already, Arbiter Zenobia Zenderholm has let the Maidens take over the Longacre Building and faded into the background, with some seeing this as assissting the troops while others discredit her for turning her back on tradition, or even being paid off by the crown to commit treason. And she's not the only one who hasn't been seen in a story that apparently has ties to the crown. Castle Korvosa's seneschal, Neolandus Kalepopolis, who has been missing since some time after the death of the late king Eodred IV, has been replaced and it wasn't by Marcus Thalassinus Endrin, Commandant of the Sable Company, who was next in line to succeed him, but by an obese man by the name of Togomor. No one knows much about him since he came over from the walled city of Kaer Maga, but word around is that he's more than just fat, he's actually a bloatmage!

All this political talk is dead boring for Tider, who insted finds himself involved in a much more exciting discussion: are the wererats in Korvosa's sewers a thing or just a story told to keep children from misbehaving? Well, it certainly seems to be the former, because few days ago, some folks in Midland found one prowling in an alley and killed it. Word spread like wildfire and now there's mobs of people (mostly drunk dockworkers) heading into the sewers to eliminate the beasts, believing them to be the source of the plague.