KORVOSAN CARRIER
WEALDAY, SARENITH 17th, 4708

ROYAL TREASURY IN CASTLE KORVOSA FOUND EMPTY

The royal treasury has been looted by an unknown party. An incredible sum of wealth has simply disappeared. The royal house is now in default, which would be a huge problem for them, but they're all dead or missing. Instead, it's merely a huge problem for everyone else. Speculation runs wild in the streets. Was this Ileosa's plan all along? Was she really the gold digger they all originally suspected she was? She's not dead and she can't be located and she hired a foreign wizard as seneschal. Very suspicious. The Bank would've loved to use this opportunity as a reminder to keep your money with them and not in your castle. Unfortunately, they had a break in only two weeks ago. Reminding everyone their money might not be safe is a bad idea.

Did Morgethai run off with it? Archmages can just... do that, can't they. Was she just being polite all this time? If she's known to have stolen the treasury, she probably causes herself some problems. Can an archmage find... whatever you call a fence when it's for the treasury of Korvosa? Probably. Will they actually keep her secrets, though. Is an archmage's wealth really constrained only by how easily she can transmute money into less obvious money. What a ridiculous position to be in.

(Could it have been someone else? If one of Togomor and Ileosa escaped and is in hiding, they could have run off with it. Same constraint. It could have just been looted by the guards when they had nobody to report to. That would be... exceptionally human of them. Not impossible. There are options besides Morgethai.)

Anyway. Anyone who loaned money to the Arabastis is in trouble. They must have had some assets with the Bank, but she has no idea how those will be paid out, if at all. Not her field of expertise. Who would that likely be? She can't do anything herself, but it's always worth knowing who is in a vulnerable position and might accept a gift without contemplating it in depth. Worth hunting down if she has the time.

Does she have the time? Any mail for her today?

She has one letter waiting for her at the Bank. It's from the Office of Spells at the Korvosan Guard. They request her presence at Citadel Volshyenek, today if possible.

She doesn't have anything else urgent. To Citadel Volshyenek she goes.

Citadel Volshyenek is busy and overworked. It's just been one thing after another recently. The receptionist will led Tencednil pass. She knows the way to the Office of Spells.

She does! Can she find her new supervisor once she gets there? She hasn't spent as much time around him as she had around Navarro, but he's large and she has always had a good memory for faces.

She finds Paras in a side room down the hall from the main Office of Spells. He smiles when she walks in. "Tencednil. It's good to see you here with us today."

"What with the everything happening, I thought a hand might be helpful. And it's always important in times of disaster to show someone's still keeping order!" That last sentence is spoken rhythmically, as if she is quoting someone, and she finishes with a clap and a nod.

"If I'm going to help the guard at all, now is the right time. Do you have a specific mission, or am I just here to be visibly official? I can do either!" She's definitely a little more bouncy at the thought of a specific mission, and her gaze drops for a moment at the mention that she can do either. It's not false, but that doesn't necessarily mean she's happy about it.

"I do have a specific mission. We've lost more men beneath the city. Something is wrong beneath Old Korvosa. I suspect the blood veil agitated things down there more than we initially realized. We're running a recovery expedition."

Even without the announcement going down? Hopefully it will be less bad, at least. 

"That sounds good! I can't carry people very well, but I can definitely help with getting there and finding people. Oh, I can see in the dark about sixty feet, and in lantern light about twice as far as a human. And Lhín here can detect most things if they get close." She's slightly abashed as she says this, as if she should have said it earlier. Would this have changed anything? She'll never know, but not sharing information does seem stupid.

(This actually wasn't intended. Having a day to look into the painter wasn't a problem, but if she should have been down there yesterday and she missed something because she forgot to update her new contact with the guard on how she's useful, that would be dumb. Concealing her sight doesn't actually help anything, anyone who knows how drow work won't be surprised. It was just a mistake.)

"That will be very useful. Thank you for informing me. Are there any other skills you possess that might be relevant?"

"Ummm. I don't think so?" She taps her lips, thinking for a moment. "I have Message, that might matter."

He nods. "We will be leaving later today. Probably within an hour, but it might be longer. Feel free to wait here or back in the main room."

"Alright! ... ooh, is there anyone else already here who I can meet?" She's grinning at the thought.

There are some members of Paras's squad around. They're less reserved than Navarro's two squads were. Friendly, if nothing else.

She happily spends her hour talking to them, getting to know them, and introducing herself and the abilities she's shared with the Guard. No healers means things could go very wrong. Oh well, that's how it goes. Everyone is overstretched, the churches if anything more than average with the plague still going around.

Soon enough, the captain gathers everyone in the side room. One captain, four skilled guardsmen, and one sorcerer. "Our mission today is recon and recovery. Yesterday, one of our less experienced squads descended beneath Fort Korvosa as escort for a maintenance job and did not return. We will grab the afternoon's blessing of the watch and figure out what befell our men. Ideally, we return here with a larger group than we have now."

By now, she's introduced herself to everyone, gone over the easy tactical implications of her own abilities, and has a quick summary of their own. The guard's training is remarkably consistent. That may not be a good thing, but it's a thing she has to plan for. Their reach, at least, will be useful against anyone small enough to really fit in the sewers.

"Okay! We don't have a healer, and I know that means it's important to stay safe but I don't know the Guard protocols." A little sheepish, apologetic. "If there is something dangerous down there, and you're not available for some reason, when should we cut our losses and try to retreat?"

"I have a wand of infernal healing. We should retreat if we encounter undead. We're not equipped to handle them. The Church of Pharasma helped us clear out some ghouls and seal the entrance they came through, so I don't expect any more. I think our group can handle many of the typical beasts."

She perks up. "Oh! Oh good, that's alright then. I also have some training in using magic items, and I know Infernal Healing is supposed to come naturally to some sorcerers."

A glance aside. "...I don't know if it'll work for me or not, I've never tried. I've never had the money to buy one. But the Guard does!" Bright smiling again.

"Our funding is running low with everything that's happened, but we have stockpiles and other resources available to us. The blessing of the watch is in around ten minutes. Follow me."

He begins leading them out of the Office of Spells.

Even after all they got out of the cult? More of the costs must be falling on the Guard than she realized. 

She follows, seamlessly stepping in between two of the guards who were sniping at each other a bit. It shouldn't matter, but it's still better that they don't grate at each other on the way. Some competitiveness is fine, arguing with they're about to be in the dark sewers where humans can't see well is somewhat more of a risk.

Paras leads them down through the Citadel to the outdoor staging area. Over the next few minutes, many guardsmen join them. A cleric of Abadar gives them the blessing of the watch.

The guardsmen disperse. Tencednil's squad walks up through Midland and North Point and crosses the bridge into Garrison Hill. They enter Fort Korvosa soon after.

Fort Korvosa is a mostly abandoned moldering citadel. The tall stone walls surrounding the ward are unmaintained and slowly crumble away. The only active residences within this desolate place is Palace Arkona and its attendant infrastructure.

This is where the Arkonas live? Not looking like they're spending on themselves might be helpful with their charity efforts, but the social costs of... living in the middle of an unmaintained crumbling fort... are bad! They've always seemed reasonably attentive to their public image!

Well, they probably have a reason. They spend too much thought on this for it to be entirely accidental. She's baffled as to what that purpose might be, though.