8 - The Boys are Back in Town

Staggering home to the House of Crows after a night of pleasant revelry at the Black Cat, the party found themselves in the midst of a deadly street ambush. Ill equipped for combat and facing three heavily armed men, they did well to escape with their lives. That they did so reflects both stout resistance and the Grace of God. It seems that at least one of the assailants could not stomach the slaying of a man of God and fled in the face of Father Arturo’s righteous ire. Meanwhile at the other end of the alley in which they were penned Astore kept a pavissiere at bay and disrupted the crossbowman’s opportunities to shoot. Marco was knocked unconscious and Fra Giovanni was pierced in the arm by bolt.

On their return to the House of Crows, the party took stock and realised that their attackers must be the Fratelli Pozzoli, returned from the service of King Robert in Naples, seeking revenge for the dreadful assault on their mother last year. They conclude that while they may have seen this attempt off that they may anticipate others in the future. Their pleas for assistance from Cola fall on deaf ears. He plainly considers the assault on Esmerelda Pozzoli to be inconsistent with the public image he wishes to present. They resolve to hire some muscle to guard the House of Crows at night and left it at that.

Once recovered from their wounds they turn once more to exploring the passages under the House of Crows that stretch off into the darkness below the city. There they discover that they are not alone in having an access point into this secret network of tunnels, encountering a set of steps leading up to a doorway that is clearly guarded by both men and dogs. In another area they fish a body out of a watercourse, only to find it occupied by some kind of spectral creature that is exorcised by Father Arturo – though not before it has latched onto Fra Giovanni to feed upon his life-force. It is banished just in time. They feed him a Restorative and help him home.

7 - A Cloacal Exploration

At the urging of Cola, the party (Marco, Rocco, Astore, Fra. Giovanni and Father Arturo) occupy the House of the Crows, change the locks and hire a crew to clean-up and renovate (including disposal of the necromantic detritus of the previous occupant).

After a few days they decide to explore the route by which Caltagirone and his servitor escaped and find themselves in what they deem to the ancient sewers of Rome. They generally explore "upstream", systematically checking the narrow side passages they have hostile encounters with some kind of undead and a horde of vicious rats with a half-human rat-mother.

In a larger tunnel they encounter three rather unsavoury looking ladies, disporting themselves upon a huge pile of detritus upon which there shines a shaft of bright sunlight from above. Led by Rocco, who offers the ladies a flask of wine, they enter into pleasant discourse with them (to notes of disapproval from Father Arturo). They introduce themselves as Aglaia, Euphrosyne and Thallia. Upon parting, Aglaia takes a pebble which she reaches up to bathe in the weak sunlight above. She hands it to Rocco who can see that it glows with a steady light. Arturo advises him to throw it away both other voices in the party suggest that this is a useful thing and should be retained. Rocco retains it.

When they later describe the encounter to Cola, he raises an eyebrow. "The Three Graces. How fascinating".

6 - The House of the Crow

Noli, the manservant of Matteo Corsini, seeks out Marco, Rocco, Astore, Fra Giovanni and Father Arturo at the Gatto Nero. It seems that the Scimioni Volanti – the Flying Monkeys - still haunt the streets of Rome at night. Were the party interested in following up and trying further to disrupt or destroy this evil? He had heard a rumour that the Thirteen were offering a bounty on these creatures.

Noli had been studying the ledger from the ruined mansion on the Quirinale where they had previously thwarted the plot to sacrifice a virgin and summon a demon. He had tried to contact some of the merchants named in the ledger. So far none had any clear recollection of their transactions, though it was plain that they had delivered goods and services. None had been paid. None could remember the person with whom they had dealt. To Noli’s mind this was evidence of some sort of sorcery in play.

Father Arturo and Noli set off to see if they glean something more from the merchants with further questioning and the help of the Lord. After a few days of this activity – and a number of slammed doors – they found a name, clearly a pseudonym – Corvo – that came up a few times. Just one witness, a merchant named Borromeo, could furnish a tentative link to a genuine name – Aristofane Caltagirone. Meanwhile the others returned to the Quirinale where they found little but glimpsed a flying monkey and noted the vector of its flight southward towards the Viminal Hill.

Taking their discoveries to Cola di Rienzo who confirmed that the Thirteen were taking an interest. He told them that the Caltagironi were an ancient family fallen on hard times in the last century. Their coat-of-arms featured three crows. He suggested looking for old buildings that bore this sign. Following the vector of the flying monkey they eventually found a palazzo displaying three carved crows on the northern slopes of the Viminali.

Joined by Matteo Corsini, they use his resources to rent an apartment nearby and set a watch, while making discreet enquiries locally. They observe a pattern of regular deliveries of supplies to indicate that the palazzo was indeed occupied. They form a plan to gain entry disguised as delivery men and bribe the real vendors to use their cart.

The plan succeeds and they burst into a courtyard. A sharp fight ensues with a couple of misshapen servitors, some necromantic constructs and three flying monkeys. One of the servitors – a hunchback with one disproportionately long, muscular arm – escapes and bars a door against them. They dispose of their opponents: the necromantic constructs dismembered; two demons slain and a third banished by Father Arturo; the second servitor, a slow witted giant with mismatched legs called Grumio, is captured.

They break down the barred door, to find the other servitor and presumably his master fled. A series of hidden doors are opened to reveal a secret laboratory and an exit which they speculate might lead to the ancient tunnels rumoured to lie beneath the city. They find a deal of glassware, including some strange liquids and a few scrolls. There is an ice-store with a number of human body parts in it and an iron cage surrounded by engraved sigils on the floor. They leave with scrolls, glassware and two demon corpses.

Grumio, who wails endlessly for his master is left in possession of the apartment that Corsini rented in order to watch the Caltagirone place.