Imperial currency
1 gold crown = 20 silver shillings = 240 brass pennies
1 shilling = 12 pennies
Notation: 1GC = 20/- = 240d
So
12GC 17/9 = 12 crowns, 17 shillings and 9 pence
6/- = 6 shillings only
6/4 = 6 shillings and 4 pence
5d = 5 pence only
I would like to use my luck as there is no need for violence.....
"Good man let me invite you to another beer and apologize sincerely for th mishap!"
Klaus still holds on to the stein ready to turn the face of the bald man into a bloody ruin.
The thief struggles up to his knees, blood pouring from his broken nose. He grabs the two shillings Heinrich threw to him, stands and scurries off, muttering 'Ranald bless you sir."
The armour stall owner looks at Heinrich with a trace of respect. Nevertheless, he refuses to lower the price on the helm. "I can't sell that for no less than 10. But I got another one as might suit." He rummages around under the counter and produces another sallet helm. This one is less well-made, but clearly more than solid enough. It's been painted black to prevent rust. "6 crowns for this one. Special price for you."
The man looks surprised. "What for, you got two heads pal? Still, your choice. I'll sell you the pair for 12 crowns."
Heinrich is fairly sure he's made a good buy here. But he's spend most of his money.
[are you ready to head to the court, and are you going alone?]
The clerk's jaw drops. He looks down at the coin in his hand, seemingly unable to speak. When he finds his voice at last, he says, "You - you are willing to pay this derelict's fine? I suppose justice is satisfied then - Pietr! Go and let the dwarf out of the stocks. Tell him his fine is paid and he's free to go." One of the guards nods and heads outside.
"Now, if you are finished wasting your time and money on dwarfs, I suggest you get on with looking for your target. Good day to you." The clerk turns away, taking the gold coin to the court's money chest.
Heinrich now notices that Mortus has come into the court.
"The dwarf outside hailed me as I went past," Mortus replies with a strange glint in her eye. "I thought I would investigate the case, and you, what reason have you for being here?"
Mortus takes the paper and reads it.
"Honest work," she says, laughing. "You want a hand looking for him?"
[cannon and commandant]
Heinrich and Mortus leave the tent and step back into the afternoon sunshine. Gottri Gurnisson has been released, and comes up to them with a wide smile on his filthy face. "Sir, miss, thank you for your kindness!" he exclaims, "it is truly wonderful to find such charity in this unfriendly town. Can I do anything to repay you?"
The young thief has also been released, his punishment completed. He is staggering away towards the fair, his shirt in his hand, his back criss-crossed with bloody welts. Heinrich has seen enough of the law to know the punishment was relatively lenient - it is not uncommon for thieves to face mutilation or even execution for lesser thefts than the boy had committed.
Mortus will make her way through the crowd to the table of the hooded man to try and get a look at him.
Mortus will make her way through the crowd to the table of the hooded man to try and get a look at him.
The man is doing his best to keep his face hidden, but Mortus thinks she can see pox scars on his cheeks.
Heinrich quickly draws his bow and shoots at the hooded man... but the arrow flies past him and embeds itself in a building across the street.
[BS 58, to hit roll = 92]
The man drops jumps into the hole and is lost to sight.
Mortus glances at Heinrich.
"I would rather not go into the sewers," she says. "It is bad enough that you have already had a dunking and smell like crap. If you are interested though I will cash the reward slip." She pauses, considering.
"How do you suggest spliting the reward?" she asks.
[So, what are you doing exactly?]
[he's in the sewer so you won't find him! But I suppose you don't know that yet.]
Heinrich goes to the freakshow first, which is very close to the Festival Court. He asks Doctor Malthusius (who he saw promoting the show earlier in the day) about the missing goblin. The doctor describes the creature thoroughly, explains how it escaped, and shows Heinrich the breathing hole leading to the sewer that it escaped down. He notices traces of greenish blood on the broken bars of the grill over the hole. Since the goblin is clearly injured, it will have left a good trail to follow.
"I'm very grateful to you for helping to look for my specimen," the doctor says, " but I should tell you I've already hired someone else - he started the search quite oon after the escape, so I'd imagine he's deep in the sewer by now. He's a dwarf engineer called Julian - uh - Stonebridge, I think."
[cannon]
"Hmmm," the doctor says, "I'm not sure. I expect he would have used the closest manhole to the breathing hole the goblin went down. I can't say I've ever noticed where they are though - they aren't the kind of thing you look at! I expect if you go in by the postern gate and ask around, you'll find it easily enough.
The hole the goblin went through is ridiculously small - it would take a contortionist to get in that way (or a three legged goblin, apparently).
[cannon]
Heinrich gets a lot of suspicious looks as he asks passers by where the nearest manhole cover is, but at length a narrow-faced man points him in the right direction and he finds it. He can see that the cover has been moved recently, and on levering it open he discovers that a ladder has been left leading into the shaft. This must be the way Julian went.
Lighting his lantern [if you don't have one, let's assume you bought one before going down here! It's dark], Heinrich descends into the sewers. He finds himself at a three-way intersection. He can tell that one of the passages leads in the rough direction of the breathing hole.
Does Heinrich hear Klaus' unmanly cries?
Julian then checks the maps to see what is above the crate filled room.
“Let’s follow the Goblin’s trail. From all those crates it doesn’t look like these boys will be moving anytime soon. I think we should put the key back where it was, so they don’t realize anyone knows they have been found.”Heinrich nods. He carefully closes and locks the door, and replaces the key where he found it, then sets off with Julian to find the gobbo.
Julian then checks the maps to see what is above the crate filled room.
"I can open the door, but it might be noisy... What do you think Heinrich?"
Julian checks his maps, and determines that the room is under a building on Kaufman Strasse, in the commerical district and close to the Adel Ring (where the town's richest people live). The map does not show what the building is.
Do it.....and I think after that we should leave for the exit....taking that handkerchief with us if there are guards or demon worshipers around they might overtake us.
Hmm....it looks like the goblin was vital for the ritual to summon the demon, could you tell me what it looked like as I have never in my life seen a demon....well only the coloured glass ones in the churches. I wonder if we should investigate a bit more how it came that the goblin broke free. The person who needed its blood might be the person who set it free to escape in the first place.
Max best you take a rest and if a fight should erupt flee and get more help....here take the candle.
"But Heinrich.....a witcher being able to summon demons most likely is a dangerous foe perhaps we should get some help before confronting the villain. Hmmm so they are nothing at all like the churchglass demons, those have wings and long sharp teeth....and two eyes."
"What are you doing" Julian exclaims angrily "a few candlesticks isn't going to prove anything, we needed to take as much as we could. Let's get out of here"
I suppose that Julian and Heinrich will make their way to the aforementioned inn where we might sleep?
I suppose that Julian and Heinrich will make their way to the aforementioned inn where we might sleep?
[Up to you! Maybe you want to go elsewhere. Mortus is with you also.]
Mortus is pleased to see them return. She is walking over to them when Klaus leaves again carrying max.
"Here have some more wine," she says to the others. "We might as well wait for Klaus to come back and you can tell me of your adventures."
'Hmm, I don't mind what we do. I want to buy some equipment, but need our reward first. Some food and ale wouldn't go amiss'
Mortus sips her wine and her body tenses slightly. She takes another sip, deeper this time, almost a gulp and clanks the glass down on the table. WIne sloshes over her the rim and over her hand. She drags in a deep breath.
"Unholy creature," she says. "What sort of unholy creature? There are unholy creatures here. Have you told the guard? Do you know who summoned it? Is that why max is injured? We you injured? or Klaus? or Julian?" Mortus' voice is getting slighlty higher pitched with each word. She graps her glass again, emptying half of its contents over the table and her shirt and gulping down the rest. After she has drank she seems calmer. "I am sorry," she says. "I just met an unholy creature in Nordland once and have no desire to meet another." She fills her glass again and any others that are empty. Pausing to draw breath she calls over the innkeeper and orders more of the wonderful stew that she had earlier. the she gives Heinrich a small leather bag containing his 20 gold coins from the earlier reward
Mortus smiles weakly.
"No it is me who is sorry," she says. "I think I over reacted. In the north unholy has such a strong meaning. I am glad you are all safe. I have a room booked for us not far from here." She sips her wine again and that seems to steady her. "So what manner of monster is the world a safer place from now?"
ooc rufus, I'm unsure if this pub is nearer to the sewer man's office, or the festival? Julian will want to go to the nearest one first. so switch the order of what I am about to say.
[Everyone is going to the town hall then?]
[Cannon and Max]
Max looks uncharacteristically angry. "Would you help me track them down, Heinrich? I want my money back!"
[Cannon and Max]
The innkeeper looks astonished that Heinrich has dared lay hands on him. His face twists into an expression of defiance, "I am an innocent party in this matter! Remove your hand or I will call for the watch."
The thought noticeably passes across his mind that the watch wouldn't arrive soon enough to save him from whatever Heinrich might do... and Heinrich looks like he means business.
"However, I am an honest businessman, and I do not want the flawless reputation of the Journey's End sullied in this fashion. And - as I was about to say, before you decided to threaten me quite needlessly - the young gentleman's effects sold for a sum significantly in excess of his bill. I would be delighted to refund the difference. Would 12 crowns be acceptable? Ah, and one of my son's shirts, to fill your immediate need."
"Oh, yes indeed!" Max says, "That's awfully good of you, sir. I'm sure I paid a lot more than that for my things, but you really don't have to pay me anything, so that's a very fair offer. And I don't mind so much not having a shirt, since it's so hot outside, but it is a bit embarrassing being without one. I'm very grateful to your son for giving up one of his shirts for me... perhaps I should pay for it, out of the money you are refunding me?"
Max insists on paying the innkeeper one crown for the shirt. It's white and not that new, but it's clean enough and in good condition. Max puts it on, wincing as the cloth touches his injured chest. It's rather too big for him, but it's a definite improvement.
"Thank you so much, Heinrich! I hope we catch up with those so-called friends of mine. Will you accept any money for your help? I hate to be a burden."
They leave the inn and head through the east gate, into the fair. Max suggests they try the beer tent first. It's already packed - so much so that there are groups of people standing outside the tent with their drinks. Max spots his university friends at once: four young men dressed in extremely colourful clothes, enthusiastically working their way through large tankards of beer.
"That's them," Max tells Heinrich, "Albrecht, Erhard, Barthel, and Georg."
One of the men sees Max, and points him out to the others. "Hey, look boys, Max is back! The hero returns! Did you slay the dragon?" The others laugh.
Max's face turns red. "I want my money back, you bastards! I've found some new friends who treat me like a real person instead of a mascot, and I'm not going to take your insults any more!"
The students laugh even harder.
Klaus seems to be very happy that the affair went so well for Heinrich and Max, as he knows how fickle the imperial law can be. A foul mood of the magistrate would have been enough for Heinrich and Max being walked off to the stocks. Now he is very intent to leave the scene to not attract more attention to the group. Upon the offer of Max to receive 15 crowns his smile broadens even more, just as he considers taking the money he hears Heinrich making his.....friendship speech. For a moment his eyes dart from Max to Heinrich and back again.
"Well of course Heinrich is right. True friends do things like that every day, Max you really should learn to choose your friends more wisely. Those guys, your fellow students were no true friends. They exploited you wherever they could. Now Heinrich and of course me too only have the best of you in our interest, and I am pretty sure you see it the same way. I am sure at some point in the future we will need the help of you as dire as you needed ours and then....you as a true friend will be there to help us out. Therefore I won´t take those 10 crowns, but I gladly take those 5 crowns as compensation for the physician." As Klaus accepts the money he also explains on the way out how he wants to try to get access to one of the Barons underlings to try to gain the attention of the Baron on the unholy actions that go on in the city of Bogenhafen, in hope to gain support and protection of the local Lord.
Julian wishes to buy a pipe and a shield.
(Armour seems not worth it? )
Max listens attentively to Julian's every word. "Thank you, Mr. Julian sir! I'll buy the axe you think is best, sir, and I'll get some proper shoes and some new breeches too! I want some like Klaus's, or Heinrich's. And a helmet and a shield and a leather vest.
"Heinrich," he says, "which bow should I get? There are so many to choose from!"
Julian needs to go to the town hall to get the reward from the clerk.
"Heinrich, Mr. Julian, I'm really worried about Klaus," Max says. "Shall we split up and look for him?"
(is 3 enough for a few pints? )
Can he make an Intelligence test to check out what would be the smartest thing to do?
“so, do we make a mess? We could try and blame industrial sabotage” In the mean time Julian inspects the room thoroughly, but without making a mess.
Heinrich can hear a noise coming from somewhere nearby! He listens carefully, trying to judge the direction: it's coming from a room next to the door that connects the courtyard to the street. The doorman's office? Someone is in there!
For a split second Julian hesitates- then the harsh reality of the situation sets in.
This man might be innocent. But he is working for a demon worshipper, so he might not be.
Furthermore, If he and Heinrich are caught all of Bogenhafen will be destroyed. This man must not escape. He must die so they can save the town.
Julian lifts his axe and hammer, and axes the fuck out of him.
"I hope that Ruggbroder will at least listen to us... he might offer a reward or even help. I would join you in the observation of the two but I still think we should consider to hire us some more muscle to help us out should we be detected. Killing Teugen will be difficult as I am sure he will have bodyguards around him and they will know their trade."
Klaus is chewing his lip...if he gets caught following this man it could mean death.
"I will follow him but only if Ruggbroder offers a fortune if we could reveal them as demon worshipers. You should check the sewers below Teugens place...Adelring or what it was perhaps they meet in another room around there. Another good place to search in the sewers would be below the temples of the city. I don´t think it is a sound idea to take Max with you, he is still hurt and it would be a desaster should he die."
Max looks thrilled that he is being asked to do something. "I'd be delighted to do that for you, Mr. Julian sir! I'll go right away! Well, I should dress first." Max pulls on his shoes, and then - very carefully - puts on his shirt. He actually cries out in pain as the cloth touches his back. "Oh, I'm sorry to make a fuss. I hate to ask you, Mr. Julian sir, but may I have some money to pay for your clothes? I have none left.... thank you sir! I'll be as quick as I can!"
He races off to the shops, without thinking about breakfast.
"Ahh.....well....I like the idea that you follow Teugen. I will wait here for Greta to return and then try to speak with Ruggbroder and try to haggle some payment for all of us. If we manage to bring this Order Serpentarius down he will immensly profit of it. What about the thieves den? Should I tell Ruggbroder about that one? I think there are some goods of his down there too."
Perhaps you should tail me and then you can see if I have to go to the warehouses. If so we could meet at 11 o clock somewhere, perhaps it is easiest to meet back here?”
As soon as the plan is decided and Max returns with his clothes, Julian will go to Steinhager’s office. He is very keen not to be late. [How is he doing, time wise?]
OOC: Do we know that the meeting will be at Teugens place because you have mentioned it I think a few times.
Julian walks back towards Heinrich and Klaus, thanking [a dwarven god?] “He didn’t want to see me today” Julian checks around to make sure no one is listening “and he didn’t suspect anything. I feel sorry for that man… He had worked there his whole life.
By the way We Can’t stay at the same inn any longer, the keep saw my bloody clothes. A damn shame as I loved that breakfast Ale.
So, we are going into the sewers. Shall we go to the Teugens domain first?”
Do I need to buy equipment to make traps?
[I can't imagine you left anything much in the room. Maybe nothing! It was still searched anyway. What did Julian do with his bloody clothes? Or Steinhager's cashboxes? Disposed of them?]
Heinrich waits calmly for the watch to arrive. After a few more minutes, a four-man patrol emerge from the inn, led by one of the customers Heinrich saw in there earlier. The watch sergeant looks at the two huge thugs - one moaning and bleeding from his broken leg, the other still unconscious. "So," he says to Heinrich, "who are you and what happened here?"
The patrol sergeant listens carefully. Then he says to the innkeeper, "Is this true, halfling?"
"Oh yes, sir," the innkeeper says, "this man and his friends have been staying at my inn for the last two nights. Today, these two thugs, a one-eyed man and a hunchback came into my inn and dragged me into the kitchen. They demanded I tell them all about this man and his friends, and when I refused the hunchback shaved all the hair from my feet." He looks distraught as he says this. "When I still refused, the hunchback heated his knife in my kitchen fire and burned my foot until I couldn't refuse anymore. They searched the room this man was staying in, and then waited for them to return to the inn so they could ambush them. There was a fight in the alley that the thugs started... they got the worst of it, but I swear by Mother Esmeralda's Divine Kitchen that this man and his friends acted in self defence."
The sergeant raises his eyebrows at the halfling's story. Heinrich thought he saw him sneer with contempt at the halfling's distress over losing his foot-hair.
He turns to his men, who have been examining the scene. "Two men injured, sir - both dockland scum by the look of them. One unconscious and bleeding from his head, the other has a badly-broken leg and an arrow in his arm. There's also a blood-trail leading off around the corner."
"Follow it. Now," the sergeant says to the thug with the broken leg, "what do you have to say for yourself?"
"Just mindin' me own lawful business, sir, when this bastard attacked me an' my pals. This one shot the boss, and some kid shot me. A crazy tart smashed Hugo there on the head, and a bloody dwarf did my leg in with an axe. They all want lockin' up, sir!"
"I see."
A guard returns from following the blood trail. "We've got a dead one round there sir: bled out with an arrow in his shoulder. One-eyed man - I've seen him at the stevedore's guild before, making trouble. Ivan's his name."
The sergeant looks at Heinrich again. "You admit to killing this Ivan?"
"We need to find a new inn and buy new clothes, I think. You want someone to trail Teugen, but where will we find him? what is this Greta going to do for us. We can get into Teugen's garden, but surely the meeting will be in some sort of secured room?"
Heinrich is led back to Sir Martin's tent. Sir Martin sits behind his desk, but doesn't give Heinrich leave to sit. He dismisses the guards. "You are a bounty hunter I believe. Your friend Kurt had quite a story to tell me... and against my better judgement, I believed it enough to send some men to investigate. When it seemed there was no evidence, I felt that I had been mocked... but then the dwarf swore an oath that the man's claims were true, and the boy seemed equally earnest. It troubled me.
"The man deserved his flogging anyway, as did the boy. I am sure you will agree with that." Sir Martin's tone makes it very clear he doesn't care what Heinrich thinks at all. "Nevertheless, I have a duty to the baron to investigate any threat to his holdings, no mater how unlikely. I spoke to Magistrate Ricter, and he told me a very suspicious tale about a mutant goblin that was apparently killed twice, in two different places. The story about the goblin dying in a warehouse came directly to him from the city watch, and yet your friend the dwarf had the goblin's pelvis and claimed to have found it in the sewer... in a suspicious room, which certainly exists. Ricter intended to see the warehouse for himself that evening, to determine what had really been killed there if not the goblin. I came to the court today to see him, and find him suddenly taken ill... this is a conspiracy, and you and your friends are bound up in it.
"Tell me what you know. Leave nothing out, or you will be comparing stripes with your friend Kurt."
[you don't have to write it all out in full if you don't want. You can just say Heinrich explains about x, y and z.]
OOC: Heinrich doesn´t know who with the Ruggbroders asked us for help so most he can tell is that Klaus wanted to ask the Ruggbroders for help he has not spoken with Klaus yet about the involvement ofo the Ruggbroders and the order to eavesdrop.
Sir Martin nods grimly as he listens to Heinrich's story. "The baron has neglected the town for too long. He has allowed the merchants to take over, and they have made it a rat's nest. The merchants control the town watch as well as the criminal organizations, and I must be cautious not to act carelessly. I cannot simply march into the town with my men. But I am convinced that there is enough truth to your story to make it worth pushing for absolute proof. If the conspiracy is exposed, the guilty parties will be swept away and the baron will be forced to take a firm hand. As a man of the law yourself I am certain you can see the benefits of direct rule by the baron.
"Proceed in your investigations. Spy on the secret meeting tonight, and identify the participants. Discover what they are planning and report back to me tomorrow morning. Do this and you will be well rewarded - I am a harsh man, bounty hunter, but I am true to my word. You will not be betrayed.
"I expect Gorvintz has given your description - and those of your companions, if he has them - to the town watch by now, and ordered that you be arrested. I suggest that you avoid arrest until you have accomplished your mission. However, I do expect that you and your companions turn yourselves in once this business is over, and face your lawful punishment. If you do not I will have you hunted like dogs. You may leave now."
"Only one of us? But surely we all need to contribute!" Max says, "Please don't leave me out, Heinrich!""I'm not suggesting any of you be left out. Certainly there are plenty of things the rest can investigate. Breaking into that warehouse where the goblin was 'killed' for example, or Teugen's office."
"Not really," Mortus admits. "Just some brownish blood in a warehouse full of empty crates. Do you think we should try and kidnap a member on the way to the meeting rather than after it. Having one of their members missing might disrupt them a little and buy us more time."
"My suggestion would be Max, Greta and me try to overhear the meeting and abduct one of the circle members, you Heinrich together with Julian and Mortus break into Teugens office and search for material that might expose him and afterwards together go to the warehouse."
Heinrich's lantern fills the room with eerie shadows. The desk looks like a sleeping animal, and the books seem to shift on their shelves. Mortus has a weird impression that some of the books are staring at her.
The three of them begin a search. The desk is very tidy, with only a neat set of writing equipment on it. A small cupboard built into it contains blank parchment, spare pens, and bottles of ink. The desk also has a locked drawer, which Julian should be able to open fairly easily.
Mortus examines the books on the shelves. Many of them are business ledgers dating from this week until decades in the past. Others are textbooks on economics, history, and law, many with titles written in Classical Reman. There is also a long line of books which contain the minutes of town council meetings.
Heinrich looks for a concealed safe, having seen the one in Steinhager's office. He discovers it behind a row of false books. It's locked, of course.
'Heinirhc, put out your lantern for now, I'll work on the safe in the dark. Warn me as soon as you hear anything'
"I might be able to read some of it," Mortus says. "Maybe we should split up and meet back at the inn."
Julian will join the meeting to Greta, then wander down to where warehouse 13 is while the others visit the temple.I'll stick with Jules.
Heinrich will try his hand at intimidating the boy.
Heinrich will try his hand at intimidating the boy.
[what does Heinrich say/do?]
Mortus will glance at Heinrich and then walk into the house via the front door.
Mortus smiles wanly at Heinrich.
"I'll trust you this time," she says. "What is the plan?"
"We may need to consider slightly more than that," Mortus says. "I am not as wounded now but I will still not be great in a fight."
She looks down at her clothes and smiles at the doctor. "You would not happen to have some clothes that I could wear, I can pay you for them. I do not want to go back into the street covered in blood."
"Klaus went to the temple to find a priest," Mortus reminds Heinrich. "Maybe we should go there to look for him?"
"If we fight him they wont come. We know the plan is Teugen's, we know the others are dispensable, we know they own the town. We need evidence and we need Teugen here. Let me set traps and we can all strike together. Don't forget the reward Heinrich!"
94 :'(
is this word right for a noble line that diminished into unimportance with no money at all and no influence?
Klaus looks uneasy with the request and looks around to see how the others think about the issue......"Well Father, as I have told you a while ago I am no warrior and those persons might be powerful mages and also influential with the nobility of Nuln. A very dangerous task you have placed upon us but I guess it won´t hurt if we gather some informations about those two persons and contact the local official witch hunters. Might be of advantage that nobody knows us there."
"Yes Heinrich...but I think we too die as easy as any man."
My dear Johannes,
Enclosed with this letter is the scroll you require for your endeavor. I hope it will prove suitable, since I found it necessary to employ extraordinary measures to obtain it! I am sure that you do not need to be reminded, but I know you will not take offense if I say this: be certain of your preparations, especially the apparatus and the dedicatory gift. Any mistake or oversight will lead to disaster.
My thoughts are with you, and my prayers also. I wonder if the inner circle know what awaits them when the task is complete! Our old mentor at Magnus College would be delighted with both of us, I am sure. Please write to me with news of your success! I enclose my address, in case you have mislaid it. I shall be leaving home on an expedition of my own in three weeks time. I dare not say more now, but a wonderful prize lies ahead of me!
Yours in love and friendship,
Etelka Herzen.
Residing at Black Peaks Tower, near the town of Grissenwald in the Electorate of Nuln.
Klaus also hatched a plan in his tormented mind......he wants to use his potion of bowel movement on Heidlmann.....this way at some point during the travel he will have to crap. The coach stops he has to jump out of the coach and run for some brushes then Max can pick up his book and read what its about.
Klaus pushes Max - who is still senseless with fear - into the inn, avoiding the ghost on the way. Julian, Heinrich and Mortus go inside also. The pilgrim stands aside to let them in, and continues to hold the door open. The two men who closed the door are both lying on the floor with bloody noses. The woman who was with them glares at the pilgrim. Heidlemann's head can just be seen over the bar - he's crouching behind it. The coach drivers are standing in the middle of the room, staring at the spirit in the doorway.
Heinrich and Mortus go upstairs in search of the innkeeper. They find him sat on the floor in the corner of one of the bedrooms, his head in his hands. Mortus asks him about his son. "My son is dead!" he replies, "he was killed by robbers three weeks ago. I buried him... there was a proper funeral. He can't be here now!"
The man is dead. He's middle-aged and dressed in normal, unflashy clothing.
Mortus clambers to the top of the cabin and draws her knife
"You can't go by yourself, Mortus!" Max exclaims, "I could go with you though, if you don't mind... I'm not much of a bodyguard, but I can keep you company at least!"
"I'm glad I could help, Heinrich!" Max says.
"About Mortus? Oh, what about her? Are you... interested in her, Heinrich?"
Max looks upset, "What are you saying, Heinrich? You think Mortus is a wizard? Why would she hide that from us? You can't possibly think she's done anything wrong... she's a wonderful, kind person! She kept those spell books to practice her arcane language skills, because she wants to study at the university. I know she's been having trouble coping with all the awful things we've seen over the last couple of weeks... but she's young, younger than me even. It's not surprising if she's having nightmares."
He frowns, "Listen, why don't I speak to her? Maybe I can find out what's wrong. Please, Heinrich, don't say anything to her that might make her even more upset.
After Heinrich expertly got the intel from the people and they are far enough away Klaus suggests
"Well I guess we can meet up with our allies and investigate those farms starting with the latest attack and shouldn´t we find much of use try the other farmsteads. Perhaps someone should wake Max."
Max says, "well fought, brothers!" in passable dwarfish. Sven laughs and claps him on the back, saying "Grow yourself a beard laddie and you'll make a fine dwarf!"
Mortus opens the door. It leads into the tower's dining room. The table is still here, but the chairs have been smashed up for firewood. Lying on the table are a selection of knives, whips, and crude torture devices. Chained up in the corner of the room are two men, their bodies marked by signs of torture. One of them is conscious, and pleads to be released.
"I think it's the two books that were on the desk, Mortus," Max says, "Klaus has them now... it seems obvious that Etelka and whoever 'H. S.' is are trying to find a fallen comet... it sounds awfully like the one that fell on Mordheim, in my homeland, five hundred years ago. I'm sure you must have heard of that? The old capital was destroyed... the thing is, the comet was made of wyrdstone, which is a rare magical rock that can be used for all sorts of magical purposes. People searched the ruins of Mordheim for it for years, and made a lot of money too, until Emperor Magnus had the ruins destroyed. This comet can't have been as large as that one, but it would still be a huge quantity of wyrdstone. Very valuable... and very dangerous! I hate to think of it being found by evil sorcerers."
Heinrich goes to talk to the two men who were prisoners of the goblins. They are still there - one of them looks fit enough to leave under his own power, but the other is in bad shape. He stares at Heinrich for a moment, then says, "You're a bounty hunter. Right? Well, so am I. That other man who's with you - is his name Kastor Liebenrung?"
"Damn, then this has all been for nothing!" the man says. "Those documents you have are fakes. There's no money and this house belongs to the countess. My comrades and I were trying to draw Liebenrung here - or failing that to Nuln - so that we could capture and interrogate him. We believe that he is...was... a high-ranking member of an evil cult dedicated to furthering the aims of the Ruinous Powers. Countess Etelka agreed to let us use her house as bait. But when we arrived she was gone and the place was overrun with goblins."
"The countess is a cultist too? Then she tricked us... she must be from a rival cult. They hate each other almost as much as they hate the rest of us. Well, I'd appreciate it if you could help my friend and me back to Grissenwald. I don't have any money with me, but I can get some there to cover your costs."
The party took the remaining prisoner of the goblins to a surgeon, and were told that he was very close to death. "He's lost a lot of blood, and suffered serious injuries," the surgeon told them, "but he may live. I have done what I can, and have given him drugs to allow him to sleep for the next few days. He may recover after that, or he may not."
Max finds a moment to speak to Heinrich, away from the others.
"Heinrich, I spoke to Mortus yesterday," he says, "and it turns out you had nothing to worry about! She was just tired and stressed, because of everything we've been through the last few weeks. I bought her some medicine that let her get a good night's sleep, and she felt a lot better when she woke up. Oh, and she only kept the spell book because it reminded her of someone she used to know, and because she wanted to improve her arcane language skills before she studies at the university. She's not a wizard! I'm sure she'd have told me if she were - I think she likes me, not as much as I like her, but a bit anyway. So everything's fine! I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, but it went out of my mind what with the goblins and everything."
"I would not think you are a fool, Heinrich," Mortus says, tiredness creeping into her voice.
"I have told you no lies, Heinrich," Mortus' voice is sharp and her stance rigid. "I've been sleeping badly, the stuff I've seen has effected me badly. Sure I haven't been myself much later but can you blame me. I came to Bogenhafen to try and make money and sure I've made money but I also ran into Chaos and do you think I was expecting that. Accusing me of hiding things and lying to you is not a good way to make me trust you." Mortus closes her eyes for a second and then she sighs and turns to Max.
"Have you got that draft, Max?" she asks. "I'm going to try and get some sleep."
"Evidence?" Mortus' voice is colder now than before and her speech is almost chipped. "I've cast magic maybe? Vacc was a wizard, he could use magic. You want to talk to him about this not me."
Mortus is holding herself very rigidly, anger flaring in her eyes.
He can join and sit by if he wants to if he won´t go along with it Klaus will check with the others and wait for Heinrich to sleep and still do it.
The doktor shakes his head. "I really have no idea what you are talking about. I'm afraid I don't have time for this: I still have a lot of preparation to do for my expedition. I must ask you to leave."
Julian has 1120 crowns left. He will put 1070 into the cargo price. Risk tastic!
"Yes . . . Heinrich is right burning it might be best how about we put the box into the rowing boat of the maria borga and then set it ablaze? Klaus is frantically reloading his pistols he drops at least three bullets due to his hurry and his stiff and shaking fingers. "Do you think we also should dump the earth into the flowing river?"
*I always forget the name of the Greathammer town, where we found billy?*
also, when was the last time anyone paid billy? and poor old Ragni, promised treasure to come with us and we've found none!
"Church authorities? Ha!"
Dagmar's spirit laughs.
"You should have studied history, boy. The Church of Sigmar sent teams of witch hunters into Mordheim after the comet fell, to claim as much wyrdstone as they could. The church was corrupted by that stuff just like everyone else. What do you think they'll do with the amount that's down in the dungeons?"
Nothing much happens for the next twenty minutes or so. People drink, talk and gamble. No one gives Arnst any more money.
At about quarter past eleven, Ursula says that she needs to go and check on her horse. She leaves the inn and goes toward the stables.
Soon after, a young girl - one of the gravin's servants, approaches the party with a message from Gustaf Rechtshandler. Apparently, he is the gravin's lawyer, and he wants the party to meet him in his room to discuss an urgent matter.
[The offer is open to anyone! It's nothing to do with prostitution!]
[downstairs]
The guards return to the bar, dragging their prisoner with them. The man has been beaten up quite badly. "He confessed to being an agent of the baron, my lady," a guard says, "and he showed us where he keeps his poison. No doubt it was him."
"Very good. Tie him up - we'll take him to Kemperbad with us. He'll make for excellent leverage against the baron. As for you, Friedrich: I have half a mind to allow Prahmhandler to horsewhip you, as he planned... but your father would be unhappy, which would upset my aunt. I have no desire to become involved in another court case.
"Instead, you will come with me to Kemperbad. Once the case is over, I'll take you back to Nuln, and then send for your father to collect you. I expect he can find a suitable punishment for you.
"You, miss," the gravin says to Hanna, "will go back to your fiance. If you wish to break off the marriage agreement, you should do so in a proper manner. Prahmhandler, I will forgive you for assaulting my champion... but you had better not cause any more trouble. You may leave in the morning with your fiance.
"Now, if that is all, I shall retire to bed. All members of my staff are to do likewise: that includes you, Bruno!"
[downstairs]
The gravin stops to listen to Heinrich. "Well, sir, you may be correct that another attempt on Bruno's life may be made. I doubt the baron would seek to harm me before the trial - perhaps after, when he inevitably loses. Still, it cannot hurt to be careful. Very well, you may stand guard - but outside my chamber, of course. Your friend may likewise protect Bruno. I shall, of course, reward you for your efforts."
[downstairs]
The gravin, confident that all her orders will be obeyed and that she is well-protected, sweeps upstairs to bed. All of her retinue go also. It is now well past midnight, and so the other patrons of the inn - the boatmen and coachmen, and Sammy the halfling, also retire. Friedrich goes back to his room. Prahmhandler books another room for himself and his fiance, and they go upstairs. His hired thugs are sent to sleep in the dormitory. Ursula also goes upstairs.
Ragni asks Julian if he should join him in guarding Bruno's room. Max offers to help as well, but looks tired. Billy goes upstairs to his room.
" ah the...Bard. what was your name again? I am klaus." Klaus extends jis hand towards arnst. " hmm poor soul
...but we might use this one. On the other hand gustaf will claim self defence but i am sure he wants to avoid a scandal so would be glad if the two bodies would disappear...you dont by chance have any experience with making corpses disappear i would of course pay you."
The gravin nods. "Yes, please do that," she says.
Out in the corridor, Heinrich finds Bruno and two of the gravin's guards, all carrying weapons but only partially dressed (having just emerged from their respective rooms). "Woken up again!" Bruno says, "what is it this time? Ah, Heinrich - what's the trouble?
Julian is noticeably absent. The door to the empty room next to Bruno's is open.
"An assassination attempt?" Bruno looks shocked. He gesture to the two guards to protect the gravin, as Heinrich suggested. They obey at once.
"Julian? No, I haven't seen him. I thought that room was empty." Bruno goes over to the open door and looks in. "He's in here - he looks dead!"
"I never said it was intentional. He may have hit him harder than intended and the man died afterwards. Herr Friedrich already said he caused the second tied up victim."
The gravin glares at Arnst. "You should indeed be careful who you accuse of crimes... another word from you and I will have you flogged, as Heinrich suggests. Gustaf is no criminal."
She turns her attention to Max. "Yes, I recall that you claimed to be a lawyer last night. You have the necessary proofs with you, I assume?"
"Yes, my lady."
"Well, you are in luck then, boy. I require a lawyer, and I have no time to return to Nuln to find another. Neither do I want a Kemperbad lawyer, who could have been bought by the baron before I ever arrive there. Your companions - or some of them at least (she looks at Heinrich and Julian as she says this) - have been of tremendous service to me. Perhaps Lady Verena has sent you to me as well... you will take the case?"
Max looks amazed. "I've never tried a case, my lady!"
"It is a trial by combat, boy. Bruno will do most of the work. Will you take the case or not?"
"Yes, my lady."
"Excellent. Now, Heinrich: I owe you a great deal. Perhaps even my life. I intend to reward you... but I have another request also. I need to reach Kemperbad safely and with all speed. You and your companions have a boat: I should like to travel on it. Bruno and two of my guards would go with me, while the rest of my escort proceed by road. Naturally I will pay whatever is required for the passage."
Klaus being concerned that the gravin didnt buy too easy on his story of being a noble smiles at arnst as he sees a possibility to polish his image of a noble. "Well i could need a bard you might even help me on a project i am on a creative mind might help me to decide what pictures to put in or even make a song for each book....the pay would be good but you have to make yourself more presentable...oh i have to warn you somehow we seem to attract an unproportional high share of adventure."
"Do so...and I would prefer if you would call yourself a Bard in the near future and not a Beggar."
"Well....thank you Heinrich." Klaus smiles "have I already told you that Ursula sends her regards..here is her adress in Altdorf perhaps you should visit her some time."
The gravin smiles. "I appreciate your concern, Heinrich. Losing the case would be financially embarrassing... and might force my aunt to revoke my title and status. However, Bruno will certainly defeat his opponent - and when the case goes against Baron Eberhart, he is the one who will be ruined. The fact that he sent those assassins proves his desperation. No, once we reach Kemperbad the matter will be resolved, I am sure."
Heinrich directs Max's attention to what he thinks looks to be a fairly old statue, asking Max if he can tell him anything about it. Max excitedly launches into a lecture about the person depicted in the statue, while Heinrich sneaks away after the suspicious man. As he expected, the man continues to watch Max. Heinrich is easily able to take him by surprise and pull him into an alley. The man looks surprised at first, then angry: "Hey, get off me! I'll call the watch!"
"There's no need for that! We weren't gonna hurt the boy... well, just rough him up a bit... maybe break a leg or two... just so he stays out of the trial. We weren't gonna kill him!"
The man blathers something about not wanting to betray his employer, while suddenly drawing his dagger and trying to stab Heinrich!
[Heinrich I test = 19, pass]
Heinrich can act before he does.
This time, his axe shatters the man's arm. He drops his knife and collapses, bleeding steadily.
Heinrich glaces back toward the street. The fight was over very quickly, so he thinks no one noticed it happen.
Heinrich drags the body out of sight, and quickly searches it: the man wasn't carrying anything of note. He leaves the alley to find Max wandering around, anxiously looking for him. "Heinrich! I turned around and you were gone... we really ought to hurry. I don't want to get fired from my first job!"
"Thank you for your support, Heinrich," the gravin says, "you and your friends have been a great help to me during this tiresome business. Should you ever need my help, I will do everything I can. And you, Maximilian, have performed your duties admirably and have more than earned your fee. I shall recommend you to everyone I know."
"Gosh, thank you my lady!" Max says, "I really was terrified at first, but then I sort of got caught up in the moment, and everything felt natural. I wish father had seen me! He'd be so proud."
"I need a drink!" Bruno says, "and a big steak. Let's go."
Once the fight is over, it becomes clear that the boat has caught fire. "Get back over here," Billy shouts, "so's we can cut it loose! I don't want it to spread to the Hound!"
Max obediently leaps back across. He catches his foot on the Hound's rail, and lands sprawling on the deck.
Murner is a hunched man in plain grey robes. He fixes watery eyes on Heinrich and says, "Who precisely are you, and why has Arch-Lector Kaslain chosen you to deliver an official letter to his Supreme Holiness?"
"I believe you have a letter for me from Kaslain?" he says, holding out his hand. Heinrich gives him the letter. He breaks the seal and reads it, his brow furrowing as he does so. When he's finished, he reads it again. At last, he says, "Well, this is unexpected. The Wittgenstein matter... does explain the increased numbers of mutants that have been seen in that area over the last few years. Mutants... it is no longer permissible to use that word, according to the emperor's edict. Even the necessary measures the church has always taken to dispose of such abominations are no longer allowed." He shakes his head.
"I am even more concerned, however, by Kaslain's talk of this 'Red Crown' cult. Do you have any leads to follow?"
[Heinrich, in Altdorf]
The waiting room in the watch station is packed with people trying to register complaints on all sorts of matters. Heinrich marches right up to the desk and asks to see Captain Eckhardt, explaining that he's his brother. Before long, he's in the captain's office.
"Heinrich," Eckhardt says, "it's been a while." He walks towards him, grim-faced... then suddenly hugs him, laughing. "How've you been, you scoundrel! Still dragging our good name through the dirt by chasing after bounties?"
[Heinrich]
Leaving the watch station, Heinrich crosses Old Emperor's bridge to the eastern slums. Hennig lives in the heart of the worst area in the city, above a butcher's shop. Gang members, proudly wearing their colours, openly patrol the streets.
Heinrich knocks on Hennig's door. Henning answers almost immediately: he's a small, dark-haired man. He glances quickly up and down the street, before ushering Heinrich inside. Only when they have climbed the stairs and entered the apartment does he speak. "Heinrich. Good to see you again. What brings you here?"
[Heinrich]
"Living here makes my job easier" Henning says, "you can't think like a criminal while you live in some fine house with flowers outside it. Also, this place is cheap. Anyhow: it's interesting that you brought up the red crown, because that's something I've been thinking about the last few days. Someone's been painting red crown symbols all round the city. It started in the slums, among all the other gang scrawlings, but it's spread to the university, the temples, even the palace. No one knows who's doing it, which is odd if it's just another street gang. They don't go in much for secrecy. I'd have got something out of one of my informants by now.
"So do you have any idea what it means? Why are you after these red crown people?"
"Count me in," Henning says, "I'll just get my things together." He puts on a set of lightweight leather armour, selects various knives from his collection, and throws some other basic equipment into a pack. "Right, that should do it. Never faced an evil cult before, but I guess it's not so different from taking down thieves.
"From what I heard, the first place those red crown symbols appeared was an alley off Sturmstrasse, near Mourner's Bridge. We could go there and take a closer look. Maybe ask a few questions. I'll follow your lead on this, Heinrich."
[Heinrich]
Heinrich and Hennig cautiously approach the side tunnel. They can hear a strange, chittering sound coming from further along it. As Hennig shines his lantern down the tunnel, the noise stops and several dark shapes dart away.
Something small and metallic bounces off the stonework a couple of inches from Heinrich's head.
[Heinrich]
The Grand Theogonist looks at the corpse with an expression of extreme distaste. "I think that even our Emperor would not classify this... thing as a harmless unfortunate. You say there are many others of the same type? Then they must indeed be exterminated. I think the templars of the Fiery Heart can accomplish this task most effectively... since they are under my direct control." He looks at Heinrich. "Would you be willing to lead the templars to the creatures' lair? You need not join the fight, but it would ensure that the mission goes smoothly."
"Very good," the Knight-commander says, "we continue then."
They return to the entrance chamber, where they encounter the group of knights who took the eastern passage. The leader of the group salutes. "We have investigated the eastern area, commander. Approximately a dozen rat-men encountered and eliminated. The area is a prison complex. You may wish to observe before any of the prisoners are released."
Sounds of combat are coming from the western passage. The commander sends the bulk of the knights that way. "Heinrich, I would like you and Hennig to join me in examining the cells," he says, "my knights can clean up any remaining vermin to the west."
The eastern passage ends in another large cavern, supported by rickety timbers. Slaughtered rat-men are scattered around. Wooden cages line the walls, about half of them containing filthy, naked people. Their bodies show signs of torture, especially burns - they have been branded with a red crown symbol. An unlit brazier stands in one corner, with several branding irons on the floor beside it. Another corner has a pile of clothes and other possessions taken from the prisoners. Rather incongruously, there is also a wooden table with a dozen pots of red paint and a set of paintbrushes.
"You may be correct," the commander says. "Though I doubt these people will be able to tell us much. We will free them and take them to a place of safety until they recover." He nods to the two knights that accompanied him, and they set about breaking open the cages. The prisoners are fearful at first, then confused. It takes some encouragement for them to leave the cages and dress themselves - and once they have done so, they stand around in silence, waiting.
Heinrich and Hennig both search the cavern, looking for a hidden entrance of some sort.
[Heinrich I test = 34, pass]
[Henning I test = 74, fail]
Hennig has no luck, but Heinrich spots a wooden trap-door mostly covered by rubbish. Pushing the rubbish aside with a broken timber, he opens the trapdoor. Beyond is another tunnel, descending steeply into the earth.
The knight-commander stares down into the tunnel. "You are a brave man to even consider such a journey, Heinrich," he says, "but it would be unwise. All of us are tired and injured - you especially so - and we have no idea how many more rat-men may be down there. I will leave some men to guard the tunnel, while the remainder withdraw with the prisoners and report to his Supreme Holiness. You should see a healer, before you collapse."
Billy tries not to look relieved. "Ain't no problem with that, chief," he says to Heinrich, "lookin' after boats is what I does best. Ain't got nothin' to worry about with me guardin' the Hound."
"I'll come with you if you think you'd need me, Heinrich," Max says, "I don't want to let anyone down. But if Klaus is going to see the lawyer, well, I actually think I could help there! Mr Arnst, what do you think?"
'The chamber will be able to take a blast, just not the tunnels. '
*I hope*
[Heinrich, Julian, Ragni, Hennig]
Ragni protests that he can fight on. He tries to move his wrist, but gives up after another avalanche of dwarfish swearing. Then he just nods. "I'll get him to the surgeon," Hennig says, "you two look after yourselves."
"Sorry boss," Ragni says to Julian, "I'll make it up next fight."
They leave the chamber. Heinrich searches the room. The dead sorcerer is too charred by the bomb and his own failed spell to retrieve any belongings he may have had. Likewise, the altar and its associated ritual items have been trashed. However, there is a crate in one corner of the room. Inside are some sacrificial knives, tattered robes, and four small books. While Heinrich can't read, he can recognize normal Imperial letters - the ugly, crude writing in the books is unfamiliar. There is also a metal box, marked with the image of the horned rat. Inside are half a dozen pieces of dull, black stone. The sight of it makes him feel uncomfortable.
Apart from the tunnel they entered by, there is one other tunnel leading from the temple.
Just then, something rushes into the room from the tunnel opposite, stopping in its tracks when it sees Heinrich and Julian. It's a large, heavily-built rat-man with very dark fur. The creature is armoured, unlike most of its fellows, as well as carrying a shield. Its face is covered in old scars, and one eye is missing. It carries a fine axe, clearly not of rat-man manufacture, which it raises threateningly.
"Man-thing. Beard-thing," it says, in a horrible squeaking voice, "get away or die!"
[Heinrich and Julian]
The dead rat-man was obviously an important war-leader. Julian knows that sorcerers hold the real power among the rat-men... but he's seen one killed already, and another was killed by Heinrich in the upper lair. Assuming that the knights are able to destroy the rank-and-file - which seems likely, since the rat-lord they just fought was trying to flee - the rat-man force has probably been defeated. Julian takes another look at the tunnel leading down. It could be hundreds of miles to the next lair. He thinks it would probably be best to collapse the tunnel with explosives.
[Heinrich and Julian]
A group of knights, including the knight-commander, charges round the corner and enters the armory. "Ah, Heinrich, Julian," the knight-commander says, "Sigmar has been with you, I see." He points at the rat-lord's corpse with his bloody sword. "That was one of their leaders. He fled the battle when it became clear his troops were lost. Dishonourable, of course, but to be expected of an abomination. We pursued as soon as we were able to break through the lines... but you've done the job for us. Have you seen any others?"
A quarter of an hour later, Max returns by himself. He looks a bit pale and he avoids looking anyone in the eye. His voice is also quieter than usual. "Thank you so much for this evening, Heinrich, Klaus, Mr Julian, Mr Arnst. I don't think father would have believed me if I'd been here alone. Um. I'm awfully tired though. It's been a difficult evening. I'd like to go to bed - maybe we could get rooms at the same inn as Heinrich?"
'There you go max! That would have taken us ages to figure out. I'll come with you to the college,but we could check on ragni on the way. I'm a bit sore from the rats in the caves so best I try to avoid any more rights for a few days.
We need to make sure we see the emperor too, at the ceremony'
Heinrich leaves the inn and strolls across town to the Fiery Heart chapter house. He's recognized by the knights on guard, and allowed to go straight through to the infirmary. Ragni, his right arm in a sling, is arguing with the knight-surgeon about his combat fitness. When he sees Heinrich, he greats him loudly.
"Heinrich! Good to see you, mate! Listen, this saw-bone wants me to rest till my arm's better - won't even let me put my armour on! I was just telling him I can fight nearly as well left-handed."
The surgeon shakes his head. "Typical dwarfish overconfidence. Go ahead and ignore my advice if you think you know better! But make sure you keep that sling on for the next three days at least if you don't want to cripple yourself."
"Aye, I'll do that." Ragni walks up to Heinrich and claps him on the shoulder with his left hand. "I'm ready for action! Let's go."
Inside, the Grand Theogonist's secretary looks furious to see Heinrich again. "You! Haven't you bothered His Supreme Holiness enough? What is it this time?"
[Heinrich and Ragni]
Heinrich opens one of the doors, carefully searching for any more traps as he does so. The room on the other side is a small kitchen. A brief search reveals nothing, so he goes to the other door instead. Ragni has been examining the crossbow trap. "It's pretty crude, Heinrich," he says, "rigged up in a hurry, I'd say."
Heinrich opens the other door, again mindful of the danger of triggering another trap. Beyond is a bedroom. On the floor is a circle of salt, two yards in diameter, surrounded by five candles. A star-shape has been drawn onto the floorboards with chalk inside the circle, along with several arcane symbols. Heinrich is immediately reminded of his experiences in Bogenhafen.
The candles spontaneously ignite as the door is opened. A low howling fills the room, as a dark shape begins to form inside the circle.
As Heinrich does his best to destroy the magical diagram, the howling noise changes to a loud, discordant scream. The shape that was forming inside the circle explodes into whirling tendrils of multi-coloured light. Random blasts of energy emerge from the storm to strike areas of the walls of the room, causing them to burn, or melt, or bleed.
The floor is starting to break up, drawn inexorably toward the tortured, distorted magic inside the ruined circle. The sight of the unleashed chaos is hypnotically beautiful...
[Heinrich WP test = 45, pass]
[Ragni WP test = 77, fail]
... Ragni is unable to look away. He stands there and stares in awe. Heinrich, however, can only think of the terrible danger they are both in.
[Heinrich and Ragni]
Heinrich grabs Ragni's right arm and pulls it hard. Ragni cries out in pain as his injured wrist is wrenched... which snaps him out of his hypnotized state. "Great Grungni!" he shouts. He and Heinrich run out of the room, down the stairs, and out onto the street. They stand there, out of breath, staring up at the building. The screaming reaches a crescendo, then stops abruptly as the entire apartment is sucked into a single point and disappears.
A moment later, the building's roof collapses in on the empty space. Half of the second floor has simply vanished.
"Well," Ragni says, "I wasn't expecting that."
[Heinrich and Ragni]
Heinrich grabs one of the boxes as he and Ragni run downstairs. It's fairly heavy, but not enough to slow him down.
Outside on the street, they are confronted by a patrol of four watchmen. "Hey," their leader says, "aren't you the captain's brother? What's going on here?"
[Heinrich and Ragni]
The patrol leader looks at the document. "I can't read that, but that's the Great Seal of the Church of Sigmar, I think!" He looks up at the house. "Place is on fire, looks like. How did they cause that explosion, did you see? Was it magic or gunpowder? Hey, what's in that box you've got there? Did you loot the place?"
[Heinrich and Ragni]
The patrol leader is about to object to being given orders, but changes his mind and does as Heinrich says.
Heinrich opens the box. It's full of bombs, like the ones Julian's been using lately.
"Grungni's Beard, there were loads of those boxes in there!" Ragni exclaims. "When that fire gets to them the place is gonna blow."
[Heinrich and Ragni]
Heinrich does his best to clear the area around the doomed house. Sure enough, the first of the bombs detonate after a short while, blowing out the upstairs windows. More explosions follow in quick succession, resulting in the total destruction of the top floor of the house. Debris rains down over a wide area, setting small fires everywhere. People are soon rushing around with buckets of water, trying to keep the flames under control.
One of the watchmen approaches Heinrich, dragging the man who escaped from the house earlier. "Is this the man you were after? Found him round the back before the bombs went off - looks like he broke his leg jumping out the window. He was trying to get to a wagon that was hitched up behind the house." He looks back at the smouldering ruin. "Guess that's gone now."
The cultist is conscious, but his leg is badly broken. He moans with pain as the watchman dumps him on the floor at Heinrich's feet.
[Heinrich and Ragni]
[cultist WP test = 73, failed]
The man coughs, spitting some blood onto the ground. "The lawyer. Othmayer. Said the cover was blown so we had to move the bombs to the warehouse. 48b. He set that circle up before he got out. Told me to light the candles when we'd put the bombs in the cart. That's done with now." He coughs again. "Stupid bloody plan anyway. Listen, suppose I know more... what's it worth?"
[Heinrich and Ragni]
"I'd like a bit more than that. You can start by promising you'll make sure my leg gets fixed up. Then you can tell me how you're gonna make sure I don't get killed. You do that, and maybe I know something useful."
[Heinrich and Ragni]
The man starts to laugh, which quickly becomes a coughing fit. When he's recovered enough to speak, he says, "I suppose that's the best I'm gonna do. Fine, I'll take it. Guess you know about the Red Crown, right? Nothing but con men! They got me to join by claiming they were a revolutionary group. New Reikland, down with the nobles, that sort of thing. Didn't find out about the demons till it was too late. Othmayer and Fink are two of the leaders. Lawyers, both of them. They handled most of the financial business. Then there's a college wizard - don't know his name. Tall guy, never wears shoes. Another one's a captain in the city watch, down in the southern third. Don't know his name either, cos he keeps it quiet. Might be others too, don't know. There's meant to be someone at the Cathedral of Sigmar - tipped us off that the witch hunters were coming. Now, rank and file guys, like me, there's just a few dozen. Got a few safe houses around the city. Like under that warehouse I mentioned.
"Things have been going bad lately. There was meant to be a big shipment coming in, some sort of special rock to be used in something big. But that fell through. Plan B was to kill the crown prince when he visits the city next month. We were gonna blow him up... but we've lost the bombs too. Maybe the others will still try, if you don't get to them first."
When he mentioned the name Schmidt or the "item"?
Klaus looks at Heinrich for a long moment...."You know you really don´t sound so much different from a Norscan. Lets kill em all and we find out what we need to know. We live in the Empire for Sigmars sake. Max what do you think? I think all of this we have authority beyond the law isn´t doing us that much good."
Klaus considers starting to tell Max that it is a stupid idea to go off only with Arnst to check on the office building but stops himself.....let him go his own way.
"Perhaps Heinrich should join you too I think he desires a bit more action than talking to Mercs and offering them money should there be trouble he is the man you want to have with you also he is about as sneaky as myself if he wants to. How about it Heinrich?"
Mortus gives Heinrich a funny look for only a half second.
"We need to find somewhere which sells paint and stuff," she says. "Is there a place like that in Aldorf that you know of."
[Heinrich, Arnst, Max]
The secret door opens into another room, twice the size of the cellar. The room has been utterly devastated. The paving stones have been torn up from the floor, apparently by a mass of green vines that have sprung out of the earth. Alchemical equipment is scattered around the room. Close to the door is a coin-die and a torn sack of fake coins. Overturned candlesticks and a bent metal hoop suggest the remains of another demonic summoning circle.
There's also a dead man, strangled to death by the vines.
"Gosh." Max says.
[Arnst, Heinrich, Max]
"The Jade wizards did say they were going to take action," Max says, "they must have started already. Where should we go now, Heinrich?"
Max looks surprised. "I'm not leading anything! Mr Julian suggested that someone visit the trading company office, and I just thought it was something I could do. But I don't know what we should do next. Rejoin the others, I suppose?"
[Heinrich]
Heinrich glances down the alley as he passes. The red-haired man is lurking, almost out of sight, ready to ambush anyone who follows him down there. He doesn't look at Heinrich - probably he knows that someone is following him, but not who.
[Heinrich]
The two men talk for about ten minutes. Then, the man in grey gets up and leaves the tavern. The red-haired man stays where he is, scowling into his tankard.
[Heinrich]
The red-haired man frowns at Heinrich. "Don't waste your time," he says, "I'm not into men."
[Heinrich, Julian, Ragni]
Heinrich, Julian and Ragni arrive at the Cathedral of Sigmar partway through a service. The main hall is packed with worshipers, listening to a fiery sermon about the eternal fight against evil. Heinrich leads the dwarfs to the offices of the Grand Theogonist, only to find the doors locked.
"Can I help you?" someone says. A priest in plain robes approaches them, smiling slightly. "I'm Father Tobius. I believe his Supreme Holiness is at the palace at the moment, on important business." He pauses, appearing to study their faces. "Why, I think I know who you are. Aren't you our fine church champions? Freelance problem solvers for Holy Sigmar?" His voice drips with sarcasm. "I met some of your friends... two men and a boy. What brings you here today?"
Father Tobius sighs. "Healing... well, I suppose you've earned a little divine favour. I will ask Holy Sigmar to grant you a little of his strength." He smiles unpleasantly. "It's up to Him if you are worthy or not, of course."
He intones a prayer, then lays his hand heavily on Heinrich's shoulder. Heinrich feels energy flowing through him.
[Heinrich regains d6 wounds = 4]
Father Tobius prays twice more, before touching Julian and Ragni.
[Julian regains d6 wound = 6]
[Ragni regains d6 wounds = 5]
"There. Never let it be said that Sigmar does not reward those who do His work. I am a little tired now... what was the other thing you said? Sebastian? One of my scribes is called Sebastian - do you mean him? He's currently at the Office of Investigations' other facility. We are expecting a number of suspected cultists to be delivered there soon, for questioning. Sebastian will be recording anything they feel the need to confess. Can this wait until tomorrow? If not..." he sighs, "then I suppose I could allow you entry to the building."
[Heinrich, Julian, Ragni]
Father Tobius leads them from the Cathedral to a sombre-looking building across the street. On entering, he snaps at the guards, "these men are lay witch-hunters, and are to be treated with respect. Show them to Sebastian." The guards salute.
"It's time for my evening prayers," Tobius says, "so I will leave you now. I intend to return when the prisoners arrive," he smiles nastily, "I may allow you to observe an interrogation, if you are interested." With that, he leaves the building.
"This way, please," the guards say. Heinrich, Julian and Ragni are escorted down a flight of stairs into an underground tunnel. They are shown to a small office and asked to wait. After about ten minutes, a short, blond man enters the room, flanked by two guards. Heinrich recognises him as the man who met with the cultist in the tavern. "I'm Sebastian," he says, "and I believe that you are our newest recruits! What can I do for you?"
[Heinrich, Julian, Ragni]
Sebastian stares at Heinrich for a second. Then he says to the two guards, "It is as I feared: the cultists have controlled their minds with their evil sorcery. Take them into custody, but do not hurt them. We may be able to break them of the dark influence they are under."
The guards draw their swords and advance. "Please do not resist," Sebastian says, "it is for your own good." He sounds sincere.
[Heinrich, Julian, Ragni]
The guards take Heinrich's advice, running from the room. Hopefully, they've gone for help. Heinrich shoots again, but the arrow glaces off an invisible wall before it can hit Sebastian.
Sebastian begins to chant in a strange, ugly language.
[Heinrich, Julian, Ragni]
Father Tobius nods grimly, "yes, these two brave souls-" he sarcastically indicates the two guards from earlier who fled the room "- told me that Sebastian was using evil magic. And the damage to this room confirms your story. You may not know this, but demons are vulnerable to making sudden disappearances. They do not belong in his world - remaining here requires constant effort that can fail at any time. Or else powerful stabilizing magic. This demon that took Sebastian's form will return, I am sure. But we will be prepared." He glares at Sebastian. "You, traitor, will tell me everything I want to know. Sooner or later."
He briefly examines Heinrich, poking him in the ribs. "You need to see a surgeon - Holy Sigmar has not seen fit to grant me the power to knit bones. I suggest the Order of the Fiery Heart's infirmary, but suit yourself. The three of you have done a great service for the Church of Sigmar. You may leave matters with me for now, but I will be notifying his Supreme Holiness of your work. Expect to hear from him soon."
[Everyone else]
Ragni looks surprised. "I thought the laddie was still in bed. Didn't he leave early last night?"
"I ain't seen him neither," Billy says, "and now we been told we gotta leave in a rush to catch this wizard. Anybody checked his room?"
There is no answer, and the room is empty. It's obvious to Heinrich that Max's bed has not been slept in. He can't have come back to the inn last night.
[Heinrich]
"Be waiting for you, chief," Billy says.
Heinrich goes to the dockside watch station, where he knows his brother will be. The watchman at the desk lets him straight through to the captain's office. Eckhardt looks relieved when he sees Heinrich - he rushes over and hugs him roughly. "Heinrich! So you're still with us then! No one seems to know what's going on at the moment. I've heard all sorts of rumours about you. Killed by rats, wizards, or Verena knows what! The city's in a mess. Phorzheim turning out to be traitor was one hell of a blow for the watch. The Fiery Heart have only backed off because they're just as compromised. We've got gangs of Ostlanders and Talabeclanders about to set off a civil war on the streets. There's talk of imposing martial law!
"But at least you're safe. One less thing to worry about."
[Heinrich, Klaus, Julian, Ragni, Billy]
Billy steers the Hound so that it draws up alongside the other boat: not so close as to risk a collision, but close enough to talk. The boat's name is painted in bright blue letters on the side (Klaus and Julian can read that it's called 'The Joly Nulner'). It looks a well-cared for vessel.
Billy hails them. The four men all look across. One of them, a bald, middle-aged man with hard eyes, responds. "What can we do for you?" he says.
The four men are armed with swords and daggers, and are dressed in unremarkable clothes. All of them look fairly tough, as though they are no strangers to combat.
To the group, away from the prisoner, he says
'Anyone got any ideas for othmayer which don't involve torture?
Would help if we could read these maybe. Where's max when you need him?'
[Mortus]
[Mortus Fel test = 50, fail]
Isolde just stares at Mortus. "What? A spell? What?" Her voice, already unpleasant to listen to, is getting more and more shrill. Marie the bodyguard steps forward, her hand on her sword, ready for any trouble that might start.
"What do you have to say for yourself, Janna?" Hermann says, trying to calm the situation down.
Janna looks up with tears in her eyes. "Oh, sir, I don't know what happened! I took the lady for a tour of the wine cellar, but then her guard fainted. You know how bad the air can be down there."
"Indeed, bad humours out of the earth. Continue."
"Then the lady accused me of all sorts of crimes, for no reason! She hit me, and when I woke I'd been tied up. I don't know what I did wrong!"
Hermann frowns. "Dear oh dear, this is very unfortunate."
"How dare you attack my servant!" Isolde shouts at Mortus, "I want you to leave at once! Get out!"
[Klaus]
"I don't blame you for not trusting me," Othmayer says, "but don't think you hold all the cards. The King is unbound. He will seek out the ones who destroyed us, and by your own admission that's you. You might be safe as long as you stay on running water, but unless you intend to live the rest of your life on a boat you'll have to deal with him sometime. The King is no minor foe. He is high in the affections of The Changer. You can kill me, give me to the church, do what you like with me. But he will come for you.
[Heinrich, Julian, Ragni, Billy]
"All this hanging about ain't good," Billy says gloomily, "don't like having no cultist on board neither. River won't like it." He makes a superstitious warding gesture. "I ain't no ignorant bumpkin, but I seen enough to know not to mess with that stuff. The wind took the mast off their boat, right? Reckon that could happen to us if we don't dump him soon." Billy takes out his pipe and starts to smoke, trying to calm himself down.
Ragni nods. "I think Billy's on to something there. Maybe what we need to know is in those books and papers? We just need someone to read them for us. I say have this bloody wizard's head off and that's an end to it."
[Mortus]
The Doktor looks disappointed. "I had hoped, Miss Mortus, that you would follow my example and finally tell the truth. You have told me the same story several times now...but I am certain that you were involved with the demonic cult in Bogenhafen, either as a member or as one of the people who thwarted them. There is simply no other rational explanation for your behaviour. Now, which is it!"
[Heinrich, Klaus, Julian, Ragni, Billy]
"Middenheim!" Ragni says, "have you been there, boss?" he asks Julian. "I've always wanted to go. They say most of the buildings are dwarf work. The humans treat dwarfs with real respect there, because they built the place and they've saved it too, more than once! I bet there are some great dwarf taverns there... and women! Are we going? I can't wait!"
"Hope you ain't got no blood on the deck," Billy says, "don't want no curse on the Hound! Best get rid of the body good and soon, then we can get under sail." He thinks for a moment. "You say you're going to Middenheim, chief? Ain't nowhere near no river. Listen, I got a proposal for you all: while you lot goes to Middenheim, I sails the Hound for you and does some trading. Take on a couple of hands, halflings if I can get them. Reckon I can make a profit, if you trust me. I'll need some cash to trade with. You got my word I won't rob you or nothing. How's that sounding, chiefs?"
"Billy of course we trust you....here take 1000 gp from my own coffers I am sure you will make sure there will be more of them when we meet next time. I suggest we travel towards Middenheim from here than we are already half way there...only thing we still have to do is to try to get rid of this demon supposedly haunting us. Othmayer said something about certain periods of time when he will be after us."
[Heinrich, Klaus, Julian, Ragni, Billy]
The Hound reaches Schoppendorf at about six o'clock in the evening. It's a good-sized town, with a strong wall surrounding it on the land side. Many of the buildings have sharply-pointed, red-tiled roofs, and brightly painted timbers. The docks are packed with small fishing vessels.
"Good smoked fish in Schoppendorf," Billy says, "you oughta try it while you're here. Might get some to sell in Altdorf if the price ain't bad."
Billy brings the Hound into port. Heinrich, Klaus, Julian and Ragni collect their things together and prepare to leave the boat. Billy wishes them a good journey and says he hopes to see them again soon. He's clearly a bit sad to see them go.
It's too late to set off for Middenheim tonight.
[if anyone wants to buy any supplies or anything like that, this would be a good time.]
Julian hunkers down into the fine cloak he bought in Bogenhafen. Despite its intricate design, it is well made and offers a great deal of protection, at least to the wind.
“too right Ragni lad, although we’re a lot better dealing with this than elves! Except my bloody pipe will take a week to dry out”
“You’re right Heinrich. We need to get off the road though, and find somewhere for the horses and cart. I don’t think our bows or guns will work in this weather, but perhaps my fuses will hold up? [engineering check-could he set a trap with his bombs?] Otherwise I can look and see if I can rig something simpler. Don’t suppose you can tell how far away or where the noises are coming from Heinrich, I can barely make anything out above the rain.”
[Mortus]
As Mortus watches, the smokey, indistinct shape inside the summoning circle becomes fully solid. The demon - for what else can it be? - is a twisted horror with hoofed, animal legs and arms like massive scythe blades. Its shoulders almost touch the ceiling, and its head is like the skull of some massive, fanged bird.
(http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f207/sparky_sparkfire/WFRP/RealmofChaos3_zps0ed05ac3.jpg)
Mortus is utterly overcome by fear, and can do nothing for several minutes. During this time, the demon probes at the barrier surrounding it, and seems unable to break through.
At last, she regains enough presence of mind to act. The demon speaks to her in an ugly, distorted version of the arcane magical language. "Who are you? Why summon? Release!"
Klaus won´t sleep well that night....even not at all at the next day he will turn to Julian and Heinrich....
"So Othmayer wasn´t bluffing the King is after us. I don´t think we can overcome it as easy as anything we have faced before all those abominations seemed like small henchmen summoned to help and protect the members of the cult but nothing as powerful as this...we should hurry to Middenheim and find a mage who can end this curse with the name of the beast or better even destroy it. I wonder if we should approach the church in Middenheim..I am not sure they will be fond to help us we could also try to infiltrate the purple hand and make them banish the demon. "
[Heinrich, Klaus, Julian, Ragni]
The road is still very wet, but the morning sun is drying it rapidly. The group make good progress, and by 1 pm they have reached Hergig.
Hergig is a small, neat city of tall towers and solid stonework. Its many gunsmiths and artillerists are greatly praised for their skill, to the extent that many call it ‘the Nuln of the North.’ While Hergig has been capital of Hochland in the past, the province is currently ruled from Bergsburg in the north. Hochland as a whole is a dependency of the city-state of Talabheim, and shares some of its complex, harsh laws.
From here, the Old Forest Road leads on to Bergsburg and, ultimately, Middenheim.
[visit the city for healing and supplies? Or continue?]
Julian snaps "Of course it’s the bloody king. Same bastard Klaus saw at that ball. Same bastard who you scared off during the storm. Same bastard who’ll be chasing us down till we’re dead or he is. "
“I think you’re right Ragni. He’s trying to scare us. I don’t know if he is scared himself, but he must be cautious. And he is wise to be so. We’ve already killed demons. I feel better after my dream anyway. I know this sword can kill him now”
After breakfast, if no one else wants to do anything here, Julian packs the cart with his stuff, and rides on to middenheim.
Despite the racket Heinrich makes, there is absolutely no answer. It would be possible, though a little awkward, to climb over the top. Or there may be another entrance. Or Julian could even open the lock.
Sparkfire's nostrils flare and he scrapes the ground with his hoof. He's clearly nervous.
Going around the side of the compound, Heinrich finds a smaller gate that has been left half open.
The side gate creaks a bit when Heinrich opens it. He freezes, listening out for any reaction: there is none. He goes through into the courtyard.
On his right is the coach house, with the stables beside it. Both have their doors shut. Heinrich can hear horses in the stables - they are making quite a lot of noise, as though upset by something.
In front of him is the main inn building. The shutters are closed over the windows, but light can be seen through them. As Heinrich creeps towards the main gates, he can hear sounds of merriment inside the inn. Considering how close the main gate is, anyone inside the inn should surely have heard him knocking.
He reaches the gate and unbars it. It's locked as well, but Julian is able to deal with that from the other side. The gate is soon open.
“This reminds me of that cursed church at the Wittgenstein’s. Heinrich, do you think you could go to the inn and look in the windows? We’d be better off camping, maybe… Now I bought that stuff I can make a decent shelter with the cart”
Julian readies his handgun and crossbow.
[Heinrich, Klaus, Julian, Ragni]
Ragni has his axe ready, and looks excited about a possible fight!
Heinrich sneaks over to the window. The shutters are all closed, but he can see through the cracks... though not very well. There are four men inside, sitting around a table, drinking and talking loudly. It's difficult to make out what they are saying, but they are clearly celebrating something.
One of the men is enormously fat. One of the others has unpleasantly bulging eyes. The third is wearing a uniform, possibly that of a roadwarden. The fourth is just out of Heinrich's line of sight.
[Arnst and Max]
The tour of the sanitarium takes in the chapel, the infirmary, a dormitory, and the central courtyard. Sister Clementine introduces Max and Arnst to Sister Marie, the physician; Sister Ann-lise, the pharmacist; and Sister Ulrike, a hypnotist. She explains that the hospice uses a variety of treatment methods, depending on the needs of the individual patient.
While Sister Clementine is explaining some of the treatments to Max, Arnst notices a man dressed in protective overalls pushing a trolley along the corridor. He fits the rough description of Helmut, the orderly accused of selling corpses.
[Heinrich, Klaus, Julian, Ragni]
Otto looks from Klaus to Heinrich in confusion. "A tub? Wine? One room for the four of you? We can do that I suppose. I'll just go and...um...check something." He waddles off towards the Kitchen. Behind the bar, the man with bulging eyes is busy mopping the floor. He's going about the task with considerable vigor.
The man in uniform gets up from his table and walks over to the group (the fourth man that Heinrich couldn't quite see through the window is nowhere about). "Good evening," the uniformed man says confidently, "I am Captain Hans Jinkerst of the Baron's Own Roadwardens. My patrol and I are staying here tonight, and I should tell you I have full authority to issue summary judgement on anyone I suspect of committing a crime." He looks at them suspiciously. "So you should all tell me your names and your business on the road. There are a lot of bandits around at the moment. If I'm not satisfied with your answers you will be in for an uncomfortable evening. Speak up then!"
"Lets not get ready for a fight, let's start one."
Julian will wait to see what klaus/heinrich can hear, His sword and shield at the ready
Hans immediately dives back into the kitchen. Heinrich shoots...
[Heinrich to hit: 100! miss]
...but the arrow goes wide, bouncing of the wall and almost hitting Klaus. Hans slams the kitchen door.
“Grungniiiiii” Julian shouts, and barrels into the door.
[Mortus]
The pilgrims stop and turn to face Mortus. They have the heads of reptiles, with forked tongues that flick in and out of their mouths.
"It is the City of He Who Stands Apart," one of them says, "we go there to do Him honour."
"He opposes the Four," another says, "Praise Him!"
"Do you serve Him?" another asks, "or do you follow one of the Four?"
They stare unblinkingly at Mortus, awaiting a reply.
[Heinrich, Klaus, Julian, Ragni]
An unmarked glass vial sits on the counter near the cooking fire. It seems reasonable to assume it's the poison Hans and Otto intended to put in the stew.
In the cellar, the loose slab can be lifted easily. A ladder leads into a room below. Chanting can be heard coming from the room.
[Heinrich, Klaus, Julian, Ragni]
The room below the cellar is hexagonal, and looks much older than the building above. Half a dozen people are lying in one corner, tied up, dead or unconscious. At the center of the room is a statue, two feet high, made from green stone. It depicts a peculiar creature that looks like something between a crocodile and a frog. It may be a trick of the flickering candle-light, but the statue seems to change position slightly as it is observed. Around the statue, the floor is inlaid with a pattern of bewildering complexity.
A single cultist is here, chanting before the statue. It's presumably the man Heinrich saw through the window earlier. The back of his head looks... scaly.
[Heinrich to hit (bow, aimed shot at head): 12, hit. S4+d6 roll of 6! (add damage = yes)+2-T3 = 9 wounds. Critical to head = unconscious]
Heinrich's arrow hits the man in the head. He slumps forward, onto the patterned area around the statue, apparently dead. Some of his blood trickles onto the floor.
The statue begins to vibrate loudly.
Heinrich sees the creature halfway up the courtyard wall, trying to get away. He can see that it is vaguely human in appearance, except that it has four huge spider legs in addition to its normal limbs. It is also naked, and covered in greasy black hair.He will shoot at it if he can.
Heinrich looses another arrow at Otto:
[Heinrich: 10, hits head. S4+d6 roll of 5-T4 = 5 wounds. -1 critical to head = unconscious]
It slams into his cheek. He slumps to the ground and makes no further movements.
[Mortus]
The supervisor turns to stare at her. He's a bald, heavy-set man with a nasty expression on his face and a whip hanging from his belt.
"You lost girl? These are the Hugeldal mines. Nearest village is Messingen. Few miles north." He points to show the direction.
[Heinrich, Klaus, Julian, Ragni]
[Otto may not technically be dead, but he's in a coma. There is an arrow in his head.]
There are only two guests among the cultists' prisoners, and both are too groggy to make much sense. All Klaus can get from them is that they were traveling to Middenheim for the carnival.
All the prisoners need to sleep before they can be expected to say anything else of consequence.
[Mortus]
Mortus soon reaches the village of Messingen. She wonders how much time has passed since she was last here. Can it still be the same day? She'll have to ask someone.
Ubersreik, of course, is another few miles to the north.
[Mortus]
[previous post updated regarding servants and carriage!]
"If you'd like to wait a moment, miss," the servant says, "I'll see if the Doktor is available."
She closes the door. A few minutes later, she opens it again. "I'm so sorry, miss, but Doktor Glarean is away on business. If you'd like to leave a message I'm sure he'll contact you when he gets back."
[Heinrich, Klaus, Julian, Ragni]
The group travel around towards the southern causeway (the one that joins the Altdorf road). There's a large queue here also, though it's perhaps not quite as long.
As they draw near, they hear a familiar voice shouting to them.
"Klaus! Heinrich! Mr Julian! Ragni! Over here!"
It's Max. He and Arnst are at the end of the queue.
[Mortus]
Mortus has an extremely restful night, with no dreams that she remembers. Next morning (the 7th of Sommerzeit) she returns to the Doktor's house. A different servant answers the door this time: a middle-aged man with what looks to be a dueling scar on his face.
"The Doktor's not here," he says. He glares at Mortus.
"No, I don't think that will be necessary. You'll just need to pay the standard entry tax. However, the two dwarfs will have to pay a special tax. We'll need to assess their assets."
"What!" Ragni shouts, "I'm not paying some bloody dwarf tax!"
"This can't be legal," Max says, "discriminating against dwarfs? I am a lawyer, sir, and I will not allow it."
"Listen," the sergeant says, "we've been told to collect these new taxes on wizards, priests and dwarfs. Maybe we don't like them, but it's not up to us. Unless you two gentlemen-" he says to Julian and Ragni "-agree to be assessed and then pay the required sum you will be arrested for tax evasion."
"I'm not paying for the privilege of being a dwarf," Ragni insists.
[Mortus]
"Never mind, Hugo," a familiar voice calls from inside the house, "better let her in. I suppose she's due an explanation."
The scarred man shows Mortus into a comfortable study. "Well, this is awkward," Doktor Glarean says.
[Heinrich, Klaus, Julian, Max, Rangi]
The group enjoy a night of drinking, followed by peaceful sleep. In the morning (Angestag the 12th of Sommerzeit), they meet downstairs for breakfast. Uli makes breakfast for the guests himself, allowing his halfling cook Tiasmara to sleep in. The bacon and eggs are cooked competently, and are accompanied by good bread from a nearby bakery. The breakfast ale is 'Graf's Cure,' which is light and slightly spiced.
"Well," Max says, "what shall we do today then? Would you like me to get straight on to the legal complaint? Oh, I still need to look at those books you took from the cultist... I was a bit too drunk last night, I'm afraid!"
[Heinrich]Heinrich will thank the man and promises to bring any gang members he captures in as alive as possible.
Heinrich asks Uli where he can find the nearest watch station, and is told that the city watch are based in the four gate houses. Heirich opts to go to the south gate, since he already knows where that is. He goes outside into bright sunshine. The Templar's Arms is close to the Great Park - it's surprising to see such a large area of open ground in a city as desperate for space as Middenheim.
Everywhere, he sees people preparing for the carnival. Bright banners are being hung from the buildings, and there's a definite feeling of excitement in the air.
The gate house is very busy, of course. Heinrich goes into the watch house and waits at the desk until someone is free to help him. He manages to convince the man on duty that he should be allowed to see the captain, and is shown into his office.
The captain is a short man with grey whiskers and a look of fatigue on his face. He listens carefully to Heinrich's story about cultists.
"The watch appreciate the work you bounty hunters do," he says, "provided you don't break any laws yourself, of course. But this talk of demon cults is a bit wild. It sounds like the usual Sigmarite propaganda - we don't hold with that sort of thing in this city. There aren't any cultists here, and we aren't going to waste our time looking under the beds for them.
"Still, tattoos, you say? Sounds like a gang. I'm not aware of any that use purple hands as their sign, but there are new ones springing up all the time. If you want to bring in gang members the city'd appreciate it. Especially at this time of year - we have enough to do keeping thousands of carnival visitors in order. There's a standing bounty on gangers. Dead or alive.
"Do you know the city at all? The gangs mainly stick to two areas: The Altquarter, and Ostwald. Both bad places. Both rife with drug dealers, racketeers and other scum. The watch does its best, but we don't have the manpower to clean them out. Try an inn called The Last Drop in Altquarter, or The Drowned Rat in Ostwald. Be careful though.
"As for mercenaries: there are usually too many of those around at this time of year. The cells were full of them last night - they get drunk and start fights. But demand is pretty high - merchants and rich citizens snap them up for protection. Try the rougher sorts of tavern, especially near one of the gates. There should be some wandering in about now, looking for work. Just don't turn your back on them.
"If that's all, I have a lot of work to get on with. Good luck with your hunt."
[Heinrich]
Heinrich leaves the watch station and looks around for suitable taverns. He catches sight of one, down an alley off the main street, with a sign that shows a shield with a snake on it. It looks like a good bet.
He walks down the alley and goes into the tavern. The barman nods to him as he enters. There are a few groups of people sitting at the tables. Most of them look like traders or carnival visitors, but there are a couple of tough-looking men in mail shirts, swigging down beer. They might be mercenaries.
[Heinrich]
One of the men looks at him. "Yeah, us."
"Mind you," the other one says, "depends what kind of work you mean. If it's the kind that involves swords, that's us."
One of the groups of traders gets up and leaves the tavern. Another man in a mail shirt enters and sits at the bar.
[Heinrich]
The two men at the table shake their heads, "Nah, we're from Altdorf. Came up here guarding some travelers. Never been here before."
"Yeah, we're up for fighting if the price is right. But there's no sense in pretending to know the city. I ain't got no idea where nothing is."
The other armoured man, who was sitting at the bar and has obviously been listening, says, ""Need a sword, eh? I can be your man. I'm sick of pampering merchants. What's your offer? ... Sounds like you need someone well connected to the city. I've got a dwarf friend out in the Wynd quarter who's well connected to some engineering guilds. He might know some people to talk to. He's out inspecting some warehouses. If we leave now, you might be able to meet him privately."
[Mortus]
"The King?" the Doktor say, looking puzzled, "King Charles of Bretonnia? I have no contact with him, not indeed with any royal person. I am likewise not involved in any way with Lady Isolde's servant. You will recall that our reason for invoking - or trying to invoke - the elemental spirits was to obtain information on Janna and her possible demonological connections. I assure you that I did not tell your servants to depart. Neither can I think who would have abducted you and left you in a mine.
[Mortus may remember that, according to her servants, it was a servant of the Doktor's household who told them to leave, not the Doktor himself.]
"Are you saying that something was summoned after all? I thought the experiment had become uncontrolled and destroyed itself. Can you describe the entity that appeared? Or was it simply an explosion of aetheric force?"
[Heinrich]
The two men at the table nod in thanks for the drinks. The other man accepts the drink more cheerfully. "Wow! A pint?" he says, "I didn't know this would be a part of the deal! Pleased to meet you, Heinrich. I'm Johann Esenbach.
"The Purple Hand? I've never heard of them, and Wittgenstein doesn't ring any bells either. Are you some kind of bounty hunter? The chest tattoos sound like gang markings. I've spent a lot of time in Marienburg, and gutter trash gangs always mark themselves up with colorful tattoos like that. Like I said, I have a dwarf friend who knows a lot more about these kind of things than I do. He'll be at a warehouse that's not that far from here. If we leave now, maybe we could ask him?"
Johann smiles encouragingly.
[Julian and Ragni]
"The chapel is more than two thousand years old, brothers," Jodur says, "made by the dwarfs who tunneled their way up Grungni's Tower -that's what we call this pillar of rock the city's built on. They wanted to give thanks to the first ancestor for granting them success in their work. It's been added to over time, of course." He smiles. "Keep this between dwarfs, but the chapel connects to the tunnel system. There's another entrance at the Engineers' Guild. We still use some of the upper tunnels, though the way to the bottom is lost."
Mungrim nods to them gravely, and offers to share a pipe. He somehow manages to fill and light it despite only having one arm. "Aye, lads, this is a bad time for dwarfs - has been since a couple of weeks back when the tax laws were brought in. Those who've been taxed at the gates are angry enough, but the rest of us in the city won't have to pay until the end of carnival week. That's when the real problems will start. There are hundreds of dwarfs here, and a lot of them won't be able to afford the tax. Young Thodar at the Kommission for non-humans is organising a petition, but I don't think it'll do any good. The engineers' are talking about taking more direct action... but that will probably make things worse.
"I can't understand how Graf Boris could do this. He's always been a good friend to dwarfs. He's even visited the chapel, years ago, and he was very respectful. But he's not been seen for a while, and people say he's ill. Someone else must be using his powers for their own ends. I think it's probably Chancellor Sparsam. Maybe the city's accounts haven't balanced and he needs to raise capital fast. But a lot of my congregation say it's the elven minstrel, Rallane. I think that's just prejudice.
"Anyhow, if the taxes aren't stopped we'll have to leave the city. We can't stay after an insult like that."
Heinrich attacks Johann.
[Heinrich 1 (magic axe): 66, miss
H2 (magic axe also): 03, hits right arm. S4+1+d6 roll of 3-T3-A2 = 3 wounds. Dodge blow = 10, pass. No damage
H3 (normal axe, off hand): 11, hits head. S4+1+d6 roll of 3-T3-A2 = 3 wounds. Parry attempt = 45, pass. Damage reduced by d6 = 1. 2 wounds caused]
The mercenary steps out of the way of the first stroke, but takes a hit to the head from Heinrich's other axe. He makes another attempt to knock Heinrich out.
[Johann (strike to stun: 78, miss]
He's clearly fighting defensively, and is slowly retreating towards the door of the warehouse.
Heinrich follows.
[Heinrich 1: 94, miss
H2: 30, hits head. S4+1+d6 roll of 3-T3-A2 = 3 wounds. Dodge blow = 16, pass. No damage.
H3: 07, hits body. S4+1+d6 roll of 4-T3-A2 = 4 wounds. Parry attempt = 01, pass. Damage reduced by d6 = 5. no wounds caused]
[Johann (StS): 24, hits head (stun attempt. S3+1+d6 roll of 4-T6-A2 = no stun possible.]
Johann makes one final attempt to stun Heinrich, before ducking through the open door of the warehouse into the dark interior.
[Does Heinrich follow?]
[Heinrich]
Heinrich goes back down the alley. There's a large door at the front, but entering that way would be too obvious. Looking round the other side, he sees a loading gantry overhead with a rope hanging from it. He could probably climb up fairly easily, and see what's inside the warehouse without being seen himself.
[Heinrich]
Heinrich heads north, since the Templar's Arms is in that direction and he might come across Julian on the way. He's walking along a quiet side street when two men in mail shirts, red-faced and breathing heavily, step out in front of him. They look like the dwarf's two henchmen from the warehouse. Johann is jogging up the street behind Heinrich.
"Right, stop there," one of the henchmen says, "our boss wants a word with you. No need for trouble if you come along with us."
[Heinrich]
Heinrich is aware that he is on a public street, though not a busy one, so a fight is liable to draw the watch. He charges forward, trying to break through.
[Heinrich 1: 90, miss
H2: 100! miss
H3 (off hand): 28, hits right leg. S4+1+d6 roll of 2-T4 = 3 wounds]
He manages to catch one of them a glancing blow to the leg. Both of them respond by attempting to stun him.
[Merc A attack 1 (stun): 90, miss
A2: 23, hits head (stun). S4+1+d6 roll of 4-T6-A2 = 1, 5%+20% for skill = 25% chance of stun. Dice roll = 44, failed]
[Merc B attack1 (stun): 76, miss
B2: 66, miss]
Only one of them succeeds in striking Heinrich, and the blow is deflected by his helm.
Johann is still closing the distance. He shouts, ""Heinrich! Stop! Your friend Julien Stonebridge is in danger. This doesn't need to happen."
[Heinrich S test = 05, pass!]
Heinrich has barreled his way past the two men. He could keep running, and try to lose them in the backstreets (the men were already tired from running to overtake him, so might not be able to follow him far). Or turn and continue the fight.
[Heinrich]
Despite the heat and his heavy equipment, Heinrich is more than able to continue running. After a while, he finds himself in a busy square at the intersection of several major streets. A huge bronze statue stands at the center of the square. It depicts a crowned man with a noble expression, carrying several children in his arms. His foot rests on the broken neck of a giant rat.
The square is full of traders, entertainers and preachers. A patrol of watchmen are just about to pass him. Looking back, Heinrich can see no sign of his pursuer. He's sure that he's lost him.
Down one of the streets, not far away, is an enormous building that looks like a combination of castle and cathedral. It must surely be the city's famous Temple of Ulric.
[Heinrich]
A dwarf woman answers Heinrich's request for directions. "You want to visit the Chapel of Grungni? Well, go that way-" she points down a street "-along Zellaut Strasse, past that tall building - that's the Merchants' Guild - and just keep going. When you see the Lawyers' Guild, turn right down Wendenbahn. You'll see the entrance to the Chapel on your left."
He thanks her and sets off for the Chapel. Eventually, he arrives at a gate marked with a dwarfish rune. Heinrich knocks on it. After a while, it is answered by a robed dwarf who is presumably a priest. He looks a bit surprised. "Oh, hello. This is the Chapel of Grungni. Are you in need of directions to somewhere?"
[Heinrich]
"Oh, they are friends of yours? Yes, Mr Stonebridge and Ragni visited the Chapel to pay their respects to Grungni. They were here for some time, but I'm afraid they have now left. I can't tell you where they went, though Mr Stonebridge did say that he intended to visit the Dwarf Engineers' Guild today, and also the Komission for Non-humans. You may find them at one of those places. Would you like me to give them a message if they return here?"
[Heinrich]
The dwarf is clearly shocked. "That's terrible! And to think a brother dwarf would be behind something like that! I will certainly do what I can to make sure Mr Stonebridge is warned. And I'll ask around too... someone must know who this dwarf is. If I discover anything, I'll send a message to your inn. Thank you for your donation, sir. Grungni smiles on honourable men like you.
Now, the Dwarf Engineers' Guild is just up the street - on your right as you head toward the Great Park. The Komission for Non-humans is rather further away. You need to go up to the Park, then go all the way around it to the other side. When you see the Temple of Ulric, go on up Heilige Strasse until you see the Temple of Verena. You can't miss it, it's a lovely building. The Komission is just across from the temple. Grungni watch over you."
[Heinrich]"Just tell him that I am looking for him and it is important." Heinrich will leave his name with the clerk and head to the racist building.
Heinrich soon finds the Dwarf Engineers' Guild and goes inside. The dwarf at the front desk looks up from a large stack of papers and says, "Hello, sir. You here on business?"
Heinrich asks about Julian. The dwarf clerk offers to check the guild records.
"Yes, we have a member called Julian Stonebridge. No record of him ever visiting Middenheim. I expect he'll be along soon though, if he's in town. Want to leave him a message?"
[Heinrich]
Heinrich sets off for the Komission for Non-humans, which is on the other side of the city. His route takes him past the Templar's Arms. As the inn comes into sight, he sees a small, ginger man helping a semi-conscious man in a mail shirt through the door of the inn. He only saw them for a moment, from a distance. But the ginger one was surely Max... and the other one looked like Johann, the mercenary who led him into an ambush!
[Heinrich][Yes, it was clear. I'm trying not to let my ooc knowledge affect my character's actions.]
[They were going into the inn. Not sure if that was clear!]
Heinrich hurries to the Templar's Arms and goes inside. He creeps up the stairs and checks the rooms. He can hear Max's voice - the door to the room he's in has been left half open. Max is talking to Klaus, while Johann is lying on a bed with his head bandaged. He looks genuinely injured, so if this is another scheme it's an odd one.Heinrich will walk in, casually. He will not give away that he recognizes "Johann".
"Hello, Heinrich!" Max says, "I'm glad you're safe. That dwarf who hates Mr Julian - Bardin Dwinbarsson - kidnapped me and tried to make me write a ransom letter. I wouldn't do it though," he says proudly, "even though they whipped me. This is Admund. He rescued me, but got shot in the process. I brought him back here to treat his injury. Oh, I've told the watch about Bardin, so they should be looking for him and his henchmen now."
[Mortus]
There are two other apprentices. Both are teenaged boys with ink-stained hands. They stare at the gold crown, obviously spending it in their minds.
"Fritz's half-day, miss," one of them says, "off taking Janna out for lunch at the Staggered Stag. So he said anyhow."
"Reckon he's got other plans though, miss" the other one says, "took his bag with all his gear with him. And that money he kept under the creaky floorboard. Reckon he's gonna leave town."
"What was that?" Mr. Dritzehn says, "leaving town? The little bastard - oh, pardon my language, miss. But he can't leave just like that! He's a bound apprentice. Why didn't you say anything, Hans?" He cuffs the apprentice around the head, "just you wait 'till these people have left! You'll get what's coming to you. Tell me where he's going and I might go easy on you!"
"Ow, sorry master!" Hans says, "but I don't know, really! I just saw him getting his things together, but he don't tell me nothing! Then I saw Janna outside, and she had all her bags with her too. Didn't say nothing coz it ain't my business, master."
[Heinrich]
Leaving the inn by himself, Heinrich heads north, past the Great Park. Continuing on, he soon sees the Temple of Verena. A beautiful, grey marble statue of the goddess stands by the doorway.
Close by is a tall, stone-faced building that is probably the Komission for Non-humans. Heinrich goes inside. A halfling is sitting with his feet up on the front desk, reading a book. When he hears Heinrich come in, he leaps up and scurries over. He offers his hand to shake.
"Good afternoon sir! My name is Huggins - I'm the clerk for halfling affairs, of course! What can I do for you today? We have some wonderful cultural events planned for the carnival... beer-tasting, pie-eating, pipe-smoking... oh, it's going to be amazing! Or are you here to talk to my dwarf or elf colleagues? I'd be delighted to show you to the right office."
"I reckon," Ragni says, somewhat too loudly, "we should go to that house tonight... early morning like. Get him while he's in his bed. Let him get up and get an axe in his hand, of course. But that way, we can be sure he won't have any tricks ready. The Boss can open the lock, then Heinrich can sneak in and check he's there."
[Heinrich and the burglary crew]
The windows all have their shutters closed, and the shutters have been barred or locked from the inside. They will have to be forced open.
[Klaus and Max]
Max has had a couple of pints of beer now, and has become rather talkative, "You are such a good friend, Klaus!" he says, "you didn't need to stay here with me tonight... but I'm very grateful that you did. The others are so confident and brave that I find it hard to tell them when I'm afraid. But I can tell you - not because you aren't brave, because you are. But... um... I don't know why, really. I've told people you were my older brother, once or twice, when we needed a cover story. I think I first thought of that because that's how I feel about you. As if you're my brother. So I can tell you that I'm terribly afraid of the demon. And that I wish the others would turn Bardin over to the law and let him be dealt with properly. And I can tell you how tired and weak I feel, and how much my back hurts. Then there's Mortus... I really miss her, Klaus! I know she didn't want me to go with her on her journey, but I wish I was with her now. Do you think she cares about me?"
[Burglars]
No sooner has Ragni spoken than Heinrich rejoins them in the kitchen.
"Is Bardin here?" Ragni asks.
[Burglars]
Heinrich, Julian, Admund and Ragni leave Svenssonsson's house by the window. Julian fixes the shutter as best he can without making too much noise.
When they return to the street, they realise that someone is watching them. A tall, hooded figure is standing in the middle of the street, about fifty yards away, openly staring at them.
Morrslieb emerges suddenly from behind a cloud, shining down with pale, unhealthy light. The hooded figure casts an unnaturally long shadow... and, in fact, the shadow bears little resemblance to the figure's shape.
cool test (Dice roll 71)
Klaus is shocked by Admund grabbing him his eyes are wide with fear as the huge man is lifting him up....the sound of the silken cloth tearing apart is the only reaction from Klaus to the sudden outburst. Only after he was lying on the floor for some moments catching his breath he regains his composure.
"Do that again...and I will see you flogged and then killed. I am the count of Sternberg, and I will not allow you to stay in the inn we are staying....you better start searching a new place to infest with the incestous pox ridden face of yours."
"So he harms me ...which is fine, if I harm him I have to get through you Heinrich....that sums it up. Right? Julian, where are you on this, Ragni........Max?"
Klaus got back up on his feet....and dusts himself off.
“Ragni’s right, I’m just going to deal with this like a dwarf. Even though Bardin probably wont let me. I’ll give you 5 minutes to go and find him, then I’m going to the inn to challenge him.”
[Heinrich]
After listening to the crowd for a bit longer, Heinrich deduces that the watchmen would have taken the dwarf to the North Gate watch house, since it's the closest. He heads there at once, passing the city's impressive Temple to Sigmar on the way. At the North Gate (which is actually on the north-east of the city), he goes inside and asks to speak to someone in charge, saying he has important information on the bombing.
He's kept waiting for ten minutes, before being admitted to the captain's office. A small man with grey, wiry hair is prowling up and down behind the desk. "Well?" he barks, "I'm told you know something about the bombing? Speak!"
"I agree with you doktor," Mortus says. "I also think that we have little enough time. I had terrible nightmares at the couching inn. I need to go to the merchant's guild to speak briefly with my contacts here," Mortus says. "I am sure that you have contacts of your own that you would like to talk to." Mortus looks down at herself and then smiles sadly. "I can't go dressed like this though, they would not let me in. I am going to go quickly and buy a dress before I go. I think we should meet at [name of suitable inn close to hand] at midday and compare what we know. What do you suggest to that?"
If the doktor agrees then Mortus is going to go to the tailor's guild and ask for Jan Pachelbel. She will make sure that she is not followed.
[Heinrich, Admund, Max, Ragni]
"I... I don't know, Heinrich!" Max says, "Um. It seemed so sensible when Klaus explained it. But those are good points. What should we do?"
[Heinrich]
Quite some time after the others have left the inn, a patrol of watchmen arrive. If Heinrich is in the bar, the watchmen approach him. If he is in his room, the watchmen find him there.
"Heinrich, friend of Julian Stonebridge?" the sergeant says, "we'd like you to come down to the watch station and answer some questions. At once, if possible."
[go with them?]
[Heinrich]
"Thank you, sir," the sergeant says, "this way please."
The patrol escort Heinrich to the South Gate Watch station. He is asked to surrender his weapons, then lead to an interview room. A watchman joins him there.
"Good afternoon, Heinrich," he says, "I'd like to ask you about your association with a dwarf called Bardin Dwinbarsson. You work for him, yes?"
[Heinrich]
"Julian Stonebridge and Bardin Dwinbarsson engaged in a street fight or duel by a warehouse in the Wynd district, resulting in the poisoning of one and the savage beating of the other. We have two independant witnesses who saw you and your associate Admund fleeing the scene. Both of you have been seen associating with Bardin and his other accomplices, in and around that warehouse, over the last couple of days. We were given your names and your place of accommodation.
"Since it has become clear that Bardin is a spy and saboteur in the pay of Marienburg, then you should understand the seriousness of the charges you are facing. I suggest you tell me everything."
[Heinrich]
"I see," the watchman says. "So do you deny that you were ever in the presence of Bardin or his men? Are you saying you were never at this warehouse in the Wynd? What of Admund - you know him, yes? Are you aware of his complicity in the abduction and flogging of a young lawyer called Maximilian Breytenbach, which was done at Bardin's request?
"You say that Bardin has threatened you and Mr Stonebridge. Did you make any reprisals against him?"
[Heinrich]
"Not as yet, no. I am trying to determine whether or not you should be charged. It would be better for you to cooperate. Will you answer my questions?"
[Heinrich]
"As I said, we have two witnesses who accuse you, together with the testimony of Bardin's other two hirelings. If you will not answer the questions, then I will charge you. I will need to consult with the captain to determine the precise charges. This is your last chance: will you answer the questions?"
[Julian]
"Thank you, Mr Stonebridge," the captain says, "that matches our other sources very well. One more thing: was Bardin alone, when you met to duel with him? Was he perhaps accompanied by two henchmen, named Heinrich and Admund?" The captain describes them to Julian.
"You confess, then, to brawling on the street, with intent to cause injury? I certainly understand your anger, but you must understand that we cannot allow citizens - or indeed, visitors to the city - to take the law into their own hands. Bardin was already wanted for his attack on your friend, and we would have caught him in time. We already apprehended two of his henchmen, and we will soon have the others as well. As it turns out, he was found to have in his possession evidence of far greater crimes, which are sufficiently serious that they have been referred to the office of the Law Lords.
"Had you left matters to us, you would not have been poisoned and come close to death. And you would not be facing punishment. I am afraid that I will have to order that you be whipped. I assure you that I take no pleasure in doing so. Have you anything more to say?"
"With so few crowns remaining it is difficult to complete the tasks set to us. Though I suppose that such a shortage of monies will lead to some advantages later on," Mortus says. "I was somewhat expecting a royal face on the crowns but it appears that the newest mint is the same as the older. Such small things that interest us merchants. That is a beautiful colour but I was always so taken with purple. As a fellow merchant I would ask if you think that the business of the carnival would be profitable considering the expense of getting their so swiftly and whether or not I should taken the good doktor with me? I am sure that he is interested in the carnival if it is such a meeting place for glove makers than any glove wearer would be interested."
Mortus will also glance around the room. Jan's worry has her slightly concerned.
Admund will await his lashes at the post. His icy blank eyes are filled with rage, and will remain fixed on Klaus Metzger.
Mortus takes the gloves.
"I thank you," she says. "It is important that you advertize and I will be sure to tell any who ask about the wonderful quality where I got them and hopefully send business your way. I was not so interested in the colour purple myself but rather thought that the reactions of others should I wear such a colour might prove enlightening.
I must also purchase a dress for the carnival. It would not do to attend with being properly clad. I trust that you have something suitable."
Mortus is willing to spend around 100 crowns on a dress and related cloak and boots.
"How are you feeling, Julian? I just wanted to let you know that I don't blame you for the floggings. Turning Bardin over to the authorities was the right thing to do." Heinrich paces the room, looking nowhere in particular, hands loosely clasped in front of him. "I wonder if I'm still cut out for all of this. The fighting. Pursuing evil men to the far reaches of the Empire. I just..." Heinrich stops, frowning at the wall, but obviously not seeing it. "I'm tired." Heinrich's gaze focuses, and he looks again at his dwarf friend. "I am not sure why I am telling you this. I won't quit on you or abandon the group. Or hare off on my own without so much as a good day like Mortus did. I guess I just needed to say it out loud."
[Mortus]
"Indeed I did, Miss Mortus - Bogenhafen is a very pleasant town. Ah, the soup? Yes, why not. Waitress? Soup, please, when you have a moment. Now, where were we... please, continue to eat, Miss Mortus. There is no need to wait for mine to arrive. I had a fine morning, reacquainting myself with old friends. But I have found little information... did you fare any better?"
"Gosh, really, Heinrich?" Max says, "that's awfully high praise from you - you're a really amazing fighter. I'll you what though: you are certain to win the archery tourney! I doubt even an elf can shoot better than you can." He smiles. "I think I've been neglecting my physical training. Maybe with a few tips from all of you I can become more the man Father wants me to be."
Allavandrel shakes Julian's hand out of politeness, but he tries to minimize the contact.
The crowd cheer - it's a good speech, being short and unchallenging. Julian hopes his hints about the importance of dwarfs have made an impression, but it's hard to tell. Certainly the dwarfs in the audience appreciated his words.
"An excellent speech, Mr Stonebridge," General Schwermutt says, "I think Allavandrel was worried you'd make a scene, but I told him you'd have more discretion than that. Were you hurt at all during the fight? I hope you will be fit enough to defend your title."
[Klaus]
Meanwhile, Klaus goes across town to the Worshipful Guild of Legalists, which he visted with Max the other day (it's south of the Great Park). The building is less busy today - the carnival is drawing attention away from other matters. Klaus asks at the front desk for Wolfgang Schmidt's office, and is shown to a large, neat room on the top floor. There's a nice view of the park through the window, over the intervening rooftops.
Schmidt is an elderly man with a pair of elaborate, silver-edged spectacles. "Ah, good afternoon. Are you Count Klaus? I am Wolfgang Schmidt, clerk to Law Lord Ehrlich. Please sit down. I can offer you a glass of sherry, if that would appeal? What can I do for you?"
Mortus feels a cold shiver pass up her spine, her body tenses slight as if she is preparing to run. She forces a smile, though if the doktor is looking at he will notice that she is uncomfortable. She inhales deeply.
"I had a good teacher at a young age, doktor," she says. "He taught me to be imaginative with magic and also to beware those who were narrowminded and over zealous." Mortus looks out over the water, following the doktor's gaze. Speaking of Vacc seems to have calmed her a little.
"I would be happy for any instruction that you would willing to offer, doktor," she says. "However you will understand if I desire to keep such tutelage private and secret. It may effect my position as a merchant if it became known that I had magic. You understand how the ill informed are on this sort of thing."
[Henrich, Julian, Admund, Max, Ragni]
Next morning [for everyone except Klaus, who is still on the night before!] is Aubentag the 15th of Sommerzeit, the second day of the carnival. Most of the major events today are the same as yesterday's. Julian will need to defend his title today, and Heinrich will need to compete in the archery contest again if he wants to be the overall victor. Admund has a breakfast appointment with Marshal von Genscher.
The group assemble in the bar for breakfast, though of course Admund will be leaving without having any. Max didn't return last night... but he now walks in from outside, still in his minotaur outfit from last night, looking embarrassed and a bit hungover.
"Um, good morning everyone," he says quietly.
"Look at you!" Ragni says disapprovingly, "what would that girl's father say?"
Max sits down at the table. "Oh dear," he says.
[Klaus]
Rallane performs again after the intermission. He manages to be even better than before.
Klaus leaves the Royal College of Music once the matinee is over. It's now early evening.
[does Klaus want to do anything else yesterday?]
Admund cheers Julians victory. Admund notes the oddity the Ar-Ulric seems on stage. Turning to Heinrich, Max, and Klaus next to him. "Say, what's with the Ar-Ulric? Never known thought the Big Wolf to be so edgy."
[Heinrich]
"Ah, I see, sir. I'm sure you understand we try to be careful. Yes, Miss Mortus is staying here. She booked in just today - not very long ago in fact. You have just missed her. I don't know when she will be returning, but you can leave a message if you like. Or, please feel free to wait for her. I can get you any drinks or food you may require."
"Come with me," Mortus says quickly. She glances around the inn to make sure that the doktor is not there and then she leads Heinrich to her room and locks the door. "The person that I am travelling with is a member of the Purple Hand Cult. I think I might be able to use him to work my way into the cult and find out more of what they are doing here. I wrote to you so you and the others would know I was here. You were the only one I could think of whose position I could be sure of."
"I'm safe enough," Mortus replies. "And it is worth minor danger to seek out there plans. How are the others?"
Mortus look shocked at Heinrich's words.
"I wrote to him and told him not to follow me," she says quietly, as if she feels a little guilty. "You should tell him I am sorry for that. Where are you staying that I might be able to contact you?"
[Heinrich, Admund, Max]
"Look, I don't suppose she swung a bloody necklace in front of my eyes and said 'you are feeling sleepy' in a funny voice right in the middle of the bar!" Dieter says indignantly. "She probably did something more subtle. I don't know."
"It was two months ago, after all," Max says, "I'm not sure anyone at the Showboat will remember her, unless she's a regular patron. But we have to try. When does it open, sirs?"
"I should think in half an hour or so," Allavandrel says, "I think I should try a different line of inquiry though - I'll find Rallane and ask if he's seen this woman." He smiles, "he has a good memory for certain types of people, you see."
"I need to talk to Kirsten," Dieter says, "she must have been worried sick, with all the nonsense I was talking!"
Admund thanks Otto and steps past him briskly. He will begin questioning the Showboat staff about the woman who was with Dieter, starting with the woman at the bar.
Admund sighs and says, "Well, Bruno, I'm sure your auntie would be proud. Good luck with...all this..."
Admund leaves Bruno and his drugs, and goes to stand by Heinrich, and talks to him in a quiet voice. "What d'you think, Heinrich? Hultz Fleischer. We have to find this scumbag is connected to this Elise woman. Seems like he'd be recognizable: Tall, long black hair, green eyes, nasty warts all on his hands..."
Admund rubs his eyes, "You're the bounty hunter. Think we can find him in the Ostwald?"
"ahhh Admund..back being an uncivilized peasant, are we?" smiling at the mercenary while he is enjoying his food.
Ragni comes down for breakfast a little later than the others. "Good morning lads!" he says loudly, "I'm starving today!" He orders a large quantity of bacon and sausages, as well as a pint of ale. As soon as it arrives, he starts to eat rapidly and quite messily.
"This is going to be a great day for dwarfs!" he says, between mouthfuls, "the Boss is going to be made Champion of Middenheim! You lads better come and watch!"
[Heinrich]
Heinrich returns to the Templar's Arms inn. Kurt, the barman, greets him as he enters. "Back already, Heinrich? Your friend is still in his room, but I'm not due to wake him for another half hour or so. Had a girl in here asking after you all. Left when I said you were all out except the lad. Name of Mortus - you know her?"
[Klaus and Julian]
"I work for the City of Middenheim, sir," Timmy says, looking nervously from Klaus to Julian, "for the Komission for Health. I'm just a sweeper, sir. Have I done something wrong?"
Heinrich will casually walk up to Mortus and only loud enough for her to hear, say: "How is the secret spy life working out?"
Heinrich will casually walk up to Mortus and only loud enough for her to hear, say: "How is the secret spy life working out?"
"Not well," Mortus says quietly. She glances around. "I need to get into that building. There is a person I need to speak with who I believe is in there. You?"
She will walk around the building again and see if there is anywhere where it would be easy enough to climb the wall. She will also see if there is any way she can break down the back door.
"If the red crowns killed him then this building is run by red crowns and not purple hand," Mortus says. "He is in there."
"He is there," Mortus insists. She rubs her face suddenly. "I know he is there, but you are right, trying to break in during the day is madness. I don't think the tax is the main focus of the plot. It is too simple, too open. The tax is hiding something. We have to find what it is hiding. It is in there, I know it is." The calmness seems to be slipping for Mortus slightly. She takes a deep breath to gather her thoughts. "What do you know about this place?"
"Wait," Mortus says. "If nothing else we can see inside when the gate opens. We should watch for signals and signs."
"They have to have signs of some sort," Mortus says. "So they know who is delivering. If you want to go on I'll watch for them and follow you."
Klaus nods in approval...but also raises an eyebrow "Ok Heinrich you sure you don´t need any help...I can move rather quick and silently too if need be....Max can explain that we are talking to Anton and will join the feast later..."
[Heinrich, Mortus, Klaus, Max]
Max examines the surgeon. "He's alive, but unconscious," he says, "there is some bruising on his neck... I'd say he was hit very precisely, with just enough force to stun him. Um... I think he'll be out for a while yet."
Mortus reaches for Anton's armor. Her hand hasn't even touched it when she feels a sudden, lurching pull in her stomach. Everything goes black and silent to her for a second. When her vision and hearing return, she feels drained - not physically tired, but somehow empty. She realises that her connection to the winds of magic has been broken.
[Mortus: magic points drained to zero]
Heinrich leaves the tent through the hole at the back. He spots Anton almost immediately - he realises he could catch him up, or follow him to wherever he's going.
Mortus will grasp Heinrich's arm as he starts to collect the armour.
"Leave it," she hisses. Her face has gone very white and her entire body is shaking. She regains control over herself. "Leave it for the city wizards to find.
[If Heinrich ignores her she will tighten her grip on his arm and try to spin him to face her and insist that he leave the armour]
[Heinrich]
"I'm just a servant, sir," the halfling says, his eyes lowered submissively, "my name is Freddie. I was just changing the sheets, sir. May I go please, sir? I have a lot of work to do."
[Heinrich]
The halfling reacts by throwing the folded sheets at Heinrich, and running in the other direction holding a bag he was concealing beneath them. He's heading for the open window at the end of the corridor!
[Heinrich]
[Heinrich I test = 20, pass]
Heinrich avoids the hurled sheets, and rushes forwards to try to catch the halfling before he can escape through the window. He dives forwards, hoping to grab him...
[Heinrich Dex test = 12, pass]
...his hands close around the halfling's shoulders. The momentum causes both of them to fall forwards, Heinrich landing on top of the little halfling. He gets up again, the halfling struggling and kicking uselessly.
"Let me go, you bastard! I'm just a bloody servant!"
The bag he was escaping with is lying on the floor. Heinrich checks inside, and finds the drugs they obtained from The Pit last night.
"Oh," the halfling says.
[Heinrich]
"Hold on a moment," the halfing says, "you know that stuff is illegal, right? I'm guessing it's your room I got it from... well, if you turn me in to the watch, you'll get in trouble too. So how about you let me go, no harm done, and that'll be the end to it?"
[Heinrich]
"Hey, there's no need to be mean!" the halfling says, turning pale, "come on, I'm only little! You look like a reasonable man. Let's say I tell you what you want to know... what do I get out of it?"
[Heinrich]
"You'll pay me?" the halfling says, looking hopeful, "things are looking up. All right, I was sent here to steal those drugs. I don't know who you guys are or where you got them, but that's not my business, right? I work for The Man. You know who that is? He's a man who gets things done. Someone paid him to to this job, and he chose me to do it for him." The halfling frowns. "He won't be too pleased I messed up, but these things happen. Hey, do you think you could rough me up a bit so I've got something to show him I didn't just roll over at the first sign of trouble? You'd be doing me a big favour!"
[Klaus and Max]
"Dieter and I intend to shoot in the contest as well," Rallane says, "Do you shoot, Count Klaus?"
"The Count does not look like the sort of man who wastes his time with games, Rallane," Natasha says coldly.
[Klaus and Max]
"Klaus and I don't have invitations to the Garden Party, actually," Max says, "but we were very much hoping to attend. Would it be possible, do you think?"
"Oh yes, easily done," Rallane says, "I'll have your names added to the guest list."
"Thank you sir," Max says.
[Heinrich]
"You don't really find The Man," the halfling says, "he finds you... nobody knows his name, where he lives... even what he really looks like. Listen, if you want to talk to him about a job, head over to the Drowned Rat in Ostwald [location 19]. Ask around a bit, careful-like. If The Man is interested, he'll send someone to talk to you. That's the best I can do. So, do I get my money now?"
The brandy seems to have cleared up Mortus' recollection problems. Mortus will walk over to Heinrich.
"Heinrich," she says. "I need to see the armour, just for a second. I want to know what happens if I touch it again."
Mortus looks confused for a second.
"No, please now," she says. "The effect could be very important."
"I can't," Mortus says. "I'm useless. I can't connect to the winds, I need to know if the armour is the reason. I need to touch it, just for a second to see how it effects the connection."
"Um, maybe you should go straight to the garden party with Mr Julian and Ragni," Max says to Klaus, "I think it will be a wonderful opportunity to speak to some important people. It's vital that we find out why the other people who supported the tax laws did what they did. We know about the chancellor and Dieter, but what about Ar-Ulric and the Law Lords? And we need to know about this lady Emanuelle, and her relationship with the Graf."
[Heinrich]
The barman leans across the bar so that his bearded face isn't far from Heinrich's. His breath is exceptionally vile. "Maybe I know who you mean," he says, "who's asking?"
[Heinrich]
Heinrich finds a window at the back of the house, out of sight. The boards are rotted through, so he's easily able to pry them off. He climbs inside, finding himself in a filthy room thick with fungus and rat droppings.
After a brief search, he discovers a trap door in the floor of one of the rooms. Judging by the clear path leading to it along the floor, people regularly use the trap door.
[Heinrich]
Heinrich opens the door. The room beyond is fairly large, but sparsely furnished. There is a pallet bed, a small wardrobe, a table and chair, and a couple of fur rugs. In one corner is a small aviary containing a few carrier pigeons.
Sitting at the table, writing a letter, is a blonde woman. She hears the door open, immediately standing and whirling around to face Heinrich. A throwing knife falls from her sleeve into her hand, ready to throw. Her eyes are green, and she's about 5' 7" tall.
"Who are you?" she says, not lowering the knife.
[Heinrich]
The woman smiles. "You can call me Elise. You've got some nerve, walking into my place and asking my name. I hope you have a damn good reason for being here."
[Klaus]
Wasmeier and Hoflich are talking quietly, but Klaus can overhear some of what they are saying: he surmises that they are discussing Bardin's trial. They stop when they see him approaching.
Wasmeier smiles and greets Klaus warmly. Hoflich is polite, but unfriendly.
"Ah yes, Klaus von Sterneberg. I am pleased to meet you. You are a visitor to the city, I think?" Wasmeier says, "I hope you are enjoying the carnival so far. Have you traveled a long way?"
[Heinrich]
Heinrich pushes the door open, and backs through while warding off Dagmar's attacks as best he can. He finds himself in a small bedroom, with a single untidy bed. A few tattered, discarded items of clothing lie on the floor, together with a dozen or so books in a pile. Unfortunately, there is no other exit.
Dagmar's greatsword gets caught in the door frame as she tries to follow him into the room. She strains to pull it free, giving Heinrich a moment to think.
"Aye Uli, looks like some men jumped him on his way back to the Inn." Admund says addressing him quickly. "Some woman is sleeping in the lad's room and refuses to open it. Could you open it so we can Heinrich to a bed?"
As the door unlocks and begins to open, Admund barges inside with his sholder, still helping Heinrich walk. "Gods be good you cunt, take long enough with the door, didn't ya? Did know Max to be the kind to try an' impregnate the deaf."
Admund will lay Heinrich on the nearest bed, and kneel beside to talk to him with a hand on his sword. "Right Heinrich, so where were you jumped? Were you followed?"
"Pah, I trust more in strength and steel than magics. Besides, she won't want to be making a scene here in the middle of the streets. Talk some sense into bat-shit crazy friend and let's get going to the mages guild, already."
The group leave the bath house, to the relief of the patrons and staff. They meet up with Ragni and Max.
"Are we going to hand him over to the watch?" Max says, "he's guilty of assaulting Heinrich and one of the bath house staff."
"Is he not the shape changer then?" Ragni says, sounding disappointed.
The man looks confused. "Who are you lot anyway?" he says, "chasing me for no reason. Only did a spell or two to protect myself."
The man looks at Heinrich and Admund, and shudders. "Look, all I did was watch you, right? Nothing else. I'm just meant to see where you go and what you do, then report back. But I'm not being paid to get..." he pauses, looking at the floor "...beaten up, or worse. I've had enough of that kind of thing, and I'm not anxious for any more. Maybe..." he looks a bit more hopeful "...maybe I'm looking for a new job? Did I tell you I'm a wizard? Oh, that's right, I showed you...um... sorry about that.
"I could tell you who my last employer was, and where I'm supposed to report. That's all I know though, honest."
[Mortus]
"That is my sister's ring, girl," Brandt says, "I would know it anywhere. Don't play games with me. Tell me how you came to possess it!"
[Klaus]
The elf stares at Klaus. His pale face has cold beauty to it, like a marble statue. His grey eyes are filled with disdain. "Who are you to ask me this?" he says.
[Mortus]
After a while, the cell door is opened by a very young watchman with a sparse mustache. He carries a tray into the cell, leaving the door open. "Brought you some soup, miss," he says, "the doc says you oughta eat something." He offers her a bowl of soup with some dark bread.
[Heinrich and Klaus]
Heinrich and Klaus chase up the stairs after the elf. The steps eventually lead to the top of the tower. There, they arrive in time to see the elf complete an incantation, and launch himself into the air! He flies from the battlements, back towards the city.
[there is time to shoot at him before he gets out of range]
[Mortus]
The Colourful Dog Inn is on Sudetenweg, opposite the Wolfrunner Coaches depot. She ducks into an alley nearby, and casts her aura of protection. Feeling more confident now, she returns to the street, and then enters the inn.
The tap room is crowded, but she soon spots a hooded, drably-dressed man sitting alone at a table in the corner. He looks up at her - she immediately recognises Doktor Glarean. He makes a brief gesture that she should join him, before hiding his face again.
Mortus sits down at the Doktor's table. He nods to her, then speaks a few words under his breath. The air around them ripples slightly, and then the noise of the inn is gone. "A simple charm to protect our privacy," he says quietly. "Miss Mortus: it is good to see you. I had almost given up hope of your arrival. I have waited all afternoon... but you are here now, and are safe." He sighs. "I am sorry that I left you so suddenly. It was not my choice - as you may have guessed, I was kidnapped by the very people we came here to locate. You will recall that I went to speak to some old contacts. I am afraid I was betrayed, and rendered unconscious. I awoke in the cellars of some haulage company, where I was... encouraged to explain myself." He winces at the memory. "I will not trouble you with the details.
"I do not know how long I was there, but after a while an elf woman - a wizard - interrogated me. I was then blindfolded, and taken on a lengthy journey into some underground nightmare. At last I was chained in a cell without a door... for a fearful wraith defended that place from all who did not carry a certain token.
"But my jailors were careless. I was able, through the use of my own blood as a sacrifice, to call a spirit of the airy darkness into my cell. The method I taught you is the surest way to call such an entity, but at the direst extremity there are other ways... more expensive ways. This spirit stole the warding token from the man who brought me my food, and the keys to my chains. Thus I freed myself, and walked from the cell unmolested by the wraith. I was then lost among the dark tunnels beneath the city streets: again my elemental spirit saved me, for it guided me by a route that led into the sewers, and from there to safety.
"My first thought on escaping was to contact you. I am delighted that you did not also fall into the hands of these villains."
"I can perform some brief healing should it be necessary before we leave." Ulrun states looking pointedly at Heinreich.
Admund looks curiously at Ulrun. "So...you can just appear like another person? You're just full of surprises aren't you." Turning back to Kratz, Admund agrees. "If Ulrun can pull off this...this charm, then I say we go for it. It's probably our best shot. Maybe we keep you and your backup on the main boulevard? You will blend with the foot traffic, and if things start to go down, you'll be nearby and able to help. I can't think of any better ideas of getting you lot close by to back us up."
When Klaus informs Admund of Brandt having a surprise, he smirks. "Surprise, eh? The cunt has been spilling naught but lies since we saw her in the attic. Misinformation is probably her game. Besides, we're getting good at handling these surprises."
"I have two tasks for you," Mortus says. "I want you to find out the whereabouts and anything else you can about Miss Hess [description provided] and the headquarters of the criminal elements of Middenhiem [location in the city of criminal elements if known to Mortus given]."
[So Mortus is going to stand still chanting a spell in the middle of the street?]
She can chant really silently and look around at the same time so that it looks like she is just looking around.
She can chant really silently and look around at the same time so that it looks like she is just looking around.
[No, she can't.]
Initiative order of the party
Klaus 63
Admund 56
Mortus 55
Heinrich 54
Ulrun 54
Julian 36
Max 35
"What? Oh, I see. The steward brought him in one day a few months back. Said he was a promising young chef in need of training. Ha! That's a bloody joke. I've seen dwarfs who cook better than him - oh, no offence, sir. But you know what I mean."
[Klaus]
The steward has noticed Klaus's inquiries. He approaches him, and says, "Good afternoon, sir. I couldn't help overhearing you asking for me. I am Schuster, the Graf's steward. How may I assist you?"
[Heinrich, Klaus, Julian]
The scribe looks uncertain. "I don't know where Mr. Kalzbad was going, sir," she says, "I shouldn't really intrude in his private office." She looks uncertain. "Is it really urgent?"
[Heinrich, Klaus, Julian]
The scribe looks uncertain. "I don't know where Mr. Kalzbad was going, sir," she says, "I shouldn't really intrude in his private office." She looks uncertain. "Is it really urgent?"
[Mortus]
[Does she really want to look in the bedroom?]
[Heinrich, Klaus, Julian]
The group move through the house, looking for people. After all, Admund, Ulrun and Max should be here somewhere.
The two doors on the right open onto a lounge and a dining room respectively, while the door on the end goes into a kitchen. Both the kitchen and the dining room have doors that go into the side garden.
Continuing upstairs, they immediately notice that something has happened in a nearby room. In the study are two bodies: one of a heavily-armoured man, the other of a tall man in a servant's uniform. A two-handed flail rests beside the armored man, and a whip beside the tall man. Both died violently. The study looks as though it has been recently searched - as have the bodies. The only other door in the study is locked.
[see maps in the OOC thread]
Julian sinks to one knee upon receiving the medical treatment, gritting his teeth as he thanks Max yet again for his aid.
using his sword to push himself upright, he clasps heinrich's hand in thanks "well, looks like I did about as good a job of killing myself as anything Chaos has thrown at us" he says.
"I recieved a letter accusing the princess of being a member of a chaos cult," Mortus says. She will take the letter out of her belt pouch and offer it to the law lord. "It is written in code but I could break it and I'm sure others could as well. I thought that it would be a very dangerous idea to accuse the princess of such a horrible crime without some sort of proof. I spoke with the Graf's champion on the subject and he agreed that an open accusation would not be a good idea at this time. I also thought that the accusation was too important to dismiss completely. I don't have access to green diamonds and somebody very close to the Graf must be active in the terrible things which have been happening to him. Much as I am loath to even consider that the princess is that person I have seen more terrible things in the past. It could not be just dismissed. The reasonable thing to me seemed to be to look for anything that would point to the princess being guilty before any overt actions were taken. This would allow the entire affair to be dropped if the princess proved to be innocent as I expect that she will."
[Mortus]
Law Lord Ehrlich listens carefully to Mortus's explanation, a worried look on his face. "While I can understand your motivations, especially during the current crisis, I cannot condone your actions. On the strength of an unattributed message, you have illegally searched the private rooms of the Graf's daughter. The Graf will be furious." He sighs.
"Who," he continues, "do you believe sent you the coded message? Could it not have been a cultist, trying to divert suspicion onto an innocent party? It seems more likely... naturally, it is utterly impossible for the Princess to be guilty of any wrongdoing. So, you say the Graf's Champion supported your decision to search the rooms?"
[Mortus]
"You should have listened to the champion," Ehrlich says, "rather than acting on a clearly absurd accusation. Who is this 'Hess' you speak of?"
The halfling suddenly dives towards the door of the alchemy room!
[Heinrich I test: 20, pass]
Heinrich can react before he gets through the door.
[Ulrun and Heinrich]
Ulrun goes into the corridor and orders the first group of students he sees to clean up the mess in the laboratory.
[Ulrun Ld test: 13, pass]
They look alarmed at being commanded by a shirtless man with a handlebar mustache (especially because of the scars on his body from his imprisonment), and hurry into the lab with a muttered "yes, master."
He and Heinrich leave the guild and head towards Ulrun's house. Misthollow Lane is a quiet Freiburg street a little way south of the guild. Most of the houses are occupied by students or professors from the guild or the collegium. Ulrun lives at number 8, a smallish place with two bedrooms, a lounge, a study, and a kitchen. There shouldn't be any cultists waiting there to grab him again, now that most of them have been arrested, but Ulrun is worried that the place might have been burgled. Everything looks fine from street level. He unlocks the front door, and he and Heinrich go inside.
Cooking smells are coming from the kitchen! They go through from the hall, and discover a young male halfling frying bacon. He looks at them, and his face goes pale with fear. "Oh! Um."
[Ulrun and Heinrich]
"I promise I never intended to steal from you, sir," Petey says, still shaking with fear, "I just needed a place to stay. May the hairs fall off my feet if I'm lying, sir! I, uh, study economics at the Collegium, sir. My parents want me to be an accountant, sir. I swear I haven't looked at your things, sir! I mean, I've seen them, and I can see you're a great wizard. But I haven't touched anything. Please sir, what are you going to do with me?"
Janna Eberhauer, the deputy high wizard, has just finished dancing with Allavandrel when Ulrun finds her. She takes a drink from a waiter's tray and sits down to drink it. "Hello, Ulrun," she says when she sees him, "good to see one of our own saving the city! The guild's proud of you. Get yourself a drink!"
"HA. No way am I missing all the fun"
Admund clears his throat and reads Heinrich the letter.
"Sounds like someone was off digging through graves for sacred stones? We've got some experience with tombs, eh?" He says with a grin, and takes another swig from his waterskin.
He glances at the symbol of Morr on his palm before sticking the cork back in the waterskin.
[Also the dyed inscription is of great age or the alphabet is of great age?]
- a receipt from an inn called The Prince's Rest in the Goudberg district. It's been payed by a 'Crispijn van Haagen.'
- A pamphlet advertising the nightly meetings of a society called 'The Seekers of the Golden City.' Someone has drawn a large question mark on it, and has underlined some of the words in ink. Every ninth word is underlined, revealing the message: 'Let every child of the infinite teacher awake for the time of change is come and all shall learn the truth'.
- a florid love-letter from someone called 'Gijsbert Delftgruber,' addressed to 'Lady Miranda.'
- another love-letter, much more clumsily-worded, from 'Bertie' to 'Tessa.'
- an information leaflet entitled 'The Celestial Majesty of the Boundless Empire of Cathay welcomes trade with the west.' At the bottom it says, 'printed by the Cathayan Embassy, 5 Vreemdelingsvaart, Paleisbuurt.'
- an incomplete letter to the Cathayan embassy, requesting a meeting with the ambassador. No reason is given, and it is unsigned.
[Julian and Ragni]
Rotkopf smiles feebly. "There is no need to apologize, Mr. Stonebridge. You did warn me. I was careless. Had I found this item in some wretched catacomb, I would have approached it with care; but here in my office I felt safe. I neglected to employ the proper safeguards." He looks at his scorched palms. "A valuable lesson!
"I believe the crown's purpose was to do just what it tried to do to me: to grant a vision of that awful demon-god to the wearer, and so to tempt them into accepting his gifts. The wearer would then be in his power." He shudders, asking Julian for more brandy.
"I did learn a little more," he continues. "The enchantment is a recent one - no more than a few weeks old. I also sensed some traces of the wizard who created it - a woman... I might be able to describe the face I see in my mind."
He thinks for a few moments, then gives a description Julian recognises as Etelka.
"what do you mean stole a girl, lad?"
[act 1, scene 4.]
CHORUS: Dark are the stones beneath the sea,
Dark are the deeds that come to be,
Blind are those that refuse to see,
Those that fear the truth must flee,
The tide encroaches!
(The torture chamber of the Authorities. Here is brought JUSTUS, stripped and chained, by two GUARDS and an INQUISITOR. A TORTURER awaits them).
INQUISITOR: Master torturer, here is Justus: a man accused who will not answer the lawful authorities-
JUSTUS (interrupting): I answer, but the answers I give are not heard.
INQUISITOR: Silence!
JUSTUS: Would you have me speak or not? You are inconstant.
INQUISITOR: Enough of this! Guards, give him over to the torturer.
TORTURER: Aye, let him be laid upon this rack.
(The GUARDS set JUSTUS upon the rack. The TORTURER binds him fast).
TORTURER: Now will you speak as required. See: the wheel turns and makes taut your limbs. Another turn and you will be compelled.
JUSTUS: Of what must I speak? I know all tongues and all wisdoms, even to the birds of the air and the fish of the sea. I will speak of the infinite truth, but are your hearts not already hardened to it? Are not your eyes closed and your ears stopped?
INQUISITOR: I grow full tired of your speeches. You know the charges: you are a liar and a corrupter. You poison minds and summon hatreds. You would destroy our unity.
JUSTUS: Am I to be so accused by those who threaten to rack my limbs?
TORTURER: Aye, such are the pleasures of my chamber. Feel a quarter turn.
(JUSTUS is racked. He winces, but does not cry out).
INQUISITOR: Waste not our time nor your strength. Nor your body nor your will can long survive this. Answer the charges.
JUSTUS: Again I speak, though my words are wasted on you. Hear the truth! Your unity is false, for lesser beings crawl into your midst and sap your strength. Do you deny that the weak flock to this city like leeches to a vein? I would make this city great again. Cast out the weak: let the city be for the people of the city. Let it be strong again behind its walls.
INQUISITOR: Are these your brave truths? They are only petty cruelties. They are the product of a small and fearful mind.
JUSTUS: They are but the first stones on the path that leads to the infinite. Cast out weakness and corruption and there is only strength and purity. Our minds will sing as one. Truth will return to us.
INQUISITOR: Yet how are you to remove these people? It would be bloody work.
JUSTUS: We who follow truth do not fear to draw blood. Though the tide of blood rise unto the very rooftops, still we shall be unblemished.
TORTURER: Shall the wheel be turned?
INQUISITOR: Aye, for his song is not to my liking.
(JUSTUS is again racked, now more harshly).
JUSTUS: Tear out my limbs if you must! The truth will come nonetheless. It is in the hearts of my students, where you cannot pluck at it. It is in their minds, where you cannot quest for it. It is in their souls, where you cannot comprehend it.
INQUISITOR: Master torturer, I fear your arts will not prevail against this man. Yet still the seal of the authorities is upon this warrant, and it must be executed. Do what you can!
(Exit INQUISITOR).
TORTURER: If the rack is not to your liking, we shall try the burning iron. The night is long.
[curtain falls]
Julian satisfied he has enough information from the boy will start to lead the group up the hills.
"We ready then? Likely tk be a bloody harder fight up there. And wizards too. Must be some people in on it, even if they're using these rich student's to try an attack their parents too."
[Wesley and Max]
Dandelion smiles at Wesley, though it's not a terribly convincing smile. "Thank you, Wesley," she says, "I'll go straight to the boat. I'd only be in your way if I stayed - you and your friends are the experts in fighting witches and whathaveyou, after all! You're so brave."
Max frowns. "Um, Wesley... I don't know if she should leave on her own... still, Hans could probably do with our help."
"And truth will be hidden behind masks and stained with blood," Mortus says. She will take the symbol of Athraigh from her belt pouch, her fingers curling around it, her knuckles white.
"So let me say this, the woman was accused of madness and Justus the cause of that madness and yet as you prepare Justus' punishment and his accepting of it you do not offer any proof. I demand that the masks, all of them be removed and the motives laid bare before this court and that the proof both of the madness and its cause be shown clearly least the truth be betrayed by fear and madness"
She will focus on the new actor, trying to get some understanding of the power that is gathering around him.
The restricted section of dockyard is behind an iron gate. The two guards, who previously looked half-asleep, snap into action as Heinrich approaches. They lower their halberds towards him. "Stop! This part of the docks is off-limits, by order of the Admiralty."
From Etelka's journal: recalled seeing Trancas on old wanted posters when I passed through Carroburg. The elf is wanted for the murder of the Grand Duke's son, about eighty years ago. Despite the time that has passed, I suspect the current Grand Duke would still honour the reward of 2000 crowns if Trancas was brought to him. Unsure if the money or the hold over Trancas would be more useful. I must be cautious: elves are not to be trifled with.
Hans keeps chatting to Heinrich while keeping an eye on Admund and the big apprentice.
"The bitch we killed ate meat supplied by this guy, reckoned it was human. She wrote it in her journal. Even she wasn't keen on eating people. If he's chopping people he won't be the only one who knows... reckon that big bloke had one fight back?"
It would be possible to climb up the outside.
"Best sort this out now then, before it gets worse. Time for an axing!"
Could try this elf ring and go underwater, but can't say i'm keen on trusting dark elf magic"
"Bloody Morr..." Admund grumbles, smacking his palm on the tomb. "So, we use some elf magics, then you're in a tomb with a vampire. If the damned thing works, then what?"
If Heinrich puts on the elven ring, he doesn't feel any different. Hopefully it will do what it's supposed to do.
[does he go into the water with his armour on?]
Admund peeks out at the barricade, before leaning back into the alley. “Don’t like it.” He notices a look on Hans face, and pauses. “You really want to go say hello? The city is in revolt. No rule of law. I know enough cunts in this city, that I’d fear them making up their own rules.”