Topic: Shadows over Bogenhafen: game thread [players only please!]

[rufus sparkfire]

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 by a side door 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!]

[Cannonofdoom]

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!]

Heinrich will go.

[Fandir Nightshade]

Klaus too

[Mogsam]

Arnst three

[commandant]

Mortus will go.

[rufus sparkfire]

The servant shows Heinrich, Mortus, Klaus and Arnst to one of the rooms upstairs (room 'c' on the map). She knocks on the door, before hurrying away to a different room ('b'). The door in front of them is opened by the middle-aged man in a dressing gown who came down for a brandy earlier. He's a distinguished-looking gentleman, with a narrow face and heavy eyebrows. There's a wild look in his eyes, and he's breathing rapidly.

"Come in, gentlemen - and lady - quickly! Thank you for answering my message."

Once they are inside, he closes the door behind him. "My name is Gustaf Rechtshandler. I am the gravin's lawyer. I am also in a rather desperate situation... I am being blackmailed. I have been followed here from Nuln by three men, who are attempting to extort money from me... for something that is untrue! But it could nevertheless harm my reputation considerably... the mere suggestion of it!"

He wipes his brow with his sleeve.

"I wonder if... you could deal with these men - these criminals - for me? I can cover any costs you may incur." He produces a bag of coins. "I have here 250 crowns! Please!"

[commandant]

Which three men?" Mortus asks.   She raises one eyebrow.   "Of what do they accuse you?"

[rufus sparkfire]

"They're in a room along the corridor [room 'h']. I've never seen them before tonight. I don't want to tell you what they are accusing me of - it's too terrible! I think they've been hired by a rival from an old case... there have been a lot of those. Please, will you do something about them?"

[commandant]

Mortus shrugs and looks at the others.

"We could talk to them," she says.   "Make it clear you are to be left alone."

[rufus sparkfire]

"I've tried to talk to them" the lawyer says, "and they won't listen! But maybe you can get them to see reason."

[rufus sparkfire]

Downstairs, someone starts hammering on the inn's front door, which was locked and barred a short time ago. Otto looks frightened, and doesn't want to open the door. "Maybe they'll go away?" he says, hopefully.

But it soon becomes clear that whoever is out there won't give up so easily. Otto opens the door. Three club-wielding thugs burst into the bar, followed by a young man in fine clothing, who is brandishing a horsewhip. He looks angrily around the room, studying the faces of everyone there. "Where the hell is Friedrich von Pfeifraucher!" he shouts, to no one in particular, "bring him out now! I know he's here!"

"We have no guest of that name, sir," Otto says, "please, I don't want any trouble."

"There isn't going to be any trouble," the man says, "provided that stinking bastard shows himself! I'm going to horsewhip him until he wishes he'd never even looked at my fiance!"

"Really, sir, I've never heard of the gentleman. Please, calm down."

"So why's his boat moored outside then? He's here all right! Come out, Friedrich!"

[Finlay]

Julian was having too much fun with his ale, pipe and the other dwarfs and halflings to notice the mans offer, or the party disappearing [aka, I've not been online all day] but he cannot fail to notice the current disturbance.

"seems we've got a thing with inns after dark" he chuckles to himself before hailing the newcomer.

"hey laddy calm yourself down. No one's getting horsewhipped here tonight, eh? We're just enjoying a pint and some pipeweed nice and peaceful like. Why don't you come have a drink with us"

[Fandir Nightshade]

Klaus is really annoyed that he didn´t follow his impulse to eavesdrop on the conversation of the Rechtshandler and the three men....there seems to be much more to this story than the man wants to tell them. Overall the inn seems to be a very busy place.

"Yes lets go over and talk to them. "Klaus looks at Arnst for a moment......."I am not sure you are the right man for the job....." Klaus takes a moment to gauge Arnst but decides that he rather wants to be polite to the man..."
bard."

[rufus sparkfire]

[downstairs, in the bar]

The man glares at Julian. His eyes struggle to focus on him, and he sways as he turns: he's clearly quite drunk. "I've no quarrel with you, sir," he says, "but I'm not leaving here until I find Friedrich and lash the crap out of him! I know he's here with my Hanna... how would you feel, sir, if some bloody swine was seeing your fiance behind your back? You'd want to kill him, I expect! Well, I'm not going to kill Friedrich... just make him wish he was dead! Are you going to stop me?"

He waves the horsewhip in the air, while his three thugs glare menacingly at everyone in the room.

"Don't threaten the boss, laddie," Ragni says, "or you'll regret it."

"I'm not threatening anyone! Except Friedrich."

"Uh, sir," Max says to the man, "I understand your anger, but this is not the right way to resolve your dispute. I am a lawyer - yes, really! I advise you to bring a private prosecution against this man, rather than assaulting him. You may even find that the damages he will be forced to pay will hurt him more in the long term than assaulting him will."

The man looks a bit confused. "Well, I still want to catch the bastard in the act. Come out Friedrich! Hanna! It's Tomas! Where are you! Hanna!"

[rufus sparkfire]

[upstairs, with the lawyer]

"I must ask you to be discrete," the lawyer says, "and also... they are dangerous men. I have no doubt they could turn violent if provoked." He waves the money pouch around frantically, "please hurry!"


There is a lot of noise coming from the bar downstairs. Someone is shouting, but it's impossible to make out any words.

[Fandir Nightshade]

"I am sure Julian will handle it...lets see what is going on....really shall we?" Klaus will walk to the room of the three men and knock.

[rufus sparkfire]

[upstairs]

The door is opened by one of the three men the group saw sitting together downstairs. Another of the men is sat on a bed inside the room. "There's no need to knock, Kurt... Oh! Who are you?" The man opening the doors says. The other man comes to stand beside him.


The door to the next room along the corridor opens as well, and Johann Schmidt looks out, apparently trying to hear what is going on downstairs... he's naked. When he sees there are people in the corridor, he blushes and closes the door, bolting it behind him.

[Fandir Nightshade]

"May we come inside we have to talk with you about what is going on...in this inn and I think privacy would be best. I am Klaus by the way."

[rufus sparkfire]

"I'm sorry," the man says, "but my comrade and I are very tired. We're waiting for our friend to return so that we can bolt the door and go to sleep."


Just then, a tremendous racket starts in the room opposite (room 'i'). Someone is shouting and bashing into things, while at the same time it sounds as though furniture is being shifted around.


[Downstairs]

Whatever is going on in the upstairs room is clearly audible in the bar also.

"Oh no!" Otto says, "what now?"

"That could be Friedrich trying to make his escape!" Tomas declares, "I knew he was hiding somewhere. Come on, men!" He gestures for his thugs to accompany him as he walks towards the staircase.

[commandant]

"I understand that," Mortus says quietly, her having gone with Klaus.   "But I am afraid our business can not wait."

[Fandir Nightshade]

Klaus is confused and at the same time exalted at all the stuff happening the evening....lots of chances it seems.

"Just wait a moment please the fair lady here will explain why we are here while I check what is going on over there....."Klaus walks over to the other room....."Everything allright?" He will try to open the door.

[commandant]

"As I said I am sorry to disturb you so late but I would like to discuss Gustaf Rechtshandler," Mortus says, though she does not look sorry

[Mogsam]

Arnst takes Klaus's comment with an exadurated display of shock and with an overly dramatic flair he moves away from the party. When he hears all the noise coming from 'i' and from the men shouting downstairs he decides that discretion is the better part of valor.  Instead of heading towards the noise or being incredibly blunt by going to the mens room he instead heads to room 'b' and knocks quietly on the servants door. Whilst waiting for the door to open he takes out the ten shillings and his bottle of wine.

(If the servant opens the door he will offer her a few shillings and some of his wine if they let him stay in the room for a brief time to escape the violence. He'll try not to wink at them)

[rufus sparkfire]

Klaus knocks on the door (room 'i') and then immediately opens it. As he does, the shouting and banging around stops. Inside, he sees a disordered bedroom. There are four initiates of Morr inside, all in their hooded black robes. Two of them are pinning down a third, who is twitching weirdly. A fourth initiate was heading towards the door -  as Klaus opens it his mouth drops open in surprise.

"Oh! I asked that we not be disturbed," he says. "But I suppose you heard the noise and came to help. Thank you, but everything is fine. Our colleague is subject to fits, and becomes uncontrollable when an attack comes on. I am about to give him some medicine that will ensure he sleeps. There will be no more noise. Thank you for your concern."

Klaus notices the coffin in the corner. A blanket has been thrown across it.

[rufus sparkfire]

Arnst knocks on the door of the servants' room. The door is opened by an older woman - he can see the girl who brought the message is in here too, along with two other female servants. The woman who answered the door looks at Arnst dubiously, taking in his battered appearance and terrible clothes. She's about to close it again when Arnst offers some money and wine in return for shelter from the trouble brewing in the corridor.

[Bribery test = 100-WP of servant: 63, pass]

She looks at the money, then at Arnst again. He doesn't look a serious threat. "Very well, you can come in for a minute or too, if you behave yourself, " she says, taking four shillings from him, "Any trouble and I'll clock you one." She holds up a wooden club to emphasize her point. Then, she gets a cup and pours herself a glass of his wine. "That's not bad stuff at all! Cheers."

The other three servants stand around looking bemused.