[WFRP] The Bloody Crown X

[RossN]

Adelbert

'Yes Mother Raqiyah,' Adelbert replied, eyes lowered, stance respectful. 'I...uh... after speaking with Father Hieronymus I came to apologise for the disrespect I have shown you, and him and this Temple. I am sorry for not granting you the respect you deserve.'

He swallowed and forced himself on. 'As penance I will take over the menial work done by your initiates.'

[LCP]

Adelbert

"I'm glad to hear it," said Raqiyah, as calmly as if Adelbert were apologising for forgetting to return a borrowed book. "You are forgiven."

Reaching out to find him, she put her hand on his arm. "No-one doubts your conviction,but there is more to our calling than conviction. If we walked out on one another over each of our disagreements this Temple would have fallen apart centuries ago. You were right that the people of the Reaches are counting on us, in times like this more than ever." She lowered her hand. "Father Hieronymus I think is counting on you too. It would be a terrible thing for the teaching of Verena's mysteries in Savonne to end with him. And while he is a... wise and learned man, it's true that he tends to thought rather than action. Sometimes a more vigorous approach is required." She paused. "It's not for us to know the gods' true plan, Brother Schreiber, only the pieces they choose each of us to see. None of us can serve them as well alone as we can together."

"I believe Ileana and Besnik are in the garden, digging graves for the pauper's lot," she added, leaning her weight a little more heavily on her staff. "I'm sure they would appreciate your assistance."

[RossN]

Adelbert

While digging paupers graves did not sound like fun, Adelbert found himself feeling a little better after listening to the high priestess. Feeling a blush touch his cheeks he bowed. 'Thank you for your wisdom and your forgiveness Mother Raqiyah... and your patience.'

Getting back up he left for the garden, mind alive with thoughts.

[-Sentinel-]

By mid-afternoon, Elsa was growing immensely frustrated with her lack of progress with both the tax ledgers and the city guards' records. It seemed as if none of the short-lived lords of Savonne had ever managed (or bothered) to establish a bureaucracy capable of surviving a regime change. When Sforza returned from his campaign, she would be sure to bring the matter to his attention, but by then it would be far too late to catch the killer.

She spent the late afternoon strolling in the quarantine quarter, trying to get a feel of the Winds depending on the exact street or block; the Grey Wind grew stronger when the shadows were long, so perhaps now was the time her senses would be most attuned to it.

Spoiler

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See this OOC post for rolls.

Morrslieb? You have an eye on dead animals, right? If you find an unusual number of dead cats or cat bones lying around here, can you let me know?

Why? asked Morrslieb suspiciously, as if he feared she wanted to eat them.

I hear there are no stray cats in this area. They've either been driven off... or hunted down and killed. I want to know which one it is.

Oh! I see. He paused. I don't like cats, he added helpfully. Live ones, at least.

...Uh-huh. Thank you.

She resolved to spend every night at Adelbert's place until the whole situation was resolved. It would likely keep giving her bad dreams, but she wanted to be close to the center of all the strange happenings.

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

Sieghard couldn't help but wonder who he pitied more for having to deal with Irene, the stable master or the horse. He imagined she would've been far more interested had Dragos survived long enough to blow up the supply ships, but perhaps her apathy was for the better. It did, after all, give him far more freedom to go about things as he wanted.

Leaving his armor behind, Sieghard headed back out into the city, purchasing a number of charms and bundles of herbs that were said to ward off disease before going to meet with Otto. "The man told you about before pretends to be a doctor," he explained. "He takes advantage of the sickness that's been going around. Shows up when someone falls ill, gives them some bad advice for how to make themselves better, and marks the place for his partner. Then in the night his partner comes and kills them. What I need you to do is start telling people you know that your mother caught the sickness. All this stuff is for you to hang up to make it look real. If anyone tells you to go to the Shallyans, act angry about it. Let 'em know you're looking for someone who can cure her, but you won't go to them. We'l give the story a bit of time to spread and see if he shows up for us."

"Of course, it won't help the story if people see her walking around strong and healthy. Safer for your parents to not be inside when the "doctor" shows up as well. If you've got any ideas, I'm open to them. If not, there's a house at the docks your folks can stay at until this is done. Used to belong to the man who dragged Violeta into this, but he's hanging from a post now."

[LCP]

Adelbert

Space was at a premium in the ancient garden of Morr that clung to the slopes of the Temple mound. The pauper's lot was squeezed close to its eastern wall, cheap coffins stacked side by side in short trenches and covered back over with a shallow scatter of earth. A row of rosebushes grew between the graves, Morr's black roses growing strong on the mortal remains of those who had passed into his domain.

Besnik and Ileana were working down in the open end of one of the pits, their dark robes streaked with ochre from the dry earth. Adelbert picked up a shovel and joined them, the repetitive exertion of digging quickly driving turbulent thoughts from his mind. Even with his bookworm's arms, he could move more earth than the young initiates. The sun beat down on his shoulders, the smell of his sweat mingling with the musk of the roses as he bent his back to the task.

By the time the sun began to set, they had interred eight new coffins, and brought up three of the oldest for the bones within to be cleaned and stored beneath the temple. Ileana thanked Adelbert for his help as he rubbed his blistered hands, still seeming unsure why such a senior priest had stooped to help them. Besnik said nothing to him, but mumbled a Morrite blessing over the pit. The gangly boy's grasp of Classical didn't seem too strong.

---

Elsa

The Grey Wind clung to the shadows between the buildings in a thin fog, shunning the bright sunlight that slanted down between the rooftops of the Old Town. True to its nature, it was elusive and deceitful, billowing away from Elsa's gaze when she looked too hard. It coiled in the cooking smoke that drifted from shadowed alleys, and danced mischievously on the tongue of a man telling his sweetheart they could be married soon.

All this was as it ever was. Elsa could sense no strong current of Ulgu leading her on, no compass-needle pointing the way. Here and there, however, she did see something a little out of the ordinary - shreds of the Grey Wind that clung like fish-scales to the eyes and ears of occasional passers-by, slowly dissolving in the sunlight. It was subtle, but Elsa felt confident she was looking at the traces of some enchantment at work.

OOC:

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I just want to stress at this point that Witchsight is not radar. What it shows you is fickle, unpredictable, non-reproducible; trying to use it to follow the gradient of some kind of magical 'field' is like trying to nail jelly to the wall.

Morrslieb, meanwhile, flew from roof to roof, pausing here and there to sample the delicious smells rising from crooked chimneys. He could see no unusual number of dead cats - in fact, he found no dead cats at all from Half Moon Alley to Arched Way, just as there were no live ones. In the raven's opinion, this was normal - why would anyone leave good meat just lying in the street?

---

Sieghard

Otto seemed more than a little uneasy at the idea of using his parents as bait, but Sieghard's suggestion of hiding them in the Greenapple House forestalled his questions on that front. Shifting uncomfortably, he nodded at the commander's instructions.

"Wh... who is it you're trying to catch?" he asked. "Why are they doing this?"

[RossN]

Adelbert

Biting back a criticism of the youth's education - Besnik's pronuciation would have driven any Imperial scholar apoplectic - Adelbert gravely thanked the duo, then prounced the proper rites over the graves.

Smoothing down his own robes (which could scarcely be called 'white' at this point) Adelbert flexed his hands to work back some feeling into his fingers. Then he returned to the Temple proper to seek out Hieronymus. Not an audience he was exactly looking forward to!

'It is done Father Hieronymus,' he said once he tracked down the older priest. 'I worked in the Garden of Morr until darkness fell.'

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa met Sieghard that night at the Red Moon and quietly talked to him about her day. She mostly complained about the lack of useful records, but also mentioned the strands of the Grey Wind that she had glimpsed near people's eyes and ears in the quarantine quarter.

"There is illusion magic at work, as we suspected," she whispered. "People's sight and hearing are being tampered with. Perhaps they see or hear things that aren't there, like ghosts, jackals, or ghostly jackals... but perhaps they're also being blinded to things that are there."


OOC

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Any other party member is free to take part in this conversation.

[LeSwordfish]

"Can you tell if it's happening to us?"

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard - With Otto

"A dangerous man," Sieghard replied, not really answering the question. "One who has killed before. The sickness starts as a dry cough. Then a severe thirst. No matter how much water you bring them, the thirst never goes away. That's what you'd need to describe. The man playing doctor may lash out when he realizes his cover is blown. Lead him to the room, but have him open the door himself and make sure you're a couple steps away when he does. And once the fighting begins, run."

"There's still time to back out," he said, seeing the uncertainty on Otto's face. "If you've got any second thoughts, say it now."

With Elsa and Ludo

Sieghard bit his lip. "Is it Klammenberg or his monster doing it?" he asked. "And how do you fight against something like that. Can't cut through something that isn't there... Or something that is that you can't see..."

[LCP]

Adelbert

Looking Adelbert up and down, Hieronymus raised his pale eyebrows. "It looks like the Morrites know the meaning of honest toil," he said. "I hope it has given you time to reflect."

Closing the book he had been reading, he gave Adelbert a nod of acknowledgement. "There's food and drink in the refectory. Eat quickly. The Tilean's guards are changing their shift soon, and it would be wise to leave with them. We aren't supposed to walk the streets alone after dusk."

Accompanying the two Estalians back through the rapidly-darkening streets, they stopped at Hieronymus' house. Collapsing into an upholstered chair while the older priest fed his owl, Adelbert tried to stave off the wave of exhaustion washing over him. He wanted to do nothing more than sink down into the chair and sleep.

"I'm sorry it came to this, Schreiber," said Hieronymus, kindling a fire in the hearth as Euthymius gulped down the trailing tail of the mouse he had been given. "You know I would always prefer to resolve things with words... but on some subjects it is not, ah, appropriate to debate." As the orange flames began to catch and spread, he filled a kettle with a strange mixture of herbs and hung it over the fire to boil. "Without respect for our brothers and sisters in faith, we are nothing. That is the founding principle of the conclave, as laid down by Rodolphus the Just... that disagreement did not have to mean discord. That persuasion was preferable to persecution. Without it, we are a house of firewood waiting for a flame."

For a moment he seemed to drift off - then, abruptly, he slapped his knees. "But! Your penance is done, so we'll speak no more about it. You were asking earlier about consecration?" Hieronymus seemed glad to turn the conversation to more arcane matters. "The rite we performed at Caerfort is intended for the preparation of shrines and temples... not really appropriate for these purposes. Not unless we intend to turn each street into a place of worship. But if we are really dealing with one of the restless dead, a rite of banishment or exorcism might be enough to flush it out." The kettle began to boil, and he poured Adelbert a cup. The taste was strong and bitter, but it immediately dulled the pain in his blistered hands. "The Morrites have such rites. I think they would not be too difficult to perform."

---

Sieghard

Otto gave Sieghard a long look, his doubts written plainly on his face.

"If I don't do it," he said, "you won't let Violeta go." It was half question, half statement. "I don't think I have a choice."

[-Sentinel-]

"Can you tell if it's happening to us?"

"Hmm. Let's see..."

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Magical Sense 88: (d100)[26]
Fortune: (d100)[72]

Of course I'm assuming Elsa cannot know if she herself is affected.

"Is it Klammenberg or his monster doing it? And how do you fight against something like that. Can't cut through something that isn't there... Or something that is that you can't see..."

"You fight it by dealing with whoever's casting the spell," replied Elsa. "I'm sorry I don't have a better answer. There are spells that negate other spells, but I think we're dealing with something beyond my ability."

[RossN]

Adelbert

Adelbert forced a smile of thanks as he swallowed the too-bitter draught. While it might cure his blisters on his hands it would probably put hairs on his chest.

'Thank you Father Hieronymus. I'll have to talk with the others, they have a plan to trap Klammenberg though I do think exorcism and banishment is needed to deal with the...' he struggled with the right term. 'Spiritual miasma overhanging some of the city.'

A sudden alarmed expression crossed his face as he realised how dark it was outside. 'Um, forgive me Father but may I spend the night here? In the circumstances it seems unwise for one of us to stroll about at night.'

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

Sieghard went silent for a moment. The question bothered him. "The girl will be freed in the morning," he eventually said after a long pause. "You have a choice. I'm still asking for your help with this - Because the man I'm after will only hurt more people if he isn't stopped and because I'm offering mercy to your sister when others would've just had her hanged for what No-Nose's thugs made her do and been done with it - But you have a choice."

I'm not like Dragos.

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As much as a potential wrench in the plans as this may be, holding his family over him and forcing him into something dangerous feels like too much of a line for Sieghard to cross. If it doesn't work, we'll come up with another way to bait the trap. Presumably he's not going to agree without some amount of convincing, so despite how terrible Sieghard tends to be at that, may as well give it a shot.

(1d100)[99] vs 27 Untrained Charm
(1d100)[43] Reroll

[LCP]

Sieghard

Otto didn't look too impressed at Sieghard trying to portray himself as merciful for not hanging his sister out of hand. Furrowing his brow, he looked down at the ground.

"No, I'll do it," he said at last. "It's my fault Violeta got mixed up in this. But... I don't want to involve my parents." He looked up at Sieghard. "Can't I say it's me that's sick?"

---

Adelbert

"Of course," said Hieronymus. "I'm afraid I don't have a spare bed, but you're welcome to the chair."

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

"It would have to be someone you say is bedridden that you could lead the "doctor" to. People who caught what's been going around aren't well enough to be up and moving around," Sieghard said. "Doesn't have to be your parents, though. Doesn't even have to be a real person as long as you could convince people it is. If you said it was a girl you'd taken a liking to who fell ill, would anyone know enough say she isn't real?"

[LCP]

Sieghard

Otto shook his head. "Plenty of girls in this town," he said.

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

"That'll work then," Sieghard replied. "Her name is Lucia. She fell ill two days ago. Doesn't have any family in the city, so you took her in to care for her."

[LCP]

Sieghard

Otto nodded. "Lucia," he said, visibly relieved to have got his mother off the hook. "Got it."

---

Backertag, 29th Vorgeheim

Sieghard & Ludo

The light of the next sunrise didn’t reach down into the dungeons of the keep. Heading down at the crack of dawn, Sieghard saw Violeta released. Filthy and dishevelled from her stay, the serving-girl shrank in fear from the sight of her captors, at first unable to understand that she was being freed. Dragos’ cronies beat their fists against the doors of the adjoining cells, shouting hoarsely for the Captain’s men to free them too.

Dragos himself was still dangling from his rope down by the river, his body ripening in the sun. Today was the day that the Greenfish and the Katren would sail upriver with the next shipment for the siege, and Burhan was down in the docks to see them off. Still seeming deeply shaken by his experiences, he spent a long time looking up at Dragos’ body, as if assuring himself that the crime lord was really dead.

Urgrim

In the South Market alley where they had found Constanza, Urgrim revisited the neighbours of the house where the murders had happened, many of whom remembered him for his impromptu street performance. There was no sign that the darkness had returned to their street: the young mother and her child were quite healthy, as was the pompous carpenter across the way.

For the most part, his questions came up with nothing. There had been no unusual sickness, no jackal marks, nobody calling themselves Schnitter. For a moment, when he mentioned Imperials, the carpenter looked like he was struggling to remember something - but then he shook his head and said he had seen no-one of that description.

Elsa

Elsa continued to sleep poorly in the house on Half Moon Alley. Waking with her mind full of disjointed images of blood, fire, jackals and iron nails, she stepped out into the bright light of morning to clear her head and watch the city wake.

It took some time before she saw anyone who looked like they had been touched by the Grey Wind, but once she had seen one, she began to see more. She could discern no pattern in the people she saw - a beggar, a farrier, a pedlar carrying a sack of tallow candles. From those who would stop to talk, there seemed to be no particular connection with the sickness either.

Heading over to the Great Hospital once she had spent what she felt was enough time people-watching on the streets of the Old Town, she questioned the Shallyans further about the sickness. None of their sisters had contracted the disease, they told her, inside the hospital or outside of it. Of course, they attributed this to Shallya's protection.

Adelbert

At the Temple, Adelbert was discussing rites of banishment with Liebrecht. The young priest confirmed what Hieronymus said: the Morrites had many rites for exorcising unquiet spirits.

“Such rites generally require a specific place, or a specific body to be purified,” said Liebrecht. He had been informed of Adelbert’s reconciliation, but his attitude was still a little stiff. “To go street by street, house by house, it would be slow, draining. Any rite is only as strong as the faith of the one performing it... and Mother Raqiyah’s health has been suffering lately. Her duties as an augur take their toll.” He raised his eyebrows. "How would you and Father Hieronymus suggest we go about this?"

---

Bezahltag, 30th Vorgeheim

Elsa & Adelbert

Elsa was returning from the waterfront (where she had finally succeeded in getting Dragos’ dogs to stop trying to bite the hand that fed them) when she crossed paths with Adelbert by the river gate. The dwarfs had delivered their new chest to hold the book, he told her, and the two went to see it together.

It was certainly an impressive piece of work. Big enough to enclose the old chest without having to open it, it took two dwarfs to carry. It was bound with bands of black iron bearing angular knotwork designs, while its lid was fitted with a lock that seemed to Elsa to have more moving parts than a steam tank. Two lines of Khazalid runes had been burnt in pokerwork into the dark wood: Adelbert would have to ask Ludo what they meant.

“Bit of a rush job,” said the dwarf who had made it, striking her fist against the lid with a solid thump, “but proper craftsmanship all the same.” Fishing in her leather apron, she brought out a heavy iron key, its bit wrought into a fantastically complex design. A little reluctantly, she handed it over to Elsa. “Where do you want us to put it?”

Urgrim

In the shabby inns and alehouses of the Warren, Urgrim was seeing to a different kind of dwarf business. He didn’t have much to go on bar Thrunrik’s description of the dwarf he was looking for - but how difficult could it be to find a Slayer in a human town? They weren’t exactly inconspicuous.

After a long day of mostly fruitless searching, he finally picked up a lead in the Yellow Dog. “Aye, I remember him,” said the innkeeper, darkly. Fishing under the bar, he pulled out a dusty slate covered in close-written chalk marks. “This here’s his tab. Two crowns, eight schillings.”

He cocked a grubby eyebrow at Urgrim. “You a relation of his?”

Sieghard & Ludo

It had been two days, and Sieghard was still waiting. Galvanised by Constanza’s death, a number of people had come forward to try to claim the reward on the posters, dragging along men with varying degrees of resemblance to Klammenberg’s drawing. One enterprising soul had even gone so far as to glue a false beard onto his victim, a tavern drunk who barely knew where he was. In the wider town, goatees and Imperial accents were rapidly going out of fashion. Still, however, he had heard of no-one showing any interest in the plight of Otto’s imaginary lady.

Catching up with Otto that evening, he made sure his impression was correct. Otto confirmed it: the only interest his sob story had got from anyone but the Shallyans was from a seller of quack cure-alls in the South Market, who had shown no interest in coming back to see ‘Lucia’ himself. They had set the bait, but it looked like their quarry was so far refusing to bite.

[RossN]

Backertag, 29th Vorgeheim

Adelbert

Adelbert did not consider himself eccessively vain but his first act upon arriving at the Temple was to commandeer fresh robes, less festooned with soil and owl feathers. That done it was down to business.

'My friend the wizardess,' Adelbert told Liebrecht, 'is resident in Half Moon Alley and her sensitivity to the invisible world shall I suspect be useful. Certainly she will know the areas of the quarantined area that give off the greatest... er, stench of depravity.'

He stroked at his beard. 'I appreciate these speciffic rituals are in the care of the Brotherhood of Morr but is there any way those of us of other patrons may lend a hand? A single candle no matter how large will light less than many smaller candles... Certainly both myself and Father Hieronymus will be at your disposal.'

---

Bezahltag, 30th Vorgeheim

Elsa & Adelbert

Not having had the chance to speak to Elsa properly before now with evrything than had been going on Adelbert took the wizardess aside before they went to see the book.

'The priests will be leading an exorcism party. We'll concentrate on those houses were people died during the 'plague' - including my own abode - but if you feel any place is spiritually unclean please point it out.' His expression was hard. 'There will be more to beating the enemy than simply killing its mortal, or even undead servants. We'll have to try and fight the aura too.'

[-Sentinel-]

“Bit of a rush job,” said the dwarf who had made it, striking her fist against the lid with a solid thump, “but proper craftsmanship all the same.” Fishing in her leather apron, she brought out a heavy iron key, its bit wrought into a fantastically complex design. A little reluctantly, she handed it over to Elsa. “Where do you want us to put it?”

Elsa had almost forgotten about the Dwarven chest. She looked at it from all sides appreciatively; it would certainly be hard to break through or steal. "We've put the book in the Temple of Morr," she said, pocketing the key. "I'll come with you, if you don't mind." She hoped the huge chest would fit through doorways.

'The priests will be leading an exorcism party. We'll concentrate on those houses were people died during the 'plague' - including my own abode - but if you feel any place is spiritually unclean please point it out.' His expression was hard. 'There will be more to beating the enemy than simply killing its mortal, or even undead servants. We'll have to try and fight the aura too.'

"No specific spot seems more tainted by magic than the rest of the area," Elsa said. "As for the shadow magic, I suspect it's only a means to an end... perhaps to conceal the preparations for something bigger, the thing I'm most concerned with. The shadow magic will dissipate on its own over time once the caster is dead, like all magic does unless it's bound in runes or enchantments."

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard - 29th, at the Castle

"You can thank your brother for this," Sieghard said, ignoring Dragos's thugs. He had half a mind to just let them starve in their cells. "I don't think there will be any more trouble from the men threatening him. Their boss is dead and there's room next to his corpse if any of the others give you or Otto trouble. See that nothing like this happens again."

At the docks

"Would've liked to take him alive," he told Burhan. "Not that I'm upset to see him dead. Just wanted to parade him around a bit before hanging him."

"Varga is still out there. You know anything about him? Is he likely to cause trouble or just lay low so he doesn't end up like his boss?"

30th

"It's those damn posters," Sieghard told Ludo that night. "The moment they went up, it was no different than shouting in the streets that we knew he was behind the killings and the plague and that we're after him. It's no surprise he'd lie low after that." He shook his head in frustration.

"Way I see it, we can either have Otto head to the Butcher’s Head say he heard about "Schnitter" and ask after him or just go there ourselves and ask the owner some pointed questions of our own."

[Thragka]

Urgrim

29th Vorgeheim - seeking Elsa at Half Moon Alley

That evening, Urgrim went to Adelbert's lodgings to find the wizardess. "You remember that carpenter from the market? He had a funny turn when I mentioned the name Schnitter to him. If you think folks' memories are being messed with, he'd be one to examine."

30th Vorgeheim - The Yellow Dog

“Aye, I remember him,” said the innkeeper, darkly. Fishing under the bar, he pulled out a dusty slate covered in close-written chalk marks. “This here’s his tab. Two crowns, eight schillings.”

He cocked a grubby eyebrow at Urgrim. “You a relation of his?”

"No," said Urgrim. "I'm another of his creditors. So maybe we can kill two birds with one stone. He used to come here frequently? Seen him in a while?"

Urgrim bought a meal, and a couple of drinks - "Would you have beer, by any chance?" - at the Yellow Dog, even if the innkeeper stayed in a sour mood. He handed over a shilling, telling the proprietor to keep the change.

[LCP]

Adelbert

He stroked at his beard. 'I appreciate these speciffic rituals are in the care of the Brotherhood of Morr but is there any way those of us of other patrons may lend a hand? A single candle no matter how large will light less than many smaller candles... Certainly both myself and Father Hieronymus will be at your disposal.'

"I'm sure your assistance will be most helpful," said Liebrecht. "Certainly the cult of Morr claims no... monopoly on combating the undead."

---

Adelbert & Elsa

With the blessing of the priests, the dwarfs carried the heavy chest down into the lower levels of the temple. Inside the sanctum, the Temple's relics still stood on their shelves and pedestals, the smell of recently-burnt incense lingering in the air. The book still sat in its little lead chest, the air around it heavy with latent menace. It didn't look to have been touched since the day they had set it there.

As the smaller box was was lifted inside the larger one, Elsa noticed that the inside of the dwarfs' chest was lined with sheets of lead. Sizing up its thickness, she gained a new respect for the strength of the dwarfs that had carried it down the narrow stairs. The lid swung shut, and the lock engaged with a sound like a pistol being primed.

OOC:

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Elsa may wish to re-cast her Magic Alarm spell, since the old one will have been triggered by the move.

---

Sieghard

Violeta didn't seem to know what to say at Sieghard's admonition not to do it again. With her shoulders slumped and her eyes on the ground, she kept her distance as much as she could until such time as she could get away.

"Varga is still out there. You know anything about him? Is he likely to cause trouble or just lay low so he doesn't end up like his boss?"

Burhan shook his head. "I don't know the man," he said. He swallowed and rubbed his neck, his uncertainty not seeming to comfort him. "I have no idea."

---

Urgrim

By Urgrim's standards, the beer at the Yellow Dog was fit only for dogs. Still, his schilling had served to loosen the landlord's lips a little.

"Aye, you don't run up a tab like that without coming in often enough," said the innkeeper. "He lit out of town just after the Tileans did. Finally got it into his head that them ogres wasn't goin' to give him a fight." He shrugged. "I heard he went west. Looking for trolls in the hills or some such. If you find him," he tapped the slate. "remember. Yanko at the Yellow Dog. Two crowns, eight schillings."

[LeSwordfish]

29th, at the Castle

In agreement with their deal, Ludo lead Josef out as well, making sure the rest of Dragos' men saw them leave - a neat reminder to Josef of exactly why he should be getting out of town as soon as possible.


30th

"It's those damn posters," Sieghard told Ludo that night. "The moment they went up, it was no different than shouting in the streets that we knew he was behind the killings and the plague and that we're after him. It's no surprise he'd lie low after that." He shook his head in frustration.

"Way I see it, we can either have Otto head to the Butcher’s Head say he heard about "Schnitter" and ask after him or just go there ourselves and ask the owner some pointed questions of our own."

"If it werent for the posters, who knows what would be happening," Ludo said, a little defensive of his idea. "Forcing him out of the city, stopping them hurting anyone else... That would be good at least. Make it someone else's problem. For now, though, yeah, send Otto to the butcher's head. If nothing happens there, then we ask the owner some questions. But ambushing him is our best bet."

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa instructed the dwarfs to stand back as she cast her alarm spell near the chest. "Thank you for everything," she told them afterwards, on their way out. "My employers weren't too keen about involving your people, but you've given me every reason to think it was wise to do so. I don't think even my nimble-fingered halfling friend could break into that chest." She paused, remembering how suspicious of everyone the dwarfs were. "Not that he would ever have cause to try such a thing," she added quickly.

Outside, she shared her meager findings with Adelbert, including the presence of illusion magic around some people's eyes and ears and its seeming lack of direct connection with the survivors of the disease.


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Tired and out of ideas. Hopefully new developments will provide us with some leads, or remind us of unexplored ones.

Rest of the 30th:

• Magical Sense 88 to check if Adelbert, as a denizen of the Shadow Zone, is affected by illusion magic: (d100)[23] Fortune: (d100)[57]
• Elsa follows Ludo and Sieghard if/when they investigate the Butcher's Head.
• Elsa is also willing to be present if Adelbert's exorcism is attempted. She's a bit cynical about religion, but may be able to feel any shift or lack thereof in the winds of magic that might confirm success or failure. She is not optimistic, however.
• Elsa keeps staying at Adelbert's place until such time as any additional night in this area would incur fatigue penalties to tests. When I get to that point, Elsa will move back to her room in the castle.

Morning of the 31st:

• Elsa talks as many of her friends as possible into coming with her to see the dogs (if Ludo comes, have him bring Stoutheart). The dogs need to grow accustomed to new people.
• Elsa feeds and waters the dogs, starting with the calmest-looking one (to set an example: "See, good boys get fed first"). She spends time with them. Charm Animal 39: (d100)[52] Fortune: (d100)[93]
• If and only if a dog does not growl or bark when Elsa comes near, Elsa tries to pet one with her (gloved) left hand, ready to pull it out at the first sign of aggressiveness. What she does next depends on what happens. I imagine the dogs will go mad if they're not allowed to stretch their legs in the near future, so if they're still aggressive, it may be best to put them down with a few well-placed crossbow bolts.

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

"We can give it one more day, I guess," Sieghard muttered. He was becoming restless after two days of lying in wait with no progress. "Klammenberg has no way of recognizing Urgrim, right? Maybe it would be a good idea to ask him to go to the Butcher's Head before Otto arrives to keep watch over him. Klammenberg knows we're on to his doctor routine, he might do something unexpected if someone comes calling."

After he returned to the barracks that evening, he ran the request by Urgrim.

[LCP]

Elsa & Adelbert at the Temple

"Thank you for everything," she told them afterwards, on their way out. "My employers weren't too keen about involving your people, but you've given me every reason to think it was wise to do so. I don't think even my nimble-fingered halfling friend could break into that chest." She paused, remembering how suspicious of everyone the dwarfs were. "Not that he would ever have cause to try such a thing," she added quickly.

The dwarfs gave Elsa a level stare. Perhaps implying she'd been unsure of whether to trust them hadn't been the best opener.

"Aye," said the dwarf who'd given her the key, "I'd hope not." She bobbed her head in the shallowest of bows. "Rinn Elmendrin sends her regards."

When the Dwimmulsons had left, she and Adelbert finally had a chance to talk. She couldn't make out any traces of Ulgu clinging to Adelbert, at least beyond the ordinary. Hysh and Shyish were the strongest influences around the priest, perhaps the result of spending so much time in the temple lately. For better or worse, the shadows stayed away.

---

Urgrim at the Butcher's Head

Urgrim and Otto were brought up to speed on the plans, and the two of them set out for the Old Town before the shadows grew too long. The Butcher’s Head was a small establishment, squeezed between two clay-brick houses at the corner of Memmet’s Lane. In place of a painted sign, it had a wooden effigy of a head on a pole, carved in the grimacing likeness of some Arabyan warlord. The paint was peeling a little, the passing of the seasons and the droppings of birds having softened its once-vivid colours.

Despite its cramped appearance, the tavern seemed to be turning over a reasonable trade. Finding a seat by the wall, Urgrim watched as patrons beat a steady path up and down the narrow stairs to the roof, where a number of tables had been set out to enjoy the setting sun. Otto was taking some time to find a way through the crowd around the bar, who broke out in raucous cheers as a man with a broom chased a particularly audacious rat out of the kitchen, a piece of pie crust still held in its teeth. This was entertainment.

After a lengthy discussion with the landlady, Otto returned to where Urgrim was sitting and filled him in on what he’d learned.

“They say they haven’t seen the doctor since the quarantine lifted. Said he stopped coming in after the old landlord got sick. But he was stuck in here with them, so he must have been staying on one of these streets.” Otto looked worried, unsure of whether he was upholding his end of Sieghard’s bargain. “They said they’ll pass the message on if they see him.”

[RossN]

Elsa & Adelbert at the Temple

Adelbert felt oddly mixed about hearing he had avoided being bewitched. As a scholar it would have been a fascinating experience.

'Hmm, I had hoped to find a priest or priestess of Ranald in Savonne. Hieronymus alluded to the fact that some of his faithful are possibly in the city and I'd bet any gold I had on the servants of the Trickster God being sharper with illusions and enchanments than our violent friends. Unfortunately the Temple is not exactly sympathetic towards them - and I have no idea how to find them.'

He brooded a moment before speaking again. 'For the first ceremonny we'll visit that house in Half Moon Alley where that whole family was wiped out. Maybe even if we can't shoo out a vampire you'll be able to sleep a little better after we begin.'

[-Sentinel-]

29th Vorgeheim

"You remember that carpenter from the market? He had a funny turn when I mentioned the name Schnitter to him. If you think folks' memories are being messed with, he'd be one to examine."

Elsa's eyebrows went up. "A funny turn, you say? Can you be more specific?"

She had expected that the enchantment was only affecting people's senses, but shadowmancy could allegedly alter people's minds in a more direct manner. Perhaps grey wizards could erase people's memories, or make themselves forgettable.

OOC

Spoiler

Show

And as a matter of fact, they can, although Elsa likely doesn't know the full list of shadow spells.

Since we've already done some of the events of the 30th, I guess I'll have Elsa postpone her visit to the carpenter to the next day to avoid any potential conflicts or temporal paradoxes.

---

30th Vorgeheim

With the matter of the new chest dealt with, Elsa remembered Urgrim's comment from yesterday about the carpenter. She headed to the market, hoping she could make some progress where the dwarf had failed, or at least confirm for herself if magic was at work.