[WFRP] The Bloody Crown XI

[LCP]

Sieghard & Sforza, 24th Nachgeheim

A long silence followed.

"The Thornwood," said Sforza. Another pause. "Hm. Perhaps."

Looking down at his hand, Sforza seemed to come to a decision. "Hildebrand has an errand to run in the north country, looking for some young hedge witch. She needs guards." He raised his gaze again to look Sieghard in the eye. "Bring her back safe, and I will consider your request."

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

"I'll see that she returns without a scratch," Sieghard replied before bowing.

[LCP]

“Good,” said Sforza, with a nod. “You are dismissed, commander.”

---

Ludo & Urgrim

While Elsa and Sieghard were conducting their business with the Prince, Urgrim and Ludo had been making the uphill trek to the gates of the Dwimmulhold. Ludo’s presence drew a few funny looks from the Dwimmulsons, but as long as he was Urgrim’s guest no-one seemed to object. Humans might be untrustworthy and dangerous, but no halfling had ever brought down a dwarfhold. Yet.

Clan Dwimmulson had a handful of traders that handled its business outside Savonne. Those who weren’t on the road usually spent their time in one of the small, low-ceilinged halls near the top of the Rock. Like Urgrim, they were seen by the more traditionalist dwarfs as a little sun-touched.

Today, there were three of them: the merchant Zamalind, her bodyguard Zarri, and the runebearer Grunda. As soon as Ludo mentioned he was planning a journey to Barak Varr, they were more than happy to impart what they clearly considered their considerable wisdom.

“Fastest way is down the Howling River,” said Zama, “but that’s a fool’s game. As likely to get your boat smashed on the rocks as to make it to the Gulf.” She sat back in her chair. “What you want to do is get onto the East Trail as far as the Skull River, then cross over at Schädelbruck onto the South Road. That’ll bring you right down through the hills to the land gate.”

Grunda nodded. “It’s the safest way,” she added. “All you have to do is steer clear of umgi bandits, and grobi wolf riders, and trolls along the river.”

“And skullfish,” added Zarri. “And skullfish,” Grunda agreed.

Sensing that they were quite comfortable to talk on this subject until sunset, Ludo tried to pump them for a little more information about the Varenka Hills.

“That’s the last leg,” said Grunda. “Once you reach Varenka you’re home free. There are a few umgi chiefs in the hills who like to throw their weight around, but if you’re headed for the seahold they’ll let you through. They know they can’t afford to get on the wrong side of King Byrnnoth.”

When Ludo asked if they remembered anything important happening in the hills of late, the dwarfs seemed to draw a blank. The name of Falkenwald, however, did seem to jog Zamalind’s memory.

“I think I heard that name in the umgi quarter, last time we travelled to Barak Varr,” she said. “Blacklisted. Some dispute over breach of contract with one of the richer lordlings.” She shrugged. “Sounded like things had turned pretty sour.”

[LeSwordfish]

"Blacklisted?" Ludo asked with carefully levelled concern. "He's working for Sforza now, watching Groz's child. What did he do?"

"Also, this blacklist. It's just the hu- the umgi lords, is it? In the hills?"

[LCP]

"No, the merchants," said Zamalind. "There's a lot of umgi merchants in Barak Varr. A lot of work for caravan guards, for those who leave by land. Whatever it was that happened, they struck that fellow off their list."

"I don't know exactly what it was that happened out there. We had our own business at the time. All I heard was it happened somewhere in the hills north of the hold, on the road to some place called... what was it called, Zarri?"

The burly bodyguard scratched his beard, trying to remember. "Some umgi name," he said. "Rud... Rudigerberg?"

"Something like that," said Zamalind. "Somewhere on the edge of grobi country. This lordling, this... what was his name? Von something. Contracted Falkenwald to see him safely there. But they said Falkenwald's men turned on the caravan. Killed them on the road."

She shook her head sadly at the treachery of humans - then paused, furrowing her brow, as she thought on what Ludo had said.

"You said he's watching Groz's child?"

[LeSwordfish]

Ludo's eyes were wide. "Betrayed them? Just, turned on them?"

"He's the regent of Putbad for now, looking after Groz's baby son and his widow until his son comes of age."

"Is there anyone around here who knows more about this? Anyone who's travelled or is travelling to Rudigerberg?"

[LCP]

The three dwarfs looked at one another. Grunda shook her head as if to say, don't ask me.

"Barak Varr's a fair way from here," said Zarri. "Same for this place they were heading. Somewhere up near the Geistenmunds, I think." He paused. "Not many people got cause to travel that far. Fewer got cause to come back."

[LeSwordfish]

"Well if you hear of anyone going that way, or who's come back from there." Ludo said. "If you send them my way or Commander Sieghard's, we'll owe you a favour and a few drinks."

OOC

Spoiler

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My suspicion is that dwarves would respond more positively to that offer than mere payment, but here's a Charm test in case I'm wrong: (1d100)[29] vs 82.

I've asked all the questions I have: if there's nothing from Urgi i'm good to move on.

[Thragka]

After facilitating the introductions, Urgrim mostly let Ludo lead the conversation, listening thoughtfully.

As they wrapped up, he shook hands with the three dawi. "When would you next be making the run to Barak Varr?" he asked, looking particularly to Grunda. "I've no goods to move, but sooner or later I may want to hire you to bring a message to the sea-hold. Possibly."

Spoiler: OOC

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I'm happy to move on – been doing far too much socialising and eating and drinking the past week to contribute much to this scene

[LCP]

"We might be making a run next spring," said Zamalind. "But if it's just a message you're looking to send, I'm sure young Grunda here could go sooner."

"That's my job," said Grunda, with a sunny smile.

OOC:

Spoiler

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Since you both say you're ready to move on I'll do so, but feel free to timesplit this conversation if you want to make any message-sending arrangements.

---

Marktag, 26th Nachgeheim

The party left Savonne the following morning. It was two days on the north road to Pieter’s Pass and the gates of Alvarran, marching together with a guard of Sieghard's militia. Elsa’s informant was too wary of the large number of armed men she had ended up travelling with to be good company - despite his best efforts to be friendly, about all Ludo could get out of her was that she went by the name of Lora.

Still, the weather held fine, if a little windy. The farmland that bordered the road had been spared the worst of the spring raids, but had clearly been feeling the lack of rain: this far from the river, the crops in the fields looked wilted and dry. The ochre dust of the road caked their boots and clung to their skin. Once again, Elsa found herself not minding the loss of her long hair.

At the mouth of the pass, they found a man carefully painting the letters Castel d’Irena over the old signpost to Alvarran. “Not far from here,” said Lora. "The camp was just a few miles into the pass."

Sure enough, once they had passed into the Karst proper, it didn't take them long to find the traces of a large camp. There were the remnants of old fires, a filled-in latrine pit, and even a handful of graves dug into the stony earth, hammered-together bits of brushwood serving for headstones. This was where the men and women who Alvarr had refused to feed had found themselves trapped by Valdes' blockade. None remained here now.

"This was the last place I saw her," said Lora. "There were a lot of people here. Probably most've gone back to the town. Some said they were going south." She looked around, as if hoping her goat girl would step out from behind one of the jagged rocks. "I don't know who she went with."

OOC:

Spoiler

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I've proceeded directly to the journey, but I would like to know from TheSummoner and LeSwordfish - how many soldiers are you taking to make up Elsa's guard, with what equipment etc.?

It's mid-afternoon; you can reach Alvarran by nightfall if you wish.

[Thragka]

Urgrim and Ludo – the Rock, 24th Nachgeheim

"I'll keep that in mind," Urgrim said, nodding. "Not today, but if you happen to be available in a week or two, I may come look for you. Thanks for your time."

---

All – 26th Nachgeheim

Urgrim paced around the remains of the camp methodically, his gaze low. "How many goats?" he asked. He looked for animal tracks, spoor, and tamped or grazed tufts of vegetation among the harsh landscape of the karst.

Urgrim liked goats. They were hardy and self-reliant, and thrived in mountains. Plus, they were bearded recalcitrants. What more could a dawi want in livestock?

Spoiler: OOC

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Away from book over the holiday but I'm guessing Perception is the best thing to roll first to look for tracks – and then a Follow Trail if we find some.

Perception 74 - (1d100)[89]
Follow Trail 54 - (1d100)[66]

[LCP]

"It was variable, like," said Lora. "She'd find 'em wild in the Karst and bring 'em back. Most got et pretty quick, not much else to eat." She paused. "There was a couple she kept, for milk."

The Savonne-Alvarran road was well-trodden, and the boots of Sforza's returning army had obliterated most of the tracks that might have been there before. In the scrub and scree at the side of the road, however, Urgrim found some old animal bones, blackened by cooking fires, and a few goat-sized hoofprints that had set hard in the dry, stony soil.

[Thragka]

Urgrim nodded, and pointed out the hoofprints to the others. "Young girl was by herself, was she?" he asked Lora. "This is tough countryside," he added, looking about at the landscape. "If she's not gone back to the north – to the town, I mean – then I doubt she's alone. Umgi don't spring out of the living rock, far as I'm aware anyway. There must be herdsmen, if not farmsteads." He turned to Sieghard and Elsa. "I reckon we can either go looking in the karst, try follow any of these tracks that don't lead to the cooking pot – but that'll mean camping out, and I'm not sure how far we'd get before sunset tonight. Or we can go to the town, ask around there." He looked to the sky. "'Long as it doesn't rain, those tracks ought t'still be there tomorrow. Can always come back and pick up from here then."

Spoiler: OOC

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If allowed, I'll try Outdoor Survival for a 12 hour weather forecast: Outdoor Survival 54 - (1d100)[6]

[-Sentinel-]

"It was variable, like," said Lora. "She'd find 'em wild in the Karst and bring 'em back. Most got et pretty quick, not much else to eat." She paused. "There was a couple she kept, for milk."

"Ah, so there were many who knew of her skill, surely," said Elsa. She was tempted to push to Alvarran, hoping someone might remember the girl, but... "She's probably more at home with animals than with humans, if she's like any users of Ghur that I've met before. If we can track down the goats, we might find her still with them. It's worth a try, at least. Of course, getting near her without spooking her might be difficult, especially if she uses her animals as lookouts. If, at some point, we feel we're getting really close, I might have to ask half the group to stay behind."

What she would not give to have Morrslieb back to survey the countryside...

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

"Ah, so there were many who knew of her skill, surely,"

"Either that or they thought she was good at tracking animals," Sieghard pointed out. He looked at the hoofprints Urgrim had found. "Plenty of light left. If we're heading into the rocks, no point reason to wait."

[RossN]

Adelbert

Adelbert been mostly busy with Temple affairs since the Coronation. It was a relief to have an excuse not to notice what was going on in the city (though he did smile when word reached him of the donation to the hospital.) That said even the Temple seemed a lonelier place after Jocasta left.

Joining Elsa's expedition seemed like a way to clear his mind and besides he was intrigued by this strange girl Elsa seemed so excited by.

'I'm not much of an outdoorsman,' Adelbert admitted as they stared at the hoofprints. 'I can go to Alvarran and ask around, though I'm probably also less... um... threatening looking than some if you think I'd be more use with you.'

[-Sentinel-]

'I can go to Alvarran and ask around, though I'm probably also less... um... threatening looking than some if you think I'd be more use with you.'

"It's really up to you," said Elsa with a shrug. "But if you go to Alvarran, you should take Lora with you, as she's the only one who can pick out the girl in a crowd. If the girl is in the hills with her goats, I wager we won't have too much trouble identifying her."

[LCP]

Lora didn’t look too keen. When no-one pressed the issue of Alvarran, attention returned to Urgrim and the hoofprints.

It didn’t take too long for Urgrim to pick up a trail, despite the Iron Company having marched over parts of it. A handful of goats and a larger number of people had headed south from the camp, back towards the mouth of the pass. They didn’t seem to have strayed too far into the rocks - Elsa’s goat girl might be at home in the Karst, but perhaps the people she’d been travelling with were not.

---

Bezahltag, 28th Nachgeheim

At the bottom of Pieter’s Pass, the trail had turned west, out into the Downs. Away from the heavily trodden road, Urgrim was able to get a clearer picture of the group that had made it - around thirty people when they left the pass, with more seeming to join as they travelled west.

These were the lands they had raided as part of Sforza’s spring campaign, and the evidence of their work was still all around them. They passed farmsteads gutted by fire, and overgrown fields where even the weeds had withered for want of water. Before the wars, it would have been hard to walk a mile in the Downs without passing someone coming the other way; now, the few people they saw gave them a wide berth.

Ahead of them, the Giant’s Teeth rose to form the horizon, their rocky summits catching the sun. By the time they entered the foothills, Urgrim estimated the group they were following had grown to at least sixty, with a good number of livestock following them as well - perhaps taken from the abandoned farms.

It was on Bezahltag that they found them. They were encamped around the ruins of a farmhouse, nestled between two shallow rises at the bank of a stream that ran down from the Teeth. Elsa thought she remembered it - this was close to where they had fought Jarl Rorik’s men at the Burning Hill. The grass had looked greener then, the stream deeper and less muddy.

Even from this distance, they could see the camp that clustered around the farmhouse was large. A motley assortment of tents rubbed shoulders with lean-to shelters, improvised out of pieces of burnt timber. The abandoned fields bordering the stream had been reclaimed from the weeds, and a number of pigs and goats were penned inside the world’s shoddiest fence.

Counting heads from his vantage point on the rise, Ludo found his estimate of the number of people in the camp agreeing pretty closely with what Urgrim had deduced from the tracks - it looked big enough for seventy, perhaps eighty people, many of whom could be seen going about the work of trying to scratch a living out of the land. A few were standing watch around the perimeter, but they didn’t seem to have spotted the party.

“This looks almost like it was in the pass,” said Lora. “I thought most of ‘em went back to the town. They must’ve found more folk out here.” She looked around, watching for some unseen danger. “Safety in numbers...”

OOC:

Spoiler

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You’ve now been on the trail for 4 days; in 2 more, Sforza will send men looking for Elsa. You’re only about a day’s march away from Savonne here in the foothills though, so should be able to return promptly or send a messenger to tell him you’re alright.

[LeSwordfish]

"What did this girl look like?" Ludo asked Lora, peering at the makeshift livestock pen in the hope that someone would be leading a conversation. "How old was she?"

[LCP]

"Don't know how old she was," said Lora. "Don't know that she knew how old she was. No family that we saw. From the look of her, maybe sixteen, seventeen?" She didn't sound certain. "Brown hair. A lot of it. Skinny. Always with them two goats following after her too."

Ludo couldn't see anyone matching that description down in the pen - though from this distance, it was hard to make out a lot of detail.

[LeSwordfish]

"Any of these folks could recognise us," Ludo said to Sieghard, "and given what we did I imagine that will make things more difficult. Perhaps Urgi and Adelbert should go in first. Once we've found her, we can escort Elsa in."

[TheSummoner]

]Sieghard

"Escort her in? Better if they find the girl and convince her to come out to speak with us," Sieghard replied. "We don't have the men to deal with it if things turn ugly."

[LeSwordfish]

Ludo thought for a moment and then nodded. "Safest to try that first, then." He looked at Adelbert and Urgi. "Over to you, then. If you need us, come and get us."

[Thragka]

Urgrim nodded. "Come on, Father," he said to Adelbert. "Reckon you oughtter do the talking." He set out towards the ruined farmstead, hugging close to the bank of the stream, so the approach would bring them in as close as possible to the livestock.

[LCP]

Urgrim & Adelbert

Together, Urgrim and Adelbert descended from the ridge. The terrain was too open for them to approach unseen - soon enough, they caught the eye of the sentries standing watch. Two came over to meet them as they reached the edge of the camp.

One was a man in his middle years, while the other was a youth, barely more than a boy. Their clothes were worn and dirty, their faces hungry, but the blades they carried were real, if a little rusty. Seeing the untutored way they held their weapons, Urgrim wondered where they had scavenged them.

"Who are you? Friend or foe?" said the youth, fidgeting with his grip on his spear. His eyes lingered on Urgrim's crossbow.

The older man cut in, in a voice that had seen as much wear as his face. "If you've come here looking for food, you'll have to work for it. There's little enough to go around." He looked from Urgrim to Adelbert, and back again. "Though you two don't look as hungry as most."

[-Sentinel-]

Spoiler

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You’ve now been on the trail for 4 days; in 2 more, Sforza will send men looking for Elsa. You’re only about a day’s march away from Savonne here in the foothills though, so should be able to return promptly or send a messenger to tell him you’re alright.

Oh, thank you, that's good to know.

That morning, Elsa asked Sieghard to designate someone to bring word to Savonne that they were still looking for the girl and were otherwise fine and not in need of any assistance.

She thought the precautions regarding the refugee camp were perhaps a bit excessive, as any attack on the Captain's men would bring terrible retribution, but she did not argue. She only hoped Adelbert and Urgrim would be equal to the task of earning the girl's trust; Urgrim would not have been her first choice for this.

"You should take Hanna," she told them. "We took her with us for a reason."

She could not imagine a girl being too willing to follow two male strangers into the wilderness.

[Thragka]

Urgrim and Adelbert

The older man cut in, in a voice that had seen as much wear as his face. "If you've come here looking for food, you'll have to work for it. There's little enough to go around." He looked from Urgrim to Adelbert, and back again. "Though you two don't look as hungry as most."

"We're not," Urgrim allowed, nodding. "We've no quarrel with you folk. We're just looking for someone we heard tell might be in these parts."

[RossN]

Adelbert

Adelbert nodded at Urgrim's words. 'I am a priest and healer. If you have any injured I can help - or any who need a man of the gods.'

[LCP]

The older man grunted. "We've already got one of those," he answered. He looked back to Urgrim. "Who is it you're looking for?"

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

"You should take Hanna. We took her with us for a reason."

"No," Sieghard replied. "Not until we know what's going on here. When we left the city, we thought it was going to be just one girl and some goats, not fifty. Hanna might not stand out like you or me, but she could be in danger all the same if they recognize her. Schreiber and Urgrim can see what they're up to and we'll decide what to do after that."