[WFRP] The Bloody Crown XII

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa and Ludo


As Elsa's eyes adjusted to the light, she took in Ludo's injuries. She was glad to see him, though she knew her salvation was hardly a given. The halfling's powers of persuasion could only do so much in the face of the evidence against her.

"Ludo." Her voice came out as a croak. It had been a while since she had last gotten to talk. "You look horrible," she said dryly, well aware of the irony. "So did you find Klammenberg? From the look of you, I take it he put up a fight?"

[LeSwordfish]

On the walk to the workshop, Ludo hung back a little to speak to Petra in Mootlandish.

<"We're not mentioning that the woman mentioned the principessa just yet,"> he explained in a low voice. <"I think Sforza would have trouble believing it. It'll... we'll bring it up when needed.">

---

"Not for long," Ludo said, distracted to see Elsa so dishevelled and in such conditions. It gave him an odd pang of sympathy for Klammenberg, who they had done much the same to. "In fact, perhaps you'd better wait outside."

Whether Odo and Petra left or not, Ludo stepped forwards and, after recieving permission from his guard, removed Elsa's gag, followed by Tatiana's. "Elsa... They told me what had happened. I can't believe..."

He steadied himself. "We were ambushed on the road, by the Falcons. They were sent to stop me getting here... Adelbert's dead, Elsa. They killed him."

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa and Adelbert


Elsa blinked slowly. She understood the words, but her mind just refused to process them as a new reality.

"They - what? You mean he's dead?"

Yes, he means he's dead, you moron. 'They killed him' means he's dead.

She mentally recoiled from the notion and desperately tried to focus on something other than Adelbert. "The... the Falcons. Sent to stop you? Stop you from what? Surely not from... defending me in court?"

She remembered Irene's visit. Who else, apart perhaps from Nahorek and his allies, would have reason to stop Ludo from returning?


OOC

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I think Ludo could definitely mention the Irene thing. Word will spread among the Iron Company, and some will say: "Ah, yes, she had us escort her to visit Hildebrand once."

[LeSwordfish]

Ludo nodded grimly. "That woman Gunda killed him. She killed Moltke and Jens too." He thought for a way to drop a hint to Elsa that Irene was involved. "I think... it must have been ordered by someone who really hates you."

"We... we actually did catch Klammenberg, too. Me and the Volunteers. We were bringing him here for you to interrogate when we were attacked. We killed him so he couldn't escape."

[-Sentinel-]

Someone who really hates me...

Elsa had no shortage of enemies, but she could name only one who had enough political weight to send the Falcons after Ludo, yet not enough to simply have the trial cut short and the sentence passed right away.

Oh gods, if Adelbert died just because I sent for Ludo...

No. Focus on practical things, Elsa. Time enough for guilt and sorrow later.

"How much does Sforza know? Please tell me Gunda is dead or under arrest or on the run, at least?"

[LeSwordfish]

"Sforza knows about it. Falkenwald and the Falcons are under arrest. Sieghard is personally going out after Gunda."

[-Sentinel-]

"Good. Good."

I hope he drives his spear under her jaw all the way up to the top of her skull.

No...

I hope he brings her back alive and makes her sing like a bird.

"I'm sorry if I put you and your men in danger by making you come, Ludo," said Elsa, her voice shaking. "If I'd known, I'd have arranged for a more private setting to ask for you as my advocate. Just Sforza and me. But everyone who was in the audience chamber that day heard you'd soon be on your way to speak for me... One of them must've known you were someone to be reckoned with..." She found herself, much like Ludo, dancing around the name of Irene.

She licked her dry lips. "Hate to ask, but how many of ours were killed?" On my account. Killed on my account. Whether they knew it or not.

[LeSwordfish]

"You couldn't have known... none of this is your fault anyway, it's the daemon, surely, the daemon did all of this to us, set all of this going."

He took a moment before replying. "Adelbert, Moltke, Jens. One of the Thorns and two of the volunteers are dead... some others are still missing. Sieghard's looking for them."

[-Sentinel-]

So many. So many dead... for what? Just to keep Ludo from defending me, when the evidence against me is already overwhelming? This is so senseless.

"I'm glad you came. Days are long when you're tied up in the dark. It's easy to lose hope." Elsa sighed. Then her expression darkened. "The only one who's visited me so far is Lady Irene... and she only came to taunt and insult me. Can you imagine? She took time out of her day to come all the way over here, in this filth, dressed in her finery and with guards by her side, to gloat at me and Tattie. Wonder what it's like to live with so much poison in your veins. I guess money can't buy decency..."

But it can buy mercenaries.

"Take care of Khalida, will you? Her bowl of water must be running low by now."

It was, in fact, empty since yesterday; Khalida had informed Elsa of it with some distress. But Elsa thought it best not to let too many people know that her familiar was almost an extension of her own mind.

[LeSwordfish]

"She came to gloat at you?" Ludo asked, storing that away. "How... foul of her."

He looked around the cellar. "Khalida? You mean... the snake, right? I can take care of it. Her. If you want. I need a favour, though: Klammenberg said he put a curse on my father and sister, could you... could you have a look at them?"

He called Odo and Petra back over. "He can't... he can't cast anything if he's dead, right? Could he leave some kind of... trigger, on them? Could you see if there was anything left?"

OOC

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Is Elsa asking Ludo to feed/water Khalida now, or to take her with him and look after her over the next few days?

[-Sentinel-]

"He can't... he can't cast anything if he's dead, right? Could he leave some kind of... trigger, on them? Could you see if there was anything left?"

"Hmm, he might have put something on them," Elsa allowed. "I don't know the extent of his powers. Shadowmancers are deceivers, but let's not take any chances."

She turned to Petra and Odo and opened her witch-sight.


OOC

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Target 93: (d100)[67]
Fortune: (d100)[84]

Is Elsa asking Ludo to feed/water Khalida now, or to take her with him and look after her over the next few days?

Ludo can interpret it the way he wants, but Elsa only expects him to check on Khalida maybe once a day, make sure she has water, bring her a mouse, etc. He doesn't have to carry her around if he's not comfortable with reptiles.

Snakes have a slow metabolism and don't need to feed often. Ball pythons are notorious among reptile owners for sometimes going on "hunger strikes" that can last for months.

"Nothing I can sense," Elsa said at last. "I think it was a bluff from a cornered man."

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

Sieghard stood in silence for minutes that felt like years. Only once the Iron Company men were gone and he was certain that they weren't coming back, he stepped forward and uncovered the dead.

"I should've known," he muttered. "Should've seen something like this coming when I heard that Bianco was talking to her." His men had gone with Ludo knowing they'd face peril, but it was supposed to be at the hands of the enemy, not at their supposed allies. "I couldn't stop this... I didn't see it in time... but I'll avenge you. Gunda. Bianco. Irene. I'll kill all of them for what they did to you and if Sforza tries to stop me, I'll kill him too." His eyes lingered on Adelbert. "You were right about him. I just didn't want to see it." He thought back on the choices the priest had made and wondered about his reasoning. Duke Alvarr wouldn't have put up with a man like Falkenwald. No, he would've just taken Elsa's head off the moment the daemon framed her. They're all bastards.

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Leaving it up to Thragka whether Urgrim is here for this or not.

[Thragka]

Urgrim lingered in the Temple of Manann. He gave Sieghard some space as the commander said his farewell and made his peace with Adelbert. When the human fell silent again, Urgrim joined him by the bodies.

He looked down at Adelbert, wondering what to say. "You were an odd fellow, Father Schreiber," he stated, squatting down on his haunches. "Maybe that stopped me getting as close t'you as I could've. I don't call many people 'friend', umgi or not." Urgrim reached down and cupped the cold flesh of Adelbert's cheek in a rough hand. "But I was proud to fight with you, and stand beside you. You knew right from wrong, bravery from cowardice. And if our gods are just, yours and mine, we'll share a drink in the hereafter." He stood up. "Not for a long time yet, mind."

Urgrim stepped over to Hans. Looking down at the young cadaver prompted no emotion in him, only a yawning emptiness. You trained this beardling kid and now he's dead. Don't you feel guilty, you wazzock? But he didn't, at least not yet. There was something brewing and bubbling in the depths of his soul, a storm forming far out at sea, but for now that shoreline was calm and quiet and dead, empty sand, the dunes of the desert indistinguishable from the scintillating wavefronts towards the horizon. A breeze made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Sand blew over his feet. Urgrim looked up into the sky, expecting vast winged shapes–

Urgrim blinked. He was in the Temple of Manann, standing before the corpses with Sieghard, looking down at poor dead Hans Moller. He sighed. —Gazul bar baraz, Gazul gand baraz, he muttered. It was better than saying nothing, but it wasn't much.

He pulled out his bottle of usquebaugh. There were only a few mouthfuls left. He tipped a few droplets onto the Temple floor, took a swig from the neck, and passed the last measure in the bottle to Sieghard. "To Schreiber."

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

"To Schreiber," he said, "And the others as well." He took the bottle and downed the last bit of it.

[Thragka]

Urgrim nodded.

"The northerners saved my life," he said, looking sadly at Moltke and Jenssen. "Mine and Ludo's. In Nath. I owed them." Kateryna looked so young, on the cold floor of the temple. He'd struggled to think of her as a warrior before, but he'd known he owed her that much respect. Now she just looked like a child.

Urgrim turned to Sieghard. "We'll see that debt paid." It was an assertion of pure fact, said with dispassionate confidence. "I'll hunt the woman, unless you think it's better I stay here."

[LeSwordfish]

Ludo breathed a sigh of relief. "It's... I can't believe... at least you're okay," he said to Petra and his father. "Just... when you get home be careful unless something is in the house, but..."

Dragging them into this had been pointless.

He tried to pull himself together and looked to Tatiana. "How are you holding up?"

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

"We set out at dawn," Sieghard replied.

[LCP]

Tatiana didn't look like she'd been having any better of a time than Elsa. One of the Iron Company men removed her gag, but she couldn't seem to find the words to answer Ludo's question. Instead, she just hung her head like a frightened child.

[LeSwordfish]

"We'll get you out of here, I promise," Ludo said gently.

He turned back to Elsa. "Tell me everything that's happened."

OOC

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I'm obviously not asking for an IC recounting - this is just an opportunity for you to say "i tell ludo everything" so I can have him know about things that he wasn't there for (for example, Sforza's attitude to the whole thing). Or, to clarify what Elsa tells ludo and doesn't, or what she tells him about Irene's gloating, or whatever. You get the idea.

I also wanna roll Charm to try and cheer Tatiana up: (1d100)[8] vs 92

[-Sentinel-]

"We'll both make it out alive," Elsa assured Tatiana soothingly, using her first opportunity to speak to her apprentice since her arrest. "The daemon's responsible for everything, and we'll prove it. Ludo is good at this sort of thing."

Elsa brought Ludo up to speed regarding what the daemon from Nath had been up to in Savonne, the trial, the evidence against her and what she said in her own defense, but remained mindful of the guards and told Ludo nothing that was not already known to those who had attended the trial. She put emphasis on Doctor Bianco's aggressive questioning and his attempt to deflect from evidence that helped Elsa's case, such as the end of her letter. She also mentioned Irene's visit, how delighted the noblewoman had seemed, and how she had made a point to insult Tatiana and her lowborn background before leaving.

"You'll want to read the letters, of course. Bianco will try to stonewall you; if he does, take it up to Sforza."

[LCP]

Wellentag, 5th Kaldezeit

Urgrim & Sieghard

The next morning, Sieghard and his tracking party made ready to ride out in search of Gunda. The Falcons had been corralled into one of the draughty old barracks buildings, and didn’t seem happy that the Thorns were taking their horses. Their Iron Company guards didn’t seem to care.

The sky was overcast and grey as they rode out along the west road. The town swiftly disappeared from view behind them, autumn leaves swirling behind their horses’ hooves. Clinging on behind one of the Thorns, Urgrim did his best to keep an eye out for the spot where the Iron Company had told him they’d found the bodies.

It was late morning when they found it. With the bodies moved, the signs of a struggle were subtle - but to the eyes of an experienced ranger, they were still as clear as day. Picking over the bare earth for tracks, he found a number heading into the woods on the south side of the road. They were clearly human boot-prints rather than the lighter steps of halflings. With crossbows at the ready, the Thorns followed him into the trees.

The Thornwood was quiet. The rain had evidently been heavier here than it had been in town, but still not heavy enough to wash away the tracks. The thirsty trees were already drinking up the shrinking puddles between their roots, dead leaves rustling in the cold wind that blew down off the hills. Urgrim could hear no small birds singing, only the croaking of crows in the high branches.

They had been following the trail for a little under an hour when they found Johann. He was lying in a thicket of thorns, glassy eyes staring up at the sky from his pale, grey face. A makeshift tourniquet had been tied around his mangled hand - Sieghard thought he recognised Adelbert’s handiwork - but the wound that had killed him was a clean sword-thrust through the ribs, the front of his tunic dark with blood.

There was no sign of his killers, or of Rike. Spreading out, the Thorns combed through the surrounding trees while Urgrim pored over the wet ground. More people had definitely passed this way - and from the look of things, they’d headed deeper into the woods.

“Hey!” called out Gustaf. “Over here!”

He was stooping at the base of one of the taller trees. When he straightened up, he was holding one of the Falcons’ firearms.

“Looks like an expensive piece,” said Ingwald. “Why would they leave it behind?”

One of the other Thorns had spotted why. He pointed up to the top of the tree, where, tangled among largely leafless branches, the limp body of one of the Falcons hung like a grisly marionette. A broken bough had punched straight through the man’s stomach - it looked like he had been dropped from a great height…

---

Ludo

Back in Manann’s Keep, Ludo was still coming to terms with everything that had happened in the last two days. With Falkenwald and the Falcons under guard, it was nominally safe for him to walk around the town, and most of the people coming and going paid him little attention - but still he had the feeling of being watched.

The barracks where the Thorns were billeted at least still felt reasonably secure. It wasn’t long after Sieghard left that he had a visitor there - the two Iron Company men assigned to guard him stood aside to admit Abdul Al-Makir.

“Herr Stubbs!” said Abdul, spreading his arms wide. “Such things I’ve heard. Are you alright?” He didn’t wait for a reply. “But of course you are. Halflings are tough, hey? So I have always said.”

Checking the sheets before he sat down on the bunk beside Ludo, he continued smoothly on.

“His Highness the Prince wanted me to check on you… and also to ask if you had finished asking your questions of Frau Holt. He is eager to see this trial concluded.”

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

Sieghard briefly examined the gun and then bundled it onto the back of his horse with the rest of his things.

"Must've been what Ludo's sister heard," Sieghard said. "This would've happened about a day ago. We knew the birds were about, but keep on your guard so we don't end up like that bastard."

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We'll leave Johann for now and fetch his body on the way back to town. Is there any damage to the gun? Any shot in it?

[LeSwordfish]

4th Kaldezeit

Ludo took some time to refill Khalida's water bowl before leaving, and promised to drop back in with a mouse as soon as one could be acquired.

"If we're worth stopping on the road," Ludo said before leaving. "Then they think we're a threat to them. So, I don't know about you, but they think I've got a pretty good chance, at least."

"We'll get you out of this... somehow." One way or the other.

5th Kaldezeit

"Soon," Ludo said. "I need to read these letters that Herr Bianco was using... between you and me, do you think the prince could be persuaded to wait until the trackers are back? Fraulein Gunda could be...it could be very useful, if she was here to tell us on whose behalf she performed this attack? And Commander Sieghard and Herr Jotunsson are witnesses to what happened with the Daemon."

"Sforza wants this over with soon but... he wants it done properly, right? If there's any chance of his court wizards being falsely accused, he wants to get rid of that chance so he gets to keep his powerful ally. Once the trackers are back, we can make sure that this isn't a costly mistake."

[LCP]

Ludo

Al-Makir nodded. "I'm sure the Prince wants the woman to be part of the proceedings, if she can be found. My impression is that he doesn't think the trackers will be out of town for very long. He wants everything ready when they return."

"As for the letters, I believe the good doctor has them. If you want to pay him a visit, he's at the fort."

[LeSwordfish]

"I'll drop by and fetch them," Ludo said. "Make sure I'm ready as soon as possible."

He hesitated for a carefully timed period. "Apparently the doctor was... quite determined that Elsa was guilty. Which surprises me, he's usually so mild-mannered. Does he have some kind of personal stake in this? Has he dealt with Daemons before?"

[LCP]

Ludo

"The doctor was appointed to prosecute the case because he is a man of letters. He applies himself very diligently to any task he is given." Al-Makir paused, thinking through what he was going to say next. "Doctor Bianco was in the service of the lady Irene's family before she became a Sforza. I understand she was strongly in favour of the appointment."

[LeSwordfish]

Ludo made an effort not to raise an eyebrow. "And correct me if I'm wrong... all i'm going off is court gossip... but the Lady Irene is... she seems to dislike Elsa very strongly."

[LCP]

Ludo

"That would be my impression too, Herr Stubbs," said Abdul, keeping his tone carefully neutral. "I see you have your ear to the ground."

[LeSwordfish]

"Despite that, I've no doubt she wants to see this trial performed fairly." Ludo said, matching Abdul's studied neutrality. "Let me be clear, I wouldn't wish to imply that she might attempt -or have attempted - to manipulate proceedings. An honest lady wouldn't do such a thing."

He let that sit for a moment and moved on. "I don't know very much about Daemons but have picked up a little from travelling with Elsa and Frau Fassbender. As I understand it, the prince and his soldiers fought sorcerors before: how familiar is the court, and the prince himself, with the workings of chaos?"

[LCP]

Ludo

“I don’t know that I can surely say,” said Al-Makir. “I only joined the Iron Company when they came to Al-Haikk, in the service of the Emir. I understand they had many adventures before they crossed the sea… perhaps Father Barbaro could tell you the stories.” He shrugged. “In Araby, we are not so afraid of spirits as they are in the north. When we fought against Othman of the Muktarhin, the sheikh had two sorcerers in his service who knew how to bind djinns. And when we were in the city I believe the Captain himself had some dealings with a very famous magician, the learned Al-Khadir. The Iron Company provided some service to him, and in return received thirty-eight jars of alchemical fire.” He looked carefully at Ludo. “But I’m not sure this is what you are asking.”

---

Sieghard & Urgrim

Searching beneath the tree where the man’s body hung, Urgrim soon found the spot where three sets of prints became two. There were clear signs of a fight - following the tracks a little further, he found a ragged black feather the length of his arm, one end singed as if by the close discharge of a gun.

From there, the tracks headed south, the two survivors clearly moving quickly as they sought the denser cover of the canopy. Following the trail, they passed along a stony gulley to the foot of a dead oak, where Gustaf spotted a dark bloodstain against the bleached wood. There were more signs of struggle here - Urgrim counted more footprints than could possibly have been made by two people. On the other side of the tree were the clear marks of heavy objects - bodies? - being dragged away to the east.

Following this new trail, they soon caught the scent of woodsmoke on the breeze. These were the same wooded foothills where they had rested after their retreat from Nath, and the Thorns huddled close together as they followed Urgrim and Gustaf through the trees. After a short while, they came to the edge of a rocky hollow, where a thin dribble of a stream splashed down into a shallow, leaf-choked pool.

Down in the hollow was a crowded camp, with a large campfire burning in its centre. Bellying up to the edge of the rocks, Sieghard recognised the man standing beside the fire immediately - it was Armin, ladling out wooden bowls of brown stew to a grateful line of hungry-looking followers. Around the edge of the camp were a good number of men and women in ragged black, carrying a variety of improvised weapons. Their faces were smeared with white chalk markings, mostly the crude likeness of a hound. The blackened wolf’s-skull totem that Armin had been carrying with him in the Downs stood tall beside the fire.

It was difficult to make an accurate count, but Urgrim reckoned there might have been sixty-odd people in the hollow, with twenty or so being Armin’s zealots. The trail led down into their camp, but there was no sign of Gunda or the Falcons.