[WFRP] The Bloody Crown XII

[LCP]

Jarla

"Imminently," said the Prince. "And to our enemy down in the valley."

[RossN]

Jarla

"As you wish sir," Jarla replied, a thrill rushing through her, pushing aside even her weariness. She wasn't blind to the danger but by Ranald what an opportunity!

"I'll ready my horse at once."

[LCP]

Jarla

Sforza seemed impressed with Jarla's willingness to accept such a dangerous task, though he did his best to keep his face impassive. "Very good," he said. "I'm drawing up a letter. Come back in..." - he looked out of the tent towards the light - "...two hours." He paused. "I'll see you're properly rewarded if you can bring me back a reply."

[RossN]

Jarla

"Thank you Sir."

Jarla bowed, then exited the tent and looked around. The young woman's immediate concern was to make sure no one had eaten Countess but after that she'd see if she could find any of Adelbert's old comrades - during her brief first time inside the tent she'd seen someone who surely had to be Elsa the wizardess.

Spying the woman herself Jarla strode over and offered her hand. "Elsa Holt right? I'm Jarla Schreiber, I think you knew my brother Adelbert."

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa shook Jarla's hand with a sympathetic but somewhat pained smile, unsure when would be the right time to tell her just who was behind her brother's murder.

"Pleasure to make my acquaintance. I'm deeply sorry about your loss. And to come all this way..."

She paused.

"How much... exactly... have you been told about the circumstances of his death?"

[RossN]

Jarla

Jarla shook the other woman's hand. "Good to see I'm not the only red head here," she said, eyebrow raised at her own auburn locks. Jarla was taller than average and surprisingly curvy for someone who spent a lot of time in the wilderness and out riding. Still there was muscle there behind her good looks, in her firm handshake and a glimmer in her grey-blue eyes.

She was hardly Adlbert's twin but there was some resemblance about the nose, ears and cheekbones - and the accent of course, the same Averland tones though in a feminine alto against Adelbert's baritone.

At Elsa's condolences Jarla's expression saddened visibly. "Yes... I had some of his letters though they must be months old by now. He did speak of you and his other friends. Do they still live?"

At Elsa's question Jarla nodded her head. "Yes. Princess Irene told me there was a skirmish with some soldiers and the guilty were punished. Lucky for them," she added, an edge coming into her voice. "Had I tracked them down... well, they are in Morr's hands now."

[-Sentinel-]

"Yes... I had some of his letters though they must be months old by now. He did speak of you and his other friends. Do they still live?"

"They do. Apart from Lady D'Evangelisti, I don't know if he mentioned her... I'm afraid she's an early casualty of our war with the dead. Shame. She was a good person. Perhaps too good for these lands."



"Yes. Princess Irene told me there was a skirmish with some soldiers and the guilty were punished. Lucky for them. Had I tracked them down... well, they are in Morr's hands now."

Spoiler

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Fel test for Elsa to not show obvious unease at the "They are in Morr's hands" part: (d100)[32]

Elsa decided not to reveal too much yet to this woman she barely knew. "Hmm. Well, part of me feels responsible for his being at the wrong place, at the wrong time. It was a complex situation, but suffice to say that my friend Ludo was coming to my help, some people did not want him to reach me, and your brother just happened to be traveling with him at the time."

She paused to let the words sink in.

"So that's the Border Princes for you. If you have better prospects elsewhere, I would advise you don't stay here any longer than you need to. We're trying to make something of a civilization out of these lands, but until then, this is what we have to work with."

[RossN]

Jarla

Jarla looked blank at the name Lady D'Evangelisti, but nodded sympathetically all the same.

At Elsa's confession that Adelbert had been in the wrong place at the wrong time she let out a sigh, then smiled ruefully at the other woman. "I'm not angry at you. You didn't kill him yourself and as you say these are dangerous lands. I wanted to meet you - and Sieghard and Ludo and Viggo - you all seemed so alive in my brother's letters. Seeing you... talking to you... it helps. It gets me closer to Adelbert if that makes sense."

Jarla paused a moment then continued, obviously feeling awkward unburdening herself like this. She was a woman more comfortable with witty remarks than raw emotion anyway. "I should probably warn you that I am Princess Irene's courtier, and as I'm sure you know she hates you, so we may not get much chance to talk back in Savonne. Please do set fire to me with your mind if I have to insult your dress in her presence."

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa showed admirable restraint in not launching into a passionate tirade against her employer's wife.

"Oh, I know how Lady Irene feels about me, and the sentiment's quite mutual. But rest assured that even in the Border Princes, setting you on fire with my mind without a very good reason would be deeply frowned upon," said Elsa dryly. "Do you wish to meet Ludo and Sieghard? I'm afraid Viggo is... retired, is how I'd call it."

[RossN]

Jarla

Jarla laughed. "Good to know I won't need to stand with pails of water ever present. And yes I would like to meet Sieghard and Ludo. I'm due to be delivering a message to the enemy camp soon, so any advice any of you can give would be wonderful."

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa had already begun heading towards Sieghard and Ludo, but her eyes widened when Jarla casually mentioned her mission. "Wait, you're the one they're sending? Did they... tell you what kind of person you'll be dealing with?"

It looked increasingly as if Jarla, likeable as she may be, was completely and hopelessly out of her depth, and that Sforza had seen right through it and deemed it an opportunity too good to pass up. None of his own men would have volunteered for this.

[RossN]

Jarla

"A vampire right?" Jarla said, seeming unconcerned. "I've read some of Detlef Sierck's sonnets but I've never met one in the flesh. I know they're dangerous, which is probably why Sforza will pay me for this. You have to take risks to get anywhere in life and if needs be I'm a good shot and a good rider."

[-Sentinel-]

"So they did tell you." And still you accepted the mission... You are either brave or foolish. Or just desperate for money. "As for advice... I didn't get to interact with him much, apart from trying to kill each other, but he's extremely arrogant, and I don't think he's quite sane. He likes to style himself as a god, though whether he believes it himself is a mystery."

She waved at Sieghard and Ludo as she got near them. "Jarla Schreiber here has been tasked with carrying a message to the leech."

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

Sieghard stood dumbfounded. The confirmation that the woman was Adelbert's sister was enough to give him pause. The news that she would be performing Sforza's errand caught any response he may have had in his throat.

"Are you mad?" he asked, blunt as ever, "You're going to get yourself killed."

[RossN]

Jarla

Jarla raised a copper eyebrow at Sieghard's comment. "Does everyone here introduce themselves like that?"

She offered a hand to the warrior and gave him an amused smile. "Jarla, pleased to meet you... and don't worry I have no intention of dying over there. If he's as arrogant as Master Holt suggests he'd probably consider it beneath his dignity to murder a messenger."

[-Sentinel-]

He sighed. Taking his hand down from his face, he looked around to Elsa. "I'd ask you how you normally get through to him," he said, gesturing to Sieghard with an open hand, "but you were in the tent too. Did what we brought back make a difference to the princeling?"

Elsa thought about it, then nodded. "I think it did. At the very least, it's definite proof to the skeptics that this evil we're facing is an ancient one, not just another of those dime-a-dozen monsters that plague the Reaches like the Orc king that Sieghard killed in front of Manann's Keep."

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

Sieghard paused a moment before shaking Jarla's hand awkwardly. "That monster has no dignity," he said, "We're not talking about some lordling trying to carve out a kingdom. Nahorek is a beast dressed like a dead man. You'd have as much luck walking into a wyvern's nest and trying to talk to it."

[RossN]

Jarla

Jarla's swashbuckling grin faded a little at Sieghard's statement but she made a stubborn attempt at rallying. "Well, I suppose that does explain why the Prince was so happy to give this task to a stranger. Still, no one ever won a battle without avoiding a risk and Ranald has ever been my favourite of the gods. When... if I survive and return we'll have to catch up over drinks, all of us."

[Thragka]

Elsa thought about it, then nodded. "I think it did. At the very least, it's definite proof to the skeptics that this evil we're facing is an ancient one, not just another of those dime-a-dozen monsters that plague the Reaches like the Orc king that Sieghard killed in front of Manann's Keep."

Elsa's measured response helped calm Urgrim down. "Good," he said. He took a deep breath. "After those northern fools made haste to their deaths, I was getting a bit worried that our little troupe are the only ones taking the Jackal seriously." He looked to Sieghard. "Think that's what's got me all riled up," he muttered.

He turned to Jarla, sizing her up. "Schreiber? Adelbert's kin?"

Spoiler: OOC

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It might be common knowledge to everyone else by now, but IIRC this is the first Urgrim's heard Jarla's name and her connection to Adelbert.

[RossN]

Jarla

He turned to Jarla, sizing her up. "Schreiber? Adelbert's kin?"

"His younger sister Jarla," Jarla clarified, offering a pale hand and a smile. "I'm sorry I don't believe I know you Herr...?"

[Thragka]

"Jotunnsson," Urgrim said cordially, accepting Jarla's hand. "Urgrim Jotunnsson. A more recent acquaintance of your late brother and his companions. I'm sorry for your family's loss. I travelled with, and fought beside, Adelbert for a short time. I wish I'd known him better."

He sighed. "Sieghard's right, though. If you're looking to avenge your brother, walking into the Jackal's grasp is not the way to go about it." He frowned. "Entirely the wrong direction to be going from here, for one thing," he added more quietly, sharing a bitter look with Elsa and Sieghard.

[RossN]

Jarla

Jarla looked pale at yet another pronouncement of doom but forced her smile to remain on her face. "Well, I have to do it now anyway but I am grateful for your concern. We'll have a lot to talk about over ale when you get back - and it sounds like I'll need a tavern full!"

[LCP]

Father Barbaro was content to let Ludo do most of the work drafting the letter, intervening only where he thought it necessary to preserve his prince’s dignity. When they had both agreed, they took it back to Sforza’s pavilion.

“This is all very well,” said Sforza, reading over the draft they had brought him, “but it’s no use if he invites us to speak inside the tower. We need to set a meeting place.” Looking out down the slope, he cast an appraising eye over the valley. “Somewhere he thinks is safe.”

“Of course, your highness - only we did not wish to presume by choosing the place,” said Barbaro, always quick off the mark where flattery was concerned. “Questions of strategy are best decided by generals.”

Sforza nodded. “We’re hardly spoiled for choice,” he said, eyes tracking slowly over the barren landscape below. “The plain, east of the city then. Sieghard’s men have already scouted it, and it gives him some assurance of being out of the range of our cannon.”

Barbaro nodded and made the necessary amendments. When the letter was finished, Sforza put his seal to it, and sent for Jarla.

“This letter is only for the one they call the Jackal,” he said, handing it to Jarla. “See it put in his hands, and bring us back his reply.” He paused. “You’ll be going down there under a flag of truce, but his creatures in the ruins may not understand it. I trust you’re well armed.”

OOC:

Spoiler

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Apologies for not autopiloting Ludo earlier - definitely wasn't sticking to the 2-day rule there.

[RossN]

Jarla

Jarla was feeling less confident now and her face was pale but she nodded in understanding as she accepted the letter. "I understand sir. I'll keep my weapons at the ready; sword and pistol both."

[LCP]

"Good," said Sforza. He paused for a moment. "I don't hide from you that this is a dangerous task. See it carried it out well, and the reward will match the danger."

OOC:

Spoiler

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Let me know when you're ready to have Jarla head down into Nath. We can assume you can rustle up an improvised white flag somewhere in camp.

[RossN]

"Yes Prince Sforza," Jarla replied. This was beginning to seem more real my the moment but she managed to force a confident smile to hide her nerves (even if she doubted it fooled Sforza.)

Taking a deep breath she turned and left, ready to saddle Countess and ride. The leather was in her pack, her pistol was loaded with shot and she picked up a makeshift flag of truce. Time to meet the enemy...

OOC:

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Ready to move on

.

[LCP]

Sforza’s army clearly hadn’t come prepared for peace - the white flag they gave to Jarla was only a canvas rag tied to a sergeant’s half-pike. Taking a last glance back over her shoulder, she urged Countess up over the crest of the hill and down the stony slope beyond, towards the silent tower that waited in the valley below.

Reaching the outskirts of the dead city, the scars where Sforza’s war machines had torn new holes in what remained of its ancient structures. Between those wind-worn ruins, the rains had sluiced the dust of the dead city into sinuous drifts, cut through with channels like the veins in an old man’s hands. The empty streets were silent except for the sound of Countess’ hooves.

Despite the silence, Jarla had a strong sensation of being watched. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she glimpsed pale, hollow-eyed faces - but when she turned her head to look, she saw only shadows. Countess seemed to share her unease, whickering and tossing her mane.

Ahead of them loomed the tower, rising like the spike of a sundial above the ruined rooftops. Emerging into the open square beneath it, Jarla saw the stripped foundations of what must have been buildings of equal grandeur, before their stones had been taken to shore up the vampire’s lair. There was even what looked like the remains of an orchard, now a garden of stumps where its trees had been felled.

Here and there, the hard earth had been ploughed up by shots from catapult and cannon - but the tower still stood unassailable, its long shadow stretching out to greet her. A great number of silent figures stood motionless around its base. Like any child of the Empire, Jarla had heard stories of the risen dead - but this was the first time she had seen them with her own eyes.

Some still seemed mostly intact, staring with slack grey faces; others had succumbed to decay, putrefied flesh sloughing from white bone. Some wore uniforms she had seen among Sforza’s soldiers, streaked with dust and old blood; others wore only rags, or nothing at all. The one thing they all had in common was the pale light that gleamed in their empty eyes. It was the light of a single will - and as she stared them down across the open square, Jarla felt that every eye was fixed on her.

OOC:

Spoiler

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It’s not a combat situation (yet!) so a Fear test doesn’t seem appropriate, but can I get a WP test from Jarla to avoid gaining an Insanity Point for her first encounter with the undead?

[LeSwordfish]

Ludo watched with idle interest as the highwaywoman vanished into the desert, becoming a horseback speck, before turning back into the camp and searching for Sieghard.

"Who was that woman?" he asked. "It's a bit rich of Sforza to send someone who's no idea what's going on off into the vampire's jaws."

[RossN]

Jarla

Jarla had thought she'd be able to handle it. She'd faced bad odds before, found her life in danger before.

This was different. It wasn't like dueling with bounty hunters or being chased by state troopers. It was like being watch by the cold empty eyes of the dead. As she sat at the edge of the square the young Imperial woman heard the sound of her heart like a broken temple bell in her ears. Her hands shook in her gloves and the breath in her body seemed to catch in her throat, unwilling to escape to such danger. Jarla had never been so frightened in all her life and for what seemed aeons she simply sat there, frozen, her weak mind screaming at her to run.

Sigmar help me!

Finally she managed to force her brain to work well enough to speak. "I... I bring a letter from Prince Muzio Sforza for your great lord. May I approach?"

The words trickled away into the empty air.

[LCP]

Jarla

The dead remained where they stood. Jarla searched their mute, staring faces, looking for any sign they had understood her. Here was the corpse of a big, broad-shouldered man, the tatters of a military uniform still clinging to his grey skin. There was a woman with a broken spear stuck through her ribs, her face stripped to ribbons by the attentions of hungry crows. Neither showed the slightest glimmer of recognition.

Jarla waited there for what might have been a minute, heart in mouth as she waited for a response. At last, there came a sound from across the square, as of the drawing of a rusty bolt. One of the double doors of the tower swung inwards, revealing a sliver of the darkness behind it. As if by some unspoken command, the dead shuffled aside, opening a narrow corridor of clear space between Jarla and the open doorway.