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  1. - Top - End - #61
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    Default Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown XIII

    Ludo & Elsa

    As Ludo spoke, the glimmers of witchlight in Meskhenet's eye-sockets grew steadily brighter.

    <Debt...> came the bone-dry whisper in reply. <My debt... is not one that can be repaid.> She trailed off. <Is he really... gone?>

    A long silence followed, Elsa's words falling into it like stones into a deep well. Ludo wasn't sure if Meskhenet was contemplating her reply, or falling back into slumber.

    <Nakht-Horeb may be... defeated...> she said at last. <He... is only the hound. The master's... work... endures. What I did... my people's curse... cannot be undone... until it is destroyed...>



    Jarla

    Tatiana looked a little thrown by the question. "Oh," she said, as they began to lead the horses back along the gully. "It's, um... it's fine."

    OOC:
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    I think a Charm test would be appropriate for trying to get Tattie to open up.



    Sieghard

    Sieghard still felt so drained of energy that walking along the ridgeline left him exhausted. His scouting for grave-sites told him nothing he hadn't been expecting. The earth was hard and stony: it would be backbreaking work to dig more than a shallow pit. The upper slopes were drier, at least, and had plenty of stones with which to build a cairn. It would be a lonely grave to cover so many, out here in these desolate hills - but better than nothing.
    Spoiler: My Games
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    WFRP 2E - Tales of Perilous Adventure
    The Hour After Midnight
    The Lord of Lost Heart
    Ill Met By Morrslieb

    Dark Heresy 1E - Wake of the Byzantium
    Episodes: I, II, III, IV, V

    WFRP 2E - The Bloody Crown
    Threads: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X

  2. - Top - End - #62
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    Default Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown XIII

    Jarla

    Jarla smirked in amusement at the girl's shyness, looking at her with her grey-blue eyes. "If you're worried about Bastard gossiping about you I don't think Elsa has quite your gift with animals. It's alright Tattie, I was just curious. I haven't worked with wizardesses before - though I played one once or twice when I was with the travelling players."

    OOC:
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    Charm: (1d100)[21] vs 64

  3. - Top - End - #63
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    Default Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown XIII

    Sieghard

    Sieghard took a moment to catch his breath. If this was all the strength he could muster, things could easily grow dire if anything malicious did still haunt Nath.

    "Up there will do," Sieghard told the workers. It will have to. He pointing to the spot he had chosen. "There are tools in the back of the wagon. We start digging tonight and at sunrise we'll start fetching the dead. Dig as best as the ground here will allow and dig wide - there'll be a lot to bury. Any there aren't tools for can start gathering up stones to cover them with when we're done."

    As they shuffled off, he sat down against a large rock and turned to Hechsler. "Can I ask a favor? Could you find a woman called Hannah and tell her I want her to gather up the men and bring them here?" He briefly described her. "I'd find her myself, but the fighting last night took more out of me than I thought."

    Spoiler
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    Orders for the Thorns will be the same as for the rest, he just wants them to help with the digging. Probably worth throwing a command test at.

    (1d100)[24] vs 64 Command
    (1d100)[80] Reroll

    Not sure what time it is, but if it's early enough he'll also call for a break about half-way between now and sun down.
    Last edited by TheSummoner; 2021-05-04 at 06:24 PM.

  4. - Top - End - #64
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    Default Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown XIII

    Elsa was silent for a moment. The master's work... she meant the Book of Nagash?

    At last she said: <I have just returned from Nath, a city ruled by the dead. Built long after your time, I think. I destroyed the most powerful spirit that dwelt there, and upon her death, I had a vision. A vision of her while she was still alive, using the Book of Nagash in a great ritual to kill everyone in Nath and bind their souls to her. When I came to, the curse seemed to have been lifted from Nath.>
    Last edited by -Sentinel-; 2021-05-04 at 10:33 PM.
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    Running:
    Voyages of the Ghostlight (Risus)

    Playing:
    The Bloody Crown (WFRP) as Elsabeth Holt, rogue pyromancer and court wizard

    Quote Originally Posted by TheSummoner View Post
    Oh wow. I will never again underestimate [our characters'] ability to turn friendly conversation into a possible life or death situation.
    Quote Originally Posted by LeSwordfish View Post
    Ludo has a crowbar, if that helps.

  5. - Top - End - #65
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    Default Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown XIII

    Ludo & Elsa

    The skull in the box said nothing. Meskhenet must have heard her - but her fleshless face was not able to show what, if anything, she was thinking.



    Sieghard

    The workers looked at one another, as if seeing who would be the first to raise an objection to Sieghard's orders. When no-one did, a lean youth with a week's stubble on his face wearily picked up a shovel, and led the way over to the spot Sieghard had indicated.

    Hechsler fetched the Thorns as Sieghard had asked, and soon almost fifty men and women were at work, digging the pit or carrying stones. The clink and scrape of picks and shovels carried over the hills, a peculiarly lonely sound after so long in the bustle of the crowded camp.

    Sieghard called a break in the late afternoon, sharing round some of the food and water that Abdul had left behind. Their supplies weren't plentiful - he would have to make sure that they kept enough back for the return journey. Once the work was back underway, he sat down on a stone to watch, soaking in some of the fleeting autumn sun.



    Jarla

    "Travelling players?"

    Tatiana listened with rapt attention to Jarla's descriptions of life on the road, in Nuln, and everywhere in between. Jarla wasn't sure whether the girl had been living under a rock, but even the concept of an acting troupe seemed to be exciting and exotic to her. Gently, Jarla steered the conversation back where she had intended.

    "I haven't really known Mistress Holt for long," she said. "She came looking for me, in Nachgeheim. She took me to the city." She glanced back to check on the horses trailing sedately behind them. Apart from the animals, they were alone within the rocky walls of the ravine.

    "She's, um, she's very busy, I think, being the Prince's wizard. She's not always around. And when she is..." She looked at Jarla, seeming to decide on impulse to trust her. "Sometimes I feel like she thinks I'm a child. I miss my friends, sometimes, from before. They made me feel more useful."

    Tatiana fell into silence, perhaps feeling she'd crossed some line in criticising her mistress to this relative stranger. Clearly finding the subject uncomfortable, she clumsily tried to steer the conversation back to Jarla's adventures.

    A little less than an hour later, they emerged back into the valley where the ruined city stood, a few miles from the site of the camp. Leading the horses back up along the ridge, they saw the Prince's forces there much depleted. The Iron Company and most of the tents were gone. A small force of dirty, un-uniformed men were digging a pit under Sieghard's supervision, while down in the valley, thin fingers of sunlight played over the bones of Nath. The blackened ruin of the tower remained in shadow, as if even the sun's rays wished to give it a wide berth.

    "I suppose we'll have to give his Highness' horse back another time," said Tattie, seeming a little deflated at the sight of the empty camp. She looked back at the horses. "We should find them some food and water, and get them cleaned off. I'll take care of it."

    Tying Bastard back up at the post where Elsa had tethered him, she led the rescued horses off in search of feed.
    Spoiler: My Games
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    WFRP 2E - Tales of Perilous Adventure
    The Hour After Midnight
    The Lord of Lost Heart
    Ill Met By Morrslieb

    Dark Heresy 1E - Wake of the Byzantium
    Episodes: I, II, III, IV, V

    WFRP 2E - The Bloody Crown
    Threads: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X

  6. - Top - End - #66
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    Default Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown XIII

    Ludo & Elsa
    <"We will keep trying to destroy the book,"> Ludo promised. <"And keep trying to break it's power."> He couldn't help but wonder if Meskhenet was right about it's power.

    <"What would you like us to do with you?">
    he asked. <"There are learned men who would want to learn about your time and your people.">

    Later
    His work with Meskhenet done and no prospect of travelling north that day, Ludo wearily set to digging. It was things like this that made it hard to feel like a victory.
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  7. - Top - End - #67
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    Default Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown XIII

    Jarla

    Jarla was touched and amused by Tatiana's gauche interest in her adventures and cheerfully supplied as many anecdotes as needed, refraining from those which might be a bit much for a country girl's mind.

    "It's been nice talking with you Tattie," she said cheerfully as they arrived back at camp and as the girl went off to find feed. "We'll have to do it again back in Savonne. If they have a theatre there I'll bring you."

    The highwaywoman gave a doubtful look at the burial duty, then down at her fine quality doublet and hose, then led Countess in the direction of her tent. As far as she could see nearly getting her arms removed via wild stallion was hard work enough for today.

  8. - Top - End - #68
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    Default Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown XIII

    Ludo & Elsa

    It was a long time again before Meskhenet answered.

    <My people are gone,> she said. <The only thing... your scholars should learn from us... is not to follow... our example.>



    Bezahltag, 25th Kaldezeit

    The next morning, Sieghard felt some of his strength had returned to him. A broad band of blue sky was showing in the east, tinging to pink as the dawn brightened to its full glory. Ludo already had the Thorns together, priming them for the grim work ahead.

    The labourers needed a little more convincing, but the presence of the soldiers seemed to give them some reassurance that their lives were not about to be carelessly thrown away. Gathering their tools, they began the careful work of getting the carts down the steep slope into the valley, the shadows shrinking as the sun rose above the hills. As the air warmed, Sieghard could see kites circling over the centre of the ruins.

    Elsa trailed behind the work party as it passed down through the streets of Nath, keeping a wary eye on the darkened doorways of the empty buildings. Shyish still hung thickly here, whispering in the wind as it breathed between broken walls. She still had the feeling of being watched that she had felt the first time she had come to this place - but the sense of keen, hungering malice that had possessed the shadows of the dead city seemed to have faded away in the sunlight.

    In the square under the tower, the bodies lay scattered, their numbers no longer obscured by the merciful fog. Kites and buzzards had gathered in their dozens, flying up with powerful wingbeats when the grave-diggers came close. The smell rising from the carrion they had been feeding on was overpowering, but at least there were not many flies. One had to thank Morr for the small mercies.

    Steeling himself, Ludo walked over to one of the nearest bodies. Its skin had blackened and putrefied, but it still wore the stained and faded uniform of a Thorn. Something about its rotting face took him aback - it almost looked like Ortwin.

    OOC:
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    I think this work justifies WP tests against insanity (let's say at +20) for Sieghard and Ludo. If Thragka and Sentinel feel that Urgrim and Elsa ought to get in on the Insanity Point action too I'll leave that to their discretion; Jarla at least doesn't really know the dead and already took an insanity test w.r.t. their general corpse-itude.

    I'll break here to give you guys a chance to roleplay, but when you're ready to move on, let me know.
    Spoiler: My Games
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    WFRP 2E - Tales of Perilous Adventure
    The Hour After Midnight
    The Lord of Lost Heart
    Ill Met By Morrslieb

    Dark Heresy 1E - Wake of the Byzantium
    Episodes: I, II, III, IV, V

    WFRP 2E - The Bloody Crown
    Threads: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X

  9. - Top - End - #69
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    Default Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown XIII

    Urgrim
    Morning, Backertag 24th Kaldezeit

    Urgrim dreamed of rockfalls and collapsed tunnels. When the morning came, he felt uncharacteristically anxious about his conversation with Jarla the previous night. He was no less sure he'd done the right thing, but with the passage of the intervening hours, he'd remembered humans could be funny about that kind of thing. He hoped he'd not offended Adelbert's memory in some obscure manner – though he felt sure he'd hear it from Sieghard soon enough, if he had blundered.

    He slipped away from the camp as soon as he'd pulled his clothes on, heading back for the foothills overlooking Nath. Some time alone would settle his mood; besides, though he didn't expect much, he wouldn't feel right if he didn't return to round about where they'd lost the witch's trail, just to see what the scene looked like in the light of day.

    Spoiler: OOC
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    Hope this timesplit is okay. Urgrim will willingly spend several hours retracing the route the trackers took the previous night, and searching for anything that could indicate where Mala went from there, even if following the trail is impossible. I expect he'd return to the camp and the burial team in the mid afternoon. A Follow Trail roll against 54, with a Fortune re-roll if necessary: (1d100)[58], (1d100)[66] – well, I guess I'll use that fortune point to push the first roll to a raw pass, though I don't expect that actually wins Urgrim very much.


    ~

    Evening, Backertag 24th & Morning, Bezahltag 25th Kaldezeit

    Urgrim found his way to Sieghard and the labourers on his return. He got to work organising the collection of cairnstones, selecting out the broadest and flattest specimens that would serve well in the base layer. When the edges of the basin began to be sketched out against the earth, he started putting the largest rocks in place on the prospective border, to form the outer ring. More pointed and angular stones were destined to form the middle of the cairn. It was simple work which harkened back to a simpler time in his life, and it was easy to do in silence save for simple directions and assessments.

    In the evening, he spoke to Hechsler. "Strength to your arm, Jurgen." After the measure of polite and sombre small talk appropriate for the circumstances, Urgrim asked the Sigmarite if he could ask him something. "How d'you find it, serving your god far from his own lands, among the unfaithful? It seems ... unrewarding, to be a priest of the Hammer so far from your Empire. Yet, your faith now's helped strike down a great enemy of all civilised folks. Is it ... do you still feel he listens to you?"

    Spoiler: OOC
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    Might be appropriate to test Urgrim's Trade skill here, to help planning the cairn. Trade Stoneworker 56 - (1d100)[29], Fortune - (1d100)[55]

    Since Urgrim has taught some of the Thorns ranging, I think it's also appropriate for him to be a bit upset while clearing the bodies, so I'll test against Willpower on the 25th. WP 71 - (1d100)[39]
    Last edited by Thragka; 2021-05-05 at 03:37 PM.
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  10. - Top - End - #70
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    Default Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown XIII

    "Bad business, huh?" Ortwin said to Ludo, looking down at the body. "Doesn't make it better, does it? Killing the vampire won't make them all come back."

    "I know," Ludo said. He grabbed the body by the arms, and Ortwin took the ankles: it was still impossibly heavy, and scraped along the ground as they moved. Odd, given how burly Ortwin was. "I didn't really expect that."

    "Begging your pardon, boss, but you sort of did, didn't you? Apparently that's one of the things you think about when you've lost someone. You get stuck thinking you can make it right. Like you can make a deal with Morr. Doesn't work that way."

    With great effort, Ludo hefted the body onto the cart.

    OOC
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    Ludo's WP roll: (1d100)[10] vs 57

    EDIT: oh whoops this is IC let me put a post around it
    Last edited by LeSwordfish; 2021-05-05 at 04:11 PM.
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  11. - Top - End - #71
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    Default Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown XIII

    <My people are gone. The only thing... your scholars should learn from us... is not to follow... our example.>

    Elsa smiled bitterly. <A lesson every generation of scholars has to learn anew, it seems.> She inclined her head. <Thank you, Meskhenet. If I cannot destroy the Book, I will at least work to keep it out of the hands of anyone who would use it. Sometimes, it seems the most good a person can do is just give the world a short respite from evil.>

    She closed the box.






    Bezahltag, 25th Kaldezeit


    Since there were apparently no ghosts in Nath on this fine day, or at least none that were both visible and hostile, Elsa mostly kept an eye on the workers to make sure the Thorns were the only ones gathering the weapons of the fallen. She tried not to think too hard about whether Kleinrabe's original plan, which involved staying out of Nath, would have actually worked. She also tried not to look at the dead's rotting, half-eaten faces.

    This is why I want my body burned. There's more dignity in being ashes than vulture food.

    She still deeply respected Sieghard for being willing to go to such lengths for his fallen men. Though the living Thorns may hate this task, they would remember henceforth that their commander would do the same thing for them, if they too fell in battle.


    OOC:
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    Got nothing especially important to do or say.
    Last edited by -Sentinel-; 2021-05-05 at 06:46 PM.
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    Running:
    Voyages of the Ghostlight (Risus)

    Playing:
    The Bloody Crown (WFRP) as Elsabeth Holt, rogue pyromancer and court wizard

    Quote Originally Posted by TheSummoner View Post
    Oh wow. I will never again underestimate [our characters'] ability to turn friendly conversation into a possible life or death situation.
    Quote Originally Posted by LeSwordfish View Post
    Ludo has a crowbar, if that helps.

  12. - Top - End - #72
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    Default Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown XIII

    Bezahltag, 25th Kaldezeit

    "Ludo," Urgrim said, making his way over to the cart, "what're you doing trying to drag them around by yourself? Here, I'll give you a hand."

    "By the way'" he said, when they were moving the next body, "Grunlok, the foreman, was asking after the spear. Seemed happy enough when I told him you had it. He might come looking for you when you're back in Manann's Keep, though."
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  13. - Top - End - #73
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    Jarla, Bezahltag, 25th Kaldezeit

    Jarla spent the day with Countess, keeping a distant patrol of the camp and the burials, obviously avoiding Nath itself. It was boring, lonely work but it beat grave digging and it also gave Jarla time to think her thoughts to herself. She hadn't realised how much she needed that after the last few days.

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    Unless we're actually attacked or Jarla stumbles across evidence of Mala I'm okay with pushing on.

  14. - Top - End - #74
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    Default Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown XIII

    Sieghard

    Sieghard done what he could to prepare himself, but found the day's work incredibly disheartening all the same. Still too weak to even help carry the bodies, there was little to keep his mind from drifting back and wondering what they could've done differently, how he could've minimized the losses among the living and if there had been any way to save Nahorek's prisoners. As much as he dwelled it, he could think of nothing and blamed himself all the more for not being able to figure anything out.

    "Pile up the weapons over there," Sieghard said, "We'll pack them up when we've finished moving the dead."

    When the work was under way, he approached Elsa. "You should apologize to them," he suggested. "For... before. Maybe not now while they're working, but after we've made it back to town and put this behind us. I don't know if they'd forgive you, but I think they'd at least give you the chance to earn it. And I'd rather there not be bad blood between them and you."

    Spoiler
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    Fitting as it would be for this to push Sieghard over the edge, I'm going to hope he clings to his sanity.

    (1d100)[48] vs 69 (49 WP +20)
    (1d100)[91] Reroll

  15. - Top - End - #75
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    Default Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown XIII

    Ludo blinked, as if confused, when Urgi took the other end of the corpse, and seemed about to say something.

    In response to the question about the spearhead, he sighed. "Two of Sforza's heavies came by and demanded it. I went and spoke to him in person and told him it was the Dwimmulson's property, and all I could get him to say was that he'd consider giving it back to them. I'll try talking to him again but didn't really have much choice."
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    Default Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown XIII

    "Hrmph," Urgrim grunted, but otherwise looked undisturbed by the news. "Well, can't say I didn't expect some squabbling over it. Almost better that it's the Prince. This way, it's not personal, we're not in the middle of it. Thanks for saying that to him – you've already helped, you don't need to get on his bad side over this."

    When Jarla patrolled past their eyeline, Urgrim nodded towards her. "I told Schreiber about her brother's death, when we got back from chasing the witch."
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    Default Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown XIII

    Ludo was surprised by Urgrim's equanimity: he had mentally prepared an aggrieved justification. Perhaps that would have to be saved for Grunlok. As for telling Adelbert's sister...

    "Probably for the best. I just had half the lies I've told over the past year thrown back in my face with a knife to my friend's neck so wasn't looking forward to maintaining another one: It might make things more complicated fast but... was the right thing to do."
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    Default Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown XIII

    Urgrim nodded. "Aye. The truth's the simplest thing there is. It's people that get all mixed up." His gaze turned to Sieghard as he spoke.

    "Hey," he said, after a pause, "we've really done something here, hmm? Paid a heavy price, and the job's not finished yet, but I honestly can't tell you if I really believed we'd be able to strike back against the Jackal like this, before that night."
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    Urgrim, 24th Kaldezeit

    The wind across the hilltops was freshening as Urgrim went in search of last night's tracks, making him glad for his cloak. Around noon, he thought he had found the place where they had followed Mala through the fog. Now he could see the broad crest of the hill spread out in front of him in the patchy sunlight - a landscape of bare earth and wind-scoured rocks, the runnels carved by the rain still lingering like fresh scars.

    Searching over the barren ground with a keen eye, Urgrim hardly noticed the hours slipping by. Much of the earth was too stony to take a print, but here and there, where the water and loose grit had accumulated into grey mud, he found the prints of heavy hooves. It looked like Mala had taken another sharp turn soon after gaining the heights, cutting north-west across the hills. That would put her on a course for the western edge of the Thornwood, if she held to it - but that 'if' seemed far from certain. These frequent changes of heading seemed to Urgrim like the choices of a woman consciously evading pursuit. Mala clearly knew a thing or two about being hunted.

    Quote Originally Posted by Thragka View Post
    In the evening, he spoke to Hechsler. "Strength to your arm, Jurgen." After the measure of polite and sombre small talk appropriate for the circumstances, Urgrim asked the Sigmarite if he could ask him something. "How d'you find it, serving your god far from his own lands, among the unfaithful? It seems ... unrewarding, to be a priest of the Hammer so far from your Empire. Yet, your faith now's helped strike down a great enemy of all civilised folks. Is it ... do you still feel he listens to you?"
    Hechsler seemed a little surprised to hear such a question from Urgrim. "There was a time when I questioned that," he said. "But I'd say all this shows he has his reasons." His voice assumed a scriptural tone. "As He smote Nagash on the banks of the Reik, so He sends his servants to root out the evil of the Great Necromancer wherever it takes root... or something like that."

    He looked over to the small scattering of campfires that remained, the Thorns and Sforza's labourers huddled close around them. "Way I see it, Sigmar named his kingdom the Empire of Man. Not of the Unberogens, or the Reikland. He was the Heldenhammer, the goblin-smiter. He wanted to drive out the monsters, and make the world a place where men and women could raise their children not to fear the dark." Taking a swig from his flask, he wiped his mouth and picked up a stick to stoke the fire. "That's something that everyone deserves, no matter what tongue they speak, or who they pay their taxes to."



    25th Kaldezeit

    It took three trips to get all the bodies back up the hill, even stacking them high on the back of Abdul's carts. The soldiers and labourers worked with handkerchiefs or strips of cloths over their mouths and noses, the carrion birds squawking and shrieking their complaints as their feast was carted away. Their noise was the only sound that broke the morbid quiet hanging over the company.

    The bodies were laid head to toe and shoulder to shoulder in the pit that had been dug at the top of the hill - and when the space began to fill up, on top of one another. There were Caerforters, Morrite men-at-arms - Ludo suspected even some Rivermouthers among the dead they interred. Most were in such a state of decomposition that unless they wore a uniform, it was difficult to tell.

    Only the remains of the Thorns and the Knights of the Raven were kept separate. The living Thorns seemed to treat the bodies of the fallen templars with a mixture of respect and fear. Sieghard could understand where they were coming from - even now, he had to fight the feeling that if he came too close, an armoured hand might jerk up to seize him by the throat.

    Once the last bodies had been laid down, Hechsler opened his dog-eared old prayer book, and spoke a brief service to consecrate their souls to Morr. "So we return their flesh to Rhya's earth, oh Lord of the Gateway, in the sure and certain knowledge that their spirits shall dwell in peace in Your Garden," he concluded, "and in time, we shall meet them once again."

    A scudding cloud cast its shadow across them, and a few half-hearted raindrops fell against the stony ground. Hechsler stepped back, and the Thorns and workers began to close the heap of stones over the cairn.

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    Let me know when you're ready to move on - and whether you want to cut straight to arriving in Manann's Keep, or break for the second burial in the Thornwood.
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  20. - Top - End - #80
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    Urgrim
    Backertag, 24th Kaldezeit

    Urgrim listened, nodding at Hechsler's words. "It's a good creed," he assented. "We – dwarfs – don't worship our gods the same way as you humans do. We have temples, in the holds, but they're more like chapels than the grand temples I've seen umgi build. But our gods tell us to do their work out in the world. That's a calling I respect."

    Urgi fell silent for a short time, wrapped in his own thoughts. Then he shrugged. "I've been feeling ... disconnected, I suppose. From my people, and their ways. I try to ... live with honour, even without guidance. I'm just unsure of myself, sometimes. And I wondered whether you'd ever felt similarly. Thanks," he added sincerely.
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    Quote Originally Posted by TheSummoner View Post
    "You should apologize to them," he suggested. "For... before. Maybe not now while they're working, but after we've made it back to town and put this behind us. I don't know if they'd forgive you, but I think they'd at least give you the chance to earn it. And I'd rather there not be bad blood between them and you."
    Elsa looked distinctly uncomfortable. "You know me, Sieghard. I'm not a person of words. I'm a person of deeds. And it might be best to... not stir up the past."

    But the truth was that apologizing was just not her thing. Even when an apology was warranted.

    "...I'll think of a nice little speech for when we eulogize the fallen. Alright?" She gave Sieghard a pat on the shoulder. "You've made some damn fine soldiers out of them. And I intend to let them know."


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    I think I'm ready to write Elsa's speech, but TheSummoner/Sieghard should get the first speech. (Both chronologically in-story and in the thread.)
    Last edited by -Sentinel-; 2021-05-06 at 10:53 AM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by TheSummoner View Post
    Oh wow. I will never again underestimate [our characters'] ability to turn friendly conversation into a possible life or death situation.
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    Ludo has a crowbar, if that helps.

  22. - Top - End - #82
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    Sieghard

    Sieghard nodded. "Neither of us have Ludo's gilded tongue, but I don't think it would take much. Maybe you're right about stirring up the past, but I still think it's better than letting it fester."




    "Morr watch over them," Sieghard said once Hechsler had finished, "Safeguard their souls and help them find the rest that the foe tried to deny them." Protect them better than we could.

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    Ready to move on to the Thornwood, Sieghard will have a bit more to say there. Better to keep it brief here both there's only so much he could say about the villagers and men at arms that he didn't know as well and he doesn't want to say the quiet part out loud when it comes to failing to rescue them.

  23. - Top - End - #83
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    Ludo kept his expression stony, and carefully clamped his hand over his face, biting down the sudden temptation to laugh hysterically.

    Meet them again? That was the problem! We already did that! And they tried to kill us!

    He joined in the murmured entreaty to Morr, and helped as the labourers began to pile the stones over the bodies. The face of the little girl from Caerfort who's name he hadn't been able to remember vanished under a smooth flat stone.
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  24. - Top - End - #84
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    The cairn grew higher as sun sank down towards the west, its shadow stretching out longer and longer across the barren ridge. By the time Urgrim laid the final stone on its summit, the sun was grazing the tops of the western hills.

    The wind that evening was keen and cold, making them shelter behind the lee of the ridge to keep their fires going. A couple of Thorns with torches were posted to keep watch over the unburied bodies and scare off any scavengers - but as the sun disappeared, the carrion birds disappeared with it. Huddling close to a campfire, Jarla overheard two of the peasant labourers talking.

    “Why’d we leave those ones out?” the younger of the two men was saying. “Doesn’t make any sense to me.”

    “Too good to be buried with the others,” croaked the older. “Don’t question ‘em, lad. It won’t do any of us any good.”

    “That’s not what Armin would have said.”

    “Aye, and where’s Armin now?”

    A long silence followed.

    “You think they really did it?” asked the younger man. “Killed the Drinker?”

    “I don’t know what they killed down there,” said the older man. “But I don’t reckon it was the Drinker. You can’t kill a god.” His voice grew so soft that Jarla had to strain her ears to hear him. “Don’t let them make you think they can.”



    Konigstag, 26th Kaldezeit

    They broke camp the next morning, heading north on the same track that Valdes had taken with the war machines. It was slow going, dragging their dead behind them over the rocky ground - but by sundown, they had passed down out of the heights and into the fringes of the Thornwood. Here the wind was not so sharp, nor the air so cold. Exhausted by the arduous descent, soldiers and labourers alike slumped down under the shade of the trees to take the weight off their feet.
    Last edited by LCP; 2021-05-06 at 02:53 PM.
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    The Hour After Midnight
    The Lord of Lost Heart
    Ill Met By Morrslieb

    Dark Heresy 1E - Wake of the Byzantium
    Episodes: I, II, III, IV, V

    WFRP 2E - The Bloody Crown
    Threads: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X

  25. - Top - End - #85
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    Jarla

    Jarla mulled over the words she'd overheard, though she lacked too much context to know exactly what the peasants were talking about. She was pretty sure you couldn't kill a god though, she was inclined to agree with the speaker that he hadn't been the Drinker.

    Trying to move closer to the fire for own warmth she wondered just what she was doing here. Oh the burials were important work and she was sure Adelbert would have approved but she had no connection with the dead here.

    She really should have left with the army.




    Konigstag, 26th Kaldezeit

    Any hopes Jarla might have had that they'd finally be back in civilisation were ground into dust as they crawled along the track. Several times as she rode Countess at barely a trot the highwaywoman, never at her best at times of tedium, found herself tempted to just race off ahead.

    But as boring and difficult as it was Elsa and Sieghard and Ludo and Urgrim were her only friends here so she stuck with them, scouting and keeping guard.

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    Sieghard

    The next morning, while the others were preparing a breakfast and breaking camp, Sieghard took one of the horses Jarla and Tatiana had recovered and scouted out the surrounding area. As he was turning to head back to the others, he found a suitable spot - a clearing in the trees with a large stone laying off to the side. There was space enough to dig and the rock would serve well as a marker.

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    As the digging began, Ludo gathered the quivers of bolts he had taken from the dead, and from what of the company stores they had on the carts. Sombrely, he planted a line in the ground around the grave, ringing the dead with thorns, before tying a bundle with twine and leaving them in the centre of the stone like a bouquet.
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  28. - Top - End - #88
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    Sieghard

    "Morr, we give the fallen into your care," Sieghard as the last of the dirt was put over the grave, "Safeguard the souls of those who gave their to protect the Reaches. Protect the men who fought and sacrificed to stop the shadow of undeath from sweeping over the land. We return fallen home and lay to rest, may they find the peace they deserve."

    He let the silence linger as he gathered his thoughts. He had never been a great speaker and it was hard for him to decide what best to say. "Songs and stories would have folk believe that victory is all glory, but it's often hard won and paid for in the lives of men. We have ended a great evil. Left alone, the Jackal, his pet necromancer and his ghouls would've swallowed the Reaches, slaying and enslaving all in their path. It wouldn't have stopped with one village. Like a blight, the Nahorek's shadow would've spread across the land until all men knelt before him, either in life or in death. We've prevented that. You prevented that and the Jackal will trouble the living no more. Nothing can bring back those we have lost, but we can honor their sacrifice. Remember why we fight and know that the fallen gave their lives for something greater than themselves."

  29. - Top - End - #89
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    Default Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown XIII

    Elsa quietly waited for the end of Sieghard's eulogy before offering her own, which she had been mentally rehearsing for most of the day.

    "When the Jackal first rose, thousands of years ago," she said, "the mightiest human civilization of the time waged war on him and put him back into the ground, at great cost. They engraved their victory in the walls of their city Kheneb-Ptra-Urush, now ruined. Yet they congratulated themselves too soon. After they were long gone, the Jackal returned. The Broken Reaches, bled dry by centuries of war and banditry, were unprepared for him. And yet you rose to the occasion and destroyed him. For good, this time."

    She paused for dramatic effect.

    "You, the Thorns, with crossbows and courage, succeeded where a great empire of old, with their priest-kings and their sorcery and their vast armies of war chariots, failed. You did it not for gold or king or glory, but for home and love and family and friends and all those who will come after you. Your victory may never be immortalized in stone, but it will echo across the ages. Entire generations will owe their existence to your brave deeds. If the Broken Reaches ever one day know peace and plenty, it will be your doing. You, and those we've buried today, have pushed back some of the shadows that have been darkening this land since long before your great-great-great-grandparents were born. And that's worth more than any number of carvings in the walls."

    She could have said more, but decided not to steal Sieghard's thunder by speaking too long.


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    I lack Public Speaking, but let's try a Charm 54 anyway: (d100)[18] Yaaay, go Elsa!
    Fortune: (d100)[32]
    Last edited by -Sentinel-; 2021-05-07 at 01:25 PM.
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    Running:
    Voyages of the Ghostlight (Risus)

    Playing:
    The Bloody Crown (WFRP) as Elsabeth Holt, rogue pyromancer and court wizard

    Quote Originally Posted by TheSummoner View Post
    Oh wow. I will never again underestimate [our characters'] ability to turn friendly conversation into a possible life or death situation.
    Quote Originally Posted by LeSwordfish View Post
    Ludo has a crowbar, if that helps.

  30. - Top - End - #90
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    The Thorns stood by in respectful silence while Sieghard and Elsa spoke. Some puffed themselves up with pride at the praise that was layered upon them; others seemed too tired to do anything but nod. One or two seemed not to appreciate Elsa’s contribution - Ludo saw Hanna’s face darken and turn away when the wizard spoke.

    Hechsler spoke the same rites he had spoken in the hills, and the listeners drew back to where they had made camp. The boulder remained behind, ringed with Ludo’s crossbow bolts - a mute monument beneath the crooked trees.



    Angestag, 27th Kaldezeit

    Late on Angestag afternoon, Sieghard’s straggling column arrived at Manann’s Keep. The streets of the town were thronged with soldiers and civilians alike, and a festival mood seemed to be in the air, the new-built fortifications all but forgotten. Sforza’s banner flew proudly from the fort, and the sound of music drifted from the Star of Marienburg, a good score of Iron Company men staggering merrily around outside the doors.

    Still carrying the bodies of the four Raven Knights, the Thorns and labourers passed into the town square without seeming to draw much attention. There, Armin’s emaciated body still hung in its gibbet, now motionless and silent. A glossy-feathered crow was pecking at his toes where his leg dangled through the bars, to no visible reaction. Some of the labourers turned their eyes away.
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    WFRP 2E - Tales of Perilous Adventure
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    The Lord of Lost Heart
    Ill Met By Morrslieb

    Dark Heresy 1E - Wake of the Byzantium
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    WFRP 2E - The Bloody Crown
    Threads: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X

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