[WFRP] The Bloody Crown XIV

[LCP]

"I take it you have a more apt description, then?" asked Elsa, who had not expected Wadim to show so little concern for Sanne.

"The Norscans are their own people," said Wadim. "Sanne was interested in our traditions, as I was interested in theirs."

Taking in a long breath, he looked Elsa up and down in the dim moonlight, as if taking the measure of her.

"I doubt the goblins will go back," he said, calmly. "They're terrified, and with good reason. The shadow reaching out of the Waste falls on them first." He shuffled his bony legs, finding a more comfortable seat on the stony ground. "A good number had already fled before their chief agreed to lead them out into the sun. In fact, if you say that chaos in the caverns was you... I believe you may have helped convince them that they were cursed."

"As for me, I assure you it's not in my nature to make trouble," he said, with a gleam in his eye that Ludo suspected meant anything but. "Just ask Bardhyl here. But I have to ask... if you serve the Tilean, and he didn't send you against the Jackal, then why did he send you here?" He looked around the faces of the others with an enquiring air. "I don't think you came to hunt down the greenskins, either - at least, I don't see many soldiers with you. And if you're happy for me to depart for the hills, then it doesn't sound like he can want anything of me." He looked over at Bardhyl. "Have you joined forces with him, too? Are you whispering in the ears of lowlander lords?"

[-Sentinel-]

"The Prince didn't send me here," answered Elsa, returning Wadim's intent gaze. "Bardhyl is the one who came to us, with visions and rumors telling him you were still alive. And any enemy of the Jackal is... if not necessarily my friend, then at least a useful person to have around. I wish we could've joined forces much earlier, but I suppose late is better than never."

She chuckled bitterly. "If I can only protect the princedom by working behind the Prince's back, then so be it."

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

"If the prince knew we had planned to come into the hills, he probably would've forbade it," Sieghard said bluntly. "He ignored the danger until an entire village was marched off to their deaths and now likes to pretend that he was the one who slew the Jackal."

"Too many have died to not take the threat seriously, even if they meant nothing to Sforza."

[LCP]

Wadim seemed to find what both Sieghard and Elsa had to say very interesting.

"And what is the princedom, that you care so deeply about protecting it?" he asked Elsa. "Forgive me for asking, but going behind your lord's back... it sounds like you're gambling with Morr's own dice."

[-Sentinel-]

"I only used the turn of the phrase that emphasizes the irony," admitted Elsa with a shrug. "Didn't mean to imply preference for princes or dukes or jarls... as long as they have a pulse. What I want to protect, in the end, is the mortal people who call this land home. They've clung to it for many generations, through war and famine and plague. I can admire that. I'd hate to see them driven out by some bitter ghost from a bygone era who just can't accept that his world has moved on."

She paused. "As for my employer, he seems to care little about my comings and goings these days."

[rax]

Spoiler: LCP

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"It would be a poor thing to refuse hospitality freely offered. Even from a dead man."

"Indeed it would. And before you go on your way, we should talk more about the past...and the future," he answered in Vranspel.

He looked over at Bardhyl. "Have you joined forces with him, too? Are you whispering in the ears of lowlander lords?"

"Not me, old man. My only interest is in taking a cut of their trade. Even dead men must make a living, especially when others depend on their generosity. Of course, such things are much easier when there's competition between their lordships. One prince and one law is only to the benefit of those who enjoy the prince's favour," he declared with a nasty grin.

[LeSwordfish]

"I don't see why he'd object to us being here," Ludo said, a little disgruntled by the idea that after their ordeal in the caves, the goblins had felt *they* were cursed. "We killed the goblin leader, didn't we? That's a valuable thing to do."

"We're not here to take you prisoner. I wanted to talk to you about what you know about the jackal. And what the goblins believe, too. The mural in the cave makes it look like they think they beat the jackal, but they're terrified this time?"

[LCP]

Wadim gave Bardhyl a slight nod when he spoke to him in the Raven Hills tongue. It wasn't an enthusiastic nod, but it was there.

"What I want to protect, in the end, is the mortal people who call this land home. They've clung to it for many generations, through war and famine and plague. I can admire that. I'd hate to see them driven out by some bitter ghost from a bygone era who just can't accept that his world has moved on."

"You make war sound like the weather," said Wadim, with a wry sort of smile. "As if it comes and goes of its own accord."

"We're not here to take you prisoner. I wanted to talk to you about what you know about the jackal. And what the goblins believe, too. The mural in the cave makes it look like they think they beat the jackal, but they're terrified this time?"

"What I know about the Jackal? That will take a while. Perhaps a conversation for more comfortable surroundings," said Wadim. "As for the goblins, I don't know that you'd get the same answer from any two of them. I only know what their chief told me, and what I heard them telling each other." He glanced across at Bardhyl. "You know, they take quite a different meaning from when all the Reaches were green."

"My understanding is, they believe he was only stopped the first time with the aid of their god. So without divine intercession, they don't see much hope of stopping him this time. That's why they came out here - they think the beast living up in the crags is a messenger sent down from the dark moon. They wanted to get its attention."

[-Sentinel-]

"You make war sound like the weather," said Wadim, with a wry sort of smile. "As if it comes and goes of its own accord."

Elsa gave a small nod, as if half conceding the point, but replied: "As far as I can tell from my short time in these parts, most war has been brought by outsiders looking to carve themselves a slice of the Reaches. So yes, to some extent, war does seem to be something that happens to the Reaches. Would the Reaches be a bit more peaceful if they were ruled by their own people? I don't know."

"But in any case, I'd sooner have war than the Jackal's peace. The living may be a lot harder to govern than the dead, but in the end, they're the only ones who matter."

OOC

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I think I'm done with my side of the convo unless someone says something that Elsa needs to respond to.

[LCP]

"An interesting perspective," was Wadim's gnomic response.

He yawned. "As close as Bardhyl says his place his, perhaps we should follow the example of our friends here," he said, motioning to the two sleepers. "I'm not as young as I once was. And those goblins have sharp ears. I imagine some of them may be coming back this way by now."

OOC:

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Last check for any further questions or discussion before moving on to the next IC day.

[LeSwordfish]

Ludo nodded, his face inscrutable. "I'll take the first watch."

OOC

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Whoever takes a future watch, Ludo will encourage them to also keep an eye on Wadim - I think he doesn't trust Wadim to vanish in the middle of the night.

[LCP]

Wrapping himself up tightly in his cloak, Ludo found a spot where he could peer out through the spiny gorse without making himself too visible. As the others took their hard-earned rest, he kept his eyes trained on the darkened hillside, with the occasional check back to ensure that Wadim was really asleep. The old man certainly looked it - but Ludo couldn't shake the feeling that when he wasn't looking, that one eye was open, and looking at him.

Mysterious as the old man was, there were more dangerous things to keep watch for. The goblins moved without the aid of torches, but Ludo’s eyes were keen enough to make out their dark, creeping shapes by the light of the moons alone. He spotted the first movement less than an hour after the others had settled down to sleep - a small party of greenskins clambering like spiders over the rocks on the other side of the ravine. He could just about make out snatches of their voices as they found the scene of devastation that had been left in the hollow, though the distance was too great to make out the words.

A second group returned shortly after, and then a third, making Ludo’s best guess of the numbers in the hollow up to thirty or more. Some of them looked to be loaded down - whether those amorphous shapes were sacks of loot or fresh captives, it was too dark to tell. Their voices grew louder, the sound of furious bickering - perhaps even fighting - drifting on the night air.

OOC:

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Pausing here to see if Ludo wants to wake any others or take any action regarding the gobbos.

[LeSwordfish]

"I think most of them are back by now," Ludo said, stifling a yawn. "Some of them had bags with them that could have been supplies... or maybe prisoners. Then it sounded like they were having an unholy fight, which is about what you'd expect."

He looked at Elsa. "Not sure there's anything we should do about it, though, I think we're lucky to get away with what we got."

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa nodded grimly. If the goblins indeed had new prisoners, the middle of the night was certainly not the time to do anything about it.

"We'll have to hope they're too busy figuring out who's the new boss to look for us."

[LeSwordfish]

Ludo nodded. "Can maybe sneak up to the crater rim again in the morning, try my luck just in case" - he was interrupted by a yawn, and decided it was time to retire.

"He's not exactly as I expected," he added sotto voice, looking to Wadim. "I think maybe he's worth keeping an eye on. I don't think he wants to help us at all."

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa shrugged. "I'm just pleasantly surprised he's as sane as he is, considering what he's been through."

[LeSwordfish]

"I suppose so," Ludo said. "I'm going back to the raven hills with him, whether he wants it or not. From the sound of things Carrociolo or his man would have his head off for any reason, and I want to know what he knows. What he means by the shadow of the pyramid. And I want him to take us seriously. We'll need to work together if the jackal is back, and he talks like he doesn't believe us." He took another look to check that the man seemed asleep. "Like he'll talk about us the way he talks about the Goblins, as soon as we're gone."

[-Sentinel-]

"I think he has to work with us," whispered Elsa. "If he couldn't stop the Jackal then, he can't stop him now. Not on his own. Surely he knows it. Or he'll realize it soon enough. For now I'm glad we're at least on speaking terms with two of the hill people. I get the feeling the Vrani will have a big part to play in whatever comes next."

[LeSwordfish]

Ludo nodded. "It'll fall on them first, for one thing."

He yawned again, and decided it was time to bid goodnight.

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When Ludo wakes in the morning, he's going to creep to the lip of the crater again and have a quick look down, specifically planning on identifying if the goblins have prisoners. (1d100)[15] vs 94

[LCP]

The remaining watches of the night passed without any greenskin forays in the direction of their hiding place - though occasional bouts of raucous noise still drifted across from the hollow. Those sleeping slept lightly, with their weapons close to hand.

---

Marktag, 7th Sigmarzeit

The first light of dawn creeping over the crags was a welcome sight, even if sleep had been scarce. The noise from the hollow had died away as the sky lightened, and the hillside was now peaceful enough that one might not have suspected the goblins’ presence.

Yawning and stretching, the two captives Jarla had rescued from the idol tree roused themselves. Still not seeming entirely sure of their surroundings, they looked around at their rescuers with a mixture of gratitude and uncertainty. They looked even more unsure about the filthy figure of Wadim - but the old man seemed unconcerned.

Their names, they said, were Matthias and Meg. They came from a settlement down in the valley - possibly the same one the party had passed by the day before. The goblins had snatched them in the dark when they had been following their lost cow.

“We have people back at the farmstead who’ll be wondering what happened,” said Meg, rubbing some feeling back into her arms. “Please, you should come with us! It’s not far - and we can feed you, and give you a roof over your heads to spend the night. It’s the least we can do.”

Jarla sensed an edge of anxiety behind the offer of hospitality - no doubt Meg was wondering whether the goblins had found her ‘people’ too. She looked at Wadim, remembering the old man’s eagerness to be going - but if the idea of the diversion troubled him, he showed no sign of it on his face. If anything, he seemed to be watching with great interest to see what their answer would be.

~

Ludo, meanwhile, had gathered up his gear and slithered back to the edge of the hollow, as silently as he could. In the early dawn light, the high walls of the depression still left its bottom in deep shadow, but the goblins had retreated to their shelters all the same. No sentries squawked at him as he approached the edge.

The scene at the bottom was, if anything, in greater disarray than they had left it. The black crescent-moon curtain was torn and hanging askew, while the bodies of five or six more goblins who Ludo didn’t remember from the attack now lay on the stones around the charred remains of the tree. The fresh carcasses of four goats had been stacked untidily by the west wall of the hollow, while a large pig, still alive, rooted about in the dirt with singular disregard for its surroundings. A hairy rope around its left hindleg had been tied to a small boulder to keep it from wandering off.

He couldn’t see any signs of human prisoners. Close to the dead goats, a few large sacks lay heaped together, looking much fuller than they’d been when the raiding parties set off. What they were full of was anyone’s guess, but they didn’t appear to be moving.

[-Sentinel-]

"We have people back at the farmstead who'll be wondering what happened. Please, you should come with us! It's not far - and we can feed you, and give you a roof over your heads to spend the night. It's the least we can do."

"I'd love to meet your people," said Elsa, throwing a glance at the others to see if they had any objections. "They'll be overjoyed to see you back... all three of you, even the cow. We'll try not to impose on them... We know the living is hard in these parts."

And about to get even harder, if the Broken Moon goblins are here to stay.

[RossN]

Jarla

Jarla had been quiet all night and looked like she hadn't slept terribly well but a faint smile appeared on her face when Meg suggested they head to her homestead. "An excellent idea," she said, already smoothing down her fancy clothes. Strange how the wilderness that had seemed such an escape from the dullness of Nuln life now seemed cold when it wasn't hot, uncomfortable, dirty and full of goblins. A meal in a peasant's home sounded downright luxurious.

[LeSwordfish]

Ludo returned to their makeshift hiding spot. "They don't have any prisoners I think, just loot. Another half- dozen or so are dead."

He pulled a hardtack biscuit out of his bag and started gnawing it. "By my reckoning there could be as few as two dozen left, maybe thirty. Maybe we should come back after we've got these people back home."

[rax]

"Dealing with the goblins would be your prince's responsibility, I think," Bardhyl retorted. "I have what I came for and you managed to save these fine people in the process. A job well done, I'd say," he added with a nod to Matthias and Meg.

[-Sentinel-]

"Our own numbers aren't that favorable, Ludo," said Elsa dubiously, "especially if we're planning to wipe out the clan and not just scatter them. I'm with Bardhyl here... I think we should get the Prince involved. Surely he or Carraciolo can spare a dozen good soldiers to help us finish the job."

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

The skeptical look Sieghard gave Elsa showed just how likely he thought that was.

"Clearing the goblins from the teeth would take longer than any of us will be alive," Sieghard said. "If they don't have any captives, then best to just hope they learn that sticking around so close to human settlements ends with their chieftain burning to death and the new one leads them back into the hills."

[-Sentinel-]

"Obviously I'm not talking about clearing the entire Teeth of greenskins. But if they aren't staying in the Teeth, that's a problem."

Spoiler: OOC

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I think we have a consensus to go to the farm.

[LCP]

Leaving the goblins to whatever they had in store, the party headed off eastward, as quietly as they could. Matthias insisted on taking custody of the cow back from Tattie - her name was Thistle, he said - and while Tattie made no protest, she followed close by. She had more in common with Meg and Matthias than the rest of their rescuers, and once they were sure they had passed out of earshot of the goblin camp, the three of them began to talk more freely as they walked.

Wadim stayed apart, watching his new companions with a keen eye. Though his legs were thin and wasted from his months in Glimrut's cage, he broke himself off the branch of a dead tree as a walking stick, which allowed him to keep pace remarkably well.

After a while, when the walkers had separated enough to have some semblance of a private conversation, he fell in beside Bardhyl.

Spoiler: HillfolkGossip

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"Curious girl, don't you think?" said Wadim, nodding his head just a fraction towards Tatiana. "Wouldn't be surprised if she had some Vrani blood in her."

He took in a long breath, looking around at their travelling companions with an air of idle curiosity. "Yes, this is an interesting bunch you've fallen in with, that's for certain. How on earth did you convince them to go chasing goblins in the arse-end of the Teeth?" That one bright eye gave Bardhyl a penetrating look from under its bushy brow. "Surely as far as they knew, I was likely as dead as you."

~

They reached Meg's farmstead in the early afternoon. It looked much like the one they had seen before - only here, the drystone wall had been topped with a rampart of dead thorn bushes, and the wooden gate was shut tight.

As the party drew near, an old man's voice called out from behind the wall. "We don't want any trouble!" he shouted. "The greenskins already took everything worth taking, so if you want to rob us, all you'll get is holes where you don't want 'em!" A very old and battered-looking crossbow wobbled out from behind the hedge of thorns. "Don't think I won't shoot!"

"Marten?" Meg called back. The sound of her voice stopped the warnings dead.

"Meg?" A grey-haired head appeared above the hedge. "Meg! Matthias! Is it really you?"

"What does it look like?" was Meg's laughing reply. "Come on, let us in!"

There was a great clattering and rattling from behind the gate, before it was at last flung open, and the old man rushed out to embrace Meg and Matthias with tears in his eyes.

“Shallya’s mercy,” he said, “even the cow! I thought the goblins had taken you for sure.”

“They had,” said Meg. “Lady Schreiber and her friends rescued us. They’ve come from the prince in Savonne!”

Marten looked around at the heterogeneous faces surrounding him. Dusty and sooty as she was, there was no mistaking from Jarla’s clothes and bearing that she was a woman of quality. The same couldn’t necessarily be said for Bardhyl and his men - and even less so for Wadim, who met Marten’s uncertain gaze with a friendly grin. His teeth stood out starkly against his grimy face and matted beard.

“Well…” said Marten, still hesitating. “I suppose you’d better come in, then.”

~

Inside the gate, the farmhouse yard was a scene of recent chaos. A few goblin arrows were stuck in the beams of the house, and a couple of freshly-dug graves - one seven feet long, the other only four - lay piled up with stones against the inside of the outer wall.

“They came again last night,” said Marten. “Killed Gismar and his dog, and ran off with all the goats. If it wasn’t for Dierk they would have got over the wall.” Opening the door, he ushered them inside. The house was long and low, with bunks and benches along the walls, and a smoky cooking fire in the middle of the floor. A tall, broad-shouldered man was lying on one of the pallet beds with his head wrapped in bloody bandages.

“How are you doing, Dierk?” asked Marten, slowly and loudly. The big man gave a shaky thumbs-up.

“One of the little beasts clubbed him over the head,” Marten said in a whisper. “He didn’t seem to notice it at the time. Keeled over after they were gone.” He patted Dierk on the arm. “That’s the spirit, Dierk!”

A few other battered-looking farm hands were gathered around the fire, and rose to their feet when they saw the visitors. Any hesitation they felt at the sight of their weapons was overcome when they saw Matthias and Meg, and they rushed up to meet them.

“Please,” said Marten, turning his attention to his guests, “have a seat, have some stew. It’s not much, but it’s what we’ve got.” He looked around from face to face. “I must say, it’s about time that Prince Sforza sent someone out this way. Are there… more soldiers, coming with you?”

[-Sentinel-]

Entering the longhouse, Elsa introduced herself as the court wizard and set Queen Khalida Neferher down on the floor to let her hunt for rodents—assuring everyone that the snake was quite friendly as long as no one stepped on her. She gave Dierk a sympathetic look; she knew that blunt injuries to the head were nasty and that even the Shallyans could hardly do anything about them but pray.

"I must say, it's about time that Prince Sforza sent someone out this way. Are there… more soldiers, coming with you?"

Elsa accepted the bowl of stew and took a first spoonful to give herself the time to think of a diplomatic answer. Ultimately she decided to be frank with Marten. "I'm afraid we didn't bring more soldiers, no," she admitted. "We were looking for a missing person, not a fight. We killed the goblin chief while the bulk of the clan were gone, but at last count, there's still two or three dozens of the vermin. When I return to Savonne, I'll try to prevail upon the Prince to lend me some men to finish the job."

By then, Khalida had returned to her mistress, holding a freshly-killed dormouse in her fangs.

"Has the wyvern been causing trouble in these parts, too?" Elsa asked Marten.

[LCP]

The mention of the wyvern set Marten's people muttering among themselves. "The beast in the crags," said the old man. "It's been taking livestock, here and there. We have to keep ours under cover."

"Taking more'n that," said another - a man in his late thirties perhaps, with a thin, drawn face, and the leathery tan of someone used to working outdoors in all weather. "What else happened to the Krebs girl?"

"That was bandits," said one of the others. The lean man shook his head.

"Bandits what leave no tracks?" he said. "You know they say anyone a wyrm's shadow falls across is cursed. I heard the beast flew over the Krebs house while they was all inside, not a week before she up and disappeared." He took a long slurp of his stew. "It'll be the rest of 'em next. One way or t'other."

"Thanks, Stevan," said another - a woman about the same age. "Always the ray of sunshine."

There was some muted laughter, but Bardhyl noticed Ortwin shifting uncomfortably at the mention of the wyvern's curse. He knew it was something the lowlanders in his crew gave credence - the Bretons more than most.