[WFRP] The Bloody Crown XIII

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa and Ludo


Elsa looked skeptical.

"I'm not sure what you suggest we do, exactly. You think we can't rely on him?"

OOC

Spoiler

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Maybe I'm dense, but I admit I'm not seeing much of a common thread between the 3 things that have been pointed out to me.

---

Elsa and Jarla


The pyromancer grinned back and wiped some sweat from her brow with her sleeve. "Oh, I knew a good card cheat, back in Altdorf. He even taught me a couple of tricks, but I haven't been keeping in practice since then."

Her expression soured. "Also it turned out the little sh!t cheated at more than cards. I was merciful and let him keep his pretty face, but not before I made him beg for his life."

[LeSwordfish]

"He was wounded by a demon that can take control of people, that then vanished," Ludo said, visibly uncomfortable to be making the accusation. "Remember what happened to Hanna? And now he's fascinated in stuff about the book... he didn't hesitate for a moment before speaking to Meskhenet, he talked Cesar down... Is it like him, to be so excited he can overlook necromancy?"

[LCP]

Ludo & Elsa, 15th Jahrdrung

"Mala worshipped him as a god, he thinks he's a god and a prince returned, right... she brings him back and he's back to preying on farm animals and children lost in the woods?"

“It certainly seems sadly reduced,” said Hieronymus. “And you retrieved the pieces of his mask. That hardly seems like something he would have parted with of his own accord.”

---

18th Jahrdrung

Jarla

"Well, I better have a look at the spare accommodations for our soon to be guests and what food we have available. Entertainment too I suppose, so I'll call on Jacques. My lady."

“Don’t try too hard for them, Jarla,” said Irene. “They’re only merchants.” Pushing away her plate, she rubbed her temples and sighed. “Shallya grant us they don’t bring the Groz girl with them. The noise her little brat makes.”

Looking up, she saw the servant who had brought the news still hovering nervously nearby. She gave a sharp command in Tilean, and the girl was out of the room like a shot, leaving her basket of pastries behind.

Sieghard

At the castle, people seemed strangely reluctant to help Sieghard find the Prince. It was almost as if they didn’t feel now was a good time. At length, Sieghard found him among the Iron Company in the old crusader barracks, talking to a scarred old sergeant about their equipment. Despite their conversation clearly not being urgent, he looked annoyed at being interrupted. The frustration on his face only grew as Sieghard spoke, the great store of anger still roiling under his restraint finding a new outlet.

“Am I a prince or a farmer, that you come to me with this?” he demanded. “For what - finding work for a handful of peasants? Can you not read the announcement?” He checked himself, taking a deep breath. “No, I suppose you can’t. Take it to Abdul, Sieghard. He is handling it.”

---

Backertag, 19th Jahrdrung

Sieghard, Ludo, Urgrim & Elsa

The inn Sieghard had found near the North Market was called the Crown and Shackle. It was a fairly shabby, run-down sort of place, but had a good number of private rooms, and seemed to attract a more respectable crowd than might have been seen at the Yellow Dog. A pair of early-morning visitors were talking to the landlady as Ludo came down for breakfast: he could hardly help overhearing their conversation.

“You heard about the reward? Fifty crowns. From ‘is ‘ighness’ own lips.” The speaker gave a low whistle. He was a deep-voiced, broad-chested man, with a thick beard and a fish tattoo on his arm.

“Imagine what you could do with fifty crowns,” said his friend, dreamily. Thin and rangy, he had a haggard face with a thin layer of stubble.

“Knowing you, Hans, you’d probably blow it all down the Peach,” said the landlady, not looking up from her work behind the bar. She was a woman in her middle years, with strong arms and a mass of curly black hair that was clearly resisting her best efforts to keep it under control. “You know that lot are building another brothel down the docks? You’d be broke again twice as quick.”

Hans frowned, but his friend laughed, patting him on the shoulder. “You’d need someone to dob in first, anyway,” he said. “Not like they’re just giving the money away.”

“Yeah, well, that’s easy enough,” said Hans. “Plenty of people round here I wouldn’t miss. Like, I dunno, ****in’… Jan.”

“What if he’s got an alibi?”

“Yeah, he would have, wouldn’t he,” muttered Hans. “Typical Jan.”

“My cousin’s got a mate lives on Longmarket street,” said the first man. “Says he saw who done it. Proper mysterious-lookin’ character, all up in a cloak and hood.” He leaned in across the bar, dropping his voice to a theatrical whisper. “Says he thinks it was the elf.”

“Your mate’s cousin thinks the elf’s hanging around painting pictures of pigs?” said the landlady, giving him a very skeptical look. “Thought you was brighter than that.”

“It could be!” protested the big man. “No-one knows what happened to him, y’know.”

“Nah,” said Hans. “You think if Prince Belehir wanted rid of the Tileans, that’s how he’d do it? Sword through the throat, that’s more his style.” He shook his head. “I heard they already caught the poor buggers who did the pig. Knock on the door at the crack of the dawn, somewhere over in the Warren.”

“Poor souls,” said the landlady. “I wouldn’t want to be in their shoes today.”

“Yeah,” said Hans, with a shiver. “I’ll drink to that.”

Jarla

Rising at her usual hour, Jarla found the castle gripped by a kind of febrile excitement. Heading down through the keep, Jarla followed the trail of hurrying soldiers and whispering servers to find Commander Norten in the audience chamber. He looked exhausted, but still stood ramrod-straight as he reported to the Prince, his feathered helmet tucked under his arm. Slipping in through the door behind him, Jarla could see a long scar on the back of his head shining in the torchlight.

“You’ve got them?” Sforza sounded moderately surprised. “Who are they?”

“Anton Maier and Darja Donev, your highness,” said Norten. “The ringleaders of the bread riots. Picked ‘em up before sunrise.” He paused, tugging at his collar as if it were too tight. “We went looking for the old man Raabe too, but, uh, turns out he’s dead. On account of the flogging.”

Sforza waved the matter of Raabe aside as if it were a buzzing gnat. “And they’ve confessed? To defacing the statue?”

“Not yet, your highness,” said Norten, “but I’ve got five witnesses who’ll swear it was them. Speaking of which,” - he cleared his throat with a nervous air - “they’re all quite keen on the question of the reward.”

“Abdul can see to that.” Sforza seemed impatient to return to the previous subject. “Maier and Donev - where are they now?”

“Down in the cells, your highness,” said Norten. “My men are talking to them now. I’ve told them to send word when they’re ready to admit to what they did.”

[-Sentinel-]

"He was wounded by a demon that can take control of people, that then vanished," Ludo said, visibly uncomfortable to be making the accusation. "Remember what happened to Hanna? And now he's fascinated in stuff about the book... he didn't hesitate for a moment before speaking to Meskhenet, he talked Cesar down... Is it like him, to be so excited he can overlook necromancy?"

"When Hanna was possessed, I asked her who was the ruler of the Reaches, and she couldn't answer," said Elsa, still very dubious. "It seems a stretch to think Tshula can just step into the shoes of a well-established member of the Savonne community without anyone the wiser."

Nevertheless, she now remembered the almost admiring way Hieronymus had described the magic used to cast the Book of Nagash into the Realm of Chaos. Was it possible for Tshula to merely inhabit someone and subtly influence them without outright taking control of them?

"It's... still something to think about," she said, after a brief pause. "For now maybe it's best if I move out of his place."

---

Backertag, 19th Jahrdrung


Having breakfast with her friends under the guise of an anonymous traveler, Elsa sighed softly at the overheard conversation. All of this had been terribly predictable.

"The artist is unlikely to get caught," she muttered. "But they will find someone to hang. Wonder if the artist thought of that."

Her gaze briefly settled on Sieghard.

Spoiler: OOC

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“What if he’s got an alibi?”

“Yeah, he would have, wouldn’t he,” muttered Hans. “Typical Jan.”

Ugh, don't even get me started about Jan.

[LeSwordfish]

"As I recall, she refused to answer," Ludo said. "which could have been a ploy but then she still refused once she was herself again."

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard - 18th

Sieghard maintained an expression of cluelessness as Sforza berated him, but couldn't help but chuckle to himself once no one was around. He went in search of Abdul and repeated his request that farmland be set aside for the workers he had brought in to build the manor and once that was settled, shifted the subject to Sforza.

"I tried speaking with the prince, but he seemed... distracted," he said, trying to sound diplomatic about it. "I can't remember the last time I saw him in such an ill mood. Do you know what's wrong?"

(OOC: I'm trying to lead into something, not just asking questions Sieghard knows the answer to for no reason)

---

19th

"I'm sure they wouldn't just grab someone to hang without being sure it was really the one who did it," Sieghard replied through a mouth full of food. Even though Elsa was probably right, it wasn't something he cared to admit. "That's the quickest way to get more rioting started."

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“What if he’s got an alibi?”

“Yeah, he would have, wouldn’t he,” muttered Hans. “Typical Jan.”

Ugh, don't even get me started about Jan.

Goddamn Jan.

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa and Ludo

"For now I'll tell Sforza not to try to send the Book away, like Hieronymus wants him to do," said Elsa. Luckily it looked like the Prince would not need much convincing, given his apathy in this regard.

---

19th

"I'm sure they wouldn't just grab someone to hang without being sure it was really the one who did it. That's the quickest way to get more rioting started."

Elsa snorted at Sieghard's feigned naivety. "You have no knowledge of how witch hunters operate, do you? Four out of five people they burn at the stake aren't even spellcasters or mutants; just social pariahs who were sold out by their own neighbors for a bag of gold or because of some petty personal grudge. The witches who are actually dangerous are far too clever to get caught. Not that witch hunters care... Their goal is terror, not justice."

"Of course no witches or witch hunters are involved here. But the principle is the same."

[LCP]

Sieghard, 18th Jahrdrung

Abdul's office in the castle was by now the centre of its own little universe of papers and ledgers. Abdul himself was looking very tired, but heard Sieghard's request all the same.

"You want land for these people?" he said. "My friend, the people we have been making out these deeds to are people of means. People who we know can pay for the labour and the materials to turn an abandoned field into a working farm. I can't just make them out to... well, to vagabonds I haven't even met." He reached for a ledger and opened it to the page marked by a ribbon. "If you want to find them work, I can give you the names of the people they should look for, and where to find them. But if they want land, they need to apply here themselves, and I can't guarantee it will be granted."

"I tried speaking with the prince, but he seemed... distracted," he said, trying to sound diplomatic about it. "I can't remember the last time I saw him in such an ill mood. Do you know what's wrong?"

Abdul looked a little skeptical of Sieghard's innocent ignorance. "You didn't come in by the east gate, then?" he asked. "Someone has defaced our Prince's statue. He's taken it very personally."

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard - 18th

"Abdul, these vagabonds are the men who had farms in the Downlands before the war," Sieghard replied. "Who would know how to keep a farm running than them? Certainly not some man of means whose never touched a plow in his life."

"If you want to talk to them yourself, I'll have them come see you, but I guarantee you they'd do far better than some wealthy burgher who sees a chance to get some land outside the city,"

"You didn't come in by the east gate, then? Someone has defaced our Prince's statue. He's taken it very personally."

"Ah," Sieghard said, with rather less enthusiasm than when they had been when talking about the farmland. "That makes sense."

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I'm probably overthinking things here, but if Abdul were to assume that Sieghard arrived in town from the south and went straight to the castle, the west gate near the hospital would be the most direct route and there'd be nothing unusual about him not taking the east gate.

---

19th

"If you think he'd have some innocent fool hanged to ease his ego, then why do we still listen to that pig-headed bastard?" Sieghard muttered. "He didn't take Nahorek seriously until an entire village was marched off under his nose. Didn't believe us about Klammenberg even before that. He doesn't listen to us, don't see why it shouldn't go both ways."

[LeSwordfish]

15th
"You can't do anything else?" Ludo said, a little disappointed. "You don't have a spell for this, or you can't use your wizard eyes and see it?"

18th

"Because he's the ruler of the reaches and we live there?" Ludo said. "We can't just say no to him."

[-Sentinel-]

"You can't do anything else?" Ludo said, a little disappointed. "You don't have a spell for this, or you can't use your wizard eyes and see it?"

"When I go back and get my things, I'll try using my witch-sight on him," said Elsa. "But if Tshula is inside him, it's unlikely there's anything I can do about it. Exorcisms are the province of hierophants, those who use the Lore of Light."

Later that day, when picking up her possessions to go move to the Crown and Shackle, Elsa thanked Hieronymus warmly for his hospitality and opened up her magical senses for any signs of Dhar.

Spoiler

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Magical Sense 93: (d100)[17]
Fortune: (d100)[5]

---

19th

"If you think he'd have some innocent fool hanged to ease his ego, then why do we still listen to that pig-headed bastard? He didn't take Nahorek seriously until an entire village was marched off under his nose. Didn't believe us about Klammenberg even before that. He doesn't listen to us, don't see why it shouldn't go both ways."

Sieghard's defensive response all but confirmed to Elsa that he was responsible for the pig painting.

"Not saying we have to work with him... just around him," said Elsa, both exasperated and not a little heartbroken at Sieghard's apparent lack of concern for the consequences of his actions. "And not spur him to do things that bring a world of hurt to innocent people, like that vandal did."

She confided: "When I told Carraciolo that Mala was in the hills, he said he'd send more troops to look for her. But I've seen how his troops treat the hill people. They rob them and rape them and torture them and generally behave like glorified bandits. I imagine that right now the people of Morr's Seat are suffering even more than they already were. And I'm partly to blame for this. I can't just lay it all at Carraciolo's door."

[LCP]

Elsa, 15th Jahrdrung

The sun was getting low by the time Elsa made it back to Hieronymus’ quarters. The old priest seemed tired, but welcomed her back to collect her things all the same.

Scrutinising him carefully in the dim light of his book-crowded living space, Elsa attuned herself to what her second sight had to show. Hysh and Chamon clung to the old priest like cobwebs, but Shyish too - and where its shroud-like wisps touched his withered hand, or the box on the shelf that held Meskhenet’s skull, their amethyst colour curdled into oily darkness. Hieronymus had certainly been marked by Dhar - but that much they already knew.

As she stood watching, Elsa had a strong feeling that something was watching her. She tried to put her finger on exactly what it was, but the more she sought for it, the more the feeling receded - like trying to catch her reflection in a pool of water, only to watch it break into ripples.

“I think that should be everything,” said Hieronymus, adding the last of Elsa’s effects to the little pile they had gathered up. Euthymius flew down from the rafters to perch on his shoulder, the owl turning its great white face towards Elsa. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”

---

Sieghard, 18th Jahrdrung

“They may know about farming,” said Abdul, patiently, “as you do about fighting - but without armour or weapons, we would hardly put you in the front line, no? Many of these farms were burned to the ground. They need more than the people to work them, they need the resources to rebuild.” He raised his eyebrows at Sieghard. “I don’t know what you were expecting, my friend. I can’t give away land… how do you say it, sight unseen? If your friends want to apply for deeds, they must come here and show me they have the means to produce a harvest. That is what we put on the notice.” He sat back in his chair. "Or if they don't, they should go to the people who do. I'm sure there is going to be plenty of work in the West Downs for skilled farm hands."

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

"Because he's the ruler of the reaches and we live there? We can't just say no to him."

"The ruler for less than a year and look how that's turned out. People starve in the streets while he builds statues of himself."

"Not saying we have to work with him... just around him,"

Sieghard nodded. "Exactly. Smile and nod and let him think what he wants while we worry about what we need to."

"When I told Carraciolo that Mala was in the hills, he said he'd send more troops to look for her. But I've seen how his troops treat the hill people. They rob them and rape them and torture them and generally behave like glorified bandits. I imagine that right now the people of Morr's Seat are suffering even more than they already were. And I'm partly to blame for this. I can't just lay it all at Carraciolo's door."

"Elsa, stop," he said, the bitterness in his voice disappearing. "You aren't responsible for anything that they do."

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exasperated and not a little heartbroken at Sieghard's apparent lack of concern for the consequences of his actions.

If this is something she feels like bringing up, Sieghard would have more to say. A public area where there's an open bounty on pig painters isn't the place for it though

[-Sentinel-]

“I think that should be everything,” said Hieronymus, adding the last of Elsa’s effects to the little pile they had gathered up. Euthymius flew down from the rafters to perch on his shoulder, the owl turning its great white face towards Elsa. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”

The realization came to Elsa like a slap in the face.

The owl. Tshula is possessing the damn owl.

Doing her best to keep her expression casual and not stare into Euthymius's huge round eyes, Elsa shook her head in response to the priest's question. "I'll keep studying the hieroglyphs and keep you in touch. I feel we're on the verge of a breakthrough." She forced a smile. "We'll be two of maybe a dozen living people who can read Nehekharan. Exciting, isn't it? We can't allow this knowledge to die with us."

She bade him goodbye and hurried back to the inn. There, she informed Sieghard and Ludo of her strong suspicions, but cautioned them not to do anything about it for now. It was better to know where Tshula was; if they drove her out of her current host without knowing how to banish her for good, she would only find another host.

---

"Elsa, stop. You aren't responsible for anything that they do."

"That's comforting to believe, isn't it?" said Elsa, unconvinced. "But there are still choices I made that led directly to this. I knew the nature of the commander and his soldiers, and so I should've thought twice about what I told them."

She resumed eating, though most of her appetite was gone.

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If this is something she feels like bringing up, Sieghard would have more to say. A public area where there's an open bounty on pig painters isn't the place for it though.

True on both counts. She does want to bring this up, and this isn't the place for it.

Remember when Sieghard framed Fischwillen for treason, and got not only him but also a common woman hanged? Elsa never knew it was a frameup, but if she had, she would have been disturbed by Sieghard's seeming lack of remorse for the collateral damage of his scheme.

I suspect LCP relishes any opportunity to guilt-trip us for our irresponsible or morally questionable actions.

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

"I've got a hard time believing any of what you told them was orders to abuse the locals," Sieghard replied. "Any of that, they did on their own. Probably would've done it even if you told them nothing," he added bluntly.

"We could talk to Norten," he suggested, a bit reluctantly. "If you wanted to make sure they don't have the wrong person, I mean."

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa was not sure what Sieghard could possibly mean by that, apart from suggesting that he confess to the crime; which was of course unthinkable.

"Can we go talk upstairs?" she whispered, her gaze meaningfully sweeping the crowded common room.

She led him to her room and shut the door. Her eyes, which often burned like embers whenever she was casting spells, now gazed at Sieghard very coldly. This was no temporary annoyance; Sieghard could see in her expression that she thought less of him than she did yesterday.

"I don't know what you thought would happen, exactly," she said, keeping her voice low. "It was always a given that the Prince would want someone to pay for this. Do you think it was worth it? Do you think the smile it brought on your face was worth whatever's going to happen to the poor sod they arrested?"

"Now there's no undoing it. Even if you were to go to the Prince and admit what you did, he'd find it more politically convenient to punish some no-name troublemaker than the governor of the Thornwood. He'd rather look like he's laying down the law than show everyone that he had opposition within his own inner circle. But you didn't think about the consequences, did you?"

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

Sieghard opened his mouth, but it took him a moment to find the right words. Part of him wanted to lash out in anger at the accusation, but he was hurt more than anything. Moreso than by the statue itself.

"Not surprised you'd figure it out so quickly," he muttered. "I never thought they'd grab some poor fool off the street as a scapegoat if that's what you're saying. Maybe that makes me an idiot for not realizing it... The man is a bastard, why would he care?"

"His wife got Adelbert killed and the son of a bitch just brushed it away like it was nothing. She tried to get you killed and nothing." There was an edge of anger in his tone now. "He betrayed Dolokhov the moment he was done with him. I'm pretty sure he was behind the orcs attacking Manaan's Keep too. I didn't want to believe it before, but Adelbert and Viggo certainly thought he was. And through all of it, he acts like he's untouchable. Like everyone else is a pawn he can throw away when he needs to but nothing will ever hurt him. He makes everything worse, but covers himself in glory like he's saved the people he's ruined. Best thing for the whole Reaches would've been if he had died at Nath when his dumb ass fell off his stupid horse."

"I can't just stick a knife in him, but maybe I just wanted to show him he's not as untouchable as he thinks he is," he said, the anger and hatred disappearing from his voice. He glanced out the window. "And if they know it as well, all the better. He's a small, greedy little man. A pig suits him. He deserves them laughing at him."

Spoiler

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And what Sieghard could've possibly meant was speak to Norten, the accused, and the witnesses and pick apart the inconsistencies in the story to prove that without solid proof, anyone claiming they know who did it is most likely just after the money.

[LeSwordfish]

"I'll stay down here then", Ludo said to himself as Elsa towed Sieghard away.

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa sighed. She had hoped to make Sieghard understand, but he was not having it. He was still defending an action as harmful as it was pointless, on the grounds that Sforza deserved it. Not so much disagreeing with her as seemingly missing her point by a mile.

"This... is not about Sforza, Sieghard," she said, now sounding more weary than angry. "This is about our responsibility. We're powerful people, and when powerful people screw up, it's weak people who pay in their place. Many died or lost everything in the Savonne fire that I started. Me? I only got chewed out by Sforza. I'm most definitely the unpunished, untouchable villain of someone else's story. So let's stop thinking in terms of who deserves what. It doesn't mean sh!t in this world. And some of us should be grateful for that."

She put a hand on Sieghard's shoulder to make him sit by her side on the bed, and lowered her voice even more. "If we're talking about deserve? The Prince deserves far worse than insults. Therefore, what was done to his statue was neither useful, nor even just. All it'll do, ultimately, is get an innocent hanged. It'll make the world less just, not more. And you can blame Sforza for it all you want; you still have a hand in this."

"But like I said, there's nothing we can do about it now. I just want you to... reflect on this. Please. Next time you do something that'll bring a whole lot of hurt to someone... make sure it's actually worth it."

[RossN]

Jarla, Backertag, 19th Jahrdrung

Jarla trudged back to her room not wanting to hear what Sforza would do to those poor wretches. She'd only just gotten up and already it promised to be an exhausting, gloomy day.

Dressing in her outdoor cloak, gown and hat Jarla left the keep and walked over to the temple to leave a letter with Hieronymus for Elsa.

Spoiler: Letter to Elsa

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Elsa,

I fear I'm beginning to go mad here. The next time you and your friends have a meeting send word so that I can join you, if nothing else so I have someone else to besides Irene (and Jacques I suppose, though he enjoys talking different sorts of things.)

P.S. Guilders from Putbad will be arriving soon and it is my job to care for them. I do not know if your friend Lady Groz will be among them but if you have any ideas how she might be comfortable I'd be very grateful.

P.P.S. Tattie is doing well. If she feels up to it I'll let her go for a ride on Countess.

Yours,

Lady Schreiber.

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

Sieghard sat by Elsa's side in silence, thinking on what she had said.

"I'll try to think ahead a bit more," he finally said. "But Sforza's crimes aren't mine any more than the Iron Company's are yours. There's enough I've done that I'm not proud of without having to add what he's done on top of it all."

"So what comes next?" he asked after another silence. "You wanted to talk about responsibility? Well, we're as much responsible for him being where he is as anyone else. Your magic, my men holding Rorik's men back at the mill... Turning Groz away from Alvarr... Things might've gone different if not for us."

[-Sentinel-]

"At the time it was just a job," muttered Elsa. "Sforza seemed no worse than Alvarr or Rorik. Evatt was a few cards short of a full deck. Belehir had no allies. I suppose we could've refused to choose a side and remained anonymous citizens. But who knows what Nahorek could have done then? All in all, I think it's good that we helped unite the Reaches. I hope they remain united, whatever comes next."

She rose. "I'll go back to my breakfast before it gets cold."

---

Backertag, 19th Jahrdrung


Elsa's response to Jarla came later the same day via Olga.

Spoiler: Elsa's letter

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Jarla,

I would certainly welcome the chance to socialize more with you, but I do not wish to get you in trouble with your employer. Perhaps you will find an opportunity to visit me in Putbad, or my friends in Painford.

I fear my knowledge of Lady Groz's wishes and needs is limited. Just make sure there is a crib in her room and that a servant who is herself a mother is assigned to her and her baby. Perhaps she has friends among the Dwimmulsons? They did reside in her husband's lands during their self-exile from Savonne...

By the way, I have instructed my apprentice to pretend she barely knows you whenever you are in the presence of Irene. Please reciprocate and do not take it personally. Irene seems the sort to view the friend of her enemy as her enemy.

Sincerely,

-Elsa.

[LCP]

Konigstag, 21st Jahrdrung - Jarla

It was Konigstag morning when Jarla saw Elsa, Tattie and Olga off from the docks. Sieghard and the others had left the day before; now the departure of the wizard and her entourage left Jarla once again alone at court, to enjoy the dubious company of Jacques and her royal patrons.

The Prince was still in a black mood, and Jarla had scarcely seen him for the past couple of days. That gave her a little more time with Irene, who seemed supremely unconcerned with the reason for her husband’s temper - but the Princess’ indifference was not enough to disperse the black cloud that hung over the castle. A round-the-clock guard had been posted beneath the statue in the North Market square, and of the two unfortunates who had been bundled down to the cells, neither had been seen to come out again.

“It’s a strange thing, this business of the pig, non?” said Jacques, imposing on one of Jarla’s idle hours. “To make his highness so angry, it must have struck the nerve. And you remember my audition here? Before he walked out... my music, I said playing it for the common people was pearls before swine." He raised an eyebrow to Jarla. "The duke Alvarr, his symbol was the boar. Do you think it could be to do with that?"

---

Wellentag, 24th Jahrdrung

Elsa

It was around midday on Wellentag when the boat carrying Elsa and her retinue arrived at the Silver Falls. The falls themselves were looking much reduced, the rocky island in their centre where the statue of Azriller stood now almost twice as wide. In the pool beneath it, the boats bobbed well below the level of the piers, and a ring of river-smoothed rock that usually would have been below the water-line now stood dry as a bone in the pale sunlight.

It was a hard climb up the cliff, but not half as hard as persuading Bastard to enter one of the rickety wooden lifts - so up they went. Emerging into the town, Elsa led the way past the guild-houses that lined the river, heading for the more refined residences at the eastern edge of town. When she arrived at the large stone house of Leona Groz, however, she found it dark and shuttered. Calling out summoned only a solitary old servant, who told her that the Lady Groz had been ‘called down to the city’, and was not expected back for some time.

The Silver Lady was the largest inn in Putbad, its faded sign depicting the goddess Azriller - as a flesh-and-blood woman rather than a weathered lump of stone - stretching her arms out wide over the falls. The town was busy with traders from upriver, and from the chatter in the common hall, it was clear that Leona wasn’t the only local dignitary who had been called away. It sounded like the heads of half the guilds were gone too.

OOC:

Spoiler

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Passage on the boat is 18s a head, 24s per horse (negotiable if you want to barter). Accommodation at the Silver Lady is rulebook prices, but food is 20% pricier than normal.

Jarla

The boat carrying the Putbad delegation arrived late on Wellentag. With both of the Sforzas conspicuous by their absence, it fell to Jarla to greet them. Some of them she recognised - the three men from the victory ball, Uto, Maximilian and Jorg, and the lady Groz and her infant son. Others were less familiar. There were seven of them in total - eight if you counted young Eberhard - and with the exception of Leona and a woman who introduced herself as Magretha, they were all men. At Jarla’s first guess, Uto and Leona were the only members of the party younger than forty.

After a short while exchanging pleasantries at the docks, Jarla led them to the castle. The sun was not yet down, but Mannslieb was already up in the east, a half-moon on the wane. In the draughty hall of the castle, the servants had lit a roaring fire to banish the chill.

Al-Makir was there waiting for them, greeting each of the guests with his customary courtesy. Father Barbaro was there too, projecting a general air of benevolent geniality, and encouraging them to sample the wine that Jarla had had brought up from the cellar. The guilders nodded and made small talk, and with the exception of Leona and Magretha, generally paid excessive attention to Jarla at any time Al-Makir or Barbaro didn’t distract them. Under their polite conversation, Jarla thought she detected an undercurrent of nerves - they all wanted to know exactly what the Prince had brought them here for.

When Prince Sforza did appear, it ended the chit-chat like a thunderclap. He would not be staying for long, he told them - he had many things to attend to. Only it had come to his attention that there were some problems regarding the duties charged on shipments of grain down the Azril, and being reasonable people, he had brought them here to sort it out. Signor Al-Makir had command of all the details - they were to talk to him, and in all respects, to treat his words as those of the crown.

With that he left them, almost as suddenly as he had arrived. Some of the guilders looked a little taken aback. Together, they turned their eyes to Al-Makir. Al-Makir gave them a toothy smile.

“Please, my friends,” he said, “no business tonight. You have had a long journey. Tonight, you will please enjoy the wonderful hospitality the lady Schreiber has provided” - he bowed his head to Jarla - “and tomorrow, tomorrow we will talk of business.”

OOC:

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I’ll break here to let you describe what kind of hospitality Jarla has provided, and to go into any interactions you want to have with the Putbad peeps before they get into the negotiations. Let me know when you’re ready to move on!

---

Marktag, 26th Jahrdrung

Painford

In the Thornwood, the late signs of spring were at last beginning to show. The naked trees were again clothing themselves in buds, and a pair of blackbirds had built a nest on the roof of Adelbert’s chapel. The ground was still dry, but around the creek that ran south of the village, green shoots were beginning to push their way up.

Sieghard and the others had arrived back late on Angestag, and had spent the past few days trying to convince their guests from the Downlands about the Prince’s offer of land. A good number of them seemed open to the idea of going back north, now that winter was on the way out - but on the subject of going to Sforza to ask for deeds of ownership, few seemed keen.

“Go begging to the Tilean? He was the one what drove us off in the first place.”
“I don’t see what he’s got to do with it. My grandad built our farm, and we never needed no piece of paper to say it was ours.”
“You reckon they’d just give us our land back? The lords and ladies don’t help the likes of us, they only help themselves.”

OOC:

Spoiler

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Breaking here to allow you to convince the refugees themselves that this is a good idea, before you bring any of them back to Savonne. If you want to stick to a week’s interval then I think that sees you heading back on the 30th. Bear in mind that Mitterfruhl’s coming up at the end of the month - I don’t know if Sieghard would want to be present in Painford for any celebrations.

[-Sentinel-]

20th Jahrdrung - Savonne

Elsa made one last trip to the castle on the eve of her departure for Putbad. Given the servants' reluctance to steer her towards Sforza, she understood that he was still in a bad mood, and instead visited Al-Makir in his office.

"I trust you'll send me a letter if Giovanni reports anything interesting from the west, Abdul," she said. "You can take the messenger's fee out of my monthly pay; I gather the treasury is stretched thin these days."

She raised a finger. "Oh, one last thing... I know Father Hieronymus has been pestering the Prince about sending away the Book of Nagash. I used to agree with him, but I want it known that I've changed my mind. I'd rather keep the Book where we can guard it day and night." She did not share her suspicions about Tshula, as she did not want to get Hieronymus in trouble over something for which she had no evidence.

---

24th Jahrdrung - Putbad

When she arrived at the large stone house of Leona Groz, however, she found it dark and shuttered. Calling out summoned only a solitary old servant, who told her that the Lady Groz had been ‘called down to the city’, and was not expected back for some time.

Elsa nodded, a tad disappointed. "I'm surprised I missed her on my way upriver... Well, I'll be staying at the Silver Lady until she returns."

In the inn's common room, Elsa realized that the absence of many of the most important guildsmen of Putbad presented an opportunity to make some friends higher up the supply chain and bypass the middleman. She introduced herself to some young, up-and-coming traders ("Magister Elsabeth Holt, court wizard to Prince Sforza"), name-dropped as many important people as she could reasonably fit into a casual conversation, and mentioned that she was an associate of one Suzana, who was always looking to expand her business. She also pretended to be interested in what countries and cities lay upstream of Putbad, and whether they were experiencing the same famine and harsh winter as the Reaches.


OOC

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Still at the stage of making friends, so I'll go with Charm, not Haggle.

Charm 54: (d100)[35]
Fortune: (d100)[47]

Passage on the boat is 18s a head, 24s per horse (negotiable if you want to barter).

Ouch, that's over 5 gc. Elsa doesn't usually negotiate prices, but I'll try it this one time.

Haggle 22: (d100)[57]
Fortune: (d100)[56] Nope, guess I'm paying full price.

Can a private room at the Silver Lady accommodate 3 people?

---

Over the next few days, Elsa spent the inn's busiest hours trying to cozy up to various merchants, boat captains and guild bureaucrats. Her bodyguard often hovered close by, more to make Elsa seem important than to provide actual protection. Tatiana was free to go ride her horse in the plains outside the city, so long as she stayed out of the karst with all of its trolls and bandits.

When the inn was quiet, Elsa mostly pored over the reams of notes she and Hieronymus had taken about the Nehekharan language. She also set aside an hour or two each day to continue Tatiana's practical training just outside the city.

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard - 20th

"I've been thinking," Sieghard told Elsa the morning before he left. "If you think Nahorek might still be around, maybe it would be good to have someone keep an eye on the desert. That way they'd let us know if it starts swallowing up the land around it again." His tone was still a bit distant after on their conversation the day before. "If you want to write a letter to Esteban, I can carry it as far as Painford and have it sent the rest of the way." In truth, he wasn't entirely convinced that Nahorek had survived, but he knew better than to discount the possibility entirely. It also bothered him how cold she had been acting since he had learned of Sforza's statue and his offer was partly an attempt to repair things between them.

---

That evening, when they had made camp by the road he opened up to Ludo and Urgrim about what had happened. "That business with the Prince's statue. That was me," he admitted even though more likely than not, they had already figured it out. "I just couldn't stand seeing the stupid thing. All we did and all the people who died while he ignored the Jackal and then he acts like he's some hero who saved the Reaches."

"Do you ever wonder if maybe we made the wrong choice joining him?" he asked Ludo specifically.

---

26th

"If it was up to me, I'd just give you the land and let you get to rebuilding, but the Prince doesn't know what I know," Sieghard told them. There's a lot of things the Prince doesn't know. "He needs to know that you'll actually be able to do it... To rebuild the farms and produce a crop by harvest time. The land doesn't do anyone any good if he gives it back to the wrong people. So we need to make sure he knows you're the right people. And for that we need to make sure you have everything you're going to need to get the fields growing again."

Spoiler

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Thanks for the reminder. Sieghard will stick around for the holiday and head back to Savonne afterwards.

[RossN]

Konigstag, 21st Jahrdrung - Jarla

"I'd be surprised if there was much of a link to Alvarr to be honest," Jarla told Jacques. The prima cameriera was looking more worn these days; the mood in the keep was getting to her. "If Alvarr has any partisans left they wouldn't want to cheapen his name like that. Besides I get the impression it is some older wound. I don't know why it gets under the Prince's skin so but it does."

She smiled wearily. "Play again Jacques. I'll need you to help entertain the Guilders when they arrive."

---

Wellentag, 24th Jahrdrung

Jarla met the party in a green and gold silk gown with her copper hair straightened and pulled back by a Bretonnian hood. As she met each participant she greet them warmly and by name if she knew them, introducing herself if she did not. "Greetings my lords and ladies. I am Lady Schreiber, the prima cameriera and it is an honour to welcome you here. His Highness is delighted you made this long trip in such inclement weather. Please follow me."

She did take a moment to coo over Lady Groz's infant son: "A darling child Lady Groz," she said sincerely. There was something rather wholesome about the mother and child that was absent from the perpetually strained atmosphere of the Sforza court.

Inside she was circling around, making sure every hand had a glass of wine it and generally providing pleasant conversation, even flirting lightly if the situation called for it. Anything to put this understandably nervous group at ease. She herself drank only a little, feeling she'd need to keep her wits about her.

In her conversations with Mouna Jarla had exhaustively worked out what dishes would be served later. A vegetable soup with a hint of garlic for starter, made to an old Averland recipe (Jarla was no cook but she did wish to have something of her homeland feature), a fish dish from the river for dinner proper, seasoned the Tilean fashion and finally light, flaky sweetened pastries and chilled fruits and cheeses for desert, served with a brandy.

After dinner she would had instructed Jacques to play lively dance numbers so that the more energetic members of the party might enjoy themselves. Though Jarla hadn't known the exact composition of the guest list she had expected there to be more men than women, so she had instructed a number of the prettier maids to dress in their best and demurely take their seats in the hall after the desert course was served in case some guilder wished to invite them to dance.

On that last she discretely drew Uto aside - she well remembered and liked this handsome rake. "Uto you know these men far better than I. Is there anyone whose wine is better served watered?" She glanced around to make sure no one else was eavesdropping and smiled ruefully at him. "To be clear I am not trying to winkle state secrets out of you, just to avoid someone embarrassing themselves this evening."

[-Sentinel-]

"If you want to write a letter to Esteban, I can carry it as far as Painford and have it sent the rest of the way."

"That's a kind offer, but probably not worth the trouble and expense," said Elsa, aware that Sieghard was trying to mend things but not quite willing to warm up yet. "Mirino lies less than a day's travel from the edge of the Waste—if the desert expands again, Esteban will be the first to know. And word will reach Savonne, because it'll affect tax money."

She privately rather missed the Estalian, and hoped he governed his corner of the Reaches better than Carraciolo and Sforza ruled theirs. Come spring, perhaps she would visit Last Water again, for old times' sake.

[LeSwordfish]

Ludo and Sieghard, 20th
Ludo had already pieced together Sieghard's role in the act of defiance, but his face still soured as it was confirmed. "Right. That was what put you over the edge, was it, the statue."

He sighed. "If we hadn't joined Sforza, he'd still be Prince and we wouldn't be in charge of an army and a town. We picked the right side, and because of that, Nahorek is dead and we're doing okay for ourselves. I don't like him or think he's going to be a good prince - you know that, you saw what I did with Adelbert but, well, I'd rather be working for him than working for Alvarr and run through with a pike, or working for Evatt and eaten by an Orc. And he's in charge now. What are we going to do about it?"

He looked around at the rest of the group to make sure only they and Urgi were within earshot. "Did you ever find out who sold out Groz to the coalition?"

Ludo and Sieghard, 26th
"Someone's going to get it," Ludo said equanimously. "And nobody wants it to go to some stuffed shirt from Putbad who'll try to grow tilean vines and get them all eaten by goats. Turn up, show Al'Makir you know what you're talking about, keep your fingers crossed behind your back when you tell him how much you like Sforza, and get back to what you know how to do."

"We're only going to be able to find so much work here, going forward, and it's nobody's idea of good farmland, unless you want to be plowing around tree stumps every year."

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard, Ludo, Urgrim

"Right. That was what put you over the edge, was it, the statue."

"I started asking myself about it after Adelbert died," Sieghard admitted. "And more after Nath. The damned statue was just a fresh insult on top of it all."

"If we hadn't joined Sforza, he'd still be Prince and we wouldn't be in charge of an army and a town. We picked the right side, and because of that, Nahorek is dead and we're doing okay for ourselves. I don't like him or think he's going to be a good prince - you know that, you saw what I did with Adelbert but, well, I'd rather be working for him than working for Alvarr and run through with a pike, or working for Evatt and eaten by an Orc. And he's in charge now. What are we going to do about it?"

"Would he still be the Prince?" he wondered out loud. "It wasn't the Iron Company who opened the gates of Savonne for him, it was us. Could he have beaten Alvarr at Arrow Heap if we hadn't held his flank?" He paused. "It was me and Elsa that turned Groz against the Duke. Things might've gone a lot differently if Alvarr still had both his allies."

"Did you ever find out who sold out Groz to the coalition?"

"I could guess, but no. Not for certain."

[LeSwordfish]

"We did a lot of things," Ludo admitted. "But surely someone else could have done them. Not like there was nobody who could have snuck into Savonne or held that flank..." He wasn't entirely convinced, though. It was an uncomfortable feeling to be a kingmaker.

"I could guess, but no. Not for certain."

"And who's your guess?" Ludo asked, with a strange look that had the shadow of a smile in it.