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Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown X
Elsa was glad to have dressed in her old travel clothes for the occasion, and also that her hair was still short enough to wash easily once this unpleasant business was over with. She made a mental note to bathe at an inn, not in her own quarters at the castle, lest she run into Lady Sforza while still stinking of the sewers. She might also have to replace her clothes entirely.
So this is the nature of the Reaches, I guess. You can rise faster than in most places, but you still have to get down and dirty.
She scowled at the sign of the Jackal on the wall. Most likely just a puerile statement of "f*ck the authorities", as the ratcatcher said. But then again, perhaps it was as priests claimed, and dark powers liked to invite themselves wherever people drew their signs or invoked their names; regardless of the fools' true intent. Perhaps Nahorek was not too proud to claim the sewers as his domain.
"You can still get down into 'em in a couple of places," said the ratcatcher, "but they don't go nowhere. There's a hatch on Northwall and a hole in behind Five Gods' Row. You want to see?"
"I ruined perfectly good clothes to come down here," Elsa sighed, "so I might as well make it worthwhile."
OOC
Spoiler
Show
Magical Sense 88, including around the sign of Nahorek: [roll0]
Fortune: [roll1]
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Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown X
Sieghard
When he heard that Adelbert had found the sewers, Sieghard had first headed back to the castle to change into his older, more worn clothes and leave his armor behind. He had been more concerned with ease of fitting through the tunnels more than anything else, but now that he was inside, wading through the muck, and unpleasantly aware that the old sewers hadn't entirely fallen into disuse, he was grateful for his foresight. He planned to burn the clothes he was wearing once they were finished.
"Show us the one that runs below the market first," He said.
Not like I couldn't use a new pair of boots anyways...
Spoiler
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Armor and shiny new best quality weapons left behind. Sieghard's will still come armed with his old stuff, but he's not about to bring something he paid that much for down here.
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Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown X
Elsa could sense nothing out of the ordinary about the jackal sign. It was just scratch marks in old clay.
Clambering up the muddy bank and heading back through the docks, they did their best to ignore the wrinkled noses and contemptuous looks of the townsfolk as they returned through the river gate. Few could have recognised them as the Captain's men in their current state, and perhaps it was best that way. The ratcatcher certainly seemed cheerfully oblivious to such looks, whistling as she led the way.
She took them first to Five Gods' Row, a street on the western side of the Temple, north of the market. Here, a blocked section of tunnel had been converted into a public cesspit, with cheap wooden outhouses clustered over the hole. A gong farmer's yard stood nearby, with mules and wagons to transport the waste they removed from the pit outside the city. The ratcatcher showed them a small gap in the brickwork of a neighbouring building that led down into the tunnel. A strong smell of ordure rose up out of it, causing passers-by to cover their noses as they came near.
Northwall Street was the other side of the temple, and contained another wooden hatch similar to the one she had showed them by the gate. Here, the sewers were not in use, though their musty smell was still far from pleasant. The tunnel floor was caked with dry sediment, which flaked under Sieghard's boots as he dropped down after the ratcatcher.
"This one runs about a hundred yards that way," she said, gesturing behind her, "and another seventy-odd that way before you get to the cave-in. There's a couple of of side-channels running up-slope too, back towards the temple." She looked Sieghard up and down. "Too narrow for a big lad like you."
Lighting up her lamp again, she held it up so the others could see. The tunnel looked a lot like the one they had traversed before, only drier and in worse repair. Up ahead, the roots of a tree had forced their way down through the brickwork of the wall, leaving a spill of earth that constricted the space even further. The bones of rats were visible amidst the rubble.
"You get a few scurriers down here," she said. "Had a job just last week from some feller who said they were getting into his basement. They've been breeding fast lately. People say the cats in the Old Town are off their game." She patted the cage that held her own cat, which hissed and scratched at the bars. "Greta here, though, she don't care."
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Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown X
Quote:
"Too narrow for a big lad like you."
Ludo lit his own lamp. "Go on then, twist my arm."
As he proceeded down the dry tunnel to check out the side passages, he cast his mind back and idly tried to remember if, in fact, he'd seen any cats in the old town.
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Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown X
Clambering up into the nearest of the drainage channels, Ludo crawled and shuffled his way along, hoping not to come face-to-face with any particularly adventurous rat. Come to think of it, he couldn't remember seeing any of Savonne's street cats in his recent forays around the quarantine district. They weren't usually shy creatures either.
He passed under a number of small shafts leading to the surface, capped with rusted iron bars and in some cases clogged with debris. There were rat droppings here in the tunnel, as all sorts of odds and ends washed down from above. Among less pleasant items, he found a pearl button and a copper ring, clearly lost who knew how long ago.
At length, he came to a spot where a broken branch had managed to find its way down through one of the drains, obstructing further progress. Shuffling back down the narrow channel, he returned to his companions, his shirt and breeches all the dirtier for his explorations.
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Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown X
AdelbertI
Albert had also dressed in his worst, a fact of which he was devotedly thankful. As it was it was beginning to seek like this was a particularly pungent wild goose chase.
Still be waited to hear what Ludo thought.
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Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown X
"Doesn't seem to be anything there." Ludo said, brushing his breeches off and somehow getting both them and his hands dirtier. "Nothing that anything bigger than a rat could get through, no signs of anyone living there."
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Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown X
Adelbert
Adelbert grimaced. 'Well, I suppose at least we can cross this off our list of suspected hideouts. At least unless our muderer is a snotling.'
He turned to the rat catcher. 'Thank you for your services madam.'
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Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown X
Sieghard
"You can go if you want," Sieghard told Adelbert. "I want to check the rest of the tunnel though." He turned to the ratcatcher. "Let's keep moving."
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Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown X
Looking a little put out at having to do more work for her schilling, the ratcatcher showed Sieghard what remained of the tunnel. At its south end, past the tree roots, it eventually terminated in an old cave-in, a solid wall of clay-brick rubble blocking the way ahead. To the north, the tunnel had become almost entirely silted up with debris, leaving a gap perhaps only a foot or two wide beneath the old roof of the sewer. A live rat scuttled away from their light and into the hole, the cat in the cage hissing at the movement.
"That's all there is to see," said their guide, clearly feeling she had now done her part. "Might be other places here and there where you can get down into bits of these old chutes, but like you see, they don't go nowhere. Ain't had nobody to take care of 'em for hundreds of years."
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Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown X
By the time they reached the end of the tunnel to the north, Elsa had almost been hoping to fight some kind of mutated sewer monster, if only to justify all the unpleasantness of having to wade through this filth. She grumbled a word of thanks to their guide and handed her three shillings, still unfamiliar with what kind of money commoners could expect to make for a day's work. She then stalked off towards the Yellow Dog for a well-deserved bath and a drink.
OOC
Spoiler
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A bath at the Yellow Dog is a shilling, but Elsa will pay triple (good "craftsmanship") for scalding water and a copious amount of soap.
She will then spend 4 gc on good clothing and a bottle of perfume. She's willing to share the perfume, if anyone wants any.
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Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown X
The clothes that Urgrim cheerfully called his "ranging gear" had seen bad environments, but possibly nothing quite as bad as this. He grimaced as a slop of something foul splashed up against his trousers.
"The Black Dog sign," he said to the guide, "d'ye ever see the like with other symbols? Like, chalk marks, but instead of the dog, plants, or ... birds, or other animals?"
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Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown X
The ratcatcher shook her head. "Just the black dog," she said. "That's their mark. Haven't seen it much since the Duke ran north either. Maybe if this new prince turns out bad enough they'll start scratchin' it again. Or maybe not." She scratched the back of her neck, her fingernails coming away grubbier than before. "Most folk are tired of fightin'."
Clutching the three schillings Elsa gave her as close as if they were rubies, she gave Adelbert a scornful glance as she went on her way, clearly not thinking much of his comparative stinginess. Locking eyes with the caged cat once again, Stoutheart yapped at her retreating back until she had carried the creature out of sight.
OOC: Spoiler
Show
Assuming you guys are done exploring the sewers, who is and who isn't coming to Burhan's free dinner at the
Duke of Aquitaine this evening?
For Sentinel:
Quote:
A bath at the Yellow Dog is a shilling
The table in the OOC says baths not available at the
Yellow Dog. Is there somewhere else I said it was?
The
Yellow Dog is the seediest tavern in the city, in the most run-down district of the city, and also quite a distance from where the party currently are (in the Old Town, east of the Temple). The
Red Moon, the
Butcher's Head and the
Fat Fish would all be closer and presumably safer.
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Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown X
Sieghard
"Have you ever seen anything out of the ordinary down here?" Sieghard asked. "Or in any of the other tunnels?"
Spoiler
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[roll0] vs 46 Perception. Sieghard is looking around for additional passages or signs of human use (such as something down here too large to have come through one of the pipes) as they go up and down the tunnels.
I imagine we're in for some fun dinner conversation after this... Sieghard will also get a bath after this and pay whatever it takes to keep the scalding water and soap coming. He'll also spend 3gc on good quality cologne in the hopes of actually covering the smell instead of just smelling like cologne mixed with ****.
We also haven't seen the tunnel under the Old Town yet. If Nahorek or Dragos are using the sewers, that might be the most likely one. Sieghard will insist on being shown the entrance, but be willing to leave it at that for now.
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Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown X
Adelbert
Adelbert looked disappointed (and outright aghast with Elsa's reckless generosity.) It seemed they had run into yet another blind alley.
Bidding the others a farewell nod he departed swiftly for the Temple, a bath and fresh robes.
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Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown X
"Have any of you seen any other stray cats around?" Ludo asked before Adelbert left. "After what she said, I tried to remember... It's been a while since I saw any in the quarantine district. That one that used to bully Stoutheart hasn't been around either."
Either way, he was starting to feel like he really deserved that dinner.
Spoiler
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Happy to timesplit Cat Chat.
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Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown X
That evening, when they had had time to wash the stink of the sewers off their skin, they met with Burhan at the Duke of Aquitaine. Though still not quite the luxurious establishment it had been before the wars, the place looked as if it had bounced back fairly well from being the haunt of the Red Company and Alvarr's officers. Burhan had clearly spared no expense either, laying on a meal of roast duck that tasted better than anything Adelbert remembered in quite some time. A girl of about Rhadegund's age brought them the dishes, looking understandably nervous in the presence of the Captain's men.
Burhan, by contrast, was all smiles. "Our first shipment on the way!" he exclaimed to Sieghard, practically rubbing his hands with pleasure. "And more, many more to come. You know Commander, what we are building here could last us well beyond the war." He paused to swallow a mouthful of duck. "A proper trading route out of the Reaches, with Last Water and the Vale united under one banner? We could all be very rich men. The Captain included, of course." He laughed. "The Azril River Trading Company, how does that sound to you, eh?"
The serving girl returned with a tray of drinks, keeping her eyes resolutely on the floor.
"A toast," said Burhan, taking his cup and lifting it high. "To the Dancing Jenny, and all those aboard!"
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Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown X
Elsa made sure to thank and smile at the serving girl to let her know she had nothing to fear; she would not be surprised if the poor child had been mistreated by soldiers during Alvarr's sacking of Savonne, and could not fault her for being wary of men in uniforms. She raised her glass along with Burhan, though her optimism was more tempered. The whole trouble with No-Nose gave her a sense of foreboding that would likely only go away once the shipment reached its destination safely.
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Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown X
Sieghard
Sieghard was more than a little relieved that Burhan hadn't noticed any lingering smell from the sewers. Or at least hadn't commented on it. "To the Jenny and her crew!" he said, raising his own cup. "And to more shipments!"
"There hasn't been any more trouble at the docks, has there?" he asked, setting his drink down. "No sign of No-Nose or his goons?"
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Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown X
"Not that I've heard of," said Burhan, practically draining his cup. Behind him, the serving girl scuttled back to the kitchen. "Though I'm sure we'll hear from them before too long. But we're ready for them, eh Commander?" He grinned. "We'll see if No-Nose Dragos really has the balls to tangle with the Sforzas."
Tucking into his duck, he began to talk business. It was good that they were being careful, he said, but they would have to keep a tight schedule from here on to make sure the shipments didn't fall behind. They'd already taken longer to get the first boat away than he had planned. He spoke with great enthusiasm, his pupils alarmingly dilated. Elsa wondered if the little boatman couldn't hold his wine.
Burhan's flow was interrupted by a fit of dry coughing. Waving a hand to indicate he was all right, he drank the dregs of his cup to wet his throat - but the coughing continued. A strange rash was spreading quickly up from under his collar, mottling his cheeks with scarlet...
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Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown X
"Are you alright?" Ludo said, concerned, as Burhan continued coughing. "Are you choking on-"
Ludo looked at his cup, which he'd drunk from as happily as Sieghard. He looked at Burhan, his face purpling, and at Sieghard-
And then dropped his cup and ran towards the door to the back room, sprinting after the serving-girl. Excited even away from his duckbone, Stoutheart followed, yapping at his heels.
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Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown X
The other staff of the Duke scattered out of Ludo's way as he ran, Stoutheart quickly overtaking him. Throwing open the kitchen door, he burst in on a gaggle of startled cooks and servants. Smoke, steam and savoury smells gusted in his face, momentarily obscuring his view.
The serving girl was standing at the back of the room, gathering up a tray of food to take to another party. She dropped it as she laid eyes on Ludo, bowls of stew spilled heedlessly over the stone floor. Turning on her heel, she bolted for the back door.
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Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown X
"Stop her!" Ludo shouted, and bolted after her. "In the name of the captain!"
OOC
Spoiler
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Command test: [roll0] - Base vs 62, but I assume not actually being in charge of anyone here is a penalty.
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Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown X
Galvanised by Ludo's shout, a big man who had been carrying up a barrel from the cellar stepped in front of the door, blocking the girl's path. Skidding to a halt, she looked desperately around for a new escape route. Her moment of indecision cost her dearly as Stoutheart streaked across the intervening space in a blur of piebald fur, clamping his jaws around her ankle. She yelled and kicked, but the little dog held on for dear life until the barrel man could seize her and hold her still.
"What's going on?" yelled the head cook, a broad woman with hands white with flour. "Violeta? What in the jackal's eye are you playing at?" She looked across to Ludo. "And what are you doing in my kitchen?"
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Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown X
"Someone's been poisoned." Ludo said. "Don't let her go!"
And with that, he hurried back into the room with Burhan.
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Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown X
Sieghard
It took Sieghard longer than it had taken Ludo to realize what had happened. When he did, he threw his own cup to the ground and stood up, knocking his chair over. He started to follow Ludo, but paused and looked back at the others. "Help him Adelbert! I'm going after the bitch that did this!"
She had already been caught by the time Sieghard made it to the kitchen. "Keep a tight grip on her," Sieghard warned the man, "Or else I might think you helped her." Ignoring the cook for a moment, he approached the serving girl. "What did you do to his drink?"
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Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown X
By the time Ludo returned to the table, the crimson rash had spread across most of Burhan's face. He tried to rise and wave away help, but he seemed to have lost his sense of balance - Adelbert had to catch him to keep him from falling.
"'m fine," he said, his tongue seeming to tie itself in knots around the words. "Fine. Don't..." Another convulsive coughing fit cut him off.
Other guests were rising now in alarm, backing off from their table. Shouldering his way through them, Sieghard barged in on the similar chaos of the kitchen. Over the clamour of many voices shouting at once, his sudden appearance and demands didn't get any kind of answer out of the pinned serving girl - just terrified sobbing.
"I don't care who you are," said the cook, folding her meaty arms to show Sieghard she wasn't impressed. "What do you think you're doing, barging in here and menacing my staff? First the halfling and now you. This is a respectable establishment!" She looked over his shoulder as she grew more and more aware of the disturbance in the common hall. "What's going on?"
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Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown X
Sieghard
"Respectable establishment!" Sieghard spat, his patience far past gone. "Your serving bitch poisoned one of the guests! How many respectable establishments do that!?" he demanded. "Now If you don't want to share a cell with her at the castle and have this place closed down, then you'llshut your damn mouth and keep the **** out of my way!"
Spoiler
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Fel based intimidate
[roll0] vs 49 + 10 (Menacing)
[roll1] reroll if needed.
Success. Edited below to move things ahead.
Turning on the server again, he grabbed her roughly by the arm. "Tell me what you put in his ****ing drink or I'll have you thrown off the ****ing Rock!"
Spoiler
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Do you want a separate intimidate for the server or is the one test sufficient.
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Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown X
Adelbert
Adelbert had been caught completely off guard by events. With other problems occupying his life he scarcely even knew who Burhan was, or who his enemies might be. Still it was obvious had them.
The priest glanced in annoyance at the poisoned man's cup. Of course the imbecile had drained it of any useful evidence. Hadn't he ever seen a Detlef Sierck play in his life?
Adelbert was no expert in poisons but he tried to do something to at least stabilise Burhan until proper help could be summoned. 'You help me lift him onto the table.'
OOC:
Spoiler
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No Prepare Poison or similar skill here, so I suspect I'm at a serious disadvandatge. Still:
Heal [roll0] vs 76.
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Re: [WFRP] The Bloody Crown X
Like Adelbert, Elsa was taken aback. Violence she could deal with, and react quickly to. A poisoning was something else. She stood there, mouth slightly agape, until Adelbert ordered her to help her get the man onto the table. All too happy to be given something to do, she complied.
"Can... can we make him throw up somehow?" she asked. "Or do you think it's too late?"