Pieter
SpoilerThe witch hunter was apparently annoyed enough, so Pieter wisely got straight to the point.
"Our man worships the Dark Prince," he said flatly, handing him the books as if they were crawling with spiders.
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Pieter
SpoilerThe witch hunter was apparently annoyed enough, so Pieter wisely got straight to the point.
"Our man worships the Dark Prince," he said flatly, handing him the books as if they were crawling with spiders.
Pieter
SpoilerJagrun opened the book, turning the front page and reading down. After a few seconds, he stopped, and sharply shut the cover.
"You found this in the wagon?" he asked.
Pieter
SpoilerPieter nodded. "Yessir."
Pieter
SpoilerJagrun nodded.
“Which of you identified this?”
Before Pieter could open his mouth to answer, the other two pointed to him. The Witch Hunter’s eyes fixed him in place.
“A literate militiaman. Quite the rarity.”
He hefted the book in his hand, feeling its weight.
“What is your name?”
Pieter
Spoiler"Hoch, sir. Felix Hoch." He resisted the temptation to elaborate on his literacy: it would only make it more suspicious.
Pieter
Spoiler"And how did a man like yourself hear about the 'Dark Prince', Mr Hoch?" asked the Witch Hunter, softly.
Pieter
Spoiler"At the Temple, sir." The initiate held the witch hunter's gaze without blinking. "I was always taught to guard myself from the lure of pleasure and excess."
Charm (51): [roll0]
Pieter
Spoiler"The Temple?" asked Jagrun. "Of Sigmar? Here in Delberz?"
Pieter
Spoiler"In Nuln, sir."
It was not hard to believe, or so he hoped: despite six years of travelling, he still had something of the Nuln accent.
OOC: Please don't tell me that the very existence of Slaanesh is a carefully kept secret...
Pieter
Spoiler"As a layman or a priest?" asked Jagrun, his voice still silkily civil.
Pieter
SpoilerPieter could tell he was walking a fine line.
"As a layman, sir."
Where is he getting to? he wondered. Does he suspect me of wrongdoing just because I happen to have heard of the Ruinous Powers?
Pieter
Spoiler"I see," said Jagrun. Seemingly satisfied for now, he looked down the corridor, then back at the Hounds.
"Have you completed your search? Did you find anything else?"
Pieter
Spoiler"No. Some mandrake roots is all," he thought necessary to add with obvious distaste, even though they were not illicit. "But there may be other things we didn't find. We can keep searching."
He let the other Hounds report their findings, if any.
Pieter
Spoiler"Then I suggest you do. When you are finished, remain at the wagon. I will hear your final report there."
Stepping back into the room, he went to close the door, a rather impatient-looking Marius von Brucker now visible through the gap. The Templar paused for a moment, looking down at the books in his hand and then glancing back at Pieter.
"Keep up the good work."
He closed the door.
Pieter
SpoilerPieter wanted another look at that black ledger for details. For example, had that F.L. fellow bought anything recently, and if he had, how much had he paid? It did not necessarily have to do with anything (maybe F.L. was just addicted to mandrake root, who knows?), but at least it would make him look like he was doing something.
He knew he had not made a lot of friends today. The thought made him uncomfortable, even though he was not especially keen to make friends among the Hounds. If those two idiots found an opportunity to cause him trouble, they would take it without hesitation.
Pieter
SpoilerThe black ledger was not particularly helpful in that respect - the letters 'F.L. appeared about once a week, but the nature of the purchases was never mentioned - only the price and the date.
Behind him, the other Hounds went back to poring over the contents of the wagon - or at least one of them did, while the other idled unpleasantly, seeming to try and keep an eye on 'Felix'.
Pieter
SpoilerPieter opted to ignore the Hound watching him. Leaving the black ledger on the nearest flat surface, he rummaged the iron-bound chest to see if there was anything under the mandrake roots, or if the bottom was suspiciously shallow.
If there's nothing:
Then, with a mix of curiosity and (strangely) guilt, he drew his dagger and sliced the stuffed dog open, spilling its contents on the ground.
Pieter
SpoilerThe chest contained only mandrake roots: turning his attention to the dog, Pieter's knife-stroke revealed nothing inside but a hollow cavity in which the mechanism to open the secret door was housed. It looked like you opened it by pushing down on the dog's head.
Pieter
SpoilerOOC: Unless I'm allowed another Search test (I don't even know if I passed the first one), I guess there's not much left for me to do but try to look busy while waiting for Jagrun.
Scooby Fischer
Spoiler"Hrm." Lothar frowned, clearly confused. "I don't know what that means. Musty? Sweet? Hells."
The soldier sighed heavily. "Anyone else got anything to say? We should get out of here, look into this."
Ithelus and the rest
Spoiler'Not till the captain comes back, the Hunter is still out there.'
Raffy, Ithelus, Lothar & Illliiya
SpoilerIt was some time before Marius returned - when he did, his expression had changed, the sharp edge of anger and frustration having ebbed from his demeanour along with some of the colour from his face.
"Well, Faul, what do you have to say for yourself?" he asked - the guard gave his captain much the same account that the party had heard, sparing no detail.
"Please, sir, I didn't think she was any danger..."
"Well then you thought wrong, didn't you?" snapped Marius.
"Um... am I sacked, sir?"
Marius briefly put a hand over his eyes.
"I'm sorely tempted to, but no." He looked up to Faul's face. "Jagrun wants to speak to you. You are to make your way to the castle and wait for him there."
Faul's expression gave the impression that he might have preferred unemployment. Seeing the captain's expression, he murmured his assent, slipping out of the room.
"I hope for his own sake he was telling the truth," muttered Marius, watching the door close behind the guard. "Although if he was, then someone somewhere has a copy of my signature - or can forge it." He shook his head. "The more we find out about this affair, the more damn' complicated it seems to get."
He turned to Raffy and the others, returning to the matter at hand with a business-like air.
"Jagrun is out in the Yard - he has a trio of Hounds searching Pilserier's wagon. It sounds like they found something," he added, darkly. "If they don't find anything more, I believe he'll be heading on to the Temple of Morr to inspect Pilserier's body - and hopefully leave us in peace."
He looked around their waiting faces.
"Please tell me you have a lead."
[hr]
Pieter
SpoilerAfter some time, Jagrun re-emerged from the Guard House, striding across the cobbled yard to the unharnessed wagon with Pieter's books in hand. Climbing inside, the tall man had to take off his hat to fit under the low roof of the apothecary's travelling shop. He examined the destruction the Hounds' search had wrought with a dispassionate, professional eye.
"Anything more to report?" he asked of them.
Pieter
Spoiler"Don't think so, sir," said Pieter quietly.
Raffy, Ithelus, Lothar & Illliiya
SpoilerLothar looked distinctly uncomfortable, and nudged Raffy with his foot. He did not respond to the captain's question.
Scooby gang
SpoilerIthelus grimaces, 'Well sir, the only lead we seem to have is Maria.' he half winces at the expected reaction from the captain.
Ithelus, Raffy, Lothar & Illiiya
SpoilerMarius blinked, a little surprised. He did not look overjoyed.
"How so?" he asked, flatly.
[hr]
Pieter
Spoiler"Is that so?" said Jagrun, seemingly to himself, as he reached down and pulled a glass jar of the shelf - turning it over, he examined the pickled snake floating inside with an absent-minded air. "Very well. You may report back to the sergeant."
As the Hounds made to leave, he held up a finger.
"One of you stays here. See that nothing is taken from this wagon," he said, turning to the door and lowering himself to the cobbles. "I may wish it searched again."
Without another word, the Witch Hunter set off across the yard, heading back towards the front of the Guard House and his horse.
Raffy the Sparrowhawk & Co.
Spoiler
Raffy stayed quiet during the proceedings. He was willing to talk about the possibility of Maria's guilt, but not in earshot of her childhood puppydog love, or the witch hunter, or the guard who was about to be interrogated. He just shifted uncomfortably every time one of the others hinted at it.
When the captain asked if they had a lead, Raffy was about to shake his head and say something, but he waited too long and missed his chance. When Ith came out an accused Maria, he visibly winced and lowered his head, shaking it in disbelief.
Now he seized his chance. "Nothing confirmed, Sir. Just hearsay for now - we weren't going to mention it until we had something solid." He shot a look at Ithelus. "Someone slipped us an anonymous note saying not to trust her. The same note suggested we look into the mandrakes further." He pauses and then adds helpfully: "The mandrakes are those roots in Pilserier's wagon, Sir."Quote:
Originally Posted by Marius
He chews his lip as he thinks for a moment. "Sir, I'm not in the habit of trusting unsigned notes. It could be the same author who used your signature to incriminate you. But we'll look into Maria's activities roundabout the times of the murders, Sir. Given her busy social calendar I'm sure she'll have plenty of witnesses to vouch for her."
Turning to the rest of the group he says: "I reckon we may as well call off our field trip. Jagrun's got the wagon, and anyhow there's clearly a more important mark here in town than whoever we might have found in the countryside. We should check out the murder sites.... if we can catch whoever's doing it, maybe they can lead us to this so-called Court."
Raffy, Lothar, Ithelus & Illiiya
SpoilerMarius’ eyes swept the group.
“An anonymous note,” he said in tones of brittle control. “I think it might serve the purposes of the city better if you tried to find who wrote it.” His gaze flicked to Ithelus. “You understand that the Witch Hunter knows about you. If you’re seen investigating someone, he might follow suit. Following such unfounded suspicions could cost innocent lives. I hope I make myself clear.”
He did his best to assertively put the matter to one side, turning to Raffy.
“The bodies have mostly been taken to the Temple of Morr,” he said, returning to his business-like air, “but Jenkels can show you where to find the crime scenes on our map. With luck, the Hounds should have stopped sniffing around most of them by now.”
The Captain glanced over his shoulder, as if he were worried that Jagrun might re-materialise at any moment.
“If that’s your plan, I suggest you get moving.”
Raff 'n' Co
Spoiler
Raffy gives an exaggerated nod. "Yes Sir. That was my thought exactly, Sir."Quote:
Originally Posted by Marius
Oncce they have looked at the map, Raffy suggests to the group (and Marius if the captain is still there):
"I'm sure the guards, Jagrun, and the Hounds will all look at these bodies and murder sites. Our end might not be best served by retracing their steps. Can anyone see a pattern to these murder locations? If we can guess the most likely places for the next attack, we could split into two groups and lie in wait at two locations. Get ahead of our murderer, instead of following him..."
He ponders. "For that matter, any common factor to all the victims? We could maybe even use one of us as bait, if we know what they go after."
Pieter
SpoilerPieter understood that he did not have much choice but to stay here and watch the place: if he went back to the sergeant, he would probably be unmasked as not-a-Hound quickly, no matter how loose and informal their structure was.
Wasting time again, he thought, sighing inwardly.