[WFRP] The Hour After Midnight (II)

[goblinpaladin]

The Intrepid Trio

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Lothar whistled. "Nice. Right then- round to the servant's entrance."

[LCP]

Lothar, Ithelus & Pieter

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Ducking around the side of the grand house, it was easy enough to find the servant's entrance: a small, nondescript door at the back corner led out onto a reasonably wide back-street, the surrounding houses keeping their distance from the von Gamow residence.

A sharp knock, and rapid footsteps approached from inside: a man in a footman's livery opened the door, looking out at the three men on the doorstep. He did a double-take as he realised one of them was an elf - and seemed to think twice as he noticed they were armed.

"Can I... help you?" he said, hesitantly.

[-Sentinel-]

Pieter, Ithelus and Lothar

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Pieter smiled politely.

"Good afternoon, sir. Is herr von Gamow home?"

[LCP]

Lothar, Ithelus & Pieter

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The servant frowned.

"Who's asking?"

[-Sentinel-]

Pieter, Ithelus and Lothar

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"We work for captain von Brucker," answered Pieter, trying to mimic a watchman's broom-up-the-ass tone. "May we speak to herr von Gamow's estate manager or steward, if he's here?"

[LCP]

Pieter, Ithelus & Lothar

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The young man hesitated - he evidently wasn't too sure about Pieter's story, but at the same time, he didn't seem to want to be standing in front of them any longer than was necessary.

"I'll, um - I'll go fetch him," he said. "If you'll just wait here."

Closing the door behind him, the servant retreated inside. After a minute or two, he reappeared, with an older, slightly portly man in tow.

"Ah - good afternoon," said the man in question, in a reedy, breathy voice. "Gunther here says... you wanted to speak to me?"

[-Sentinel-]

Pieter, Ithelus and Lothar

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"Ah... Good day to you, sir." Pieter bowed his head slightly. "We are in the city's employ. Forgive me, but I'll be straightforward. Does herr von Gamow own a property near Leitpold Square?"

[goblinpaladin]

Lothar et al

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The soldier stood at something resembling attention, hoping that his obvious bearing would help back up Pieter's story. It didn't help that Lothar was really craving a pipe, and his leg itched.

[LCP]

Lothar, Pieter & Ithelus

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The steward nodded.

"Lord von Gamow owns many properties around Delberz. I believe there is at least one in the vicinity of Leitpold square." He frowned. "In the employ of the city, you say? You'll forgive me, but I don't see your, ah, uniforms. Why do you ask these questions?"

[Exeson]

Three's a crowd

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Ithelus produced the Captain's writ. 'Aye, we're not guardsmen, we work privately for the Captain himself. You'll no doubt be aware of the mess the Town is in at the moment? We're the ones who are trying to sort it out'

[-Sentinel-]

Pieter, Ithelus and Lothar

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"We're operating as civilians," explained Pieter, trying to force authority into his voice. "I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to say much more. Forgive me if this question seems strange, indiscreet even, but has the lady von Gamow left home some time ago?"

[LCP]

Pieter, Ithelus & Lothar

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The steward took the writ, looking it up and down with an exacting eye - nodding, he returned it.

"Lady von Gamow has had some... disagreements with the master," he said, carefully. "I'm afraid I couldn't account for her current whereabouts."

[-Sentinel-]

Pieter, Lothar and Ithelus

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That did not surprise Pieter.

"Oh. May we know the address of the property near Leitpold Square, please? We won't bother you any longer."

[LCP]

Pieter, Ithelus & Lothar

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"Oh, yes. Here, wait -" he produced a little leather-jacketed notebook from a pocket of his clothes. " - here we are. Leitpold Square, Leitpold Square..."

He flicked through the pages, before pinning one down with his forefinger and looking up at Pieter's face.

"Ah, here we are. His lordship owns two properties near Leitpold Square - one is rented by a scribe, name of Verter, the other is currently standing vacant. The first is at the end of Blaucher Street, the second is on Magnus' Lane. It has sort of... cross-hatched timbers," he said, crossing his arms to illustrate, "you ought to be able to find it."

[goblinpaladin]

Lothar &c.

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Lothar nodded to the steward. "Most helpful. Thanks."

[LCP]

Lothar, Pieter & Ithelus

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"Well, if that is all, gentlemen - and, ah, elves," he added, unsurely. Stepping back, he made to close the door.

OOC: Unless you have more to ask, what's the plan now?

[goblinpaladin]

Gentleman and Elf after Leaving

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"Heh," said Lothar with a grin. "Lady von Gamow has a weakness for revolutionaries. I'll wager next week's wagers that's their 'disagreement.'" He chuckled. "Poor man."

"So. My money is on the vacant house- let's go. At this rate o' walking, I'll need a new pair o' boots by the end o' the week. Again."

[-Sentinel-]

Pieter, Ithelus and Lothar

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"We should approach the place with caution," advised Pieter. "They may still be there, and they probably have a pretty damn good reason to be hiding or fleeing."

[LCP]

Ithelus, Lothar & Pieter

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Heading north once more, the three of them had reached Baron’s Walk when they heard a rattle of hooves from the castle mound – looking up, they saw a coach with the von Brucker arms upon its side fly out of the gatehouse, its horses already going at a flat gallop. Swerving sharply down the winding road from the gate, it charged off into the city streets, heading west towards the lower town...

OOC: Continue on?

[goblinpaladin]

Lothar and Friends

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Gesturing to Ithelus, Lothar grinned. "That's what Ith's here for, right? Gettin' us in nice and quiet-like."

On their way north, the soldier paused to light his pipe, sighing with relief. "Gone all day without this, all the runnin' about and rioting and- huh. The Baron's in a hurry- I guess he heard about the Hunter."

[-Sentinel-]

Pieter, Ithelus and Lothar

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"I'll fish for rumors later today," Pieter promised.

OOC:

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Yes, continue on.

Can we make a Common Knowledge (the Empire) test to know where Jahrdrung is? And would that be a secret test? Answered in OOC thread.

[LCP]

Lothar, Ithelus & Pieter

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Pressing on, they saw the Hounds were gone from the Tempelplatz - the Lector's carriage too. Up along Sigmarstrasse, and back to Leitpold Square, to search for the von Gamow holdings.

The untenanted house was where the lord's steward had said it would be: lurking behind the edge of the square, the distinctive pattern of the beams was just as he had described it. It did not seem like a house fit for a noble - although it would certainly have put any of the houses around the Neumarket to shame.

The windows were dark, and the front door was shut. Circling the building, Lothar discovered a back door, similarly closed-up. There were no signs of life whatsoever from within.

[-Sentinel-]

Pieter, Ithelus and Lothar

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Pieter tentatively tested the back door, trying not to make any noise.

[LCP]

Lothar, Ithelus & Pieter

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As one might expect, the back door was locked.

[goblinpaladin]

Lothar, Ithelus, Pieter

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"Right," hissed Lothar. "Ith, this is your area of expertise. Can you get us in? Quietly?" He gestured to the windows.

[Exeson]

Two men and an elf

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Ithelus paused, obviously some form of internal argument. 'I don't need to try the windows first, let's see how the lock is.' He squats down and draws out his cloth bundle containing his picks. After a quick probe he begins to work on the lock.

[LCP]

Ithelus, Lothar and Pieter

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The lock clicked open under Ithelus’ expert hands – looking up to make sure no-one was watching, the elf packed the tools deftly away, slowly opening the door.

Inside, the house was dark: sparse furniture had been covered with dust-sheets, three or four ground-floor rooms leading off from a central hall. Rising up with its back to the back door, a wooden staircase ascended to the second floor, its oak banister carved with surprising skill with a motif of vines and leaves. A thin layer of dust lay over everything, the shuttered windows keeping out the light...

[goblinpaladin]

Lothar, Pieter, Ithelus

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The soldier raised a finger to his lips, and held up three fingers. Pointing at Ithelus, he gestured upstairs. Then to Pieter, and a circle around themselves. Then he jerked a thumb at himself and pointed down. He looked around the three of them, eyebrows raised, and nodded 'yes?'

[-Sentinel-]

Pieter, Ithelus and Lothar

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"Look for signs of recent presence," whispered Pieter. "Tracks in the dust, broken cobwebs, things like that."


OOC:

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Perception test 47, ground floor only: (d100)[12]

And now I'm off to university.

[Another_Poet]

Raffy the Sparrowhawk

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“We chose this place because it would be easy to keep them out. Fritz here has been over every inch of it already. It’s safe.”

"And the entrances? Are they all secured? Are any of you armed?"

When he asks about the Lector:

“That’s... not going to happen, Rafale... Much as we might wish it might. Marius doesn’t have the power. He never did.”

Raffy grins. "I figured. But that means I have a promise to keep." His eyes flicker down to his 'buss. "Is it true the Lector is staying in the Castle? I think I have a plan for getting in there."

“For now, you need to rest.” She smiled. “You’ll be no use to anyone if you keep going until you drop. Try to snatch some sleep, and we’ll wake you soon enough.... There are some things that you ought to hear.”

He nods gravely. "I need more than a nap. I want to sleep till about midnight or so. Then I have some Hounds to harass." He looks back at her. "It might be better to tell me now."