[WFRP] The Hour After Midnight (II)

[-Sentinel-]

Pieter, Ithelus and Lothar

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Pieter followed Lothar downstairs. At first he had been skeptical about this house, but the scribe's nervosity aroused his suspicion. The house's cellar was quite possibly their last chance to get anything out of this lead...

[LCP]

Lothar, Ithelus & Pieter

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Heading out of the front door, Lothar turned a sharp left and hurried down the stone steps.

The exterior door to the cellar was a sturdy oak affair: it didn't look particularly amenable to Lothar's typical method of entry, perhaps because its makers had expected people to attempt just that. Two iron plates ran across from the hinges to reinforce it, and it had a heavy-looking lock.

[goblinpaladin]

Lothar

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"Hrm." Lothar sucked his teeth, chewed his lower lip. Then knocked.

[LCP]

Lothar, Ithelus & Pieter

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Silence.

[-Sentinel-]

Pieter, Ithelus and Lothar

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Pieter arched an eyebrow. Basements usually did not have the sturdiest door in the house, unless they contained something precious or dangerous.

"Ithelus, I think this is what we're looking for."

Please succeed this time.

[goblinpaladin]

Lothar

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Frowning dubiously, Lothar added "Or I can try 'powder. But it might not work- we might be stuck here without a 'ram."

[Exeson]

The Three

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Ithelus again goes through his routine, trying the lock.

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(1d100)[24] vs 59, fortune point used if necessary (1d100)[1]

[LCP]

Ithelus, Lothar & Pieter

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The lock clicked open under Ithelus' expert hands - pushing softly against the timbers, he frowned as he heard a dull thud from the other side, the door refusing to move. Clearly it was barred from the other side...

[goblinpaladin]

Lothar

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Lothar raised a brow, and gestured for the other two to help him push, all together.

(1d100)[13] + bonuses for many of us?

[Exeson]

Ithelus, Lothar & Pieter

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Ithelus slowly rose and placed his hand on his sickle. 'Sir, could you tell us what is behind that door?' His voice is flat, and his eyes hard, the threat being very obvious.

[-Sentinel-]

Pieter, Ithelus and Lothar

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"I think what you mean, Ithelus, is who's behind that door." He threw a hard glare at the scribe, who was obviously not telling everything he knew. "Better cooperate, sir. We're going to find out anyway."


OOC:

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Does the door open enough to allow the use of my crowbar?

Strength test (30) to help Lothar: (d100)[9]

[LCP]

Lothar, Pieter & Ithelus

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The bolt was clearly of sturdy construction: Lothar only bruised his shoulder doing his best battering-ram impression, the door not moving an inch.

“I told you, it doesn’t belong to me!” babbled Verter, backing up towards his own front door. “No-one! I don’t know!”

[hr]

Raffy

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Woken from a fevered dream, Raffy blinked, looking around the darkened room – sitting upright, he realised what had woken him. A loud knocking had been coming from the door, somewhere behind him – as he straightened up, it was replaced by two loud bangs, as of someone trying to force the door. Faint voices filtered through from outside, too muffled to make out.

Moving as quietly as a cat, Maria ghosted past him – still blinking blearily, Raffy realised he felt remarkably refreshed, as if he had slept a full night. He hadn’t, had he? Emanuelle and Dmitri’s positions seemed to imply he hadn’t – they were still roughly where they had been when he had drifted off. If it weren’t for his high temperature and flushed face, Raffy would have felt like he could take on the world.

There was a creak of hinges as Maria opened a door – not the door, but a door leading into the tiny, truncated hallway that led to it. Listening for a moment to the voices – louder now that there was only one gate between them and the listeners – she shook her head and closed it again.

“It’s not Johann,” she whispered.
“The Hounds?” murmured Dmitri, fearfully. Maria said nothing, moving into the centre of the room with a decisive step.
“We’ll use the hatch at the back of the house,” she said, keeping her voice down. “Dmitri, Emanuelle, gather up everything of value. There’s a bag over there.” She glanced over her shoulder. “The door’s got a good bolt. Unless they have a battering ram, it’ll take them ‘til springtime to bring it down that way.”
She looked around her circle with quick, flashing eyes.
“Come on!”

[-Sentinel-]

Pieter, Ithelus and Lothar

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When even his crowbar and the soldier's strength failed to rattle the door, Pieter began to develop a healthy respect for their stubborn opponent.

"If it's not yours, Mr Verter," said Pieter coolly, "then I suppose you won't mind if we take a look." He turned to Lothar. "Let's try your other idea. If it doesn't succeed, nothing will."

[LCP]

Pieter, Ithelus & Lothar

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"What - a ram?" said Mr Verter, hurrying forwards. "No - you can't do that! Think what von Gamow's men will say - I mean, that I let you! You can't!"

[Exeson]

Ithelus, Pieter and Lothar.

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Ithelus sighed, 'Sir, today a Witch Hunter was slain in combat, a riot ended in the death of civilians, rats are running around eating people alive at the behest of a cultist. If you continue to hinder us I'm going to have to assume that you are guilty and will use lethal force to stop you.' he tones softens slightly, 'However, if you stop where you are and remain calm we can conduct this with little fuss and you can go to sleep tonight without so much as a finger laid on you.'

Keeping his eyes on the man he addresses Lothar, 'You know where to get a ram, or something similar? Pieter, see if you can take the hinges off.'

[LCP]

Ithelus & Some Less Scary People

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Verter paled and backed away.

"Right. Well, um - just as long - just as long as you remember, that I said..."

He trailed off. Seeming to think to himself for a moment or two, he pointed back at his own door.

"I'm going to go back inside now."

With a hurried slam, he made good on his word.

[-Sentinel-]

Pieter, Ithelus and Lothar

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"Actually," said Pieter once the scribe was gone, "the plan I was talking about was the one involving black powder."

Crowbar in hand, he examined the door's hinges, trying to see if he could pry them off.

Strength 30: (d100)[85]

[Exeson]

Ithelus and the rest

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Ithelus looked round. 'I'll go check he isn't running away, you guys keep at the door.' He goes up the stairs and knocks on the door. 'Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to come out here and to remain with us until we get that door open.'

[LCP]

Ithelus, Pieter & Lothar

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The door cracked open a fraction, Verter peeking out.

"Really?" he said, with a tremulous tone. "I mean, I've - I've showed you round the inside, I don't see what the need is for me to um... for me to... hang around..."

Unfortunately for Pieter, the hinges were set into the doorframe: they would not come off. However, his enthusiastic efforts did attract some attention.

"Here!" said a passing citizen, peering down over the railing from above. "What are you doing down there?"

[-Sentinel-]

Pieter, Ithelus and Lothar

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Irritation flickered in Pieter's eyes.

"City business," he snapped. "Ithelus, show him the writ if he gets annoying," he said wearily.

The man probably did not know how to read, but uneducated people often had an almost holy respect for the written word.

[LCP]

Ithelus, Pieter & Lothar

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"Here, you aren't guards!" said the man. "How can it be city... business..."

He paused as he saw the captain's sign.

"Something going on here?"

[Exeson]

Ithelus and the rest

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'Yes sir, I know it is troublesome but we have been doing this for a while, and whilst I know you are innocent I'm just being cautious. Don't worry about property damage, it will all be dealt with.'

Ithelus turns to the passer by, 'It doesn't concern you. No need to worry, it is all in hand,'

[LCP]

Ithelus, Pieter & Lothar

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"Right..." said Verter, hovering on his doorstep. He kept the door open, but he evidently didn't want to come outside.

Muttering something to himself about elves, the curious bystander hurried on his way - a few others had gathered however, looking at them askance from across the street.

[Another_Poet]

Raffy the Sleepyhawk

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Before Maria has even confirmed that it is not Johann, Raffy has decided his suspicions were right. He throws a "Gee, who could've guessed" glare at her back as she checks the door. But as grogginess falls away so does his grumpiness, and he decides that action is more valuable than criticism.

Cinching his belt and placing his weapons back on his person, he reaches for the tattered overcoat and droopy hat. Moving as silently as he can he procures the nearest end-table or ottoman and dresses it in the coat, blowing out a candle and using it as a stand that to hold the hat a few inches above it. These he positions beside the chaise lounge, on the opposite side from the door - as if a man in a hat is crouched there taking cover and ready to shoot at the door.

((Hope this makes sense - basically a dummy to spook whoever comes through and make them dive for cover, buying another half-moment for our escape.))

As the others gather everything "of value", Raffy seizes upon the two sabres crossed on the wall. One of these he nearly proffers to Dmitri Vanya before thinking the better of it and pressing into the composer's hands instead. The other he tosses into the air, and catches by the blade, so that he can hold out the hilt to Maria.

If she opens her mouth to object, he cuts he off with a whispered but firm:

"This time, my way."

Suspecting she'll be more dangerous with a blade than any of the others, he smiles to see her armed. Checking again that all of his own belongings are on him, he hefts the petard and gauges its weight - and the length of its fuse cord.

"Well, go!" he whispers and looks around for this "hatch." "I'll stay behind and give 'em a bounty hunter hello." He indicates the petard and uses his free hand to grab a candle - making sure to keep it well separated from the fusecord and keg.

[LCP]

Raffy

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Taking the sword from Raffy, Maria opened her mouth to object.

"This time, my way."

Glaring at him for the briefest of moments, her eyes flicked back from the door as the noises from outside changed - evidently the people there were now trying some alternative approach.

"Are you mad?" she hissed, keeping her voice a whisper. "They'll burn you."

[Another_Poet]

Raffy the Sparrowhawk

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((But she took the blade, right?))

"I can't set the charge till they break down the door," he whispers back. "Once the fuse is lit I'll be right behind you."

He frowns in the darkness and evaluates the new noises, and reminds himself that for all her naivete to the ways of fighting dirty, she is one of the smartest he's ever met. A quick mind, like Lily. "Unless you really do think it'll take them more than a few minutes...."

[LCP]

Raffy

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"Well it doesn't sound like they've got siege weaponry, does it?" said Maria, with wide eyes and a cutting tone. "The bolt on that door is solid iron, there's no way they can kick it down."

Behind her, the others were scuttling around the room, collecting a peculiar assortment of odds and ends from its various corners.

"They've enough ammunition against you as it is. Come on!"

OOC:

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((But she took the blade, right?))

That's what it says at the top of my last post

[Another_Poet]

Raffy the Sparrowhawk

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He looks toward the sounds again with an evaluative look as if he can see the iron bolt right now.

((Look, maybe this is just total paranoia on my part, but the "odds and ends" they're gathering don't look like, um, ceremonial supplies right? Black candles, skulls, pouches of stuff, a bronze grail with dark stains on it?))

He looks back at her with an accusing grin on his face. "They say I'm mad," he breathes. But his face breaks out into a real smile. He cradles his cannister in one arm like a baby and looks toward the opposite end of the room from the door. "Right, where to?"

He follows them into this "hatch" but goes last or near-last in case the Rear Guard Petard is needed after all.

[Another_Poet]

Raffy... Further Adventures in Hawking your Sparrow

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As they file into the hatch Raffy goes back for the coat and hat. Guess these will just tip them off, he figures. But if there is room in the hatch (I assume it goes to a tunnel through which we're escaping) he will move the end-table-gone-dummy into it and set it up there, so that any Hound who finds the secret exit will think for a secoond he is about to be shot in the face....

[LCP]

Raffy

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"This way," whispered Maria, pulling aside a curtain in one corner of the room as the others hurried through. In the deep alcove on the other side, a permanent-looking ladder led up to a hatch set at a slight angle to the ceiling, Vanya fumbling with a ring of keys to get it open.

Passing the sword to Emanuelle for a brief moment, Maria strode forwards, taking the keys from Dmitri and with one swift movement selecting the correct one - stepping up past him, she turned it in the lock, swinging the trapdoor open. Ruddy sunlight streamed in - sunset, glowing over the rooftops of the town outside. Thankfully, no-one seemed to be waiting in ambush for them there: the last to emerge, Raffy found himself looking around at a street he did not know. The position of the Cathedral tower told him they were somewhere at the northern end of town, near the river - the houses looked rather nicer than the ramshackle slums of the lower town, although nothing like the luxury of Manor Street.

From here in the open air, the voices were more audible - male voices, obscured by the bulk of the half-timbered house between them. Raffy thought he heard a snatch of a familiar voice - before he could place, it however, Maria took him by the arm, her riding-cloak and hood raised to shield her face once more.

"Quickly!" she whispered, the others already making for the nearest alley.

OOC:

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There is no tunnel behind the hatch: it's a cellar hatch, like this.

((Look, maybe this is just total paranoia on my part, but the "odds and ends" they're gathering don't look like, um, ceremonial supplies right? Black candles, skulls, pouches of stuff, a bronze grail with dark stains on it?))

Hehe - I think stuff like that I would make explicit mention of.

Things Raffy sees them take:

• A bag of what is presumably money (Dmitri)
• A case that, by the corner of a sleeve trailing out of one side, looks like it might contain clothes (Dmitri)
• A wooden box quite similar to the one Jagrun stole, but larger - perhaps slightly under a foot in length (Fritz)
• A bottle of expensive-looking wine (Emanuelle)
• A small, square book (Maria, takes it on her way out after she's done arguing with Raffy )