[WFRP] The Hour After Midnight (II)

[Another_Poet]

Raffy the Sparrowhawk

Spoiler

Show

((Since there is no tunnel to place it in, he just takes the coat and hat with him; post edited above. No dummy is left behind.))

Raffy follows them out and looks around for any sigh of a threat. He doesn't like arguing with Maria - especially since she is often right. So he decides to act as her bodyguard for the time being, and not interfere with her plan for where to go next.

He stows the petard and follows the others.

[LCP]

Raffy

Spoiler

Show

Not stopping moving until they were a couple of blocks away from the scene of their escape, the four nobles stopped with their backs to the wall of the nearest house in an out-of-the-way back street.

"Where do we go?" said Emanuelle, clearly quite agitated. "I don't understand - how did they - where did they -"
"Maybe they did get to Johann," said Maria darkly, glancing in Raffy's direction in acknowledgement of his earlier doubts. "Or maybe they found something. It doesn't matter."
"I burned the letter, there was nothing I could have done to give us away," Dmitri was muttering under his breath.
"We need somewhere to go. Somewhere safe." Maria paused, thinking.

"Klaus," she said, suddenly. "Klaus Ziemlich. If there's one person who won't turn me - us - over to the Hounds, it's him." She glanced up at the sun. "I think I know where to find him, too."

[Another_Poet]

Raffy the Sparrowhawk

Spoiler

Show

Raffy tries to keep a staid face. He isn't sure how well this crowd is going to want to be advised by a commoner, least of all with the idea he has in mind. But their lives are at stake.

"I think that's a risky idea," he says carefully. "If you didn't hear there was a revolt today. I don't know how it turned out... but they might be coming for Klaus even if we're not there. I had an idea before...."

He squints into the setting sun. "You're not going to like it, but no one would search for us there."

He waits to see whether they even want to hear it.

[LCP]

Raffy

Spoiler

Show

The four of them looked round at him.

"Let's hear it," said Maria, cautiously.

[Another_Poet]

Raffy

Spoiler

Show

"There's a house in a poorer neighbourhood with stag horns over the door," he says. "I believe that means it's a... house of ill repute."

He lets that sink in.

"They have bedrooms. They're used to renting by the hour or the night. We could pay enough money to keep them quiet, and hide out there at least till tomorrow."

[LCP]

Raffy

Spoiler

Show

The four looked at Raffy long and hard. Surprisingly enough, they didn't seem shocked at his suggestion - mainly sceptical.

"And if someone else were to offer them a higher price?" said Maria, dubiously. "Klaus would have been prepared. Even if he's been taken in, there are others. We can trust the Society."

[Another_Poet]

Raffy the Sparrowhawk

Spoiler

Show

"We can't count on their loyalty, it's true," he says. "But there's their fear as well as their greed. I doubt they'd want the Sparrowhawk making a final stand in their establishment nor the Hounds looking too closely at the place."

He shrugs. "When things go bad I always go to the people. You can count on human nature even when you can't count on individual humans."

He thinks back to something an old constable told him when he saw him with his blunderbuss the first time at age fifteen. Son, those in power want to stay in power, and they want to get more power. You use that gun to help 'em, and even barons'll tolerate you. Use it the other way... and it's just a walk to the gallows. He had meant it to nudge him toward hunting bounties instead of holding up coaches, but it seemed to apply here as well.

"I believe that milady is the one who usually plans things," he says. The smile he gives Maria is sincere and full of admiration. "I'll go to whichever she chooses."

[LCP]

Raffy

Spoiler

Show

Maria seemed to seriously consider Raffy's suggestion, her eyes not leaving his face for several seconds. After a long pause, she gave a slight shake of her head.

"We go to the Society," she said. "I know someone who loses as much as we do if they turn us in. Someone the Hounds don't know about, either." She put her head briefly to one side. "Also, I need to speak to Klaus - the sooner, the better."

[Another_Poet]

Raffy the Sparrowhawk

Spoiler

Show

Raffy tips the brim of his already-quite-tipped hat and falls in alongside her, watching for any opposition or tails as they make their way to Klaus'.

[LCP]

Lothar, Pieter & Ithelus

Spoiler

Show

“Alright lads, stand back,” growled Lothar, unshipping his handgun – taking a single step back from the door himself, he took careful aim at the upper hinge, the soldier’s tongue protruding slightly from the side of his mouth as he tried to ensure he would strike his mark.

There was an ear-splitting crack, and a wash of white gunsmoke: Pieter ducked as a shard of metal pinged over his head, a pitted shot-hole left in the sturdy iron bearing. Shaking his head, Lothar reloaded, taking aim again: this time, the hinge parted company from its mounting with a groan of tortured iron, letting the door lean forwards. The bolt and the second hinge still held it, only allowing it to move by an inch or so – but it was enough space for the crowbar.

With a hefty wrench, the door gave way – stepping in over the threshold, Pieter and Lothar blinked at their surroundings, their eyes adjusting slowly to the gloom on the other side.

Behind the door was a short, low-ceilinged stone corridor, only a few paces in length – and at its end, another door. Lothar gave it a cynical stare for a moment, wondering if the gods were playing games with him – but this one clearly had no lock.

[hr]

Raffy

Spoiler

Show

Maria led the way swiftly through the streets of the city, back in the direction of the west of town – winding towards the Neumarket, Raffy tried to keep track of their surroundings, the fluctuations of his fever making it a struggle not to become disorientated.

Striking deeper into the lower town, they turned down a cramped side-street, clotheslines strung between the windows of the upper storeys that leaned overhead: hurrying up to a narrow, unpainted door, Maria knocked quietly, looking from right to left to ensure they were not being followed. Fritz and Emanuelle looked rather distressed by the squalor of their surroundings, surveying the peeling paint of the walls as if they had been confronted by a leper.

There was a sudden thunder of footsteps on stairs inside, and the door flew open – a young woman stared out at them, her eyes widening in surprise as Maria lifted back her hood.

“Lady Samtz-“ she began – Maria raised a finger to her lips, gliding in through the door. Still looking nervously about themselves, the others followed, Dmitri shutting it behind them. There was barely any space on the other side – Raffy found himself packed in like sardines with the others at the foot of a wooden staircase, heavy beams crossing the ceiling just above the level of his head.

“No time to talk, Magda,” said Maria, quietly. “The Hounds found us. Is Klaus here?”
“N- no,” said Magda. “He said he’d be coming round, but he’s not here yet...”
“We’ll wait for him, then,” replied Maria, touching the woman reassuringly on the shoulder. “We can wait upstairs, can’t we? I’m afraid my friends and I have nowhere else to go.”
“O – of course!” said Magda, nodding quickly. “Absolutely. Right away.” She looked around. “This way,” she said, turning and racing back up the rickety staircase she had descended.

The girl could not have been much older than Raffy – if she was at all. Short, curly blonde hair was smeared and matted with patches of black grease, or oil, or – ink? She wore a leather apron, a chisel and small, curious hammer thrust into a belt at her side – her face and hands were patched with black as well, sleeves rolled back in the fashion of a craftsman at work.

Leading the way to a landing barely wider than her, Magda turned a key in a door at the top of the stairs – following the others inside, Raffy had to duck to avoid hitting his head on a clothes-line that had been strung across the centre of the room. It didn’t carry clothes, however – and it wasn’t alone. All across the ceiling, sheets and sheets of paper had been suspended by clothes-pegs, bits of string, anything – drying ink was stamped across their surface, close-written columns of words slowly setting in the damp winter air. Raffy had never learned letters, but he knew enough to recognise that every page was the same – the same pattern of words, stamped out over and over again. They looked an awful lot like the Society’s pamphlets...

“Magda, my dear,” said Maria softly, ducking under the lines and lines of parchment, “what is this?”
“This?” said Magda, looking confused. “Oh, this! The brothers got cold feet after the Templar went belly-up this morning – said the Hounds were going to come sniffin’ round sooner or later. So I got the blocks back off ‘em, started doing things the old-fashioned way.” Pushing through her inverted forest of parchment with a papery rustle, she surfaced with a proud grin on her face, and a blackened block of wood in her hand. On its broadest face, letters had been carved in intricate relief, the entire piece written out in an inky mirror-image. “Did this this morning. Bin’ stamping all day,” she said, with an enthusiastic sparkle in her eyes.
“My goodness,” mumbled Fritz. Maria said nothing: she seemed to be reading one of the nearest dangling handbills quite intently.
“When did Klaus say he’d be here, Magda?” she asked, politely.
“Oh – I think it’d be quite soon, milady,” said Magda, her words almost tripping over each other as she spoke. “He said they were meeting tonight, that he’d need a copy.” Seeming to remember whose company she was in, she blinked, and stared a little more. “Um – with respect, milady – how’d you get away? They said the Hounds took your house apart...”
“I had... prior warning,” said Maria, glancing briefly in Raffy’s direction. “For now, my friends and I simply need a place to hide. I hope it’s not an imposition.”
Magda shook her head, protesting rather incoherently that it definitely was not. Buzzing about the room like a hyperactive squirrel, she tried to rummage out a collection of seats – they were rather less luxurious than the furnishings of the cellar they had just fled, wooden boxes and stools seeming to be the norm. The young woman moved with a remarkable ease through her cluttered rooms, seeming to know exactly how to avoid touching the dangling printing-shop without even having to look.

“Thank you,” said Maria, graciously taking a three-legged old carpenter’s seat as Magda buzzed back with another. “Magda, I don’t believe you’ve met – this young gentleman is called Rafale.”
Stopping in her frantic hospitality, Magda looked round at Raffy – she paused for a beat, taking in the injuries, the blunderbuss, the pistols. Setting down the stool in her hands, she pointed straight at him with no regard for manners, blue eyes as wide as saucers.
“You – you’re the Sparrowhawk!” she said, clearly in awe. “You killed the Hunter!”

OOC:

Spoiler

Show

This here is Magda’s sketch: I can’t put it up at the start of the OOC thread yet, since that would give the game away to the others.

[Exeson]

Ithelus and gang

Spoiler

Show

Ithelus unsheathed his sickle and moved to the other door, opening it as quietly as possible.

[-Sentinel-]

Pieter, Ithelus and Lothar

Spoiler

Show

Once inside the cellar, out of sight of the people in the street, Pieter drew his shortsword.

"Careful," he advised. "By now they know we're coming, and there may be others with them." He glanced at Lothar. "You first. I'm not much of a fighter."

He hoped it did not come down to a fight, but Vanya and Lady von Gamow, if they were here, had every right to believe they were being attacked.

Edit: Ninja'd.

[LCP]

Ithelus, Pieter & Lothar

Spoiler

Show

The second door opened without a sound - stepping through with a quick, fluid motion, Ithelus surveyed his surroundings.

The room on the other side was a low-ceilinged undecroft - stone-walled and surprisingly broad, its contents were nothing like what you might expect such a cellar to contain. A small, wooden set of bookshelves stood against one wall, a collection of volumes lining its shelves - one particularly large book lay on its side on the top shelf, a red bookmark snaking like a tongue from between its pages. Rich-looking drapes had been hung across regular alcoves in the walls: a collection of expensive-looking furniture had been arranged in a rough circle in the centre of the room, a chaise-longue, two or three stuffed chairs, an ottoman and a little gilt-painted footstool all sitting there, looking as out-of-place as they could manage. There was a dark, lacquered hardwood table in one corner, a carafe of water and several glasses sitting on its surface. In another corner, there was a lute.

Around the room, several fat candles had been placed for illumination, all now pinched out: the room was still lit, however, the last ruddy light of day streaming in from somewhere at the left-hand side of the room, towards the back. Crossing the empty chamber, Ithelus saw that one of the thick curtains had been drawn aside: behind it, one alcove went further back than the others, a permanent-looking wooden ladder leading up to a cellar hatch at the back of the house. The hatch had a lock, but it had been thrown wide open - and in the dust upon the flat wooden rungs, there were footprints. Their quarry had escaped.

[Exeson]

Ithelus, Pieter and Lothar

Spoiler

Show

Ithelus cursed and flies up the ladder, hoping that the escape had been recent. If he catches no sight of the occupants of the room he will descend again and begin to inspect the room, reading the books etc.

[-Sentinel-]

Pieter, Ithelus and Lothar

Spoiler

Show

"Guess they really were ready for anything," Pieter sighed. "I wonder if Lord von Gamow even knows about this hideout..."

Not even bothering to pursue their quarry, he walked over to the bookshelves and glanced at the books. He took the large one and opened it at the bookmarked page.

[LCP]

Ithelus, Pieter & Lothar

Spoiler

Show

Rushing up the wooden steps, Ithelus swung his gaze from right to left, searching for any sign of their prey - the hatch opened into a claustrophobic back-alley, a maze of darkened side-streets opening up in all directions as the sun sank in the west. The hammering at the door and Lothar's gun-blasts had evidently given them ample warning to make their escape.

Shaking his head, the elf descended the steps back into the cellar: Pieter had opened the book on the top of the shelves, reading it with a curious eye. Shrugging to himself, Ithelus picked out another, looking at the title along the spine. In the Seraglio of the Iron Sheikh, it said. Opening it to a random page, he found himself confronted by quite an alarming woodcut... was this what humans did in their spare time?

Pieter's book, meanwhile, was a little less scandalous: its title was worked in embossed words on the cover as Tales of Ancient Times: Sagas of the Dwarfs And Unberogens. Opening it to the bookmarked page, the initiate began to read...

[-Sentinel-]

Pieter, Ithelus and Lothar

Spoiler

Show

Ah, I know this one, thought Pieter. The Doom That Came To Kavzar.

A classic tale of hubris and punishment... Reading the legend of the belltower, Pieter could not help but think of the ridiculously big cathedral they were building here in Delberz.

The Skaven... Again, he remembered the hundreds of rats in the sewers.

There's no such thing as Skaven, he reminded himself. At any rate, he had never seen one. But he had once met an old Dwarf warrior who swore he had fought them many times. The Dwarf was drunk and possibly senile, so Pieter had never given him much credence.

He looked at the other books on the shelf, not knowing what to expect.


OOC:

Spoiler

Show

In the Seraglio of the Iron Sheikh

Is that a Girl Genius reference?

[Exeson]

Ithelus, Pieter and Lothar

Spoiler

Show

Shaking his head Ithelus replaces the book anf continues to peruse the collection, reading the titles and flicking through any that caught his eye. He also looked for any signs that would indicate any relation to Chaos, or at least anything he thought looked like it.

Spoiler

Show

search check vs 41(1d100)[84]

[LCP]

Pieter, Ithelus & That Illiterate Guy

Spoiler

Show

Running his eye over the titles of the other books, Pieter tried to get a feel for the collection, Ithelus following suit - the books seemed to be mostly of an artistic or philosophical nature, a relatively small number of volumes in all.

The Collected Music of Erik Zahn
A Few Words On Non-Intervention - a slim book, almost a pamphlet.
A Discourse With the Marquis Dolmancé
The Subjection of Women
Exotic Practices of Ind & Cathay
On Liberty
Lady von Saponatheim's Lover

"Here, what's this?" said Lothar, moving over to the corner of the room - ducking down under the table, he pulled out a tall, slim metal object, standing it upright with a puzzled expression. Pieter recognised it from his Nuln days as an Arabyan hookah.

OOC:

Spoiler

Show

Is that a Girl Genius reference?

Yes indeed.

[-Sentinel-]

Pieter, Ithelus and Lothar

Spoiler

Show

'Exotic practices', eh? thought Pieter with a smirk.

He looked up at the hookah.

"Oh, that? Arabyans use this to smoke... various substances. Lady von Gamow seems to be something of a hedonist. I like her already."

He opened the book of 'exotic practices' and flipped the pages at random. He liked to call it investigating.

[Exeson]

Ithelus, Lothar and Pieter

Spoiler

Show

Shaking his head Ithelus turns his attention to the other items in the room, checking under furniture and behind the curtains.

[LCP]

Pieter, Ithelus & Lothar

Spoiler

Show

He opened the book of 'exotic practices' and flipped the pages at random. He liked to call it investigating.

Is that what they're calling it these days, said his mother's voice at the back of his head.

The book was quite... explicit. And, like the Seraglio, illustrated. If Raffy still wanted to assassinate the Lector, he could probably give the old man an apoplectic fit just by shoving this book in his face.

Beginning to search the rest of the room, Ithelus pulled back the drapes that covered the alcoves one by one: there were velvet cushions and the odd ornamental bowl or candle, but not much else. Behind one, he found a dusty old bottle of wine of what looked like a good Pritzstock vintage. Most of the furniture stood clear of the stone floor, the two stuffed armchairs - the only exceptions - revealing no secrets when he moved them aside.

[-Sentinel-]

Pieter, Ithelus and Lothar

Spoiler

Show

Pieter let out a low whistle.

"Now, it may be hypocritical of me to suspect people of worshipping Slaanesh just because they like the pleasures of the flesh... but if there's such a cult in town, this smells like it."

Maria, knowingly or not, was associated with these people. Pieter's blood ran cold. He could no longer deny the very real possibility that Maria was involved in the murders, no matter how horrible the idea seemed to him.

And if Rafale was with her, as Ithelus thought, he might become a problem. A bigger problem, that is.

"We don't have much time before someone comes and asks questions," he said firmly. "We need to get some guards in here before the Hounds arrive."

[goblinpaladin]

Captain Illiterate

Spoiler

Show

Lothar peered over Pieter's shoulder. "Oh!" he exclaimed with a grin. "I've seen that one- there was a sailor, come into Utrecht once. Could make the girl move when he flexed his arm..."

The soldier's grin refused to abate. "Should get some guards, in, aye- and I've to see the Captain anyway. I'll, uh, let him know to send some reputable sorts."

He paused. "I oughta take one, to show him what sort've things we've found. This one, with them folks in turbans. And, uh, ladies in. Bangles. That'll do."

[-Sentinel-]

Pieter, Ithelus and Lothar

Spoiler

Show

"Good." Pieter nodded. "We'll try to keep the Hounds out of the place until the guards arrive. Remember, you're our only go-between with the captain, so don't do anything foolish like the rest of us. We're running out of time. The circle of murders should be complete in two nights, and something tells me we don't want to see what happens next."

Then he added hurriedly, before the soldier left:
"Speaking of which, Lothar, you may want to find another place to stay: the Carter's Rest is right in the killer's path. How about the Graf's Arms? It'll make things simpler if we all stay at the same inn."

Edit:

Pieter and Ithelus

Spoiler

Show

Nothing to do now but wait. Pieter hoped the guards would let him go without questioning once they got here: things would get complicated if he got mired in protocol and bureaucracy.

"Ithelus," said the initiate, "I didn't want to say it in front of Lothar, I know he wouldn't approve, but the Society of Free Men is having a meeting tonight at the Hammer and Tongs to decide what to do next. I'll be going. Revolution or not, I can't miss it. Will you be with us?"

[Another_Poet]

Raffy the Sparrowhawk

Spoiler

Show

As they walked, Raffy contemplated how best to handle the inevitable raid on Klaus' house, and their likely capture.

You should just cut and run, he advised himself. This lot doesn't know how to run. They don't want to run. You can't save someone who doesn't want saving.

He hoped that was just the fever talking. You have to save them. If they can't save themselves, it's your duty to protect them. He frowned. But what if protecting them means letting the Lector get away? What if going after the Lector means abandoning them to get found?

He nearly jumped out of his skin as he saw two Hounds round the corner - no, just a couple citizens with white sleeves coming out from under dark vests. He sighed and forced his hand not to go for a pistol.

Maria looks good with the sword, he thinks. Bet she knows how to use it. She MUST know how to use it.

He sighed as they entered the back alley. Look Sparrowhawk, he chided himself, If you head for the Castle you can't even be sure you'll get in and get a shot at his Eminence. But if you stay with Maria you know you can get a shot at anyone who comes for her. Go for the sure thing.

The sure thing.

Sure that wasn't cowardice talking? Or some onset of bourgeois comfort, just because he had a girl. Woman. Lady. Are you SURE she's even your--

The door flew open and he had his first introduction to the apparently back-breaking work of printing.

* * * * *

As Magda dashes about the room like a mad skug, Raffy has to admire her spirit. She's cute, and she has a sense of purpose. He likes people with a sense of purpose. He makes sure to keep his gaze planted firmly on one of the hanging sheets, however, as if ciperhing the little sqiggles before him.

"Mum! Raffy just kissed Elsie! Mum he KISSED her!"
"Kissing never hurt anyone, Lily. Raffy, did you kiss that girl?"
"No!"
"No lying now."
"Well just once mum!"
"And did she like it?"
"She run away, mum!"
"I bet she did like it. Raffy, you listen to me, if you get a sweetheart, you treat her like a Lady, hear? Eyes only for her. No gawking and chasing about anyone in town. Your father was always a gentleman, for all the good it did him, and you'd best be too or you'll see your lovebird fly away."

He had never had a sweetheart before. But now that he does - if he does - he figures he will do it right. So, eyes on Maria, or on the papers.

He fidgets rather awkwardly, hearing Maria introduce him, but not really paying attention.

“Magda, I don’t believe you’ve met – this young gentleman is called Rafale.”

"Or Raffy," he mumbles, without thinking about it ((first time I've called myself this around Maria)).

Stopping in her frantic hospitality, Magda looked round at Raffy – she paused for a beat, taking in the injuries, the blunderbuss, the pistols. Setting down the stool in her hands, she pointed straight at him with no regard for manners, blue eyes as wide as saucers.
“You – you’re the Sparrowhawk!” she said, clearly in awe. “You killed the Hunter!”

Raffy blinks. Abruptly setting aside his reverie, he remembers his part. You're the bleedin' Sparrowhawk! He attempts to suppress his grin which just makes it into a wolfish half-grin. Standing, he removes his hat and gives a gentlemanly bow to Magda.

"He killed himself," he declares, tossing the hat onto his stool, "The day he broke his oath to Sigmar."

He looks at Maria with eyes full of love. "I'm merely the instrument, and I'm lucky to be alive. Because there is no afterlife in any of the gods' halls as pleasant as the company I presently keep."

((tag))

* * * *

Whenever he has a chance to sit alone with Maria, Raffy will ask in a low voice - and somewhat embarrassed - if she will teach him letters.

[Exeson]

Ithelus and Pieter

Spoiler

Show

Ithelus shakes his head, 'You seem to mis-understand my intention earlier with the riot, that was merely to try and cause chaos and to take down the Hounds. They were my tool.' He says coldly, 'My plan for tonight is to find the cheapest in I can, play some dice and then hope that rats don't come and eat me in my sleep.'

[LCP]

Raffy

Spoiler

Show

Grinning to herself with a slightly incredulous look, Magda wiped her hands on her apron, holding out a hand that was nevertheless still black with inky smudges to the Sparrowhawk.

“Magda Gebenluft – although Marprälat’s the name on these things,” she said, bobbing her head to the broadsheets hanging all around. “Half the town’s talking about you, mister.” She blinked and frowned, remembering an inconvenient detail. “It – it isn’t true that you killed the Baroness, is it? Only I heard –“
“Every word of it a lie,” cut in Maria, demurely.
“Then who –“
“That’s the question the whole city would like to hear the answer to, my dear,” said Maria, finally finishing reading the sheet in front of her. “Did Klaus have a hand in this?” she asked.
“All me,” said Magda, proudly. “Klaus said we were good to use Ilsa’s story, so I wrote this up this morning. ‘Course, it’s a bit out of date now... well, now the Baroness has snuffed it...”
“I think it’ll do,” murmured Maria.
“I couldn’t talk to Mr, um, Raffy for a minute, could I?” asked Magda, bright-eyed with hope. She turned to address Raffy himself. “If I could take down your story, write it up properly, I’ve still got stacks of the paper the Bechtermünze brothers gave me... half these things are dry already anyway.”
Maria laughed warmly. “I’m afraid I need to speak to him first,” she said, taking Raffy by the arm. “In private, if possible. Would that be alright?”
“Oh. Um, yes! Certainly.” Magda looked around the cramped room, clearly trying to think what corner of it afforded the least scrap of privacy. “Um, I suppose there’s my room? The door over there.”
“Thank you,” said Maria, heading in its direction. Seeming a little nonplussed, Magda took a seat, looking around at her other guests.
“Right. Yes. I’ll just, um, wait here then.”
When Maria’s back was turned, Magda glanced between her and Raffy, giving the youth a very knowing look that seemed to imply she was highly amused.

[hr]

Lothar

Spoiler

Show

Using the hatchway to exit the cellar, Lothar rose up onto the city streets once more, shoving the book into his bag. The sun was dipping below the western horizon, lighting up the sky with red through a veil of ragged cloud: time to get going.

Back through the square, where the crowd under the statue of Leitpold seemed only to have grown: down Sigmarstrasse, then a hard right, heading for Judge’s Square. Nodding to the guard on duty at the door, Lothar entered the Guard House, making his way – by now, with an ease born of familiarity - to the Captain’s office.

"Captain von Brucker, Sir," he said to the Marius, "reporting as ordered."

Marius looked up with sunken eyes. Over the last few days, Lothar had witnessed the slipping-away of the irascible, confident young man who had hired them – now, the transformation was complete. The Baron’s son looked so pale that Lothar had to stop himself for checking his neck for bite-marks.

Marius said nothing, simply leaving a silence for Lothar to fill. Hesitating a little, the soldier launched into his report.

"I wasn't able to track down Raffy, sir- he'd already left Kleiner's by the time I was there, and he avoided the Doctor's sir. I set Hounds to watch the Hammer'n Tongs, but I doubt he went there- have they reported anythin'? Didn't think so."

"Anyhow, so I thought I might try me hand at trackin' Maria-- Lady Samztunge, sir." The soldier's voice softened, although his voice stayed professional, his eyes fixed on the captain. "She's friends with that Kislev playwright, Vanya, so I checked there- he'd scarpered, but I found them -uh, those- fragments of notes I told you about."

The soldier cleared his throat. "So. Tracked down von Gamow's properties on Leitpold Square, searched 'em, and in the basement on one, found- well, sir, I think I found where the Lady mighta hid. Or if not her, some of her friends, maybe. It was all done up, sir, lots of books and a foreign smoke-machine. Pieter said it was Arabyan, sir, had lots of pipes for smokin' from."

Lothar became aware that Marius was now looking at him very intently.

His vision slid away from eye contact to a point just over the captain's shoulder. "I, uh. Those books, sir, they- well, sir, you should send some. Uh." He looked down at his feet, red creeping up his face. "Some reliable men, sir, but not the sort that go red easy neither; nor the sort that'll burn things that look a bit funny, sir."

He managed to look Marius in the eye again. "I hope you follow me, Captain. I wouldn't want nothin' embarrassin' to get out, sir, not until we get to the bottom o' this."

There was a long pause.

“’Embarassing’,” repeated Marius, slowly and carefully. Lothar nodded, thinking better of trying to explain any further.

“I’ll send someone,” he said, looking back down at his desk: he seemed to have been writing a letter of some kind. Pushing it to one side, he stood up.

“You remember I said – the day couldn’t get any worse?”
Lothar nodded again.
“You’ll have heard that my stepmother has been murdered.”
Another nod.
“Do you think I have done something to offend the gods, Lothar?”
A... shake of the head. That was probably wisest.

Seeming to gather his resolve, Marius reached for another piece of paper, laying it down on the table and speaking with a stronger tone.
“My father – by which I mean the Lector – has summoned me to the castle. I’m taking you and Jenkels, to represent for your friend and the Guard, respectively.” He met Lothar’s eyes. “I’ll need you to plead Illiiya’s case. You understand?”

Nod.

“Von Kemperbad is still an exceptionally intelligent and powerful man, and he has just lost his bloodhound and his wallet on the same day,” said Marius, with a warning tone to his voice. “Be very, very careful of what you say.”

[hr]

A carriage bearing the von Brucker arms was waiting to take them from the Guard House, rattling away southwards towards the castle mound. Lothar felt the unfamiliar sensation of the vehicle tilting under him as it began to climb up the steep pathway to the gatehouse, Jenkels looking just as out-of-place beside him as he felt himself. Marius was staring into the middle-distance, still looking as if he was hoping to wake up any moment.

The guards at the gate looked briefly inside their carriage before letting them pass – drawing to a halt in the castle courtyard, Lothar stepped outside to feel the cold touch of a snowflake settling on the top of his head. Looking up, he saw thin, white specks descending from the darkening sky – twilight was setting in, the temperature falling with it.

“’Allo there,” said a familiar, all-too-cheery voice behind him – looking round, he saw the face of Sergeant Halbermann looking back, grinning like a cat through the half-light. “Right this way, gents.”

Stepping down from the carriage, Marius glared at the man as if trying to hate him to death. Treating it as water off a duck’s back, Halbermann straightened up from where he had been leaning against his halberd, leading the way back towards a thick, reinforced door in the weathered outer wall of the keep. “Don’t want to keep people waitin’, now, do we?”

Inside the ancient – or perhaps the word was decrepit – fortress, the darkness was so thick that the Sergeant had to lead the way with a torch, occasional lamps in brackets on the walls relieving the gloom. They wound up and down spiral staircases, through rooms that seemed to have been built at a dozen different times for a dozen different purposes – the whole place gave the impression of having built by several different architects who had fallen out and stopped speaking. Managing to avoid the great hall in which Lothar had spent the baron’s reception, they finally came to a tall and forbidding oak door, rendered almost black by age: knocking on the outside, Halbermann stood back, footsteps approaching from the other side.

The door creaked open, a liveried guard standing aside to allow Marius and the others entrance. From the snooty glance the man gave him and Jenkels as they passed through, Lothar gleaned a suspicion that perhaps the castle guards were not of the same organisation as Marius’ beleaguered watchmen. Halbermann followed them inside, the door closing like a coffin-lid behind them.

The room they were in seemed to be a dining-room – a polished oak table, longer than the cottage in which Lothar had grown up had been wide, stretched away before them, seeming to the soldier’s class-sensitive eyes to narrow with perspective as it did so. At the far end, the Baron sat, looking down at his hands: taller and straighter, the Lector was seated to his left, looking up at the new arrivals with flinty, calculating eyes. Two junior priests of Sigmar – both surprisingly young men, perhaps in their late thirties only – sat next to him, attentively watching.

Following Marius the million miles down to the inhabited end of the table, Lothar tentatively took a seat next to the Captain, Jenkels following suit – Marius had parked himself sharply at his father’s left-hand side, staring across the table at von Kemperbad’s unreadable face. Sidling up the other side of the table, Halbermann seated himself with the priests, settling himself into his chair with the insouciant air of a peasant making himself comfortable. The Baron remained staring down at his hands.

“I believe,” began von Kemperbad, gravely, “we all know why we are here. The sorceress has broadened her net. Aldric Jagrun, and the Baroness Elena.”
He gave Lothar the briefest of glances.
“Murdered by the same person. The peasant who calls himself the ‘Sparrowhawk’.” The priest’s cold baritone dripped with contempt. “Guided by the same woman. Maria Samtzunge, who fled her home and abandoned her belongings this morning, for fear of her guilt being discovered when the house was searched. Aldric’s quarry, and the perpetrator of the sorcerous outrage that has plagued this city.” Now his eyes were on Marius, his words hitting home like a fencer’s lunges.
“Maria is innocent,” murmured Marius.
“So you say,” replied von Kemperbad, icily. “We have in the dungeon here three servants of hers - caught in the act of fleeing her house on Manor Street - and an elf witch, who assisted in Aldric’s assassination. I wish to put them to the question.” His tone left no doubt as to the exact meaning of the phrase. “Like the ‘sparrowhawk’, the elf worked for your son, my lord. As his investigator. I believe he has brought this man to plead her innocence.”
Once again, the Lector’s gaze fixed on Lothar. Slowly, the Baron raised his head, red-rimmed eyes doing the same.
“Speak your piece,” he said, hoarsely.

OOC: Don’t miss Pieter’s suggestion about accommodation prior to this update.

[hr]

Illiiya

Spoiler

Show

Counting away the hours, Illiiya was beginning to reconsider the calculations she had made suggesting it was already next week when she heard footsteps approach down the echoing stone corridor outside.

Once again, the key jangled in the lock – flinging open the cell door, two guards looked down at her.

“You’re wanted,” one of them grunted. “Geddup.”

[hr]

Pieter & Ithelus

Spoiler

Show

OOC: I’ll hold off with the guards/Hounds until you finish your conversation.

[Another_Poet]

Raffy the Sparrowhawk

Spoiler

Show

Maybe it's the fever or maybe it's just exhaustion, but Raffy seems one step behind through the whole exchange. He's still swelling with pride that Magda wants his story even as Maria is rescheduling his interview; and returns Magda only a blank inquisitive look ("can you let me in on your inside joke?") as she grins bemusedly at him. Only as he and Maria go through the door to her room does he suddenly get her implication, and before he can turn back to try to restore propriety, Maria closes the door behind them....

((I go along.))

[-Sentinel-]

Pieter and Ithelus

Spoiler

Show

"Suit yourself," said Pieter with a shrug. "I'm not even sure I'll join the revolt. I'm going there mostly to learn the latest rumors and be the voice of moderation."

To pass the time, he flipped the pages of various books, careful to put them back exactly where he had found them.

"If you need a cheap inn, come to the Graf's Arms."


OOC: I'm fine with moving on if Exeson is.