[WFRP] The Lord of Lost Heart

[-Sentinel-]

Pieter tensed a bit at the sight of Indigo, but inclined his head politely at the merchant. "Morning, Mr Waite." He greeted the Elven girl with a much warmer smile. "Oh, hello Illiiya, you look better."

[Another_Poet]

Master Sigurd Waite

Sensing that the sharp young man was not comfortable with the dog, Sigurd excuses himself for a moment to take Indigo outside - where she can enjoy her morning meal of butcher scraps the way a dog should.

When he returns he participates in small talk until all of the caravan guards have joined them at the table. Then he leans in confessionally.

"Pardon my forwardness," he begins. "I do enjoy your company but this is not purely a social occasion. Now that your duty to Mister Faulebrand has been discharged, I wonder, what are you doing for work next?"

He dabs at his mouth with a rustic linen napkin and adds, "I might have a job for you. Of sorts."

[goblinpaladin]

[Illiiya] then done her best to convince him to stay with her, attempting to persuade him in ways that only a woman can.

Lothar was not difficult to persuade.

On joining the table in the morning, he politely nodded to Sigurd, covering a yawn with the back of his hand. "Mornin'."

He took a seat. "Was thinkin' 'bout doin' somethin' for the brigands, but hadn't really thought it through. Maybe some fishin'. What'd you in mind?"

[-Sentinel-]

Sigurd dabs at his mouth with a rustic linen napkin and adds, "I might have a job for you. Of sorts."

"Let's hear it," said Pieter noncommittally, more curious than genuinely interested.

[Another_Poet]

Master Sigurd Waite

Sigurd doesn't seemed deterred by the lukewarm reception. He looks around to note that there are not many others in the inn at this hour, but lowers his voice nonetheless.

"You have probably surmised that I have some interest in visiting the mounds in the forest," he tells them. "There are barrows out there of considerable historic interest. I expected folk-stories scaring people away from them. That's normal. But with the murders the other day, I'm taking them more seriously."

He takes a sip of his tea. "A few of the locals mentioned there may be a wicked shrine in the woods, used by the beast-men. You can see I am in no position to defend myself against brigands and Chaos. Indigo would not be enough.

"So," he puts on a half-grin, obviously quite excited by the prospect of tromping about lost barrows in a spooky wood, "Anyone up for a stroll in the woods?"

Assuming there is interest*:

*I'm putting up this part too just to keep things moving along. I don't mean to cut off anyone's responses or presume too much. If no one has interest in a trip to the woods then you can ignore this next part.

If the party seems interested, Sigurd will discuss payment. "You can probably tell from my words in Rosche that I do not have the wealth to pay for guards. Not in coin. But--!"

He hurries with the "but", assuming they will lose interest the second money is off the table.

"But, if you would help me, there is something I can give you in return, that might be far more valuable to you than a few crowns. I discovered something recently. I believe it will interest you."

He looks around again.

"I'd rather say no more here. I intend to go for a walk after breakfast, if you're interested, please feel free to join me."

[BloodyAngel]

Illiiya Jaelrae

Visions of the dead flashed through her mind as Sigurd spoke his plan. Of all the dead in Delberz... of the bodies on the road. Chaos, blood and fire... and rats. Always rats.

You're mad. She spoke aloud, To risk yourself to spare others as those knights did is one thing... but to venture out there for simple wealth or... glory. Does your life mean that little to you?

[Another_Poet]

Master Sigurd Waite

Sigurd seems taken aback, even hurt, as the elf nearly launches herself at him. He loses his poise for a minute, setting his tea-cup onto its saucer with a rattle.

"I-- No, my life means quite a bit to me," he manages. Then recovering somewhat he manages to look her in the face. "This is for knowledge. Not glory or gold. Just knowledge."

[-Sentinel-]

"A laudable pursuit, Mr Waite," said Pieter approvingly.

His curiosity was now alight. Stupid curiosity, the one thing that always put him in trouble. That and his clever mouth. And his compulsive lying. And his disrespect of authority. And his various vices, such as gambling and womanizing. Come to think of it, a lot of things tended to put him in trouble.

The initiate lowered his voice. "Of course, I can't follow you in the woods without knowing what's in it for me. I just happen to be planning a visit to Mr Faulebrand's house to see how his daughter is doing. We can talk on the way."

[goblinpaladin]

Lothar leaned back in his chair, both reddish eyebrows raised so high that the fresh scar across his forehead almost disappeared into his hairline.

"Illiiya landed it, Herr Waite," he said with a nod to the sorceress. "You heard what the locals said- 's madness goin' into those woods. Might as well set up sails and steer straight into the mouth of a whale as go out there. Quicker way to die, and less crunching of our bones."

He leaned forward again. "I understand that yer a man with a sharp wit, an' you must be good with money to be able to satisfy curiosity like that, sure. But we've," the soldier's gesture encompassed Pieter as well as the others at the table, "fought agents of the Four. It's not like a mummer's play, where faith in Sigmar overcomes all or Ranald's tricksters're able to steal the trinket from under the dragon's nose. It's hard, bloody work, and folk die."

"We lost good friends in Delberz." He coughed, clearing his throat. "An' that was helpin' folk out against mutants and the like. This is just yer idle curiosity. Well, I'm sorry mister, but I like breathin' way too much. It'd be different if them barrows were spewin' forth horrors an' killin' folk."

[Another_Poet]

Master Sigurd Waite

Sigurd brightens at Pieter's enthusiasm, and stays steady during Lothar's well-reasoned refusal. The merchant is smart enough to tell that Lothar seems to lead the group, and without the soldier's support nothing will come of Pieter' curiosity.

"Well, I appreciate your candor, Mister Fisher," he says with a nod. "I can't find fault with your words on any particular. But I'd be remiss not to point out, the locals say the beastmen are gone. Their shrine should be empty, if it even exists. And if, as you say, you intend to hunt brigands--you'll need to go out in the woods eventually."

He dabs his face with a napkin and stands up.

"Mister Hagen, it looks like we'll have to postpone our walk. I plan to spend the afternoon in Lord Verloren's library. Tomorrow morning I'll be hiking to the barrows, on my own if needs be. If you change your mind, you know where to find me."

Once he leaves he spends some time in front of the Heartless Man feeding and playing with Indigo, then he'll head off for a stroll.

LCP only:

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Next destination is Mother Yilese's--but with a stop on the way to purchase some honey (ask the smith who's best to trade for it, if need be) as a present for her.

[Exeson]

Ithelus awakes groggy and grumpy, more so as he makes his way downstairs just in time to hear Sigurd's proposal.

'You can run into the forest sir, please be our guest, but don't even think to drag us into you're little fantasy. I can tell you knowledge is not as glorious or empowering as you seem to believe.'

He grabs a chunk of bread and begins to eat, wandering into the village, hoping fresh air will improve his mood. I hope we move on soon, there doesn't even seem to be anything worth stealing in this place.

After his quick walk he returns to the group, 'so what's on the cards for today then?'

[-Sentinel-]

Pieter was only slightly surprised at his friends' flat-out refusal, but very disappointed when the merchant chose to postpone his explanations. The initiate would likely not accept the job if Lothar did not, but he itched to know what the merchant could possibly offer in return.

"Tomorrow morning I'll be hiking to the barrows, on my own if needs be."

Now Pieter looked genuinely worried. If this man went alone and did not come back, the initiate knew he would feel partly responsible for failing to prevent it.

"Mr Waite, I beg you to reconsider," Pieter advised as the merchant turned to leave. "Whatever killed these two brigands, it can kill you and your dog just as easily. Find men or don't go at all."

[goblinpaladin]

Lothar shook his head. "Suicide's not the answer, Herr Waite. Find somethin' else to be curious about; be happy to help you with that." He paused. "The Panthers might've cleaned out most of the beasts, but that doesn't mean they're all gone- unnatural things gets tangled around a thing, stays that way. But there's also bandits and wolves and the like out there-- and it might not just have been beastmen that guarded them barrows. Goin' alone's just going to get you killed."

===

Lothar nodded to Ithelus when he got back. "There's a fine fishing spot I'd like to try out- but I was thinkin'. There's this crop of bandits up, and a certain grain merchant who keeps gettin' raided by 'em. Maybe we can make some coin helping him out, if he'd be interested."

"What do you lot think?"

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We can discuss this OOC, of course, to hasten things along.

[-Sentinel-]

"From what I've seen of Mr Faulebrand, we'll each get maybe five crowns out of it," Pieter said skeptically. "Not enough to risk my skin, that's for sure. Besides, whoever's killing the bandits is the real threat, as far as I'm concerned."

[goblinpaladin]

Lothar shrugged. "If he offers us that little, we move on. I'm talkin' real money."

He frowned in puzzlement. "You mean the roadwardens? Didn't the doctor say it was roadwardens that killed them?" He shrugged again. "Even if it wasn't, whoever did it hasn't been hurtin' anyone else. Gettin' sliced up is a risk you take, livin' in the woods."

[BloodyAngel]

Illiiya Jaelrae

Another human desperately seeking suicide. The world will be better off if such idiocy does not survive to breed.

Illiiya listened to the antiques dealer with nary a flinch, dark thoughts that were born more of her than she liked to admit filling her head. No reason to care this time. Just another man who sought to cut his life short. She knew the sort all too well. For a moment, she grew still... remembering the last reckless fool she had known... and how much she missed him.

Missed him? No... no that wasn't right. He was there with her. Always, with her. For a moment the silence was all she could hear, and it terrified her. Was he cross with her? Had he faded away? She struggled not to panic as she tried her hardest to seek something that could not be seen, her eyes flitting about the room quickly.

Please do not go! She said in a panic, though not to whom observers might think

Then she felt it, at the back of her mind... a familiar presence. He was not gone, he couldn't be. He was simply quiet. She was going to let a man rush off to his death. Of course he would be upset.

I am sorry Mr. Waite... Please do not leave. Illiiya said hurriedly, I do not wish to see you hurt. Or killed... like those men upon the road.

[-Sentinel-]

"You mean the roadwardens?" said Lothar. "Didn't the doctor say it was roadwardens that killed them?"

"The doctor said that?" Pieter's tone was dubious. "How does he know that, anyway? I still think it was too sloppy... leaving the corpses in the open like that. And why would one of them ride off into the woods after killing the brigands?"

"Even if it wasn't, whoever did it hasn't been hurtin' anyone else."

"That we know of," Pieter muttered under his breath.

[BloodyAngel]

Illiiya Jaelrae

I do not trust that doctor. Illiiya said ominously. I... I do not know why, but I do not trust him. At best, I think he is simply telling people what they wish to hear.

Then why don't you DO something?

She gave a soft sigh, glad at least that voice from her head had returned. She did not think she could have bore being responsible for losing him.... again.

[Exeson]

Ithelus shrugged, it seemed to him that the group had changed since their ordeal... more distrustful. There was a sense of no longer accepting things at face value, and with good reason too. 'If we had followed up every bad hunch we had we wouldn't have made it one village on from Delbrez,' He played a set of dice between his fingers, 'that said it would be nice to have something meaningful to do. I'm interested in finding employ again, as Lothar suggested. As for the doctor, makes you miss Raseen doesn't it?'

[goblinpaladin]

"Aye, I miss the doc." He paused. "A'right then- Pieter, you're good with people. Why don't you poke into the doctor, an' see what Sigurd's all about? Me an' Ith an' Ill, maybe we can go have a chat to Herr Faulebrand, see what he knows about them bandits. Maybe it's all connected anyway?"

[Another_Poet]

///Retrosplice!///

((I'm placing this after everyone tells Sigurd not to go in the woods on his own, but before you all start talking about Roadwardens and Delberz and yadda yadda.))

Master Sigurd Waite

Sigurd, on his way to the door, stiffens as everyone jumps on him. He turns slowly back to look at them. The talk of suicide... the male elf's harsh tone... the girl elf's plea. A sort of concerned sympathy crosses his face.

"You... you've all been through something very horrible, haven't you?"

He nods his head. "I heard you mention Delberz earlier. There've been a lot of stories come out of there in the last few weeks. Whatever it is that happened, I'm sorry."

He says I'm sorry in a deeply personal way, not just a formality.

"Your concern hasn't fallen on deaf ears. I'll hope to hire a guide, maybe a logger or trapper. And at the first sign of danger I'll run... I'm much better at running than I am at fighting. Much better indeed.

"If you change you minds, let me know. We can turn back if it gets hairy."


///Present Time Slice///

LCP only:

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((I'm hoping to hand-wave the trip to get the honey, just tell me how much I spent. Is mother Yilese in when I go knock on her door? If so I offer her the honey as a gift and thank her for inviting me back. I'll wait to do more till you write it up.))

[-Sentinel-]

Pieter nodded at Lothar's words. "But first, I'll come with you at Mr Faulebrand's home. If Alexa's not feeling any better, I might be able to do something for her. Those overeducated doctors sometimes overlook simple solutions." Not to mention that he did not entirely trust this Reifennen fellow.

He nods his head. "I heard you mention Delberz earlier. There've been a lot of stories come out of there in the last few weeks. Whatever it is that happened, I'm sorry."

The initiate forced a smile. "Delberz was a trying time for us. I imagine the tales you've heard are strange and conflicting, right? That's the problem with second-hand accounts..." His voice trailed off and a shrewd light gleamed in his eyes. "On an unrelated note, can you tell us more about what you discovered recently? Hate to pass up an offer without even knowing what's on the other side of the table."

[Another_Poet]

///Retro Time Slice///

Master Sigurd Waite

He looks around again to make sure no one is listening.

"I overheard you say you were running. I found something that might help you make a new start--to redeem yourselves, or earn enough coin to disappear for good. But I won't say more than that. If I tip my hand now, you'll have no reason to escort me. I'm a better merchant than all that."

This time he really does make his exit from the tavern, leaving them to mull over whether the bait is worth the hook, while he goes to other errands.

[LCP]

Sigurd

Spoiler

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After some negotiation with Wulli Sigurd was able to pick up a jar of honey from the inn’s own pantry for the sum of nine pfennigs. Leaving the merchant’s guards behind, he set out into the bright Drakwald morning.

The Taalsbruck was running swiftly under the old stone bridge, splashing and gurgling against the mossy rocks. Crossing over, Sigurd took the narrow forest path back towards the lonely hovel. Mother Yilese was out in her garden, bent over the herbs with her back to him.

The old woman straightened up without looking round, an uprooted nettle in one linen-wrapped hand. Stripping the clods of earth from its roots, she turned to look at Sigurd.

“Mister Waite, ain’t it?” she asked. She seemed unsurprised when Sigurd offered her his gift, taking it with a simple nod of acknowledgement.

“How’d you find the Faulebrands’ feast?”

[hr]

Others

Faulebrand House being practically on the inn’s doorstep, it didn’t take Lothar and the others long to reach it. The soldier knocked and waited.

And waited. The muffled sounds of raised voices were just audible from inside. After an inordinate wait, footsteps came hurrying up, and the door was opened by a weary-looking servant girl. From behind her, words filtered down, the argument clearly continuing unabated out of sight.

“...my own sister!”
“And much of a brother you’ve been to her, these past three years!”

In the doorway, the servant girl blinked, struggling to recognise them. “Can I... help you?” she asked. “The master’s busy.”

“...fritter away your very generous allowance, gallivanting all over the country...”

Footsteps were approaching from the group’s right. Turning his head, Pieter saw Doctor Reifennen approaching, his medical bag in hand. The servant girl seemed to recognise him, looking round at his approach.

“Doctor!” she said. “The master said to watch for you.” She paused as the shouting from within grew a little louder. “Um, these people are here too,” she said.

Reifennen tipped his hat to Lothar and the others. “Come to call on Mr Faulebrand?” he asked. “I was about to do the same. Checking on the patient, you know.”

”...well I don’t care what your ‘Altdorf physician’ says, she’s my sister and I want to see her!”

“Mr Faulebrand!” called the Doctor. “Are you in?”

The shouting stopped. There was a rush of feet on the landing, and the miller appeared, red-faced and puffed up like a bullfrog. Shortly behind him was the blond-haired young man Pieter had seen that morning.

“Doctor Reifennen!” cried Aloysius. He paused, frowning as he caught sight of his other callers. “And, um, Mr... Fischer?” He composed himself, the red suffusion of his face waning a little. “This is my son,” he added, pronouncing the word as others might say ‘debtor’, “Leopold. Please, come in.”

[goblinpaladin]

"What about us," queried the soldier, a wry grin on his bearded lips. "'ave somethin' of a business proposition for you."

[LCP]

Mr Faulebrand frowned confusedly.

"I didn't take you for a member of the grain trade, Mr Fischer."

[Exeson]

Ithelus tilted his head to one side, 'Come now, since when would you find an ex soldier, two elves and a aspiring man of the people in the grain trade?

He makes a show of smiling, 'We trade in problems, or the solving there of.'

[-Sentinel-]

"Is your daughter better, Mr Faulebrand?" asked Pieter, genuine concern in his tone.

[LCP]

Not Sigurd

“Alexa is resting,” said Mr Faulebrand, firmly.

From around the corner of the landing, behind where Leopold was standing, Ricard stepped out to look at the newcomers, keeping a discreet distance between himself and the feuding Faulebrands. Ushering the party and the doctor inside, the servant-girl closed the door behind them and scurried away as Mr Faulebrand came trotting down the stairs.

The inside of the house was richly, if a little tastelessly furnished, all solid timbers and rich colours – it made the maximum use of the good deal of space it actually possessed, in order to seem much larger. A modern-looking tapestry hung on the wall to Pieter’s left, showing a mill standing on a forested hill. An unlit lantern hung from the ceiling in an ornate brass mount over the spot where the wooden stairs met the hallway.

“Very good to see you doctor, very good of you to come,” said Mr Faulebrand, descending among them. “We haven’t moved her.”

“You’re the doctor?” asked the young man – Leopold – on the stairs. He came thundering down after his father, Aloysius looking round with a flash of barely-suppressed anger. “Father says you say I can’t see her. Surely she can see her own brother?”

“I’m afraid not, Master, um, Faulebrand,” said Reifennen, removing his spectacles to address Leopold. “Miss Faulebrand is... possibly, quite seriously ill. I have asked that she be removed from all external stimuli. It is my professional opinion that complete calm is the greatest cure for many maladies... but I also have not yet ascertained whether she may be infectious to others.” He lowered his eyes. “I hope to have a better answer for you soon.”

“You see? You see? Physician. Knows what he’s talking about. Now for gods’ sakes, boy, let him through,” said the miller, practically pulling his son out of the doctor’s path. He turned to Ithelus and Lothar with an air of exasperated distraction. “If you want to speak to me, speak plain and speak now, eh? As I recall it, our business was discharged yesterday.”

[goblinpaladin]

Lothar smiled "Well, yes- we got you here safe an' sound. But the bandits are still makin' trouble for you, aye? I've asked around, and it seems that they're only harassin' your wagons. Well, we," and here the soldier's gesture encompassed the others, "are pretty decent problem solvers. Me, I was a musketeer attached to the Nordland 11th in the War."

He paused and scratched at his beard. "So now you have a solution to your woes, a way to end the troubles to your money purse. A small bit of capital, an' we'll stop the slow tricklin' away of your profits."

Lothar was a lot of things, but subtle wasn't among them.