New OOTS products from CafePress
New OOTS t-shirts, ornaments, mugs, bags, and more
Page 1 of 35 123456789101126 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 30 of 1044
  1. - Top - End - #1
    Titan in the Playground
     
    LCP's Avatar

    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    UK

    Default [WFRP] The Lord of Lost Heart (II)

    IC thread I
    OOC thread I
    OOC thread II

    Chapter IV - Fear
    Continued

    The kitchen of the Heartless Man was a ruinous mess. Its mundane contents strewn about like the pieces of a pigeon brought in by a cat, it reeked with the foetor of the otherworldly creatures that had thrown it into such disorder, the stains their vanishing corpses had left behind leaving sinister imprints – like the sooty shadows of men burned by some tremendous fire – on the bare floorboards.

    Mils Verloren stood staring at the scene, one hand over his mouth and nose as the coiling, clammy mist outside seeped in through the broken window behind his shoulder. He and the village militiaman he had brought with him were still mostly staring in astonishment. Sigurd was speaking, addressing the lord of the manor in a respectful tone.

    "I'll see if I can rouse Missus Hofstadter, Lord. She saw everything. She's in a terrible state though, her husband is dying, Sigmar save his soul."
    Pieter looked up from the house of cards he was building on the table and scowled at the wizard.

    "He's been sick for... what... twelve hours, and you're already burying him? He may be delirious, but he could still stand and talk a few minutes ago. I did what I could, and now we must wait and see. Don't start stories... They travel fast in this kind of place."
    He got up to see how Mr Hofstadter was doing. The house of cards collapsed again, but he barely noticed.

    In the pokey little room, beneath the stairs and behind the bar, Wulli Hofstadter was sleeping like the dead. His breath was stertorous and weak, his face as pale and clammy as an oyster broken from its shell. In a wooden chair beside the bed, Hanna Hofstadter sat dozing, her head nodding down so that her chin brushed her chest. There was a heavy rolling pin in her lap.

    As Sigurd approached, she snapped awake, the rolling pin rising halfway into the air as a club – when she saw who it was, she dropped it to the ground, stumbling to her feet.

    “Thank the gods, you’re back.” She looked around, and stopped mid-flow as she saw the tall form of Lord Verloren stooping in through the doorway. “Oh, your lordship! I... I didn’t... and the place in such a mess...”

    Speaking gently and quietly, Mils abated her panic-born fears. “Hanna,” he asked, “what did you see?”

    “I didn’t... I didn’t rightly see nothing, your lordship. Wulli woke in the night, raving about something outside. I thought it were just his illness, your lordship... but then the others came down the stairs too. You could hear it then, awful voices in the mist.”

    She swallowed.

    “Wulli... fell down, and there was... and we heard the window in the kitchen break. They went to see what it was, and we stayed in the front, by the fireplace.” She paused again. “I didn’t see it, but there were such noises... ” She checked her voice from rising too high, looking back to her slumbering husband. “And such a stink.”

    She nodded towards the party.

    “They fought it off, whatever it was. I seen ‘em come down the stairs, whole as I am, and when they came out of that room they looked like they do now.” She stopped once more. “The sounds I heard, before the end of it, they weren’t sounds no man could make. No beast, neither.

    She looked at Pieter and the others.

    “There weren’t no bodies. These ones, they’re saying it was daemons.” She shivered. “I believe ‘em. There ain’t nothing else that could make those sounds.”

    Mils clearly found her testimony convincing. There was a long silence, his eyes wandering to Wulli and lingering there.

    “Shallya’s mercy, you say he’s been like this for twelve hours? I’d heard he was ill...”

    He looked over his shoulder. Stepping back, he spoke in a lower voice to Waite and the others.

    “A word in the kitchen, if you will.” He evidently didn’t want to distress Hanna Hofstadter any further – as he turned towards the door, however, he caught a gust of the cold wind from the kitchen window and wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Actually, make that the common hall.”

    ~


    In front of the inn’s empty hearth, Mils addressed those who had followed him. His companion with the crossbow had stayed behind with Hanna, to reassure her that her husband was being adequately guarded.

    “The doctor has been locked in the crypt all night,” said Mils. “With three men guarding the door. Well, two men now,” he added. “I don’t see how he could have done this.”

    He looked over his shoulder at the mist pressing up against the windows with a slightly nervous air.

    “You said it was the tree?” he asked, turning back to Illiiya. “How – how can you know that? If they were daemons... if they really were daemons... in all the years the beastmen dwelt there they never had such power. How could this be happening now that they’re gone?”

    There was real fear in the nobleman’s voice. Illiiya understood it with a dawning realisation – the quiet old lord of the manor was discovering that he didn’t have the first idea what to do.

    “It’s a few days’ hard ride to Delberz,” he said, after a long hesitation. “If I take the old coach, I could change horses at Isenbuttel, drive through the night.” He looked around the group for confirmation. “We may not have much left, but Baron von Brucker will remember the Verloren name if I come asking for help. I heard the Templars had been there. The Sigmarites will know what to do...”
    Last edited by LCP; 2012-05-01 at 03:44 PM.
    Spoiler: My Games
    Show

    WFRP 2E - Tales of Perilous Adventure
    The Hour After Midnight
    The Lord of Lost Heart
    Ill Met By Morrslieb

    Dark Heresy 1E - Wake of the Byzantium
    Episodes: I, II, III, IV, V

    WFRP 2E - The Bloody Crown
    Threads: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X

  2. - Top - End - #2
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    Exeson's Avatar

    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Behind You
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: [WFRP] The Lord of Lost Heart (II)

    Ithelus dipped his head, 'I hate to bring this up again my lord, but the letter we found that was written by the Doctor, it indicated that he was not working alone...'

    'As for Delberz, I'm not sure what aid you would get from them. They recently suffered a catastrophic.... episode.' He shrugs, 'It may still be worth sending a rider, but risking yourself on the road in this foul moon would be unwise.'

    The elf leans against a wall, a weary sigh escaping his lips. 'You Lordship, this will be hard for you to believe, and we have very little evidence except for trust, but this is not the first time we have dealt with... Ruinous influences.'

    Ithelus looks to the rest of the group for consent before expanding any further.
    Avatar by JenZee
    Sigatar by Me

  3. - Top - End - #3
    Titan in the Playground
     
    -Sentinel-'s Avatar

    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Ottawa
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: [WFRP] The Lord of Lost Heart (II)

    Pieter cleared his throat. "It's as Ithelus says... We know for a fact that the doctor's not working alone. The letter alludes to an escape plan."

    To distract the lord from the delicate matter of the letter's recipient, he quickly went on: "The rumors out of Delberz are conflicting, but I gather the Sigmarites were... less than effective during the recent crisis. Even if they can help, it'll take them a while to arrive. I believe you may be more useful here, keeping order while we sort this out. Your people are on edge, and the recent developments could easily lead to panic, lynch mobs and such. We need a reasonable authority figure, and the other influential man in the village doesn't strike me as the coolheaded sort..."

    Pieter also did not fancy the idea of their only powerful supporter leaving them at the mercy of the increasingly hostile Hohlesbruckers.
    Last edited by -Sentinel-; 2012-05-01 at 04:21 PM.
    Spoiler
    Show
    Running:
    Voyages of the Ghostlight (Risus)

    Playing:
    The Bloody Crown (WFRP) as Elsabeth Holt, rogue pyromancer and court wizard

    Quote Originally Posted by TheSummoner View Post
    Oh wow. I will never again underestimate [our characters'] ability to turn friendly conversation into a possible life or death situation.
    Quote Originally Posted by LeSwordfish View Post
    Ludo has a crowbar, if that helps.

  4. - Top - End - #4
    Ettin in the Playground
     
    Another_Poet's Avatar

    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    New Orleans and abroad
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: [WFRP] The Lord of Lost Heart (II)

    Master Sigurd Waite

    Quote Originally Posted by Mils
    “You said it was the tree? How – how can you know that? If they were daemons... if they really were daemons... in all the years the beastmen dwelt there they never had such power. How could this be happening now that they’re gone?”
    "Both the elf and myself sensed great evil on it, Lord. It may have been growing for some time and only now have come to fruition. Or, perhaps, someone has been using it in some way."


    Quote Originally Posted by Mils
    “It’s a few days’ hard ride to Delberz. If I take the old coach, I could change horses at Isenbuttel, drive through the night. We may not have much left, but Baron von Brucker will remember the Verloren name if I come asking for help. I heard the Templars had been there. The Sigmarites will know what to do...”
    Sigurd weighs that in his head. The Templars are sloppy to be sure, and no wizard loves dealing with them, but they would be great allies in this matter. And they'd burn even Esther if there was evidence. "Not a bad idea..."

    Quote Originally Posted by Ithelus
    Ithelus dipped his head, 'I hate to bring this up again my lord, but the letter we found that was written by the Doctor, it indicated that he was not working alone...'
    Quote Originally Posted by Pieter
    "It's as Ithelus says... We know for a fact that the doctor's not working alone. The letter alludes to an escape plan."
    Sigurd notes that they are completely alone with the Lord, not a single villager as witness. He steps lightly away from the party as they talk on.

    Quote Originally Posted by Pieter
    "...We need a reasonable authority figure, and the other influential man in the village doesn't strike me as the coolheaded sort..."
    Sigurd speaks up.

    "Lord, I believe you are a man of reason and moral character. I say this not as flattery, but as a reminder before what I say next.

    "Master Faulebrand, for all his faults, has no reason to ever harm Alexa or the village at large. As to his son, though rash, the same applies.

    "If you can think of some reason Sir Talberg would strike down his second fiancee, you're cleverer than myself: I can't see the gain.

    "But there is one woman here who has a good reason to hate Alexa and those around her, and she's the one person you'd never wish to suspect. Unlike the doctor, she is not under lock and key--"


    He backs up as he speaks, anticipating that the others will try to rush in and silence him, but determined to say his part.

    "Please be reasonable, Lord."
    Last edited by Another_Poet; 2012-05-01 at 05:14 PM.
    I just published my first novella, Lúnasa Days, a modern fantasy with a subtle, uncertain magic.

    You can grab it on Kindle or paperback.

    Proud to GM two Warhammer Adventures:


    Plays as Ulrich, Student of Law

  5. - Top - End - #5
    Titan in the Playground
     
    LCP's Avatar

    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    UK

    Default Re: [WFRP] The Lord of Lost Heart (II)

    You could have heard a pin drop.

    "What are you implying?" said Mils.
    Spoiler: My Games
    Show

    WFRP 2E - Tales of Perilous Adventure
    The Hour After Midnight
    The Lord of Lost Heart
    Ill Met By Morrslieb

    Dark Heresy 1E - Wake of the Byzantium
    Episodes: I, II, III, IV, V

    WFRP 2E - The Bloody Crown
    Threads: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X

  6. - Top - End - #6
    Titan in the Playground
     
    -Sentinel-'s Avatar

    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Ottawa
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: [WFRP] The Lord of Lost Heart (II)

    Pieter did his best to suppress a wince. The fool was about to cost them their best (and perhaps only) ally, and without any solid evidence to make it worthwhile. It was probably too late to avoid the subject, but he could at least distance himself and hope the others would take the hint.

    "You know the letter's content, Mr Waite," he snapped. "Reifennen outright states his intentions, he couldn't be any more transparent than that. And he was the only one who could possibly do it. Ithelus, will you read the letter for us again?"
    Last edited by -Sentinel-; 2012-05-01 at 06:47 PM.
    Spoiler
    Show
    Running:
    Voyages of the Ghostlight (Risus)

    Playing:
    The Bloody Crown (WFRP) as Elsabeth Holt, rogue pyromancer and court wizard

    Quote Originally Posted by TheSummoner View Post
    Oh wow. I will never again underestimate [our characters'] ability to turn friendly conversation into a possible life or death situation.
    Quote Originally Posted by LeSwordfish View Post
    Ludo has a crowbar, if that helps.

  7. - Top - End - #7
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    BloodyAngel's Avatar

    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    New York

    Default Re: [WFRP] The Lord of Lost Heart (II)

    Illiiya Jaelrae

    Mr. Waite was right before... about the tree. We should have rallied to burn it then. Illiiya said with a weary tone, It may have failed, but I'm sure it is the source of this malady. The stuff of chaos does not worry on time as we do. For the generations it has sat, apparently harmless, it may merely have been growing, or waiting.

    She looked to Sigurd and did her best to give him a look of "not now". Her subtlety of expression was poor however, and it came off as more of a glare.

    We can chase sorcerers for days while the tree births more daemonspawn and we tear each other apart in paranoid and infighting... but that plays right into their hands. We... no, you... you are the only man they will listen to, lord. You should rally men with torches and oil, and we should END that wretched thing. Soon.
    Anyone looking for awesome art, look no more! Check out my stuff here! I do comissions, for those interested. Catch me at this site: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/rukis/

    Nekkid Kyra avatar by Keris Rain!

  8. - Top - End - #8
    Ettin in the Playground
     
    Another_Poet's Avatar

    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    New Orleans and abroad
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: [WFRP] The Lord of Lost Heart (II)

    Master Sigurd Waite

    Sigurd stops backing up as his Lordship, Pieter and Illiiya all respond on top of one another. He decides to keep his gaze on the lord.

    "Lord, what I implied only this. Humbly, and unconvinced as I am, I do not assume your daughter bears the slightest guilt. I pray she is innocent, because moral strength is evident in yourself and is likely just as strong in her. But logically she is the only one here with a motive to hire a man to poison Alexa - and she may not have understood he would poison townspeople too."

    "I do not say I am sure of this, Lord," he hastens to add, "but I implore you, if there is any chance she might have unwittingly fallen for the Doctor's lies, she may be helping him even now. I ask only that you ask her yourself. I trust your judgement in the matter."

    He bows deeply and keeps his head down.
    Last edited by Another_Poet; 2012-05-01 at 07:47 PM.
    I just published my first novella, Lúnasa Days, a modern fantasy with a subtle, uncertain magic.

    You can grab it on Kindle or paperback.

    Proud to GM two Warhammer Adventures:


    Plays as Ulrich, Student of Law

  9. - Top - End - #9
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    goblinpaladin's Avatar

    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Sydney
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: [WFRP] The Lord of Lost Heart (II)

    Lothar shrugged. "I say we gather the villagers in the keep, and burn the tree. Folk'll be safe there for a time, an' if burnin' the tree doesn't stop things, we can start lookin' to other folk."

    "For now, we've got a maybe-someone-else, and a definite weird tree. I'd go with the definite. Plus, there's that mysterious knight chap. Could even be him, might have some beef with Alexa that no-one knows about but her."

    Lothar scratched his head. "For that matter, Talberg an' Leo looked in on Alexa a while ago. We should find out how she's doin'- that's pretty vital to us convictin' Reifennen anyhow."
    Games:

    [WFRP] Ill Met By Morrslieb, as the increasingly-scarred Lothar Fischer.

    [WFRP] The Lord of Lost Heart, reprising Lothar Fischer.

    [WFRP] The Hour After Midnight as Lothar Fischer, former soldier.

    =

    January 19-25 2014 is GOBLIN WEEK!

    I did writings for it! Read them here!

    =

    sext: take my hand as the bombs fall. we will engrave our affectionate shadows on the walls in dush and ash, to last a thousand years. [my twitter]

  10. - Top - End - #10
    Titan in the Playground
     
    -Sentinel-'s Avatar

    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Ottawa
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: [WFRP] The Lord of Lost Heart (II)

    "Yeah, I was thinking about seeing the Faulebrands first thing in the morning. Not sure about gathering everyone in the same place, though... I fear it'll only make them more vulnerable. There's tales of entire hordes of daemons appearing inside buildings."

    Spoiler
    Show
    Academic Knowledge (History) 57 to remember an actual example: (d100)[3]

    LCP can veto this, of course, but I never get to use my Knowledge skills and I feel they're going to waste.


    Where had he read about that, again? Oh, yes... The statue of Count Reiner von Mechle, in Middenheim.

    "It happened in the caverns beneath Middenheim once. In the third century of the Imperial era, I believe. I also think tonight's attack was directed against us alone."

    Spoiler
    Show
    The above example is from the Daemons rulebook.

    231: Daemonettes and Pink Horrors burst forth from the caverns below Middenheim. They wreak considerable damage to the city and lay waste to the western Drakwald before being vanquished by Count Reiner von Mechle.
    Last edited by -Sentinel-; 2012-05-02 at 10:50 AM.
    Spoiler
    Show
    Running:
    Voyages of the Ghostlight (Risus)

    Playing:
    The Bloody Crown (WFRP) as Elsabeth Holt, rogue pyromancer and court wizard

    Quote Originally Posted by TheSummoner View Post
    Oh wow. I will never again underestimate [our characters'] ability to turn friendly conversation into a possible life or death situation.
    Quote Originally Posted by LeSwordfish View Post
    Ludo has a crowbar, if that helps.

  11. - Top - End - #11
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    BloodyAngel's Avatar

    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    New York

    Default Re: [WFRP] The Lord of Lost Heart (II)

    Illiiya Jaelrae

    I'll agree on that, at least. We should check on the sick girl. She has had her illness for a long time now. Illiiya said with a nod to Lothar, If Alexa has the same illness as Wulli, we can confirm that the two incidents and possibly the daemons are related. If it is just a minor thing like the doctor claimed, that would change everything.

    Though I doubt as much.


    And there is the knight. I... I do not know how he fits in this. Perhaps he fell to the chaos taint of the tree and is returned from death to... to cover up the plots of chaos? There is too much we do not know and so many things trying to keep us in the dark.
    Anyone looking for awesome art, look no more! Check out my stuff here! I do comissions, for those interested. Catch me at this site: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/rukis/

    Nekkid Kyra avatar by Keris Rain!

  12. - Top - End - #12
    Titan in the Playground
     
    LCP's Avatar

    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    UK

    Default Re: [WFRP] The Lord of Lost Heart (II)

    Mils was hardly listening. The strategic deliberations of the party washed over him, no more than noise, his eyes fixed on Sigurd.

    “You accuse Esther,” he said, simply. “You accuse my daughter. Of consorting with Chaos.”

    Sigurd had done more than struck a nerve. The old man’s frayed voice was ice.

    “I’ve heard enough. Daemons coming out of the forest, for the Faulebrands? Because of Talberg and the miller's daughter?” It might have been only Pieter who heard it, but there was an echo of long-repressed contempt in the old patrician’s voice that the initiate of Ranald truly didn’t like. He pointed to Illiiya. “She is right. This came from the dark woods.”

    Stepping away, he pulled on his gloves again, seemingly preparing to go back outside. Ithelus noticed the old man’s hands were trembling slightly – with fear, or with anger? It made putting the gloves on a more difficult task than Mils would have liked them to see.

    “You’re not a Drakwald man, Mr Waite. You don’t know this forest.” Finishing with his left glove, he pulled the right one sharply onto his hand. “For centuries, Hohlesbruck has endured everything it has thrown at us. Our family has endured, because we know and stand guard against its nature.”

    “In the morning, we will go back to the beastmen’s camp, and we will burn it to the ground. Your daemon tree, the creatures’ bones. Everything they left behind.”

    A final tug on the back of the glove straightened out its fingers.

    “And then you will leave my village.”

    He spoke the words directly to Sigurd. Not waiting for a reply, he stalked towards the door of the inn, striding out into the fog. It slammed behind him.

    After a silence of a few seconds, the villager with the crossbow poked his head into the common hall, a puzzled expression on his face.

    “Did ‘is lordship go?” he asked, in a slow rural burr.
    Last edited by LCP; 2012-05-02 at 05:04 PM.
    Spoiler: My Games
    Show

    WFRP 2E - Tales of Perilous Adventure
    The Hour After Midnight
    The Lord of Lost Heart
    Ill Met By Morrslieb

    Dark Heresy 1E - Wake of the Byzantium
    Episodes: I, II, III, IV, V

    WFRP 2E - The Bloody Crown
    Threads: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X

  13. - Top - End - #13
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    goblinpaladin's Avatar

    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Sydney
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: [WFRP] The Lord of Lost Heart (II)

    Lothar nodded, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "Uh. He did, aye. Maybe you should stay here the night, 'less you wanna tramp through that fog."
    Games:

    [WFRP] Ill Met By Morrslieb, as the increasingly-scarred Lothar Fischer.

    [WFRP] The Lord of Lost Heart, reprising Lothar Fischer.

    [WFRP] The Hour After Midnight as Lothar Fischer, former soldier.

    =

    January 19-25 2014 is GOBLIN WEEK!

    I did writings for it! Read them here!

    =

    sext: take my hand as the bombs fall. we will engrave our affectionate shadows on the walls in dush and ash, to last a thousand years. [my twitter]

  14. - Top - End - #14
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    Exeson's Avatar

    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Behind You
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: [WFRP] The Lord of Lost Heart (II)

    Ithelus looks over at Lothar, 'His lordship has just stormed out of the building, go run after him' he says to the peasant. 'He might have use of the crossbow.'
    Avatar by JenZee
    Sigatar by Me

  15. - Top - End - #15
    Titan in the Playground
     
    -Sentinel-'s Avatar

    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Ottawa
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: [WFRP] The Lord of Lost Heart (II)

    Pieter winced in sympathy for Mr Waite. Even he could tell that now was not the time for a wry remark. Were he the honest, idealistic type, he might have made the same mistake. He was not against the truth, in principle... but there was a time and place for it, and this was not it.

    He got up to tell Mrs Hofstadter, softly: "I'm going to bed, but if there's any change in your husband's condition, for the better or worse, don't hesitate to wake me up."

    He himself doubted there was anything more he could do for the sick man, but as long as the woman believed he knew what he was doing, she would not give in to despair.

    Am I giving her false hope?
    Spoiler
    Show
    Running:
    Voyages of the Ghostlight (Risus)

    Playing:
    The Bloody Crown (WFRP) as Elsabeth Holt, rogue pyromancer and court wizard

    Quote Originally Posted by TheSummoner View Post
    Oh wow. I will never again underestimate [our characters'] ability to turn friendly conversation into a possible life or death situation.
    Quote Originally Posted by LeSwordfish View Post
    Ludo has a crowbar, if that helps.

  16. - Top - End - #16
    Ettin in the Playground
     
    Another_Poet's Avatar

    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    New Orleans and abroad
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: [WFRP] The Lord of Lost Heart (II)

    Master Sigurd Waite

    Sigurd clearly wants to go after the lord, or call something after him, but he swallows it.

    He drifts over to the staircase before Pieter can go up.

    "You're a good judge of character," he says quietly. "I didn't expect his lordship to respond kindly, but here's my question – is the doubt planted in his head? Do you think he'll go home and wrestle with it till finally he has to ask Esther in private?"
    I just published my first novella, Lúnasa Days, a modern fantasy with a subtle, uncertain magic.

    You can grab it on Kindle or paperback.

    Proud to GM two Warhammer Adventures:


    Plays as Ulrich, Student of Law

  17. - Top - End - #17
    Titan in the Playground
     
    -Sentinel-'s Avatar

    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Ottawa
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: [WFRP] The Lord of Lost Heart (II)

    Pieter mulled it over. "I really couldn't tell, Mr Waite. Last night, I told him Esther might know more than she let on about the doctor but feared she wouldn't be believed. I'm not sure he took it seriously, though. We'll have to wait and see."

    He started up the stairs, then stopped and turned. "Honestly, that was a clumsy move, Mr Waite. Pardon me if this sounds cynical, but to get people to do what you want, you must find out what they value most and exploit it. If, say, we'd implied Esther was still in danger somehow, we'd have gotten what we wanted — Lord Verloren keeping an eye on her."

    He shrugged. "It's out of our hands now. Maybe you're right, maybe he will want to talk to her."
    Spoiler
    Show
    Running:
    Voyages of the Ghostlight (Risus)

    Playing:
    The Bloody Crown (WFRP) as Elsabeth Holt, rogue pyromancer and court wizard

    Quote Originally Posted by TheSummoner View Post
    Oh wow. I will never again underestimate [our characters'] ability to turn friendly conversation into a possible life or death situation.
    Quote Originally Posted by LeSwordfish View Post
    Ludo has a crowbar, if that helps.

  18. - Top - End - #18
    Ettin in the Playground
     
    Another_Poet's Avatar

    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    New Orleans and abroad
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: [WFRP] The Lord of Lost Heart (II)

    Master Sigurd Waite

    "...If, say, we'd implied Esther was still in danger somehow, we'd have gotten what we wanted — Lord Verloren keeping an eye on her."

    Sigurd nods slowly. Maybe that would have been better.

    Pieter shrugged. "It's out of our hands now. Maybe you're right, maybe he will want to talk to her."

    "Quite so, Pieter. Quite so."

    It sounds hollow.

    After standing there a long minute, he too slips up the stairs and into his bedroom. But he lies awake, expecting any minute that a peasant could run into the inn yelling that Esther was summoning demons at the manor.

    He lies awake till nearly dawn, when at last he gives up and decides to read from his Bretonnian travelogue. Only then does he nod off for a short fit of sleep.

    OOC:
    Spoiler
    Show

    Voluntarily waiving sleep and willing to accept whatever Fatigue roll or penalty you see fit, Pip - I can't imagine Sigurd sleeping after all this.


    Indigo, however, sleeps without trouble.
    Last edited by Another_Poet; 2012-05-04 at 12:21 PM.
    I just published my first novella, Lúnasa Days, a modern fantasy with a subtle, uncertain magic.

    You can grab it on Kindle or paperback.

    Proud to GM two Warhammer Adventures:


    Plays as Ulrich, Student of Law

  19. - Top - End - #19
    Titan in the Playground
     
    LCP's Avatar

    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    UK

    Default Re: [WFRP] The Lord of Lost Heart (II)

    'His lordship has just stormed out of the building, go run after him' he says to the peasant. 'He might have use of the crossbow.'
    Ithelus' suggestion had a brusque authority about it, and the crossbowman was rapidly realising the man he was supposed to have been guarding had left him alone with the people he was supposed to be guarding him from. Heading for the door with no more than a word of acknowledgement and a bob of his head, he dashed out into the fog.
    Spoiler: My Games
    Show

    WFRP 2E - Tales of Perilous Adventure
    The Hour After Midnight
    The Lord of Lost Heart
    Ill Met By Morrslieb

    Dark Heresy 1E - Wake of the Byzantium
    Episodes: I, II, III, IV, V

    WFRP 2E - The Bloody Crown
    Threads: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X

  20. - Top - End - #20
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    BloodyAngel's Avatar

    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    New York

    Default Re: [WFRP] The Lord of Lost Heart (II)

    Illiiya Jaelrae

    Another human who will let others die rather than consider something unpleasant may be the truth. Illiiya said with bile in her voice, Fine. We will wait until tomorrow, and hope the wretched things birthed of chaos, madness and hell will give us that time.

    And she was gone upstairs... clearly not in the best of moods.
    Anyone looking for awesome art, look no more! Check out my stuff here! I do comissions, for those interested. Catch me at this site: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/rukis/

    Nekkid Kyra avatar by Keris Rain!

  21. - Top - End - #21
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    goblinpaladin's Avatar

    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Sydney
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: [WFRP] The Lord of Lost Heart (II)

    "Right," Lothar said awkwardly. "Back to sleepin', then." He followed Illiiya upstairs, his booted footsteps heavy on the stairs.
    Games:

    [WFRP] Ill Met By Morrslieb, as the increasingly-scarred Lothar Fischer.

    [WFRP] The Lord of Lost Heart, reprising Lothar Fischer.

    [WFRP] The Hour After Midnight as Lothar Fischer, former soldier.

    =

    January 19-25 2014 is GOBLIN WEEK!

    I did writings for it! Read them here!

    =

    sext: take my hand as the bombs fall. we will engrave our affectionate shadows on the walls in dush and ash, to last a thousand years. [my twitter]

  22. - Top - End - #22
    Titan in the Playground
     
    LCP's Avatar

    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    UK

    Default Re: [WFRP] The Lord of Lost Heart (II)

    Those of the group who could snatched what little sleep they could, in what remained of the night. When dawn finally came, the fog had begun to retreat, but it would take the full light of day to boil it fully away – ragged banks of mist still drifted between the cottages, running tenebrous fingers through the thatch and rolling over the empty fields.

    Downstairs, there was no sign or sound of movement – the Hofstadters had not yet woken. A wretched stink still lingering pervasively in the disordered wreck of the kitchen, the interior of the inn was empty, still and silent.

    Sigurd’s sleepless vigil had seen him stir far earlier than even the village folk would usually have cause to wake, creeping back down the stairs into the common hall. As soon as he had done, he had to sit down – perhaps the sleepless night had taken a heavier toll than he had thought. He could feel a piercing headache coming on, and an uneasy tightness in his stomach. Touching his skin, he realised it was damp and clammy with sweat.

    When the others came trickling down the stairs, it was Ithelus who descended last – and Sigurd could immediately see the elf was worse even than him. His hair was matted, his clothes still stained with the daemon’s filth. His skin had taken on a chalky whiteness that looked unhealthy even for an elf, and his eyes were red-rimmed and sunken.
    Spoiler: My Games
    Show

    WFRP 2E - Tales of Perilous Adventure
    The Hour After Midnight
    The Lord of Lost Heart
    Ill Met By Morrslieb

    Dark Heresy 1E - Wake of the Byzantium
    Episodes: I, II, III, IV, V

    WFRP 2E - The Bloody Crown
    Threads: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X

  23. - Top - End - #23
    Ettin in the Playground
     
    Another_Poet's Avatar

    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    New Orleans and abroad
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: [WFRP] The Lord of Lost Heart (II)

    Master Sigurd Waite

    When Sigurd hears feet on the stairs, he thinks for a moment that he might ask the person if they'd put a pot of tea on – it felt a great burden to get up and do it himself.

    But seeing Ithelus' face, the wizard's mouth turns down in a grimace.

    "I don't think we're well," he says. He lets the implications linger silently.
    I just published my first novella, Lúnasa Days, a modern fantasy with a subtle, uncertain magic.

    You can grab it on Kindle or paperback.

    Proud to GM two Warhammer Adventures:


    Plays as Ulrich, Student of Law

  24. - Top - End - #24
    Titan in the Playground
     
    -Sentinel-'s Avatar

    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Ottawa
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: [WFRP] The Lord of Lost Heart (II)

    Pieter dreamed about Nuln. He remembered mostly the noises... The toll of the great clock tower by the market, the shouts of the halfling pie vendors, the disjointed ramblings of a ragged street preacher, the boom of the cannons on the testing grounds just outside the walls...

    When he woke up, he realized he was homesick. It was an unfamiliar feeling, but four years was a long time by any traveler's standards. One thing at a time, he told himself. Tempting as it was to go back to sleep and dream about Nuln again, doing so would not make him return faster.

    As soon as he was on his feet, he was ready to go; he had not bothered to take off his boots the second time he went to sleep. He almost tripped on Mr Cat while going down the stairs. He took the cat in his arms and sat on a stair to stroke its orange fur while waiting for the others. He did not notice how sick Mr Waite and Ithelus looked until the wizard pointed it out.

    "Gods above," he breathed. "Think you can still do your work, Mr Waite?"

    This was about the last thing they needed.
    Spoiler
    Show
    Running:
    Voyages of the Ghostlight (Risus)

    Playing:
    The Bloody Crown (WFRP) as Elsabeth Holt, rogue pyromancer and court wizard

    Quote Originally Posted by TheSummoner View Post
    Oh wow. I will never again underestimate [our characters'] ability to turn friendly conversation into a possible life or death situation.
    Quote Originally Posted by LeSwordfish View Post
    Ludo has a crowbar, if that helps.

  25. - Top - End - #25
    Ettin in the Playground
     
    Another_Poet's Avatar

    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    New Orleans and abroad
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: [WFRP] The Lord of Lost Heart (II)

    Master Sigurd Waite

    "Gods above," Pieter breathed. "Think you can still do your work, Mr Waite?"

    "Heh."

    He looks slyly back at Pieter, the gesture diluted by his pallor. "Think you can make a pot of tea, Mr. Hagen?"
    I just published my first novella, Lúnasa Days, a modern fantasy with a subtle, uncertain magic.

    You can grab it on Kindle or paperback.

    Proud to GM two Warhammer Adventures:


    Plays as Ulrich, Student of Law

  26. - Top - End - #26
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    Exeson's Avatar

    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Behind You
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: [WFRP] The Lord of Lost Heart (II)

    Ithelus stares blankly off into space, he had barely caught any more sleep. He looks at Sigurd, giving him a look of 'you too?'. With a grunt and a shuffle he moves towards a chair, 'Let's just get this over with.'.
    Avatar by JenZee
    Sigatar by Me

  27. - Top - End - #27
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    BloodyAngel's Avatar

    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    New York

    Default Re: [WFRP] The Lord of Lost Heart (II)

    Illiiya Jaelrae

    Illiiya look as if she'd not slept. The others looked worse. The moment she set eyes on Ithelus and Sigurd, her worst fears were confirmed. Over a worrisome night it seemed her tense, aggressive demeanor had waned. Now the look on her face was fear and concern.

    Ith! Gods... And you too, Mr. Waite? she muttered, rushing over to him, I knew we should not have waited...

    Her fingers went to the scratches on her own cheek, overlapping her old, always-present daemon-scar. She winced to find them still tender, though she did not seem ill. At least, not as they were... she was all but certain the awful feeling in her stomach was worry.

    I... I don't know how to treat this. She muttered, I don't know how to stop ANY of this. And no one will listen to us.

    She looked to her friends, distraught. To her, they were the only people she could depend on in the world.

    What do we do?
    Anyone looking for awesome art, look no more! Check out my stuff here! I do comissions, for those interested. Catch me at this site: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/rukis/

    Nekkid Kyra avatar by Keris Rain!

  28. - Top - End - #28
    Titan in the Playground
     
    -Sentinel-'s Avatar

    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Ottawa
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: [WFRP] The Lord of Lost Heart (II)

    Quote Originally Posted by Another_Poet View Post
    He looks slyly back at Pieter, the gesture diluted by his pallor. "Think you can make a pot of tea, Mr. Hagen?"
    Pieter smiled weakly. "Depends if I can find tea. Will anise or mint do? This isn't Altdorf."

    He rekindled the fire in the oven, took a kettle from the kitchen and began boiling water. To Illiiya he said: "One thing at a time. First, we see how Alexa's doing and if others fell sick from the pies. Next, we burn the tree and the beastmen's camp. Then we'll see. Things are moving faster and faster... No matter where the daemons came from, to me they're proof that we're closing in on the source of it all."

    Or that it's closing in on us...

    Either way, this morning felt like the beginning of the end. But what kind of end?
    Last edited by -Sentinel-; 2012-05-08 at 07:27 PM.
    Spoiler
    Show
    Running:
    Voyages of the Ghostlight (Risus)

    Playing:
    The Bloody Crown (WFRP) as Elsabeth Holt, rogue pyromancer and court wizard

    Quote Originally Posted by TheSummoner View Post
    Oh wow. I will never again underestimate [our characters'] ability to turn friendly conversation into a possible life or death situation.
    Quote Originally Posted by LeSwordfish View Post
    Ludo has a crowbar, if that helps.

  29. - Top - End - #29
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    goblinpaladin's Avatar

    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Sydney
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: [WFRP] The Lord of Lost Heart (II)

    Lothar emerged after Illiiya. He looked wan, and moved slowly, but lacked the illness-induced fatigue of Ithelus and Sigurd. Just like a man who had slept badly.

    He rubbed his eyes with the back of a hand. "Pieter's right, Ill. We just gotta press forward, take 'em out. Can always go back to Delberz, see the old doc, if we have to. But afterward."
    Games:

    [WFRP] Ill Met By Morrslieb, as the increasingly-scarred Lothar Fischer.

    [WFRP] The Lord of Lost Heart, reprising Lothar Fischer.

    [WFRP] The Hour After Midnight as Lothar Fischer, former soldier.

    =

    January 19-25 2014 is GOBLIN WEEK!

    I did writings for it! Read them here!

    =

    sext: take my hand as the bombs fall. we will engrave our affectionate shadows on the walls in dush and ash, to last a thousand years. [my twitter]

  30. - Top - End - #30
    Ettin in the Playground
     
    Another_Poet's Avatar

    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    New Orleans and abroad
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: [WFRP] The Lord of Lost Heart (II)

    Master Sigurd Waite

    With a grunt and a shuffle Ithelus moves towards a chair, 'Let's just get this over with.'.

    Sigurd doesn't move except to give the slightest, grimacing nod of his head.

    The other elf is talking too. Ith! Gods... And you too, Mr. Waite? Illiiya muttered, rushing over to him, I knew we should not have waited...

    Would that have helped? Hadn't they already breathed the miasma? Waite had heard other theories of disease. None of them stood the test of logic like odors and miasma. Though Reifennen had had something in that little phial of his...

    Pieter smiled weakly. "Depends if I can find tea. Will anise or mint do? This isn't Altdorf."

    "Mhhn," Sigurd groans.

    Pieter spoke to the elf: "One thing at a time. First, we see how Alexa's doing and if others fell sick from the pies. Next, we burn the tree and the beastmen's camp. Then we'll see. Things are moving faster and faster... No matter where the daemons came from, to me they're proof that we're closing in on the source of it all."

    That sounds like an awfully lot of work.

    "Don't forget I'm exiled after we burn the tree," he says. "Maybe I'll just move into Yilese's hut until I die."

    Lothar looked wan, and moved slowly, but lacked the illness-induced fatigue of Ithelus and Sigurd. Just like a man who had slept badly.

    He rubbed his eyes with the back of a hand. "Pieter's right, Ill. We just gotta press forward, take 'em out. Can always go back to Delberz, see the old doc, if we have to. But afterward."

    The wheels keep turning in Sigurd's head. Rather long way to go for another doctor. And weren't they running from something there? Curiouser and curiouser.

    OOC:
    Spoiler
    Show

    Sigurd is ready for more planning and conversation if needed, OR to move on to magic darting Ricard in his stupid face talking nice to the Faulebrands again.
    Last edited by Another_Poet; 2012-05-09 at 11:56 AM.
    I just published my first novella, Lúnasa Days, a modern fantasy with a subtle, uncertain magic.

    You can grab it on Kindle or paperback.

    Proud to GM two Warhammer Adventures:


    Plays as Ulrich, Student of Law

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •