[WFRP] The Bloody Crown III

[LCP]

Elsa

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"There is no-one here you cannot trust," said Sforza. He gave a slight nod to his wife, and she touched her maidservant on the shoulder. Eyes on the ground, the serving-girl rose and left the room.

"Sit!" said the captain amiably, gesturing to an empty chair. Cesar was still standing to attention behind Elsa's shoulder. "Are you hungry?"

[LeSwordfish]

LSV

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Ludo caught Stoutheart's collar as he ran for the mouse, and moved into the middle of the room with a sceptical expression.

"It might look a bit suspicious if we clean it up too much, or light a fire. People will see the smoke."

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa

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The pyromancer tried to tell herself that Sforza's amiable mood was a good omen, but truth to be told, she might have preferred a most businesslike manner on his part.

"Are you hungry?"

"I believe I could eat a cow, Captain," answered Elsa, but she did not sit just yet.

She allowed herself a moment to collect her thoughts and try to word them. She had mentally rehearsed her report, but had done so with the assumption that only Sforza and Cesar would hear it. She might as well get the hard part out of the way first.

"I owe you an apology, Captain Sforza. I've breached your trust by recklessly going beyond the stated purpose of my trip, and making it quite a bit more dangerous than it had to be. I was only supposed to map out the Winds of Magic in the wilderness, but I ended up leading my guards Orfeo and Cesar into a ruined settlement." She took a deep breath. "Orfeo is dead. He was killed in the ruins, and Cesar and I barely escaped with our lives. I take full responsibility for his death." She let the words hang for a moment, just long enough to lend gravitas and sincerity to her confession, but not quite long enough for Sforza to get a word in edgewise. "As for the more sensitive matters I mentioned, they're about what we found, and what we faced, in those ruins."

[LCP]

Elsa

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Sforza sat, listening intently. The over-burdened waiter came in with more food, hesitated as he saw the scene, and had to be waved silently away.

"Go on."

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

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Sieghard shrugged

"No one is going to see inside if we get rid of the cobwebs. It's warm enough that we wouldn't need a fire," he said, poking around inside. "Even if someone did see, who would care? The place is abandoned."

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa

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Elsa continued: "The ruins were positively... soaked in what we spellcasters call Dark Magic, a corrupt kind of witchcraft wielded by servants of Chaos and necromancers. I thought it only lingered there since an ancient time and was nothing to worry about; I was wrong. We were encamped at the edge of the ruins, when dozens of the living dead arose around us and chased us inside. The deeper we went, the stronger the Dark Magic was, until my magical senses were almost drowned in it. We had to fight our way out, losing Orfeo in the process. Now, Cesar can't testify about the Dark Magic, but he did destroy his share of the living dead." She nodded to Cesar, as if cueing him to confirm that part of the story via a word or gesture.

"I've been withholding the location of the ruins until now. It's because the stakes are quite high, as it turns out, and you may want to keep the details strictly need-to-know. See..." The pyromancer finally removed the backpack digging into her sore shoulders and dropped it on the floor in front of her in a very loud clinking noise. She undid the clasp, opened the flap and grabbed a large handful of gold coins for all to see, letting some spill between her fingers. "Plenty more where that came from. This is only what we were able to carry."

[Northern Lad]

Sieghard, Ludo & Viggo

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Viggo's forehead furrowed in disappointment as Ludo spoke, he emptied a stack of firewood out of the sack he was carrying next to the firepit. "I suppose it is too warm for a fire." he grumbled. "I say we do clean up though and coming and going openly has to look less suspicious than sneaking in an out every time we need a coin or two eh?"

The young lads cheeks turned red at the mention of Filomena. Viggo tried his best to cover his blush, he was pretty sure he managed. He sat on the floor cross legged near the fire pit and began counting out handfuls of coins, stacking them neatly beside his pack. "As long as we can find a half decent hidey hole here to stash our things we should be ok?" He nodded over towards Sieghard. "He's right too. It'd be a sight cheaper to stay here than rent at the Chalice."

Dipping into his pack once more he pulled out the money pouch which Ludo had given him in the ruins, with all the excitement he'd completely forgotten about it . Shaking the coins out and placing the pouch next to his growing stack of coins he handed over the Imperial coinage to Ludo. "We have this too, I'll let you share it out eh? I don't want to lose count."

OOC

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As per previous roll there was 410 in ancient coins. He's just handed Ludo 7 Imperial Crowns

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

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"Might need to make our own hiding place." Sieghard suggested. "There's not exactly a lot of places to put things in here, at least if you don't want them to be seen."

[Northern Lad]

Ludo, Sieghard & Viggo

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Viggo's tongue stuck out to one side of his mouth, deep in concentration, as he counted out another stack of coins.

He nodded at Sieghard in agreement, his left eye rolled off as if it were independently seeking out a good place to hide. "What about.." he winced slightly as he stretched out his wounded leg, "What about the fire pit? We could bury it there and then stack a load of fire wood over it?" He pulled out a crowbar from the sack beside him. "Maybe there's some loose slabs?"

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

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"Right, and if whatshisname comes back, he'll start a fire right over the gold," Sieghard said derisively.

"Over here, maybe?" he said moving towards the partitioned-off storage area. "If there aren't any loose slabs, I'm sure we could loosen a couple ourselves."

[LCP]

Elsa

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Sforza and his lieutenants leaned avidly forwards to get a look at the gleaming gold in Elsa's palm. Only Irene seemed unimpressed.

"Cesar," asked Carraciolo in his native tongue, "è vero?"

"Si," was Cesar's only answer. Shrugging off his pack, the mercenary upended it onto the stone floor. The waterfall of golden coins that ensued broke even Irene's indifferent expression.

Nudging Valdes on the upper arm with the back of his hand, Sforza murmured something in Tilean. Elsa couldn't understand a word, but she thought she caught Abdul's name in the flow. With only a nod in reply, the Estalian rose and left the dining room.

"These ruins... where did you find them?" asked Sforza, fixing Elsa with an incisive regard. He made an airy gesture at the space around them. "The people here, they tell us nothing of trouble with the... how did you say? The living dead."

His eyes returned to the gold.

"How much would you say you left behind?"

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa

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"The ruins are about a day's walk east of here, north of the road, on the edge of the Bracken Mere," Elsabeth explained. "They're quite a bit older than any building in Mirino. As for the gold... it was in a chest about this long, this wide and this high." She mimed with her hands, to the best of her memories, though she might have exaggerated a little bit like a fisherman bragging about his catch.

[Northern Lad]

Ludo, Sieghard & Viggo

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"It was just an idea!" Viggo huffed. "You find somewhere better then!" His right eye followed Sieghard as the mercenary crossed the room. "Here, use this." Viggo slid the crowbar across to Sieghard.

[LCP]

Elsa

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When Elsa had finished talking, Cesar helpfully added something in Tilean. Carraciolo questioned him back, and he seemed to clarify his answer before the lieutenant settled back into his chair with a nod.

"Please," said Sforza, motioning to Elsa, "sit, eat." With the niceties out of the way, he and Carraciolo launched into an animated conversation in Tilean. Sometimes Irene would languidly butt in, and once or twice they seemed to ask something of Cesar. At last, all eyes turned back to Elsa.

"Who else knows of this?" asked the Captain.

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

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Taking the crowbar in hand, Sieghard got down on the floor and tried to find one floorboard that was looser than the others. When he failed to, he wedged the crowbar between two of them and tried working it back and forth.

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I rolled search earlier and failed, so I'm assuming that covers trying to find a loose floorboard. If someone else wants to look for one, go for it.

Roll if necessary, I'm assuming strength would be most fitting. He'll start with just one and if more space is needed go from there.
(1d100)[13] vs 41 Str

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa

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As soon as she was invited to, Elsa sat down, tore off a chicken thigh and devoured it ravenously with little concern for decorum.

"Who else knows of this?" the Captain asked her.

There was no dodging a direct question, and the pyromancer had no idea what words had just been exchanged in Tilean. Lying would be unwise. She nonetheless gave herself the time to chew and swallow the food in her mouth.

"Four travel companions of mine were with us," she said at last. "In fact they're the ones who talked me into this... archaeological trip. I think they can be trusted... and most importantly, that they'll be keeping out of those ruins now."

[LCP]

Elsa

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"Mm. We will need to speak to them," said Sforza, glancing briefly at Cesar. From her seat Elsa couldn't see the mercenary's reaction. "They returned with you?"

---

Sieghard & co.

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Sieghard managed to lever up one of the rough boards under the sleeping area without much difficulty. The space beneath them was not deep - but then again the coins should have little trouble spreading out to fill it.

[LeSwordfish]

Buyer and Cellar

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Ludo pulled a few more floorboards up, and poked his head into the hole, the better to inspect the place he'd be putting his gains. The last thing he wanted was to tip some of it down a hidden well.

"Do we still have that spade? We could bury it a bit. Might be better than just pouring it in."

"How much do we even have?"

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

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"Agreed. Might even be worth looking into a chest for it." Sieghard replied.

"How much do we even have?"

"More than I can count. I gave up trying."

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We should still have the spade, though I don't remember which of us was carrying it. Sieghard has 441, Ludo has 329, and Viggo has 410 for a total of 1180 between the three of us.

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa

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"They have," Elsa answered, unwilling to explain that, no, they had split off to hide their gold. "Not sure where they are now, I haven't been privy to their projects since you hired me. I can give you their names and descriptions."

She poured herself a cup of red wine. "There is... something else. Deep inside the ruins, we found a small room with an empty lectern in the center. As far as I could tell, the lectern was the spot where Dark Magic was strongest; perhaps it was even the source. One can only wonder what was the book that used to be on it... and most importantly, who has it now." She chose not to speak about the undead priestess. The tale was outlandish enough without adding yet more incredible-but-true details. "I'm fairly confident that if I get anywhere within miles of that book, I'll feel its evil. Thankfully, I can assure you it's nowhere near Mirino. Still, that's a cause for worry."

[LCP]

Elsa

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Sforza's ears pricked up.

"You think someone has stolen it?" he asked. "Someone in the Reaches."

"There is only one wizard in these hills," said Carraciolo, shaking his head. "If she had a thing like that, we would have heard."

"Unless she sits on it," said Irene, deigning for the first time to speak Reikspiel. Though she had a slight accent, her elocution was impeccable. She looked her husband straight in the eye. "Waiting to surprise you."

"Mm," grunted Sforza, giving his wife a nod. He looked back to Elsa. "We will need to talk to the Doctor about this when he returns." Watching out of the corner of her eye, Elsa saw this seemed to satisfy Irene. "Then, perhaps... we will need to discuss a little trip to the Thornwood, Signora Hildebrand."

Turning back to his meal, he waved his fork casually in the air. "These friends of yours, where do they stay? I think you understand already, we must make sure of them, yes?" The Captain's dark eyes glittered. "This gold, this book even... it is best for the other princes not to know."

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa

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Elsabeth told Sforza her friends' names, as well as where they were staying; hopefully they would not resent her for it. She of course omitted to mention Adelbert's side trip.

"As for the theft of the book, it might have been someone you know of, and it's worth it to investigate... but the sort of people who'd use a book like that aren't the kind who work openly, if you ask me. Plus, the ruins have been sitting there for thousands of years; the chance that the book was taken at a recent time isn't that high."

[LCP]

Elsa

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Sforza took in Elsa's words with a considered expression. His lieutenant looked less happy, clearly out of his element with this talk of sorcerous enemies.

"Well," said Sforza, "we will see." Raising his head to Cesar, he nodded to the mercenary. "Thank you both, for bringing this news to us." He said something more in Tilean to Cesar, and it seemed to be the soldier's cue to go. He lingered for a moment, glaring at Elsa as if expecting something more. After a second or two of awkward silence, he bowed to his commanders and left, leaving the golden heap of coins where he had tipped them.

With Cesar gone, the others turned back to their meal. Sforza and Carraciolo took it in turns to make civil conversation with 'Beatrix' in Reikspiel, while Irene maintained a carefully calculated silence, speaking only with her husband.

They didn't have to wait long before a door opened at the back of the room, and Valdes re-entered with Abdul in tow. The Arabyan flashed his teeth in a broad grin as he saw Elsa had returned - and then stopped as he saw the gold still lying scattered on the floor.

"Tell me, Abdul," said Sforza, seeming to take a small measure of amusement at his old comrade's amazement. "What do you make of that?"

Approaching the pile, Abdul stooped down and gingerly picked up a single coin. Turning it over in the light from the window, he examined each side with care.

"Where did you get this?" he breathed.

"Ask Signora Hildebrand," said Sforza, gesturing to Elsa. Having had ample time to gorge herself on the captain's fare while they waited for the Arabyan, she was now feeling quite full.

Abdul's eyes slid over to Elsa.

"This coin..." he said. "This is a Nehekharan coin."

OOC:

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You can test AK(Magic) to recognise the name "Nehekhara". No modifiers.

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa

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"This coin... This is a Nehekharan coin."

"I'll take your word for it," said Elsa in a 'So what?' kind of tone. "It's from a ruined city east of here."

[LCP]

Elsa

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"Nehekhara?" repeated Abdul, raising his eyebrows. He had clearly expected Sforza's newly-instated court mage to know the name. "The Land of the Dead."

That was a name Elsa had heard, though not often. A mythical desert of the walking dead, far to the south, it had featured in the childrens' stories of the Crusades her father had read her when she was still an infant. When she had been at the Colleges, she remembered hearing some gossip in the town of a treasure-hunting sea captain who had returned from its shores, dying of a disease that even the priestesses of Shallya couldn't cure. There'd been talk of holds full of gold and ancient curses on them, but Elsa had always thought it was just tall tales from sailors.

"Who cares where it's from, Abdul?" said Sforza, leaning forwards over his empty plate. "The point is that there is more."

He nodded to Elsa.

"This just a sixth of what Signora Hildebrand's party brought away. She says there was a chest this big, full of those coins." He mimed the size Elsa had shown him with his hands.

Abdul tried to look disapproving, but Elsa could see the calculations dancing behind his eyes.

"And who did the chest belong to?" he replied. He looked back to Elsa. "Forbid me, my lady, but where I come from, every nomad's son knows that stealing from the kings of the necropoleis... it brings only death for the thief."

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa

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"This just a sixth of what Signora Hildebrand's party brought away."

This declaration made Elsa's face twitch. Clearly she had been mistaken in assuming Sforza would just drop the matter of her friends.

"Forbid me, my lady, but where I come from, every nomad's son knows that stealing from the kings of the necropoleis... it brings only death for the thief."

"Mere superstition," Elsa said bluntly, "which won't die until people are willing to try and defy it. The gold itself isn't cursed; of that I'm pretty sure. The only magic I feel around it is the Yellow Wind, which is always drawn to gold." More somberly, she added: "We did lose a man while escaping with the gold. Commander Carraciolo, do you know if Orfeo had a family back in Tilea?"

[LCP]

Elsa

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"We did lose a man while escaping with the gold. Commander Carraciolo, do you know if Orfeo had a family back in Tilea?"

Carraciolo shrugged. "Perhaps," he said. "The men of the Iron Company, they left their families behind a long time ago. If they ever had them to begin with."

"You see, Abdul?" said Sforza, still stuck on the matter of the gold. "There is nothing to be afraid of. We are a long way from the desert here."

"Perhaps," said the Arabyan, clearly unconvinced. "This gold you say you left behind... how easy would you say it would be to recover?"

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa

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"Rather hard, actually," Elsa admitted. "There were undead warriors crawling all over the place; far more than my group could handle, and I've no idea how many more we didn't see. Recovering the gold would be a full-blown military operation."

[Northern Lad]

Sieghard, Ludo & Viggo

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"More than I can count. I gave up trying."

"Well I have four hundred just here!" Viggo boasted as he finished counting his new wealth into neat stacks. "Incredible!" His grin reached from ear to ear as he looked at his friends. "We're rich! We're bloody really rich!" Viggo had never even dreamed of owning so much coin, his daydreams normally just ran to fine clothes, beautiful damsels and performing before a royal audience to great acclaim. And now I'm bloody rich!

Viggo counted ten coins into his purse before stashing the rest into the money pouch. He pulled out another pouch from his pack and handed it over to Sieghard. "Want this for your stash?" he asked as he walked over to their new hiding place. Wincing as he knelt, Viggo placed the pouch in the hole, pushing it down to make room for his friends deposits.

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

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"Four hundred?" Sieghard muttered as he took the pouch. Putting a number to it really made how much money they had carried out of the ruins sink in, and that was just Viggo's share. He couldn't help but wonder how much more then had left behind.

"Right then," he said, regaining his composure. "I've got a few things to see to, but I'll be back with mine later today. We might need to make more room, but this should work for now." As he spoke, he put the floorboards back in place. When he finished, he took a step back to see if it was noticeable or not.

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Sieghard is going to head to Krucke's place to see to Adelbert's rent and check in on Aisha. Ludo and Viggo are welcome to come with if they want, or they can see to their own business if there's anything else that needs doing.