[WFRP] The Bloody Crown IV

[LeSwordfish]

"He might well have the ear of his librarian. Or Al-Khansr. You met the cartographer, right? This is too good an opportunity to just pass up."

[RossN]

Adelbert Schreiber

Adelbert gave a reluctant nod. "There might be something to it. Very well let's speak with Hieronymous."

[LCP]

Dusk was gathering over the streets of the Old Town as they made their way back to Heironymus' house. Candlelight in the windows showed that the priest was in, and Ludo wasted no time in knocking.

"Ah, it's you," said Heironymus, opening the door and welcoming them inside. The interior of his house was warm and musty with the smell of dry parchment. "Did you come about that book? Herr Klammenberg returned it this afternoon."

On the fringes of the light the candles provided, one of the priest's owls sleepily opened one eye to look down at Adelbert from its perch.

[RossN]

Adelbert Schreiber

Adelbert looked away from the owl (with difficulty) and smiled politely at Heironymus. "Thank you that is most appreciated Herr Heironymus, though I will have to read it swiftly. We intend to depart by boat for the south tomorrow. However before we go we were hoping you could help us with a few questions?"

Adelbert glanced at Ludo, who had after all read Gilbertus' book while he (Adelbert) hadn't. However the Halfling looked like he was still composing his thoughts so Adelbert decided to go ahead anyway.

"We discovered a book that may have been written by Gilbertus, who is the last person we are fairly sure had the book we seek, though it is so old we have had to have it repaired to study it properly. However we do know he planned to write a second book after returning from Nath. Elsa has a book supposedly written by a hedge wizard who discovered this second book, or at least the notes but had them confiscated by a duke's soldiers. We were hoping, if with your knowledge of the castle library you ever came across such notes?"

Turning to Elsa Adelbert suggested, "show Herr Heironymus the passages you showed us."

[-Sentinel-]

"Show Herr Heironymus the passages you showed us."

"Certainly."

Elsa pulled the book from her backpack and read aloud the relevant parts.

[LCP]

Heironymus' eyes fairly lit up when Adelbert mentioned a book that might have been written by Gilbertus, the priest's familiar hunger for old knowledge written plainly across his face. When Elsa began reading from the journal, however, his expression changed. He hesitated for a moment or two, his features contorted in an awkward mask as he tried to decide what to say.

"Yes..." he said, "I think I might know... who wrote that," he said. "Perhaps. There was a man the old duke had brought in to the city, after he had caused some trouble in Arrow Heap and Ravenskird - people called him a warlock." He paused again. "That was before the duke's... illness really became so pronounced, and he asked the Temple to examine the fellow. He really was a wretched sort. Had some minor talent for witchcraft, had taught himself a few underwhelming parlour tricks, but he was convinced he was the next Great Enchanter. He claimed that if the duke spared him, he would grant him the secret of eternal youth."

"I advised the duke that the man had no power to deliver on his promises. He'd made no attempt to hide his dabblings, and so of course he was hanged." Heironymus sniffed. "I believe the duke's men confiscated his possessions - there was some beggar-woman he'd dragged along with him who spent some time demanding them back before the guards drove her off. If that's his journal, I imagine one of the soldiers took it - most likely traded it for wine."

"His other effects... might have found their way into the castle library, certainly. Unfortunately, the duke was a very possessive man, and his sickness only made him worse. I had not been allowed in for some years before he was deposed. Prince Belehir allowed me only a day to retrieve what I could before he sealed the library after he took the throne. I think he blamed the books for some of Duke Wulf's behaviour." He shook his head sadly and gestured at the overburdened shelves and stacks around him. "A tragic lack of understanding for a member of the elder races. This is all I could save."

[RossN]

Adelbert Schreiber

Adelbert had frankly expected something like this but it was a blow. Still, the priest had helped them and Adelbert felt a pang of sympathy for a fellow scholar. "It is not your fault sir, you still managed to save a great deal;" he gestured at the overflowing shelves and the books that threatened to cascade from them. "Our divine patron would be proud."

Seeking to brighten the mood he continued. "In any case we still have Gilbertus book, currently being repaired by that bookseller Al-Khansr. Do you know the lady? Obviously we will be taking the book with us but if she is any form of scribe she'll have kept her own notes and might be happy to share them with you."

[LCP]

"Are you sure I can't convince you to stay another day or so?" asked Heironymus. "I really would be very interested to see this book for myself."

[RossN]

Adelbert Schreiber

Adelbert hesitated. He was probably the most keen to see the back of Savonne. "We have spent a lot of time in Savonne already and my purse will not stretch much further Herr Heironymus. Besides I must look to my scribe's business in Last Water; it is not much but it is my only option for a livelihood."

[LeSwordfish]

"The only thing we really could stay in Savonne for is the library." Ludo said, trying to leave the implicit deal unspoken. "Can we talk about that, father? Would Belehir consent to opening it for any reason? Is it inside the castle itself? Nobody at all has access to it- does that mean the castle has no books whatsoever?"

How could one live in a place like that and not spare some money for some books?

[LCP]

An expression of dredged-up frustration crossed Heironymus' face. "I've tried to speak to the Prince about it on more than one occasion. The books are still there - the doors have just been boarded shut." He made an exasperated noise. "Madness, of course! Leave them to rot long enough and he might as well have thrown them into a bonfire."

The drowsy owl ruffled its feathers and gave a loud, low hoot, as if sharing its master's frustration.

"Every representation I have made to the court has been turned away. Prince Belehir does not think he needs to listen to the wisdom of humans."

[RossN]

Adelbert Schreiber

"Clearly the library is not an option then." Adelbert said quickly, shooting Ludo a nervous glance. He had no intention of being dragged into robbing a castle by the deranged halfling. Turning back to the priest he tried to look sympathetic. "Father, if I could stay..."

Hopefully the old man would take the hint that Adelbert wanted something.

[LCP]

"But you are leaving," said Heironymus, impatiently finishing Adelbert's sentence for him. "Yes, yes, I know."

Drumming his fingers against the side of his leg, he turned his head and stared into the corner. Frowning, he looked suddenly at Ludo. "You said you left the book with Al-Khansa? Ah - yes, you must mean his daughter."

Crossing to the door, he picked up his staff, and clicked his tongue at the owl. It fluttered down to perch on his arm.

"You'll excuse me, gentlemen, but I would rather not leave this to chance. I must call on the young lady and see this text for myself." He held the door open to let them out. "I assure you, it will still be there in the morning."

[RossN]

Adelbert Schreiber

Adelbert could hardly believe what he was hearing but with great difficulty managed to choke back a response and stepped out the door without comment. "Well then," he said bitterly, once they were out of earshot. "I don't see we have much option but to call it a day."

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

"I'm sure if he had any way of getting us into that library, he would," Sieghard said as they made their way back to the inn, "And if there's anyone you could trust not to damage that book, it's him. More likely he'll be up all night copying as much of it as he can before we leave." It wasn't hard for him to imagine Adelbert doing something similar if he had learned of some obscure scrap of knowledge with only a small window to look into it, but he decided not to remark on that.

[LeSwordfish]

"Might we borrow that book on the illuminated order?" Ludo asked. "I can return it to you in the morning."

[LCP]

Hurrying over to a shelf, Heironymus took out a small book with faded blue binding, and pressed it into Ludo's hands. "See that you do," he said, before ushering them out.

[RossN]

Adelbert Schreiber

Enroute back to the inn Adelbert asked Elsa if he could take a look at her book. "I'm no magician but I am curious. Perhaps I should consider a career change..."

[LCP]

Returning to the Duke, Viggo passed the evening plying his trade. A little too fixated on his attempts to flirt with the younger women in his audience, he failed to make much of an impression with his playing - but he did succeed in making a friends for the evening. In passing, he asked one of them about Ravenskird.

"You're going [i]there?{/i]" she responded, wrinkling her nose. "Oh, that's no place for a musician."

Ravenskird, Viggo gathered, was a bit of a backwater - although where wasn't, in these gods-forsaken lands? "I went there when I was younger," explained his companion. "It's just a bunch of morbid marsh-skimmers living off the river. And the flies. Always biting you, day and night."

Perhaps a little put off by the description, Viggo passed the rest of the evening in more pleasant conversation.

---

Marktag, 16th Pflugzeit

Rising early, Ludo waited for Adelbert by the door of the Harvester's Haven. He was still mulling over what he'd read in Heironymus' book.

Tales of the Illuminated Order

Spoiler

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The book was quite a slim one, copied from an original that had been written some time in the last century. The writer had done his best to compile all that was known of the Order after their disappearance.

The book began with the familiar story of Gilbertus and the founding of the order. A man named Nicodemus was named as the greatest of the hedge wizards who had banded together against Gilbertus, and the nucleus around which the Order had formed. The warring princes of the Reaches, Nicodemus had argued, could not be trusted to safeguard knowledge, whether good or evil. It was the wizards' duty to set themselves apart from society as its guardians.

Nicodemus and his followers had headed into the Karst and disappeared from the history books. They showed up instead in folktales - a devoted child who had brought her sick brother to the wizards for healing, a bandit prince who had gone vanished with all his men trying to navigate the Karst around their fastness. Here and there were more mundane stories of occasional forays into the outside world - usually a lone wizard setting out to obtain some particularly interesting or significant tome for their library. There was talk of a superlative scribe from the monastery of Azriller in Putbad who had supposedly packed his bags and headed into the Karst with a vagabond in grey robes.

It had apparently taken the arrival of the chaos-worshippers in the 21st century I.C. to stir the Order from their long seclusion. Concerned that the people of the Reaches were being whipped into a witch-hunting frenzy by the predations of the cult, they had gone on the offensive against their new rivals. The author wrote of mage duels in the alleys of Savonne, and arcane advisers appearing in the courts of the rulers of the time.

The record of this struggle culminated with the assault on Harmugstahl, which supposedly saw the greater part of the Order gathered in one place to assist the soldiers who came with them from th Downlands. The Chaos-worshippers were struck down, and the account seemed to end rather abruptly at that point.

Scrutinising the last few passages again, Ludo realised as he ran his finger along the binding that a narrow sheaf of pages at the very back of the book had been cleanly cut out...

Heading out to Al-Khansa's, they found Heironymus still there, slumped over a table with Ludo's book. The old priest woke with a start as Al-Khansa opened the door, looking up at the new arrivals with momentary incomprehension.

"Ah," he said, "good - good morning."

Picking up the book, he held it out gingerly to Ludo.

"A very interesting find. I am not... entirely convinced it is the work of Gilbertus himself - but it is, ah not impossible." He cleared his throat, and began tidying up the scrawled notes he had made. "Fascinating, nonetheless."

He took his own book back with distracted thanks.

~

Taking a brief diversion Rockshadow district to return Lena's hammer to her suspicious doorman Axel, Adelbert rejoined the others as they were collecting Viggo. With the dutiful Magnus in tow, they headed down to the docks.

Some quick enquiries and the evidence of their own eyes showed that there were two riverboats ready to depart before noon. The first, the Lady Brigitte, was a wallowing barge, its crew still busy loading it with barrels of wine and bolts of cloth. The second, the Green Dragon, was a smaller, sleeker vessel, similar to the kind Elsa had heard Marienburgers in Altdorf calling a reikaak - though they were certainly far from the Reik here. She seemed almost ready to sail.

[RossN]

Adelbert Schreiber

Distracted trying to sheperd Kaja, Adelbert tried to steer everyone towards the Green Dragon. "Are you heading south or north?" Adelbert asked the nearest boatman.

He had to admit, looking at the two riverboats, he might have underestimated the river traffic in this region. Obviously it was nothing like the great rivers of the Empire but plainly there was money here.

[LCP]

"South," said the captain, a lean man with a lined face and a broad-brimmed hat. "What's it to you?"

[RossN]

Adelbert Schreiber

"We're going that way too, as far as Ravenskird." Adelbert gestured at the others, before turning back to the captain. "What are you rates... or are you looking for guards?"

Well, one could always hope...

[LCP]

"No," said the captain. "I'm not."

He looked over the group. "Passage, is it? I'll take you for a schilling a head, if you keep quiet and out of the way." He looked across to Magnus. "But you won't take that animal on my boat for less than a crown."

[RossN]

Adelbert Schreiber

'Riverboat captain' nudged up a little higher in Adelbert's mental ladder of future careers as he heard the prices demanded by the Green Dragon captain but he glanced at Viggo, and also at Sieghard in case the group's proven haggler wished to step in.

[-Sentinel-]

Enroute back to the inn Adelbert asked Elsa if he could take a look at her book. "I'm no magician but I am curious. Perhaps I should consider a career change..."

"Do read the book, I've been through it already." A smile played on Elsa's lips. "And do try to cast spells, but a book alone won't teach you more than a bunch of impressive-sounding words."

---

Marktag, 16th Pflugzeit

Elsa was glad to be leaving Savonne, though very nervous to be getting on a boat; this was in fact the first time she took a boat since joining the Bright Order. No pyromancer liked to travel on water, or even be too close to water.

[Northern Lad]

Viggo Hirtzel

Viggo sighed dramatically. "Somebody could have told me we were going by bloody boat." He grumbled under his breath.

He spoke up, addressing the captain with a good natured smile. "A Crown for me and my horse and you've got a deal my good man! He's a well trained horse and you'll not have any bother from him." He spoiled his assessment of Magnus somewhat when forced to hurriedly extract the edge of his cloak from the horses lazily chewing mouth.

OOC

Spoiler

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Untrained Haggle Test:

FEL 21 - (1d100)[30]
Re-roll - (1d100)[72]

[LCP]

The boat captain gazed levelly at Magnus. Magnus gazed levelly back.

"My boat, my rules," he said at last. "If you don't like the price you can ride there, my friend."

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

"How about a crown and two shillings for the lot of us and if the boy or the horse cause trouble, you can throw them in the river." Sieghard suggested. "If you need an extra set of hands, we'll help however we can and if you don't, we'll keep quiet and stay out of your way."

Spoiler

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(1d100)[96] vs 29
(1d100)[25] reroll if needed

Sieghard's attempt. If it doesn't work, he'll just shrug and pay his shilling without comment.

[LeSwordfish]

Speaking To Hieronymous
"Did this have pages missing when you leant it to Herr Klammenberg?" Ludo asked, opening the book to the back and indicating the missing sheaf. "It was like this when I got it, and I think somebody's cut these out?"

[LCP]

Speaking to Heironymus

"What?" spluttered Heironymus, hurriedly seizing the book and staring at the damage. "Who would do such a - why, of all the - blasted - effrontery!"

He scarcely seemed able to express himself.

"I must find the fellow at once. Good morning to you!"

Completely forgetting to thank Al-Khansa for her involuntary hospitality, he stormed out in search of the presumed book-slasher, his avian pet following reluctantly into the light.

---

At the Docks

The captain cracked a lopsided smile. "Fine," he said, "but I'll hold you to that. Don't usually transport livestock, but it's a short enough trip."

"Find a seat up in the bows and keep out from under my crew's feet." He looked back to where his crew were making ready to make sail. "And make sure you keep the animal under control."