[WFRP] The Bloody Crown IX

[LCP]

The Iron Company men followed Elsa’s instructions with speed, the twelve accompanying her ditching their bright steel armour in the castle yard. Domenico and the remaining seven men headed out of the gate with Ludo and Adelbert, still armoured and with swords and daggers at their belts. In such low numbers, their long pikes were more likely to hinder than help.

OOC:

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With someone else’s help, Astoria could put on her breastplate – but it might run counter to Elsa’s idea of avoiding metal armour for stealth. Let me know what you decide.

~

Ludo was the first to reach the bridge, leaving Adelbert and the Tileans running to catch up. A few of the townspeople who were still out of doors looked on in surprise as the soldiers came rushing past – then began to look at the oncoming torches with newfound suspicion.

As the lights drew closer, Domenico and his men formed a line at the foot of the bridge, Adelbert skulking behind with his hood raised to conceal his face. There didn’t seem to be so many men in the approaching party as it had first appeared – they had more torches than Ludo would have thought necessary to light the way, almost every man carrying a burning brand. Those that didn’t were carrying something else – a crude ram, fashioned from a felled Thornwood sapling.

They came to a halt at the other side of the bridge, staring down Domenico and his men. Ludo saw no faces among them that looked like hostages; only the grimy faces and matted black hair of Raven Hills men. He spied a single familiar face among them: the older of the two blond-haired Norscans that Astoria had fought in the mill yard.

“This is a raid!” Asgeir shouted, in thickly-accented Reikspiel. Two Raven Hills men stepped up beside him, handing off their torches and nocking arrows to short but deadly-looking bows. “Your friends are far away, southerners. Let us cross, and maybe you don’t get hurt.”

~

Moving as quickly as they could over the south bridge and north around the bulge of the diverted stream, Elsa, Astoria and their team of twelve hurried through the darkness. There was little in the way of cover out in the open fields beyond the town; they had to count on the dark of the night to cover their approach.

As if on cue, Mannslieb poked a gleaming corner out from behind the clouds. About halfway to the north bridge, they were thankfully still hidden by the bulk of the fort – but in the silvery light, Elsa thought she saw something down by the water’s edge. Holding up a hand for the others to slow down, she crept a few paces closer.

There were fresh footprints in the mud at the edge of Evatt’s moat. Four or five sets, further than the party that seen approaching from the woods could possibly have got by now – and heading directly into the water.

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa squinted at the footprints and muttered a curse. She has grossly misjudged the situation. The men with torches were but a diversion; that was why they were making their presence known. Who these footprints belonged to, she did not know, but she was sure the secret attackers were headed straight for the book.

And without us, Ludo and the others are hopelessly outnumbered. They'll try stalling... but the Norscans didn't come here to talk, so it won't work.

"We're going back inside the castle at once," she said quickly, pointing at the tracks. "You there," she told a man taller and thinner than most, who she assumed was a good runner, "I want you to run to Ludo's party and tell them to come back. Better yet if you can swim..."

She then addressed her raven. Morrslieb. Please caw loudly and urgently and stay out of sight. She had no agreed-upon signal with Ludo for this sort of thing, but hopefully the halfling would understand something was wrong.


OOC

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Elsa and six of her men will be heading straight to the hallway leading to the room where the Book of Nagash is kept. We don't know if the enemy will be coming from above or below, or using some magical means... so if we are to intercept them, the closer we are to the book, the better. (Assuming the enemy knows where the book is kept. I suspect that they do, somehow.)

The rest of Elsa's men will be standing on the outer parapet, manning the front gate, etc.

I'm not sure what we can do to protect the people of Manann's Keep. Does the temple have bells? This way we could at least wake people up so that they can hide their money and daughters.

[Erulasto]

Spoiler: OOC

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Much as part of me thinks it’s a mistake, I’m going to go with the stealthier approach to not hinder our chances. No armour today. Myrmidia watch over us!!

With the Jarl’s sword strapped to her hip acting as a reassuringly weighted presence, Astoria moved with the others as swiftly as she could manage. The decision for them to abandon their armour was somewhat troubling, but if they had just a fraction of the Eagle’s gaze upon them then hopefully it would not be as needed.

Sticking as close to Elsa as she was able, Astoria paused when they approached the water’s edge.

”Of course.” Astoria said to Elsa’s orders of pulling back to the keep. ”Unless you have a pressing desire for me to be elsewhere, I would remain by your side My Lady. I have a feeling you – and the Book – will be in the thick of things.”

[LeSwordfish]

"And where are your friends, wolfman?" Ludo asked, with far more bravado than he felt. "Seems to me that the last time you tried to fight the Iron Company, most of them died. You were there, weren't you? Until Rorik went down and you ran like a child."

He scanned the group, looking for Sanne, Arne, or Klammenberg. The crow's call drew his attention - something was up, Elsa wouldn't have instructed Morrslieb to call unless something was wrong. Which meant... he didn't actually know what it meant. "What's your plan here? Kill some women and children and go home? Murder some old men and steal some grain? Is that what you came here from Norsca for? Is that why your hillmen are following you?" He looked to the others behind Asgeir. "It's a better life in the captain's army. Join the winning side, and you get to eat the good food without having to kill someone's old granny to do it. We had a feast the night Savonne fell. I had as much lamb as I could eat. What were you eating that night?"

[RossN]

Adelbert

Adelbert waited restlessly in the shadows. He felt profoundly helpless, unable to speak and act so as not to give the game away. Ludo's taunts didn't help his mood much - Adelbert had neither eaten nor slept well when Savonne fell.

How were things going for Elsa?

[LCP]

Asgeir snorted. "Sure," he said. "Join the Captain's army and take your orders from a midget." He turned to his two archers. "Shoot them."

The men raised their bows, but hesitated. One of them said something to Asgeir in his heavy Raven Hills dialect - the Norscan turned to him with an expression of absolute incredulity. He cursed in his native tongue, and looked around at the faces of the other hill-men behind him. They looked uncertain.

"Ulric's frozen balls, you are believing this?" he said. "You follow us all this way, and when we are this close you want to give up?" Ludo was still searching the doubtful faces of the men behind Asgeir, looking for any sign of the other Norscans. If they were here, he couldn't see them. "Any man turns craven now, he can forget any share of the prize. Forget any chance of growing old, while you're at it. You remember what Hakon did to that fat guilder at the falls?" He pointed up to the walls of the keep. "There's space for a few more examples up there, that's for sure."

His heart didn't really seem behind the threat. More questioning murmurs rose from the hill-men, the archers still not shooting. Their eyes were on Asgeir now, now the men across the bridge - Domenico shot a sidelong glance at Ludo and quietly slid his sword a half-inch out of its scabbard.

~

Hurrying back towards the south bridge, Elsa ran ahead of the slower soldiers while the man she had designated their messenger split off to the north. With Astoria and the others panting behind her, she rushed up the steep earth mound to the wooden gates of the fort. They were shut.

Pushing with all her weight, she tried to throw one gate open. It rattled against something and held firm - it seemed like it had been barred from the inside.

[LeSwordfish]

He hadn't actually been expecting it to work so well, but Ludo was bouyed by the success. He took a moment to exercise his clumsy tilean to Domenico in a low voice. <"Not yet. But if we do, the leader first.">

Out loud, to his audience: "I bet they promised you glory once, didn't they? What's he offering now, "Do this or i kill you?" Rorik's dead. His men from the north are wolves without a leader. All they do is kill because that's all they can do, but you've got wives and children to go home to. Sforza's going to ride into the raven hills sooner or later - you want him to bring food or swords? And do you want to go back home with him, or have your families find out you died in a skirmish in some forest somewhere because you followed an animal that didn't know when it was beaten?"

[Erulasto]

"Damn it!" Astoria cursed with some vehemence at the solidly blocked door. "Is there another way inside?"

Astoria stepped back and let her coppery eyes sweep across the Keep with a scowl.

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa wanted to scream. How could she have been so stupid as to leave nobody in the castle? It was not even that subtle of a trick. She was tempted to burn the whole place down right there and then.

Calm down. They still have to actually find the book and get out. And if they do, Morrslieb can tell you where they emerge.

"Is there something we can use at the south barracks?" she asked, her voice tightly controlled. "Like a battering ram?"


OOC

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I have some unanswered questions in the OOC thread.

[LCP]

"You're not stupid enough to be falling for this, are you?" snarled Asgeir to his men. "You think these soft lowlanders are going to thank you for throwing down your weapons and letting them walk over you?" He pointed across the water to Ludo. "You think that's how their captain got where he is?"

Throwing down his burning torch, he drew his sword. In the flickering light, Ludo could see the bandaged stumps of the Norscan's missing fingers. "We're done talking here," he said, advancing towards the bridge. "Come on!"

Domenico and his men drew their swords, setting their feet to receive a charge as Asgeir accelerated forwards. One of the archers raised his weapon again, drawing the bowstring taut...

There was a twang, and a thump, and Asgeir stumbled in his charge. Looking round, he opened his mouth as if to remonstrate with the hill-men once again - but all that came out was a ragged cough. Slowly, he fell forwards onto his face, revealing the arrow buried in his back.

The archer drew his hand over his face in the sign of Morr. Some of the other hill-men followed suit, while others only grumbled and spat. Stowing his bow, the bowman looked across to Ludo.

"We go home," he said, as some of the men around him began extinguishing their torches. He waved a hand towards their faces as they threw their crude ram aside into the dry grass. "We were never here."

~

"Is there something we can use at the south barracks?" she asked, her voice tightly controlled. "Like a battering ram?"

Some of the Iron Company men repeated their question to one another in Tilean, as if not sure they had understood. Looking back to Elsa, the closest of them shook his head. "No, no ram," he said. "Why would we have ram?"

"Rope," one of them suggested, pointing up to the top of the wooden palisade. "We climb?"

[LeSwordfish]

Ludo took his hat off slowly.

"You've made a good choice," he said carefully. "Domenico, please fetch some good beer or meat for these men as a token of the captain's thanks, on me. I'm going to, uh, I'm going to the castle."

Gesturing for Adelbert to follow, he took off back towards the castle gates.

[RossN]

Adelbert

Once they were away from the gates Adelbert turned to Ludo, an eyebrow raised and joked: "Just between us your father wouldn't happen to be Ranald would he?"

The priest shook his head in stunned admiration. "I'm very glad you managed that - just amazed!"

[LeSwordfish]

"Well, at this stage we all just want to go home, don't we?" Ludo said. "Something's wrong, though, half the Norscans weren't there and did you hear the raven crowing? We need to get to the castle and find Elsa."

[RossN]

Adelbert

Adelbert's expression turned solemn and he matched Ludo's stride. "True. Still, my friend I think what you achieved here marks an excellent omen."

[-Sentinel-]

"Rope," one of them suggested, pointing up to the top of the wooden palisade. "We climb?"

Elsa grimaced. She was no climber but it did not seem like they had a choice.

"I do have rope. No grapnel, though."

The invaders were few in numbers and in a hurry, so Elsa doubted they could muster much of a defense. She nevertheless asked Morrslieb to keep an eye on the parapet to make sure no surprise waited for them up there.


OOC

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Not sure what we can do without a grapnel, save perhaps tie a stick or plank to the rope and try to get it stuck in the crenelations. Or perhaps we should wait for Ludo... Our messenger should catch up with the rest of the group quickly.

Another reminder that thanks to her Magic Alarm, Elsa will know if/when the enemy finds the book. I kind of wish we'd bothered to build some kind of strongbox; it's definitely something we'll have to look into. We never said specifically that the room was locked, but I think it's reasonable to assume that Elsa would have picked the third most secure room in the keep (after the treasury room and Sforza's bedroom).

[Erulasto]

"I do not think climbing will be of much use to me." Astoria said, somewhat despondantly, as she glanced to her arm. Perhaps they could haul her up, somehow. It was somewhat embarassing, but not much could be done about it at the moment.

"I may require some...assistance."

[LCP]

The hill-men at the bridge were already retreating into the dark, clearly not intending to stick around for the promise Ludo's hospitality. Watching them until they had vanished into the night, Domenico and the others turned to follow Ludo and Adelbert back to the castle, leaving two men behind to watch the bridge.

At the gates, they found Elsa and the others, looking very much locked out. The Iron Company men were talking among themselves in hushed but rapid Tilean; if the rope wouldn't do, they didn't seem to have any other solutions.

[LeSwordfish]

"The ram," Ludo said. Blaming people for getting locked out wouldn't help anyone. "The hillmen brought a ram and left it at the bridge." He turned to some of the Iron Company. "Get it! We can break the door down."

[RossN]

Adelbert

"Is there anyone inside they might have as a hostage?" Adelbert asked, arriving with Ludo.

[LCP]

It took a moment for Domenico and the other late arrivals from the bridge to cotton on to what was happening - by the time they had, the men who had gone with Elsa were already running past them towards the bridge, shouting "Il ariete!" as they went.

Soon enough, they returned, carrying the crudely-hewn sapling trunk between them. The gates of the fort were sturdy, and even with eight men wielding the ram they held firm against the first strike. Blow after blow crunched home against the seasoned timbers. Down at the foot of the mound, the townspeople were coming out of their homes to gawk at the source of the sound.

After what felt like far too many hits, the gates finally broke inwards, the bar that had held them splintered in two. Dropping the ram and drawing their swords, the Iron Company men rushed through - but no-one was waiting on the other side. The Norscans were not mounting a defence - most likely they were already inside the keep.

[LeSwordfish]

"Stay inside!" Ludo shouted at the townspeople as they came out of their houses. "The town's under attack. Get inside and bar your doors."

He turned to Elsa. "Any idea where they are? Or should we go straight to the cellar?"

OOC

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Command test for the townsfolk vs 59: (1d100)[42]

[-Sentinel-]

"To the cellar, yes," said Elsa grimly. "We saw the tracks in the mud, there weren't that many of them... but let's not get split up."

The Norscans would likely fight with desperation, and in such close confines, numbers would not matter as much as individual skill and ferocity.

[Erulasto]

The splintering of the door was like music to her ears, as Astoria drew her blade and adjusted her grip to compensate for the changes in style made to account for her wounded arm.

"Everything else is secondary. I would agree that we head straight for the cellar and the book. If we cannot catch them in the act, we will have a much larger problem at hand."

[LeSwordfish]

"Alright, you" - Ludo indicated four of the Iron Company at random - "stay here, don't let anyone in or out. No matter who they are."

[RossN]

Adelbert

"Almost like a return to old times, right?" Adelbert said to Elsa and Ludo as he turned from peering through the shattered gates. The priest pulls back his cloak, revealing the chainmail shirt beneath. "I can call upon the Lady of Wisdom for a blessing or two, though such aid will not last long. Still if you are willing?"

[LeSwordfish]

"If it's fast."

[RossN]

Adelbert

Adelbert nodded and made the three signs of the Owl, the Scales and the Sword with his thumb and forefinger an inch from Ludo's forehead while whispering a benediction in Classical to the Lady of the Mysteries.

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Blessing of Fortitude
Casting Number: 5

Channeling: (1d100)[57] vs. 53
Cast Roll: (1d10)[7]

[Erulasto]

”If it pleases you, Brother Adelbert, I would take some of the Lady’s blessings as well. Myrmidia is not a jealous Goddess, and I cannot help but think she would view such a blessing as a….tactical advantage.” Astoria said with a small smile.

[RossN]

Adelbert

Adelbert looked surprised and cheered to be treated with such respect and smiled at the Estalian.

"I'd be happy to bless you Astoria, though perhaps we should wait until we are in - they may not yet be in the cellar after all."

[LCP]

As soon as they entered the keep, the signs of the intruders’ presence became obvious. Doors had been thrown open, rooms roughly ransacked. They clearly knew what they were looking for, but not where to find it.

Elsa had no such handicap. Leading her reunited party straight for the stairs that led down to the cellar, she took them two at a time, once again threatening to leave the others in her dust. Something was screaming in her head, its dying voice already fading to a whisper – her ward had finally been broken. Her tutors at the Bright College would have been impressed it had lasted this long.

The lock on the cellar door hadn’t slowed the intruders down – they had simply hacked it open. The fair-haired youth – Arne? – stood guard at the threshold, and stepped back with widening eyes as he saw Elsa and the others coming. His hand flying to the hilt of his sword, he practically threw himself back inside, shouting the alarm.

Racing after him, Elsa skidded to a halt in the open doorway, Domenico and the others piling up behind her. Inside, the burly figures of Hakon and the Jarl’s one-eyed axeman stood over Beatrix’s lead chest, its lock as broken as the door. The dark-haired norsewoman stood behind them, an arrow already nocked to her bow.

“You’re too late, witch!” snarled Hakon, stooping down as the big man beside him turned and hefted his axe. Picking up the book in one hand, he held it up to the thin light from the doorway. “Let us pass, or we destroy it.”

Elsa & Adelbert Only

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As soon as the book was out of its box, the building sense of unease in the air became concrete. The shadows seemed to deepen, the darkness rustling with the reed-dry whispers of a long-dead language...

The red-haired Norscan didn’t look well. His face was pale, his eyes rimmed with red. Ludo caught a sour stink on the air – he was pretty sure it was coming from Hakon’s bandaged hand. Come to think of it, he was pretty sure fingers shouldn’t be that shade of purplish black either.