Travels amongst the Border Princes (WFRP 2e) IC

[rax]

Severin's eyes flick suspiciously from the leader to Elodie, to Gabriele, and back again. Really? Is the old codger blind, or something?

After a moment's hesitation, he releases the woman and sheathes his dagger. "Umm, yeah. We're new arrivals. The trip here's been hell. Had to drink me own piss for two days straight. Sorry..." he mumbles by way of apology.

[Haval]

Gabriele does her best to remain deadpan. To the man. 'Thank you, we're very glad to be here. I never thought I'd have the chance to see the mountain close up.' Not sure that she was actually getting away with this, Gabriele will follow the man out of the tent.

[dojango]

"Follow me." It is neither a question or a command, merely a statement of fact. The leader walks out of the tent towards the bonfire. A few paces in, he stops by a tall, bulky man. The man has a greasy mop of dark hair, and is armed with a bow & quiver full of arrows, with an axe hanging from his belt. He is talking quietly with three other similarly-armed men. "Baden, some newcomers have arrived. Please find them a space to camp with the other newcomers, and take care of them as well."

Baden looks at the group in surprise, and then casts an appraising eye over the travelers. "Righto," he says. The festival seems to be dying down. A few of the drunken villagers stagger into their tents, but most of them are finding an open spot to sleep under the stars. They spread out their bedrolls, talking amongst themselves, casting the occasional wary eye at the newcomers. Many of the younger villagers are still up and about, taking short walks to the outskirts of the camp for some private time. Bowls of stew are brought over to you, as Baden weaves his way through the crowd. A spot is found for you near the riders that you had seen earlier. Well, there are four of them. An older man, with thin, graying hair, a young woman in simple peasant's garb, a rangy man with a longbow whittling on stick, and a dwarven woman with flamboyant clothes and elaborately done braids piled on her hair. Baden says, "Here's a good spot for ye to camp. Reckon we'll all be sleepin' in tomorrow, but there'll be chores enough for all when ye wakes." He pauses for a few moments to see if there are any questions. Once done, he will head off into the crowd.

The other newcomers size you up as well. The old man says, "Howdy folks. Name's Stanislaus Vorgrimler. These yokels probably ain't seen a halfling before, but I knows one when I see one. What brings you out here?"

[Ionbound]

As Alyssa watches Gabriele and Severin get led off by the cult leader, she swears silently to herself, Damn! Well...Time for a plan B. Never leave home without one. She attempts to quietly slip into tent shortly after Gabriele and Severin get led away and the cult leader is looking in a different direction and identify Elodie from among the sleepers.

Spoiler: OOC

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Stealth Check: (1d100)[12] vs 35

Perception: (1d100)[74] vs 29

[rax]

"We came to see what the fuss here is all about," Severin replies, still annoyed at how things in the tent played out. So close! he fumes.

"Name's Severin and this is Gabriele. What's your business here?"

[dojango]

Inside the tent:
Alyssa slinks back into the tent while the others are distracted and finds a shadowed spot to hide, behind some hanging clothes. She sees the old women fussing over the one Severin had threatened. "Are you alright, dearie? What happened? That looked like some lost kid."

"I don't know, some jumped up thug. Where did he come from?"

Meanwhile, a younger woman asks, "Where did my knight go? I want to see him again. He came for me, not you!"

One of the women fetches a draught of something from a pot in the corner and mixes into a mug. She hands it to the young woman, and says, "don't worry your pretty head about it. Drink this, and you'll see him at the ceremony tomorrow." The young woman drinks the mug and slumps down, mumbling something. Alyssa watches as she drifts off to sleep.

The cult leader returns and says, "Baden's watching them. We'll deal with them after the ceremony tomorrow. Them and the other outlanders." He unrolls a bedroll and lies down. The woman Severin threatened lies down next to him, and they fall asleep in each other's arms. The other women also settle down and drift off to sleep.


Out in the camp:
The old man chuckles. "Official business of the Imperator, as it happens. An emissary of sorts to these hardy survivors of the wastes. I had heard about this festival and thought it might be a fine time to visit these peoples, and gauge their... well, learn about them. And these are my bodyguards, some wandering adventures I asked to escort me here."

Spoiler: OOC

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From prior conversations, you know that the Imperator is the ruler of the lands south of here. Sir Leclair had referred to him as an upjumped-mercenary with delusions of grandeur, while the barber-surgeon Albrecht had said that he had served Duke Bremcote at one point in the past.

[Haval]

Gabriele will glance occasionally at Baden and his friends to see how closely they were watching them. If they were here as guards they hadn't seen the need to take their weapons away. She will not eat the stew.

'If you're not from around here then I'm glad to meet you. Did they tell you anything about what they're going to do tomorrow?'

[dojango]

The man shrugs. "Some kind of rural fertility festival, I'm sure. Perhaps some solemn remembrance of the dead. Tis' Geheimnistag, and also the anniversary of..." he points to the mountain. "The day the rains of ash began. I remember it well. Few people living do."

[rax]

"Rains of ash? What were they?" Severin asks, his curiosity momentarily getting the better of him,

[Ionbound]

Alyssa remains silent in the clothes. As she watches the interaction, she decides that the younger woman must be Elodie, and formulates an extension of her plan. Waiting in her hiding spot for a little while longer until she thinks that the older women have fallen back asleep, she pads out into the tent with the pace of a practiced thief, and puts her arm around Elodie's mouth and face before shaking her awake. Once Elodie wakes up, she whispers in her ear, "Remain silent. They plan on sacrificing you to the volcano. I am here to stop that."

Spoiler: OOC

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Silent Move: (1d100)[27] vs 35

Charm: (1d100)[88] vs 41

[Haval]

Gabriele looks towards the mountain with suspicion. 'That doesn't sound good. And yet these people still want to live here.' She'll edge closer to try and avoid being overheard, 'Before you arrived we got close enough to listen to their leader giving a big speech. It sounded like they want to make a sacrifice to the mountain tomorrow night. I don't quite know how seriously I take that but I don't think we want to be around for it.'

[dojango]

"I knew you weren't from around here... about 40 years ago, when I was a young man, the mountain here belched fire and smoke into the sky for days. Ash rained all across these lands for weeks. The northern valley here became these blasted twisted lands, thousands perished in the catastrophe, fleeing the mountain. Then the crops failed. Starvation and disease stalked the lands for several years... the Heraclean Empire crumbled under the strain. Grim times. Many perished or fled. I was one of those who managed to flee... swam out to a merchant ship bound for Tilea. Stayed there for a decade or so before returning to see if these lands survived. They had, of course! The indomitable human spirit thrives under adversity! I met a young mercenary in those days, who has risen to the lofty heights of Imperator. He wants to rebuild the Empire we lost, the spark of brilliance and learning in these blasted lands. I help him as best I can with these things... I do go on, though."

In response to Gabriele, he says, "Hmm, sacrifice to the mountain. They must be worshiping it now, as well they should. Amazing how they survived here in the wastelands! What sort of sacrifice are they making? Cow, chicken, maybe a virgin? Haha."


Alyssa gently wakes Elodie again. She wakes up groggily, looks at Alyssa and mumbles. "Ah, the lady of dreams. You're here to take me to the knight?" Elodie lets Alyssa help her up carefully. "He's coming for me, you know."

[rax]

"The Heraclean Empire? I take it that's the one established by your man Heraklon after he overthrew the Red Temple?" Severin asks, doing his best to keep suspicion from creeping into his voice.

[Haval]

Gabriele doesn't laugh, 'I can't speak for the other thing, but they took a girl from a village back west. That's why we're here. Thought bandits took her until we ran into all this.'

'The mountain isn't actually a god is it?' To Severin, 'I feel like we should have brought the Elf.'

[dojango]

Stanislaus raises his eyebrow at that. "I didn't realize the legend of Heraklon had spread to the Moot. It is a fascinating legend, and some of it may even be true. Ah yes, the Red Temple. It was one of the strongholds of the renegade sorcerers that once ruled these lands. Long lost to the depths of history, of course, but Heraklon overthrew each of the old masters in their seats of power and forged a kingdom in the doing. Perhaps some day he might be remembered as a Sigmar or a Giles, no? That is how legends form. At any rate, the empire... that is to say, the Heraclean Empire, has been ruled by his descendants ever since. Its fortunes have waxed and waned, well, mostly waned, until its current nadir. My friend, Imperator de Calvenzano assumed power a few years ago. He is a descendant of one of the less prosperous branches of the family, naturally."

To Gabriele, he says, "Bandits and slavers are depressingly common these days, I fear. And worse. The Imperator asked me to visit these lands with an escort, to see how they fare in these dark times. You say you have an elf with you? Fascinating, I should converse with one again. There are few living in these lands, although they mainly stay close to the shore and their beloved ships. As far as the mountain? It's a mountain. One of the rare ones that breathes fire and ash every few centuries. As far as the nature of a god... if I knew the answer to that, I'd be the most successful philosopher in the world. It is a weighty question, one that really has no answer. It.."

One of his companions hawks and spits loudly. "Morr's got white hair and a boil on his arse. Verena's got great knockers. Rhya's got better. You think too much, boss."

[rax]

"Heraklon's legend spread to the Moot? 'fraid not, Master Stanislaus. A week past I'd never heard of him, but ever since we came down the valley to Bremcote's lands I ain't heard nothing but Heraklon this, Heraklon that."

"But since you're here on behalf of your Imperator, here's a question for you. Suppose these folk actually intend to throw a kidnapped girl into the mountain in the morning. What would your Imperator think of that...and how about you and your escort?"

[Haval]

Gabriele will look disaprovingly at the bodyguard for a moment even though she'd heard the same.

After Severin, 'I think that depends who else they might do that to once they run out of locals. This Imperator presumably has subjects.'

[Ionbound]

Alyssa nods and whispers back, "Sure...Let's go with that. Now stay very quiet and follow me." With that, she does her best to lead Elodie quietly back to the mouth of the tent and away from the camp without anyone noticing them.

Spoiler: OOC

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Silent Move: (1d100)[44] vs 35

[dojango]

Alyssa manages to get the young woman up. She is wearing a thin dress, not entirely suitable for the chill night air. Still, she gets her going and they duck out the tent and start heading towards the darkness where the reinforcements are hiding. Suddenly Elodie says in a normal voice, "The Beautiful woman without mercy. Is that what I am destined to be?" A man idly leaning in the shadow of one of the tents suddenly starts and looks at Alyssa and Elodie questioningly.


"Yes, if it were an Imperial citizen kidnapped by foreigners, no doubt he would send an expedition to punish the culprits, to discourage that behavior. You've headed here from Bremcote's lands?" the old man says. He pauses, choosing his words. "Well, the Imperator sees himself as the rightful heir of Heraklon. No doubt he'd charge in, sword swinging, to rescue a damsel in distress. Human sacrifice... it is especially troublesome here, with the legacy of the old masters so close at hand. Not like you folks back in the Empire, where people are sacrificed in the name of Sigmar on a regular basis."

The bodyguard that had spoken in jest earlier turns serious. "There's mebbe a hundred villagers here. They ain't all fighters, but they have bows and they don't need ta be Landuin reborn to strike you dead."

[rax]

"Glad to hear it. Your Imperator sounds like a decent enough fellow, but you've got your facts wrong when it comes to Sigmar. His lot are a dour bunch, and obsessed with their wars against Chaos an' Greenskins, but I ain't never seen nor heard of a Sigmarite sacrificing anyone. Burn some witches? Sure. But no sacrifices of innocents like this lot seem ready to do," Severin objects.

[Haval]

'At least they can claim to have a reason for doing that.' Back home the Sigmarites had essentially saved Gabriele's life and she was uncomfortable criticizing them. 'Or are we really supposed to believe that killing people for some mountain helps the locals bring in the harvest?'

'All that aside, how certain are we that if their first go doesn't work that they won't throw all of us in for good measure?'

To the bodyguard, 'I don't know who Landuin is but we watched this lot shoot earlier and I'm not impressed.'

[Ionbound]

Alyssa bites her tongue when she hears Elodie speak to avoid swearing, and looks around quickly to see if anyone noticed. When she sees the guard, she smiles nervously and says, "Ah, good evening there sir. My, ah, sister here had a little...Okay, well, a lot too much to drink. I'm just helping her back to our tent so someone doesn't try to take advantage of her. She's...Rather unused to the ways of the world."

Spoiler: OOC

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Charm: (1d100)[34] vs 41

[dojango]

Stanislaus responds, "I suppose it is a matter of perspective. Those on the pyre may not see things quite the same way, although no doubt everyone so condemned is deserving of such a fate. We are here to serve as envoys to these people. If they are performing sacrifices, I will report that back to the Imperator to decide what to do. This sort of accusation is not something we would take lightly... but all we have so far is your word, weighty as it may be."

"Ain't heard of Landuin?" goggles the man. "He's only the finest warrior that ever was! And they say he was born in the castle near my old village. Aye, he'd knock Heraklon into next week if they ever fought. But they don't need to be good fighters if there's a hundred of them. Just one arrow'll do you, I reckon."


The man, whoever he is, shrugs at Alyssa's explanation. "Ain't no harm in cutting loose, I reckon. This is when we can have fun. After all, if the mountain don't like his bride, we might all be dead tomorrow." But he settles back down to his bedroll and looks to be going back to sleep. As Alyssa and Elodie slip into the darkness where the reinforcements wait, Elodie giggles a little bit. "Never slept with a mountain before..."

[rax]

"I'd say the difference lies in people being put to the pyre because they're criminals and public menaces...as opposed to being dumped into a volcano because the locals think it'll make the gods happy. But for sure, there's probably been plenty of innocents that ended up on a witch hunter's pyre in the past and they will again. After all, justice is blind, right?" Severin chuckles grimly. "But anyway - now we know who you are, Master Vorgrimler, but what about your escorts? Who might you fine folk be?"

[Ionbound]

Alyssa frowns and shakes her head, whispering, "And you won't ever have to, either," as the two slip away from the camp. As they reach the reinforcement, Alyssa gestures to Elodie and says to them, "One presumed dead maiden. They drugged her out of her mind, so someone probably ought to keep an eye on her, just in case."

[Haval]

'I suppose we'll find out for certain tomorrow then.' Gabriele mutters. Landuin or not, the bodyguard wasn't wrong either. To Severin, 'How do you think they'll take it if we go for a walk?'

[dojango]

"Name's Jedidiah the Scout." says the rangy, irreverent man. "Cassio went out dancing with some of the locals, no doubt he's having a good time. This young woman," he indicates a quiet woman wrapped up in a cloak, "Is Elena. The young dwarf over there is Viveka, while our strong dwarven warrior Yakim is guarding the horses. We're adventurers, searching the wastes for excitement and profit. This old man..." he jerks his thumb over at Stanislaus, "Is someone in the Imperator's court. He's hired us to guard him, and that's what we'll do. After that, who knows? It's nice to be your own master, that's for damn sure."

To Gabriele, he says, "One of them's been watching us. Or you, not sure which. Probably a few others as well. Dunno where'd you want to go, but I haven't seen them try to stop anyone from wandering around."


Alyssa reaches Torendril and the others. The archer appears from behind a rock, arrow nocked. "So, ya found her, eh? Where's the others? Can we get outta here now? This place gives me the creeps," she says. The other villagers take Elodie aside and try to get her to drink some water. There is some murmuring followed by hurried shushing as they realize they're not totally escaped yet.

[Ionbound]

Alyssa nods and replies, "The others got...Distracted. Wait here for just a bit, I'm going to go back in and try to find them and help them get out." With that, she turns and heads back into the camp, looking for Severin and Gabrielle from the shadows.

Spoiler: OOC

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Stealth: (1d100)[44] vs 35

[rax]

"Glad to meet you all," Severin replies with a nod to each of the adventurers as Jedidiah introduces them. "Gabriele and myself are similarly...free agents. We came down here from the Empire with a caravan a couple of weeks ago. I take it you're all from these parts though?"

"If we're being watched, they might at least want to see where we go," he answers Gabriele. "Especially since we said we came for the festivities. Though that does give me an idea... Jedidiah mentioned that - Cassio, was it? - went off dancing and we've seen plenty of young 'uns leave the camp for some privacy. So how about it? You have an itch to scratch? Maybe bad enough that Louis and Jan here need to help with that?" he winks at her. "Meanwhile, I could take a stroll through the camp, find myself some beer, and make small talk long enough for the watchers to get bored - then I just kind of wander off. I'm a Halfling - you tall folk tend to lose track of us if we're not doing anything to draw attention to ourselves."

OOC: Louis and Jan are the villager and the soldier who went with us into the camp. Since Louis was with us in the tent, I'm assuming both of them ended up with us when our first extraction attempt failed.

[Haval]

'An itch?' Gabriele replies initially not understanding. 'Oh, an itch. Well it's been a while.' It would at least show them where they stood. She grins at Severin, 'I'm willing if either of these gentleman would like to help me out. Assuming they wouldn't rather stay here of course.'

Spoiler: ooc

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If this doesn't work I ask if they have a place to take a piss.