Spirits are low on the Berebeli as Josef struggles with the pains from his wound and the loss of his crew. Meg and Ernst have a foreboding exchange. The party learns of a dark side to the travelling student. In Bögenhafen they part company with Josef and follow Ernst to a mysterious rendez-vous, before losing him in the Schaffenfest crowds. With Kastor’s inheritance foremost, the party seek rest at an Ulrican tavern.
The morning after
- Josef is up early and sets about making repairs to the boat. He seems to be struggling with his wound.
- Fritz aims to keep his head down, while helping Josef make repairs to the boat
- Artur does what he can to keep morale up, especially with Josef bitterly low in the wake of Wolmar and Gilda’s slaughter.
- Repairs take a good chunk of the day but eventually the company set off and wend their way down the Bögen through the fog.
Tales on the river
- A few hours later the Berebeli pulls up alongside a quiet tavern, the Hardy Scales, near a hamlet called Stust.
- Meg and Ernst get a room, and the rest of the party stop by for an evening meal.
- They meet a couple of other boatmen, Conrad travelling to and Dietmar travelling from Bögenhafen.
- The inn is relatively quiet as Stust was recently overrun by mutants and beastmen from the forest. All that remains of the rest of the settlement are piles of skulls and broken bones.
- Along this stretch, under the shadow of the Castle Gravenburg, three barges have been sunk by mutants in the past month.
- With the increased mutant activity, Dietmar has chosen to forego the possible fortunes of the Schaffenfest and to ply his trade on the Reik.
- The last straw for him was an Averland drover who was arrested for trying to sell a mare with nine eyes blistered in her mouth. Apparently she is now hanging from the East Gate.
Quiet night, bright start
- The party retires back to the boat and enjoy an uneventful night, though Artur is still exhausted by the watch shifts.
- The next morning, Josef is eager to get going and to make up for lost time.
- Falken heads to the tavern to round up the other passengers, who have not returned by the appointed departure time.
- On his way he sees Meg and Ernst sitting at the same table for a change, appearing to be locked in an intense conversation.
- As he approaches the open bay window next to them, Falken overhears their exchange.
Breakfast tiff, anybody?
- Ernst: ‘Your time runs short.’
- Meg: ‘You don’t honestly think it had slipped my mind.’
- Ernst:‘Seven years. We’ve come a long way together, you and I.’
- Meg: ‘Spare me your rosy memories! I don’t care to think how often you’ve recited them. “You were a forgotten second son when we met. Now you have wealth, power: everything I promised you.” I’m sick of hearing it, so save your breath.’
- Ernst (chuckling): ‘Forsooth, sweet cuz. Methinks the nearness of payment puts you out of humour! Besides, it’s not as though you’ll be making payment out of your own pocket – so to speak – or do I detect remorse? Really, I hadn’t thought you such a milksop. I grant you, had human nature been otherwise, your position might have been more difficult, but it’s comforting to know that one can always count on greed. Your plan is flawless, my dear, brilliant cousin – sheer poetry. What can possibly go wrong?’
- Meg: ‘Nothing, Sigmar willing.’
- Ernst: ‘Now, you really should know better than that. He can’t help you now.’
- Meg stares back at Ernst, straining to not retort.
- Their animated bodies slump in their chairs.
Ernst’s story
- When they collapse Falken hastens into the tavern to see them both passed out.
- He slaps Ernst awake and confronts him about what he has done to Meg.
- Ernst insists that he has done nothing wrong, and remembers little of the conversation.
- The last he knew they were talking about the misfortune that had beset the travellers, and that it seemed to be following the party around. Ernst confronts Falken for his explanation.
- Falken ignores his demands and turns to revive Meg.
- While Falken is distracted, Ernst hurriedly gathers his chattels and rushes out. He is met by Fritz, who has been sent to gather everyone, but abruptly rejects any offer of help.
- Fritz notices that there is something amiss with Ernst’s book.
Meg’s story
- Meg is clearly distressed when Falken revives her. She clutches his hand and looks desperately around to not be overheard.
- She pulls Falken closer and confides that she has been having dark visions since Altdorf.
- In her dreams she has seen the sign of a red rose, dripping with blood.
- She confirms that she and Ernst have not met before this trip – let alone known each other for seven years.
- Meg senses that the Winds of Magic are rising, and fears that there is more danger to come.
- Falken senses she knows more, but Meg is too afraid to say anything else. She quickly changes the subject as Fritz enters, enquiring after Josef’s state.
- After pleasantries, they quickly finish off some breakfast and return to the boat.
The impotence of being Ernst
- Once the Berebeli continues on its way, the party discusses Ernst’s suspicious behaviour.
- They realise they know very little about him – just that he is a student of medicine who was introduced to Josef for passage to Bögenhafen by Professor Schubert.
- Despite his medical background, Ernst has not offered to provide any assistance to Josef.
- The party decides to press him on this, distracting him while checking his baggage for clues about his real purpose.
- Artur confronts him directly about attending to Josef. Ernst makes excuses about the extent of his training and the severity of Josef’s wound.
- Artur insists Ernst joins him in the galley to see what herbs may be of use. He grabs him by the arm and confidently frogmarches the student away.
- Meanwhile, Fritz and Siggy go through his belongings. The bag also contains some parchment, scrolls, a letter and vials of powder and liquid, which the party decide are too risky to try on Josef.
- Turning to Ernst’s book, it has many illustrations and diagrams that look more at home on Witch Hunter Wanted posters than chapels.
- They take it to Meg who scans it quickly before realising it is a tome of ruinous power. She gasps at the content and flings it overboard, where it sinks into the Bogen.
- The party considers what to do with Ernst.
- As they are only a day away from their destination, with a tidy inheritance to claim, they choose to not draw attention by turning Ernst in to the authorities.
- On being let go from the galley, Ernst frantically looks around for his book. He suspiciously eyes up the party members when he can’t find it, but says nothing, instead clutching desperately on to his bag.
Welcome to Bögenhafen
- The company spends the night at Herzhald, not far from Bögenhafen.
- The next day they roll into Bögenhafen in the late morning.
- Josef is in bad shape with his wound, but insists he has business to deal with – collecting payment from his merchant contact for the wine shipment, including arranging for stevedores to unload the cargo.
- On top of this he needs to speak with the priests of Morr to deal with Wolmar and Gilda’s body, and help Meg set up her stall at the Schaffenfest.
- He wishes the party well on their travels, and suggests they pray to their gods in the Gottenplatz before enjoying the Schaffenfest.
- Ernst gathers his belongings and quickly departs after a cursory nod to Josef.
- The party decides to tail Ernst.
Trail of Ernst
- Siggy follows the student at a safe distance, keeping him in sight, while the rest of the party follows Siggy.
- Ernst heads past the Town Hall and in to the opulent south east of Bögenhafen towards lavish mansions and a charming garden.
- He sits down on a bench as children play around, smiling and waiting patiently, but nervously.
- A small boy with straight dark hair skips up and the two talk briefly. Ernst reaches into his travelling pack and hands something on to the boy, who takes it and skips back out of the gardens.
- Ernst waits for a few moments before heading on, going northwards towards the temples and then towards the East Gate, where he disappears into the crowd.
Tales from the Wolves
- The party regroups and exchanges information.
- By now it is late afternoon. Rather than go to the lawyers office, they decide to find a place to stay, rest well and freshen up.
- Heading back from the gate towards the Gottenplatz, they step into a cosy looking tavern called the Wolf’s Tail.
- The clientele appear to be watchmen and soldiers. They secure a room and talk to the locals.
- Young Siggy spins a yarn about his childhood that tugs at the heartstrings of a couple of soldiers, who get him a hearty meal for his troubled life, while sharing news and opinion of the town and their travels.
- They learn of the Trott mercenaries marching south towards Vorbergland, from where Meg has hailed.
- The tavern is clearly of an Ulrican disposition – much more common in the north – and the story passes of Father Luthor Huss, a Sigmarite from the usually more Ulrican northern lands, who passed through Bögenhafen in the last month. Who ever heard of a northern Sigmarite?
- Despite the preparations needed for the Schaffenfest, the town’s leading Councillor, Johannes Teugen, only attends guild meetings in the evenings, having the entire Merchant’s Guild timetable reorganised to his nocturnal preferences.
- A twin-tailed comet – the sign of Sigmar – was spotted over Lachenbad, but nowhere else.
- After an evening of merry banter, the party retires for a good night’s rest, eager to be refreshed for seeing the lawyers the next day.