Episode 6: Lord of Ubersreik, part 2 Report
General Summary
Prequel to The Enemy Within Episode 06 - “Lord of Ubersreik, part 2” 6/7/2019 Post-Game Notes Day 8 (eleventh day overall; fifth day on the job) Continued, picking up around 8:15 pm at the Holzenhauer party: Party Intrigue (8:15 pm - 12:00 am)
- Shortly after Doctor Otto Krupp’s arrival, Lord Erich asks Otto’s opinion on the vial of powder confiscated from Saponatheim: concludes that it is an emetic drug.
- The Baron de Grenouille arrives wearing a makeshift horse around his waist alongside another Bretonnian, Sir Pierre D’Labarque.
- Godabert wants to follow up a discussion with Lady Karstadt-Stampf and Josef. Told that this maybe isn’t the best place...
- Father Heinrich Gutenberg of the Temple of Verena shows up in drag, dressed like the goddess he worships.
- Two lawyers show up -- an older male, and your pal Osanna Winandus.
- Florian Pfeifraucher starts drunkenly harassing Sister Celestine, the young sister of Shallya. Godabert does his best to intervene on her behalf, but is repeatedly rebuffed. Eventually Conrad vB rescues her.
- Your pal Kurt Prochnow (guildmaster of the Boatbuilders and Chandlers) shows up with Marta Muller, guildmaster of the Merchant’s Guild.
- Godabert receives a compliment from Captain Pfeiffer for his handling of the Saponatheim situation. Makes vague mention of the “strange circumstances” of their conscription, but gets distracted as more weird shit starts happening at the party.
- A high elf envoy, Lorith Silverleaf, stops traffic and turns heads when she arrives. Kris finally has some success in engaging in conversation with someone… but ends their discussion abruptly by inviting her to have some beers with dwarves.
- Christophe animates the fox-fur stole of a noble, causing some consternation in the gallery. Kris bravely kills it, and continues patrolling the party with the garment speared on the end of his sword.
- Beau’s bounty hunter senses start tingling whilst walking the garden; something fishy about that well…
- Erich’s brother shows up (“finally”) and Erich immediately pulls him in to a private conversation in which he flashes the vial of Saponatheim’s powder.
- Father Gunther (Sigmar) and Father Heinrich (Verena) get into a loud argument in the reception room; Kris unable to ascertain the problem.
- A “guest” arrives dressed as a Sigmarite flagellant. Soon apparent that this is not a guest when he screams in horror at the room full of “demon worshippers.” Godabert and Kris manage to extricate him from the house. The Panther approves.
- Beau corners Doctor Krupp and introduces himself (not for the first, and definitely not the last time) as “The Middenheim Mauler.” We also get a taste of one of Beau’s new signature catchphrases: “Maybe you’ve heard of me…”
- Florian gets painfully rebuffed by the high elf Lorith.
- Christophe animates the wild boar trophy in the gallery. After it injures a noble, Kris gets its attention away from the partygoers and Godabert stabs it from behind. They replace the re-killed trophy on its pedestal. The Panther approves.
- Karl, in his guise of Hung Karlsen, makes nice with the Gravin’s party. They talk about gambling, make fun of poor people, and inquire about scoring some weirdroot.
- Beau gets Karl as backup and they inspect the well. They think they see/hear something inside.
- Get a lit piece of kindling from kitchen to drop into the well. Drops and sizzles out.
- Beau could have sworn he saw something shadowy moving from the direction of the well to the rack of beer barrels and over the garden fence. The intrepid duo peer into the well, and Beau slips. Good news: Karl catches him. Bad news: he can’t hold him, and they both fall into the well. Worse news: Karl succumbed to some whispery emanations from the well and accepted a corruption point (in vain).
- Investigating the bottom of the well: opposite the fresh water effluent is a rough opening in the wall. It’s a tunnel entrance that slopes up slightly from the water line into utter darkness.
- Spotted by Godabert: one of the serving women in the reception room conspicuously puts down her tray of drinks and snacks, smooths out her skirt, fixes her hair, and steals into the gallery.
- Where is Falkenhayn?
- Karl and Beau get some dwarves’ attention, and they help the “stupid manling fucks” climb out of the well. Borgun Foambeard accuses them, almost immediately, of tampering with his beer. One of the kegs has some barrel wax scratched off and a plank pried upwards.
- Beau calms Borgun down and they have a nice little heart-to-heart. The dwarves had recovered a sewer map from a brigand that distressingly seemed to have much of the Khazalgirt sketched out.
- Karl goes inside to recover his stashed clothes from a second floor sitting room so he can ditch his soggy breeches.
- Meanwhile a servant woman crashes the party clutching a child to her chest, screaming for Lord Erich to acknowledge his son. Erich is horrified, and the Gravin strides into the room smugly insisting that the poor girl be given leave to speak.
- Kris and Godabert intervene with the steward and herald, who are trying to remove girl, and basically ratchet up the confusion.
- Eventually she agrees to leave, escorted by Holzenhauer guards. Lord Erich has made himself scarce.
- Beau heads in to the kitchen to dry off by the fire. Smoke starts to build up suddenly and within seconds halflings and humans alike are coughing and running out of the kitchen, some escaping to the garden, and some to the gallery.
- Has anybody seen Baron Heinrich von Falkenhayn?
- Upstairs, in the sitting room, Karl’s acute sense of hearing alerts him to the unmistakable sound of fucking coming from the adjoining bedroom.
- Pops in: Dr. Otto is banging a waitress.
- Lord Rickard Aschaffenberg, feeling a little better after vomiting for an hour, tries to rejoin the party.
- Beau dramatically, in one swift motion, pushes Borgun aside and throws a beer barrel over, rolling it in the direction of the open kitchen door. He bounds after it and smashes that goddam keg like it’s his job, spraying foamy Skullsplitter into the fireplace.
- He hears what sounds like breaking glass on the other side of the wall, in the dining room.
- Goes back outside while more of the smoke clears.
- Some dude enters the party during all the confusion. Looks scruffy.
- Baron de Grenouille gets into it with an annoying noble who makes one too many anti-Bretonnian jokes. This eventually leads to a first-blood duel in the garden. The Baron makes short work of his opponent, who leaves the party disgraced.
- Lord Aschaffenberg is perceived to have dropped a note and an incriminating playing card whilst removing a handkerchief from his pocket. Note is an oddly written message regarding a sacrifice and cultist leanings. Rickard hotly denies it; Godabert suspects Erich, and tells Captain Pfeiffer as much.
- Andrea and Godabert pull Rickard into the servants’ corridor and agree to make no further mention of this. Lord Erich may warrant investigation.
- Kris sees Falkenhayn, from behind, stumbling away from the party and heading outdoors. Two women who make eye contact with him recoil in disgust.
- When Godabert inquires with one of the women, she says the masked Falkenhayn snarled at her.
- A row breaks out upstairs: the scruffy gent is the husband of the serving-girl, and he’s got his hands locked around Dr. Otto’s throat.
- Tippy Toe! The Wrecking Crew plus CvB intercede and kick out the husband. Dr. Otto and the woman leave as well. The Panther approves.
- A shout from the garden! A dead body is uncovered under a hedge. It’s… Baron Falkenhayn?!
- A shout from the dining room! A servant comes stumbling into the gallery clutching his right wrist. Before Kris’s eyes, the hand grows thick brown fur.
- More people come running out of the kitchen, at least three of them exhibiting rapid, dramatic mutations.
- Bug eyes
- Distended fingers
- Skeletal emaciation
- Chaos ensues, and the wrecking crew do their best to evacuate the house while other watch and house staff restrain the four mutated guests.
- General von Dabernick and Captain Pfeiffer assemble an emergency meeting in the reception room.
Rewards Granted
XP: 115 to each PC, broken down as follows: +90 to all for successfully keeping the peace at the ball from 8:15-12:00 (ten points for each of the following):
- Dealing with the flagellant
- Putting out the fire
- Discovering the tunnel
- Dealing with the jilted husband
- Dealing with the mother of Erich’s alleged bastard
- Smoothing things over with Rickard re: the note
- Evacuating the house
- Deal with animated fox and boar
- Learning about the sewer map
- +25 to all for slick roleplaying.
- Gear for investigating the tunnel: rations, rope, torches, and flint.
- Kris preps three healing draughts.
- Godabert runs back to the RMI to grab his bow.
Character(s) interacted with
Locations scouted and NPC’s engaged: Select party guests, (including add’l details gleaned from the second half of the evening):
- Hellin Karstadt-Stampf and her purser Josef
- Captain Pfeiffer and Captain Blucher
- Lord Rickard Aschaffenberg and Maximillian Aschaffenberg
- Heinrich von Bruner and Lady Galina
- Conrad von Bruner and his slutty date
- Lord Siegfried von Saponatheim and retinue
- Borgun Foambeard and Thurngill Flagonfiller
- Erich von Holzenhauer (the host)
- Christophe and his scantily clad noble friend, Florian Pfeifraucher
- Gravin Maria-Ulrike von Liebewitz of Ambosstein and her retinue
- General Jendrick von Dabernick and a Knight Panther
- Burgomeister Ernst Maler
- Sigmarite priest, Father Gunther and Shallya priestess Sister Celestine
- Baron Heinrich von Falkenhayn and his date
- Doctor Otto Krupp
- The Baron de Grenouille and Sir Pierre D’Labarque
- Kurt Prochnow and Marta Muller
- Osanna Winandus and another lawyer
