Episode 14: The Guilty Party Part 1 Report
General Summary
Prequel to The Enemy Within Episode 14 - “The Guilty Party (Part 1)” 4/11/2020 Post-Game Notes Day 53 - Aubentag, 5 Erntezeit, 2512 IC Crew, hanging with Franz at the RMI site, read a letter from Christophe offering to buy them a meal at the Bridge House Inn. Mention of a quest… Outside the BHI, Crew sees a coachman getting beat on by ruffians, egged on by a blond woman. They are accusing him of helping the Altdorfers, “aiding the occupation.” Beau gets involved immediately and attacks the biggest thug in the head with his new toy. Thugs engage the Crew, but after a few more head-strikes coupled with Karl’s crowd-dispersing rhetoric and Kris’s brass-knuckled fisticuffs, some of them start to reconsider a full-on brawl on the streets.. A muscly human (Andreas) jumps out and starts swinging and pushing the thugs around. He yells at the instigating woman, saying that he knows who she works for. The woman takes one of God’s arrows to the arm and the thugs disperse into the streets. Kris and Beau restrain and tie up the biggest thug; Karl and God follow the stranger to see what’s up; when reinforcements loom, they untie the big dude and run to join their companions. Andreas explains that the Crew may have made enemies of the Jungfreud sympathizers in town, and offers them a job that will take them north. Tells them to meet him at the Crown of Carolus at sunset, packed and ready for a journey. Inside the BHI, Crew is greeted by Gunther, who seats them with Christophe and Pierre in the snug. After exchanging pleasantries, and receiving food & beer, Christophe waves a fog of silence in place and gets down to business. Good news/bad news: the Deck of Many Things does exist (that’s both the good and the bad news). Christophe was able to get his hands on one of the cards, proving the Deck’s existence, and he has a lead on another card that should be intercepted before it gets too close to Altdorf.
- The card in his possession, taken from a Count von Drakensburg near Grissenwald, is the Greased Goat card. If drawn on the subject, causes mutual insta-love with the next person of opposite sex he or she espies. Then, nine months later, a child will be born and the spell will be broken. Depending upon the other cards drawn in support of the Goat, the child will either be a savior of Order… or a herald of something darker…
- “I am acquainted with a man by the name of Doktor Wolfgang Hollseher. He runs an itinerant carnival of curiosities that travels the Empire and exhibits for countryfolk and nobility alike. He is often hard to locate as he prefers not to advertise his set-up locations in advance and his routes tend to be… meandering. But I have it on good authority that he is moving west from Talabheim, moving through the foothills, and avoiding the Talabec Road by using the border road that separates the Reikland from Middenland.
- “If he makes it to the Drakwald Corridor, he could either go north to Middenheim, possibly further out of reach… or he could go south to Altdorf… and potentially right into the hands of the man who murdered Magister Adolphus.
- “If you can make it north to the Middenheim-Altdorf road, a day out of the capital is the Dorchen Road. A day further north in this less-traveled border road. If you can be there in two weeks… you should be able to intercept the carnival. Then… try to find the card? Keep it safe for what time it takes us to meet again. If more than two months go by in which you haven’t heard from me, and your other contacts in Ubersreik have no lead on my whereabouts… you have my leave to destroy the card. If, indeed, it can even be destroyed.”
- Christophe can’t offer much more than his support from afar and 10 shillings apiece to embark on this quest. Plus, as he points out, Ubersreik isn’t as friendly to outsiders as it once was. Not a bad time to journey north.
- The coach was last seen in Bruckthin, and never made it to Blutroch. If the Crew agrees to investigate, they should find evidence somewhere between those two towns. Payment: 20 GC.
- There’s a Cannon Ball coach ready to leave the BHI in one hour awaiting the Crew. Andreas will ride ahead and book room and board for them along the way.
- Crew takes turns standing watch, and at 3:00 AM God hears noises beyond a cattle pen, and a wildcat growl closer to the tents. Then thugs start coming out of the darkness throwing rocks in their direction.
- God espies a would-be saboteur sneaking up on their coach from the opposite direction and he chases him away, recovering a dropped saw.
- Kris thinks playing a song on the lute will calm people down.
- Beau lights a torch and jumps into the cattle pen… but he trips badly on the top rail and falls on his ass, lighting a dung-fueled pile of hay aflame. Mooing ensues.
- STAMPEDE! Thugs run away in the direction of Ubersreik, and only Godabert manages to get tossed by a runaway cow. Farmers spend the rest of the night dealing with the fire and corralling their cattle allowing some of the Crew to get some sleep.
- Jan is hassled by a pedlar with curly hair (Carla when God and Beau try to get info from her, she insists it was a case of mistaken identity.
- Karl hears rumors about how this season’s Schaffenfest is going to be the tits.
- En route Godabert sees straaange lights in the sky, off to the northwest
- At the inn, Beau hears the rumor about the Altdorf zoo and a mopey Imperial griffon
- En route Godabert exhausts himself trying to be watchful
- Beau works on gathering information from passing travelers, traders, etc.
- Kris practices his lute playing
- Karl works on gathering information
- Coach passes an Altdorf Army camp on the road, struggling in the rain. Crew is asked to relay a message to the quartermaster in Altdorf that Captain Fritz Hecter’s regiment badly needs dry powder and rations. Crew agrees, and receives 6 shillings as a thank you. (Jan can’t believe these guys keep helping the fucking Altdorfers…)
- At the Inn, Beau hears about red blotchy disease in Blutroch to avoid
- En route the coach is waylaid by a horribly drunk highwaymen (Max). God tries to talk to him while Beau levels his crossbow at him. When Max tries to shoot Beau, the pistol explodes, and then the poor bastard takes a bolt in the leg and gets tossed from his horse.
- Interrogation: down on his luck because he used to have an informant in Ubersreik who would tip him off to which coaches to hit, but a few weeks back he was told that the arrangement had ended. Kris gives him a shilling; God helps him retrieve his horse; Beau steals his other pistol.
- En route, God stands watch and the other gather information
- At the inn, they receive a surprise: Andreas has arranged a cask of Bugman’s XXXXXX for them to enjoy. Even Jan joins in. After one pint, they’re all wasted with the exception of Kris.
- Four drunk and disorderly dwarves come over and harass the Crew. They are offered to share one glass, but the leader of the quartet wants more: challenges them to a fight for the rest of the cask. Kris leaps up, pumping his mitts in the air.
- Despite landing some early blows, Kris endures three devastating counterpunches from the lucky little fucker, including one blow to the arm that seems to have ruptured something internally.
- With both of them teetering on the edge of unconsciousness, and with Kris dangling a useless right arm, he deftly dodges a might Brog swing which causes the dwarf to lose his balance and whack his head on the edge of the table. He’s knocked out, and Kris achieves a personal goal of his to beat up a dwarf in a fist-fight.
- With the inn staff agitated, a group of Shallyan nuns tutting, and fellow dwarves unsure of how to react… Kris grabs his trusty lute and, still bleeding profusely knocks something else out: a helluva tune. Merriment restored.
Rewards Granted
XP:
- Saving the coachman outside the BHI from a bad beating: 25
- Scaring off the thugs at the Fleshmarket: 25
- Helping the Army regiment: 10
- Showing Max some kindness: 10
- Dealing with the drunk dwarves: 10
- Achieving a short-term ambition (Kris): 50
- Good Roll20 sesh: 35
- Godabert: 115
- Beau: 115
- Karl: 115
- Kris: 165
- 40/- (from Christophe)
- 6/- (from Cpt. Hecter)
- A saw
- Damaged pistol (from Max)
Character(s) interacted with
Locations scouted and new NPC’s engaged: Artisans’ Quarter:
- Andreas, the investigator
- Jan, the coachman
