Scene 1: Entering Hugeldal
Having paid Alwyn the toll on the gate Rom will give Ballard (the horse drawing the cart) the go-ahead to enter the town. Ballard makes this same trip once a week, so he has been here more often than Rom and knows the way to the stable in the Smelting Yard at the far end of town where he will be fed and pampered by Ulli Schwalb the stable boy and then rest until his master returns and he has to make the journey back down the mountain to home. The cart is always heavier going back, but at least it's downhill most of the way.
The route from the Town Gate to the Smelting Yard will take the cart straight down Einkaufsstrasse, the main shopping street of the town lined on both sides with shops offering a variety of goods usually displayed on counters open to the street and sometimes protected by colourful awnings. There will be the usual hustle and bustle of traders hawking their wares and shoppers seeking a bargain. It is approaching noon now and many shoppers are buying food there is even a halfling pie shop one the right with benches for customers to sit and eat their pies on the side of the street.
There will, of course, be the usual smattering of beggars, con-artists, pickpockets and thieves mingling with the crowd. However, seated above the crowd on a cart provides some protection and gives Rom and Felix a circle to seat to witness any drama's that ensue. About the only likely annoyance, they might suffer is from the usual gang of street brats that tend to make a nuisance of themselves amongst the crowds. Rom may even know some of them by sight if not by name, but some of them will almost certainly attempt to climb up on the tailboard of the cart and hitch a free ride down the street, and others may even begin a snowball fight using the cart and Rom and Felix as cover.
A Successful Observation Check by either Rom or Felix will note that an unusual number of people appear to be wearing garlic neckbands. This is not something that Rom has noticed before and seems to be a new fashion craze. If they don't notice this trend then they may be made forcibly aware of it later when they on foot and are approached by a street hawker offering to sell them one.
Scene 2: Through the Marktplatz
Having successfully negotiated the Einkaufsstrasse the cart will emerge onto the Marktplatz with its central town well and the large coaching inn called 'The Bucket of Blood' forming it's South West corner and the Rathaus to the North.
There is a large crowd gathered around the well most of which are carrying various type of buckets and casks to use to collect its water. But there is always a crowd and most people are using the enforced wait to catch up on gossip and discuss the weather. Also exploiting the existence of the crowd is
Rolf Bek an attractive young man with thick blonde curls, dressed in the latest Altdorf style – though his clothing is slightly faded. He utters a constant stream of invective mostly against the Strigany, and their superstitious fear-mongering but also stressing the importance of ignoring such mumbo-jumbo and listening to reason and intelligent, scientific and rational explanations. He will often quote Doktor Verfullen the learned town physician claiming that there is nothing which cannot be explained by science and intellect and that what these fools refer to as magic and superstition is merely the result of our failure to understand the real cause and effects of the world we live in.
He may become particularly agitated and aggressive towards anyone wearing a garlic choker, claiming that such charms are useless and that vampirism is nothing but a disease, easily treatable by the right medical cures and the extraction of the offending teeth. Whilst it is true that those afflicted do seek to drink blood, this is nothing but the natural craving of the inflicted to try and restore the balance of its own bodily fluids and can easily be treated with the right potions.
He will then try to sell the crowd his pamphlets each of which costs 3d and repeats his claims, but more importantly, can be exchanged either for a free drink at 'The Bloody Bucket', or, a free consultation with the venerable Doktor Verfullen at his surgery in Schuttstrasse.
How much of this Rom and Felix hear will largely depend on how long it takes Ballard to cross the square. Probably, not very much, but Rolf will still be in full rant if they return to the square after dropping off the cart. The subject tends to vary randomly and may switch from Strigany doom-mongering to the ineffectual ministrations of Shallyan order. Basically Rolf is a paid promoter for Doktor Verfullen's services and his prejudice against any form of divine or magical medicine. He combines this with the promotion of Gudrun Ensslin's tavern and general bigotry towards traditional beliefs. He receives a small reward for his efforts from Doktor Verfullen and free drinks from the tavern, plus whatever he makes selling promotional leaflets. He is often drunk.
Scene 3: Dropping off the Cart
The route to the Smelting Yard where Rom needs to pick up his shipment of iron is almost directly across the Marktplatz from Einkaufsstrasse. The short road to the smelting yard and mine entrance is called Eisenstrasse and only contains a few houses before becoming little more than a dirt track leading into a yard dominated by a rail track used to move the mine carts in and out of the mine. The stables are on the southern side of the mine yard, whilst on the far eastern side a small paddock it used to secure the mules and donkeys that are not currently needed to pull the mine carts in the mine.
Ballard will automatically turn into the mine entrance when he reaches the end of the street. As he does so the noise of the cart will alert Roald Wimpffen the stableboy who will emerge from the stable and greet Rom.
'Mornin Herr Jaegar!' he says cheerily
'Want me to take care of yer 'orse as usual.' he asks.
As usual, is Roald's way of intimating that his fee for doing so will be the usual 6d Rom always pays him for his services. Bit expensive but it saves Rom a lot of work and the lad does a good job, even feeding Ballard for free from the mines mule store. Assuming Rom agrees then Roald will begin to unharness Ballard from the cart and lead him off to the stable, where he will remain until Rom returns ready for the return trip to Messingen.
At some point, Rom will notice a distinct lack of activity in the yard and that the paddock is pretty much full of mules and donkeys. Suggesting that none of them is at work in the mine. If he asks Roald about this the boy will simply confirm that nobody is working today. Except him of course as the animals still need caring for, and Master Wolfgardt who is somewhere in the Smelting Yard itself working on the equipment. Rom will know that Thorsten Wolfgardt is the Mining Engineer, and also responsible for the general care and maintenance of the town itself,
Rom may now wonder how he is going to get his cart loaded. Normally the yard foreman takes over at this point and the cart is wheeled away to the loading area, where the yardmen deal with loading the shipment. If he asks Joerg the boy might seem a bit vague about what's happening as its probable nobody bothered telling him. But he may suggest asking 'Master Wolfgardt' as he will probably know.
Wolfgardt is in the mine store which is just inside the entrance to the mine, and if approached will confirm that all the workers are currently at
'The Bloody Bucket' for a meeting. But that the Arnulf Lerner the Yard Foreman and his crew should be back shortly and will deal with the loading of Rom's wagon. Wolfgardt will answer any other questions that Rom or Felix have as truthfully as he is able but doesn't really consider himself to be a miner. He's an Engineer and so doesn't consider himself a part of the dispute about the safety of the mine. The equipment is working fine and that's as far as his interest lays.
Nevertheless, he confirms that he will make sure Rom's cart gets moved to the load area and loaded as soon as the Arnulf and the yardmen return. He assumes that the shipment will be the same as last week, which Rom can confirm is the case. Rom and Felix, if he's still present can now wander off and get on with whatever other business they have in the town.
What happens at this point is largely up to the players. Felix has his note to deliver to Lord Matthias and may decide to do that immediately, and Rom might decide to go with him as he knows the way. Alternatively, they might both decide that as its lunch-time and as Felix owes Rom a drink they head straight for 'The Blood Bucket'. They may even decide on taking a guided tour of the town. The scenes that follow might, therefore, occur in any order, or not at all, depending on the players.
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