GM Netherpongo's Warhammer Fantasy

Game Master Nathan Goodrich

Axel seems happy to wait on Lady Zarines pleasure. There was much to do… and he hoped that he would see some of that coin soon. He had much to do… much.

Wealth was a tool, it merely provided clothes, food and shelter… and whatever else was needed. And he figured he would need a lot. A sword perhaps? The notion seemed appropriate, and definitely some tutorledge in its use. New clothing better suited to the hard life of wandering and adventuring, stationary and books… all very likely needed.

He also considered that soon or later the Lady would somehow make introduction for him with an organisation that both scared and thrilled him. Witch hunters and imperial inquisitors had burned his grandfather teacher at the stake - would they similarly burn him if he failed to impress? On the other hand? They represented a doorway to relative safety and stability, and that he craved with an intense hunger.

He knew Magda wanted to get formal recognition in her craft. He would love to see how she handled that so that he made fewer mistakes with whatever petition he would later have to make. He would be happy to support her and even silently accompany her when seeking her credentials.

Not necessarily in this order:

Magda locates a physician in town who is able to direct her toward the guild establishment in Grunberg. The guild will assign her to a doctor to take a licensing exam within the next week. She can check back in tomorrow to find out more.

At the recommendation of the Greater Reikland Trading Company, Zarine and Hans visit a local fashionista named Otwin Nottebohm who agrees to look at her valuables at the rate of a shilling per piece. They tell her that the silver hair spike is worth 8 crowns and the flower-shaped brooch is worth 4 crowns. They seemed particularly impressed with the dress, which they say uses exceptionally fine materials. The fabric is a little worse for wear at this point, but they estimate that it should still be valued at twenty-five crowns. Otwin asks her if she intends to have it restored and taken in for her figure. If she wants, he could recommend a tailor in town whose skills would be a match for the finery. Doing so would be expensive, but may increase the value of the dress. Is Zarine interested in using the dress herself?

Zarine isn't able to locate a embassy for Laurelorn Forest in Grunberg, but is able to trace down a wood elf that has set down roots in the area for the last few decades named Dhialitrun. Recognizing Zarine's family, he provides letter writing materials for her and assures her that he will see the letter delivered to their homeland at his next opportunity. As for the status of the island, Dhialitrun recommends that she determine which noble controls the land nearby and consult with them. He's sure that no Empire noble will simply surrender part of their fief, however, and recommends that she determine a way that it can be turned to their profit or a good use that will aid the noble somehow.

When Zarine consults with Dhailitrun about finding a Grey Wizard, the elf shrugs. "That's a secretive lot. They'll likely find you before you locate them. If you want a member of their College to speak with you and you're willing to take some risks, I'd keep asking about them. They'll take note before long, I'm sure."

For shopping purposes like bows, we'll treat Grunberg as a Town for availability. So Scarce items would have a 60% chance of being available and Rare items would have a 30% availability rate.

We're likely not fully caught up with town stuff, but let's move along.

You return to the Carved Crown in the evening, and the staff brings you a message from Albwin that Eloise Fischbein indicating that you can meet with her after breakfast in the morning.

The evening passes without incident, and you are able to refresh yourselves from your long journey. When breakfast is concluded, Albwin comes to fetch you and crosses the small courtyard between the inn and the Fischbein residence.

Inside, Albwin directs you to the meeting room that Axel & Magda have entered before. The young woman they saw before is waiting for them with a sour look on her face. That changes quickly when she sees Zarine. Eloise squeaks in surprise and jolts to her feet before giving a hurried curtsy to the group.

"Welcome to my home. It is a pleasure to be doing business with you this morning," she stammers.

You exchange pleasantries before eventually settling down to the conversation at hand. I'll assume you tell Eloise something about your journey, but the events aren't directly relevant to your current enterprise.

Eloise gestures toward a set of documents on the table. "These are my copies of the Earl of Harwich's shipping manifests. It took some time to cross reference the information with other branches of my brother's company, but we have a reasonable guess at where the Earl of Harwich went down now. In the end there isn't even much of a secret to it, though the clerks my brother assigned to the task were too dense to realize that the Grunberg Canal didn't exist four hundred years ago." She sounds thoroughly vexed by the oversight. "They kept trying to confirm with the office in Prieze and lamenting the lack of records remaining when the obvious solution is the Reiker Marshes."

"The area is largely avoided now, due to how much safer the Grunberg Canal is and after the efforts of Emperor Leopold to drain the swamplands failed so many times. Even the knights of Castle Reikguard avoid the place these days. Besides being remote and an excellent hiding place for the wreckers, the marshes were notorious for being a danger to shipping in earlier eras. It would be a surprise if the Redblade Lion didn't take the ship there. It's a treacherous place & the next passage the Earl of Harwich would have had to pass through after it was last seen at Grunberg."

"Of course, just knowing the area of the wreckage isn't enough to make a move to secure it. Without Master Fermahn's compass to point the way to the Earl of Harwich, you would need more than a little luck to find the ship and without my brother to organize the expedition, you'd be left to dredge up any salvage by hand. I don't see any way to complete the salvage until my brother returns from Middenheim."

"We do still have some time before winter hits to get some work done, however. One obvious task is to establish a base camp in the Reiker Marshes to supply the expedition next spring. Some scouting of the area would also help and, who knows, maybe one of you would run across the wreckage by chance?"

"Albwin also tells me that we have unsavory folk sniffing around the Carved Crown, and that is a concern. If one of our competitors has gotten wind of the salvage operation, we could end up in an ugly situation in the spring. They don't have the compass but we can't ignore the possibility that they seek to beat us to the wreckage or steal our finds before the company can profit from it. The whole operation could be called into question."

"All of that concerns matters of logistics and business competition, however. I am more interested in what the Earl of Harwich was carrying. The company must have had some reason for not filing the proper paperwork. Something they were carrying perhaps, or someone? My brother isn't interested since we'll know what the ship had when we recover it, he says, but there are more mysteries here than just where the ship went down."

This explains a lot. Some one else was asking for logs and records earlier, and if we had them or not. I think those ‘unsavoury’ elements are more active than what you think.

Elf Bow Availability (Exotic--if possible): 1d100 ⇒ 1
Longbow Availability (Scarce 60%): 1d100 ⇒ 39

If an elf bow is available, Zarine will buy or commission one (maybe the wood elf is a bowyer himself?). Depending on whether that is available, I'll decide what to do with the finery that we found. Changing the dress into quality courtly garb is tempting, but not sure we want that expense right now... plus, it is a wedding dress that someone was kidnapped in (I hope we figure out that story), so it might be creepy to keep it.

We need to be able to get everyone else the things that they need as well. We have about 5 gold for each person (whatever is left to theoretically be put in the bank for interest), and what we need dictates what we do with the finery... whether we need to sell it. If not, we keep it as a trapping (and immune to between adventure tragedy) until we have a reason to sell it in the future.

This explains a lot. Some one else was asking for logs and records earlier, and if we had them or not. I think those ‘unsavoury’ elements are more active than what you think.

As Zarine makes inquiries as to eleven fine crafts, Axel takes time to see if there are any one asking after ‘his lady’ and the group in general on the pretext of other servants trying to touch base with her to deliver mail and items of importance… hoping to turn something up.

Gossip 32: 1d100 ⇒ 4

Yaaay… some good rolls :)

Calph not wanting to upset the group and wanting no part of whatever is looking for them being on his own does decide to travel with them. Albeit in silence. Taking in the sights, nervous about about his new companions suddenly having "unsavory types looking for them".

He makes himself aloof, blending into the crowd a bit but always within line of sight of his companions. If something in the crowd moves he moves with it to ensure they are not jumped. After some time he calms a bit as it doesn't seem that day light kidnapping is on the mind of whomever is looking for them.

after a bit of this and seeing axel seems to take to questioning about inquiries he slinks up to axel.

Sir Axel..ifin ya please sir. I dunah know any of these names you speak of. seems ta me that we be wanderin in circles. if'n we cannah figure out who wants us and why. perhaps we reverse rolls? we do our business then find somewhere known to set up and then be ready, then question them if we can take one alive?

Calph not wanting to upset the group and wanting no part of whatever is looking for them being on his own does decide to travel with them. Albeit in silence. Taking in the sights, nervous about about his new companions suddenly having "unsavory types looking for them".

He makes himself aloof, blending into the crowd a bit but always within line of sight of his companions. If something in the crowd moves he moves with it to ensure they are not jumped. After some time he calms a bit as it doesn't seem that day light kidnapping is on the mind of whomever is looking for them.

after a bit of this and seeing axel seems to take to questioning about inquiries he slinks up to axel.

Sir Axel..ifin ya please sir. I dunah know any of these names you speak of. seems ta me that we be wanderin in circles. if'n we cannah figure out who wants us and why. perhaps we reverse rolls? we do our business then find somewhere known to set up and then be ready, then question them if we can take one alive?

We are definitely going to need that if my questions turn up anything… especially if you have some experience there.

Not sure if this game is still active.. My bad, I check from time to time but never post. If it's still active, I'll commit to it more. Just tell us

Pretty sure it's on the final spiral... I haven't checked it in a week and saw your post