LogTorments of the Righteous-Jason-14

Game log for the 2019/04/21 session of AW: Torments of the Righteous, as taken by Jason

Some time has passed since our last session.

Having found that working for a living wasn't all that interesting, Carl decides to try begging. He looks for the part of the Capitol where there are other beggars, which could be the market district, or the Cathedral, or down by the docks. He settles on the docks. Along with the begging, he is looking for other people like him - weird kids. He watches people, comes up with an idea of how begging works, and does not have any immediate success. Eventually a shabby-looking gentleman approachs. Carl gets in his way to try to force him to toss some money around. The man tries to recruit him to join a "merry band of adventurers." So now Carl is in the thieves' guild or some such.

The man buys Carl an ale and explains how being a lookout works. Carl thinks he can handle the task. The man introduces himself as Rygar. Carl will need to sneak on board a ship in the harbor and get up into the rigging, whence to perform the aforementioned role of lookout. He spots a deck swab who's young enough and small enough for impersonation, so he finds a place to hide real quick, assumes the swabbie's appearance, and strolls on board. The bosun sees him and swats him for not being hard at work swabbing the fo'c'sle, but nobody tries to get him off the boat. Of course, Carl doesn't know where the fo'c'sle is, so the bosun has to slap him and tell him where to go. Carl heads in that direction, then ducks away and tries to find his way up to the mast. He runs into the kid whose appearance he has stolen. Oops! His attempt to bluff his way through and the kid starts shrieking about a shapeshifter.

Carl tries to shove the kid overboard, but the kid's pretty nimble. He hits Carl with his mop, which knocks Carl both our and overboard. He inhales a lot of water before someone fishes him out with a gaff hook.

Meanwhile, in Schwarzhoele, Inga has noticed that Uli is in debt up to her eyeballs, and that none of the staff at Der Flammenkamber really Uli very much. Uli tells her that since there are some Torchbearers leaving soon, and they'll need provisions, she's going to need Inga to work on Saturday, and that Inga also needs to get the supplies they'll need to provision the Torchbearers, and Uli will reimburse her later. Yes, Inga's playbook has devolved down to "retail worker." Anyway, Inga knows that due to Uli's debt load, any money she spends on behalf of the Flammenkamber is not getting paid back. Inga tells her she can't come in because she has to brew, and Uli cheerfully tells her that this is a great thought and Inga can give the absinthe to the Torchbearers, thanks her profusely, and then starts to leave. Inga physically grabs her and tells her that wouldn't work. Uli just stares at her and tells her that Inga's absinthe sales aren't her problem, and Inga is her employee, and further, she expects Inga to let to let go of her. When Inga doesn't, Uli swings on her with a rolling pin, and Inga pulls a knife. Inga takes a shot to the head from a rolling pin, but Uli is bleeding profusely from a cut-open wrist.

Uli runs out, screaming. The cook who was in the room with them is just standing there, dumbstruck. Inga tells her that Uli wanted her stuff, and that the cook has nothing to worry about. The cook runs out, leaving Inga alone with her bloody knife. Meanwhile, in the common room, Uli is telling people that Inga attacked her. Inga decides to rinse the knife off. As she does so, three men enter, and one of them asks what she's been doing. At least two of them are drunk. They begin fanning out and exchanging glances, as they try to figure out which one of them gets to grab the crazy lady with the knife. She tries to tell them that this is all a mistake.

Inga figures that her best way out is to run right now, before they can block her from the door, but of course, that would make her a wanted fugitive again. Instead, she tries to tell them that this was all a misunderstanding, and she was mot in the wrong, because Uli attacked her. The men are more sympathetic to that argument and back off, stealing some bread as they go.

Inga goes to help bandage Uli, who freaks out and plays the victim, but the three men are busy explaining to the other patrons that this is a fight between the two women, not necessarily a criminal matter. Still, Uli is screaming at her to get out. Inga looks to the room for guidance and, based on the way people are looking at her, goes back to work in the kitchen. One of the people in the room is one of the Deacon's assistants, and he says that they'll let the Guard sort this one out, and that Inga should consider her defense. She decides to serve them all some drinks, since her brewing powers have often helped persuade people to aid her.

She serves a drink to this subaltern, Einar, and waits. Eventually Captain Schmitto shows up. He asks Uli what happened, and she spins him a wild tale about Inga being a thief and a knife-wielding maniac. The cook offers no testimony, claiming his back was turned, because this is a no-win for him. Then Schmitto takes Inga aside to get her story. Inga tells her about how Uli tried to confiscate Inga's property and run her into debt, wouldn't listen to her, and swung first. Schmitto believes her story, but thinks it needs to go before the Magistrate. In the meantime, Inga needs to be in custody, along with Uli. Uli does not like this outcome and makes quite the fuss.

Archbishop Kreuzmann sends for the Archimandrix. He needs her help. In a village called Loenveld, about a day west of the Capitol, there's a corrupt and recalcitrant clergyman. Bringing him in for hearings and censure would be complicated and time-consuming. He wants Hike to discreetly eliminate this turbulent priest. It needs to be her and her alone who does the deed, although she can travel with her usual cohort.

Hike leads her troop out. West of the Capitol, the land settles into a plain. They're about eight hours out of town when they come to a junction, where a spur road leads south. None of the torches on the spur road are lit. Hike decides that they'll deal with that on the way back. The men to go the Lion's Mane to drink. Hike gets a private room, waits for the men to get properly drunk, goes to her room, and sneaks out. Abbot Franks runs the local Redeemrer abbey, which is a Gothic-looking complex consisting of a modestly-sized church, some dormitories, and a large scriptorium, built into the side of a hill.

She enters the church incognito and tells the priest on duty that she needs to send a message to the Capitol, but she needs to speak to the Abbot first, about a family matter, on which she would like his advice. In the meantime, she will work with one of their scribes on her missive. The scriptorium is about the brightest-lit room she's ever been in. She drags out the process a bit, forcing the scribe to keep amending the text. Eventually, Franks shows up.

She asks if they can talk in private, and he leads her back into the church, where they can use the confessional. She tells him that she's having a crisis of faith, because she's worried that one of her family members might be a witch. Her rmbling incoherent story confuses him, and he counsels her that direct and immediate intervention might be needed. He advises her to go to the Capitol and ask for Brother Hareward at the Cathedral. Specifically, she must not talk to the Archbishop, who is too political and insufficiently sensitive. She tries to draw the conversation out, telling him that she can show him material proof of the wicked rites her relative has been performing. He totally wants to see it! With a gang of Torchbearers! He goes to summon some monks to go with, which is a problem for her, because she wants this on the down low. He assures her that his men will be discreet. She asks to meet at the tavern.

Hike gets to the tavern, tells her troop that they're "pulling a prank" on "some folks", and that they need to act like Franz is in charge and nobody has ever seen her before. Hermann does not like taking orders from Franz, but Hike shuts him down. She has to remind them who runs this gang to make them fall into line.

The Archbishop, his party, and the Torchbearers talk to the junction where the torches were out. The Archbishop mentions that it was a sad business when that entire town got excommunicated. He warns the Torchbearers that no matter who asks, nobody in this village may be led out. They have been cut off from the grace and light of God. Franz does not argue. Then Hike explains that the Abbot and his monks have to go. That causes consternation all around. Hike knows that Hermann is religious, and some of the others might also fret about the heretical nature of murdering an Abbot, so she has to remind them that she's in charge and they do what she says. She also tries to win them over by assuring them that this is going to be OK. She succeeds more or less, and they execute the Abbot and his buddies.

Tendahl is at work on the flamethrower, trying to up the pressure in the fuel system. He figures he needs time or money (3-4-Barter or a 1-2 weeks) and someone will be exposed to serious danger, unless Tendahl can build a proving ground / test harness. That would require a strong flameproof enclosure in the wagon, which means 1-barter for materials and a few days, plus the help of someone who knows pressure chambers, bellows, etc. A castle smith would know about that (Schwartzhoele, where was tortured for noticing the sabotage of the gate) or Eisenwald. For the moment, he's kind of stuck.

Barbarossa is looking at the rubbings. He doesn't have all the faces of all the stones, but he can identify a pattern that seems to spiral around the various stones, like a continuous loop. There are gaps in that pattern, where something should come next, but it doesn't. In the light of the bright place, he sees that the stones cast shadows under the sun, but the shadows don't all go in the same direction. Some of them are tilted. He can tell which of the bottom twelve stones are off, and he can see that some of the top ring are off, but he's less sure which. All of their shadows point into the well. Also, while he's there, a dove flies out of the well and into the sky.

He comes to and tells his followers that he knows the first step toward sealing the well. First, though, they need to repair the defenses of the town. He sets the townsfolk to working on that.

Timovay comes to Barbarossa and reminds him that the time draws nigh. "What time," you ask? The time for the lottery, of course. Barbarossa says hell no. Under his reign, they don't appease, they fight. Timovay accuses him of heresy and runs away.

Hike returns and gives Kreutzman the Abbot's crucifix, telling him that as far as anyone in Loenveld knows, he's just missing. He pays her 4-barter for her services to the Church and tells her that her next mission is to Nachtburg, since the Church's preparations are nearly complete. That makes the Archimandrix nervous, since Barbarossa used to be a good Torchbearer, and she doesn't want to be the one who brings him down. The Archbishop promises her that she won't be the one to kill him.

She gives 2-barter to her gang to let them know that the Archbishop has done them a solid and they owe him their loyalty. Also, he opens up his armory to them. They're some well-equipped Torchbearers. She then finds Tendahl and gives him 1-barter.

They talk about his requirements for the flamethrower and for building a test chamber. Hike tells her that they're headed for Nachtburg soon. That makes Tendahl nervous, and after a brief and totally unsuccessful attempt to convince here that she should side with the Dammerung in the conflict, Tendahl tells that Archimandrix that if she helps restore the lottery in Nachtburg, he will not help her with anything ever again.

Carl comes to, tied to the mast, and also nailed to the deck through his left foot. This is not going well for him! The iron nail through his foot means he can't just vanish. He tries to tell the people around him that he's just a kid from the countryside who just happens to look like their friend. It's a coincidence, nothing more. In the background, meanwhile, Carl sees two guys rolling a barrel down the gangplank. Apparently he makes a great distraction. The sailors can't agree on what to do with their captured shapeshifter, so they're hoping the Church will show up and tell them what to do.

Carl doesn't like the sound of that. He tries to pull his foot up, letting the nail tear through it, but he can't even come close to taking the pain.