Session 10: To Dine Among Strangers

The rest of the day is spent preparing for the departure early next morning. Mungo organizes the rations and equipment, Castian retires to the Cathedral for his Ordainment while the other shop for some last moment necessities. Ludwig visits Doktor Hubertus von Bora, inviting him to meet Herr Lothar at the Shallyan temple. Lothar decides to 'join' von Bora, as he is heading in the same direction as the group anyway.
Early the next morning the leave Wolfenburg, heading east.
Lothar meets with Hilde and sends the other out to see what they can find out about the manor at Levudaldorf, where the Professor, according to Gerd, made his way to with Jaie Schraeder.
The group also visits the Temple to All Gods, a small building near the city wall. The temple is maintained to any god forgotten by the city or those too small to afford their own. The temple and statues are well looked after, but obviously old and little visited. A number of unnamed images and statures are to be seen, such as :

• Albatross wearing a five-pointed crown
• Animated flame
• Beautiful woman in long, flowing robes
• Crossed fingers
• Eye centred in a radiating sun
• Female stepping out of a tree
• Giant frog

Amongst the many small statues and altars can be found many a regional god, such as Haleth and Dyrath, as well as a number of others the group hadn't seen before:

• A beautiful female figure wearing armour and carrying a twohanded sword is represented twice in slightly different guises. One is as goddess of Hope and the other as of Hopeless Causes.
• Esmeralda is acknowledged, although devotions will seem unfamiliar as there appears to be a transformation of the deity into a representation of household and kitchen spirits.
• Kislevite and other nature spirits are represented, including a howling wolf and an ox.
• A representation to the goddess Shallya, representing the goddess with a smile (in addition to her tears). It is similar to the one that they saw within the professor’s office, but is more overtly androgynous, very tall and thin, and has spiked up hair. In fact, if not for the face and iconography it might not be taken as representative of the goddess. Again, there is nothing fundamentally sinister, but the figure is highly unique.
• Solkan is the most important god represented here, and this place is taken as a local meeting centre for witch-hunters from the Ostland chapter. Their actual chapter house is located in the forest, and this offers a useful meeting point within the city. 

Afterwards, they spent some time at the Hall to the Heroes of Ostland, a large hall offering a variety of small shrines, icons and plaques to the heroes of Ostland, including:

• Levudal, chief of the Thurini tribe who resided here before The Empire, and who fought by the side of Sigmar and forged The Empire
• The ox, which Levudal wrestled to the ground, after Artur chief of the Teutogens set it loose to trample down the forests.
• In thanks to the survival of the city after a 6 month siege by Ungol invaders and as testimony to the city as the defender of The Empire against the east [1750].
• To all the heroes, including our allies of Ostermark, who died in war against the foul Gregory I Dissell of Talabecland who most heinously granted parts of eastern Ostland to Ungol invaders [1945].
• To those who died in the rampages of the undead hordes of Vlad von Carstein [2010]. 
• For the Treaty of Ostermark in which Ostland allied with Ostermark and Stirland against Talabecland to recognise the independence of Ostermark [2148].
• From the People of Ostermark to our friends and allies of the people of Ostland for their aid in gaining our independence.
• In celebration of the great hero Oswald von Koenigswald’s miraculous defeat of the foul sorcerer and pestilence known as Drachenfels.
• For the ascension to power of the most beloved of Sigmar Grand Prince Hals von Tasseninck, Elector Count [25 10].

The following is relatively quickly discovered in the better establishments of the city, in regard to the manor at Levudaldorf: Count Konstantin von Pirkheimer is the overlord of Levudaldorf, and a large part of eastern Ostland. He is a very important political figure, and very powerful. He is known to be a harsh man, but also well educated and a supporter of the pursuit of knowledge. He employs some wise men, and offers a place of learned retreat for those academics who have fallen on hard times. His wife died many years ago, and he particularly supports the improvement of medicine in her name. The Physicians’ Guild in Wolfenburg has a number of bursaries paid by the Count. He is a member of the Zeugen sect of the Cult of Sigmar. They believe in breeding Sigmarites to defend the Empire, although cynics see this as less of a sect and more of an excuse to have sex widely. He has sired a number of (unrecognised) bastards.

Rumours that were picked up before leaving the city:

• The goldsmiths and silversmiths are incensed at the Grand Prince’s Kriegsanleihe scheme since it undermines their banking services, and are threatening to complain to the Emperor.
• The Grand Prince has authorised the building of a new bridge lower down the River Wolfen. An assortment of labour guilds have paid him to agree that it blocks passage up river to larger boats, so that they will have to be downloaded further away from the warehousing and so pay higher portage fees to the guild porters.
• The Grand Prince has blocked the proposal to build a new bridge. This rumour is usually followed by some defamatory comments about the Grand Prince by labourers and some violence.
• Baukompanie Helstrum has arrived in the city. They are being housed with the Imperialist garrison. To have arrived here from Altdorf so early in the year must mean something. Various interpretations are offered. Since they are a Cult of Sigmar construction battalion, they must be building something, or so everyone thinks, but what? Some think they are scab labour for the bridge, others to strengthen the defences (why?) and yet others to reinforce against von Raukov. A few might link this with the activity in Norden. 

From Wolfenburg to the Kislev border, travel is extremely hard work. If they found the earlier road hard work, then this is far worse. In many places the wood has rotted to create a worse surface than the earth beneath. The road was meant to bring economic investment into the region, but failed. The road is following that tradition.

The Forest Inn is the first stop along this way, and it is quickly established that The Professor and Jaie Schraeder spent the night of the 31st Nachexen at the inn. The body of the latter was found in a small copse on the evening of the 3rd Jahrdrung by a local farmer (Lenz Quadt) who told the group his story the next day when they visited him at his farm. Jaye had been stabbed in the back, and had been dead for at least a day, as the body was wet from the rain. Noone has seen Elfrieda.

Later that day, they arrive at Levudaldorf. The village is named after the famed leader of the local tribe, who fought along with Sigmar. By the standard of normal provincial villages it is reasonably impressive, mirroring the best found anywhere in The Empire. It is also an administrative centre for the local hemp fields, acting as warehousing and transport locus for shipping to Wolfenburg.
This whole region is littered with small warehousing and distribution complexes served by ancillary housing for the workforce adjacent to large fields growing various crops, but predominantly hemp. The count is clearly wealthy and his antecedents have invested heavily in what is almost industrial agriculture.

The group makes their way immediately to the Manor, where they are greeted by Bethold, the steward, and Petrus, the Captain of the guard. Both share a resemblance. Berthold informs them they are welcome to stay and that the Count will see them tomorrow, as he is unavailable for the rest of the day. A stroll through the ground show that the stables are large, and can hold a number of coaches. Similarly, there are many guestrooms in the house. They meet another few guests (Professor Konitzev, Etti Pittschau, Dahlbert Lohner and Doktor Dagmar Raab) before retiring for the day.

The next evening they are invited to one of the Count's dinner parties. When the party are brought to dinner, the Count is the most gracious of hosts. Each member will be welcomed appropriately. Warriors are offered an arm clasp and a comradely hug. The meal is a formal one and the group is interspersed with other guests.
The following guests are present:

•  Count Konstantin von Pirkheimer.
• Adolpha and Achatius von Krantz, Gero von Krantz
• Laura and Steffan Truchsess
• Helmut von Pirkheimer
• Cornelius Blacher
• Doktor Dagmar Raab
• Doktor Sepp Hoger
• Professor Gustav Kozinstev
• Professor Axel Lommel
• Doktor Brigid Laubrich
• Professor Doktor Dirk Ekman
• Father Reinprecht Teschitz

During dinner, the following is found out during conversations, as well as some more private information (see NPC pages):

• The Professor did indeed visit the manor with Jaie Schraeder. The Count knows the latter from his dealings with the Wolfenburg Physicians’ Guild and he knew vaguely of the Professor’s work. They arrived on the night of the 32nd Nachexen. Schraeder left the following morning and the Professor the morning after that.
  Professor Stradovski was seeking support for research into lycanthropy, which the Count refused, as he was rather suspicious of the very travel-stained proposer who hardly seemed to be acting like a traditional academic. He then set off to the east, towards Grenzburg, stating that he would approach the templars there with a view to offering his services to them. This seemed equally peculiar, but harmless.
• The Count’s Great-Great-Grandfather was a templar of Shallya in the Magnus Crusade and was highly decorated in the campaign. The Count will explain that during the Crusade a number of soldiers were infected with chaos in various ways, and elected to bind themselves to the goddess of Shallya as a last act of defiance. Whilst none returned, and the templar order died out as they succumbed to the disease, each did so gloriously and with honour in the service of Magnus and the goddess. His family has continued a tradition of aiding the cult ever since, although he himself has more interest in Sigmar and Verena as better suited to his duties as feudal overlord. He will admit that his family felt a little betrayed by the cult, as the temple at Couronne never acknowledged these templars.
• However, both Imperial and Kislevite cults recognised their deeds, and his family has always supported bursaries to the cult on this basis. Father Remprecht Teschitz is a fanatical supporter in the doctrine of one god-one nation, a tenet the Count is obviously unhappy with.
• The Count has a favour to ask the party. He has captured Pankratz Zucker a renegade priest of Taal, and leading member of the Cult of the Howling One. He does not have the resources to transport the man and since the group is officially empowered, he is sure that they can do the task for him. The prisoner can be escorted either to Wolfenburg of Grenzburg, since both have the jurisdiction to try the prisoner. The Count could simply hang the prisoner, but both the Grand Prince and Grand Master have asked him to transfer captured cultists to their care for interrogation to aid them in their battle against the Cult of the Howling One. The group may keep the reward. 
• Gotwin almost got into a fight with Helmut, the Count's heir after the drunk man insulted the squire.

... and then Gotwin saved everyone...

(Absent: Castian)