In which our friends are proposed an uncomfortable alliance and witness various plots thicken.
Tuesday, August 28th
The enemy of my enemy
While Wenzel, Kethe and the others were busy with another dance, Hans Jinkerst and Aenlinn got a chance to talk privately. The smiling Hans seemed surprisingly friendly, although he admitted “we got off on the wrong foot when we met last” – a bit of an understatement, in Aenlinn’s opinion. He got straight to the point: he understood they had a common enemy in the Hand, at at least one common acquaintance – Etelka Herzen – in their captivity. He’d come to Middenheim in order to rescue Etelka and either capture or sabotage whatever research experiments she was working on for the Hand.
What about Zima and Dmitri? Yes, Hans claimed, he’d met and even worked with them. He recognised them from descriptions given by a pair of “brothers” who had met the adventurers in Castle Wittgenstein – apparently referring to the Chaos Warrior Harjolf Skoll and the bull-headed beastman Krakatz. Zima and Dmitri, along with Hans and his associates, attempted a raid on the underground laboratory of the Hand a couple of weeks ago, but the raid failed, they got separated and he hasn’t seen them since. They might also have been captured.
Aenlinn countered with the question of how she can know it’s true he’s met Zima and Dmitri. Hans referred to Uli Breitner, the innkeeper of the Templar’s Arms, and noted her suspicion with approval. “That’s a good thing in this business. Trust no one.”
Hans went on to claim that he and his allies knew a path to the Hand laboratory through the catacombs under the city – though it was not without danger. He was making his alliance proposal to Aenlinn for two reasons: first, he assumed they had a common interest in attacking the Hand and perhaps freeing Zima and Dmitri (and Etelka), and second, she made quite an impression on him at their last meeting and would make a great asset and a strong ally. “After all, you’re one of us,” he added quietly. Aenlinn only glared in reply.
He left her to think about it – she could leave messages for him here at the Cocky Dame – and left to order another drink and chat with Gottfried the innkeeper. Aenlinn remained at the table, brooding.
Back from the Cocky Dame
Aenlinn warned Wenzel of Hans: he’s a dangerous killer with no good intentions. She was definitely out of a partying mood and set to retire for the night. They went together – Wenzel suggested semi-seriously he had better let himself be escorted – and went by way of the Templar’s Arms, where Wenzel and Kethe remained as Aenlinn went on back to Baumgarten Haus to retire.
Meanwhile, at the Noctua Society
As Marike was chatting and flirting with the Master Apothecary Ebn al-Azir, Wernhart managed to have a word with University Chancellor Albrecht Helreuther and Law Lord Karl-Heinz Wasmeier. He tried to find out about who had proposed the alchemy licenses and paper tax; he got no straight answer, but later on Doctor Janna Eberhauer informed him that the Law Lords traditionally do not contradict each other openly but recommend or oppose law proposals as a group after voting internally (so at least two of them must have supported the new laws).
After staying about an hour, Wasmeier excused himself politely and left. Afterward the adventurers heard some more gossip on his colleague Law Lord Regina Ehrlinger; apparently, she had a history of recurrent severe depression and more or less self-isolating.
“They’ll be wanting a new Law Lord soon if Frau Ehrlinger doesn’t pull herself together,” the somewhat insensitive naturalist Arabella Helstein remarked. “This must be her third fit of melancholy and isolation since she took office. Actually I’m a little surprised Hoffmann hasn’t already got her fired. Not the most compassionate type, that Hoffmann…”
Dean Edel Müller went to Ehrlinger’s defense – she is a good judge with a sense of both justice and compassion, Müller pointed out – but the adventurers noted she did not object in substance.
The witch-hunter visits
About then, the witch-hunter Adele Ketzenblum arrived, unexpected and unannounced. She said she happened to be passing by and had a few questions about the cases she was working on.
As she went around the rooms, she asked if there was any truth to the allegations that the artist and now escaped sorcerer Gustav Klöcker had been a member of this… society? Ah yes. Might some of his works even be located on these premises?
She was shown a painting in the dining room; it showed a grey-bearded man in academic dress, pointing with one hand at calculations and symbols on a tablet, with the other to the starry sky.
Ketzenblum noted this was a portrait of Josef Spitz. “Which reminds me… has anyone seen him lately? He is a famous alchemist, after all, and he hasn’t been seen at the Commission of Sorcery to have his license. Then again, he’s not alone in that,” she remarked under her breath, looking around the room. “There’s rather a lot of alchemists and other… esoteric scholars… who are nowhere to be found lately, isn’t there? Alkazan… Klöcker too, for that matter…”
“No wonder,” someone retorted. “People are fleeing the city and its unjust taxes!”
“Mm-hmm,” the witch-hunter nodded reflectively, stroking the iron claw that had replaced her left hand. “But the odd thing is… I understand that there aren’t that many who have actually emigrated and paid their taxes at the gates in good order. It’s almost as though people might not have been leaving at all, but hiding… or being hidden?”
By this point, Helreuther and several others were noticeably losing patience, and Eberhauer went in between them. “Adele,” she said, still politely but now with an edge to her voice (the adventurers noted she had consistently addressed the witch-hunter by her first name), “do you wish to accuse us of anything? I’m afraid I must ask you to either get to the point or let us continue our gathering here.”
“Very well,” smirked Ketzenblum, bid good night and left.
The remains of the night
Looking at the painting, Wernhart and Marike noted it was clearly full of alchemical symbolism but not even Marike understood all of it; much of it seemed to refer to more advanced studies than she had mastered. Wernhart thought the symbols looked familiar; he couldn’t place them at first, but eventually realised they resembled the signs the man who had been decapitated at the Three Feathers had tattooed on his arm. Wernhart also remembered the surviving smuggler had referred to their ‘passenger’ as Josef.
The evidence seemed to point to the man in the coffin, later murdered by Ursula the bounty hunter, being Josef Spitz. But why did she kill him? For whom? They didn’t mention their musings aloud.
Janna Eberhauer told hem Klöcker and Spitz were friends; Spitz had commissioned the painting but later donated it to the Society. The University owned a few more of Klöcker’s paintings, but they were on other premises.
Dean Edel Müller was still noticeably annoyed at the witch-hunter. Wernhart asked her and was told some more; apparently, Adele Ketzenblum was infamous for being far more interested in burning people than in justice and truth. On a lighter note, Müller turned out to be a collector of books, and she was very interested in having a look at Wernhart’s small collection of rare volumes.
There were also rumours about how Graf Stefan – the eldest son of the Kurfürst, who had been sickly and possibly feebleminded since childhood – might actually be getting better. His new Tilean doctor, Luigi Gambetti, was said to be a good influence, but his reputation was mixed; in Müller’s opinion he was a charlatan and a quack, and others had heard he was simply propping Stefan full of sedatives.
Eventually the gathering concluded and the adventurers went home. They agreed to have lunch with Professor Bletzen at the Scholar’s the next day to talk some more about their investigations and plans.
Wednesday, August 29th
An interrupted audience
The next morning, Gräfin Marie-Ulrike summoned the adventurers to her study, asking them if they had decided on what boons they wanted to ask. Most were still waffling, but Kethe brought up the story of Hanna Kohl-Goldwasser and what she might need to leave her awful husband: a new income, such as a new employment, and help in paying her parents’ debt to Goldwasser. The Gräfin replied she would need to know more and also talk to Hanna herself before she could promise anything definitely, but at least didn’t flatly refuse. She also, for the first time, heard that Friedrich von Helstein had been involved, and promised to have a word with his father.
The audience was interrupted by the visit of none other than City Watch Commander Ulrich Streiffer. The adventurers had to wait in the hall as the commander, a stern-faced gentleman in his early 50s, was shown in to see the Gräfin.
The commander’s errand
They were soon called back in, as it turned out Streiffer’s errand concerned them, or rather Hanna (who was also fetched). Thomas Goldwasser had reported to him that his wife was being held captive at the Baumgarten Haus! The Commander was here to find out personally what was going on and see if the matter could be settled without any scandal.
With the moral support of the adventurers, Hanna declared she was there of her own will, and Kethe testified to their rescuing her from her husband’s violent escapade at the Three Feathers. Streiffer listened, and then asked the Gräfin if this meant Hanna was under her protection now. “Yes,” he Gräfin confirmed without blinking or hesitating. In the face of this, Streiffer agreed not to intervene, but stressed that he wanted to see a peaceful settlement of the matter. The Gräfin in turn agreed that Thomas should have safe conduct to and from the Baumgarten Haus to talk to his wife – and to the Gräfin herself, if needed – about the matter. With a stiff bow, Streiffer took his leave and the Gräfin locked eyes with Kethe. “Do not make me regret this,” she said sternly.
The Gräfin’s mission
After this, she got to the next point: their next actual assignment in her service. Even after the trial by combat, it seemed the tiresome feud with Freiherr Eberhard von Dammenblatz was far from over and they could expect more dirty tricks from him. So she wanted to go on the offensive and take him to court herself, but she would not more testimonials and other proof.
Thus, her first assignment for the adventurers was to investigate Dammenblatz’ doings and dig up any dirt on him, in particular of course regarding this affair. She referred to Frau Odette for details and mentioned that the assassin Dominique Hervaux had preferred to remain her ‘guest’ and cooperate rather than being turned over to the law.
Secondly, she wanted the adventurers around as additional bodyguards and troubleshooters when making more public appearances in the city, especially with her cousin the Kurfürstin. Next up, this Friday they were going to the opera.
Third, of course, now that she had paid for the outrageously expensive license, she would expect alchemical products from Marike. This would be discussed further.
Regrouping
The adventurers gathered in their room. Aenlinn told them about her encounter with the Seeing Circle at the Hooded Lantern inn this spring, and now meeting the surviving cultist Hans Jinkerst here. She also related his proposal, to strike together against the underground laboratory of the Hand and spring Etelka Herzen, and perhaps Zima and Dmitri who might also be prisoners there.
No one – least of all Aenlinn – was very keen on allying with a Chaos cultist like Hans, but did they have a choice? They had to investigate any other ways to find and enter the laboratory with any hope of success before committing.
Lunch with the Professor
Before getting busy with the Gräfin’s mission, they went to have lunch with Professor Bletzen and Renate Hausier at the Scholar’s to discuss the events, discoveries and clues found lately.
They agreed that the following plan had top priority:
- Find Emmelinde and see if they could pool resources and efforts for their searches.
- Help Hanna with her troubles: sorting out the debts and a new job and check out the divorce laws.
- Check out all leads to and around the Windhund Haulage Company: check out maps and descriptions of the sewers and catacombs, and try to get the ghost hand to show the way.
- Collect Marike’s license.
- Start with the Gräfin’s assignments: investigate von Dammenblatz and his plans, interrogate Dominique, and act as bodyguards/troubleshooters as needed (to the opera next, later on at the Kurfürstin’s masked ball and the Carneval).
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