In which our friends follow up on the news, learn some unexpected news and gossip, and attend the opening of the Kurfürstin’s grand masquerade ball.
Wednesday, September 7th
Professor Bletzen imprisoned
Renate told the adventurers that Professor Bletzen and the Master Apothecary Ebn al-Azir had been imprisoned. Apparently there had been a raid on the Noctua Society’s rooms at their meeting this Tuesday, led by the witch-hunter Adele Ketzenblum.
They had searched the professor’s apartment as well (Renate had managed to hide undiscovered – fortunately they had managed to get Wibeke off to the surgeon Hochen already) and confiscated her books.
Doctor Janna Eberhauer had Renate housed in a vacant student room for now, and she had enough money to manage. Eberhauer and the university Chancellor, Professor Helreuther, were apparently going to make protests to the Kurfürst, but Renate didn’t know how that had gone, or where the Professor had been taken.
Zima and Dmitri
The adventures brought Zima and Dmitri, still in shock and shaken by their experiences, to the hospital at the Chapel of the Nurturer where they were received in exchange for a symbolic donation. They’d have to spend at least a few days there in recovery.
Bernadette de Capricorne was still hospitalized, but she wasn’t there now – by now she was able to move about on crutches, and she was out this evening.
Thursday, September 6th
Breakfast and briefing
At breakfast at Baumgarten Haus, they met Hanna Kohl-Goldwasser. Things seemed to be working out with her husband; most immediately, Hanna was surprised at having received a personal invitation to the Kurfürstin’s masquerade ball! Did the Kurfürstin even know who she was? The adventurers eventually recalled that Kethe had spoken well of her in front of both the Gräfin and the Kurfürstin during the post-trial celebration – apparently she made an impression.
After breakfast, Frau Odette called them in for a checkup on their mission to gather dirt on Baron Eberhard von Dammenblatz. They had a number of indications of foul play on his part, but still no smoking gun.
Frau Odette explained that Gräfin Marie-Ulrike was reasonably satisfied with the state of affairs, but would be happy to see them finding something concrete; she urged the adventurers to check with their sources of information before the masquerade ball to see if anything new has emerged.
Dominique and Kricket
The adventurers began with an old loose end: the assassin Dominique Hervaux, still under house arrest at the Baumgarten Haus but promised her freedom if she helped against Dammenblatz, had been told by her contact “Kricket” that she would be paid for the attempted assassination of Bruno Franke, and that Kricket could take care of the handover unless she preferred otherwise. Now the adventurers suggested that Dominique should write back and ask to have her money from the patron’s own hands in some suitable place; then the meeting could be and perhaps even the patrown caught in the act. The Botanical Garden in the Great Park was the proposed meeting spot.
To the university
Next, they made a trip to the university to see if they could find out more about what happened to Professor Bletzen. Professor Helreuther was not available, but Dr. Janna Eberhauer was in her office and could make time for a brief meeting.
They found her in a seething mood. She tersely confirmed Renate’s report and having presented her and Helreuther’s protestations to the first minister, Lord Chancellor Josef Speermann, on Wednesday; as this came up, she seemed even more upset. After some gentle coaxing, she explained – without any detail – that the Lord Chancellor had behaved in a singularly inappropriate and unprofessional manner; instead of taking her complaints seriously he’d been making unwanted advances to her.
Kethe and Marike voiced their sympathies and agreed with her indignation. Was this expected behaviour from the Lord Chancellor? No, Janna admitted, this was highly atypical – usually, the man was stiff and shy. He must have been drunk or something.
What might this all mean? Is someone out to get alchemists – or perhaps eliminating competition? The alchemical portraits and hypnosis of Gustav Klöcker fresh in her mind, Marike wondered if Speermann might have been under some similar unnatural influence. Janna was not in the mood to speculate right now, but she did seem a little relieved at having gotten to vent.
As for Professor Bletzen and Ebn al-Azir, Janna explained, she and her fellow Noctuans would of course do all in their power to help them. In any case, any trials were unlikely to commence until after the Carnival; during Carnival Week, most everything else ground to a halt. She also hadn’t had time to confront the witch-hunter Adele Ketzenblum on the matter, but she did have an address: Ketzenblum was apparently staying at the fancy inn The Prospect in Grafsmund.
They agreed to keep in touch.
Bernadette’s news
Next, they dropped by the Hospital of the Nurturer to check on their friends and see if Bernadette de Capricorne was there now. She was, and she was happy to see the adventurers; she had news for them! They took her to the nearest tavern for lunch and for a few more silver shillings she told them what she heard.
She had come across a couple of others who had been employed by Baron Eberhard von Dammenblatz, but who, like Bernadette, had then been fired due to the paranoid Baron suspecting they betrayed him. Her sources were, of course, unhappy and no longer saw any reason not to spread some gossip they had hitherto loyally kept quiet about about Baron Otto, Herr Eberhard’s late father.
- It seemed that the baron had cultivated an unrealistically pure image of his old man. Old Herr Otto was not only a schemer, but in the “right” circles, he was also known as a libertine and adulterer right up until his death.
- He had several extramarital affairs over the years, one of which was supposedly still going on at his death (the sources didn’t know with whom, but suggested the Kurfürstin’s ladies-in-waiting were likely to be in the know).
- It was also rumored that not only did he attend the Kurfürstin’s parties, he was even said to have gained access to her inner circle of revellers and the especially private after-parties.
- Best of all: it was whispered that it was during such an “especially private after-party” that he… suffered and accident and suffocated. The only one who might know – apart from others at the party, and no one knows exactly who they were except the Kurfürstin herself – was his old servant Holzer who was with him to the party. Getting him to talk might not be easy, though.
- Earlier that evening, Herr Otto apparently also had a loud, angry row with Gräfin Marie-Ulrike, witnessed by lots of people. This seems to be the main reason why Eberhard believed that Gräfin to be behind Otto’s death.
Bernadette added that the witch-hunter Matthäus Hübkind had apparently been in touch with Herr Eberhard lately, while on the other hand, his colleague Adele Ketzenblum was supposed to be good friends with the Kurfürstin.
The return of Aenlinn
Late on Thursday night, Aenlinn actually returned to Baumgarten Haus after having been gone all week. She was exhausted and dropped into bed without being able to say more than “I’ll explain it all later”.
Friday 7 September
Preparing for the masquerade ball
After breakfast, they were called in to meet the Gräfin herself. They reported their news and the plan to try to catch Dominique’s patron at a meeting; the Gräfin seemed pleased so far. She also explained that at the masquerade ball tonight, she wanted them to keep their eyes and ears open, especially on things that may have a bearing on their mission. She wouldn’t need them to guard or wait on her, though – she had other people for that.
Odette informed them on practicalities. Courage was not invited as a guest but could come along as a servant to Marike and Kethe. The Nikse House would open at six o’clock, but the dance wouldn’t begin until sometime after seven – the Gräfin herself intended to arrive with her entourage around seven o’clock. No major banquet would be served at the ball, but there would be light snacks and a supper was usually served at midnight. At that point the guests would also usually take off their masks – but it was allowed to remain incognito if desired.
* * *
The rest of the day was spent preparing. Marike had the new dress and mask she’d ordered the week before picked up and tried on. Kethe dressed up as one of les Herrimaults, the semi-legendary outlaws of old Bretonnian ballads (mostly as an excuse to dress practically), while Wernhart and Aenlinn settled for simple masks and capes.
The adventurers’ choices of masks and costumes
To the Nikse House
Shortly after six, after dinner at the Baumgarten Haus, the adventurers headed to Nikse House, some time before the rest of the countess’ entourage.
Nikse House was located in northern Grafsmund, not far from the palace; a magnificent stone mansion, almost like a small castle, with a lush garden surrounded by a high brick wall. Having had their invitations checked at the gate by masked court servants, the adventures were ushered along two rows of torches to the main building and into the large entrance hall – the huge double doors to the ballroom were still closed – were they were greeted by the Kurfürstin’s ladies-in-waiting, also masked: Manuela Baader, in red with a cat mask in red, white and gold (not unlike Marike’s); Petra Liebner, in red as well with a long-eared rabbit mask; Kirsten Jung in green, her white mask decorated with flowers, pearls and doves; and Natascha Kessler, a snow queen in white and ice-blue with a mask looking like it was made of icicles.
The ladies-in-waiting showed them the various rooms open already; nearest at the right was the cloak room, where you could hang outer garments and rest by the fireplace; further in was the reception room where snacks and drinks were being served. Further into the house was a library, a couple of games rooms and even a bathhouse with a pool being heated (although that was going to take a few more hours).
Preliminary mingling
Plenty of more masked guests had already started to appear, and eventually the adventurers were joined by people they recognised: Kirsten’s fiancée, Ritter Elke Wensmann – in a horse mask – and the rest of the Jung family from Altdorf: Hieronymus Jung and his young wards Ulrike and Bertholt. Dean Edel Müller from the Chapel of the Judge also arrived in the company of another female priest.
They were also more properly introduced to the Kurfurst’s court minstrel Ranveer Lafari and his master huntswoman, Aliya “Fenya” Fenyatovna, whom they had met briefly before. Marike flirted a bit with the handsome Ranveer, who didn’t seem unreceptive.
Among the other guests, they see the engineers’ Guildmaster Yannick Mencken – this time without any young drunks in tow – with a smoke-puffing dragon mask, and an unmasked man with a heroic chin in magnificently polished armor. The latter turned out to be Ritter Siegfried von Ödner, the Kurfürst’s Champion and Middenheim’s “Knight Eternal” (an honorary title of ancient and obscure origin).
* * *
Eventually the Gräfins’ entourage arrived, along with numerous other guests; the entrance hall was starting to get a little crowded by now. Among other new arrivals, the adventurers observed or had pointed out to them:
- Councillor Gotthard Kepler (aka Gotthard von Wittgenstein, Samuel’s son…).
- Doctor Luigi Gambetti, Prince Stefan’s renowned personal physician. A large, theatrical, loud gentleman with wildly curly black hair and beard and expressive gestures.
- High Shepherd Jarrick Valgeir, in a plain white mask and what looks like a simple gray penitent’s robe, accompanied by a couple of other priests.
-
Sergei Bukharin (Art by unknown artist) Freiherr Maximilian von Genscher, the prince’s Marshal, and his second-in-command, Oberst Johanna Schulte-Brockhoff.
- City Watch Commander Ulrich Streiffer.
- The Ambassador Sergei Bukharin from Kislev at the head of a small entourage.
- Janna Eberhauer, in a smooth metal mask that seemed to reflect the colors around her.
- Eva Dietrich, a famous singer and owner of the Red Moon cabaret bar; a colorful and husky-voiced lady in her early 50s.
Entrance dances
Finally, the signal was given that it was soon time to enter the ballroom. Guest wanting to participate in the entrance dance were instructed to form couples and line up; the trail soon wound its way out into the yard. Marike and Wernhart paired up with Ranveer Lafari and Edel Müller respectively.
Kethe, aiming bolder, went right up to Eva Dietrich with no introduction and asked her to dance, having a hunch she’d be an interesting person to get to know. The singer laughed approvingly at the forwardness of the much younger Kethe and accepted her hand with an enigmatic smile.
* * *
With a drum roll, the doors to the ballroom opened. Standing inside were the Kurfürstin Annika-Elise and her husband, Kurfurst Boris Todbringer of Middenheim (the first time the adventurers saw the latter in the flesh). Both were magnificently dressed and masked in blue, silver and gold and flanked by knights and attendants.
The Kurfurst’s daughter Katarina Hohenfels stood slightly behind and beside her father, seemingly ready to support him; the Kurfürstin was flanked by her chief bodyguard, Sir Lucius von Harwitz, in an eagle mask.
The Kurfurst and Kurfürstin took their place as the first couple in the entrance dance, the orchestra up in the gallery started playing and the revellers filed into the ballroom in a slow, dignified pavane.
The ballroom was almost twice the size of the hall, with marble floors patterned in white and blue and silver-plated mirror panels along the walls. A vaulted ceiling, deep blue and decorated with stars in silver, was supported by four massive pillars. The long dance went around the ballroom for a few minutes and stopped when the Kurfurst and Kurfürstin were in front of the throne podium by the west wall.
The grey-bearded Kurfurst staggered – even this quite sedate dance seemed to have exhausted him completely – and Katarina and a knight hurried to support him. They got him up on the podium and he sank, coughing and sighing, onto the throne as the Kurfürstin took a seat next to him and greeted the guests.
This was followed by a performance dance; Natascha Kessler and Sergei Bukharin from Kislev danced a fast and complex galliard, each mirroring the other’s almost aggressive maneuvers and leaps. Then the free dance began; mostly ring and long dances.
Exit and new entrance
After a while, after the dance had gotten going, the frail Kurfurst was discreetly helped off the podium and disappeared with Katarina and some attendants into his rooms beyond the ballroom. The Kurfürstin also disappeared from view for a while.
Eventually the Kurfürstin made a new entrance in a striking new costume: masked and dressed like a peacock in turquoise and green. Apparently the real party was beginning only now…
The Enemy Within: Remixed 
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