Traitors and sewers

Blast and fire. Where do we go from here? Following the villains down into the sewers? I think not. Rivers of shit and piss and no walkway. Only disease and rats await. Fire is tricky down there. Pockets of highly combustible gas exist. Explosions are exciting but it’s better not to be in them. The idea is shelved for now. Trying to track anything down there would be folly.

Partytime! Or...maybe not? 

Instead we decide to wait for the party. Perhaps Charlotte will still attend and then we can get her there. The thought of her ablaze brings a smile on my face at least. Upon returning to the inn for some well-deserved rest, an idea about contacting the rat catchers guild emerges. I am skeptical as they have their guild house in the same sector as the death jesters. Those bastards are probably not going to just let us walk in there. We therefore decide to send them a message by courier. The filthy rat catchers can come to us! Smell of ash in the evening. Tomorrow will be a good day.

Sweet Sunniva reaches out and gets us connected with the nobleman willing to part with his invitation to the party. Things seem to be are lining up now. The morning brings new optimism and I feel Aqshy strongly flowing though me. My bedsheets in the morning are burned and zinged from vivid and disturbing dreams I had last night. It haunts me. Best not to dwell on it though.

Sweet Sunniva and I will collect the invitation whilst the rest stay at the inn and prepare. Setting out I can’t help shake the feeling something is wrong and upon crossing one of the checkpoints we become wary. It seems Johanna is a person of interest among the city guards. Badly sketched Wanted posters have been distributed. All depicting a woman looking like Johanna. She is accused of being a Marienburg spy! This is of course ludicrous but we immediately break off our task to acquire the invitation and return swiftly to the inn. We have to warn Johanna and figure this out.

On the run

Sweet Sunniva and I arrive too late to warn them. The city guards have arrived at the inn and the
cowardly innkeeper immediately rats us out. They try to apprehend Johanna and Piet but they both
fight back and manage to escape. The Elf and his boy get out as well.

Channeling much of my strength, my robe ablaze and my staff held high I am mere sparks away from
wiping the inn off the map. O joy. The thought of the fire and the crackling and smoke makes me
giddy…. but sweet Sunniva stops me… wisely. At that time not all of our friends are accounted for
and some may still be inside. I stall and slowly Aqshy leaves my fingers and only the sweet scent of
burnt hair remains. Scorching fire has its way of causing collateral damage. Setting the inn on fire will
have to wait a bit.

After a short while everybody is found and the group is back together. I vow to return and torch this
place. No traitor will go unburned. But for now we lay low. We hide and skulk about. We seek out a
new inn a little further away.

This ambush was surely the work of Charlotte. She must be stopped. Finding allies in this festering shithole of a town is difficult. Nobody can be trusted. We overhear
rumors about us all being spies. A lot of our gear is lost. The inn is well guarded. Blast! Soon it will
burn though. Fire, smoke and screams. I am patient…for now.

Of rats and spies

New gear is bought. We send for the rat catcher again. Upping the reward this time to attract the top
tracker. As expected they send their top man, an impressive and both foul mouthed and foul-smelling dwarf.  After a short round of bargaining, we reach an understanding. He will try to locate Charlotte and her minions if they are connected to the sewers.

On our way to the inn we notice that we are being followed. It’s Harald, the henchman of that
wretched spymaster Capt Madelen Seinen. We easily trap him and expose him. I burn him... just a
little. He squeals. He spills the beans. The spymaster wants to meet us! Why? Can she be trusted?
Are we walking into a trap?

The elf’s boy Torgil stakes out the meeting place and it is deemed safe. Capt Seinen is intrigued as to
why we have been targeted. She is supposedly not behind this but she claims to know who. She tells
us that von Schlussel has a new advisor, Gregor Steiner. He is clearly a foul snake and a spin doctor
and from what we can gather also a good friend to that wicked wench Charlotte. Both of them are
currently in the castle now. Plotting and scheming. Awaiting the Party. If only we could gain access.
Johanna and I would make short work of Charlotte. Ring side seats in the burning pyre would suit her.
I know Johanna shares my thoughts.

We reveal to Capt Seinen what we know about Charlotte and her evil cabal. We also divulge what we
know concerning the mystical ritual that is to take place soon. Charlotte should be a person of
interest. She should be eliminated. The spymaster though is weak and toothless. She is not at liberty
and has no power to take Charlotte out. Still she will not object and will keep a lid on things if
Charlotte goes missing. Dead bodies pose problems, missing people not so much. A smoldering spot of charred remains and ashes probably even less problems.

We learn that the poor quarters where the death jesters rule, are closed off and quarantined due to
a suspicion of a plague outbreak. This is of course fake. A curfew is imposed. Curfew is between
19.00-10.00 and 12.00-17.00.

Spymaster Seinen points out that our fates have aligned and we have common enemies/interests.
We make a pact. Capt Seinen will give information and try to facilitate entrance/passage to the castle and through the checkpoints and we will “help“ Charlotte disappear.

The deal is good like dry wood on the fire in a bakers stove. The ritual will surely take place in the poor quarters. This is what they are preparing with this quarantine and curfew. Smoke and mirrors. We must go there. Charlotte and her henchlings will surely be there. The city cemetery seems like the obvious place for any evil ritual.

We await until later that day when the rat catchers make contact again. The dwarf pretty much
confirms what we know. Evil doings are happening in the poor quarters and the cemetery is our best
bet if we want to stop them. Inquiring about the sewers there is a way into the poor quarters and
into the cemetery through them. It turns out that there is a substantial leak from a crack in the sewer
tunnels into the cemetery. The cemetery is built in a way with many deep downward shafts and
tunnels, much like an old mine. The dwarf knows the way into this area through the sewers.

Into the stink

Reluctantly we decide to go. Gaining access through the toilets of some back alley dive and into the
stinking cesspool of shit we go. I take my precautions and protect myself from the elements by
insulating myself and my body from the wet foul debris by covering my being with a thin hue of
Aqshy. The faint glimmer makes my whole being shine. The others though are forced to slosh and
trudge through with shit and piss and what’s worse staining their clothes and filling their boots. It is
horrendous. Little is said as we course through the sewers. The trip is uneventful. Our guide is a
steady man and knows his way around all the sinkholes and nasty bits.

Upon reaching the entrance to the cemetery, the dwarf refuses to go any further. We pay him
handsomely to wait. Through a narrow crack and into the deep low caves of the shafts of the cemetery we venture. Old graves from the time of the cities origin are discovered. Soon we stumble upon larger and larger caves, all filled with the dead.

I immediately and strongly sense the foulness of Dhar and the dead necromantic winds here. A better place for a dark ritual I cannot think of. We try to go upward but the path is not easy. There are shuffling sounds emanating from above. 

In order to reach a higher plateau eventually leading to a higher tier in the shaft complex I let go and let the winds of fire flow forth and through embracing Aqshy I subtly become ablaze and turn light as a feather. Flying effortlessly up, funneled by the warm winds, I quickly find myself at the top. Once there I throw down ropes for the rest. 

Sounds and movement confirm I am not alone. It seems several of the dead have awakened and are now in a foul mood. We make short work of them, blasting them with fire and splintering them to bits with swords and guns. The burial chamber is quiet once again. Smoke, splinters and the sweet smell of charred bone is all that remain of our attackers. 

This encounter was easy. I fear though that it is only the beginning.