22.09: godsday
The abduction of the firstborn son of Sir Marc-Leon de Valsangé took place this evening.
23.09, airday
There is as yet no description of the morning activities
Sir Patric and Sir Louis-Simon were starting to feel a bit peckish, particularly Louis-Simon, so they decided to head for the Grim Hornblower to acquire a spot of lunch. Once there, Sir Louis-Simon proceeded to order a tankard of ale and some spiced mutton. Sir Patric, showing more temperance, just had a cup of weak wine and a few slices of cheese with his bread. During their meal the two gentlemen discussed the matters at hand. The subject of a certain Robin of Courite was seen as the most pressing, as this gentleman had been seen on the night of Gvarv and Dorian’s capture in the vicinity of Gvarv’s abode. The Lieutenant and his man both agreed that it would be wise to keep Robin under surveillance. This task was given to Patric's stableboy and while waiting for him Sir Louis-Simon managed to find the time for a few rounds at the craps-table. Patric also had hopes of getting into Robin's quarters, but Louis-Simon pointed out that this could prove difficult due to the fact that the Dovecote was a respectable brothel and guarded their clients privacy. This plan was therefore postponed until a better opportunity emerged. The matter of questioning Robin was also discussed, but not concluded. One agreed that such a course of action would have to be carried out with great subtlety so as not to alarm Robin or any of his companions.
After lunch the two proceeded to contact one of the emissaries from the Archduke. Their goal was to obtain a list of the comings and goings of Robin. The list showed that Robin had been present in Naras at the time of four of the kidnappings, including the one that involved Gvarv and Dorian. It was also evident that Robin had left the city quite shortly after three of the incidents. Patric and Louis-Simon were not able to discern any other patterns.
Sir Louis-Simon then started wondering if there could be any sort of connection between the involved families. Patric mused that they might all be connected to the mines in some way, but as this was true for most people in Naras, he was not certain that this was a very fruitful chain of thought. Louis-Simon wondered if it would be possible to establish whether any of the stricken families were related to the Montcuivre. They decided to contact the genealogist at the Chateau de Naras to inquire about this.
In the meantime Sir Jacques Alphonse had regained consciousness in the temple of Terminus. The doctors had managed to heal most of the wound inflicted upon him by the trecherous Clementian card players in the Grim Hornblower the night before. After a light meal he barely avoided being included in the lecture on the importance of Gravitas that Head Warden Sophus was giving to Baronet François and his protégé Charles, and made his way to the Maison de Courgain.
Once there he ran into Sir Patric and Sir Louis-Simon. After introductions had been made and Sir Jacques Alphonse had agreed to assist in the investigation, he suggested that they head off to the Grim Hornblower for a meal, as he was still weak from the wounds and the long walk from the temple had made him rather peckish. Louis-Simon was quick to agree, and Patric had no objections. While enjoying the mutton and the wine, Jacques Alphonse was brought up to date on the investigation so far and after a while the three knights proceeded to the Castle to speak to the genealogist. This did not help much as there was little to be learned beyond what they already knew.
Next they decided to pay a visit to some of the families who had been robbed of their firstborn, starting with de la Fonte. They were given a rather cold welcome byt the Banneret and his son, who did not have a lot of information to give, apart from what was already known. He was totally convinced that the dwarves were to blame, and was angry that dwarves were still able to live peacefully in the city of Naras. He said he would make a formal complaint to the Regent about the investigation, and it’s lack of results in regard to the Archduke’s men treating the Dwarven populace favourably. They also noticed some peculiar things about the manner in which the Banneret's grandson disappeared, namely the ackwardness and high visibility of the entry and escape route, and the silence of the dogs in the yard.
The three knights then went on to see the DeVillet family, where they were informed by the elderly caretaker that they had gone off to their country estate. He was willing to answer questions, however, and pointed out where two dwarves had stolen the child from the courtyard and escaped over the palisade. Outside the palisade, Jacques Alphonse discovered a narrow alley leading to a small square with a manhole. They concluded that this was a possible escape route, but that no one in their right mind could possibly climb into that filthy hole voluntarily. Having a moment of clarity, Lieutenant Patric also realized that his cousin, Sir Marc-Leon de Valsange, who had fallen victim to the child-stealers the night before, lived just around the corner, and that someone escaping that house over the rooftops would end up in the same square.
At this point Louis-Simon was quite exhausted from all the walking around the trio had been doing, and suggested they take some weight of their feet and enjoy a glass of wine or two in wine hall he knew, Chez Irlou, situated between the House of Corguin and Tailor Street. Jacques Alphonse certainly had no objections, but the Lieutenant had to do something else.. They agreed to meet up at Patric’s residence before supper, and split up
As the drums were struck seven times in the Temple of Terminus the Laborious, heralding the Hour of the Boar, Dorian de Terminus summoned Francois and told him of the augury he had received regarding the child abductions:
"The leading mind of evil
No longer rests under the sole horn
The men of the horns listen to its distant whisperings
The Tongue of the Hawks reposes among doves
When it does not spread its venom elsewhere
The oldest of two sends out the two
To strike the one and make him the seventh
of the masculine.
All his blood is endangered."
Back at Chez Irlou, the two sybaritic knights were in a significantly better mood and into the third goblet of wine. They had discovered several common interests, and in pursuit of one of them they located a table to the back of the room where some men were trying their luck with the dice. Jacques Alphonse was greatly surprised and somewhat pleased to see that two of the men playing were two of the rogues who had cheated and wounded him the previous night in the Grim Hornblower. His urge to give them a taste of his righteous revenge and his sword was overcome however by the urge to win some of his money back. The men did not seem to be in a hurry, and the house wine was after all very good. So they sat down and played some games, in which they lost some money, won back some money, and then lost some more money. The glasses of wine multiplied, and Louis-Simon got quite wasted as the evening went on. Jacques Alphonse on the other hand showed rare self-restraint and managed to go easy on the wine, as he was not intending to let the two lisping rogues get away from him this night.
After a while it was about time for them to meet up with Patric, but Jacques Alphonse was not going to leave his former assailants. He suggested that Louis-Simon send his servant to tell Patric where to find them, hoping that the lieutenant would come and be of help in bringing the scoundrels to justice. However, the servant returned with word that Patric had gone to the Horblower for supper and that they could meet him there. Jacques Alphonse then sent his shieldbearer to tell Patric that he wanted him to meet a few gambling friends. Patric got the message and interrupted his meal to come to Chez He arrived there just as the two gamblers made a quick escape, and the knights gave chase through the streets of Naras. Sir Louis-Simon dropped out of the chase after a brief, head-on and forceful encounter with a fiendishly placed house corner at the intersection of the North Road and the Road of Winds. The two rogues eventually escaped in the narrow alleys of the Crow District and disappeared into the shadows.
As François, Patric, Louis-Simon and Charles left the Grim Hornblower they ran into Jacques Alphonse who was currently intending to take a lunch break from his noble quest. They all agreed to gang up as soon as Baronet François had bought himself a new sword and Sir Jacques Alphonse had lunched. This they did with great valour, and they then proceeded to the Maison de Corguin. There they were met Arne Fritjofson and his companions who said that they were bored. The knights then went so see Banneret Vigil about the ongoing investigation to ask if he could aid in some way.
Banneret-Captain Vigil received the fellowship, François returned Vigil’s sword to him. "As agreed I return Your blade to You, as it has drunk deeply of Montcuivre blood." François said, "With Your actions You have honoured my sword" Vigil replied. He thereafter asked François to sit down and make himself comfortable, letting the rest of the fellowship stand and be uncomfortable. The Baronet implored Vigil to have Robin shadowed, and after hearing the augury, Vigil readily agreed to this. They talked about De la Fonte’s plans of making a formal complaint to the Regent about the investigation. Vigil told François that the Bishop wished his presence at his table next evening. He then dismissed the others, and warned François about the Bishop, reminding him that the Bishop was an influential subtle and crafty clergyman.
The Razzia at the Unicorn (Hours of the Serpent and
the Ox (5th and 6th Stroke):
The Noble crew made their way to the Maison de Bois-Alsante, to make plans
for searching the Unicorn inn, based on the lines:
The leading mind of evil
No longer rests under the sole horn
The planning involved sending a servant to fetch sanitation workers, drinking wine and staring at a rather interesting dent in the dining table made when an ancestor of François and Jacques Alphonse let loose his righteous anger. Unfortunately, the sanitation workers arrived, and work had to be done. Stopping by the Maison de Corguin they fetched ten soldiers and brought their elaborate scheme into motion.
The sanitation workers were accompanied by four unfortunate soldiers and went into the stinking depths of the old Kargan sewer system, in order to locate and secure a possible exit from the cellars beneath The Unicorn. Once this was accomplished the rest of the rather small army proceeded to secure the exits of the Unicorn, before François entered and demanded to see the proprietor. After being granted permission to search the basement by a rather discomforted tavernkeeper, they did so with great valour but little light. The two knights of Bois-Alsante found a secret compartment in the wine cellar, containing the innkeepers savings and a trap which made a nasty dent in Patric’s main-gauche, but failed to chop off François’ noble hand. After blundering about in the darkness for quite a long time, they decided that the innkeeper was probably innocent after all, and departed from the premises.
The party walked down the street talking amongst themselves when a hooded figure suddenly appeared from an alley! It was Mandare, the Pyrophlatic. He asked for news about the investigation but was told nothing new. He then asked for details about the search L'Unicorne after which there was a debate whether the whole unicorn could be said to be under its horn…
Our heroes turned and with grim determination went back to the inn once more.
The 2nd Razzia at the Unicorn
This time the search encompassed the entire Unicorn…
Jaques-Alphonse went up to the uppermost floor where he found a window overlooking the roof of the adjoining building. Great for quick escapes. He then found a young barmaid of above average appearance and proceeded with a private interrogation.
Francois threatened a lot of people with no effect worth mentioning. Patric assisted.
Meanwhile, Louis-Simon started his search on the first floor where he burst into a room so suddenly that the owner of a shaving-razor accidentally cut himself badly with the aforementioned instrument. To this Louis-Simon fearlessly proclaimed: "I beg your pardon but I will have to search this room." This he did and found nothing. Thereafter he searched the rooms of the host and found a secret door leading into the bed of the neighbouring room, which is suspicious and sinful but hardly diabolical.
Disheartened by this failure he sat down to have a snack and a cup of wine. During this he made the only useful discovery of the Unicorn affair. The highly questionable Robin de Courite had been at the Unicorn several times visiting his friend Leonard L'Aromateur who had lived there for quite a while. Leonard had now acquired an abode elsewhere in the city. Mandare failed miserably to make a ruckus.
Instead he spoke quietly and at length with the innkeeper.
When our trusty band left the premises they passed a rather large gathering of people who had been waiting to enter their rooms. As they departed the area they were intercepted by a patrol of the city guard led by Knight-Lieutenant Ariste. "The Baronet Raphael de Montcuivre wishes to speak with You, Baronet Francois de Bois-Alsante, in the Witch's Tower. It is also his wish that you and your companions immediately cease your investigation and harrassment of the honest and hardworking citizens of Naras," proclaimed Ariste. Francois agreed to accompany the guards to the Tower but refused to leave his companions idle in their search before he had spoken to Raphael in person. Ariste pointed out that the the order was issued in the name of the Count. Francois replied that the Count was not present. "Do you lack respect for our Counts authority?" Ariste said. "I have little respect for yours!" replied Francois.
Enraged by these words Ariste spurred his destrier towards Francois. This caused Francois' rouncy to panic. Ariste drew his sword while Francois tried unsuccessfully to dismount. Our hero fell off his horse and was ridden down by the Knight-Lieutenants charging warhorse. Francois got up and Ariste dismounted (successfully). The Knights then faced eachother honorably on foot. Ariste struck a mighty blow which Francois blocked with the armour on his neck. Francois retaliated by chopping Aristes leg off at the knee. Duel adjourned. (Ariste was tended to by the guards on Francois' orders.)
After a short heroic speech involving such phrases as "Such is the fate of those who stand in the way of Terminus!", "Brave, but stupid" , "Evil in this city is like a pussfilled wound. It must be cleansed with fire" and "This be a mighty good blade!"
He then left with the astonished guards (on foot, as his rouncy had made off).
The remaining three had a short meeting after Louis-Simon returned with Francois' rouncy.
They concluded that Leonard had to be found quickly. Louis-Simon was of the opinion that there was but one part of the city in which Leonard could reside. Patric meant that they needed some help and he went to mobilize his lancers. Louis-Simon and Jaques-Alphonse proceeded to the upper-class district to start the search.
Louis-Simon and Jaques-Alphonse proceeded to the upper-class district to start the search.
Once there they split up and proceeded to knock on doors. Jaques-Alphonse went up to the nearest house. The door was answered by a servant who was the only occupant present at the moment. He could tell the honorable knight that there was a house further up the street that had rooms to let. The house was easy to recognize as it had a small tower.
Jaques-Alphonse proceeded to the towered abode and knocked on the door. Before there was an answer he sent his servant to notify the others. The door then opened and was Jaques-Alphonse was greeted and let in. Lois-Simon and Charles followed shortly and the gentlemen were in turn invited to join the master of the house to dinner. Lois-Simon in particular found this to be a good idea. Passing through an entrance hall richly decorated with fine tapestries. When the three enter the dining room there are two men already seated at the table, one at each end. They both have black hair and black lounging robes. The room is . The room is sparsely lit by candelabras and a chandelier, and the knights can hardly make out what lies beyond the circle of light surrounding the table. The table is decked for three more visitor along a bench in the middle.
After Louis-Simon and Charles arrive, an obtuse dialogue ensues and Louis-Simon has the distinct feeling that the two blackhaired gentlemen are trying to stall. He also finds it strange that their host call them all by name even before the parties have been formally introduced. The two hosts introduce themselves as Silvester and Leo(!). After a while a servant enters and proclaims that "'He' missed." Leo reacts by putting the dialogue to an end, calling out on his minions to seize the three knights.
Suddenly strange figures appear from the shadows. Jaques-Alphonse and Charles are frozen instantly at the sight of dead men walking. Leo and Silvestre stand aloof, as the three companions face eight deadlings.
[Lacks information on: The three knights' battle in Waterbearer Street, the Baronet Francois's humiliation in the Witch Tower.]
Patric arrived at the ill-fated house in Waterbearer Street with the lancers. He pounded on the door and demanded entrance in the name of the Archduke. There was no answer but he heard chanting from the windows above. He ordered the door broken down and discovered that the ground floor was on fire. Some men were sent to collect ladders in order to enter through the first-floor windows. Shortly after, Francois arrived in the company of a detachment of the city guard. He asked Patric of what had happened and ran into the burning building when Patric told him that his cousin, Jaques-Alphonse, was inside. "There are men of stature inside!" he cried. The city guard, however, kept their distance, holding their horses at the Fountain Square.
Then, a figure appeared on the balcony. He spoke thusly: "Worshippers of the weak mason-god and lackeys of the Archduke! Your end is imminent! Tonight the three-eyed One passes his judgement upon you!" He lifted his hands and paused. He remained in this pose for a few seconds and then disappeared into the house once more.
Inside, Francois ran through the flames and up the stairs calling out for Jaques-Alphonse, choking and coughing due to the smoke. His steely carpace kept the flames from harming him.
Patric ordered the ladders raised and proceeded to charge with his lancers. When Patric had scaled most of the ladder and was about to enter he heard a roaring sound. A flower of fire appeared in the square below and grew quickly to encompass all in it's vicinity. A seven ft tall wave of flames engulfed everything on the ground. Terrible screams emreged from the sea of fire below. Patric steeled himself and forced the window open. He entered and began searching for a way upstairs to find his companions.
When Francois' reached the top floor he heard Jaques-Alphonse shout: "Cousin! I am here!"
Completely unaware of the inferno outside and the plight of those inside, Francois rushed towards the sound of the voice. Then, at the end of the hallway, he saw two figures with drawn swords. Not knowing why these men were trying to stop him he drew his sword and charged. Francois hit the two with his plated body. Running one through with his sword and slamming the other to the ground with sheer force and speed!
Then many strange sights hit Francois. Inside the room there was a heavily laden carpet hovering 4 ft above the floor, on which there sat two men and Jaques-Alphonse lay bound. 4 unarmed men with expressionless faces stood to the right of him, and to his great horror and surprise the impaled man showed no sign of dying decently. One of the men on the carpet ordered Francois killed and the six creatures complied. Francois picked up the sword of the fallen (but still moving) creature and while doing so he accidentally disarmed the impaled man with his shoulder. Then he was overwhelmed by an avalanche of dead meat. Jaques-Alphonse had managed to tear his bounds against a metal casing on one of the chests. He quickly tried to find a heavy, blunt implement to thump one of the carpeteers with. Failing in his task he rolled off the rising carpet and onto the deadings below. He quickly grabbed a sword from Francois, hacked off a leg, and was overwhelmed.
Patric had found his way upstairs. At the end of the hallway he saw his two comrades being methodically pounded and strangled by many strange-looking men. Being prepared for sorcery and witchcraft he ran forward whilst drawing his sword and bellowed forth: "Begone, evil creatures!" Arriving at the prone figure of Francois at the bottom of a pile of men Patric kicked the air above the mound. Francois shouted: "Stop the sorcerer!" And so Patric hurried into the room heading for the still ascending carpet. He jumped towards it but was unable to drag himself onto it one-handed. Landing on the ground he looked around and discovered that Jaques-Alphonse was engaged in battle with one of the evil dead, but he decided that his task was of more importance and leapt once more towards the carpet. Once again he got hold of the carpet and using the pointed pommel of his sword he managed to hold on. The roof disappeared and the carpet flew out over the burning rooftops.
After a while, Patric clambered onto the carpet. In front of him was an enormous chest blocking his view to the front of the carpet. He leapt up on the chest and saw the two men who looked at him in astonishment. "Whom the hell is that?" the left one managed to utter before Patric put the right mans face to the sword. The cut was not deep but bled readily and the sorceror screamed in agony. His accomplic drew his sword and swung it at Patric, but the knight stepped aside gracefully (on top of a chest on a flying carpet high up in the air!). Patric then brought his sword down on the muttering sorcerer once again. This time he struck him on the top of his head and he fell down. "Are you insane?" cried the swordsman as the sorcerer lost consciousness and the carpet stopped flying. "All evil must end!" cried Patric and struck at the man. The men continued their battle as the carpet plunged downwards. Calling upon their gods they exchanged a few more blows before they hit the surface of the river Gronne.
Left behind in the burning house, the two Bois-Alsante cousins were being overwhelmed in short order by the living dead: However, just as the dumb, deathless persistence of the opposition was about to overwhelm even Francois, Brad & Guidon, ("the Guys"), two of the Chevaliers of Dawn, having finally found their way upstairs, entered and attacked the undead ferociously, methodically chopping them into very small pieces. Thus Brad and Guidon demonstrated both the knightly virtue of valour, and the profound advantage of having the emotional life (and imperturbability) of a reptile. Francois, liberated of the cloying clasp of the dead, joined them, bruised but not seriously hurt. Poor Jaques-Alphonse, on the other hand, had been battered into unconsciousness by the fists of the dead. As the fray died down, it became apparent that Louis-Simon and Charles lay still and bleeding by the wall. With the help of the rope that bound them they lowered Jaques-Alphonse down to the street. Sir Brad started climbing down the rope while Baronet Francois and Sir Guidon readied Louis-Simon for descent. At that exact moment the balcony broke off from the building and fell, taking Francois, Louis-Simon and a chevalier with it on it's way towards the ground. A nameless fire-fighting citizen was crushed when it struck. Charles, sadly, was left inside the burning building.
Warden Marcus of the Pyrophlatics sensed great sorcery and calamity within, and they knew themselves to be urgently needed. Having abandoned the gate, they were about to resort to "such means as the situation required" and enter the city from the south. Then Warden Marcus sensed something magically amiss in the sky above, hurtling down, this sensation was in turn followed by a mighty splash in the river Gronne. Dorian resolved to look well into this and quickly sent for nets, hooks and lines. Casting out their nets, verily, casting them like their Lord had cast his net against Quingu the Horned, they drew up a rich bounty. A near-drowned knight, an entirely dead Hadesian sorcerer and two crates containing among other things occult paraphelia, books, effects, and letters…
In the Upper Burgh, the fire was gradually brought under control by the good will of Terminus and the city's guarding spirit. Numerous masses held by the city's clergy, as well as the valiant firefighting of the citizens, kept the fire from consuming overmuch of the houses, stopping just south of the Grim Hornblower, which was damaged but not burned down.