S5E9 tHR- What Say You, Lady Greyplume

From the Beginning: https://rigglewwh.blogspot.com/2021/06/s0e1-introductions.html

PCs: Agnes (Duane), Katja (Geoff), Venegral (Tony), Mor (Bill), Gary (Matt), Ymath (absent)

ReCap: They found the radical lawyer, Magistar Gottfried Jarmund, hiding in the basement of the Tears of the Lady soup-kitchen. Escaped from kidnapping by the underworld low-kings. At least he was a wealth of information about the Purple-hands as promised as he described their organization, “There are three arms of the cult. I headed the Ordo Novitiae involved in recruitment and indoctrination. The Ordo Terribilis is involved in research and strategy, now headed by a man named Bhar (horrible scar on his face along with a large mustache) now that Wasmeier has disappeared. The Ordo Impedimentae organizes resources, but I’m not sure who runs them.”

Getting him out proved challenging as they faced The Man’s henchmen. But they weren’t the problem. Nor were the magic users who blocked their way. It was the Skaven Assassin who slashed thru the underworld ranks to stab at Agnes’ Orphans. But why would the Skaven care about above ground plots? Interesting. Very interesting!

College House: Venegral decoded the note, “From Vizier Bhar. Says Vogel resides at 36 Sigismundweg in Osstor.” The address proved to be a 4-story boarding house for college students. Which made sense considering they knew Jarmund was known to radicalize college students on campus. As the elf kept watch on the rear alley, Venegral grabbed the vacancy sign and knocked. Frau Ziegler greeted them, “10 shillings a week. 35 for the month.” Gary wrapped both his arms around the girls, teasing, “We only need an hour.” Agnes elbowed him hard enough to break a rib. Ziegler frowned at the poor joke as she led them inside to show the room. “Each floor is open space, rented as one room. Should be big enough for all 4 of you. Furnishing costs extra. With deposit to discourage breakage. And deposit for Katja’s dog.”

Venegral pried for more info, “Who are the other tenants? Gerald and Dietrick above, and a Herr Vogel on the top floor? What are they like? Partiers? Perhaps we should ask their opinions.” Frau Ziegler discouraged the idea of parties, “Not in my house. You can do your drinking at the nearest tavern, Queens' Ale.” Agnes was already climbing the stairs and knocking at the other doors. She didn’t even wait for an answer on the 3^rd floor; instead, climbed to the top floor. And found the door unlocked, "Hello? Anyone here?” Ziegler barely had the chance to protest their barging into another room, “Herr Vogel has been absent of late. In fact, late on his rent. Another week, and I’ll let it for rent.”

But Agnes was too busy searching the room: an unmade bed, pile of clothing, stack of books, a small cage with straw on its base, and a telescope setup in front of the window. She peered thru the scope without moving its setup… a view south toward rooftops in the Wynd District. Venegral flipped thru the books finding some on astrology. And that’s when they heard a peck at the window: a pigeon awaited entry. Purple feathers and 3-eyes. THAT got the wizard to open his senses. But no magical aura lingered in the area. Venegral carefully handled the pigeon to remove the coded note it carried. 

Katja kept the Frau distracted as Venegral deciphered the message, “Vogel. Have assumed command. Operations resume immediately corpses needed for research. Acknowledge and await instructions Y’ggrily Tkak Tzeetch! Vizier Bhar MOT.” Venegral knew enough that carrier pigeons were one-way. Another bird was needed to carry the return message. And there were no birds in this roost. “Vogel has been out of touch too long. Hasn’t picked up his own pigeons to recycle.”

Queens' Ale: The local tavern was a college hangout. Most gossip concerned professors and their courses taught. But Katja heard a few off-topic remarks. “A lot of folks coming to Middenheim in search of relatives gone missing in the Drakwald Forest.” More drunk banter regarded the war between Ostwald/Talabecland “all because Gothstad Von Krieglec murdered the Prince of Talabecland.” It was Venegral who heard the most relevant when he mentioned Vogel. “Isn’t he the one working for that crazy professor who dissected a rat, all the while claiming it a Skaven. Blasphemy to Ulric who eradicated them centuries ago! Vogel. Pencil moustache. Hung around with that big guy who never talked.” Only now did they realize Vogel and his big sidekick were the one-and-same Karl and Gaius, assistants to Professor Hasche. Already dead. Which explained why Vogel was late on his room rent and not returning pigeon messages.

Pigeon Coop: They rode south toward the Altquartier and Wynd Districts on the hunt for the other pigeon coop. They found an abandoned building with its top floor window open and a line of pigeons on its ledge. The interior showed evidence of a fire. Blackened stairs led upwards. Prints revealed a trespasser who apparently only wore one shoe… his left foot bare. Yes, human. Mor quietly climbed the stairs and listened at the upper room door. Birds cooing and someone conversing. The door barred from inside. Mor retreated down (passing Gary climbing up) to then step outside and climb up to the window. Mor reached the window first and spied a man feeding and talking to a host of birds. At least 50 pigeons! And the man apparently knew each by name.

The man’s birdbrain conversation interrupted by a knock at the door. “Lady Greyplume, we have a visitor! What’s that, Squire Squab? More than one?” Venegral greeted the man once he removed the door bar, “We’ve come to retrieve a bird for a friend. A 3-eyed squab with purple-feathers.” The man now confused, “3-eyes?! My friends see just fine with their two. What say you, Lord Peck? Have you seen such? South with carts coming and going? Yes, Admiral Abby Ann, I know that is the warehouse district controlled by the Big Cheese himself. I’ll let these fine men… and women… know.” Agnes offered a bag of seed for help as Venegral pressed the man to let Lady Greyplume show the way. The man all excited, “Yes, yes, we can show them the way, eh Lady Greyplume? Wait for me lady; you know I can’t fly as fast.”

They walked their horses as they followed the man outside where he paused, “I usually only go out at night to avoid the peoples’ snickers and teasing of my feathered friends.” And sure enough, there were mockers. Till Venegral cast Fearsome to send them on their way. They continued south, street to street, till the man paused as another pigeon landed on his shoulder. “What’s that, Countess Clawfoot? That building has purple-feathered birds?” Agnes took the time to buy the man new shoes and clothing as she walked him home. Then returned to join the others observing the warehouse within the Wyndhund Haulage Yard (40-yard square with 8ft tall surrounding wall and guarded entry gate).

The Warehouse: Katja took note of the pigeons fluttering about… one with 3 legs. Mor was close enough to sense “the winds of Dhar.” [dark magic] Gary kept watch of the pull-cart traffic dragging barrels in and out thru the open gate. “There must be more than just ale traffic. Maybe drugs too?” They discussed plans: hijack an inbound wagon to gain entry, show their badges for an official inspection, stealth over the wall. Mor pointed out his observations, “There are many eyes upon us already. From the streets and nearby windows.” Mor watched as the others placed badges upon their chests and walked toward the gate guard. But the guard stood his ground, “Those mean nothing here. You need permission from the Big Cheese himself.” Gary tried to persuade by explaining how they’d dealt with the Man’s henchmen which surely must mean something to the Big Cheese. Agnes tried to threaten him. Intimidation was useless as the guard repeated, “I fear Gouda more than you and your meaningless Graf badges.” And that’s when another higher-ranking guard approached, “Names Hans. Like Petro said, you need the boss’ permission. You can probably find him at the Stumbling Sot bar down the street.”

As they left the area, Gary directed them to an outbound cart being pulled by 2 men, “Excuse me. Care to lighten your load?” Venegral chimed in, “Is that ale? I’ll gladly offer shillings for a tap. I mean brass.” But the men heard shillings and held out for such, “Just a few pours. Don’t want to make it obviously short on delivery to those college kids. We pick up their empties in the morning for exchange with fresh barrels. The warehouse locked up at night.” Katja prodded the men, “Just ale? I’ve heard the Big Cheese also deals with drugs such as Renald’s Delight.” Now the drivers clammed up, “Hey, we just deliver where told. What, is none of our business.” Venegral pulled out a few more shillings, “Didn’t mean to imply anything. Draw drinks for yerself. Always best right out of a fresh keg. Thanks for the brew. Our lips are sealed.”

Meeting with the Big Cheese: They stopped off to get the 3-eyed pigeon before their meeting. As they entered the Stumbling Sot bar, henchmen peace-bound their weapons. To include tying Venegral’s fingers (Chinese Finger Trap). Only then were they led to the backroom where a large man sat in a pile of thick pillows puffing on a hookah, “I hear you have interest in one of my warehouses.” Venegral and Agnes did most of the talking, mentioning the cultist Purple-Hands, dark magic as evident by the 3-eyes pigeon they revealed. Of which Gouda pulled out a blade and chopped its head off. They even showed the decoded messages that were signed by someone invoking the name Tzeentch. All topics convinced the low-king, “You say you will clear it out. Humm. It’s currently rented by Theodore who owns large mastiff dogs. I’ve heard how he deals in beer and drugs. I can turn a blind eye to that as he pays good. But evil you say?! And if his house cleansed, then it should be up for sale… to me. OK, go in at night when my guards will be off for meal break.”

Undead Dogs: They barely made it out the door when set upon by 4 unholy dogs with open wounds and glowing red eyes. That Venegral recognized as, “Unstable evil creations held together by dark magic!” Venegral cast a spiral ethereal staircase at his feet that lifted him skyward out of harm’s reach. Leaving Agnes to be snapped at by one such beast. She blocked both of its teeth attacks. She barely avoided its fiery breath attack that caught Katja and Gary ablaze. Mor quickly notched 2 swift-arrows and impaled 2 of the beasts. Gary first put himself out, then blasted with pistol but missed. Agnes killed one with her Warhammer while Katja also snuffed out her flames before firing a bolt that wounded another. All while Venegral concentrated on channeling for a greater affect. For naught as the beasts were killed before he could cast. Gary made it a point to step back into the bar, “Tell your boss there is more evidence out here in the street. Just don’t slip in the goo.”

They timed their approach to reach the warehouse wall by nightfall. Grunting sounded from the other side of the 8ft wall. Mor quietly climbed to peek over, reporting almost a dozen zombies on the other side stacking barrels. The elf relayed his plan, “I’ll attack from the side wall to help distract your frontal assault.” An assault that never came as no-one could unlock the barred gate. They called for Mor’s return. And once the elf scaled the wall to remove the bar from the inside, the zombies stopped work to focus on the intruder. For their undead senses detected the elf penetrating their unholy territory as soon as his feet touched inside the gate. They ambled toward him. Slow enough for the elf to lift and move the bar such that his new allies could join the fight.

Gary’s Griffonfoot pistol decapitated one zombie, but the blast alerted any nearby human guards which started a ticking clock. Resolve that the team remained Cool within the presence of the zombies [still, 20% penalty while in melee]. Arrows, bolts, and bullets soon rendered the undead re-dead. Most killed by Venegral’s cast fireball that also caught Agnes within its range. Collateral damage that took time to heal once silence reclaimed the warehouse yard. And time for Agnes to heal the elf’s temple cut by a slashing zombie claw [critical, avoided by loss of skullcap]. The elf surprised at the warpriestess coming to his aid both in battle and healing. Mor lifted the gate bar back in place, “I fear the guards return at the sound of gunfire. We must hurry.”

And that’s when the ground shook. A tremor. Almost earthquake. [Venegral had lost control (rolled 00) of his channeling which resulted in the energy erupting into the earthquake.] They all knew a greater threat lay in wait inside the warehouse. Venegral tried to channel anew. [fumble- 00] And once again a flash of balled energy erupted from Venegral’s fingertips. The wizard now without his 2^nd sight ability to detect magic. While also impacting/limiting his magical channeling ability.

They could hear dogs barking on the other side of the double-door entry to the warehouse. Mor opened the doors as Gary stood ready. And fast-shot blasted (with Griffonfoot pistol) 2 of the dogs charging him. Mor also fast-shot twanged an arrow at one of the dogs, dropping it in its tracks. Agnes notched an arrow and killed the other wounded dog as Katja targeted the dog’s owner perched in the overhead loft. The owner fired his own pistols. Yes, both at Gary. The first blast (01) jolted Gary’s shield that absorbed most of the damage. The 2^nd shot wide, hitting the door behind Gary, instead of one of his allies in the background. Gary barely regained his composure as a Mastiff snapped at him. It was quick work quieting the last mastiff and its owner.

As Gary searched the bodies, Katja checked the interior office where she found accounting books and a sack of coins (20 gold). But the others stood next to the trapdoor in the floor and pondered their next move. “The zombies and dogs were too easy. I think they just bought time for Dhar to ready for us. And if he’s another magic user, we are in for a tougher fight. Ready to go ‘Leroy Jenkins’ on him?”

Next Session: https://rigglewwh.blogspot.com/2022/09/s5e10-thr-chasing-bhar-beneath-city.html