The Enemy Within (WHF Witch Hunter Quest)

[X] [Goetrin] Disgrace. Graf von Saponatheim will be sending a representative to the town, and you expect they will be eager to be seen 'cleaning up' the town. Goetrin will likely be stripped of command and sent home in disgrace, tarnished with this failure in the eyes of his peers.
[X] [Edel] Incompetent. You will make the necessary reports through the cult hierarchy to make it clear to the Arch Lectors the scale of Edel's failure. Likely he will be quietly 'promoted' to some forgotten corner of a distant abbey and a more appropriate high priest appointed. Perhaps Sigiwalt would like the job.
[X] [Teugen] Repaid You will have a quiet word with the councilman, and make him see the wisdom of burying the hatchet. His wealth, and his connections among the nobility of Reikland and beyond, will be of great help to you and your agents in the future.

LucidProp said:

I wonder if we can do something for the sacrificed lady's family. We were too slow to save her, but can we at least cover her funeral? Would giving her family money be too gauche by the standards of the Empire?

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Could look into awarding her family from the cultists' estates?

[X] [Goetrin] Disgrace. Graf von Saponatheim will be sending a representative to the town, and you expect they will be eager to be seen 'cleaning up' the town. Goetrin will likely be stripped of command and sent home in disgrace, tarnished with this failure in the eyes of his peers.

[X] [Edel] Incompetent. You will make the necessary reports through the cult hierarchy to make it clear to the Arch Lectors the scale of Edel's failure. Likely he will be quietly 'promoted' to some forgotten corner of a distant abbey and a more appropriate high priest appointed. Perhaps Sigiwalt would like the job.

[X] [Teugen] Recalled. You will not resort to the courts for this, but make it publicly known to all Bögenhafen what Teugen did and what the consequences almost were. Merchant families depend on their good reputation more than coin; likely, he will lose his job on the Council and his entire house will face very hard times until they can redeem their good name.

[x] [Other] Arrange a fitting reward for Adhema and Ozzy.

[X] [Other] Give a glowing report on Sigiwalt and recommend that he be promoted

Ronald was truly with us that combat. Pour out one for Sheru-tar "I cast Treachery of Tzeentch and still got stabbed to death by the people I cursed" Gee'taru and Franz "I miscast the moment I tried to do anything" Steinhäger.

We don't really know if replacing the town government will do that much for preventing different forms of Chaotic corruption in the future. If we want to punish Teugen as an example, Recalled is the best option. I thought about Repaid because he would be a very useful ally and he had the best reasons to be difficult (merchant representative + we killed his friend), but like. Dude still obstructed us after we killed a whole fucking daemon.

CrimsonOddball said:

You're mixing the names up

It was Teugen's friend

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The captain counted him as a friend and patron.

Maugan Ra said:

"Frederich Magirius was a respected patron of mine, templar, and more than that he was one of very few men I counted as a friend," the captain says, a cold and ugly look in his eyes as he looks at you, "If it were up to me you would hang this very night. As it is, I shall pray to Verena and Sigmar alike that justice be done and you pay the price for your crimes. Good day."

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Though Teugen was also friends with that guy and also probably stonewalling us out of class solidarity — if you're a merchant who represents other merchants, can't just have a world where templars run around killing merchants after all.

[X] [Goetrin] Retirement. You will speak privately with the captain, and offer him a chance to bow out with some honour. He will appoint a replacement of your choosing, someone of integrity, and then take an early retirement to pursue some harmless interest.

I'm not saying Goetrin didn't contribute to the whole town almost getting eaten by Chaos Spawn because he absolutely did, I am however willing to cut him some slack because from his perspective he was dealing with a renegade Witch Hunter (per the local High Priest of Sigmar a renegade, even) who was accused of murdering a good friend of his because "ARGLE BARGLE PLEA OF INNOCENCE GUILTY OF WASTING MY TIME", a renegade friend killing Witch Hunter who tried to incite his troops to mutiny right in front of him, even, that he didn't jump straight to extra judicial executions in that situation is honestly an incredible level of restraint for the Old World.

Also I'm intrigued by the possibility of putting the Cult of Ranald in charge of local law enforcement in Bogenhafen, set the thieves to catch the thieves and all that.

[X] [Edel] Heretic. Whether knowingly or through ignorance, Edel lent significant aid and guidance to a cult of the dark gods, and Bögenhafen nearly paid the price. You will publicly condemn and prosecute the man, and damn all warnings of his friends and patrons.

[X] [Teugen] Recalled. You will not resort to the courts for this, but make it publicly known to all Bögenhafen what Teugen did and what the consequences almost were. Merchant families depend on their good reputation more than coin; likely, he will lose his job on the Council and his entire house will face very hard times until they can redeem their good name

Editing my vote because while I'm willing to cut Goetrin some slack acting on the word of the local High Priest, the High Priest himself? The Cult of Sigmar has standards and they will damn well be enforced. And if Edel is getting the Big Stick I don't see any reason to leave his buddy and largest source of donations in any position to cause trouble later.

dash931 said:

Could look into awarding her family from the cultists' estates?

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There is a lot of money and goods to confiscate from their estates, especially from Steinhäger's. It will be used to reward our companions, pay for the funeral costs of any unfortunates and to buy the Grafs (or his representative's) good graces when cleaning house according to our ideas.

[X] [Goetrin] Disgrace. Graf von Saponatheim will be sending a representative to the town, and you expect they will be eager to be seen 'cleaning up' the town. Goetrin will likely be stripped of command and sent home in disgrace, tarnished with this failure in the eyes of his peers.

[X] [Edel] Incompetent. You will make the necessary reports through the cult hierarchy to make it clear to the Arch Lectors the scale of Edel's failure. Likely he will be quietly 'promoted' to some forgotten corner of a distant abbey and a more appropriate high priest appointed. Perhaps Sigiwalt would like the job.

[X] [Teugen] Recalled. You will not resort to the courts for this, but make it publicly known to all Bögenhafen what Teugen did and what the consequences almost were. Merchant families depend on their good reputation more than coin; likely, he will lose his job on the Council and his entire house will face very hard times until they can redeem their good name.

[x] [Other] Arrange a fitting reward for Adhema and Ozzy.

[X] [Other] Give a glowing report on Sigiwalt and recommend that he be promoted.

somewhatLazy said:

The captain counted him as a friend and patron.



Though Teugen was also friends with that guy and also probably stonewalling us out of class solidarity — if you're a merchant who represents other merchants, can't just have a world where templars run around killing merchants after all.

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You're mixing up several names
Frederich Magirius was the guy we met at the Golden Trout, the member of the Ordo's inner circle who balked once he realized there was going to be human sacrifice and who Markus managed to talk into flipping
Markus didn't kill Magirius, Goetrin is saying "he was my friend you bastard and you'll pay for his death" because Gideon killed Magirius (presumably because he realized Magirius had been flipped) and then framed Markus for the crime

The merchant who Markus shot at the beginning of the story for knowingly trying to get an innocent woman burnt as a witch was Alexei Bueller
Who was Teugen's friend

Maugan Ra said:

"You are also a murderer," Teugen replies flatly, "Who gunned down Alexei Bueller, a respected merchant and personal acquaintance of mine, before the eyes of an entire village on charges of… well, none at all, as I recall. No charges, no trial, just your own judgement. Now you come to me pressing for the death of another merchant on the strength of that same judgement."

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Sertorius said:

While this may have been a metaphor, the daemon did explicitly imply, that the Captain was helping him... and we have several witnesses that will confirm those words.

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I assumed the daemon was counting on the captain as a pawn of the Ordos, which was a pawn of the daemon. He doesn't need to directly know about the daemon and chaos stuff.

[X] [Goetrin] Disgrace. Graf von Saponatheim will be sending a representative to the town, and you expect they will be eager to be seen 'cleaning up' the town. Goetrin will likely be stripped of command and sent home in disgrace, tarnished with this failure in the eyes of his peers.

[X] [Edel] Incompetent. You will make the necessary reports through the cult hierarchy to make it clear to the Arch Lectors the scale of Edel's failure. Likely he will be quietly 'promoted' to some forgotten corner of a distant abbey and a more appropriate high priest appointed. Perhaps Sigiwalt would like the job.

[X] [Teugen] Replaced. You will speak with Graf von Saponatheim, or whoever he sends to represent him, and make it clear that the Cult views the current situation in Bögenhafen's leadership as responsible for this mess. The Graf will likely clean house, dissolving the council entirely and assuming a more direct rule over the town.

[X] [Other] Arrange a fitting reward for Adhema and Ozzy.

[X] [Goetrin] The Pyre. You will lay charges of conspiracy and blasphemous intent against the Captain, proclaiming that he willingly assisted a cult of the dark gods. He will likely be found guilty, regardless of his actual involvement, and sentenced to burn at the stake.

[X] [Edel] Humbled. You will speak privately to Edel and make it clear how thoroughly you can ruin him, and how closely you will be observing reports from your local sources. He will seize this chance with desperate hands and lend his weight to all of your other actions, now and in the future

[X] [Teugen] Replaced. You will speak with Graf von Saponatheim, or whoever he sends to represent him, and make it clear that the Cult views the current situation in Bögenhafen's leadership as responsible for this mess. The Graf will likely clean house, dissolving the council entirely and assuming a more direct rule over the town

[X] [Goetrin] Retirement. You will speak privately with the captain, and offer him a chance to bow out with some honour. He will appoint a replacement of your choosing, someone of integrity, and then take an early retirement to pursue some harmless interest.

[X] [Edel] Heretic. Whether knowingly or through ignorance, Edel lent significant aid and guidance to a cult of the dark gods, and Bögenhafen nearly paid the price. You will publicly condemn and prosecute the man, and damn all warnings of his friends and patrons.

[X] [Teugen] Recalled. You will not resort to the courts for this, but make it publicly known to all Bögenhafen what Teugen did and what the consequences almost were. Merchant families depend on their good reputation more than coin; likely, he will lose his job on the Council and his entire house will face very hard times until they can redeem their good name.


Thieftaker general time is upon us, Edel and Teugen should face the most serious consequences, we can absolutely cut Goetrin some slack though.

Broadly, going for the middle of the road and relying on the local lord, whose hands off nature has in part lead to this whole problem instead of ensuring that we fuck over Edel and Teugen HARD is the wrong way of doing things, cut off the head, but show relative clemency and understanding to Goetrin who was generally acting as one would when faced with someone who allegedly just killed his friend.

[x] [Goetrin] Disgrace. Graf von Saponatheim will be sending a representative to the town, and you expect they will be eager to be seen 'cleaning up' the town. Goetrin will likely be stripped of command and sent home in disgrace, tarnished with this failure in the eyes of his peers.

[x] [Edel] Humbled. You will speak privately to Edel and make it clear how thoroughly you can ruin him, and how closely you will be observing reports from your local sources. He will seize this chance with desperate hands and lend his weight to all of your other actions, now and in the future.

[x] [Teugen] Replaced. You will speak with Graf von Saponatheim, or whoever he sends to represent him, and make it clear that the Cult views the current situation in Bögenhafen's leadership as responsible for this mess. The Graf will likely clean house, dissolving the council entirely and assuming a more direct rule over the town.

[X] [Goetrin] Disgrace. Graf von Saponatheim will be sending a representative to the town, and you expect they will be eager to be seen 'cleaning up' the town. Goetrin will likely be stripped of command and sent home in disgrace, tarnished with this failure in the eyes of his peers.
[x] [Edel] Incompetent. You will make the necessary reports through the cult hierarchy to make it clear to the Arch Lectors the scale of Edel's failure. Likely he will be quietly 'promoted' to some forgotten corner of a distant abbey and a more appropriate high priest appointed. Perhaps Sigiwalt would like the job.

[x] [Teugen] Repaid. You will have a quiet word with the councilman, and make him see the wisdom of burying the hatchet. His wealth, and his connections among the nobility of Reikland and beyond, will be of great help to you and your agents in the future.

[X] [Goetrin] Disgrace. Graf von Saponatheim will be sending a representative to the town, and you expect they will be eager to be seen 'cleaning up' the town. Goetrin will likely be stripped of command and sent home in disgrace, tarnished with this failure in the eyes of his peers.
[X] [Edel] Incompetent. You will make the necessary reports through the cult hierarchy to make it clear to the Arch Lectors the scale of Edel's failure. Likely he will be quietly 'promoted' to some forgotten corner of a distant abbey and a more appropriate high priest appointed. Perhaps Sigiwalt would like the job.
[X] [Teugen] Repaid You will have a quiet word with the councilman, and make him see the wisdom of burying the hatchet. His wealth, and his connections among the nobility of Reikland and beyond, will be of great help to you and your agents in the future.

[X] [Other] Arrange a fitting reward for Adhema and Ozzy.
[X] [Other] Arrange to pay for the murdered woman's funeral and rest in the nearest Garden of Morr.

Changing my vote to Alectai's. Mainly, because I think this is the set-up to make sure Bogenhafen remains somewhat prosperous at least even without the magic money chaos spell. It remains a Free Town, with its own elections and all, but with Teugen and the merchant class cowed, Edel replaced with Sigiwalt, and the Graf preferably replaced with Sigiwalt's friends in the Watch. The merchants' resources will hopefully be turned towards making more than the bare minimum contributions to the town's prosperity.

Teugen will absolutely want to do that to keep in Sigiwalt's good graces and clear his name of any wrongdoing for example. I would like Magirius to be the one doing that instead, but they killed the only honest merchant in town.

We still achieve some measure of justice too.

Other than that, rewarding Adhema with whatever she wants (within reason), Ozzy with that letter of recommendation, and paying for the sacrificed woman's funeral are the things I absolutely think we should do. Sigiwalt doesn't really need a letter of recommendation since that comes with Edel being deposed as an incompetent.

I do hope Adhema and Ozzy stick around, because those two didn't have any armor and only had knives for self-defense, and they still decided to fight a daemon twice now. That kind of courage is something we could really use in the future, though they preferably should get themselves some real armor and weapons if they tag along with us.

Shine said:

It's a shame that, because Spain will be sent to the Colleges, we likely won't be seeing her again for a long while.

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Maybe I'm misremembering a past QM post, but the whole choice of Max trying to redeem his father's soul by getting a Witch into the Colleges meant constantly watching and looking to either keeping them on track or execution them for heresy.

We're gonna see more of not!Weiss because the plot line she and Max share isn't done yet.

Edel apparently has significant backers, who won't accept us putting their Golden Boy on the spot. Because that'll backlash onto them, and make new enemies. Sadly, calling him a Heretic just buys us more problems without actually solving the problem.

Incompetent is fine because they can keep things quiet, so the blowback won't fall on them for backing him, but they'll never forgive Markus for openly calling their judgement into question. Even if it's right to do so. And they've apparently got significant influence.

Edel's also just not a heretic
And Markus knows he's not a heretic

We could have Markus decide that Bogenhafen was his breaking point and from now on he'll wield the law as a weapon against those who wronged him personally
But

1. I don't know if the thread really wants that to be the direction Markus goes in
2. It feels weird to target Edel specifically since he was easily the least confrontational and adversarial of the three, so there's less to be personally spiteful about, unless we're also targeting Teugen and Goetrin

It doesn't feel like a fight worth having, since Edel's got the most backing and the least amount of dirt on him
And it also doesn't feel like a fight Markus would want to have anyway, since Edel's largely just guilty of not being as helpful as he should have been, rather than actually antagonistic
Especially when Markus can just submit a simple report to the Arch Lectors and call it a day, knowing Edel will probably just be given a quiet posting somewhere he can't cause harm

[X] [Goetrin] Disgrace. Graf von Saponatheim will be sending a representative to the town, and you expect they will be eager to be seen 'cleaning up' the town. Goetrin will likely be stripped of command and sent home in disgrace, tarnished with this failure in the eyes of his peers.
[X] [Edel] Heretic. Whether knowingly or through ignorance, Edel lent significant aid and guidance to a cult of the dark gods, and Bögenhafen nearly paid the price. You will publicly condemn and prosecute the man, and damn all warnings of his friends and patrons.
[X] [Teugen] Replaced. You will speak with Graf von Saponatheim, or whoever he sends to represent him, and make it clear that the Cult views the current situation in Bögenhafen's leadership as responsible for this mess. The Graf will likely clean house, dissolving the council entirely and assuming a more direct rule over the town.
[X] [Other] Arrange a fitting reward for Adhema and Ozzy.
[X] [Other] Give a glowing report on Sigiwalt and recommend that he be promoted.

[X] [Goetrin] Retirement. You will speak privately with the captain, and offer him a chance to bow out with some honour. He will appoint a replacement of your choosing, someone of integrity, and then take an early retirement to pursue some harmless interest.
[X] [Edel] Heretic. Whether knowingly or through ignorance, Edel lent significant aid and guidance to a cult of the dark gods, and Bögenhafen nearly paid the price. You will publicly condemn and prosecute the man, and damn all warnings of his friends and patrons.
[X] [Teugen] Recalled. You will not resort to the courts for this, but make it publicly known to all Bögenhafen what Teugen did and what the consequences almost were. Merchant families depend on their good reputation more than coin; likely, he will lose his job on the Council and his entire house will face very hard times until they can redeem their good name.
[X] [Other] Arrange a fitting reward for Adhema and Ozzy.
[X] [Other] Give a glowing report on Sigiwalt and recommend that he be promoted.

[X] [Goetrin] Retirement. You will speak privately with the captain, and offer him a chance to bow out with some honour. He will appoint a replacement of your choosing, someone of integrity, and then take an early retirement to pursue some harmless interest.

Some quick searching and rereading shows Goetrin was relatively innocent. Only acting on the recommendations and advice of his legal and social superiors and honestly motivated by grief.
It was his sergeant who was legitimately bought off.

[X] [Edel] Heretic. Whether knowingly or through ignorance, Edel lent significant aid and guidance to a cult of the dark gods, and Bögenhafen nearly paid the price. You will publicly condemn and prosecute the man, and damn all warnings of his friends and patrons.

As the flavor text says, Edel provided real aid to and covered for a demonic cult. Despite being explicitly informed the Cult was demonic too.

[X] [Teugen] Replaced. You will speak with Graf von Saponatheim, or whoever he sends to represent him, and make it clear that the Cult views the current situation in Bögenhafen's leadership as responsible for this mess. The Graf will likely clean house, dissolving the council entirely and assuming a more direct rule over the town.

Teugen is a corrupt shithead with corrupt shithead, rapist friends. And all of this happened under his watch even if he wasn't aiding and abetting the cultists.

[X] [Other] Arrange a fitting reward for Adhema and Ozzy.
[X] [Other] Give a glowing report on Sigiwalt and recommend that he be promoted.
[X] [Other] Arrange to pay for the murdered woman's funeral and rest in the nearest Garden of Morr.

[X] [Goetrin] Retirement. You will speak privately with the captain, and offer him a chance to bow out with some honour. He will appoint a replacement of your choosing, someone of integrity, and then take an early retirement to pursue some harmless interest.
[X] [Edel] Heretic. Whether knowingly or through ignorance, Edel lent significant aid and guidance to a cult of the dark gods, and Bögenhafen nearly paid the price. You will publicly condemn and prosecute the man, and damn all warnings of his friends and patrons.
[X] [Teugen] Recalled. You will not resort to the courts for this, but make it publicly known to all Bögenhafen what Teugen did and what the consequences almost were. Merchant families depend on their good reputation more than coin; likely, he will lose his job on the Council and his entire house will face very hard times until they can redeem their good name.
[X] [Other] Arrange a fitting reward for Adhema and Ozzy.
[X] [Other] Give a glowing report on Sigiwalt and recommend that he be promoted.

Votes so far.

For Goetrin the Watch Captain, 25 want him to be discharged in disgrace, 6 wants to feed him to the pyre, and 6 want him to quietly retire in exchange for Markus picking the next Watch Captain.

19 votes want Edel the High Priest to be declared an incompetent and kill his career, 14 want him dead, and only 4 want him humbled and forever indebt to Markus.

Lastly, for Teugen the Councilman, 15 want him replaced and the council dissolved, 10 vote for Repaid to put him in debt to Markus and clear our Witch Hunter's name among the merchant-class, and 10 votes want him Recalled and publicly shamed along with his entire house.

As for what else Markus will do in town, an overwhelming majority at 21 want him to reward Adhema and Ozzy, 12 want to give a glowing report of Sigiwalt, 3 want to visit the Carnival again and work on Markus' feelings on mutants, and 3 wish for Markus to pay for the murdered woman's funeral.

[X] [Goetrin] Retirement. You will speak privately with the captain, and offer him a chance to bow out with some honour. He will appoint a replacement of your choosing, someone of integrity, and then take an early retirement to pursue some harmless interest.

[x] [Edel] Incompetent. You will make the necessary reports through the cult hierarchy to make it clear to the Arch Lectors the scale of Edel's failure. Likely he will be quietly 'promoted' to some forgotten corner of a distant abbey and a more appropriate high priest appointed. Perhaps Sigiwalt would like the job.

[x] [Teugen] Repaid. You will have a quiet word with the councilman, and make him see the wisdom of burying the hatchet. His wealth, and his connections among the nobility of Reikland and beyond, will be of great help to you and your agents in the future.

[X] [Other] Arrange to pay for the murdered woman's funeral and rest in the nearest Garden of Morr.

[X] [Other] Visit the Doktor and Loremaster of the Pandemonium Carnival once more to try and work out Markus' feelings on mutation

[X] [Goetrin] Disgrace. Graf von Saponatheim will be sending a representative to the town, and you expect they will be eager to be seen 'cleaning up' the town. Goetrin will likely be stripped of command and sent home in disgrace, tarnished with this failure in the eyes of his peers.
[X] [Edel] Incompetent. You will make the necessary reports through the cult hierarchy to make it clear to the Arch Lectors the scale of Edel's failure. Likely he will be quietly 'promoted' to some forgotten corner of a distant abbey and a more appropriate high priest appointed. Perhaps Sigiwalt would like the job.
[X] [Teugen] Repaid You will have a quiet word with the councilman, and make him see the wisdom of burying the hatchet. His wealth, and his connections among the nobility of Reikland and beyond, will be of great help to you and your agents in the future.

[X] [Other] Arrange a fitting reward for Adhema and Ozzy.
[X] [Other] Give a glowing report on Sigiwalt and recommend that he be promoted

[X] [Goetrin] Disgrace. Graf von Saponatheim will be sending a representative to the town, and you expect they will be eager to be seen 'cleaning up' the town. Goetrin will likely be stripped of command and sent home in disgrace, tarnished with this failure in the eyes of his peers.
[X] [Edel] Incompetent. You will make the necessary reports through the cult hierarchy to make it clear to the Arch Lectors the scale of Edel's failure. Likely he will be quietly 'promoted' to some forgotten corner of a distant abbey and a more appropriate high priest appointed. Perhaps Sigiwalt would like the job.
[X] [Teugen] Replaced. You will speak with Graf von Saponatheim, or whoever he sends to represent him, and make it clear that the Cult views the current situation in Bögenhafen's leadership as responsible for this mess. The Graf will likely clean house, dissolving the council entirely and assuming a more direct rule over the town.

[X] [Other] Arrange a fitting reward for Adhema and Ozzy.
[X] [Other] Give a glowing report on Sigiwalt and recommend that he be promoted.