XXIX - Brother
You can't do it. You should, you know this - the law is uncompromising on this matter, and opposition to the unclean magics of the witch is a core tenet of Sigmar's teachings for very good reason. There are a thousand reasons you ought to draw your sword and slay the unsanctioned spellcaster here and now, reasons pragmatic and legal and spiritual, and all of them fall short against a single straightforward fact - Rikard is your brother. He's an annoying little shit, especially of late, a man who hates you and seems compelled to antagonise you at every turn, but he is still your brother. You've sent one relative to the pyre already, and faced now with the chance to repeat that deed, you simply cannot. Your arms will not move, your tongue will not speak, your heart will not lend you strength.
"...he asked me to protect you," you sigh, your shoulders slumping in defeat, and in your heart a small shred of conviction that once drove you falls away and fades to nothing.
"I… what?" Rikard seems surprised, almost to the point of incomprehension. Perhaps that is a comfort, or perhaps it merely adds to the burden; even your brother thought you would be better than this.
"Father's ghost," you explain, closing your eyes and feeling all the fire drain out of your body, "Just before I laid him to rest. He asked me to protect you. It's what he died doing. I can't betray that."
"Oh. I see," Rikard's voice sounds faint, almost hollow, and when you open your eyes again it is just in time to see him wipe his own free of tears. "Well. What happens now?"
"We may as well start by having Maria join us," you reply, raising your voice just enough to be clearly audible in the hallway outside. You didn't close the door when you entered, and sure enough a moment later your sister appears in the doorway, her pale face drawn and tense with mingled fear and relief. "Did you know, sister?"
"No," Maria shakes her head, casting Rikard a look both venomous and faintly exasperated. "If I had, I would not have invited
a Templar of Sigmar to our door. Meaning no offence to you, Markus."
"Naturally," you say dryly, a faint flicker of amusement lighting the dark hollow of your heart. "Well, we know now. As for what happens next… that, Rikard, depends on you."
"What do you mean?" Rikard frowns at you, but you notice with some relief that he has put down the gun, and there is less distaste in his words than there was before.
"If you spoke true, if you have not cast anything since that day, if you never do so in the future… then nothing will happen," you explain, shaking your head in wonder. You have no real name for the cocktail of emotions swirling through your soul right now, at once shamed and relieved beyond measure. You have committed to this course, and now you must see it through. "If you were lying, or intend to break your word in the future, then you and I will burn together."
"I… you'd go that far?" Rikard blinks at you, clearly astonished.
"Think about it, idiot," Maria scoffs, folding her hands and fixing your brother with a withering glare, "The penalties for sheltering a witch are hardly less harsh than being one, and Markus is a Templar. No organisation tolerates betrayal, especially not one so dependent upon the respect that others have for the law to function."
You nod grimly, all too aware that Maria herself is now running the same risk. Perhaps another woman might be able to claim ignorance, but the daughter and sister of two confirmed witches? The chance that she might be believed is slim indeed, unless she turns you both in herself. If she does, well, you'd be the world's greatest hypocrite to blame her for it.
"Father should have gone to the Colleges, and I still think you should do likewise," you sigh, looking at your brother once more, "but I won't kill you for refusing. Others will not be nearly so merciful, so you need to resist any temptation to cast from now until you die. Frankly, you probably need to stop painting the Winds into your works as well; father isn't the only noble to take an interest in the arcane, and the chances that someone else will recognise them are too high already."
Rikard nods shakily, and you realise with some bleak amusement that he never considered this. He was expecting you to kill him when the truth came out, likely built his entire model of you on that assumption, and so never bothered to think much further into the future. Perhaps he even expected that the truth would come out one way or the other in the end, that eventually he'd be forced to make a choice between the Colleges and death. Now he has been presented with a third choice, and it seems he does not know what to do with it or himself.
"Who else knows?" Maria says briskly, casting a brief glance back at the doorway, "I ordered the servants away, and will need to take steps to ensure nobody disobeyed, but beyond that?"
"Nobody," Rikard says haltingly, before pausing and frowning, "Wait, no. Etelka Herzen, the witch who contacted father. She knows, assuming that she still lives."
"Then it seems, dear brother, you have a cultist to track down," Maria says sweetly, a cold look in her eyes as she sizes you up, "I assume your order maintains at least some records of those it burns, in case we should be so fortunate?"
"It does," you allow, slightly discomforted by the intense look in your sister's eyes, "Though it would take a great deal of time to sift through ten years of records, especially if I need to confirm that the name does not appear."
"We're not under any urgent time pressure - if she lives, the witch has not used what she knows for ten years at least," Maria waves her hand dismissively, "Beyond which, you hardly need to work alone. You have a position of authority, and you have future career prospects that may encourage any number of enterprising souls to curry your favour; let it be known that you seek to ascertain the fate of the woman who led your father astray and many will fall over themselves praising you for your diligence."
"...you've become a dangerous woman, Maria," you say, bemused and a little bit concerned.
"I have little choice in the matter, since it seems both my brothers are content to self-destruct in pursuit of their most absurd principles," your sister sniffs, "Now, I will have the servants prepare dinner. You will both join me for a hot meal in the western hall, one hour from now, and there we will have a civilised conversation with each other for the first time in ten years."
So saying, Maria von Bruner turns on her heel and sweeps out of the studio with her head held high, leaving you and your brother adrift and rudderless in her wake. For a moment neither of you says anything, then Rikard cracks something approaching a smile.
"I don't suppose the pyre is still an option?"
"Rikard," you growl, hands balling back into fists, but your brother merely raises his hands in surrender.
"A poor jest, my apologies," he sighs, heading for the door as well, "Well, we might as well prepare. You'll find your old clothes still in your rooms, reasonably well maintained. Go and wash up before you join us for dinner. We
do still have standards."
-/-
Markus has resolved the Haunted Home situation and completed his personal long-term goal of earning his father's forgiveness (or perhaps more accurately realised that he feels able to defend his choices before his father's ghost). Consequently, he has 780xp to spend.
Below are a series of premade packages, each worth roughly 250xp. You may choose three of them.
Alternately, those of you with greater system mastery may create and suggest plan votes that spend the 780 total in a more customised way, either in total or as alternate packages. You may draw from up to rank 3 Witch Hunter or rank 2 Stevedore.
[ ] Swordsman
+2 weapon skill (100), +5 Melee Fencing (100), +5 Melee Basic (100). This package raises Markus' primary melee skills to a total of 70.
[ ] Marksman
+2 ballistic skill (80), +5 Ranged Blackpowder (100), +3 perception (90). This package makes you a better shot and more likely to spot your targets at range.
[ ] Fistfighter
+7 Melee Brawling (160) and the Dirty Fighting talent (100). This package raises Markus' unarmed combat skill to 70, and also lets him inflict more damage and gain more SL at the cost of violating good sportsmanship.
[ ] Unshakeable
+4 willpower (160), +5 Cool (100). This package makes Markus far harder to shake or intimidate, raising his Cool skill to a total of 70.
[ ] Inspiring
+5 Fellowship (125), +4 Charm (80), +4 Leadership (80). This package raises Markus' primary skills for swaying and commanding others to a total of 60 each.
[ ] Tough As Nails
+3 Toughness (150), Tenacious talent (100). This package raises Markus' toughness to 60, giving him two more wounds and another point of damage reduction, and doubles the amount of time he can endure harsh conditions or deprivation.
[ ] Brawny
+3 strength (75), Very Strong talent (100), +5 Swim (100). This package raises Markus' strength bonus to 4, meaning he hits harder and can bear more weight, and also means he learns how to swim.
[ ] Insightful
+8 initiative (270). This 'package' makes Markus notably faster to act, and also increases his skills at reading people, noticing details and navigation.
