[X] Pursue. Take Max and track the stranger through Weissbruck. He has a distinctive look and is clearly a new arrival in town, so you should be able to track him down.
If we defend then he could just retreat and kill us in the next town when we let our guard down. We need to take the initiative now to be the 1st one to get a jump on him rather than the other way around. Plus, I think we can conscript the services of the local guard to guard our boat while we're searching so we can defend Josef and his crew while pressing at the same time.
Edit: @Maugan Ra can we conscript a squad or two of town guards to temporarily guard the barge and its crew for its stay in the town before we go to Pursue? We are an inquisitor now, so that must give us some authority. If nothing else, can we leave Max behind to defend the boat and act as a bodyguard for Josef and the crew?
@Maugan Ra boss since we have gotten a good look at our enemy would it be possible to call on the Town's Authorities as certified member of the Order of the Silver Hammer for assistance in tracking this man down. The town guard would be very useful to have if we are trying to find this guy in a growing town that is full of people or help guard the ship.
Legally speaking, you have no authority over the town watch or any other state organisation. This is not to say that you don't have any influence over them, especially as a noble, but outside of questioning someone and bringing charges against them in court your powers are actually quite limited.
The local authorities could potentially be persuaded to assist in helping you to track this man down, but that would entail locating the relevant official and making the case to them - and, frankly, "I don't like the way that guy looked at me" is a pretty weak justification for anything approaching an actual manhunt.
Legally speaking, you have no authority over the town watch or any other state organisation. This is not to say that you don't have any influence over them, especially as a noble, but outside of questioning someone and bringing charges against them in court your powers are actually quite limited.
The local authorities could potentially be persuaded to assist in helping you to track this man down, but that would entail locating the relevant official and making the case to them - and, frankly, "I don't like the way that guy looked at me" is a pretty weak justification for anything approaching an actual manhunt.
Is Joef and the crew just planning on staying near the boat while we Pursue or are they going to be going to the market to buy/sell stuff and participate in the festival?
Is Joef and the crew just planning on staying near the boat while we Pursue or are they going to be going to the market to buy/sell stuff and participate in the festival?
Josef and the boat hands will probably be heading to the nearest tavern for a relaxing evening, but won't be planning to stay too long as they still need to set out for Bogenhafen in the morning. Markus for his part reckons that this is probably safe enough - they'll be around plenty of other people, and if the stranger means anyone on the boat harm it is almost certainly Markus himself.
[X] Pursue. Take Max and track the stranger through Weissbruck. He has a distinctive look and is clearly a new arrival in town, so you should be able to track him down.
[X] Pursue. Take Max and track the stranger through Weissbruck. He has a distinctive look and is clearly a new arrival in town, so you should be able to track him down.
Legally speaking, you have no authority over the town watch or any other state organisation. This is not to say that you don't have any influence over them, especially as a noble, but outside of questioning someone and bringing charges against them in court your powers are actually quite limited.
The local authorities could potentially be persuaded to assist in helping you to track this man down, but that would entail locating the relevant official and making the case to them - and, frankly, "I don't like the way that guy looked at me" is a pretty weak justification for anything approaching an actual manhunt.
Would it still be possible to let the Authorities know we are here and tracking someone, because if we have a confrontation with the guy and they get involved we could have them interfere with out knowing Markus is a Templar Witch Hunter. Even if they don't give us physical help just nonintervention could be useful. We are a agent of the Government if of the Religious kind not the secular so to speak.
Would a modified Pursuit vote that added informing any people of Authority we run into who we are and what we doing in town be workable.
Would it still be possible to let the Authorities know we are here and tracking someone, because if we have a confrontation with the guy and they get involved we could have them interfere with out knowing Markus is a Templar Witch Hunter. Even if they don't give us physical help just nonintervention could be useful. We are a agent of the Government if of the Religious kind not the secular so to speak.
Would a modified Pursuit vote that added informing any people of Authority we run into who we are and what we doing in town.
If you encounter the authorities while in the process of an investigation Markus will inform them of his identity and purpose here, that doesn't require a specific sub-vote.
[x] Pursue. Take Max and track the stranger through Weissbruck. He has a distinctive look and is clearly a new arrival in town, so you should be able to track him down.
[X] Pursue. Take Max and track the stranger through Weissbruck. He has a distinctive look and is clearly a new arrival in town, so you should be able to track him down
[X] Pursue. Take Max and track the stranger through Weissbruck. He has a distinctive look and is clearly a new arrival in town, so you should be able to track him down.
Giving a hitman out for your blood time to prepare doesn't seem wise. Jumping him now while we have him in our sights is better.
[X] Pursue. Take Max and track the stranger through Weissbruck. He has a distinctive look and is clearly a new arrival in town, so you should be able to track him down.
The game is afoot, cry tally-ho and let slip the dogs of war!
[x] Pursue. Take Max and track the stranger through Weissbruck. He has a distinctive look and is clearly a new arrival in town, so you should be able to track him down.
[X] Pursue. Take Max and track the stranger through Weissbruck. He has a distinctive look and is clearly a new arrival in town, so you should be able to track him down.
[X] Pursue. Take Max and track the stranger through Weissbruck. He has a distinctive look and is clearly a new arrival in town, so you should be able to track him down.
[X] Pursue. Take Max and track the stranger through Weissbruck. He has a distinctive look and is clearly a new arrival in town, so you should be able to track him down.
[X] Pursue. Take Max and track the stranger through Weissbruck. He has a distinctive look and is clearly a new arrival in town, so you should be able to track him down.
[X] Pursue. Take Max and track the stranger through Weissbruck. He has a distinctive look and is clearly a new arrival in town, so you should be able to track him down.
[X] Pursue. Take Max and track the stranger through Weissbruck. He has a distinctive look and is clearly a new arrival in town, so you should be able to track him down.
Scheduled vote count started by Maugan Ra on Aug 19, 2024 at 11:29 AM, finished with 40 posts and 33 votes.
[X] Pursue. Take Max and track the stranger through Weissbruck. He has a distinctive look and is clearly a new arrival in town, so you should be able to track him down.
Your foe flees for shelter; pursuit is the only option. With the clarity of that thought in mind you turn and stride for the gangplank, pausing only to grab your broad-brimmed hat as you go. Max falls in behind you without a word, understanding the implied command, while Josef frowns quizzically as you approach. You consider for a moment asking him to come along, then discard the thought as unworthy in an instant. Josef is a tough old bird and can throw a punch, but this is a different kind of game.
"I've some business to handle here," you say as you step past him, keeping it vague out of professional paranoia, "Don't worry, we'll be back before nightfall."
The tavern door creaks as you push it open, and you stop there upon the threshold for a moment as the wave of warmth and light washes across you. By the time your senses have adjusted so too have the patrons noticed your sudden arrival, and silence falls in your wake as you cross the barroom floor. The man behind the counter looks like he would rather be anywhere but here, but to his credit he still pastes something approaching a welcoming smile on his face as you stop before him.
"A man came through here, less than a minute ago," you say curtly, pitching your voice so that the rest of the room can hear, "Stocky build, travel-stained coat, crossbow on his back. I've business with him tonight."
Markus makes an Average (+20) Gossip test. Target is 71, roll is 20, strong success.
"I… oh, the bounty hunter?" the tavern keeper blinks and then nods his head, "Aye, he stepped out the back door just a moment ago. Bought a drink earlier to watch the waterfront, said he was waiting for someone. What was the name… Kuftsos, that was it. Adolphus Kuftsos."
"He's staying over at the Trumpet, I heard, three blocks south of here," one of the nearby workers chimes in, lifting his flagon to you in brief salute, "Least, that's where he wanted news sent if anyone saw someone wanted come through. Said there'd be a cut of the bounty if it panned out."
"My thanks, citizens," you say with an approving nod, turning away once more to head for the door that the barkeep indicated, "I will remember your diligence."
Max says nothing as you step out into the street beyond, too busy keeping an eye out just in case your quarry happened to be lying in wait with a readied crossbow, but once it is clear there is nothing in the street save bustling traders and an old cart full of produce he grunts thoughtfully. "Could have gotten that myself, but not so fast. People give up the goods real quick when a Templar starts asking, I guess."
You allow yourself a grim smile as you lead the way through the streets, pleased to have been proven right in your faith once more. Not in Sigmar, though he watches over you every day, but in your fellow man. "It can be difficult to remember, Max Ernst, but most people are decent at their core. They care for their fellows, they flock to the cause of righteousness when called, and they obey the laws that matter. If they did not, my work would be much harder, and much less worthwhile."
"Eh, if you say so," Max grunts as he falls into step behind you, "Personally, I reckon it's the hat."
Regardless of the motive behind the citizens' helpful information, the quality of it soon bears out, as you find the Trumpet Inn within a matter of minutes. In truth the biggest obstacle is the fact that the sign is misspelt and the musical instrument being displayed above the door is really more of a trombone, but you suppose to the average inhabitant of the Empire such differences are immaterial. In any case, the precise identity of the tavern matters far less than the fact that your quarry is currently standing in the street outside it, speaking in low but intense tones with a trio of burly looking dockworkers.
"Your man's looking to pick up some muscle," Max notes with the dry certainty of one thug recognising another, "Guessing he's in a hurry, if he's just grabbing the biggest and meanest looking guys off the street."
"Then let us throw some mud on the contract," you nod, stepping forward and raising your voice, "Adolphus Kuftsos! I would have words with you."
The bounty hunter flinches, then turns towards you with a snarl twisting at his lips. His is a face that has clearly taken more than its fair share of blows, and beneath the high collar of his jacket you can see a gnarled line of scar tissue across his neck and throat. It makes his voice rough and rasping in a way no normal man could match, but there is nothing alien about the venomous hatred behind his words.
"I've no words to bandy with the likes of you," he growls, hefting a heavy crossbow in leather gloved hands as he steps forwards, his hired thugs shrugging and brandishing heavy clubs as they fan out behind him. All along the street witnesses and passers by stop in shock, eyes flitting from the hunter to the Templar and back again, and like water on sand the crowds drain rapidly away.
"It was not a request," you say flatly, drawing the pistol from your belt but keeping the muzzle pointed down at the muddy road. Behind you, there is a faint rasp as Max draws his sword and steps up into a flanking position. "I am an Inquisitor of the Holy Order of Sigmarite Templars, and on that authority I demand that you lower your weapons and submit to questioning."
You've seen a lot of different reactions to a demand paired with your title before. Many look terrified, some angry and defensive, a few resigned. Adolphus Kuftsos is the first man you have ever encountered who looks genuinely outraged.
"That you would dare…" he hisses, his eyes glittering with honest fury, "You are no templar, Kastor Lieberung. You are a traitor, a heretic, and a dead man."
Then, before you can do much more than narrow your eyes, Adolphus lifts the crossbow to his shoulder and fires. The bolt takes you in the side, a sledgehammer impact that sends you skidding backwards with a grunt of pain, but the dwarf-forged chain you wear beneath your coat turns the point of the weapon aside before it can tear into your flesh. Growling, you raise your pistol and return fire, but the angle is all wrong and your shot only clips Kuftsos on the arm. Even that is enough to send the crossbow spilling from his hands with a bark of pain, however, so you bare your teeth in a savage smile even as onlookers scream in surprise and fear.
"You boys want to be thinking real carefully now," Max Ernst says in a cold and focused voice, sword held ready as he steps forwards to cover you, "Right now, all you've done is take coin from an idiot. You swing those sticks at me, and things won't be so rosy."
The dockworkers, whether suddenly aware of the consequences or simply cowed by the raw menace in Max's tone, hesitate for just a moment. That fleeting instant is enough for Kuftsos, and with a growl the bounty hunter turns on his heel and flees down the street.
Combat order is decided by initiative stats, with ties broken by agility, as follows:
Max Ernst - 45
Adolphus Kuftsos - 35
Bengt, Gurt and Willie (local dockworkers) - 32
Markus von Bruner - 32
Note that for round one, Adolphus goes first as he is the one opening hostilities, with Max effectively "holding his action" as he waits to see what his boss is going to do.
Adolphus' band begins with two points of advantage, as they outnumber the enemy by 2 to 1.
Round One
Adolphus
Fires his crossbow at Markus. He gets +20 for short range, so his effective skill is 93. He rolls 47, a hit with +5SL, raised to +6 by his Hatred (Cultists) trait.
Note that psychological effects like this operate off perceived traits, not actual. Adolphus believes you a cultist of the dark gods, and so gains his bonuses to attack you, but must also make cool tests to not do so.
Markus cannot defend against ranged attacks without a shield, so he is hit. Crossbows have a base damage of +9, increased to 15 by the total SL.
47 is a body hit. Markus has 4 armour points on his body and a toughness bonus of 5, so he reduces the damage by 9, taking 6 wounds. He has 12 left.
Successfully dealing damage grants a point of advantage, raising his total to 3.
Max Ernst
Max draws his sword and makes an intimidate action against the thugs, seeking to persuade them to stay out of this. He has an intimidate skill of 54 and rolls 13, a success with +4SL.
The thugs have an average cool skill of 25, with a +20 bonus for having the weight of numbers. They roll 80, a failure with -4SL. Max now causes fear in them.
This success means that Max and Markus now have one point of advantage.
Local Dockworkers
As Max causes Fear, the local dockworkers cannot willingly draw closer to him. As they only have melee weapons, this means they cannot attack this turn. At the end of the round, each of them tests against their cool skill of 25.
With rolls of 59, 85 and 52, the three dockworkers remain unable to muster the will to get actively involved.
Markus von Bruner
Having already drawn his pistol, Markus raises it and returns fire at Adolphus. He too gets a +20 bonus for short range, and so is rolling against 78. He rolls 83 and spends fortune to reroll, getting 21. This is a success with +5SL, hitting the left arm.
As before, Adolphus cannot dodge or defend against this and is hit. He has two points of armour, reduced to 1 by the penetrating quality. He also has a toughness bonus of 5, so his total "soak" is 6.
Pistols have a damage of +9, increased to 14 by the accuracy of the attack, reduced to 8 by the soak. Adolphus takes eight wounds. He has ten left.
Having been shot by a blackpowder weapon, Adolphus makes an average (+20) cool check. His total is 54, and he rolls 67. He gains a Broken condition.
At round end, Adolphus and his minions have three advantage, while Max and Markus have two. Adolphus, having a Broken condition, decides to flee rather than stay and fight.
"Damn it," you spit, shoving the pistol back into the holster and throwing yourself into a run, "After him! Somebody stop that man!"
Unfortunately moral righteousness is no substitute for athleticism, and for all your skill and grim resolve you have never been an exceptional runner. Adolphus runs like all the daemons of chaos are on his heels, diving through crowds and wriggling through sidestreets, and within a matter of moments you have lost sight of him entirely. A minute or so later you concede that you will not be catching him and slow to a stop, leaning against the damp stone wall of an old warehouse to catch your breath. Max falls in besides you a moment later, hands on his hips as he sucks in deep lungfuls of air.
"The fuck did he mean by that?" your pet legbreaker asks after a moment, frowning in the direction you last saw the bounty hunter running, "Traitor and heretic… and who the hell is Kastor?"
"I don't know," you grunt, straightening up and shaking your head, "He must have mistaken me for another."
The real question, of course, is whether or not he was mistaken about Kastor Lieberung. You're not a stupid man, but you think even the dullest of wit could put these pieces together - the bounty hunter has mistaken you for your doppelganger, presumably unaware of Lieberung's death in that mutant ambush. You know not what matter of crime the man from Nuln has committed to have a hunter like that set on his tail, but your chances of convincing him of the error are slim indeed; you can hardly blame a man for discarding any explanation that hinges on a heretofore unknown identical twin.
(Did the two men who recognised you at the Königsplatz also mistake you for Kastor? If so, what was their connection to the dead man, and how did they come to wind up corpses in an Altdorf alleyway?)
"Come on," you say at last, turning your back on the street and making your way back towards the Trumpet Inn, "the watch will be here soon, and they'll want to know why I was firing a pistol in the middle of the street. Let's get the formalities over with."
Max grunts, and though he hesitates for a moment he still falls into step alongside you. You're pretty sure he means to whisper next, a sentiment for his ears alone rather than yours, but you hear it and smile all the same. "First time I've gone running towards the watch after a brawl…"
Adolphus is fleeing through the streets of Weissbruck, while Markus and Max pursue. He begins with a lead of 1 (an abstract representation of distance) and if he increases it to 5 will successfully escape. If it is reduced to zero, he will be caught.
Round One. All participants are on foot, and there are no notable obstacles. Everyone rolls an average (+20) athletics test.
Adolphus has a base skill of 77, and so rolls against 97. He gets a result of 29, for a base of +7SL. He also has the sprinter talent, which adds +2SL to this (1 for succeeding, and 1 for now having a higher movement value than his pursuers).
Markus has a base skill of 26, and so is testing against 46. He rolls 80, spends fortune to reroll, and gets 67, a failure by -2SL.
Max has a base skill of 46 and so rolls against 66. He scores 70, a failure by -1SL.
The difference between the quarry and the best among the pursuers is added to the distance. In this case, it means that Adolphus increases the distance from 1 to 11, and thereby escapes immediately.
-/-
Fortunately, the town watch are very understanding once you have identified by rank and title, and when you inform them that you too will be leaving town tomorrow they become downright helpful. A simple description of Adolphus Kuftsos and the words 'attempted murder of a Templar' are enough to elicit promises of arrest warrants and alerted patrols from the mildly fawning officer, and you are even able to make him agree that the bounty hunter is to be captured alive and held for interrogation if at all possible. Max seems to take great glee in the sight of the authorities bowing and scraping before you, and you cannot muster the heart to chide him for it.
In truth, you do not expect the efforts of the Weissbruck soldiery to amount to all that much. There is too much traffic entering and leaving this town at all hours of the day for a professional like Adolphus to be cornered by anything less than a dedicated manhunt, and personally you suspect he has probably already fled into the countryside. Still, it beats doing nothing, and when word spreads to other towns and the judges that work there the bounty hunter may find his options growing increasingly constrained.
Josef is curious upon your return to the Berebeli, especially given the stiffness with which you hold yourself and whatever rumours he picked up while out drinking, but he knows better than to pry. Actually, you think he's doing his level best to forget you are a Templar at all, which is disappointing but not terribly surprising. Either way, you are able to set up a guard rotation with Max and then turn in for the night without further complications.
Markus rolls an average (+20) Endurance test to heal. Goal is 72, roll is 21, success with 5SL. Markus fully heals overnight.
The barge leaves Weissbruck early the next morning, as agreed, and for a blessing the remaining four days of the journey are quiet and uneventful. So it is that, a week or so after you first left Altdorf, you find yourself arriving without fanfare at the merchant town of Bögenhafen. Like many imperial towns the architecture here leans towards the tight packed and towering, with narrow streets and square plazas crammed together in a dense urban sprawl on both banks of the sluggish River Bögen. Unlike some places you have seen there are no grand gatehouses or other obstructions to bar access to the town via the river, and though the soldiers in the overlooking towers wave to you as the Berebeli approaches, nobody stops you or demands identification before you pass the walls and approach the docks. Sloppy, you think, but hopefully not critically so.
"Right then! Made it just in time, by the sounds of things," Josef chortles as he guides his barge into the dock, "I've got a cargo full of wine to deliver, and after that an empty hold to fill with goods for the return trip, but we'll be here for the next three days at least. Don't want to miss the Schaffenfest, after all."
You nod, conscious of the distant noises of merrymaking carried on the noon breeze from the fields outside the town. A festival might complicate your work, for the swell in transient population will have strained any authorities to their limit, but it cannot be helped.
"You know, I never did ask," you muse aloud as Wolmar and Gilda set to tying the boat up and flagging down a mildly hungover looking official from his hut by the waterfront, "What is the Schaffenfest?"
"What is the… oh, young master, sometimes you remind me just how high born you really are," Josef chuckles, shaking his head, "The Schaffenfest is the biggest festival in southern Reikland! For one day a year all livestock sales in Bögenhafen go through untaxed, which of course means every drover and cattle farmer from here to Nuln brings their stock to sell at a bargain price, and everyone else comes along to give them ways to spend their hard earned money. By now you're looking at a solid week of games and merrymaking… I think there's even a knight's tournament set up for the quality to compete in at that."
You nod, acknowledging the festival as a complicating factor but relieved it is unlikely to be more than that. If there were a religious aspect to the celebrations you would have to tread especially carefully, but as it is overworked judges are likely to be the worst of it. You've handled worse before.
"You know, speaking of questions we never asked," Max says as the two of you disembark, paying little heed to the dock official who goes white and bows as you pass, "What is it you're here for, anyway?"
"I am here to investigate a group known as the Ordo Septinarius, known to be embedded in the merchant's guild of Bögenhafen," you say vaguely as you look around, angling your course towards the tallest, grandest looking portion of town, "and to attend to some personal business with a local law firm."
"Right. And which of those is it we care about more, again?" Max asks shrewdly, only to back off and hold up his hands at your sharp look, "Just asking, is all."
"You're not being retained to ask questions, Herr Ernst," you say, though there is little heat in your words, "Though if you would care to change that, perhaps we can start by asking directions. I have no interest in walking around Bögenhafen like a lost yokel."
Article:
You have reached the town of Bögenhafen, where your mission awaits. How do you wish to begin?
[ ] The Lawyers You will head to the offices of Lock, Stock and Barl, the company handling the Lieberung inheritance, to inform them of his death and have that matter resolved. Given recent suspicions, you will also see what else they know of Kastor Lieberung and his business.
[ ] The High Temple It was a missive from the local High Temple of Sigmar that informed your order of the Ordo Septinarius. You wish to see what else the priests know, and to make them aware of your operations in the town.
[ ] The Merchants Guild The Ordo Septinarius is said to be embedded in the merchant's guild, so you should begin by seeing what they have to say for themselves. If nothing else, the arrival of a witch hunter asking pointed questions tends to disrupt cover stories and provoke unwise action.
[X] The Lawyers You will head to the offices of Lock, Stock and Barl, the company handling the Lieberung inheritance, to inform them of his death and have that matter resolved. Given recent suspicions, you will also see what else they know of Kastor Lieberung and his business.
Given the whole "crossbow waving assassin still hunting Markus" angle to it, plus the business with Phillipe, this is more than just a mysterious sideshow to our main assignment, especially with mutants and accusations of heresy mixed in.
