Friday, February 27, 2009

Campaign: The Dachau Courthouse

There is very little going on in the market square as the afternoon progresses into the evening. Many of the produce stalls are closed, and goods are loaded up in wagons in front of the market hall. The sun will set at a quarter of eight, so many hours from now.

Josef and Kazimir have had little luck, if they have tried at all, to discover the whereabouts or situation regarding Tiberius—only to discover, quite suddenly, that someone has aroused the judge into his chambers so that the prisoner can be presented at court at five bells. They have time to arrive and gather in the events.

Tiberius has had a fairly comfortable stay in one of the jail cells; as a mage, his hands have remained cuffed, but he has been fed, given water, a stuffed straw mattress to lie on. Upon being put into his cell, Tiberius hears the jailer remark, “Get comfortable. They’ll likely forget about you.

A cleric-monk appears about an hour later, speaks very little to Tiberius. He takes the time to cast a few spells, none of which Tiberius could be familiar with, before taking his leave.

At the quarter chime before the fifth hour, the jailer reappears with two guards. “You must be one of the lucky ones,” he says. “Got some friends in court, have you?”

Tiberius is taken into the court room, a small affair barely twenty feet by fifteen, with an imposing, raised desk and a wrought iron pillar affixed to the stone floor, to which Tiberius’ manacles are attached. There are four guards, the judge, a well-attired gentleman and both Josef and Kazimir in the room. The latter two were admitted only a few minutes before Tiberius was brought in. The stranger, Josef and Kazimir sit on a narrow, rude bench along one wall. Tiberius can’t help feeling the stranger is oddly familiar.

“This is the prisoner from the Merchant Guild Hall?” asks the judge?

Any attempt by Tiberius to speak will be quickly dealt with—Tiberius, being a bright fellow and having watched prisoners in the dock, wisely keeps his mouth shut.

“Yes, your Honor.”

“And who speaks for this man?”

The stranger rises. “I do.”

“You may proceed.”

“Your honor. I was present at the dinner in the Merchant’s Hall when this man’s honor was astoundingly and insultingly impugned by the action of the Hall’s concierge. The very idea that this man could stand in a public place and prepare to throw a spell in such a manner is utterly ridiculous and fully fantastical. This man is a well-known figure in the business world in Graz, in Syria, and is in the employ of the Baron von Furstenfeld, an upstanding gentleman and one of the Electoral College of the Empire, your honor. His faithfulness to the crown, to the wellbeing of his fellow man and to God is indisputable. I demand that compensation be made for this unforgivable attack!”

Tiberius is staring closely at the man—and then realizes from where he knows him. Some five years ago, the stranger—name of Johann Mizer, bought seven horses from the Baron. Tiberius remembers himself, Adelbert, closing the deal. He remembers too that one of the horses was half-blind, something the Baron chose not to mention.

The judge clears his throat. “I have spoken to the concierge. He feels he cannot be mistaken.”

“He must be,” says Johann.

“Adelbert Volkmann,” intones the Judge. “You have been examined by Father Durer and been found not to be a serious threat to the town of Dachau or any of the citizens therein. A writ has been found on your person, also, providing you with free passage through the Duchy of Bavaria. For these reasons it is decided that you shall not be given over to the Inquisition for further examination. This court believes that you could not have intended to throw a spell. Normally, you would be fined ten gold pieces and expelled from the town gates, but I will take under advisement the word of a celebrated and respected member of our community and suspend this sentence. You are free to go.”

22 comments:

  1. Is it von Fastened as above, or von Furstenfeld as in the background you provided?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Spellcheck must have fixed it. It is Furstenfeld.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fürstenfeld. You can see the house your character grew up in here:

    http://www.fuerstenfeld.at/

    ReplyDelete
  3. Tiberius walks over to Johann Mizer with a mix of curiosity and apprehension. Though, feeling relief upon the judge's verdict, he begins to feel that old fear from meeting anyone even remotely connected to his old life in Austria.

    "It seems I am indebted to you, sir, for your help. If I may be frank, to what do I owe this honor?"

    ReplyDelete
  4. Johann laughs. "You sold me a blind horse," he says. But then he adds, "Well, the Baron did. I think that's the last time I did anything very foolish. Have you had a decent meal? Do you have somewhere to stay?"

    ReplyDelete
  5. To Kazimir, before the court proceeding - a strange meeting, no doubt. Let's see that it is not portentous. I'll never see the inside of such a place as this again...

    I will otherwise stand by quietly

    ReplyDelete
  6. Tiberius laughs uneasily at Johann's small joke.

    "My gaolers treated me remarkably well. Food, water, a place to think. All well and good, considering."

    I'm assuming Tiberius et al are staying at the Pig? Or does the gasthaus not provide room and board? In any case, Tiberius informs Johann his accommodations, whatever they might be.

    "If I might ask, what brings you to Dachau? Besides helping an old acquaintance out of an unfortunate scrape?"

    ReplyDelete
  7. Josef,

    In answer to your earlier question about religion. It is true that there are no worshippers of your religion around you, but you must also remember that the path you've chosen is a religion much less organized and exacting than the Catholic church.

    You are of too low a level to begin a church; but if you were to sincerely seek into the hinterland beyond the immediate town, you would quickly find shrines and small holy places which are more ancient than these cross-worshippers.

    Even in the town there is evidence everywhere of your religion: the dragons carved into the church door; the tree depicted in a carving on the Pig's door; the words in songs which your friend Delfig sings. Your religion breathes and throbs in every rock and stone, in the growing of the crops and the foods the populace eats. It is only that it has been concealed and the true meanings lost.

    As a cleric of your religion, you are given more than the privilege of representing your pantheon, you are asked to further their power upon the earth in the manner which seems best to you, their ordained policy maker.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Tiberius,

    You are staying at the Pig, in a common room on the second floor that services only the five of you (Helmunt is not doing as well as he might wish).

    Johann’s answer: “I live here, my friend! I am a member of the very guild that has so wronged you.”

    ReplyDelete
  9. "How fortuitous! I had been hoping to speak with a member at the Guild Hall, before, well, the incident."

    ReplyDelete
  10. Indeed, I'm near to choking by the smell of money here.
    "Tiberius - Tseh Furstenfeld - let's go back to the Pig's patio and sit - our companions may have already returned seeking us..."

    ReplyDelete
  11. Tiberius glances at his friends, Josef and Kazamir. "Perhaps, we could speak elsewhere, at a more convenient time and location?"

    ReplyDelete
  12. Who? Me and Kasimir? "We could speak later at the Pig, certainly! Let's leave these gentlemen to their conversation..."

    (OOC: Kasimir! You watching? got emails or anything?)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Sorry, Josef, I was speaking to Johann in the above post. I should make that more clear in the future.

    ReplyDelete
  14. (OOC: I though I had posted a reply, but it seems to have been eaten)

    Kazimir grunts and says "Let's take our leave of this place."

    ReplyDelete
  15. Johann agrees to take his leave; he suggests locating him at the guild, and that when you do so you should merely show the writ in your possession and you won't be misconstrued.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Tiberius turns to Kazamir and Josef.

    "Well, that was exciting. Let's go find our comrades. I assume since they aren't with you that they haven't returned from the North Gate."

    ReplyDelete
  17. "You didn't invite your attorney? Perhaps the establishment is beneath his station..."

    ReplyDelete
  18. "No - I've seen nothing of them. Perhaps they've ended up in jail too! You did not see them did you?"

    ReplyDelete
  19. We will pick this up again at the Pig with the whole party.

    ReplyDelete