For the present, there isn't much to say. As I've said, the evening grows quite brisk, and the fire at the beer garden is stoked to keep the place warm. The staff will begin to get anxious as both Anshelm and Tiberius nurse their beers...getting the hint that it might be the time to order another.
Some of the patrons are getting uncomfortable somewhat with the road dusted strangers who seem anxious to make friends. A fellow comes over and begins, "You were here last night, with Johann, were you not?"
Anshelm signals for another beer.
ReplyDelete"Who might you be, friend?" he asks.
OOC: that is said in a carefully neutral voice; not trying to get hostile with the new person.
ReplyDeleteTiberius will also order another beer. (Subtracting 1 gp.)
ReplyDeleteHe'll answer, "Karl Ludd...and you are?"
ReplyDelete"I am Tiberius," he says. "How do you know Herr Mizer, if you don't mind my asking?"
ReplyDeleteAnshelm settles back in his chair and watches the crowd for now.
ReplyDeleteKarl waves his hand. "Only in passing. I know his brother Joseph quite well; I am the architect who rebuilt his house last year."
ReplyDelete"How is Joseph? I'm sorry to hear of his recent misfortune, though my friend Tiberius and I are glad that we first heard the news a-wrong!"
ReplyDelete"Myself, Herr Mizer helped me out of some legal trouble only a few days ago." Tiberius grins. "Ah, where are my manners? Come, sit down, share a drink with us!" He signals for another beer for Herr Ludd. (Subtracting 1 gp.)
ReplyDeleteKarl will grin at Anshelm's words. "You don't fool me. I saw your pleasure at the news when you heard it at the front gate."
ReplyDeleteTo Tiberius he'll say, as he sits, "No, I do not drink it." Then quietly, to the both of you, "Would you like to know truly why horses are being killed?"
ReplyDeleteOOC: So, do I subtract the gold?
ReplyDeleteOOC: No.
ReplyDeleteTiberius, puzzled by Karl's quite tone, says, "Do you know something, friend?"
ReplyDeleteAnshelm stops mid-swallow at Ludd's response to him, then sighs inwardly in relief when the man addresses Tiberius.
ReplyDelete"We'd very much like to know," he says after Tiberius has spoken.
"It is a wind," says Karl. "They who have been struck at know this. It is not merely the killing of horses. They are messages, warnings to those who have grown fat and presumptive. You have been watched. Your interests are known."
ReplyDeleteHe will look directly at Anshelm: "You did not see the innkeeper's corpse hanging from its scaffold with much pleasure, true enough?"
Anshelm takes a pull from his mug.
ReplyDelete"To be honest, I did not think it good or ill until I learned of the reason for innkeeper's execution."
He takes another drink, then says, "Truth for a truth, herr Ludd. How long have you been watching us? And might we know why?"
Tiberius looks at Karl uncertainly, and waits for him to answer Anshelm's questions.
ReplyDelete"I have not been watching you. One other has...he has known you since you first arrived here. He is an associate of yours. What think you, then, of the innkeeper? Does his death not put us all at risk?"
ReplyDelete(OOC: An associate of ours?! And sorry for any delay here; our server lost connection for a while.)
ReplyDelete"I think what was done to the innkeeper, if the tale I was told was true, is a grave injustice. It seems to bode ill for the residents of Dachau.
"Who, exactly, do you mean by 'us?'"
"All who are not in the guild, of course. They freely threaten every other person in the town."
ReplyDeleteAnshelm nods.
ReplyDelete"Of course. What happened to Jan and his family could happen to anyone at the mercy of those in power. It is a most egregious situation, and one that does not sit well with me."
"I think you both need to control your tongues with a little more wisdom," Tiberius says worriedly. "This hardly seems the appropriate place to discuss these matters."
ReplyDeleteKarl looks about him. "They are too full of drink to understand us, and we speak quietly already, dear sir. But if you will be more comfortable elsewhere to speak freely, tell of the place and we will go there."
ReplyDeleteTiberius gives Karl a measured look. "Fine. If you are comfortable where you are, then so am I. I have nothing to hide." He leans in closer.
ReplyDelete"What happened to the innkeeper is a tragedy, I will admit. I would not wish it upon my worst enemy."
"However, you have us at a disadvantage, sir. You know more about us than we do of you. Why don't you tell us what you want from us?"
Anshelm raises his hand. "I don't think we need to retire from this place. We've nowhere to go this late at night save the Pig, which is just as much in public view."
ReplyDeleteHe turns to Karl. "However, Tiberius' words have wisdom. We've been rather free with our words to you, but how do we know you're not in league with the very merchants of whom you speak so lowly?"
Karl nods in acquiescence. "What you say has merit. Let us not speak, then, until you have better reason to trust me. And I think it might be better if you and your companions have another opportunity to speak.
ReplyDelete"In the meantime, I will give you this as a mark of my good will, and shall prove to me yours. Tonight it will be Johann Mizer's stable that finds a horse dead. It will happen after the tenth bell, and before the eleventh. You may choose to warn him, or you may choose to let him lose an animal worth more than a thousand gold coin. I leave the matter to you."
He will stand up. "Good evening, Sirs!" he'll call out loudly to you. To the rest of the garden, he will do the same. You may choose to speak to him, but unless you will physically restrain him from leaving, he will not answer nor pause.
Tiberius looks soberly at Anshelm. "Shall we go back to the Pig?"
ReplyDeleteOOC: What time is it now? I know that the Pig closes at the tenth bell.
Anshelm nods in assent to Tiberius' suggestion.
ReplyDelete"I could use a bed after the day we've had," he says. "I only hope our companions are faring well in the countryside."
When Tiberius departs, he gives the rest of the patrons a friendly grin, and the barwenches a playful pinch.
ReplyDeleteIt isn't quite ten bells.
ReplyDeleteAnshelm accompanies Tiberius back to the Pig.
ReplyDeleteOOC: I think we were planning on letting whatever comes to pass with the slaughter of the horse come to pass. None of us know where to contact Herr Mizer, or even where he lives, if we wanted to warn him.
ReplyDeleteOOC: Yeah, that's the plan.
ReplyDelete