Chapter 15 - Loose Ends and Ley Lines
General Summary
The end of the day after Hilda's arrest, and the whole of the following day, are spent in discussion and preparation for departure. Despite pressing to leave during the build-up to the confrontation with Hilda, those most obsessed with going to Albenheim are still not sure where to look. The realization dawns that there are other loose ends to deal with as well. Dietmar of Hauswald, in particular, is concerned about his reconstruction project at the sacristy, the progress of the lycanthropy that still afflicts him and Eddi (as well as, apparently, Eddi's unborn child), and also the fate of the afflicted in Hegenburg. There is some talk of having Cilly make enough potions to keep all the residents of Hegenburg from transforming, but that would really require manufacturing these in industrial amounts (without any guarantee that they will work, or that it will be possible to distribute them). Instead, Reinhard buys some beer, and Cilly, while crashing in the shop, devotes time to distilling more spirits, and brewing some other experimental elixirs on the side.
Dietmar proceeds to speak to some of the volunteers about continuing with the effort, and they seem enthusiastic enough. Several of them would also be willing to put him up while he is in town. Regarding long-term financing, they recommend he speak to the members of the Wunschau Rat, especially Jakob the Mason. The investment required is sizable, but after some wrangling, Jakob agrees to put his apprentices in charge of the rebuilding efforts. In a private conversation, he lets Dietmar know that he would be willing to finance the works in their entirety if Dietmar prevails on the margrave to make him Vogt, as was originally agreed upon by the Council. Dietmar strikes a verbal agreement, and then moves on to pressuring Udo of Plewa to help deal with the lycanthropy problem. The bishop is still recovering from the previous day's events, and insists that the money for ecclesiastical services is required to help the town recover. But in the end, he also relents, promising to utter prayers for Eddi and the child on the morrow, and eliciting a promise from Dietmar that he will fetch a holy relic from the Hegenburg cathedreal. He also asks if the friar can inquire about exiling Hilda, rather than keeping her imprisoned.
Reinhard follows up on Dietmar's efforts to exploit the prior day's victory, but he comes before the Council at a bad time. He initially comes to try to convince them to free Ulrich von Rotz, but Gereon the Weaponsmith, the man whose child allegedly suffered as a result of Ulrich's "curse" won't hear of it. Perhaps he has come too soon. But Reinhard presses the matter, by saying that Wunschau lies defenseless against a possible attack by the wererats of Hegenburg, and recommends that the Council start investing in silvering weapons. The Councilmembers, already visibly taxed by demands and expenditures, sarcastically ask whether Reinhard would also recommend producing gold and jeweled weapons, at which the scholar summons up magical shadows to cow the Rat into submission. The demonstration backfires, and the Councilmembers, though frightened, as Reinhard to leave. Before departing for his shop, he pays one final visit to the imprisoned Hilda to ask her what she meant when she said that she will bring up charges of heresy and sorcery before the Vehm. She also remains defiant, and tells Reinhard to not lull himself into thinking that his side had won. She assures him that the Vehm is coming, may even have the support of the margrave, and that the Flagellants represent the only hope of restoring order in the city.
Franz der Schwarzhoffen also makes to tie up some loose ends. He meets with Markus, whom he has just made the Commander of the Watch, to distribute the rest of the largess he promised his comrades last night, and tells him that he is resigning his position in order to work full time for the margrave. He then heads to the Zwerghof to see if he can get a resident smith to fashion a suit of half-plate for him. As the town armorer perished in the Plague, armor is tough to find. The dwarfs are willing to undertake the job, but say it will take several months. Franz gives them an initial downpayment of 275 gulden (out of 750). He also pays a quick farewell visit to his family.
Eddi also heads to speak to a smith, to see if she can get them to silver weapons in preparation for the foray out of town. The price is steep, but it seems worth paying, even for a rush order. She gives the smith her dagger, and then brings Klawuhn along with a grosses messer and some arrows. Franz covers the costs by trading in the breastplate he confiscated from Hilda. After placing the order, they head off to purchase winter gear for their trek. Eddi also invests in a donkey, as her gear has grown increasingly cumbersome. She names it Carrot .
The following morning, after picking up the weapons, and finally getting Udo the Bishop to dispel the lycanthropy from Eddi and her baby, the party leaves town. They proceed across the Wunsch and down the road to Putzdorff, where they are accosted by villagers eager to learn the fate of the bandits taken to the margrave's castle nearly a week ago. Franz tells them that the bandits are being trained, and that as soon as he has news of them, he will let them know. Then it's on down past the abandoned inn, and toward Hegenburg. Though Dietmar still wants to go into town to minister to the afflicted, the party makes a decision to skirt around the city, and toward the confluence of the Blau and the Thur - Eddi's special fishing spot - the only spot she can think of that she is drawn to.
The party arrives after dark, and settles down to wait. Soon, out of nowhere Edelweiss emerges, her cloak illuminated and billowing. The elf seems annoyed, perhaps because the party is two days late. The first thing she does is to confront Klawuhn, and hiss at him. The catamite is terrified - he is the wrong kind of elf. Edelweiss demands to know why he is there, and his companions reassure her that he is simply there to learn about his heritage as well. Edelweiss says that he may find it uncomfortable in Albenheim, but then marches off upland.
After a trek of several miles, they arrive at the portal. It is at the top of a small hill, but is well-hidden underneath the eaves of a large tree, which seems to have standing stones virtually built into it. The tree is surrounded by a fairy ring of mushrooms, some of which give off a faint glow. Edelweiss informs her charges that in order to enter, they will have to remove their superstitious trinkets - likely a reference to the crosses they wear around their necks. Most comply without complaint, but Dietmar hesitates - he is nearly helpless without the symbol of his faith. The elf says he can do as he likes, but the residents of Albenheim will not be happy to find these symbols on any visitors. Finally, he hangs his cross on a branch alongside others, and steps through the ring. Eddi, who was paying close attention to what Edelweiss said, snatches the cross while no one is looking, and then slips it into Cilly's magical bag.
Edelweiss leads the way by touching one of the standing stones, and vanishes. The companions follow one by one, and Eddi is able to coax the donkey through as well. Soon they find themselves next to a similar ensemble of stones on a sunlit mountain, surrounded by edelweiss flowers (though the elf is nowhere to be seen). Down below is a field of red flowers, and below that, vast tracts of forest that appears to sway and dance in a spiroform pattern. Eddi picks some of the flowers, and small stars shoot off in various directions from the point where the stem was separated from the root. Carrot the Donkey suddenly speaks, finding the whole situation peculiar. When pressed about why he never spoke before, he replies that that no one listened or understood him before.
Reinhard takes everything in, and produces a magical tune with his mind. What was intended to be a quiet piping turns into a loud horn blast that echoes over the woods. Entranced, the scholar opens up his senses to the wonder of the place and is able to behold a latticework of intersecting lines of light. One of the strands leads to a white reflective shape far off in the distance - some sort of structure, or possibly a lake. Meanwhile, Dietmar, concerned that he will be defenseless in this place, attempts to step back through to his own world to find his cross. Back there, it is still night. The friar searches for his holy symbol in the dark, unable to summon divine light without it. He is unable to find it and returns, though his companions seem to think he was gone for a longer time than he was. Time seems to pass differently in Albenheim than in the human world.
Rewards Granted
Missions/Quests Completed
- Entry into Albenheim
Character(s) interacted with
- Members of the Wunschau Rat
- Wunschau City Watch
- Udo of Plewa, Bishop of Wunschau
- Hilda, former commander of the City Watch
- Markus, the new commander
- Zwerghof elders and smiths
- smiths and other merchants in Wunschau
- Carrot the Donkey
- Franz Schwarzhoffen family
- Villagers in Putzdorff
- Edelweiss
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