Chapter 6 - The Roads of Markwald
General Summary
The time draws near to pay a visit to Schloss Rabenwald - the seat of Margrave Konrad. The company means to set out on the day after exploring the erdstall underneath the St. Beatus sacristy, and on the following morning, makes last minute preparations. In the morning, Dietmar has an appointment with the bishop - this day, he is to be tonsured, and made a full brother of the Order of the Leather Belt. Most of his companions attend the initiation. But not all. If they are to try to convince the Margrave to grant them leave to distill spirits, Cilly would like to get hold of all the necessary alchemist supplies, and asks Reinhard for permission to search through Ulrich's shop. She is able to find most of the items she needs, except the key ingredient - quicksilver. A subsequent search around town yields nothing - quicksliver is not an easily found item. Perhaps the Margrave has a physician who would be able to help.
After the bells mark the noon hour, the company finally sets out. The castle is a mere seven miles from town, so with any luck, they should reach it within a couple of hours. But along the way, Reinhard looks for fine sand - something he needs for his work, but doesn't locate any that fit his precise specifications. Basil, too is searching - for rose petals - for reasons that are unfathomable to anyone else. He is more successful. About halfway to their destination, the company reaches the village of Saalfeld , where the residents are going on about their business. As they are leaving, they see a procession of roughly 40 people on their way in. Some are dragging heavy crosses, others are beating themselves, or their companions, with whips, ropes and chains. They are chanting a prayer warning of doom, at one point, referencing the name of the Evil One - Asmodeus. At the entrance, the group of Flagellants halts, and a person who appears to be their leader begins to harangue the assembled crowd, singling out the party members for special attention. God is sending his punishment, he says, and all that are still trying to enjoy life, and failing to repent now will surely perish, and be sent to Hell. Most of the locals sink to their knees with tears in their eyes, but Eddi enters into a conversation with the man, asking him if he is a Gaalite, and what the requirements to join the Giessler would be. Not one to be distracted from his purpose, the man declares that he and his followers are the only true Gaalites, and that anyone who is not an idiot will immediately drop everything and follow them on to Wunschau, which is their next stop. Dietmar tries to enter into a debate with him, but the leader retorts that the friar is a worldly man, going to hobnob with the great up at the castle. Basil also makes an attempt to engage the preacher, but suddenly feels a sharp pain in his chest. The companions eye one another, wondering what they should do, but Reinhard urges them on - they have an appointment to keep, and need not be distracted by these fanatics. As they try to extricate themselves from the crowd of flagellants, a black, cowled figure that no one noticed before suddenly grabs Franz's sword. The surprised Wachtmeister tries to pull it away, but sees that it's now dripping with blood. Reinhard uses a trick to pull back the man's cowl, but he has already passed them, and all they see is the back of his tonsured head. Best to move on, before the scene turns ugly.
After another hour on the road, they see a handsome castle on an outcropping to their right. At the gate, they are stopped, and asked to state their business, and whether they are expected. When they reply in the affirmative, a messenger is sent to see whether the Margrave will grant them an audience. He will, as it turns out, and after being relieved of weapons, they are ushered into the great hall. A herald formally announces them, and introduces the lord - Margrave Konrad Gerlach, his lady - Countess Hildegard, and their castellan - Kamerherr Florian von Ecke. The Margrave - a red-haired man in his late thirties or early forties who, as one of the companions later remarks, looks like he hasn't cared for at least 20 years, initially says nothing, while his wife is silent throughout the audience, staring out of the window. A sumptuous meal is laid out on tables on the sides of the hall. Basil licks his chops and makes a move toward the food, but is given dirty looks by his companions, and desists.
Florian speaks first, offering whispered consultations to his lord during pauses. He says that the Margrave has heard of the group's work on behalf of the town fighting the Plague, and at the sacristy, and that he has a proposition for them. Across the river lies the town of Hegenburg, which lies in the lord's domain. But it has been emptied of people during the first outbreak, and the land around it has become desolate and dangerous. He needs the remaining people to be brought under his control, and whatever dangers haunt the lands to be cleared. The traffic through the area has virtually halted. At this stage, he is simply looking for someone to scout the lay of the land, and to offer deals to the people left at the settlements to give them five years' reprieve on taxes if they once again pledge their loyalty to him. Franz and the others respond by asking for terms of the deal, and requesting fighting people to accompany them. They also ask for the Margrave to give them a charter for the distillation of spirits. Reinhard asks whether a land grant of their own in the lands beyond the river is feasible. The Margrave speaks on his on behalf at this point, saying that he is prepared to offer 50 gulden, with which the group can hire protection in town. He agrees to grant them a distillation charter when they return, and leaves a land grant as an open possibility. The company asks, and receives a charter which would serve as proof that they are indeed working in the Margrave's name. Franz asks how they would prove they have liquidated undesirables, short of presenting ears, and the Margrave replies that, undesirable as that may seem, he cannot think of another way. As the audience draws to a close, Reinhard asks if they might speak to the Margrave's physician, to make sure that the castle itself is plague-free, and Konrad agrees to send over Doctor Burkhardt once he becomes free. Not wanting to travel back to town on the same night and risk another run-in with the Giessler, the supplicants ask if they might spend the night at the castle, and are granted leave to stay at the stable.
The night at the stable passes uneventfully. The following morning, the physician attends on them. He does assure them that the castle is carefully guarded, and remains plague-free. The only issue is the chronic illness of the Margrave's son Sigismund, but that dates back to the time before the outbreak. He does happen to be in possession of some quicksilver, and agrees to sell some to Cilly for 20 gulden.
Following this meeting, the party returns to Wunschau. The roads are clear, though the sentries at the gate do tell them that the Giessler paid them a visit the previous evening, but were not allowed inside (though apparently, they do have supporters in town - most notably, Hilda, the Captain of the Watch, who happens to be a zealot. But the group has other business to take care of. Some speak of paying a visit to Leonhardt the Vintner - yesterday they were made aware of the possible existence of tunnels under his cellars. Some press for a foray across the river - though the Day of the Dead is only days away, they should be able to make a quick foray, and come back with valuable intelligence for the Margrave. Despite resistance, those wanting to take that course of action win the argument. To this end, Franz asks Captain Hilda if she has any unoccupied guards to send on an independent assignment, and she refers him to his comrades Erich and Johann. Franz offers them 10 gulden each, Johann presses for 20, and Basil finally convinces them to settle for 15. Protection recruited, they then look up Arnold and Sieglinde - refugees from Hegenburg, to tell them about the lay of the land. Arnold is a master dyer, who out of necessity has taken up the position of apprentice in order to survive. He says that the city, which had roughly 2500 residents before the Plague, began to empty after half the people died, and that he hasn't been back since, though he doesn't rule out that some stragglers may have stayed behind. He also describes some of the dangers of the surrounding area - bandits, walking dead, witches, bog people. The bandits in particular make a practice of blocking roads by chopping large trees, and leaving them to hinder vehicular and mounted traffic. There are also thickets where pagan shrines are rumored to stand, and witches' sabbaths that take place atop Bald Mountain in the Düst range.
Thanking Arnold, the party decides to hit the road. They mean to travel as far as they can toward Hegenburg across the river, learn what they know, and return before the Day of the Dead. After Dietmar asks the saints to bless their journey, they cross the bridge across the river, continue into the afflicted area, and after a couple hours travel, come to a village called Putzdorff. There they meet Wilhelm and Käthe and their family - friendly folk who invite them to share a meal and spend the night. Though they could reach Hegenburg before nightfall, the party members decide that spending the night in the village might be safer - they could start early the following morning, and be back before nightfall. The village currently has about 100 residents, though it had three times as many before the outbreak. When asked why these have stayed behind, Wilhelm tells them that they love their land, and that they would rather die on it than be driven out by the Totentanz, or anything else. When presented with Konrad's charter, they remind the party members that the land here is actually contested between the Margrave and his uncle, the Landgrave Detlev, so they are not sure who to pledge fealty to anyway. So here they stay, staving off a local bandit band (led by a woman named Jutte).
Having fed the guests, they remove their horse from the barn to make them more comfortable, and settle them in for the night. As Franz and Basil lie down onto the soft straw and prepare to sleep, Eddi voices her suspicions of Wilhelm - he just seemed too friendly for a man living in such a dangerous area. Just then, the companions hear a horse galloping away. They hurriedly begin to make plans to leave - it is quite likely, they think, that the family is in cahoots with bandits, and that's how they've been able to survive. Reinhard calls for his owl, and tells it to fly after the horse, and to come back and report what it saw.
Rewards Granted
- 50 gulden subvention from the Margrave
- The promise of a distilling charter, and possibly, a land grant
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