Session XI

General Summary

Heading for Magnus' tower to investigate the room the late corporal was discovered, the group encounters Captain Erwin Blucher, who leads the remaining Ubersreik City Watch. He takes the group up the tower by elevator - the only way up to the first level - and then by stairs until they get to the small room Corporal Vielfrass had, there. 
Tylo's room had a round, apple-shaped hole through the stained glass window, the edges melted - the only other noteworthy thing within being a decanter that was filled with red wine, seemingly evaporated, the wooden cabinet it was placed on scorched around the decanter itself. At the bottom of the tower, however, a fight appeared to have broken out and Blucher and the party alike rushed back down - by elevator, of course - to find Altdorfer soldiers facing off against Ubersreik watchmen in a fist-fight. With Blucher being punched down by an Altdorfer, the party briefly opted to perhaps stay neutral, until mud was flung in Morathric's face by an Ubersreik watchman.
After a moment, however, Blucher got back to consciousness and ordered everyone to stand down or he'd have them arrested - or worse - and ordered the Altdorfers and the party, out. Sergeant Geldrecht, however, greatly appreciated the group's presence, and invited them to come over to a place he and his friends were using as a bit of a club - promising to come pick them up ere sunset at the Bridge House Inn.
At the Bridge House Inn, the group searched through Corporal Vielfrass' apartment, discovering some coin and a list of expenses - far more than a corporal should be able to afford, mostly on renting a large space, as well as purchases of weapons, medicine, and laundry services. On the man's desk, they found a large amount of letters and notes. A large amount of loveletters was present from at least a dozen different women, including notable names such as Aver von Kaltenwald, daughter of the Countess Osterhild, Brunhilde von Hopsberg, niece of the High Lord Admiral, and most scandalous of all, Grafina Elena von Midwald, the High Lord Treasurer of the Reikland herself. All of the notes seemed to focus on hoping the man'd return to Altdorf, although none of them seemed to hint at an actual relationship being present already - instead mostly being of suitors pining for him. 
Other, opened letters appeared to be written in code, but were dated and received almost weekly, dating back to the start of the Altdorf occupation of Ubersreik, signed by one "-M.". Morathric noticing that some of the 'sealed' letters had actually been opened and carefully resealed again, the group went to question the tavern's postmaster. After some time, Perry managed to convince the man, Gustav Schtupp, to reveal he'd been reading some of the letters - enough, even, to decipher some of the code, Gustav being aware that they talked about transferring money and supplies from Altdorf to Ubersreik, as well as some sort of private club, although he didn't know the details. 
Met by Sergeant Geldrecht and some companions in civilian clothing rather than military uniforms, the group went for a warehouse in an unimportant-looking warehouse in the Artisan's quarters, where a makeshift bar, tables, and a fighting ring had been set up. With a toast to the late Tylo Vielfrass, which the group joined in on, Geldrecht explained a tradition taught to them by Tylo, a wrestling match in the style of the ancient Umberogen tribes - not to hurt another, but to perfect one's strength and push them out of the ring without inflicting actual harm. Thus, a wrestling duel was staged between Geldrecht and the group's favorite dwarven captain - who came out victorious after a close match, the sergeant congratulating him, before another toast was raised.
Raising his arms in the sky, joined by the other members of the club, Geldrecht yelled out a prayer to the ancestors - "Ygrak tu amat Shornaal! Amak tu amat Shornaal! Ygrak tu amat Shornaal! Tzarkol taen amat Shornaal!". While the name Shornaal was not one anyone recognized, it still seemed strangely, deeply familiar to everyone deep inside. With that done, they were brought to Tylo's private room at the club and let inside. 
There, they found the late corporal's clothing and keys placed in a neatly folded package in the corner, and a large, purple curtain hiding everything else in the room. Pushing the curtains aside, Raaf, having avoided any alcoholic beverages, found himself immediately emptying his stomach while the others, their senses perhaps dulled by their drinks somewhat, managed to stay put at least somewhat - a large icon was revealed in the back of the room, strips and layers of pink flesh and skin bound together by chains and staples of iron draped over it all, folded over one another, the shadows and recesses casting moaning and screaming faces into the disgusting surface - fresh, raw, and wet, but strangely bloodless as it was. 
Cushions and a purple carpet decorated the room, otherwise, with empty glasses and decanters littered around and about together with platters of food, the strong, heavy scent of sickly sweet spices and incense filling the room, and a small reading nook tucked away. There, Morathric found a small pile of scrolls, containing a variation of narcissistic writings by Tylo on himself, crude attempts at poetry, and lewd drawings. Two pieces of parchment stood out, however.
Firstly, on a gold leaf piece of paper, with in maddeningly perfect, flowing handwriting; "Prince of Pleasure, She Who Thirsts, They Our Tempter, Loesh the Serpent, Shornaal the Prideful, Darkest Slaanesh"
Secondly, a half-finished note, far more sloppy; "Heske Glazer. She knows something. She's always following me, always watching me. Maybe she knows the truth. Our truth. I'm moving against her. I must. I fear she'll expose us. I know you've commanded me to keep our actions focused solely on recruitment and subversion, but Glazer will doom us all if left alive. Perhaps I can convince Orban [Geldrecht] to do it. I'll make up some lie. It doesn't even have to be elaborate, for the pathetic love-sick sap will do anything I say. He and all the other fools still have no clue as to our true purpose. I'm going to kill her before she kills me."
In addition, a small statue was covered by a purple veil - while Morathric did not want to uncover it, Perry did, briefly, his skin crawling, eyes itching, and forehead sweating as if in fever as he peered at the black marble statue, a naked, half-male half-female figure, holding a whip in one hand and a sword in the other, snakes coiled around its ankles.
Quickly, the group left the room, keeping up appearances and pretending to haven't seen a thing to the others, taking a few more drinks before announcing their departure, Geldrecht telling them he'd see them again sometime and inviting them to visit whenever they'd feel like it - and to inform him of their investigation into Tylo's killer. 
As fast as they could, the party sped for Black Rock Castle, seeking to inform Lady Nacht of what they'd found - although not finding any of the guard willing to take them to her or wake her up at this hour of the night, forcing them to wait in the waiting room of the lady's office until well into the morning.

Report Date

05 Aug 2021