Captain's Log: Still the 27th of Vorgeheim I think? I'm honestly losing both sleep and track of all this. Hunting evil so frequently does that to you, I suppose. Need to keep my head together... 2513. Right? Right.
Werner, The One and I shuffled our way into the important people's section of the Blackpool Illumination Show. We had all worn a rat-catcher's musk and grime and this drew several hateful stares. Managed to ward off all the guards and frustrated nobles with Ar-Ulric's letter, much like a priest of Sigmar repelling the unliving. Harbull seemed at first shocked but then happy to see us. He probably thought we were beggars. Drinks were grabbed and I explained the situation to our doctor. His relationship with Petra was going well but he had heard nothing interesting in the court besides useless gossip. After explaining to Harbull that I did not actually, erm, let's say "plug up Goebbels with hot wax", we decided to finally bring Chancellor Sparsam the good news.
The man wasn't really the sort for parties. Very, very nervous and could only laugh reluctantly. I can't help but relate. Too many nobles these days are obsessed with underhanded plots, power struggles and Chaos. Unlike the noble sea captain, who holds a high regard for his fellow crew and does not shirk naval code or law. Nobility of the sea far exceeds those on land. Except for pirate captains... never mind. Sparsam was shocked by Natasha Sinnlich's involvement in the plot. He considered her a right thinking lady who would never do such a thing. Sadly, we believed otherwise. He refused to confront her personally. I can't blame him. His exclamation of surprise had caught her attention. She stared at us for a good few minutes. We couldn't decide whether to confront her now or later so we maneuvered ourselves deeper into the partying crowd.
Kirsten Jung reported back to Werner and told our marine that she couldn't get a confession out of Sinnlich. I sent Harbull to ask Petra if she had seen Sinnlich act strangely lately. As soon as he was off, Natasha made her way over to us. She was furious and asked what was going on while regarding The One. The One told her the plot and her involvement, and we were all very proud of our investigation. She paused for a moment, and then asked us how we knew that she is actually involved.
"We were told your name by the drug dealer you hired to blackmail Sparsam!"
"You believed a name from a drugged up criminal? Did you let her go?"
"Yes well ah, you see it's erm, quite, possibly, eh, ah, damn."
She called us morons, fools, boorish reprobates and other things that I had never even heard before. She was kind enough to tell us Kraglick's address when we gave her the name though. Natasha told us that she had met the woman before, that her own name was just plucked out of thin air as a diversion, and that the only plan she had was to marry a Law Lord and live her life in peace. Our marine tried to explain further but she threw a cup of wine in his face and told us to piss off. Fair enough. I was quite disappointed, to be honest. We drank our wine in humiliation. Harbull returned with the news that Sinnlich had been acting perfectly normal. Damn damn.
So we made our way north to the "middle-class", as Sinnlich would put it, area and the little house itself. Made the perilous slums of Nuln look inviting. There were holes in the roof, the windows were barely hanging on and the rest were boarded up. There was a cart nearby full of furniture and belongings. Right shady stuff. Well, barely anyone was around and the door seemed ripe for kicking. Took us an embarrassing number of tries but we eventually got it open. Timed it with the crackling of the show's fireballs and illusions to avoid drawing attention. It was Harbull's idea and it worked like a charm.
Inside was dust and nothing. Werner stared at the floor for a minute or so but I had no idea why. Then something started to pound the floor from beneath us and it became clear. There was a hidden trap door and it sounded like it was barred from the inside. Well, no time to lose. I took my iron-shod club and broke it open with a mighty blow. Below was a stairway leading to what appeared to a cellar lit by oil lamps. At the bottom of the stairs were doors to the left and right as well as a passage forward. Our marine and I looked down the passage and heard something running. Sigmar please let it not be rat men. I hate those things. The right room was simply furnished with a bed and wardrobe. Nothing out of the ordinary. The left room was furnished with a bed, wardrobe, and an axe wielding lunatic. We caught him by surprise and tried to quickly slay him. He was too agile and well trained to go down easily. His chain armour saved his hide a few times as well.
From the northern door of that chamber joined Kraglick herself! She was armed with chain mail, a shield, a headband and a gleaming blade. She gave Werner the battle of his life but his courage and strength served him well. Harbull had brought his sword to the skirmish and struck the axe man on the helmet. It gave me the perfect chance to strike and his innards were pulped by my blow. I tried to thank Harbull but the words could not come out. Nothing could be heard at all! Startled, I searched around for the source of this sudden silence. It was then I saw near the stairway The One being pursued by some sort of goblin. No, a man! A small and weak looking creature, barely an adult, wielding a stick. I was furious not only with this wizardry but how our chosen divine champion was being threatened by a bloody youth. I rushed towards him and he ducked under my backhand swing. The fool did not expect the second strike, however! His arm bones were crushed into his rib cage and I sent the fart of a man flying about two yards. The first sound to return to the world was his mangled body hitting the floor.
Harbull had been underestimated and it cost Kraglick her life! A heroic swing from our halfling caught her off balance and our marine sliced a deep cut into her head. She was alive but refused to surrender, in the name of "the lords of Chaos". Swift justice was brought to her immediately. The rest of the den yielded a bag of gold crowns and their weaponry. We also found a stash of love letters. Some were read out loud by The One but proved too sickeningly sweet to properly finish. They were addressed to an "Em" from "The Big Bad Wolf". Hrm. I should ask Ar-Ulric about this. I get a feeling that he will be grateful. The look on his face should prove very amusing as well.
I'm utterly delighted to say that we found a mercenary woman in one room and that, this time, she dropped her sword. She explained that her name was Dagmar and that she was protecting a little girl nearby from Kraglick. The child's name was Rhea and she was indeed the same girl who left that note in the doll back in the Templar's Arms! She was a bit of a little shite about how clever she was, to be honest. Demanded to be brought back to her uncle, the Law Lord Reiner Ehrlich. I couldn't help but laugh though. I'll take a smug brat over a murdered child anytime.
I think this is going to work out. If we get Ehrlich to vote against the taxes, then the laws are effectively done for.
I'm now feeling strangely optimistic about all this.
- Johann Dasbuut.
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