Trouble at Stutzung part III

by Franz

My lord,

My comrades and I have now concluded our business in Stuetzung, so a report of our activities is in order.

Having managed to recover somewhat from our wounds, we set out in search of the mysterious Jenny we had previously contacted, in the hope that she was the one who had betrayed the Waechter and would help to right her wrong.

The inn to which she had directed us turned out to be the gathering place for the Moerderbande and we passed an extremely unpleasant evening in their company. Fortunately none of them recognised us and we were able to leave our message for the girl and slip away.

The girl, Barbara Rainer, found us the next day and turned out to be everything we hoped. She was able to provide a wealth of information about the Moerderbande and how we might enter their lair to free the prisoners.

Unfortunately, not only was there the Waechter, but the previous day I had seen my older brother Stefan taken away when he attempted to prevent one of the Moerderbande's atrocities in the marketplace.

We had further good fortune in that it turned out that there was a Vodacce ship in port, and that it was captained by a cousin of our companion Antonio. He went to visit and returned with a bottle he assured us would contribute much to the Moerderbande's evening feast.

That evening we proceeded with our "assault" of the keep. With Barbara's help we were able to overpower the guards at the postern gate, and then we disguised ourselves in their uniforms. With Barbara as both guide and companion, we attracted little attention as we travelled the halls.

Finding the kitchen we added Antonio's draught to the keg of ale being used for the feast, and proceeded on to pig-face's room to look for my brother's Dracheneisen. Unfortunately the guards there managed to let out a yell before we silenced them, and before long a patrol came to investigate the noise. We hadn't had time to cover the blood stains, but managed to send them off in search of intruders elsewhere. That done, we broke into the room and recovered Stefan's arms.

Proceeding then to the dungeon we were able to talk our way past the first set of guards, but then the prison guard managed to see through our disguises and another fight ensued. We again prevailed, and freed the two prisoners, heading on to the gatehouse to secure our escape. And the Roaring Cannon.

Again our passage was as if blessed by Theus, we had only a minor skirmish and were even able to leave one of the Moerderbande to cover our rear against his fellows!

We took the Roaring Cannon down to the courtyard and faced it towards the doors of the great hall. Unfortunately, the alarm had been raised and we had to hurry our positioning of the gun. While always terrible, the damage was not as great as we might have prayed. It was, however, significant and in the confusion that ensued we were easily able to slip away into the night.

The next day proved a huge embarrassment for the Moerderbande--they had insisted that all the villages send representatives to witness the execution of the Waechter, who had gone free. The only one they executed was one of their own (the poor soul who had covered our rear), and most of the Moerderbande were either sorely wounded or ill from Antonio's draught.

I am fairly confident that the people will take heart from this turn of events, and that they will sweep away the remains of the Moerderbande.

Whether this is enough to teach Eisenfürst Sieger to find a more "appropriate" means to managing his kingdom only Theus can know. Certainly what we have seen only further emphasises to me that we need a new Imperator on the throne. I have had some thoughts on the matter which I shall share with you in a later report.

Ein Eisen!

Franz.