Aver does as she's told, a little shocked by this sense of immediacy coming from Mefodiv.  The man is usually quite laid back, but something in his urgency snaps her to attention.  "But if they're pickpockets, they might have money we could deper... HIC desperately use.  If they're thugs from that man, then they got what they deserve."

Mefodiv hops on board and picks up the gangplank, keeping an eye on the two in the street.

"Something not right. Either they play dead, which strange enough, or someone backstab backstabbers. Not sure which worse right now."

Standing on the barge, Aver whispers a silent incantation to herself and reaches for the new pin on her cloak.  The Winds seem to have a sense of humor however, as they blow her hair straight up and out, her long hair standing impressively on end.  Despite this oddity, her pin lights up with the luminosity of a lantern.  In the dark evening, the light is something of a comfort.  She holds the pin, directing it towards the two bodies and the encroaching darkness.

---

10:11, Today: Aver Eldebrandt rolled 83 -- 2 degrees of failure using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 63.  Channeling.
10:12, Today: Aver Eldebrandt rolled 39 -- 2 degrees of success using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 63.  Fortune Point: Channeling.
10:13, Today: Aver Eldebrandt rolled 8 using 2d10+1.  Casting Roll: Glowing Light.
10:14, Today: Aver Eldebrandt rolled 31 using 1d100.  Minor Chaos Manifestation.
10:18, Today: Aver Eldebrandt rolled 1 using 1d10.  Horripilation Duration (rounds).

Aver's light shines over the scene where the two men laid. Hunched over as pools of crimson stained their clothes. Small sticks were protruding from their backs it looked like... Gorrim comes back above deck with a masterwork pistol. "By Valaya's lantern, what's happening to your wizard Onkri?" Gorrim decides not to approach the scene after seeing Aver.

"...Mefodiv, you might be correct.  They have been murdered.  But I don't see anyone in the dark.  What do we do now?"  Her voice is faint, perhaps a little shaky, but it's hard to tell from nerves or alcohol.  Assuming the barge hasn't left the dock, she hesitantly steps to the shore with the intention of examining the bodies.  Her light remains bright before her.

The night was silent, the fog remains, but there idle clatter of others in the street have long since vanished. The sound of creaking lanterns swaying in the breeze, and the odd vermin here about was all that was left in the night. Leaving the party to it's own devices as Gorrim calls from the boat. "What happened? Did you get them?" The men in cloaks had been shot in the heart and throat respectively. Crossbow bolts.

Mefodiv looks at the two men one last time before boarding the boat, unfastening his shield's straps and sheathing his scimitar. "Aye. But where there are two, there are ten others. Go below and lock door tight, yes? Safe room great for thinking in."

Aver quickly searches the bodies for any identification, purses or jewelry, or weapons of any value (or armor, as it can be quite valuable).  She pockets any of the lighter findings, throwing the heavier stuff aboard the ship.  Jumping back onto the barge, she looks to Mefodiv and says, "Perhaps they would be safer under the water, instead of laying before your friend's barge?"

---

09:01, Today: Aver Eldebrandt rolled 65 -- 2 degrees of failure using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 41.  Search.
09:02, Today: Aver Eldebrandt rolled 51 -- 1 degree of failure using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 41.  Fortune Point: Search.

Aver finds the two have little about them aside from two daggers, and a totaled sum of 3 gold crowns, and 19 Shillings. The night was dwindling, perhaps it was time to retire to a safe place soon?

Aver pockets the daggers and the coins, then hops back on board.  "Is there room on board for rest, dwarf?  It has been a long day, and an even longer night."

---

OOC: Aver is ready to retire for the night, and to look at the bundle provided by Mefodiv.

Mefodiv starts taking his armor off and leaving it bundled in a pile beside his rest area, but leaves his sword sheath tied to him. "Something tell me tomorrow be even longer, if we live through night with no more surprises. Such strange things in your Empire."

_{OOC: Aver's bundle contains a good quality, yellow flannel scarf, and a good quality leather overcoat}

The night passes in silent anxiety. Gorrim takes to the watch and allows you to sleep in his boat. For now. "Go get your friends. Something's rotten in this city. And I'm not talking about spoiled beef." Gorrim commands. And after some searching you come to a quick realization. Halvi and Agatha were gone. No trace of them could be found, no witnesses who might have seen them. Dietrich, at least, was still here. He looks a bit different this time, stressed. Gorrim waits for you all down at the dock, talking to a pair of men; a Dwarf and a human.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:29, Fri 20 Aug 2021.

Aver actually seems excited to see the Bretonnian with whom she had verbally sparred in the past.  "Dietrich!  It is so good to see you on this day!  I had feared you were lost to the city much like Halvi and Agatha!  Did you ever discover for what it was your family had sent for you?"  She approaches and gives the man a big hug.  He might notice that she is wearing a new overcoat, very fine in appearance and likely warm, as well as a... bright... scarf.

She thanks Gorrim for allowing her to rest aboard his barge, and politely greets his two new companions.

"...no, I'm just saying it don't make no sense. How the hell is a Broken Cart the sign of pride? What’s to be proud of with a broken cart?"

Beside the captain stands a tall human in basic commoner clothes. He puts a hand in his mess of dark brown hair and absently scratches at a bald patch behind his left ear.

"They look like a sorry lot, Cap'n. Are you sure you want to bring them aboard?"

"And then the burgher fell right in it."  Ulladok the Dwarf finished the joke.  Anything to distract from the uneasiness that had clearly set in on Gorrim.  He nudged the little dog that sat at his feet and tossed it another tiny piece of something, then kicked some small bits of debris.

"Be settin' off soon, boss?  Or there anything to get or load first?"  He finally asked Gorrim after a few moments.

"Nay, Jus' waitin' for me business partner t'come back. Way things is shaping up for him around here, he'll be looking for a way out in no short order. We be settin' off soon as he gets back. Think that's him even. Good luck that could be, seeing him keep to a schedule again." Gorrim says with a puff of an old driftwood pipe. Smoking wasn't a recreational hobby for Gorrim, but more of an occupational rite. Often reserved for storms and naval troubles of the same vein, Gorrim's insistence on using it revealed his troubled mind. "Choose your words carefully Ulman. I can't much speak for his company, but Mefodiv's an old friend of mine. I've shared more bottles of ale with his family than you've shared nights with the world. You'd do better to show him some respect around me, savvy?" Having fulfilled the required huffing and puffing demanded of a dwarf when his freind's honor was on the line(?), Gorrim Moves to meet the party. "This it? Weren't there two others?" Gorrim inquires, scratching his chin. He snaps a finger and points to the two behind him with his thumb. "This is my crew. Ulladok and Ulman. Fished them outta the river coupla years back. Fine people and dab hands at dock work."

Dietrich smiled weakly at Aver's warm greeting. Normally he might have returned the hug in earnest or made some theatrical jest about such affections. But today his eyes were puffy and red, he looked like he had slept in his clothes, and he was about as disheveled as you had ever seen him. There was the smell of liquor about him, which was strange given his previously seen preferences for fine whine and ales.

"Oui, I did. Things are...not well with my family. But that is a conversation for darker hours and trusted ears. Needless to say I am...distraught. Forgive me if I am not myself for a while," he said through that same half-hearted smile.

"What have I missed? Who are your new companions, and why are we gathering here?" Dietrich asked, trying to perk up and shake off the lethargy of a poor night.

"Oh, love that scarf by the way..." the young man mentioned absentmindedly, not too distracted to let that slip by him.

Mefodiv fumbles about on the boat's deck for a moment, struggling to get his beard untangled from his chainmail as he pulls it over himself, before managing to get it free and disembarking.

"Miss good and proper thrashing of lowlife, for start. And footpads stalk us last night, only to get knife in back right before eyes. Something very off, or someone very interest in us.".

He walks towards the two newcomers, pointing to himself, then Aver, then Dietrich, before offering a hand.

"So Gorrim is your boss, yes? Am Mev, that Aver, that Dietrich. Good to see he finally get people that look like they worth the money he pay them.

"Ulladok Ironbeard, at yer service."  Ulladok started responding, answering both Dietrich's question and Mefodiv's introduction.  "And this is Ulman Tabbeck," He finished as he gestured to the human.

"Gorrim says you all need to get out of dodge?"  He inquired.

Aver gives a small curtsy when introduced, and offers her full name of Aver Eldebrandt at the first opportunity.  "It's a pleasure to meet you, as any friend of Gorrim is a friend of ours, or so I hope.  I'm not sure how that extension works when Gorrim is already the friend of a friend...  but yes, we are indeed looking to escape this city."

Turning back to Dietrich, "Perhaps you could enlighten us as we travel.  If there is something we can assist with, it would at least be my pleasure to do so."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:55, Sat 21 Aug 2021.

Gorrim flips his pipe over and dumps it's contents out, to stow the pipe properly. "Aye. We'll get to gone then. Got business in Bogenhaffen. All abaord. We'd best get there afore the festivals start. Wannae get the good cuts afore the scalpers set in. Heave-to lads, we're setting off. Onkri, get you and yours aboard. We can talk about your matter more when we're on the Reik proper." With that, Gorrim moves to get the boat moving. He speaks a thick rough language with very pointed sounding words as he stares at Mefodiv. His tension from before was easily present in his voice. [Language unknown: A pehiwh ive usou hatwheugh whhaiswh ore Tofiun. Yin To ng pro ncli in ilacis evllmi. T ivnapo il toomna le inatadoues ofho PRDAY pa ofce hisch rut osur of itpl wiusit. N tha roecme butsetall hawas ereyinoutres eeunfo stiureundtha, are ovehi ardvenund noanna todi nincle ad enc iouhasardast. Fosa ouroutvor fiti mame iouithere tapr Erecomday dayallnceted andvirtha n ie. Nelemi eldin i est himen res ri mi men vordinstr ame me neom wi.]

Experience time!
+10 Xp For meeting up with old friends
+10 Xp for dealing with the bar bully.
+5 For NOT provoking the nobles
+5 For catching the thief
+20 For Leaving on the Berebeli
+100 XP Chapter 2 Clear bonus!

OOC Please let me know if you want to do anything on the trip with one final post of you boarding the ship; Sharing the inheritance letter, fishing, interacting with someone or asking questions to anyone, practicing a skill or a spell, etc.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:06, Sat 21 Aug 2021.

Along the journey, Aver initially convinces Mefodiv to share the letter (finally) with Gorrim, as to hopefully find out where they needed to go for this inheritance.  She also practices her arcane skills using techniques she was briefly taught at the college.  She works on her ability to cast spells requiring touch, finding members of the crew who are willing to be put to sleep in her pursuits, or friends who may be willing.

---

<b>OOC: Aver uses her experience to purchase the Fast Hands talent, and spends her time practicing that ability.</b>

Mefodiv spends the trip practicing swordplay and exercising in his new armor, trying to get used to its weight and lower freedom of movement. He tries to make a game of trying to get Aver to touch him as he moves about the ship's deck, to help with both their endeavors. Otherwise, he spends time with their two new companions, offering a bottle of kvas each and trying to strike up conversation.

OOC: Experience spent on the Sturdy and Very Strong talents. I had 50xp left over from last chapter, so with the 150xp earned this chapter I can afford two.

"Bonjour! Well met meine herren, a pleasure to make your acquaintances! I am Dietrich Baudelaire, son of Brion Baudelaire, Baron of Seyoux, youngest of the Von Dornhain family of Nuln, and recent graduate of the great Aquila Academy. And these are my companions...wait, you have met them already. Forgive me, my mind is elsewhere," he replied reflexively, and then quickly correcting his mistake.

He drifted onto the ship, not really knowing or caring where they were going. He needed time to think. To plan.  Perhaps the peace and serenity of the Reik could bring clarity.

"As I said, I will share my woes in private with you and Mefodiv. I do not know our new traveling companions enough to trust them with such vulnerability, and potential danger," Dietrich continued, answering Aver's question, still looking out at the great river.

OOC: I purchased +5 in Fel, bringing me up to the whopping number of 32. If I've calculated right, we should all have earned 360 xp in total since game began, right?

Gorrim and his crew, (possibly including the Mefodiv, Aver, and Dietrich if the lend a hand), free the Berebeli from its moorings and guide the barge into the Kaiser Reik, the largest channel of water passing through Altdorf. As Gorrim calls out orders with a grin, ropes tauten, sails fill, and the barge is soon cutting through the waters, heading downstream.

In less than an hour, the Berebeli is sailing into the Reiksport, Altdorf ’s massive, natural harbour that lies outside the city walls. There, the majority of the capital’s docklands and shipyards can be found. Warships of the Imperial First Fleet are anchored everywhere, pennants flying, cannons bristling on every deck. Many of the ships, which come in all sizes, have never seen the sea. The city of Marienburg, at the mouth of the River Reik many hundreds of miles downstream, charges extortionate taxes for any warships passing through, so the Empire’s fleet only rarely leaves the Reik.

Gorrim explains all this with a jovial smile as he drinks wine at the tiller. He points out the truly enormous greatship Emperor Wilhelm III, said to have a crew of over a thousand, and claims it has never left the Reiksport in its 70 years of service. He also identifies several prison hulks, and happily states they are ruled by the river criminals they are supposed to incarcerate. He blames the 'manlings' for their inept engineering to build a proper prison. Once beyond the Imperial Navy’s finest, Gorrim steers the Berebeli southwards, heading for the Weissbruck Canal...

END OF CHAPTER TWO: PROCEED TO CHAPTER THREE

OOC That's correct.