Summary 08

Before you left Polotsk, you learned that your 'friend' had struck again, killing a merchant and his household - and implicating you. It would seem that the boyar attempted to form an alliance with the baroness before you left, which left him on his back with a black eye. Still, he sent a mercenary with you - Nikolai Komarov - to guard the baroness. Heading towards Pskoi, you chased off some rather poor bandits and entered the village. You learnt that the professor had been there and refused to shake hands with the initiate at the temple, a custom to ensure that evil demons did not stay in the village. You did so, and eventually remembered that you were Shallyans (albeit honourary ones) and stayed in the temple compounds. Here you received clues about both Focsani Gap (linked to the Great Patriotic Chaos War) and Trabzon (a crusader kingdom to the north, now lost). The altar to Shallya here was also of the now familiar unusual design, and you learned that it was linked to a Shallyan order of templars - the Order of Sword Brothers. The ranking Verenan passed you on to Kukonois where his superior resides and von Bora elected to remain here to study as well. Hilde originally also proposed to stay, but was offered a temple by the baroness (basically to persuade Christina to take up the post as captain of her bodyguard) and remained with you. Continuing on, you met up with some Bretonnian mercenaries on patrol for the governor and arrived at Skolverket hospital - actually a jail/ slave auction.

Continuing on towards Kukonois, you were stopped by the merchant Kaloyen Serbanescu, who offered a bribe under menaces to sell him the baroness. Nobly you refused, and put his musket-toting men to flight. You arrived at the regional capital safely, where the governor met with the baroness with great ceremony. Leaving her ensconced in meetings, you went to investigate the whereabouts of the professor. After some investigation you discovered that he had stayed with a merchant called Gunther Zischer, who had sold his business cheaply and left with him to the east. Matthias Dumitrescu had bought it, and told you of 6 'mysteriously overpaid' workers who had left with him. The servants Anatoli Orlov and Elena Grinko told you that the maid (Gunther's mistress Yelena Petrenko) had also left with them, they had 10 horses and 2 weeks supplies, and had overheard "Ösel" and "sword brothers" mentioned. Gunther was also linked to the gift of yet another of these statues of Shallya to the Cult of Verena, who felt obliged to save it from the fire having been told it was from a demolished building. He had arrived two years ago from Middenheim and set up a following to Handrich, was a worshipper of Ulric and had varied business interests.

You also learned of a plague in Rensen, not to be put in the stocks or be accused of economic sabotage, where to drink foul herbal brews and that the Society for Preservation of Ancient Rights is proscribed. Nikolai added further titbits on Kislev customs and folklore.

It is now late on the 10^th Pflugzeit and the baroness has summoned you. Thanking you for your aid, she has asked you for your advice. The Cult of Verena will carry out the ceremony tomorrow (and you are invited as witnesses), but the Cult of Ulric has offered to send support for a military campaign (should one be necessary) and their own political support should she remain loyal to traditional Kislevite ways. Hilde and Christina suggest that the Ulricans hardly helped her last year, and to go with the Verenans - but both are clearly biased. What do you think?

Experience

Nikolai 100

Jakob 50

Lothar 50