~ Riva

LXT

Abruptly, almost out of thin air, an old woman is standing in front of you.
“Hah hah! Noble gentlefolk, haven’t you got a crust of bread to spare for old Lea?”

Awkwardly, [Hero] starts searching through his/her pack.
“…or even a small coin, for old Lea?” the beggar woman continues undeterred.

By now, [Hero] has found, what [Hero]’s been looking for and pulls out some food.

“Most people don’t give me anything, because they think old Lea doesn’t notice anyway. They think old Lea’s too stupid to know”, the old woman babbles on.
The beggar woman does give the impression of senility, but[Hero] notices her eyes moving about constantly. She sees everything that goes on around her.

[Hero] has pulled a coin from ) purse and puts it into the old woman’s hand. Quickly, the beggar woman hides the gift.
“Ooh! Many thanks, noble gentlefolk!” shrieks Old Lea and performs a deep curtsy, lifting the hem of her skirt with outstretched arms and bending dangerously close to the ground.

“Hah! Hah! You’re no noble gentlefolk, just like old Lea!” the old woman laughs and gives a Silver Crown and a large piece of bread to the flabbergasted [Hero]. Then she dances all around your party, before stopping again in front of [Hero].

“Hah hah! Old Lea isn’t stupid, oh no - she sees everything, hears everything, and remembers everything!”
Pompously, the obvious dimwit tips her forehead with one finger.[Hero] is tempted to repeat the gesture, but can restrain his-/herself in time.

Lea

The “Harbour Maid” has plenty of customers. All tables are occupied except a table where only one man is sitting. Obviously, he’s not very popular.
Do you want to:

Join the lonely-looking fellow

Find a spot at the bar

Seeing you approach his table, the man looks up in obvious surprise.

All the tables are more than just occupied, they’re patently crowded. You don’t find any free seats. Shrugging % shoulders, [Hero] turns around. Seeing you approach his table,the man looks up in obvious surprise.

A young man, quite pale and extremely agitated, is running past you. Suddenly, he stops, turns on he spot, and comes straight towards you.
“She is dead!” he whispers with a strangled voice. Then he collapses into [Hero]’s arms and starts to weep uncontrollably.

It takes [Hero] quite some time to calm the man down enough for him to answer your questions.
“Ariana… she is dead… murdered! - But why… I mean, who’d have a reason to… who could have…?”
In the end, Tarsinion - that’s his name - leads you to the scene of the crime so you can draw your own conclusions.

A dead elven female is lying on the bed. The body has a deep neck wound and is extremely pale. “Not a drop of blood left inside her!”[Hero] states after a thorough examination.![Hero] looks around inside the house.
“She must have opened the door to her murderer”,[Hero] finally declares. “There’s no sign of a forced entry!”

At last, Tarsinion goes off to alert the guards.
Are you going to take the opportunity to look around the place?

Search as thoroughly as you want, you don’t find any clues to the identity of the killer.

Mind you,[Hero] notices a small seam in the cellar wall. Without encountering the least of problems,![Hero] opens a secret door.
Pensive,![Hero] closes it again and goes back upstairs. “The guards shouldn’t be long now…”

Shortly afterwards, Tarsinion returns with a squad of guardsmen. The squad commander seems quite taken by his own importance and announces he will open an investigation. He takes down your statements, before asking you not to interfere with his work any longer. - Basically, he’s kicking you out!

“Why didn’t you tell him about the secret door?” 1[Hero] asks, as soon as you are out of earshot.[Hero] grins mirthlessly. “Why, such a laughable secret door shouldn’t be much of a challenge to such a high-ranking officer!”

[Hero] is momentarily startled, but then![Hero] just walks on with a shrug. No chance that pompous ass is going to listen to!, any more. “He’ll just have to find the secret door by himself then!”![Hero] mumbles under his/her breath.

You can hear the noise from quite a distance away. In the middle of a large crowd of people, four strong men are carrying a large blanket bearing a small figure. About a dozen men and women are constantly running around the bearers with helpful suggestions about better ways to do their task. The rest of the crowd seems split into two large factions, each contesting a different opinion.

After a number of failed attempts, [Hero] finally manages to get a conversation going with someone from the smaller of the two factions.
“Idiocy! Madness!” the guy shouts. “The seeress could have helped him just as well, but no, they have to carry him all the way across town!”
“Quenya may know a lot of things we shall never learn, but the dwarf will get much better care from the herbalist, that much is certain!” interrupts a woman from the opposing side.

“Okay - some dwarf has been wounded, and the people are fighting about which healer to bring him to for treatment”, [Hero] summarizes [Hero] knowledge.
[Hero] looks over the crowd with a discerning eye, then [Hero] walks straight towards a Thorwalian who looks especially upright and warriorlike.

“The dwarven mine has been attacked by the orcs! - Stupid prem-flounder faces with their ridiculous argument about who’s the better healer! - We’ll form a posse and show those mangy blackpelts!” the Thorwalian shouts. Some of the people in his vicinity are applauding loudly. “We’ll overrun those ugly vermin like the avalanche overran the mine years ago!”

The mob finally reaches the herbalist’s house. The woman seems to know her business: the first thing she does is chase everybody out who isn’t needed.
Led by the Thorwalian, the crowd marches on the market square, shouting vicious taunts against the orcs.

Mind you, the closer you get to the square, the softer those shouts grow. When you finally reach your destination, you look behind you in amazement. There’s no sign of a posse. - You see neither hide nor hair of the mob! The Thorwalian is the only one of them who actually made it all the way here. But, seeing the others have abandoned him, he decides to attack some stout instead. He disappears inside the nearest tavern.

“Watch out!” shouts[Hero] all of a sudden, and tries to pull 1[Hero] to one side. Several crossbow bolts shoot out from the dark, and you fall to the ground hit.

Several crossbow bolts shoot out from the dark, and you fall to the ground hit.

[Hero] sees a movement in the dark and leaps aside, but![Hero] gets hit by a crossbow bolt and struck down anyway.

Several crossbow bolts shoot out of the darkness, and[Hero] is struck down.

Cursing loudly, [Hero] pulls his/her weapon and charges your cowardly attackers. But the barely visible figures disappear under cover of darkness. Within seconds, they are nowhere to be found.
[Hero] stops to listen, but other than the beat of )_ own heart [Hero] hears nothing.

“Haven’t we done this bit before?” mocks [Hero], while you slowly encircle the old woman.
“…or even a small coin, for old Lea?” the beggar woman continues undeterred.

“I’ve been able to persuade Lothur to stop hunting you”, she whispers when you’re out of earshot of any passers-by. “He wants to talk to you!”
Slowly, the circle around the woman breaks up. [Hero] takes his/her backpack off and starts rummaging in it.

“Be at the warehouse directly south of Efferd’s temple at midnight tonight”, Lea finally continues, after every one of you has started searching through his or her load.

“Haven’t we done this bit before?” mocks [Hero], while dropping a hand on his/her weapon seemingly by accident.
“…[N]or even a small coin for old Lea?” the beggar woman continues undauntedly.

“I’ve been able to persuade Lothur to stop hunting you”, she whispers when you’re out of earshot of any passers-by. “He wants to talk to you!”
[Hero] takes his/her hand off the weapon, opens 1_ backpack and starts rummaging in it.

“Be at the warehouse south of Efferd’s temple at midnight tonight”, Lea finally continues, just as [Hero] is about to rearrange the contents of ) pack for the third time.

Finally, [Hero] pulls out a big loaf of bread and gives it to the beggar-woman.
“Hah hah! My thanks, noble gentlefolk!” Lea shrieks, when some more people approach, and performs a curtsy, though it isn’t as deep as before.

“Hah! Hah! You’re no noble gentlefolk, just like old Lea!” the old woman laughs and hands the dumbfounded [Hero] a large piece of bread.

“Hah! Hah!” Old Lea shrieks again, before dancing away laughing.

“You’ve got to hand it to her, she’s good”,[Hero] grins. “It might be worthwhile asking her out!” 1[Hero] stares at!, in disbelief. “What?”
“Dancing!”[Hero] laughs.

Do you:

Secure the perimeter first

Enter the warehouse straight away

You take your time and first check out all corners, niches, and possible hiding places in the area, without finding anything suspicious. Shrugging his/her shoulders, [Hero] cautiously opens the warehouse door.

Inside the warehouse, it’s pitch black. You softly close the door and stand motionless to listen for any suspicious sounds.

“Hah! Hah!” a shriek greets you from the darkness. “Who’s come to visit old Lea?”
You hear a loud banging and strained gasping, than Old Lea manages to light a torch.
“Hah hah! It’s you, noble gentlefolk!” Old Lea comes skipping towards you. “Haven’t you got a crust of bread to spare for old Lea?” Excitedly, the old woman dances all around you. “…or even a small coin, for old Lea?” she continues.

“We’re alone!” [Hero] growls sullenly. “Ooh!” Lea shrieks and dances around your party one more time. Then she stops behind your backs.

“I’m on my own!” [Hero] growls sullenly. “Ooh!” Lea shrieks and dances around, one more time. Then she stops behind his/her back.

“You’re late!” the beggar-woman abruptly states in a normal voice. “Wait here, while I go fetch Lothur!”

The door falls shut with a dull bang, and you hear a key being turned in the lock. At the same time, you hear glass breaking.[Hero] looks down at the shards on the ground in wonder, until things start to blur in front of!- eyes.
“Poison fumes!”![Hero] croaks, then darkness engulfs!,.

Inside the warehouse, it’s pitch black. You softly close the door and stand quite still to listen for any suspicious sounds.
From the left you hear a soft rustling, then a soft glow becomes visible to your right. A strange blue flame is slowly growing in size and gives off a dim light. Now another one of these lights appears on your left, and you see a tall figure in the middle of the warehouse, waiting motionless.

A sullen growl comes from 1[Hero]’s throat, then 1[Hero] draws 1his/her weapon. But A[Hero] grabs 11_ arm, until 1[Hero] lets go of the weapon, cursing savagely.
The figure doesn’t react, when you slowly approach.

After crossing about halfway towards the figure, you hear a loud crash of glass behind you.[Hero] looks down at the shards on the ground in wonder, until things start to blur infront of!- eyes.
“Poison fumes!”![Hero] croaks, then darkness engulfs!,.

[Hero] draws his/her weapon, only to put it back right away. Besides, there are at least three more people inside the warehouse, and they’re considerably less well lighted than [Hero] is…
The figure doesn’t move, when [Hero] slowly moves closer.

After passing about half way towards his goal, [Hero] suddenly hears a loud crash of glass behind his/her back. [Hero] looks down at the shards on the ground in wonder, until things start to blur in front of - eyes.
“Poison fumes!” [Hero] croaks, then darkness engulfs,.

You’re inside the room Mandara showed to you days ago. The furniture is gone, there are just some straw pallets on the ground - occupied by several people: yourselves, the tradesmaster, Lea, and five guards armed to their teeth, not least, because they are carrying your weapons in addition to their own.
Tradesmaster Lothur Ui Chearghail waits patiently for you all to regain your senses: “Please accept my apologies for the unfriendly welcome”, he opens, “but we had to make sure it wasn’t a trap.”

“Hold the big pal routine!” growls[Hero]. “That guy tried to kill us!”
“I had intended to make my peace with you”, the tradesmasters counters, “but it’s not as if I didn’t have less risky methods of getting rid of you!”

“You can probably guess that I don’t like people poking their noses into other people’s affairs and asking questions all over town - unless they’re working for me! Now, I’d be very interested to know what exactly you are looking for.”
With a moan, [Hero] starts to explain the Travia priestess’ worries and your charge.
For a long time, the tradesmaster stays silent, then he gestures to Old Lea and says: “Wait here, it’ll take a while.”
Without waiting for any special orders, the guards return your weapons, then they sit back down and patiently wait for their leader to return.

It takes several hours for them to get back from wherever they’ve been.

The tradesmaster hands a simple wooden armband bearing a painted blue pattern to each of you. Only now do you notice that every guild member is wearing one of these…

The tradesmaster hands [Hero] a simple wooden armband bearing a painted blue pattern. Only now does [Hero] notice that every guild member is wearing one of these…

“That’s how we recognize each other”, Lothur declares. “It’s plain enough for no-one else to wear it, and distinct enough to serve its purpose. The pattern is always the same, but the colors differ.”
“Our informants wear white bands, traders green ones, merchants red ones. Everybody else wears a blue one”, Lea explains.
Lothur and Lea are both wearing blue armbands, one of the guards is wearing a red band, and all the others wear green.

“There are secret passages connecting all the town’s temples running underneath the sewers”, Lothur continues. “Some even run along the ancient sewer system. If you show them your armbands, the priests will show you the entrances to their temples.
As soon as you have found out anything about the pirates, go and tell Tarik. That way, I’ll be sure to hear about it”, the tradesmaster concludes, then the guild members say goodbye and leave.

“I see - Tarik is part of all this, too!” muses[Hero]. “I get the feeling, there’s a lot more to this business than we know about as yet.”

This is the house
of the supposed
Pirate Adran
Seahoff, you shall observe
to fulfill the
mission of the
Tradesmaster.

his eyes widen, and now, the magic seems to be working, too: A wide smile appears on his face!
“How can I help you?” he asks politely.

he asks, his voice as moody as his face:
“What do you want?”

A sullen man opens the door to you. He tries to put on a friendly face, but he fails.
Looks like that would take the sort of power only magically gifted Arkanians can muster.
He looks your party over none too friendly, and for a disconcertingly long time, then

Well, that didn’t get you very far!
Do you want to keep the house under observation?

From here, you have a good view of Adran Seahoff’s place without having to fear being spotted yourselves right away. Do you want to watch the house from here?

You have been waiting for a considerable amount of time now without anything happening. Are you continuing your watch?

Suddenly, something happens. [Hero] saw a dark shadow sneaking out the door.
Do you follow?

Cautiously, you sneak after the shadow.

With a stifled curse,[Hero] gets up. It’s too dark to see what made!, trip, but the crash when![Hero] hit the ground must have carried quite a distance.

You press against a wall and wait. But the shadow you were following has gone and doesn’t make a reappearance. You’ve lost him, I’m afraid.

You hide behind a wall and wait. [Hero] is just about to give up, when suddenly, just a few houses down the lane, a shadow steps away from the wall. You follow cautiously.

1[Hero] looks around questioningly: Just two blocks on, you’ve lost your prey again. You stop and wait, but the figure doesn’t reappear.

That’s the house your prey has disappeared into.

[Hero] looks around the house. It doesn’t take long at all for, to find a document with enough information for the guild to drive the pirates from Riva for good. - Once you give that parchment to Tarik, your job will be done.

Do you want to:

Listen at the door

Knock

Break in

You don’t hear a thing!

[Hero] leans against the door to test it, then [Hero] steps back a bit to build momentum. With a loud crash, [Hero] and the door fall inwards.
[Hero] has barely time to get up, before someone comes running from the back and beats a hasty retreat on seeing you. Right away, five armed men storm in through the same door he took. The man who discovered you isn’t among them, though.

With a quick glance down the street, [Hero] makes sure there is no-one else around, then [Hero] knocks on the door.
A middle-aged fellow opens.
“Yes?”
[Hero] looks behind the man in surprise, and when he turns his head to look, gives him a chop to the neck. Hastily, [Hero] pushes the unconscious man inside and shuts the door.

Unmoved, Tarik reads the document you found with Daswadan Sewerin. Then he nods appreciatively:
“Well done, folks! That’s more than I was hoping for.”
“It’s exactly what you wanted!” [Hero] disagrees.
Tarik smiles: “So it is! But it’s fairly unusual to get all you want, isn’t it?”

You can hear the howl of the mob in the market square from far away.
“What’s going on down there?” [Hero] is asking.
The people are thronging together, and you have to piece together what is going on from what you can understand of their angry shouting - a Holberkian appears to have bumped into a passer-by, and now the mob’s fury about the blackpelts is being released in violent attacks on the unfortunate fellow.
“Has it come to this?” [Hero] snarls from between his/her clenched teeth. “Well, we’ll see about that!”

Do you:

Draw your weapons and disperse the mob

Try to confuse the mob and draw it away from the Holberkian

Some guards have already gathered around the mob..
Do you really want to try it and:

Prefer to try to distract the mob from the Holberkian.

You draw your weapons and start in on the lynch mob. When your first victims start falling down bleeding, the rest of the crowd runs away in fright, but now two guards units come running that have kept their distance up to now. From the corners of his/her eyes, [Hero] can see the Holberkian taking flight as well.

More and more guardsmen appear, until you are forced to surrender!

[Hero] retreats into a dark corner, tousles!his/her hair, and dirties up!his/her face. Then, with an unhappy groan,![Hero] makes a shallow cut on!his/her arm and dabs some of the blood on!his/her face and clothing. To complete the picture,![Hero] rends!- clothes a bit, takes a deep breath, and runs out.

“To Arms! To Arms!”!his/her cries ring out. “The orcs have bashed in the South Gate and are invading the town! To arms!” There’s no need for[Hero] to repeat!his/her performance. The crowd is rooted to the spot from shock for a moment, then everybody starts shouting and clamoring, and they all run off, mostly to the north. The few who are asking questions get short shrift from[Hero]. “The South Gate! Quick! The orcs are coming through!”

The Holberkian is sitting in a state of exhaustion, where the crowd has left him. When the mob has mostly dispersed, he starts to hobble away. He gives a jolt of fear, when you catch up and take his arms to support him.
“Where to, pal?”[Hero] asks calmly. At first, the Holberkian looks at!, suspiciously, the his face lights up, and he points north.

In front of one the huts, the Holberkian motions you to stop.
“Thank you for your help, you were just in time!” he says in perfect Garethi. His pronunciation is hard and edgy, almost barking, but quite clear. “I am Ordo Gulek. Come! My home is not big, but all I have is yours to share!”

The place is small and shabby, but the interior is spotless. A Holberkian woman looks at you with wide eyes. Ordo talks to her in a strange language sounding like some dialect of Orcish. She goes to fetch a bucket of water and clean towels.
[Hero] cleans!his-/herself, while Ordo rips a piece of cloth and starts to bandage!his/her arm wound. Afterwards, the woman brings some sort of stew which smells very good and tastes even better.

There’s a knock on the door, and another Holberkian comes in. The moment he sees you, he starts barking. Ordo’s answers are calm at first, but by and by, the whole thing develops into a loud argument. You decide to keep out of it, especially so, since you don’t understand a word that’s being said.
The strange Holberkian leaves, banging the door behind him, and you’re alone with your hosts once more.

“Haffel doesn’t like strangers!” Ordo explains, “and since that fiend in the tower took his beloved Reto, he’s become totally unbearable.”
“His son?” [Hero] asks sympathetically, but Ordo just grins tiredly. “No, his dog”, he answers. “The magician in the tower nabs our pets for his experiments.”

Less than half an hour has passed, when there’s another knock on the door. Haffel Gulek comes in with two more Holberkians. The three of them are obviously trying to convey an air of dignity, but all they succeed in is making fools of themselves, especially once they start barking.
“With that sort of behavior, I’m not surprised people don’t want Holberkians in town”, [Hero] comments less than softly.

Abruptly, everything falls quiet. [Hero] realizes with a start that the Holberkians may prefer to talk amongst each other in an Orcish dialect, but they do understand Garethi.
The Holberkians stare at, in anger, then Haffel makes a short, calm speech, after which the three visitors leave, their heads held high. Ordo’s face is unmoved, until the door has closed behind them.

A soft giggle rises from Ordo’s throat. “You interrupted a family council”, he explains, grinning, “and insulted three family heads.”
“Ooooh!” [Hero] moans, “and we were hoping to ask them some questions.”
It turns out that Ordo has no idea about the current situation in Riva. He and his wife have been away for some time as travelling merchants, and Haffel apparently used Ordo’s absence to undermine his authority.

After a long discussion, you finally agree that Ordo will convene a new council meeting and table a motion for you to stop the magician’s crimes.
“Come back tomorrow”, he sends you off. “We’ll have a decision by then!”

Ordo’s wife opens the door.
“Ordo hasn’t come back yet”, she explains in a friendly voice. “Come back later!”

Ordo opens.
“The family council has agreed”, he says. “Haffel is going to take you to the tower himself. Wait here, I’ll go get him!”

About five minutes later, Ordo returns with Haffel, who is making an obvious effort to be amiable, though his success is limited.
“This way!” he gestures, after you have taken your leave of Ordo and his wife.

“Without me, I’ve got something to do!” [Hero] says, and points to his front with his finger. “You know where you can find me!”

Haffel leads you out the southern town gate, and after a short walk, ferries you across the Kvill in a rowing boat.
“I’ll be waiting over there!” he says, pointing to the opposite bank. Apparently, he doesn’t like to stay too close to the tower.

The Holberkians are dancing with joy after hearing the magician has been bested. You are the heroes of their clan, and they are happy to answer all your questions. It doesn’t take long for you to realize they’re none too bright. Ordo Gulek, who made a favourable impression on you, is definitely far brighter than his kin.
Ordo has noticed your problems and starts to ask questions on your behalf. After a while, he brings over a young Holberkian girl.

The girl tells you somewhat agitatedly about her last visit to the orcs. Her Garethi is broken. Soon, her tale starts to bore you, and you’re beginning to look for a way to send her off without appearing brusque, when [Hero] suddenly sits up.
“Hold on!” [Hero] interrupts the child. “What kind of gifts?”

“Gift for Great Orc”, the girl answers. “Make good feeling for Riva and trader Gorm.”
Ordo talks to the girl for some time, then he turns back to you:

Now the girl’s parents are brought over to determine when those gifts were made.
[Hero] is aghast: “Just before the orc wars!”

[Hero] looks at [Hero] expectantly.
“That’s exactly, what we’ve been looking for, isn’t it?”
“It’s a clue”, [Hero] agrees. “Not much of one, but there might be a connection…”
“All the orcs rising up, just for a few gifts?” wonders 1[Hero]. “Doesn’t sound too likely to me!”

A Holberkian boy is sitting on the street, crying. [Hero] can calm the boy enough for you to deliver him to his parents. While the father motions for you to wait, the mother leaves the hut. A short time later, she returns with Ordo Gulek.
“The dogs have come back”, he nods, “but the little one’s animal has already disappeared again!”
“Curse of Boron!” snarls[Hero]. “That fiend didn’t give an inch!” Looks like the problem hasn’t been solved by a long shot!

“How can I be of service?” Helpfully, the chandler walks over.
“By giving us a little information!” [Hero] answers.
Gorm laughs. “Straight to the point, I like that! What do you want to know?”

“The Holberkians told us about gifts you had distributed among the orcs…”
Immediately, the merchant interrupts [Hero].
“Lies! I never made any gifts, and least of all to the orcs!” he shouts. At first, [Hero] is taken aback, then [Hero] realizes what that furious reaction means.

All the color drains from the merchant’s face when he sees [Hero]’s expression.
“Leave me alone, or I’ll call the guards!” he screams.
Calmly, [Hero] walks over to the exit, and Gorm starts to relax. But then [Hero] puts the “Closed” sign in the window and locks the door.

With one leap, [Hero] is back in front of the merchant and grabs the panicking man by the lapels.
“Out with it!” [Hero] hisses in a dangerously low voice. Gorm Doldrecht collapses.
“I don’t know anything!” he wails. “Nothing!”
[Hero] takes some leather thongs from the shelves and starts to bind the chandler, who doesn’t even try to resist. A clean piece of cloth serves as a gag, and the job is done.

A search of the house doesn’t turn up any clues. 1[Hero] picks up the bound merchant and deposits him on a table in the next room.
“Now, we’ll conduct a professional interrogation!” 1[Hero] declares with a show of competence and selects a particularly big knife from a display.

“Shouldn’t we remove the gag first?” A[Hero] asks worriedly, while 1[Hero] moves the knife speculatively across various parts of the merchant’s anatomy.
“Time enough for that if he doesn’t answer in the next half hour!” 1[Hero] replies in a level voice.

The merchant is squirming in fear.
“Quiet!” 1[Hero] snarls, then 1[Hero] nails the man’s right earlobe to the table with the point of the blade. Gorm’s eyes are bugging, but he dares not move his head. Unperturbed, 1[Hero] pulls the knife free, and starts cleaning the point with the gag 1[Hero] takes from the chandler’s mouth.
“One peep out of you, and your neck’ll be next!” 1[Hero] threatens.

Gorm Doldrecht is a cringing coward, just as 1[Hero] suspected. In a trembling voice, the merchant starts to talk.
“It was in the middle of the night… there were two of them in a cart… from the castle… all they had was the chest with amulets… nice work,but totally worthless… they wanted me to distribute them to the orcs… paid good money for it… threatened, if I ever tell anyone…”
Gorm clams up in horror, when he realizes that’s exactly what he’s just done.

The knife 1[Hero] is balancing on the point of Gorm’s nose reminds the merchant of the much more immediate danger.
“From the castle? Who?” asks 1[Hero]. Fearfully, the bound man eyes the knife.
“The judge - Bosper Jarnug - and some guardsman, I don’t know his name…”
Apparently lost in thought, 1[Hero] runs the knife across 1his/her victim’s face. “Well”, 1[Hero] finally declares, “that looks like a really hot trail!”

Without another word, 1[Hero] loosens the thongs and puts them back on the shelf. Next, 1[Hero] puts the knife back onto the display. The merchant is still regaining the use of his limbs, when 1[Hero] unlocks the door and takes the “Closed” sign down. Then 1[Hero] wishes the merchant a good day, and you leave.

Abruptly, someone grabs [Hero]’s from behind.
“What?” [Hero] turns around in surprise. “Tarik!” [Hero] exclaims.
“There’s news!” Tarik says and makes for a quiet spot. “One of the citizens got in touch with me. He wanted me to find you, saying he has some important information.”

“What sort of information?” [Hero] asks.
“He didn’t tell me!” Tarik protests. “He couldn’t know we’ve been working together!”
[Hero] looks interestedly at Tarik’s wrist. - Yes, indeed! Tarik, too, is wearing a guild armband, and its blue as well.

“So who is this mysterious informant?” [Hero] wants to know.
“Malmodir Elin, a Norbadan”, Tarik answers. “He’s been living in town for ten years now, and used to be a close friend of the judge’s, a very close friend!”
[Hero] looks at him questioningly, and Tarik pulls a face. “His lover!” he finally explains.

“A man?” [Hero] asks with some indignation.
“… an admirer of physical beauty, whichever sex it comes in”, Tarik gives sound to [Hero]’s thoughts.
[Hero] wrinkles his/her brow: “Could be something to do with Doldrecht’s late visitors.”

Now it’s Tarik’s turn to make a questioning face. You tell him what you heard from Gorm Doldrecht.
Tarik thinks it over. “What possible interest could the judge have in the orcs conquering the country? They’d massacre him along with everybody else.” He shakes his head. “Something’s not right here!”

That’s the fourth squad of guards passing you, and you can see the next one approaching in the distance. When you’re exactly in between the two squads, things start to happen, Within seconds, you’re surrounded!
“You are under arrest! Surrender your weapons immediately!” the captain commands.
Considering the circumstances, you don’t have a choice: you give up your weapons.
“What are we being accused of?” [Hero] asks.
“You have been charged with committing a premeditated murder”, the officer replies reluctantly. “That must suffice for you. The judge will read out the full charge later.”

A large crowd has gathered around you and is watching the proceedings.
“Murderers!” a single voice cries out, then the shouts multiply. “Murderers! Murderers!” the crowd chants, then the mob comes closer.
A man holding a strong rope is ahead of the others, leaves the crowd behind, and comes running straight towards you.
The captain’s eyebrows draw together, but he waits for the man to pass in front of him. Then he hits him over the head with the broad side of his sword. The man goes down as if he’d been struck by lightning, with a profusely bleeding cut on his forehead. The crowd murmurs, before becoming very quiet.

The eyes of the mob are resting on the officer. “Into the dungeons with him”, he orders two of his soldiers, pointing at the man on the ground in front of him. “And you, disperse that rabble!” he turns to the rest of his unit.
The guardsmen look at him wide-eyed, but they obey and run towards the crowd with their swords drawn.
“Murderers!” another lonely voice cries out, but considering the situation, the crowd is more interested in getting the hell out of there. It doesn’t take long for you and the guardsmen to be the only people in sight.

“That lynch mob was bought”, the captain explains for the sake of his troops as much as for yours. “It couldn’t have been anything else. Things were happening far too quickly!”
Somewhat less roughly than before, the guards escort you to the castle. Two soldiers carry the unconscious man between them.

The captain of the guard and the judge have a long conversation before it’s your turn.
“You are being charged with the murder of Malmodir Elin, citizen of this town. A witness has named you to be the last persons seen with him, while he was alive!” Bosper Jarnug, the judge, opens the trial.
Now there’s a bit of news: Malmodir Elin, the fellow who was so keen to talk to you, is dead - murdered!

“Who’s supposed to have seen us?”[Hero] asks in reply. “We’ve never even met this Elin!”
Jarnug waves over one of the bailiffs. “Fetch the witness!” he orders.

“That’s them!” Gorm Doldrecht shrieks the second he’s entered the court. - So he’s the mysterious witness of the prosecution!
“They have tortured and wounded me grievously!”

“That’s!,!” Gorm Doldrecht shrieks the second he’s entered the court. - So he’s the mysterious witness of the prosecution!
“![Hero]’s tortured and wounded me grievously!”

The judge makes a face. He does not look happy with the way this hearing is going.
“Can I have a look at those grievous wounds?” he asks.
“Of course!” Gorm answers in a huff. Embarassed, his hands search all over his body. Finally, he points at his right ear. Jarnug is forced to lean way out to even see the tiny red knifeprick on the earlobe.
“So, when did you have your ears pierced?” he asks ironically.

The merchant is making increasingly less sense in his accusations, until the judge gives up in disgust. All charges are dropped and you are released.
At the start of this, you were certain the judge was behind this conspiracy, but now…?

“Quick, follow me!” you hear a hissing voice beside you.
“Tarik?” [Hero] is quite surprised, but he follows the man without any hesitation. At a shadowy corner, Tarik stops.

[Hero] horrified turns to Tarik: “MURDERER? I don’t want to have anything to do…”
[Hero] leaves the group without another word.

This is the position,
Tarik made known to
you. There’s an
entrance into the
deeper regions
of the sewers
and somewhere below
you will find the
new headquarter
of the guild.

A guard unit is running along the street. The soldiers haven’t noticed you yet, but it might happen at any moment.

Suddenly, one of the guardsmen stops and holds back his comrades.
“Halt!” he cries, and points at you. “You! Come here!”
You don’t have anything to lose: If they capture you, you’re as good as executed.

Without taking any notice of you, the guards march on.

By now, you’ve attracted the attention of even more guards!
Do you:

Surrender

Fight on

You surrender, before they can overpower you.
“That’ll be several years in the dungeons for you - unless the judge is in a forgiving mood!” the captain says calmly.
Do you:

Take this last chance to escape

Let the guards lead you away

You’ve made it! Of course, you were forced to leave quite a bit of equipment behind.

Sorry! The guards are on to you, and your escape attempt is stopped before it’s really begun.

You peacefully surrender to your fate. Maybe now, you’ll finally get a chance to clear up all misunderstandings.