The Prophet of Grunwald - Session 3 - Nobles, Friars, and Apothecaries



The search for Stephanie Grassermann continued.

While Siegfried, Yuric, Berend, and Ploog undertook the search of the Hammer, Olessia met with Marina Ryabov, an apothecary who serves as one of the unofficial leaders of the Kislevite community in Grunwald. Marina and her husband (the barber-surgeon Vyacheslav) enjoyed good relations with the powers-that-be in the town and had opened their home to Kislevite children whose parents feared more vandalism.

Their conversation was cut short when Marina received word that Countess Greta von Webern (ruler of Grunwald and the surrounding county) was making her way by carriage to the town's port. Along with many other curious Grunwalders, Olessia and Marina followed the carriage's progress as armed guards cleared a way down to the harbor.

Siegfried, Yuric, and Berend had finished their business aboard the Hammer when the countess's carriage arrived at the harbor, shortly after midday. Reunited with Olessia, they all watched with some interest as the Countess von Webern herself alit, along with her sickly daughter Rosabella. Rarely seen outside the von Webern manor, Rosabella was said to suffer from terrible palsies, and indeed, she visibly shook as her mother brought her aboard the vessel. Olessia caught a sense from the girl, however, that she was not being dragged against her will -- although uncomfortable, Rosabella seemed to be going freely. The countess's guards did not board the ship, but took up positions at the foot of the gangplank, preventing anyone else from boarding.

Siegfried and Berend briefly considered schemes to get back aboard the vessel (or swim to its far side), but they decided they couldn't risk it. Ploog and the river warden Jaromir remained at the port to watch the ship while the others moved off to discuss matters further. When the subject of Stephanie came up Marina invited the party back to her home.

The apothecary led everyone to a side entrance to her home, down into a cellar, where she revealed that Stephanie was sheltering. As Olessia and Berend approached, Marina confided that the young woman seemed traumatized -- although Vyacheslav reported she was physically unharmed.

Olessia and Berend (mostly Olessia) were able to get some of Stephanie's story from her. She was apparently separated from the group escaping the Red Orc when she tried to go back for her mother; when she then went to catch up to the group, she found them gone and she fled to find a shelter. She pounded on the doors of her neighbors, but they did not let her in ("They always hated us," she said of them when telling the tale.)

Stephanie then hid from the crowd in the ferry terminal. There, she heard or saw "something terrible" coming from the neighboring house (that of another river warden, Garald Lebziak, and his family). She was unable to give any real details and asked to be brought back to her mother as soon as she learned Emma was okay.

Berend gifted her with a marked stone, presenting it as a blessing of Taal. He then promptly asked her for some booze and placed a tanned bear's paw on her shoulder. He seemed to think this would calm her. (It didn't.)

The party and Stephanie made their way through the now bustling town, toward the Red Orc Inn. Along the way, Siegfried and Yuric discussed their own predicament -- they needed to check in with Gerta (who organized their smuggling plot) and see about getting out of town quickly. Yurick felt the river crossing might be unsafe.

As the group approached the town square, they saw a Voice of Sigmar adherent in sackcloth robes addressing the crowd from atop the makeshift stockade (which he was using as a pulpit). Although impassioned, his call to action to the congregation seemed to hinge less on finding sinners and more on rejecting the sins of material wealth.

Olessia and the others nevertheless thought it best not to walk through the throng and headed around the square toward a side entrance of the inn. Unfortunately, this brought Stephanie in sight of the ferry terminal and the Lebziak home. The girl began to panic, and Olessia and Berend had to guide her back to the inn with a mixture of protective embraces and stern words.

Soon Stephanie was back in the inn and running into her mother's arms, where she collapsed into sobs. Emma clutched her daughter tight, relief clearly flooding her. She mouthed a thank you to the party.

Berrend immediately asked for a place to stay.

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