jagerfury

I'm the GM. The "compromised" alchemist was sent by their boss, their "handler" of the Clockwork Underground Bureau to work with them on their current mission. Doesn't mean the good Dr. can't shoot him in the face, but where I work if I decide to dispatch a coworker I didn't like I would expect to get written up :)'

The Dying Earth setting Rom'Myr I'm working this up for face-to-face play if I ever get the chance.

The alchemist has joined the party at the behest of the "authorities". Somehow this seems to be getting missed in this discussion. doomedpc not withstanding.

Seems you understand it fine. Looks like you are both reading too much into it. Or looking for something that isn’t there? Read first sentence and than full stop. It means just what it says. Then do the same with the second. It means just what it says. Nothing more nothing less. The third sentence can get confusing if you don’t know what the normal penalty is referring to, but then again it means exactly what it says, nothing more.

I actually liked melding the Elric! combat rules into Magic World and go from there.

I would just rely on the text as written right at the beginning of the skill description: "This is the ability to use two weapons at the same time without any penalty for using the off-hand. The character does not get any extra attacks in the round, but can choose which weapon he uses in any particular round. If performing an All Out Attack, a character with one of these skills can make two attacks without the normal penalty."

Is there any error in the listing of weapon class numbers in the Magic World rulebook. The reason I ask specifically is I see the Dagger/Dirk lumped in with mace and warhammer, WC 5 I believe?

A continuation of the good Doctor's narrative of the C.l U.B. ers exploits in Holbeach St. Marks; The last house at the end of the world The CL.U.Ber's are spread throughout Saracenic hall the ancestral home of the Mallebench family looking for clues to help flesh out their picture of their arch villain Constantine Mallebench. The Norton s are in the kitchen, Thomas was up at the top of the stairs but had decided it was safer to return to the kitchen and to hang back with Giulio whilst Wilhelm remained in the hallway checking out the furnishings. Suddenly there comes a tremendous banging from the back door, Ralph being close waves the Doctor back and heads towards the door his hands resting on his hatchets hanging from his belt. He pauses just by the door one hand outstretched to remove the spoons used to wedge it shut he turns to look back in time to see the others return, then he starts to pull the spoons out and the fall making a tinkling sound as they hit the kitchens stone floor. From the other side of the door a mans voice can be heard along with the thumping of fist against wood "Why is this blasted door locked? you best not be sleeping in there woman, if you are it'll be the birch again" Ralph calls back pretending to be Irish and replies "Sorry Sir, it's the frame its all warped" he removes the last spoon and stands aside and bangs a fist against the frame "Ah that has it, try it now sir it should open now as smoothly as landlords rent book" the door flies open and the over dressed man from the Vagrant cat saunters in. The CL.U.Ber's knew him to be Tom Carter bully and seller of pig skin. He starts to shout asking why the Irishman is in the house but before he can get too carried away he is grabbed and slammed into the wall by Ralph, who then grabs the now shocked and spluttering Tom by his throat and then drags him upwards against the wall. Ralph leans forwards his scared face giving him a demonic aspect "Remember me" he then slabs Tom back into the wall causing the man to cry out in pain but he's not out for the count yet and his desperately flaying hand grabs onto a wooden handle of a knife. Ralph with his face still pressed close snarls "We want some answers and you I think will be giving them... unless you want to hear the sound of your neck breaking?" he eases up on the pressure on Toms throat, Tom gulps down some much needed air, spits in Ralph's eye's and shouts "Feck you" whilst thrusting forward with the small knife it's sharp blade easily cuts into Ralph's ponderous gut. The others started to move, the Doctor grabbing his sword and heading to the doorway which led into the hall fearful that the commotion will have alerted anyone else in the house. Giulio moved up to back up Ralph and to close the back door whilst the other two headed to where they thought they were most needed. Giulio struggled past the fighting figures of Ralph and Tom and believing that the man mountain had everything well in hand decided that securing the door would be wisest move before anyone else decided to turn up and so he wedged it closed again. He only just avoided being smacked by Tom's flying legs as Ralph swung the man around like a toy and slammed him again and again into the wall, this time hard enough to shatter a cupboard which spilled out a cascade of pewter plates and jars which bounced around on the floor and added to the general din. Giulio looking up at Ralph stills the curse he was about to utter as he sees the blood pouring out of Ralph from the constant frenzied stabs of the knife. Quickly he stands up and with perfect timing launches his metal hand past Ralph's head and straight into Tom's screaming face, teeth fly out and blood gout's from a now pulped nose Tom gives one last gargled cry of Sam before his eyes cross and he goes limp. Ralph stops slamming the now inert body of Tom into the wall and drops him onto the floor he looks at him then at the numerous wounds to his gut and turning to Giulio just mutters "bugger" then shouts for his cousin. The good Doctor had been nervously guarding the doorway that led from the servants room into the hallway and the main body of the building beyond and had been casting increasingly worried glances back towards the kitchen as the noise levels got higher and higher but hearing his cousins cry he gave the dark hallway one last look, slowly closed the door and hurried back into the kitchen his hands already reaching for the big needle and catgut sutures. The Doctor finds the kitchen wrecked, Giulio peering through the windows nervously, a body on the floor and Ralph holding an already bloody rag to his side. Explanations are given and wounds stitched the Doctor complaining about how Ralph is using up all of his stock and asking him if he knew how much prime cat gut cost, Ralph bore all this with some stoicism. In all the hub bub no one was aware that Tom had regained consciousness and was slowly oh so slowly crawling towards the servants quarters he would have gotten further had he not tried to stagger upright as this caused him naturally no small effort and pain so when he went to wipe his face clear of the blood and sweat he discovered that pepper and a smashed face did not go well, he seemed as he had crawled through some pepper that had come from a smashed jar on his way to the door. His screams alerted the CL.U.Ber's to his presence, Ralph pushed the Doctor aside and launched himself at the startled man yelling "You bastard this is my favourite shirt" his meaty fist smashing into Tom's much abused face again sending him flying back into the servants room the badly injured man begins to scream gurgling for Sam. Ralph staggers back the wound on his side flaring with pain he ends up sat on a stool which was behind him and decides to stay there just to catch his breath you understand. The others rush past and begin to hack away at Tom who recovering slightly had started to crawl towards the chest of ladies clothing all the while spitting blood and crying out for Sam and now Lysette. Numerous blows strike his unprotected back as Giulio and the Doctor reign down on him but still he crawls forwards his hand reaching for something. Blood is now flying up from the strikes as the gore slicked blades rise up and then down again the walls are soon covered in this red spray the Doctor then starts screaming "Why won't you die?, why won't you just die?" over and over and Giulio just quietly keeps hacking down with his glaive a thoughtful look on his otherwise emotionless face. Eventually one of the blades hits something vital and with a final gasp Tom Carter breathes his last. The Doctor collapses onto one of the cots and starts to calm down whilst Giulio still looking thoughtful returns to the chest and starts to pull out the women's clothing within. One of the dresses makes a thudding noise as it lands on the floor and Giulio picks it back up and starts to pat it down. He finds what Tom was looking for in those last desperate minutes a small Wheel lock pistol is nestled in the attached apron, Giulio checks it and finding it loaded and ready to fire weighs it thoughtfully in his hand then with a dismissive grunt passes it onto the Doctor "I think you need this more than me" the Doctor red eyed takes the gun and with a muted thank you thrusts it the sash at his waist. He then shakes his head blows his nose on Toms shirt sleeve and gets back up "Better check on Ralph, I'm betting he's ripped his stitches open again" with that the pair of them head back into the kitchen. They find Ralph still sat on the stool another rag pressed to his side and with a slightly apologetic smile on his face (Though with all his facial scar tissue it was sometimes hard to see that he was smiling) the Doctor sighed and got to work again whilst Giulio filled Ralph in. He thrust his fleshy hand into a pocket and pulled out three small dried beans "Oh I almost forgot the Bastardo didn't have any money on him but he had these" he hands them over to Ralph who looks at them and looks at the Italian "Don't suppose you found a goose as well by any chance? the Italian smiles and shakes his head sadly " No just these and some keys I'm afraid. "In that case" Ralph replies before tipping the beans into his jigsaw mouth and swallowing. The Party still hear and see nothing so quickly tidy up as best they can, items broken in the fight are swept under the table, Tom's body is shoved and bended into the chest which barely closes and blood is mopped up with a wet rag. If someone does come looking for Tom they won't be fooled for long but hopefully for long enough to buy the CL.U.Ber's some extra space and Ralph looks around for a new shirt but is only able to find ladies clothing in the servants room and after an odd pause decides that the low cut red and black lacy number really wasn't going to work what with his skin tone and so he shoves it back into the same chest that is now somewhat full of Tom. The Party head back into the main hallway again feeling a lot more confident that the big house must be empty, the rooms on the ground floor which Wilhelm opened up are checked again by the others and questions were asked about the reasons behind the turned around painting they speculated about the missing painting as well could this lighter space once been covered by the False Chanterelle? Ralph got bored with looking at empty shelves and remembered that Thomas and Wilhelm had mentioned something about singing coming from upstairs so leaving the others he headed up the impressive but slightly dusty staircase. He could hear the others wondering about the drawn heavy curtains and drapes and why everything was so gloomy inside the hall had it truly been abandoned for the cottages behind? Reaching the landing he paused to listen but was unable to hear anything including any singing so he crosses over and seeing the closest door ajar quickly pushes into the room only to find it empty apart from some heavy bedroom furniture he sighs "Its never bloody easy" then heads to the next door but finding it locked quickly moves onto the next and then the next finding all the other doors locked apart from that first one. Standing outside that last locked door he shrugs his massive shoulders and taking a step back he shoulders the door open crashing through into the room beyond. Quickly regaining his balance he is slightly shocked to see the rooms contents loom out of the gloomy dust mote filled room. The room seemed to be a trophy room of sorts as it was filled with animals and parts of animals, the walls were covered in the heads of stags and boars, hunting bows and spears were propped up in the corners whilst in the centre of the room stood a huge bear rearing up, jaws wide open exposing huge dagger like teeth giving vent to one last terrifying silent roar. Breathing heavily Ralph gives the room one last look muttering about the strangeness of rich folk before heading out and back into the corridor, he tries to close the door behind him but it now no longer closes fully. He starts to bang loudly on the doors as he heads back towards the staircase crying out in a passable Irish accent "It's me open up" he kicks each door in and glances briefly into the rooms all appear to be bedrooms in various states of tidiness. He reaches the second from last door and as he smashes the door in he hears a squeal and shrugging off the broken door frame he looks up to see a beautiful young woman looking at him her red hair blazing in the unexpected sunlight. Ralph squints is this an Angel he wonders Black Philip had told him of these wondrous creatures but with his eyes adjusting to the light he soon realises that whilst stunning this is no Angel she flesh and blood just like him what gives her away is that no Angel would use language like that or hit that hard. The lady has recovered quickly she may have been hiding originally but now she was all guns blazing, imperiously asking Ralph "What is the meaning of this? you Irish are meant to stay out of the main house unless escorted by my step father or my brothers." she barely pauses for breath before slapping Ralph across his hideous grinning face "And don't leer at me in that way" she blushes slightly "You may have a big.........pair of hands but that doesn't give you the right to leer, now what are you doing here and answer me truthfully or I will tell my step father" Ralph steps back away from this whirlwind of a woman and in his new found Irish brogue explains that Joshua told him to warn the household that there were some intruders on the property and that she needs to stay inside until they are caught" she peers oddly at him but nods and goes to grab a wicker basket full of laundry. Meanwhile downstairs the others have finished checking the rooms and hallway and apart from the odd painting, some rusty armour and a small armoury of dull weaponry hanging down from a variety of hooks in the walls nothing satanic or information gap filling is discovered. Though there are still some doors to check across the hall. The Doctor is wondering if pulling the drapes open would be a good idea as the gloom is starting to wear on his nerves, Giulio has moved aside a corner of the drape that is covering one of the front windows whilst Wilhelm and Thomas are checking that the front door is closed. Giulio leans forwards then quickly jumps back letting the drape swing back into place "Cazzo! gentleman we are about to have company!" the Doctor almost jumps out of his skin and rushes towards the Italian asking a million questions at once "Who, What, How many and do you think they know we are here?" Giulio shrugs "Sam and a few hired hands by the looks of them , five or six and yes they are armed and yes they look pissed so I'm guessing they know" he pulls the drape away from the window and then smashes a pane out using his metal fist he then slides his musket through and takes careful aim and fires. The room fills with smoke and the smell of bad eggs but it soon clears and it seems that Giulio keeps his reputation for being a crack shot as one of the men can be seen falling backwards with a large grey red cloud forming behind his backwards thrust head. The other men cry out and scatter, some dropping behind a low stone wall whilst the others rush back towards one of the unruly hedges. Giulio thrusts his spent musket into the Doctors shaking hands and curtly tells him to reload it he then pulls out his pistols and quickly checking them he places the pistols onto the window sill one by one, ready to be quickly grabbed when the time came. The Doctor seeing this pulls out his pistol and the one that Tom was trying to get and with a nudge hands them over to the Italian telling him that he would make better use of them than he would. Ramming down the ball he whispers "shit" and still ramming the charge down steps towards the rooms door he then cries up "Ralph! hurry up and find that bloody woman we have company" The lady pauses " What was that? it sounded like a musket shot" she slows down suddenly unsure "What was your name again?" she asks, Ralph looks a little lost his eyes darting around but without missing a beat replies "Why its Murphy Miss, Jay Murphy at your service, that must be the boys. I told you there were intruders did I not" she smiles and begins walking towards Ralph again "Oh silly me you did I was just a little frightened" this lovely moment is ruined somewhat when from the floor below a very English voice cries out "Ralph! hurry up and find that bloody woman we have company" The shocked lady turns to run further into the room and she seems to be trying to head for the window but shrugging Ralph throws out one meaty arm and with a load thud punches her in the side of the head dropping her to the floor. Sighing he grabs her and throws her over his shoulder and turning around he starts to jog back, slightly ashamed of himself he finds he rather enjoys the feeling of carrying the lady whilst jogging down the stairs. When he reaches the study he carefully deposits the lady onto one of the chairs and pulling out his hatchet heads towards Giulio who has a pistol out and is carefully aiming it towards something behind the wall outside. The Doctor finishes off reloading the musket and taps the Italian to let him know it's ready, the Italian replaces the pistol and strokes the side of the musket before pushing it through the broken window and again carefully aims. Ralph asks the Doctor what the situation is and so the Doctor quickly fill him in. The Doctor then asks about the lady and afterwards he nods and stands close behind Giulio and cups his hands together Ralph guessing what's about to happen goes over and shakes the lady back into consciousness. The Doctor calls out loudly "Hello do I have the pleasure of addressing Sam Carter?" a deep baritone voice responds from behind the hedge "Yes I'm Sam Carter, the man whose going to rip your pretty little heads off and then piss down the ragged stumps" the Doctor pales a little but continues "Very nice to meet you sir I would suggest you rethink that idea as you've seen we have the better position and are quite well armed and oh we also have a hostage" Ralph gently drags the lady up and next to the Doctor who turning toward her pulls out his dagger and sticks the point into her side, not deeply but enough to draw blood she screams loudly more with the shock than the pain. The Doctor turns back to the window "Sam that was the lovely Lysette I believe, I don't want to hurt your sister but we are desperate men and will do what needs to be done to survive this" after a moment or two Sam raises his hands and yells "Don't shoot" and slowly stands up his hands still raised. "What do you scum want? come to think of it why are you even fecking here?" Ralph his large hands pressing down heavily onto the ladies shoulders whispers into her ears "I've killed a woman before you know, didn't enjoy it but still killed her with my chopper" her eyes widen and she looks downwards "No not that chopper....bloody modern women sex mad the lot of them" but he still eases up on his grip. The Doctor and Sam have a back and forth and after a minute or so of shouting the Doctor shrugs and tells the others "Well you heard all that we have a few minutes grace before anything else happens but I'm betting Sam there has already sent a man back to get more help and those men behind the wall, well I wouldn't be surprised to find one or two of them now guarding the back door." Giulio smiles "Well we are well set here and it will cost them dearly to storm this house....though a bit more powder wouldn't go amiss" Wilhelm and Thomas are pale and sweating somewhat so they just mumble in agreement. The Doctor heads back to the surprisingly fiery lady who tries to spit at him but her mouth is dry the Doctor apologises and then still holding the bloody dagger in his hand almost absentmindedly begins to ask her questions, the questions come out quickly and bluntly. "Where is Mallebench?" she replies The Master is here but underneath, he will arrive for dinner and when he finds you... then well you will wish Sam had killed you. The Doctor presses on question after question, his questions blurring into one as the others keep watch on Sam who is now sitting on the wall smoking a pipe looking a little concerned but far from defeated. The Doctor suddenly spins around "So the digging is Joshua's idea so unfortunately no Constantine looking for artifacts but maybe there is a way out, it seems the grieving father is weirdly in the basement" he smiles and there might be another exit down there so" he turns to Ralph "Cousin would you be so kind to help me tie this lady up an then could you go and have a look, maybe Edgar can call of his dogs" Ralph nods and the pair quickly tie her up and a gag is thrust into her mouth before Ralph heads towards the area indicated by the Doctor his hatchets thrust back into his belt as he now holds Child's wail his two handed axe gripping it tightly in his calloused hands. The area he needed to get into was blocked by a locked door but with Child's wail in his hands he makes short work of it hacking it aside in mere moments. The room beyond is a store room of a sorts wooden shelving lines the walls a few baskets of rotting food lay upon a few of them seeing nothing of note he crosses the floor quickly and heads towards the other door and through into a cold room. Greenish slabs of quartered pig swing away from Ralph's bulk as he shoulders through them and towards the trapdoor in the rooms centre. He quickly lifts the wooded door open revealing the stone steps beneath which lead down into the darkness below he takes off his pack and pulls out his lantern lights it and heads down into the basement. The stone steps lead down into the cloying darkness for what seems like years Ralph soon loses all track of time the cold causing his hair to stand up on end and his breath to form odd shapes in the frigid air, he sees his parents screaming silently in what looks like terrible pain, his friends dying in the war hacked to death or with limbs blasted off by musket balls, insides ripped out gore and offal flying around staining the ground beneath in piles of steaming meat and then in the darkness he hears the sounds of hoof on stone and a figure of a mightily horned goat appears formed out of his very breath. Ralph steps back almost tripping over the step behind the goat brays and it looks like it is going to gore Ralph upon its horns but then it stops its charge and slowly trots towards Ralph when close enough it brays quietly and sniggering rears up to lick Ralph's face before fading away the ghostly image breaking up in the faint breeze. A stunned Ralph gathers himself and smiles "I should have known that you wouldn't hurt me old friend" and filled with new courage continues down and the darkness and the cold retreats and suddenly Ralph is at the bottom of a normal set of stone stairs and in a fairly large basement. Thick stone walls line the room and the floor is simple packed earth. Two rooms closed off with rusty bars fill one wall, shelves full off dust covered casks fill the far end of the room and a low stone wall of a well fills up the remainder of the space but there doesn't seem to be any sign of any old man. Ralph checks the cells and apart from a pile of lumpy rags in one of them he finds nothing he then lifts out a random selection of casks and finds that they contain wine he looks at the faded labels and mutters to himself "Ah a good strong muscatel" before replacing the casks he then sighs "The Doctor is going to be upset, it looks like we will be fighting our way out after all" but as he passes the Well he happens to look down and suddenly stops seeing that the Well is dry and bending down he looks closer and notices that several stones have been removed from the side of the Well forming a crude ladder of sorts. "Then again maybe not" and he hurries back up the stairs to where his comrades nervously wait. Shared publicly•View activity

Yes there was. I will have to regoogle it

He keeps on trying to play the "but I'm a noble!" card. Claiming plenty of wealth. I counter with, "You're a Frenchman in England, something went terribly wrong back on the continent..." 😮

I guess they could ask Captain Rydley to hook them up but I think they already promised him they weren't going to cause any trouble in King's Lynn.

Understood, but when your PC's are now operating as secret agents on detached duty getting restocked with powder and bullets becomes an adventure in itself. And funding your clandestine operations becomes another important adventure point. So I want to be relatively accurate when I bleed the PC's dry of their shillings! 😈

I can’t find it anywhere listed in the Renaissance or the clockwork and chivalry book. how much does powder cost per pound? how many shots do you get out of a pound of powder? how much does lead shot cost?

The Medallion given to the PC's by Edgar Mallebench

More from the Journal of Dr. Thomas Norton.... Well if you know of a better ole go to it The Party head out of Holbeach St. Marks and take the raised path towards Sarcenic hall, the path is ill keept but it does show signs of some us faint wagons tracks and a water filled impression of a booted foot here and there. The flat landscape of the Broads seem to go off into the far distance either side of the path only broken up here and there by small copses of bare trees and a few squat buildings. The cries of seagulls rend the late morning air adding a sober tone to the strange landscape. The Party soon leave the hamlet behind them the squalid buildings disappearing beneath a gentle slope in the land. The going is fairly good at first but they have to leave the pathway a few times as they encounter sections washed away but this only adds a few minutes to their journey as its just a matter of climbing down into the marsh and then scrabbling back up the other side but it is tiring and soon they are all sporting water logged boots and the sound of squelching soon rings out accompanied by a lot of grumbling and a few curses, After twenty minutes of so they start to come across the first evidence of the works of Saracenic hall. Wooden stakes can be seen stuck into the ground nearby, each stake has a small piece of yellow cloth tied to it which flutters damply in the sea borne breeze. Giulio pauses and squints at the sun then kneels down and sights down a pointed finger "Hey it seems they have surveyed this area" Ralph trudges over but not having the same experience as Giulio just sees stakes seemingly placed at random so he just makes a somewhat non committal grunt in reply Giulio smiles and shakes his head and sweeping out his hand says "I expect we will soon see some of these earthworks that we have been hearing about soon" Ralph shrugs and looks out at the stakes "Maybe, lets get going though as these blasted gnats are starting to annoy me" he swats at himself dislodging a small cloud of small flying insects. Giulio was right as after ten more minutes or so of walking the Party could make out a few mounds of banked up earth some were close to the path whilst one or two were out in the marshlands Ralph called a halt and went to speak with Giulio who was peering into a water filled hole just of the path. "Well what do you make of it Giulio?" the other CL.U.Ber's took the opportunity to sit down and get some small beer and some food inside them the Doctor could be heard muttering away with Wilhelm something about heretics and the evils of Papacy "Its a little strange my friend..these do not seem the right sort of hole for a drainage project. I know only a little about such things but these seem to be how you say speculative holes, small holes that you dig hoping to find clues to where you really need to dig" Ralph looked down into the hole then gazed across to the others which scatter the nearby landscape "You may be right I must admit I was expecting something more...well bigger than just a few holes" their speculation is cut short though as Tomas jogs up to them "Mon Braves I think I have seen something that will interest you" Ralph and Giulio follow him back along the path past the still muttering German and Doctor and to a slight rise he points to a spot further along the path the forbidding structure of a gibbet could be clearly seen in the mist but also a group of men could be made out most of them seemed to be standing around a bank of earth from which earth could be seen flying up and out of every few minutes. "Well lets meet the Carters, hey Cousin no more arguing with the locals remember we are here looking for work" and after a brief wait whilst Wilhelm and the Doctor packed up the Party headed off again towards the mysterious work gang. As the got closer they heard a whistle ring out and the men stiffened and started to spread out away from the hole and seemed to take up positions which seemed to be oddly enough to now block further travel along the raised path. The Party are hailed by a giant of a man who stomps into the middle of the path and raises a meaty calloused paw. He is soon joined by a smaller man who unlike the others is rather smartly dressed as if he is a squire "Good morning gentleman what brings you out this way and so early?" Ralph nods to the giant and looks at the smartly dressed man "Ah we are looking for work times are difficult and coin is hard to come by" he pulls off his cap and holding it in both hands by his stomach twists it one way then the other " We were demobbed from the army after Naseby your lordship and we heard that the lord at Saracenic hall was looking for men not afraid of hard work" The well dressed man smiles and looks towards the giant "Hear that Sam he thinks I'm a Lord, well if its work you are looking for then you've come to the right place. We need diggers to help with the masters drainage project and a days work will earn you four pence and if you are any good lodgings and a hot meal up at the hall" The Party all pretend to be eager at this prospect much relieved sighs and praise the lords (it seems as if Wilhelm was something of an actor) the smartly dressed man grins and starts to hold out his hand to shake but then adds "Oh and you' ve got to be able to work with the Irish, you don't have a problem with that do you"? there is a somewhat strained pause and Ralph can be heard to mutter something a long the lines of oh bugger and then the Doctor asks all polite like "Irish you say? would they be from the Pale or would they be beyond the Pale? the well dressed man turns and looks hard at the Doctor "Oh I believe these are the blackest of Irish, Catholics come cheap these days" The Doctors face goes an interesting shade of puce and then he explodes railing against the papists and their attempts to pollute this fair country with their corruption and sinful ways "At least tell me that these scum are chained" he shouts pointing an angry finger at the men blocking the path. The giant moves forward his hands clenching and un-clenching into fists the smartly dressed man laughs and looks down into the pit "hey Feldwebel you chained up down there?" the flying earth stops and a heavily accented voice comes out "Feck no ye daft bastard, how could I be digging all this dirt if I was chained up? have you any more daft questions or can I get on with me work? he then mutters something like "Béarla dúr cumberworld" the smartly dressed man looks at the giant, nods and then turns back to the Party "Oh that is a shame well in that case my Brother and myself will be having no work for you fine gentleman then and so will be asking you to leave as you can see we are fairly busy" the rest of the Party back up and they to start to spread out all apart from the Doctor who remains front and centre still ranting he starts to pace slowly forward his finger jabbing forward towards the brothers "How can you as English man do this, how can you allow Catholics to roam free, do you not know what trouble they can cause?" the smartly dressed man laughs "Oh you are a rare one, I could give a farthing's fart for who I get to dig these holes so like I said its best you be going back the way you came" he then calls out to one of the men behind him "Hey Adair how about you passing me that blunderbuss, it seems that this one needs a little extra persuading" the Doctor reaches new heights of anger and screeches out "YOU LET THEM TOUCH WEAPONS!!!" luckily his cousin seeing how this would play out grabs the Doctor by the scruff of his neck and drags him back with then with a twist he flings him into the arms of Wilhelm who knees him in the gut and whispers "Not here, not now you fool" the wind taken out of him the Doctor can merely whimper "But Catholics in Norfolk, no chance of peace" Ralph apologises to the now armed smartly dressed man and the Party walk backwards fifteen meters or so with the work gang jeering them all the way and when they have gotten a safe distance away the CL.U.Ber's turn around and walk back towards Holbeach St.Marks Ralph grabbing his cousin and having a very serious word in his shell like. Infamy! Infamy! They've all got it in for me! The Party make their way back to where they started from the britch end of nowhere dragging along a still very angry Doctor. "Well that went well" said Wilhelm then seeing Ralph's scowl quickly adds "Well it did now we know what we are up against and that the rumours are true, Mallebench has hired a load of Irish Catholics" Thomas smiles "Well at least we can get a drink in Non? I don't know about you but I have worked up a powerful thirst with all this walking" he bustles past the others and heads toward the dubious charms of the Vagrant cat brew house, the others drawing a blank on what to do next follow on after him. The Tapman nods as the Frenchman enters the gloomy, smoke filled interior "You back? is it a pint of the regular you be wanting my froggie eating friend?" Thomas flinging his hat onto a nearby table laughs "Why yes Monsieur a pint of warm piss if you please" the Tapman smiles a broken toothed smile and grabbing a tankard lowers it beneath the crude bar and replies "Right you are Sir" this is followed by some splashing noises and he then slams the tankard back down onto the bar "There you go a warm frothing pint of Old Jessop" Thomas heads over and passes over a few copper pennies and grabbing the tankard he thanks the Tapman and downs the pint in one leaving a frothy moustache behind "Ahhh I think I will have another to drown out the taste of the first" by this time the others had entered the Taproom and had headed to the bar to get their own orders in. Thomas was talking to the Tapman as he got the drink orders sorted and seemed friendly enough the charming Frenchman easily putting people at ease with his ribald jokes and saucy tales. The Taprooms only other patrons this early was William Cartwright and the Beggar, the beggar seemed to be unsuccessfully trying to get Cartwright to buy him a beer. Cartwright seeing them enter was glad for the distraction and asked the Party how they found the hospitality at the big house Ralph answered somewhat surly "It stinks" Cartwright laughs "They're not the friendliest people I'll give them that" the Doctor mentions the Irish and is shocked to see that not only aren't the patrons shocked but they seemed to know all about it to. And If they had thought the Doctor had been angry before they hadn't seen anything yet. The Doctor started yelling at Cartwright "You knew about this? why haven't you called the authorities, why haven't you contacted the J.P at Holbeach, how can you allow this to happen after all they have done, after all that we have fought for? Cartwright staggers back under this onslaught and getting over his shock starts to push back "No one comes here that much, especially the great and the good old Mallebennch is one of them ain't he and they look after themselves" the Doctor pushes back telling Cartwright that it is his duty to report the Carters and the Irish he tells him that their is a Parliament now and things are different Cartwright just laughs and tells the Doctor that not everyone is happy to see the King gone and that Parliament or not the rich look after the rich and damn the poor The Doctor explodes and shoves Cartwright hard in the chest calling him a Royalist and a coward to boot Cartwright has had enough and swings his pewter tankard into the side of the Doctors head. Ale splashes everywhere the Tapman reaches for the club under the bar and the Doctors helmet rings out and gets a new dent "You dastard, you filthy King loving arse kisser" screams the soaked Doctor who reaches out towards the horrified Cartwright, the Doctors hands already splayed out ready to throttle the object of his hatred. The Tapman grabs Cartwright and drags him to safety behind the bar whilst Giulio drags the Doctor back. The Tapman shouts "Get your crazy friend out of here, he's barred" Giulio nods and starts to drag the still protesting Doctor back out towards the door aiming to get him out. Thomas pulls out his coin purse and pulls out a couple of shillings and slides them towards Cartwright and the Tapman "Sorry about that he's had a bad day, I hope this will cover the mess" he sees that Giulio and the others had managed to get the Doctor out and that Ralph and Wilhelm were returning Ralph seemed to be admonishing the grinning Bavarian "Yes I know but did you really have to kick him in the forks?" Thomas turns back to the taproom and much to the beggars delight loudly shouts out "Beers for everyone" he grins at the Tapman "Even you I'm afraid" the taproom is soon filled with shouts, laughs and the sounds of a game of pinch penny getting into full swing. Ralph headed over to the Tapkeeper and asked him about Francis Horsely the leather worker "Ahh he won't be in for a while yet he likes to get a good days work in fore spending his coin, why do you ask?" Ralph explains that he thought there might be a job going as Horsely was waiting for some skins to be delivered and he thought he could help speed things along for a few coppers. The Tapman nods and tells Ralph that in that case Francis works out of his home just passed the Middlecot farm seeing Ralph's confused expression he tells says "Its past the big barn you can't miss it" he grins "Just follow your nose" Ralph followed by some of the others head out to speak to the leather worker. They pass Giulio who tells them that the Doctor has gone to the church and that he promised to stay out of trouble but Giulio admits that he was also muttering something about Sodom and Gomorrah Ralph groans but pats the Italian on the shoulder and asks him to keep an eye on his cousin for him "He hasn't being sleeping a lot recently, its made him cranky" They follow the path past the barn and soon pick up the pungent, penetrating smell of urine, rotting flesh and stagnant water coming from a building set back from the path taking a deep breath Ralph says "Ah that must be the place" he wipes away a tear "Reminds me of the petting zoo and Black Philip" They find Horsely sat outside working on a hide when he sees them coming he stands up but keeps his wicked blade to hand "Hello their what can I be doing for you, don't get many visitors due to the stink" Ralph raises his hand palm open in welcome and to show he wasn't armed "Hello it's Master Horsely isn't it? my name is Ralph Norton and I was wondering if you were still interested in those hides that Tom Carter promised you?" Horsely looks a little puzzled but relaxes, he drops the blade into a nearby log and gestures to a bench "Take a seat, let's hear what you have to say" Ralph explains that he's looking for work and had heard that you were were waiting on an order of skins and that for a few coins Ralph thought he could speed things on, speak to Tom and maybe pick up the skins and bring them back. Francis scratched at his ragged beard "Well that sounds like an idea and if you got the skins there might be some money in it for you but it would mean you would have to go back to the hall.......hey aren't you back pretty soon?" Ralph shakes his head "Not quite we met a couple of fellows on the road who were digging up the path, well them and some Irish" Francis grins and spits out a wad of something best not remarked on "Huh that sounds like you met Joshua Poer and that brute Sam Carter, I take it then that you didn't get past them then" Ralph again shakes his head "No they weren't the most friendly of folk and my cousin has a problem with their use of Irish labour, he thinks that their is insurrection in the air" Francis looks thoughtful and replies "Maybe their are a lot of Irish up their at least that's what we hear, look if you could get past Joshua there ain't much point you trying to get to the hall to speak to Tom Carter Joshua is his stepfather so pissing him off also pisses off Tom so I think I'll just wait. No offence I just don't want to wreck the deal" he looks oddly wistful "They are special skins after all" Thomas asks him about the holes and Francis cackles "Drainage my hairy arse, they are looking for King Johns lost treasure, been listening to that crazy swill belly at the Taproom I be thinking, Joshua was always one for easy money. The Doctor meanwhile was deep in conversation with the Minister William Ward, the church seemed to have been properly adapted for the Godly the heathen bric a brac of the Catholics had been removed, the brightly coloured paintings of the Saints had been whitewashed over and leaving the church a quiet respectful place in which to hear the sermons of the Godly to feel and understand the words of the Lord God as he had meant them to be. The Doctor perked up seeing for the first time in this godless wasteland a glimmer of what was meant to be this mood was quickly smashed when after meeting the humble looking Minister Ward and exchanging greetings the Doctor discovered the reason a man as well educated as Ward seemed to be had ended up in a place like Holbeach St. Marks, the man was a damned Laudian! The Doctor managed to control himself this time as after all this was a church and he was still feeling a little dazed and tired from the recent events in the Vagrant cat. So he took a deep breath and instead of burning the building down he asked the Minister to take a seat and to tell him all he knows about the Mallebench family. Ward goes pale but seeing the look in the Doctors eyes decides that a little chat wouldn't be that bad considering the alternative. The Doctor learnt some interesting things as the Minister chatted away, they rarely came to this church to worship instead preferring to worship in their own chapel which was on the hall grounds, he knew about the Irish but pretended that he could maybe save their souls if only he could talk to them but as they seemed to stay on or near the halls grounds he had yet to begin any serious conversion work. He blamed the sons for abandoning the old man and allowing the likes of the Carter family to sink their claws into an old man. He also reveals that whilst the raised path is the only way to the house there is someone who might be aware of a way to it through the fens. The Doctor presses him and the Minister whispers a name, Persistence Butcher the hamlets Butcher. It seems that this man gets a lot of the meat he sells from the marsh working certain areas for fish and fowl, apparently he also does a mean badger pie. The Doctor gets the impression that as long as the Minister gets his tithe hen was happy to turn a blind eye. The Doctor feeling his anger rise thanked the minister for his help and standing back up bid the weak man good day and headed back outside to get some fresh air and to let the visions of a burning hamlet to fade. He looks around takes several deep breaths and takes in the pitiful display of shacks and hovels in front of him he sees the others heading down Miller lane and back into the hamlet he waves but they fail to see him as they head back to the Cat the Doctor shrugs and turns back to the hovels and spots one that seems to be a butchers shop of some kind or at least he hoped it was otherwise all those dead animals hanging up would take some explaining. The Doctor sniffs, brushes himself down and heads towards the meat. There is a loud cry of relief which comes from the Jakes behind the Cat and the black clad figure of the Witch Hunter suddendly appears doing up the cords on his breeches "Guter Gott, was diese englischen Teufel Essen? Ich habe für Tage, die Ärzte Salbe scheint bis zuletzt aber gearbeitet haben, bunged. Es tut mir leid für den Armen Bastard, der das alles ausgraben muss. Jetzt Zeit für ein Pint" The Doctor sighed and continued onto the Butchers but finding it locked up resorts to asking at a neighbours who tells him that Persistance is more than likely out hunting on the fens with his dog but he will be back before nightfalls as no one stays out on the fens after dark. The Doctor thanks the old lady and with a look of weary resignation heads back to the Cat after leaving a note pinned to the shops door. Meanwhile the Bavarian had finally managed to meet up with the others and was a little shocked to hear all that they had managed to do "What wait a minute I can't have been in the Jakes that long surely? what seven hours!......really? its your so called sausages they are not proper you know, hardly any meat just scrapings from the floor and sawdust...it bungs a man up you know" the others jeer and laugh but buy him a pint none the less. Which makes him feel better but unfortunately encourages Mad Bert the hamlets swill belly who sidles up from the corner where he fled to during the Cartwright and Norton smack down and starts pestering Wilhelm for a drink. A few more locals start to trickle in and a party mood seems to descend as the beer flows and everybody is happy to talk to the new comers again and tell tall tales of life on the edge where the land ends and the sea begins. The Doctor reaches the Cat but pauses at the door his hand hovering over the handle as he hears the revellerey inside he sighs again and puts his hand back into his coat pocket and instead heads back to the path and heads back across the green with its slimy weed filled duck pond and the currently empty salt weathered stocks. The others meanwhile learnt some more about the staff out at the hall the smiling man was identified as Joshua Poer the head groundskeeper a charming bully and a dangerous man in general, the giant was his step son (their father died in mysterious circumstances) Sam a man you definitely don't want to mess with but is always a safe bet come market day in Holbeach as he hasn't lost a bare knuckle fight yet and he fought Six hour vinegar to a standstill. They also hear about the fen beast who snatches away the unwary on moonless nights. The fen beast has a long history in the area possibly even before their was a hamlet. Ralph hearing this flashes back to the Blood beast of Bogdin and shudders, the crazy fellow they got released from the mad house. Mad Berts antics finally gets him a pint from Wilhelm and he starts to tell the Party about strange lights in the night, lost treasures soon to be found, a diadem from lost Atlantis returning to the land of ignorant men, of a reborn avatar born of fire and enraptured at the powers at her command and beware the curses of the ghoul with the fang filled maw , of alien treasure vaults and of a prehistoric mission reaching fruition. Wilhelm nods takes some hasty notes and starts to look at Mad Bert a lot more closely asking him about his past trying to find out if he was a Warlock or just moon touched. This ends badly for Wilhelm as Mad Bert starts to ramble on and on about unicorns and flowers and how one day an box marked with an apple will be powerful enough to run the world. The rest of the Party get their drink on an wait for Tom Carter to arrive. An hour or so passes and a man dressed in an outfit of dark green enters the tap room he scans the room removes his cloak and pulls out a short sturdy stick from out of a wicker basket that's by the door. He uses the stick to scrape the worst of the mud off his boots, Giulio sat at the back shakes his head "Oh so that's what the stick is for, cunning very cunning" The Doctor sees the Butcher come back carrying a pole hanging with fish and fowl a dog was running at his side its tail wagging away nineteen to the dozen. Strangely though he was not wearing chaps which the Doctor had been reliably informed was necessary for traversing the terrain he also seemed to be covered in a foul smelling ointment. The Doctor hails him and introduces himself to the one possibly sane man in the hamlet. After the Doctor explains what he is after the Butcher invites him into the shop to discuss things. After talking for a while it seems like Persistence doesn't care too much for those at the hall but his description of the fens impressed the Doctor as Persistence came across as a man wholly professional but still had a passion about his work. A price was agreed and a time arranged he said he could get them close to the hall and didn't want to know too much about who the CL.U.Ber's were or more importantly why they needed to sneak into the hall. So the two men shook on it and the Doctor handed over five shillings. The man in green walks into the cat and starts to throw his weight around mocking the patrons safe in the knowledge that no one would dare to answer him back. He grabs peoples tankards and chugs them down spilling most of the ale down his dark green leather shirt. He swaggers to the bar and orders a bottle of Brandy "I've had my fill of pig swill now for some of the good stuff" the tap man hands over a dusty bottle from under the bar and Tom still laughing and calling people names pulls the cork out with his teeth, he then spits the cork into Mad Berts eye and laughs as if its the funniest thing hes ever seen. Mad Bert on the other hand yelps and runs back into his dark corner where soon after the sounds of desperate sucking can be heard. Tom still laughing sloshes the bottle around spilling Brandy everywhere "See I've just spilt more of this Brandy then you peasants could ever afford" the party notices that no money has been seen coming from Tom to pay for the Brandy yet. He does one more spin of the room and then starts to chug it down straight from the bottle. He spots Mad Bert hiding at the back and suddenly charges at him whooping and laughing as Mad Bert cries out in panic, Tom throws the bottle out of the window and uses his hands makes horns and then he starts to grunt as if a great beast he then chases Mad Bert again straight out of the tap room this time, he slams the door shut with a flourish and bows at the oddly quiet patrons. He scowls when he sees that no one seems to appreciate his humour. He spies the Party and stomps towards Thomas "Hello, hello more strangers, look lads this one is another army boy all dressed up in what Parliamentarian finery? Whoa lads we best be keeping an eye on are women folk with all these soldiers in town" he suddenly spins back to Thomas "Tell me about the world outsides regal us poor yokels with your sophisticated conversational skills. Thomas stands up bows and does just that he talks about France, the life as a soldier of fortune, the battles, the thunder of guns and the world ending sound of drumming of horses as they charge a line of men and the screams of men and animals as they crash into the wall of pikes held by men of stout heart. There is not a dry eye in the house even the lout Tom is silent for a minute and then gores and spoils it by shouting "Yes but what about that dastard who caused trouble earlier the one who annoyed the good Minister? he with you boys I be thinking. Thomas stunned for a moment and still basking in the moment stumbles out an apology "Oh the Doctor please forgive him he was dropped as a child.....a lot" Tom Carter snarls well he better watch himself around here people causing trouble around here have a habit of washing up on the beach if their not careful. Ralph walks up to Tom and interrupts him "You Tom Carter then?" Tom looks up at the broad expanse of Ralph and steps back to get a better look at the man spoiling his fun "Yes I'm Tom Carter what of it" Ralph smiles his scars rippling across his face causing it to look unnatural "I'm Ralph and I hear you have some mighty fine and unique pig skins for trade" somewhat stunned Tom looks confused then answers "Oh are you from Francis the old fart?" Ralph nods "Yes he sent me to collect them" Tom smiles evilly "Oh he did, well tell him he gets the hides when I give them to him not fecking before. Tell him I will drop them off tomorrow morning first thing and he better bring some extra money with him as he must be rolling in tin if he can hire a collector" he then grabs a nearby tankard drains it and then grabbing his coat heads back outside kicking a local out of the way with a harsh "move it you dollard" things got back to normal after Tom left and Mark the Tap man gestures Ralph over "You had him worried there, but don't think he was scared of you for a minute he's like a mad ferret he will bite and rip at you even as he dies" Ralph grunts "I know I've seen his like before" Mark laughs sadly "No you haven't , really you haven't Tom there really is in a world of his own" Mark then turns around rings a bell and shouts "Time to get going, you've had your fun and I'm kicking you out so get going"

Tales from the Vagrant Cat as recalled by the good Dr. NortonArrived at Holbeach St. Marks, the place is run down Hamlet and the only local landmarks of note are the Church, the Vagrant Cat brew-house and the large Barn with appears to be mostly empty apart from what appeared to be a crudely carved pulpit.After speaking to a few of the locals it quickly became apparent that the hamlet still harboured Royalist sympathies and one or two people even hint at being supporters of Rupert the Devil but most of the people don't seem to care who rules as long as they are left alone and that the taxes go down. When the Party checks out the oddly named brew house. The brew house is as expected a large room a basic bar and a selection of weak small beers and the occasional bottle of something stronger. The room is smoky and warm, the heat coming from a fire in a badly made grate which took up half the rear wall. The few locals in there were somewhat reluctant to talk at first being wary of outsiders but the Party spent some coin and as the ale flowed it loosened tongues. Ralph asked if there was any work available and mentioned the Hall the brew house went quiet for a second but then someone mentioned that the hall was hiring folk to dig drainage ditches and the like and after chatting for a while it became clear that the locals didn't get along to well with those at the hall. It seemed the groundskeeper in particular a man by the name of Joshua Poer had a very bad reputation one local by the name of Will Cartwright advised Ralph to look elsewhere for work he also mentioned that the Hall's reputation was so bad that the only ones willing to work for them were the Irish. He also tells Ralph that they don't play straight and they are nothing more than a pack of inbred, cheating scum but then a younger man pips up "Hey they aren't all bad, Rebecca's nice shes not like the rest of them". Ralph turns and asks the young man about her and the young man with a wistful smile tells him he is talking about his girlfriend Rebecca Carter who works at the hall as as a maid. Will laughs hearing this and yells out for all the ale house to hear "Ha! you might say she's your girlfriend but does she know? you've been drinking this Four waster Ale trying to get enough courage to ask her out" the rest of the patrons laugh and poor Luke blushes and retreats further into the shadows telling Will "Hey she loves me, just because your wife turned out to be an old fishwife and nags you" Ralph cuts in before tankards are thrown "Take no heed of him Luke I will help you win maiden fair, I'm quite good at poetry and cooking you know and can give you some pointers" Luke smiles and thanks Ralph before rushing off to get ready to court Rebecca. The other patrons cheer him on and then an odd smelling man whose simple outfit was covered with a huge thick apron which had numerous pockets stitched onto the front, each filled with a variety of sharp knives, shears and needles approaches Ralph and slaps him on the back "It does me proud to see someone helping that lad, he's been making moon eyes at Rebecca for years now and really does need someone to kick his arse into finally telling the poor lass how he feels" though if you are keen to meet the Carters you could do me a favour" he thrusts out a calloused, scared hand "My name is Francis Horsely and I'm the local leather worker and general dogsbody for this fine place and I'm waiting to get a shipment of fine pig skins from Thomas Carter the slightly more respectable Carter of Saracenic hall" He steers Ralph to the bar and gets a round in. Ralph asks about the pig skins and Francis tells him that they are meant to be of exceptional quality and colour, he tells Ralph that he's been waiting for Thomas all morning and can't wait any longer as he's got work piling up at his workshop. Ralph gets a rough description of Thomas and agrees to mention the skins when he goes up to the hall and to try to bring them back, Francis thanks him and tells him that if he can get the skins delivered there will be a few drinks and a maybe a few shillings in it for him. The rest of the CL.U.Ber's have been talking to the other patrons and get roughly the same information that Ralph picked up the hall has a bad reputation, rumours that Old man Mallebeench is short of money and that the Servants headed by Joshua Poer are more or less running things up there. Giulio has been asking around about the digs in particular and he tells the others that whilst some land had been reclaimed years ago this time it looks more random and most of the locals believe that Joshua is looking for something probably the fabled missing treasure of King John and is just using the drainage project as cover. The Party drink up and thanking the patrons head out and take the rutted track to Saracenic hall, the Doctor looking up at the sun smiles "Well that went fairly well and with any luck we will be at the hall by lunch time"

A boozy welcome to the Wash as written by the good Dr. NortonOnce everyone was finally assembled outside the grim castle walls with their gibbeted Hand members still providing a stark warning that Ireton was now firmly in charge and the corruption of the past would no longer be tolerated. The slightly late members of the Party made their hasty apologies and brief introductions were made to Captain John Russell who gave them a quick run down on how to ride pillion on one of these marvels of clockwork engineering without killing themselves or more importantly the riders. Captain Russell's troop was a little on the light side as they only mustered around six riders including the Captain himself but they were still an impressive body of men and would no doubt easily spread the message that a new order was in place and stamp out any remaining flickers of Royalist sympathies. Also their Iron horses would enable them to patrol the coast and put the fear of God into those involved in smuggling and other criminal practices. The journey to the winding station at Castle Rising was an impressive one as even on the rougher roads the Iron horses were able to maintain an impressive speed only dropping below the speed of a man running on the most rutted parts of the road so the miles just flew by, the Doctor was very worried about this frenzied pace and advised his fellow CL.U.Ber's to tie rope around them to keep their insides together and their bodies in one piece as he worried about the effects of the air hitting them as such speed, the Dragoons just smiled and shook their heads when asked why they weren't so attired. So apart from the very pale Doctor everyone else decided to remain rope free. Luckily the Iron horses assigned to Captain Russell's were of the newer type and where able to make the journey to Castle Rising on one winding but its still quite late in the afternoon before they finally make it to the winding station and the troops barracks. The CL.U.Ber's are pleased to have made it there in one piece as whilst the clockwork powered horses were speedier than many other forms of transport it still left a lot to be desired in the comfort department and there was a lot of laughter from the Dragoons as the CL.U.Ber's basically fell of the back of the machines and complained about chaffing well apart from the obviously smug Doctor who walked away somewhat stiffly whilst tossing into the air a small jar of ointment before catching it and all the time he smiled as he walked past his friends who were still struggling to get off the floor let alone walk. After thirty minutes or so and some embarrassing pleading on some peoples part for a jar of the Doctors special ointment the Party were refreshed and with some effort were able to walk towards Holbeach, reaching the small market village just as the village church struck six. Holbeach seemed to be mostly unaffected by the recent troubles, the streets swept clean, the buildings in good repair and the people whilst thin still looked in fairly good health unlike the people from further south. The Party looked around briefly taking in the gloomy streets and nodding politely to the few people they encountered. They head towards the Inn its sign swaying in the increasing breeze, the sign proclaims that there is a warm welcome at the Tossed Blanket.The Inn is fairly standard but at least the straw is clean and the furniture whole, there are a few stout fellows already in and well into their cups by the looks of things and their was a generally pleasant air about the place. Ralph stepped forward taking the lead and called out a welcome before asking if the Mr Henry Chiltern the local Justice of the Peace was in. This caused a few slightly puzzled looks to be sent his way from his fellow CL.U.Ber's as this was the first time they had heard of this man, in fact Guilio and Wilhelm pulled out scraps of paper where they had jotted down some notes and both looked at each other and shook their heads. A large rotund man with sparse hair, which he seemed to be making the most of stood up still wearing his scarlet robe of office his jowly vein filled face all too telling of a life spent enjoying a little too much the entertainment possibilities his position brought him. Slightly unsteadily he peered towards Ralph belched and in a deep voice which rumbled said "Oh bloody hell, I will write you a damn note for the Poor house supervisors later, can't you see I'm having a small drink with some colleges?" Ralph looked a little nonplussed at this "No Sir and before you ask nor am I bringing prisoners in" Henry looked relieved at this and sitting back down drained his pewter tankard, wiping the froth from his face he slammed it down and asked "So what are you here for? you certainly look like a lot of paupers" and he had a point travelling so far so quickly had coated the CL.U.Ber's in a fine coating of dust, mud and other less pleasant solids. (Those Iron Horses really put the wind up their flesh and blood counterparts) Ralph moved into the bar his bulk causing the barman to subtlety lean down to reach for the barman's friend Wilhelm spotted this and heads towards the man to head off any unfortunate misunderstandings. Ralph stood in front of the J.P and leaned over him "No Sir" he hands over a sealed letter "I'm here for some information.Henry ripped open the letter and sobered up somewhat "Ah the Scout Master, yes of course I'm more than happy to help you. Where are my manners? Paul bring us a round of your best these men have travelled a fair old distance and need to get the taste of dust out of their mouths no doubt" The two men sat with Henry shuffle up and the CL.U.B'ers make themselves at home. Time passes in a haze of drinking, dangerous games of Able Whacketts and Blowpoint this game had to be quickly ended after the Frenchman kept shooting the Doctors arse much to every-bodies amusement but the Doctor started muttering and that was never a good sign especially with all these unwatched drinks laying around. It seems the letter provided enough reason for Henry to treat the CL.U.Ber's well and so they found it easy to talk to Henry and the other patrons of the bar especially when the drinks began to flow and the weapons and armour came off. The Party learnt that the Mallebeench family were indeed squires of a sort but of a sorry patch of land two or three miles down the road towards the sea in the middle of the Fleet fens, the hamlet though and from what Jasper said it was barely that was called Holbeach St. Marks and was a ruined place of shit and sorrow and that seemed to be the general view of everyone in the Inn. Holbeach St. Marks kept itself to itself its few residents traveling occasionally into Holbeach on market day bringing with them a few cattle and sheep to sell but mostly it was stuff gathered from the fens, fish and fowl mostly. The name of a woman was mentioned with a lot of winking and crude laughter, the ladies name was Lysette Carter and she had a lusty reputation, she seemed to be one of the few people from Holbeach St. Marks to make the journey into Holbeach on a semi regular basis. The early evening passed in a haze of pipe smoke and laughter the Doctor somewhat unused to hard drink amazed everyone when he accepted a challenge from Jasper and George which meant that he had to convince the first person he met outside to ride him like a horse. The Doctor went outside into the gathering gloom the sun now very low on the horizon and the first person he bumps into was the village rat catcher and surprisingly after a heartfelt if slightly slurry plea he was game. And there followed a few of the oddest minutes ever as the Doctor in all his somewhat grubby finery pranced around like a horse with a manically grinning filth encrusted man on his back who was shouting "Giddy up horsey" at the top of his lungs, luckily someone soon threw the contents of their chamber pot at them with a demand to shut up you bloody buffoons before I come down and plant you. The shame faced and slightly damp pair headed back into the Inn to be met with loud applause and hefty pats on the back. Meanwhile Ralph had been in a corner with Henry and the two were in deep discussion the conversation kept low until Ralph stood up and shaking Henry warmly by the hand looked around and with some difficulty (We won't mention what Guilio was up to) gathered the CL.U.Ber's together "Well Gentleman it's still several hours to Holbeach St. Marks so get your heads clear and make sure you have those lanterns ready, we are going to need them. He would have looked very military if he hadn't spoilt it by throwing up all over the outside stoop he was immediately followed by most of the others though in an attempt to clear their fogged minds and sour bellies and with that the Party bid farewell to Holbeach for the time being and headed out into the surrounding fens following an increasingly thin, narrow and rutted track. They had to break out the lanterns fairly soon and it was with a lot of splashing and staggering that the Party finally make it to Holbeach St. Marks and from what they could tell from the light from their lanterns the place really did live up to the descriptions of Tossed Blankets patrons Wilhelm put a pin in it when he turned to Ralph and said "What a midden pile" The only light to be seen coming from the few ramshackle building's was from a small tumbled down building which hunched near what could be called if generous a village green, it's brickwork patched up here and there with planks of rotting wood and pitch soaked canvas, it had a small cheap lantern hanging from a piece of wood which seemed to have been wedged into a hole above its salt warped door. So being tge only sign of life the CL.U.Ber's head over.As they got closer to the building they noticed a crudely painted picture on the door of a Cat standing up on its forelegs wearing what seemed to be tattered boots and with a small bundle slung over its shoulder Wilhelm turned a suddenly pale face towards the rest of the Party and in whispered tones said "Mein Gott, witchcraft" Guilio sighed and pushed pass asking if they all wanted to sleep outside? Witchcraft or not the cold wind and with the rain starting to fall in earnest was enough to drive the CL.U.Ber's inside witchcraft or not. They found themselves in a large room with a fire glowing on the far wall giving off an odd earthy smell the left hand side was fenced off by a couple of barrels which had what looked like a piece driftwood flung over the top of them. A huge fat man wearing a greasy food smeared shirt and oddly furry looking trousers tied up with a black piece of what looked oddly to be animal gut, he wipes a filthy paw across his shirt which just moves the dirt further across it in a unwholesome stain whilst setting the underlying fat to surge like a tidal wave across his gut looks up as the CL.U.Ber's pile inside his piggy eyes glow redly in the reflected light from the fire he spits and growls "We're closed this is a local ale house for local people and you ain't" Ralph suddenly rushes in and towards the makeshift bar and quickly leans towards the barman his faces inches away and yells spittle flying out in all directions "I don't give a wet fart for your opinion neighbour, now pour me a tankard of whatever piss passes for ale in these parts before I shove this pistol so far up your arse your be tasting shit and powder for what remains of you short sorry fecking life" with one hand he slams down four pence whilst banging down his pistol with the other. The fat barman barely bats an eye he merely stares at Ralph and calmly replies "Well since you asked so nicely" he swifte twists around grabs a tankard, hits the spigot of the cask behind and as if by magic swings back with a foaming ale. The Party briefly stunned and with hands heading towards their weapons watch all this and when Ralph drains the ale down in one go belches happily and says "That's not too bad for cats piss I'll have another my good barman" they grin and head in glad to be out of the darkness and no longer having to stumble around in the fens at night half crazed with fright that their next step would end with a gurgle of ooze as they step into one of the areas famed pools of sinking mud. Again through the power of splashed around coin and ale the CL.U.Ber's get down to business and slowly start to ask questions of the barman and the few ratty patrons of his ale house. Ralph tells everyone that they are demobbed soldiers looking for work, he avoids answering the questions about whose side they fought on, he merely tells them them the names of commanders who fought for the Royalists and then some commanders who fought for Parliament and with a shrug of his massive shoulders grins and tells them "You know how it is lads, someday's the red sash pays more than the orange" the CL.U.Ber's all take a different table and after a lot of splashing learn the following.Old man Mallebeench (Edgar) still lives up at the Saracenic Manor but much like everything around here its seen better daysThe estate is run by a nasty piece of work by the name of Joshua Poer he's happy to throw his weight around. The servants and what have you all seem to come from one family the Carters, the Barman Sid says they are an evil buncjh of inbred bastards and that was very worrying especially coming from him.Edgar Mallebeench still mourns the lose of his eldest son and seems not to care what the Carters and Poer do in his name.Constantine Mallebeench is the younger son and had a bad reputation even before he left for Cambridge (The Man we need to find out about) William Cartwright provided much general gossip about the Carters especially as he seemed to really hate the family.A young and only slightly wall eyed lad by the name of Luke Harped admitted under some not so gentle joshing from the others that he was keen on Rebecca Carter and even William had to admit that she wasn't too bad...as far as Carters went. She was described as a beautiful red head who enjoyed playing the flute.Francis Horsely the Hamlets leather worker mentioned that he was expecting to met up with Tom Carter as he had bought some very fine pig hides from him and was still awaiting delivery of them.The Minister of the local church was called William Ward and he might know more about the family history.The main point of discussion though was the fact that Mallebeench Snr had hired a lot of Irish to work on his drainage project. The Doctor immediately asked if they were bog Irish or from the Pale? no one seemed to know as many of the locals seemed to steer clear of the manors grounds but one man did say that whilst they seemed to be digging holes they seemed a little different from those he saw as a child when a section of the fens were last drained. It was getting very late and Mark finally called time and even though they were now firm friends he still threw Ralph out and slammed the door closed. It seemed as the CL.U.Ber's would be roughing it, now let's see who brought a bedroll.

A link it is. An audio version of a session report created by one of my players is now up!

I'll try and provide the link to the audio session report the good Dr. put together the other day. Quite a delight to listen to actually. Hope this works; Clockwork & Cthulhu Audio Session Report

The good Dr. Norton recently produced an audio session report for our long running C&C campaign. Is there a way to embed an audio file in a post here on the forum?

It is found here; Renaissance Combat Tracker

Once again please note these session reports are being written by one of the players, specifically the good Dr. Thomas Norton. Driving back the Darkness with Faith and Fire.The Doctor and Saul made it safely back to the Listing Sausage, the current headquarters of the New Model armies Yarmouth relief effort. After making it through several checkpoints and passing the long lines of people queuing up for food and work orders they make it into the taproom and into the busy hive of activity that seems to surround Zeal For the Lord Harrison these days.They find him almost buried under parchment and having a heated discussion with a somewhat haggard looking engineer. When he sees Saul and the Doctor he silences the engineer with a curt "Just get it done, no more delays you understand" the engineer nods and turns to leave shaking his head a little. Harrison calls out to the man's retreating back "I will instruct Davidson to give you another twenty men and all the skilled metal workers we have, I can do no more we need those facilities up by the end of the week." He turns back to Saul and the Doctor "I was expecting you back sooner" he clears away some paperwork and leans forward "Take a seat and tell me everything" After catching Zeal up with recent events he looks angry and tired "Damnation can't I trust anyone? Must I do everything myself?" He pauses as expecting an answer that doesn't appear to be coming.With a sigh he takes Saul's written report and hands it to a nervous looking clerk "File this in the orange section" he also hands the clerk a key and turning back to the somewhat chastised Party members he taps a leather book on his desk and after a pause he pulls out a sealed message tube "Saul take this and get yourself a horse you are going on another journey this time to......well the message will tell you where and what you need to do" he pulls out a purse which he tosses onto the table in front of Saul "Here's some travelling money and a chit for resupply, I suggest you say goodbye to the good Doctor now as I want you back on the road within the hour" Saul picks up the purse and the chit nods to the Doctor "Good luck Doctor I hope you catch up with that Dastard Brass, give my regards to the others" and with that he stands and leaves the taproom already calling out for directions to the stables. Zeals hooded eyes now focus fully on the Doctor who shudders a little under Zeals remorseless gaze "I am disappointed to hear that you allowed Master Anholt to escape and make contact with this Doctor Brass. Luckily for you, your comrades were able to pick up his trail and as we speak they should be running him to ground" he turns suddenly and calls out for Jonah "Jonah! bring that blasted fen man here, Clarkson or some such" while waiting for Jonah Zeal tells the Doctor what he wants him to do.Jonah returns with a lanky elderly man who sported a rather impressive pot belly and after being told what the situation was he thinks for a while "Yes I think I can get this man in front of his mates, the old sawmill should do it" then the Doctor had several sacks thrown at him and was told to meet up with his comrades and to finish the job. He was then bundled down to a jetty and into Jeremy's boat. Clarkson insisted that the Doctor call him by his first name which was Jeremy saying that Master Clarkson was what people called his dad. He seemed a pleasant enough chap but he was somewhat over-enthusiastic about the new Iron horses and the rumored self-impelled carriage of Sir John Gell and so he kept asking the Doctor if it was true that the Iron horses could get up to twenty-six miles an hour. The Doctor nodded and smiled when it felt right to do so but his mind was on other things the poison seemed to be arsenic and the antidote should have worked, sure he should still be feeling sick, weak and hollowed out but leaking purple fluid? Brass must have added something else to the arsenic something otherworldly. He needed to find the others and hunt this Brass down as time was running out, the Doctor could feel his insides twist and with a polite "Excuse me" to Jeremy he turned and spewed out a bubbling steaming mass of the lord knows what over the side of the boat. Jeremy seemed taken aback by this but only for a moment before asking the Doctor if he thought an Iron horse could go faster if painted red.Eventually, Jeremy beached the boat near a collection of ramshackle wooden buildings. "Here you go Sir, the Anderson sawmill.....well what's left of it anyhow" he quickly helped the somewhat pale looking Doctor unload the sacks and the other various bags and boxes that the Doctor seemed to carry around with him these days. "Well, there you go Sir this is where most people travelling the fens camp so with any luck you should bump into them, especially if they ran into Crazy Ivan" and with that last odd comment he pushed off and started to row back towards Great Yarmouth and was soon was lost amongst the black reeds.The Doctor started to set up camp and soon had a small fire happily blazing away the Doctor then arranged his gear around it, he rummaged around in his medical box and eventually pulled out a thin glass tube which had something thick and evil-smelling inside it. The Doctor sighed and pinching his nose closed he downed the contents in one and then rushed to the river bank where he again hurled long and hard and after some spluttering, he could be heard cursing Dr. Brass loudly and at some length. And this is how the other members of the Party eventually found him.After a surprised but happy reunion they filled each other in on their various adventures, the others were startled to hear that Saul had returned and then disappointed to hear that Zeal had sent him off again but glad that the old bastard was still alive. The Doctor had just got some pottage on the boil so the sober members of the Party decided to grab something warm to eat before pressing on, Giulio excused himself and went for a lie down in the skiff and even Ralph needed a tonic before he was able to settle down to a bowl. Over the meal, they got down to businesses and started to ask Neb (the guide) some questions about the area and what kind of things were out there in the fens. Neb mentioned that the next nearest dry land was fairly close and it supported a house and a bit of farmland. The house seemed a likely destination for Brass and Martyn as the owner had decided that farming wasn't for him and so had moved to Yarmouth and now just rented it out to people who wanted some peace and quiet. Neb vaguely remembered that the last person to live there was some kind of writer, maybe a playwright of some kind.The Party packed up and the Doctor shared out the extra supplies that he had brought with him and with Neb kicking the fire out they got back into his skiff waking Giulio in the process and waited for Neb to punt them over to this mysterious building.It was a fairly short journey down a few dark and brown waterways but Giulio was having a bad time of it as it seems he had drunk rather too much in Duns and with an apologetic burp he fell back into a deep slumber. About an hour later the roof of a fairly substantial building could be made out above a ragged tree line and it seemed that someone was home as a thin line of smoke could be seen coming out of the building's chimney.The skiff was beached and the Party with Neb following closely behind made their way towards the front of the building, the Doctor muttering something about Dr. Brass being a sneaky git peeled off to the left to swing around the back of the building. Suddenly one of the shutters on the upper floor flew open and a shot banged out narrowly missing Ralph. Neb cried out and scurried back to his skiff and the still snoring Italian whilst Wilhelm and Ralph picked up the pace and charged towards the house seeking cover under the building's porch. Wilhelm slamming against the wall started to rummage around in his bag finally pulling out an oil flask and then an empty wine bottle smiling at Ralph's questioning look he quickly poured some of the oil into the wine bottle and the rest onto his handkerchief which he then pushed halfway down the bottles neck. Still grinning madly he started to set spark against it the handkerchief smoldered briefly before bursting alight. He then quickly hurled it up and over into the open window above "See my Englander friend now we have a distraction ja"As thick black smoke started to pour out of the upstairs window Ralph turned to the German Witchfinder "Hey did you see how many people were up there when you tossed that bottle?" the German replied "Nein" Ralph slowly smiled and rolled his shoulders "Nine you say, well that means you'll only be dealing with three then, that sound's about fair" leaving a slightly confused German in his wake he then kicked the door in and stormed inside.The ground floor was dusty and had a strong smell of damp, the few pieces of furniture that could seen were covered in heavy sheets. Wilhelm and Ralph quickly checked the few downstairs rooms and met back up at the staircase. Wilhelm, his head cocked to one side turned to Ralph "Our friends seem to be oddly quiet, let's change that shall we" and smiling he thumbed back the hammers on his ornate donderbus and begins to climb upwards. Just as they made the landing there is a sudden burst of noise and activity which comes from the shooter's room the house is suddenly filled with the sound of heavy furniture being dragged across a wooden floor. Ralph rushes the door but bounces off, the door barely moving. He shakes himself and glancing back to make sure Wilhelm was covering him he calls out to whoever is in the room "Open up in the name of Zeal for the lord Harrison the Scoutmaster general" a shot rings out and zips through the closed door "Right, if that's how you want it" he pulls out his axe and starts to hack away at the door. There is some noise from beyond the door but its only the sounds of movement no demands or pleas are made and Ralph's axe continues to bite into the wooden door wrenching great splinters out of it. It doesn't take him too long to make a large hole in the door and after one final blow they wait and then wait a little longer but no cry or shot rings out so Ralph with a shrug steps up to the side of the door and slowly turns to peek into the room beyond. He can now see the heavy oak chest that is still blocking the door but nothing else as the room is shrouded in darkness and smoke puzzled he turns to Wilhelm but as he turns his head he suddenly notices a faint glow coming from the furthest corner and illuminated by this light a shadowy outline of a figure can now be seen. He tries to duck back but its too late a loud bang rings out as the figure fires his matchlock and the lead ball tears into Ralph's face causing him to yell out in pain and stagger back almost falling down the stairs. His hands clutch his head, his eyes wide in shock and a bloody torrent starts to flow from between his fingers. Wilhelm cried "Leck mich!" and swung around and shoving his Donderbus forward drops the hammers BOOM! the air is rent with a spray of tiny lead balls which smashed into the room ripping apart the walls and causing a spray of plaster powder to obscure almost everything within four meters. Wilhelm ducked back and dropping his Donderbus reached for a pistol "Herr Doctor get your verbrannt up here you fauler Hund".The Doctor had been hiding behind the outhouse his pistol aimed squarely at the back door whilst the others had stormed the front. Hearing the boom of Wilhelms gun he had started to curse "Damn sausage smelling besbawler, I need Brass alive" he then hears the German call out for him and so he curses a bit more but moves around to the front and cautiously enters and after calling out heads upstairs. He sees Ralph on the floor moaning quietly to himself in a pool of ever-expanding blood and Wilhelm hard up against the wall next to a severely damaged door. The Doctor hisses out a few questions and the German fills him in as the Doctor drags the heavy bulk of Ralph towards him and away from the ruined door. The Doctor begins to treat Ralph's wreaked face the lead ball had pierced his right cheek and exited out the left, taking a few teeth with it. The force of the shot had also caused his lower jaw to become badly dislocated and even as tough as Ralph was his injuries meant he was out of the fight.The Doctor after tidying away his instruments and giving Ralph a little bottle of opium mixed with wine turned to Wilhelm "Well what are you waiting for? If that's Doctor Brass in there and you've killed him there will be hell to pay" the Doctors threat hangs heavy in the air much like the thick black smoke which continues to billow out of the room. Wilhelm shrugging busied himself with placing his hat on top of his pistols barrel he then raised it slowly up past the splintered hole in the door, nothing happened no shot or cry rang out so he carefully lowered the pistol and peeked in. He finally saw the shooter he was slumped back against the wall under the smoke and he was clearly dead as Wilhelm's Donderbus had done terrible damage to the man at such close quarters. He quickly scanned the room and seeing only the one person begins to clamber into the room after replacing his hat and tying a cloth over his face "Herr Norton was this Doctor Brass like you? the Doctor coughing loudly now angrily calls back "What are you on about man?... yes Doctor Brass is a follower of the great Paracelsus like myself, why?" the German having kicked away the shooters matchlock and throwing his cloak over the smouldering oil called back over his shoulder "No I meant did he dress like a colour blind peacock, but never mind I doubt this man is your Doctor Brass" the Doctor finally making his way past the blocked door and into the room straightens himself up and looks down to the body and lets out a huge breath "Oh thank the Lord its just some peasant" Wilhelm having done his best to clear the smoke had started to search the body, finding only a few pennies and some general tat in the mans pockets he looks up and into the Doctors obviously relieved face "Nothing to say who this man was or why he decided to shoot us. And I thought you were supposed to be the caring type Herr Doctor?" The Doctor was still struggling to regain his composure and snapped back "I tell you what Herr Wilhelm I will poison you and then we shall see how blasted jolly you are, if you had killed Brass with your reckless behavior then you would have done for me as well." Wilhelm apologizes but then spoils it by reminding the Doctor that they are at war with the forces of Satan himself and that sacrifices need to be made.After finishing their check of the room which appeared to be a writers study of some sort and clearing away the last of the burning paper and oil the Party were at something of a loss of what to do next, so Ralph was taken downstairs and into the kitchen where the Doctor made him as comfortable as possible whilst Wilhelm went outside to check on Giulio and to ask Neb if he knew the stranger upstairs.Giulio was still fast asleep in the bottom of the skiff his thumb wedged firmly between his lips whilst Neb was found huddled behind one of the scrawny trees. Wilhelm called out to him "Hello Neb it is quite safe now I assure you, can you come into the house now and have a look at this man as he seems to be dressed much like you?" Neb gripping his knife tightly in one hand slowly walked towards the house keeping a wary eye on the windows. There then followed for Neb a horrifying encounter with a now late friend as he was able to identify the shooter as one Steven Dunlap a fellow guide who had recently been employed to take a couple of gentleman out into the Fens to look at some property. Neb couldn't answer the Parties question as to why Steven had decided to hole up in this house and fire upon them, especially since he should have recognized him at least, this fact understandably irked Neb somewhat.The Party rested and the Doctor wasted a few minutes searching through the remaining scorched paperwork in the room but it all seemed to be pre-war plays and rather risque ones at that, this matched up with what Neb had said earlier about the last renter being a playwright of some kind. The trail had gone dead, it seemed that Steven had been left behind as a means of slowing down any pursuit he had been cast aside much like the fisherman Coster.Wilhelm wasn't to be dissuaded though and asking Neb a few more probing questions went back outside and started to go over the sparse grass at the back paying particular attention to the area where Neb said a small skiff was normally tied up, Ralph his head tightly bandaged and awkwardly sipping on the wine given to him by the Doctor was feeling oddly contented as he walked outside to see what the Witchfinder was up to. "Mmmumph" went Ralph which somewhat startled the concentrating Witchfinder who quickly realised that Ralph was perhaps a little poppy happy and smiling patted him on the back "You should not try to speak my friend, Herr Doctor will be most upset with you I'm thinking if you redislocate your jaw nien" pointing to a small patch of flattened grass and then to a few faint marks in the muddy bank near the high water mark he continued "It seems we are after a most clever of foes but they are not clever enough to escape one such as I" he paused and tapped his nose thoughtfully before continuing "See those marks Ralph they have tried to obscure their actions but always something is left for those who who have eyes to see and I am thinking that are quarry has doubled back to the hamlet of Duns or even back to Yarmouth, quickly get the Doctor and Neb we must press on while there is still a chance" So soon the Party was packed up and back together in Nebs somewhat overcrowded skiff (The Italian was still fast asleep and even worse was now occasionally sleep singing some terrible opera of some kind and even a few none too gentle kicks could stop him for long) Neb realising the need for urgency told the Party of another more direct way back to the hamlet of Duns. It was a lot more dangerous though as the waterway was constricted in places which caused the current to change speed suddenly and sometimes dramatically there was also a couple of nasty eddies that could easily tip a skiff over if you were unwary but if they had gone that way it would explain why they hadn't seen Anholt or Brass. With the Party forewarned Neb punts along heading westwards before sharply turning into an inlet and heading back towards Dun. The water is as Neb had said treacherous and deadly, the Party has to clear a path through dense overgrowth whilst Neb fought the current keeping the skiff moving and avoiding the numerous black oily stumps that reared out of the river threatening to smash the skiff to pieces. Wilhelm pointed out a few torn pieces of cloth snagged by one of the numerous thorny vines which covered the banks on both sides "It seems I was right gentleman it looks like someone has indeed been this way recently, well done Neb" After an hour of hard work the sweating Party came out into a fairly tranquil pool, the watercourse flowed into and around it continuing onwards towards the hamlet. Neb breathing heavily pointed up to the nearby bank "Strange I would have thought we would be seeing Van Cosser by now he has a farm over yonder" Ralph mumbled something and Neb not missing a beat replies "Well no I didn't expect him to be waiting for us but you see he has a couple of pretty decent working dogs and they bark up a storm when anyone's around normally, and I can't hear nothing can you?" Neb lands the skiff onto the nearby bank "What are you doing Neb the hamlets still a ways off we haven't time to make any house calls" asked the Doctor as Neb jumped into the shallow water and began to climb up the bank. Neb now on firmer ground turned back and said "I think you better come with me as you see Van Cosser owns that old Inn at Duns and I remember hearing that those two friends of yours were asking questions about it, so I am thinking that they may have paid him a visit since they were passing anyhow." with little option the Party minus the still sleeping Italian jump out and scrabble up after Neb.The small farmstead is quiet and deserted looking, the front door is open and there is a faint lingering smell of cooked food coming from within. The Party draw their weapons and slowly circle the building and when ready Ralph gives Neb the nod and he calls out to the house, minutes pass and there is still no reply so the Party move into the house watching and ready for an ambush but nothing the house is empty and the table has been set a now cold plate of food sits on the table half eaten it seems as Van Cosser had been interrupted by something and had gone out to investigate. The odd thing was there was no sign of a struggle anywhere everything was in its place and intact. The two dogs were found tied up around the back and they seemed to be in a deep sleep and it was only with some difficulty that Neb was able to rouse them. There was a brief discussion on what to do next as Ralph and the Doctor (Mainly the Doctor) explained to Neb and Wilhelm that this indeed seemed to be the work of Anholt as he seemed to have the power to control people and bend them to his will this would explain the lack of struggle and indeed the strange behaviour of the dogs, time was running out they needed to get to Dun as soon as possible. Wilhelm thought it would be handy to take the dogs along as they would know their master's scent and be able to find him and surely wherever Van Cosser was Anholt and Brass couldn't be that far behind. So the dogs were thrown on top of Italian and it was back into the skiff and off back to Dun hopefully in time to catch up with the accursed pair.The last part of the journey passed quietly each Party member hoping that they would finally catch up with Anholt and stop whatever he was up to before it was too late but they were all tired, cold, injured and hungry and did not relish having to chase Anholt again. Ralph and Wilhelm after initially suffering from a few nasty bites seemed to have become fast friends with the dogs, especially Ralph who seemed to be more or less lucid now even though he was still taking the occasional sip from the laudanum bottle. As the hamlet of Duns finally came into view the weather was becoming cold and the dark clouds hinted of a coming storm, the skiff bumped into the jetty and a worried looking Neb quickly tied it up as the Party climbed out and onto the wooden jetty. Wilhelm looked around slowly and swung his Donderbus into the ready position "This place has changed, there is evil here" everybody could feel the ominous presence of something monstrous and inhuman. The fact that apart from a strange low buzz that was almost at the edge of hearing nothing else could be heard coming from the hamlet, no children crying, no people talking nothing apart from this buzzing that seemed to worm its way into the brain and put peoples teeth on edge. The Party quickly moved along the jetty trying to get onto the firmer ground and as Wilhelm stepped onto the bank a small group of villagers suddenly appeared from around the corner of a nearby building. The villagers all shared the same blank expression and moved as one they also seemed to be armed with a variety of makeshift weapons. The Doctor called out to them mentioning Anholt and Xaxus they responded to his questions by crying out in one voice "Those who do not share the ideas of the one should not mention his name" their voices weirdly overlapping each other and with a strange echo as if they were merely repeating the words said by another mere seconds beforehand. The fight is brutal and bloody but the result is a foregone conclusion the villagers display a unusual tolerance to pain but they are not soldiers and they are facing brutal men who are armed and armoured for war. The Villagers are soon cut down and in one particular case cut apart the last one standing was finally brought down by the dogs and Ralph's axe . The Party catch their breath and tend to the few cuts and bruises picked up in the skirmish and are somewhat shocked when an anguished cry rings out spinning around with weapons drawn they see Neb on his knees cradling the head of one of the dead villagers, he looks up at the Party his face pale and he sobs "Why did they have to die? why did my friends attack us?" he suddenly leaps up a knife gripped in his hand. He points the shaking blade at the Party and screams "You, tell me now why are my friends dead, why are they attacking us?" The Doctor lowers his sword and slowly walks towards the trembling Neb"I am sorry that this had to happen but there is evil afoot and we are here to stop it." the Doctor reaches out a steadying hand "The Devil himself is here Neb, you can see that can't you?.......he has corrupted your friends as hard as it is to understand now we have granted them peace and they are now safe with the Lord" he places his hand onto Nebs and slowly pushes down the knife. They stand there for some moments in an awkward silence, then Neb asks "Can you hear that?..... a buzzing.....a humming? an Idea!" his eyes roll back into his head and he starts to stumble of towards the abandoned Inn the Doctor shocked steps back but then he to hears the previously low buzz much louder and he then finally understands EVERYTHING and he too stumbles after Neb. The other members of the Party look questioning at each other and then they to hear the buzzing grow in volume but it stays as a buzzing noise for them, they shake their heads as if trying to clear them and thin trickles of blood begin to flow from their eyes and noses but they resist and remain in control of themselves. Wilhelm smiles and spits onto the floor "It seems the Devil is singing for our souls Ralph but he sings out of tune, too low I think, I suggest we make him a Castrato" and with that he heads towards the old Inn swiftly followed by Ralph and the yelping dogs. They walk slowly through the large double doors and are confronted by a strange vista, the room is largely empty a few broken pieces of furniture and barrels have been pushed to the rooms edges Neb and the Doctor are sitting down in the middle of the room facing astrange and wondrous contraption. Resting awkwardly upon stacked chairs sat a large copper bell which sprouted a variety of clockwork gears and sweating pipework which belched steam and strange coloured vapours. Sitting underneath this unholy thing was Martyn Anholt his face partially obscured by whirring cogs and gears. The buzzing seemed to be coming from Martyn and somehow amplified and strengthened by the bell. Ralph and Wilhelm crossed over the room their eyes everywhere and weapons drawn. Suddenly a figure appeared from behind the device he was muttering to himself and adjusting various clockwork parts "Yes, yes I understand I need to add a valve here and a Measunder and Meabul there" he completely ignores the approaching men so engrossed is he in his task. Ralph walks past the sitting figures of the Doctor and Neb and approaches the bell for a moment the buzzing reaches a terrible volume and Ralph and Wilhelm stagger and scream out in agony, blood begins pouring from their eyes, ears and noses Ralph screams a cry of pure rage and brings his deadly axe down cleaving through the thin copper of the bell and down into the head of Martyn. There is a pause and then an explosion of sorts as a great pressure wave shoots out from the rent in the bell throwing Ralph across the room and knocking everybody else down. After several moments people begin to stir Wilhelm is one of the first up and he quickly checks Neb and the Doctor and seeing that they are still alive quickly manacles them muttering something about it better to be safe than sorry Ralph staggers up swaying slightly his terrible axe still gripped tightly in his meaty fists he coughs and starts to move behind the ruined bell, kicking aside piles of now broken cogs and gears he pulls a twisted sheet of copper aside revealing the stirring body of Doctor Brass. Brass opens one bloodshot eye and seeing Ralph begins to wail "You fool don't you understand the Idea was perfect and we would have been made perfect in his image" the last words echoed by the now conscious Doctor and Neb but from them it is staggered and trails off as if they are unsure what they were talking about. Ralph leans into Brass and pokes him sharply in the chest and says "Mynbgsdhnph" which shuts Brass up but leaves him looking somewhat confused. Wilhelm coming up behind Ralph leans around his bulk and smiling translates for Ralph "I think he says you're buggered mate" The Doctor still manacled suddenly leaps up and barges past the two stunned men, grabbing Brass by the throat spraying spittle into his face as he screams "Give me the antidote you fucker" he starts to bounce Brass's head of the floor to reinforce the depth of his feeling. The other two have to pull him off and restrain him. Brass groggily reaches into a pocket and pulls out a thin glass tube which is sealed with a wax bung "The antidote is in here Martyn made a wondrous concoction it was arsenic based but oh so much more he was a gifted apothecary." the Doctor snatched the vial from Brass and with a muttered curse downed it in one coughing loudly as the liquid burned its way down. Brass continued "You must understand you are a Doctor a man like myself, a follower of Von Hohenheim you must understand it was all done for science, Xaxus could have told me everything that I needed to make my distillation furnace work and allowed me to drive away the demons that cause madness, say you understand Doctor? it was nothing personal you simply could not be allowed to interfere" The Doctor appearing calm now shrugs off Ralph's grip and walks towards the kneeling Brass "I see Doctor but I do not understand what was Xaxus doing under your contraption? " Brass looks relieved "It was amazing he saw me at that.....well lets just say club and knew all about my work he revealed to me the idea and how I could play my part in spreading the good news, you see my design with some adjustments could not only drive away the miasmas of madness but also boost his call bringing more and more people into his loving embrace, the more people who came to know the Idea the stronger the call would become and soon the whole commonwealth would be united as one in his name." as he talked he became more energised more strident Wilhelm cut him off "Ah good Doctor Brass please be telling me did you meet up with anybody else on your travels? I believe we have met Mr Dunlap and I'm guessing one of the cooling bodies outside is Mr Von Cosser" Brass stumbled at this interruption but answered the with finder "No we had work to do and time was pressing, when the furnace was ready we would soon have all the companions we would need, why do you ask?" the Witchfinder merely nodded and said rather cryptically "Oh just a matter of book keeping" the Doctor pulled out his reloaded pistol and placed its barrel between Brass's eyes the now shocked Brass struggled to move away but he had no where to go Doctor Norton asked one final odd question "Oh by the way do you know a man called Mallebeench by any chance?" Brass a look of desperate hope in his eyes looks around at the others but seeing no clue there stutters a drawn out Nooooo and dies as his brains are blown across the wall of the abandoned Inn. The Doctor lowering his pistol merely says "Pity" and walks away to see what he could do for Nep.The Party are now left with a terrible decision they are under orders to keep this whole affair quiet the new Commonwealth can't afford yet to make enemies of their fellow Protestants the Dutch. So everything must disappear, the Anholts never made it off that ship and no one can be in a position to say otherwise. So they collect all the bodies and place them into the Black Rooster and then they start to fill it with brushwood and any other flammables they can find. The Distillation furnace is further smashed apart, Brass and Martyn are also added to the pile of villagers in the Rooster. And when all is done they stand by the shore and Nebs skiff as darkness descends they light their crude torches and cast them into the prepared buildings and slowly oh so slowly the fires grow and spread finally engulfing the whole squalid hamlet of Duns. Neb with tears in his eyes and still struggling to cope with recent events turns to the Party as his home and friends burns around him "What now? what will b...." he never gets to finish his question as Giulio suddenly appears from out of the skiff and thrusts his sword into Nebs throat yelling "I got the bastard, think you can outwit me do you?" he then bows at the shocked Party farts and then falls into the water. Neb meanwhile with a look of shocked betrayal upon his face gurgles, falls to the floor and dies. Wilhelm finally turns to the others and with a shrug says "Well we were told no witness after all. Now lets get the Italian out of the water before he drowns, Neb into the fire before it cools and then gentleman let us get out of the thrice damned marsh.

Another fantastic session report is about to drop from the good Dr!

I'm glad you think so. The idea is being trashed on Reddit.