Vampire: Dark Ages (Vienna) - Chapter 1: The Hunt

[Lucretia]

"She thanks the Kindly Lady for granting her audience. Does the Kindly Lady remember the features of the girl before she changed? Does she know where the girl went?"

[Goatkiller666]

"She and her friends left when the violence was done. Just took their horses and left, without even a 'God be with you.' 'Course, all of these fool lepers were to busy pulling off their own fingers in fright from what they'd seen. I don't think they even noticed."

She points off towards the camp's entrance to show which direction they'd ridden.

[Lucretia]

"Ah hai. The witless ones mentioned not friends. How appeared the ones with the girl?"

[Goatkiller666]

"Appeared? Why... like her. Seemed like Lords and Ladies. Dark hair, they had. And dark clothes. Fine clothes, but dark. Greens and blues, they were."

"They came to speak to the Headman, they did. But I didn't hear what was said. One of them reminded me of my nephew Roland, in fact. He were just like him, down to the shiny buckles on his boots."

"Now, why would Roland be here with the likes o' them? He was a dapper lad, but he weren't no Lord, fit to be rubbin' elbows with them as eat with kings. And now, look at 'im. Just walkin' in here like he's bloody earl of these lands, and not so much as an 'Evening, Constance. How's our Bertram?'"

"Of all the cheek!"

[Lucretia]

"Should she see this Roland of Constance kin she shall shame him for a lack of etiquette. How is her Bertram?"

Giving the spirit time to reply, she inquires, "Where can she find this man of the head?"

[Goatkiller666]

"Oh, I haven't seen Bertram in years, but thank you very much for asking. That young snipe Roland, he never even asked. Did I tell you? He was here the other day, bold as day. Walked right past me, without even a nod. You'd think I was dead and buried, for all he noticed. All the young people are like that, these days. You're the first civilized person I've spoken to in weeks."

"Oh dearie me. Listen to me go on like I'm some kind of posh lady in her sitting room. But all I'm asking some common courtesy due from one of God's children to another. A kind word now and then. Is it too much to ask? You managed it dear, was it so much of a burden on you?"

[Lucretia]

"She has not been burdened by speaking with Constance. She found conversation has been a delight. If Constance aunt to snipe Roland approves, she may return some fortnight for more."

She curtsies gracefully. "She must attend to other business anon. Where may she find the person of the man of the head?"

[Goatkiller666]

She waves her hand vaguely to the west, covering most of the camp in the broad swipe of her arm. "Oh, the headman, he's around somewhere. We can't none of us move very fast, after all. And where else would he be? We can't none of us leave this place, either."

Charles stifles a small laugh. "I've never learned to speak to the dead, you know. It just never seemed worth the effort, when I know I wouldn't have the patience to put up with their conversation once started."

Hearing Charles speak, Ludwig looks to Lucretia. "Well?"

[Lucretia]

She curtsies once more and bids her well.

"The good woman Constance says the lady wore fine colors of Forest and Sea. Her hair dark, as were the locks of all in accompaniment. Their horses carried them to the man of heads."

She calmly asks, "Has the Impatient One yet talked to the Heady One? She supposes not as his prattle continues unabated."

[Goatkiller666]

Ludwig listens to Lucretia's words, and flares in anger. "The man of head? The heady one? What riddles are these? By God's wrath woman, if you don't tell me..."

Charles interrupts with a single upheld hand, and Ludwig immediately falls silent. "She means that lupine who attacked your knight was a lady. Before shifting into a lupine. And that this lady and others with her were speaking with the headman of the camp."

"Have you spoken with this headman yet?"

Ludwig calls out "Gottlob! Where are you, man."

Charles turns to the spot where the hideous knight appears. "I am here, My Lord. And I know the headman. He has been in this camp for quite some time, and his condition is quite grave. He stays in the building just there, My Lord." He leads the way to a larger building towards the front of the camp.

He knocks gently at the door, then enters within, closing the door behind him. Only a moment passes, and he opens it again, waving them all inside. His manor is what one would expect from a knight serving at his Lord's estates, very formal and seeming to give much honor to the outcast leper within these walls.

Ludwig and most of the knights stay outside, but the Nos knights and Charles, all with a demeanor of reverence, step inside as well.

"Headman Jens, may I introduce <the most notable people who followed him in>. We're looking for Gottschalk's killer. Was there a group who came to you earlier that day?" Turning to Lucretia, "What did they look like?"

[Lucretia]

The wolves draped in the skin of Seth were adorned in the spring field and sky while crowned by the night. Their wrappings cut of the finest cloth and gleaming metal. She was told their manner was haughty. One was accused of possessing the moniker of one Roland.

[Goatkiller666]

"Roland? That sounds like old Constance talking. But she died years ago."

"Garbed in the field and the sky?" He stops to think. The man is quite far degraded. He lies on a flat palet, covered with rushes, with a thin white blanket draped over him, even his face. It seems that neither of his legs extend entirely far enough, and no feet bulge from the lower part of his blanket. He doesn't look, or even turn his head towards the sounds of voices, and his speech is quite slurred.

A thin pale hand rises from beneath the blanket, with only a thumb and index finger to it. Even the lower part of the palm had rotted away. "There were some who came to tender care to us, the day that Sir Gottschalk was killed. I... I don't remember them leaving, actually. But they must have left before Gottschalk's death. Mustn't they?"

"They were nobles, they said. From... somewhere I couldn't pronounce. Somewhere past Norway, perhaps? Far to the north. They say they were from the court of Talorc. I do not know where they would have gone, though. They spoke of being on a pilgrimage. But said nothing of where."

His arm falls heavily to the floor, and he pants slightly from all the exertion.

[Lucretia]

"Was there mention of what they pilgrimaged for? Did the men of grass and water speak of Saints or landmarks? Why was the man visited?"

[Goatkiller666]

"Oh yes, he did mention St. Tobin's Cross. I don't know that saint. I was a priest; I thought I knew all the saints. But they just wanted to ask how we were. To bring us some fresh meat they'd killed. They said that their pilgrimage required that they tend to the needy at every stop, and so they were seeking out leper colonies."

[Lucretia]

She nods to herself. "Do other colonies of the failing limb lie near? Does the Restless One know dogs which can follow horses aplenty, or will it continue to be useless? She has conjured all the information she can."

[Goatkiller666]

Gottlob says, "There are several other colonies nearby. This is the last one we visited."

Charles says, from across the small room, "They weren't here for Gottschalk. They were here for the lepers. So, it probably wasn't an attack against Vienna or it's holdings."

[Sorry to be abrupt. In an effort to get everybody back in the same timeline, let's fast-forward back to Vienna. All of the knights ride back to town, disappointed, but not dead. So not terribly disappointed.]

EDIT - The remaining Nosferatu knights choose to stay behind, and visit the other leper colonies to see if they can discover anything further. They are also the best trackers, so they plan to follow the departed lupine woman and her party. They admit that a few running horses, several days ago, on well-used roads may well be difficult to track, but they will try.