41: The Outlaws

I think Guido might be getting a bit carried away, mum. I know we all agreed to follow the nefarious and try to put a stop to it, but things are going to his head, a bit, and he thinks he is going to save the Empire. Remember I told you he got Dreamy to attack the noble lady of Wittgendorf (we found out her name is Margritte von Wittgenstein). That was dangerous enough, but now he wants us to attack the castle.

Anyway, I’m getting ahead of myself. We had seen off the last of the guards and were left in the middle of town with the unconscious body of their prisoner. After Willow had patched up Guido she went to help him. I asked Guido what he thought he was up to, attacking a noble lady, and he got annoyed at me and said that he’d had to step in and I would have done the same. But I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t. And he blamed Dreamy, anyway, for shooting the first shot, but I don’t think Dreamy would have done it either without Guido encouraging him. I was pretty sure a huge army was going to come down from the castle at any moment, and that would be that.

Willow managed to bring the prisoner round and Guido asked him what he had done wrong. The prisoner was called Jakob, and he said he didn’t know what he had done wrong but he must have done something or he wouldn’t have been arrested, which I think is what they call a circular argument. He said he was arrested at, what he called, the lady’s pleasure. But, I don’t even think that’s a thing, anyway. It sounds like Margritte was just making it up because she can do whatever she wants because she’s noble.

We asked if anyone had ever come back from being detained at her pleasure, and Jakob said they hadn’t. Guido told Jakob that Margritte must be evil, but he, surprisingly, defended her, saying that she was noble which meant she must be good.

Willow wanted to know how many soldiers were at the castle but Jakob didn’t know and she asked him what was the most he had ever seen at once, but he just said loads. Dreamy had a look at the dead men-at-arms, ripping off their helmets, but what he saw wasn’t very nice. Some of the flesh ripped away with the armour and it was putrid and it smelled disgusting.

Guido told Jakob to look at the soldiers, and said this was proof that Margritte was evil, but he still didn’t agree. He told Jakob to go back to the village and tell everyone that Margritte was evil and had to be overthrown and they should rise up, but I think, if he was hoping for any help from them, then he would be out of luck. I told him about grandfather Archer’s donkey and how he whipped it so much, it began to expect it, and wouldn't do any work unless it was whipped first, or something, not sure I got that story completely right, mum. But the point was, if creatures are treated badly they lose track of what the right way is, and become accepting of abuse, and even support their abusers. And I think it is the same for Jakob, and probably the rest of the villagers.

Anyway, Jakob said his daughter was a bit ill and asked Willow if she would come back to his house and take a look at her, and so she and Dreamy followed Jakob. Guido arranged the bodies of the men-at-arms, a bit, so they could be burned, later, and then we went back to Das Moot.

When we got there Blume was up. She looked refreshed after her long rest, and it was nice to see her up and about again, until she started speaking. She complained about the smell. I’m not sure if it was just smell of the town generally or Guido’s smell as he had been moving the bodies. And then I asked her to stir the soup, and she did that badly, and complained about it. Then she complained that I had two brand new pistols, and she had to make do with the two old ones. But then I reminded her of the rings and earrings she had got from Herzen, and so she had to admit she had got the better deal on that one. So, although I thought I had missed her when she was drugged up and barely conscious, I now really missed the fact she wasn’t drugged up and barely conscious.

At Jakob’s house, Willow and Dreamy saw that his wife was cradling a bundle. Willow asked what the problem was and Jakob said that the baby wasn’t eating and had been looking a little green. They had got medicine from the local physician, but that didn’t seem to work. Willow asked to see the medicine and it seemed to be some greenish rotgut with something else in it. She wondered about the local physician and what he was up to with his strange medicine.

Willow suggested that they might be giving the baby too much of this and that they could just put their finger in the medicine and wipe it across the baby’s gums. She offered to show them how to do it and when Jakob’s wife handed the baby to Willow, Willow could see that it wasn’t a baby at all, but a huge, hairy, green spider (I don’t usually like to swear, Mrs. Chard, but that was fucked up! – Willow).

Dreamy grabbed Willow’s shoulder and tried to guide her to the door, suggesting that they were more in need of a priest than a physician, but Willow looked in her bag and said that she might have some more effective medicine. She later said that she had considered getting some of her poison and giving it to the spider baby but then changed her mind (If you have a bad potato you have to chuck it out before it makes all the other potatoes go bad, and I think this was a really bad potato – Willow).

Willow suggested that they see whether the baby could walk yet, and when it did, Willow said that it was an early developer and advanced for its age, and that they should consider taking it for walks in the forest, and maybe leaving it there to play, as she thought it would like that. She said the baby was ready to leave home and go its own way and that the parents shouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t visit home much. I don’t think the parents approved of Willow’s laissez-faire attitude to child rearing, however.

They made their excuses and left, and when they got back to the boat Willow blurted out everything that had happened. And I don’t think any of us really believed her, even though Dreamy backed her story up. But I did suggest that perhaps that was the reason he was arrested, and that made Margritte the goody. But Guido pointed out that all her soldiers were green and putrid and was not the sort of army a goody would employ and he had a point.

Then it was time to dole out the soup we had made. So Willow and Blume carried the big pot out onto the wharf. And it was not long before the mob appeared again desperate for some food. I thought they were going to rush us again and just take what they wanted, but Willow managed to get them to stand in line by threatening to throw the soup into the river if they didn’t. And she told them to fetch the other villagers, so that they were all lined up before she started handing out the food. She can be quite bossy when she needs to be (I was pretending I was Auntie Amanita – Willow).

One of the beggars did break ranks, however, and Willow pushed him into the river, which made the others behave (I gave him a good shove, but I think he gave me lice – Willow).

And Blume got all the bowls out of the galley, and I doubted she would get many back, so we would soon be out of bowls again. Blume hadn’t seen the beggars before, as she had been asleep earlier, and I think she was quite shocked about how bedraggled and emaciated they were.

After Willow had sorted out an orderly queue Guido stepped in to control it, by using his spear as a gate, to let them at the soup one at a time, and I think he probably thought he had been the one to sort the queue out, instead of waiting for Willow to do it. And he made each one promise to take Myrmidia into their heart before he would let them past. And they all agreed but I don’t think any of them meant it.

And once they had had their soup Willow began trying to give them medical help, but I think she was fighting a losing battle, as so many of them were so ill. Blume got the petticoat and ribbons she had found among Herzen’s things, and ripped them up for bandages.

That was nice of Blume, and Willow was doing the right thing, and that was all well and good, but while this was happening, I noticed Dreamy fingering his bow and looking up to the castle and I knew he was wondering how long it would be before they would come down to get us. And I loaded my pistols, as well, just in case. He knew this would be no picnic, although, to be fair, at the moment, it actually was a picnic.

And when everyone was fed they sloped off into the boathouse, and towards the village. And a more healthy looking villager approached us. She had a bow and a sword and asked us who was in charge. And as she was on land we decided Guido was in charge. She told him that we were in danger of reprisals and that we should either leave town altogether or come with her to her outlaw camp in the forest.

Guido and Dreamy wanted to see what this was about, but I was a bit worried about leaving Das Moot unguarded. The outlaw, who was called Hilda, told us the camp was deep within the forest and nowhere near any landing sites. So I said I would sail away and moor up somewhere, and then come past the village at dusk, just in case they needed to be evacuated. And if they weren’t there I would come past the next day.

So Willow hugged me goodbye and I think she nearly gave me lice (I was already itching worse than when Dreamy covered me in Juck as a joke – Willow). Then Blume hugged me, and I thought that if Willow had given me lice I would have given them straight to her, but she said only poor people get lice (so perhaps she already had them).

And everyone else followed Hilda to the outlaw camp. Going through the village they kept away from her, so the villagers wouldn’t know she was mixing with outsiders, or suspect her of being in league with the outlaws. But once they got out of the village she led them through the thick, and by all accounts, twisted and strange, forest. I think the land around the castle was being affected by the moon rock in a similar way to the Barren Hills.

Hilda asked Dreamy to go behind and make sure they didn’t leave any tracks and after about a mile Hilda directed everyone around a trap, and they entered the outlaw camp. Strangely the camp area was not corrupted like the forest around it, and they did not feel any more of the nefarious they had been feeling before. Then Hilda introduced everyone to Sigrid, the outlaw leader.

Sigrid told them that they had been living in the forest for a couple of years since a great storm had erupted from the castle followed by a week of black rain. And this had corrupted the land and caused famine. She said that the outlaws were blamed for this, by the people in the castle, and the villagers believed them (Grandfather Archer’s donkey, again).

They had a pleasant meal of fruit and wine, and I think this was because Sigrid was a priest of Rhya and she had been protecting the camp in a similar way that Corrobreth had been able to protect Unterbaum from the nefarious, although Sigrid didn’t have a big bird.

And I think this outlaw camp thing sparked Guido’s imagination. He couldn’t rouse the villagers to stand up to the von Wittgensteins, but the outlaws had been standing up and he demanded to know exactly what they had been doing to resist. Sigrid explained that they could only do the odd hit and run, picking off the odd soldier, but they had also reconnoitred the castle and been able to pinpoint its weaknesses. And now Guido was thinking about attacking the castle itself.

He told Sigrid that we had done our own research and the castle contained a magic rock that was making everything corrupt and we had a plan to take it to Altdorf and deal with it there. Sigrid said that made sense to her and that the castle itself was a den of madness and she would give Guido any help he needed to rid the place of the von Wittgensteins. She said they knew the layout of the castle and knew of a secret way in through some caves, and she said her outlaws would make a diversionary attack for us. And they agreed to launch the attack first thing in the morning after everyone had rested. I wasn’t there but I think Guido and Sigrid were getting a bit carried away and must have been feeding off each other’s religious zeal.

Sigrid said we might be able to find more information on the castle in the temple of Sigmar, as the old priest had been keeping a lot of records, and had recorded the effects of the moon rock. She said that the priest had died under mysterious circumstances about six months ago, and that some of the worst of the villagers had moved into the temple.

So Hilda led Dreamy, Guido, and Blume back through the forest to the edge of the town where the temple was and they waited until dusk, for me. Willow was left at the camp and went around looking for any who might need medical attention. And they all agreed that the village physician was a quack.

So at dusk, I sailed past Wittgendorf, and saw Hilda on the wharf signalling to me. I docked and she explained that they were waiting for me by the temple, and then she went home to maintain her cover.

I think I may have got the wrong end of the stick. I think the plan was for me to have rowed back to the village, and used the row boat for an evacuation, leaving Das Moot safely concealed and safe from the reprisals of the von Wittgensteins. But I didn’t think of that, I had brought Das Moot because I thought they might need her for a properly quick getaway. So I was forced to leave her on the wharf in Wittgendorf where the men-at-arms would easily be able to get to her, so, mum, I really hope they don’t do that.

We approached the temple under the cover of darkness. The doors were broken and hanging open. We went through the foyer with the smashed up alms box and into the main hall. The hall was illuminated by a bright light that burned without any fire. I’m not sure what that was about, but I think Guido thought it was some sort of sign, and so he said a prayer to Myrmidia. In the hall was a large altar and a statue to Sigmar with his right arm raised. I got the impression that this was a bit more than a village temple and was, or had been, a significant site for Sigmarites.

The vaulted ceiling of the hall was inscribed with lots of writing. Willow read it and told us that it explained the history of the temple. It was built on the site of one of Sigmar’s great battles. And then the temple had been attacked by beastmen, and a knight called Siegfried von Kesselring had defended the temple with his magical sword which was called Barrakul, which means Hope of the Mountains, and he had been slain and then buried, here, in the crypt.

At the foot of the altar was a large, open, leather-bound book and a key lying next to it. It was The Life of Sigmar and Guido placed it and the key respectfully back on the altar. And he found a piece of parchment under the book, and read it.

And all those who venerate Chaos shall tremble and despair

For when the Dwarfs return to Zaiyon and a twin-tailed comet fills the sky, though the Chaos Gates be open, the mutant hordes shall die! Amid a host of warring brothers a standard is unfurl’d, rallying man and Dwarf behind it at the ending of the world.

And then something happened. All we saw was the light dimming a bit, but Guido said that the eyes in the statue had glowed and that Sigmar had spoken to him and said, ‘That hour is fast approaching. Will you be ready? I shall give you a sign. Go now, and find the source of the chaos which warps my lands.’

Then Guido announced that he was ready to do Sigmar’s bidding and would not rest until he had rid the land of darkness, and went on like that for a bit. And that’s why I said, at the start, mum, that I think Guido is getting a bit carried away.

Through one of the doors leading from the hall we found the room where they get the bodies ready for burial, and it was lined with niches where bodies were kept. And it looked like some of those bodies had been eaten by something nefarious. And something had tunnelled through one of the walls so there was a hole leading outside.

But anyway, Blume and Guido were doing most of the exploring, Dreamy and I were watching their backs because we had a feeling that some of the locals that we had been warned about might attack us at any moment, but they never did.

And one of the niches was covered by a plaque which was engraved with glowing letters that Blume read. It said: ‘Here lyeth the body of Siegfried von Kesselring, loyal Servant of Sigmar. An honoured Templar and man of courage. May his soul find everlasting peace.’ And they moved the plaque and behind it was a skeleton wearing long-rusted armour, but it held a sword that still shone like new, and Guido knew it was Barrakul. And he grabbed it and held it up to the sky and thanked Sigmar for the sign. He said he promised he would not fail in the mission that Sigmar had entrusted to him and his companions. Not sure why he was bringing us into it.

And then Blume said something similar, because I think she thought that as she worships Sigmar and Guido doesn’t therefore the sword should belong to her, even though she didn’t really know how to use one. But in any case, it seemed like Sigmar had already decided to talk to Guido and not her. And I think if I was Sigmar, I probably would prefer to talk to Guido and not Blume, but given the choice, I’d probably rather not talk to either of them.

Then Guido started prancing around with the sword like he was doing his morning exercises, and as he slashed about it looked like sometimes the sword was there and sometimes it wasn’t, which was strange and magical. He asked us if we had ever seen such a magnificent blade. Josias Appleton has quite a nice fishing knife, doesn’t he, mum.

We looked through the other side of the temple and we found a locked room which we unlocked with the key from the altar. And inside was the priest’s records room. Blume read through his journal which she said had stopped suddenly about six months ago. It told how a hundred years ago the land was rich and famous for its fine wines. But after Dagmar von Wittgenstein had returned from an expedition with his lead-lined box, the next harvest was a disaster and the year after that it was even worse. And the locals began to leave the area and those that stayed starved.

And there was a more detailed account of the recent history, especially of the great storm of about two years ago, since when the forest had become warped and its animals mutated and everything had become much worse.

And that’s where we have to leave it, mum. I will write again soon telling you what happens next. I suspect it will involve us creeping into Castle von Wittgenstein, which sounds very dangerous to me, perhaps even foolhardy, but I don’t think anyone will be able to persuade Guido that it isn’t the right thing to do, especially now he’s best mates with Sigmar.