150: Ghal Maraz

So Blume obediently went off to get some wine for Countess Emmanuelle and Maria-Luise. She spoke to the head of the cellars, Ermine Liebwitz, who was a relation of the countess. Blume told her to get better wine, but Ermine replied that the wine was good it was the countess’ palate that was bad. So Blume looked around for some better wine, and found some Peregrine Hofwein, which she decided must be good because it had a bird on the label. Then Blume served it to them, and they both liked it.

I overheard the Grand Theogonist talking to High Capitular Volkmar in a side chapel. Volkmar said ‘Forget conciliation! You heard Valgeir. You must demand an end to the attacks and that they renounce the Heresy once and for all!’ The Grand Theogonist replied, ‘I know, I know. But there are… other considerations.’ And Volkmar said, ‘To ruin with them and that fool! Our duty is to Sigmar alone!’ So it sounded to me like the Sigmarites were getting less inclined to compromise, which didn’t bode well.

Then it was time for Greta’s duel. Fred wasn’t around so he asked Veiran to be his second, which he agreed to. Veiran made it clear that it was to the first blood, and warned against maiming and killing. And Willow decided that she should be on hand in case there were any serious wounds.

Willow tried to convince Greta to be the bigger person, but Greta said that some insults couldn’t be borne, and she wanted to be the bigger winner, anyway. I told Willow to just let them get on with it.

Then Blume and Willow met a Reiksguard Knight, Captain Jurgen von Ostbrun zu Kaeserock who was searching for his cousin’s murderer. He had heard that they had been around the area his cousin had been murdered and wished for any information that might help. They realised it could have been one of the nobles that they had met in the Boatman Inn. Willow sloped off to the duel, and Blume told the captain that it had all been down to a Brandyfoot Shortbottom, who was now hanging out with a Lowhaven crime gang in Boegenhafen. So Jurgen thanked Blume for the detailed information, swore that he would kill Brandy, and left.

Despite Willow’s best efforts, the duel went ahead. Greta attacked first narrowly missing Juergen, and then Juergen replied nipping Greta in the arm. Veiran declared first blood. Greta declared that the matter was settled, and that there should be no malice, and Juergen asked Greta to let him buy her a drink. And so honour was satisfied.

Greta asked Willow to stitch him up, and she reprimanded him for using up valuable medical resources that could have gone to a more deserving patient.

Then everyone filed back into the main hall, and the next speaker was graf Boris. He was quite blunt and denounced the attacked on his children, and demanded a section of the Altdorf state troops be put under his command as a sign of good faith. And Thyrus Gormann shouted his support.

And then finally it was the emperor's turn. We decided that this was probably the emperor we had already seen, the one we strongly suspected of being a double. During his speech he admonished those who would ‘let little things divide us.’ This enraged the graf who got to his feet and pointed out they tried to kill his children, and then called the emperor an incompetent idiot.

But the emperor lost his temper, too, and pointed Ghal Maraz at the graf and demanded he be quiet. But the graf drew his runefang and tried to swat Ghal Maraz aside. But as the blade hit the hammer, there was a flash of light and Sigmar’s holy hammer shattered into pieces.

After a moment of disbelieving silence, the place erupted in shouting and panic. Eventually things calmed down, and the Middenheim contingent retired to Helstein. On the way out Fassbinder took Greta aside and told her it was wonderful. Greta agreed it was certainly momentous. And Fassbinder told Greta to come and see him first thing in the morning.

Back at Helstein we discussed what had happened. We talked about the false emperor and that perhaps he had a false hammer, which sort of made sense. The graf said he would return to Middenheim. Willow suggested that might just be avoiding the inevitable.

Greta suggested Willow find Elvyra to check on the real emperor, but Willow explained she didn’t get to see him in person, but they talked about a plan to get into the palace using the medicine as an excuse.

In the morning we went to see Fassbinder. He was very chipper and spoke about the theory that the emperor's hammer was not the real Ghal Maraz, and he had suspected it all along. He showed us a passage in a Khazalid tome. Greta had been learning Khazalid from Hetri, and so tried to translate it, but it was a bit complex so Fassbinder translated it for her.

Catalogues of Confusion

Manling accounts of Sigmar’s final journey furnish us with particularly egregious examples of sentimental ramblings devoid of rigour. In particular, I must excoriate the shoddy scholarship of Professor Albertus Knox of the University of Nuln whose 4476 treatise is fit purely for soaking in vinegar and applying to the sensitive regions of those afflicted by Kruts.

This Grobi-fondling wantwit fails to mention that Sigmar was reported passing Vithang Dum in 3050 — despite such information being clearly minuted in the 32456th monthly report of the Vithang Dum Caretaker’s Council.

I must also decry the inane simpering of Professor Janni Shmidt of the Salzenmund University, may she lose herself in the wilderness with no hat come Skraksdeg night. Her account of Sigmar’s last movements have him pausing to take in ‘the awesome sight of the southern lands spreading out beyond the Black Mountains’, as if he were some feckless romantic sap!

Does she think the Dwarfs of the Karaz Ankhor so feebleminded as to post watchmen with no eyes? No record taken at the watchtower of Zan Mingol mentions Sigmar passing by to the south.

SO HE NEVER PASSED BY TO THE SOUTH! DO IT RIGHT OR DON’T DO IT AT ALL, YOU TOWERING SCANT BEARDED IMBECILES!

I have to say I was none the wiser, but Fassbinder clearly thought it was important, and for some reason, evidence that the emperor's hammer was not the real Ghal Maraz.

Willow was still suspicious of Fassbinder, though, and asked him about cults, and the Purple Hand. And then she mentioned that she had once seen a letter he had written to Herr Kuftsos. And Fassbinder looked a bit embarrassed. He explained that he just wanted Kastelle Lieberung captured. Willow said that was because he was in a cult. And Fassbinder said that no, he wasn’t, but she was. And Fassbinder admitted concocting the whole inheritance story to lure Lieberung to Boegenhafen.

And we asked Fassbinder about the nine eyes. He said he didn’t know much about that, but he did say that the number nine was often ritually significant. And we asked him if he knew about purple brain fever, and he said he had no idea about that, either.