This game was played on 9th January. 2011. Present were; Jan, Oleg, Palle and Goeg.
13th Marts. 1625 continued...
Having left Misteline asleep in his studio, Rufus, Marmaduke and Horace all went back to their respective homes where Horace set about cleaning up whilst Rufus searched for the money which Misteline had taken. Marmaduke was just as tired as Misteline and he lay down and quickly fell asleep. Outside it began to rain again.
After an hour or so, Rufus decided to go and awaken Misteline, but on his way he stepped into the Red Fox and became side tracked, for there he met Bertram Turnbull who was reading the latest edition of The Volunteer (another of the many single sheet Journals of Public Record which are a popular source of news and social comment in Takshendal). Bertram pointed out to Rufus that he was mentioned in the journal by name, then bidding farewell left the paper with Rufus who avidly read it. Outside the rain fell heavier.
Misteline was eventually awoken by Mrs Crimpstock who brought up a dish of Magda Featherlock's pickled eels and a tankard of beer. Misteline set to and was half way through his meal when Rufus finally arrived, and then wished he hadn't for Rufus had a strong aversion to pickled eel and found the sight of Misteline consuming slimy eels beyond his sensiblities. He tried to quibble about the expenses Misteline had incurred whilst holding Rufus's money, but seeing the consumption of pickled eels over came him and he quickly left and returned to the Red Fox coffee house.
Eventually, as night fell, everyone regrouped at Misteline's studio and debated matters at some length. Of particular concern was how to remove the Treadstone Archive, and why Father Caltrop had killed the incalcitrent young man in disguise. Misteline then put forth his plan to remove the archive during the night, before setting out to buy the sacks and a good lantern he would need to execute the operation whilst Rufus and Marmaduke both went home to eat. After his meal Marmaduke went to hire a wagon and some horses.
Misteline's plan required Robert Ladlevane to be too drunk to be aware of anything going on in his wood store, so after he had eaten, Rufus went down into the Red Fox where Robert was a regular customer and set the place rocking with free drinks. Some Mursulan musicians happened to be in the place which helped matters considerably, even if the music was of a foreign and rather inferior style. Marmaduke and Misteline defied the rain and swung into action. Marmaduke parked the wagon in the courtyard and Misteline broke into Marcus Feathergate's house.
Misteline gets a surprise
Much to his surprise, Misteline found himself being manhandled by a pair of burly men in armoured uniforms as he entered the building and before he knew what was going on, he found himself face to face with Marshal Quartermoon and his loyal sergeant Marlowe. Marmaduke, still seated on the wagon in the courtyard, noticed this and made a prudent retreat to the Red Fox to alert Rufus. Quartermoon expressed surprise at having netted Misteline, but after standing him in one corner, along side Marlowe made no further comment for a while. Misteline quickly realised two things. Quartermoon bore him no malice, and none of the Militia men in the room seemed to be aware of the concealed trap door, indeed Marlowe was standing on it. After a while, Quartermoon turned to Misteline and asked him why he was breaking into Feathergate's house. Misteline prudently told Quartermoon about the secret trap door and Marlowe was quickly sent down it to take a look.
When he realised that there was a cellar full of documents, Marshal Quartermoon investigated, taking Misteline with him. When he realised that the documents pertained to the House of Treadstone, Quartermoon dismissed the guard who had followed them down into the cellar and told Misteline about Sir Oswald Dewfork (Misteline's former land lord).
When the Grand Arch Duke of Takshendal Ranulph Underhock died in 1624, Dewfork sent a cadre of thirty six Aprican mercenaries to attack the Citadel and killed a great many important members of the Militia. At first this was perceived to be part of an inept attempt at seizing power in the wake of Underhock's death. There was plenty of ambiguity about who would inherit power and the coronation of King Phelonius was far from a certainty.
Then still a Captain of the City Militia, Leander Quartermoon led the interogation of the only surviving Aprican mercenary, but quickly discovered that the man was already dying from the effects of a slow poison. Before he died however, the man was able to tell Quartermoon that he had been hired by a man named Alfonso Luis D’Cartega who was attached to the embassy of Serrenisma as an ambassadorial aide. Quartermoon then suspected the King of Serrenisma might be trying to muscle in on the government of Takshendal, after all the two cities are in direct trade competition. He resolved to discover if there was a credible threat to the city but was unable to move against D’Cartega who had diplomatic immunity.
Since the government of Takshendal was still in tatters, Quartermoon acted on his own volition and contacted former Militia Captain and Tax Collector Silas Underhand. Underhand was under investigation for corruption and was almost certainly guilty. In the purge which would undoubtedly follow the coronation of King Phelonius, Underhand faced the prospect of becoming a convenient scapegoat. Quartermoon was already being approached with the offer of becoming the new Marshal and decided he would grant protection to Underhand if Underhand undertook to discredit D’Cartega in such a way that would allow Quartermoon to arrest and question him. Underhand provided false but compelling information which identified Alfonso Luis D’Cartega as a slaver and Quartermoon arrested him.
D’Cartega quickly realised he had been put into checkmate and exposed the truth behind the Aprian attack on the Citadel. According to D’Cartega, the attack was ordered by Sir Oswald Dewfork in order to assassinate three specific high standing officers in the Militia. Every one else who had been killed in the attack had simply been in the way. The Aprians had been ordered to kill as many people as possible to obscure the true purpose of the attack .
Quartermoon had no idea who Sir Oswald Dewfork was and set about investigating him. He discovered very little except that Dewfork was a rich man and the clandestine head of a small and obscure trading house named Treadstone. According to D’Cartega, Treadstone was a front for the private dealings of the Grand Arch Duke set up as a means for the former ruler to trade privately and without inspection. and dated back as far as 1602. Quartermoon investigated the matter and D’Cartega's information appeared to be accurate and during the course of this investigation, Quartermoon discovered various connections between Treadstone and the three assassinated Militia officers. It became obvious that Treadstone was more than just a trading house. Quartermoon needed a warrant to imprison a noble, but once he had this, the Marshall went to arrest Dewfork.
Dewfork was already dead however. When Quartermoon and his men arrived at Dewfork's house they found the old knight in a room locked from within, hanging by a rope around his neck, tied to a rafter. At his side was stool on its side. The official report stated that some one must have warned the old knight that he was about to be arrested. Officialy the matter ended there. Unofficially Quartermoon kept digging. He returned to D’Cartega and questioned him at length. D’Cartega knew a great many small facts, but he only knew things from his own personal perspective. He knew Treadstone had been gearing up for a clandestine civil war in Serrenisma whose king was very old and thought to be about to die. He knew a war chest had been accumulating for several years for this pupose and he knew that the war chest was said to be Takshendal. He didn't know where though, nor even who was in charge of this fund. He was primarily a private agent who answered directly to Dewfork and who dealt with matters in the Serrenisma embassy.
Misteline listened to Quartermoon's story with great interest. According to Quartermoon, the war chest which had been created for the secret campaign against Serrenisma contained either 1.2 or 2 million Crowns, and no one seemed to know where it was, except that it was stored in Takshendal somewhere. Several actors appeared to be looking for the war chest, but it was difficult to know who they were. Quartermoon admitted that he did not know who Cristobal Sebastiano was, why Father Caltrop had suddenly killed the man named Rufolio of Carpii, or what Anton Fouquet was up to. He knew that Fouquet was a former agent of Treadstone, but the old captain appeared to have left the organisation in recent years and gone into business importing gin from Lyonessa. Fouquet was still regarded with suspicion however as he had bought the Friars Gate property within days of Dewfork's death, and the deaths of Molly Cutlerstub and Marcus Feathergate indicated Fouquet had access to a mysterious and secret weapon known as the black iron pig. Quite what this weapon was was still obscure, but according to Quartermoon, it was something in the nature of an explosive, or infernal device which if used properly could sink a ship. Alas, the Marshal was unable to move against Fouquet for highly placed friends at the Royal Court meant Fouquet could not simply be arrested.
Quartermoon said he intended to keep the Treadstone Archive, but he would share information with Misteline once he had had a chance to vet it. Misteline proposed continuing with his plan of moving the cabinets out of the house in order to draw any attention away from the Militia stake out and Quartermoon agreed. Misteline stepped outside and drew the attention of Marmaduke and Rufus who were lurking on the rear balconey of the Red Fox. All was quiet and the rain fell heavily. A light came on in the gate house towers, but there was no sign of any observers. Together they loaded up the cabinets and set off for the Eel and Spindle with Rufus following behind on his horse. As the companions trudged through the rain swept streets, they became aware that two Militia cavalry riders were following them. Perhaps as a result of this, or perhaps because the weather had kept every one indoors, nothing untoward happened and the cabinets were unloaded and stored in the cellar at the Eel and Spindle.
Moving the cabinets in the middle of the night
It was midnight by the time the companions returned home and all retired to their own homes. Misteline quickly fell asleep but Marmaduke got into a tangle with his mother when he asked her to wash his silk undergarment. Ivy Gurdlecat was not happy about the company her son was keeping and saw nothing in his silken undergarments but evidence that he was being corrupted. She ranted about this for a while and made reference to having told 'that good man' about it. Marmaduke frowned at the mention of some strange man talking to to his mother about him, but paid it no further notice.
When he arrived home, Rufus discovered Horace was missing. Rufus went downstairs and found Hilda Grimbleflax locking up. He asked her if she'd seen Horace and she had, but not since earlier in the evening. Rufus shrugged and went to bed.
14th Marts. 1625.
Misteline was awoken by a concerned Mrs Crimpstock bearing a mighty tray of breakfast, with lashings of bacon, buttered bread and boiled eggs. He tucked in and ate the lot with gusto. In the mean while, Marmaduke discovered his mother was still angry and there was no breakfast ready for him as was usual. Instead he helped himself to some bread and made his way to Misteline's home.
Rufus would have slept long and hard, but he was awoken by Horace who had prepared a traditonal Lyonessan breakfast of buttered oysters. Rufus did not care for the oysters at all but he dutifully ate them whilst he listened to Horace's explanation of where he'd been the night before. Horace it seemed had spent the night with one of the girls upstairs, free of charge. Some what put out by this, and the oysters, Rufus made his way to Misteline's house.
Having finished his breakfast, Misteline took the tray down to the kitchen and was surprised to find Rufus and Marmaduke sitting at the kitchen table eating gruel so sitting down, he told them that Quartermoon had let him continue his investigations and that there were secrets to be disclosed in due course. He left out the small fact that the cabinets had been empty when they were transported to the Eel and Spindle though. Then leaving them to their breakfasts he then returned to his studio and began to write a letter to be published in the Gentleman's Companion. Having read the bad press he had been getting in The Volunteer, Misteline had decided to blow his own trumpet and put out his own version of events.
Once he had finished his letter (and presumably sent it on its way by urchin mail) Misteline went over to Rufus's apartments where he found Rufus trying to teach a few basic fencing moves to Marmaduke. Horace was dismissed and Misteline set about telling his companions about Treadstone and Sir Oswald Dewfork. He was interupted in mid explanation by the arrival of an urchin bearing a letter from Rufus's God father Don Vitorio in Castelopea. Rufus had asked about Cristobal Sebastiano, but the old Don had never heard of the man, nor had any of his friends. The Don then went on to inform Rufus that he had arranged for Rufus to take as his wife, one of Rufus's old childhood friends; Belinda Faustini. Belinda it transpired had recently been widowed and was without children. Don Vitorio had negotiated the agreement on Rufus's behalf and Belinda, and her brothers were on their way to Takshendal to meet with Rufus and finalise the agreement.
Rufus well recalled Belinda Faustini whom he had last since when she was about sixteen years old. She had then been a beautiful young woman, in full blossom and much adored by all the men of the district. She had married a young cavalier named Gianfrancesco d'Testacalda and the union had been seen as highly favourable as both were the only children of their houses and both were wealthy. What she might be like now, thirteen years or so later, was any one's guess. Rufus fell into a despondent state and began to drink heavily. Whilst his friends tried to console him, he harangued his lack of fortune and the end of his days as a fencer.
The companions spent the next hour debating their various problems, and whether or not Marmaduke should salvage his flagging reputation by seducing a woman. Whilst Misteline and Marmaduke unsuccessfully tried to cheer Rufus up by looking on the bright side, they heard a commotion outside andwent to see what was going on. Several of the girls from the Red Fox were on the balconey along with Horace, watching as three militia guards dragged a a young man in gentleman's garb away from Marcus Feathergate's house. Horace stated that the young dandy appeared to be one of the men he'd seen the day before on North Wall Street, apparently waiting for Rufus to return. Misteline called Rufus to come and see, but Rufus was slow and heavy hearted. He didn't see the man's face.
The girls asked why Rufus was sad and Misteline explained that he'd had bad news about getting married. Horace kept silent, but the girls from the Red Fox consoled Rufus and took him back into his apartments. Eventually the hour reached midday and Misteline and Marmaduke each left to go home and find something to eat. Rufus was very drunk and decided to save his Marmaduke by paying Aimee to seduce him. This she did and when Marmaduke's mother came home she was shocked to find Marmaduke and Aimee in a state of undress in the workshop.
Misteline in the meanwhile had found Mrs Crimpstock in the kitchen and proceded to entertain her with the news that Rufus was to marry.
This game was played on 16th March. 2011. Present were; Jan, Oleg, Palle and Goeg.
14th Marts. 1625 continued...
Misteline and Marmaduke met at Misteline's studio some time just after noon, to decide upon a course of action, whilst Rufus was still lying in his studio, drunk and unconscious. They decided to go and investigate Father Caltrop's room in the loft of the Red Fox and wary of being seen by any witnesses, made their way cautiously. Father Caltrop lived above the quarters belonging to Bagangelo, who had not been seen since the morning of his duel with Captain Fouquet. Taking care not to be seen, the two companions snuck into the room and examined it carefully. They found a rough straw filled mattress lying upon the floor, a rolled up rug and three wooden chests. The two larger chests contained nothing of interest, but the third, which was the smallest was locked. When picked up, it made the slithering metallic sound of loose coins.
The rug was found to contain a number of highly unusual weapons, made of steel, inlaid with silver and a dark tropical hard wood. Two of the weapons were large, pole axe like swords (example 1 2), several were ornate daggers, some with no hilt, only a ring and the last weapons was a strange multi-bladed axe like affair (3), the like of which neither man had seen before. Examing the inlaid decorations however, Misteline determined the weapons must have come from Jungolan, and having examined the dark hard wood with which the hilts of several of the weapons were made, Marmaduke agreed. Further examination of the room revealed nothing further so the two men took the box and the rolled up rug containing weaponry and carefully made their way down to Rufus's studio. Rufus was still incapacitated, so they left the weapons behind and took the chest down to Marmaduke's workshop where it was broken into. Within was a substantial amount of money, which Misteline guessed to be roughly two thousand Crowns. It was decided to take this money and hide it and after some deliberation Misteline took the money and hid it inside one of the horse testicle studies hanging in his studio.
Misteline and Marmaduke then sat talking for a while, trying to decide upon a fortuitous course of action until Mrs Crimpstock interupted them with a message from Hilda Grimbleflax, which informed them that a strange young man was in the Red Fox asking for Rufus. Misteline and Marmaduke were hard set however and sat down to a spot of lunch before going to investigate. As they ate, Misteline went over the few remaining papers he retained from the Treadstone archive. One in particular was interesting for it was an account of an insurance policy paid out against a ship named Buttercup owned by Treadstone which had run aground in 1621 on Long Bottom Bank.
After having finished their meal, Misteline and Marmaduke sauntered over to The Red Fox and entered by the back door. Hilda took them to the coffee room and pointed out a slender young man who was attempting to charm a serving girl. Noting a certain physionomical resemblence to Rufus, Misteline decided on a direct confrontation and greeted the young man who introduced hmself as Rufus's cousin Luigi. He was seeking Rufus, and bearing bad tidings, so Misteline and Marmaduke took Luigi up stairs to where Rufus was lying in his billet, fast asleep in a drunken stupor. Luigi cried out for Rufus to awaken and struggling against the alcohol (helped along the way by Hilda's strongest brew) Rufus sat up blinking and trying to concentrate.
Luigi had ridden straight from Castelopea to warn Rufus about the impending wedding, and although he was too late, he was still able to pass on some additional information. The wedding it seems was the brain child of Rufus's grandmother, 'Donna Bella', whose relationship to Rufus's god father, 'The Don', goes back a great many years (it is rumoured they were thwarted lovers in their teenage years). Having spied the wealth of the widow Faustini, Bella Donna proposed a union to The Don, who agreed that it was a good idea, not least because Rufus was not producing the children his family expected of him.
Belinda Faustini however, was already in love with another mutual friend of childhood; Diego Monte Banquo, a bookish man, bespectacled and shy, and the feelsing were mutual. The Monte Banquo family were in favour of the match, but the Faustini's were horrified as Diego was a penniless scribe. The Faustini's accepted the Don's proposal and Belinda was told to go to Takshendal and marry Rufus. To escort her and ensure the family honour remain unblemished, Belinda was in the care of her seven brothers, headed by Ronaldo Faustini.
To make matters worse, Diego Monte Banquo had suffered a sudden fit of bravado and made public threats to kill his old friend Rufus in a duel rather suffer the loss of his beloved Belinda. As Rufus listened with incredulity, Luigi explained that Diego was also on his way to Takshendal, and they would all probably arrive with the next day or two. Rufus found himself in a predicament. Lose an affair of honour to the comically inept Diego and get out of the marriage or kill Diego and marry Belinda who would almost certainly hate him for the rest of her life.
Whilst Luigi was telling his news, Marmaduke was leaning against the doorframe when he heard the creak of wood from outside the buidling. It sounded like a step on the wooden walkway which connected to the courtyard so he stepped to the outer door and opened it to peek out. As he did, a man in a brown cleric's cassock, kicked his stomach and sent him crashing to the floor with his breath knocked out. Immediately the man stepped over him and placed a long slender dagger to his chin, grinned down into his face. Through a haze of pain, Marmaduke realised the stranger was Father Caltrop. Caltrop took a quick glance around then leered down at Maramduke.
"You better be careful boy!" he rasped, "You and your friends better stay outta trouble!"
Having uttered this warning, he feld the scene and though Misteline looked out of the front windows he caught no sight of the mysterious priest in the street below.
The afternoon was drawing to a close, but Misteline decided to sound out the local children with regards to Father Caltrop. He had some suspicions as to what the priest was up to so he made his way down into the courtyard where he spied little Timmy Cutlerstub playing with his friends. Approaching the boy, Misteline made himself as amenable as possible but try as he might, he couldn't get the children to say much about Father Caltrop and their increasingly furtive manner suggested they had been primed to resist inquiry. Misteline decided to try Timmy's older sister Nicolet who was employed at the Red Fox as a scullery maid, but he found the scullery door shut with urgent voices coming from within.
Listening closer, he realised one of the voices belonged to Luigi and the other to Nicolet. Rufus's cousin it seemed was attempting a seduction, but unsuccessfully, and Misteline interupted the debacle and having gotten rid of Luigi, question Nicolet with regards to Father Caltrop. Nicolet adopted the same glassy eyed parody of ignorance as her brother and his friends had done Misteline quickly let the matter rest, satisfied in his assumptions.
Luigi returned to the bedside of his cousin,where upon Rufus took it upon himself to test Luigi in the arts of fencing. To his dismay he found that despite his fire eating reputation, Luigi was a poor swordsman. Eventually Luigi left and the companions gathered to debate Misteline's theory regarding Father Caltrop's use of the local children as a means of gathering information.
After a while Rufus turned to Marmaduke and advocated he find out who Marmaduke's mother had been talking to. Marmaduke shrugged off the suggestion at first, but Rufus was adamant that some one was 'pumping Mrs Gurdlecat' for information and the identity of the man ought to be established. The others then left, each for his respective home and Rufus went down into the cellar to examine it for secret passages but he found nothing.
Marmaduke went home in a confused state and examined his mothers bedroom. He found nothing much of interest, save some of his late father's belongings. His mother Ivy, was her usual acerbic self and Marmaduke didn't attempt to interogate her with regards to the 'nice man' she had spoken of. Instead he examined the cellar of the Gurdlecat house, and found nothing untoward.
This game was played on 6th April. 2011. Present were; Jan, Oleg, Palle and Goeg.
After having fed, the companions congregated back at Misteline's studio and debated matters pertaining to Captain Fouquet and the House of Treadstone. Misteline decided that it would be a good idea to find out what had happened to the various ships employed by Treadstone, but there was some confusion as to how to go about this. Eventually Rufus remembered that there was an Old Sea Man's Home down in the harbour, and it was decided to go there at once and speak to some of the retired sailors.
Misteline, Marmaduke and Rufus walked down to the harbour and arrived at the Old Sea Man's Home, which they found was a moderate sized building, with a tavern on the ground floor. Outside, three old men were sitting on a bench, one of whom had a large yellow bird on his shoulder. The companions engaged the old men in conversation, but became distracted by various tall tales, and the uncouth bird. Misteline pretended to be interested in painting a picture of a sea battle as a means of developing a rapport, but this failed to interest the old men, so instead he went looking for rum with which to bribe them. Whilst he was gone, Rufus attempted to ask questions about Captain Fouquet and though it transpired that the old sailors had heard of him, indeed he had a fearsome reputation as a disciplinarian, no one in the Old Sea Man's Home had sailed with Fouquet.
Frustration eventually got the better of Rufus and he also went looking for rum and for Misteline, leaving Marmaduke alone with the sailors. Marmaduke made no credible attempt to speak to the old men, and shortly there after a large, broad hipped woman arrived bearing a tray of eel stew. Marmaduke was invited to partake and gladly accepted. Shortly there after Misteline returned and also set about a plate of eels.
Once the eels had been consumed and Rufus had returned, the old men began to turn in for the night. The sun was going down and the three friends left the harbour and went to see Rufus Barkwall the armourer. Barkwall was eating with his family, but soon attended his customers, fitting Misteline for a subtle coat of 'jazerant armour' which he reckoned would be ready for use in 72 hours.
It was early evening but dark when they returned to the Red Fox and Rufus's studio, and here they found Luigi drunk and asleep on the door step. Rufus dragged his cousin to bed, then went to see Hilda to ask her if she'd seen Horace. Hilda replied that she had not and when asked which of the girls Horace had been seeing, expressed ignorance of his ever having visited any of her girls.
Rather than disturb Luigi, the three companions went to Misteline's studio where they sat in further debate, trying to decide upon a course of inquiry. Mrs Crimpstock offered supper but all three declined. Rufus was still puzzled about Horace and decided to ask the local children if they'd seen him. He went down into the courtyard and asked those few children who were still out and about despite the late hour. The children had nothing to say about Horace, but they had seen a 'dark stranger who had been lurking about asking questions'. Rufus returned to Misteline and Marmaduke and their debate continued. They decided that several of the local people had been decidedly absent in the last few days, not least Gregory Marshkindle who was usually to be seen each evening sitting outside his hovel, in a drunken state. It was decided to investigate and so the three companions took it upon themselves to break into Marshkindle's abode.
This proved to be a mistake as both Rufus and Marmaduke soon found themselves attacked by lice. Misteline prudently avoided the lice by allowing the other two to go first and rummage through the scattered clothes and bedding.When they realised what had happened, Rufus and Marmaduke were obliged to seek help from Meg Plum, who fortunately lived next door and who had all the necessary means to delouse them. Unfortunately, this involved taking a bath out in the open, so Misteline left the other two and went home for a bath in the luxury of his own apartments. Once enough water had been heated, Rufus stripped and jumped into the tub whilst Meg tipped his clothes into a wash bucket. he then deloused himself whilst Marmaduke waited. Once Rufus was finished, and had borrowed a sheet so he might make his way home to find new clothes, Marmaduke stripped, and got into the now tepid water.
Alas for Marmaduke, at this moment several youngsters arrive to stare and giggle and shortly there after his mother arrived and began to scold him for leaving a lamp burning in his workshop. Having bathed, Marmaduke went to his workshop and discovered the small chest he and Misteline had removed from Father Caltrop's room earlier in the day had disapeared. Some what disturbed by this, Marmaduke was really too tired to do anything about it, and turned in. Not long after this however he became aware that some one was entering his workshop from outside and reached for his crossbow. It turned out to be Aimee whom Rufus had hired for the night on Marmaduke's behalf. Marmaduke's fatigue evaporated accordingly.
15th Marts. 1625
As the sun rose, so too did the three friends and once he had eaten, Rufus departed to go and see Marshal Quartermoon. Marmaduke went to see Misteline and told him about the missing chest, which Misteline took to be a very bad thing, but upon checking his horse testicle study, he found the money from the chest was still hidden there.
Rufus arrived at the main gate house of the Citadel and was eventually shown into a waiting room where several other people were already seated. He was still sitting there when Misteline and Marmaduke arrived at his studio, only to find Luigi who was still asleep. Luigi muttered that Rufus had gone to the Citadel so Misteline and Marmaduke went downstairs to the Red Fox, followed by a sleepy headed Luigi and ordered some nice hot coffee. As they were drinking this, a coach drawn by four horses pulled up outside and several men in flamboyant clothing entered the coffee house. Luigi, who had been attemptng to flirt with Hilda Grimbleflax immediately bristled and began to swagger. The strangers, whom Misteline and Marmaduke swiftly understood were the Faustini brothers, began to reciprocate Luigi's braggadocio and when it became apparent that this posturing might continue for some time, Misteline intervened. Upon learning that Belinda Faustini was in the coach and required accomidation, he asked Hilda for help, and directed the Faustini brothers to the nearby Lady and Horse public house which Hilda guaranteed to be fit for a lady.
The eldest Faustini brother, Ronaldo, sent one of the others, named Sandro, off with the coach, then the remaining brothers all sat to await Rufus's return. Whilst Rufus was badgering the door keeper of the Citadel to be allowed to speak with the Marshal, Misteline took on the role of host and provided food and drink for the Faustini brothers.
Eventually Rufus was admitted to the office of Marshal Quartermoon's personal private secretary (a man whom Rufus had never met before) and asked what his business with the Marshal was. Rufus attempted to explain that he was embroiled in an affair of honour which might easily lead to a blood feud in Castelopea and would it not be possible for the Marshal and some men to subtly intervene at a judicious moment to prevent things from getting out at hand. The Secretary expressed indifference to Castelopean blood feuds however, which were a common enough occurance and of no concern to the Marshal. He would nevertheless bring the matter to the Marshal's attention at the first possible convenience and with that, Rufus was obliged to take his leave.
Upon his return to the Red Fox, Rufus encountered the Faustini Brothers, and the some what ill tempered Luigi (who had not been best pleased to see Misteline's gracious welcome to the Faustini's). Rufus declined a belligerent stance and put Luigi at his ease, sitting instead with Misteline and Marmaduke for a moment.
At this point a strange drunken man wandered into the coffee house, chewing on an eel. He seemed strangely familiar, but none of the three companions could identify him. After laughing and making a few random remarks, the man left, dropping his eel in the doorway. Some what puzzled, Rufus followed the drunk into the street and watched him walk away. The drunk looked back over his shoulder, gave an outburst of laughter then turned up Garnet Street. Inside the Red Fox, Marmaduke and Misteline examined the eel, but to no avail. Sandro then returned and Rufus, Luigi and all the Faustini brothers left to wait upon Belinda.
In her suite of rooms at the Horse and Lady, Rufus was reunited with his old love Belinda and to his anguish he found her as beautiful and lovely as ever she had been. He quickly got rid of Luigi by sending him for flowers and then sat with Belinda to talk and catch up whilst her brothers lurked in an adjacent room. It soon became apparent that whilst Belinda bore him no ill feelings, her heart was obviously else where and her manner was accordingly subdued.
Meanwhile, Marmaduke decided to go and see Aimee, only to discover that his romantic encounter had merely been a business transaction, and whilst Aimee was friendly and happy to sell more of her favours, there was no romance involved. Some what dejected he bid her farewell and exited her room, only to find himself face to face with Father Caltrop who was standing at his own door, across the hall. Caltrop quickly approached Marmaduke and grabbed him by the collar of his tunic. Dragging Marmaduke into his room, he pointed to the small money chest which was standing in the middle of the room, and asked, "Whats that then boy?" Marmaduke began to sweat realising full well that Caltrop must have retreived the chest from Marmaduke's workshop.
"It looks like the bottom is broken" Marmaduke stammered. They both regarded the chest which was standing on its bottom, thus concealing the damage.
"...and whats that?" Father Caltrop demanded as he pointed to the untidy heap of the rug that had contained the exotic weapons. Realising he was sliding deeper and deeper into peril, Maramduke blurted out "Misteline!" but at that moment there was a knock at the door and as quick as a flash, Caltrop put his knee into Marmaduke's stomach and as he folded up, fetched him a stunning blow to the back of the head. Marmaduke dropped to the floor and in a haze of pain, heard Father Caltrop talking to an unseen person who answered in the high pitched voice of a young girl.
After a minute or so, the stranger left and Father Caltrop dragged Marmaduke to his feet. He pushed him to the door and threw him out into the hall. Marmaduke fell to the floor, still gasping and retching.
"You have twelve hours to bring me back my money, or you'll know what I mean!" Caltrop rasped, then slammed the door shut. Marmaduke lay on the floor for a while, listening to the muffled sounds of Caltrop moving about in his room, until there came a resounding thud and all sound ceased. Marmduke then pulled himself to his feet and staggered off to find Misteline who was still sitting in the Red Fox.
Marmaduke told Misteline what had happened, but put a gloss over his own temerity and neglected to mention that he'd implicated Misteline by name. Misteline immediately decided to act and sent Marmaduke to fetch Rufus whilst he made his way to a window at the rear of Rufus's studio with a view of the courtyard and the rear of the building. Below he could see several children playing.
Marmaduke found Rufus who was not pleased at being interupted, but having made his apologies, left Belinda and followed Marmaduke back to the Red Fox. Once Misteline was assured of Rufus's assisstance, he went to knock on Father Caltrop's door, but there was no answer. Carefully he tried the door and found it open, but noted that something was blocking the door when he swung it wide open. On the inside of the door, he discovered a poison tipped crossbow bolt which he deduced had been fired through the window, though it was difficult to see from whence it had been fired. The room was still in some disarray, and in the centre of the floor lay the small chest, now on its side. A closer examinatin of the room revealed a carefully concealed trapdoor which opened into Bagangelo's studio below. Looking down, Misteline was surprised to discover the corpse of Oliver Taprattle, sitting in a chair with his throat cut.
Misteline decided to withdraw. He was fairly certain Father Caltrop had to still be in the building, but checked first with Hilda Grimbleflax in case the old priest had evaded Misteline's scrutiny. Hilda replied that she hadn't seen Father Caltrop which further strengthened Misteline's impression that Caltrop was probably still in the building as there didn't seem any other way out (unless Caltrop had jumped from his own second storey window in full view of the street below). Rather than waste time searching the building, Misteline went to see Nicolet Cutlerstub whom he was certain was one of Caltrop's young agents. Nicolet feigned ignorance, but Misteline persisted and eventually she agreed in an oblique manner to pass the word that Misteline desired to meet with Father Caltrop.
Having left Nicolet in the scullery, Misteline then returned to his vantage point and waited. Sure enough, Nicolet entered the courtyard and spoke to some of the children there, one of whom ran off in the direction of the gate house. As he watched the urchin run off, Misteline noted a Militia guard peeping around the corner at the back of Mrs Crimpstock's house.
Concerned, he hurried home, only to find several Militia guards and a Sergeant-at-arms, questioning Mrs Crimpstock in her kitchen. When he was identified as a lodger in the house, Misteline was taken upstairs by the Sergeant-at-arms, who questioned his where abouts the night before (Misteline replied truthfully, that he'd been asleep) then looked around his studio in wonder. Misteline understood that something had happened involving Doctor Giffshank, but he wasn't able to establish what it was. Misteline's heart began to beat quicker when the Sergeant-at-arms took note of the large bronze horse testicles which were hanging from the ceiling, but although the Militia man knocked on both of the big balls, he didn't seem to notice that one made a different sound than the other (it had Father Caltrop's money hidden within). Having satisifed his curiousity, the Sergeant-at-arms took his leave and returrned to the kitchen.
Vessels known to be associated with the House of Treadstone
Molly Carbuncle....Carrack....Captain Anton Fouquet
Scarlet Jane....Unknown....Captain Morrowhock
Buttercup....Unknown....Unknown
Status of on-table characters
Aimee. Working as a prostitute at the Red Fox.Bagangelo. Wounded. Reported to be staying with a friend.
Franco Ballenciaga. Killed by Rufus in a duel.
Father Caltrop. Wanted by the authorities on suspicion of murder. Current where abouts unknown but presumed to be close by.
Mrs Crimpstock. Being questioned in her own kitchen by an unidentified Militia Sergeant-at-arms.
Molly Cutlerstub. Killed by explosion.
Nicolet Cutlerstub. Working as a scullery maid at the Red Fox.
Timmy Cutlerstub. Last seen playing with friends in courtyard
Marcus Feathergate. Dead. Assumed to have died of wounds from explosion.
Anaïs Fouquet. Unknown. Assumed to be in Anton Fouquet's tower house.
Anton Fouquet. Unknown. Last seen watching the death of Rufolio of Carpii.
Doctor Giffshank. Unknown. Possibly dead. Being investigated by the Militia for unknown reasons.
Hilda Grimbleflax. Working as a proprietor of the Red Fox.
Isabelle. Working as a prostitute at the Red Fox.
Ivy Gurdlecat. Alive and well.
Kit Kindle. Working as a prostitute at the Red Fox.
Robert Ladlevane. Busy working during the day and drinking hard at night.
Marissa. Working as a prostitute at the Red Fox.
Gregory Marshkindle. Unknown. Not seen in several days.
Meg Plum. Hard at work providing laundry and childcare services for the local citizenry.
Cristobal Sebastiano. Unknown. Not seen since Franco's death.
Sandrine. Working as a prostitute at the Red Fox.
Edna Shufflewick. Unknown. Not seen for several days.
Bertram Turnbull. Working on producing a new theatrical production.
Odette Turnbull. Unknown. Rumoured to be working on a new theatrical production.
Oliver Taprattle. Dead. Discovered in Bagangelo's studio with his throat cut.
Status of off-table characters
Alastair Heatherwax. Local celebrity actor and acquaintance of Misteline.
Archibald Pillorseed. Assumed identity of one of Anton Fouquet's seconds during the Fouquet/Bagangelo duel. Current where abouts unknown.
Bellinda Faustini. Rufus's arranged bride. Currently staying at the Lady and Horse Public House.
Bellinda Faustini. Rufus's arranged bride. Currently staying at the Lady and Horse Public House.
Captain Axelrod Underhand. Working at the customs house.
Captain Shallowsack. Commanding the local Militia tower.
Devar Lockmyrtle. Gambler conscripted by Silas as a fake witness to the Rufus/Franco duel. Current where abouts unknown.
Diego Monte Banquo. A childhood friend of Rufus's and a rival for the hand of Bellinda Faustini. Where abouts unknown but expected to shortly arrive in Takshendal.
Diego Monte Banquo. A childhood friend of Rufus's and a rival for the hand of Bellinda Faustini. Where abouts unknown but expected to shortly arrive in Takshendal.
Doctor Hamshank. The nearest physician to Friar's Gate.
Don Vitorio. Rufus's godfather.
'Donna Bella'. Rufus's grandmother.
Drunk man. Seen in the Red Fox, with a strangely familiar face. Unknown.
Don Vitorio. Rufus's godfather.
'Donna Bella'. Rufus's grandmother.
Drunk man. Seen in the Red Fox, with a strangely familiar face. Unknown.
Gerald Mosscramp. Missing, possibly dead.
Horace Nuvel. Missing.
Luigi de Carraressi. Staying at Rufus's studio.
Marshal Leander Quatermoon. Unknown. Assumed to be at the Citadel.
Marlowe. Marshal Quartermoon's man servant.
Marlowe. Marshal Quartermoon's man servant.
Nathaniel Pennyfork. A lawyer consulted by Misteline but as yet not hired.
Nicholas Rungate. Apothocary. Last seen by Misteline in his shop.
Ronaldo Faustini. Brother to Belinda Faustini.
Nicholas Rungate. Apothocary. Last seen by Misteline in his shop.
Ronaldo Faustini. Brother to Belinda Faustini.
Rufolio of Carpii. Would be assassin, in disguise. Killed by Father Caltrop.
Sandro Faustini. Brother to Belinda Faustini.
Sandro Faustini. Brother to Belinda Faustini.
Sir Isambard Goatroll. Known importer of Gin and notable witness to the Fouquet/Bagangelo duel.
Sir Walter Heraldlamb. A prisoner in the Bastion who befriended Rufus during his brief incarceration.
Stranger in dark clothes and armour. Last seen by children in courtyard talking to Horace.
Tom Hurdigrip. With Silas, searching for Gerald Mosscramp.
This game was played on 20th April. 2011. Present were; Jan, Oleg, Palle and Goeg.
Misteline listened to the voices from below. The Militia questioned Mrs Crimpstock for a while, then suddenly departed taking the old lady with them and Misteline found himself alone in the house. His immediate reaction was to hurry upstairs to Doctor Giffshank's apartments but his search for clues was hampered by a locked door and his clumsy attempts at picking the lock, failed. Misteline returned to Rufus's studio, noting along the way that the weather was turning foul and it had begun to rain.
In the mean time, Marmaduke had eaten some lunch, then packed up Father Caltrop's weapons, and returned them to the old priest's room. Finding the place empty, he took the chance to look around a bit and whilst examining the assumed angle of trajectory for the crossbow bolt which Misteline had previously discovered in the back of the door, he heard Odette Turnbull training her voice by singing scales from the adjoining building.
Misteline found that Rufus was no longer at home but shortly after he was met by Marmaduke and Luigi and learned that Rufus had returned to Belinda. The two companions left Luigi and returned to Father Caltrop's room intent on working out where the poisoned crossbow bolt had come from. This proved fruitless until they examined the rest of the building and discovered that there was a widening gap between the Red Fox property and the house of Bertram Turnbull, and although this gap could not be entered from the ground floor, it grew wider towards the top and from the first floor balconey walkway at the rear of of the Red Fox it was wide enough for a person to climb up and be almost invisible from the street. Misteline exmained the gap and found that there were even iron spikes driven into the wall to facilitate access to Father caltrop's window.
Satisfied that they had found a way by which a crossbow could be fired into Father Caltrop's room, at the angle of the bolt in the door, Misteline and Marmaduke returned their attention to the question of those ships associated with the House of Treadstone.They decided to return to the Old Seaman's Home and quickly made their way down to the docks where they found two of the same old men as previous, with the yellow bird, sitting outside, ignoring the rain. Misteline was wary of asking to many obvious statements so he proposed several fictious ships names before asking if the men had ever heard of a ship named Scarlet Jane to which they refered him to an old sailor named Bartholomew who replied yes, the Scarlet Jane he recalled well as having been captained by a man named Morrowhock, and which had sunk in the Starshine Sea with all hands, either in the year 1621 or 1622.
Misteline then asked about Buttercup which all the sailors knew perfectly well as it was still sitting on Long Bottom Bank on which it had grounded during the high Spring tide of 1621 and where it was still visible to any vessel passing through the Weyr estuary, as was the small settlement which had taken root on the ship. Misteline then asked about Molly Carbuncle and to his surprise, all the old sea men chuckled and pointed to the neighbouring dock where a large carrack named Lady Trueblood was moored not more than a hundred yards away. Molly Carbuncle had been sold it transpired and renamed and she was now a gin merchant owned by the House of Goatroll. Bartholomew agreed to inquire who was the captain of the ship, but discovered that the current captain had recently been dismissed a new captain was expected shortly, though the sailors on board had no idea who the new man would be.
It was still raining, but this didn't deter Misteline from whipping out his sketch book and making a few studies of the docks. (The image above corresponds to the size and general lay out of Lady Trueblood)
Misteline and Marmaduke returned to the Red Fox as the twilight was darkening into night. Nothing of any interest had happened in their absence and Rufus was still away so the two companions sent down to Hilda Grimbleflax for some food and set to filling their bellies and wagging their tongues. Misteline decided to remove the crossbow bolt from Father Caltrop's room, and as the weather began to turn ugly, he returned cautiously. No one was about and he managed to take the poisoned dart. Outside, thunder began to runble. Misteline decided to go home, but stopped by the scullery first to inform Nicolet, assuming that she would convey this information to Father Caltrop. Nicolet feigned ignorance at first but eventually acknowledged the hint.
At home, Misteline found the house dark, cold and empty. He rigged the back door to make a noise if any one should attempt to open it, then went upstairs and set about lighting a fire in his studio. Marmaduke hung around for a while but then returned home. Misteline set about working for a while, and eventually he was disturbed by Meg Plum who came by to see if he needed anything and to hear if there was any news of 'poor Mrs Crimpstock'. There wasn't, but this didn't prevent Misteline and Meg gossiping for almost an hour whilst outside the storm increased in volume.
Meg Plum eventually left but she had hardly done so before some one was pulling the front door bell chain and Misteline went to answer the door as cautiously as possible. Upon opening up, he found Marlowe and a Militia Gaurd standing on his door step and in the street behind them, a fine carriage drawn by four liveried black horses. Within he found Marshal Quartermoon and the Royal Principal Secretary Sir Nigel Toadmoat.
Quartermoon and Toadmoat warn Misteline that the Militia have been ordered to stay away from Captain Fouquet, and Quartermoon lets slip that the Lord President of the Privy Council; Sir Reginald Foxwort issued this order to Sir Toadmoat who nodded his head sadly as the Marshal explained the situation to Misteline. Things were not well at court with the new King desperately beset on all side by ambitious nobles vying for influence and power. Misteline and his friends could no longer count on any open support from the Militia, though of course, they were all secretly rooting for the old artist and would offer any clandestine help they could.
Quartermoon also passed on a few details he had managed to glean from the Treadstone papers, foremost of which was the presence of a guardian to watch over Treadstone; Selwyn ’The Shank’ Wortfern. Described in the documents as a loyal, formidable agent and deadly assassin, well versed in mysterious martial arts from foreign lands. Misteline presumed this must be Father Caltrop whom he had already guessed might occupy such a role.
Sir Toadmoat then warned Misteline that the Lord High Steward had also been taking an interest in the affairs of Tradstone, which meant the Segrati were almost certainly now involved. Misteline was unfamiliar with the Segrati so Toadmoat briefly explained their history. Brought into being by the old kings, the Segrati were a secret organisation devoted to preserving the Royal family. One of Phelonius Grambeline's first acts as King was to re-establish the Segrati and both Quartermoon and Toadmoat knew of its reincarnation. They warned Misteline that one of the most dangerous agents in Takshendal, a man of fearsome reputation, said to be capable of near impossible feats, and very dangerous, known only as 'The Rat', had been employed by the Lord High Steward.
Misteline expressed his hope that Rufus would be a competent body guard, to which Marshal Quartermoon then explained that Diego Monte Banquo, Rufus's competitor for the hand and heart of Belinda Faustini, had been found dead in a ditch outside the city. Preliminary reports indicated that Diego had been stabbed a great many times.
Misteline bid the two gentlemen good night then went to find Marmaduke and Rufus and after having digested the latest news, the three companions decided to recruit the Faustini brothers as an extra precaution. Misteline was still expecting a rendezvous with Father Caltrop and was not easy in his mind with regards to security. The Faustinin brothers all agreed to the caper, but left Pedro to watch over Belinda.
As the night progressed and the storm clouds drew ever tighter, the darkness increased and lightning and thunder began to pass directly over the city. Misteline and his band of men took up positions in Misteline's apartment and kept a watch on all sides. Time passed slowly and as midnight approached, a wagon was seen entering the courtyard. Three figures emerged from the gatehouse's southern tower and in the lightning, Misteline was able to identify Captain Fouquet and Gregory Marshkindle. The third man remained unidentified. The three men proceeded to load the wagon with small barrels whilst the driver remained on his seat, hunched in his oil skins against the rain. Once twenty one small barrels had been loaded, Fouquet and the stranger mounted the wagon and departed whilst Marshkindle returned to his hut.
Rufus had taken the precaution of waiting in the North Wall Street and as the wagon passed him by he surreptitiously followed it all the way down to the Gin Dock where its load was rolled aboard the carrack Lady Trueblood by her crew. Rufus watched from a dark alley as Captain Fouquet and his unknown companion conversed with several other men before all turned and walked up the ships gang plank.
In Misteline's apartment, it was noted that no one had locked the door to the southern tower. Misteline, Giancarlo and Pietro Faustini quickly and quietly made their way across the courtyard and entered the tower. Within, they found the place much as Misteline had seen it before, with a store room on the first floor and a workshop above it. When they reached the locked trap door which had thwarted Misteline in his previous visit, Giancarlo picked the lock with ease and the three men entered a second, more extensive workshop. Here they found a great many glass bottles, brass instruments, books, diagrams and samples of black powder standing about the room in various containers. There were several large leather ships buckets filled with varying amounts of black powder. Misteline told the Faustini's to leave everything untouched, but quickly took several samples of black powder. The three man then left the tower, re-locking the trapdoor behind them.
In the courtyard they came face to face with Father Caltrop who was watching and waiting for them by the old wagon. Misteline invited him back to his apartment, but Caltrop declined, telling Misteline to return the money to his room by the next day. He then paused for a moment before leaving in a hurry, heading towards the Red Fox and the three men became aware of a dark armoured figure standing behind them in the gate way of the gate house. The dark figure stepped back into the darkness of the North Wall Street and disapeared but before Misteline and the Faustini brothers could react, they became aware of a commotion by the Red Fox. Two men were desperately fighting, knives flashing in the dark. Neither seemed to have an advantage and abruptly they broke apart. One fled via the Red Fox gate and the other, who seemed to be FatherCaltrop, turned to face Misteline and the Faustinin brothers. Suddenly throwing his knife into Pietro's shoulder, he turned and bounded up the wall to clamber onto the balconey of the Red Fox and slipped away into the shadows.
Giancarlo rushed to his brothers aid, but before Misteline could react he became aware that the dark armoured figure from the gate house had returned and was silently approaching them. The man identified himself as Julian Keenkettle, a journalist working for The Volunteer and began to pose awkward questions pertaining to the amount of mysterious deaths that had taken place around Misteline. Misteline noted the man was approaching him holding a lead tablet in one hand a curious steel stylus in the other. He began to back away from the man in order to keep him out of range. Keenkettle followed him with an increasingly menacing air, but just as this was becoming absurd, Marmaduke and the remaining Faustini brothers descended from Misteline's apartment and the journalist ceased his aggressive behaviour. Having dropped a sly comment regarding Marmaduke's mother, he then left and Misteline, Marmaduke and the Faustini brothers all returned to Misteline's studio.
This game was played on 12th May. 2011. Present were; Jan, Oleg, Palle and Goeg.
Having followed Anton Fouquet and his companions to the Gin Dock, Rufus watched from a dark alley way as the crew of the Lady Trueblood busied themselves about her decks. Unsure what they were about he decided to attempt to cripple the ship by cutting her steering ropes. An examination of the river disuaded him from this course of action however as it would have meant swimming to her rudder and climbing up it, and Rufus was an indifferent swimmer with little confidence of his abilities in the fast moving tide. He decided instead to find some pitch and attempt to set fire to the ships stern hoping this would serve his purpose.
Seeking along the docks he came to a ship yard where the vast hull of a carrack loomed behind several buildings. A fence surrounded the property and as he approached, a guard dog began barking and challenging him. No one seemed to take any notice of the dog however so after so pause for consideration, Rufus stabbed the hound to death with his rapier and stole into the ship yard. Finding pitch was easy enough as the scent lead him straight to one of the smaller buildings in the yard. Gaining entrance to the building was not so easy however and the door proved too solid to simply kick open, so Rufus broke and climbed through a small, tight window.
Inside the building was dark and with only the lightning outside to provide illumination, Rufus was unable to find a convenient vessel to transport some of the pitch which was stored in several large barrels. Resorting to a pair of wooden buckets, he found it difficult to exit the building whilst transporting two buckets of turgid pitch. Eventually, after having dropped the first batch, he succeeded with a second, but only by breaking yet aother window after the first had became smeared with congealed pitch. With slightly soiled clothes, he then made his way back to the Gin Dock only to discover the Lady Trueblood was being warped out into the centre river (in order to avoid the ships moored ahead of her), was no longer attached to the dock and the City Pilot was coming aboard her.
Rufus decided to carry on with his attempt by setting fire to his buckets and lowering them into the river from the nearby Bridge of St Agnes. The weather was still foul and setting light to the pitch was something of a problem, but Rufus solved this by ducking into the nearby Old Sea Man's home with a quickly improvised torch and lighting it from their fire place. Having accomplished this, he gently lowered both buckets into the river, allowing the current to carry them towards the carrack's stern. The first was swamped by the water and extinguished but the second reached the ship. Unfortunately, it missed the stern and floated along the ship's counter, much to the surprise of her crew. Cold, wet and some what disapointed Rufus then returned to Misteline's apartment.
Whilst Rufus was galivanting around the docks, Misteline, Maramduke and the Faustini brothers had regrouped in Misteline's apartment and were busy. The brothers were removing Father Caltrop's dagger from Pietro's shoulder whilst Misteline examined the samples he had taken from Anton Fouquet's workshop. Dividing these in to two seperate groups, he then hid them before sitting down to copy a note book which Giancarlo had stolen from Fouquet's workshop.
Upon Rufus's return, it was decided that he would also break into Anton Fouquet's workshop with help from Giancarlo, and subsequently the two men returned to the workshop where after some bickering Giancarlo stole several more things, including a golden paper weight and a strange brass and glass contraption. After this brief burglary, Giancarlo returned to Misteline's apartment and Rufus returned to his own place to change his clothes and burn those which were filthy and pitch marked.
16th Marts. 1625
Every one awoke with the rising sun, and the Faustini's immediately set about the pantry. Misteline and Rufus went to Rufus's studio to hide half of the samples taken from Anton Fouquet's workshop and to investigate Father Caltrop's room where they found nothing had changed, and so they then returned to Misteline's apartment where they ate breakfast. As he ate, Misteline wrote a letter to Marshal Quartermoon to tell him about the nights events and warn him about the Lady Trueblood. This letter was then taken to the Citadel by Marmaduke, who eventually handed it to a secretary. In the meantime, Misteline noted the elaborate artefact of brass and glass that Giancarlo had stolen from Anton Fouquet's workshop, but apart from noting its general resemblence to a half made oil lamp he was unable to identify it.
Rufus went to see Belinda, leaving Misteline under the protection of the Faustini brothers, and found her in the company of her brother Pedro, and in some distress for having heard of the death of Diego Monte-Banquo. Rufus, whilst comforting Belinda, noted Pedro's wooden expression and concluded that the Faustini brothers had probably done away with his competitor, possibly in conjunction with his Godfather. Luigi then arrived bearing the flowers Rufus had charged him to find the day before. Despite these distractions, Rufus managed to get Belinda alone and promised her eternal friendship. Belinda however had other emotions in mind and soon they were both professing their undying love to each other.
Misteline and Giancarlo, breaking the law!
Back at Misteline's, the wily old artist became aware that Giancarlo was not present. He searched around the house for him and found him picking at the lock to Doctor Giffshank's apartment. Never one to pass up an opportunity, Misteline joined the young Castelopean and together they entered the uppermost apartment of Mrs Crimpstock's house. Within, the two men found a wealth of ancient paintings, sculptures and other objects d'art, which were so old and rare that despite his experience, Misteline was unable to accurately identify. Very quickly Misteline found a library containing something like two hundred books and manuscripts, and quite a few loose sheets of paper that indicated Doctor Giffshank was prone to writing verse.
The next room proved to be Giffshank's bedroom and here Misteline discovered an erotic print hanging on the back of the door and a dusty box under the bed. The print proved to be of a paederastic nature and the box, much to Giancarlo's disgust, contained three exotic phalluses, one of bronze, one of wood and a third of marble. The box was replaced and the two men then entered the next room which was Edna Shufflewick's bedroom. Here they found clothes, a lot of jewellry and another box under a bed. This box was bigger and locked with two seperate locks. Giancarlo reckoned he could open it, but it would take time so it was decided to search the next and last room first.
The last room proved to be locked and without an apparent lock but a thorough examination soon showed the lock to be concealed in the wall rather than in the door and Giancarlo soon had the door open. The last room proved to be a study, dominated by a desk upon which sat a remarkable model which Misteline immediately examined but was unable to fully understand. Scattered around the room and upon the desk were a great many papers illustrated by mathematical diagrams and equations and though he struggled to make sense of them, Misteline recognised them as pertaining to geometry, curves and the trajectories of heavenly bodies. It seemed to Misteline that Doctor Giffshank was working on some kind of armoured cupola containing a weapon. The model on the table appeared to be a tubular object, mounted on a slide, underneath a metal dome shaped shield. Misteline helped himself to Giffshank's notes.
Whilst Misteline was engaged in the study, Giancarlo worked on the strong box and such was his skill that despite the expensive locks had it open within thirty minutes. Inside was a considerable sum of money, at least twenty thousand crowns, and the two men immediately divided it between themselves. Misteline took his share down to his bedroom and hid it there for the time being, whilst Giancarlo tried to sneak his share past his brothers. He succeeded, but only until he reached the hotel where his swag was discovered by Pedro.
Marmaduke, fetched a wagon and a horse to move things to the 'Eel and Spindle', and brought them into the courtyard but before anything could be loaded Marlowe arrived and explained to Misteline that Marshal Quartermoon had received his letter and he would do what he could to find out where the Lady Trueblood was heading for. Rufus returned as Marlowe left and the three companions debated what to do next. Misteline was certain the house was being watched and that the presence of the Faustini brothers was all that was keeping them safe. Rufus was less cautious and favoured some form of direct action rather than idle chatter.
Misteline hid the money and jewelry he had stolen from Edna Shufflewick in a bronze statuette (a study for his great equine statue) and this was placed on the wagon whilst Rufus and Marmaduke moved various things back and forth from Misteline's studio to Marmaduke's workshop in order to obfuscate any observors as to what they were about. Having done this, they then mounted the wagon and set off for the 'Eel and Spindle' with Rufus examining houses along the way, making a great deal of looking for a new home for his happy future with Belinda.
Misteline went to find Nicolet to ask her advice with regards to giving Father Caltrop his money back, but Nicolet had little to say on the matter so Misteline returned to his home, which was still occupied by five Faustinis, and set about some small experiments with the black powder samples taken from Captain Fouquet's workshop. Sure enough, they proved to be either inflammatory or downright explosive.
As they returned a few hours later, Rufus still loudly commenting upon suitable buildings in the Garden District, Maramduke noticed people were rushing by with concerned faces. Something appeared to have happened to affect the public mood, and sure enough, at the next crossroads, they encountered a town cryer who was shouting the news that the dreaded plague known as the Sot had arrived in Serrensima.
Thus ends the second Chapter of Captain Fouquet
