Author's Notes: Hey everyone, glad you like the story so far, as always I own nothing Games Workshop does.
After gathering their possessions Karl returned to the new inn they were staying at. He saw no further sign of his pursuer and arrived without incident. Upon his arrival he told Werner about the encounter, only leaving out the part about his smelling the man.
"Well," Werner said at the conclusion of his story; "It is certainly an interesting shadow we have tailing us, I should very much like to speak with this acrobatic individual."
"I am sorry I lost him." Karl said apologetically.
"Not your fault. This man is gone for now but I am certain that we shall meet again. Till then; we can spend our time more profitably going over what we learned today."
"Well," Karl said; "We know that Max was into something and was being paid well for it. Do you think it was the murder of Maxwell?"
"I doubt it." Werner said. "While he was clearly being paid to do something, assassination seems unlikely. Whoever hired him clearly has money and if they have money; then they could have hired a professional and not have to trust a kitchen boy, who might very well bungle it and knowing he would give up whoever hired him as soon as he was caught."
"Who do you think hired him?"
"Let us consider what he told Olga. That he was going places. That he was going to be a somebody. That he was going to marry her and make her a lady. Now assuming he was telling the truth, and right now we have no evidence that he wasn't, then we begin to get a picture of his mysterious patron. They have to have both money and the ability to elevate a person's social status.
"It would help if we knew what he was being paid to do." Karl said. "If was not assassination, then what?"
"I am not certain as to the what. If the theory that all these killings are politically motivated is correct, and we cannot entirely discount the possibility that the motive lies elsewhere; then the most likely suspects are the Alptraums. The Stokers are partisans of the Leitdorfs, so they would have no reason to harm them, and Von Galt is too poor to be this mysterious patron. Tomorrow we shall call on the Alptraums to investigate Johan Alptraum's death; while there we shall see if we can determine if Max was in their employ."
They retired soon afterwards. Karl found that sleep would not come easily. Several times he got up and looked out the window seeking either sight or smell of their pursuer but there was nothing. Part of him hoped they had lost their unknown tracker so they could focus on their investigation. Another part of him wanted a confrontation. The man, whoever he was, doubtless had information that they would find useful. Besides, the wolf in him hated being hunted and longed to go head to head with the man.
The next morning Werner sent a message to the Alptraum estate explaining his business and requesting an audience. He explained that the Alptraums, and for that matter the Leidorfs, were simply too important to approach unannounced, letter from the Lord High Justice or no. The answer came an hour later in the form of a carriage bearing a page with orders to escort them to the Alptraum estate.
They were taken to a large country estate outside the walls. It was a grand estate, larger than Von Galt's and perfectly maintained. They walked through a large garden with decorative shrubbery and dotted with statuary of heroes of the Empire.
They were taken to a study where Fredrik Von Alptraum, the head of the family awaited them. He was a tall man; of middle years but still maintaining the hard muscles acquired by years of vigorous activity, dressed in the latest fashion. As they bowed he stroked his short, graying beard.
"I greet you," He said at last; "I am glad that you have come to uncover the truth of these murders."
"In deed," Werner said apologetically; "And though it pains me to have to do so; might I have you recount what happened the night your son died? I have read the Lord High Justice's file, of course, but I would be grateful for the account of someone who was there when the tragedy occurred."
"Indeed, very well; it was three weeks ago. My son was just getting ready to leave the house for the evening. There was a lecture being given about the Battle of Blackfire Pass, ever since he was young Johan wanted to be an officer of the state troops so he went to hear lectures on military history whenever possible.
"Just as he was heading towards the carriage he was attacked by three men, they must have hidden themselves in the shrubbery." Here Alptraum had to pause and take a deep breath before he could continue. "They threw him to the ground and stabbed him multiple times. I heard his cries and with my other son, Sebastian, we rushed out and tried to drive them off. Unfortunately, neither of us was armed and Sebastian received a deep cut on his arm."
"I must confess my amazement that either of you survived." Werner remarked.
"There was nothing amazing about it." Alptraum said with a snort. "If they had wanted to they could have killed us as well. But they didn't, they just kept us at bay till they were done with Johan; once it was clear he was dead they took to their heels."
"And you have no idea who they were, you could not describe them?" Werner asked.
Alptraum's face grew angry. "No, I could not describe them. The light was fading and they were hooded. But I have no doubt who sent them. Those damned Leidorfs! That pack of loons stole the title of Elector from my family and now that we seek to reclaim what is ours they resort to murder! I must confess I am surprised the Lord High Justice has you looking into my son's death. Everyone knows that he is in the Leidorfs' pocket."
Werner ignored that remark and instead asked; "If I may if that were the case, why didn't they kill you and your other son?"
This seemed to take the man off guard, he was silent for a moment then said lamely; "I have no idea."
"I see, do you know if your son had any enemies or undesirable friends?"
"No, he did not," the other man snapped angrily; "He was a well-behaved young man. I think I can see why you are here after all; you're here to make sure the Leidorfs are kept out of the whole affair. I think I have said all I am willing to say, good day."
As they walked towards the door they met a young man who bore a striking resemblance to Von Alptraum; though younger and running to fat. "Good day gentlemen. I trust Father wasn't too rude. Allow me to apologize on his behalf; my poor brother's death has weighed heavily on him."
"Think nothing of it." Werner said smiling. "And please, allow me to offer you my condolences on your tragic loose."
"I thank you sir." Sebastian said with a bow.
"Oh," said Werner, almost as an afterthought; "As you may know, we are investigating all of the recent deaths. While we were at the Stokers they mentioned a missing kitchen boy, Max I believe his name was, anyway they inferred he may have been hired by your family to perform some service. They even indicated that the poisoning of Maxwell Stoker was what he was being paid for."
At the mention Max Sebastian went stiff. When poison was mentioned, however, he relaxed. "Utter nonsense." He said indignantly. "As if we would do something so dishonorable, even to a family of jumped up tradesmen fawning over those lunatic Leidorfs."
"Glad to hear it. Knew there wasn't any truth in it of course, but you know how these things are. Well, I shan't keep you and longer; again my sympathies." With that they left the house.
As they walked back, Fredrik Von Alptraum making his displeasure known by not offering them the use of his carriage, they discussed the case.
"He was lying wasn't he, Sebastian I mean." Karl said.
"Oh, indeed he was," Werner agreed; "I fear that young man is not the conspirator his father is. So, now we can confirm that Max is, or at least was, in the pay of the Alptraums. But not, apparently, to murder a member of the Stoker house."
"Then what?" Karl asked.
"I do not know." Werner confessed.
As they walked towards the city gates their attention was caught by a commotion. In a field near the city a number of tents were being raised. They were unusual affairs, all made of brightly colored material. Erecting them were dark skinned men and women in similar bright colors. Something about them struck Karl as familiar but he couldn't place it.
"Who are they?" He asked Werner.
"Strigany, the wandering folk. They have no permanent home and wander from place to place, though it is unusual for them to come this far north, usually the stay farther south."
"I've heard of them." Karl interjected. "Aren't they supposed to be thieves and such?"
Werner sighed. "That is the popular belief; thieves and worse, and I dare say some of them are. That kind is to be found everywhere. More often than not they are simply strangers with strange customs and it is easier to blame such people for trouble."
Karl nodded; he was pretty much in the same boat if his secret were ever to come out. Still, he fell a little behind Werner and inhaled deeply with his nostrils. The wind was coming from them and carried their scent to him. They were a mixture of odd smells, many he could not place, but he did not smell any of the foul smells that he had smelled on the Beastmen or cultists. Satisfied he turned and hurried to catch up.
By the time they returned to the city it was about noon. They entered the first tavern they found and ordered sausages and beer. As they ate they went over what Fredrik Von Alptraum had told them and what they had learned from his son.
"Odd, the way they were just waiting for him like that, they ran an awful risk of being spotted didn't they?" How did they know when he was going out anyway?" Karl asked.
"Yes, it does seem that they took a great risk, I confess I cannot explain it. As too the second part there is several possible explanations. They could have been watching the house for some time waiting for an opportunity. They might have a spy among the servants who signaled them somehow when Johan was leaving the house.
"Of course there is the possibility that they were not targeting him specifically. Remember how Rohm said how these murders seem more targeted towards continuing the political feud, or even expanding it? This theory is borne out by what happened there. The attackers killed one member of the family that is all. They had the opportunity, if they had wanted to, to wipe out that entire branch of the family, effectively removing them from the game. Instead, they only ensure that things become more vicious as his father, and indeed all the other families as well, seek revenge. It is a puzzle."
After paying for their meal they left and headed back to their inn. As they went along Karl got an annoyingly familiar tingling in the back of his neck. "Our friend is back." He whispered under his breath.
"I know," Werner muttered back under his breath; "And he has brought some friends too."
Casting his gaze about Karl saw he was right. Scattered throughout the crowd were about half a dozen rough looking men. They were all clad in dirty cloths, one or two sporting vests of boiled leather, and all were clearly armed. They had the look of back alley toughs and they clearly knew their business. As they walked along they fanned out, some on either side, clearly trying to herd Karl and Werner somewhere quieter. Even as he considered his options Karl noticed that he did not smell their earlier follower among their potential assailants, he must have left the job to his friends.
"What do you want to do? " He said under his breath.
"We cannot hope to evade them; and I don't see any members of the Watch. There," he said, indicating an alley with his chin; "We'll go in there and turn and face them, hardly ideal but this way they all have to come at us from the front."
Karl nodded. As soon as they drew close to the alley they bolted towards it. As they ran down it they heard the sound of boots thundering in pursuit of them. At a signal from Werner they turned to face those chasing them. As they did Karl drew his sword and Werner produced a long knife from his robe.
Their sudden halt caused their pursuers to draw up short. For a moment they all stared at each other. For a moment Karl thought they might not attack, his sword gave him a longer reach and the alley was too narrow for them to take full advantage of their numbers.
Then the one who seemed to be the leader smiled, revealing yellowing teeth and not a few gaps. "Nice pig-sticker, but not a good choice for right now," turning back to his fellows he yelled; "Take 'em lads!"
The men rushed at them. Karl quickly found himself at a severe disadvantage and realized what the man had meant. While his sword gave him an advantage in reach; and in an open field would have been a far better weapon than their clubs and knives, in the narrow alley he did not have enough room to wield it properly. Also, he was used to fighting in wider areas, when he tried to move around he kept banging into things; while his opponents; all veteran street brawlers, took full advantage.
Soon he was sporting several bruises and cuts, in the half light of the alley they did not see the wounds healing. Karl soon found himself separated from Werner. Karl suddenly felt his breath cut short as a thin cord was wrapped around his neck. Dropping his sword he clawed at the cord but was unable to get his fingers under it. Forcing himself not to panic, he drove his elbow into the man's stomach; putting more than human strength into it.
He heard a whoosh of air as it was driven from the man's lungs and the cord went slack and air reentered his lungs. Grasping the cord he dropped down and lunged forward while pulling on the cord, dragging the man over him and dropping him on the ground in front of him. Karl promptly stomped down on the man so hard heard the man's skull crack under his boot.
Turning to look for Werner he found the man on the ground, blood flowing from his scalp; another of their attackers lay dead near him. Just then two of his attackers grabbed his arms while the leader and another of them came at him with knives, clearly intending to gut Karl. Suddenly the leader stiffened and Karl saw a thin trickle of blood running down the man's throat. He fell forward and Karl saw that a thin knife was sticking out of the back of the man's neck.
The fellow advancing spun around to try to locate the attacker. He was rewarded for his efforts with a second knife in his left eye. As he fell to the ground the man holding Karl's left arm suddenly released him with a strangled cry. He was suddenly hoisted several feet off of the ground and Karl saw that a noose had been let down from the building they were standing beside and then drawn taught.
Seizing the opportunity, Karl swung his now free arm in a punch that stunned his other attacker. With both arms now free he grabbed the man on both sides of his head and twisted till he heard the man's neck snap. He cast his gaze about looking for their benefactors but he and Werner were alone with the bodies in the alleyway.
Going up to the leader of the thugs' body he pulled the knife out. Wiping the blood off he tucked it into his belt, perhaps Werner would know something about it. Thinking of Werner he suddenly remembered the condition he had last seen the man in. Quickly he hurried over to the man.
Blood still dripped from the man's head but he was beginning to stir, groaning softly in pain. Karl tore of piece of cloth from the shirt of one of the bodies and wrapped it around Werner's scalp. Gently as he could he picked Werner up and headed back towards the street, he thought he remembered a temple of Shallya nearby, they would be able to properly dress Werner's injuries there, his own had already regenerated.
As he walked towards the street his nose caught a familiar smell. The smell of sweat, horses, tobacco and the countryside. It seemed their unknown friend was a bit friendlier than they had thought.
Author's Notes: Hey, hoped you liked it, a little action for those who missed it. Strigany- are, as they sounded, based on Stereotype Gipsy and are as popular as their real-world ancestors of that time were for mostly the same reasons except these are also believed to be associated with vampires. As you can see one more chapter so onwards. . Please keep praying for Shawn, persecuted Christians, Saeed Abedini and everyone else who needs it, including Amir Hekmati, an American in poor health being held in Iran. Bye for now and may Jesus bless you all.