Author's Notes: Hello everyone, thanks for reading my story as always I don't own Warhammer, Games Workshop does.
Traveling with the caravan, while safer, was far slower and it was more than a week before they reached Averheim. Karl, however, did not mind, he was in no hurry after all and found he rather enjoyed it. He had not traveled in the company of others in a non-life threating situation since he first went to Altdorf and this company was far more congenial than Wilhelmina had been.
Werner was always polite and could often be persuaded to talk about some of his past investigations. Karl was fascinated by them. Werner was a talented story teller and spun tales of searching for clues, shifting truth from lies and desperate pursuits.
Sir Mettellas was also a good travelling companion. True to his word he took Karl aside every night when they made camp and for an hour or two taught him swordsmanship. Karl was a quick study, though of course far from a master; which would take years of training. Regardless, Sir Mettellas praised his efforts and announced his confidence that Karl had a better than average chance of living long enough to gain experience, the finest teacher of all.
The Dwarfs were a strange lot. They rose before dawn and seemed capable of going all day without tiring. At night they kept to themselves and spoke to one another in their deep guttural tongue. Occasionally though; usually after they had partaken of a large quantity of ale, of which they never seemed to run short, they would burst into song which seemed to make the ground shake. Or one could be persuaded to tell a tale. Karl enjoyed these as they were always tales of great battles or brave adventurers of the Dwarfs.
Though they maintained a constant vigilance they saw no further sign of the Orcs. Neither were they attacked by bandits. Karl supposed a caravan of armed Dwarfs was more than most brigands were willing to trifle with. Thus, they were able to reach Averheim without further incident.
At a distance the city seemed the same as any other that Karl had visited. Built on a bluff between two rivers it sported the high walls and towers that Karl had come to associate with cities. At the highest point of the city there stood a tall, strongly build castle.
As they drew closer Karl noticed something that was different, the smell of cattle. While the smell of cattle was present in every city, here it was near overwhelming to Karl's sensitive nose. As they drew nearer Karl saw why. Great herds of cattle were being driven into the city, here and there he saw fights break out between drovers from different herds. Inside the city were even more herds of cattle.
Everywhere Karl looked he saw men inspecting the cattle while drovers and their employers shouted out praises of their herds or hurled derision on the herds of others. Here, as it had outside the city, this resulted in a number of brawls.
While these drew a number of spectators, more than one of whom placed bets on the outcome while cheering the fighters on; Karl saw surprisingly few members of the City Watch. Even when they did appear they seemed far less forceful than their counter-parts in other cities. Feeling himself watched he looked about and saw more than one speculative eye appraising the wagons of the caravan, though no one accosted them.
Nudging his horse alongside Werner he mentioned this. The man nodded and his face was grim. "Indeed, I knew things had gotten bad but I had not realized how bad."
"What has caused this?" Karl asked him.
"Ever since the Elector Count Marius Leitdorf was killed fighting Orcs several years ago no one has taken his place. Oh, there are claimants aplenty, members of his family and others besides. As none have so far been able to secure the position it remains vacant. Since this has left the minor nobles and merchants free to run their own affairs many are quite willing to see this state of affairs continue."
The caravan continued on. Eventually they passed beyond the cattle market and into a quieter, more orderly section of the city. Here, in addition to numerous warehouses, Karl saw a number of Dwarfs about. The caravan came to a halt in front of a group of them. As the Dwarfs began to unload the wagons Thorick Ironbeard turned to address Werner.
"Well, this is where we part ways manling. May your goddess be with you, I think you'll need it here, things being as they are."
As Werner was making his reply another Dwarf came up to Karl and indicated that he wished to speak to him. As Karl dismounted he saw it was the Dwarf whose life he had saved when he first joined them.
"I wanted to thank you manling before we part ways." He said in a deep gruff voice.
"I accept, though there is no need." Karl said.
"Aye, there is. I wanted to give you this token of my gratitude." He brought forth a pistol. It was like none Karl had ever seen. Instead of the have one barrel this one had three arranged in a triangular shape attached to some sort of mechanism which rotated the barrels whenever the hammer was cocked. He also gave Karl a steel powder horn and a leather bag of shot.
Karl took the weapon. "This is a fine gift indeed and I gladly accept."
"Indeed, it is good to have a proper weapon with you in addition to that lump you carry." The Dwarf said. "I am Snorri Ironbeard, sister-son of Thorick Ironbeard of Karak Angazhar and I and my clan are in your debt. You are welcome to the hospitality of my clan if ever you should visit Karak Angazhar." So saying, he bowed and went to join his fellows.
As Karl stood admiring his new weapon and resolving to learn how to use it Sir Mettellas came up to him. "My, that is a fine weapon. As a knight I am not supposed to hold with such weapons but I did my share of dueling and I can appreciate a fine piece.
"Well, I came to say farewell, for I must be on my way. My order has a chapter house here and I am expected. Fare thee well and may Myrmidia keep you smart."
"And may Sigmar and Ulric keep you strong." Karl responded.
As Mettellas rode away Werner came up to Karl. "Have you plans for your time here in the city?" He asked.
"No. I don't know anyone here neither do I have any plans." Karl responded.
"Well, that being the case, perhaps you would be willing to assist me in my investigations. I have come here at the request of a friend of mine, a former pupil, Ernst Von Rohm, who is now Lord High Justice of Averheim. In the letter he sent me he said that he believed a number of recent events were somehow connected and he feared that they were meant to harm this city in some manner. Due to the current political situation his powers and resources are somewhat limited and he asked for my help. Seeing how bad things have become here I would appreciate a strong assistant to aid me in my enquirers what do you say?"
Karl thought about it for a moment. He had planned on enjoying himself and not getting involved in anything like this. On the other hand, Werner' stories had been very interesting and it might be fun to be a part of one. He looked at Werner and nodded in agreement.
"Exhalent," Werner said; "Let's be off then."
They rode towards the upper class part of the city. They stopped in front of a large official looking building and several grooms took their horses. At the entrance several members of the City Watch moved to halt them but Werner produced a letter from the Lord High Justice. Karl wasn't sure if they could read the letter, he knew he couldn't, but they recognized the seal on it and let them through.
Werner seemed to know where they were going and navigated without help the maze of halls, stairs and passages. Arriving at a large door Werner gave it several sturdy knocks. "Enter." Came a deep voice from within.
Entering the room Karl saw a large dark room dominated by a great desk, as big as a table, piled high with papers at the back of the room. The wall behind it was dominated by a large painting of a man clad in archaic armor. Sitting behind the desk was the rooms' sole occupant. He was a middle-aged man, powerfully built but beginning to run to fat. His hair was gray and thinning but his eyes were a piercing green. On a chain he wore a badge of office and his cloths were of the finest quality.
A smile creased the man's face when he saw Werner. "Ah, Brother Werner, it is very good to see you."
"And to see you as well," replied Werner, also smiling; "Allow me to introduce Karl Richter, a fine young man whom I have taken on as an assistant to aid me in helping you."
"My lord." Said Karl, giving the man a bow.
The man nodded in acknowledgement and turned back to Werner and the smile left his face. "Ah yes my problem. I must say I am glad you have come, because quite frankly I am quite lost in the mess. There have been several murders, not terribly surprising really. Ever since the Elector Count died the great families have been feuding for his position. In the meantime funding for the Watch has dwindled and our capabilities have dwindled with them.
"Now these recent murders have all been members of prominent families, families who either claim the title of Elector Count, or support one of the families that do. While there has been violence before, I suspect the great families have influence with the large gangs that are now roaming the city, the families have rarely attacked one another. If they are involved this means the game they have been playing is changing."
"You seem to have some reservations." Werner noted.
"I do." Rohm agreed. "This change doesn't seem right. These murders have harmed all the claimants to one degree or another. It almost seems that whoever is doing it wants this feuding to continue or even increase."
"Who would desire such a state of affairs?"
"Who would not?" Rohm cried, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "Without a Count no new taxes or laws may pass and you may be sure the guilds and nobles are profiting from it. That is another problem to this case. Half the province benefits from these deaths! And yet…" He trailed off looking confused."
"And yet?" Werner inquired after several seconds of silence.
"And yet, in a way this hurts them as well. If the violence increases it could lead to a civil war here which would not benefit them, if for no other reason than that the victor would be the new Count."
"So you suspect an outsider?"
"It seems logical but I cannot say who. I know you are far cleverer than I am in such matters so I wrote to you asking for help."
"You flatter me," Werner said smiling; "But you are right, this is a very serious and confusing matter. I shall begin my investigation at once."
"Thank you." Rohm sighed in relief.
"Now to begin with, I shall need a list of who has been murdered along with all of the relevant details."
Rohm nodded and produced a number of files. "Here they are. There have been five murders to date. Elise Leitdorf, she supported her uncle Albert Leitdorf. Hans Leitdorf, he was Elise's second cousin and he was in favor of his aunt Margaret Leitdorf. Next we have Johan Alptraum. They were the old Elector Counts till the Leitdorfs stole it from them in a coup. After that we have Maxwell Stoker, son of the guild of meat curers, very powerful in this city, they favor the Leitdorf cause. Finally we have Katharine Von Galt, daughter of Gerhard Von Galt very old family, lost a good deal of their money the past few generations but still carry a great deal of influence, was rumored to have ambitions for the title themselves.
"All were murdered in their own homes. All were either poisoned or stabbed multiple times. Witnesses' accounts vary from one to a half dozen attackers. None of my informants have found any underworld connection and all the families are denying responsibility, while at the same time accusing their rivals and threatening revenge."
"Thank you," Werner said rising and bowing, Karl did the same while gathering up the files; "I shall begin at once and I shall not rest till the killers are brought to justice."
Author's Notes: Well what did you think, as I wrote before this arc will be a mystery. I have never done this before so let me know if you see problems. Please keep praying for Shawn and all who need it especially the persecuted Christian Church in Asia and Africa. Bye for now and may Jesus bless you all.