WEBVTT
00:00:00.959 --> 00:00:17.359
This podcast is rated as filthy! Ha ha! Filthy! It's not until the incident of the road agents that I really begin to see what quality my fellow coach outriders have.
00:00:17.839 --> 00:00:21.519
Up to that time, they've been good enough companions on the road.
00:00:21.760 --> 00:00:25.760
Didn't react badly at the incident of the nun.
00:00:25.920 --> 00:00:28.160
But now Hans the drunk.
00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:31.359
Doralan, the exiled noble.
00:00:32.159 --> 00:00:35.280
Alva, fighting woman from the slums.
00:00:36.159 --> 00:00:40.079
I get to see how they face steel and bow.
00:00:41.759 --> 00:00:44.719
Of course, I make matters worse.
00:00:45.039 --> 00:00:47.600
I start with my usual introduction.
00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:49.200
But I mess it up.
00:00:49.439 --> 00:00:52.079
Stammer something like, I'm dead, Todd.
00:00:52.240 --> 00:00:53.840
They all burst out laughing.
00:00:54.000 --> 00:00:59.439
Then, the road agent with a war hammer lets fly a string of thou cursors.
00:00:59.600 --> 00:01:05.120
And the boar spear man starts circling around, looking for a rib to stick it through.
00:01:05.359 --> 00:01:09.280
The one with the crossbow, she's still got a beat on me.
00:01:09.599 --> 00:01:18.239
In the corner of my eye, I see Alva looking at me, disgusted like, and I think I hear a couple of weapons from the other two hitting the ground.
00:01:18.560 --> 00:01:19.359
Not good.
00:01:19.599 --> 00:01:27.439
Welcome dear listener to episode one of Power Behind the Throne, the third module in Enemy Within.
00:01:28.560 --> 00:01:40.640
And as you probably know by now, I'm using Black Powder and Brimstone as my core rulebook, and Solo Borg as my oracle as I attempt to follow the plot.
00:01:41.519 --> 00:01:48.799
In case the disclaimer at the front of the show did not warn you that this is not a PG show.
00:01:49.519 --> 00:01:59.200
Chaos, depravity, and unspeakable vileness that stalk the roads and cities of the now decayed empire.
00:01:59.519 --> 00:02:12.960
We last met Todd in utter defeat, limping out with Balakanyon's fine riding horse, not his legally, and Renata, to see if he could find his way back to Alpdorf.
00:02:13.280 --> 00:02:16.879
There's obviously been quite a lot of water under the bridge since then.
00:02:17.360 --> 00:02:24.240
Let's listen to Todd as he attempts to fill us in on his travails in between these times.
00:02:24.960 --> 00:02:35.680
As I swing down off my riding hack and pretend to offer this Vihander and surrender, I think to myself it's a good thing I don't still have Balakanyon's fine horse.
00:02:35.919 --> 00:02:39.919
We traded that to some of Renata's people, the Stragani.
00:02:40.400 --> 00:02:48.319
That was enough for this horse, and what you'd call a mule kind of horse, and I didn't need to ask about the ownership of either.
00:02:49.520 --> 00:02:56.080
If you missed the fate of the Berebelli and its small crew, take it from me.
00:02:56.319 --> 00:02:58.000
It came to a bad end.
00:02:58.719 --> 00:03:04.960
It is included in the finale of Death on the Reich as a kind of epilogue.
00:03:05.199 --> 00:03:11.919
I think it was in Altdorf that I came up with the idea of disguising Renata as a nun.
00:03:12.319 --> 00:03:13.360
A Shalian.
00:03:14.719 --> 00:03:17.680
A full habit covers up her tattoos.
00:03:17.919 --> 00:03:22.560
Yeah, she'd had to explain a lot to me as we traveled alone together.
00:03:22.800 --> 00:03:27.120
I suppose it was nearer a hundred miles or so to Altdorf.
00:03:27.280 --> 00:03:30.560
I learned that she's a witch of the Stragani.
00:03:30.800 --> 00:03:36.319
And I believe that a witch loses her power if she lies with a man.
00:03:36.800 --> 00:03:44.639
I think there had been quite a lot of hints that Renata had power, not just training in classical languages.
00:03:45.199 --> 00:03:51.520
But Todd is less aware of the supernatural than he is of everyday military threats.
00:03:53.840 --> 00:03:57.439
And outdoor, I begin to pick up the pieces.
00:03:57.680 --> 00:04:03.039
Of course, I make a report back to Vebel, the owner of the Bereboli.
00:04:03.599 --> 00:04:05.680
But there's really not much to say.
00:04:06.080 --> 00:04:07.919
It's a complete loss.
00:04:08.719 --> 00:04:17.040
I hear about mercenary work in the north, and that recollects me and Renata too, about the marks on Dagbar's map.
00:04:17.199 --> 00:04:21.759
As to where Moorsley, the Green Moon makes its crosses.
00:04:21.920 --> 00:04:23.759
One of them is in Midnight.
00:04:24.319 --> 00:04:32.000
My oath to Sigmar and the gift of Barakol still binds me to seek out chaos and destroy it.
00:04:32.800 --> 00:04:38.240
And then events start coming together as though Sigmar himself wills it.
00:04:38.480 --> 00:04:42.959
I'm already studied up on coach lines that run to Midnight.
00:04:43.360 --> 00:04:44.079
There are three.
00:04:44.240 --> 00:04:48.399
One of them appeals to me, little Hieron Outriders.
00:04:48.639 --> 00:04:53.839
And I have enough coin to afford Renata an outside passenger seat.
00:04:54.079 --> 00:04:56.720
I'll top the coach along with the baggage.
00:04:56.959 --> 00:04:59.839
That's where the nun's habit will come in handy.
00:04:59.920 --> 00:05:03.199
She can say she's headed up to some convent or other.
00:05:03.519 --> 00:05:06.720
Though the more silent she is, the better.
00:05:07.040 --> 00:05:10.720
She does speak with a Strigani accent, after all.
00:05:11.600 --> 00:05:24.720
The hook between Death on the Reich and a Power Behind the Throne is incredibly weak, especially for players who have found, to their bitter cost, that the writers are very willing to troll them.
00:05:25.040 --> 00:05:33.360
So when the Purple Hand shows its hand and tries to hoodwink Todd, he's well aware that it could be a trap.
00:05:33.839 --> 00:05:36.959
And he plans to at least protect himself.
00:05:37.199 --> 00:05:40.959
At the same time, he's already making plans to travel to Middenheim.
00:05:41.360 --> 00:05:47.680
Because that seems to be where the Moon Warsley might be throwing down another chunk of warpstone.
00:05:47.839 --> 00:05:51.040
He is pledged to fight chaos after all.
00:05:52.560 --> 00:05:58.480
As for Castle Leberong, Insight Passenger, he comes a little later in my story.
00:05:58.639 --> 00:06:03.040
But to explain, it's the meetup through Vermont that brings it up.
00:06:03.279 --> 00:06:07.600
I learned that Vermont wants to set up a meeting with uh Max Wagner.
00:06:07.759 --> 00:06:09.519
Pretty sure I've never met him before.
00:06:09.759 --> 00:06:11.279
I hire a snitch.
00:06:11.519 --> 00:06:15.920
Max Wagner is working for a Matthias Blucher, a rich house.
00:06:16.160 --> 00:06:17.839
Never met him before either.
00:06:18.000 --> 00:06:23.120
But he has regular meetings with people that wear bits of purple in their outfit.
00:06:23.360 --> 00:06:25.040
Yeah, purple hand.
00:06:25.360 --> 00:06:29.759
Still interested in Castor Liberon, Magistar and Padimente.
00:06:30.399 --> 00:06:36.319
Seems I've killed too many of them too quick for them to figure out I'm not Casteliberong.
00:06:36.560 --> 00:06:39.040
I play along, demand money up front.
00:06:39.360 --> 00:06:42.800
At the same time, I'm hiring a stooge.
00:06:43.279 --> 00:06:48.800
Someone who looks enough like me to pass if dressed upright.
00:06:49.040 --> 00:06:51.040
He'll be my Casteliberong.
00:06:51.199 --> 00:06:53.439
He'll be the one that signs the contract.
00:06:53.600 --> 00:06:58.959
And I'm right, neither Wagner nor this Matthias, his boss, have ever met me.
00:06:59.199 --> 00:07:02.240
I stay in the background, disguised.
00:07:02.560 --> 00:07:08.079
The fake Casteliberong signs a contract and takes the consignment.
00:07:08.399 --> 00:07:09.759
A heavy box.
00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:12.240
60 gold crowns up front.
00:07:12.480 --> 00:07:18.079
Of course, though the contract says it's never to be opened when I get it alone in private.
00:07:18.319 --> 00:07:27.279
Once a counterfeit are taking a cast, me and a pry bar, we have a talk with it, break the seals, and I inspect the insides.
00:07:27.439 --> 00:07:31.040
It's pretty much what you'd expect: a decoy.
00:07:31.439 --> 00:07:38.399
That's when I decide that my castle bron will be an inside passenger in the coach.
00:07:38.639 --> 00:07:40.639
All the way to Middenheim.
00:07:41.600 --> 00:07:47.680
Once I see what the Purple Hand have got in store for him in Middenheim, then I can act.
00:07:47.920 --> 00:07:51.680
Until then, that 60 crowns is a good wage.
00:07:51.920 --> 00:07:53.519
Danger money, you might say.
00:07:53.680 --> 00:07:58.079
There's a number of inside passengers the coach travels full.
00:07:58.399 --> 00:08:04.399
Nobles and semi-nobles, caught connected, or at least pretending to be.
00:08:04.560 --> 00:08:12.000
They'll be safe under us outrighter's watch as we work our way along the road to Middenheim.
00:08:13.040 --> 00:08:15.040
Now I hope that's completely clear.
00:08:15.199 --> 00:08:17.199
Clear as mud, you might say.
00:08:17.439 --> 00:08:23.439
And now that he knows that that was just a decoy cargo, what has Todd got inside the box?
00:08:23.680 --> 00:08:24.800
Well, I don't know.
00:08:25.040 --> 00:08:27.839
But I'm interested to find out when we get to Middenheim.
00:08:28.079 --> 00:08:30.160
Quite a variety of outdoor passengers.
00:08:30.399 --> 00:08:37.279
Renata, obviously, a couple more pilgrims, and a few more traders getting off along the way.
00:08:37.600 --> 00:08:40.879
Those inside, of course, are paying a lot more.
00:08:41.039 --> 00:08:43.200
That's where my car store is.
00:08:45.120 --> 00:08:46.960
Let's see if we can sum it up.
00:08:47.279 --> 00:08:53.600
Todd is travelling as Todd Weiss, Outrider to a coach travelling to Middenheim.
00:08:53.840 --> 00:09:02.240
On top of the coach, Renata is travelling disguised as a Shalian nun, and inside the coach, a fake Casteliberong.
00:09:02.559 --> 00:09:08.000
And he won't be privy to what that fake Castelliberong tells his fellow travellers.
00:09:08.720 --> 00:09:11.919
It's at Friedaheim, our first layover.
00:09:12.639 --> 00:09:15.840
That Renata's disguise really gets tested.
00:09:16.480 --> 00:09:18.480
And we nearly come across.
00:09:18.720 --> 00:09:23.840
A nun of Shadya ought to have known that the convent had been sacked.
00:09:24.399 --> 00:09:27.679
It's one of the other pilgrims that brings it up.
00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:30.240
I can still hear his words.
00:09:31.039 --> 00:09:33.279
Oh my fellow travelers.
00:09:33.840 --> 00:09:37.120
I was one of the mob then, he says.
00:09:37.679 --> 00:09:42.320
But what I saw that day turned me to justice.
00:09:43.440 --> 00:09:54.000
Had you seen what was done by the Puritans to those poor women, young and old alike, to try and deflect things, I say.
00:09:54.720 --> 00:09:57.120
A soldier does what he's ordered to.
00:09:57.759 --> 00:10:02.320
And the pilgrim says, Call them not soldiers.
00:10:02.639 --> 00:10:06.559
Call them beasts, demons, living plagues.
00:10:07.440 --> 00:10:10.879
Well, I've got no truck with the Puritans.
00:10:11.039 --> 00:10:13.440
I know what atrocities they've done.
00:10:13.759 --> 00:10:18.000
I fear to see what Marionburg is like if ever I go there.
00:10:18.559 --> 00:10:21.360
Renata plays it off as best she can.
00:10:21.679 --> 00:10:24.480
Says, Shokava prayer for the fallen.
00:10:24.960 --> 00:10:27.360
If we can just wait for a while.
00:10:27.600 --> 00:10:31.600
So I say, those wishing to live will wait, Sister Nan.
00:10:31.919 --> 00:10:37.200
And when Jan the coachman says, Are you sure you have enough fare to Middenheim?
00:10:37.360 --> 00:10:41.600
I say, I will be her guarantor all the way to Middenheim.
00:10:41.759 --> 00:10:46.480
I guess from there, the other riders know I've got a connection to Renata.
00:10:46.799 --> 00:10:48.080
But can't be helped.
00:10:48.240 --> 00:10:54.000
They don't probe me with questions, which is the first proof that we're gonna get along fine.
00:10:54.879 --> 00:11:06.720
This seems like it would be a good segue in to learn a little bit more about those other outriders and the coachman before we get back into the action that the story began with.
00:11:07.759 --> 00:11:11.759
The coachman, old Jan, seems a very steady hand.
00:11:11.919 --> 00:11:14.399
He's got a blunderbus by the box seat.
00:11:14.639 --> 00:11:25.120
As for the other three riders, as I was saying, Alva, the one with all the weapons, seems the one I'm most likely to get on well with.
00:11:25.279 --> 00:11:30.159
And the name reminds me of a certain very hospitable hostess.
00:11:30.559 --> 00:11:34.960
Hans Hold, the youngster, taken to the bottle too young.
00:11:35.200 --> 00:11:37.679
He won't last long if he keeps that way.
00:11:37.919 --> 00:11:46.799
And Dorlin, the exiled noble, has a mad, sad laugh that tells me he sees doom in front of him.
00:11:47.039 --> 00:11:49.360
Which brings me back to the present moment.
00:11:49.440 --> 00:11:53.840
And I'm using the same flip I've used before to surprise someone.
00:11:54.000 --> 00:12:01.679
Very few men can concentrate on what's going on when there's over a yard of deadly sharp metal whipping towards their face.
00:12:01.840 --> 00:12:05.360
I step and he's between me and the crossbow girl.
00:12:05.440 --> 00:12:06.399
I pick him up.
00:12:06.559 --> 00:12:11.679
I'm too close for him to use the war hammer now, and ram the boar spear man with him.
00:12:11.840 --> 00:12:12.960
Alpha's watching.
00:12:13.120 --> 00:12:14.000
Don't blame her.
00:12:14.159 --> 00:12:18.080
The mess I made trying to cow these three ain't playing in my favor.
00:12:18.399 --> 00:12:23.120
As the boar spear man goes sprawling, the crossbow girl makes a desperation shot.
00:12:23.200 --> 00:12:25.519
And I step and I'm at grab range of her.
00:12:25.679 --> 00:12:28.240
Her arms are even thinner than Renata's.
00:12:28.320 --> 00:12:33.200
And I grab her like a toy and say to the other riders, bring those two down.
00:12:33.600 --> 00:12:47.519
And even as Alva rides in like a hunter against the spearman, and Dolan angles to cut off the Warhammer man, I give the girl a shake and say, How do you come to be on the road, child?
00:12:48.720 --> 00:13:01.840
It's a relief that after the original Nat 1 of his frightening voice attempt, Todd makes up for that by a series of good edgy and strength checks to overcome the road agents.
00:13:03.919 --> 00:13:12.000
She gives me a bit of a story, but I can feel with my own hands that she's not well fit, not well treated.
00:13:12.960 --> 00:13:18.960
I use solo org for about three of the girls' background characteristics.
00:13:19.279 --> 00:13:24.320
And what a role there suggests that the Todd might keep her on alive.
00:13:24.720 --> 00:13:27.200
As opposed to the other two road agents.
00:13:36.879 --> 00:13:40.240
The others are take their heads off quick and clean.
00:13:42.559 --> 00:13:44.480
Dolan gives his laugh again.
00:13:44.720 --> 00:13:46.080
Alva keeps it cold.
00:13:46.320 --> 00:13:49.200
Asks me if I wanted to toss the bodies.
00:13:49.440 --> 00:13:53.200
And I say, The weapons will be worth reselling.
00:13:53.360 --> 00:13:55.440
But keep your hands clear of the bodies.
00:13:55.679 --> 00:13:59.840
They're not worth the dealing and searching them with costure.
00:14:00.159 --> 00:14:01.440
Back in the saddle.
00:14:01.759 --> 00:14:03.360
On to the next station.
00:00:00.959 --> 00:00:17.359
This podcast is rated as filthy! Ha ha! Filthy! It's not until the incident of the road agents that I really begin to see what quality my fellow coach outriders have.
00:00:17.839 --> 00:00:21.519
Up to that time, they've been good enough companions on the road.
00:00:21.760 --> 00:00:25.760
Didn't react badly at the incident of the nun.
00:00:25.920 --> 00:00:28.160
But now Hans the drunk.
00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:31.359
Doralan, the exiled noble.
00:00:32.159 --> 00:00:35.280
Alva, fighting woman from the slums.
00:00:36.159 --> 00:00:40.079
I get to see how they face steel and bow.
00:00:41.759 --> 00:00:44.719
Of course, I make matters worse.
00:00:45.039 --> 00:00:47.600
I start with my usual introduction.
00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:49.200
But I mess it up.
00:00:49.439 --> 00:00:52.079
Stammer something like, I'm dead, Todd.
00:00:52.240 --> 00:00:53.840
They all burst out laughing.
00:00:54.000 --> 00:00:59.439
Then, the road agent with a war hammer lets fly a string of thou cursors.
00:00:59.600 --> 00:01:05.120
And the boar spear man starts circling around, looking for a rib to stick it through.
00:01:05.359 --> 00:01:09.280
The one with the crossbow, she's still got a beat on me.
00:01:09.599 --> 00:01:18.239
In the corner of my eye, I see Alva looking at me, disgusted like, and I think I hear a couple of weapons from the other two hitting the ground.
00:01:18.560 --> 00:01:19.359
Not good.
00:01:19.599 --> 00:01:27.439
Welcome dear listener to episode one of Power Behind the Throne, the third module in Enemy Within.
00:01:28.560 --> 00:01:40.640
And as you probably know by now, I'm using Black Powder and Brimstone as my core rulebook, and Solo Borg as my oracle as I attempt to follow the plot.
00:01:41.519 --> 00:01:48.799
In case the disclaimer at the front of the show did not warn you that this is not a PG show.
00:01:49.519 --> 00:01:59.200
Chaos, depravity, and unspeakable vileness that stalk the roads and cities of the now decayed empire.
00:01:59.519 --> 00:02:12.960
We last met Todd in utter defeat, limping out with Balakanyon's fine riding horse, not his legally, and Renata, to see if he could find his way back to Alpdorf.
00:02:13.280 --> 00:02:16.879
There's obviously been quite a lot of water under the bridge since then.
00:02:17.360 --> 00:02:24.240
Let's listen to Todd as he attempts to fill us in on his travails in between these times.
00:02:24.960 --> 00:02:35.680
As I swing down off my riding hack and pretend to offer this Vihander and surrender, I think to myself it's a good thing I don't still have Balakanyon's fine horse.
00:02:35.919 --> 00:02:39.919
We traded that to some of Renata's people, the Stragani.
00:02:40.400 --> 00:02:48.319
That was enough for this horse, and what you'd call a mule kind of horse, and I didn't need to ask about the ownership of either.
00:02:49.520 --> 00:02:56.080
If you missed the fate of the Berebelli and its small crew, take it from me.
00:02:56.319 --> 00:02:58.000
It came to a bad end.
00:02:58.719 --> 00:03:04.960
It is included in the finale of Death on the Reich as a kind of epilogue.
00:03:05.199 --> 00:03:11.919
I think it was in Altdorf that I came up with the idea of disguising Renata as a nun.
00:03:12.319 --> 00:03:13.360
A Shalian.
00:03:14.719 --> 00:03:17.680
A full habit covers up her tattoos.
00:03:17.919 --> 00:03:22.560
Yeah, she'd had to explain a lot to me as we traveled alone together.
00:03:22.800 --> 00:03:27.120
I suppose it was nearer a hundred miles or so to Altdorf.
00:03:27.280 --> 00:03:30.560
I learned that she's a witch of the Stragani.
00:03:30.800 --> 00:03:36.319
And I believe that a witch loses her power if she lies with a man.
00:03:36.800 --> 00:03:44.639
I think there had been quite a lot of hints that Renata had power, not just training in classical languages.
00:03:45.199 --> 00:03:51.520
But Todd is less aware of the supernatural than he is of everyday military threats.
00:03:53.840 --> 00:03:57.439
And outdoor, I begin to pick up the pieces.
00:03:57.680 --> 00:04:03.039
Of course, I make a report back to Vebel, the owner of the Bereboli.
00:04:03.599 --> 00:04:05.680
But there's really not much to say.
00:04:06.080 --> 00:04:07.919
It's a complete loss.
00:04:08.719 --> 00:04:17.040
I hear about mercenary work in the north, and that recollects me and Renata too, about the marks on Dagbar's map.
00:04:17.199 --> 00:04:21.759
As to where Moorsley, the Green Moon makes its crosses.
00:04:21.920 --> 00:04:23.759
One of them is in Midnight.
00:04:24.319 --> 00:04:32.000
My oath to Sigmar and the gift of Barakol still binds me to seek out chaos and destroy it.
00:04:32.800 --> 00:04:38.240
And then events start coming together as though Sigmar himself wills it.
00:04:38.480 --> 00:04:42.959
I'm already studied up on coach lines that run to Midnight.
00:04:43.360 --> 00:04:44.079
There are three.
00:04:44.240 --> 00:04:48.399
One of them appeals to me, little Hieron Outriders.
00:04:48.639 --> 00:04:53.839
And I have enough coin to afford Renata an outside passenger seat.
00:04:54.079 --> 00:04:56.720
I'll top the coach along with the baggage.
00:04:56.959 --> 00:04:59.839
That's where the nun's habit will come in handy.
00:04:59.920 --> 00:05:03.199
She can say she's headed up to some convent or other.
00:05:03.519 --> 00:05:06.720
Though the more silent she is, the better.
00:05:07.040 --> 00:05:10.720
She does speak with a Strigani accent, after all.
00:05:11.600 --> 00:05:24.720
The hook between Death on the Reich and a Power Behind the Throne is incredibly weak, especially for players who have found, to their bitter cost, that the writers are very willing to troll them.
00:05:25.040 --> 00:05:33.360
So when the Purple Hand shows its hand and tries to hoodwink Todd, he's well aware that it could be a trap.
00:05:33.839 --> 00:05:36.959
And he plans to at least protect himself.
00:05:37.199 --> 00:05:40.959
At the same time, he's already making plans to travel to Middenheim.
00:05:41.360 --> 00:05:47.680
Because that seems to be where the Moon Warsley might be throwing down another chunk of warpstone.
00:05:47.839 --> 00:05:51.040
He is pledged to fight chaos after all.
00:05:52.560 --> 00:05:58.480
As for Castle Leberong, Insight Passenger, he comes a little later in my story.
00:05:58.639 --> 00:06:03.040
But to explain, it's the meetup through Vermont that brings it up.
00:06:03.279 --> 00:06:07.600
I learned that Vermont wants to set up a meeting with uh Max Wagner.
00:06:07.759 --> 00:06:09.519
Pretty sure I've never met him before.
00:06:09.759 --> 00:06:11.279
I hire a snitch.
00:06:11.519 --> 00:06:15.920
Max Wagner is working for a Matthias Blucher, a rich house.
00:06:16.160 --> 00:06:17.839
Never met him before either.
00:06:18.000 --> 00:06:23.120
But he has regular meetings with people that wear bits of purple in their outfit.
00:06:23.360 --> 00:06:25.040
Yeah, purple hand.
00:06:25.360 --> 00:06:29.759
Still interested in Castor Liberon, Magistar and Padimente.
00:06:30.399 --> 00:06:36.319
Seems I've killed too many of them too quick for them to figure out I'm not Casteliberong.
00:06:36.560 --> 00:06:39.040
I play along, demand money up front.
00:06:39.360 --> 00:06:42.800
At the same time, I'm hiring a stooge.
00:06:43.279 --> 00:06:48.800
Someone who looks enough like me to pass if dressed upright.
00:06:49.040 --> 00:06:51.040
He'll be my Casteliberong.
00:06:51.199 --> 00:06:53.439
He'll be the one that signs the contract.
00:06:53.600 --> 00:06:58.959
And I'm right, neither Wagner nor this Matthias, his boss, have ever met me.
00:06:59.199 --> 00:07:02.240
I stay in the background, disguised.
00:07:02.560 --> 00:07:08.079
The fake Casteliberong signs a contract and takes the consignment.
00:07:08.399 --> 00:07:09.759
A heavy box.
00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:12.240
60 gold crowns up front.
00:07:12.480 --> 00:07:18.079
Of course, though the contract says it's never to be opened when I get it alone in private.
00:07:18.319 --> 00:07:27.279
Once a counterfeit are taking a cast, me and a pry bar, we have a talk with it, break the seals, and I inspect the insides.
00:07:27.439 --> 00:07:31.040
It's pretty much what you'd expect: a decoy.
00:07:31.439 --> 00:07:38.399
That's when I decide that my castle bron will be an inside passenger in the coach.
00:07:38.639 --> 00:07:40.639
All the way to Middenheim.
00:07:41.600 --> 00:07:47.680
Once I see what the Purple Hand have got in store for him in Middenheim, then I can act.
00:07:47.920 --> 00:07:51.680
Until then, that 60 crowns is a good wage.
00:07:51.920 --> 00:07:53.519
Danger money, you might say.
00:07:53.680 --> 00:07:58.079
There's a number of inside passengers the coach travels full.
00:07:58.399 --> 00:08:04.399
Nobles and semi-nobles, caught connected, or at least pretending to be.
00:08:04.560 --> 00:08:12.000
They'll be safe under us outrighter's watch as we work our way along the road to Middenheim.
00:08:13.040 --> 00:08:15.040
Now I hope that's completely clear.
00:08:15.199 --> 00:08:17.199
Clear as mud, you might say.
00:08:17.439 --> 00:08:23.439
And now that he knows that that was just a decoy cargo, what has Todd got inside the box?
00:08:23.680 --> 00:08:24.800
Well, I don't know.
00:08:25.040 --> 00:08:27.839
But I'm interested to find out when we get to Middenheim.
00:08:28.079 --> 00:08:30.160
Quite a variety of outdoor passengers.
00:08:30.399 --> 00:08:37.279
Renata, obviously, a couple more pilgrims, and a few more traders getting off along the way.
00:08:37.600 --> 00:08:40.879
Those inside, of course, are paying a lot more.
00:08:41.039 --> 00:08:43.200
That's where my car store is.
00:08:45.120 --> 00:08:46.960
Let's see if we can sum it up.
00:08:47.279 --> 00:08:53.600
Todd is travelling as Todd Weiss, Outrider to a coach travelling to Middenheim.
00:08:53.840 --> 00:09:02.240
On top of the coach, Renata is travelling disguised as a Shalian nun, and inside the coach, a fake Casteliberong.
00:09:02.559 --> 00:09:08.000
And he won't be privy to what that fake Castelliberong tells his fellow travellers.
00:09:08.720 --> 00:09:11.919
It's at Friedaheim, our first layover.
00:09:12.639 --> 00:09:15.840
That Renata's disguise really gets tested.
00:09:16.480 --> 00:09:18.480
And we nearly come across.
00:09:18.720 --> 00:09:23.840
A nun of Shadya ought to have known that the convent had been sacked.
00:09:24.399 --> 00:09:27.679
It's one of the other pilgrims that brings it up.
00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:30.240
I can still hear his words.
00:09:31.039 --> 00:09:33.279
Oh my fellow travelers.
00:09:33.840 --> 00:09:37.120
I was one of the mob then, he says.
00:09:37.679 --> 00:09:42.320
But what I saw that day turned me to justice.
00:09:43.440 --> 00:09:54.000
Had you seen what was done by the Puritans to those poor women, young and old alike, to try and deflect things, I say.
00:09:54.720 --> 00:09:57.120
A soldier does what he's ordered to.
00:09:57.759 --> 00:10:02.320
And the pilgrim says, Call them not soldiers.
00:10:02.639 --> 00:10:06.559
Call them beasts, demons, living plagues.
00:10:07.440 --> 00:10:10.879
Well, I've got no truck with the Puritans.
00:10:11.039 --> 00:10:13.440
I know what atrocities they've done.
00:10:13.759 --> 00:10:18.000
I fear to see what Marionburg is like if ever I go there.
00:10:18.559 --> 00:10:21.360
Renata plays it off as best she can.
00:10:21.679 --> 00:10:24.480
Says, Shokava prayer for the fallen.
00:10:24.960 --> 00:10:27.360
If we can just wait for a while.
00:10:27.600 --> 00:10:31.600
So I say, those wishing to live will wait, Sister Nan.
00:10:31.919 --> 00:10:37.200
And when Jan the coachman says, Are you sure you have enough fare to Middenheim?
00:10:37.360 --> 00:10:41.600
I say, I will be her guarantor all the way to Middenheim.
00:10:41.759 --> 00:10:46.480
I guess from there, the other riders know I've got a connection to Renata.
00:10:46.799 --> 00:10:48.080
But can't be helped.
00:10:48.240 --> 00:10:54.000
They don't probe me with questions, which is the first proof that we're gonna get along fine.
00:10:54.879 --> 00:11:06.720
This seems like it would be a good segue in to learn a little bit more about those other outriders and the coachman before we get back into the action that the story began with.
00:11:07.759 --> 00:11:11.759
The coachman, old Jan, seems a very steady hand.
00:11:11.919 --> 00:11:14.399
He's got a blunderbus by the box seat.
00:11:14.639 --> 00:11:25.120
As for the other three riders, as I was saying, Alva, the one with all the weapons, seems the one I'm most likely to get on well with.
00:11:25.279 --> 00:11:30.159
And the name reminds me of a certain very hospitable hostess.
00:11:30.559 --> 00:11:34.960
Hans Hold, the youngster, taken to the bottle too young.
00:11:35.200 --> 00:11:37.679
He won't last long if he keeps that way.
00:11:37.919 --> 00:11:46.799
And Dorlin, the exiled noble, has a mad, sad laugh that tells me he sees doom in front of him.
00:11:47.039 --> 00:11:49.360
Which brings me back to the present moment.
00:11:49.440 --> 00:11:53.840
And I'm using the same flip I've used before to surprise someone.
00:11:54.000 --> 00:12:01.679
Very few men can concentrate on what's going on when there's over a yard of deadly sharp metal whipping towards their face.
00:12:01.840 --> 00:12:05.360
I step and he's between me and the crossbow girl.
00:12:05.440 --> 00:12:06.399
I pick him up.
00:12:06.559 --> 00:12:11.679
I'm too close for him to use the war hammer now, and ram the boar spear man with him.
00:12:11.840 --> 00:12:12.960
Alpha's watching.
00:12:13.120 --> 00:12:14.000
Don't blame her.
00:12:14.159 --> 00:12:18.080
The mess I made trying to cow these three ain't playing in my favor.
00:12:18.399 --> 00:12:23.120
As the boar spear man goes sprawling, the crossbow girl makes a desperation shot.
00:12:23.200 --> 00:12:25.519
And I step and I'm at grab range of her.
00:12:25.679 --> 00:12:28.240
Her arms are even thinner than Renata's.
00:12:28.320 --> 00:12:33.200
And I grab her like a toy and say to the other riders, bring those two down.
00:12:33.600 --> 00:12:47.519
And even as Alva rides in like a hunter against the spearman, and Dolan angles to cut off the Warhammer man, I give the girl a shake and say, How do you come to be on the road, child?
00:12:48.720 --> 00:13:01.840
It's a relief that after the original Nat 1 of his frightening voice attempt, Todd makes up for that by a series of good edgy and strength checks to overcome the road agents.
00:13:03.919 --> 00:13:12.000
She gives me a bit of a story, but I can feel with my own hands that she's not well fit, not well treated.
00:13:12.960 --> 00:13:18.960
I use solo org for about three of the girls' background characteristics.
00:13:19.279 --> 00:13:24.320
And what a role there suggests that the Todd might keep her on alive.
00:13:24.720 --> 00:13:27.200
As opposed to the other two road agents.
00:13:36.879 --> 00:13:40.240
The others are take their heads off quick and clean.
00:13:42.559 --> 00:13:44.480
Dolan gives his laugh again.
00:13:44.720 --> 00:13:46.080
Alva keeps it cold.
00:13:46.320 --> 00:13:49.200
Asks me if I wanted to toss the bodies.
00:13:49.440 --> 00:13:53.200
And I say, The weapons will be worth reselling.
00:13:53.360 --> 00:13:55.440
But keep your hands clear of the bodies.
00:13:55.679 --> 00:13:59.840
They're not worth the dealing and searching them with costure.
00:14:00.159 --> 00:14:01.440
Back in the saddle.
00:14:01.759 --> 00:14:03.360
On to the next station.
