Rudiger Returns to Middenheim
After the March to Middenhiem:
Rudiger looked upon the city of Middenheim with mixed emotions. He was definitely pleased to have made it through the journey from Untergard unscathed, but he wasn't sure what awaited him in the city of the White Wolf. He had left just a few steps ahead of the law, and if he wanted to stay ahead of the law he needed to find out what his status was now.
As the party of refugees made their way into the city, Rudiger slipped away from the group. He thought briefly of telling some of his companions what he was up to, but despite the trials of the journey, he still did not feel that he could trust them. After all, the last time he trusted someone was how he ended up being chased by the law in the first place.
Making his way through the city he could see some of the damage that had been done. Some of the areas he had frequented before had simply ceased to exist. Only piles of rubble and burned out buildings remained. Other areas looked completely untouched. Fortunately, one of those latter areas was where The Drowned Rat was located, a tavern frequented by members of the guild.
Rudiger made his way into the tavern and looked around. There were as many customers here as was usual, but he recognized fewer of them. He figured they must be refugees like the people he had been traveling with, or simply residents of the city whose normal watering hole was amongst those piles of rubble and burned out buildings he had seen earlier.
Finally he saw a face he recognized, Heinrich, a man who should be able to get the information he sought. As he approached he saw the glint of recognition and a hint of surprise. It turned out that Heinrich had thought he was dead, along with many other guild members who had not made it through the siege. Rudiger assured him that he was still very much among the living, but that in order to stay that way he needed to know what the fate was of those who had turned the law onto him. Heinrich was able to tell him that the merchant's house had been destroyed in the siege, but it was unknown if the merchant or his family had survived its destruction. He also was not sure if the watch was still looking for Rudiger or not. They had better things to do than to actively hunt him out, but if he was still on a wanted list then he could run into trouble if any of them recognized him. He suggested that Rudiger lay low for a few days while he did some more poking around.
Rudiger agreed, and arranged to meet Heinrich again in a few days time. Then he left the tavern and headed for a safe spot he knew of that should still be intact. The next few days went by slowly. Rudiger's hiding spot was located in a part of the town that had not been destroyed during the siege, but probably would have been better off if it had been. Finally, the time for his meeting with Heinrich came and he returned to the The Drowned Rat.
The news was mixed. The merchant and his family had not survived the siege. Heinrich could not give him any details, but said that the information was reliable. The bad news was that Rudiger was still on the Watch's wanted list. There were ways to get him off that list, especially with no one around anymore to press charges, but it would take money to do it, and that was one of many things that Rudiger did not have an excess of.
When he pointed this out to Heinrich, the man suggested that he could probably arrange something, if Rudiger was interested in doing some contract work in exchange. It turned out that the chaos surrounding the aftermath of the siege had provided some excellent opportunities for the guild, but things were starting to calm down, and the window of opportunity was rapidly closing on some of their projects. In addition, the loss of so many guild members meant that there were plenty of jobs available that needed to be done quickly.
Rudiger agreed to liberate an item that the guild had picked out and turn it over to Heinrich. In exchange, the guild would see to it that Rudiger's name came off the watch's list. Of course, the usual rules still applied. If he got caught doing the job, then he was on his own.
The job itself turned out to be fairly routine and uneventful. He merely had to remove a portrait from a minor noble's house. Normally the house would have been guarded, but the guards had disappeared during the siege, either drafted into the militia or fled with the refugees.
The only protection was provided by a Watch patrol that had to cover the whole neighborhood it was in. It was simple to time their movements and sneak into the house when they were not nearby.
The locked shutters were child's play, and Rudiger quickly located the painting, removed it from the frame, rolled it up, and inserted it into the tube he had brought along for that purpose. On the way out he managed to grab a few loose trinkets that would probably fetch some extra cash, but stopped short of a thorough search of the place. He had what he had come for, and didn't need to risk getting caught. Besides, he was sure most of the other, more portable items of value would have been carefully hidden away by the owners when the guards left.
Soon he was back at The Drowned Rat again, this time in a back room where he passed over the tube to Heinrich. Heinrich took the painting and told him that it wouldn't be long before his name was off the Watch list. He suggested that he head back to his safe house for a few more days, then they'd meet again and he'd let him know how things had went.
text by Fulminata
Rudiger looked upon the city of Middenheim with mixed emotions. He was definitely pleased to have made it through the journey from Untergard unscathed, but he wasn't sure what awaited him in the city of the White Wolf. He had left just a few steps ahead of the law, and if he wanted to stay ahead of the law he needed to find out what his status was now.
As the party of refugees made their way into the city, Rudiger slipped away from the group. He thought briefly of telling some of his companions what he was up to, but despite the trials of the journey, he still did not feel that he could trust them. After all, the last time he trusted someone was how he ended up being chased by the law in the first place.
Making his way through the city he could see some of the damage that had been done. Some of the areas he had frequented before had simply ceased to exist. Only piles of rubble and burned out buildings remained. Other areas looked completely untouched. Fortunately, one of those latter areas was where The Drowned Rat was located, a tavern frequented by members of the guild.
Rudiger made his way into the tavern and looked around. There were as many customers here as was usual, but he recognized fewer of them. He figured they must be refugees like the people he had been traveling with, or simply residents of the city whose normal watering hole was amongst those piles of rubble and burned out buildings he had seen earlier.
Finally he saw a face he recognized, Heinrich, a man who should be able to get the information he sought. As he approached he saw the glint of recognition and a hint of surprise. It turned out that Heinrich had thought he was dead, along with many other guild members who had not made it through the siege. Rudiger assured him that he was still very much among the living, but that in order to stay that way he needed to know what the fate was of those who had turned the law onto him. Heinrich was able to tell him that the merchant's house had been destroyed in the siege, but it was unknown if the merchant or his family had survived its destruction. He also was not sure if the watch was still looking for Rudiger or not. They had better things to do than to actively hunt him out, but if he was still on a wanted list then he could run into trouble if any of them recognized him. He suggested that Rudiger lay low for a few days while he did some more poking around.
Rudiger agreed, and arranged to meet Heinrich again in a few days time. Then he left the tavern and headed for a safe spot he knew of that should still be intact. The next few days went by slowly. Rudiger's hiding spot was located in a part of the town that had not been destroyed during the siege, but probably would have been better off if it had been. Finally, the time for his meeting with Heinrich came and he returned to the The Drowned Rat.
The news was mixed. The merchant and his family had not survived the siege. Heinrich could not give him any details, but said that the information was reliable. The bad news was that Rudiger was still on the Watch's wanted list. There were ways to get him off that list, especially with no one around anymore to press charges, but it would take money to do it, and that was one of many things that Rudiger did not have an excess of.
When he pointed this out to Heinrich, the man suggested that he could probably arrange something, if Rudiger was interested in doing some contract work in exchange. It turned out that the chaos surrounding the aftermath of the siege had provided some excellent opportunities for the guild, but things were starting to calm down, and the window of opportunity was rapidly closing on some of their projects. In addition, the loss of so many guild members meant that there were plenty of jobs available that needed to be done quickly.
Rudiger agreed to liberate an item that the guild had picked out and turn it over to Heinrich. In exchange, the guild would see to it that Rudiger's name came off the watch's list. Of course, the usual rules still applied. If he got caught doing the job, then he was on his own.
The job itself turned out to be fairly routine and uneventful. He merely had to remove a portrait from a minor noble's house. Normally the house would have been guarded, but the guards had disappeared during the siege, either drafted into the militia or fled with the refugees.
The only protection was provided by a Watch patrol that had to cover the whole neighborhood it was in. It was simple to time their movements and sneak into the house when they were not nearby.
The locked shutters were child's play, and Rudiger quickly located the painting, removed it from the frame, rolled it up, and inserted it into the tube he had brought along for that purpose. On the way out he managed to grab a few loose trinkets that would probably fetch some extra cash, but stopped short of a thorough search of the place. He had what he had come for, and didn't need to risk getting caught. Besides, he was sure most of the other, more portable items of value would have been carefully hidden away by the owners when the guards left.
Soon he was back at The Drowned Rat again, this time in a back room where he passed over the tube to Heinrich. Heinrich took the painting and told him that it wouldn't be long before his name was off the Watch list. He suggested that he head back to his safe house for a few more days, then they'd meet again and he'd let him know how things had went.
text by Fulminata
posted by Semper Septum at 21:35
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