Rolemaster 

A complaint has been lodged by the harbourmaster (neg driving) against Ulrich, but Oban has also filed charges against him.

The harbourmaster was a witness but his view is tempered by the fact that the Vornians made off with their ship.  Some of the sailors have already been interviewed and although the captain of the ship claims that the Vornians rammed them, the sailors speak of a gruff man who came on board and ordered them to set up "ramming speed".  However they also report that the Vornian ship sailed in an arc straight at them.  They are very confused.

The Vornian ship is currently wallowing in the harbour, taking on water. It will be dragged to a dry dock later this day.

20 GP to fix the ship.

Kobayashi is after the rest of his clients money - 2000 gp, or at least a down-payment on the amount outstanding.  He is also looking for some reparation as well as an apology from the Norek council to the city of Vorn for the inconvenience.

Ulrich spends the afternoon in a holding cell on Bering Isle. He will be transported later by armed guard.  The other players are asked not to leave the city by Capt James.  He is 'sorry that it has come to this.'

Some of Ulrich's cell-mates are interesting characters. There is a farmer accused of poisoning his wife and the Vornian Capt James and his men did capture.  They are all in separate cells but there are only bars between them.  Ulrich briefly chats to the farmer but he is too overcome with remorse for his actions to be much fun.  The Vornian sailor though, is a different matter, Ulrich briefly chats with him, allowing him to dig his own grave.  Eventually under pretence of giving him an understanding pat, Ulrich grabs him and discovers that although the sailors never made any contact with him, they did do a little raid on a warehouse in the shipping district.  "You mean the Sea to Shining Sea?" says Ulrich, hearing the sounds of a shovel.  "Yeah, dat's the place."

Ulrich slams the mans head against the bars - not enough to break anything, just enough to make his eyeballs rattle a little and asks him about his boss.

Kinnear 'Sharder' Smith is the man's name and he did pay a visit into town, to a wealthy merchant whose name he doesn't recall, despite having Ulrich 'jog his memory'.

Ulrich considers the latest information and tries to piece the puzzle together but he has no head for strategy. Eventually the guards arrive and he is escorted to the court-house.

The Norek courtroom is in the Council Hall. A large auditorium.  Sessions are held for three hours every second day.  It is not long before Ulrich is standing in the dock.

Mr Kobayashi is pressing for charges of wilful destruction of property and defaulting on a loan on behalf of his client Oban Kennir.. 

In Ulrich's defence is Biryn, standing straight as an arrow in full uniform.  The adjudicator is a Truth-Sayer and there is no jury.

As a group enters the room and, like a bunch of paranoid schizophrenics, they stay near the door -  ready to bolt at any moment.  Oh that's right, they are the players ;)

They look around the crowd, searching out familiar faces.  Captain James is here along with a few of the Sentinels, who are looking very familiar.  

Mr Kobayashi is first out of the gate and launches into a series of ill-researched, ill-considered and ill-mannered questions - ill, basically.  

"What is your profession, Mr McMannus?"

"Mercenary."

"A mercenary? A man who fights for coin?  And are you a very successful one, Mr McMannus?"

The crowd 'oohs' appreciatively.  Good beginning.  

Ulrich says nothing, but Biryn objects.

"I object m'lord.  My client's career has nothing whatsoever to do with the facts of this case."

He is over-ruled by the judge and Kobayashi continues.

"Isn't it true that you owe my client a substantial sum? And isn't it true that your business is not the most successful? Do you have any business skills, Ulrich? How exactly then were you going to pay my client back?"

We were goig to pay him back by running the Sea to Shining Sea, which was unfortunately robbed by Vornian thieves."

'Oooh!" says the crowd.  Good answer - everybody hates Vorn.

"How did you come to be in business, Mr McMannus?"

"We were bequeathed it." 

"Is it not true Mr McMannus, that you and your friends forced Englick, a long time friend of the City Council and lifetime member of the Chamber of Commerce, to sign his goods over to you, and then killed him? My client then approached you to recover his debt, gave you a grace period, in fact he was more than accommodating to your circumstances.  Yet you continue to snub him.

Biryn mounts a scathing defence which I can no longer recall - but it was good - Mr Kobayashi ended up looking like Mr Teletubbie.

The truth-sayer can find no reason why this whole case should not be dismissed and the crowd are in total agreement.  

A soldier enters the hall to speak to Captain James and the players overhear that there is trouble at Oban Kennir's house.   

Outside the courtroom, Lysar is tipped off by a runner thatOban Kennir is planning on leaving town in a hurry.  Apparently one of his servants had mentioned that he seemed to be packing up in a hurry.

After the 'trial' they follow a small squad of James' men towards Kennir's house.

When they reach the house and they will find a wagon hitched up and ready to go. The horses are a little toey - they have been hitched for sometime. Clearly he was going to leave this morning.

The investigate the house and on the top floor in what used to be Oban's bedroom, they find a LOT of blood and soon their attention is drawn to the ceiling where Oban's body has been crucified.  His limbs have been hacked from his body and nailed a few feet away from the torso.  It is a gross parody.

Asheren performs a power perception on the room and discovers - to his horror - that the man is not quite dead but has had his soul removed.  Absolution.  Ash dry retches and flees from the house.  The guard all do likewise and James and some of his men go to fetch reinforcements.

Biryn dashes to the temple, after failing to be allowed back in the house, and fetches one of the brothers.

He is horrified, but has seen enough of the world not to puke.  He orders Biryn to keep his nose out of this affair and disappears to advise the Church on this matter.

Biryn decides that his Church could do with some help and overcasts a Death's Tale spell.

Through a dark mist which gradually dissipates, he sees Oban retreating across his bed, a terrified look in his eyes.  A hooded figure stands across from him.  Biryn cannot make out his features but he feels he knows him.

"You had a simple job to do." the figure speaks in a raspy voice. "And you could not even do that.  You are a pathetic failure."

Oban has reached the limits of the bed and cowers in the corner.

"I dislike fail -"

The figure stops mid-sentence and Biryn feels the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.  The temperature drops sharply and the figure swings towards him.

This can't be happening!  Biryn says to himself.  This is in the past!

"Y O U ." says the figure in leaden tones.  It waves it's hand in his direction and Biryn can see no more.  The spell is broken and Asheren and a guard hear Biryn's panicky shouting and bolt upstairs.  Biryn is rolling on the floor, clutching his eyes.

For another six hours Biryn's sight fails him, eventually it begins to return to normal and he breathes a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile the players discover that Oban has been dead for quite a fewhours, longer than Kobayashi claims anyway.  He claims that he spoke to Oban this morning, when this body has clearly been here for at least twelve hours.

They also demand of Captain James that the house is searched for their gold.  This will not only make them very wealthy but will also completely clear their names regarding the recent rash of criminal activity - both for and against them.

Berrak and Lysar decide to mount watch on the house.  Ulrich returns to interview Kobar again.  Ash hangs out with Dehl the barmaid and Sira amuses himself staring intently at the Orb in the centre of town.

Most of their watch is spent watching the guards on the front door.  However Lysar notices a strange, oozing substance climbing slowly from the top window and pooling at one of the guards feet.  Neither Berrak nor Lysar can make head nor tail of it.  Also, in the wee hours of the morning a voice speaks quickly and quietly into Lysar's ear.

"You are being watched.  Stay Away!".  Berrak and Lysar conclude that this is a warning from the Thieves Guild, which must mean that their watchers are someone else.  Undercover soldiers?  They are on their guard.

A caravan carrying a visiting dignitary was ambushed yesterday by four men posing as Wallsmen - council workers who maintain the wall.  The driver was unharmed and described the attackers as 'professional'.  They kidnapped the caravan's sole occupant - Andres Suj and nothing has been heard since.

Chapter 14