Solo Black Powder and Brimstone: The Enemy Within - Episode 7

--/-- Welcome to a Black Powder and Brimstone Solo attempt at The Enemy Within. BPnP, by Benjamin Tobitt, is a 3rd-party creation of the Mork Borg family of RPG rules. 

--/-- Mature content warning: content refers both to the original WFRP campaign and to the more hellish world of BPnP. Listener discretion is advised.

--/-- Episode 7: It's a trap! Day 2 in Bogenhafen and Tod is just trying to find out about his doppelganger. This time it's not his blade that ends someone.

--/-- Background music "The gaping Maw" and "The Madding Crowd" from Tabletop Audio

https://larrymannplayssolobickering.blogspot.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:08

I did know it was likely to be a trap. But I stuck my forehead in anyway. The shutters come down and lock. The door to the outside locks behind me. A distant door to the back where the student went locks. Yeah, not good. Then I can hear Max Ernst. And he's out the back, yelling from the alley behind the Adlaveg. Tod Weiss, also known as Castor Leberong, otherwise known as the Master of Baggage of the Cult of the Purple Hand. In the name of the Emperor, I arrest you and your companions for conspiring with chaos, murder, theft, and other crimes, hereinafter to be enumerated. Lay down your weapon and surrender. And then I hear a kind of a yell and a horrible screaming gurgle. I know that sound. A sound when someone has their lights sliced out. Horrible sound. You'll never forget it once you hear it. I head towards the voice, towards Max Ernst. Let's have this out once and for all. Damn, the bolt's still holding. Another kick, it flies open. So this is where it ends. After all these years. Bleeding out quick in an alley. But my whole fist goes in. There's nothing to be done. Welcome dear listener to episode 7 of my palate cleanser series. Following the plot as best I can of the enemy within, and using lack powder and brimstone, and solo borg to portray the character Todd Weiss, also known as White Death, and apparently mistaken as someone named Castor Liberon. A misidentification that has haunted him and perhaps brought him to a bloody conclusion in the alley behind the Adleve. In case the disclaimer at the front of the show did not warn you, this is not a PG show. Chaos, depravity, and unspeakable vileness stalk the roads and cities of the now decayed empire. A soldier learns that the worst sense of all is if only, never dwell on the things that you could have done or not done. But there, as I support Joseph's lifeless body, gut spilling out, one hand still kinda pointing as he tried to point me towards where Max Ernsted fled. I do think, what if I hadn't just assumed that I could deal with whatever lock stack and barrel threw at me? What if I'd moved a little quicker towards the back after the student? What if I hadn't missed that first kick at the door? Yeah. Well, I'm good at kicking down doors, but I ain't good at running across rooftops. Max Ernst has got away again. But this time, as my yells for help, I've begun to attract the crowds, and eventually the law. An idea begins to form in my mind. How I can sort out Max once and for all. So here we have the end of your sort of journey. I conflated Adolphus. And Max Earn who turned out at an opportune time in the Oakland Heaven took on the exterior role that Adolphus' character had played during the plot of Enemy in Shadows as written. Thanks to his safe rest during bathing, having his laundry done, collecting his boots, and a couple of other things I'll touch on, Todd has one devil's luck with him, as he arrives at Lochstoken Bar in the Adler Vay, fully armed. But, of course, not clad in Channa. I honour the intentions of the trap, although not the exact wording of it. As the pursuing type character, Max, declares Todd to be the lawful prey who is to be arrested and handed over to authorities. But it would seem that Joseph, full of regret for the way that he had been involved with Todd and feeling as though if this would be a further betrayal, has intervened and has paid for it with his life. In terms of roles needed, one devil's luck, the only one that Todd had, was sacrificed in order to kick out the back door and thereby gain access to that rare alley. Where, of course, our hero, Todd, finds his old friend, Joseph, dying from a fatal wound, with no devil's luck remaining. When Todd attempts some rudimentary first aid, he rolls an O2, and Joseph is dead. Tod has already been handed the significant letter, which in effect commissioned Joseph to pursue this mysterious magister impedimente, known as Castor Lib, and looking a great deal like his old acquaintance Todd Weiss, so he doesn't need to plunder the corpse to find it. Instead, he's left without the two letters purporting to support his, i.e. Castor Liberong's property claim, since the student of law, the law clerk, shall we say, uh fled with them. And Max Ernst has got away. Let's find out what Todd has to say about any events leading up to this terrible moment. My mind rushes back to the early afternoon. Well rested, clean, boots clean as well. I've been in a good mood as I leave the lion. I've invested a couple of shillings too. One to find me a good leather coat maker, oiled leather mind. I want the mail sewn into it. The second, I hand over the adventurous wanted copy to find out if the company is still here in Bogenhaven, and if so, where? Then I'm off to the advocate, both daggers and my Zwehander at hand. And now, Josef is dead. I wonder if he had any family. Didn't really mention it. The authorities are everywhere, of course. It'll be a long, tedious day at a magistrate's explaining that I sailed with Yosef, had some legal affairs here, found him beset by street appaches. Joseph knew I hid it here, may have wanted to rehire me. Joseph stabbed some of the Apaches, but the ringleader got away. I decide to describe Max Ernst in fairly good detail. Time for the law to work for me. I think it's worth also noting one further plot point here. This, to my recollection, is the first time that Todd has distinctly heard Castelieberung linked to the Purple Hand Cult. And that's only if he heard Max Ernst fairly clearly. I think he did. From now on, when strange cultists make odd wiggly hand gestures at him, it may well remind him of the purple cult and thereby casteliberum and thereby other troubles coming towards him. As if only leave the magistrates, I'm in a pretty foul mood. Even dead, Yosef's short-sightedness refuses my goal. But a light snack at the lion before I meet that other delicious snack, Salida? Promise as well. Let's see what they've got for me. Hmm Badrad the leather worker. An unpleasantly long walk away. Downriver near the tanneries. The nobles endeavour into the hinterlands. Yeah. Still here, hiring a few replacements. But Lordling concerned his family here, but the outfitter is my best bet. They set up a hiring fair near the wrestling pit in the Shaffenfest. I checked myself over. The blood's not really done any damage to my clothes. Unpresentable, I decide. We had two places agreed on, and one was right here. At the lion. Obviously not. Well, in that case, she's at the other agreed spot. The obvious landmark on the Gottenplatz under the furthest shadow of the cathedral. She is there. I've been thinking about my money and her being at best stallminder for a cheap stall. I just say to her, You are the finest looking and the best thing about this city. Ready to have some fun? She nods, takes my arm. Already, the evening is looking better. So before we get back to Selida, we'll just cover off the roles, if any, that Todd has made to bring him over to this point. The question about presentability was a simple direct oracle. The name of the leather worker and direction and distance were just a roll on BP and B names table and a D10 and D6 for distance. At time of recording, I now know that you are, as a character, not supposed to catch up with the nobles endeavour into the hinterland. I certainly didn't know that at time of playing. And I got a yes but on the Lordling's availability. And finally, as to Selida deciding not to try and wait for Todd at a place which would demonstrate his relative wealth. That was another direct oracle. And so that I don't constantly interrupt the Todd narrative, the results for Salida deciding where to go were a couple of direct oracles and one BPB shop type role. So now let's let Todd take over again. Wow, she does have somewhere in mind. A brewmeister. I guess she's heard that you don't know a man until you've seen him drunk. Never mind. I didn't mind downing a bottle of wine with Joseph. I certainly don't mind downing a few brews with Salida. I'm not kidding when I say she looks fine. Something about her skin almost flawless. I certainly can't tell how old she is from her face. And looking at her neck and hands, I'm guessing twenties? Maybe pushing thirty. Younger than me by a good margin, anyway. These are strong brews. This is truly a brewmeister whose name must go down in lore. I find myself waxing philosophical about my walk. Slow walk, admittedly, towards my current piety. Salida's really good at listening. I think she might have had a time as a fortune teller. Or maybe she actually did work semi-pro once. Who's to say? As the evening deepens, she admits she's already guessed that I did use that vial. I tell her the basics. All I say is, the goblin had been sacrificed to a thing from beyond, and your vial let me take it apart. She says, I used it correctly. Says we might just be fated. We link fingers across the table. We head up into the night air. Pleasant at this time of night. She says, I think you should eat something. Then sleep. So naturally I grin and say, Sleep.