RAVENLOFT: The One That Got Away CHAPTER SIX

[ewancummins]

"There's a generous man hunting him. Herr Gehrman. Know him? He'll keep you in meat for a while if you help us. Or you can suggest something else..."

She watches the old man but stays aware of her surroundings as well

''Tell me more. Who is this man you hunt?"

[kintire]

"To be absolutely honest, I'm not quite sure. Herr Gehrman knows more. But he's a young man with hair the same colour as mine, wears green, although I guess he can change that. Seen him about?"

[ewancummins]

"To be absolutely honest, I'm not quite sure. Herr Gehrman knows more. But he's a young man with hair the same colour as mine, wears green, although I guess he can change that. Seen him about?"

''Hmmm, I don't think so. There are so many men and women in this part of the city. Too many.''

[VAN]

Sara steps in.

"Who are these green-men you mentioned before? Those that are crazy? I will get you some food for your time."

[alhoon]

Raen, notices that the exchange with the beggar has gone beyond the usual exchange and approaches interested. Not knowing where they are at, he introduces himself "Good afternoon, I am Raen." he says to the man smiling, offering him a copper piece. He then lets them continue the discussion.

[Adam]

"We're capable of protecting ourselves," Bennedict says, "And given what we know of the killer, I don't want to underestimate his ability to know our plans. He's said we can't bring gendarmes' with us, but has said nothing about forming a perimeter. That said, I am certain he will have countermeasures in place, so your men will need to be on high alert, and you had best understand that they will be placing themselves in potentially GREAT danger."

He taps a finger impatiently on a tabletop. "I have an errand I must complete before this meeting for Frau Rennier. Once that is done, I will gather my compatriots and go to work. When do you think you can have your people ready?"

[ewancummins]

TALK WITH THE OLD MAN

Sara steps in.

"Who are these green-men you mentioned before? Those that are crazy? I will get you some food for your time."

''The green-cloaks. They serve the hoarders and the whisperers. Gendarmes, you call them."

Raen, notices that the exchange with the beggar has gone beyond the usual exchange and approaches interested. Not knowing where they are at, he introduces himself "Good afternoon, I am Raen." he says to the man smiling, offering him a copper piece. He then lets them continue the discussion.

The Old Man returns the coin to Raen.
"Give it to a poor person. I don't need money."
He smiles.

[ewancummins]

BENN

"We're capable of protecting ourselves," Bennedict says, "And given what we know of the killer, I don't want to underestimate his ability to know our plans. He's said we can't bring gendarmes' with us, but has said nothing about forming a perimeter. That said, I am certain he will have countermeasures in place, so your men will need to be on high alert, and you had best understand that they will be placing themselves in potentially GREAT danger."

He taps a finger impatiently on a tabletop. "I have an errand I must complete before this meeting for Frau Rennier. Once that is done, I will gather my compatriots and go to work. When do you think you can have your people ready?"

''Hmmmm...well, there are a number of other problems in the city now, so I have to take all that into account. We still haven't caught the Fifth Street Burglar--and the wealthy victims have been squealing about that. I understand and sympathize with your priorities, Monsieur Gehrman. But the truth is that the gentlemen--and the ladies--who fund the gendarmes don't care half as much for a pair of dead prostitutes as they do for their fine possessions stolen and their homes violated. More than jewels and money taken, private information may have been compromised. You understand."
Thibault tugs at his mustachios, frowning. He drops his voice to a whisper,
"It seems to me that my superiors took little notice of the first girl slain, Anabelle. This second one raised eyebrows, but hardly generated a furor."
A pattering noise filters down from above in the brothel's upper hall; it sounds like rain on the roof.
"And on top of the burglary case, we have been instructed to monitor all Falkovnian refugees. So many coming in in such a little time has got my superiors nervous. And some street preacher has been riling the ignorant and superstitious with prattle about the Black Cloud and doomsday, so..."
Thibault stares at the wall, suddenly looking exhausted.
"Ah, yes, a perimeter force. I can spare some men. Not many. Ten volunteers, if I can get that many. It'll be a thin green line, monsieur. Very thin. Don't get them killed if you can help it."

[Adam]

"I can sympathize with how busy you are," Bennedict says, "And I appreciate it. I should say, however, that we don't necessarily require your assistance. From what your men told me, I had come to believe you wanted to be involved in the takedown. To be honest, 10 men separated from each other around a perimeter will be in quite a lot of danger and are unlikely to make a difference, if our quarry takes flight. They'll be more useful to you than they will to me."

He stands and takes his leave with a promise to offer him a report on what they find, if they are able.

[ewancummins]

"I can sympathize with how busy you are," Bennedict says, "And I appreciate it. I should say, however, that we don't necessarily require your assistance. From what your men told me, I had come to believe you wanted to be involved in the takedown. To be honest, 10 men separated from each other around a perimeter will be in quite a lot of danger and are unlikely to make a difference, if our quarry takes flight. They'll be more useful to you than they will to me."

He stands and takes his leave with a promise to offer him a report on what they find, if they are able.

''If I were able to have a free hand in all this, to make decisions unconstrained by politics..."
Thibault shrugs.
"But I don't have your advantage of independence. And I only command my own small company, not all the gendarmes in the city. Perhaps if my superiors...but , no, there isn't time."

After Benn's assurances of a future report, the captain says,
"I look forward to hearing it. Do be careful."

[kintire]

Kat nods at the description of the Gendarmes and their masters.

"Yes, them... Well if you haven't seen our quarry I guess the hunt continues. If you know anything that will help us find him, there'll be meat more quickly... one way or the other."

She gives a sardonic smile and stares into the man's eyes as if trying to read his real intentions

[ewancummins]

Kat nods at the description of the Gendarmes and their masters.

"Yes, them... Well if you haven't seen our quarry I guess the hunt continues. If you know anything that will help us find him, there'll be meat more quickly... one way or the other."

She gives a sardonic smile and stares into the man's eyes as if trying to read his real intentions

The Old Man says,
"I do not know more about the one you seek, I think, than you know. Sounds like that's not much at all."
He waves his hands about.
"I know most of the city pretty well. But I knew my old places, the quiet streets, best."
He shrugs.
"Unless you have meat for me, I will go now."

[alhoon]

Raen folds his arms under his chest. "Goodbye friend. Thank you for your time. If we happen to find meat for your friends we will bring it around here. We may find use for someone with your knowledge of the streets and the alleys soon. Have a good afternoon." He is quite sure the pleasantries would not be appreciated by this old person but still he offers them.

[ewancummins]

RAEN, KAT, and SARA say goodbye to the strange Old Man and his dogs.


...

BENN bids farewell to Captain Thibault.

And later that afternoon, Benn ( accompanied by any of those others of his party coming along to hear what the RUBY ORACLE has to say) arrives in the southeastern city, at the COURT OF CROWS.


The Great Gallows, a scaffold and platform as big as a house, stands empty today, ropes coiled under leather covers on the hanging beams that can dispatch a dozen or more felons in one drop.
Nobody stands in the open plaza that surrounds the place of punishment.
Though several hours of daylight remain, this part of the city seems deserted, with no sounds but the murmur of runoff flowing down sewers and drainage canals near the plaza and the hungry cries of the crows roosting in the eves of neighboring houses.

But, as Benn walks toward the particular house which Madame Renier's men had described, he sees a young boy, dark-haired and dressed in bright gypsy vest and pantaloons, beckoning to him.

The boy ducks inside the front door of the crumbling limestone house.

When Benn cautiously enters the dim front chamber, he sees the boy standing by a high-backed wing chair covered in patches of mold.
Rust-colored and pink fruiting bodies spread along the stone walls.
The cool, moist air smells like limewater, and the flesh of toadstools.
Like

VIEW CONTENT:

the tainted caverns under the Delapore estate...

The Vistani boy doesn't reply to questions, except to nod and make gestures suggestive of sitting, waiting...

Soon after Benn enters the house, a woman emerges from behind a mildewed yellow curtain in the shadowy far end of the room.
She wears face-paint and a hooded robe quite unlike most gypsies Benn has encountered.


https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/73 ... a80845.jpg

The lady sits.

''I know why you've come, Bennedict Gehrman, and who it was that sent you. We need not waste the time remaining to you with drawn-out conversation or the mummery lesser soothsayers use on clients. My time in this city runs short. A night of fire, blood, and terror draws near---but heroes may yet stop its advent. I will not remain to the end. But I will tell you what you have come to hear, what I find about the Black Cloud and the Woman-Killer, when I peer beyond the Veil.''

She leans back in her seat, closes her painted eyelids, and relaxes.

The fungus on the walls quivers all at once, exhaling a haze of spore-dust that makes Benn's eyes and nostrils itch, but seems not to bother the Ruby Oracle in the least.


After a moment of silence the oracle lifts her hands to place her palms flat over her eyes.
Benn sees eyes drawn on the backs of the woman's hands, now seeming to watch him.
The Ruby Oracle chants,


''Dead Queen’s Door
Beast’s Black Maw
Red Deceiver
Carrion Claw
Sweet the spoor
Bitter the loss
Hungers the hunter
The Gate to cross.''

She sighs, slumps in her chair, and lowers her hands to her lap.
Then she opens her eyes.

''What I have been given to say, I have said."

[Adam]

Almost immediately upon seeing the fungus on the walls, Bennedict snatches a handkerchief reflexively from his pocket. He follows the seer's instructions as given to him, but snorts in irritation as the spores are released, hastily covering his mouth and nose with the handkerchief and rising to his feet. He eyes the woman and the boy closely through the entire proclamation of the "prophecy."

"Tell me," he says, "You don't look like the Vistani I've previously encountered. Does your fortune telling come from their sources, or do you have a more...specific source of information." He eyes the fungus warily as he speaks.