1 Sommerzeit
I answered the summons of my liege, Graf Gregor, and headed for Übersreik. My lord introduced me to a tall, dark, and mysterious woman wearing a fabulous emerald cloak: Fräulein Emmanuelle Nacht. I'm not sure what to make of this Nacht. She's too tall for a woman. Probably a commoner - possibly a foreigner even - given her name. But she's also the Imperial envoy to Übersreik - and I suspect, an Altdorf-trained wizard. I must not be too quick to dismiss her. Commoners have their uses. Especially if they have great power and the ear of the Emperor. My liege treats her with great respect and so will I.
Fräulein Nacht - an unmarried woman to add insult to injury - was much less agreeable than my lord Gregor. She very nearly called me a liar and a cheat, then threatened me with consequences most dire if I did not give her names. So I did, for a price. A name for a name, so to speak.
I named Etelka Herzen, a sorceress (presumed) and cultist (guaranteed), down by Grissenwald near Nuln. I told Nacht about the letters to Franz Steinhäger of Bögenhafen, a known villain. We then made a gentleman's bet (you can't mistake Nacht for a man, very much a woman, but I swear she acts like she's got balls, not breasts): whoever got to Herzen first would get a gift from the loser.
For that name, I got a name in return: I'm Wigmar von Liberungen, grandson and heir to Dagmar Liberung the Younger. The papers linking me to Kastor and Bögenhafen went into the fire. I'm me now, finally, with an Imperial seal of approval. Soon I'll be on the peer list, my lands expanded, an entire army at my command. The Age of Wigmar approaches. I jest, of course, but why stop now? Why indeed.
There was also the matter of Herr Liberung's grimoire. I gave that up too, and none too soon I might add. An evil book it is and Annika has been reading it (she can open it with ease now - she must have forgotten to tell me about it). Not understanding too much, but just a little can be damning enough. I saw the drawings, I know what happened in Bögenhafen. I don't want that filth in my own house. I can make my own luck, my own fortune.
One thing led to another and I had to name Annika. It felt like the right thing to do. Be honest, get everything into the open. A good call, I might add. Fräulein Nacht came out to the manor and had a chat with Annika and the matter was settled. Annika will go to Übersreik later this summer to train as a wizard's apprentice. Learn the high art at the feet of the Imperial envoy. Good thing I'm so perceptive when it comes to people.
Then Annika can teach the other two members of the coven (whom I didn't name - no point dragging more people into it). In time, Anna will have her license and so will Isolde, I'm sure of it. Speaking of my wife: she is pregnant. Great news. The first of many strong Liberungen lads.
Glorious summer
The next couple of weeks of summer passed much as the previous two. If anything I pushed myself harder and further. Some of what I have set into motion is starting to bear fruit. Brunda has brought several dwarfs. We've more peasants now and a few skilled laborers. Tools and materials have started arriving. The ranks of the Liberungen guard have swelled to twenty. We've hanged treasure-seekers and have an inn running. It's not much, but it has ale and cheap wenches so it counts. Emmaretta is scouting the hinterlands.
17 Sommerzeit
I was escorting Annika to Übersreik when we came across a riderless horse on my lands. We investigated the matter and found that the horse most likely had belonged to a - now-dead, his chopped-off leg was still in the stirrup - retainer of Prince Hergard von Tasseninck of Ostland (or is it Ostermark? I don't remember). The horse was in a bad shape. Looked like it had walked along through the wilds for at least a week. Poor creature. We had to put it down.
We made it into town, somewhat delayed and not much wiser. But it was a fine day in the company of a fine woman, so I couldn't complain. Ah yes, I nearly forgot. We met a strange friar at the gates, a man preaching the word of the sun god Ankh-Akh. The biggest fellow I ever saw short of an ogre. Ulfberth is positively puny in comparison. I met the man again later, being beaten by the city watch on a technicality. It always pays to have the biggest friend so I paid the guards to let him go and offered him a place in my household.
18 Sommerzeit
With Annika safely delivered to Nacht, I pondered what to do. Fortunately, before I could get bored, one of Gilda's little mice, Karl-Franz, brought me a piece of interesting information. There was a man in town, a tall one with dark eyes and a broken nose, discreetly looking for a Kastor Liberung who had a great deal of resemblance with myself. Let's call him... Otto Grau, for lack of a better name.
Naturally, I and Ankh-Akh went ahead and invited the man to my basement. We had a good long chat with this fellow. He knew me in the flesh you see. Or actually, he knew the real Kastor Liberung. For such a quick-witted fellow he sure took a while to realize I was not the man he thought I was. Got confirmation that Liberung was indeed a villain of the worst sort. He'd worked for the Purple Hand, some sort of cult, in Nuln, but had fled to Middenheim when the authorities started to suspect he was up to no good. That's where Kastor was holed up when the letter from Lock, Stock, and Barl reach him. And the rest is history as they say.
The Hand still thinks I'm Kastor and that I've run away with the fortune, rather than return to the fold. So they are, indeed, hunting me still. But I have a lead, a fellow up in Middenheim, a name that Otto gave up. If they are not careful, I'll be doing some hunting of my own. Oh, one more thing. There are more cults. Etelka isn't part of the Purple Hand, but the Red Crown. I guess Teugen, Steinhäger, Magirius, and the others were too. Same shit, different wrapping.
In the end, I handed Otto to Frälein Nacht. He got... difficult. Shouted foul names and began chanting gibberish like he was a sorcerer. It was either hand him over or bury him in the river, like my dear foster mother. Nacht was most grateful. Not enough to sleep with me, but she promised a white wedding in the cathedral of Sigmar, with a gown and a tiara for the lady wife, all paid for by the crown. And some vague assurances of tools and building materials for the Liberungen estate. They sure take these cults seriously. More so than the witch-hunters I've come across. I'm sure glad I didn't just get rid of dear Otto!
Speaking of marriage: it will be held at the end of summer. I will write my father-in-law and explain my position and invite the man and his household. To make sure he sees me for the great man I truly am: I will go into the mountains, to find Prince Tasseninck's lost expedition. With the true-born son of an Elector-Count as my best man, my status will be much improved.
Into the Grey Mountains!
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