Low Estate/Turns/Turn 1
At Sister Marianne's Orphanage
"I'm so glad you all could come," Sister Marianne says, once dinner is over and you are seated in the parlor. The meal was surprisingly charming -- not served in the main dining-hall, but in the more intimate room the Sister reserves for important guests and occasions, like visits from guild officials and goodbye dinners for "graduating" orphans. You were waited on with various degrees of expertise by some of the orphans; attending at table is mandatory for all of the children, but some of them are more likely to be future blacksmiths than future butlers. After dinner, Klara was sent to fetch two of the children -- Aernoud and Antheunis, and then dismissed, leaving just your small group.
"Very glad indeed," she repeats. "I grow old and, alas, can no longer manage these things myself as well as I used to be able to, so it is good to know the orphanage has friends left." She turns to look at Aernoud and Antheunis. "And as for you two, since I haven't yet been able to place you in more .. structured occupations, it seems like this is a good opportunity to see if this will suit you."
Marianne stops and takes a breath. "I must really be quite flustered! I'm not at all discussing this in an orderly manner. Let me start again. As you may or may not have heard, Culpyn Keilliaert, the, ah, 'King of the Undercity' as I believe he is referred to in the taverns, and two of his children were killed a week ago by Bloody Maldeghem. Part of a gang war, I suppose," she says. "What is not publicly known -- at least, I didn't believe so -- is that Culpyn indirectly owned this orphanage and let us stay here rent-free. Two days ago a representative of Maldeghem's came here and told me I had a month to pay him ten years of back rent at full value, or we would have to vacate the premises."
She taps an absent finger on the arm of the hard-backed chair she's sitting on. "I can't possibly raise the sum in a month, nor, do I believe, does Maldeghem expect me to. It must be a pretext of some kind, but figuring out exactly what for is something I am unable to do. I have, thankfully, been equal to the challenge of past years, but now I find myself at an impasse. As the most capable ones I know who count this orphanage as a thing of value, I have called you here to ask for advice and assistance. What do you think I should do?"
"Wow, uh, thank you, Sister," Antheunis says, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. "I guess--I mean, Maldeghem has a group that works down by the docks. I guess I could go there and listen to see if I hear something? I could probably get there and listen by myself without too much trouble, but if someone wanted to come along, that could work? And I know other places he hangs out, and places where Culpyn's people used to hang out, at least, if anyone wants to go there..." Sister Marianne smiles at him, and he blushes furiously.
[Feel free to add stuff to the conversation here. You can generally make whatever factual assertions you want about Culpyn, Maldeghem, the orphanage, the gang war, etc, without needing to roll, although if you want to see if you have any personal connections with anyone or know any information that you shouldn't have a right to know, that requires a roll, probably Community (Underworld). If you want to have OOC discussion, you can use the talk page.]
- Aernoud van Nevel: forest wanderer — FATE ▢▢▢▢▢ • Stress ▢▢ • Consequences unused (2), unused (4), unused (6)
- Antheunis Opgieten: slippery urchin — FATE ▢▢▢▢▢ • Stress ▢▢ • Consequences unused (2), unused (4), unused (6)
- Boudin Verdonk: bravo and expeditor — FATE ▢▢▢▢▢ • Stress ▢▢▢▢ • Consequences unused (2), unused (4), unused (6)
- Mattius Rothmann: brutish warmage — FATE ▢▢▢▢▢ • Stress ▢▢▢▢ • Consequences unused (2), unused (4), unused (6)
- Willem de Vos: student magician — FATE ▢▢▢▢▢ • Stress ▢▢ • Consequences unused (2), unused (4), unused (6)
Boudin Verdonk
Boudin hisses in through his teeth. "I had... hoped you would be spared the worst of it. No matter. We'll do what we can.
"The important thing to understand is that Keilliaert's order was... stable. His death creates a lot of questions that a great many people will be very busy in answering. Maldeghem is choleric and impatient; his move came about five years too soon, in my estimation. He trades very well in fear, and very poorly in trust. So at the moment he is in a very insecure position, no? The whole underworld is in chaos, and if Maldeghem makes a false step then he goes under. Everything he does must be concerned with that.
"The first possibility is that your visitor was a rogue underling, hoping to make a quick extortion that would be overlooked in the general to-do. No, maybe that's unlikely; Maldeghem has known opinions on taking his name in vain. But his lackeys are generally made up of the sort of rat who'd try it.
"Otherwise... you have two assets, Sister, beside your personal charms. You have the building, and you have the children. If Maldeghem is twisting you, it's for something hidden in one or the other."
Next Character
GM Note
Turn length is going to be flexible; you can basically say as much as you want for what to do after this conversation is over, and I'll cut it off when something interrupts or circumstances change.
