On the Waterfront

Festag 7 th  Pflugzeit So you set out first thing in the morning. It was drizzling but the weather wasn’t too bad. You had bought a load of supplies, with a tent and lanterns, rations, and other things you thought you might need for a long journey across the marshes. Max had bought a new handgun. And you bought a mule to carry it all. You met Klaus by the city gate and he had a backpack of stuff. He was already whining about the journey. You took a compass bearing of 277 degrees which you had read when Goffman had done that ritual with the tooth, and set off in that direction. It was difficult going and also difficult to follow in a consistent direction. As the land was so low and featureless it was hard to find landmarks and the terrain was so waterlogged with streams and hillocks and pools that it was difficult to keep in a straight line, and it was even harder with the mule, so progress was slow. You could see why although this was called the Grootscher Marsh, it was also ca...

Angestag 6 th  Pflugzeit Over breakfast at Frau Koester’s, Max and Heinrich told Kristoff and Balden what had happened the previous days, with the strange ring and the house clearance, and the strange piper bloke in the alleyway. You handed over "De Sterrenkaart der Zeevaarders" to Kris. He can’t read and he doesn’t speak Wastelander, but he could look at the pictures. You decided to go up to the ‘Change in Hightower to see if you could find out what happened to Gustav Andersen. You met a clerk there, who knew him and so he was happy to share with you all the rumours he had heard . He s aid that Gustav had made a fictitious report about the prospect of an eclipse, or something, which was odd because Gustav wasn’t that interested in Astronomy, he was more into history. And then he had heard he had been carted off to Heiligdom. You knew about Heiligdom because you had a good view of it from the guest house, and you knew it was an infamous lunatic asylum run by the sisters o...

  Bezahltag 4 th  Pflugzeit Back at the guest house for breakfast, Frau Koester was dishing out gruel for Heinrich and Max. She asked what you had been doing with all the books and papers, and the telescope, and Max explained that they were just text books and notes to help him with his studies. And y ou talked about the two figures who you had noticed watching you from the other side of the canal as you came in. You wondered whether they had actually been following you, and whether they had anything to do with the group you gave the ring to. The books you had were the following: In Reikspiel: "Die Geheimnisse der Sternenwanderer"  ("The Secrets of the Star-Wanderers") "Himmelsrad und Sternzeichen"  ("Sky Wheel and Star Signs") "Das Verborgene Wissen der Astrologen"  ("The Hidden Knowledge of Astrologers") In Wastelander: "De Sterrenkaart der Zeevaarders"  ("The Star Chart of Mariners") "Hemelwijsheid ...

  Backertag 3 rd Pflugzeit The next morning Heinrich, Max, and Kris were at breakfast. Heinrich and Max were telling Kris what they got up to the day before, and Frau Koester was trying to eavesdrop while she was ladling out the gruel. But the story they told him was pretty much what actually happened. You had a look at the jobs board and noticed that a new one had been pinned up there. This said “House Clearance. Some peril involved. See Mijnfrau van der Post on Tileasteeg. Own transport essential.” You decided to go for that one, and thought it might be some easy work. You didn’t have any transport but decided to work that out later, once you found out what the job was. You asked Frau Koester where Tileasteeg was and it turned out it was just opposite the Hammer and Bucket in Remasweg. You were a bit reluctant to go there because of what had happened there the previous evening but decided to risk it. In Tileasteeg you asked after van der Post and were directed to the fourt...