Two weeks on the road have worn the dust into Frieda’s hem. Schweinfurt’s walls now loom ahead, and the city gate bars the last step to the imperial court.
Two guards study her habit, then the satchel at her side. They are not the same men who watched from Waldenhof.
Ulrich
State your business, chaplain. The magistrates do not hear every pilgrim at the gate.
Frieda shows the seal and the ledger, kept dry through rain and mud. The guard’s eyes narrow at the Bishop’s mark.
Frieda
I bring proof against Bishop Eisenfaust, and witnesses to speak before the court.
Ulrich
Then this is no longer a road matter. Hold fast here, and do not lose those papers.
A bell sounds inside the city, deep and slow. Beyond the gate, Schweinfurt opens like a promise and a snare, while Frieda waits for her name to be taken to the magistrates.
✓ Quest Accepted
Gain an audience with the magistrates
✓ Quest Accepted
Present the evidence against Bishop Eisenfaust
“Frieda waits to be called before the magistrates. She uses the time to study the surrounding area.”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled +0)
Frieda lets the gatehouse noise settle around her and studies it all at once, the slit windows, the iron teeth above, the guards’ boots, the damp flagstones under the arch.
Frieda
The portcullis is new iron, but the stone around it has been patched.
Along the wall, a boy with a message pouch hurries through a side passage. One guard takes the pouch, glances toward the city, then turns at once toward the inner yard.
Ulrich
Keep her here. If the magistrates want this matter, they can say so themselves.
The other guard shifts his spear aside and reveals a narrow bench under the arch, where carts wait in the rain and one mule stamps at the mud. Frieda spots a waxed ribbon on the ground, red against the wet stone.
The ribbon bears a broken seal mark, not unlike the scrap she has carried since Hammerstein. Beyond the gate, a clerk’s voice calls orders from somewhere unseen, and the waiting grows less like delay and more like scrutiny.
Ulrich
Magistrates do not receive strangers at once. Hold there, chaplain, and do not test our patience.
“She picks up the broken seal and shows it to the guard. "Perhaps you can tell me who brought this message and who received it? It is clearly from Bishop Eisenfaust, who wishes to thwart the process of justice."”
SUCCESS (Mediocre Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Frieda
Perhaps you can tell me who brought this message, and who received it? It is clearly from Bishop Eisenfaust, who wishes to thwart the process of justice.
Frieda lifts the broken red seal from the wet stone and holds it where the nearest guard can see the wax. Rain beads on her glove as she turns the scrap toward the arch light.
Ulrich
That ribbon was carried in by the messenger boy. He gave it to the clerk inside, not to us.
The guard’s hard look eases by a fraction. He glances from the seal to the side passage, then back to Frieda, as if weighing how much of the gatehouse he can safely admit.
Ulrich
If the Bishop marks his orders so, then he means them read in a hurry. That is no provincial trifle.
He steps nearer, lowers his voice, and points with two fingers toward the inner yard, where the clerk’s calls still drift through the rain. The waiting at the gate feels less like dismissal now, more like a door held shut for form’s sake.
Ulrich
I will say this much. You are not the first to come here with Eisenfaust on your heels. Stand fast, chaplain.
“"I will, and I will count on you to assist me, if Eisenfaust's men defy imperial authority by interfering with the course of justice."”
SUCCESS (Mediocre Diplomacy, rolled +2)
Frieda
I will, and I count on your aid if Eisenfaust’s men meddle with justice.
Ulrich
Then count on it. I have no love for a writ used as a cudgel.
Ulrich
If the magistrates hear you first, I will see that your words reach them cleanly.
He angles his body toward the arch, no longer merely blocking the way. The rain softens on the stone while the red wax ribbon lies bright beside his boot, like a second warning.
Ulrich
I was at the gate when Eisenfaust last sent for a body. The clerk smiled too hard that day, and the man inside the yard would not meet my eye.
Ulrich
Since then, I trust seals less than I trust a plain voice at the door.
From within, the clerk’s summons grows nearer, and the guard keeps his spear at rest, waiting with Frieda instead of against her.
“Frieda thinks it might be wise to gather some witnesses in case Eisenfaust's men attack. "Is it all right if I sing? I'd like to practice some hymns for the church service. My favorite is A Mighty Fortress Is Our God."”
FAILURE (Good Oratory, rolled -2)
Frieda lifts her chin under the arch and lets the hymn begin, soft at first, as if she is testing the stone for its echo.
The notes carry a little, then fade into the rain and the clink of harnesses beyond the gate. The yard stays half silent, listening without gathering.
Ulrich
It is a brave tune for a cold gate, but not enough to draw a crowd.
Frieda finishes the first line to a handful of glances only. The bench remains empty, and the broken red ribbon at the guard's boot looks louder than the song.
Ulrich
Sing if you wish, chaplain, but this is no market square. People here weigh every word before they stop to hear it.
He lowers his voice, keeping it for her alone. The rain beads on his spear shaft, and his wary respect settles into something steadier.
Ulrich
Still, if the magistrates are listening from inside, they will know you stand here calmly. That may count for more than a crowd.
From the gatehouse, the clerk's summons draws closer, and Frieda's unfinished hymn hangs between stone and weather, waiting for a verdict.
“"Oh, I was only warming up. for a more difficult song, the Dies Irae, or Day of Wrath, which warns sinners of God's certain judgement."”
SUCCESS (Good Oratory, rolled +3)
Frieda
Oh, I was only warming up. For a harsher song, the Dies Irae, the Day of Wrath.
Frieda lifts her voice again, and the arch takes the chant this time. The plain stone seems to hold still around the warning, as if the gate itself is listening.
Rain taps the portcullis and the waiting bench goes forgotten. A few heads turn inside the yard, then turn back, but no one laughs now.
Ulrich
That is not a girl making noise at a gate, that is a priest speaking as if judgment already stands here.
The guard straightens beside her, not blocking her this time but standing with her. His grip on the spear eases a fraction, and his eyes stay on the inner gate.
Ulrich
That song has teeth. If the magistrates hear it, they will know you are not here to beg.
From within, the clerk’s steps draw near, then slow. The broken red seal lies bright against the wet stone, and the silence beyond the arch feels more careful than before.
“"I know some mighty good hymns. Another one I particularly like is the Old Hundreth, based on Psalm 100, The All-People Call to Praise."”
SUCCESS (Good Oratory, rolled -1)
Frieda takes up the Old Hundredth, and the gatehouse changes with it. The chant rises plain and steady under the arch, brighter than the rain.
Ulrich
That is no street-song. That is a claim.
The guard beside her lets out a slow breath, then shifts his spear upright like a witness taking his place. Inside the yard, the clerk’s steps stop altogether.
Ulrich
Hear that tone, clerk. She comes with church backing, and with proof in hand.
The inner door opens a hand’s breadth. A pale clerical face appears, wary, then more careful still when he sees the broken red seal at Frieda’s side.
The Clerk
You sing as if you mean to be heard in the hall itself. State your business.
Frieda
I bring testimony and sealed evidence against Bishop Eisenfaust.
The clerk’s eyes drop to the seal, then to Frieda’s cross, and his hand opens the gate wider. The rain keeps falling, but the way in is no longer barred.
“"God bless you both for your kind assistance. Please direct me to the magistrate's hall."”
SUCCESS (Mediocre Diplomacy, rolled +3)
Frieda lowers her song and folds the seal and satchel close. Rain ticks on the stone while the clerk studies her like a ledger line that might yet balance.
Frieda
God bless you both for your kind assistance. Please direct me to the magistrate’s hall.
The Clerk
Then you go by the inner passage, past the tally bench. The hall door stands under the eagle carved beam.
At the same time, the clerk’s other hand gestures open, not merely toward the gate but toward the yard beyond it. The guard steps aside with a hard nod, making room for her evidence to pass.
Ulrich
I will walk her in. If the magistrates ask who stood for her, tell them I did.
The clerk’s gaze catches on the red seal again, then flicks to Frieda’s cross. His caution stays, but it no longer keeps her out.
The Clerk
Bring the ledgers, then. The hall will want to see what sort of witness comes to Schweinfurt in this rain.
“"The rain is God's blessing, for it gives us to drink and makes our crops to grow. If we seek anointment with holy water, what greater blessings can we expect from the water that flows from God himself? And look you, how the rain washes the filth from our streets, as I also propose to do." With these pious words, she proceeds to the magistrate's hall.”
SUCCESS (Good Oratory, rolled +0)
Frieda speaks of rain as blessing, and the words travel with them beneath the arch. The clerk listens without interrupting, while the guard gives her a sideways look that softens into respect.
The Clerk
A tidy sermon for a wet gate. It is good to hear a witness who can speak to heaven and to law.
Ulrich
And good to hear one who does not waste a blessing. My name is Ulrich, if the hall asks who guided you in.
The guard falls in beside her at once, spear upright, boots splashing through the yard. The clerk steps back to clear the way, still watching the satchel as if it might bite.
Frieda
God sends the rain to cleanse the streets as surely as to water the fields.
Ulrich
Then let Schweinfurt hear it, lady chaplain. Some things only look pure when washed.
They pass under the eagle-carved beam. Ahead, the magistrate’s hall opens its inner doors, and the route is now clear at last.
Quest Complete
Gain an audience with the magistrates
Attribute Upgrade: Perception Good→Great