A thirty-five-year-old man steps from behind a broken pillar. His open grey rugged coat hangs around a sling, and a cigarette glows between his fingers as dust settles across the ruined bar.
Liam
Quiet. It is Liam. Follow me, and keep your voices down.
He stubs the cigarette beneath his boot and gestures toward a gap behind the ruined bar. Sigfreid nods, then stays close as Liam leads them between overturned tables and broken casks.
Liam
The basement is clear. We can speak there. Did you get the parts that Jannick needs for the radio?
A narrow stair descends beneath the Bierhalle. Liam tests each step before moving on, while Sigfreid keeps watch behind them. Helena's concealed materials remain packed among ordinary papers.
Liam
Merkel still has not sent a signal. Nothing since he left the district. I do not know whether he reached safety.
At the basement door, Liam pauses with his hand on the latch. Faint shelter sounds drift through the ruins above, and he looks between Helena and Sigfreid, waiting before he opens it.
✓ Quest Accepted
Confirm a viable route onward with Liam
✓ Quest Accepted
Tell Jannick about the radio parts
Director's notewhole tale
Helena tells Liam that is found the parts. As well as war codes and documents that the Soviets label as sealed
Director's notewhole tale
The three head down to the basement, where 9 other people are down there waiting. Five men, three woman, one older men in his 50s, Jannick. The room is dim lighted, with lantern and candle light. The 5 men are standing around a table looking at maps of the saxon district. The three lighting candles
Liam
Come in. The others are waiting below. Keep the door quiet.
Liam opens the basement door, and Sigfreid guides Helena down the narrow stairs. Lanterns and candles reveal nine waiting figures: five men around a map table, three women lighting candles, and an older man standing apart.
Jannick
Liam brought her. Then close the door and tell us what you found.
The older man, Jannick, leans over the Saxon district maps. His lined face and gray hair show his age, while the other men study roads, checkpoints, and marked crossings in the lantern light.
Helena Eichwald
I found the parts, along with war codes and documents the Soviets have marked as sealed.
Liam
Sealed Soviet material? Put it on the table. Jannick needs to see exactly what the station was hiding.
Liam bars the door behind them. Around the table, the five men bend over the maps while the three women shield their candle flames, and Jannick clears a space among the papers.
Director's notewhole tale
I place the radio parts, codes and the sealed documents before Jannick.
Director's notewhole tale
Jannick is surprised that I've accomplished more than hed expected
Helena sets the radio parts, frequency codes, and sealed station documents before Jannick. Lantern light catches the torn folder and penciled markings as the five men lean closer around the maps.
The three women pause over their candles. Jannick’s hand stops above the Saxon district, while Liam bars the basement door and Sigfreid listens on the stairs.
Jannick
You found more than I expected. Parts, codes, and sealed documents from the station.
Jannick lifts the folder without opening it, examining its damaged corner and the Soviet markings. Surprise gives way to careful attention as the room settles into silence.
Jannick
These papers could expose every route we use. Where exactly did you recover them?
The five men bend over the maps again, comparing marked crossings with the documents. The three women shield the flames, keeping the cramped basement dim and difficult to read from outside.
Jannick
Whatever else is inside, we will sort it here. No page leaves this table until we know what it means.
Quest Complete
Tell Jannick about the radio parts
Director's notewhole tale
I tell Jannick, that these came from the deserted war radio station, outside of the city. And that I didn't have time to open the documents
Director's note
I told about the three Soviet soldiers, that was standing guard outside of it. And that i was almost captured, but managed to escape from them
Helena Eichwald
They came from the deserted war radio station outside the city. I had no time to open the sealed documents.
Jannick’s fingers hover above the folder. Around him, the five men stop studying the Saxon maps, while the three women hold their candle flames steady.
Helena Eichwald
Three Soviet soldiers guarded the station. They nearly captured me, but I escaped with the parts, codes, and documents.
Jannick
You crossed a guarded station and carried this out without opening it. That is more than I expected, and more dangerous than you understand.
Jannick sets the folder beside the frequency codes instead of opening it. Liam remains by the barred door, listening for movement above, while Sigfreid watches the stair.
Jannick
We will not break the seal here. First we compare the codes with our routes, then decide whether these papers can be moved.
The basement settles into a guarded hush. The five men return to the maps, the three women shield the candles, and the sealed documents remain untouched at the table’s center.
“Does Jannick know the significance of the sealed Red Army documents?”
YES (Likely, rolled 30)
Jannick studies the Soviet seals without touching them. The color drains from his face, and his attention shifts from the folder to the marked crossings on the Saxon map.
Jannick
I know what these markings mean. They identify Red Army security records, not ordinary station papers.
The five men draw closer around the table. The three women stop shielding the candles long enough to watch Jannick, while Liam remains beside the barred door and Sigfreid holds the stair.
Jannick
These documents may name Soviet informants, protected routes, and the officers directing the searches in Dresden. If the seals are genuine, they could expose the entire occupation network here.
One of the five men lowers his gaze to the maps. The three women resume their candle work, but their hands move more carefully as the basement's quiet becomes deliberate.
Jannick
That is why the seal stays unbroken. We compare the codes first. Then we decide whether opening these papers helps us, or gives the Soviets a reason to search every shelter.
Jannick places his palm beside the folder, not on it. The radio parts and codes remain spread across the table, while the sealed Red Army records become the center of every calculation below the ruined beer hall.
Director's notewhole tale
One of the men ask Jannick, if the document could be re-sealed. After we'd opened it?
Director's notewhole tale
Jannick responds a No.
Director's notewhole tale
Jannick replies: "Just having the documents in our possession is bad enough. To open them and badly reseal them? They'll first interrogate us. Then just shoot us. Or worst take us to a Russia gulag.
The five men bend over the Saxon maps as the three women tend the lanterns and candles. Jannick keeps one hand beside the sealed folder, while Liam watches the barred door and Sigfreid guards the stair.
The Man 1
Jannick, if we open it, can the document be sealed again afterward?
Jannick
No. Not convincingly. A broken seal and a poor repair would tell them exactly what happened.
The man, a middle-aged, lean human man with a narrow weathered face, thinning dark hair, and a rumpled brown wool jacket lowers his eyes to the folder. Candlelight catches the damaged corner, while the room's quiet tightens around the table and the documents remain closed.
Helena Eichwald
Three Soviet soldiers guarded the station. They nearly captured me, but I escaped with the parts, codes, and documents.
Jannick
Just possessing them is dangerous enough. Open them and reseal them badly, and they will interrogate us first. Then they will shoot us, or send us to a Russian gulag.
Jannick leaves his hand beside the folder without touching it. Around him, maps, radio parts, and coded papers wait beneath the dim lantern glow as every person measures the danger of knowing more.
Director's note
Helena speaks: "Then burn them out of sight, and feigning ignorance"
Director's notewhole tale
Jannick replies: "That'll have to be our last and only option. But keeping these documents sealed, might be our best way to into the American occupation zone"
The basement holds its breath. Lanterns and candles throw wavering light across the Saxon maps, the radio parts, and the sealed documents resting before Jannick.
Jannick
That will have to be our last and only option. Keeping the documents sealed may be our best way into the American occupation zone.
The man at the map table looks from the folder to the routes marked across Saxony. The three women pause beside the candles, while Liam remains by the barred door and Sigfreid watches the stairs.
Jannick
Three soldiers outside a deserted station, and you still carried all this away. We cannot leave the papers here forever. They must disappear from sight, with no sign that we ever understood them.
Jannick gathers the sealed documents apart from the codes and parts. He indicates a covered iron stove set into the far wall, its cold mouth hidden behind stacked crates.
The Man 1
If the papers vanish, the codes and equipment can pass as ordinary salvage. The route west may still be possible.
No one opens the seals. Jannick closes his hand around the documents and leads them toward the covered stove, while the maps remain spread beneath the dim candlelight.
Director's notewhole tale
Another man speaks out in a angered tone, arms crossed. "Why should we even go the Americans, Jannick! Those Bastardes are no better than the Russian!"
Jannick carries the sealed documents toward the covered stove. The man at the map table follows with crossed arms, while the three women and four other men watch in tense silence.
The Man 1
Why should we go to the Americans, Jannick? Those bastards are no better than the Russians.
A second man steps away from the map table, a broad-shouldered middle-aged man in a dark wool coat, with a reddened face and tightly folded arms. His anger fills the cramped basement.
Jannick
The Americans are not our friends. But their zone may offer distance from Soviet searches, and distance is all we can buy.
Jannick studies Helena, then the intact seals. The angry man lowers his arms by degrees, while Liam keeps watch at the barred door and Sigfreid remains on the stairs.
He sets the documents beside the cold stove without opening them. No one reaches for the seals; the codes and radio parts remain visible on the table, disguised among ordinary salvage.
Director's note
a woman speaks out in a calmer tone. "From what I've from my sister's last letter, the American have food. And most of Bavaria was heavily bombed."
“(a woman speaks out in a calmer tone. "From what I've from my sister's last letter, the American have food. And most of Bavaria was heavily bombed.")”
The Woman 1
My sister's last letter said the Americans have food. And much of Bavaria was heavily bombed.
The calmer voice comes from one of the women beside the candles, a young adult woman with a slim build, pale oval face, braided chestnut hair, and a faded blue wool dress. Her statement settles over the basement, but the men do not relax; the sealed documents remain beside the cold stove.
The Angry Man
Food will not make them our friends. Bombed cities do not prove the Americans will shelter us.
The woman lowers her eyes to the candle flame. Her argument has not moved the room, and the westward route remains a calculation rather than a promise.
Jannick
She may be right about the food. That still does not make the crossing safe, or the Americans trustworthy.
Jannick leaves the documents untouched beside the stove. The room returns to its maps and guarded silence, while the possible route into the American zone grows no clearer.
Director's note
a woman speaks out in a calmer tone. "From what I've from my sister's last letter, the American have food. And most of Bavaria was heavily bombed."
Jannick studies the sealed documents beside the cold stove, then gathers them without breaking the markings. The codes and radio parts remain on the map table, disguised among ordinary salvage.
Jannick
We keep them out of sight and claim ignorance. No seal is opened, and no one here discusses what may be inside.
Jannick carries the documents behind the stacked crates near the cold stove. The man at the map table watches him, while the other resistance members keep their attention on the marked routes.
The Angry Man
And if the Soviets search this place? Sealed or not, possession alone could condemn every person below this roof.
Jannick
Then the papers disappear before the search reaches us. The codes and equipment remain salvage. Nothing else ties them to this room.
The calmer woman lowers her candle and glances toward the covered stove. No one touches the seals. Above, a floorboard creaks, and every voice falls silent until the sound passes.
Jannick
We leave for the American zone when the route opens. Until then, these documents stay hidden, and the radio materials stay ready.
Director's note
a woman speaks out in a calmer tone. "From what I've from my sister's last letter, the American have food. And most of Bavaria wasn't heavily bombed."
Jannick keeps the sealed documents behind the stacked crates. The radio parts and codes remain on the table, while the five men and three women watch the room’s narrow choices close around them.
Jannick studies Helena for a moment, then looks toward the cold stove. The angry man’s arms stay folded, while the calmer woman lowers her gaze to the candle.
The Woman 1
My sister’s last letter said the Americans have food. Much of Bavaria was heavily bombed, but people there are surviving.
The Angry Man
Food does not make them our friends. The Americans are no better than the Russians.
Jannick
No one burns anything until we have a safe place and a clear route. For now, the seals remain intact, and the west remains our best chance.
Jannick returns the documents behind the crates without opening them. The men resume studying the maps, the women tend the candles, and the radio materials stay ready for a westward departure.
Director's note
a woman speaks out in a calmer tone. "From what I've from my sister's last letter, the American have food. And most of Bavaria wasn't heavily bombed."
The basement falls quiet around Jannick’s decision. Candle flames tremble against the maps, while the sealed documents remain hidden behind the crates and the radio parts wait on the table.
The Man 1
If we leave them here, we risk the room. If we carry them west, we risk every checkpoint between Dresden and Bavaria.
Jannick
Then we divide the risk. The codes and parts travel as salvage. The sealed papers stay hidden until we know which route is open.
Jannick returns to the map table and traces a narrow westward road with one finger. Liam bends over the markings, while Sigfreid listens near the stairs for movement above.
Liam
The main crossings will be watched. We need a guide through the smaller roads, and someone who can explain the papers if American patrols stop us.
The Woman 1
My sister may know a family near the western boundary. Her letter mentioned food lines and room for people who arrive without questions.
Jannick looks from the woman 1 to Helena, then closes his hand over the route marked toward the American zone. No departure is set yet, but the room now has a direction and a task.
“I ask Liam what's our best rout to the American occupation zone? And about if there any new from Merkel?”
SUCCESS (Great Persuasion, rolled -1)
Helena Eichwald
Liam, what is our best route to the American occupation zone? And is there any news from Merkel?
Shell Shocked catches Helena on the remembered crack of a rifle, disrupting her first breath. She steadies herself, and Esper Speak carries the question through a narrow mental channel to Liam without raising her voice in his mind
Liam
The best route runs west through the smaller roads beyond Freiberg, then south toward Hof and the American boundary. We avoid the main crossings and travel with a civilian family if Clara's sister can confirm them.
Liam answers the mental link as though Helena had spoken beside him. His confidence in the route is practical, but his eyes stay guarded when he considers the missing man.
Liam
Merkel sent no word after leaving the district. I have no proof he reached safety. If we take this route, you owe us silence about it until we cross the boundary, and I will hold you to that. Don't forget that me and Sigfreid, are the only ones that know you're a esper. Be patient.
The answer gives Helena a route and confirms the silence around Merkel, but Liam's condition places a debt on her standing with the group. He turns back to the map and marks the western roads.
Quest Complete
Confirm a viable route onward with Liam