cluebook007

=Ebhard's Guide to Adventure=

Being the known Menoirs of Ebhard of Achdorf
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Abbot, Bishop, Knight and Hero
Gretchen Wilburg first assembled us at the Schmerker, one of the better inns in Worms. Noble-born, charismatic, a great speaker, and handy with sword or bow, she was our natural leader.

Our second member, Gunther Langer, was a huge man. A former mercenary fallen on hard times, he had more than one score to settle, and plenty of fighting skills to do it. Just watching him twirl a mace was an education.

Hans Muller was a university graduate, an intellectual, and a practicing alchemist of no mean skill. He'd spent the last few years as a travelling merchant. We appreciated his quick wit and research skills. He was also good with small devices. Hans urged us to invest in a set of lockpicks and a decent philosopher's stone at the earliest opportunity.

I was the oldest of our party. A noble-born younger son, I'd helped run the family estates, been an abbot, even a bishop briefly, and was recently knighted by a Duke for my part in a battle. Unfortunately, he wasn't a Duke my father approved of, so here I was! Few questioned my virtue or religious knowledge, and I had a talent for healing. My weakest point was that full knightly armor tended to make me clumsy and slow. I wasn't alone in this. Hans had a similar problem.

Comparing our skills and resources, we decided to be cautious. At first we concentrated on helping the citizenry with the local scum. The city guard concentrated on the walls, main streets and richer parts of town. We patrolled the nighttime back streets, which were infested with bandits, brigands and robbers of the lowest sort. Many were quite inept. Sometimes we bagged two or three parties in a row, only quitiing when someone's strength or endurance ran low.

This occupation increased our wealth, experience and local reputation. If our wounds were serious, we sometimes left the city and camped outside for a few days. After all, the gate toll into the city was cheaper than a multi-day stay for everyone at the Schmerker. We avoided staying in the slums or parks because people tended to think of us as freeloading scum – a bad impression we were taking pains to avoid! ...

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