Trude straightens up at Horst's question, transforming from the long-suffering older sister to the long-suffering abandoned paramour. "If you please, sir, tell Traugott that I cannot wait forever for him to gather an acceptable dowery. I may have to consider other suitors." She walks on for a few paces with her head held high, then turns shyly back to Horst. "And tell him I miss him."
Horst nods to the young woman seriously, "I shall tell him that." He hesitates a little, but refrains from asking if she discussed with her paramour what would constitute an acceptable dowry.
They are reaching the church, so any further discussion on the subject is potsponed. Petronius fetches Rufus from his perch in a tree, just as the cat is about to ambush young Dietrich from above. The boy was trying to find the wild cat in the hedge surrounding the church's yard, having not noticed that roles of hunter and hunted had been reversed.
As Horst and Petronius enter the church, they cross themselves with holy water from the font, then look around for the priest.
An old woman passes the group as she leaves the church, and noticing Petronius, crosses herself, muttering. She hurries by. Father Englebert enters the apse from the sacristy, and extinguishes a couple of candles, tidying the altar. A mass has clearly recently ended. The dominion aura practically rings in Petronius' ears.
Noticing the men, Father Englebert approaches. "God's blessing on you sirs. How may I be of service?" The priest's hair is graying at the temples, and a small paunch is showing through his cassock. His voice, while not loud, is a rumbly bass that can no doubt fill the small church even when full of congregants.
"Good day, father. May we trouble you for a few moments?" Horst's attitude is one of deep respect, while Petronius simply deeply nods to the priest and stays in the background, only murmuring his greeting, "Father." Rufus the cat is nowhere to be seen -- he stayed outside the church.
At a gesture from the priest, they all sit down on one of the long benches where the congregation sits during offices. ((OOC: Actual pews are certainly out of preiod. I'm not sure there were even benches for anyone but nobility.))
"If you will remember, some months ago one of your parishioners, Heinrich who is Trude's father, took care of a wounded man. The man died and he was buried here. By the most fortuituous circumstances, my friend and I happened to visit Heinrich's establishment yesterday, and recognized the hound that was the man's companion. You see, we knew him and he was a friend of ours, named Sigmund." Horst bows his head for a second, showing his sadness, "In my own case, Sigmund was a distant cousin. So I asked Heinrich what he could tell me of what happened. We would like to recover Sigmund's belongings, so as to bring them back to his family and his lord, and tell the tale of his passing." He gestures nods to Trude, "We brought Trude here, Heinrich's daughter, to vouch for our relation to Sigmund."
"They speak truly, Father. And the dog knew them instantly. Trude affirms Horst's words.
The priest nods at Trude, then turns once more to Horst. "I am sorry that you had no chance to say farewell to your kinsman, sir. God has called Sigmund home, and he is now at peace, free from the sufferings of his final days. I can provide you with what belongings he had. Heinrich entrusted me to the safety of Sigmund's possessions until his family or lord could claim them."
The priest leads the group outside through a doorway at the end of the transept, and into a small graveyard. "Sigmund's body was laid to rest here, after I administered the last rites, and sang a requiem. Requiescant in pace. Father Englebert crosses himself and leads the way into a small house on the other side of the cemetery.
Inside the priest's residence, Father Englebert gestures to the men to sit, telling Trude with a gentle smile, "Trude, why don't you wait outside with Dietrich?" Opening a cabinet from which he retrieves a satchel, Father Englebert tells Horst, "Dietlinde did not know the cause of Sigmund's injuries, but said the blow to his head was indeed grievous." He grimaces. "Mortally so, obviously." Presenting the satchel to Horst, he continues, "This is the bag which Heinrich brought to me after Sigmund's death."
"Thank you, father. Would it be possible to have prayers said for his soul, now that you know who he is? I will bring the sad tidings to his family and they will of course pray for him, but I am sure they will also appreciate your efforts following his passing."
After Horst and Petronius are seating, the redcap reacts to this new information. "A blow to the head, you say? I'm afraid that Heinrich was unable to tell me the exact nature of the wound." Receiving the satchel from the priest's hands, Horst lets it sit on his lap for a few moments, before crossing himself and opening it. He already knows the book is missing from the heft of the bag, but he wants to see if there is anything else missing, and whether any of the letters have been opened.
Petronius barely contains his reaction upon seeing that the book is absent.
"Please express my condolences and blessings to Sigmund's family, and rest assured that he will be remembered in our prayers."
Father Engelbert shakes his head, then speaks quietly, brushing his hands on the sides of his cassock. "As I dressed him for burial, I could see plainly the back of his skull broken in."
The priest looks sideways at Petronius. "I assure you, the contents as I received them are all there. I did pull the letters out, but did not know the names or the locations of those to whom the letter were addressed. I left them in the bag, hoping whoever claimed them would be able to send them on. I am guessing that Sigmund was acting as a messenger? It was unfortunate that he met with disaster while dispatching his duties." He looks again at Petronius, and frowns. "Perhaps if something is missing, it was taken by whoever gave him that wound? I'm afraid I can offer no other help." The last was almost a dismissal.
Petronius looks about to retort, but thankfully Horst cuts him off. "Indeed, father," his tone is as meek as can be, "Sigmund was carrying an important package that seems to be missing. We are worried that my cousin's fate might have been due to this, which is why my... associate reacted the way he did when he realized it had been stolen. We worry that the content may be used to cause harm to innocent souls."
"Again, we are grateful for the care you took of Sigmund's soul. Once we have contacted his lord and kin, perhaps it may be possible to arrange for a donation to the church? I am sure they will want to make sure that his grave is well-tended and the ground his remains are buried in well-kept."
((I'm assuming that such donations is a regular occurance. Not trying to bribe him, rather to reassure him that we are good Christians.))
Father Englebert bows his head toward Horst, not looking at Petronius. "As I said, now that I know Sigmund's name, I will see a that a proper Requiem is sung. A donation is not necessary, but welcome, indeed. God's blessing on you both." The priest raises his hand in blessing, including Petronius in the gesture. "I hope you find that which is missing."
Petronius lowers his head to accept the blessing, as does Horst. "Thank you, father." After the blessing, Horst will rise to depart, along with Petronius.
Outside, Horst forestalls any immediate comment from Petronius. Moving a little distance away, he looks for Trude and Dietrich, both to see if they waited for them and to ensure they are out of hearing. After locating them, he tells the magus, "That could have gone better, but it could also have been much worse."
Petronius sighs, "The effects of my Gift?" The redcap nods. "I would have hoped a man of the Church would have been more tolerant than that. That was really irritating."
The redcap laughs softly, "From my experience, Churchmen are just as intolerant as anyone else. That fact that some hold a lot of power over their community sometimes means they are actually less tolerant." He smiles and gestures to Trude, who has just spotted them, "As I said, this wasn't so bad. I got the impression that he was genuinely surprised that something was missing, so I think we are can reasonably move on."
Once Trude and Dietrich has rejoined them, Horst asks the girl, smiling, "Can you lead us to the healer... Dietlinde? Your introduction to the good Father helped us a lot, so we'd be grateful for a bit more of your assistance." Meanwhile, Rufus comes out of the brush to pounce on Dietrich, to the boy's delight.
"Dietlinde? Of course --" Trude gasps as Rufus ambushes Dietrich. She starts to run toward him shouting, then stops as he laughs and rubs the cat's ears. Staring at her brother for a moment, Trude mutters, "That boy and his animals ..." before turning back to Horst. "Dietlinde's cottage is the other side of the inn. We can introduce you. Dietrich likes her, and Ma probably wants him out of the kitchen all morning anyway. Maybe the first loaves will be out of the oven when we get back."
The group walks down the road back toward the inn, the dust billowing in a low cloud around their feet. Trude looks sideways at Horst for a moment. "What is it you do, sir? You aren't dressed like the regular merchants, and you're certainly not in the trades." She glances back at Petronius. "And Dietrich likes your friend," she shakes her head slightly.
"Hmmm," Horst scratches his head and ponders how to answer Trude's question. "Let's see if I can explain poperly." They walk a few more steps forward, and the redcap throws a side glance warning Petronius not to interrupt. "Much like some churchmen, my friend here spend much of his time in study, for he is a scholar. He studies the world around us, to learn and discover how it works. There are many subjects to those studies. Mathematics, which is the science of numbers. Astrology, which studies the stars. Natural philosophy, which studies the world around us, for example the various kinds of stones, animals and plants."
"This study uses many books, but it also requires the exchange of letters with other scholars. And messengers to carry them, which is what my cousin Sigmund did. I do a little of both, carrying messages or travelling to meet other scholars, and study myself when I can. My friend is much more gifted than I am as a scholar, so he gets to study most of the time."
"Scholars and messengers." Trude looks at Petronius skeptically. "I suppose if you have no other skills, and weren't apprenticed, it might have to do." She pauses, and eyes widening turns back to Horst. "No offense, sir. I'm sure you're an excellent messenger and scholar! Dietlinde's cottage is just ahead." Forgetting all semblance of dignity, Trude runs ahead, embarrassed by her comments.
Trude's reply leave Petronius puzzled at first, while her sudden departure leave him with his mouth open for he was about to offer a reply. What that reply would have been is lost, for Horst laughs softly. "Such is the wisdom of youth, sodalis," says the redcap, "for it would seem we are failures, not able to learn a proper craft."
As Petronius splutters at this statement, Horst cuts him off, still smiling, "Oh, don't be such a stick in the mud. It is better for her to believe we are less than we are. It is the way of my House to spread and sustain such belief. It allows us to pass unnoticed where otherwise we might be stopped and questioned. And in this case, you as well. Or would you rather have her tell her dad that an important man was asking questions about Sigmund? And have him spread that word around while gossiping? Arrogance is the worst enemy of most magi."
Shortly, the pair rejoin Trude and her brother near the healer's house.
As Horst and Petronius approach the house, Dietlinde pats Dietrich on the head and whispers in his ear. The boy runs into the house; Trude is not in sight. Dietlinde sets aside the bundle of herbs she had been tying and rises from her bench to greet the visitors. While not obese, the healer is definitely pear-shaped, with sloping shoulders and wide hips. Her blonde hair, going white, is pulled back beneath a scarf of the same color. Almost as tall as Petronius, she bows to him and Horst, while eyeing the magus suspiciously. She twists her large hands in her apron, and addresses Petronius, "I thought I would be seeing one of you eventually, although I prayed you would pass us by. You've come about the poor man who died of the head wound, haven't you?"
Petronius tries to hide his surprised at being addressed directly by the healer, for he had been ready to leave the speaking to Horst. But since the woman obviously recognizes him as a magus (or at least as a Gifted individual), he decides this calls for him to take the lead in this.
"We have indeed, healer Dietlinde." The young Bonisagus tries for a somber tone and demeanor, with just a hint of superiority mixed into kindness. "His name was Sigmund, and we are looking into his death in order to discover what happened. You seem to know who we are, which should make things simpler. What can you tell us?"
((I am assuming that Trude and Dietrich were sent out of hearing range on purpose, and that no one else is in sight.))
EDIT: ((I can't make die rolls from where I am right now, so I'll leave it up to you to make them if any are required. Relevant stats/abilities would be Com +2, Pre 0 and Leadership 1. Considering the negative effects of the Gift, I have low expectations. 
))
Dietlinde stares at Petronius a moment, her lips a thin line under the disapproving glare. "Which House?" she demands bluntly.
"It is quite presumptous of you to ask, healer, but I will humor you a little. I am of the Founder's House," Petronius answers. The answer itself is a test, in a way, for while it does not put a name on Bonisagus, someone with more knowledge about the Order than simply provided by hearsay will understand it. And it avoids awkward questions should one of the children (or anyone else for that matter) be listening in. Petronius feels quite clever about it.
"Presumptious?! You'll humor me?! After all I've suffered from the likes of you, and learned nothing in return but your scorn and arrogance?" The color rises in Dietlinde's face, but her tone remains flat and cold. "I nursed that man to the best of my abilities, as I believe the Good Lord wants of me, and despite the fact that I knew it might bring me trouble. He still died." Tears begin leaking from her eyes. "Some head wounds I cannot heal. Let that be one more piece of evidence that I am weak and beneath your contempt."
"You seem to assume that I know of your past, and that I am somehow here to make your life difficult. That is not the case, healer Dietlinde," Petronius says in a softer tone. "You question me about my affiliation, but if you know as much as you seem to, then you should know that I must thread carefully in such matters." He glances at Horst, to see if the redcap wants to intervene, before continuing.
"But I say again, we are simply here to discover what happened to Sigmund. We already know that you helped take care of him, and for that we are grateful to you. Nothing less, and certainly not scornful. If you wish to enlighten me as to your past experience with the Order, I shall certainly listen to you to understand your grievances. For the moment I seek information about Sigmund, and to recompense you for your willingness to help a wounded man even if he did not survive his wounds. My friend here was family to him," Petronius nods to Horst, "and also wanted to express his thanks to the one who took care of his kin."
(Post edited to add colored text, correct a few mistakes, and to make minor changes.)