{"id":92,"date":"2026-10-10T20:39:30","date_gmt":"2026-10-10T20:39:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.savevspodcast.com\/blog\/?page_id=92"},"modified":"2026-10-10T20:39:30","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T20:39:30","slug":"return-to-stahlburg-the-death-of-brother-aldren","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.savevspodcast.com\/blog\/return-to-stahlburg-the-death-of-brother-aldren\/","title":{"rendered":"Return to Stahlburg \u2014 The Death of Brother Aldren"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure style=\"margin:0 0 1.25rem;max-width:380px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.savevspodcast.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Return-to-Stahlburg.jpg\" alt=\"Return to Stahlburg\" width=\"380\" height=\"176\" style=\"display:block;width:100%;height:auto;border-radius:3px\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<aside aria-label=\"Dancing Plague chapter index\" style=\"clear:both;float:none;position:static;box-sizing:border-box;width:100%;max-width:100%;margin:0 0 1.5rem;padding:14px;background:#27211e;color:#e8d4a6;border:1px solid #9c804c;border-radius:4px;font-family:Georgia,serif;font-size:.9rem;line-height:1.4\"><div style=\"font-size:1.1rem;font-weight:700;color:#e5c27c;margin-bottom:10px\">Adventure Index<\/div><nav style=\"display:grid;grid-template-columns:repeat(auto-fit,minmax(min(100%,210px),1fr));gap:0 12px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.savevspodcast.com\/blog\/?page_id=43\" style=\"display:block;padding:6px 9px;color:#e2c487;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px solid #5a4b39;line-height:1.35;overflow-wrap:anywhere\">GM ONLY: Background (spoilers)<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.savevspodcast.com\/blog\/?page_id=46\" style=\"display:block;padding:6px 9px;color:#e2c487;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px solid #5a4b39;line-height:1.35;overflow-wrap:anywhere\">Introduction<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.savevspodcast.com\/blog\/?page_id=48\" style=\"display:block;padding:6px 9px;color:#e2c487;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px solid #5a4b39;line-height:1.35;overflow-wrap:anywhere\">GM ONLY: Synopsis (spoilers)<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.savevspodcast.com\/blog\/?page_id=50\" style=\"display:block;padding:6px 9px;color:#e2c487;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px solid #5a4b39;line-height:1.35;overflow-wrap:anywhere\">1. Stahlburg<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.savevspodcast.com\/blog\/?page_id=52\" style=\"display:block;padding:6px 9px;color:#e2c487;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px solid #5a4b39;line-height:1.35;overflow-wrap:anywhere\">2. Rumors and the Raid<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.savevspodcast.com\/blog\/?page_id=64\" style=\"display:block;padding:6px 9px;color:#e2c487;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px solid #5a4b39;line-height:1.35;overflow-wrap:anywhere\">3. The Funeral<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.savevspodcast.com\/blog\/?page_id=89\" style=\"display:block;padding:6px 9px;color:#e2c487;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px solid #5a4b39;line-height:1.35;overflow-wrap:anywhere\">4. Roadside Ambush<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.savevspodcast.com\/blog\/?page_id=92\" style=\"display:block;padding:6px 9px;color:#e2c487;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px solid #5a4b39;line-height:1.35;overflow-wrap:anywhere\">5. Return to Stahlburg<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.savevspodcast.com\/blog\/?page_id=97\" style=\"display:block;padding:6px 9px;color:#e2c487;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px solid #5a4b39;line-height:1.35;overflow-wrap:anywhere\">6. Tracing the Order<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.savevspodcast.com\/blog\/?page_id=102\" style=\"display:block;padding:6px 9px;color:#e2c487;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px solid #5a4b39;line-height:1.35;overflow-wrap:anywhere\">7. The Laboratory<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.savevspodcast.com\/blog\/?page_id=105\" style=\"display:block;padding:6px 9px;color:#e2c487;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px solid #5a4b39;line-height:1.35;overflow-wrap:anywhere\">8. Following the Trail<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.savevspodcast.com\/blog\/?page_id=107\" style=\"display:block;padding:6px 9px;color:#e2c487;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px solid #5a4b39;line-height:1.35;overflow-wrap:anywhere\">9. The Suppressed Inquiry<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.savevspodcast.com\/blog\/?page_id=108\" style=\"display:block;padding:6px 9px;color:#e2c487;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px solid #5a4b39;line-height:1.35;overflow-wrap:anywhere\">10. Final Reckoning<\/a><\/nav><\/aside>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Return to Stahlburg \u2014 The Death of Brother Aldren<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chapter purpose: Turn the Vauclerc discovery into practical action, reveal Brother Aldren&#8217;s death, and open a second investigation into deliberate killings. Placement: After the Black Briars ambush. GM note: The signet ring is optional; this chapter must work whether the party recovered it or not.<\/p>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Back Through the Gates<\/h3>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stahlburg is still in crisis. The hired musicians have not entirely stopped, and the afflicted still stagger on the platforms in the square. But the mood has changed. A few shops have shuttered; guards now question wagons carrying barrels; families queue for water they hope is safe. The party arrives with evidence that Vauclerc&#8217;s outbreak subsided after a contaminated well was sealed.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Read or paraphrase: The city gates open onto the same terrible rhythm: a drumbeat somewhere beyond the market, the scraping of shoes on stone, and a cry from someone who can no longer stop moving. A watchman looks at your travel-stained clothes, then at the city behind him. \u201cIf you&#8217;ve brought good news,\u201d he says, \u201cyou&#8217;d best hurry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ask the players where they go first. Their answer determines the order of scenes, not whether they can learn essential information. Likely destinations include Prelate Anselm Rott&#8217;s offices, the public wells, the infirmary, and Brother Aldren&#8217;s residence or religious quarters.<\/p>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Reporting the Vauclerc Discovery<\/h3>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Prelate Anselm Rott commissioned the original investigation. He listens closely to the evidence that Vauclerc&#8217;s well was poisoned and sealed, but he faces political and practical resistance to closing Stahlburg&#8217;s water sources. His priorities are stopping new cases, avoiding a riot, and maintaining enough public confidence to keep the city functioning.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The commission&#8217;s agreed payment schedule remains 25% in advance, 25% for establishing the cause, and 50% for ending the crisis with evidence. A credible report that the sickness is caused by contaminated water is a strong basis for the cause milestone; closing Stahlburg&#8217;s affected wells and demonstrating declining cases addresses the remaining obligation. Rott can acknowledge the discovery without prematurely declaring the crisis solved.<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><thead><tr><th>Evidence brought back<\/th><th>Response<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Vauclerc&#8217;s well-closure timeline<\/td><td>Rott orders a comparison with Stahlburg&#8217;s neighborhood illness records.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Medical testimony or records<\/td><td>Physicians are pressed to test the water theory, despite objections from some colleagues.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Physical samples or careful observations<\/td><td>An alchemist or physician can compare residue from the city&#8217;s wells.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Only witness accounts<\/td><td>Rott permits an inquiry, but requests corroboration before disrupting the city&#8217;s supply.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Evidence of the Black Briars ambush<\/td><td>Rott recognizes an attack on the investigators as serious, but does not know who hired the mercenaries.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Player choice: They may request guards, access to well records, escorts to affected neighborhoods, or an audience with civic officials. Rott can grant reasonable assistance, though it may take time and require political negotiation.<\/p>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Stahlburg&#8217;s Wells \u2014 A Playable Investigation<\/h3>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The earlier Stahlburg chapter establishes that the city has several public wells and cisterns, with two wells serving neighborhoods hit hardest by the dancing. Not every source is contaminated. This chapter turns that existing lead into a sequence the characters can investigate rather than assuming they already solved it.<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Compare households: Infirmary rolls, street interviews, and household lists reveal that cases cluster around users of the same two wells. A family drawing water from a private cistern provides a useful comparison.<\/li><li>Inspect the water sources: One affected well bears a faint unusual residue near its stonework. Identifying the substance calls for appropriate alchemical, herbal, medical, or magical expertise; recognizing the pattern of exposure does not.<\/li><li>Persuade the authorities: Officials worry that closing the wells will provoke panic or leave districts without water. The party can present evidence, negotiate alternatives, or help arrange safe distribution.<\/li><li>Observe the results: Once the wells are closed and alternate water is provided, new cases begin to fall. Those already afflicted do not recover immediately.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Important distinction: The evidence proves deliberate contamination is a plausible cause of the dancing, not who introduced the poison or why. The necromancer and his acolyte remain possible leads but must not be convicted by coincidence alone.<\/p>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. The News About Brother Aldren<\/h3>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the point the party tries to contact Brother Aldren\u2014or when they ask Rott or the temple staff about him\u2014they learn he is dead. He died while the investigators were away. The announcement should be brief and unsettling, not a speech that explains the conspiracy.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Read or paraphrase: At the mention of Brother Aldren&#8217;s name, the attendant&#8217;s expression changes. He looks toward the closed door behind him. \u201cYou haven&#8217;t heard,\u201d he says. \u201cBrother Aldren died two nights ago. They say it was the sickness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">GM truth: Aldren&#8217;s death is connected to the campaign of revenge against members of the Order of the Sacred Vigil. The public explanation is that he succumbed to the dancing affliction. The party should have opportunities to doubt that explanation, but not enough evidence to identify the killer or the Order&#8217;s full history yet. GM truth: Konrad personally poisoned Aldren with a concentrated dose administered through a drink or medicine. The death initially resembles illness or a complication of the dancing outbreak. A close examination can uncover unusual residue, a recently handled cup or medicine vessel, and symptoms inconsistent with an ordinary case. The poison may differ from the waterborne preparation used against Veyr. This establishes murder without revealing the murderer.<\/p>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5. Investigating Aldren&#8217;s Death<\/h3>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The party can investigate through several approaches. The scenes below provide overlapping clues so one failed interview or missed search does not halt the adventure.<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><thead><tr><th>Location or witness<\/th><th>What players can learn<\/th><th>Complication<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Aldren&#8217;s quarters<\/td><td>His correspondence with Matthias Veyr was real. Some letters or records may be missing or disturbed.<\/td><td>Religious staff are reluctant to let outsiders search a dead brother&#8217;s rooms.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Infirmary or attending healer<\/td><td>Aldren&#8217;s symptoms and final hours can be compared with known victims of the dancing.<\/td><td>Records are incomplete; staff are exhausted and wary of accusations.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Religious household staff<\/td><td>Aldren was troubled by recent news and had become unusually guarded.<\/td><td>Witnesses remember different details and may protect the institution.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Records and messenger logs<\/td><td>Aldren had communications beyond routine parish duties, including Veyr.<\/td><td>Access requires permission, persuasion, or careful investigation.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Place of death and personal effects<\/td><td>Evidence of an interruption, missing item, or unexplained visitor may suggest a staged death.<\/td><td>Avoid inventing definitive forensic proof until the murder method is decided.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">6. People to Question<\/h3>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><thead><tr><th>NPC<\/th><th>Role in this chapter<\/th><th>What they do not know<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Prelate Anselm Rott<\/td><td>Receives the water findings, may authorize access, and must decide how publicly to act.<\/td><td>He is not an automatic source for the Order&#8217;s secret history.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Healer Sabine Voss<\/td><td>Can compare Aldren&#8217;s reported illness with genuine dancing cases and explain uncertainties.<\/td><td>Cannot identify a murderer from incomplete symptoms alone.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Attendant Corin Weiss<\/td><td>Can establish a timeline of visitors, messages, and changes in Aldren&#8217;s behavior. He personally remembers Aldren receiving private visits or correspondence from Matthias Veyr in Vauclerc; he knows they shared confidential religious duties but not the Order&#8217;s crimes.<\/td><td>May not know the contents of sealed correspondence.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Well-Keeper Dieter Falk<\/td><td>Knows which districts draw from each well and when complaints began.<\/td><td>Cannot determine the poisoner&#8217;s identity without more evidence.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"> <\/p>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">7. How the Signet Ring Fits \u2014 If Recovered<\/h3>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the party searched the Black Briars and recovered the unidentified religious signet ring, they can now show it to officials, craftspeople, or clergy. A knowledgeable observer may recognize it as an uncommon religious or administrative signet, but do not immediately identify Canon Severin Kessler as its owner. Tracing the design through archives, seals, correspondence, or knowledgeable witnesses becomes the next investigation.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the party does not have the ring, Aldren&#8217;s correspondence with Veyr and the suspicious circumstances of his death still point toward private religious associations and missing records. The ring is an additional route into the mystery, not the only route.<\/p>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">8. A Practical Timeline for the GM<\/h3>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><thead><tr><th>When<\/th><th>What is happening<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Before the party returns<\/td><td>Aldren has died; officials have attributed his death to the spreading sickness.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Arrival<\/td><td>The dancing continues, and the city&#8217;s water supply remains under dispute.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>First inquiries<\/td><td>The party may report Vauclerc&#8217;s findings, investigate the wells, or seek Aldren.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>After sufficient evidence<\/td><td>The city can close contaminated wells; new cases gradually decline.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>As Aldren is investigated<\/td><td>Contradictions in his death and evidence of private correspondence emerge.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>At chapter&#8217;s end<\/td><td>The players should have at least one route toward tracing the religious connection and the human poisoner.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">9. Obstacles, Choices, and Consequences<\/h3>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Authorities refuse to close wells: Let the party collect more neighborhood evidence, enlist physicians, secure alternate water, or persuade Rott to issue an emergency order. Do not make one persuasion roll the only path.<\/li><li>The party accuses the necromancer: They may revisit his laboratory and the acolyte&#8217;s purchases. Those clues are suspicious but insufficient to prove involvement in the murders.<\/li><li>The party suspects Aldren was murdered: Reward careful reconstruction of his last day and scrutiny of records. Do not disclose the Order&#8217;s secrets merely because the players guessed correctly.<\/li><li>The party focuses only on the plague: The fall in new cases after well closure is meaningful progress, but Aldren&#8217;s death and the attack on the road remain unresolved.<\/li><li>The party lost the signet ring: Preserve the correspondence, messenger records, and witnesses as alternate routes into the Order mystery.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">10. Chapter Outcomes<\/h3>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><thead><tr><th>What the party accomplishes<\/th><th>What it means next<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Closes or helps close the affected wells<\/td><td>The immediate public-health crisis begins to stabilize; the deliberate contamination question remains.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Investigates Aldren&#8217;s death<\/td><td>The apparent plague fatality becomes a potential targeted killing.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Finds Veyr\u2013Aldren correspondence<\/td><td>The two deaths can be considered together without yet proving a conspiracy.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Keeps the signet ring<\/td><td>The party has a physical clue whose identity must be traced in a later chapter.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Misses some clues<\/td><td>Records, witnesses, and the pattern of attacks still provide ways forward.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">11. Where the Investigation Goes Next<\/h3>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By the end of this chapter, the characters should know or strongly suspect that Stahlburg&#8217;s dancing was caused by poisoned water, that Brother Aldren died while they were away, and that his connections to Matthias Veyr merit closer scrutiny. The next planned chapter, The Signet Ring \u2014 Tracing the Order, follows the private correspondence, records, and\u2014if the party has it\u2014the mysterious signet. It should reveal the secret association gradually rather than resolving the murders at once.<\/p>\n\n\n<nav aria-label=\"Adventure chapter navigation\" style=\"clear:both;display:flex;gap:14px;flex-wrap:wrap;margin-top:2rem;padding-top:1rem;border-top:1px solid #bbb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.savevspodcast.com\/blog\/?page_id=89\">\u2190 Previous: Roadside Ambush<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.savevspodcast.com\/blog\/\">Home<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.savevspodcast.com\/blog\/?page_id=97\">Next: Tracing the Order \u2192<\/a><\/nav>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Adventure Index GM ONLY: Background (spoilers)IntroductionGM ONLY: Synopsis (spoilers)1. Stahlburg2. Rumors and the Raid3. The Funeral4. Roadside Ambush5. Return to Stahlburg6. Tracing the Order7. The Laboratory8. Following the Trail9. The Suppressed Inquiry10.\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":"","_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"","_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"","rank_math_focus_keyword":"","_aioseop_title":"","_aioseop_description":""},"class_list":["post-92","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.savevspodcast.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/92","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.savevspodcast.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.savevspodcast.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.savevspodcast.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.savevspodcast.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.savevspodcast.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/92\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":265,"href":"https:\/\/www.savevspodcast.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/92\/revisions\/265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.savevspodcast.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}