[OL-FB] Aftermath

[Keymonus]

Seawatch, El Oleonda, June 624

Spoiler

Ghostly voices

Down below

A suspicious jungle stroll

The mouth of the Emperor

The City of the Dead

Shadows of a distant past

Morituri te salutant

All the parties involved

End of a scoundrel

What a warrior must do

The end of the journey

Matthias walked into his room, staggering a little. At that hour of the night, it was hard to remember that he was Major von Stern, the Stonewall, the Hero of Seawatch. It was hard shutting down the voices of the men he had killed and of the ones who had died under his command, mercilessly accusing him… only whisky seemed to work.
He threw his black officer coat on a chair, stumbling against the low table. He was pathetic, but he didn’t care much: that night, he was alone with his ghosts… many more than the previous time.

He poured himself a glass, then he immediately gulped it. That awful man had deceived them all, and many good soldiers had died for nothing… for nothing but his greed, and Matthias’ own foolishness! He poured a second glass, but this time he only took a short sip… he had planned to get terribly drunk, but that excellent Essian whisky deserved some more attention!

The audacity of von Undingen’s plan amazed and disgusted him. That man had fooled everyone: the Governor’s orders had been forged, and nobody in Neustadt seemed to know anything about their expedition, nor about Professor Wagner’s one; the Perseus, who should have collected the salvaged treasures, didn’t exist in any register, and was probably nothing but a Garvyan privateer. The whole expedition, prepared in plain sight, was only an elaborate ruse: von Undingen had planned to use the Essians for his own purposes, just to abandon them and disappear with the gold. 

Now Matthias was back in Seawatch, along with his personal ghosts. They had given him a medal for bringing part of his men back “despite continuous attacks from overwhelming enemy forces”… something he couldn’t accept. Too many of his jaegers had fallen for nothing, and now were looking at him from the corners of the room. Von Undingen had also died: Matthias had seen him falling, surrounded by the Daca warriors. That scoundrel had received what he deserved, at last. Matthias raised his glass in a spiteful toast: “May you burn in the Tartarus, miserable bastard!”

In that moment, the shadows in a distant corner of the room seemed to take form. A man in a black cloak, who until then had remained still, was lighting an oil lamp. “Always a nice thought for an old friend, I hear. But I fear you’ll be there before me.” Said the man, with a creepily friendly voice. It was impossible! Matthias rushed for his pistol, but suddenly he felt terribly tired, and fell heavily back on his chair. “Oh, don’t bother to try.” The man continued, friendly as before. “It was in your whisky. One part of stramonium, two of foxglove, and one of belladonna. I’m surprised your heart is still working, but it won’t last long.”

Matthias looked with hatred at the man who had just killed him, then at his pistol again… it was on the other side of the table, but it seemed miles away. “Scourge!  My men were killed because of you!” He whispered. If only he could have reached his pistol…

“Yes, and you left me behind to die. We are even then. Or maybe not, I don’t care much!” Matthias would have loved to remove that hateful smile with a cobblestone, a sharp detail in a face that was starting to fade. “But you also did me a favor, in a certain sense. Now that I’m dead, nobody will look for me. There’s a little island where I had started some fruitful activities, during the war… but before that, you are not the only friend I plan to visit. My best regards, Major von Stern! I hope to see you again as late as possible!” With these words, von Undingen left the room, two fingers raised to the brim of an imaginary hat in a last, mocking salute.

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Overall view:

Details of the furniture:

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This will probably be the penultimate part of my storyline, with the last one focusing on my main character. I hadn't planned it, but I didn't want to leave von Undingen "dead" for too long, and I still have to think a little more about where Tristan will be sailing to next. The story is dark, way darker than usual... I hope you still like it!

Edited November 23, 2024 by Keymonus

[NOD]

I like the story; the guy is a real villain. Frederick von Undingen became Captain Hook, a pirate. The room and the furniture is well made. The medal on the table and the clothes in the chest is interesting details.

[Khorne]

Haha, I love how cliché evil von Undingen looks here. A dark hood and cloak and a pointy hook, combined with a mustache perfectly suited for twirling when explaining your evil plans.

Some great details all-around. I chuckled when I saw the chamber pot .

[Jeff of Clubs]

On 11/3/2024 at 6:25 AM, Khorne said:

Haha, I love how cliché evil von Undingen looks here.

I second this. These have been great. From the builds to the story! Way to keep the momentum up, Key!

[Keymonus]

Thank you guys! This is probably my longest storyline, together with the old Charlatan Bay civil war story, so I’m happy you enjoyed it!

Von Undingen will definitely make his comeback as a full fledged villain in the next future… with a missing hand and a lot of vengeful spirit!