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[Goonalan]

Dungeon Crawl Classic #24
Legend of the Ripper
Level 1-3 (Scaled to level 4)

Turn 76: All’s well that ends well.

“So she’s dead?” Khan asks again.
“Yes. I said so didn’t I?” Jim pronounces every word.
“Why didn’t Casimir La Frond come and tell me this?”
“Because I wanted to do it.”
“Why?”
“To see your face, to see your reaction.”
“And? Are you satisfied Mr. Bowen?”
Major Khan smiles.

Jim glares at him, instinctively rests his hand on the haft of his axe.

“Nobody calls me Mr. Bowen, that’s my father’s name.”
“Was Jim… Was your father’s name.”

Which stops the Ranger in his tracks.

“Here’s your reward, and more besides- three hundred platinum coins, I thought it would be more portable.”

Jim goes to take the sack of coins.

“That’s enough to buy your silence, isn’t it- we don’t want any of our secrets to get out… do we?”

Jim shakes his head, grabs the sack, turns on his heels and is out of there before he can take another breath.

Anya latches onto him outside of the Watch House.

“What did he say?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?”

Anya comes to a halt, Jim strides on oblivious, his head buzzing with memories of his father.

“Jim!”

He walks on.

Anya eventually sees that he’s not stopping, she rushes to catch up, grabs his arm.

“What now?”
“Sleep… Sleep to forget.”
“Forget what?”
“Everything.”

The Goodman Gang put down their weapons, remove their armour, even forget to learn their spells at the dawn of the next day.

Peace reigns.

In the Wheatsheaf inn the Gang are treated like heroes, after all they ended the Ripper’s killing spree, Father Whiskin calls to add his voice to the throng, but victory seems somewhat hollow. For all of them.

Jim takes to his room- alone; meals and drinks are sent up.

Bec wanders the town till he’s fed up with people pointing at him, about half-a-day is all it takes, then he too takes to his bed.

Anya hits the books, disappears into Grimbo College, the Department of Magics, takes to sleeping on a camp bed in an otherwise empty room, she doesn’t go out at all.

Cas and Ala wrap themselves around each other, emerging only to take a closed coach to the Church of Pelor every now and then.

Newt’s gone, back to The Nunny, to do whatever it is he does there.

Time passes slowly.

The Gang drift wordlessly apart.

Next Turn: Review