2 Klarmont - Mud, glorious mud

 Broneslav considered his options and decided to explore further before delivering his prisoner to the Watch. The man's companion could be waiting upstairs to kill him as he climbed through the trapdoor. Moreover, the Watch would be all over this place once he reported the body, so he would not be able to explore further. Better then to explore further and find an alternative exit where he could backtrack to the house and perhaps surprise the other murderer.

Broneslav pushed the man ahead of him into the tunnel.

"Try to run," he declared, "and it will be the last thing you ever do."

He was relying on the man's bound hands and a measure of fear to keep the man slow and in order. That and the small tunnel should make life easier.

The winding tunnel opened out once more into a rather larger chamber filled with ankle-deep mud. The roof was shored up with beams and planks but mud still seeped between the gaps and dripped on those in the chamber. Three half naked, wretched looking men were shoveling while three armoured Hobgoblins kept guard. Suddenly, one of the men saw Broneslav and his captive. He dropped his shovel and waded across the chamber as fast as he could.

"Help us! Please help us!"

The foul guards immediately drew their weapons and charged. Broneslav quickly unslung his shield and kicked his captive into the middle of the room as the Hobgoblins neared him. His sword sliced through the air and in three swift strokes he had killed all three Hobgoblins, their lifeblood staining the mud red.

The prisoners fell to their knees in the mud.

"Thank you, thank you. We have been kept digging here against our will for ages. We have not seen the sun since we were captured! Will you help us to safety?"

Broneslav gave the men the Hobgoblins' swords and instructed them to guard his prisoner as he led the way back to the surface.

The group made their back to Goodwife Thanato's cellar where Broneslav directed them all up into the old woman's house.

"I have found the cause of the noises you heard, Goodwife Thanato," he announced, "It was not ghosts but evil-doers whose purposes I am unclear about. This man is one of them. He and his accomplice were set to bury a young woman under a house north of yours. Be so good as to call the Watch while I guard this man and learn what I can of these others whom I rescued."

The old woman scuttled off after the Watch and returned shortly with two Watchmen in tow. Broneslav explained his errand into the cellar, and the events he had borne witness to. He told of the body in the cellar and how he had found his captive burying it. Throughout all this, the captive was much less voluble and threatening, but there was still a calculating look in his eyes. Perhaps these Watchmen had not been bribed, but it seemed certain that others would have been. The man was maybe waiting for one of these.

Upon hearing Broneslav's tale, the Watchmen agreed that one of them should fetch a superior officer. There was much to investigate here. One of the Watchmen left and ordered Broneslav to wait until the officer had returned.

Keeping his lunchtime appointment in mind, Broneslav asked that a message be sent to his father and to Theosius the craftsman about what was going on. It seemed unlikely that he would make the appointment yet, now that the Watch was involved.