Moreau Graben Assassination

Overview

Evening of 7 August 1814. Colonel Henri Moreau — Jay’s Order-operative PC since Lyon — is assassinated on the Graben, Vienna’s inner-city boulevard, by the Bauer brothers under contract from Adler via the Brotherhood’s muscle arrangement. Three stab wounds. Staged to look like a robbery. Moreau was walking alone in the evening — the most isolated PC in Vienna at that moment — and the Bauers ambushed him with practiced violence.

One of the two Bauer brothers was cornered by arriving Polizeidirektion officers during the fight and taken into custody. The arrest papers were prepared by the arresting constable in good faith. Captain Vogel intervened overnight: the charges were “dismissed” on a false release order (signed personally by Vogel), the arrest file was removed from Polizeidirektion records, and the arrested brother walked free by mid-morning on August 8.

Why This Matters

• First PC death of Chapter 3. The campaign’s tone sharpens — Vienna is not a diplomatic chapter, it is a kill zone.
• Moreau’s body is recovered to the Josephinum (Vienna’s military medical academy), where Fischbein has an Order-sympathetic contact. Moreau’s body is the documentary chain that later produces Fischbein’s intelligence brief.
• Vogel’s betrayal is exposed in principle — the release of the arrested Bauer brother is the first concrete evidence that Vogel is a Brotherhood asset. The documentation (the release order) later becomes Fischbein’s lever against Vogel.
• Jay transitions PCs. Freddy_Cavendish is introduced in Session 6 as Jay’s new character.

Tactical Details

• Weapons: knives. Three stab wounds consistent with two attackers — one in the throat, two in the abdomen. No firearm wounds. No magical elements.
• Location: the Graben, near Stock-im-Eisen. A public boulevard but quiet at night. Bauer brothers knew Moreau’s routine.
• Planning: Adler gave the order. Kaunitz identified Moreau as the most isolated target. The Bauers executed.