A pact struck with the rebels of Eslohe, the party ventures into the caves at the foot of the cliffs beneath the castle, seeking entrance to the stronghold above.. A MISSING COMPANION In the light of the morning, the party ate from the meager rations Dumpling had packed for them from the stores of the Wayward Derelict. It was then they noticed one of their number, Lucien Blackheart, was missing. An outlaw sentry told them they had seen him leaving in the dark of night, heading back towards Eslohe. A furious discussion ensued, with some wanting the pursue him in case he was a traitor, and others wanting to continue with their plan of entering the caves beneath the castle. Ultimately, the group decided to honor their bargain with Sigrid. Magnus observed this all, silently observing, as Cyrus's teeth clenched at the mage's reticence. Hugo spent the morning in practice with a number of the outlaws, judging their martial skills sorely lacking, seeing as they were just peasants and farmers. They conferred again with Sigrid as the sun reached it's apex. The leader of the outlaws agreed to lead her forces to the gatehouse in the front of the outer bailey, hiding in the woods, until the party gave a signal to attack. She refused to attack until a way had been opened across the walls, either ropes thrown down, the gates opened, or another way found. The group discussed taking the water-gate beneath the castle, and Sigrid told them what she knew, that it was also fortified with some guards, but that it was a potential entrance. Sigrid left the decision to the party, since they was no guarantee the caves did lead into the castle, though she strongly suspected they did. In the end they agreed Hilda would lead them to the cave entrance, and Sigrid would lead her band to the woods in front of the castle where they would lay in wait for a sign. If no sign came in a day, she would return to the camp - Sigrid asked any survivors to try to come back to the camp, should they fail. THE CAVE ENTRANCE As the sun climbed, they set out, Hilda leading them through the dense woods back towards where Castle Eslohe lay perched atop the cliffs above the river Baren. They spoke little as they marched, each consumed in thoughts. About an hour passed before they saw the castle on the horizon, and before long found themselves at the foot of the cliffs where far above the castle lurked. There Hilda brought them to a crack in the stone, nearly concealed by nearby vegetation. She shuddered and made the sign of Sigmar, then departed to rejoin the rest of the rebels in front of the castle, wishing the party luck. Dronk sighed. "Good thing you have a dwarf with you, right manlings? You know, someone that can see in the dark." he grinned, and led the way into the yawning crevice. Edmee caused magical light to burst from her shield again, illuminating the passage for the rest of the group. The caves smelled of mold and rot, and had a humid, unwholesome air. They twisted and turned, branching off into multiple directions. Here and there puddles of stagnant brown water lay on the earthy floor. Noises could be heard distantly, echoing around the labyrinthine tunnels. They creeped, stealthily and cautiously, as they followed Dronk, who used his kin's innate sense of stone and passageways to follow what seemed to be tunnels that slanted upwards. A FALLEN WARRIOR As they passed one large cavern entrance, the light of Edmee's sheild illuminated a massive pile of debris, at least twenty feet high, made of twigs, earth, rocks and what appeared to be bones and other rubbish. As Hugo passed, he caught the glint of metal reflecting back light, and asked the others to stop. Edmee turned her shield towards the mound, illuminating it more starkly, while Cyrus hovered at the edge of the group, watching the silent Magnus carefully. Dronk crept forwards, followed by Hugo. As he approached, he could see what appeared to be a plate-mailed arm sticking from the mound. Curious, Hugo pulled at the arm, causing more of it to emerge from the side of the heap. He could see the armor was old and rusted from damp, but the sigils of Ulric could be clearly seen - it was the armor of a Knight of the White Wolf, his own order! Hugo grasped the corpse with both hands and with a mighty heave, pulled the heavy plate and its skeletal occupant out of the pile of rubbish entirely, causing it to fall to the ground beside him with a heavy crash. A wavy-bladed two-handed flamberge clattered to the ground beside him, its edge shining despite its recent housing. UNNATURAL MONSTROSITIES As Hugo studied the corpse, Dronk and the others became aware of something disconcerting. The mound was moving. The heap pulsed and throbbed then with a shudder and noise that caused Hugo to turn, two enormous serpent heads emerged from the pile, then the giant snake body of the fabled two-headed monstrosity, the amphisbanae, pulled free from its nest. On each end of the giant serpent a massive fanged head writhed. As the beast pulled free from its nest, another slightly smaller partner also emerged from the mound. Four pairs of serpent eyes glittered in the light cast by Edmees shield before striking, lightning-fast. Hugo reacted quickly, dodging the amphisbanae's venom-tipped fangs, but found himself wrapped in the constricting coils. He shouted and attempted to bash at the thing with his war-maul, but the strength of the embrace prevented an effective attack. With a war-cry, Cyrus fired his pistols, blowing two smoking holes in the thing, as he channeled the eldritch energies of the Ordo Malleus. Dronk let fly with a crossbow bolt that buried itself in one of the swaying heads, while Magnus stepped forwards, arms in the air, throwing bolts of icey magic towards their attackers. Edmee, with a scream to Manaan, tossed a glowing bolt of energy which illuminated the amphisbanae in a ghostly aura. Sensing a new threat, one of the heads turned and began to strike at Edmee, who deflected the snake's strike with her glowing shield. The second amphisbanae moved towards Dronk, who took a few steps backwards as he reloaded his crossbow and fired again, leaving a second black-feathered bolt sticking from the serpentine monster. Cyrus fired again at the one holding Hugo, his blessed pistols inflicting severe damage, causing black ichor to spray from the wounds. Magnus's arcane energies froze where they hit, causing the thing to thrash in agony as it struck again and again at Edmee, who expertly deflected the attacks and sidestepped closer to Hugo who struggled to free himself from the deadly grasp of the amphisbanae. With a muttered prayer, Edmee caused Hugo's strength to return, and he pulled himself free from the coils and battered at the thing with his war maul. As they fought the first, the second amphisbanae moved further from its disturbed nest, one head striking at Hugo, who rolled out of the way, the other striking at Dronk, who jumped aside, then in a single motion drew both his rapier and his parrying-dagger and cut a long gash across the head closest him, drowning one of the monstrous eyes in black ichor. Dronk continued to move backwards as the thing slithered closer. Hugo, now fully recovered, again hammered the amphisbanae's nearest head, cracking the skull of the thing just as Magnus unleashed more arcane bolts, sending the giant broken corpse of the snake into it's death-throes. Edmee, taking stock of the situation, turned the light of her shield to the corner, where she saw Dronk being wrapped in the coils of the remaining serpent. Hugo started to move towards it, weapon raised, while Cyrus calmly reloaded his pistols and stepped into a clear firing position. BRUSH WITH DEATH Dronk felt the thing crush him and the life nearly squeezed out of him as he fought desperately to escape the crushing death looming. He felt the teeth of the creature bury themselves in his shoulder, tearing through his armor and delivering a terrible poison that burned in his veins. His vision grew blurry, as Hugo yelled his war-cry, bashing the tail-head of the thing repeatedly, and Magnus turned his arcane attacks on it. It was Cyrus though, who unleashed a blaze of death and destruction, his barrels a staccato thunder through the dark caves, each flash like lightning throwing shadows on the walls. The lead hail of death tore through the amphisbanae but left Dronk untouched - the snake shuddering, its death-grip relaxing. "That hurt.." Dronk managed as he collapsed onto the corpse, bleeding from the wounds the snake had delivered, his veins turning black Edmee rushed forward, laying her hands on the severely wounded dwarf. "Not today Dronk, my friend, not today.", and murmured a prayer to Manaan. Dronk felt his wounds close as the healing power of the God of the Waves flowed through him, sealing his wounds and returning enough of his vitality to stand again. "Thank you." he said simply. Hugo meanwhile, injured, limped over to where he had pulled the plate-mailed corpse and inspected it more closely. It was fine platemail, inlain with the sigils of Ulric, but rusted from its stay in the wet caverns and lack of care. Edmee helped bind his wounds while the others rested briefly, and Hugo decided to put on the armor of his fallen fellow knight. It squeaked awkwardly from lack of oil, making loud noise with the smallest of movements. He also took up the greatsword, seeing the edge shining and keen, trying a few test swipes through the air and finding the balance to be perfect. "Quite a mighty blade indeed." said Hugo, as he said a prayer over the bones of his brother knight, before turning to leave them where they lay. AN EXPENSIVE OMELETTE "Clearly we disturbed them in their nest." said Edmee. Visible atop the heap, revealed by the movements of the giant serpents, were a clutch of three large pale eggs. Magnus cursed under his breath and gestured, bolts of fire arching from his hands and causing the eggs to explode. "An infestation best dealt with" he muttered, seemingly nonplussed about the high price such eggs would sell for in the markets of Altdorf or the magical Colleges. The group pressed on into the caverns, Dronk again leading the way, limping slightly. They began to notice in parts of the caves many small holes, the size that would fit only a finger. As Dronk passed a number of such holes, he heard a crack like a whip, and saw a tiny dart-like tongue emerge! "Lash-worms!" he cried out to the group in warning - a type of flesh-eating worm that burrows into stone then uses a long prehensile tongue to take bites of meaty prey as it passes. The group, heeding Dronk's warning, rushed past the holes quickly, avoiding the worms. THROUGH THE CAVERNS Later, as they made their way through the winding passages, they glimpsed a greenish glow from a side-tunnel. Magnus summoned an invisible servant, sending it towards the light. Edmee and the others took a few steps forward, cautiously, and could see the light was coming from mushrooms that coated a large cavern. Magnus bid the servant to take some of the mushrooms, which did not stop glowing when picked, and brought them back to him where they were tossed in a large sack. "Perhaps you can make something of these, Edmee" he suggested, and Edmee - with a raised eyebrow - accepted dubiously, putting the faintly glowing bag inside her larger pack after tying it securely. "Chaos mushrooms, nothing good will come of them.' said Cyrus, his eyes narrowed. "Are we done here yet?' asked Dronk, impatiently, and Hugo nodded. They continued through the winding passages, Dronk occasionally stopping them to sniff at the air and inspect the passages where they branched off into the darkness. Time passed as Dronk continued to lead them on the paths which sloped upwards. Cyrus kept an eye on the shadow-filled passages, while never letting the spell-slinger, Magnus, leave his field of view. Edmee kept an eye on Hugo, whose armor continued to squeak loudly as he moved, and Dronk when possible, knowing they were injured. Eventually, they reached a large cavern, whose ceiling could not been seen in the light cast from Edmee's shield. In one corner a set of iron rungs could be seen, set into the cavern stone. They appeared wet and slippery, and rusted from age and led up the cave face, into the darkness above. "My sense of direction, see! This is why I am the Captain." said Dronk, satisfied, and he offered to climb the ladder first. Dronk's specially modified armor enabling him to rapidly scamper up the rusted old ladder-rungs. As he climbed, he noticed several of the rungs were nearly loose. At about 50 feet up, he tied a rope to a sturdy-looking rung for the others, and continuing on, could see cut into the ceiling at the top of the rungs a trap-door was set. CLIMBING OUT OF THE MAZE Dronk made his way up to the trapdoor, with Magnus close behind, and Cyrus and Edmee following. Dronk opened the trapdoor carefully and emerged into what appeared to be a disused storeroom filled with old, empty wooden crates, with a single, closed door, and waited for the others, quietly. Hugo sighed to himself, seeing the long climb ahead in his heavy armor, and began to climb last. As he reached the mid point, one of the rungs snapped, and he fell to the ground, landing with a crash. He something crack in his back, and a terrible pain gripped him as he rose to his feet. "Clearly this armor is no good for falls.." he muttered before attempting again to follow his companions. Squeaking, he eventually reached the top of the rungs and climbed up into the room where his companions waited. The room was dusty, though they could see the space between the door and the trapdoor was not. Cyrus, adjusting his hat, moved to the door, with Magnus standing close by, and they opened the door a crack. As they did so, a smell like garbage and rot filled their nostrils. What they saw was a muddy courtyard, filled with shabbily constructed wooden shacks. The outbuildings had fallen into disuse, and many were near collapsed, covered in moss. Around the shacks were a number of skeletal figures, some bearing obvious signs of mutation, some missing limbs, collapsed in the shadows of their shanties or wandering around aimlessly. A scene of horror..they realized they were now in the courtyard of the outer bailey of Castle Eslohe...
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The WizardIn time, you will come to know the tragic extent of my failings... Past Journals
September 2017
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