In which the party return to Eslohe, to seek answers..and revenge.. A NEW DAY Dawn came, waking the group to the 27th of Sommerzeit, a warm day, but overcast. The wounded members of the party had their wounds tended, and all awoke, still thinking of the events of the night before. They ate in silence the dry rations Dumpling brought around soon after they awoke. There was a tension in the air, and Cyrus could not help but notice Edmee's furious expression when he glanced at her momentarily. All were uneasy around Lucien, the brother of Drake Blackheart, for his uncanny resemblence to their recently slain friend unsettled them. Hugo and Dronk nonetheless began a friendly conversation, and then, with the others, planned their next moves. They decided to return to Eslohe, to seek out information on the castle and its inhabitants, and eventually, to take revenge for the slaughter of Drake. They would anchor the Wayward Derelict away from the town, just downstream but out of sight. Then they would go ashore and question more throughly what villagers remained in the nearly ruined town. Dumpling, who had been listening from the shadows, interjected "And leave me here? Alone, near this town full of half-crazed beggars and woods infested, no doubt, with beasty-men? I think not! Even what Master Drake paid is not enough to get me to do that!" Hugo convinced her she would be fine, and to lock the hatches, and Dronk offered her the pistol which she gladly accepted. The group then gathered themselves, and one by one leapt over the side and made their way up the muddy bank into the woods near Eslohe. THE RUINED TEMPLE As they approached the town from the northern side they could see a large stone edifice laying partially in ruins, a mighty stone cathedral topping a large but squat building. As they got closer, they could see several of the walls were cracked and the spire at the peak of the dome had broken off and lay embedded in the ground. All was overgrown with weeds. It appeared to be a Temple of Sigmar. The group passed the temple and made their way across a rickety wood bridge and into the town proper. The beggars in the village now seemed wary and kept their distance. Approaching the dock where they first tied the Wayward Derelict - though calling it a dock was a stretch, as it was more a single rotten wooden jetty - they took in a view of the town. Most of the buildings and homes were in some state of disrepair if not outright ruin. Several were burned out husks, speaking to fires in the past, while others had collapsed roofs or walls. All but a few were nearly obscured by vegetation growing around them. Some buildings stood out by virtue of looking maintained. Not far from where they walked towards the dock, they could see a squat building with a sign that read 'Lewpold's Generale Stores'. Nearby a large building annouced itself as an inn, 'The Shooting Star' was the name etched on a sign that hung from the building. Perched beside the quay was a nearly collapsed ferry house, with a large group of the beggars clustered in it's shade. They could also see the back of a larger house, with a low stone wall surrounding a back garden, and off in the distance, up on the hill, a windmill turned a mill - smoke could be seen lazily trailing off from a pipe on the roof of the mill-tower. THE SHOOTING STAR Without hesitation, Cyrus strode into the inn, followed closely by the rest of the party. As she entered, Edmee remained near the door, keeping an eye out for any surprises. As they entered the low-ceiling bar they took in the scene. Two shabbily-dressed but healthy-looking villagers sat near a fireplace in the far corner, cupping wooden mugs of ale and gazing curiously at the newcomers. A man with eyes ringed black with exhaustion stood behind the bar, cleaning a mug with a dirty-looking rag, looking uneasy. At the bar near him were three figures, attired head-to-toe in heavy mail, their faces hidden. They drank from their cups with long straws inserted into their plate helmets. They slowly turned their heads and stared directly at the party. A long moment passed, and the inn was silent. Dronk nodded to Hugo - 'These are the guys." Hugo snarled, and Lucien, realizing these men belonged to the force that had killed his brother, roared the battle cry of House Blackheart. An explosion of activity - as the mailed figures drew their longswords and rushed to the attack, Cyrus began firing his pistols, chanting vows to Sigmar, Hugo swinging his war-maul into the lead warrior's helm, while Lucien nearly hacked off the arm of another, Dronk fired his crossbow, missing then leapt onto a nearby table and ran forward, drawing out his rapier in a flash. Edmee, standing near the door, tried to throw a bolt of Manaan's divine energy at the lead warrior, but missed. Gunsmoke and pistols fired, Lucien's silvered longsword cut through the air as Hugo hammered the inhuman guardsmen, Dronk's rapier stabbed repeatedly. In just those moments, only one wounded guardsman stood, swaying on his feet. Edmee, Dronk and Hugo had been lightly cut by their assailiants blades. A table lay, smashed under a blow from Vilkas. Edmee used her divine magic to bind the surviving guard, who struggled against the bond as his form stiffened. The group tried to question the guard, but found it would not reply to their questions. From where the corpses of the other two lay, a foul stench caused them to take in their breath abruptly. Some recognized it from those they had fought at the castle. Disappointed, Dronk killed the thing, stabbing it through the heart, as he covered his nose and mouth against the thing's odor. It was over only moments after it began. One of the villagers had dropped his beer on the floor, and the barman cowered near the bar. Cyrus strode to the two villagers and demanded they tell him what was going on. One of them, terrified, wet himself, while the other turned completely white. Moments later, unsatisified, Cyrus fired his pistol, striking one in the head, killing him instantly. Cyrus repeated his question to the surviving terrified villager, only to see him run in a flash to a nearby window and leap through it, and begin running off into the village. Edmee stared at Cyrus in shock, as Lucien went behind the bar and grabbed the terrified innkeeper. The party threatened the man, and seeing the nearby slain villager he needed little persuading. He introduced himself as Herbert Marcuse, and told them he had inherited the Shooting Star from his father. He told them, in reply to their questions, that the lands of Eslohe had once been rich, but that about a decade ago there had been a mighty storm - an unnatural one - where black rain flew from a sky alight with pink lightning - and that after that the lands had seemed to sicken, the crops failed, and both animals and men were born often twisted and unnatural. Herbert confessed he knew nothing of the goings on of the castle, and feared the guards, who spoke not at all, but came to drink and gestured to order. He also told them that a Knight of the Order of the White Wolf had some years ago passed through on his way to the castle, as had a Witch Hunter another season, or 'at least a man dressed like one'. He also told them he believed that a man he called Doctor Rosseaux - a local physician - provided the 'poor souls' with the blue-bottled liquor. He also told the party that the Castle was ruled over by a Lady Eslohe, whom few had seen. Dronk found a two-headed chicken corpse in the kitchen and tossed it at Herbert in disgust. Before they departed Cyrus warned the innkeeper that the town would be razed to the ground and recommended he leave immediately. Herbert, visibly terrified, asked if they would take him away from Eslohe on their boat, since there was no road to the nearest town, Barenfafhre. After some haggling, they agreed, and Herbert set to bringing his stores aboard the Wayward Derelict, were it lay anchored not far to the north, but not visible from the town. When they exited the Shooting Star, a tearful woman ran up to Edmee, carrying a bundle wrapped in rags. 'Please help, Priestess! Help my child! Hes sick!' Edmee opened to bundle only to find instead of a child eight large legs as those of an oversized spider. She could see the thing would not live much longer and looked with pity on the woman. 'I cannot help..' said Edmee regretfully as she returned the bundle to the woman. 'The Doctor said to give him that foul stuff from the blue bottle!' she cried between tears as the party left her in her sorrow. The group next headed to Lewpold's Generale Stores, where amidst a heap of broken farm implements, fishing nets and other garbage which looked to have not been moved in years, they met Lewpold, who they found asleep behind a dusty-looking shop-desk. On waking, Hugo interrogated the bald and strange-headed man, for his head was rather oddly-shaped. He told Hugo that several years before, a Knight Templar of the Order of the White Wolf had come into the shop 'stood right where you do Sir, praise Ulric!' and asked for directions to the castle, which Lewpold had given, and the knight was never seen again. Lewpold also asked to be saved aboard the Wayward Derelict, and haggled with 'Captain' Dronk for passage. Dronk agreed but did not tell Lewpold where the Wayward Derelict lay at anchor, instead telling the distraught man he would return for him when the time came. CALLING ON THE DOCTOR It was now past noon, and the party moved to the house Lewpold had informed them that Doctor Rosseaux lived in and practiced from. It was a well-kept home with a back garden surrounded by a low stone wall. Dronk hopped the fence and picked the lock of the back door, while Hugo with the others smashed in the front door. As they went in Lucien remained behind with his bear Balu at his side. They ransacked the home when they found the Doctor was not there. Little of note was found, though they took some books on various medical subjects, and Edmee collected the papers scattered across a low table. Dronk found a trap door in a backroom, and they went below, with Dronk in the lead. They found a dank cellar, and began exploring it carefully. It smelled musty, and of alcohol. Boxes filled with empty blue bottles lined the walls. KURT KURTSMANN In one room two wooden doors lay shut. As Hugo approached one it smashed open suddenly, and a hideous mutant emerged, swinging and improvised club shouting 'The Doctor!!' Hugo easily deflected the thing's inept attacks. Dronk fired his crossbow, striking the mutant directly between the eyes, dropping it to the floor, dead. They moved deeper into the cellar and opened the other door. Within, they saw what appeared to be a complex copper still, a series of pipes and jars. Along the walls were shelves covered in jars with various liquids and powders. In the center of the room was a surgical table, on which some mass lay, covered in a thick carpet of black flies. Edmee moved to investigate the mass, causing the flies to burst into the air, swirling about the party. She could see what lay underneath was once a four-armed mutant, but its arms had been cut off, as had its head. Under the table lay a wooden bucket in which sat a bloody bonesaw. BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE Hugo smashed the still with his war-maul, then began to throw burning-oil around the various shelves, intending to set alight the hideous workshop. First though he pocketed several vials of colored powders. Then Dronk and Hugo noticed another door leading from the workshop into a tunnel cut directly into the earth, with no walls. Edmee noticed tracks leading into the tunnel, booted ones, overtop older tracks of what appeared to be bare feet. As they did this they could hear shouting from above and went to investigate. There they found Lucien, along with a grey hooded figure. Lucien warned them that in addition to this man, who said his name was Magnus, a column of several dozen armed guards was in the town, and headed directly to the Doctor's house, downhill from the Mill. They quickly decided to head into the tunnel, but first questioned the strange man, Magnus. He said he was from the order of Grey Wizards and had been following Cornelius, due to his family history and clearly given recent events the suspicions of the College had been justified. Though the group had many questions, Lucien reminded them they had little time. A QUICK EXIT Hurrying, Lucien whistled at Balu, telling him to return to the boat, and the bear, smarter-than-average that he is, ran off as instructed. The group then headed back below the Doctor's house, into the cellar where Hugo had cast the oil and was about to set it alight, after the group headed into the earthen passage, in pursuit of the Doctor, when Dronk quickly set a trap for the incoming guards, by making a sort of fuse out of rags, that would burn slowly before hitting the oil. The group then rushed into the earthen tunnel, with Dronk in the lead. Before they had gone far they heard a sudden explosion, and looking back could see a flash of red flame and sparks from the workshop - their fire had caught and violently. Satisfied their pursuers had been at least stalled by the fire, they headed into the damp earthen passage, deeper into the dark...
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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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