Where the party flees before a war-host of beastmen, making the perilous journey back out of the Barren Hills back to Unterbaum.. THE BEASTMAN WAR-PARTY Victorious against Eletza Helgen and her motley band of Chaos cultists, the group now found themselves in the path of an apparently unaware band of beastmen, who now marched towards them. This group was large enough to represent a serious threat, though they could only guess at the numbers in the dark. Dronk, who had by now finished severing the heads of all the cultists they had slain, including Eletza Helgen, the former Bright Wizard of the Colleges of Magick, was the first to hear it...the sound of hundreds of heavy, cloven feet. The group abandoned what they were doing and moved to the edge of the copse of trees, in the center of which was the campsite in which they stood. From the edge, they could see dozens of torches illuminating a large group of beastmen, at least a hundred strong or more. Here and there were larger, heavier figures like ogres - probably Minotaurs like the one Red had slain in the Reikwold Forest. Running around the edges were what appeared to be cavalry - but then, they saw one in the torch's dim light - a half-beastman with the lower parts of a horse and two extra claw tipped arms bursting from it's chest. 'Centigors' grunted Hugo. 'We must retreat and quickly, or they will find us.' The party hesitated only a moment, considering the scale of the warband heading in their direction, then turned to flee into the dark, reluctantly giving way before the forces of darkness. They headed east, where the hills rose to another barren, scrub filled point, and within the foothills of which they would find shelter instead of the open ground of the corrupted valley. As they did so, Edmee stumbled on a loose rock, nearly falling to the ground. Cornelius saw this and hesitated - but Edmee looked at him pointedly as she regained her feet - 'RUN!' THE HUNTERS HUNTED Dronk disappeared out of sight, his short legs working overtime and carrying him over the uncertain ground. The darkvision afforded his ancient race provided him a good view of the terrain, and allowed him to avoid logs, boulders and other obstacles that the others, all save Red the Trollslayer, suffered from. 'I'm not sticking around to say hello'' he thought as he ran. As they ran, they became separated, and it was difficult by moonlight to see more than a few feet directly to the front as they ran, causing them to repeatedly run into brambles, thick muddy ground, small bushes, rocks and copses of twisted, mutated trees. Behind them they could hear hooves approaching quickly, closer and closer, until they seemed directly behind them. Cornelius turned and thought he could see one of the creatures just beyond his sight, and he doubled his efforts, the Celestial Magister reduced to running for his very life. DESPERATE STRUGGLE IN THE DARKNESS Suddenly Edmee felt herself struck by a tremendous blow in her right shoulder. Her arm flew forward and she lost her grip on her flail, sending it flying into the dark. She felt an incredible searing pain and looking saw the end of a long jagged spear stuck through her shoulder. 'Motherfucker!' she cried as the air was knocked from her lungs and she was nearly knocked to the ground. At the same moment, Red the Trollslayer was also struck by one of the centigor's lances, delivered at full charge speed, sending him sprawling into the dust and nearly pinning him to the ground, but the Trollslayer's incredible reflexes saved him, allowing him to spin around and face his attacker, whose bulk reared up before him. 'A new challenger eh' he thought, the blood rage building in him. Cornelius and Drake were nearby and heard the sounds of their companions being injured, and without thinking turned to aid them. Hugo was further ahead but also could hear a battle, and he turned, knowing they had little time before the rest of the warband was apon them, rushing to see what was happening in the dark. The Celestial Magister was the first to reach the scene, and seeing Edmee looking severely injured, he raised his arms high, chanting the words of Power. A flaming sphere like a miniature sun burst into being, and he directed it against the hindquarters of the centigor, setting it afire. In the distance, the pursing beastmen could see the sudden light burst into existence and a sudden yell rose up, as the warband charged towards the glowing, hated light and the sounds of battle. Drake meanwhile charged, screaming a war-cry to his God, Sigmar, his greatsword held aloft, gleaming in the dim moonlight. He brought the sword down in an arc on the creature who had struck Red, ripping open a terrible wound down its torse. The creature snarled and rained down blows on Red and Drake, who skillfully fought the creature. Edmee recovered her senses and prayed to Manaan to heal Red, then Drake and Red both in unison told the priestess to flee, and she complied, but stopped to recover her lost flail, visible in the light thrown by the glowing sphere of flame Cornelius had conjured. A LIGHT IN THE DARK Meanwhile, far ahead of the rest, Dronk stopped and listened. At first he could hear nothing. "Oops - have I lost my friends?" he thought - then he heard the shout from Cornelius as his flesh was shredded by one of the beast-things. 'Damn the bonds of friendship that make me do foolish things!' he said to himself, turning back and heading towards the others. Meanwhile, Hugo reached the battle and struck the centigor who had nearly slain Edmee, breaking several ribs. The thing was screaming in anger and pain, its hindquarters afire, sending the stink of burning hair into the night breeze. It lashed out with its clawed arms, raking across Cornelius's chest, who screamed in pain, and smashed the flaming sphere again into the creature, burning it ever more severely. Red now, having recovered, brought his great-axe down in a mighty pair of swings, the second one severing the centigor he faced with Drake completely in half, the torso still twitching as it splattered across the tainted earth. The remaining centigor which burned from the flaming sphere struggled with Hugo, but a mighty blow from the war-maul Hugo carried crushed it's skull and sent it to the ground, stone dead. The group had no time to recover, as they could hear at least a half-dozen more centigors charging at them in the darkness, and behind them, the hoots and war-cries of the beastmen warband. They turned and followed Edmee, fleeing blindly into the darkness, fleeing East, towards the foothills of one of the hills that gave the Barren Hills their name. AUDIBLE MISDIRECTION Cornelius, though wounded, could tell that the creatures would be on them before they could reach the safety of the foothills. He produced the scroll of Magic Mouth he had found weeks earlier, in the ruined wizard laboratory under the semaphore machine, and used it to cast a taunting message on the staff he had recovered from Ernst Heidelman, cultist of the Red Crown. "Fuck you, you suck!" said the message, over and over, as the magic asserted itself in a booming low voice - then Cornelius threw it with all his might at a right angle away from the direction the group was travelling, before hurrying himself to join them. As they ran, though they could not see it, several of their pursuer's, hearing the voice in the dark, broke off from their chase to head towards the noise. Moments later, running in terror, her blood pouring from her ruined shoulder, Edmee ran into a familiar face - Dronk, going the opposite direction. 'What is happening?!' he cried. 'They are right on our heels!' she replied, panting. Dronk readied his crossbow and gestured she should continue to run. 'The hills are not far now, run!' Before Edmee could, Drake emerged from the darkness, breathing heavily. Seeing Edmee and Dronk he cried with relief before invoking the power of Sigmar to heal her wounds. Her shoulder knitted itself together, the blood stopping, the ruined bone pulsing with divine energy and Edmee felt strength return to her. 'My thanks, Drake Blackheart..' she muttered, testing her arm again. THE PURSUIT CONTINUES Cornelius, Hugo and Red also reached the group, but right behind them were the thunderous sounds of the centigor hooves. 'I tried to distract them' said Cornelius as the group turned and ran, Dronk firing his crossbow at one of the shadows moving in the near distance before joining them, his legs quickly covering the ground. Edmee invoked a minor prayer to create the illusion of footsteps running away from them as she ran. Again, though it could not be seen, some of the centigors stopped, turned away to chase the new sounds and being stupid creatures, did not immediately realize they had been duped. The group now together ran, fleeing through the brambles. At one point Dronk disturbed a wasps nest but was not stung, though he shouted a warning. They avoided fallen logs covered with strange fungus, a swampy mire, and deep crevasses in the ground, running blindly east across the difficult terrain, their foes chasing behind. A HELPING HAND Drake was the first to reach it - a sheer face, about ten feet high. Sheathing his sword, he leapt up, catching the ledge with his hands and pulling his bulk up through sheer strength and adrenaline. He turned as the others approached and lay down to offer his hand. One by one they arrived, panting with the effort of the long sprint, and Drake hauled them up the cliffside. Hugo came last, carrying Cornelius over his shoulder, a massive bulk visible just behind them. Cornelius grabbed for Drake who caught him by the hand and nearly threw the Celestial Wizard onto the top of the ledge, while Hugo scampered up moments later. Below them, in the valley, several centigors burst into view, snarling. Unable to climb the cliff face, they turned in rage, looking for a way up. The group paused only to make sure everyone had made it before heading into the relative safety and cover of the foothills. Dronk led the way, his keen senses alert to danger, as they moved quickly. It was at this time that dawn broke, pouring tendrils of light out across the Barren Hills. Before they disappeared out of view, Hugo and Red looked back, and saw the warband in full view, moving across the valley. At least several hundred strong, they carried banners of the symbols of Chaos - topped with a beaten metal image of a red crown. THE HIDEY-HOLE Needing to maintain their lead over this force, the group moved through the foothills as it began to rain. Before long, Dronk called them over to where he led, a couple dozen feet ahead of the party. 'Look at this!' whispered Dronk, gesturing to a large hole in the broken ground. 'A cave, perhaps we can wait out the morning, and lose our pursuers?' "It is a sound plan.", agreed Drake, and Hugo nodded his assent. Red cursed behind gritted teeth, his spirit being unaccustomed to running from any foe, but he was exhausted and he could only shrug. Edmee and Drake began to gather brush and fallen wood to cover the entrance, while Dronk doubled back and attempted to cover their tracks. After they had suitably camouflaged the entrance, the group leapt into the shallow, sandy bottomed cave, and Edmee called out for Light from Manaan, bathing it in a pale white light. The cave appeared natural - and empty - caused likely by the flow of some ancient underground river. Red totted over to a corner and collapsed with exhaustion, sleep taking him nearly instantly, and the others found spots as well to drop some of their gear and lay down. They posted a watch and listened carefully at the entrance. It was while Cornelius watched he heard heavy hooved feet approach, and he, Edmee and Drake quickly covered Red's mouth - as Red was snoring heavily and loudly. Before long though, the hooves receded, and the rest of the hours passed uneventfully, with the rain trickling into the cave through their makeshift cover of branches and grass. The group, having rested, ate some rations to recover their strength and bound their wounds, then left the cave. They could see the warband had passed them about a hundred feet away, heading north, from the unmistakable trail left in the muddy ground. SOUTH TO UNTERBAUM 'Wherever they are going, there will be death.' said Hugo. The group decided they needed to head back to Unterbaum as soon as possible, rather than cut north across unknown territory, to retrieve their boat the Wayward Derelict and its famed Halfling cook, Dumpling. That day, they headed south, moving as quickly as possible, as the rain grew only heavier. They met no mutated creatures nor beastmen, though they felt as though they were being watched as they made their way through the strangely twisted landscape. After an uneventful night spent on the top of another hill, they continued south, reaching the swamps that tipped the River Narn that afternoon. It was there they found a rotting corpse of a horse, Red fishing from it a small coin-purse, the saddle still affixed. Later, crossing the mire, Red and Dronk refused to go around with the others, and ended up covered in leeches, with Dronk having a particularly monstrous one attach itself to his leg. Edmee used a wine-skin filled with saltwater to detach most of them, while Red just ripped them off and stomped them with his booted heel. The sense of being watched stuck with them until that night, when Edmee prayed for Dronk's well-being, purging him of an parasites or toxins the leeches may have carried - though they could not stop the dreams he had of an endless pit filled with writing, indescribable horrors. Crossing the river was trivial as Edmee found them the same fording-point they had used on their way in, although Hugo nearly soaked the satchel of parchment notes recovered form the cultists in the river Narn by accident as he made his way across. They followed the river - the further south they got, the less corrupt the land seemed, until on the third day it seemed almost normal, the sounds of birds, small animals and insects returning. It was now early summer and the evening was pleasant and warm when they reached the outskirts of the village of Unterbaum. They had done it - they had escaped the Barren Hills having slain the cultists of the Red Crown, led by Eletza Helgen. But now what? They knew precious little about what the enemies of the Empire, the murderers of Baroon Pratgar, were up to..what did they seek in the Devil's Bowl?
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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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