During which the party ventures within the forbidding inner bailey of Castle Eslohe, heedless of the horrors to come.. HARD-WON VICTORY The group - Cyrus, Edmee, Hugo and Dronk - stood at the far side of the bridge, the broken remains of the castle guards scattered about. From within the outer bailey, the smoke plumes had receded, driven back by the now-driving rain. Ominous thunder crackled overhead. Sigrid approached them, flanked by two of her outlaw band, all showing battle-wounds. 'Victory is ours!' she announced, wearily. 'The outer bailey and walls are in our hands, but at a terrible cost. Many of us are dead, or wounded. Nonetheless, it was a price worth paying. Did you see what they had done to the poor folk in the courtyard? We wouldnt treat a beast in this way.' Cyrus, his pistol-barrels still red-hot from the recent battle, eyed her as he struggled to regain his ability to speak. Dronk Cragpush wiped the black ichor from his rapier, as Hugo stood, stoically, his massive bulk casting a long shadow when a bolt of lightning cracked in the distance. Edmee, the warrior-priest of Manaan, severely injured, her prayers almost depleted, was the first to speak. "Well met, Sigrid. Your warriors have acquitted themselves well this day." Cyrus sneered "The work is not yet done, the inner bailey awaits." Hugo nodded. "There are too few of us left to help in an assault on the inner bailey. Less than a handful of us are uninjured, and all are greatly disturbed by what we have found here.' replied Sigrid. "Cowards.." started Cyrus, drawing a sharp glace from Edmee. 'We will hold the outer walls against any counter-attack, if you are going into the castle proper.' continued Sigrid. 'This is ..agreeable.' replied Hugo, his shining flamberge resting against his shoulder. Dronk questioned the outlaw chief 'Where is our strange new companion, the Magister, Magnus?' he asked. 'I know not.' replied Sigrid 'Since the battle, I have not seen him." One of the outlaws with Sigrid, a heavyset man with a grey beard, spoke up 'He said something about needing to report back, I saw 'im turn into a raven, I did, and fly off!' Cyrus's eyes narrowed 'In which direction did he travel?' he asked between gritted teeth. "To the south-by-southwest, good Witch Hunter, sir.' replied the man. 'Ever typical of a mage, to vanish when the going gets tough.' Cyrus snarled. 'We must make haste, to keep our element of surprise.' he continued. Hugo grinned and nodded. AN UNEASY REST 'I do not disagree, Witch Hunter', said Edmee 'However, my prayers are depleted and I need time to rest and bind my wounds.' Cyrus sighed and nodded. To escape the rain, Edmee re-entered one of the towers flanking the bridge to the inner bailey, and began meditating, thinking of the god of the waves, Manaan. Dronk accompanied her, watching over her resting form, his crossbows at the ready, while Hugo and Cyrus stood in the rain, watching for any sign of movement across the bridge. Sigrid, her arm shattered during the battle, instructed her men to close the outer bailey gate and send word if anyone approached, then entered the other tower to rest. It was now late afternoon, and as Edmee rested, the storm thickened above. By the time she awoke, her wounds binded and her divine powers restored, it was the black of night, and overhead, the clouds crackled with strange green lightning. Occasionally a flash would light up the castle in the inner bailey, looking like some rotten tooth thrust out of the earth in defiance of the world above. Edmee left the dryness of the tower interior, followed by Dronk, rejoining Cyrus and Hugo at the bridge-gate. 'Finally. Are you ready now, priestess?' asked Cyrus. Edmee nodded, and the group began making their way across the windswept bridge, its narrow span a precarious perch across the chasm, where far below the river Baren crashed against the foot of the cliffs. In the distance, perched atop the battlements, the party could make out a group of unusually-large ravens, observing the group curiously. INTO THE UNKNOWN On the far side of the bridge, the portcullis remained open. Not a sign of movement was seen anywhere on the inner walls or in the towers. Dronk and Cyrus quickly scouted the towers, and finding nothing came back out. Feeling convinced that Sigrid and the remnants of her ragtag band of outlaws could hold the rear, they headed into the courtyard of the inner bailey. Here, the castle loomed, an aura of menace palpable to them all. The interior keep was several stories high, cut here and there with arrow-slits and windows, and at each corner a massive tower drove into the stormy sky. In the distance, the north-west tower stood, larger than the others, a curious window cut into its face. The courtyard here was small, to the left holding little but some twisted weeds, and to the right, a strange pit had been cut into the ground. Hugo approached, cautiously, with the rest following a few paces behind. They could see it was dug about twenty feet into the ground, with sharpened stakes set into its sides, all facing downwards. At the bottom, a large rusted iron grate covered a deeper hole, with a trapdoor set into it. Two iron hooks were set underneath, and Hugo noticed sitting against a nearby wall a long ladder with rings - he quickly deduced the ladder could be placed into the hooks and used to climb down into the pit. As they neared the pit, all could hear strange moans and cries from deeper within, and their vision as they looked down was obscured by a reddish-brown mist. Despite himself, Cyrus shuddered, a sudden sweat breaking out on his brow. 'It looks like this pit was cut to keep something in, rather than out..' observed Hugo. Cyrus nodded. Dronk, scanning the battlements of the keep, added 'I see no way up these sheer walls. The stonework is good, my kin must have helped in its construction.' Edmee pointed to the large wooden doors set into the sheer face. 'It appears we have no choice but to enter through the main gates.' she said. Turning away from the strange pit, the group approached the door to the inner bailey. THE KITCHEN INTERROGATION Hugo pushed the heavy doors open, revealing a long hallway, lit torches flickering along the walls. Rich tapestries were hung here, moth-eaten but of fine quality. Several doors were set into the walls, and at the far end of the hallway stood a large set of double doors. A strange distant sound of haunting music reached their ears. They made their way down the hallway, happy to be out of the driving rain. As they did so, the music gradually got louder, as though they approached the source. Cyrus opened one of the doors, revealing a long hallway choked with furniture, crates and boxes. It was not lit, and he used his newfound crystal goggles to get a better look - but even with their aid he could not see the end of the passageway. Dronk opened another door, further down the hallway, revealing a room filled with pots and pans, several stoves, and rich foodstuffs - clearly, the castle kitchens. Within the room, three richly-dressed but gaunt servants - two men and a woman - stared back at him, their mouths agape, before leaping under one of the tables, shivering with fear. 'Well, what have we here?' mused Dronk, entering the kitchens, shortly after followed by Cyrus, Hugo and Edmee. Seeing the servants cowering under the table, Cyrus levelled his pistols. 'Where are your masters?' he demanded in a threatening tone. 'Dont kill us!' squealed one of the servants. 'Tell us where your masters are, and you may yet live.' replied Cyrus, as Hugo entered the room, checking what was being cooked curiously, while Dronk made his way to another door, barred and locked on the far end of the room. Edmee regarded the servants curiously, a kindly look on her hardened face. Seeing the servants near-paralyzed with fear, Cyrus hauled one of the men to his feet, pointing one of his pistols at his face. 'Out with it!' he shouted. 'Where is the Lady Eslohe!'. 'Theyre usually upstairs, in their quarters, but we never go there!' replied the man in a shrill voice. Cyrus cocked the hammer of his flintlock pistol. 'Tell me more, servant.' The woman, cowering beneath the table replied 'Oh please sir Witch Hunter, dont hurt him! We are victims here too! We never go upstairs, not since poor Dieter was torn limb from limb after heading to the upper chambers!'' 'Where do you bring the victuals to?' asked Cyrus, angrily. 'The great hall on the second floor, through the chapel.' replied the woman. 'You will take us there.' said Cyrus flatly. 'We cannot!' cried the man in Cyrus's firm grasp. 'A ..a service is in progress. Surely you heard it as you approached the kitchens!' 'What manner of service?' asked Cyrus. 'We know not!' cried the other man, under the table. 'We know only that those who enter do not leave.' 'You WILL accompany us, servant, or you WILL die.' said Cyrus. Edmee, furious, snapped at the Witch Hunter. 'You will not kill these poor folk, Cyrus. I will not have the deaths of yet more innocents on my conscience.' Cyrus glared at her, then relaxed his grip on the terrified man. VERMIN AT THE DOOR Meanwhile, Dronk had reached the far door, and was testing it, reaching for the handle to open it. The three servants shouted in unison. "DONT OPEN THE DOOR!' Dronk, surprised, leapt back, and turned to the three. 'And why not?' he asked, suspiciously. 'There are a great many rats in the storeroom good sir dwarf, vicious rats, they will tear you limb from limb!' exclaimed one of the bedraggled servants. Dronk, unconvinced, listened closely at the door. He could hear movement, and many scratching noises, as though that of hundreds of clawed feet. He backed away slowly from the door. 'I have seen more than my share of vermin.' said Dronk. 'You might be right, manlings.' Edmee turned to the servants, addressing them in a gentle voice. 'What else can you tell us of the castle?' she asked. 'Not much, good lady priestess.' replied the woman from under the table. 'The Lady Ingrid and the Lady Magritte occupy the upper chambers. Lord Ludwig hasnt been seen for many moons. We do our duty, and cook the food the guards bring us, and serve it to the great hall, every day. We are virtual prisoners!' Cyrus lowered his pistols, re-holstering them. Seemingly oblivious to the conversation, Hugo was checking the various foodstuffs in the kitchens, sampling them and finding them surprisingly tasty. 'Is there nothing else?' asked Edmee. 'There is little we can tell you except to beware the upper chambers.' said one of the servants. 'Death stalks them.' MERCY OF MANAAN 'Go now.' said Edmee. 'You are free. Go to the outer bailey. None will harm you.' Cyrus sighed and rolled his eyes. 'Oh thank you priestess!' cried one of the men, and they quickly scampered to the door, nearly running towards the exit at the end of the hall. 'They may have had more valuable information to share with us, Edmee..' started Cyrus, but he stopped when Edmee shot him a icy stare. As the party left the kitchens, watching the servants flee down the hall and out of the keep, Dronk stopped, considering, then flipped over one of the heavy oaken tables, sending the pots and pans and other culinary instruments clanging onto the cobblestone floor. He dragged the table over to the far door where behind it he could hear the scratching of many clawed feet, and then flipped the table upright, wedging it against the door. 'That should keep those rats in place..' said Dronk to no-one in particular. Back in the hallway, the group gathered at the heavy double doors at the end of the hallway. From within, a strange haunting tune could be heard. The door was ornate, carved with elaborate symbols of Sigmar and flowing script. The door had been defaced with crude scratches and graffiti. 'Blasphemy!' muttered Cyrus, his hands on his pistols. Dronk quickly checked the door for any traps, then satisfied none were present, nodded to Hugo who stood poised by the door. With a mighty heave, Hugo kicked the door open, his greatsword at the ready. CHAPEL OF OBSCENITY The scene before them was bizarre. The floor of the castle chapel was covered with a lavender mist which flowed from two censors flanking a raised dais. The censors were bowls set into carved silver statues of a naked man and woman. In the center of the dais a crude wooden statue depicting a slim humanoid with twisted horns, male on the left side and female on the right. From underneath the mist, writhing human bodies could be half-glimpsed, apparently in ecstasy. Far above, on a raised gallery accessible from flanking sets of stairs, a strange organ could be half-seen, a haunting discordant music flowing from its pipes. 'Slaanesh!' cursed Cyrus, raising his pistol and firing at one of the exposed limbs within the purplish smoke. The bullet severed the limb at the elbow, sending it flying beneath the smoke and causing a great gushing of crimson blood. No cries of pain could be heard, however, only a little moan of pleasure. 'I would not breath this strange smoke.' said Cyrus, covering his mouth as he stepped into the chapel, tentatively. Edmee nodded and, praying to Manaan, unleashed a blast of powerful wind from her left hand. The force of the air moved the smoke, pushing it towards the back of the chapel, though with nowhere to go, it pooled there ominously. The group found the strange discordant music gripping them with an overwhelming urge to dance, and suddenly Dronk gave in, his arms jerking awkwardly. Hugo moved to him and slapped Dronk across the face. 'Snap out of it, my friend!' he cried, and Dronk stopped, seemingly in a daze, recovering his senses. 'It is this strange music..' said Dronk. 'I could not resist..' As the smoke cleared somewhat, propelled into the far wall by the force of Manaan's wind, the bodies on the floor could be glimpsed more clearly. Most of the figures were naked, but those that were dressed were wearing richly colored garments of fine silk, engaged in the pleasures of the flesh with man and woman alike. 'Let us make haste!' she said, and the group scampered past the oblivious pleasure-seekers and onto the raised dais, the smoke held back by Edmee's magick. After they passed the lowered area, Edmee allowed the spell to end, and the purple smoke settled back over the worshipers, safely away from the group. THE DAEMONIC KEEPER As it did so, they heard a strange, unnatural cry and a strange humanoid figure leapt from the shadows at the back of the chapel, doing a double somersault in the air and landing beside the weird wooden statue. The figure was vaguely female, but with no air, its skin pale as ivory, and each arm was tipped with an oversized claw-like appendage. Its eyes, saucer like and insectoid, gleamed with an alien intelligence. It surveyed the group one by one. 'Why arent you dancing? You should be enjoying yourself like the others..' it said it a strangely seductive voice. Cyrus, sensing the threat, shouted 'Daemon! Foul thing, I will smite thee in the name of Sigmar!' firing his pistols. The bullets struck home, but seemed to make little impression on the odd creature, who merely smiled, licking it's lips with a long, snake-like tongue. Hugo rushed forward, his greatsword raised, and cleaved downwards, the magic-keened blade cutting deep into the things flesh, causing it to bleed a strange milky ichor. Dronk scampered up the gallery stairs, and from above fired his heavy crossbow, the bolt striking the thing. Edmee, from behind the others, unleashed a blast of radiant energy, the white flames licking about the creatures figure. ACQUIESCENCE 'My turn.' said the daemon, turning to Hugo. Its eyes transfixed him, and he felt himself lose control of his actions. 'KILL YOUR COMPANIONS!' the daemon cried, and Hugo turned, looking directly at Cyrus, his greatsword readied. The daemon then rushed past Hugo and towards Edmee who stood against the wall at the foot of the gallery stairs. Dronk fired his crossbow again and the bolt struck the thing in the shoulder, but it didnt slow as it moved quickly to attack the priestess of Manaan. Meanwhile, Cyrus, seeing his battle brother Hugo possessed by the daemonic seduction of the creature, gestured, invoking the arcane power of the Ordo Malleus. 'I BIND YOU!' he cried. A bluish light broke from the ground beneath Hugo, and his movements slowed, his limbs paralyzed by the magic. As this happened, the daemon reached Edmee, and began tearing at her with it's monstrous claws, ripping deep into her flesh and causing the priestess to cry out in pain. Dronk, seeing an opening, dropped his crossbow and ran down the staircase, stabbing deep with his rapier. He then reached with his free hand for his parrying dagger, and nearly grasped the strange blade he had found in the Barren Hills involuntarily, but controlled himself and drew the three bladed dagger, stabbing the thing again in the side as it ferociously assaulted Edmee. Cyrus began unloading his pistols into the frozen form of Hugo. "You will not fall to Chaos today, Hugo!' he shouted, as his bullets struck Hugo's mass, blowing smoking holes in his ornate plate-mail. Blood gushed from the wounds, but Hugo's eyes remained glazed. In his mind Hugo fought to regain control of himself, but his struggles were for naught. Edmee, pressed against the wall by the daemon's furious attack, brought her shield up to try to fend off the blows, and swung out with her flail, the weapon making little impression on her now-cackling foe. CLOSE CALL Dronk stabbed again and again into the side of the thing, but could not stop it as it continued to rip and tear and Edmee, whose mail was like paper under the daemonic claws. Edmee's blood splattered the wall and floor, and she felt herself weaken. With a muttered prayer, she cried out to Manaan for help, and thunderous power surged through her, sending the daemon flying back a few feet, lightning flickering about its form. Cyrus contuined firing at Hugo's frozen form, his bullets tearing through Hugo and leaving him covered in his own blood. 'Cyrus! Help me!' cried Edmee, as she tried to steady herself. Hugo, near-dead from the lead bullets Cyrus had filled him with, continued to struggle against the foul daemonic magic, but could not free himself. Thankfully, he remained unable to move, his limbs bound by the magic of the Ordo Malleus. Seeing the danger, Cyrus turned from Hugo and brought his guns to bear on the daemon, peppering it with lead. The thing snarled, milky-white blood pouring from the wounds it had suffered, and advanced again on Edmee, its claws snapping together in glee. Dronk raised his rapier again, and drove it into the daemon's leg, causing it to stumble, and he then drove his three-bladed dagger into its back. THE RIGHTEOUS FOUR The daemon suddenly cried out, a strange unearthly scream, and collapsed into a pile of lavender smoke, which mixed with the gas covering the lower floor of the chapel. As it did so, Hugo regained control of himself, and saw Cyrus levelling his pistols at his face. 'Are you yourself again, Knight, or have you fallen to Chaos?' snarled Cyrus, a his face contorted with rage. Hugo, severely injured and unable to reply, collapsed to one knee. 'By all that is holy, Cyrus, release him!' cried Edmee. Cyrus spat on the ground and allowed the Rune of Binding to fade, and Hugo fell to the ground, covered in his own blood. Dronk reloaded his crossbow and scanned the chapel warily, thinking the daemon might return at any moment. Edmee rushed to Hugo's side and placed both hands on his face, praying to Manaan to heal her battle-brother. Hugo felt his wounds close slightly and he swayed unsteadily to his feet. 'I would rather kill you than allow you to fall like so many others to Chaos.' said Cyrus. Dronk looked at Cyrus, unsure if this fanatic could be trusted, but said nothing. Meanwhile, the strange cacophonous music continued to come from the organ, above. Dronk began to make his way up the gallery stairs to the musical instrument, while Edmee bound Hugo's wounds as best she could. Cyrus holstered his smoldering pistols and stepped up to the altar where the wooden statue was perched. He could see now it sat astride what was once an shrine to Sigmar, but the altar had been defiled. Over the sigils originally inscribed in the altar were all manner of obscenities. Instead of a hammer, Sigmar now gripped what appeared to be his oversized cock in both hands. THE ORGAN BECKONS Cyrus, enraged, began to try to clear the defiled altar, while Hugo weakly stepped up behind him. 'Hugo, lay to waste this daemonic statue.' instructed Cyrus. Meanwhile, Dronk had reached the top of the gallery and could see the organ. It was still playing, apparently unattended. The organ was gilded and ornate and strangely carved. At the top of each of its pipes was a humanoid head in minature, and when a note was played the mouths opened to sing. Cyrus turned back to Dronk and shouted 'Destroy that thing!' Dronk replied, under his breath 'Dont need to ask me twice!' and fired his crossbow, the bolt striking home and smashing several of the keys. As soon as he did so, the music changed, becoming even more discordant, and Dronk could see from four of the pipes issued massive scaled tentacles, worming their way lightning-quick towards him. He took a step backwards as the tentacles sought to wrap themselves around the dwarvish assassin..
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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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