In which the party leaves Grissenwald, heading back north along the Reik and then down the River Stir, towards the Barren Hills.. THE AFTERMATH The rain mixed with the Baroon-thing's blood, and washed into the gutters. The group of Watch approached the scene, led by a grizzled-looking seargant. From behind them could be seen a crowd of Grissenwalders, peeking into the square to try to see what happened. Drake Blackheart fell to his knees besides the stinking mounds of flesh, chanting prayers of redemption to Sigmar. Dronk Cragpush ducked into a tent, seeing the approach of the Watch. Cornelius Heinrich stooped, and picked up from the cobblestones Baroon's holy symbol of Sigmar. Red, seeing an opportunity, went into the unguarded beer tent and began drinking heavily. Edmee watched the scene, and harnessed her flail. Meanwhile the Watch sergeant introduced himself and tentatively addressed himself to Hugo von Wolfhardt - his eyes wide, despite himself. Hugo told him the bloody tale, that the assassin 'This ruined corpse here' had plunged a devil-dagger lain with some horrible enchantment or poison into the back of thier friend, the true and just War-Priest of Sigmar, Baroon Pratgar. The dagger had turned him into the monstrosity they had battled, and ultimately, slain. The Seargeant furiously scribbled notes into a small pad of paper he produced from within his cloak.He took the names of everyone present - except Dronk, who was hiding nearby. Drake was deep in prayer and didnt rouse for some time. Edmee went over and placed a rough hand on his shoulder, and he looked up, his eyes shining. Some of the Watch positioned themselves at the entrances to the square to keep the crowds back. From windows overlooking the square, many faces peered back at them, mouths agape. Some made the signs of Sigmar over their chests, to protect them from the terrible evil they had just witnessed. Priests of Morr entered the square, and halted, stunned by the volumes of blood and gore, then began to pick up the heaps of flesh. Drake, seeing them arrive, began to help, as did Cornelius. Hugo and the Watch Seargant searched the corpse of the assassin, finding a twisted dagger, as though it had been roasted in the flames of the Sun, as well as a tattoo of a scorpion on the mans hand. "A follower of Khaine, the bloody-handed god of Murder." said the Sergeant, who immediately made the sign of Sigmar, for protection. "Your friend must have powerful enemies.." THE QUIET OF THE DEAD Before long, much of Baroon's remains had been transferred to the gurneys, and the priests of Morr began to head towards the Garden of Morr, where the dead rested eternally (in theory), across the ferry on the Westbank side of Grissenwald's harbour, across the river Grissen. Drake, Cornelius, Hugo and Edmee followed, while Red initially remained at the beer tent, until the proprietor, recently re-allowed back into the square, discovered him, mouth open directly under a beer-cask's tap. Dronk, meanwhile, headed south, out of the town, towards Karak Slumbol, home of the Greathammer clan dwarves. At the Garden of Morr, the black-mailed guards regarded them approach silently. At the threshold, the rituals began. None but the dead and the priests of Morr passed into the Garden of Morr, warded and sigiled against black magics and necromancies that might disturb the sleep of the dead piled within. Drake requested that the body be cremated so that it could be brought back to Altdorf and lain to rest in the great Masoleum of Sigmar. The priests nodded, and then Baroon passed through the gates into the Garden. While Red headed back to the Wayward Derelict, where he was soon joined by Hugo, Cornelius and Edmee, Drake waited outside the gates of the Garden of Morr. A DWARFISH OATH Dronk, meanwhile, had reached Karak Slumbol and made his way through the confusing paths of the shanty-town, crudly constructed buildings until he made his way to the largest building, the clanhall. Inside the smoky hall, he was brought before the leader of the Greathammer dwarves, Gorim Greathammer, who bid him speak. Dronk told the dwarves of Slumbol the tale of the Black Hills mine, the goblins they had slain, the tower they had found despoiled and abandoned by its owner. The dwarves rejoiced! With Eletza gone, they could claim the tower, and re-open the mine. Gorim swore an oath of kinship with Dronk Cragpush and Dronk told him of the plight of his own people, outside Mousillon in Bretonnia, where they lived in a shanty town not unlike Karak Slumbol. Gorim and the other Greathammer dwarves promised that should Dronk need their aid in future, they would do whatever they could to help. PREPARATIONS AND PLANNING On his way back to the boat with the urn holding the ashes of Baroon, Drake stopped at a print shop, and had posters made - posters asking for information on the whereabouts of the Purple Hand, and offering rewards. The work was done quickly, and Drake left a number of these around Grissenwald. That night the party feasted heartily in a local tavern, with Drake and Hugo toasting their victories. Red regaled the bar with tales of his slaughter of the troll, and found himself surrounded by inquisitive, over-friendly drunken men. Edmee drank heavily but said little, consumed by her own thoughts. The group made plans. If this Dark Magister, this Eletka Helgen, had headed to the Barren Hills, they would follow. But first, they spent a few days gathering supplies, repairing armor, recuperating, and training. Hugo found an old fighter who showed him some new tricks, and spent most of his days practicing fighting forms. Cornelius presented Edmee with the dwarven shield the party had taken from Gutbag in the tower, now lacquered over with the sigil of Manaan. HEADING OUT One morning, with a light drizzle raining down, the group cast off from Grissenwald. Edmee took her place at the helm, next to Dronk. Initially, there were some difficulties, as despite Edmee's experience she found the boat difficult to control. Luckily, no serious collisions happened, and the group made fairly good progress as they floated back up the Reik, towards Kemperbad. The next few days were uneventful for the most part. The group heard from passing fishermen that the Grey Death had reached the Empire, and that people were fleeing from the South in its path. Edmee and Dronk navigated, while the others alternated between acting as the lookouts or handling the sail. At night, they would pull close to shore, drop anchor, and eat the amazing meals Dumpling, their halfling cook, could conjure with their meager dry rations. They made good progress, and only 4 days had elapsed when the cliffs of Kemperbad came into view. AT THE KEMPERBAD DOCKS The party decided to moor at Kemperbad, to pick up provisions for the rest of the trip. The Barren Hills was deep in the wilderness, and they would need to leave the relative safety of the boat. They paid the docking fee and headed ashore. While there, Dronk considered purchasing a pistol, but found the prices shockingly high. Drake put up the posters about the Purple Hand on every available surface, and left more with nearby shopkeeps and at the riverside inns. Asking around, they heard from a local stevedore that a group including a woman matching the description of Eletka had passed through a week or more before. She was accompanied by several 'rough-looking' men, who had been wrapped in large heavy cloaks. News of their quarry found, the group returned to the boat and redoubled their efforts. Here at Kemperbad, the river Stir met the Reik, and Edmee brought the Wayward Derelict into the lock-system, and onto the Stir. UNTERBAUM AND THE TWIN FALLS Several days were spent navigating the strong currents of the Stir. Towards the evening of the third day, the group heard a roar that gradually got louder. As they rounded a bend, the mighty Twin Falls came into view. Here, the river Narn and the river Stir met in a huge basin that now formed a massive pair of waterfalls. As they approached the basin, they could see a stone platform near a cave set into the cliff. Inside, two women could be seen, patching a canoe. They waved at the boat. The group were immediately suspicious. They docked, and headed ashore. The women introduced themselves as the daughters of the mayor of the nearby village of Unterbaum, and offered to guide the party to the village, through the exit in the back of the cave. The party agreed, and left the Wayward Derelict, but first provisioned themselves for the several days journey into the Barren Hills. Dumpling was aghast at the thought of being left alone on the boat, so Corenlius gave her the pistol he had carried for so long, as well as the key to the lock on the boat. They told her if they were not back in 10 days, to go to the village, then the group headed ashore with the two villagers. At Unterbaum, they found a small but friendly village. The people seemed happy and cheerful, surprisingly so. The town was nothing but a collection of thatch-roofed homes, a few shops. Most villagers seemed to be farmers or fishermen. The town was surrounded by stone monoliths which appeared ancient. The villagers took the group to Bartholemew, the local Druid of the Old Faith. WAYS OF THE OLD FAITH He warned the group about the Barren Hills, calling it a place of 'great evil'. Seeing the group was undeterred, he offered the use of a group of canoes to make their way up the river Narn. The group considered the offer but turned him down, as they were afraid what might happen should the boats capsize with people in full armor aboard. The Druid also told the group about another group that had passed by less than a week before, heading north into the Hills, but he knew little as they had stopped only for provisions and said little, but paid well. Additionally, the Druid offered to serve as a guide into the Barren Hills, but the group also refused this. He wished them well, blessed them in the name of the Old Faith, and they were on their way. The march up the banks of the river Narn was slow. The sky was overcast, and the land was mostly broken rock and pebbles. To their left, the west, was the thick forests of the Reik - they stayed close to the Narn, as the banks were mostly clear or covered only with thin, weedy vegetation. A PAIR OF EVILS They marched mostly in silence, each consumed by their own thoughts. Red grumbled occasionally, as he stubbed his toe on a rock or branch. It was nearing nightfall when they first heard it - the swoop of heavy wings. Weapons flashed from beneath the party's travelling cloaks in the dim light. They scanned the horizon. Nothing could be seen.. Suddenly a huge shape burst from the forest and crashed into the ground in front of the group. A massive beast, with the face of a monstrous man and the body of a lion, the wings of a bat and the tail of a scorpion. Inside its maw were three rows of teeth. It roared. "A manticore!" shouted Red, and Cornelius nodded, his eyes wide with terror. The battle was joined. Red, Hugo and Drake rushed the beast, weapons high, battle-cries shouted. As they did so, the manticore flicked its tail, sending arrow-like darts towards them. Most of the quills were batted away, but one dug deeply into Red's shoulder. Cornelius whispered the words of power, and flung a ball of bubbling acid towards the chattering mouth of the manticore, but it went wide. Dronk fired a bolt from his oversized crossbow, and it landed true, buring itself in the manticore's flank. Edmee prayed to Manaan under her breath and advanced, flail in hand. Red had, by this point, worked himself into a battle-frenzy, and charged forward, great-axe raised high. He brought it down with all his might, and rent a bloody cut across the thing's side. Drake followed suit, gouging it with his greatsword. Hugo swung, but missed as the manticore twisted away. It was by now bleeding heavily and it bellowed in rage and pain. Cornelius was preparing another spell to finish off the wounded monster when a crash could be heard from the nearby woods. Trees snapped as the second manticore burst from the woods, on the ground already. It's tail flicked, and quills filled the air, striking Cornelius who failed to avoid them all, but he was not seriously injured. A BESTIAL RAGE Edmee raised her flail, and prayed to Manaan, bringing it down and sending a spectral energy at the original manticore, which saw it's doom approaching and tried vainly to move out of the way. The bolt crashed into the creature, and it collapsed in a heap, its legs shuddering, dead. The other manticore, seeing this, screamed in rage and rushed towards Edmee. A crossbow bolt from Dronk caught it in the leg, and Hugo smashed it with Vilkas, his war-maul, as it passed, but nothing slowed it. Cornelius threw a ball of bubbling acid, his voice sounding strange and powerful as he uttered the arcane incantations, and the ball arced directly into the thing. Still it came on, though clearly seriously hurt. Edmee saw the creature bearing down on her and thought for sure she was doomed. She raised the dwarvish shield to meet the attack, and nearly was knocked off her feet by the impact as the manticore crashed into it. Skillfully, she deflected the manticores attacks, with tail, claw and bite, with her flail and the magical shield. While the manitcore was focused on Edmee, the others moved in from the flanks. Weapons flashed and spells were thrown, and within mere moments the second manticore died next to its partner. The party, breathing heavily, looked around warily, their weapons dripping with blood. The sun was now starting to set, and the sounds of the forest returned. It's a long walk to the Barren Hills, through the wilds..
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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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