Into the dark, twisted passages of the inner bailey of Castle Eslohe, Dronk Cragpush, Hugo von Wolfhardt, Edmee and Cyrus Aggaron venture, their valiant hearts put to the test.. THE LIVING ORGAN Dronk reflexively threw himself backwards, away from the grasping tentacles of the thing, but even his lightning reflexes couldnt avoid all four. One managed to wrap itself around his ankle and began slowly, inexorably drawing him towards the organ, which now played frenziedly, an insane and disharmonious tune. 'Uh, this thing is alive!' he shouted down to the others. Hugo turned from the statue and began to leap up the stairs to support the beleaguered dwarf. Cyrus cursed and quickly reloaded his still-smoking pistols and bounded up behind him, firing as he went at the organ-pipes-turned-tentacles. Edmee, gripping the bloody gash inflicted by the daemon, began to make her way up the stairs behind them, chanting a prayer to Manaan. Cyrus's shots severed one of the tentacles, and it fell to the ground with a metallic clang, devoid of animating energy. Hugo brought his flamberge down in a scintillating arc, cleaving another tentacle in two. Dronk slipped free from the tentacles crushing grasp and rolled backwards, his crossbow swinging into his hands as he quickly loaded another bolt. Edmee shouted 'We must destroy this cursed thing!' and raised her voice - and her flail - high, calling down a radiant burst of flame, lighting the organ with a glowing white fire which caused the finish to flicker and burn. The tentacles, seemingly recognizing a new threat, stretched out towards Cyrus and Hugo. Hugo battered away the attack with his greatsword, but the one that reached Cyrus wrapped itself around his chest and began to squeeze and pull, drawing the witch hunter towards the organ. Dronk fired his crossbow into the organ itself, doing more damage to the daemonic instrument but failing to stop the cacophonous sounds emanating from it. Hugo chopped again, severing another tentacle and rushed towards the pipe organ, gripped by battle-fury. 'Smashing inanimate objects is my particular..specialty!' he cried. Cyrus, meanwhile, twisted acrobatically, freeing himself from the crushing grapple of the tentacle, and then fired both barrels into the organ proper, smashing several of the keys. 'Taste Sigmar's wrath!' he cried. The music increased yet again in tempo and ferocity. Edmee unleashed another burst of divine fire, scorching the daemon-organ. Hugo, having reached the organ, began to chop and slash at it furiously, causing the notes to become ever more discordant. As he did so, more tentacles emerged from the pipes, one moving towards each of the adventurers. Dronk severed one with his flashing rapier and rushed towards the organ, eager to end this combat. Cyrus, reloading with the lightning speed of a trained witch hunter, fired again, severing one of the tentacles before it could reach him. Suddenly, the music burst forth in ever-increasing volume, hammering against the groups eardrums with the force of a thunderous storm. Cyrus managed to resist the attack, but Hugo and Edmees eyes glazed over, as though entranced, while Dronk's face twisted in insane fury as he lashed out at the nearest tentacle. He had lost control of himself, but luckily the organ was closer than any of his friends, or they would surely have felt the bite of his steel. As he reached for his parrying-dagger, he realized he had instead drawn the daemon-dagger he had found in the ruin of the tree in the clearing in the Barren Hills. Dronk tried to avoid the tentacle's grasp but was gripped and drawn towards the organ again. As he came close to it, he could see a yawning maw open underneath the keys. He had a flash of insight - if he was brought to the organ, his soul would be devoured and he too would sing the daemon-song like the rest of the faces atop the brass organ-pipes. The group unleashed their fury on the organ and the remaining tentacles. Edmee firing blast after blast of divine energy, Cyrus firing his pistols repeatedly, Hugo chopping with his greatsword and the enraged Dronk stabbing and slashing with his hand weapons. The sounds started to weaken, then diminished to dull sounds, and the organ collapsed inwards onto itself with a dull grinding noise. The pipes collapsed, falling to the ground like metallic felled timber, the keys exploding outwards in a shower of ivory. Nearly as quickly as it began, it was over. The glazed look faded from Hugo and Edmee, and Cyrus, who had trained his pistols on the group, squinted at them, suspiciously. 'Have you regained your senses?' he spat. Dronk, feeling the battle rage pass, quickly sheathed the curious dagger and held up a hand. 'Yes, Cyrus! Do not fire! The battle is over!'' cried Dronk. Cyrus, scowling, reholstered his red-hot pistols. PLEASURE-CULTISTS The devil music ended, the group surveyed the defiled chapel. Below the gallery on which sat the remains of the organ, the lavender smoke continued to pour from the censor-statues, and the cultists continued their orgiastic activities. Cyrus walked down the stairs to one of the censors, emptying his waterskin over the smoldering mass within, causing the smoke to be reduced slightly and sending up a cloud of steam. Edmee, seeing his intent, grabbed a large piece of ruined masonry and brought it to the other censor, wedging it in over the contents and preventing the smoke from escaping. The smoke began to clear, revealing the dozen or so half-naked forms writhing around, and as it did so, they began to rise, seemingly waking up from whatever trance had gripped them.'I bring to you the justice of Sigmar.' said Cyrus as he stalked down the stairs towards them. Dronk began to search the upper gallery of the chapel, while Hugo moved back to the wooden statue and sheathed his magical greatsword, drawing his war-maul Vilkas, silvered around the edges. He began to smash the statue, splintering it and then smashing the remaining pieces. Before long the statue was nothing more than a mass of splinters and twisted wood scattered about the cobblestones. Edmee approached him while he bashed, and used the magic of Manaan to further heal the wounds Cyrus had inflicted while he was under the influence of the daemoniac guardian. Meanwhile, Cyrus had reached the cultists, who were swaying unsteadily on their feet as they moved towards the exit. Slowly, but surely, he approached each one and with a single stab to the heart, dropped them to the floor, dead. As they died, they emitted a little trill of pure pleasure, moaning in ecstasy. Cyrus spat on the floor. Edmee, seeing Cyrus's murderous rampage, ran down the stairs, and grabbed one of the cultists before the witch hunter could kill him. "Come to your senses!" said Edmee, forcefully. The man seemed dazed, as if in a trance, and Edmee shook him vigorously then slapped him. He blinked once, looked at Edmee, and then began to dance. Edmee sighed and the man turned and fled, only to be cut down by Cyrus's flashing blade. Before long, the cultists all lay dead on the cold stone floor of the defiled chapel. Cyrus smiled with exultation at Edmee as he wiped the blood from his rapier and sheathed it. INTO THE SHADOWED HALLS By this time, Hugo had finished demolishing the statue, and Dronk had satisfied himself there was nothing of value to steal. The group decided to press onwards, exploring the remainder of the ground floor of the castle. Edmee cast a light spell on Hugo's greatsword, and the group opened the southern door of the chapel and began to explore the darkened passages beyond. They found an old abandoned forge, a strange room filled with plants and human-sized birds, and then Dronk stumbled into a room filled with musical instruments of every shape and description. Edmee, seeing a set of bagpipes, ran over and began to try to play them, managing a sound like a strangled cat. Hugo found an unusually carved set of pipes, inlaid with miniature skulls, which he pocketed. Cyrus retrieved a violin and watched as Dronk launched a crossbow bolt into a fine lute, snapping the strings. "I dont trust any music-making anymore.." he muttered, before drawing his rapier and beginning to wreck the various objects in the room. Hugo joined in and before long the room was filled with the pieces of shattered instruments. THE TORTURE-CHAMBERS The group moved on, down a hallway, finding a long staircase leading up into the south-east tower. Inside the rooms were choked with thick cobwebs, and another, circular staircase led both up and down. After a brief discussion, they decided to head downwards, where they emerged into a dank series of cells. They then followed a long hallway into a room lit by a small fire in which sat long torturer's irons. The walls were covered in chains, and a iron rack sat near the center of the room. A place where men were bent and broken, the castle torture chambers. Hugo was first into the room. As he entered an ogre, carrying a long iron hooked chain and brutal-looking club emerged from a nearby alcove, striking Hugo in the chest and knocking the wind from him. Dronk cried out 'Ogre!" and dashed into the room, shooting the ogre with his heavy crossbow before ducking behind a iron cage. It was then Dronk noticed the cage was not empty but instead was occupied by a emaciated old man, his beard down past his waist, sitting cross-legged in the cell. "Hello. Have you come for tea?" the man asked - Dronk could only blink in surprise. Edmee rushed into the torture chamber behind Hugo and began uttering a prayer, calling a flaming white light into being which missed the snarling ogre. Cyrus then pushed past Edmee firing his pistols into the ogre's bulk. The creature now bled from multiple wounds. Hugo chopped at its face, cutting a deep gash down its neck. It retaliated, missing Hugo narrowly with a great sweep of its club, and with the other hand, throwing the hook-chain towards Edmee, sending up sparks as it missed and scraped along the stone wall. Dronk fired his crossbow again from behind the cage, striking the thing in the chest, and was reloading when Hugo brought his greatsword down onto the ogre's bulk, cutting open its side and causing its entrails to spill onto the floor. The ogre died, a look of surprise on its hideous face, falling onto the rack with a crash. The party then questioned the wizened prisoner, who said he was Eslohe's former doctor, Fritz Carhingar. The man referred to the ogre affectionately as 'Slagmush' - the ogre torturer - and said he had been in the dungeons for some time. "But Slagmush always takes good care of me, oh yes, such good care!" The group tried to help the man but he steadfastly refused to leave his prison. PRISONERS AND SECRET DOORS Down another hallway from the torturer's room of horrors, they found the castle prison, with iron cages lining each of the walls. Inside were men bearing marks of abuse, one with a severed leg, all bloodied and broken. One of the men was attired as an imperial Tax Collector. Cyrus retrieved the keys from the ogre and freed them, but not before the party questioned them. They knew little, two being villagers who had been imprisoned recently. The group tasked the freed prisoners with taking the bearded prisoner in the ogre's chamber back out of the castle. As he protested this, Cyrus knocked him out with the butt of his pistol. The group then began to search the cells more thoroughly. They found a side-chamber with a large heap of straw, and piled beside it were various discarded pieces of equipment. They took a spyglass and a fine set of leather armor, as well as a number of gold crowns..... As they searched, Dronk found a well-stocked but decrepit wine-cellar, filled with row apon row of dusty bottles, as well a cabinet with a number of bottles of Maudite - the Bretonnian brandy which was favored by those with taste. Just beyond the wine-cellar they also found a large room with a hole cut in the far stone wall. The river came through this water-gate and swirled about a stone dock at which lay a large row-boat, bound to a stone post. "This must be where they receive supplies.." mused Edmee, aloud. Hugo was looking for any additional treasure when he noticed a stone seemingly out of place, loose on the rock wall. Pushing it, the entire wall shuddered and with a slow grinding noise, the wall slid sideways, revealing a dark hallway hidden behind it. "I have found something. Something important.." said Hugo, dryly. He pushed the greatsword into the space, illuminating a dust-filled passage, long disused.
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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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