Where the party reaches the center of the Barren Hills, and meets with their quarry, Eletza Helgen.. LEAVING THE POISONED GROVE Hearing the sound of beastmen in the not-far distance, the party gathered themselves and quickly departed the cursed grove containing the remains of the Daemon-tree. They kept up the pace as they put as much distance between themselves and the place as possible. Hugo, hobbled behind the party, his mutated and misshapen limbs slowing his movement. The group was horrified and whispered amongst themselves, but Cornelius was convinced the curse that had caused him to become a hunchbacked wretch was only temporary. Drake wondered if he would would need to smite his friend and long-time companion in the name of Sigmar, but remember the Mutant Proclamation. The night, the party made camp and set a wary watch, hearing strange sounds in the twisted wilderness. They rested uneasily that night, and Dronk had vivid dreams of a nightmarish landscape over which indescribable things crawled, slithered and walked in some inscrutable pattern. They were, however, undisturbed. With the coming of the dawn the group awoke to a light drizzle and fog, and Hugo was relieved to see that his limbs and body had returned to normal proportions. Between his fingers the webbing had fallen off, like the discarded skin of a snake. It was the morning of the 5th of Sommerzeit, and they headed out, their hearts full of foreboding, following Eletza's map to the heart of the Barren Hills. The days journey was hard and slow, but steady, and as day turned to night they caught sight of huge monoliths standing around the edge of a ghostly, still lake. Looking up, they saw that Morrsleib, the cursed moon of Chaos, was full and hung low in the sky, as though directly above the lake. The entire scene was lit with a spectral green light. THE DEVIL'S BOWL The group approached the lake cautiously. The surface was still, making it appear as a pane of perfect glass. Edmee was reminded of the vision, of the still oceans and the moon of Chaos high above, triumphant. Drake used the sense of Sigmar and could tell that the taint of the Ruinous Powers lay heavy on the lake. The stones themselves, inspected by Cornelius, were covered in concentric circle patterns that he recognized as being Druidic runes, of the Old Faith. The group began to discuss what to do. They had long ago lost the trail of footprints they had found earlier. As Dronk began to suggest someone swim out into the lake, there was a sudden explosion of energy from the opposite side of the lake, shooting tendrils of multi-colored light high into the night sky before dissipating. The group immediately began moving around the lake, Dronk heading out way in front, stealthily scouting ahead, picking their way through the heavily mutated brush. The luminescent grass gave off just enough light that they could stumble through the ground. Dronk cursed hearing the armor Drake, Hugo and the Priestess of Manaan, Edmee wore from some distance away. "Those foolish manlings will give us away" he muttered, and doubled his pace, so he could not longer hear them stumbling around in the dark. As he pushed through the brush Dronk could see a small clearing ahead, with some figures moving around. He slowed, and crept forward as quietly as possible. Entering the clearing he could see a number of figures around a bonfire burning with all the colours of the rainbow. Beside the bonfire was the decapitated corpse of a beastman, and several skeletal corpses shambled around the perimeter. Dronk took a closer look from the shadows.. A DAEMONIC SEANCE In the multi-colored bonfire, a feathered figure spoke in a language that caused Dronk to feel nauseous. The words were harsh, guttural and somehow seemed...wrong. The other figures seemed to listen intently as the figure spoke. One man, bespectacled and small of frame, wearing the rich robes of a physician's assistant, was furiously scribbling on a parchment. Dronk looked closer at the man, recognizing him - it was Ernst Heidelmann - who he had taken a coach with to Altdorf, so many moons ago. Along with Ernst were other figures - a towering brute of a man, wearing a huge helm with oversized horns, at his side a massive, two handed flail. Another man was hooded, but seemed to carry daggers - he moved in a manner which seemed unnatural. With them was another man, clad in a purple hood and heavy mail, and beside him stood a beautiful young woman, wearing the robes of a Bright Wizard. Dronk recognized her from the portrait at the tower in the Black Hills - Eletza Helgen! The woman that they had pursued from Grissenwold! She seemed to be conversing with the feathery figure, when it said a word he could understand - Eshloe - the name of a small town in the Empire, he was sure of it. Dronk began moving closer to get a better view, knowing his companions were slowly making their way towards him. As he did so, he tripped over a small stone and fell on the ground, the air forced from his lungs. THE FLY FALLS INTO A WEB The feathered apparition vanished in a cloud of smoke. The group led by Eletza turned and spotted Dronk, laying prone on the ground. Eletza shouted "A spy! Kill him!" as Dronk quickly regained his feet and began running back towards the rest of the party. A crossbow bolt, fired by the hooded man, caught him in the shoulder just as Dronk reached the relative safety of the undergrowth. Dronk heard Eletza cry out again - "Whiskers, take him!" Running at full speed now, Dronk shouted something at the top of his lungs, but was cut off when a huge black cat smashed into him, nearly sinking its claws into his flesh. The animal snarled and began chasing Dronk as he continued to run. Just then, the rest of the party, having heard the commotion, reached him. Dronk drew his rapier and parrying dagger and turned to fight the fearsome beast, a sleek black cat as large as he was. THE BATTLE IS JOINED Bursting onto the scene, Hugo was first to charge forward, followed closely by Red and Drake, weapons flashing in Morrsleib's sickly light. Cornelius began chanting arcane words of power, his hands raised high. Edmee drew her flail and rushed forward behind Hugo. The figures in the clearing could now see their attackers clearly. The huge man clad head to toe in armor charged forward towards Hugo, swinging his flail in circles above his head. The hooded man slithered towards Drake, firing a hand crossbow but missing. Ernst seemed terrified, and looked to Eletza, whose eyes burned with an unholy fire as she strode forward, looking directly at Hugo, her lips muttering some unclean incantation. As Hugo rushed forward, a battle-cry on his lips, he felt his muscles stiffening. Unable to fight it, he slowed to an involuntary stop, frozen mid-stride. Eletza cackled, the laugh of a madwoman. Meanwhile, Dronk and the panther circled each other, each looking for an opening. Dronk easily dodged the creature's pouncing attack and opened up a nasty cut with his rapier, the animal howling in pain and anger. Cornelius unleashed his spell, a glowing ball of arcane power, but misjudged the distance, striking the ground ineffectually. Red turned to help Dronk, and cleaved the black cat in two in a single, mighty strike. As it died, it shrunk, until it was no larger than an ordinary housecat. The huge man reached Hugo and the two handed flail smashed directly into his chest, nearly knocking Hugo over with the force of it, and opening rents in his armor. The giant warrior then reversed his weapon for another strike at the helpless Hugo, perhaps a deathblow. A bolt of crimson light poured from Ernst's hands towards Drake, but did not strike true. The hooded man retreated before Drake's purposeful march towards him, before the warrior of Sigmar with the two-handed sword, whose eyes smoldered. Drake gestured to the man, a challenge which was not taken - instead replied with another crossbow bolt which Drake easily avoided. Eletza, seeing her cat slain, cursed blasphemously. Enraged, her hands rose high over her head and she unleashed another eldritch spell. However, in so doing, the spell on Hugo was broken, and he felt his muscles relax and return to his control. Eletza through a ball of green energy towards where Dronk and Red stood over the corpse of the dead panther, and when it struck the ground, a miasma of green gas covered them. To Dronk and Red, it was as though they had fallen into an open sewer, the stench of it threatening to overwhelm them. Cornelius unleashed more offensive magics, throwing arcane energies ripped from the winds of magic towards the cultists, who struggled against him. Ernst strode forward, apparently keen to kill the upstart magister of the Celestial College. Cornelius laughed, a grin forming as he prepared to slay his foes with arcane power. THE TURN OF THE TIDE Edmee reached Hugo's side and swung at the warrior with her own flail but missed. The giant flail swung again, and she easily deflected the attack with her shield. As she did so, she invoked the power of her god, Manaan, and channeled the wrath of the storm through her. Electrical energy coursed from her and into the chaos warrior, like a lightning strike. The smell of roasting flesh filled the air. Yet still the massive flail continued on its arc towards Hugo, who was ready for it, countering the strike with his own war maul Vilkas, and bringing his hammer up towards the warrior's helm. As Vilkas connected with the helm there was a loud ringing noise, as though a church bell had been struck. The huge warrior froze a moment, then collapsed like a fallen tree, causing the ground to tremble slightly. Red, overcome by the stench, began to retch onto the ground. Dronk however had smelled far worse in the sewers beneath Karak Grimm and mastered his stomach, rushing out of the foul gas and towards the cultists who remained standing. The purple hooded man stepped foward and cursed Drake, his hands gesturing wildly. Drake felt his muscles begin to stiffen, and prayed to Sigmar as he overpowered the spell with his will alone. He continued to advance on the hooded man, who now had a look of panic on his face. Drake could see he was a mutant, with two sets of human teeth. Seeing the giant warrior fall, the cultists began to waver. Eletza started to run away, and threw a small object on the ground - and a giant, loathsome fly appeared, which she mounted as its wings began to beat. As the fly began to rise slowly into the air, she shouted 'Meet up with the Herd, then to Eshloe!" Hugo rushed towards the retreating cultists, as did Edmee, Cornelius and Dronk. Red had recovered himself sufficiently to follow. Drake, meanwhile, burst forward with a sprint, catching up with the hooded man and inflicting a bloody wound on his shoulder with a quick stab of his greatsword. Dronk fired his crossbow, and missed. THE POWER OF MANAAN The other cultists began to openly run from the party as Eletza rose higher in the night sky. As she did so, Edmee rushed forward, a prayer to Manaan rising from her lips. She pointed at Eletza's figure and shouted "Manaan habe in nomine Domini!" Cornelius had forseen this, the night before, in his dreams, he remembered suddenly. There, Eletza flew off, laughing into the night. Not this time, he thought, and in his mind Cornelius rearranged the threads of fate. Eletza's figure suddenly froze on the fly's back, then toppled over, falling heavily to the ground. The cultists, seeing this, rushed closer to her fallen figure, to protect Eletza. Cornelius unleashed a spell of shattering power, the sound of it like the thunder of a lightning strike, catching Eletza and Ernst fully, shattering Ernst's spectacles and leaving him moaning in pain. Hugo tried to swing his war maul to crush Eletza, but was distracted by a red gem she wore around her neck, causing him to freeze for a moment. The group surrounded the cultists, weapons at the ready. Cornelius prepared another spell as the cultists attempted to help Eletza to her feet. At that moment, Edmee called forth the full power of Manaan, calling a second shattering wave of power directly in the center of the cultists. A shock wave swept outwards as she poured all her will into the spell, all her fury. The mangled corpses of the cultists were tossed in the air like dolls. The ruined figures of the hooded man, the purple priest and Ernst Heidelmann were thrown about, ending in piles apon the broken, corrupted earth. Blood seeped from their eyes and ears. Eletza cried out in pain, a sound like glass breaking could be heard as the gem around her neck shattered. AN UNWELCOME ASSASSINATION Eletza, now the sole survivor of the cultist party, started to sway slowly to her feet, her robes in tatters, covered with hundreds of splinters and holes, splattered with the blood of her and her co-conspirators. Before anyone could react, a crossbow was fired, and the black bolt arced through the air before striking Eletza's open mouth, piercing through to the other side of her head. Her lifeless form fell back to the bloody grass. The group turned to look at Dronk, who still held the crossbow. "What?" he said and shrugged. "She had it coming!" "We needed to question her, fool of a dwarf!" shouted Drake. Hugo opened his mouth to say something, then realized he was bleeding heavily and began to bandage his wounds. "We will talk about this later - but we needed to know what she was doing here in these cursed hills!" The group searched their fallen foes. Ernst had been carrying many notes in a leather satchel which Hugo collected, while Edmee tried to peel the armor off the giant-warrior corpse, like cracking the shell of a crab, as the armor seemed to have merged into the flesh. They found most of the cultists were mutants, with Eletza having no ears instead expensive fakes made of porcelain, the huge warrior an abomination with a single eye and no mouth, the hooded man with several sets of teeth. Ernst seemed untouched by Chaos, but all had tattoos in crimson red ink of a stylized crown. TO THE VICTOR, THE SPOILS The only standout was the purple hooded man who carried instead the tattoo of a purple hand. The bodies were quickly searched, their valuables removed. In addition to the mundane items the group found a ebony figure of a fly, a strange ring, and a damaged hand crossbow of fine quality. Cornelius could see these items were magical in nature and planned to investigate them more fully. It was then they heard the horn. Loud and long, and from not far away. Looking, they could see torches illuminating a small host of beastmen, several hundred at the least, moving in their direction. Larger figures were there too, and around the edges rode what seemed to be horsemen - but it was hard to say in the unnatural dark. They were still far away..but had they been seen? The group turned to run in the dark, seeing no hope against such a numerous foe..
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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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