Session # 4

Session # 4 – 2008-05-18

This session started out as our heroes [I guess you can call them that by now?] wakes up the morning after their nasty adventures in the sewers.

Marienburg:

Having taken another bath the evening before, as well as getting their clothes washed they eat some breakfast while discussing what to do now. They all agree they have to get to Altdorf to report to their last employer Roderick the Witch Hunter. Some of them, mainly Emanuel are more insistent that they should follow the Crusade on the way there, since this is what Roderick wanted them to do and find out as much as possible about it.

They split up to do some different errands, Leticia and Torrendil will head to the docks and see if they can book passage on a river boat to Altdorf. Emanuel will go and try and find the old witch hunter Falkenheim, to see if he can assist in any way and Walter is going to retrieve his chain shirt from the smithy.

The entertainer and elven soldier head through the packed street of Marienburg to the docks, which of course is a mayhem of activity and people. As they ask a worthy looking sailor about any boat that leaves soon he points with not much more then a grunt at the “Reik’s Arrow” a fine looking two-masted river ship. As they head over they even catch a strange sight further away in the massive docks, a incredible looking ship, colourful and alien in build, guarded by men with darker skin and slitted eyes, clad in just as colourful armour of strange design. But they board the Arrow and Leticia speaks with the captain, who informs them that the Arrow leaves tomorrow, they have one cabin, for 2gc and 6 shilling, anyone else can sleep with his men for 5 shillings, but, they cannot bring Torrendil’s horse onboard, there is just no room. She thanks the captain and informs the elf as they leave for the temple again.

Emanuel heads for the suiddocks, he looks up the drug den where they found Falkenheim the last time, addled in purple fumes. The same southern bouncer opens the slit in the door as he knocks. Emanuel asks him if the with hunter is there and gets a simple “no” from the man who clearly struggles with reikspiel. Emanuel leaves a bit frustrated and simply heads back to the temple.

Walter heads for the smithy where he paid to have the chain shirt they took from one of the mutants in the swamp ruins mended. As he gets there, there’s no answer at the door and no smoke from the chimney. The Initiate walks around the back and checks that door, finding it unbarred he enters slowly and silently [With and open, failed, Move Silent roll I might add] he walks through a small kitchen, into a small bedroom and then finds a door to the smithy, as he opens the door he finds the smith dead on the floor, eyes open. Further more the man is wearing Walters mended chain shirt. As he looks over the body he sees no apparent reason for the death. He manages to get the chain shirt of the dead smith, rigid with rigor mortis, and put’s it in a sack, he is suspicious of it as they did get it of a mutant.

He leaves the building and heads to the doodkanal to see if the wizard in the old smithy there can tell him anything about the piece of armour. He finds there is no answer at the door, so he heads over to the templewijk to the academy and checks for him there, but no clerk has seen him for the past three days. When the clerk wonders why he is looking for the wizard Walter explains that he wants a mail shirt checked for “evil” the clerk looks a bit taken aback at this and suggest that is something for a priest and not a wizard.

The Initiate agrees to this in the end and heads for the temple of Vereena, as they often have a good standing with the temple of Sigmar. Outside he meets a priest coating a wall with white paint of their austere and even edged, square, temple. The priest explains that they could perhaps pray over the armour to see if it is cursed, but the proper prayers would take days. Walter sighs and tells the man he’ll look into it himself and sets of back to the smithy again, as he suddenly remembers that he didn’t actually check the man’s body after he removed the chain shirt.

Arriving there again, he sneaks inside and finds the corpse as he left it, now he looks it over again and discovers two things; a small wound, like that of a thrust dagger or sword in the chest, and the total absence of the victims blood, outside and inside. Another thing to add is that there are no signs of struggle, and also, no damage in the chest area on the shirt. He puts it back in his bag, also he takes a finished chain coif from the smithy mumbling that “it’s better used in the service of Sigmar” and so steals it for the greater good. He also checks for the smiths money and finds it in a drawer in the bedroom, he takes none but confirms that this was no robbery and heads back to the temple.

Back at the familiar temple they talk over what they have learned, there is some talk about Walters chain shirt, but he holds to the fact that the chain shirt did not grab a weapon and stab the smith! [Or did it!? DUNH, DUNH, DUUUH!] As Torrendil can’t get his horse on the ship, and Emanuel insists that they should try and chase the Crusade, they get their things and head out, stocking up on six days of rations as well as selling of a crossbow from the ruins. It takes a show from Torrendil, capping apples to get a good deal out of the trader, they end up with a studded skull cap for Leticia and some elven pride, confirmed.

The next stop is the south gate and then, the open road!

On the Road:

They travel the better part of they day, meeting and being overtaken by travellers, as they are close Marienburg. Nearing the evening they stop at a small caravan; two wagons, a burly trader and his three guards. [Hans, Mons & Erich, all wearing red woollen shirts.] Seeing an opportunity to travel as a greater party they talk it over with the merchant. At first he is understandably negative to this proposition, but after Leticia puts her charms over him he agrees to their company and takes them as good Sigmaritan and honest people.

Their travels are uneventful in the grey weather until that is, the night and morning. During the night a dream comes to Walter, in it he sees an ancient battle between Sigmar and orcs. Many are slain on both sides but Sigmar prevails, as Walter circles a crow over the battlefield. After the battle is over, he is approached by the huge figure of Sigmar himself, wielding a great hammer, his golden hair waving in the wind, blood staining his hands. He speaks to Walter, telling him “The most faithful are steeped in battle. Don your armour and make battle in my name, Walter!”.

After this he awakes, his blood pumping, his heart beating and his hand around his hammer. He also feels unwell, and seems to run a fever. But Emanuel, it seems, is far worse off. As he dresses he notices large red fungi that seems to have rooted in his flesh, and he’s feeling seriously ill. He takes Walter and Torrendil aside and shows them this, they immediately decide that the fungi needs to go and holding Emanuel down, liquored up and a dagger handle between his teeth, Torrendil, assisted by a sick Walter sets to work. It goes badly and they actually inflict 5 wounds on the poor Bounty Hunter, but they carved away what they think is all the fungi.

This is proven wrong, the next morning Emanuel is even worse of, and the fungi is growing back, they can all see that something needs to be done or he will perish. So they try it again, Walter and the elf, alas, this time it goes better and they carve a lot neater and this time seem to get it all. As the travel continues Emanuel’s condition approves and with Torrendil seeing to his wounds and a couple of days travel later both he and Walter have conquered their illnesses, Walters’ seemed to be a case Swamp Fever. That morning, they enter the outskirts of the Drachenwald.

The Drachenwald:

The trip on the narrow forest road is a spooky experience, the woods having lot’s of legends and rumours around it, most of them confirmed. Just hours through the dark, dense Drachenwald Emanuel suddenly spots a man next to a tree, bow aimed at them and as he let’s out a cry of warning the arrow hits the merchant in the throat and he keels over dead. Suddenly two waves of haggard, ragged men attack them from the sides, they seem to care little about their own safety, starved and desperate. Two of the guards, Mons and Erich is cut down after some fighting, Emanuel and Leticia gets hurt as well but nothing too deadly. Torrendil fells four of the eight “bandits” with his skilled bowmanship, one manages to flee from the heroes, as does Hans, the last of the guard and the horses rip free from the wagons and dash of into the greenery. It was a bloody fight, but the men seemed more desperate then skilled.

Emanuel finds Walter, who has chased a bandit into the woods still hacking at the dead mans body in a religious frenzy, shouting about Sigmar, he calms him down and they return to the others. Leticia quickly stuffs away the merchants money as they load the most valuable stuff on one of the wagons and let’s Torrendil warhorse pull it. They set of along the road again, they know that soon they should come to a town called Phfeiffeldorf.


Here ended this session.