Chapter V:
Metamorphosis of Villa Hahn
“From the west they came, this unruly mob. They claimed they served the Child, the true heir of Sigmar, the scion foretold. How quickly they forget brave Valten and his great sacrifice for our glorious nation. How quickly do they forget the courageous young men and women who gave their lives in the face of appalling horror. People do their best to put the Incursion behind them, to rebuild in this uncertain future, but it terrifies this scholar how easily Old Worlders latch onto hope, even when it’s so clear that their saviour can bring only despair.”
Altmar Nachtmann, Scholar.
A series of misfortunes, double-crosses, and disturbing revelations have left the heroes empty-handed in Altdorf. The Child is missing. His cultist kidnapper is gone. The PCs have lost Ansel’s journal to Baroness Theodora Margrave, but they still know Tobias heads for Ansel’s childhood home. From Ansel’s journal, the PCs know Ansel performed the ill-fated ritual in the village of Ruhrhoff. The PCs also know that Ansel fled the place, leaving behind the accursed Necklace of Unfailing Loyalty and the remains of his true love in the tatters of that home. Now, where this town lies is a good question, for it’s not on most maps.
Checking the maps in the Sigmarite library in Altdorf, they eventaully find Ruhrhoff is a small village about 350 miles north-east of Altdorf and about seventy miles south-west of Wolfenburg, placing the village somewhere on the far side of the Drakwald in the province of Hochland.
To get there, they plan to go by river to Talabheim, then North to the village of Hergig, then on foot to Ruhrhoff itself, if they can find it.
They buy passage on a riverboat to Talebheim easily enough, and this takes an uneventful 7 days. There, they cannot find a boat heading where they want to go, but do buy passage eventually on a coach - another three uneventful days pass and they find themselves boarding for the night in an inn in Hergig. From here, though, it is on foot, a three day march, assuming they don't get lost, through the forest. Luckily, asking around gives them a pretty good indication of where the town lies.
Encounters in the forest are minimal - though they do meet a group of Knights Panther from Middenheim, who want to know their business in the woods. The PC's show their letter and all is well. They share camp and Ralf cooks up some rabbits the Knights have caught, and they part ways the following morning on good terms. The Knights warn the PC's about the village of Kietchdorf, which lies in between here and Ruhrhoff - it is full of plague and is best avoided.
The PC's avoid Kietchdorf, skirting around it completely, and arrive at Ruhroff - a small town of about 50 houses, most of which are burned down, smashed up or boarded up. The town is completely deserted, but they do find some fresh footprints around the centre of the town, including those of a child, but the footprints go to several houses and the PC's have no clue as to which house Ansel's grandparents lived in. Back to Kietchdorf for gossip, then...
When the PCs enter the town, they do not see many people about and the ones they do look pale and sickly. Some cough continuously, and others are covered in boils and lesions. The few people that look healthy are doing the work of several or are tending to the needs of the sick.
Only a few places are open for business: the general store, smithy, and tavern.
The village’s general store is a modest-sized building with a sharply peaked roof and a chimney climbing the building’s side. Beneath the veranda is the front door. A few broken glass windows fronting the shop offer a look inside, revealing a general supply store. Painted on the wall is a good likeness of a whistling wanderer, hefting a stick over his shoulder from which hangs a bag. The owner is an old man but shows no sign of sickness and is polite, if a bit gruff. He suggests that they talk to Gerhard Dietrich at the local tavern, The Watering Hole.
In the Watering Hole, Gerhard says, “Ansel Vorman? I think a family with that name lived in Ruhrhoff. Wouldn’t be there no more tho’. ‘Cause ain’t no one there no more. ‘Cause that town ain’t there no more. I knew some Vorman’s that lived in Ruhrhoff on the north edge of town. Had a two-storey cottage, they did, lucky bastards. Big orange chimney. can't miss it. Course, now that I think of what happened to the town, maybe they weren’t so lucky.”.
He hesitates, then asks if he can ask a favour. “The way you people ask questions and the way you look, you have seen a lot. My boy went missing ‘bout four months ago. Just up and disappeared one night. I believe it was them cultists that got him. Anyway, I was just wondering if you folks could keep an eye out for him? I know it’s a long shot, but I have to ask.”
They agree, and he says, “Thank you! His name’s Johann, and he’s nineteen years old. He might be wearing a family ring on his right hand. I couldn’t find it anywhere at the house.” He then shows the PCs a ring on his own hand with an elaborate family crest on it. The ring seems cheaply made, and it is an obvious attempt for the owner to look important.
Back to Ruhroff, with no problems in the forest. The town of Ruhrhoff has been completely devastated, another victim of the Chaos Incursion. Most of the buildings and houses have been burned to the ground, and those that do remain are boarded up. Occasionally the PCs see a yellow “X” on the doors of some of the buildings. Characters know this is a commonly used plague mark. The roads have been cracked and torn up, and the ground is scorched beyond saving.
Miraculously, the cottage still stands. A modest, two-storey building. The interior of the house is mostly empty, the contents taken by the owners or ransacked long ago. Shattered pieces of wood and jagged stone that used to be part of the walls and ceiling lie about the floor. There is a staircase leading up to what remains of the first floor. Everything is covered in thick layers of soot and dirt. A foul smell hangs in the air, worthy enough to make a person gag. Several footprints wend their way through the rubble from the front door to the cellar and back. The PC's can tell several people, not just two, have been through here recently.
The upper floor of the house is in danger of collapsing. There is nothing of value up there. Following what they can remember of Ansel’s journal, the PCs attempt to head down into the cellar but are immediately struck by a horrible smell and even worse sight. Dried blood covers the floor and walls. Shards of bone and lumps of oddly preserved desiccated flesh litter much of the cellar’s floor in a great dark stain. Only Mormocar summons up enough willpower to descend into the cellar, shouting up: "I've found the necklace! It's gone!" All he can see is a chain shaped blood stain indicating it has been taken, and fresh foot prints on the floor.
As the PC's leave the house, intending to follow the trail of footprints, they are attacked by 4 mutants. It is a quick but bloody fight, one of the mutants has acid for blood and this causes both Konrad and Grondi to be heavily wounded as the acid blood soaks them when this mutant is killed.
Searching the bodies, they discover a mark - a strange tattoo that emanates magic - on each of the bodies depicting three circles with a fly sitting in the middle. One of the mutants has a piece of paper, on the back is a description of the PCs, on the front a scribbled note:
The journey back to Kietchdorf is not uneventful - they are attacked by a band of 8 goblins, who fire their shortbows at them, causing Konrad to lose a fate point as he was already heavily wounded from the fight with the mutants - the goblins are quickly and brutally taken care of, however, and the team arrive back in Kietchdorf with no more trouble.
There, they are told, “Ruprecht? I wonder if you mean one of Lucius Hahn’s boys. I don’t think he was born noble, but he sure acted like it. Villa Hahn is a huge stately manor about four miles west of Wolfenburg.”
So they travel towards Wolfenburg, along the river, on foot, with no trouble. Arriving at Villa Hahn, they discover a bridge over a filthy river leading to the stately home, but the bridge is down and the only way across would be to wade through the filth, or find somewhere else to cross.
Konrad, however, has a better idea, and he and Grondi cut down a tree (after about 17 minutes of hacking away with Grondi's two handed axe...) so they can all cross the river, which everyone managed without falling in and catching some vile disease...
The session ended with the PC's at the entrance to Villa Hahn...
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