In the first of these two sessions, the PC's and Corrobreth travelled to the Devil's Bowl, part way in canoes and the rest of the way on foot. On their way they, they came across a dead horse. in the horses packs were the following items:
- Two weeks’ worth of iron rations, soaked and useless.
- Assorted pieces of clothing (female), some of which might be useable if dried out.
- A sealed oilskin packet whose seal bears the device of the Red Crown. Inside is a rough map of the Empire, with a circle drawn around the area of the Barren Hills, and with the position of Dagmar’s observatory clearly marked and labelled. This map is similar to the handout found in Dagmar's study, with the addition of the observatory and without the superimposed markings.
Once at the Devil's Bowl itself, they found the main crater has filled with water over the centuries. It is surrounded by a stone circle, which is eerily silhouetted against the darkening sky. Corrobreth suggests that this is a good place to camp for the night, ‘We’ll be safest in the lee of the stones,’ he says.
As night falls, Morrslieb rises full in the sky, hanging above the crater. As midnight approaches, an eerie blue glow begins to play over the water, and the wind blows mournfully. From outside the circle a shimmering blue form approaches, and at the same time a wind whips up from nowhere and howls across the adventurers’ camp, sending dust everywhere and impairing vision. When the dust clears, the adventurers can see a torn and tattered female figure. Translucent and outlined with blue light, the woman moves without touching the ground, and no blood flows from the gaping wounds in her side.
In a distant, wheezing voice, she begs for aid. ‘Heelp meee... please help me. Lay my bones to rest, for I have walked these hills a long, long time. Follow and see... follow and see.’ The figure begins to
move towards the caves...
Brunhilde Gratten – Ghost
A hundred and twenty years ago, Brunhilde was a scout for Dagmar von Wittgenstein’s expedition to find the warpstone meteorite. After finding what he sought, Dagmar murdered his whole party, stabbing Brunhilde repeatedly while she slept and burying the rest alive in the nearby cavern.
Since then Brunhilde has haunted the area around the Devil’s Bowl, yearning for a proper burial for herself and her companions. She tells the tale of Dagmar’s betrayal — of how he led them into the lush hills to find a meteorite that he calculated had landed here, and of how he changed when he found it, becoming first secretive and then murderous.
Brunhilde leads the adventurers past the trees into a cavern where the hump of a shallow grave can be seen. This is Brunhilde’s own grave, and a few of her whitening bones poke through the top of the mound. Brunhilde begs the adventurers to restore her grave, and to reclaim the meteorite. She also tells them that the bodies of the other expedition members can be found in the right-hand passage.
Skaven Attack!
Before the adventurers can move further into the caves, they hear the sound of squeaking voices from outside. A few seconds later, the Skaven leader Crot Scaback appears in the entrance passage, sword in hand. ‘Standstill!’ he squeaks. ‘Standstill, or die!’ and, ‘Stone, stone!’ he demands. ‘Where, where?’
In the ensuing battle with the Skaven, and the skeletal remains of the rest of Brunhilde's companions who are forced to fight but are begging to be killed, the Skaven were wiped out. The ghost points out a pack which she said belonged to Damar. Inside this pack is the missing sixth key to the trapdoor back at Damar's Observatory. The adventuresers decided to head directly there.
After a brief stop off at Kemperbad, where the adventurers were given a letter and Nobby chased down and killed the six year old boy who had been paid to deliver it (drawing the attention of the Kemperbad City Watch, who executed him on the spot... or at least thought they did as he spent a Fate Point to survive...)
The PC's then headed to Damar's observatory and, using the six keys, entered the trapdoor and a secret library below. Inside the library already were Etelka Herzen and Ernst Heidlemann, who the PC's killed quickly.
In the library the adventurers found the following documents alongside a couple of Grimoires and some potions.
Having killed Etelka, the PC's gained her Wand of Onyx, her cat (Shadow) as a new pet, and some potions and cash. The session ended with the players deciding to travel straight to Castle Wittgenstein, picking up rumours on the way as follows:
- Altdorf Zoo's been shut for weeks. I heard Deathclaw, the Emperor’s Griffon, went on a rampage. Probably because the Emperor hasn’t been to see him for months.
- Castle Wittgenstein is an evil place, cursed by the gods in punishment for the unspeakable sins one of the family committed a century or more back. Old Dagmar was a wizard of the worst sort, and this current generation is scarcely any better. The inhabitants of nearby Wittgendorf have fallen prey to a terrible, deforming plague, and pass along appalling tales of degradation within the castle.
- The Emperor has called all the Elector Counts to Altdorf to discuss the situation between Ostland and Talebecland, as well as the reports of anti-Sigmarite violence in Middenland. The Elector Counts are usually slow to answer the Emperor’s call - a reminder that he is an elected monarch and not an absolute ruler - but most agree that the situation is urgent: the meeting is expected to take place any month now.
- Crown Prince Wolfgang Holswig-Abenauer is being held prisoner in his own castle on the orders of the Emperor. This is because He’s contracted permanent Galloping Trots
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