Final Session
The PC's wandered the Womb, fighting everything they encountered and finally getting the three keys they needed from the Mother, the Maiden and the Crone.
The Womb was a maze. The full map can now be shared.
Thursday, 13 December 2012
Session Seventeen
Sunday, 9th December 2012
Final Session
The PC's wandered the Womb, fighting everything they encountered and finally getting the three keys they needed from the Mother, the Maiden and the Crone.
The Womb was a maze. The full map can now be shared.
Final Session
The PC's wandered the Womb, fighting everything they encountered and finally getting the three keys they needed from the Mother, the Maiden and the Crone.
The Womb was a maze. The full map can now be shared.
Sunday, 2 December 2012
Session Sixteen
Sunday, 2nd December 2012
Chapter IX:
Womb of the Black Witch
Part 1
The Party spent a bit of time on the ledge, wondering how to find their way into the lair of the Black Witch after Karl. Mormocar decided to take the rowing boat out to the middle of the slime covered pool - despite not knowing how to row. He managed to drop the oars into the water and drifted randomly before falling in when trying to row using his sword. He was immediately attacked by a big one eyed serpent and a Nurgling...
Meanwhile, up the path towards the rest of the PC's trundled what was left of Tobias from earlier in the campaign - (Session Eight - "As Tobias died, a strange alien like organ tore free from the dead flesh, sprouted limbs, and escaped through the hole in the back wall...") - only now, it has degenerated into a barely humanoid mass of bone, tumours, and hair - Tobias' face sometimes pushes out of the skin on its body and silently screams. It attacks and the PC's kill it.
Mormocar is wounded by the one eyed serpent, and fighting underwater alone is taking time - he manages to kill the serpent and spots at the bottom of the pool a thin membrane, covering what looks like a cave mouth... everyone else dives in and battles a serpent and a nurgling but all get through the membrane relatively unharmed. Ish. Gregor does get a nurgling touching him which then absorbs into his body completely, but aside from that and a Wound or ten they are mostly OK.
The pond is really a water-filled pit that’s wider at the top than it is at the bottom. A pale slime covers the rocky walls, and about 5 yards below the surface is a strange spongy section of wall, about a yard wide and two yards tall. The surface is elastic and gives to the touch. Putting any kind of pressure on the wall enables a character to push through it and enter the opposite side, thus entering the Lair of the Black Witch. As they pass through the membrane, it closes behind them, so when a character finally reaches the other side, a brief squirt of pond water accompanies him before the hole closes again.
As soon as they are through, Gregor vomits out the Nurgling, which has doubled in size. It calls him 'Mummy' and jumps into his arms - but it does not live very long as the characters all attack it.
Light is needed, so Mormocar casts Marsh Lights before realising they are the size of fireflies, and then he casts magic light.
Ralf lights a torch. They are inside the Black Witches lair...
It’s humid, and there’s a disgusting stench here - an uncanny blend of rubbish, excrement, and decay. The walls, floor, and ceiling are a dull grey colour, slick with condensation. A closer look reveals they are riddled with tiny blue, red, and brown striations.
Hanging from the ceiling in places are spongy orange tendrils, sort of like roots but more fleshy. Black oily water collects in puddles here and there, and things move in them, sending ripples across the surface.
The PC's explore this strange environment, losing Fate Points and plenty of wounds along the way. They manage to pick up several keys in several rooms, and kill two Vampires - Lord De Trois and Lydia Von Carstein - and collect keys from them, too.
They managed to explore maybe a third of this place, and left plenty of caverns unexplored. In one strange chamber the PCs hear whispers in their heads (which cause a few insanity points...) This small room is dark.
When the PCs enter this area, among the whispers they hear:
Chapter IX:
Womb of the Black Witch
Part 1
The Party spent a bit of time on the ledge, wondering how to find their way into the lair of the Black Witch after Karl. Mormocar decided to take the rowing boat out to the middle of the slime covered pool - despite not knowing how to row. He managed to drop the oars into the water and drifted randomly before falling in when trying to row using his sword. He was immediately attacked by a big one eyed serpent and a Nurgling...
Meanwhile, up the path towards the rest of the PC's trundled what was left of Tobias from earlier in the campaign - (Session Eight - "As Tobias died, a strange alien like organ tore free from the dead flesh, sprouted limbs, and escaped through the hole in the back wall...") - only now, it has degenerated into a barely humanoid mass of bone, tumours, and hair - Tobias' face sometimes pushes out of the skin on its body and silently screams. It attacks and the PC's kill it.
Mormocar is wounded by the one eyed serpent, and fighting underwater alone is taking time - he manages to kill the serpent and spots at the bottom of the pool a thin membrane, covering what looks like a cave mouth... everyone else dives in and battles a serpent and a nurgling but all get through the membrane relatively unharmed. Ish. Gregor does get a nurgling touching him which then absorbs into his body completely, but aside from that and a Wound or ten they are mostly OK.
The pond is really a water-filled pit that’s wider at the top than it is at the bottom. A pale slime covers the rocky walls, and about 5 yards below the surface is a strange spongy section of wall, about a yard wide and two yards tall. The surface is elastic and gives to the touch. Putting any kind of pressure on the wall enables a character to push through it and enter the opposite side, thus entering the Lair of the Black Witch. As they pass through the membrane, it closes behind them, so when a character finally reaches the other side, a brief squirt of pond water accompanies him before the hole closes again.
As soon as they are through, Gregor vomits out the Nurgling, which has doubled in size. It calls him 'Mummy' and jumps into his arms - but it does not live very long as the characters all attack it.
Light is needed, so Mormocar casts Marsh Lights before realising they are the size of fireflies, and then he casts magic light.
Ralf lights a torch. They are inside the Black Witches lair...
It’s humid, and there’s a disgusting stench here - an uncanny blend of rubbish, excrement, and decay. The walls, floor, and ceiling are a dull grey colour, slick with condensation. A closer look reveals they are riddled with tiny blue, red, and brown striations.
Hanging from the ceiling in places are spongy orange tendrils, sort of like roots but more fleshy. Black oily water collects in puddles here and there, and things move in them, sending ripples across the surface.
The PC's explore this strange environment, losing Fate Points and plenty of wounds along the way. They manage to pick up several keys in several rooms, and kill two Vampires - Lord De Trois and Lydia Von Carstein - and collect keys from them, too.
When the PCs enter this area, among the whispers they hear:
- “The keys fools, the keys! They are the answer!”
- “Seek out the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone. They offer the true path!”
- “Orcs are funnnnnggguuussss… fuuuunnnnggguuuuusssssssss!”
- “Beware the Halflings’ pies!”
- “Her remains… destroy her remains…”
- “Eat not the yellow snow!”
Tuesday, 27 November 2012
Sessions Fourteen and Fifteen
Sunday 18th and Sunday 25th November 2012
Kislev
These two sessions were just the party getting to Kislev, and travelling North after the Crusade (they got into a lot of fights along the way, notable with a witch and a vampire, and they kept seeing a giant black dog covered in ice in the distance which would howl at them then run North. they later found this dog was named Black Ice, and he belongs to the Black Witch who lives in the mountains to the North.
They finally found the remains of the Crusade in a town called Zhidovsk, which was full of disease and vampires - the old leaders of the Crusade were all gone - dead of disease - so they asked after Karl and found he had gone to the mountains in the North to 'look for his mother' - at the Crags of Shargun, and so they didn't stay in town for more than five minutes.
Eventually, the PCs come to a place where the ground rises sharply. Huge rocks stained with droppings and smeared with moss jut out of the loose soil. The Crags rise above the characters, and travelling much further is impossible without climbing. A few steps later, the characters find a large pond covered by a skin of green algae and speckled with dead flies. The skin is broken in places to reveal black waters beneath. Of far more interest, at least for now, is a dark cleft in the face of the rocks of the Crags that rise up on the other side. Tied off there, the PCs clearly see a small boat.
The party had been beaten there by the remnants of Lorianoc's Elven Kithband Warriors. The party killed them and were left alone with a pool covered in slime, a boat, and a cave.
Searching the cave turns up nothing, aside from a pile of old bones and an impressive cave painting that stands at least seven feet tall. Painted in charcoal and smeared with blood, it depicts a shadowy woman with a pale face and black eyes. Konrad touched the painting and found his fingertips covered in black dust that won’t come off.
This is what the crags and pool look like.
This is where we left them...
Kislev
These two sessions were just the party getting to Kislev, and travelling North after the Crusade (they got into a lot of fights along the way, notable with a witch and a vampire, and they kept seeing a giant black dog covered in ice in the distance which would howl at them then run North. they later found this dog was named Black Ice, and he belongs to the Black Witch who lives in the mountains to the North.
They finally found the remains of the Crusade in a town called Zhidovsk, which was full of disease and vampires - the old leaders of the Crusade were all gone - dead of disease - so they asked after Karl and found he had gone to the mountains in the North to 'look for his mother' - at the Crags of Shargun, and so they didn't stay in town for more than five minutes.
Eventually, the PCs come to a place where the ground rises sharply. Huge rocks stained with droppings and smeared with moss jut out of the loose soil. The Crags rise above the characters, and travelling much further is impossible without climbing. A few steps later, the characters find a large pond covered by a skin of green algae and speckled with dead flies. The skin is broken in places to reveal black waters beneath. Of far more interest, at least for now, is a dark cleft in the face of the rocks of the Crags that rise up on the other side. Tied off there, the PCs clearly see a small boat.
The party had been beaten there by the remnants of Lorianoc's Elven Kithband Warriors. The party killed them and were left alone with a pool covered in slime, a boat, and a cave.
Searching the cave turns up nothing, aside from a pile of old bones and an impressive cave painting that stands at least seven feet tall. Painted in charcoal and smeared with blood, it depicts a shadowy woman with a pale face and black eyes. Konrad touched the painting and found his fingertips covered in black dust that won’t come off.
This is what the crags and pool look like.
This is where we left them...
Tuesday, 6 November 2012
Session Thirteen
Sunday, 4th November 2012
Wedding Bells in Sylvania
The journey between Siegfriedhof and Helfurt tooks 2 days by the main road, skirting the southern edge of Hunger Wood. The Tunelway Coachmen refused to take them into Sylvania, so as the PCs were travelling without escorts they were attacked by Wraiths, Ogres and Giant Bats soon after departing Siegfriedhof.
This took Fate Points and left them heavily wounded.
They arrived in Helfurt, and stayed at the Hotel Mistgarten.
Mistgarten is operated by a cranky innkeeper called Bärzil and his nagging wife Prunehilda, and a waiter named Manuel, who was from Estalia. Bärzil is a toad-like snob with a pathological desire to please anyone he thinks is a Noble, so Sir Ralf was welcomed as soon as he knew he was a Sir.. Bärzil generally believes no customers of Mistgarten are actually worthy to stay there. Prunehilda is quite the opposite, and she is grateful when rare guests happen by. Bärzil and Prunehilda bicker constantly, bully Manuel, and generally make lives a misery for their guests...
Bärzil is stressed, but also pleased, because Mistgarten has the job of providing food for a wedding at Helfurt Hall tomorrow - Lady Lydia Plicticos is marrying a boy who was brought in by the Strigany's who are camped at the edge of Town...
They went over to the Camp and spoke to Mama Raluca, leader of the Rumanyik Strigany Clan.
When they describe Karl to her, she says no - the boy they have brought to marry Lydia is Ahmed... who they have brought from Marienburg...
Lydia refuses to see the PC's , so they wait till the next day and while she is getting married to Karl at Helfurt Hall, they search her castle for clues as to her being a vampire - and find plenty.
Most notably, in a secret room off Lydia's bedroom, they find Rows of bookshelves line the walls, and the desk is piled high with scrolls and ingredients. Wires dangle from the ceiling.
The following items were found here:
Lydia’s translations provide clues about the words encrypted on the triptych panels.
Together with the Book of Nagash, and the Code of Nines handout they have, these notes give the PCs enough information to unlock the words on the triptych.
There are portraits of various Von Carstein vampires lining the walls, and there is a clear family resemblance with Lydia.
The PC's hurry back to Helfurt Hall and immediately attack Lydia, who, after a couple of hits turns into a bat and flies away. The boy she is marrying is Ahmed from the Crusade camp...
Just then, though, some Raven Knights and Black Nights from the Abbey at Siegfriedhoff arrive, demanding the PC's step aside and allow them to kill Ahmed, a foul scion of Nagash.
Ahmed hides behing Mormocar begging the PC's to save him, but Konrad chops off Ahmed's head.
The Black Knights / Raven guards continue to insult the PC's and accuse them of being in league with Vampires... so Konrad and the PC's kill their leader and a couple of Knights before the rest retreat - leaving the PC's to figure out the clues they have and figure out where to go next...
End of Session.
Wedding Bells in Sylvania
The journey between Siegfriedhof and Helfurt tooks 2 days by the main road, skirting the southern edge of Hunger Wood. The Tunelway Coachmen refused to take them into Sylvania, so as the PCs were travelling without escorts they were attacked by Wraiths, Ogres and Giant Bats soon after departing Siegfriedhof.
This took Fate Points and left them heavily wounded.
They arrived in Helfurt, and stayed at the Hotel Mistgarten.
Mistgarten is operated by a cranky innkeeper called Bärzil and his nagging wife Prunehilda, and a waiter named Manuel, who was from Estalia. Bärzil is a toad-like snob with a pathological desire to please anyone he thinks is a Noble, so Sir Ralf was welcomed as soon as he knew he was a Sir.. Bärzil generally believes no customers of Mistgarten are actually worthy to stay there. Prunehilda is quite the opposite, and she is grateful when rare guests happen by. Bärzil and Prunehilda bicker constantly, bully Manuel, and generally make lives a misery for their guests...
Bärzil is stressed, but also pleased, because Mistgarten has the job of providing food for a wedding at Helfurt Hall tomorrow - Lady Lydia Plicticos is marrying a boy who was brought in by the Strigany's who are camped at the edge of Town...
They went over to the Camp and spoke to Mama Raluca, leader of the Rumanyik Strigany Clan.
When they describe Karl to her, she says no - the boy they have brought to marry Lydia is Ahmed... who they have brought from Marienburg...
Lydia refuses to see the PC's , so they wait till the next day and while she is getting married to Karl at Helfurt Hall, they search her castle for clues as to her being a vampire - and find plenty.
Most notably, in a secret room off Lydia's bedroom, they find Rows of bookshelves line the walls, and the desk is piled high with scrolls and ingredients. Wires dangle from the ceiling.
The following items were found here:
- One of the Nine Books of Nagash. Written in High Nehekharan. Lydia has underlined encrypted words throughout, and the last page is annotated in Reikspiel.
Lydia’s translations provide clues about the words encrypted on the triptych panels.
- The two missing Zandri Scrolls and Lydia’s translation notes.
Together with the Book of Nagash, and the Code of Nines handout they have, these notes give the PCs enough information to unlock the words on the triptych.
- Assorted stone tablets from Mistgarten, many of which are cracked or pieced together from fragments. The runes resemble those found at the Styrigen Mound near Siegfriedhof.
- Ancient hieroglyphic tablets , in surprisingly good condition. The hieroglyphs are in High Nehekharan.
- The Sigmar panel of Lanfranchi’s triptych.
The PC's hurry back to Helfurt Hall and immediately attack Lydia, who, after a couple of hits turns into a bat and flies away. The boy she is marrying is Ahmed from the Crusade camp...
Just then, though, some Raven Knights and Black Nights from the Abbey at Siegfriedhoff arrive, demanding the PC's step aside and allow them to kill Ahmed, a foul scion of Nagash.
Ahmed hides behing Mormocar begging the PC's to save him, but Konrad chops off Ahmed's head.
The Black Knights / Raven guards continue to insult the PC's and accuse them of being in league with Vampires... so Konrad and the PC's kill their leader and a couple of Knights before the rest retreat - leaving the PC's to figure out the clues they have and figure out where to go next...
End of Session.
Sunday, 28 October 2012
Session Twelve
Sunday, 28th October 2012
Chapter VII - Death Us Do Part:
Siegfriedhof / Abbey of Blessed Aethelbert
Following the Abbot's introductory speech about Undead being everywhere, he introduces himself properly: Darius Geistwächt, Grand Abbot of Blessed Aethelbert.
The PC's tell him very little, though they do let on that they need to see the Tomb of Linfanchi, and that they are hunting vampires. Darius allows them to stay in the Abbey, so long as they:
Over the next three days, the PC's discover a Skaven plot to take over the Abbey, and they snoop around the Abbey a lot, finding information hidden in a secret library, which enables them to gain entrance to the Tomb of Linfranchi to find a missing Panel of the Triptych.
They befriend the cats (apart from Mormocar and Gregor, that is) and destroy the skaven - there isn't much else to report other than the things they found - so I shall just post the handouts and maps!
In the main library, there is only one book about Vampires - inside that book ("Vampire Ballads") is this handwritten note:
In the Secret Library (which they eventually found), were
Four of Lanfranchi’s vellum Zandri Scrolls, bound together with string. A folded piece of parchment is tucked into the package.
Five Styrigen Tablets with parchment pinned underneath one of them
A pitted, lead-lined box rests on a stone pedestal. If the PCs open the lid, a foul-smelling green smoke issues forth from inside it. Looking in the box, PCs discover a rat skull set into an iron chain. The Foul Pendant is the source of the green smoke and is kept in a lead box because it contains Warpstone. The Foul Pendant confers 2 armour points to every hit location, in addition to normal armour. The Abbot later confirms that Shroud Agents captured the Amulet from a fallen Skaven champion during a battle. Konrad craftily his it in Linfranchi's tomb, and when he found out what it did, he retrieved it...
The Styrigen Tablets allow the PC's to enter the Tombs - along with the clues they had found opening the puzzle box, and Grondi's Dwarven understanding of Runes.
The PCs went to the burial mound at the entrance to the tomb where a circle of five stone obelisks surrounds the mound, culminating at a great megalith portal on the south-eastern face. The megalith is inscribed with runes matching those on the Styrigen Tablets in the abbey’s forbidden library.
Replacing the Styrigen Tablets in the correct sequence atop the cairn allows the Portal to open:
The blood pattern -
and the Miragliano Puzzle Box may provide clues to discovering the correct sequence,which is:
Man, Blood, Earth, Life, and Mother.
Solving this also has some magical effect, which Mormocar could feel but not identify... but it allowed them entry finally to Linfranchi's Tomb. It also gave them 1000XP and 2 Fate Points each - double the XP for the one who solved it: Konrad.
When the PCs first see Lanfranchis’ tomb, they instantly recognise it from their dream of rats coming out of a sarcophagus. They got together and opened the lid. Within the sarcophagus is Lanfranchi’s armoured skeleton. Lanfranchi’s folded hands clutch the magical spear Donnacanto alongside the central panel of his famous triptych.
Mormocar steals the spear.
Magic Item - Donnacanto
This weapon is a heavy spear with a rowan wood shaft fitted with a brilliant silver head. It functions as a demilance.
Magic Powers:
When the wielder charges, Donnacanto sings like a divine choir, allowing allies within earshot to re-roll previously failed Fear Tests. This re-roll - and all subsequent Fear Tests - are made at +10 as long as Donnacanto can be heard. The spear continues singing until combat ends.
History:
According to legend, the voice of Myrmidia is channelled through Donnacanto.
Finally, after the PC's help defeat the Skaven, the Abbot gives the the following information:
The Fellowship of the Shroud exists as a order at the Abbey - The Black Knights and Raven Knights believe the Undead threat must be eliminated at all costs. The ranks of the Fellowship include spies, witch hunters, and scholars, though a few priests are also members.
The Abbot says that he would very much like to study the young Scion of Nagash who was kidnapped from Talabheim. Furthermore, Geistwächt produces a letter from his desk and gravely appeals for the PCs to confirm Lydia’s activities before he unleashes the Raven Knights on Helfurt.
If Lydia is found to be a Vampire, she must be destroyed and her stolen Zandri Scrolls returned to the Order of Morr.
To thank the PC's for their help, Geistwächt gives them each gifts to help them advance in their careers. We ended the session with everyone advancing... they are going to need those advances!
Next stop: Helfurt...
Chapter VII - Death Us Do Part:
Siegfriedhof / Abbey of Blessed Aethelbert
Following the Abbot's introductory speech about Undead being everywhere, he introduces himself properly: Darius Geistwächt, Grand Abbot of Blessed Aethelbert.
The PC's tell him very little, though they do let on that they need to see the Tomb of Linfanchi, and that they are hunting vampires. Darius allows them to stay in the Abbey, so long as they:
- Don't mention certain small furry creatures - the abbey is full of cats for a reason! Daius cannot even stand the mention of these long tailed things!
- Succeed at their tasks - which mainly involve feeding cats
- Stay on good terms with all the Priests.
Over the next three days, the PC's discover a Skaven plot to take over the Abbey, and they snoop around the Abbey a lot, finding information hidden in a secret library, which enables them to gain entrance to the Tomb of Linfranchi to find a missing Panel of the Triptych.
They befriend the cats (apart from Mormocar and Gregor, that is) and destroy the skaven - there isn't much else to report other than the things they found - so I shall just post the handouts and maps!
In the main library, there is only one book about Vampires - inside that book ("Vampire Ballads") is this handwritten note:
In the Secret Library (which they eventually found), were
Four of Lanfranchi’s vellum Zandri Scrolls, bound together with string. A folded piece of parchment is tucked into the package.
Five Styrigen Tablets with parchment pinned underneath one of them
A pitted, lead-lined box rests on a stone pedestal. If the PCs open the lid, a foul-smelling green smoke issues forth from inside it. Looking in the box, PCs discover a rat skull set into an iron chain. The Foul Pendant is the source of the green smoke and is kept in a lead box because it contains Warpstone. The Foul Pendant confers 2 armour points to every hit location, in addition to normal armour. The Abbot later confirms that Shroud Agents captured the Amulet from a fallen Skaven champion during a battle. Konrad craftily his it in Linfranchi's tomb, and when he found out what it did, he retrieved it...
The Styrigen Tablets allow the PC's to enter the Tombs - along with the clues they had found opening the puzzle box, and Grondi's Dwarven understanding of Runes.
The PCs went to the burial mound at the entrance to the tomb where a circle of five stone obelisks surrounds the mound, culminating at a great megalith portal on the south-eastern face. The megalith is inscribed with runes matching those on the Styrigen Tablets in the abbey’s forbidden library.
Replacing the Styrigen Tablets in the correct sequence atop the cairn allows the Portal to open:
The blood pattern -
and the Miragliano Puzzle Box may provide clues to discovering the correct sequence,which is:
Man, Blood, Earth, Life, and Mother.
Solving this also has some magical effect, which Mormocar could feel but not identify... but it allowed them entry finally to Linfranchi's Tomb. It also gave them 1000XP and 2 Fate Points each - double the XP for the one who solved it: Konrad.
When the PCs first see Lanfranchis’ tomb, they instantly recognise it from their dream of rats coming out of a sarcophagus. They got together and opened the lid. Within the sarcophagus is Lanfranchi’s armoured skeleton. Lanfranchi’s folded hands clutch the magical spear Donnacanto alongside the central panel of his famous triptych.
Mormocar steals the spear.
Magic Item - Donnacanto
This weapon is a heavy spear with a rowan wood shaft fitted with a brilliant silver head. It functions as a demilance.
Magic Powers:
When the wielder charges, Donnacanto sings like a divine choir, allowing allies within earshot to re-roll previously failed Fear Tests. This re-roll - and all subsequent Fear Tests - are made at +10 as long as Donnacanto can be heard. The spear continues singing until combat ends.
History:
According to legend, the voice of Myrmidia is channelled through Donnacanto.
Finally, after the PC's help defeat the Skaven, the Abbot gives the the following information:
The Fellowship of the Shroud exists as a order at the Abbey - The Black Knights and Raven Knights believe the Undead threat must be eliminated at all costs. The ranks of the Fellowship include spies, witch hunters, and scholars, though a few priests are also members.
The Abbot says that he would very much like to study the young Scion of Nagash who was kidnapped from Talabheim. Furthermore, Geistwächt produces a letter from his desk and gravely appeals for the PCs to confirm Lydia’s activities before he unleashes the Raven Knights on Helfurt.
If Lydia is found to be a Vampire, she must be destroyed and her stolen Zandri Scrolls returned to the Order of Morr.
To thank the PC's for their help, Geistwächt gives them each gifts to help them advance in their careers. We ended the session with everyone advancing... they are going to need those advances!
Next stop: Helfurt...
Sunday, 21 October 2012
Session Eleven
Sunday, 21st October 2012
Chapter 7
Till Death Us Do Part
Part 2
Wurtbad Bound
By now, the party has plenty of reasons to head south along the Old Forest Road. Karin and Lothar still await them at the Ten-Tailed Cat, The fare is 7 gc per day. The complete journey to Wurtbad will take five days by coach.
Eighteen miles south-east of Talagaad, at the southern base of the Talabheim crater, is the village of Waldfärhte. As Karin and Lothar have been riding all day, Waldfärhte is the farthest they go before resting their horses. There’s an inn at Waldfärhte called The Countess’s Elbow, where the party spend the night.
After Waldfärhte, there are two villages (Liebstedt and Warghafen) before the Old Forest Road enters the wooded Färlic Hills.
The PC's meet a group of flagellants traveling south, whom they recognize from the Crusade. They give them food, and the flagellants reveal they had been South looking for a religious artifact - a painting - part of a triptych - (one of three) - showing Sigmar at the tree of hope. They had been sent to look for it by someone named Krantz.
The Old Forest Road is bumpy, making sleep en route impossible. Not much happens during their time at the various inns, but Mormocar studies the Vampire's (whom he reads is called Lord De Trois) Journal they found and learns more about the legends surrounding Nagash and the Vampire Prophesies. What he found out is presented at the end of this update.
He also read about the Triptych (he looked specifically for this as it was mentioned in the note found in Lord De Trois book) - a series of three paintings by Leonardo da Miragliano, based on earlier paintings by the crusading Tilean Merchant Prince Giovanni Lanfranchi of Remas, - one depicting Myrmidia at the Tree of Hope, one depicting Sigmar at the Tree of Hope - and a third that no-one knows about... the painting of Myrmidia at the Tree of Hope can be found as a fresco on the ceiling of the Temple of Myrmidia in Wurtbad. As for information on Where the Sigmar section is, or the unknown section, Mormocar can find nothing.
During their travels, Konrad is visited by dreams. On the second day out, he dreams
On the fourth day out, the party arrive at the small town of Hermsdorf. This southernmost settlement on the Old Forest Road is a small logging town with nearly 400 inhabitants. Hermsdorf is built near the crest of a low hill, overlooking the Wurtbad valley that extends 15 miles to the south.
They try to lodge at the smaller of Hermsdorf ’s two inns; the One-Toothed Saw, but it is full. They see a coal wagon is parked beside the stable, in plain view. The landlord confirms that three men who own the cart are staying in an upstairs room, but there is no boy with them. He refuses to give the room number of his guests.
Mormocar goes out alone to check out the coal cart, but the stable lad looking after it challenges him and he fails to intimidate the lad, who shouts for the Watch. Two watchmen come running over and Mormocar punches the lad, and another two Watchmen appear and between the four of them they put him in stocks for assault... after being pelted repeatedly with rotten tomatoes and horse poo, Mormocar finally convinces the Watch to nip into the pub to talk to his mates, who will explain everything. Konrad produces paperwork stating that they are on Empire business, which is none of the Watches business, and that, furthermore, the kidnappers are in the upstairs room. The Watch and the PC's spend 9 rounds trying to kick in the door... once in, the room is empty and the window is open - checking out the window reveals a stream running below it - it looks like the occupants have jumped out. They all go outside to check, apart from Grondi, who stays behind to search the room and finds a man hiding in the wardrobe, who attacks. Grondi quickly knocks him out and sits on him till the others get back from searching for whoever had jumped out of the window.
The stream led to a channel flowing quickly towards the town wall through a hole, cascading down a steep gully into the River Stir, and there was no sign of anyone by the time the PC's arrive. They return to the room where Grondi had captured the man, who was called Jamal.
Interrogating Jamal using Torture is effective, eventually. Jamal remains tight lipped until Konrad starts burning his legs with a hot sword... whereupon he gives up what information he has:
They decided to check out the cave. It contains: 3 bedrolls, a boulder stained with dried blood, a sacrificial dagger, stale provisions, and two hand-written tomes containing prayers to Nagash. In the fire pit is a partially burned letter.
They travel onwards towards Hermsdorf - taking the charcoal coach and spare horse that Jamal and his mates will no longer be needing - Ralf getting Karin and Lothar to try to teach him to drive on the way. The fifth night out from Talegaad, Konrad is again visited by a dream - again, the voice in the background says, 'Yaga's thoughts said Konrad was a halfling'... the dream he had was as follows:
Wurtbad
They start off by shopping at the blacksmiths - one Winston Smith - who buys their charcoal and Ralf's leather jerkin, and sells Ralf a set of full mail armour he had made for a halfling who had never collected it... and recommends his Uncle Winston's Inn - the Jungle Bar - when asked for recommendations. They have a very tasty Curry Goat there, which goes straight through Mormocar, who needs to take some chilled toilet paper to the privvy with him afterwards.
Next stop at Wurtbad is the Temple of Myrmidia. The temple is poorly kept, and only a single priest maintains it - Father Dougal. The columns are crumbling, and the walls are stained from weather. Few mercenaries visit Wurtbad these days, but the temple remains a historic landmark.
The domed ceiling is painted with a famous fresco by Leonardo da Miragliano, the brilliant inventor and gifted artist. The fresco was Miragliano’s last commissioned work before entering the Emperor’s service.
Fresco - Myrmidia, Beloved Daughter of Morr, at the Tree of Hope
The paint has faded on this fascinating piece of art history. The fresco is based on an earlier painting by the crusading Tilean Merchant Prince Giovanni Lanfranchi of Remas, a highly skilled artist and devoted theologian 500 years before Miragliano’s time. The Lanfranchi originals are lost, but it’s believed that Miragliano copied Myrmidia at the Tree of Hope from one panel of the triptych. One of the other two depicts Sigmar’s vision at the Tree of Hope, but the third is unkown. The locations of the other two panels is unknown.
Father Dougal asks the PC's a favour - he has a bad back, and there are some jobs that need doing in the temple - if they help him, he will try to help them. The PC's agree, and are given three tasks:
Task One: Clear Cobwebs from the Rafters - Ralf clears the cobwebs in an hour.
Task Two: Replace Broken Tiles on the Floor - they do this together, and it takes a good few hours.
Task Three: Fix a Leak in the Apse Dome - If left unchecked, this leak could result in irreparable damage to the fresco. Konrad climbs up and fills the crack with pitch - this takes 15 minutes. At the top of the ladder he notices a loose brick on the fresco, at the base of the tree. Removing the brick causes a small metal box to fall out - Konrad quickly pockets this.
For helping, Father Dougal tells the PC's the following:
This ingenious little box, made of brass and steel, bears a small tinge of rust. It has runes inscribed on the surface, and Konrad recalled the model as the pattern at the Talabheim crime scene. The box has many moving parts, which can be configured into different shapes. Referencing the crime scene pattern, Konrad solves the puzzle box in about fifteen minutes flat. Inside the box is a tiny scroll with six words forming a circle of Classical script.
Clockwise from the top, the words are: Portal, Man, Blood, Earth, Life, and Mother.
The PC's are now heading to Helmfurt, where Jamal said the boy has been taken. Siegfriedhof is on the way so they plan to call in there on the way.
The journey between Hermsdorf and Siegfriedhof takes nine days. These are uneventful save that Ralf learns to drive, and all the PC's share a dream at the same time:
On the north shore of Lake Svarsee, the town of Siegfriedhof is built into the face of a rock pinnacle high above the surrounding landscape. Below the new town lie the ruins of Old Siegfriedhof, destroyed by a Skaven assault half a century ago. Now all that remains is an overgrown clutter of charred foundations. Skaven tunnels still exist beneath the ruins of Old Siegfriedhof, but they are flooded and unsafe.
When Siegfriedhof was rebuilt by the Order of Morr, the town was moved to high ground next to the Abbey of Blessed Aethelbert. Of the town’s 300 inhabitants, nearly one third reside within the abbey. The remaining two thirds are composed of farmers, woodsmen, and oblates serving the Order.
When the PCs arrive, they are approached by a motley patrol of four suspicious militiamen. Questions are asked about the PCs’ purpose and destination. The patrol strongly suggests that coach and horses should be stabled at the Widower’s Comfort, which turns out to be owned by the lead militiaman's mother, who charges them 2 GC to stable the two coaches and the spare horse and donkey. Konrad is outraged at this blatant overcharging.
When the PCs reach the abbey, they are met by two silent Black Guards blocking the entrance with crossed axes. They knock. After a moment, Brother Horatius appears and welcomes the PCs into the vestibule.
Horatius questions the PCs and asks their names. During the exchange, a group of black cats brushes up against the PCs’ legs. The PC's stroke the cats. When they ask to see the the Abbot, Horatius asks the party to wait (5 minutes) and they are then shown to a private room.
The PCs are seated before the abbot, who scrutinises them closely from behind his desk. He says,
“These are troubled times for the Order of Morr - and for the Empire. The Undead are restless - not just in Sylvania - but also in the Reikland, Middenland, and Ostland. They recruit servants from the living on an unprecedented scale, foolish pawns who believe their foul masters will reward them in death.”
Konrad is more concerned with corrupt militiamen ripping off strangers by virtually forcing them to pay for overpriced stabling at his mother's inn. The Abbot says he will look into this.
We ended the session at this point :)
Chapter 7
Till Death Us Do Part
Part 2
Wurtbad Bound
By now, the party has plenty of reasons to head south along the Old Forest Road. Karin and Lothar still await them at the Ten-Tailed Cat, The fare is 7 gc per day. The complete journey to Wurtbad will take five days by coach.
Eighteen miles south-east of Talagaad, at the southern base of the Talabheim crater, is the village of Waldfärhte. As Karin and Lothar have been riding all day, Waldfärhte is the farthest they go before resting their horses. There’s an inn at Waldfärhte called The Countess’s Elbow, where the party spend the night.
After Waldfärhte, there are two villages (Liebstedt and Warghafen) before the Old Forest Road enters the wooded Färlic Hills.
The PC's meet a group of flagellants traveling south, whom they recognize from the Crusade. They give them food, and the flagellants reveal they had been South looking for a religious artifact - a painting - part of a triptych - (one of three) - showing Sigmar at the tree of hope. They had been sent to look for it by someone named Krantz.
The Old Forest Road is bumpy, making sleep en route impossible. Not much happens during their time at the various inns, but Mormocar studies the Vampire's (whom he reads is called Lord De Trois) Journal they found and learns more about the legends surrounding Nagash and the Vampire Prophesies. What he found out is presented at the end of this update.
He also read about the Triptych (he looked specifically for this as it was mentioned in the note found in Lord De Trois book) - a series of three paintings by Leonardo da Miragliano, based on earlier paintings by the crusading Tilean Merchant Prince Giovanni Lanfranchi of Remas, - one depicting Myrmidia at the Tree of Hope, one depicting Sigmar at the Tree of Hope - and a third that no-one knows about... the painting of Myrmidia at the Tree of Hope can be found as a fresco on the ceiling of the Temple of Myrmidia in Wurtbad. As for information on Where the Sigmar section is, or the unknown section, Mormocar can find nothing.
During their travels, Konrad is visited by dreams. On the second day out, he dreams
You stand on a vast, white field at the convergence of a thousand intertwined stairways. Above you, hundreds of black stairs stretch infinitely into white space. Below you, hundreds of white stairs descend into a black void. Down the black stairwell a figure approaches - your mother. She looks exactly as you remember her, except she’s made entirely of wood. She stops for a moment at the great convergence and then speaks: “I’m leaving now.” She then descends one of the white stairways.Konrad follows her down the starirs, the dream continues.
You must run to keep up with your mother, even though she is only walking. You arrive at a still pool, and your mother is gone. Two reflections appear in the pool. One is Karl. The other is you as a young child. Both children reach up to you, the palms of their hands skimming the surface.He reaches out to pull his childhood self out of the water, and awakens. Throughout the dream, he can hear a puzzled voice in the distance saying, 'I expected a halfling...'
On the fourth day out, the party arrive at the small town of Hermsdorf. This southernmost settlement on the Old Forest Road is a small logging town with nearly 400 inhabitants. Hermsdorf is built near the crest of a low hill, overlooking the Wurtbad valley that extends 15 miles to the south.
They try to lodge at the smaller of Hermsdorf ’s two inns; the One-Toothed Saw, but it is full. They see a coal wagon is parked beside the stable, in plain view. The landlord confirms that three men who own the cart are staying in an upstairs room, but there is no boy with them. He refuses to give the room number of his guests.
Mormocar goes out alone to check out the coal cart, but the stable lad looking after it challenges him and he fails to intimidate the lad, who shouts for the Watch. Two watchmen come running over and Mormocar punches the lad, and another two Watchmen appear and between the four of them they put him in stocks for assault... after being pelted repeatedly with rotten tomatoes and horse poo, Mormocar finally convinces the Watch to nip into the pub to talk to his mates, who will explain everything. Konrad produces paperwork stating that they are on Empire business, which is none of the Watches business, and that, furthermore, the kidnappers are in the upstairs room. The Watch and the PC's spend 9 rounds trying to kick in the door... once in, the room is empty and the window is open - checking out the window reveals a stream running below it - it looks like the occupants have jumped out. They all go outside to check, apart from Grondi, who stays behind to search the room and finds a man hiding in the wardrobe, who attacks. Grondi quickly knocks him out and sits on him till the others get back from searching for whoever had jumped out of the window.
The stream led to a channel flowing quickly towards the town wall through a hole, cascading down a steep gully into the River Stir, and there was no sign of anyone by the time the PC's arrive. They return to the room where Grondi had captured the man, who was called Jamal.
Interrogating Jamal using Torture is effective, eventually. Jamal remains tight lipped until Konrad starts burning his legs with a hot sword... whereupon he gives up what information he has:
- The boy is to be taken to a town called Helfurt in Sylvania, where he will serve the Dark Master’s plan.
- The location of their hideout in a cave five miles south of Hermsdorf.
They decided to check out the cave. It contains: 3 bedrolls, a boulder stained with dried blood, a sacrificial dagger, stale provisions, and two hand-written tomes containing prayers to Nagash. In the fire pit is a partially burned letter.
He awoke at this point wondering why the voice in his head thought he was a halfling - the only link he can remember being that Rolf had told Madame Yaga that he was called Konrad when everyone else had given a made up name... but could that be significant?You stand on an open plain of black stone. The sky is pure white, and your child-self stands before you, miles away yet almost within arm’s length. A huge raven with featherless, leathery skin descends from the sky and carries the child away in its claws. On the horizon, you can see a garden of stones, in the centre of which stands a withering tree.
Wurtbad
They start off by shopping at the blacksmiths - one Winston Smith - who buys their charcoal and Ralf's leather jerkin, and sells Ralf a set of full mail armour he had made for a halfling who had never collected it... and recommends his Uncle Winston's Inn - the Jungle Bar - when asked for recommendations. They have a very tasty Curry Goat there, which goes straight through Mormocar, who needs to take some chilled toilet paper to the privvy with him afterwards.
Next stop at Wurtbad is the Temple of Myrmidia. The temple is poorly kept, and only a single priest maintains it - Father Dougal. The columns are crumbling, and the walls are stained from weather. Few mercenaries visit Wurtbad these days, but the temple remains a historic landmark.
The domed ceiling is painted with a famous fresco by Leonardo da Miragliano, the brilliant inventor and gifted artist. The fresco was Miragliano’s last commissioned work before entering the Emperor’s service.
Fresco - Myrmidia, Beloved Daughter of Morr, at the Tree of Hope
The paint has faded on this fascinating piece of art history. The fresco is based on an earlier painting by the crusading Tilean Merchant Prince Giovanni Lanfranchi of Remas, a highly skilled artist and devoted theologian 500 years before Miragliano’s time. The Lanfranchi originals are lost, but it’s believed that Miragliano copied Myrmidia at the Tree of Hope from one panel of the triptych. One of the other two depicts Sigmar’s vision at the Tree of Hope, but the third is unkown. The locations of the other two panels is unknown.
Father Dougal asks the PC's a favour - he has a bad back, and there are some jobs that need doing in the temple - if they help him, he will try to help them. The PC's agree, and are given three tasks:
Task One: Clear Cobwebs from the Rafters - Ralf clears the cobwebs in an hour.
Task Two: Replace Broken Tiles on the Floor - they do this together, and it takes a good few hours.
Task Three: Fix a Leak in the Apse Dome - If left unchecked, this leak could result in irreparable damage to the fresco. Konrad climbs up and fills the crack with pitch - this takes 15 minutes. At the top of the ladder he notices a loose brick on the fresco, at the base of the tree. Removing the brick causes a small metal box to fall out - Konrad quickly pockets this.
For helping, Father Dougal tells the PC's the following:
- Lanfranchi collected artefacts and scrolls on his crusades to Araby and founded the order that would precede the Fellowship of the Shroud, a Morrian sect based in Siegfriedhof.
- One of Lanfranchi’s expeditions landed him in Nehekhara by accident, where his army fought against the Zandri Tomb Kings. Lanfranchi later became a renowned Vampire hunter.
- The third, unknown section of the original triptych is rumoured to be buried in Lanfranchi’s crypt in Siegfriedhof.
- A bunch of flagellants has also visited a week or two ago asking for information on the triptych, but he had sent them away without information.
This ingenious little box, made of brass and steel, bears a small tinge of rust. It has runes inscribed on the surface, and Konrad recalled the model as the pattern at the Talabheim crime scene. The box has many moving parts, which can be configured into different shapes. Referencing the crime scene pattern, Konrad solves the puzzle box in about fifteen minutes flat. Inside the box is a tiny scroll with six words forming a circle of Classical script.
Clockwise from the top, the words are: Portal, Man, Blood, Earth, Life, and Mother.
The PC's are now heading to Helmfurt, where Jamal said the boy has been taken. Siegfriedhof is on the way so they plan to call in there on the way.
The journey between Hermsdorf and Siegfriedhof takes nine days. These are uneventful save that Ralf learns to drive, and all the PC's share a dream at the same time:
You are in a dark chamber. Before you rests a stone sarcophagus, its lid slightly askew. A rat emerges from within, followed by another, and another, until the lid is forced aside by a surging torrent of chittering vermin. Rats are everywhere. You awaken just as they overwhelm you.Karin and Lothar tell the PC's a little of what they know about Siegfriedhof as they get closer.
On the north shore of Lake Svarsee, the town of Siegfriedhof is built into the face of a rock pinnacle high above the surrounding landscape. Below the new town lie the ruins of Old Siegfriedhof, destroyed by a Skaven assault half a century ago. Now all that remains is an overgrown clutter of charred foundations. Skaven tunnels still exist beneath the ruins of Old Siegfriedhof, but they are flooded and unsafe.
When Siegfriedhof was rebuilt by the Order of Morr, the town was moved to high ground next to the Abbey of Blessed Aethelbert. Of the town’s 300 inhabitants, nearly one third reside within the abbey. The remaining two thirds are composed of farmers, woodsmen, and oblates serving the Order.
When the PCs arrive, they are approached by a motley patrol of four suspicious militiamen. Questions are asked about the PCs’ purpose and destination. The patrol strongly suggests that coach and horses should be stabled at the Widower’s Comfort, which turns out to be owned by the lead militiaman's mother, who charges them 2 GC to stable the two coaches and the spare horse and donkey. Konrad is outraged at this blatant overcharging.
When the PCs reach the abbey, they are met by two silent Black Guards blocking the entrance with crossed axes. They knock. After a moment, Brother Horatius appears and welcomes the PCs into the vestibule.
Horatius questions the PCs and asks their names. During the exchange, a group of black cats brushes up against the PCs’ legs. The PC's stroke the cats. When they ask to see the the Abbot, Horatius asks the party to wait (5 minutes) and they are then shown to a private room.
The PCs are seated before the abbot, who scrutinises them closely from behind his desk. He says,
“These are troubled times for the Order of Morr - and for the Empire. The Undead are restless - not just in Sylvania - but also in the Reikland, Middenland, and Ostland. They recruit servants from the living on an unprecedented scale, foolish pawns who believe their foul masters will reward them in death.”
Konrad is more concerned with corrupt militiamen ripping off strangers by virtually forcing them to pay for overpriced stabling at his mother's inn. The Abbot says he will look into this.
We ended the session at this point :)
***
Notes from Mormocar's reading of Lord De Trois Journal...
The Vampire Prophecies
Across the Old World, scholars of ancient Nehekhara work at piecing together the history of Necromancy.
Many scrolls and hieroglyphs have been recovered from the Land of the Dead over time, but these artefacts are often damaged or mistranslated—or were deliberately encrypted by their authors a millennia ago. The ambiguous nature of these records has fostered conflicting theories concerning the origins of Vampirism in Lahmia, the Vampires’ exodus to the Old World, and the High Priest of the Mortuary Cult who would become the Great Necromancer Nagash.
In fact, there is a devoted following of academics working in secret to uncover the truth behind the Nagash apotheosis legend. After the Great Necromancer was driven from Khemri in –1650 IC, he seemingly vanished from recorded history for nearly 500 years. Based on recent exploration and secondary sources, most historians now agree Nagash attained godhood, raised Nagashizzar, and fought a major war against the Skaven during those missing years.
Scrolls from the Nehekharan city of Zandri link Nagash’s apotheosis to the five Vampire bloodlines.
The exact translation of these hieroglyphs is heavily debated, but they seem to indicate Nagash’s bloodline was cursed by the Old Gods, and extensive conditions must be met in order to lift the curse. Interpretations of the curse vary widely, according to the nationality and religion of the interpreter. This field of scholarship comprises a hodgepodge of historical half-truths, rumours, and theological exegesis collectively known as the Vampire Prophecies.
Of course, Vampires rarely agree on mundane issues, much less the true nature of their curse and, more importantly, what must be done to lift it.
Each Vampire bloodline has a different interpretation of the prophecies, but all are devoted to lifting the curse of the Old Gods and bringing about the Age of a Thousand Thrones.
The Thousand Thrones were first spoken of by W’soran during the fall of Lahmia, but little more is known of them by mortals. Based upon the Zandri Scrolls and the captured memoirs of Vampires throughout history, it has been surmised that the Age of a Thousand Thrones will be brought about by a tremendously powerful spell, or profane miracle, that will bring great changes to the natural order of the world. Vampires will no longer need to hide from the sun, or even drink blood from mortals for survival. Mortals will worship their undying overlords as Gods. However, only one thousand Vampires will survive to see this empire of darkness, and he who lifts the curse of the Old Gods will rule them all.
What follows is a short summary of each bloodline’s theory about the prophecy.
Von Carsteins
According to this bloodline, Vashanesh (i.e. Vladimir von Carstein) was the Scion of Nagash who escaped the curse of the Old Gods. When the Sun God Ptra no longer rules the sky, the bearer of Vashanesh’s ring will become the overlord of a Thousand Thrones.
Lydia von Carstein has discovered an alternate reading of the prophecy involving the Old Gods of northern belief and soul-bonding rituals from ancient Lahmia.
Lahmians
The Lahmians believe Karl is an avatar of Sigmar harbouring memories and knowledge gleaned from Nagash when Sigmar donned the Crown of Sorcery. By learning Nagash’s true Elixir of Life formula and the power words employed by the Necromancer to command the vampires, Lahmians seek to dominate the Age of the Thousand Thrones.
Their mistress Neferata has commanded her daughters to recover the boy and bring him to the Silver Pinnacle, her legendary tower high in the Worlds Edge Mountains. The Vampire Queen intends to beguile Karl with a potent ritual, learn his secrets, and gain the power that will allow her to enslave all Vampires, as the true Champion of the Night.
Blood DragonsBecause the first Blood Dragon Abhorash never knew Nagash, most Vampires of this bloodline do not concern themselves with the Thousand Thrones prophecies. Blood Dragons are unlikely to have been implicated in the prophecies, so they dismiss such talk as the foolish dreams of weaklings who desire a return to former glories without paying the requisite price in battle. Many Blood Dragons are so focused on battle-readiness that they have never heard of the prophecies at all. Occasionally however, they do become implicated in the schemes of other bloodlines.
Necrarchs
The spawn of W’soran are extremely well-educated about the Vampire Prophecies, having access to volumes of research conducted over the ages by Nagash’s most loyal disciple. Their partial exemption from the Blood Curse makes Necrarchs rather arrogant, each one believing he is destined to be the Master of a Thousand Thrones. Necrarchs look to numerology, astrology, and genealogy for clues about how to lift the Blood Curse. Lord de Trois, who resides in a tower near Wolfenburg, and who has written the journal the PC's have found, has drawn connections between the three returns of Nagash and his own three stages of transformation.
Strigoi
The Strigoi Vampires believe Karl is truly Sigmar Reborn, but Sigmar received the Blood Kiss during his great battle against Nagash’s army. The kiss purportedly was delivered by a Strigoi vampire who had rallied under Nagash’s banner when Strigos fell. This connection to the once glorious Kingdom of Strigos implies Karl must be the Champion of Night and predestined ruler of the new Vampire kingdom. However, the Strigoi also believe the bloodlines have become diluted and only by receiving the Blood Kiss from each of the five major bloodlines can Karl truly awaken his birthright and lift the curse of the Old Gods.
Friday, 19 October 2012
Session Ten
Sunday, 14th October
Chapter 6
Part 2
Exit, Stage Left
This isn't going to be as big an update as usual, because most of the action was on the stage
The play went ahead, amidst attacks on Karl from the remaining Heralds of the New Dawn on the stage, Lorianoc and some of his Elves in the rafters, and a Necrach Vampire (Mormocar recognised the Clan due to his academic knowledge of Vampires) - all of whom our heroes managed to fight off.
All of the Heralds were killed, and two of the Elves. Lorianoc, 4 elves and the Vampire escaped - the vampire by turning into a bat and flying off, the Elves by getting out amidst the confusion.
In the confusion, the Vampire dropped a hand written journal on Vampire Prophesies, but it is all riddles and cryptic prophesies and will take a while for Mormocar to figure out.
Mormocar already knows a little about the five bloodlines due to his Academic Knowledge of Vampires - the known bloodlines are the Von Carstiens, the Necrachs, the Strigois, the Blood Dragons and the Lahmians - during this adventure they have encountered vampires from all of these, apart from the Von Carsteins.
Mormocar also knows that the first Vampire, Nagash, went to the Tree of Hope and became a God - as did Sigmar. More info will require reading the book and figuring it out...
Inside the journal was this:
Chapter 7
Death Do Us Part
For five days after the Play, the PC's are questioned and thanked for oonce again saving Karl. They are finally approached by Helmut. Karl has gone off again, and he would like them to follow him...
“Good morning, friends. Karl has gone with the Brother Frederich, a Senior Priest of Morr who sits with me on the boy’s inner council. Karl had a vision that convinced him to visit Talagaad to receive wisdom on a matter of great importance to him - from a seer in Little Kislev. The woman’s name is Madame Yaga…or something like that. Brother Frederich has hidden the boy in a black hearse and is transporting him under the pretext of performing funeral duties. Now, I don’t question the priest’s resources, but I have reservations concerning his competence, and - now that I’ve become implicated in this plan - perhaps his motives too. Though our wonderful boy insisted on travelling unescorted, it would ease my worries if you’d be willing to shadow the coach and ensure his safety.”
So off they went, by coach, to Talagaad (paid for - at least up to Talagaad and back by Helmut).
Driving the coach were Karin and Lothar, who have driven the Wolfenburg to Wurbad route for years. The journey takes six days, stopping off for fresh horses and a bit of shopping in Hergig.
They finally locate Madame Yaga (after forgetting her name) in Little Kislev in Talegaad - she asks their names but they give false ones (everyone gives a made up name apart from Rolf, who says his name is Konrad) and they ask about Karl... but Yaga claims not to have seen any boy recently, and gives them a bunch of dodgy sounding predictions such as,
“The sign of the Raven hangs above your head like a sword. Break the bird’s wing, given a chance, and your doom may be postponed.”
and “Explore every cave, for one will contain unguarded treasures. Sleep not on your back, or you may choke upon your tongue.”
and "Your mother liked pies" (to Rolf)
but as they are leaving, Yaga goes rigid and says,
“Wait, I do see a boy, and he’s in great peril! The men with faces of coal have taken him from the garden of Morr. If you hurry, you might reach him in time!”
The PC's asked where the nearest Temple of Morr was, and headed there.
The temple consisted of a domed mausoleum surrounded by rows of winged, skeletal statues bearing scythes. The temple was protected by an iron fence covered in black roses. The outer gate was open, and a lone watchman guarded the entrance to the mausoleum within. Konrad told the guard that they were working for the Empire, and they were allowed in.
Inside, a crowd of priests, watchmen, and city officials stood in a wide circle talking loudly and ignored the approaching PCs. Laying in a pool of blood at the centre of the room was a murdered Morrian priest. The crime scene had been cordoned off while the watch cleaned up.
Looking at the dead priest, the PC's noted:
His legs were crossed and his head turned sideways, one hand folded over his breast and the other extended to his side. Mormocar recognised this as the oft-sculpted pose of Myrmidia, the Tilean Goddess of War. A famous old fresco at the Myrmidian Temple in Wurtbad depicts the Goddess standing in this pose before the Tree of Hope.
The bloodied index finger of his outstretched hand pointed to the southeast, where a crumbling statue of the Tree of Hope stood.
A series of geometrical shapes had been drawn on the floor in blood.
They were asked to leave the scene at this point.
The other clue they had from Yaga's prophesy was "Men with faces of coal" - it is common knowledge in the Empire that "Coal Face" refers to Charcoal Burners, and their guide tells them that there are a lot of charcoal burners camped at the burnng Pit just south of Talegaad, and he leads the PC's there.
There, they are told by one of the Charcoal Burners:
“There were some burners who shared a tent, but they didn’t seem to do much work. Two or three, I reckon - I didn’t really pay them any special mind. Just recently, two of ‘em packed up their gear and headed south by wagon. A third burner passed through the camp a few hours later with a boy we figured was his son, though we’d never seen him afore. Seeing his friends had left already, he went after ‘em on horseback. Seemed to be in a hurry. He headed down thattaway, south on the Old Forest Road, I think?”
The PC's returned to the coach and agreed a price to go South down the Old Forest Road...
End of session.
Chapter 6
Part 2
Exit, Stage Left
This isn't going to be as big an update as usual, because most of the action was on the stage
All of the Heralds were killed, and two of the Elves. Lorianoc, 4 elves and the Vampire escaped - the vampire by turning into a bat and flying off, the Elves by getting out amidst the confusion.
In the confusion, the Vampire dropped a hand written journal on Vampire Prophesies, but it is all riddles and cryptic prophesies and will take a while for Mormocar to figure out.
Mormocar already knows a little about the five bloodlines due to his Academic Knowledge of Vampires - the known bloodlines are the Von Carstiens, the Necrachs, the Strigois, the Blood Dragons and the Lahmians - during this adventure they have encountered vampires from all of these, apart from the Von Carsteins.
Mormocar also knows that the first Vampire, Nagash, went to the Tree of Hope and became a God - as did Sigmar. More info will require reading the book and figuring it out...
Inside the journal was this:
Chapter 7
Death Do Us Part
For five days after the Play, the PC's are questioned and thanked for oonce again saving Karl. They are finally approached by Helmut. Karl has gone off again, and he would like them to follow him...
“Good morning, friends. Karl has gone with the Brother Frederich, a Senior Priest of Morr who sits with me on the boy’s inner council. Karl had a vision that convinced him to visit Talagaad to receive wisdom on a matter of great importance to him - from a seer in Little Kislev. The woman’s name is Madame Yaga…or something like that. Brother Frederich has hidden the boy in a black hearse and is transporting him under the pretext of performing funeral duties. Now, I don’t question the priest’s resources, but I have reservations concerning his competence, and - now that I’ve become implicated in this plan - perhaps his motives too. Though our wonderful boy insisted on travelling unescorted, it would ease my worries if you’d be willing to shadow the coach and ensure his safety.”
So off they went, by coach, to Talagaad (paid for - at least up to Talagaad and back by Helmut).
Driving the coach were Karin and Lothar, who have driven the Wolfenburg to Wurbad route for years. The journey takes six days, stopping off for fresh horses and a bit of shopping in Hergig.
They finally locate Madame Yaga (after forgetting her name) in Little Kislev in Talegaad - she asks their names but they give false ones (everyone gives a made up name apart from Rolf, who says his name is Konrad) and they ask about Karl... but Yaga claims not to have seen any boy recently, and gives them a bunch of dodgy sounding predictions such as,
“The sign of the Raven hangs above your head like a sword. Break the bird’s wing, given a chance, and your doom may be postponed.”
and “Explore every cave, for one will contain unguarded treasures. Sleep not on your back, or you may choke upon your tongue.”
and "Your mother liked pies" (to Rolf)
but as they are leaving, Yaga goes rigid and says,
“Wait, I do see a boy, and he’s in great peril! The men with faces of coal have taken him from the garden of Morr. If you hurry, you might reach him in time!”
The PC's asked where the nearest Temple of Morr was, and headed there.
The temple consisted of a domed mausoleum surrounded by rows of winged, skeletal statues bearing scythes. The temple was protected by an iron fence covered in black roses. The outer gate was open, and a lone watchman guarded the entrance to the mausoleum within. Konrad told the guard that they were working for the Empire, and they were allowed in.
Inside, a crowd of priests, watchmen, and city officials stood in a wide circle talking loudly and ignored the approaching PCs. Laying in a pool of blood at the centre of the room was a murdered Morrian priest. The crime scene had been cordoned off while the watch cleaned up.
Looking at the dead priest, the PC's noted:
His legs were crossed and his head turned sideways, one hand folded over his breast and the other extended to his side. Mormocar recognised this as the oft-sculpted pose of Myrmidia, the Tilean Goddess of War. A famous old fresco at the Myrmidian Temple in Wurtbad depicts the Goddess standing in this pose before the Tree of Hope.
The bloodied index finger of his outstretched hand pointed to the southeast, where a crumbling statue of the Tree of Hope stood.
A series of geometrical shapes had been drawn on the floor in blood.
They were asked to leave the scene at this point.
The other clue they had from Yaga's prophesy was "Men with faces of coal" - it is common knowledge in the Empire that "Coal Face" refers to Charcoal Burners, and their guide tells them that there are a lot of charcoal burners camped at the burnng Pit just south of Talegaad, and he leads the PC's there.
There, they are told by one of the Charcoal Burners:
“There were some burners who shared a tent, but they didn’t seem to do much work. Two or three, I reckon - I didn’t really pay them any special mind. Just recently, two of ‘em packed up their gear and headed south by wagon. A third burner passed through the camp a few hours later with a boy we figured was his son, though we’d never seen him afore. Seeing his friends had left already, he went after ‘em on horseback. Seemed to be in a hurry. He headed down thattaway, south on the Old Forest Road, I think?”
The PC's returned to the coach and agreed a price to go South down the Old Forest Road...
End of session.
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