The Stroming of Castle Wittgenstein

I am writing this in January 2022, but it was played over 4 sessions around March / April 2021, so this update is to serve as a reminder for the players what happened before we return to Death on the Reik following Daniel's D&D campaign.  

The games were played remotely on Roll20 then Foundry, and some progress levelling-up wise was lost to Foundry's updates fucking up the server (Forge VTT - great when it works but oh boy is it buggy) - a one off as we are no longer using that server and it's inability to keep up, everything is now on my laptop safe, and we will not be using the VTT for anything other than maps, the calendar, rules reference and NPC stats.

So moving back to in person gaming and character booklets that are printed means some characters will have a lot of XP to spend, so there will be a Session 0.  That session will be going through this blog in detail and ensuring they have all the items and info.

I shall write in this blog post the things that happened as I remember them, found items are all listed in the adventure so there will be nothing lost.

That said, here is what transpired...

The evening following the adventurers’ arrival, a force of 20 guards led by Kratz, the Sergeant of the Guard, rides down to the wharf. While eight guards board the adventurers’ vessel, the other twelve cover the Characters with their crossbows.

‘This boat has been impounded because you didn’t call at the castle to pay the toll for use of this splendid wharf. Before you ask, it’s too late now to pay, even if you wanted to.’ A few of the guards laugh at this witticism. ‘Move along peacefully and no one will get hurt. Or of course, we could always

feed you to the beggars.’ Disturbingly, the beggars look excited at this, and a few of them take an eager step forward.

Their boat is taken through the castle’s water-gate.  Kratz explains, ‘We’ll need some time to calculate the full scale of your fine. We’ll need to get the big abacus out for you lot.’

Having already discovered that Lady Margritte is kidnapping villagers after getting them hooked on rotgut, the PC's are angry.  They know only that there are Outlaws who might know a way into the castle, and it is time for them to get their boat back and take revenge.

THE OUTLAW CAMP

The outlaw camp lies just over a mile from the village, and is well concealed.  The forest surrounding the village is dark and sinister. Tall trees spiral upwards to the sky, blocking out the light. The floor of

the forest is covered with sickly-looking fungal growths, and tree roots seem to reach out to snag passers-by. When they arrive, they discover the camp is being attacked by Beastmen.  Helping out means they meet the Outlaws, led by Hilda and Sigrid, an ex-priestess of Rhya, 

There are 20 outlaws at the camp, led by Sigrid. They offer the adventurers their hospitality, and Sigrid

provides directions to a cave that she believes leads into the castle. She warns against going there, however, calling it a 'den of madness and death.' She has been into the cave, but the strange, unnerving gibbering she heard drove her back.

When the adventurers are ready to leave the camp, Hilda will guides them to wherever they wish to go. After travelling for 30 minutes the adventurers see Kratz  leading a group of six guards. The guards are accompanied by a Beastman, heading towards the Castle. 

Hilda leads them to a cave system she says leads to the Castle.

Following Sigrid’s directions, they come to a dark cave that leads to a network of tunnels running beneath the Outer Bailey.  Fighting their way past a mutant, some rats and bats and lashworms, they discover  a narrow, winding staircase leading up to a ruined outbuilding in the Outer Bailey. This leads to a courtyard full of beggars and guard houses... they go back to the Outlaws and draw up a plan.

The castle is big, with an Outer Bailey filled with guards on one hill, a bridge with guard stations leading to an Inner Bailey where the Von Wittgenstein family live.

 

Cutting a very long story down to it's basics, the PC's stormed the Outer Bailey with help from Sigrid, Hilda and the Outlaws - in the process killing all the guards as a thunder and lightning storm raged.  This allowed them access to the Inner Bailey where they went room by room, and murdered the family, with one exception - Gotthard Von Wittgenstein, who they discovered has gone to Middenheim to join a Chaos Cult devoted to Slaanesh.

They managed to loot a fair few bits and pieces, and discover what happened to the family... 

Ludwig von Wittgenstein

The Head of the household lives in his own tower. The steps leading to the entrance are broken and worn, and the paint on the door is cracked and peeling. All the windows have been bricked up. As the adventurers enter, the black carpet of this room seems to heave and move. Something crunches underfoot and each step leaves a dark-red stain. Then suddenly, a clear patch of stone flooring is revealed as thousands of cockroaches scamper for cover. The door leading to the tower is also covered in cockroaches, which have to be brushed off the handle before it can be turned.

The Portrait Room

The furniture here is blanketed with cockroaches, although they seem to avoid the walls and ceiling. A bookcase contains books on plants and flowers, art, and architecture.

Visible behind the cockroaches on the walls are portraits of past and present family members. One shows Lady Ingrid, another Lady Margritte when she was ten years old, a third is of Margritte’s brother Gotthard, and a fourth is of Ludwig himself — labelled ‘Head of the Family’. Ludwig’s portrait is quite disturbing, as although he looks more or less normal, his jacket bulges oddly from the armpits and his skin seems very shiny. Protruding from the edges of his mouth are two small, black teeth.

Ludwig's room is also filled with cockroaches, but the adventurers’ attention is caught by the sight of a human-sized cockroach, seated on a stool and playing a harpsichord with its forelegs. The creature wears a powdered white wig, and has a pair of spectacles upon its almost-human head. A gold pocket-watch hangs from its chitinous body, and a white lace handkerchief is tucked between two of its body plates. This is Ludwig von Wittgenstein.

As the adventurers enter, he stops playing and turns towards them. ‘Ah, visitors!’ he says, his mandibles clicking slightly as he speaks. ‘It has been so long! Please, come in and make yourselves comfortable.’ 

He issues a series of clicks, and the cockroaches hurry off the furniture, revealing a comfortable-looking sofa and three chairs. ‘Please do not be disturbed by my appearance,’ he continues. ‘May I offer you a drink?’ He indicates a table with a decanter of brandy and six glasses.

Ludwig happily talk about the castle and its occupants, art and philosophy, and is eager for news of recent events in the Empire.

Ludwig deplores the behaviour of the rest of the family, which he credits to what he calls ‘the von Wittgenstein curse’. ‘It all started with Dagmar von Wittgenstein,’ he explains. ‘My great-grandfather, built the observatory up near Grünburg. He became obsessed with a shooting star — couldn’t rest until he found it. Well, he brought it back, and things have never quite gone right for us since.’

They leave him and then set his tower on fire.

Baronette Ingrid von Wittgenstein

Lady Ingrid’s pale complexion and white hair make her look only barely alive. Her fine clothes are covered with cat hairs and marked by muddy paw-prints, especially on her lap. She has been the head of the family since her husband Ludwig’s metamorphosis.

Lady Ingrid’s furniture is ragged and torn by innumerable claws. The curtains hang in ribbons, and there are deep claw marks marks on every available wooden surface.

Around the walls are hunting trophies from Lady Ingrid’s younger days. Stuffed heads peer down, each with an engraved brass plate: ‘Peasant – 2490', 'Roadwarden – 2492', 'Beastman – 2493', 'Imperial Tax Collector – 2496,’ and lesser prey such as deer, boars, bears, and goblins.

The room is filled with mutant cats -  Some have long ears or long tails, some are strangely coloured

(bright blue, red and yellow stripes), others have human-like hands, or long fangs, or multiple limbs or eyes. Ingrid has no useful information.

Kurt von Wittgenstein

Kurt is insane, and spends all his time mounting and stuffing corpses of all kinds. Kurt loves his stuffed ‘friends,’ and talks to them as though they are still alive. He openly admits that he would like everyone in the castle — no, in the whole world — to become his ‘friends,’ and becomes quite disturbingly excited at the thought. Recently, the servants have refused to enter this room, as the last one to do so is still there, hanging on the back of the door. She doesn’t bring any more meals, but Kurt thinks her conversation is far more interesting now.

Gotthard von Wittgenstein

Although there is no sign of Gotthard other than the portrait in the portrait room, and the fact Ludwig told them he has moved to Middenheim, they do find a letter from him when they search Lady Magritte's room:

Considering they had also found a temple devoted to Slaanesh in the castle grounds, the players are free to deduce that he has gone to Middenheim to join a cult.

Lady Margritte von Wittgenstein

Lady Margritte is young and beautiful, but her researches into necromancy are taking their toll. 

Obsessed with death and dead things, she is also taking on a cadaverous appearance; her skin is pale and beginning to stretch thinly over her bones. She disguises this with make-up, and has so far succeeded in maintaining a somewhat normal appearance.

As the players enter her laboratory, the electrical storm is at its height. Lightning arcs overhead, momentarily flooding the room with stark light.  They see a network of glass tubes filled with glowing, multi-coloured vapours, linked by a series of brass rods. Five human corpses and skeletons hang on hooks around the walls in various states of decomposition. Glass tanks along one wall contain preserved body parts: legs, liver, kidneys, a brain, and so on.

A large wooden platform is the dominant feature of the room. At each end stands a steel column, about 10 ft high and 2 inches in diameter, and between them is a solid wooden table. Ropes run to the four corners of the platform from a huge block and tackle, enabling the platform to be raised to roof level, and a system of levers and rods opens the roof to the elements. A large kite hangs nearby, trailing four wires to the columns, and from there down other wires to a metal skull-cap. 

Rain falls through the open roof to sputter and spit on glowing items of equipment, and the coloured glass tubes pulsate in an uneven rhythm. The kite can be seen through the roof opening, and Lady Margritte is pulling on the ropes that raise the wooden platform.

The adventurers take all of this in as they enter. Before they can act, a deafening and blinding lightning-bolt strikes the kite. The metal columns quiver with power, and the stench of burnt flesh fills the

room as Lady Margritte begins to wind the table down. It is shaking and swaying, and

above the noise of the storm, a moaning sound can be heard.

She has been kidnapping villagers to experiment on them, and had built herself a monster.  The monster stands 8 ft tall, and its body is a patchwork of scars. It has dead-white skin with green discolouration on the cheeks and lower jaw.  The players kill it, and her, before descending into the Dungeons.

The Dungeons

Nothing much down here but a crazy torturer who they kill, and some prisoners who they rescue (who turn out to be the PC's that some of the players played first time we ran this campaign - Harbull, Rowlocks, Wanda, Kirsten et al) but they do manage to make their way to the Warpstone Chamber, where Dagmar had stored the warpstone meteorite.

However, the players were beaten to it. Skaven warriors are posted here and a fight ensues.

The chamber’s walls, floor, and ceiling are all unnaturally blackened. A fresh, 3-ft-wide tunnel leads down through the floor. In the centre of the room is an empty lead box, 3-ft long on each side. A lead lid lies beside it, and there are no traces of warpstone left anywhere in the chamber. A table against the

southern wall holds thick gloves and some grinding equipment.

The sound of squeaking voices can be heard coming from the tunnel, but fall silent as soon as anyone enters the passage. Large, rat-like footprints cover the floor, leading in both directions.

The Fissure is 12 ft high and has a recently dug tunnel leading off from it. Five Skaven warriors stand at the entrance to this tunnel. They retreat as soon as the adventurers enter the crack, only fighting in self-defence.

As the Skaven back off, a crash is heard from further along the passage. A dense cloud of dust sweeps toward the adventurers. The dust moves slowly, so it can easily be avoided. As this billows forth, a tremor runs through the foundations of the castle.

As the tremors grow stronger, dust and rocks fall from the ceiling.  The skaven are destroying the castle to cover their escape. The adventurers head for their boat, reaching it as rocks crash down into the water around them and they make their escape to the River Reik. 

As they sail out of the water gate, without any time to check whether or not their cargo is intact, The castle is reduced to a pile of rubble, and the horror of the von Wittgenstein's is ended for all time…

Or is it? 

There is at least one living member of the von Wittgenstein family who is ‘having a wonderful time’ in the city-state of Middenheim, which aside from being Gotthard's playground, is also the headquarters of the Purple Hand.

21 & 28 Feb 2021

The village of Wittgendorf lies on the west bank of the Reik, close to Castle Wittgenstein.

 

Although it is still inhabited, Wittgendorf has the appearance of a ghost town. The streets are choked with debris and rank vegetation, and many of the buildings are in ruins. Half-starved dogs (and some emaciated people) roam the streets looking for food..

The town’s wharf is the only place to moor a vessel along this rocky stretch of the river.

Most of the village is squalid and depressing.  The locals are wary of strangers, but beggars shuffle towards the boat as the adventurers tie up at the wharf.  Talking to the beggars yields nothing more than pleas for money and food, interspersed with incoherent ramblings that include no useful information.

Soon, they are approached by Emrer, a desperate young woman holding a baby wrapped in a blanket. She begs them to help her baby daughter who is dying. The village’s physician has been worse than useless — all Rousseaux gave her was some of his terrible rotgut, which only made the baby’s condition worse.  Her baby refuses to eat, she says, and has a terrible green pallor to her skin. To make matters worse.  Looking under the blanket, rather than an infant, the bundle holds a large but apparently docile spider.  Eight hairy legs sprout from its body, which is covered in green fur. 

The Pale Lady

As the adventurers reach the top of the track leading up from the wharf, they see a beautiful young woman dressed in dark blue, mounted on a white horse and surrounded by six armed guards amid a crowd of slack-jawed beggars. The guards bear the Wittgenstein family crest on their shields and wear full-face helmets with sleeved mail shirts.

 

The young woman is Lady Margritte, and she is supervising the abduction of a villager. A beggar lies on the ground with blood pumping from the stump of his arm.  the adventurers try talking to Lady Margritte but she stares coldly at the adventurers for a moment, says she's not interested in whatever they have to say and then returns to the castle with her unconscious prize.

Pretty soon, the adventurers met Herbert Marcuse, the Landlord of the town's solitary pub, The Shooting Star Inn, and Jean Rousseaux, the village physician. He explains that he is kept very busy ‘alleviating the suffering of these poor creatures’ - meaning the townsfolk, most of whom are crawling with lice and wander around drunk drinking from blue bottles of Rotgut, which, they discover, is sold to them by Rousseaux's assistant, Kurt Kutzmann, a dimwitted idiot of a man.

Aeslor and Fayth wanted to check out the physician's house so they paid a visit.  Rousseaux’s house is well maintained, one of the few without visible signs of decay. Rousseaux lives here with his housekeeper, Frau Blucher and Kurt.

Arriving at the house, the adventurers are met by Frau Blucher. She is an elderly woman, who is short-sighted and hard of hearing.  They talk to Rousseaux and he confirms he is selling his Rotgut to the villagers as a cure for their conditions.  

He also has a secret door leading to a cellar which fayth made a note of.  Talking to him, it seemed he is friendly with Lady Margritte, and thinks very highly of her. 

Rousseaux, Kurt and Frau Blucher decide later on to go to the pub, and it is at this point that Nobby and Fayth decide to break in.  Despite Ron warning them to be subtle, Nobby decided to just kick the door in.  This is when he and Fayth discover the cellar, which has a secret door leading to some tunnels.  He decides not to investigate the tunnels yet.  Manwhile, Fayth finds a magical weapon in the cellar which she takes.

In a desk drawer they find a letter from Lady Margritte.

They also find numerous bottles of coloured water and coloured sand, an unmarked glass bottle of blue rotgut, a pottery jar containing five Leeches, various surgical implements and other physician’s tools and a locked cash-box containing a signet ring bearing the von Wittgenstein crest (value 5 GCs), as well as 8 GC, 10/6 in assorted coins.

When Rousseaux returns home and discovers the break in, he believes it to be villagers after his rotgut, so the players are off the hook for the time being.  They manage to convince him (through threats) to search the house and cellar.

A flight of rickety wooden steps leads down into the cellar. Across the room is a table with several vials and bottles upon it. A locked wooden door leads to tunnels beneath the village. A strong stench of decay emanates from a buzzing mass of blackness lying on a bench against the far wall.

As the Characters move towards the buzzing mass, hundreds of flies swarm into air, revealing a decaying human body. The flies are harmless, and settle back onto the corpse after a few minutes. The body once had four arms, but they have all been sawn off; the bones and a surgical saw can be found in a bucket under the bench.  On the table are a set of scales, a pipette, and assorted vials of coloured water and sand.  There is also a gallon jar of rotgut, a length of rubber tubing, a funnel, and a stock of empty blue bottles.

The party thought that the tunnels would lead directly to the Castle, but they don't.  They lead to a crypt below the Temple of Sigmar and a set of tunnels inhabited by cannibals, who have been eating the bodies in the crypt.  Although the temple itself is in ruins and is closed, it would seem the bodies in the crypt are fresh enough to eat, and the cannibals are friendly enough and say that they only eat people who are already dead but that Rousseaux has been suggesting they start eating the villagers.  Rousseaux has taken over a room in the Temple and it is here that they find his notes on rotgut and an unfinished letter to Lady Margritte.  

The cannibals also tell the party that the tunnels don't go to the castle, but there is an outlaw camp in the forest who know of secret ways into the castle.  If they want to find the outlaws, they need to talk to Hilda in the village.

In the Temple, they discovered a magic sword which Ron tried to draw but couldn't.  Aeslor then tried and managed to draw it, and became attuned to it.  This sword is in perfect condition. Its name, Barrakul, ‘Hope of the Mountains’ - is inscribed with Dwarf runes along its blade. It is undoubtedly the creation of a Runesmith of no mean skill. When wielded in combat, the blade shimmers, visible one moment and gone the next, and only the red glow of its runes is constant. Non-magical armour is useless against this blade - ignore the AP of any non-magical armour or shield. It possess the Unbreakable quality, but gains the Undamaging flaw if weilded against a Dwarf.

We ended the second session with the characters leaving the Temple.

7th and 14 Feb 21

 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

 

31st Jan 2021

 In which we switched from Roll20 to Foundry, so much of the game time was taken up showing players around the new system.

They traded some stuff and headed towards Unterbaum following the leads they had found pointing them to the Red Crown's expedition to the Black Hills.  

While passing through Kemperbad again they were approached by a Purple Hand member wanting to 'Pass on a message" - ‘What have you done with Kastor, and where is the money?’ Ron tried to palm off the cultist by telling him to teell his mates Kastor had screwed the party over, too, and had stayed in Bogenhaffen -  the cultist warned them that the Purple Hand has got a lock of Grimick's hair, and the only way to get the Purple Hand off their backs is to deliver Kastor and / or the money to the head of the Cult in Middenheim.

Near Untebaum there were waterfalls preventing them taking thier boat any further upriver.  A series of locks could have taken the boat up the mountains but they left it outside a lockside Inn and walked to the village, crossing the river Narn on foot to get there.  A villager told them that Etelka had passed through here a few days ago (well, a noblewoman) on horseback but had not stopped.  In the village itself they met Vorster the Elder and a priest named Corrobreth who knows the Black Hills and is the only person who goes there, as the lands are twisted and cursed.  With a "You're hired" from Ron it was agreed he would be their guide...

10th and 17th January 2021

These two sessions were the PC's battling the Twisted Maw Goblins who had overtaken Etelka Herzen's house.  With the help of the Dwarf clan, two farmers (Gurda and Hanse), who had been captured and tied up in the larder ready to be eaten, and a halfling cook (Dumpling Hayfoot) who they sent out to fetch the rest of the Dwarf Clan (she didn't get back in time but the five dwarves and two farmers and PC's together were a good enough match for the Twisted Maw Clan).

The Goblin Leader was Gutbag Stoat Throttler, who was wearing one of Etelka's red dresses and a tiara of hers and who thought these gave him magical powers because they belonged to a witch... (and he did manage to manifest a single spell, much to his own surprise...) they cleared the house of goblins and scared away their wolves with fire, but not before befriending two of the wolves - one charmed by Fayth, the other falling in love with Ron's dog... these are now loyal pets to the Party.

The fight was quite close, with Aeslor losing a Fate Point, but the goblins were all killed and the Dwarves found their courage, making them friends for life with our party of PC's.

Searching Etelka's house in the aftermath, they discovered treasure and a letter - Etelka had left the building after a young man had shown up a couple of days ago, according to Dumpling, with a letter and they had left to "Go up Narn's river to get some bear pills or summat" and had left the goblins in charge and told Dumpling she had to cook for them...

Treasure found was in Etelka's bedroom - a wooden chest lies against the west wall, Inside the chest are 28 Gold Crowns, 85 Shillings, 105 Brass Pennies and Etelka’s silverware - 12 silver plates, 12 knife, fork & spoon sets, and one salt and pepper set. Loose among the coins are 18 silver rings, 37 earrings, and an assortment of half-empty perfume bottles.  In a false bottom was more treasure - a cloth bag containing a gold necklace, a gold bracelet and a silver ring bearing the device of the Red Crown.  They also found several arrows and torches, a grimoire, a desk containing a quill, an inkwell, and a few small sheets of parchment on it. The drawer is locked and contains a dark green, viscous liquid in an enamelled red vial along with a letter addressed to Etelka Herzen. 

20th and 26th December 2020

The PC's decided to sail down to Grissenwald and Black Peaks to follow up Etelka Herzen, who they had found a letter from which indicated she had helped the Nobles in Bohennhaffen with the summoning ritual.  Along the way, Ron wanted to try and sell some brandy to Castle Reikguard.  Arriving there, they were turned away.  The castle’s battlements are thick with guards in shining plate armour, and cannon barrels could be seen poking through the crenels.  

They sailed on towards Kemperbad, and sold the brandy there and bought some armanents.  In Kemperbad, someone dressed in purple managed to cut of a chunk of Grimick's hair and escape into the crowds.

They picked up some rumours and did some shopping before setting sail for Grissenwald.  They now have fishing nets!

Rumours Heard

• People are whispering, with many a nervous glance, that something bad has happened to the Emperor. He hasn’t been seen for a long time now. Perhaps too long… 
• Crown Prince Wolfgang has not left Castle Reikguard for weeks. He must have the same affliction as the Emperor?
• Crown Prince Wolfgang has not left Castle Reikguard for weeks! He must be plotting to seize the throne! 
• The Emperor’s mutant edict is suspicious. Why does he love mutants all of a sudden? Has someone close to him developed a mutation? 
• The Grand Prince of Ostland is hiring mercenaries and levying troops for an attack on Talabecland. War could break out at any time.
• Mutant corpses are regularly found drifting down the Reik just south of Kemperbad. ‘Only the other week we pulled one out of the river with bright green fur, and four eyes on stalks.’
• River patrols have been recruiting wardens in all the towns between Altdorf and Nuln. Banditry and mutant attacks are threatening trade and the authorities have decided to act at last. Good thing too!

On the journey they passed Castle Wittgenstein, which broods ominously over the river.  As the adventurers’ boat passes beneath the castle’s gloomy towers, the adventurers are hailed by a passing vessel. Its crew warn the adventurers to keep to the east bank, and direct their attention to something floating in the water.

Once human, the floating corpse now resembles a bloated fish.  The party steered around it and continued their journey.

Finally arriving at Grissenwald, where they were unable to sell their cargo of arnaments, they were approached by two drunken dwarves who kept insulting Aeslor, calling him a "dead elf" because he "stank like one".  They seemed to have a lot of money as they slammed 10 GC each on the bar for whisky and were downing whole bottles.  

It seemed that the Dwarves were from Black Peaks mine, which had been bought up by a noblewoman.  Investigating, it seems that the tribe of dwarves had sold their gold mine (which turned out to only be a dilapidated old coal mine) to "That Etelka bitch who gave us a crappy price".  Investigating the mine, there was plenty of evidence that is had been overtaken by goblins, but the mine was empty.  The Dwarves have been accused of raiding farmsteads ("how else did they suddenly get all this money?") but all the evidence points to a band of gobling being the real culprits.  The Dwarves, though, are cowards and drunkards and refuse to go after the gobboes or even into the mine.  They do eventually reluctantly agree to give the adventurers directions to Elelka's house, though.  This is where we ended the session...

News, Rumours and Gossip Picked up During the Adventure

On this post I will compile the various bits of news, gossip and rumours you hear during your adventures.  Obviously, some will be true, some completely made up, some partly true but exaggerated.

Part 3 - Death on the Reik

Wittgendorf

• 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

Kemperbad 

• People are whispering, with many a nervous glance, that something bad has happened to the Emperor. He hasn’t been seen for a long time now. Perhaps too long… 
• Crown Prince Wolfgang has not left Castle Reikguard for weeks. He must have the same affliction as the Emperor?
• Crown Prince Wolfgang has not left Castle Reikguard for weeks! He must be plotting to seize the throne! 
• The Emperor’s mutant edict is suspicious. Why does he love mutants all of a sudden? Has someone close to him developed a mutation? 
• The Grand Prince of Ostland is hiring mercenaries and levying troops for an attack on Talabecland. War could break out at any time.
• Mutant corpses are regularly found drifting down the Reik just south of Kemperbad. ‘Only the other week we pulled one out of the river with bright green fur, and four eyes on stalks.’
• River patrols have been recruiting wardens in all the towns between Altdorf and Nuln. Banditry and mutant attacks are threatening trade and the authorities have decided to act at last. Good thing too!

Altdorf

• Crown Prinrce Hergard von Tasseninck has been killed while on an expedition in the Grey Mountains. He was the only son and heir of Grand Prince Hals von Tasseninck, the ruler of Ostland. Some of them that were with him came back raving about beastmen using guns! Have you ever heard such tripe!

• The Grand Prince of Ostland blames Grand Duke Gustav von Krieglitz of Talabecland for his son’s death. He says that an assassin working for the Grand Duke murdered his son. Gustav has long had designs on the Ostland forests. Everyone of consequence knows that.

• Two more coaches have been ambushed on the way into Altdorf in the last two weeks! That’s terrible! The Emperor hasn’t done anything so far, but some of the city’s adventurous young nobles are talking about an expedition to clear the roads of bandits and mutants. Good for them! 
• A friend of a friend (or a third cousin by marriage) works at the Temple of Sigmar, and says that the witch hunter Fabergus Heinzdork met with the Grand Theogonist about his destruction of the nearby village of Teufelfeuer. According to what was ‘o’er’eard by my sister’s cousin-in-law’s third brother’s friend’, the witch hunter said that the villagers were all horribly mutated, and were seen eating human flesh!
• Emperor Karl-Franz has not been seen in public for a few weeks. He’s supposed to be ill, but the palace is saying nothing.
• The Emperor’s edict on mutants is unpopular. Everyone knows about mutants! Everyone! And everyone knows they’re a right menace!

Part 2 - Shadows Over Bögenhafen

• Don’t buy any horses from the Schaffenfest. The Watch stopped a drover from Averland trying to sell a mare with nine eyes blistered in her mouth! She’s now hanging from the East Gate.
• The Countess of Nuln’s niece had a wizard murder a love-rival at a Black Powder Week party a few weeks ago. But that’s typical for Nuln, I hear.
• The river Bögen is plagued by mutants. Three barges were sunk on the stretch from Castle Grauenburg in the last month. The graf needs to invest more in riverwardens!
• There's a tale that a twin-tailed comet was spotted above Lachenbad, but seen nowhere else.
• The Duke of Midwald was found swinging from the High Oak of Bluttal, his eyes pecked free by ravens. His people hung him for having Ulrican sympathies after he returned from Altdorf with three new wolfhounds.
• The Emperor has turned his back on the Colleges of Magic, that’s why he commissioned the Imperial Engineers School to build his new messenger towers. It’s about time the Emperor saw sense and got rid of those witches!
• My cousin recently returned from Altdorf with black hair. But it was always blonde before that. She swears I’m lying, but I’m not!
• The hamlet of Stust was overrun by mutants and beastmen from the forests. All that remains are piles of skulls and broken bones.
• Councillor Teugen only attends guild meetings in the evenings. He’s had the entire Merchants’ Guild timetables reorganised to his nocturnal preferences.
• The mists down the Bögen are getting worse. Mark my words, that means trouble!
• The sewers of Bögenhafen are no longer patrolled! What is the town council doing? Things live down there now!
• Father Huss, a bear of a Sigmarite from the north, passed through Bögenhafen last month and demanded entrance to the High Temple of Sigmar. Who ever heard of a northern Sigmarite? Of course, he was turned away!
• If you see a crow, you take it down and nail it to a crow post! Crows are the eyes of the Dark Gods, don’t you know. But don’t get them mixed up with ravens. You don’t want to attract Morr’s attention!
• I saw a whole regiment of those Trott mercenaries marching south towards Schrabwald. There must be trouble brewing in the Vorbergland.
• The Emperor has issued a new edict declaring that there are no Mutants in the Empire. The practice of exiling or slaughtering those unfortunate enough to carry some sort of physical deformity purely because of their appearance is henceforth illegal and punishable by death.

Part 1 - Mistaken Identity

• The village of Blutroch was wiped out by a mysterious disease that causes people to break out in red blotches. Make sure you stay well clear of anyone with red marks on them!
• The Emperor has a sister who is hidden in the Great Hospice north of Altdorf. She's the secret shame of the Empire!
• The road to Altdorf is troubled by bandits. Only last week, a coach failed to get through. These are troubled times, and it's about time that the Emperor started looking after the common folk.
• A holy White Wolf of Ulric was spotted in the Drakwald Forest not far from Delberz. Priests of Ulric are in the area looking for it.
• The village of Teufelfeuer was recently burnt down by Fabergus Heinzdork, the witch hunter. He discovered the villagers were in league with Daemons — something to do with them eating raw meat!
• The roads are getting worse because the Emperor is not bothering to maintain them any more — he is too busy spending money on the State Army to fix problems like the mess in Ubersreik.
• Last time I was in Altdorf it… it felt strange. It’ll be those wizards. Too many wizards in the capital, I say.
• 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.
• The weather is going to take a turn for the worse, and it’s going to rain tomorrow.
• Don’t stray off the roads into the woods. Those who do never return: eaten by Beastmen or something far worse.
• The mayor of Grunburg was burnt at the stake a few months ago for being in league with Chaos. He was overheard talking to his cat, and fed it human blood in its milk. More than one witness testified that the mayor told his cat to: ‘Stop yowling and drink your bloody milk!’
• Strange lights have been seen in the sky to the east. They look like fire Daemons dancing among the stars.
• Colonel Sievers of the Imperial Ostlanders has returned from the Border Princes. The Greenskins must have been defeated! It’s a great victory for the Emperor!
• The road wardens are all corrupt and can't be trusted.
• This year's Schaffenfest is stated to be the biggest, most profitable, most entertaining (and probably most dangerous) yet!