2nd Vorhexen – 7th Vorhexen (Early Morning)
A Brother Found, A Nightmare Revealed
Georg was in a bad way, with many fresh and old wounds, some infected, and clearly weakened from fighting for days without food. Ferdinand’s healing skills, both on the road and back at the farmhouse, were critical, earning compliments from the Demigryph Knight’s medic, Dr. Markus Hoffman, who arrived to assist. Georg’s recover was slow, but day by day he would improve, eventually revealing how he had been ambushed on the road from Kreatur Hürde, dragged into the woods, and forced to fight lesser Gors daily, besting at least thirteen or fourteen of them. During the recovery, Salundra reconnoitred the area, reassuring herself that this might be as safe as place as possible for Janna. Meanwhile, Gunnar, with a little help from Franz, developed his tracking skills, seeking to find the remaining Batsmen.
While at the farm, Ferdinand decided to consult his old master, Von Stahl, at the Amethyst College in Altdorf. He took the opportunity to return to the city with Franz, who was hoping to secure building supplies and provisions and to bring the family back to the farm. Ferdinand noted the city’s pervasive smell and the dense mist seemingly contained by its walls. At the Lock & Quay, they found Maglyn and the children, and Franz and Maglyn shared a genuine embrace, their relationship seemingly deepening. Ferdinand observed Felix and Yasmina preparing for their wedding, which was to be a ceremony connected to Manann, held at the shrine of the Grandfather Reik. While by the boat, Ferdinand glimpsed a dark shape rise and disappear from the water. Gele, the boat’s captain, also shared her new business venture with Josef, extending trade routes from Ubersreik to Bögenhafen. When Ferdinand met Von Stahl he confessed to carrying something dark and foreboding – the Liber Mortis. Von Stahl agreed to destroy the foul tome through a ritual, a genuine opportunity for Ferdinand to be rid of it. In return, Von Stahl gifted Ferdinand a new book, De Pax et Loquendo ad Mortuos, a tome of spells and techniques to ease the mind and fortify oneself against the draining nature of magic.
Meanwhile, Gunnar, still fascinated by the Demigryphs at Kreatur Hürde, visited again and learned from Dervalan, an Imperial Knight and Demigryph rider. He discovered that Demigryphs cannot be bred in captivity, but eggs or newly hatched creatures can be snatched from their parents, a dangerous endeavour. Dervalan also revealed that if a knight dies, their Demigryph cannot be ridden by another and is put down, a fact that deeply depressed Gunnar. Gunnar returned to the farm, plotting a long-term ambition of owning a Demigryph, seeing a kindred spirit in their violent potential.
Salundra chose to remain at the farm to help ensure Janna’s safety, fearing that if they were seen together someone might connect the dots and get word back to those who would seek to separate them.
Ferdinand borrowed Stella, the workhorse that had brought the cart to Altdorf and would ride her back to the farm. He wanted to let Gunnar and Salundra know about the upcoming wedding.
A Horrific Discovery on the Road
The following morning they set off for Altdorf. As Ferdinand, Gunnar, and Salundra were making their way along the road riding two of the workhorses. It had been snowing a bit, covering the ground in a blanket of white, with about three inches of snow on the ground. Salundra was riding Desire, which proved to be quite an “awkward start to the journey”, as the horse was distracted and pulling in different directions. Ferdinand was riding Stella. Gunnar was sharing Stella with Ferdinand, hanging onto him, and was quite used to his own smell, finding it less distracting than his companions did.
Suddenly, Gunnar’s keen senses, now quite attuned to the woods after his time with Franz, picked up on something happening nearby. As they rounded a bend, they were met with a truly gruesome scene: an overturned stagecoach lay on its side, completely wrecked. One of the horses was still tethered to it, badly gashed, while the whereabouts of the other horse was unknown. At least three bodies were strewn around the scene. Most disturbingly, they witnessed one of the beastmen with a human hand hanging from its mouth.
Chaos Ensues: Spooked Horses and Swift Reactions
The shock of the sight was immediate. Both horses, Stella and Desire, spooked. Ferdinand was sent flying but somehow managed a “half roll in the air and land on his feet”, though he found himself facing away from the horrors. Gunnar hit the ground hard, but with his quick dexterity, he managed to grab his axe before it skittered too far away in the snow. Salundra, however, managed to keep control of her horse, Desire, despite the chaos.
The beastman, caught completely off guard, dropped the hand and let out a bellowing roar, which was answered by hustle and movement from deeper in the woods. It was clear these were the same Beastmen the party had encountered before.
The Fight on the Road
Salundra acted decisively. Still mounted on Desire, she charged the initial beastman, using the horse’s momentum to ram it hard, sending it spinning and hitting the ground with a crunch. The beastman was injured and trying to stand, attempting to draw its axe with an injured arm. She then wheeled Desire around, drew her sword, and with incredible precision, brought her blade down, severing the beastman’s injured arm, causing it to collapse with blood spewing out.
Meanwhile, Gunnar charged headlong towards the remaining Gors and the Bray Shaman, bellowing a challenge at them and intimidating them with his menacing presence. His intimidation was so effective that two of the Gors visibly trembled and fled into the woods. The remaining three Gors tried to intercept him, drawing their axes. Gunnar, with his two-handed axe, unleashed a “furious assault”. He kicked one Gor in the knee so hard it buckled, collapsing in a heap and leaving it unable to get back up. He also injured another, slicing its shoulder and catching it deep in the hip, almost wedging his axe for a second. He was in his element, dealing with these foul creatures.
Ferdinand, feeling a “building sense of dread” from the Bray Shaman’s chanting, tried to cast an amethyst dart at the shaman, but it managed to step aside, the dart whizzing over its shoulder.
Salundra wheeled around and charged at the Shaman. Her sword only lightly contacting the large animal. The Bray Shaman then tried to push Salundra’s horse out of the way, spooking Desire with its stench and strange wildness. Salundra decided to dismount from her now-uncooperative horse, pushing off the saddle and spinning to land perfectly in striking distance of the shaman. The shaman’s attention was still on Ferdinand, giving Salundra the perfect opening. She brought her sword down in a decisive strike, blinding it instantly on one side of the face, cutting through its eye and snout, bisecting its jaw. The foul creature collapsed, spewing hateful words, its remaining eye still locked in Ferdinand’s general direction.
Gunnar quickly finished off the last of the Gors, slamming his axe into one, and using the pommel to snap another’s head back with a “satisfying crunch”. Salundra then pulled her stiletto blade and, with a final decisive blow, put it through the top of the Bray Shaman’s skull, ending its vile chanting. Gunnar also put the badly injured stagecoach horse out of its misery with a heavy axe to the back of its neck.
Following the intense skirmish, the scene was one of “scenic carnage”. The heroes took a moment to observe the overturned coach and the various bodies strewn about. It became grimly apparent that the coach had been forced to overturn by two large branches deliberately driven into the frozen ground at an angle, precisely to catch a vital part of the vehicle or its horses.
Salundra then moved to inspect a well-dressed man, whose clothing the Bray Shaman had been rifling through. Upon checking, she confirmed there was no pulse, indicating he was dead. On his person, she uncovered two significant documents. One was a letter, addressed to a Kastor Aloysius Lieberung from “Messrs. Lock, Stock, and Barrel, civil lawyers, commissioners”. This letter informed him that he was the sole beneficiary of a baronet’s will, which included “Lieberung Manor” and all associated lands and estates, alongside a considerable sum of 20,000 gold crowns. The second document found was an affidavit that served to confirm his identity as Kastor Aloysius Lieberung, having been witnessed by both a Guild Master and a Priestess of Sigmar from Nuln. Beyond these papers, Salundra also discovered a purse containing 17 gold crowns and a rather nice-looking ring on one of the dead man’s hands, which she promptly secured.
However, the most unsettling revelation was reserved for Ferdinand. As he looked upon the dead man’s face, he froze. It was the very face he had encountered in his recurring nightmares, the “not you” face from his “mirror of mazes” dreams. He recognised it with “absolute certainty” as the face he had “wore temporarily” when he had collapsed in the tavern outhouse after his incident with the possessed book…
Until next time,
Owen