WFRP Update 9
The heroes gather at the stairs, peering through the dusty cracks to watch the ceremony unfold below them. The head priest begins to move around the circle, passing his strange dagger through the flames of each of the five candles. As he makes his way around the circle, pausing at each point of the pentagram his cowl slips slightly, revealing a face that the heroes have seen before. It is Johan, one of the city councilors, rumor has it that he almost control the city himself. He moves back towards the center of the circle, pausing to confer with the second priest. The heroes catch the briefest portion of the conversation; only the name of the second priest, Gideon. Johan gestures towards the corner of the warehouse and commands the others to "bring forth the sacrifice"! As two of the cultist move towards the struggling form, the heroes charge down the stairs.
With Elpham and Magdelaine leading the charge down the stairs, Max takes the opportunity to drop one of the cultist with a well placed shot. Rudolpho strikes a commanding pose on the stairs and commands the cultists to surrender if they wish to experience our mercy. The cultists begin to look around nervously, obviously lost without their leaders reassurances. Elpham crosses the circle and begins to attack Johan while Magdelaine is stopped at the foot of the stairs by Gideon and lands him a solid blow. Gideon summons forth a blob of purpleness that he flings across the room, hitting Elpham in the head and momentarily blinding him. Max directs his bolts of doom into the corner where the sacrifice is, dropping any cultist who gets too close to the struggling form. Magdelaine is landing several crushing blows on Gideon, who shrugs them off and summons some sort of spider creature that flies across the room towards Max. Elpham is surrounded by a crowd of cultists, and is slowly knocking them to the ground. Sensing that the battle is going against them, one of the cultists produces a key, unlocks the door and bolts into the night. Rudolpho leaps over the balcony and joins the fray, just in time to stop another cultist from running for the door. Gideon begins to chastise Johan about his disrupted ceremony and with a flash changes form and now appears as a smallish winged demon. As Rudolpho starts to knock over the candles, Johan bolts for the door, barely ducking under Elpham's swinging hammer. Having somehow dispatched the spider, Max bolts over the railing, and shoots Johan as he runs out into the night. Gideon smiles evilly at Magdelaine, beats his wings and flutters towards the center of the pentagram. He picks up a discarded scroll and vanishes. Before Max can slap another bolt into place, a purple smoke surrounds Johan. Johan screams hideously and when the smoke clears, there is no evidence that he ever existed.
Max jumps forward, grabbing the door and slamming it shut. Magdelaine begins to protest that the guards should be called, but everyone else quickly rejects this idea. Elpham works on freeing the captive and quickly reveals that the struggling form was a young lady. The heroes notice that a growing chanting has filled the room and suddenly a pillar of smoke appears above the pentagram. A voice calls out to Gideon, who is now visible, hovering above the pentagram. The voice chides Gideon for failing to open the portal and then calls him home. Gideon's form twists as clay under the hands of a sculptor and begins to be pulled into the smoke. He then laughs and claims that we will not profit from our actions as he has set the town ablaze disguised as us. As his form disappears the smoke evaporates as quickly as it had formed. Max abandons the door and begins to loot the bodies as Rudolpho and Elpham try to calm the girl. She refuses any help and bolts out through the doors, past Magdelaine who is now outside calling for the guards. Through the opened doors the heroes can see flames licking across the city. The town may be saved from the flames, but the heroes will not be welcomed here come morning. Rudolpho and Elpham bolt for the boat, pausing only long enough to exchange a quick greeting with Joseph. Joseph and Rudolpho both grab clubs and begin to watch Magdelaine, who has continued to call for the guards, seemingly oblivious to the continuing destruction. Max grabs the fallen candlesticks and rushes out of the warehouse. He barely slows as he slaps Magdelaine on the ass and commands her to run for her life. Magdelaine arrives at the boat a few paces behind Max, still complaining that the authorities must be notified and is quickly clubbed into submission by Joseph and Rudolpho. Everyone is quickly moved into the hold and the boat moves into the river.
The evil had been stopped, but this was surely not the ending that the heroes had envisioned.
As dawn breaks, the heroes are far down the river, leaving Bogenhauffen behind them. As their bandaged faces greet the sun, they lower to watch Elpham bash the chaos skull that they are still carrying. With a swift kick it is surrendered to the depths of the river. As the day progresses the fruits of their adventure are discovered. A handful of coins is distributed between the heroes and Joseph is rewarded for his loyalty as well. Magdelaine's reward also now comes clear as she is wracked with a terrible fever and spends much of the day wrapped in blankets below decks.
As the day grows longer, the boat comes upon a tree that has fallen over and now skims the river with it's branches. Caught in this skimmer is a body, although the current is too fast for the heroes to react to this discovery. However, as the boat comes around a bend they discover the source of the body. Another barge has forced itself against the bank, preventing it from moving. Scattered on the deck are a number of forms, some human and some obviously not. Joseph slows the boat and with some help, the heroes pull up along side the abandoned barge. No sooner had the two ships touched then two of the mutants on the deck jumped up and charged the heroes. Elpham and Rudolpho start to trade blows, while Max backs away and begins to fire into the crowd. Just as one of the mutants falls, a flying one lands behind Max and slashes him. Hearing the commotion and cries of Mutants, Magdelaine crawls from her bunk and joins the fray. As Max struggles with the flying beast, a long tentacle raises from the water and wraps itself around Max. Within seconds Max is pulled overboard. Elpham grabs a boat hook and begins to spear the water borne mutant, while Magdelaine and Rudolpho leap into the water and try to free Max. With only moments to spare before Max is rendered unconscious, the beast is dispatched. Everyone quickly regains the deck and the boats are securely tied. While Max tends to his wounds and tries to keep Magdelaine's fever from getting worse Elpham and Rudolpho search the boat. In the front of the hold they notice something moving and discover a poorly latched crate. As they open it they discover a terrified young lady, who faints away within a heartbeat.
Sometime later the lady has recovered and relates her story. She is Renata Howsier and had booked passage with the owners of the boat. When they were boarded by mutants she hid and prayed for rescue.
The heroes now are in possession of their own boat, a key piece to their own freedom. The town of Weissbroook is but a day away and their fortune seems to be turning for the better. Is this the beginning of their better days? Only time will tell.
With Elpham and Magdelaine leading the charge down the stairs, Max takes the opportunity to drop one of the cultist with a well placed shot. Rudolpho strikes a commanding pose on the stairs and commands the cultists to surrender if they wish to experience our mercy. The cultists begin to look around nervously, obviously lost without their leaders reassurances. Elpham crosses the circle and begins to attack Johan while Magdelaine is stopped at the foot of the stairs by Gideon and lands him a solid blow. Gideon summons forth a blob of purpleness that he flings across the room, hitting Elpham in the head and momentarily blinding him. Max directs his bolts of doom into the corner where the sacrifice is, dropping any cultist who gets too close to the struggling form. Magdelaine is landing several crushing blows on Gideon, who shrugs them off and summons some sort of spider creature that flies across the room towards Max. Elpham is surrounded by a crowd of cultists, and is slowly knocking them to the ground. Sensing that the battle is going against them, one of the cultists produces a key, unlocks the door and bolts into the night. Rudolpho leaps over the balcony and joins the fray, just in time to stop another cultist from running for the door. Gideon begins to chastise Johan about his disrupted ceremony and with a flash changes form and now appears as a smallish winged demon. As Rudolpho starts to knock over the candles, Johan bolts for the door, barely ducking under Elpham's swinging hammer. Having somehow dispatched the spider, Max bolts over the railing, and shoots Johan as he runs out into the night. Gideon smiles evilly at Magdelaine, beats his wings and flutters towards the center of the pentagram. He picks up a discarded scroll and vanishes. Before Max can slap another bolt into place, a purple smoke surrounds Johan. Johan screams hideously and when the smoke clears, there is no evidence that he ever existed.
Max jumps forward, grabbing the door and slamming it shut. Magdelaine begins to protest that the guards should be called, but everyone else quickly rejects this idea. Elpham works on freeing the captive and quickly reveals that the struggling form was a young lady. The heroes notice that a growing chanting has filled the room and suddenly a pillar of smoke appears above the pentagram. A voice calls out to Gideon, who is now visible, hovering above the pentagram. The voice chides Gideon for failing to open the portal and then calls him home. Gideon's form twists as clay under the hands of a sculptor and begins to be pulled into the smoke. He then laughs and claims that we will not profit from our actions as he has set the town ablaze disguised as us. As his form disappears the smoke evaporates as quickly as it had formed. Max abandons the door and begins to loot the bodies as Rudolpho and Elpham try to calm the girl. She refuses any help and bolts out through the doors, past Magdelaine who is now outside calling for the guards. Through the opened doors the heroes can see flames licking across the city. The town may be saved from the flames, but the heroes will not be welcomed here come morning. Rudolpho and Elpham bolt for the boat, pausing only long enough to exchange a quick greeting with Joseph. Joseph and Rudolpho both grab clubs and begin to watch Magdelaine, who has continued to call for the guards, seemingly oblivious to the continuing destruction. Max grabs the fallen candlesticks and rushes out of the warehouse. He barely slows as he slaps Magdelaine on the ass and commands her to run for her life. Magdelaine arrives at the boat a few paces behind Max, still complaining that the authorities must be notified and is quickly clubbed into submission by Joseph and Rudolpho. Everyone is quickly moved into the hold and the boat moves into the river.
The evil had been stopped, but this was surely not the ending that the heroes had envisioned.
As dawn breaks, the heroes are far down the river, leaving Bogenhauffen behind them. As their bandaged faces greet the sun, they lower to watch Elpham bash the chaos skull that they are still carrying. With a swift kick it is surrendered to the depths of the river. As the day progresses the fruits of their adventure are discovered. A handful of coins is distributed between the heroes and Joseph is rewarded for his loyalty as well. Magdelaine's reward also now comes clear as she is wracked with a terrible fever and spends much of the day wrapped in blankets below decks.
As the day grows longer, the boat comes upon a tree that has fallen over and now skims the river with it's branches. Caught in this skimmer is a body, although the current is too fast for the heroes to react to this discovery. However, as the boat comes around a bend they discover the source of the body. Another barge has forced itself against the bank, preventing it from moving. Scattered on the deck are a number of forms, some human and some obviously not. Joseph slows the boat and with some help, the heroes pull up along side the abandoned barge. No sooner had the two ships touched then two of the mutants on the deck jumped up and charged the heroes. Elpham and Rudolpho start to trade blows, while Max backs away and begins to fire into the crowd. Just as one of the mutants falls, a flying one lands behind Max and slashes him. Hearing the commotion and cries of Mutants, Magdelaine crawls from her bunk and joins the fray. As Max struggles with the flying beast, a long tentacle raises from the water and wraps itself around Max. Within seconds Max is pulled overboard. Elpham grabs a boat hook and begins to spear the water borne mutant, while Magdelaine and Rudolpho leap into the water and try to free Max. With only moments to spare before Max is rendered unconscious, the beast is dispatched. Everyone quickly regains the deck and the boats are securely tied. While Max tends to his wounds and tries to keep Magdelaine's fever from getting worse Elpham and Rudolpho search the boat. In the front of the hold they notice something moving and discover a poorly latched crate. As they open it they discover a terrified young lady, who faints away within a heartbeat.
Sometime later the lady has recovered and relates her story. She is Renata Howsier and had booked passage with the owners of the boat. When they were boarded by mutants she hid and prayed for rescue.
The heroes now are in possession of their own boat, a key piece to their own freedom. The town of Weissbroook is but a day away and their fortune seems to be turning for the better. Is this the beginning of their better days? Only time will tell.
posted by groodude at 7:10 p.m.
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