S5E6 tHR- Purple Rain

From the Beginning: https://rigglewwh.blogspot.com/2021/06/s0e1-introductions.html

PCs: Agnes (Duane), Katja (Geoff), Venegral (Tony), Rega (Bill), Gary (Matt), Ymath (absent)

“Heroes of Middenheim” and members of ‘KITUM’ (Kommission for Inquiries into Threats Unknown to Middenheim).

Prior: They rid the Obeurmaur mine of the huge Brood Horror (tunneling rat) at great peril. And great celebration afterwards. They now ride west to check out the lack of weekly reports from the Jaegar Keep. And maybe then, they can go hunting for the rumored “Dark Pegasus” to harvest magic ingredients for the wizard, Venegral.

Onward to the Keep: They rode their horse along the path cut thru the swamp. The din of frogs, and flies, and cicada ever present till they drew near the nest or swarm. And during one such lull in natures’ music, they heard the call of angry voices, “We gotta find them demons. They’re all demons!” From their saddles, Agnes’ Orphans could see the crowd first: two pockets of peasants armed with pitchforks and scythes. Agnes’ plan to hail them fell on deaf ears as the riders seen as “Demons! Kill them!” Rega raised a bomb high to call their bluff, but he only agitated them more. Agnes showed her tunic of Shallya but they not swayed. Gary announced, “Disperse, we are champions of the realm come to aid you.” But the crowd was set in their visage of demons before them. They charged.

Rega dismounted and put on his helm hoping his warrior appearance would make them back down. They jabbed and poked. Gary raised his pistol for a warning shot, but they only heard and saw, “A DEMON! It belches fire! All reasoning lost, from horseback Katja fired a bolt into the crowd, dropping one, but they not scared. Venegral reigned in his horse and cast a fireball to their rear, but he only confirmed their vision, “A fire-breathing Demon!” They charged Agnes who no longer tried to just defend as there was no reasoning with the insane. Rega engaged and swung his Bearded-Axe. Katja tried singing to sooth their minds, but they just heard, “It tries to enchant us! Plug your ears!” It was a suicidal effort by the peasants who soon laid dead along the path. Agnes walked among the dead trying to find festering wounds that might suggest disease. None. Venegral opened his senses but did not detect any magical aura. They weren’t possessed. They were just plan insane. But why? Why so many?

Jaegar Keep: It was another 2 miles before they reached the gates of the Keep. What was left of it. Battered and broken as if rammed. Flames rose from a few buildings within the breached walls. A lone watch on the ramparts saw their approach… and jumped to his death! He too without wounds to suggest infection/disease. Just the stench of the unclean for weeks. Rega and Gary inspected the gates and reasoned it took one-hell-of-a-impact to crush the steel-banded gate. No scorch marks of bombs. Most buildings were damaged in various degrees. Only 4 structures looked untouched: a carriage-house, a blacksmith shop, a barbershop, and a Temple-of-Ulric where a body hung skewered on its steeple spire. Rega and Katja paused to inspect prints, “Four toed each as wide as 4 men’s’ prints and as long as 2 end-to-end. Not hooved. A quadruped with a LONG stride. Almost as if it flew in spurts from building to building. Or maybe jumped like a toad. Easily as large as, if not larger than, the Brood Horror we encountered in the mine.”

They entered the carriage-house and found the horses with their throats cut. By human hands. From upstairs, they heard a male voice, “Let me go! It’s the only way out.” A woman responded, “Don’t do it.” They rushed up the stairs to find a man about to jump out the 2^nd story window. Agnes failed to convince the man to step away from the window. Katja intervened, “You’re not high enough. You’ll only break a leg, not your neck.” The keep’s Berger Meister (Wilhelm Kregswich) collapsed in shame as he explained, “It came in the night. Slaughtered indiscriminately. A giant toad! Huge. Enormous! The Law-Lord who passed thru here days before must have Ulric watching over him. I hid when the winged thing landed.” The local barmaid (Klara) comforted the man as she added, “It was dark, but I saw the winged creature destroying the village. Toad? It was a large, bloated creature. Random path thru the village, jumping/flying over some buildings to crush another. Claws? I didn’t stick around to look. But I can say it rammed must of the buildings. All this happened a week ago. And the villagers have been in fear ever since. Mad they are.”

Katja and Rega led the group as they followed the easy trail of bestial prints, even if they were long spaced. They came upon the temple where 10 bodies lay outside. Bloated from flies. A priestess beheaded still clutched her axe. Sights of combat. Deep-purple blood dotted the earth. They must have wounded the beast. From inside the temple, they heard children’s laughter. They stepped inside to find kids playing chase around a woman feverously writing in a book. The kids stopped to stare at Agnes, “You’re funny looking. Our mom and dad? They’re dead; got what they deserved from that fire-breathing turtle.” Venegral approached the woman still focused on her book, “You carry a bow; did you help defend the temple? What happened?” The woman (Martha) finally looked up, “I’m just the local barber but Ulric has spared me, blessed me to carry forth his orders. I am making plans to kill the beast. Horrible creature. A troll with wings! I saw it get sliced thru, yet it regenerated. Father always said trolls can regenerate. You must burn them. I plan to trap it with bait.”

She lowered her voice, “I plan to stake the kids out near its lair deep in the swamp to the west, near the bridge and dam that hold back the swamp. The village of Gothheim is that way. The butcher already went there to destroy the dam in hopes of flooding the beasts lair and killing it. But I know the dam still stands. He must be dead. Ulric didn’t bless him like me.” Venegral studied her stick-figured drawings which matched her verbal plan. Venegral realized she too crazed like all the other citizens. Venegral tried but failed to convince her to stay and defend the village. “But Ulric has blessed me. And given me orders.” She followed them as they continued thru the village and came upon the blacksmith shop where smoke rose from its forge stack. Men stoked the fire as they pounded out spiked armor. “More fire! It needs to be hotter!” Rega could tell they knew not what they were doing… the forge coals already too hot. Ready to explode the metal cooking in its flames. Rega quickly stepped forward, “Let a master blacksmith take over. Watch me and learn.” The dwarf was most intent at ceasing them pumping the bellows to allow the fire to cool. Crisis averted.

Conflicting Stories: The crazed men tried to stop him till Agnes (leadership 01) convinced them, “Dwarves know their way around anvils. He’s an expert. Watch and learn.” As they watched, they told their story, “Massive toad. Big as the shop. Lives in the lake to the north. We saw it flick its tongue and eat our friends alive. Now we plan to wear the spiked armor. Let it eat us, will it?! We’ll carve it up from the insides! Hah! Jokes on him!” Over the next few hours, Rega humored the villages working on their spiked armor, while also mending Katja’s breastplate and Gary’s leggings. Agnes’ Orphans used the time to question the men who revealed, “We saw it hop eastward toward the river and the hills where there is a circle of Ogham stone (similar to stones encountered in episode 1, scene 1). Cursed place. Obvious lair of the beast.”

Morning: Enough tracks to convince the team to head east towards the circle-of-stones. Katja followed the tracks while leading the caravan of horses around the muck and mire on the outskirts of the swamp till they entered the tree-line and its hanging moss. They soon came upon the Ogham stones. Venegral sniffed the air, “A lingering aura. Faint magic.” All felt an unease as they passed among the stones to continue following the bestial prints. Martha chose that time to complain about leaving the kids behind, “What will we use as bait?” Fearful she more harm to the group than the beast, Agnes silently cut Martha’s bowstring as they rode along.

The cave: Venegral called halt, “The aura grows stronger. We should dismount.” Within 20 yards further, they came upon a clearing in front of a large cave opening. “It must be inside. If we can trap it inside, it can’t fly away.” But Rega was concerned, “I’ll climb around the opening to see if there is another exit.” So many armored warriors, stealth was impossible. [Rega stealth: 000] Gary whispered to his servant Fritz, “Set up my longrifle brace over there, where I can see directly into the cave.” Agnes also moved to see inside but further away. Venegral was behind Gary and channeling. Katja moved further right of the others for a clear line to shoot with her crossbow if necessary.

And it was necessary: the beast quickly emerged from the cave and hopped/skipped/jumped towards Gary. Fear threatened the team as they witnessed a Jabberslythe for their first time. (And hopefully by Sigmar’s grace, their last!) They fought back fear thru sheer resolve. [Fast Shot] Gary raised his rifle and blasted just before the beast was upon him. At least the Cavalier cared for his squire as he ordered, “Fritz, RUN!” As if Fritz needed to be told. Only now was it obvious why the villages voiced conflicting opinions of what the monster was. Indeed, it looked part toad, horned like dragon, winged like a … demon. What was it?! Just to view the thing could cause frightening madness, rendering its prey helpless in gibbering laughter. It was death as large as a house! And it snapped at Gary who blocked the huge maw. [Fortune reroll] Luck that he saw the spiked-tail attack in time to duck out of the way. [Fate] that the beast’s claws struck an intervening tree else the cavalier would have been sliced open like a pig-to-slaughter.

Gary was close enough to see the truth in Martha’s story of seeing the beast regenerate… as the hole from his rifle shot slowly began to close! Most of Gary’s allies held their ground as they cringed at the power and death offered by the beast. Venegral wasn’t as certain as he gave more ground between he and the creature. [WS: 02] With the beast in the open, Rega couldn’t chance throwing a bomb as it might move or hop away. So, he skillfully strapped a Cinderblast bomb to its tail. (And with Sigmar’s blessing, be able to light it next round.) Engaged close range (up close and personal), Gary switched to his blade, drawing blood. Caustic… that splashed on he and the dwarf. He fought for his life, offering distractions in hope the beast intelligent, “Dwarves are delicious!” From range, Agnes twanged a flaming arrow into the beast. Katja sunk a bolt into its thick hide. And Venegral cast a fiery dart that temporarily blinded the foe.

Maybe Gary did distract the Jabberslythe for it missed clawing the cavalier, and its tail-swipe too high at the lowly dwarf. Even its attempt to bite Gary missed. But despite the beast’s misses, it still was certain death upon the team. Katja (failed Cool) stood frozen… thankfully out-of-range. But Rega (Cool: critical 01) was practiced in his plan… he stepped in and lit the fuse of the strapped bomb, “Fire in the hole!” It was certain death to try to flee; so, Rega moved forward to stand beside Gary in hopes the body of the beast blocked the explosion. Gary understood what stood before him: he disengaged! Leaving the dwarf to face the creature alone. Agnes’ arrow missed. Katja fought thru her stun (Resolve) and fired another bolt. Maybe shaken by the terrifying reality of the beast, Venegral failed in his attempts to cast fireballs.

Blown to Pieces: Which meant the beast was still alive and swinging at the only foe within range: the dwarf. [last Fate to avoid 42 damage] Rega jammed his shield into the maw of the beast to keep from being eaten. But its tongue pushed the shield out of the way and lashed onto the dwarf, crushing him (down to zero HP) as it held him firm. It poised the dwarf for a bashing from its tail. [Bash: 09 for 46 damage] Just as the bomb’s fuse hissed out of existence. 

Gary, stepping out of the danger zone

Rega's demise

“BOOM!!” Did it matter if the tail smack happened? The bomb amputated the beast’s tail. But also lit the other bombs strapped to Rega’s belt. Seconds before 3 more concussive blasts rained purple gore and purple viscera across the clearing. Fortune Gary was outside the kill range. Still, every surviving member of Agnes’ Orphans was covered in the corrosive putrid stuff.

Venegral cautiously entered the cave to make certain the beast did not have a mate inside. Gary joined him in search of treasure. It was at least an hour before Gary gathered enough dwarven possessions to bring back to Middenheim for offer of renown for such worthy ally who saved his life. Saved THEIR lives! An hour for Agnes to carve a headstone in the clearing to mark the dwarf’s good deed. Enough time for Venegral to search for scant Jabberslythe remains that could be used as magical components.

Next Session: https://rigglewwh.blogspot.com/2022/09/s5e7-thr-cleansing-forest-of-evil.html