S6E7 EIR- The Painted Traveler

PCs: Agnes (Duane), Mor (Bill), Gary (Matt), Venegral (Tony), Katja (Geoff), Ymath (Brian)

Final Answer: Gary fast-shot the bird-headed beastman who called for the villagers’ surrender, which signaled the beastmen siege (those from the woods and others from river boats). Agnes’ Orphans coordinated efforts to hustle the women and children of the village onto the barge, while defending them from attack. Venegral cast fly to rise above the throng and cast fireballs at the enemy. Gary and Mor provided the wizard cover from attack by flying beastmen. Ymath, Katja, and Agnes protected the villagers from melee attacks.

Katja faced 3 beastmen who kept her backpedaling as she wielded her rapier (thrust, parry, en-garde, lunge, riposte). As one foe fell, she turned on another in a cleaving motion. Brute force against a skillful dancer who held her foe at bay, even causing one (fumble) to hit himself. They got their hits in when she mis-stepped (fumble), but she regained her footing to stave off their efforts to reach the helpless citizens.

Ymath had his hands full as two Ettins advanced on him. One gored him in the chest but Ymath was able to block the club attacks. The orge gave as good as he good; the problem was, the Ettins regenerated their wounds! [critical hits] Nor did it help that the foe cleaved away at Ymath’s armor. The ground shook as the large beasts (ogre included) stomped at each other as they swung their weapons. The scene dire for the heroic ogre, till the ground became slick from the putrid bile leaking from the Ettin’s wounds. One foe bled profusely and eventually passed out. Ymath was able to scramble out of reach of the remaining foe as he too was barely hanging on to life (1HP remaining).

“To the Barge!”: Agnes hustled the villagers toward the barge as she cast (Blessing of Conscious) to disrupt the beastmen. Some ran away. Venegral cast his ethereal stairs to rise above the trees to rain fireballs at the beastmen charging thru the forest. Ymath grunted to drive the villagers forward: his instructions to get aboard taken as threats to scare women and children who saw him as another beastman on their heels. Mor stood on the shore plinking arrows into the beastmen sailing nearer the barge. Gary manned the barge cannon and blasted one chaos boat out of the water.

Katja stood at the dock and raised her crossbow at the charging Minotaur who lowered its horns at her. [99, Fortune reroll, then took Corruption to finally block. That 1 Corruption point exceeded her Max, forcing an Endurance check to avoid mutation.] She wasn’t expecting the beast to stomp her arm [it used Advantage for 2^nd attack]. Wincing in pain, she still managed to pierce the minotaur’s eye and scramble its tiny brain. She stepped over its lifeless body as she climbed aboard ship, only to find a Chaos warrior and Ettin aboard, engaged with her allies!

Mor twanged an arrow at the distant Chaos Warrior then was caught by surprise as the warrior’s arm [auto response] appeared next to the elf. Fortunate to dodge the blow. [Furious Assault] Mor twanged another arrow that prompted another extended reach attack from his foe. The Chaos Warrior charged Gary manning the cannon. Gary interrupted its attack with his own blade then blocked the downswing of the warrior’s axe. Agnes saw the blood dripping from Ymath and cast “Martyr” to aid her ally: she willing to absorb his wounds. The deck of the barge became slick with human blood mixed with beastmen bile. It seemed like hours before the beastmen threat was silenced, replaced by the sound of wailing babies and scared children. Not from the visage of the terrifying beastmen, but rather from watching Ymath eat their remains.

Kemperbad: They rode the lifts from the river docks to the cliff city where they sought a weapon-smith to repair their armor. Gary and Agnes tracked down Brandi (their river barge partner), only to learn, “The business went under. Per contract, you owe your part of the empire taxes…43 gold each. But the good news is, I’m starting a new business… you can invest.” Gary was ready to kill the riverman till Brandi burst out laughing. He regaled them with the story of his passenger “Wittgenstein? I had to finally kick him overboard.” Meanwhile, Katja and Ymath wandered the streets overhearing gossip “Lord Leitdorf is organizing forces to strike the border town of Strassen. Some kind of grievance.”

It was another 2 days before they set sail south for their destination of the Black Mountains pass southeast of Nuln. Along the way, they came upon men waterboarding an old woman gagged and hands tied behind her back. They thought maybe she accused of being a witch. Instead, accused a criminal … as she from the north… Middenheim. Venegral scared the men off (“you are committing crimes against the empire”) and set the woman free.

Castle Wittgenstein: Had it been 6 months ago when they escaped the castle destroyed by the skaven who had come to steal the warpstone meteorite? They docked to see what happened to the villagers of Wittgendorf. The city was deserted and in ruins. But fresh tracks ambled toward the castle… deeper heel marks as if stiff-legged. A zombie?! Venegral tested the air and confirmed not winds of Dhar, but rather subtle magic. Metal? A golem? They followed the tracks and soon stood before the open gates of the Outer Bailey. Memories of the castle flooded their minds (except for Venegral, Mor, and Ymath who weren’t part of the group at the time). Gary reminisced (https://rigglewwh.blogspot.com/2022/01/s3e12-enemy-withindeath-on-reik-castles.html) “Ah yes, the church where our dwarf Rega detonated his first bomb. Almost killed me instead of those damn warrior skeletons that killed Sigrid.”

Purple Traveler: Moaning from inside the church (S3) prompted hands on their weapons before they entered. Gary opened the door as Agnes peered inside and saw wisps of figures without feet. But more disturbing was the shadowy form in the corner. A vampire? Ghoul? They closed the door. Gary loaded his pistols with silver bullets before they re-entered the church. And found what looked like a (cigar-store-Indian) figure with a metal face gazing at them. Surprise by all when Agnes did not attack but instead queried to learn “I am Sadikur from Nekarah come to study these Mourn-Ghouls. Do not approach closer. Nor will they step into the sunlight outside.” Venegral’s offer to dispatch them was declined, “I have not finished studying them. Let us step outside the discuss the matter. I travel the lands far and wide to learn much.”

When Agnes told the Painted Traveler about the emperor’s brain disease, the wood golem explained, “The cure was lost millennial ago, at the time of Sigmar. His hammer? Sigmar used it in the last great battle that ensured his divinity. If the hammer is still around, it would have lost some of its magical properties by now. Yes, I have heard many rumors in my travels. Such as Sigmar traveling to the Black Fire pass before he ascended into godhood. But be warned: only those of pure soul can touch the hammer without injury.” Gary was most pleased to hear the traveler speak, “Sigmar followed the wolf. Wouldn’t the Fires of Ulric replenish the hammer?”

Sadikur was excited to learn more and thus took delight when Gary and the others revealed the many stories of their travels and conquests. Before they finished, Gary pulled out the book he had kept, found in Middenheim, “Will you please sign this book that mentions your travels (Tales of the Dead is about a zombie from the south passing advice)?”

Sailing South: They returned to their barge and shoved off south for Nuln. It wasn’t long before they came upon a flotilla of rafts and riggers strapped together to form a floating island. Refugees from some southern city… emaciated and covered with jumping fleas. Agnes was already searching for surplus rations to hand over. Ymath protested with his grumbling stomach. Agnes tossed 5 silver towards the floating mass. Gary tossed gold. The weak refugees came to life as they scrambled and fought for the meager treasure. Suddenly an old man with a pendant (of a rabbit and bird profile) emerged from the center of the floating city and protested, “Can you not see you are killing them with your kindness?! We are displaced from Stirgall to the south where nobles fought over whose land we occupied. Each levied heavy taxes upon us. In the end, they burned us out.” Agnes passed the rations to the leader so he could disperse them in an orderly manner.

They sailed onward. Another 3-days till they arrived at the fork in the river, “Welcome to Grissenwald. Some of us have investment in a dwarven mine here.” But the dwarves long gone. Their mines tapped out. “Word is they returned to their original clans. Meanwhile, there is war to the east. Whomever sent the troops was well advised.” They continued on the river till they once again backed up along the river awaiting inspection for entry into the city docks.

NEXT SESSION: https://rigglewwh.blogspot.com/2023/04/s6e8-eir-horse-whisperer.html