Konistag, 6th Jahrdrung (● Full Moon – Mannslieb)
In the morning Skagrum and Bungo headed to the temple of Sigmar to return the icon while Falendar and Oddwyn (or Shadowdrake as he politely insists) went to ask at the Physician’s Guild about dead men with strange tattoos. Father Morten at the temple was plenty impressed by the icon and handed over a financial reward for its safe return, in addition to silver hammer pendants for each of you. Meanwhile questions at the Physician’s Guild met with the exhortation to return later, perhaps with a fine bottle of wine or brandy.
Rendezvousing at the headquarters of the City Watch you were introduced to Commander Schutzmann – one of the most senior officials left in Middenheim at present. He asked for details of your journey and encounters with the forces of Chaos. During the meeting news was delivered to the Commander of the death of Father Morten within the past hour – with some of you amongst the last to see him alive. Given the stretched resources of the City Watch you volunteered to help investigate, rather than wait in a cell until the matter could be looked into.
At the temple of Sigmar you found that Father Morten had been poisoned by a dart which was fired from within the room and that the icon was missing. You found Father Morten’s last words by rubbing his notebook and that his attacker had escaped via the window, a difficult climb. More troubling was the fact that the trail was rodent like, yet man sized. Reporting back you discovered that there had been three other murders by similar means in recent times. Commander Schutzmann also revealed to you that the myths of foul ratmen lurking beneath the city streets were in fact true!
The three other murders consisted of a watchman outside the Collegium Theologica’s library, a Doorkeeper at the Dwarven Engineers Guild and an unidentified man handed over to the Shrine of Morr. There was little to discover at the Collegium Theologica beyond the connection to the library and reports of missing books. At the Dwarven Engineer’s Guild you met Krumbach whose cousin was the Doorkeeper – with his help you discovered that a map of the sewers vanished the same night. Krumbach resolved to help with your investigation – although he seemed more interested in drowning his sorrows and fighting patrons of the bars you visited!
At the Shrine of Morr you found that the priests had been about to perform a Nameless Funeral when a group of men appeared demanding to see the body. The identified the deceased as Gerhard Kroen and said he was a devout follower of Sigmar. The leader of the group was a tall man with dark hair, pale blue eyes and a scar down the left hand side of his nose. They paid in gold for a full funeral, which they attended. Visiting the grave you found a strange symbol on the grave that you linked to a secret society of zealous witch hunters called the Ordo Fidelis. At the scene of Gerhard’s death you found a trail leading to the sewers which led you down into the confined spaces beneath the city streets.
Beneath the city streets you tracked your prey to the edge of the Fauschlag and then lost the trail. Doubling back you realised the trail led to a cleverly hidden side passage. Entering the narrow tunnel one at a time you encountered a Skaven – one of the not so mythical ratmen! A ruckus ensued and as Bungo and Krumbach made their excuses the rest of you piled into the Skaven lair, facing off against a group of the ratmen and the foul Skaven assassin himself with his blowpipe. Difficult times followed as his poison felled some of you but righteous arms won the day. The Skaven lair turned out to be a disused dwarven shrine, dangerous to explore due to the Skaven’s filth and crossbow trap. You found the icon’s frame but not the image itself, and amongst the Skaven graffiti you found a repeating skull motif daubed in dried blood on the walls.
With many of you needing healing you returned to the city, seeking assistance for your poisoned friends. The temple of Sigmar was only too happy to provide assistance on discovering you had located the frame. Commander Schutzmann listened intently to your tale and provided a bounty for the Skaven you had slain. With the Skaven dead it seemed answers to the questions of the icon’s whereabouts, missing books, map and the motive behind their actions would go unanswered. Commander Schutzmann, impressed by your talents, had news that Father Ranulf at the temple of Ulric needed good men for an important quest into the forest and requested that you stop by the temple in the morning around 11.
Bathing was required after the days excursion and so the evening was spent in the inn. As Oddwyn made his way back to common room after his soaking a strange character accosted him on the stairs. He seemed a member of the same group as Kastor Lieberung and demanded “Kastor” come immediately with him to a late night meeting. Oddwyn and this man made their way across the city and into Morrspark Cemetery. The man directed Oddwyn to a forbidding tomb entrance which led below the city streets. Inside Oddwyn encountered an ornately dressed Arabyan Necromancer who introduced himself as Salladh-bar the Great. Salladh-bar raged at Kastor/Oddwyn for failing to report in or to deliver the promised inheritance, at times threatening to use his no doubt fearsome sorcery. He was also aware that someone was killing his men and that people had been enquiring about the purple tattoos, which gave Oddwyn a lump in his throat. Salladh-bar gave Kastor one week to produce this inheritance or he would resort to other means to get it. A point reinforced by a terrifying creature of transparent skin and organs which emerged and took on Oddwyn’s appearance down to the last detail.
A shaken Oddwyn returned to the Templar’s Arms and told you all of the foul Salladh-bar and his threats. It was decided to resolve the matter of the will in the morning before going to see Father Ranulf.
Angestag, 7th Jahrdrung
As dawn broke a trip to the Worshipful Guild of Legalists was made and after some queuing, half-hearted Dwarven intimidation and no little bribery it was confirmed that the firm of Lock, Stock and Barl did not in fact exist! This prompted some concern from Oddwyn as the time approached for your meeting at the Temple of Ulric.
VON SAPONATHEIM 