[WFRP 2e] Morrslieb's Shadow 38

My PC
Maximillian Morningglory, Halfling Vampire Hunter
Magnus the Pony

My companions
Udrin Sor-Valdir - High Elf Wizard
Ludovic Hasselhoff - Human Entertainer
Durak Braksson - Dwarf

NPCs
Tegort - Ogre bodyguard
Sir Ortolf Eiche ("Ike") - Magister and Wizard Lord of the Azyr Wind
Abelhardt Mullberger - Journeyman Apprentice
Oswin Pellensteiner - Conscripted Boatman
The Bianca - Ludovic's river barge.

(Previous update)

"Udrin, don't you think we should call Ike out on his warpstone use? I mean...that's kind of a chaos-lover thing to do, and I'm opposed to such horrific people. I'd feel perfectly fine walking up to him and demanding his surrender. Well...with Tegort...and you...and maybe Ludovic. Do you think we could get Durak to come with us? What about the town watch?"

Durak agreed that warpstone should not be played with and that we should confront the Magister before it spreads. However, Udrin was only concerned about Ike's usefulness to the party. As the part still had need of the Wizard Lord, Udrin wished to delay confrontation.

A short while later, Durak returned from above deck to mention to Maximillian and Udrin that Oswin was limping and it was due to one of his feet being a cloven hoof. As the dwarf and the elf discuss this issue, Maximillian headed off to get his repeating crossbow. He would not suffer a mutant to live on the boat!

The elf and the dwarf paid no heed as Maximillian walked by them, armed, and up to the main deck. He pointed the cross bow at Oswin and demanded to see the affected extremity. Ludovic, who was already talking to Oswin, took a step to the side. 

Oswin retreated, jibbering cowardly, and Ludovic tried to diffuse the situation with calming words. Maximillian warned Oswin that retreating was proof of guilt, and shot the sailor in the arm. 

The elf and the dwarf arrived on deck at that moment, and Udrin began casting a spell. Ludovic continued to try to talk Maximillian down, as Oswin cowered near the rail. 

Udrin walked up to Oswin and touched him. The boatman fell unconscious, the crossbow bolt slipping out of his arm. Udrin revealed the foot in question to be fully normal. Maximillian retreated to the galley, contemplating the horrendous turn of events aboard the Bianca.

That night, Maximillian was beset by nightmares. He tossed and turned, sweat rolling off his diminutive frame. 

Creatures of grotesque composition burst into the Morningglory homestead while the family was seated around the dinner table. Shambling monstrosities overran the room, destroying anything in their path. A lamp fell to the floor and lit the curtain. Father jumped onto the table and slammed his dinner plate aside a creature's head. The wall was on fire. The children scattered. Flames licked the ceiling. Mother exited the kitchen, butcher knife in hand. Smoke billowed, choking the fearful halflings. An inhuman beast grabbed father's head in one hand. A wall of fire obscured the entire view of the dream

Maximillian awoke, famished by the energy lost tossing and turning throughout the night. Tegort and the rest would be hungry, too. He wondered if mutating and returning to normal gave Oswin an appetite....

While Maximillian was cooking breakfast, Udrin packed his belongings for their long overland journey. The remainder of the crew was above deck, securing the barge for a prolonged berth. Maximillian was chopping leeks into scrambled eggs when the vision hit him.

The Magister's cabin glowed an eerie green light. The cabin door cracked open and a two-tailed rat ran out. The door opened fully and there stood Oswin, his right arm a tentacle large enough to wrap around a halfling's head. The tentacle popped open a jug of whiskey, and Oswin upended the bottle in his mouth. The liquid filled his mouth and overflowed onto the bed and the floor. He swallowed and looked at the halfling. 'Just looking for some spirits, master Maximillian.' The boatman walked out, and suddenly Maximillian was looking at Sir Eiche. The Magister sniffed green powder into his nose. 'I see your past, halfling. I see your family...burning!' Sparks shot from the top of his staff. The room went up in flames.

Maximillian came to on the hallway floor outside the Magister's cabin. As the vision faded, a voice echoed in his head, "My sister doesn't forget." Smoke seeped out from under the cabin door.

Maximillian ran to his quarters, grabbed his belongings, and headed up the stairs. Everyone but Udrin was above deck. "Fire! Fire! The Magister's room is on fire!" Ludovic and Durak rushed past the halfling and down the stairs. Maximillian turned to Tegort. "I guess you better help put it out." He then walked past Oswin to bring his belongings to safety. "See what your actions have brought to us, boatman. If this is the cleansing fire of Sigmar, we may not be able to stop it."

Maximillian filled a small bucket, while Tegort filled a large one. They headed to the companionway, and Maximillian started down. Tegort found he was too small to fit, so he threw his water down from the top. The large quantity of water hit Maximillian from behind and knocked him from his feet, spilling his bucket, and washing him to the feet of Udrin. The elf was standing outside the Magister's room, clothing and skin heavily burnt. Ludovic was inside, smothering the last of the flames.

"What did you do, halfling?" The floor, the Magister's bed, the wall, and the ceiling were charred. The porthole had been violently smashed open, as had the cabin's door. "You almost burned down the ship, with invaluable maps and tomes in the adjoining cabin!" The slightest indication that Maximillian may be the cause of the fire was enough of a focus for Ludovic's anger. The human glared at Maximillian, though he too was burnt, flesh and clothes, and exhausted from beating out flames.

Maximillian stuttered, "This...this was the work, the cleansing fire of Sigmar! He is ridding us of the tainted stone the evil wizard brought aboard! That foul magic that affected Oswin. He probably seeks to spare the rest of us."

"Stone does not burn, halfling." The elf gestured into the room with one hand and upon his person with the other, "wood burns. Clothing burns. Flesh burns. Stone does not burn."

Mullberger crashed down the companionway. "I heard the Bianca was on fire! Have you seen Master Eiche? When I woke up this morning, he was gone."