[WFRP 2e] Renegade Princeps 20

My PC
Vaervenshyael - Female Elf Duellist

My companions
Tankred "Silver Bear" Tenneckermann - Human Veteran

Wilhelm Hechland - Human Pistoleer

Doctor Johann Wilhelm Woeller - Human Physician

(Previous Notes)

Angestag, Erntezeit 20, 2531

Each of you wake late. The events of the night before exhausting. New aches, cuts and bruises to tend to yet already there is talk of action. The talismans may be known, but now they must be recovered.

Back to the tower the halfling and the Princeps demand. Recover the talisman there and find the next before the Abdul Al'shar does something more rash than sending assassins for books.

Oh damn, those bells are ringing again. Time to wake up. Time to learn what surprises 9-10-11 has left Padua for discovery in the morning.

(Meta: I am preparing early for my next career. I don't want the trappings to be unavailable when I'm ready to advance. I bought some at the beginning of this sitting and commissioned the rest.)

The priest, Roderic, insists on coming with us to the tower. He will be bringing his scribe, and acolyte named Otto. I have warned him that I cannot promise his safety. Last time he almost got us all killed. The Verenans are blind to their own safety when it comes to their quest for knowledge.

Tankred brings two of his own troop, Van Duster and Friebald. They, on the other hand, are good people to have nearby when danger presents itself. With them at our back, I have confidence heading forward into danger.

We plotted a trip around the guysers this time. We have plenty of gunpowder supplies and do not need the sulfur the area would provide.

When we arrived at the tower, Pieter Adler's campsite looks abandoned. He remained here while we returned to town. It looks like he hasn't been back up to camp since we left. I headed down into the hole he dug in the back of the tower. The basement smelled like an overripe human midden. I did not see any immediate sign of Pieter, so I returned to the camp.

The next morning, the party reentered the tower via the hole. We left Roderic and Otto in the protection of Van and Friebold in camp. However, it seems the priest is difficult to contain.

To the east, we explored the room with the webs that we had ignored during our last trip. The floor was littered with dry, brittle bones. Something had sucked the marrow free of these small humanoid skeletons. I asked if anyone knew what kind of creature would do such a thing and was met with only silence.

Tankred heard whimpering to the west, where we found a staircase winding down. He said he saw green, glowing eyes and a crest of red hair. This did not match Pieter's description, so I readied my rapier and gauche. I noted human sized boot marks going up and down the stairs.

On a landing below, we found the mutated form of Pieter, dressed in tattered remains, and praying to Shallya, the human goddess of mercy and healing.  He had a red, lizard-like crest growing out of his head and scaly skin. Wilhelm freaked out, and Pieter ran further down the stairs.

We followed the mutant Pieter into a large room at the bottom of the stairway. There were old piles of dirt everywhere. The room smelled even more like a city outhouse. The odor reminded us of decay, which reminded us of the warnings of Nurgle we had been told. Roderic found the whole scenario fascinating, dictating at high speed his observations to the frenetic pace of Otto's note-taking. So much for leaving the priest in the capable hands of the mercenaries above.

Wilhelm panicked and shot his new invention, a crude blunderbuss, at the mutated prospector. Pieter cried out as he was hit and tried to run, but he had been crippled by the weapon's shrapnel.

Pieter's cries suddenly turned intelligible when questioned by the doctor. "I have explored too far...touched too much...there is treasure...there is corruption below...Shallya, bring me a merciful, quick death...."

I stepped forward. "I am your goddess of mercy today," and I plunged my rapier into his bulbous green eye. The frazzled Wilhelm, whose mind I fear is no longer quite sane, seemed to be the only human who knew how to properly deal with a body corrupted by chaos. I have no problem stepping up when they cannot do what must be done.

We returned to the surface to regroup. I am to check the resources of the talisman for any hint to how we may proceed. Unfortunately, our path may lead directly into the bowels of this tower which corrupted the miner in such a grotesque manner.