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Wouter Dhondt
Belgium
Anzegem
My armor is contempt. My shield is disgust. My sword is hatred. In the Emperor's name, let none survive.
When I now saw this Coppelius, the frightful and terrific thought took possession of my soul, that indeed no one but he could be the Sandman.
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The Port & the Plague
This is our second session from the Terror at Talabheim adventure.
Players:
Snorri, a Dwarven apprentice runesmith
Ronny, a Human initiate of Morr
An Elven apprentice wizard (name as of yet unknown)
We start where we left off from our last session. Our "heroes" are in Taalagad, trying to figure out what to do. Beginning of a new day. The fourth day since Ronny got the gray ague, the plague that's been killing off hundreds of citizens. Taalagad looks worse each day. Priests and initiates of Morr are in the streets collecting the dead bodies on carts, putting them on huge piles and burning them. Ronny is starting to feel the effects of the plague and they seek out medical help. They decide to visit a field hospital of the Shallyans.
The warehouse used as an emergency hospital is full of sick people and even here the initiates of Morr are removing dead bodies from the crowd. The Shallyans are swamped with work, but there is little they can do except pray and help to comfort people a little. There is no known cure for the new disease. They are unable to help Ronny, but they do direct them to the apothecary Gotthard Widenhoft. He is working on a cure and their only hope is that he finds one fast.
Moments later they arrive at Widenhofts home. The front door is locked and there is no answer when they knock. No windows on the ground floor so the elf climbs in a tree to see if he can see something through the windows on the top floor. To no avail as all he sees is an empty bedroom. They decide to go around the back and climb over the wall into the garden. The elf is unable to climb the wall, but Snorri the dwarf has no problems climbing (yes I screwed up here. I shouldn't have made the elf roll, or given him a higher bonus. I guess even elfs sometimes fail at climbing where dwarfs succeed). Snorri helps the elf climb over the wall. But neither of them want to help Ronny, fearing they will get the plague as well. So Ronny stays outside for the time being.
There isn't much to see in the back yard. Widenhoft is growing some herbs himself, but nothing out of the ordinary. The back door is locked as well, so Snorri decides to hit the door with his hammer, destroying the door after a few hits. Inside they find and empty kitchen and dining room before discovering the study. In it they find a man, presumably Widenhoft, dead on his desk with a strange blade in his neck.
Widenhoft has only recently deceased. They don't examine the body but do check out the study (after Snorri opens the front door to help Ronny inside). They find a box with gray powder, a vial with a blue liquid and a letter.
Quote: Good Sir,
Here is the sample of which we spoke. Tell no one, Widenhoft. I cannot emphasize this enough: tell no one - their eyes are everywhere. Work with all speed.
Taal preserve us,
R. Nierhaus
On the shelves they also find some Mad Cap Mushrooms. They take everything that's interesting, except for the notes on the desk. Ronny hopes the blue liquid is a cure but is afraid to drink it, so they go outside and look for someone with the plague in an alley and force him to drink it. He doesn't die right away so they believe it is safe. But Ronny still doesn't want to drink it and saves it. They also learn that Nierhaus is the commander of the high watch guarding the entry to Talabheim and decide to give him a visit the next day.
That night a riot breaks out. Several hundreds of Hochlanders try to force their way into Talabheim, but they are quickly dealt with by the guards. The PCs only hear the fighting and don't bother to take a look.
Captain Nierhaus is at the guard building at the gates of Talabheim. They gain access to the building without much problems and find Rudolf Nierhaus in a guarded room. They tell him the apothecary was killed which greatly upsets Nierhaus. He asks them to find the notes of Widenhoft en slip into Talabheim and find another apothecary named Daubler. To get into Talabheim they need to speak to Eladio, an Estalian merchant who has a shop in the docks.
First they go back to the house of Widenhoft to fetch his notes. Turns out a couple of Skaven are in his study looking for something as well. They quickly dispatch them, find the notes and get out. By this time night is falling again and they decide to wait till morning to find Eladio.
Next day Ronny is showing more signs of the plague. They decide it's best to keep him out of sight for the time being and the elf and dwarf go to the docks to find Eladio. He's easy to find and after a conversation including some code, Eladio agrees to smuggle them into Talabheim. They will meet at nightfall at the Crooked Shoe Tavern.
Meanwhile the elf spots some Zealots (crazed religious fanatic nuts) with torches, burning every living man with signs of the plague. They want to eradicate everyone with the disease. There is a discussion between the dwarf and the elf if they should tell them about their ill companion, but in the end they decide not to. They go fetch him and at nightfall the elf scouts ahead in the streets and directs any Zealot he meets to the other side of Taalagad. They reach the Crooked Shoe Tavern without any problems where Eladio is waiting for them.
Eladio: "We must go at once. The Captain is dead; he turned his pistols upon himself. If the Skaven are hunting for you, we must be swift as Shadows. Come, we go"
He tries to hand them a torch but the snooty elf decides to cast his own light. Which fails of course, gaining him some insanity. So they accept his torch and they are on their way.
They arrive in a forest close to the crater walls of Talabheim. Eladio beckons them to follow him and he walks inside the trunk of a large tree. Apparently there are stairs carved inside it and they enter a hidden tunnel inside the crater wall. They follow him inside the tunnels till after an hour they reach a small room inside with different exits. Here they rest a little and ask Eladio some questions. Suddenly they hear footsteps coming from an exit and a few seconds later they are attacked by 3 more Skaven. These seem to be different Skaven though. While the first where armored, these are clothed in rags and look like lepers. They kill them quickly. Eladio notes that the Skaven where probably running away from something. They don't wait for any other surprises and take a different tunnel. After another hour they reach the end of the tunnel and are now in Talabheim. Eladio bids them farewell and quickly returns to Taalagad.
Welcome in Talabheim
They decide to find an Inn first and go to Daubler in the morning. There are a lot of people outside of the apothecary the next day and they wait their turn. Once inside they ask him about the plague and give him Widenhofts notes. At first Daubler was thinking of ratting them out and telling the guards one of them has the plague, but they convince him he will be a rich and famous if he finds a cure with the help of the notes. Daubler agrees and tells he will notify them if he has a cure. They spend the rest of the day shopping for weapons.
They wake up with the sound of the bells of the town criers. The situation in Talabheim is deteriorating as well and they want each man and woman helping out (unless they can pay a large amount of money). Jobs range from picking up the dead and move them to the Garden of Morr, patrolling in the sewer or checking out the tunnels in the crater of Talabheim. They agree to do some jobs while waiting for the cure.
You're in the Militia now
First session: A merry bunch visits the old world: character creation and their first adventure.
Second session: Of Chickens and Vampires (a merry bunch visits the old world , session 2)
Third session: The docks of Taalagad (ambvtow session 3)
All images are (c) Black Industries
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