Aftermath
The adventurers look at the battle scene in a daze. All of the deamons have been defeated and returned to the realm of Chaos. The fires have been put out and apart from the sacrificed corpses, there is no evidence whatsoever of what transpired. Solar sends Gaelien, his familiar to report to the Indagatrix Grandis Inga. She'll send her Priests of Morr to the location and asks a full report the next evening.
The heroes return to their home where they find two messages. One is from Lady Hundinmose, she demand the heroes help her recover Fritz, one of her dogs who has been kidnapped. She blames the crew and says they are responsible. She gives them the following ransom note.
The second message is from the Purple Hand cult, addressed to Kastor Lieberung and simply reads: "You may have forgotten us, but we have not forgotten you, get out of Altdorf while you still can."
The heroes are not impressed by either note and add these things to their "to do" list.
The heroes return to their home where they find two messages. One is from Lady Hundinmose, she demand the heroes help her recover Fritz, one of her dogs who has been kidnapped. She blames the crew and says they are responsible. She gives them the following ransom note.
The second message is from the Purple Hand cult, addressed to Kastor Lieberung and simply reads: "You may have forgotten us, but we have not forgotten you, get out of Altdorf while you still can."
The heroes are not impressed by either note and add these things to their "to do" list.
Arrival of the Crown Prince
The next morning, town criers herald the arrival of Crown prince Wolfgang Holswig-Abenauer. Since the bombers have been caught and sentenced, Altdorfs gates are re-opened. One of the first arrivals is the crown prince. Along with half the capital, the heroes make their way to the docks to have a look. Several impressive looking, large ships have docked and the crown prince, his retinue and his guards are disembarking. this causes some consternation and panic among the harbour officials. This leads the heroes to believe the prince's visit is unexpected. Stressed out palace officials manage to lead him & his retinue to the palace.
Agoston the Pole - sitter
The adventurers make their way outside the gates of the capital, in search of Agoston The Pole-Sitter, a holy man of Verena that supposedly knows the location of the last Anathema. (see session 35).
A small dirt road diverts from the main Altdorf road to the forest. There, in an open space is a 5 meter high pole, on top of that is a wooden platform with a tent-like structure on top to protect it from the elements.
To avoid a shouting conversation, Solar sends his pigeon up while Mandred flies. Agoston is surrounded by a wall of half-melted candles and seated in a throne made out of books. He is also surrounded by piles of ancient scrolls & maps.
He is also a member of the Verenean extremist cult named The Defenders of Truth, who say that all texts, - heretical or not- are sacred.
After a long conversation, Agoston agrees to reveal to the heroes the location of the last Anathema, on one condition: He wants the sacred incense of the Woodelfs who reside in the south of the Empire. Despite the intricate dangers this request implies, the heroes agree to his conditions and, - after Mandred exchanges forbidden lore with him, the adventurers return to the capital. They have a meeting with the Indagatrix Grandis.
A small dirt road diverts from the main Altdorf road to the forest. There, in an open space is a 5 meter high pole, on top of that is a wooden platform with a tent-like structure on top to protect it from the elements.
To avoid a shouting conversation, Solar sends his pigeon up while Mandred flies. Agoston is surrounded by a wall of half-melted candles and seated in a throne made out of books. He is also surrounded by piles of ancient scrolls & maps.
He is also a member of the Verenean extremist cult named The Defenders of Truth, who say that all texts, - heretical or not- are sacred.
After a long conversation, Agoston agrees to reveal to the heroes the location of the last Anathema, on one condition: He wants the sacred incense of the Woodelfs who reside in the south of the Empire. Despite the intricate dangers this request implies, the heroes agree to his conditions and, - after Mandred exchanges forbidden lore with him, the adventurers return to the capital. They have a meeting with the Indagatrix Grandis.
How to kidnap an Emperor
After their summary statement of recent affairs to the Indagatrix she frowns in deep sorrow and says: "Things are much graver than expected. The audacity of these chaos cults is becoming too much, summoning hordes of deamons in the capital, assassination of our highest spiritual leader. Now that the Crown prince has arrived I fear their agendas will come into a higher gear. Things are escalating too quickly. I fear for the safety of our emperor."
She sighs and shakes her head before continuing: "Luckily we have a contingency plan but it will require courage, brawn and haste."
She proceeds to explain that they need to get Emperor Karl Franz out of Altdorf. To do this, she tells the heroes about a secret entrance to the castle via the sewers. Very few people know about this secret tunnel, it will emerge right next to the emperor's chamber.
The heroes set out in the dead of night, infiltrate the sewers and proceed to kidnap the emperor.
However, on their return to the sewers, they are ambushed by a horde of Skaven.
A furious battle ensues in which they receive serious damage. But, in the end, they are victorious and whisk the emperor away from the capital.
The crew decides to delegate the other problems in Altdorf to their followers. They deliver the Emperor to the Idangatrix Grandis and a select group of trustworthy people as they meet up with their river barge Renata's Luck. From there, they head to the village of Weissbruck (See Session 5 > hunting the hunter). Meanwhile, Mandred stays behind to oversee the coordination of the actions of the followers. Suspecting the hand of Mr. Gouda behind the Skaven presence under Altdorf, Gotrak's Slayers will investigate. Abel's band of misfits will deal with the Cult of Khaine, with help of the Thieves Guild. Other loose ends are covered.
Thanks to the Celestial Wizard's magical orbs, communication with the split-up groups should be easy.
She sighs and shakes her head before continuing: "Luckily we have a contingency plan but it will require courage, brawn and haste."
She proceeds to explain that they need to get Emperor Karl Franz out of Altdorf. To do this, she tells the heroes about a secret entrance to the castle via the sewers. Very few people know about this secret tunnel, it will emerge right next to the emperor's chamber.
The heroes set out in the dead of night, infiltrate the sewers and proceed to kidnap the emperor.
However, on their return to the sewers, they are ambushed by a horde of Skaven.
A furious battle ensues in which they receive serious damage. But, in the end, they are victorious and whisk the emperor away from the capital.
The crew decides to delegate the other problems in Altdorf to their followers. They deliver the Emperor to the Idangatrix Grandis and a select group of trustworthy people as they meet up with their river barge Renata's Luck. From there, they head to the village of Weissbruck (See Session 5 > hunting the hunter). Meanwhile, Mandred stays behind to oversee the coordination of the actions of the followers. Suspecting the hand of Mr. Gouda behind the Skaven presence under Altdorf, Gotrak's Slayers will investigate. Abel's band of misfits will deal with the Cult of Khaine, with help of the Thieves Guild. Other loose ends are covered.
Thanks to the Celestial Wizard's magical orbs, communication with the split-up groups should be easy.
Base of Operations
At the time when they arrive, emperor Karl Franz seems much better. No longer under the influence of the Shlaff drug variant, he has recovered remarkably fast. He explains to her heroes that he needs a place to prepare his return to the capital. Rumours from Altdorf say that he is declared dead. He asks if the heroes have any suggestions. After much deliberation, they decide on Grissenwald and its Black Peak Mansion, former home of Etelka (see session 10).
Having decided on a location, the crew sets sail after bribing some riverwardens and stashing the emperor inside their hidden smuggling compartment.
When they arrive, the adventurers employ the dwarves of the Slumbol clan. Abel proceeds to set up an underground spy network with the help of Felix. Gotrak helps the dwarfs reinforce the town's defences, he also learns of a mystical place of the dwarves called Zaigon, which is closely related to the prophesies of the End Times. Lothar improves the settlements trading infrastructure and trains the soldiers. Solar attracts some mages to help in magical defence and spywork.
With the base of operations set up for the emperor, the heroes can finally start their quest for the last Anathema.
Having decided on a location, the crew sets sail after bribing some riverwardens and stashing the emperor inside their hidden smuggling compartment.
When they arrive, the adventurers employ the dwarves of the Slumbol clan. Abel proceeds to set up an underground spy network with the help of Felix. Gotrak helps the dwarfs reinforce the town's defences, he also learns of a mystical place of the dwarves called Zaigon, which is closely related to the prophesies of the End Times. Lothar improves the settlements trading infrastructure and trains the soldiers. Solar attracts some mages to help in magical defence and spywork.
With the base of operations set up for the emperor, the heroes can finally start their quest for the last Anathema.