The morning is grey and a curtain of drizzle soaks everything with cold wetness as the ship leaves Kemperbad once more. The heroes navigate the river reik back towards the signaling tower built upon the remnants of Dagmar Von Wittgensteins Observatory.
The adventurers hope they will encounter Ethelka there and after several days floating downstream in the rain, they see the tower.
As the ship passes by, the heroes see a group of armed figures on the riverbank, no sign of the dwarf workers. A woman is raving and cursing the band. The ship moors a good distance away and Abel and Felix sneak closer to get an idea of who and what is camping at the towers base.
Indeed, to their joy the advance scouts recognise Ethelka from the painting in her study, she is accompanied by a group of strangely dressed jesters and some hard men, looking of Nothern origin.
The adventurers hope they will encounter Ethelka there and after several days floating downstream in the rain, they see the tower.
As the ship passes by, the heroes see a group of armed figures on the riverbank, no sign of the dwarf workers. A woman is raving and cursing the band. The ship moors a good distance away and Abel and Felix sneak closer to get an idea of who and what is camping at the towers base.
Indeed, to their joy the advance scouts recognise Ethelka from the painting in her study, she is accompanied by a group of strangely dressed jesters and some hard men, looking of Nothern origin.
The scouts return and a plan of attack is devised. Mandred will provide a distraction, casting lightning spells from a distance while Abel & Felix attack with their ranged weapons from different directions. Gotrak and Ottfried will take advantage of the confusion to charge into melee from a 3rd direction.
While the adventurers sneak to their positions, they see Ethelka and her cronies have started some kind of ritual.
As the wind whips up and the constant drizzle of the last days begins to fade, Mandred makes the opening move, stepping forward calmly from a distance and invoking the winds of magic, It takes him several times to be able to unleash lightning. The ritual seemingly interferes with his spells but the effect is as desired.
While the enemy is distracted, Ottfried and Gotrak make their charge. Both of them feel that there is something wrong with the ground they are running on, it is slippery and wet. When looking at it they see that big patches of the ground resemble flesh. Despite the meaty texture of the ground the two fights clash with the cultists, supported by ranged fire from Abel & Felix and a wind blast from Mandredd. Before the cultist manage to finish their ritual, Ethelka is killed, most of her cronies as well and some survivors ran away.
The crew interrogates one of the cultists who reveals they are members of the Cult of the Red Crown, a secret society that tries to enforce change in the empire and worship the enigmatic god Tzeentch, apparently this is a rival cult to the Cult of the Ordo Septenarius. The cultist reveals that his master is a certain Otto Geshwur of Middenheim.
While the adventurers sneak to their positions, they see Ethelka and her cronies have started some kind of ritual.
As the wind whips up and the constant drizzle of the last days begins to fade, Mandred makes the opening move, stepping forward calmly from a distance and invoking the winds of magic, It takes him several times to be able to unleash lightning. The ritual seemingly interferes with his spells but the effect is as desired.
While the enemy is distracted, Ottfried and Gotrak make their charge. Both of them feel that there is something wrong with the ground they are running on, it is slippery and wet. When looking at it they see that big patches of the ground resemble flesh. Despite the meaty texture of the ground the two fights clash with the cultists, supported by ranged fire from Abel & Felix and a wind blast from Mandredd. Before the cultist manage to finish their ritual, Ethelka is killed, most of her cronies as well and some survivors ran away.
The crew interrogates one of the cultists who reveals they are members of the Cult of the Red Crown, a secret society that tries to enforce change in the empire and worship the enigmatic god Tzeentch, apparently this is a rival cult to the Cult of the Ordo Septenarius. The cultist reveals that his master is a certain Otto Geshwur of Middenheim.
After dressing their few wounds, the crew ventures into the tower, armed with the secret hexagonal key they found in the barren hills. Using this key, they open a secret door opening to Dagmar Von Wittgenstein's secret Library and study.
Which contains many books on the subject of astrology. It seems Mr Von Wittgenstein was a Celestial Wizard, like Mandred.
The corridors radiating from the central, hexagonal chamber are lined with shelves containing books on a variety of subjects, mostly in Classical and one or other of the Arcane Languages.
Mandred finds a grimoire as well with some unique celestial spells in it.
A table in the centre of the hexagonal section of the library bears three large books. Two of these are ancient tomes: 'Sternschau's Astronomical Records - Being A Guide of the Mysterious Phenomena of the Nighte Skye', and 'Omens and Prophecies of the Seer Unserfrau'. Both books are open at the pages shown in these handouts (7&8)
Which contains many books on the subject of astrology. It seems Mr Von Wittgenstein was a Celestial Wizard, like Mandred.
The corridors radiating from the central, hexagonal chamber are lined with shelves containing books on a variety of subjects, mostly in Classical and one or other of the Arcane Languages.
Mandred finds a grimoire as well with some unique celestial spells in it.
A table in the centre of the hexagonal section of the library bears three large books. Two of these are ancient tomes: 'Sternschau's Astronomical Records - Being A Guide of the Mysterious Phenomena of the Nighte Skye', and 'Omens and Prophecies of the Seer Unserfrau'. Both books are open at the pages shown in these handouts (7&8)
The pages of the third volume are filled with a spidery script in the Magickal Arcane Language. The title page may be translated as 'TheJournal of the Wizard Dagmar von Wittgenstein - 2405'. The final entry is reproduced as handout 9 , and is the most revealing - providing the adventurers with the final piece of information they need.
Welcome to Wittgendorf.
Armed with this information, and after some heated discussion and confused planning, the heroes decide to visit Castle Wittgenstein. They pass by Kemperbad once more but their inquiries into the castle, its occupants or the Von Wittgenstein family reveals not much more than what they already know.
The village of Wittgendorf lies one mile from Castle Wittgenstein on the west bank of the Reik.
When they arrive a few days later, the adventurers moor to the wharf.
The wharf is rarely used these days, for river traffic avoids the village and its sinister castle whenever possible. Wittgendorf has the appearance of a ghost town. The streets are choked with debris and vegetation, and many of the buildings are in ruins. Half-starved dogs and humans roam the streets looking for food. The wharf is a rotten, ramshackle affair cluttered with old ropes, capstans, anchors, fishing nets and other river refuse. From the wharf, a winding trackway leads up the embankment to the village. The heroes are surrounded by groups of beggars limping out of the boathouse or hobbling down the embankment path to gather around the boat.
The beggars thrust out their grimy hands and plead for money or food. Their appearance is uniformly repulsive: all have open, running sores and their breath smells of stale alcohol. Many of the beggars also have minor mutations but since being a mutant is no longer illegal, the heroes decide to try and ignore the beggars.
When looking around the main square, they can see several larger buildings, an Inn, a mill and an abandoned temple of sigmar stand out.
As they take in their surroundings they see a a beautiful young woman dressed in dark blue sits upon a white horse surrounded by six armed guards. The guards bear the Wittgenstein family crest on their shields and wear full face helmets with sleeved mail shirts.
The guards and horsewoman are surrounded by a group of beggars and slack-jawed villagers. One beggar lies on the ground, with blood pumping from the severed stump of his arm. Struggling vainly amongst the guards is a young man. Upon seeing the adventurers he cries for aid, but is quickly beaten senseless by theguards . The Lady stares coldly at the adventurers before returning to the castle with the young man in tow.
The heroes decide to first take a look at the abandoned Temple.
Armed with this information, and after some heated discussion and confused planning, the heroes decide to visit Castle Wittgenstein. They pass by Kemperbad once more but their inquiries into the castle, its occupants or the Von Wittgenstein family reveals not much more than what they already know.
The village of Wittgendorf lies one mile from Castle Wittgenstein on the west bank of the Reik.
When they arrive a few days later, the adventurers moor to the wharf.
The wharf is rarely used these days, for river traffic avoids the village and its sinister castle whenever possible. Wittgendorf has the appearance of a ghost town. The streets are choked with debris and vegetation, and many of the buildings are in ruins. Half-starved dogs and humans roam the streets looking for food. The wharf is a rotten, ramshackle affair cluttered with old ropes, capstans, anchors, fishing nets and other river refuse. From the wharf, a winding trackway leads up the embankment to the village. The heroes are surrounded by groups of beggars limping out of the boathouse or hobbling down the embankment path to gather around the boat.
The beggars thrust out their grimy hands and plead for money or food. Their appearance is uniformly repulsive: all have open, running sores and their breath smells of stale alcohol. Many of the beggars also have minor mutations but since being a mutant is no longer illegal, the heroes decide to try and ignore the beggars.
When looking around the main square, they can see several larger buildings, an Inn, a mill and an abandoned temple of sigmar stand out.
As they take in their surroundings they see a a beautiful young woman dressed in dark blue sits upon a white horse surrounded by six armed guards. The guards bear the Wittgenstein family crest on their shields and wear full face helmets with sleeved mail shirts.
The guards and horsewoman are surrounded by a group of beggars and slack-jawed villagers. One beggar lies on the ground, with blood pumping from the severed stump of his arm. Struggling vainly amongst the guards is a young man. Upon seeing the adventurers he cries for aid, but is quickly beaten senseless by theguards . The Lady stares coldly at the adventurers before returning to the castle with the young man in tow.
The heroes decide to first take a look at the abandoned Temple.