GM Note: this includes a bit from previous session and a session report of our annual gameweekend in the Ardennes. 3 days of non-stop roleplay may leave some gaps in my memory though...
Farewell to a friend.
It is Festdag afternoon when the heroes arrive in the Temple of Sigmar. A sermons is taking place. After revealing his mutation to his companions, Otfried says he cannot go on like this. A lively discussion takes place, with much flaring of emotions, dismay and despair. In the end, the priest makes the discussion moot by showing his mutation to the entire congregation gathered in the church. This could be one of the worst actions Otfried has ever done. Since the Sigmar/Ulric schism is in full effect, revealing an important Sigmarite as a mutant in an Ulric enclave such as Middenheim, there is no telling how much damage he caused. He is immediately arrested and locked in a cell to be burned at the stake the next morning. His friends are allowed one last visit and everyone says farewell. Abel receives his holy pendant.
Later that day, Lothar & Felix visit the temple of Shallya, they recieve some medicine but are told they need a much more powerful priestess to remove the sickess Nurgle's Rot. They are told to travel to Frederheim, to the Shallyan Hospice of the Order of the Bleeding Heart, near Altdorf and speak to The Matron there.
During the night, Abel has received a letter from Princess Totbringer, asking him to meet her in the rose garden. When he does, she explains she has heard rumours she is to be married "to that dreadful reprobate" Wolfgang Holswig-Abenauer. Wofgang being the nephew of Emperor Karl Franz is the heir to the throne and as such it is an honour graf Boris Totbringer cannot refuse. However, the princess wants one night of wild passion with "bad boy" Abel.
The following day the crew is invited to an audience with the Graf himself. Several members of the court are also present. The Graf tells them that his investigators have discovered several leads pointing to activity by the Cult of the Purple Hand in Altdorf. Graf Totbringer is especially concerned about the Purple hand since, a few days ago, an Imperial emissary from Altdorf came to him with a request from the emperor to marry off his daughter, Princess Katarina to the heir of the Throne, Crown Prince Wolfgang Holswig-Abenauer. He wants the Heroes of Middenheim to make sure any cells of the cult in Altdorf are destroyed or neutralised before the marriage.
To aid them in this mission, the College of Light has sent aid in the form of an elf magician named Solar Listersidra. He is a veteran in the fight against Chaos and surely a great addition to the crew. Sadly, his introduction is rudely interrupted by a grieving, drunk Gotrak.
Before they leave, the heroes do some research on the Nurgle champion they encountered beneath the Fauslag. They learn that there are still remnants of the Von Blucher family in the empire, namely in the Castle Suderberg.
Summer’s end has come and gone and fall hits hard. The Festival is finished as people prepare for winter. It is Brauzeit (fall), Middenheim still has plenty of lingerers but most file out. Rain accompanies a sudden drop in temperatures. Chestnut pies are all the rage with the halfling sellers. Middenheim is in an uproar about the Altmarket Bomber, which was an attack from Mr. Gouda. Bombs are rare so there must be a supplier. But when the crew finally tracks him down, they find him in league with the Skaven, who are successful in creating enough of a distraction for the vile Mr. Gouda to escape their clutches and just punishment.
Later that day, Lothar & Felix visit the temple of Shallya, they recieve some medicine but are told they need a much more powerful priestess to remove the sickess Nurgle's Rot. They are told to travel to Frederheim, to the Shallyan Hospice of the Order of the Bleeding Heart, near Altdorf and speak to The Matron there.
During the night, Abel has received a letter from Princess Totbringer, asking him to meet her in the rose garden. When he does, she explains she has heard rumours she is to be married "to that dreadful reprobate" Wolfgang Holswig-Abenauer. Wofgang being the nephew of Emperor Karl Franz is the heir to the throne and as such it is an honour graf Boris Totbringer cannot refuse. However, the princess wants one night of wild passion with "bad boy" Abel.
The following day the crew is invited to an audience with the Graf himself. Several members of the court are also present. The Graf tells them that his investigators have discovered several leads pointing to activity by the Cult of the Purple Hand in Altdorf. Graf Totbringer is especially concerned about the Purple hand since, a few days ago, an Imperial emissary from Altdorf came to him with a request from the emperor to marry off his daughter, Princess Katarina to the heir of the Throne, Crown Prince Wolfgang Holswig-Abenauer. He wants the Heroes of Middenheim to make sure any cells of the cult in Altdorf are destroyed or neutralised before the marriage.
To aid them in this mission, the College of Light has sent aid in the form of an elf magician named Solar Listersidra. He is a veteran in the fight against Chaos and surely a great addition to the crew. Sadly, his introduction is rudely interrupted by a grieving, drunk Gotrak.
Before they leave, the heroes do some research on the Nurgle champion they encountered beneath the Fauslag. They learn that there are still remnants of the Von Blucher family in the empire, namely in the Castle Suderberg.
Summer’s end has come and gone and fall hits hard. The Festival is finished as people prepare for winter. It is Brauzeit (fall), Middenheim still has plenty of lingerers but most file out. Rain accompanies a sudden drop in temperatures. Chestnut pies are all the rage with the halfling sellers. Middenheim is in an uproar about the Altmarket Bomber, which was an attack from Mr. Gouda. Bombs are rare so there must be a supplier. But when the crew finally tracks him down, they find him in league with the Skaven, who are successful in creating enough of a distraction for the vile Mr. Gouda to escape their clutches and just punishment.
Off to Altdorf
And so the heroes leave Middenheim for Altdorf, they travel the Delberz road on foot or by horse for those who have it and are joined by their followers. Mr. Schnellgeist will remain as acting "The Man" in Abels absence. These are: Three Slayers: Hargi Grimgorsson - Ex thief turned slayer, Argi Krimgorson - ex bodyguard turned slayer and Sigrun Hardakdottir - ex noble turned slayer. Abel travels with Hugo Thistletoe - halfling con-man/fence, Niklaus Finstermann - nephew of Klaus and member of the Bogenhafen thieves, Ivar Runeface - Kislevite ex coachman turned highwayman. Felix took on an apprentice: Eloise Piltz, with whom he soon finds a romantic interest. Lothar is accompanied by two members of the Arabyan delegation: Hassan sandrider - holy warrior/ scholar and Yashmina sunveil - Diplomat/spy/assassin.
This group will take the Delberz road and there take an Arabyan river barge up to the capital. The weather is grim, a steady downpour and cold, whipping winds accompany the travellers.
After a couple of hours, the adventurers come upon two carts, one stuck in the mud. These belong to two families making their way to Delberz, the Kesselschmits and the Moosbarts, (Blacksmith & Cartwright) and young scholar Mirjam Langweiler. The adventurers lend a hand and decide to travel to Delberz together.
This group will take the Delberz road and there take an Arabyan river barge up to the capital. The weather is grim, a steady downpour and cold, whipping winds accompany the travellers.
After a couple of hours, the adventurers come upon two carts, one stuck in the mud. These belong to two families making their way to Delberz, the Kesselschmits and the Moosbarts, (Blacksmith & Cartwright) and young scholar Mirjam Langweiler. The adventurers lend a hand and decide to travel to Delberz together.
Shots in the dark
After leaving the village Grubentreich, where they see some anti- Sigmarite graffiti, the caravan ventures deeper into the dark Drakwald. It is late afternoon but with the dark clouds overhead and the ancient trees, visibility is limited.
Suddenly the caravan is attacked with hit and run tactics. Beastmen hurl spears, shoot arrocs and generally make a ruckus before running off in the gloom.
This action is repeated several times. In one such action, one of the carts is attacked by a Centaur who breaks one of the wheels. It's clear the beastmen are stalling and the heroes won't reach the next village in time before dark. Then, they stumble upon a barricade and the beastmen attack in larger numbers. If their plan had been better executed and should they have brought stronger beastmen, they could have some success. However, with the caravan consisting of fine, honed warriors and two magicians, they don't stand a chance.
Having defeated the beastmen horde, the heroes arrive in the middle of the night in Malstedt, where they rest.
The next day, in the late afternoon the caravan arrives in Deberz, where they say goodbye to the Moosbarts and the Kesselschmits. The scholar, Mirjam Langweiler, who they befriended along the way will join them on the boat.
Suddenly the caravan is attacked with hit and run tactics. Beastmen hurl spears, shoot arrocs and generally make a ruckus before running off in the gloom.
This action is repeated several times. In one such action, one of the carts is attacked by a Centaur who breaks one of the wheels. It's clear the beastmen are stalling and the heroes won't reach the next village in time before dark. Then, they stumble upon a barricade and the beastmen attack in larger numbers. If their plan had been better executed and should they have brought stronger beastmen, they could have some success. However, with the caravan consisting of fine, honed warriors and two magicians, they don't stand a chance.
Having defeated the beastmen horde, the heroes arrive in the middle of the night in Malstedt, where they rest.
The next day, in the late afternoon the caravan arrives in Deberz, where they say goodbye to the Moosbarts and the Kesselschmits. The scholar, Mirjam Langweiler, who they befriended along the way will join them on the boat.
The mirror of desire
The journey to Altdorf by boat is quite uneventful. After the 4th day, the boat arrives in Castle Suderberg. This small, unassuming an ancient castle is hidden behind trees and forests on the banks of the river Reik. Some hills flank it and behind it is a large lake. Lord of the manor is Alaric Suderberg, married to lady Illona Von Blucher. They have two children, the young miss Katchen Suderberg - Von Blucher and their son Meinhard Suderberg - Von Blucher. The crew moor on the quay and introduce themselves as visiting travellers. Two more boats are on the quay and they learn that two young nobles are also visiting the castle in the hopes of marrying miss Katchen. Happy to have an excuse to visit the castle, Abel also signs up as a potential candidate. Even though he has no real feelings for the young lady, he cannot help but feel some attraction. There is something special about the young lady von Blucher. While Abel & company are making acquaintances and busy with the noble niceties, the two magicians venture into the library and search the rest of the castle.
They learn that Ludwig von Blucher was indeed a resident here, at the time of Sigmar. However, the young noble was killed in a hunting accident, a couple of years later, the entire castle suffered from the "von Blucher Curse", a massive outbreak of something similar to the Yellow Brain Fever.
Down in the, now abandoned, dungeons, they find an inscription of a poem on a wall which reads:
“She made her own grave, cold, dark and wet
For a soul, so warm and true
She only felt sorrow and woe,
She could not abide, the dismal swamp, to the surface her spirit flew.
For her love had been murdered during a hunt, the culprits had died from the flu,
She will haunt the lake forevermore, until she has settled her debt.”
This leads the heroes to investigate anything about the lake behind the Castle and sure enough, various reports state the lake is haunted by a female ghost.
The heroes then deduce that this haunting must have been the girlfriend of Luwig von Blucher, who is a ghost because the murder on her lover. Which, in fact is not a murder because he obviously survived.
Meanwhile, something is wrong with the suitors of Katchen, they seem overly obsessed. And her attraction on the suitors has an uncanny feel about it. Some careful questioning of her parents reveals that these things started happening after she got an old mirror, found in the attic.
They learn that Ludwig von Blucher was indeed a resident here, at the time of Sigmar. However, the young noble was killed in a hunting accident, a couple of years later, the entire castle suffered from the "von Blucher Curse", a massive outbreak of something similar to the Yellow Brain Fever.
Down in the, now abandoned, dungeons, they find an inscription of a poem on a wall which reads:
“She made her own grave, cold, dark and wet
For a soul, so warm and true
She only felt sorrow and woe,
She could not abide, the dismal swamp, to the surface her spirit flew.
For her love had been murdered during a hunt, the culprits had died from the flu,
She will haunt the lake forevermore, until she has settled her debt.”
This leads the heroes to investigate anything about the lake behind the Castle and sure enough, various reports state the lake is haunted by a female ghost.
The heroes then deduce that this haunting must have been the girlfriend of Luwig von Blucher, who is a ghost because the murder on her lover. Which, in fact is not a murder because he obviously survived.
Meanwhile, something is wrong with the suitors of Katchen, they seem overly obsessed. And her attraction on the suitors has an uncanny feel about it. Some careful questioning of her parents reveals that these things started happening after she got an old mirror, found in the attic.
The ghost and the Demon
The adventurers venture out on the lake and, using witch sight, they find the bones of Ludwig's former lover. This could prove to be an ultimate weapon against the Nurgle Champion when they ever meet again. Meanwhile, after many tests and ordeals, lady Katchen has decided which of the suitors she will pick for husband. Abel is out of the question as he (deliberately) performed miserably at the contest of Poems. Sir von Aschaffenberg is also out of the loop since he proved a bad hunter. So then remains lord Von Saponatheim, son of the famous count that hold the lands of Bogenhafen. The heroes are rudely awoken by a shriek and the sound of falling glass.
The ruckus comes from miss Katchen's room, when they arrive there they can just see the faint outlines of her and Von Saponatheim inside the mirror. On the outside, there is no trace of them!
The heroes soon find that by just touching the surface of the mirror, one is teleported to a weird mirror-dimension. Inside this dimension, they find both youthful nobles, trapped. They were drawn inside the mirror at the moment they kissed in front of it and they saw a deamon coming into the "real" room at the exact same moment.
The adventure concludes when the heroes finally figure out that another true love's kiss is needed to return everyone to the real world. Once they returned, they manage to banish the deamon and continue their way to Altdorf
The ruckus comes from miss Katchen's room, when they arrive there they can just see the faint outlines of her and Von Saponatheim inside the mirror. On the outside, there is no trace of them!
The heroes soon find that by just touching the surface of the mirror, one is teleported to a weird mirror-dimension. Inside this dimension, they find both youthful nobles, trapped. They were drawn inside the mirror at the moment they kissed in front of it and they saw a deamon coming into the "real" room at the exact same moment.
The adventure concludes when the heroes finally figure out that another true love's kiss is needed to return everyone to the real world. Once they returned, they manage to banish the deamon and continue their way to Altdorf