The sessions were played from 6 till 8 June. Everyone was present, only Lothar's player arrived late night on Friday so he missed this session but he got a little extra at the bottom of this report.
Unlike our previous gameweekends where we play boardgames during the day and RPGs at night we've been playing The Enemy Within non-stop for a total of just over 30 hours of play time! It goes without saying that this was an exceptionally good gameweekend, also because I had prepared a lot, created battlemaps, had a large image directory and a screen behind me showing the images and I created an excellent atmospheric soundtrack. The huge amount of beer also helped a lot :)
When Mandred returns that evening to the Pissing Cat, he notices two Altdorf burgers eyeing him. One of them scratches his left ear with his right pinky. Mandred does not respond the way the two expect and their signal becomes more and more exaggerated. Mandred repeats their
signal but apparently it is not what the two expect.
Their faces change as they recognize someone across the square, Mandred tries to intercept them but arrives too late as he sees a third person letting the two inside a house and closing the door.
Noting the location of the house, Mandred decides to rejoin his companions at the Pissing Cat.
Once there he sees his companions sitting with Glimbrin Oddsocks and another, more grim looking halfling. The group is planning their nightly raid. Information on the target is not revealed as Glimbrin says: "The less you know, the better". The adventurers learn some basic signs used by the Thieves Guild and leave for their nightly job.
Arriving on the scene in the Oberhausen District, where the upper class live, they see that the targeted mansion is an opulent one and guarded by two private guards. Glimbrin and his companion get ready to brake in while being covered by three archers of the Thieves Guild.
Our heroes take their position to be able to provide distractions. Mandred & Otfired will come down one road, loudly discussing portents, omens and astrology while Gotrax & Felix will emulate a traffic accident with a heated discussion. Abel will stay on the roof of the brewery across the street, using his sling to cover the others.
The ruse works, the guards are very distracted as the two thieves enter the building. At that moment a city guard patrol strolls up the street and a third guard comes down from the building to see what the ruckus is all about. Our heroes kick in their second gear of the ruse as Abel deliberately lets Himself be seen and ducks down an alley.
At that moment an unknown third party intervenes, attacking both guards, thieves and city watch. The new arrivals are all dressed in professional thieving gear with scarves covering their faces.
After a short but brutal combat, the heroes manage to escape with the thieves and their precious cargo in tow. The adventurers reconvene in the Pissing Cat where Otfried encounters his old friend and travelling companion: Josef Quartjin, a boatman that hails from Mariënburg. He offers them some drinks and takes them to a new inn: The Boatman inn.
Before that however, Gotrak is approached by the elder of his street gang Kharak Azur. The elder is named Bordin Gem-Eye, he explains that there is a new player in the streets, one of whom little is known. Without indulging further information, Bordin explains
that he will investigate but he is afraid it will be very dangerous. As the toughest & most able fighter of the gang, Gotrak is given the great honour of holding the gangs Book of Grudges, to keep it safe from their enemies.
Once the heroes arrive in the Boatman inn, Josef explains that he is in need of crewmembers who will join him to Bogenhafen where he will deliver some wine for the Shaffenfest. An annual festival held in the town that celebrates the end of summer. He shows them the poster from Shaffenfest:
"The Council and Burghers of Bogenhafen Announce that the grand opening of the annual Schaffenfest Will be held on the town meadow this Mitterfruhl Day. The fair will last for 3 days throughout the hours of daylight.
By gracious permission of his excellency Graf Wilhelm von Saponatheim And his grace Grand Duke Leopold of Middenland A Great Joust Will be held between the Knights and Squires of either household All this in addition to the usual attractions of our famous Livestock Market, and The Reikland’s greatest Travelling Fair."
The heroes agree and muster for the Beribelli, the name of Josef's ship.
Not long after the heroes arrive in the Boatman inn, a tall and mean looking man, dressed in black leathers enters. The crowd hushes and visibly flinches. As he strides towards a table its occupants scatter. A few minutes later two posh nobles and their four bodyguards enter the establishment. The two foppish gentlemen are obviously drunk and looking for trouble, insulting the patrons and throwing up on them. When one throws up on young Abel, Gotrak steps in but then the tall, mean looking man interferes. He takes the antagonizing up
another notch and insults the heroes, going so far as calling Mandred a chaos worshipping scum. At that point Max Ernst (for that is his name) the Protagonist and Gotrak engage in a duel of the fists. Max's uppercut goes wide and Gotraks signature head-slam instantly kills the brute. The nobles make a hasty retreat and the crowd of The Boatman Inn helps to drag Max's corpse to the docks and dump it there. The adventurers are hailed as heroes and enjoy a good party.
Mandred & Felix are the first to seek out their hammocks in the ship but on their way over there they suddenly hear a scream. Looking behind them, they see two fellows, one which Mandred recognizes as the ones from the square, cut down from a crossbowbolt in the back.
The second fellow is shot down as well and Felix catches a glimpse of the archer on one of the roofs
before he disappears. The two investigate the corpses and find that both have a purple tattoo of a hand on their chest.
The following morning rumors abound that the heroes are wanted in the connection of the murder of one of the nobles from last night.
The next few days Abel feels like the boat and their occupants is being
watched. When the Beribelli arrives in Weissbruck some of them spot the same strange man that they saw before talking to some stevedores in an inn across the street. However, before anyone can apprehend him he gets lost in the crowd.
That night, when everyone else is asleep, Gotrak awakens from a strange noise. He is the only one who was sleeping on deck and he spots a sinister figure fiddling with the cabin's window, pouring some liquid down it and setting it ablaze. Gotrak bellows a warning and grabs his weapon and before long a vicious fight ensues.
Leading a group of thugs on an assault against the Beribelli is the strange man that Mandred spotted in the square in Altdorf and Felix saw on the roof when the two strangers were shot down. Screams of pain rend the night as our heroes start to decimate the opposition. Gotrak tries to
take the leader for questioning, he even removes his boxing iron but his punch to the head is again too powerful and he kills him with one blow.
searching the corpse, our heroes learn that the one following them was a bounty hunter named Adolphus Kuftsos. On his corpse they find a disturbing letter:
"For the personal attention of Herr Adolphus Kuftsos.
The Nine Stars coaching inn,
The Middenheim Road,
Altdorf.
My Dear Herr Kuftsos,
You may recall a certain conversation we had last Brauzeit in the public bar of the hook and hatchet in Nuln. At that time you mentioned your interest in the activities of a certain society whose name I
shall not mention here. In particular, you were very anxious to trace the whereabouts of a certain officer, known only as the Magister Impedimentae.
I am now able to confirm each and every one of your suspicions. After your departure I made some discrete enquiries and managed to ascertain that the “gentleman” you are looking for uses the name Kastor Lieberung. In accordance with you plan, Herr Lieberung will be travelling towards Altdorf along the Middenheim road some time towards the end of the month of Jahdrung.
I have also been fortunate enough to secure a likeness of Herr Lieberung, which I enclose with this letter.
I remain, Sir, your most obedient servant"
While sleeping, just before he was supposed to head out to join his companions with the thieves' guild business, a hooded and cloaked figure snuck into his room. As the burglar was rummaging trough his things Lothar woke up.
With the light of the moon obscuring the thief's features, Lothar grabs his weapon and tried to sneak up on him. He sees the burglar taking the strange murder weapon he found the day before. The thief's uncanny senses alert him
however and he throws his cloak over the Arabian, thereby giving him a glimpse of his features. the Thief is a mutant! and one Lothar has never seen or heard about, he looks like some sort of beastman. The culprit dived out of the open
window with Lothar in pursuit. some blade- and footwork follows but the mutant scurries down an alleyway and dives into a sewer hole. Knowing of the dangerous reputation of the Altdorf sewers and standing in his nightgown alone. Lothar decides to give up the chase. The next few days he comes down with some sort of sickness. Apparently he's been poisoned. The physician he visits tells him that something must have gone wrong as the poison was originally designed to knock him out cold for a couple of hours but for some reason the lingering
effect just makes him feel doozy.
Thus ends the first adventure of the campaign.
Next: Shaffenfest!