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| A Skaven Assassin. |
After burglarizing the Von Bruner mansion a second time, the group had returned to Rosalinde's apartment. They decided it was time to leave the city. Posters proclaimed the reward on the heads of Drett (the Lawless) and Barnard (the Terrible) had been increased from 50 silver to 50 gold per person. This made a few others in the party wonder: my companions or gold?
Waiting everywhere
The streets were crawling with guardsmen. It didn't take long before Gorgor, who had joined the city guard, was called to serve. "I know where they are," the dwarf shouted and immediately took a patrol to the Garden of Morr. On the way, other guards joined her group. Finally Gorgor arrived at the Garden of Morr with more than forty guards in tow. Together with three other sergeants and a captain they searched the cemetery.
Priest of Morr
While examining the tombs, the priest of Morr arrived. He asked Gorgor if she was looking for her friends. The other officers looked up startled. Gorgor was an acquaintance of Drett and Barnard? The priest of Morr cheerfully added descriptions of Tillman and Ronja. Gorgor was handcuffed and taken to the Tower of Magnus.
The Decade Hawk
Meanwhile Tillman went to the harbour to find a smuggler and get out of the city. He asked around and managed to get in touch with smuggler king Alfred Bohrman. He knew of a a ship called the Decade Hawk. This boat looked old, but had made the Ubersreik-Altdorf run in sixteen kilometers. Captain Jan Veelvoud and his number two Pipe Tobacco could get them out of town, for a price of course.
Reikland Intelligence Agency
Meanwhile, tied down in an interrogation room, Gorgor stated she could only talk to magistrate Von Bruner. She was convincing enough to be taken to him. She told the magistrate that she was chasing a large criminal organisation for the RIA (Reikland Intelligence Agency). Von Bruner, suffering from a series of very interesting brain wrinkles, believed her. Gorgor managed to convince the magistrate that a) a RIA existed that b) operated from the seemingly insignificant fortress called Drakenburg and c) was led by the rather dusty Baron Von Braen. The stunned magistrate gave Gorgor full cooperation and gave her a special badge to claim authority over city guard officers. She rushed to the dock to 'go after the crooks'.
The flagellant-look
Meanwhile Ronja was busy shaving Drett and Barnard. Lack of experience (and professional barbershop tools) gave the two a plucked chicken style of baldness. Since they went for a flagellant-look, complete with torn robes, the hairstyle worked to their advantage. The group then went to a small café on the harbourfront close to the Decade Hawk's berth.
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| Given a complete lack of useful illustrations, here's a reused in game snapshot. |
Tillman arrived first and immediately started conniving with smuggler king Alfred Bohrman. Ronja and Delsoton follow Tillman into the pub. The magician and the high-elf envoy stuck out like sore thumbs in the run down bar. They did not help their own situation by loudly expressing their surprise at the overall shady and shabby appearance of the establishment. After a nod from Bohrman the barman served them a beer with sedative. After a few sips the academics collapsed. Patrons carried the two onto the ship. As one carrying the money Drett took it upon himself to conduct a very intense negotiation with Bohrman. In the end, Bohrman managed to get hold of all the stolen securities from Von Bruner. In the meantime Gorgor also entered the pub.
Smuggling hatch
The group went aboard and was told by Captain Veelvoud that they could hide inside a smuggling hatch. The boat sailed off towards the city's river gate and came to a halt. Guards climbed aboard and almost instantly found the smuggling hatch. After opening it up, they discovered the group. Gorgor showed Von Bruner's badge, after which the captain of the guard ordered the hatch to be closed and the group to be ignored. The party had managed to escape Ubersreik!
On to Marienburg
As the city dwindled behind them, the group managed to convince Captain Veelvoud to continue on to Marienburg. Gorgor, Tillman, Barnard and Ronja would work as sailors and Drett offered his services as a lawyer. After a day of bumbling on the ship, Ronja hid in the hold for the remaining two weeks to run her own project. Nobody objected, at least she didn't get underfoot.
New insights
During the trip to Marienburg, Drett provided legal protection for the boat, he studied criminal etiquette and cleverly invested the group's money. Afterwards everyone had more than when the trip started. Gorgor immersed herself in criminal etiquette and learned to sail together with Tillman. The witch had long conversations with Barnard about Sigmar's laws. Barnard himself spent a lot of time contemplating in order to eventually change his life path from priest to that of warrior priest.
Disarmed
One evening during the trip Gorgor woke up. The cause turned out to be a Skaven gutter runner bent over her. The dwarf immediately resorted to using her newly learned disarming technique. With a hard tap Gorgor knocked the dagger out of Skaven's hands. She then caught the weapon and cut off the rat's left foot with nimble flick of the wrist. The poor creature bled to death in the hold.
The bald rat
Tillman was also woken up by a gutter runner. He used his lightning mutation and some witch magic to destroy the creature. The group ran to the deck and met the now famous Skaven assassin they last saw in Ubersreik. Despite the horrific injuries it had sustained during their last encounter, the assassin was not quite dead yet. It had replaced the paw it lost during the first encounter with the group with a mechanical hand. Its second meeting with the group had had an even worse effect: it had lost all its fur. The hairless Skaven took one look at the group and jumped overboard. Upon inspection Delsoton turned out to have been mugged in his cabin. The Skaven had cut his clothing to pieces in an effort to find the Plaque of Quats.
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| Look its a Skaven terrorizing the ruins of Maisontaal. Close enough to Marienburg to work as an illustration here... |
Ronja missed all the action. She had performed a magical project in the hold with the ingredients of the deceased Rosalinde. A day before their arrival Ronja hatched a hand made egg of clay. A shy creature crawled out. The upper part was a raven, the middle lizard and the bottom a bunch of tentacles. Its beady eyes hung slightly out of their sockets and the creature smelled dead. At the sight of it, Ronja heard a voice in her head that said 'you are my hero!'. The creature spread his short crow's wings to show small human hands growing at the tips. Ronja quickly gave her new familiar an improvised cape and the creature took place on her shoulder. "I'll call you Benjamin," Ronja said.
Marienburg
The next day the walls of Marienburg loomed up from the swamp. From the towers hung large yellow banners with a red cross on them. Captain Veelvoud moored at a dock a slight distance from the city walls and went to ask what was going on. Marienburg turned out to be in quarantine. There were two plagues in the city at the same time. Quarantine or not, trade still seemed to flow to and from the city.
Vlakland-rot
Of the two plagues, the first was the worst. It was called Vlakland Rot and was only spotted in the Vlakland district. People with Vlakland Rot got large yellow bumps on their bodies, suffered from high temperatures and went berserk while screaming in tongues. The district was hermetically sealed off by the guard. Everyone who tried to get out could expect very accurate crossbow bolts for their troubles.
Oogrot
The other plague was called Oogrot (Eye Rot). Sufferers from this disease had an intermittent stream of pus running from their tear ducts. Occasionally they would cough up some pale pus. Oogrot had been seen in all districts and the local doctors, crooks and faith healers already offered a huge variety of (ineffective) remedies. Welcome to Marienburg.
Quarantine
In the meantime the city council called Vroedschap had decided to impose a complete quarantine on the city. In the style of Marienburg this meant profit for everyone who had something to do with travelling in and out. Traders, travellers and residents (including members of the Vroedschap) could easily get in and out of the city thanks to bribes. Only a large expedition to Lustria had been stuck in the harbour due to the quarantine.
Undaunted
Undaunted the group decided to sail into Marienburg. Once there, captain Veelvoud dropped them off at the quay. Next up was an important question: how do you move about in a river town? By boat taxi? Of course not! The group hired a coach and let themselves be driven over the bridges along the canals. First destination: Tempelwijk. The temple District housed Baron Henryk's College of Navigation and Marine Magic. Ronja knew that magicians had to get their magic license there. Or else...
The mansion
On the way to Tempelwijk the carriage passed through the expensive Guldenveld district. Driving through Tillman saw the mansion from his vision in the Skaven lair. The group stopped and knocked on the door. It took almost no effort to get into a quarrel with the arrogant butler who answered the door. The mansion was marked for a later visit...
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| A random illustration of walls. |
At Baron Henryk's college most of the group took place in the waiting room in the lobby. Only Ronja and Tillman followed a guide to the balloting committee. They spoke to Ronja first. She was asked why she was travelling with an obvious witch. It didn't take her long to figure out the overtly enthusiastic magicians of the college had already ordered a pyre built. Only intervention of Drett and Barnard saved Tillman form it. Ronja's promised the college to train Tillman in the save practice of the art of magic.
The elven embassy
With Tillman semi-properly apprenticed and the right permits for Ronja, the group managed to safely leave the college behind. The next stop was the elven embassy. Here they met with a grateful Delsoton. He convinced the group that the Plaque of Quats had to be recovered and then taken to Lustria to strengthen the Slann's Geomantic Web. In exchange for the group's offer to help he arranged a safehouse for them in Suiddock.
Danger
So all the group had left to do was find a deranged cult of Tzeentch worshippers to take possession of a powerful artifact with an influence on fate. Then they had to somehow get a conveniently available expedition to Lustria out of quarantine in a city suffering from two nasty plagues. Oh and maybe check out the house of a potentially 150+ year old wizard with a murky past. All the while keeping an eye out for a vengeful group of Skaven that had been trailing them since Ubersreik. All in a day's work? Lets find out in the next installment of Ruin's End...
<*I got a bit busy with my professional life last year, meaning I'm once again behind on my Warhammer campaign reports. To catch up I'll post sessions 6 and 7 together here and follow up with 8 and 9 soon *cough* in the publishing queue *cough*, with 10 coming up this should allow me to catch up.>
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