The crisp, biting cold of his patrons realm embraced the Wolf Priest, and he took a moment to breath it's harsh air in deep after his glorious victory, muttering thanks and praise to the mighty Ulric before he left the Estalian in the bloodied snow. "Enjoy the hospitality of the North Southroner." After heading back inside he found himself in front of the Knights Panther. This Sir Arnold was a true stoic, his rage and anger well hidden. Were most Knights Panther like this? Or did some of Schwarzhelm's grim stoicism rub off on him? "Excellent, then we shall break his champion before his eyes, and purge this heresy at the source." After heading outside Kristoff found himself once more in the awe inspiring presence of the Emperor's Champion, his mighty rune sword seeming to emit a righteous fury even from it's sheath. "Aye lord, good Sir Arnold here gave me the rundown. And worry not about my fury, wolves are nothing if not patient hunters." Kristoff stated with a predatory grin. Kristoff had oft encountered heresy in the towns and villages he traveled to in the deep dark of the Drakwald, and he was eager to purge vile presence once more with the cold fury of the North. @Colapse OOC: Sorry for the delay, ready to take down the dear Sentinel!
With all the foes outside the ship either running back to the ship or rather dead, Alozia stopped to assess the situation, feeling the rage and anger that had interrupted her casting and so allowed the other Wizard to get away once again. No doubt something was going to go horribly wrong if something like that was happening aboard the ship, and begged the question what was causing it.... Which she had a feeling was going to give her an answer she wouldn't like. Still, at least her spell and the Bright Wizard's fireball had done some damage to the Grey Wizard, so the Druchii focused for doombolts once again, (her life-stealing spell was not needed, and a spell of pain was hardly going to go remove the problem of the Grey Wizard for good), and sent them on their way to try killing the other magic user again.
Ebba cried out in jubilee as her fireball burned the Grey wizard's face and robes. "There is more where that came from you son of a harlot!" She smiled and turned towards the Druchii only to notice the feeling emanating from the ship. The pure primal rage actually intimidated her since she had never felt anything like it before. She then focused on the remaining enemies and lobbed a few fireballs towards them. She'll find the source of that sensation soon...
"Pfftf pfah eck BLECK! It tastes like an orc mixed dog shite with ogre shite and then ate it and crapped that out! " Blowing a few scraps of chaos gribbly tentacle from his mouth he kicked and skittered away toward a wall to get himself some distance from the cultists. "Oh you bunch just -look- like trouble, who do you think you're fooling? Also us? Snakes? Yeah, yeah- " One of the two cultist closing upon Harold dropped face first with a trio of bolts lodged in his chest. "-we're the snakes here. Not a bunch of chicken corkin', children eatin', mutant worshippin' bunch of fuggs like yourselves, naw, naw NOT AT ALL! " Cranking back for more shots Harold hadn't noticed the head, instead assuming its blurred form in flight was just a projectile of some fashion. Given the chance he intends to drive the side of his bulky, elaborate crossbow upside the other cultist's head.
"Come back and fight me you coward!" Xiucoatl roared at the backpedaling guard, even as the sailors decided they had more back bone than the plated swordsman and tried to pile on the Lizardman. With a smack of his shield across the head of the first one to greet him, he sent the now limp sailor off and over the railings and into the waters below. The ineffective stabbing and chipping at the chainmail with their own blades only further irritated him, back swinging his macuahuitl and catching two of them in a arc of shed blood as the obsidian blade teeth gutted them, intestines and blood now fouling the deck of the Baron's ship. The Saurian wasn't through yet, unceremoniously slamming the pommel of his sword into the head of a sailor that was trying to jerk his axe out after getting it stuck in the shield, dropping onto the deck like a clubbed fish with a caved in head. The last sailor decided he had enough and turned to run, only earning him having the lizardman chopping him from behind, the weapon breaking through his collar bone and a number of ribs as the weapon cut diagonally before stopping mid way. Somewhat a portent of what is about to happen to the swordsman that ran. Yanking it out of the warm corpse with ease, Xiucoatl advanced onto the plated guard to continue their fight from earlier.
<Group III - Final (countdown) showdown> @Keidivh Constantine The trio reached the Estate shortly, moving through the small gates and into the walled area. There were many guests standing around the beautiful gardens that made for the most part of the courtyard which wasn't the actual Baron's house, a place built by finest marble and shining in multitude of colors as the fires danced on the braziers around it. The man was indeed wealthy and like Constantine said, his days as a pirate and risking lives on the open seas were surely worth the effort. They were greeted by a young majordomo who gave them a deep bow. "Welcome to the house of our esteemed lord, Baron of Ravenstein and Hero of Talabec, great Kurt von Beringer! You are all his guests and he even has a special treat for the participants of the final grand melee. Prizes will be great and so will be the glory!" they also noticed a fourth combatant near them listening to this, a man in half plate armor emblazoned with various bright colors and symbols of grail and a lady in white, probably some sort of a Bretonnian knight. "Come inside, the main event is about to begin!" the majordomo finished and was about to led them all in when a man in simple leather tunic approached Lord Schwarzhelm and whispered something in his ear. The Emperor's Champion made the slightest of nods and turned to Kristoff and Arnold. "I am needed elsewhere. It seems that one of my agents hasn't reported back. No matter, you know what to do until I get back. Brother Kristoff, Sir Arnold, my Ulric and Sigmar both watch over you." With those simple words he left them in a hurry, disappearing into the tight crowd despite his huge bulk. Kristoff would see no more of the great warrior but as he was ushered inside the house somewhere in the distance he heard familiar howling. Vorgen was out there and a terrible foreboding fell upon the Warrior Priest as if sensing the warning his companion tried to relay. Too late to do anything about it, he entered the house alongside Sir Arnold, the unnamed knight and many other guests dressed in fine clothing, by the looks of them possibly merchants, lesser nobles and every other wealthy person of interest that lived nearby and wanted to pay their respects to the mighty Baron. Inside the house Kristoff saw more proofs of wealth - various paintings, sculptures and a great feast with only the finest food for the finest guests welcomed him. Thankfully, he wasn't allowed to stick around for too long and the combatants, under the lead of majordomo were led to a grand chamber where all the other guests converged in order to finally see the man they all came here to "bow to". Inside the great chamber Kristoff saw at least a hundred people standing next to each other and looking at the duo on the great dais in the middle, on which two dark wooden chairs were placed and a ring of guards surrounded it. On top of the left chair set a beautiful black-haired woman in her late twenties, dressed in long and white wedding dress which fit her nicely. She shined like every bride on her wedding day as she looked upon the man standing next to her. Dressed in a dark blue doublet and looking every bit of like he owned the place, the Baron's face was a mask - his blue eyes and bright brown hair tied in a ponytail and placed on one shoulder gave away no emotions whatsoever. He was armed with an elegant rapier, the golden pommel adorned with rubies the size of Kristoff's thumb. But what drew most of Kristoff's attention was the man next to him. Easily towering over the Baron and even Kristoff himself, he saw a monster of a man completely clad in black plate armor. In his hands he held a tower shield and a flail with its head shaped in the visage of a snarling dog, the whole appearance reminding Kristoff of the Vampire lord he fought on the bridge during the siege of High Rock. And indeed, the moment he spotted the Sentinel he knew there was something off with him, like a hidden aura of darkness or a miasma of something foul. No doubt that this man was at the very least suspicious, his own instincts that made him a Warrior Priest screaming in rebellion at the sight of such a warrior. But before he could say anything the Baron rose his hand and the chamber went silent. "My friends, all of you both here and those outside that couldn't fit in, I bid you welcome to my house and my wedding! I take it the party was to your liking? The food was good aye, and the tournament as well? Beautiful, you make my heart swell with such joy that I have so many great friends! But I hope you left some room for the desert!" he spoke and crowd cheered and clapped, Kristoff seeing that this Baron was quite a charismatic person and despite what he knew of him he found himself to fight hard not to get swayed by his words. "And now, the time has come for me to give my final gift to the greatest woman of all, my lovely Liv," he said and his future wife made a nod, smiling all the way. His majordomo approached him with a small chest and Baron von Beringer opened it, taking out a beautiful silver necklace with the definitively biggest gem Kristoff ever saw, the "stone" in the color of the great ocean and the size of a young man's fist. This was definitely the Eye of the Storm, the artifact they all came here to steal. "As the final act falls and a new moon rises so I give this gift to the one I love," he spoke but instead of giving the necklace to his future wife he turned around towards the shadows behind his throne from which came a hunched figure leaning against a wooden staff. First there was no sound as the hooves impacted the marble floor but then couple of cries could be heard as the gathering crowd saw that the man who approached the Baron and took the necklace was no man at all, but a hideous creature with a humanoid body and a head of a goat. It brayed as it touched the necklace and the blue gem began shining in its paws while everyone else could hear sounds of thunder and rain coming from until now peaceful sky. Another batch of guards, all dressed in black robes, appeared on the sides of the chamber, armed with long serrated swords aimed towards the helpless guests while the Sentinel began slowly swinging his flail. More cries of outrage were silenced as Baron pulled out his rapier and stabbed his majordomo in the eye, killing the man on the spot. "His and your blood will fuel the forges of the new world and from it..." Baron's tirade was cut short as a gunshot echoed in the hall and Baron fell on the Beastman, a gout of blood escaping his chest and mouth as a bullet found its mark in his right lung. The creature began braying hurriedly as another shot punched into its hide, pushing it backwards and towards the shadows. Kristoff looked around for the gunman and saw familiar dark leather coat and pointed hat of his Employer, appearing as if from nowhere near one of the pillars at the edge of the chamber. "GET THE NECKLACE! HE MUST NOT LIVE LONG TO USE IT!" Constantine shouted and pointed at the escaping Beastman and pulled out his black sword which was accompanied by an unnatural "whooshing" sound. Easier said then done as the traitor guards, under the lead of the Sentinel, drove into the guests, massacring the helpless people while they struggled to defend. Of course, there were few of them out there with weapons, mostly those combatants and squires attending the knights, Sir Arnold being one of those warriors. "TO ARMS MEN!" he shouted and jumped into the fray, intercepting two guards who tried to stab an elderly trader from Talabheim, cutting them both where they stood. "FOR KARL FRANZ! FOR THE EMPIRE!" OOC Enemies: - 50 traitor guards (in robes with various weapons, mostly swords) - Sentinel (Boss) - Bray Shaman (escaping) (Boss) - Baron Kurt von Beringer (Boss), still not dead Friendlies: - Sir Arnold (Boss) - 10 Squires - Bretonnian Knight (Elite) - Constantine You can kill as many guards as you want. Vorgen can join the fray if you want. Bray Shaman is fleeing and Sentinel and his men are blocking your way towards him. <Everyone Else> @Jorimel @Maleth @BuriasDempsey @DeranVendar @Virgil_Corbec @Grall_Stonefist @matt23 @Casavay As the Baron finally played out his last gambit and showed his hands, the weather suddenly changed and everyone could either hear or both see and hear the lighting crashing through the sky. The rain began falling and the part of the team charged with securing the ship could see waters of mighty Talabec river smashing angrily against the riverbed, threatening to spill over. As if that wasn't the worst thing, strange sounds of horns could be heard in the distance followed with angry shouts that sounded not like a human would sound and more as if some sort of animal ushered them. And they were coming closer...
Khelandria's blades tasted blood once more and she felt the righteous fury of Khaine sing through her veins. She lunged forward, leaping up to sever the monstrosity's spinal column and end its life. The needlepoint of her dagger pierced between the bones easily and the vile abomination fell to the floor, twitching, lifeblood ebbing away. But there was no time for celebration. The monster did not work alone; he had dupes, fellow slaves to the Damned, and they were not about to allow the Witch Elf her victory uncontested. She glanced down at the severed head. She did not know the man well, and cutting off one's enemies' heads was something she was skilled at, having taken many heads for Khaine. But this was an affront. Added to that, the work was crude, slicing through vertebrae rather than cleanly severing between them. Her mouth drew up into a snarl. "Amateur," she spat, leaping forwards into what seemed like a headlong charge. But as the cultist ran to meet her with blade raised, the Bride of Khaine pirouetted elegantly on one slender foot and spun around as the momentum of his counter-charge carried him past her. She slipped one dagger into his back, and drew the other across his throat. Bright arterial spray decorated her white skin in pleasing fashion, a sacrament to the Lord of Murder. Khelandria raised her blades again, facing the other cultists. "Who wishes to give his life next for the glory of Khaine?" Lightning flashed outside, and the chill wind of an ill omen blew through the rattling shutters.
<Group I - Diversion> @matt23 @BuriasDempsey @Maleth @Virgil_Corbec (@Casavay ) Ebba's fireball once again slammed into the Grey Wizard and his shield finally collapsed. He tried to usher some words and maybe once again teleport away however Alozia was there and this time, the Dark Elf would not be denied. Her own Doombolt annihilated the wielder of the wind of Ulgu and dropped on the deck of the ship, his form in pieces. And as he died so did the wards placed on the ship collapse as well. At the same time the mercenaries and Hogs, following Xiuhcoatl's furious charge as an example, quickly slayed the remaining foes. The last one was the Greatsword, who weaved with his sword as he slowly backed away towards the entrance to the ship's hold. His front was turned towards the Temple Guard and his bloodied macuahuitl (OOC I'll never learn how to spell this ) so he had less time than he needed to react to the hold's door crashing and a tide of fur and sweat storming out of it. Monster with the head of a big ram and a giant double bladed axe crashed into the Greatsword from behind, cleaving the man in two from shoulder to groin. Blood burst from the corpse and as the body fell on the ground a tide of Beastmen escaped captivity of the ship's interior. They were of many forms and sizes, some bigger, some smaller, but all of them looking hungry and ready to slaughter. At the same time more horns sounded around the town and the cry of the incoming creatures filled the sky. The Herd was upon Ravenstein and the traitorous guards, under the influence of heretic Baron, did enough so the first line of the defense was nonexistent. Of course, not every person or a guard was a traitor, but those loyal to the Emperor were still yet to be organized and the Beastmen would have quite enough time to slaughter their way through the town's surroundings unmolested. "FALL BACK!" Mariah cried as she slammed her shield into the advancing Gor before she swung her sword and opened the creature's throat. "FALL BACK TO THE TAVERN!" she added, remembering the old plan Constantine told them - if something goes wrong, they would meet up at the Tavern from where they began their quest. Solders under the lead of Captain York obeyed and closed ranks, doing a fighting retreat from the ship and into the docks below, pushed by the incoming Beastmen. More of the monsters appeared on the far sight of the Docks but the crew on the Helblaster once again opened fire, slaying dozens of creatures with the salvo. OOC You can write your own fighting retreat as you see fit. You can kill as many Beastmen as you want, all-go on flavor kills Friendlies: - Captain York - Scout Derrick - Helblaster volley gun (2 crewmen) - 8 soldiers Enemies: - Lots of Beastmen <Group II - Infiltration> @Jorimel @Grall_Stonefist @DeranVendar Tugg's cleaver impacted on Gog's mace and cut through it without a problem - either due to Butcher's own magic or Master Ori's skill at working metal. In any case, it shattered the mace and cleaved into Gog's skull, slicing off half of it and breaking the other part. Ogres were of course quite sturdy and tough, but when met with one of their own, their advantages soon became disadvantages. Gog swayed on his feet a bit longer as if simply refusing to die which Tugg exploited with couple of additional cleaves that destroyed his counterpart's chest. Ogre fell on the ground at the same time when Harold drove the edge of his repeater crossbow through last cultist's head, smashing the man against the wall of the guardhouse. None of their enemies were alive and at the moment there was nothing to be done until more of the horns echoed from the outside followed by the shouts of people. Since the man sending them here was obviously dead - they saw that the head tossed at them by the cultist was indeed of Didier - nothing kept them here any longer and the only way was out and back towards the party. However once they exited the Guardhouse, instead of a party there was a massacre. Monsters of all shapes and forms, more colloquially known as Beastmen, were running rampant across the fields where the tables with food and guests were just couple of hours before, killing stragglers and shouting some incoherent obscenities, probably thanking their Dark Gods. However for the most part they were engaged in a battle with a small number of knights and local militia - probably some of the guests or their guards who came here with weapons - all rallied under the cry of a large bearded man who swung around a sword on which a number of runes shined in angry red. The Beastmen cried in terror as the man cleaved through them with businesslike ease, cutting them into little pieces and pretty much winning the fight despite the numerical advantage the monsters had. But this was not the time to be heroes as the entire wedding ground was thrown into chaos and the only safe bet was to retreat to the Tavern from where they came so they could regroup with the rest. OOC many Beastmen around, feel free to kill as many of them as you feel like it as you make your move OOC2 Edited for numerous errors.
Kristoff's couldn't suppress an irritated grunt that escaped his lips as he looked about the this Baron's hall, the finery and excess nearly nauseating to the Wolf Priest. So much of this wealth could go to the military, the faith, or the people! Instead it was wasted on frivolous nothing. Kristoff would never understand it, all the joy he found came from his patron and hammer. But in the back of his mind the majority of the focus was on Vorgen. His brother was clearly disturbed and on edge, and that was never for nothing. Something was coming, and it likely would be deadly, especially with heretics in the mix. Upon entering the grand hall Kristoff was finally able to see the heretic in person. He was a well put together man, charming even. But there was a coldness to him, as if this were all some kind of forced act. But his attention didn't remain there for long as his true target captured it. The Black Knight. Upon seeing him Kristoff could see how even a skilled knight such as Pierre could be bested. He was a monster of a man, and Kristoff began wondering if that last part was even true, finding the beast to be more similar to the vampire lord he fought than a true man. For the most part he ignored the Baron's incessant prattling, but when he pulled out the necklace Kristoff decided to take a closer look, not taking him long to realize that the amulet they had come for was within his reach. Now he just had to figure out how to get it. However any plans he had been able to formulate quickly flew out the window as the Baron brought out an unexpected guest in the form of a bleeding Beastman! What few doubts of heresy he had previously were quickly thrown out of the window when he saw this, bringing his warhammer to a ready position, eager to spill the blood of one of his most hated enemies. As the slaughter began Kristoff gave a quick nod to Constantine who had seemingly appeared from thin air. Thankfully in order to recover the amulet he would need to kill the Black Knight. Ulric truly was a gracious god. "FOR ULRIC AND THE EMPIRE, DEATH TO THE TRAITORS!" Kristoff bellowed in unison with Sir Arnold as he charged forward, bringing his hammer up in an upward swing, nearly tearing the head off of one the Baron's guards and sending him reeling into two other. He then brought it back up, smashing it into another guards chest, a sickening crunch coming from his chest as the hammer easily tore through the armor. Another guard tried to flank the Wolf Priest, only to find himself on the floor, his jugular being torn out by a massive wolf. "Ah, my brother! Glad you could make it for the real fun!" Kristoff spoke with a laugh as he drove the pommel of his hammer through another guards neck. "Sir Arnold, keep the squires with you and hold back these heretics. Brettonian, that black armored beast killed one of your kin in cold blood. Honor demands I invite you to seek retribution." Not waiting to see if the knight would join him, the Wolf Priest focused in on the Black Knight who had struck down any who tried to get past him. Drawing Pierre's sword, Kristoff strode up to the Black Knight, Vorgen stalking around the area, waiting for an opportunity to strike. "You see this sword creature? Belonged to a friend of mine that you killed. And I'll be driving it through your face." As righteous rage began filling the Wolf Priest, a faint blue aura began to glow around his weapons as he attempted to call forth the blessing of the wolf god before charging forward, carefully watching for the Knights swing which he would attempt roll around or beneath while Vorgen would attempt strike at any joints that may be exposed. "FACE ULRIC'S FURY!" OOC: Hammerschlag- The fury of Ulric is imbued into the Wolf Priests weapons, granting them divine strength
<Baron's Estate - endgame> @Keidivh Constantine Brettonian heard Kristoff's shout and charged in recklessly alongside his squire, cutting a bloody path through the incoming cultists and towards the Sentinel. The duo fought flawlessly and reached the black knight before Kristoff did, giving him the opportunity to watch the big flail come around in a swipe, smashing against Brettonian's breastplate and hurling him across the room, broken and pretty much dead. On the other hand squire kept on, seemingly undisturbed by his master's death, and stabbed at the Sentinel, chipping away his shoulder armor. Coming around, Sentinel smashed the squire with his shield and brought the flail overhead, striking straight into man's helmet. Both the metal and skull basically burst apart, the head pulped and gone as if it never existed. Turning around to face the Wolf Priest, the evil warrior raised his shield and Kristoff's hammer smashed against it, doing no damage. But then Vorgen leaped from behind and drove his canines through knight's armored boot, maiming him and forcing a retaliation in form of a big shield smashing into him, throwing the arctic wolf backward dozen feet, his head covered in blood due to his jaw cracking from such impact. All of this was enough for Kristoff, his hammer glowing with bright blue light. Ulric, the God of War, Winter and Wolves, was perhaps not too influential in Talabecland, but he would always help his champions fight off the servants of Chaos wherever and whenever such situation occurs. Ducking down to evade the following swipe of the giant flail, Kristoff brought his hammer up and smashed it into Sentinel's stomach. There were sparks as the blessed weapon connected with unholy armor and the black knight doubled down as if all the air left his lungs, giving the Wolf Priest time to rise his hammer and pulverize Sentinel's skull, killing him on the spot. Looking up and for a moment free of any danger, Kristoff saw that the cultists were being killed off by the warriors under the command of Sir Arnold, who seemed to be a superlative swordsman, much like his Lord, Ludwing Schwarzhelm. The Beastmen intruder was also nowhere to be seen, the battle which happened after his arrival enough a distraction for the cunning Bray Shaman to slip by with the artifact. Constantine on the other hand, was nearby and standing amidst the pile of corpses, the blood dropping from his black sword as he stood over what seemed to be the body of Baron von Beringer. "You are late thief..." the Baron gurgled, somehow still alive, "The Everchosen is coming and his cry will usher a new age for..." Constantine silenced him as he brought his sword down and straight through Baron's heart, ending his existence. As the sword claimed his life and Baron finally died, for a second Kristoff thought he saw the man's eyes glowing in faint grey before rolling back and a puff of smoke trailing up his Employer's sword before disappearing into nothing. "The Beastmen is gone and he has the artifact," Constantine said as he stepped away from the corpse and towards Kristoff, his tone businesslike but Wolf Priest sensed his Employer's anger, "Eye of the Storm is working, as we can see for ourselves," he gestured to the windows where lighting streaking across the skies could be seen while claps of thunder intertwined with cries of battle. "Come, we must rejoin with the others and plan our next move." <Aftermath> @Keidivh @Jorimel @DeranVendar @matt23 @Grall_Stonefist @BuriasDempsey @Maleth @Virgil_Corbec Outside of the Estate, Constantine and Kristoff joined up with Khelandria, Harold and Tugg, who were close by when all of this happened and their Employer finding them without a problem, as if he knew where they were for all this time. They saw that Lord Schawzhelm was in charge of the defenses against the Beastmen, who soon after started breaking off the attack - now that the prize was theirs, there was no need for staying (which was actually quite a concerning fact that meant they were much more organized than the normal Herds usually are). In any case, now that Sir Arnold controlled the Estate's interior and Lord Schwarzhelm its exterior, any remaining monsters would be hard pressed to do any more serious damage. Of course, the death toil was great and it would take time before Ravenstein recovers, but that was least of their worries at the moment. Eventually, the group reached the hill overlooking the town where the Tavern was located and where they now saw Mariah, Xiuhcoatl, Alozia (and Ebba) alongside a bunch of newcomers standing guard and a number of Beastmen corpses filling the nearby open space. The trio in charge managed to lead the men under their command safely through the streets and back here, where they held their ground until the Beastmen broke and ran. Constantine congratulated them on their effort and he met the Bright Wizard Ebba, who he offered the usual mercenary contract for signing and joining their band. Captain York and his men were bound to remain here and help the town out with killing the remaining monsters but a deal was struck that after everything is finished, they would go to High Rock and become a part of their mercenary guild, an experienced artillery regiment was after all quite valuable asset to have. In the end, their mission here was a failure but their Employer was adamant in pursuing the offenders and getting back the artifact as they originally planned, so the long trek into the darkness began... <And the intermission phase begins anew...> @Keidivh @Jorimel @DeranVendar @matt23 @Grall_Stonefist @BuriasDempsey @Maleth @Virgil_Corbec + @Valonox OOC if you wish to add something during this period where I sped things up, feel free to do so! I was only aiming to push us into intermission phase as fast as possible Five days later, the team found themselves sitting in a large forest clearing, preparing to rest for the night. They followed the tracks of destruction the Beastmen Herd left behind them and soon, it became evident that the enemy was moving into Drakwald. Empire was filled with dark and foreboding forests, but this one was definitely the most notorious one. Countless tales of horrible monsters lurking beneath its long shadows were a wide-spread thing across the provinces but perhaps Kristoff, being a native of Middenland, and a man who walked through this dangerous area before could offer more details about it. The trail was also not that hard to follow. Bad weather, lighting strikes and sheer destruction caused by the (mis)use of the artifact they were after were signs not even a blind halfling would have a problem seeing, but what also helped them was coming across three destroyed villages during their travel (and who knows how many other) from Talabecland into Middenland, where the Beastmen left no survivors. The overall mood was not really good but it somewhat lightened up once they reached this clearing where they found a small caravan of three horse carts in possession of a merchant from Middenheim and his four daughters. They were a part of a bigger caravan heading from the City of the White Wolf on their annual trip to Altdorf when they were attacked by the Beastmen, probably the very same Herd the mercenaries were hunting. In the followup skirmish the merchant managed to flee with his carts and his daughters into the woods away from the carnage and thus escaping certain death. They wandered through the forest for a day or two before finding their way to this clearing where they met with the mercenaries. Constantine, never the one to back out on any part of the deal, bought food from the merchant and currently, they were having an egg omelette with cheese and bacon one of the merchant's daughters prepared for them on the big fire in the middle of the clearing. Constantine also went out of his way and bought a small 2 liter keg of scotch the merchant had prepared for the Altdorf's markets. It wasn't much but it will have to do and in the end, they needed their cool for the place they were going to. Also, the forest clearing was large and each of them had a place for themselves to rest or sleep or do whatever else they wanted. Mariah was standing on guard, her form leaned against a nearby oak while Constantine sat close by, cleaning his pistols and making sure gunpowder in his bags was dry. Those who wanted could go and talk with the merchant if they desired more info or browse his wares, which from the looks of it consisted of mostly wool and leather clothing, as well as leather quivers, scabbards, belts and other similar stuff. OOC The intermission phase began! Finally Feel free to take this time to chill, interact with each other, ask Constantine or the merchant questions, etc. Or welcome our new guy! @Valonox Vacus Embermore traversed the forest with his lengthy strides, spending every moment to check his back. During his trip from the place he fought the undead to here in this dark forest, he encountered monsters everywhere known as Beastmen, plaguing the area. Thankfully, instead of a big Herd he met only outrunners in form of Ungor skirmisher band with which he dealt in quick fashion. However his supplies were thinning and people he found here, the precious few he found due to the fact the region was deserted to say at least duo to the recent developments, were not so friendly to one such as he. Being a warrior from Ghrond, cold and the bad weather didn't really trouble him much but the increasing hole in his belly could. But Khaine be praised, it would seem that his luck will change soon enough. His senses smelled cooked food even before his eyes spotted a speck of flame between the thick trees. Soon after, he heard sound of people talking and a decision was put in front of him. Approach the clearing and hope that the people there were friendly or stay in the shadows and try to observe the proceedings from afar to better check with who or what is he dealing with here.
