Paths of the Damned, Pt. 1: Through the Drakwald

[Old Fezziwig]

Initiative
Falandror 59
Watchmen 36
Mutants 35
Winifred 33
Grimkrag 29
Ottokar 28

Round 4
Falandror severs an artery in the left leg of the snouted mutant. A fraction of a second passes before the mutant collapses in an enormous pool of its own blood, dead. The three watchmen, seeing this, give out a cheer and maneuver themselves into advantageous positions on the two remaining mutants. One of them manages to connect with his attack, slamming his cudgel over the head of the three-eyed mutant, which slumps to the ground, unconscious.

Winifred parries the attack of the horned mutant, turning its horn away with her dagger, which leaves the creature wide open to her attack. Somehow or another, however, her sword goes just a hair wide of its mark, leaving the mutant untouched. Meanwhile, Grimkrag takes advantage of his opponent's unconscious state and kills the comatose child of Chaos. Ottokar, however, has no luck finishing off the last of the quartet.

Conditions
Falandror, uninjured
Grimkrag, lightly wounded (6/11 wounds)
Ottokar, lightly wounded (4/12 wounds)
Winifred, lightly wounded (6/11 wounds)
Watchman 1, uninjured
Watchman 2, uninjured
Watchman 3, uninjured
Mutant (horn), heavily wounded

Spoiler

(1/11 wounds)

Mutant (tentacles)
Mutant (three eyes), unconscious

Spoiler

(0/11 wounds)

Mutant (snout)

Round 5
Falandror slips over to the horned mutant and sinks his longsword into its left leg [8 wounds]. The elf has clearly found his rhythm, and the mutant collapses into a gibbering mess, dying almost instantly.

Conditions
Falandror, uninjured
Grimkrag, lightly wounded (6/11 wounds)
Ottokar, lightly wounded (4/12 wounds)
Winifred, lightly wounded (6/11 wounds)
Watchman 1, uninjured
Watchman 2, uninjured
Watchman 3, uninjured
Mutant (horn)
Mutant (tentacles)
Mutant (three eyes)
Mutant (snout)

Aftermath
As you stand over the field of battle, you notice Schiller and a few other refugees heading over towards your group. One of them, an old woman (maybe about sixty?), walks over to the injured members of the group.

"That was a fine job you did there. We've had a rough go of it recently, and it's always nice to see people that are willing to do the right thing." She turns to Ottokar, and looks carefully at his head. "If you liked, I could help you with some of your aches and pains. After patching up young ones for so many years, I've learned a thing or two about bumps, cuts, and bruises." Her tone is benign, even kind, although her countenance stays grim.

Schiller nods as she says this. "Granny Moescher's as talented as many a barber-surgeon. You'd do well to at least consider her help. It's the least we can do to repay you for yours." This said, he turns to the watchmen, whistles, and points to the mutants. "Hang their heads on the town gate."

The watchmen take out their daggers and begin to cut the heads off of the fallen mutants.

 

[Lot]

Ottokar nods, breathing heavy but smiling grimly.

"I would appreciate any help I could get. I am a student in healing but my natural talents seem to lay in doing the opposite."

He gestures to the mutants. Ottokar then turns to the old woman.

"If I may observe your technique, maybe I can learn a few things."

Ottokar nods to the rest of his companions.

"You are all worthy warriors. I could learn a lot watching you work, as well. If Sigmar wills it, I hope to fight at your side again."

Sigmar, with a groan, moves over to the Grimkrag.

"Master dwarf, I have seen you around town. My name is Ottokar. Your people have always been a friend to Sigmar. I hope to be yours."

 

[Iron Captain]

Grimkrag finishes wiping his dagger on a piece of cloth before sheathing it and turning to Ottokar.
"You handled that hammer well in battle. And you took blows that would reduce other men to bloddied, crying heaps. A friend of Sigmar is a friend of mine."
He reaches out his hand to Ottokar with a smile on his face.

He then feels the wound on his head and curses as he sees the blood on his hand.
"The bastard got me better than I thought. Better go see about closing the wound."

He claps Ottokar on the back and moves toward Granny Moescher to inquire about getting the wound sewn up and will then try to find some water to drink and to wash up.
He'll don his armour and weapons before heading back to the town square trying to get some more wine or ale to quench his thirst.

 

[Insight]

Falandror sighed, his enemies lying defeated, bloodied, and dead. Sheathing his longsword, the elf returned to his allies. "A shame that had to end," he remarks in a cool tone. Standing over the wounded, Falandror smiles. "Is it true we lost no one? Remarkable."

He sits and watches as Granny and the others tend to the wounded. "Unfortunately, I am no healer," Falandror says. "Anything I can do to help?"

 

[Wilphe]

Winifred drops her guard as the mutants fall, content that at least she did not get seriously hurt. She then steps to the side and, clear of those around her, retraces her steps in the battle a few times, improving and changing a few moves each time. She doesn't get to finish as she breaks off with a thought, "None of these scum carry a firearm, yet the battle was opened with a shot. If one of these had it, where is it, and if someone else shot, where is he?"

She looks back over the bridge, suspicious and drops down behind the end of the parapet.

 

[Old Fezziwig]

Granny Moescher shakes her head in response to Falandror's question. "You can keep your fool elf hands out of my way." There's no malice in her voice, just a slight touch of annoyance and exhaustion.

Indeed, she must be tired from handling all the sick and wounded in the aftermath of battle, because she's unable to do much for the lot of you, save for Grimkrag, who she's able to patch up a little bit [1 wound healed]. "I'm sorry I can't be of more help at the moment. Get some rest; I might be able to do something tomorrow."

As Granny tends to your wounds, a small crowd begins to gather around your group, including the three watchmen and Captain Schiller. They buzz and murmur anxiously, and you can make out snippets of conversation -- "Will this never end?" "Those mutants looked damn familiar!" "Could there be more of them around here? We'll be murdered in our beds!" "That sounded like a Hochland Long rifle! Nothing I've ever heard of could fire that far and accurately."

Winifred:

Spoiler

As this happens, and while Granny Moescher is tending to your companions, you notice that there's another watchment rushing across the bridge from the direction of the town gate. He sidles up to Captain Schiller, and you're close enough to hear news of an attack on the main gates as your group dealt with the four mutants in town -- apparently the battle on the bridge was nothing but a diversion. The attackers at the gate were repulsed, but several more watchment have died. Schiller, not a young man to begin with, looks even more haggard and old when he hears of this news.

 

[Iron Captain]

Grimkrag hears what Winifred says and thoughtfully strokes his beard.
"Hmmmm...you're right. I doubt these fools could even use a firearm."
Grimkrag thanks the old lady after she has finished and quickly rushes to fetch his armour and weapons.

He returns to the bridge shield in hand and his axe strapped to his back within easy reach.

"Are there anymore of the bastards around? Perhaps in the forest?"

 

[Wilphe]

Winifred nods and points towards Captain Schiller, "They attacked the gates at the same time, in force. What sort of idiot attacks the gates of a place, even weekly defended as they are, when there's a perfectly good largely undefended bridge into the heart of the place is another matter. However I don't profess to understand the mind of mutant and I hope I never get the chance. I guess it's just more chaotic to do it that way, or maybe they could only get a few across the river."

She will however clamp down and dismiss the rumours that a rifle was involved and do her best to rally resolve, "No mutant could handle a rifle like that. 'Twas a chance lucky shot, probably from some beaten up pistol or arquebus. No mere mutant could pick up a rifle like that up and pull off that shot by desing. Even if it was the 1 in perhaps twenty thousand chaos spawn who could do it, he wouldn't have shot for the bottle, he'd have blown the good Captains head clean off."

 

[Old Fezziwig]

The crowd seems to accept Winifred's arguments about the rifle, and you hear no more of it, although they do seem (rightfully) perturbed about the potential number of mutants lurking around their ruined town.

As Schiller continues to consult with the recently arrived messenger, there is a sudden shout from the direction of the gates. Hands go to weapons, and a number of people, including Granny Moescher and her kids, start to head off the Ackerplatz and back towards their homes. However, it ends up being a false alarm — a tall, bearded man in his thirties and a group of ragtag farmers from the outlying areas have entered the town. A small cry goes up in the crowd — "Hans is alive!" "It's Hans!"

He walks up to Schiller, who is, quietly, flanked by Granny Moescher. "I've been scouting the surrounding countryside and villages, picking up stragglers. These folks are from villages and farms all over the Middenland. As I was bringing them back, I found fresh Beastman tracks south of here. It looks like a warherd of over two hundred, and they're headed towards this town. I rushed back to warn you.

"I will defer to Captain Schiller, of course, but I'd recommend leaving Untergard as soon as possible. I doubt we could withstand them, and there's no help to be had in time. I was in Grimminhagen six days ago, and it's a wreck — there's no help to be had from there. According to some locals, while Grimminhagen was sacked, the Graf hid in his keep." Some of the locals boo at this, and even Granny Moescher's typical gruff yet friendly face betrays a scowl. A buzz begins to overtake the crowd.

A large man, humorless and grim, with a bald pate, steps forward. This is Dietrich, a local man, very devout in his worship of Sigmar. "So we should abandon our homes and head where, Hans? Where should we go? What should these people do with their children and aged relatives? Are they fit to march off into the Empire? We should stay and fight. We put off the last group, and we'll put of this one."

Hans shakes his head, saying, "We can't send these people to their deaths, Dietrich. It's die here or take a chance at living somewhere else." As he says this, it becomes clear that the crowd is beginning to pick sides. Some of them raise and shake their weapons, yelling slogans that they've created on the spot ("For Untergard!" and such). Others seem to be resigning themselves to leaving the only home they've ever known.

 

[Lot]

Ottokar steps forward, pushing his chest forward to reveal his amulet of Sigmar and holding his hammer in his hand.

"It is right to want to fight and turn back the forces of chaos. This is the place where such a battle should take place, but now is not the right time. We should regroup and combine our forces with others, like when Sigmar Heldenhammer himself gathered the tribes in the lands of eastern Brigundians and resolved them to join together with King Kurgan's dwarves. Then, when we return in force, the mutants will hear our call 'To War!' and know fear. But for now, we must retreat and prepare for that glorious moment."

Ottokar looks around at the crowd, awaiting any challenge to his proposal.