[WFRP] The Bloody Crown X

[LCP]

Stepping between the two halberdiers, Adelbert thrust his sword straight through the chest of the decayed corpse that stood before him. As Urgrim smashed the skull of the other with the edge of his shield, this one turned its sunken face to stare at Adelbert, reaching out with grey fingers towards him. Before it could touch his skin, the witchfires in its empty eye-sockets guttered and dimmed, and it collapsed like an abandoned puppet. At last, the fighting around the east gate had fallen still.

Ludo didn't notice - he had already left it behind. Slithering up behind the largest of the tombstones ahead, he peered around its corner to where Nahorek was still standing. A black outline amidst the blackness, for a long moment it seemed like the vampire hadn't seen him - but then the red eyes behind the mask fixed on his, gleaming like coals through the murk of the storm. Ducking back behind the grave, Ludo waited for the impact of whatever dark magic was surely flying his way. Nothing came.

Peeping up again, he saw only his target's back as Nahorek walked calmly away. As his black-robed figure receded into the rain, two new figures emerged, lurching in the opposite direction. Their usefulness spent, the two zombies who had carried the chest now stumbled forward to obstruct anyone who would follow their master.

~

Amid the storm and the sounds of the dying fight, Sieghard was not sure every detail of his instructions had been understood - but the knot of men around him understood well enough to follow when he sprinted off up the west side of the graveyard wall. Ahead, he could see only a grey wall of rain - as lightning flashed inside the clouds, he glimpsed for a moment the black outline of the coach up ahead. Its horses lay crumpled against the cobbles, but in that split second of illumination, their black silhouettes had looked as if they were in the process of heaving themselves back upright...

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Nahorek has taken a half move, and used his other half action to begin casting a full-action spell. Probably as ominous slowmo piano music begins to play.

---

Elsa

The two initiates seemed paralysed with uncertainty. They were probably too junior to have been told exactly what it was that had been stored in the Temple, Elsa reflected - they certainly had no idea what to make of the supernatural storm. Her lucid tone at least seemed to convince them that she didn't need putting to sleep.

Coming to a decision at last, the older of the two turned and ran out of the door, shouting for Sister Ioana. The other simply stood staring as the first raindrops began to drum against the window, the tempo quickening to a hissing roar of falling water.

[Thragka]

Urgrim didn't pause long enough to let weariness latch onto his bones as the last of the reanimated dead fell. Almost leaning against the wind, he heaved himself up the temple mound. Sticking close to the back wall, he paused at the base of the bell tower, peering off between the crypts, looking to see any sign at all of their foe.

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Urgrim runs, ending up one square north and eleven squares west of where he starts, the square just north of the east end of the bell tower's cross section. Although Nahorek is within 30 yards, I think the vampire is not visible to Urgrim unless he can be seen over the top of the intervening crypt.

[LeSwordfish]

"Over there!" Ludo shouted, his pretence at stealth abandoned. He splashed forward through the mud and paused, waiting for a moment when the irregular gait of the two walking dead allowed him a shot, and fired another bolt that shone in the rain as it flew, and bit home in the back of the vampire's head.

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

"I see them! Ahead!" Sieghard told his men, "Hurry, we can still stop them!"

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still running

[RossN]

Adelbert

Adelbert felt the urge to stop and help the wounded soldiers but decided he could be more use with his comrades. Picking up his robes he moved in the direction Ludo had raced off in, trying to weave away from tombstones

[LCP]

Nahorek's head jerked forwards as Ludo's bolt caught him, glancing off one of the protruding ears of his mask. For a moment, he hesitated - then, with a purposeful stride, he carried on towards the gate. Ludo couldn't hear the words the vampire was speaking over the shrieking of the wind, but he saw pale will-o-the-wisps flicker and burn around him as he walked, a sure sign of magic at work.

East of the wall, Sieghard sprinted up the street, the rain dashing against his face. As he ran, he saw a flicker of witchlight up ahead, pale and sickly like the lights that had burned in the eye-sockets of the dead. In a moment, the light kindled and spread, limning the black outline of the Klammenberg's coach in ghostly fire. A tall, dark figure hoisted itself on board, and the silhouettes of the two horses turned burning eyes to the road.

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Nahorek's spell illuminates the coach enough that is visible despite the conditions.

[LeSwordfish]

"Silver bolts!" Ludo shouted. "The nearest horse!"

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Half Action reload
(1d100)[75] vs 46 -10 conditions +10 Single shot. +10 size?
(1d10+4)[10] damage.

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

"They're getting into the coach!" Sieghard shouted. "Get out of it's path! Shoot into it as it passes!" There likely weren't enough men with him to stop it if it started moving, they just had to hope to kill Klammenberg and his vampire. Desperate to reach the coach, he kept sprinting.

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If Sieghard uses another fortune point for an additional half action and puts it all into running, he can reach the front of the coach. Nahorek was able to get into it even though it was ethereal. He didn't do anything magical to do it - he couldn't since he had already cast this turn. He just walked into it. If it works for him, maybe Sieghard can do the same.

Sieghard does that and tries to climb onto it - the bar where it harnesses to the horses, not the seat where driver sits. If this does somehow work, I imagine it will be hard to hold on, but still more reliable than putting himself within swift attack range of Nahorek and probably less damaging to be run over by the damn thing afterwards.

[Thragka]

Urgrim gauged the distance down the mound to the eerie coach, and to the zombies still shuffling about the crypts. Laying down the axe and shield, he swung his crossbow off his shoulders. "Valaya, Ancestor Queen," he muttered, pulling one of the silvered bolts from where they thankfully still lodged in his beard. "Bless our clan and hold and hearth." He nocked the quarrel quick, raised the bow, squinted down at the wretched horses. "And deliver us from urki."

He pulled the trigger, and the bolt vanished into the night.

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Quick draw, half action to load, and a standard attack. Modifiers are +10 for the standard attack, and any positive size modifier on the horses, but -20 for long range and -10 for the storm, so testing off 31 if there's no size modifier.

ToHit - (1d100)[99]
Damage - (1d10+5)[11]

[RossN]

Adelbert

Not for the first time Adelbert regretted never really taking up practice with the bow. Bereft of a missile of his own and far to distant from the coach to help he turned to the wounded soldier beside him and whispered a quick prayer.

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Channeling: (1d100)[100]
Blessing of Healing on #34: (1d10)[10] (1d10)[2]

[LCP]

Sieghard ran as hard as he had ever run. With his heart hammering, he saw the black shape of the coach loom out of the rain ahead of him, its dead horses already accelerating towards him. As they came closer, he could see where Elsa’s magic had seared flesh from bone, a white horse skull grinning back at him from under a ruined mask of blackened meat. Ghostly fires burned in their shrivelled eyes and trailed from where their hooves struck the cobbles, as if they had ridden out of the gates of death itself.

Putting on a final burst of speed, Sieghard threw himself at the ghastly creatures, trying to catch hold of the shaft that yoked them to the carriage. His hands passed through it like smoke: with nothing to catch onto, his momentum bore him to the ground. Hitting the cobbles in a splash of filthy rainwater, he rolled onto his back to see flaming hooves rearing up above him, ready to come stamping down...

A gleaming crossbow bolt flew out of the darkness, slamming into the horse's eye-socket and extinguishing the unnatural flame that burned there. In a moment, the witch-fires that trailed from the creature’s mane and hooves guttered and died, the vampire’s enchantment unravelling under the kiss of the blessed bolt. Nothing more than dead horseflesh once again, the animal’s legs buckled, forcing Sieghard to roll swiftly out from under it as its cold weight crumpled to the ground.

A pale face peeked out of the right-hand side of the coach, and Sieghard heard a hurried, high-pitched incantation from inside. Before he could heave himself back to his feet, a cloud of inky blackness burst into being around him, hiding the carriage, the horses, everything from view. Even the ghost-lights of Nahorek's spell couldn't pierce the unnatural shadow - Sieghard couldn't make out his own hand in front of his face.

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I include the results of Klammenberg's spell in this post to allow TheSummoner and Thragka to post in response, but Adelbert and Ludo can make actions before the shadow-bomb goes off.

[LeSwordfish]

Ludo ran, flat out, head down, towards the coach. He saw Sieghard fall through the reins and realised it was still useless but kept running. He didn't have any better ideas, he wouldn't be able to fight well enough...

"Wait!" he shouted, as one of the risen dead made a grab for him and he slipped aside from it."Wait, I-"

It had spoken Khazalid. He spoke Khazalid, and if his ability to tell lies had got them into this mess - "Wait! <I know where the key is! We can make a deal!"> Anything to hold them for a few more seconds.

[Thragka]

Urgrim experienced something between awe and satisfaction when his bolt found its mark. The sudden vanishing of the coach into the roiling dark was a reminder not to get ahead of himself. He had to hope, though, that this minor blessing would buy them something.

Ludo's diplomacy was perhaps not what he'd had in mind. He harrumphed as he placed another bolt on the string and locked the draw. "Hope you know what you're doing, Stubbs," he muttered to himself. Regardless, he didn't intend to waste a moment while there were still cadavers lolling about the graveyard. He shot down into the crypts.

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Half action reload, half action standard attack on #36. 51 +10 SA -10 storm

To Hit 51 - (1d100)[18]
Damage - (1d10+5)[6]

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

It's just like Nicodemus, Sieghard realized. He knew nothing he did could hurt the horses or damage the coach and not for the first time, he regretted leaving the gilded spear behind in Manaan's Keep... And then the bolt smashed through the nearest horse's eye, throwing the beast to the street and splashing him with rainwater. He would worry about how it managed to do that later - he had seen Klammenberg's magic raise the fallen horses once and he knew that he had precious little time.

Not letting the magical darkness stop him, Sieghard fumbled about the horse's corpse, desperate to find the straps that harnessed it to the coach and cut them before dark magic made them ghostly again. He quickly found what he was looking for went to work hacking it apart.

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Rolls made OOC, Sieghard finds and cuts the straps of the harness. If he can a length of strap free entirely, he'll keep hold of it - not taking any chances with it being magically knit back together. He'll use his other half action to get back to his feet.

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa


Elsa could only fidget impatiently while waiting for Ioana. Morrslieb claimed to be unable to fly in this weather, meaning Elsa no longer had a pair of eyes on whatever was happening over there, but according to the raven, most of the zombies were dealt with and many other soldiers had just joined the fray.

Calm yourself down, she kept telling herself. You already did your part in this battle, especially for someone who was not even physically present. Your friends have dealt with worse and can deal with this, too.

If the Book of Nagash was still in the hands of the living by the time the power of Geheimnisnacht faded, it would be a major setback for Klammenberg, but the wizard had shown himself to have many tricks up his sleeves and would always have to be accounted for. For all the times their paths had crossed directly or indirectly, he was still an unknown quantity in many ways.

I wonder if that's how he thinks of us, too.

One thing was sure, they now had the attention of some powerful forces. This was both scary and oddly ego-affirming.

[RossN]

Adelbert

Adelbert, his sword in his hand also ran in the direction of the coach. He didn't expect to reach it or do much damage if he did but he had to do something.

[LCP]

A grey hand swiped at Ludo as he dashed through the crypts, its dead fingers catching only air. Up ahead, the rusted gate hung open, a swirling cloud of darkness looming through the sheeting rain behind it. That was where the coach had stood.

There came the bang of a carriage door flying open, and a sleek, black shape burst from the wall of shadow. It was the jackal, Klammenberg clinging desperately to its back. Pausing for a moment, it turned its head at the sound of Ludo’s voice, and its smouldering eyes met his. Ludo heard the rustle of rotten shrouds and dead flesh as the two dead men standing guard turned to stare at him too.

There were shouts from behind as Ingwald and the militia came charging out of the rain, bearing down on the living dead. Baring its white fangs in a snarl, the jackal turned and fled in one fluid motion, racing away down a darkened side-street with Klammenberg holding on for dear life. In moments, it had vanished into the rain.

A few moments later, the shroud of darkness dissipated, revealing Sieghard still hacking at the harness of a dead horse. Behind Ludo, the last of the risen dead were being cut down - as the last of them fell, the remaining horse shuddered and fell limp, its fire-blistered body crumpling to the cobbles. The coach stood abandoned, the rain drumming in through its open door.

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End combat time!

---

Elsa

At last, a bleary-eyed Ioana made her appearance in the doorway. “Sister Lenuta has been saying… a great many things,” she said, indicating the frightened initiate who had fetched her. Unlike the young Shallyans, Ioana didn’t seem at all cowed to be speaking to a wizard. “What’s going on?”

The wind rattled at the window, a deep rumble of thunder seeming to underscore her question.

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa


"What's going on?"

"The temple of Morr is under attack," explained Elsa quickly, having spent the last minute mentally rehearsing what she was about to say. "Necromancers, including the priest-killer who almost tore off my arm, are fighting our soldiers, so expect some extra patients. My raven familiar has been watching the battle for me, but he can't see anything anymore in this rain. In any case, we need to close the city gates, quickly. Any guards ask why, just say the wizard ordered it. But given all this—" (she gestured at the unnatural storm outside) "—and the bells earlier, I don't think they'll question it."

[Thragka]

Not Elsa

Urgrim lowered his weapon, uncertain. Could it be over? Could they have won, at least this hour, at least for this moment? "The chest!" he yelled across the night, as he broke into a run down the temple mound. "Is it there?"

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

"I'm not sure," Sieghard replied, getting to his feet. "I couldn't see a thing in that darkness. But the chest is heavy - they won't make it far if they're carrying it." He touched the wall of the coach to make sure it was really solid, then circled around to look inside.

[LCP]

The Temple

The siding of the coach felt rough, wet and reassuringly solid under Sieghard's touch. In the darkness of the storm, its interior was pitch black - Sieghard could only just make out a bulky, oblong shape lying on the floor between the seats. The chest was still there.

---

Elsa

Ioana blinked - it was a lot to take in. "Sanda, Lenuta, go," she said, after a brief hesitation. "Run to the castle. Tell them what the lady Hildebrand says."

The two initiates turned and scurried out. Lightning flashed again, and the thunder roared through the infirmary. Looking out through the stained glass, Ioana spoke in a low voice.

"I have to say, when I joined the sisterhood," she said, "this was not what I was expecting."

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

"It's still here!" Sieghard shouted. It had been far too close, but somehow they had managed to stop Klammenberg and his vampire from escaping with the book. He looked back to his men. "Grab the chest and anything else inside, then cut the other harness and smash the wheels. We'll have the thing burned once the rain stops, but for now it's enough to make sure they can't come back for it."

"Hell of a shot," he continued. "Which one of you loosed it? And how was it able to kill the horse? Their magic made the thing ghostly - nothing I did could touch it, yet somehow the bolt did."

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa


"Sanda, Lenuta, go. Run to the castle. Tell them what the lady Hildebrand says."

Elsa wanted to protest; now was hardly the time to be asking for permission. But if more guards could be put to the task, so be it. Hopefully Sieghard and the others could delay Klammenberg and his vampire, or would have the presence of mind to go guard the gates themselves.


"I have to say, when I joined the sisterhood," Ioana said in a low voice, "this was not what I was expecting."

Elsa smirked joylessly. She was starting to relax, now that Morrslieb was reporting no sounds of battle or any other alarming things. "I'll stop burdening your hospital as soon as I possibly can," she assured, softening her tone. "And I thank you for your understanding. But you must know, the attack on the temple of Morr tonight is only the beginning of a new war; one that won't be fought only with steel. These dark times are about to get darker. Your people will not be idle."

[RossN]

Adelbert

Nahorek had fled from them.

He fled from them.

Adelbert felt exhausted and grief struck and frightened and triumphant all at once. 'Run all you like you arrogant leech, we'll hunt you down in the end.' He wasn't sure who he was talking to: himself, the gods or the departed vampire.

'Sieghard, Jocasta might still be alive in the Temple... I'm going in.' Verena and Morr protect me from what I'm about to see.

[Thragka]

Urgrim

Urgrim staggered down the mound and out the gate, panic bleeding away to mad, giddy elation at Sieghard's words. Still, he had to look for himself to see the wutroth case still sealed.

He took a few steps back from the carriage and breathed deep. His head was swimming. A stray gust of wind could have knocked him over. His shoulders began rocking, and a deep, exhausted chuckle pushed its way up from his diaphragm.

"My shot," he said to Sieghard. With both hands, he began unknotting the remaining silvered quarrels from where they hung in his beard. "I think, uh ... " He shrugged once his hands were free. "I think the gods were with us." He shook his head, watching thoughtfully as Adelbert turned and headed back up the temple mound.

[LCP]

The Temple

Entering through the back door, Adelbert climbed the steps to the belltower. The temple bells were little things compared to those Adelbert had known back in the Empire, and the tower that held them was similarly small, just a spiral staircase squashed inside four narrow walls. Opening the hatch onto the platform, he climbed back out into the rain. Jocasta was standing there, gripping the wall and staring out into the darkness of the storm.

She turned at the sound of the hatch opening as if ready to attack - then un-tensed as she saw who it was. "Adelbert!" she said. "What happened?" Lightning flickered in the clouds, brief and blinding. "Where is he?"

---

Elsa

"We never are," said Ioana, sanguine. "Wars and sickness come and go, but Shallya's mercy remains constant. That's what Mother Constanza used to say."

She looked back to Elsa. "Those wounds won't heal if you don't rest. We'll send word if we hear anything new." She turned to leave the room. "Goodnight, mistress Hildebrand."

[RossN]

Adelbert

'Fled with his repulsive toady Klammenberg,' Adelbert replied. A trace of a smile - weary but real - appeared at his mouth. 'The monster didn't take his prize for all he cost us today and we made him bleed.'

The priest dismissed the thoughts of the vampire for the moment and looked at Jocasta in concern and no small measure of admiration. 'That was incredibly brave of you Jocasta. Are you alright?' Even as he said it Adelbert was aware of how inadequte the question sounded in the circumstances.

[LCP]

The Temple

Jocasta just turned and hugged Adelbert, burying her face against his shoulder. Nahorek's storm still howled around the little belfry, sheets of rain gusting in through its open arches - but for the first time since he had heard Klammenberg's voice on the doorstep, Adelbert felt safe.

[RossN]

Adelbert

Adelbert blinked in surprise, but then wrapped his arms around the young woman, hugging her tightly. Gods, that they were survivors among all this horror.

Adelbert listened in to the sound of her breath and the thump of her heart, felt the warmth of her heir against his cheek. We are alive. This is living. Oh sweet merciful goddess thank you for this moment.

Only after a long moment did he gently pull back looking at Jocasta kindly. 'I better check on the bodies of our brother and sister in the Temple. Can you check on the Initiates?'

She'd been through more than enough. Adelbert had no desire to put Jocasta through the trauma of recovering Liebrecht and Mother Raqiyah's remains.

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa


"Good night."

Elsa rested her head on her pillow and exhaled. Morrslieb, meanwhile, had managed to hop over to Sieghard and the others and confirm that Elsa's companions were alive and well.

Find some shelter from the rain, Elsa told Morrslieb. You've deserved your rest, and a lot of tasty treats. I don't know if you'll ever realize the role you played tonight.

The raven unconvincingly tried to seem dismissive about the whole thing. Surely even an intelligent bird could tell that the affairs of humans would have tremendous import on the future of this part of the world and everything that lived in it.


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I think I'm pretty much done for this scene.