[WFRP] The Bloody Crown XI

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

"You spoke with the jar?" Sieghard asked skeptically. He had no clue what a djinn was.

"Test it," he suggested. "Ask it something you know the answer to. If it answers truly, ask why the shades couldn't attack before but can now. Or what binds them to this place. If we knew, maybe we could do something to be rid of them."

Spoiler

Show

And now we've got a genie in a lamp. I imagine it's not as nice as Robin Williams... oh well

Prince Adelee, fabulous he
Priest of Verena

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa's brow furrowed. "If I were some kind of spirit trapped in a jar, I would certainly tell people that good things would happen if they freed me."

[RossN]

Adelbert

'True,' Adelbert admitted at Elsa's comment. 'I don't trust her, but at the same time she might be useful in getting us out of here - maybe even against Nahorek.'

He looked concerned as Urgrim walked away but turned to Sieghard first. 'I don't think she is really aware of the outside world sealed in her jar. She assumed I was one of the sorcerors and I think she only registered my presence at all because I used a blessing of the goddess to examine the jar. I do know from my vision that when the city originally fell one of the sorcerors tried to release her before he was slain by a ghost.'

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

"The jar is a woman?" Sieghard said, more confused than before.

"The sorcerers must've thought it could be controlled," he continued. He looked around at the destruction around them. "For however much good that did them."

[LeSwordfish]

"I don't think it's a good idea..." Ludo said carefully. "But we're pretty low on those anyway."

OOC

Spoiler

Show

Ready to go scouting whenever Urgi is.

[RossN]

Adelbert

'Inside the jar Sieghard,' Adelbert explained. 'Someone help me onto the roof so I can get a view of the tower, then we'll discuss the djinn.'

[LeSwordfish]

Ludo absent-mindedly despatched a group of the thorns to help Adelbert up onto the roof and guard him, as much for something to do as anything else, and headed over to the door to push it open as small an amount as he could manage, looking out for any guarding spirits - or whatever worse things were out there.

[LCP]

It was a tough climb up the dangling rope. After the last few hours' exertions, Adelbert's arms felt as if they were jelly - it took him a couple of tries and a couple of falls before he made it to the top. Edging along the narrow ledge to where the hole in the roof began, Adelbert clambered out over the broken supports of the dome and onto the roof.

The dust was thinner up here. In fact, he might have been imagining it, but the dust seemed thinner overall, the violent howl of the wind now more of a steady moan. The sun was getting low in the west, a dim, blood-red orb through the ochre haze. Its faint light reflected off the sides of the tower, rising like a needle above the whirlpool of dust that churned around its base.

Shielding his eyes from flying grit, Adelbert squinted up at the tower's pinnacle. He could feel the same shadow over his soul that he had felt in Savonne, in the days leading up to Geheimnisnacht. The Jackal was here - but was he there?

Kneeling on the windswept roof, Adelbert clasped his hands in prayer, imploring Verena for insight into the enemy's plans. He received no answer - only the droning of the wind, and the kiss of dust against his skin.

OOC:

Spoiler

Show

IDK if once is enough, or if you want to try recasting until success/Wrath of the Gods - up to you.

~

Down in the hall, two of the Thorns helped Ludo open the heavy gate just a crack. Outside he saw nothing but a wall of swirling dust - that was, until a passing billow let him see a little further, and he caught a glimpse of hollow eyes staring through the storm. They were still out there - how many, who could say?

[LeSwordfish]

Ludo pulled the door closed. So much for "mindless".

"Alright," he said. "We're going over the roof I guess."

OOC

Spoiler

Show

Obviously Thragka can object if he wants, but for the sake of speed here's some rolls:

SSS to climb the rope to the roof to get out: (1d100)[95] vs 26 +20 time +10 assist.
And down, where there's more risk: (1d100)[17] vs 26 +20 time +10 assist.

Good to get those the right way round! Judging by Adelbert's roll, I assume there's some ability to take twenty on that first roll, even if Ludo's dignity takes a few hits.

[RossN]

Adelbert

Adelbert wiped a bead of sweat from his brow and tried to take a moment to regain his breath before trying once more. 'Please Lady of Mysteries aid me against this blight against all that is true...'

OOC:

Spoiler

Show

Channeling: (1d100)[11] vs 68
Eavesdrop (15): (2d10)[5][6](11)

[LCP]

Adelbert heard nothing but the hiss of the wind. Had he done something to offend the goddess? He hoped not.

As he returned inside, Ludo and Urgrim passed him, a steady stream of Khazalid curse-words escaping Urgrim's lips as he hauled himself hand over hand up the swaying rope. Stepping out onto the roof, he took a moment to squint up at the tower, before following Ludo to the corner of the building where a steep shoulder of rubble made it possible to climb down.

Clambering over the crumbled masonry like a spider, Ludo was two-thirds of the way down when he heard a grating of stone against stone above him, and Urgrim's shout of alarm as the foothold he'd chosen gave way. The dwarf plummeted past him, bouncing off a chunk of rubble on the way down.

Picking himself up off the ground with a groan, Urgrim felt his ribs, making sure none of them were cracked. A small cascade of grit and rubble had followed him down, its smallest constituent pieces only now rolling to a halt - and as the sound died away, he heard the clinking of chains, drawing rapidly closer...

OOC:

Spoiler

Show

Urgrim takes damage from the fall, ignoring armour but not TB: (1d10+5)[7] - 2 wounds

[LeSwordfish]

Ludo scrabbled his way down, heedless of further noise, and helped Urgi to his feet. "Are you alright?" No pause for an answer. "We have to go now, this way."

OOC

Spoiler

Show

As I mentioned, into the ruins in the direction of B.

Stealth for Ludo vs 84: (1d100)[88]
And i'll roll for Urgi, who presumably has a similarly high score: (1d100)[11]

[LCP]

As Urgrim rose back to his feet, Ludo quickly realised stealth would only take them so far - ghostly figures were already gliding out of the dust towards them. Grabbing the dwarf's arm so they wouldn't get separated in the storm, he rushed into the ruins.

The spirits followed at a steady pace, gliding over heaps of broken stonework and melting through ruined walls. Glancing back over his shoulder, Ludo thought he counted three of them, but there was no time to make certain. Scrambling up over a collapsed wall, he rushed across the dust-choked alleyway ahead and through the darkened archway that led into the next house ahead.

This was where they had been holding the prisoners. Marginally more intact than the buildings around it, a block of masonry with a rusted iron ring bolted into it had been scavenged from the surrounding ruins as an anchor to keep them tied to. Trailing from the ring was a web of frayed rope, probably scavenged from Caerfort's own supplies - and at the end of the ropes, a carpet of bodies lay sprawled across the floor. They had barely a mark on them, but their chalk-white faces were contorted in expressions of terror - clearly the spectres had no reservations about entering this house.

As if to prove the point, the first of their pursuers came floating through the wall, turning its empty eyes towards Ludo. Ahead, a wide hole in the wall led out into the next street, while to their left a darkened doorway led deeper into the building. The other spirits couldn't be far behind...

[LeSwordfish]

There was no time to curse another senseless loss. Dragging Urgrim, Ludo darted back outside and turned left, heading down the street back into the ruins. In one hand was a chunk of stone he had salvaged from the ruined wall, and as soon as he and Urgi were out of sight of the spirits, he slipped it into his sling and launched it away before ducking down and hiding again, hoping that the spirits would follow the sound and give them a chance to escape.

[LCP]

The spirits were right on their tail. The first to fade through the wall behind them turned its insubstantial head to follow the arc of the stone as it sailed off into the storm - but then its gaze swung inexorably back to the halfling who'd thrown it. Two others appeared alongside it, their spectral chains trailing behind them...

OOC:

Spoiler

Show

The ghosts are almost on top of you. Your choice whether you want to turn this into a chase, or roll initiative - or if you have another idea, let me know.

[LeSwordfish]

"We've got to do this quietly," Ludo said, drawing his crossbow. "Quick, before any others find us."

He fired a blessed bolt through the chest of the nearest and scrabbled to reload.

[LCP]

Ludo's bolt flashed a brief, pure white as it slashed through the nearest spectre, its outline wavering for a moment as it recoiled from the shot. Stretching its mouth impossibly wide, it lunged at Ludo, while the two behind it descended on Urgrim. Urgrim ducked back, but the spirits were faster - he felt the deathly chill of their hands as they caught hold of him...

[LeSwordfish]

Right up close, there was no way for Ludo to reload or aim his crossbow: instead he grabbed a single one of Adelbert's blessed bolts, and made a clumsy attempt to stab the ghost with it directly.

[LCP]

The spectre twisted out of the path of Ludo's hasty stab, cold claws raking across his arm in reply. They left no marks, but Ludo felt the biting cold of their touch, robbing him of the strength to fight. Staggering back, he thought hard of home, of everything he was fighting for, and the chill seemed to ebb from his bones.

Urgrim was not so fortunate - ashen-faced, the dwarf had slumped to his knees, one of the ghosts battened onto him like an enormous leech. As Urgrim keeled over into the dust, the third spectre turned its empty eyes towards Ludo, and began floating inexorably towards him.

[LeSwordfish]

Ludo made a final valiant slash with his improvised dagger, and turned to flee.

OOC

Spoiler

Show

yeah okay lets do the chase, lets do the chase instead that sounds better. Ludo is going to Full Move away, with Flee! up again. (1d10)[1] rounds - oh come on

Ludo's now out of fortune so (1d100)[74] for his dodge against the first opportunity attack - an exact pass.

The spirits are slow but can go through walls - ludo is taking whatever route away lets him open up empty space between them.

[LCP]

Ludo was fast, but the spirits matched his pace, twisting through the air like pikes after a minnow. Seeing an alley ahead that might offer an escape route, Ludo tried a hard turn to throw them off his tail - but a chunk of stone half-buried in the dust caught his foot, sending him sprawling onto the hard ground. By the time he could roll onto his back, they were already on him - he saw a distorted, skeletal face staring into his before the spectre's wasted hands plunged into his chest, flooding his veins with ice.

This time, it was too much to fight. Vision blurring, he thought he saw the spectre look away, a human-sounding shout echoing through the ruins... but then his consciousness slipped beneath the cold tide, and everything went black...

---

Elsa, Sieghard, & Adelbert

Behind the brass gates, the surviving Thorns waited for their scouts to return. And waited. And waited...

Looking up at the hole in the roof, Adelbert watched the sky fade from bloody ochre into shades of twilight. The storm was definitely dying down, though it was taking its sweet time. In the corner furthest away from the reeking heap of bodies by the doorway, a few of the Thorns had started a game of trying to balance chunks of rubble on top of one another to pass the time.

"They've been gone too long," said Hanna, who had been fidgeting with nervous energy for the last half-hour at least. "They should be back by now."

"Maybe they found something useful out there," said Ingwald. "Or someone. We should give them time." His voice was not as hopeful as his words.

"We'll all be seeing them again soon enough," said Gustaf, glumly inspecting his crossbow. "We never should've come here..."

The sound of the wind outside had died down to a low rustle - low enough for them all to catch the low, metallic sound that came from the plaza outside. Something was happening out there.

Adelbert Only

Spoiler

Show

In the swirls of dust rolling past the broken roof, Adelbert thought he caught the outline of a stalking jackal. The shadow he had felt looking up at the tower suddenly seemed stronger - Nahorek was drawing close.

He felt a steadying hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw Verena standing behind him. She gave him a sad smile, then faded back into empty air...

Elsa Only

Spoiler

Show

As the echoes of the sound died away, Elsa felt a sick, creeping feeling in the pit of her stomach. The slow currents of Dhar in the stagnant air of the ruin twitched and changed direction, straining almost eagerly towards some new locus of power in the plaza outside...

---

Ludo & Urgrim

Urgrim awoke to a pale, ghostly face right in front of his own. He scrambled back, reaching for his axe - but rather than lunge at him, the face's owner fell back as well. As his senses returned to him, he realised it was the Morrite girl, Moltke. She had been pale to begin with, and now, caked in the dust of the storm, she looked practically a spectre herself.

"Ah!" she said, before remembering to keep her voice down. "I mean, ah! He's alive!"

"'Course he is, gel," came a deeper voice from nearby. "I told you, dwarfs is tough to kill."

Another, larger face loomed into view - though when the man who owned it reached up to wipe his forehead with his sleeve, the face beneath the dust was considerably more florid than Moltke's. Urgrim thought he recognised him as one of the Morrite men-at-arms.
"No loud noises now, mister dwarf. We had to lead those spooks on quite a runaround to get 'em off you, but they're still out there." He looked round. "Ah, the 'alfling's coming round as well."

Ludo felt as if he had just been pulled out of a freezing river as he opened his eyes. Putting a finger to his lips, the man-at-arms held out a leather flask. "Get that some of that down yer," he said, "but promise not to cough. It'll warm yer right up."

Rising off the ground, Urgrim looked around him. This wasn't the open street where he'd fallen - from the look of things, they were hunkered down in one of the more intact ruins, one with enough walls to hide them from the roaming ghosts. The storm was no longer raging so fiercely, and the sun had sunk beneath the hills - how long had he been out?

Through a ragged hole in the wall that had once been a window, they could see the plaza. It was still cloaked in a haze of dust, but they could at least now make out the vague shapes of the buildings on the other side. The brass gates of the building where they'd left the others were clearly visible through the deepening twilight - and in front of them, all across the square, were littered the dust-covered bumps that Urgrim knew were bodies. That was a lot of bodies. Drifting among them were the shimmers in the air that he knew betrayed the presence of the ghosts. Without the dust to show up against, they were considerably harder to see - but they were there, all the same.

A deep, echoing boom sounded out from the other side of the plaza. Looking left, Urgrim saw the gates of the tower begin to swing open...

[RossN]

Elsa, Sieghard, & Adelbert

Adelbert looked at something only he could see for a long moment, smiling with a certain wistful sadness.

Then he was all business. 'The vampire is coming, finally. Let's kill him shall we? Everyone present arms so that I may bless them.'

As he wait for the Thorns to present their weapons his eyes flicked over to Elsa. 'The djinn? It may be the only card left to play that the vampire isn't prepared for.'

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa frowned. "Are you sure he's coming here? Could be Ludo and Urgrim who are in trouble. In any case, the Winds are shifting towards something in the plaza."

Not much could be done about their scouts. Finding them in this sandstorm was nigh impossible.

'The djinn? It may be the only card left to play that the vampire isn't prepared for.'

"Perhaps this should wait a bit," said Elsa. "If it blows up in our faces, I'd like Nahorek to be present."

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

"They've been gone too long. They should be back by now."

"Maybe they found something useful out there. Or someone. We should give them time."

"I trust them," Sieghard said. "They're the best we have at this sort of thing. If anyone can move around unseen, it's them." More than that, he knew that there was nothing he could do. If they weren't able to slip past the spirits, Sieghard knew he had no hope of doing it.

"We'll all be seeing them again soon enough. We never should've come here..."

"And if we hadn't, then that monster would march on Manaan's Keep next. Painford after that, and from there Savonne and the rest of the reaches. The beast won't stop until every man and woman in the reaches from small children to bent backed old men is dead or enslaved. Not unless someone stops it. I won't stand by and let that happen. If I'm going to die, then I'm going to drag the bastard to Morr's gate with me."

Spoiler

Show

Command roll. Sieghard is trying to be inspiring.

(1d100)[72] vs 64

[LCP]

Elsa, Sieghard & Adelbert

Gustaf clammed up. He'd never been much of a talker - but he didn't look too heartened, either. Ingwald had his thinking face on, which was never something any commander wanted to see in his soldiers.

"Will it, though?" he asked. "I mean... has anyone actually asked it what it wants?"

[RossN]

Elsa, Sieghard & Adelbert

'Everyone dead or turned into those hideous creatures from Rivermouth,' Adelbert replied to Gustaf's words. 'It's slaves captured the poor wretches of Caerfort as some form of sacrifice for the magics that fuel it's existence and I'm sure it will happily do the same to the rest of the Reaches unless we kill it. You can more easily and profitably negotiate with a lamprey - or an Orc.'

He was blessing as many swords and bolts as he could but his eyes were increasingly drawn back to the djinn's jar.

OOC:

Spoiler

Show

Adelbert
Channeling: (1d100)[17] vs 68
Blessed Weapon (6): (2d10)[1][2](3)

Thorns #1
Channeling: (1d100)[67] vs 68
Blessed Weapon (6): (2d10)[6][3](9)

Thorns #2
Channeling: (1d100)[54] vs 68
Blessed Weapon (6): (2d10)[8][2](10)

Thorns #3
Channeling: (1d100)[59] vs 68
Blessed Weapon (6): (2d10)[8][3](11)

Thorns #4
Channeling: (1d100)[3] vs 68
Blessed Weapon (6): (2d10)[9][8](17)

[LeSwordfish]

Ludo managed to cover his spluttering at whatever it was he was drinking, and hauled himself to his feet, feeling two hundred years old, his head spinning as if drained of blood. He looked over the field of corpses, and turned back to Moltke in horror. "How long has it been? Have you found anyone else?"

[LCP]

Adelbert, Elsa & Sieghard

"Sure, I mean, I'm not saying it's... misunderstood or anything," said Ingwald. "But conquering the Reaches? That's what men like the C- like the Prince want, isn't it? Or like Alvarr, or the old Duke..." he trailed off. "Border princes. Not... whatever he is. We're not important. If you were going to live forever, why would you start here?"

"The Reaches are important!" said Hanna, sounding as if her pride was a little wounded. "Savonne's the biggest town for fifty leagues!"

"Right, that's why all the lords and ladies of the north pay such attention to what happens here. 'All quiet in His Imperial Highness' Court, the King of the Reaches has arrived!'," said Ingwald. If he was being sarcastic, at least that meant he was feeling more himself again. "We're not rich. We don't have, what's it called, strategic value. The Reaches hasn't mattered much to anyone outside the Reaches since... well, pretty much since they destroyed this place."

---

Ludo & Urgrim

"Since we found you?" said Moltke. She looked to the man, who shrugged. "Um... maybe an hour? It's hard to tell time in this."

"It's just us, I'm afraid, lads," whispered the man-at-arms. "Others didn't make it. Not that I saw, anyway. But if we hold tight and keep schtum, I reckon we've got as good a chance as anybody..."

His words trailed off as figures began to emerge from the tower - figures in the black armour of the Raven Knights. Moltke scrambled excitedly to the window.

"See, Jens? I told you! I told you they'd got inside!" She rose to wave to the knights, but Jens practically tackled her back into cover, clapping a hand over her mouth to stifle her protests. They didn't last long - there was something wrong about the way the four knights were moving. They were too stiff, too silent. And behind them, other figures were emerging. Ludo recognised Mala and the surviving Rivermouthers - the woman's cheek was now bound up in a bloodstained bandage.

Last out was the figure both Urgrim and Ludo had known was coming. Tall but scarecrow-thin, the Jackal loomed over his followers like some pagan idol, the onyx mask he had taken from the Temple concealing his face. One of the Rivermouthers scampered behind him, carrying something in her arms. It was difficult to make out details through the haze, but it looked to Ludo like some kind of wicker cage.

Nahorek stood still for a moment, turning his gaze from left to right across the silent plaza. Ludo, Urgrim and the Morrites shrank down behind the wall as it swung towards them - it lingered there for a moment, the vampire staring at the building they were in for a second or two longer before turning away.

The ghosts were gathering in the plaza, perhaps drawn by the warm blood in the Rivermouthers' veins. Peeking back up above the wall, Ludo saw Mala's people shrink back from the spectres, trying to put the black bulk of the Raven Knights in between them - but the spirits weren't coming any closer. They kept a respectful distance from Nahorek, as if an invisible circle had been drawn around him that they could not cross. As he began to stalk forwards across the square, the spirits began to drift nearer to the Rivermouthers in the rear - seeing where they stood, the jackal-worshippers hurried after their master. He was heading towards the building with the brass gates.

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa, Adelbert and Sieghard

Elsa tapped her foot impatiently. "Can we worry about preparing for a fight? If Nahorek comes, he won't be alone; he never is. And we know he can also raise yet more dead bodies." She made a broad gesture at the skeletons littering the room. "I know this seems... blasphemous, but we need to scatter those bones; maybe also break some of the limbs. Make them unable to rise again. Come on. We don't have much time. If it makes you feel better, remember these people were Chaos-worshiping heathens."

Spoiler

Show

Command 44 if necessary (and assuming Elsa's status carries weight with the Thorns): (d100)[68]

She removed Queen Khalida from her pocket and instructed her to slither to the back room and wait there. This way, the snake would not be a casualty if her mistress got hit by a spell or spontaneously caught fire.

[RossN]

Adelbert

Adelbert moved over to the jar and touched it.

Spoiler

Show

Tshula-Udiyya can you hear me?