PART FIVE

- Investigations – A Gathering – Everybody is Trying to Kill Everybody Else -

Marcus then went off to find out more about this Cult of the Forgotten, trailed by his loyal bodyguard. Heidi directed him to the Temple of Sigmar, where they were harassed by a pedlar trying to sell them relics of the new “incarnation of Sigmar”, Karl. Once they had pulled themselves free of his attentions they were able to speak with a burly priest, who pointed them in the direction of a scholar named Hoffman in the Paleisbuurt district that might be able to help them.

Hoffman was able to tell them that the symbol is associated with the Blood God, and the cult was rumoured to have a fortress base out in the marshes somewhere. Marcus asked him to investigate the matter further and offered him a very generous payment in order to do so.

Now at a loose end, Marcus allowed Heidi to take him to the Pits. The arena was quite empty, and to her disappointment the weapons used by the protagonists seemed to be made of wood and padded. When she brought this up with the proprietor, he explained that an obscure city ordnance prevented the use of real weapons in the arena before nightfall.

Later on they receive news from Hoffman that his researches have located the cult fort, some three days travel to the northwest.

Meanwhile Cavindel spent the morning practicing his archery skills before meeting up with his sister for lunch. They then travelled to Candle Wharf in order to familiarise themselves with the area before the meeting. While exploring they came across a warehouse which turned out to belong to Salaman Singh. Cavindel took a look inside and saw a four-foot long lizard-like creature lying next to a blazing fire. When they finished their scouting mission and returned to the Manikins to report, the Elvish commander was very interested in this creature. He asked Cavindel and Tyrella to use the opportunity of the coming confusion in order to capture the beast and bring it back to him.

The two groups then reconvened. Cavindel explained about their expedition to Candle Wharf, as well as the lizard and their instructions regarding it. After some discussion they headed out to the Wharf as night began to fall.

Several prospective buyers were already there when they arrived. One group was clearly from Ind, and included the lizard creature as well as a hulking Ogre. There was also a group of burly dwarves, with spiky orange Mohicans and pistols, and a group of boatmen led by a woman wearing an elegant black dress, The final buyer was a lone figure, a man dressed in black

Tyrella approached the group from Ind first and engaged them in conversation. She learnt that the lizard creature, a Geckamand, was native to their homeland, and furthermore that the Ind faction believed that she and her fellows were the ones selling the Eye. After disabusing them of this notion, she returned to the others.

Heidi, naturally, went to speak with the Dwarves. As their appearance suggested, they were members of the strange dwarven sect known as Trollslayers, and all sought to die in battle to expiate some unknown sin and regain their honour. Their reason for wanting the Eye was straightforward enough; they wished to use it to summon a demon which they would then battle to the death.

Marcus decided to speak with the mysterious woman. She was rather cold towards him, observing that he had the taint of Chaos about him, After some discussion, it emerged that this was probably due to the cult amulet he was carrying on his person, and she advised him to be rid of it. Her motive in coming to the auction was to destroy the Eye, as she seemed committed to the destruction of Chaos in all its forms.

Cavindel simply made his way unnoticed onto a roof overlooking the proceedings, ready for whatever may happen.

Then Andries “the Fish” arrived, with his people. Before he could initiate proceedings, or even greet anybody, piles of driftwood and assorted dockside detritus suddenly swirled up and formed into humanoid figures. These figures, four in number, immediately closed in on “the Fish”, who looked rather alarmed.

This was the signal for general mayhem to ensure. Tyrella spotted dark figures on the roof near Cavindel, and warned the others before firing at them with her bow. This was sufficient to warn Cavindel who also then fired at them. The Geckomid belched flame onto one of the driftwood figures, igniting it, as Andries’ men rallied to defend him from the others. The dwarves opened fire at the woman, who ordered her boatmen to engage them as she withdrew.

One of the figures on the roof fired back at Tyrella with a firearm, wounding her. The shot drew the attention of one of the dwarves, who shouted to his fellows to ignore the witch and attack the Skaven. The man in black managed to get up onto the roof with great agility and immediately fled the area in a series of great bounds. Tyrella and Marcus hurried towards cover, with Heidi in tow. Unfortunately their escape was cut off as Cassidy, accompanied by two Ogres, emerged from the alleyway which they were heading for.

The dwarves obediently switched their fire to the dark figures on the roof, who are indeed Skaven. Cavindel continued to fire at his fellow roof-lurkers as well, hitting the one with the firearm. The other three, on the ground, changed direction and dashed down a different alley. Here Heidi took the time to look at Tyrella’s injury as the fighting continued in the main area and managed to extract a glowing green ball from the wound. Recognising it as warpstone, she immediately discarded it.

A magical black pit opened beneath the Ind Ogre, but he deftly leapt to one side as it appeared. The Skaven then began to withdraw under the pressure of the dwarven fusillade. Cavindel followed up, as did the dwarves. One of Cassidy’s Ogres attacked his counterpart from Ind, employing a rather curious club-headed tail.

Andries and his men were also retreating from the field now. An arcane gesture from the woman in black and another of the driftwood creatures collapsed in bits. An enthusiastic dwarf threw a grenade at the Skaven, catching Cavindel in the blast. At this point Tyrella remembered her whistle and blew on it, summoning the last of the interested factions.

An Elven galley sailed majestically into view as Cassidy and his other Ogre headed towards Heidi and the others. Also making their way in that direction were the two remaining driftwood golems. Heidi and Marcus moved away from Cassidy, while Tyrella nimbly made her way up onto a nearby roof.

The Skaven had by now reached a well that the Elven siblings had noted earlier, and were disappearing down it one by one. Cavindel fired again, but it seemed his archery practice had been in vain as once again he failed to hit. The Elves on the ship swept the open area with ballista fire, hitting everybody. This included the remaining dwarves, who angrily turned their attention to the newcomers.

Cassidy too attempted to attack the boat, invoking his arcane power. A huge axe-like pendulum appeared over the boat, as a huge glowing eye showed on his mask, but the boat was clearly protected in some way as the spell had no effect. Tyrella then took advantage of her new position to shoot Cassidy with her bow. The woman in black disintegrated another golem as the Ind Ogre felled his Ogrish opponent. Once dead, this “Ogre” changed form, to that of a large humanoid figure with a beaked, one-eyed face and a clubbed tail. With that, the Ind faction left the battlefield. Andries and his men had similarly departed.

The dwarves had had significantly greater success against the boat than Cassidy; using their guns and grenades they managed to blow it apart. They showed no particular desire to kill the Elves as they evacuated the boat however, and when Cassidy vanished along with his remaining follower, it seemed that the battle was over.

One of the dwarves approached Marcus and Heidi there, and asked them where the gem was. Obviously they had no idea, assuming it had left with “the Fish”. The dwarf did recognised the fallen faux Ogre however, referring to it as a Fimir, something he disparagingly dismissed as a pretend demon.

Tyrella had jumped down from her roof and run along the bank, hoping to catch sight of where “the Fish” and his men had gone. They had not gone very far, and Tyrella was able to catch up with them and quiz “the Fish” as to the location of the gem. He claimed that the man in black had picked his pocket during the fighting and made off with it. Cavindel, who by now had caught up with his sister, thought he recognised the man in black as the doorman from the Golden Lotus and the pair dashed off to that establishment, hoping to beat him there by taking a more direct route. Heidi and Marcus talked briefly with the woman in black, who gave them her views on what Fimir are and nearly triggered a resumption of hostilities with the dwarves.

Cavindel and Tyrella arrived at the Golden Lotus, and took up position nearby so that they could observe it in secret. They waited for several hours before the man in black finally arrived. When he did, they immediately shot him. He then moved across the bridge towards them with startling speed, avoiding their subsequent shots as he came and then leaping off the side of the bridge. There was no splash however, and they quickly moved across to opposite side of the bridge to look for him. He was waiting for them however, and Cavindel was the unlucky one who found him. Cavindel received a faceful of Black Lotus poison, although this did not stop him from shooting the man.

This time they heard a splash. Before they could go after him though, they were addressed by the current doorman for the Golden Lotus, inquiring as to why they were attacking his man. When they explained the reason, he suggested that they come inside to discuss the matter further. Naturally suspicious, and with Cavindel’s head now spinning from the effect of the poison, they suggested coming back tomorrow. They abandoned the chase then, and returned to the Three Barrels Inn in the hope that one of the wizards there could cure Cavindel.

Marcus meanwhile had looted the dead Fimir of its armour and Heidi suggested that they may be able to sell it on at the Pits. They headed back there, and managed to sell the belly plate to an Ogre they meet there. Heidi decided to keep the chain, in the hope that she could alter it at some point to fit her. Then they too returned to the Three Barrels Inn.

At the Inn, Cavindel was healed by one of the wizards and put to bed. Tyrella met up with the other two and explained what had happened to them.