TOPIC: Warlock! The Enemy Within

The Enemy Within (Warlock!)
Session 2, 11/01/2024 (part 2)

The offices of Lock, Stock & Barrel are in a dingy backstreet far from the carnival atmosphere of the town centre. The surrounding buildings look abandoned, fit only for rats and solicitors. Calvin and Gustaf go in and present their stolen documents to a nervous looking clerk. Calvin identifies himself as Kastor Lieberung. The clerk asks them to wait, while he leaves to fetch one of the partners. Time passes, but the clerk does not return. Gustaf tries the door and finds they are locked inside.

A voice from the street orders Kastor Lieberung, Magister Impedimentae of the Cult of the Tenebrous Heart to surrender himself to the King's justice! For once in his life, Calvin is lost for words. Gustaf attempts to break down the back door. Suddenly, screams rend the air, as the men outside are set upon by some unseen assailant. Gustaf succeeds in breaking down the back door, charging into the two thugs lurking in the alley. Knocking the two thugs on their asses, Calvin and Gustaf flee from the scene of the slaughter, and (via a roundabout, circuitous route) make their way back to the boarding house.

Meanwhile, Adeline and Fritz enjoy an uneventful shopping trip. Adeline buys a new cloak and fancy hat. Fritz purchases a shortbow and some light armour. Adeline bumps into her cousin Josef, bargemaster of the Berebeli. He offers Adeline a job, should she ever tire of shoveling other people's shit.

As he is buffered by the crowd, Fritz feels nimble fingers reaching into his pants! A halfling pickpocket has made off with his coin pouch! The grinning thief slips between the bars of a sewer grating. Fritz is too big to follow, but Adeline gives chase! She tustles with the thief and the coin pouch splits open, spilling copper and silver pieces into the filth. The halfling rogue abandons the loot and flees deeper into the sewers. A moment later, Adeline hears a terrifying, drawn-out shriek. Leaving the coins, she quickly exits the dark tunnel and returns to Fritz.

Back at the boarding house, Fritz realises his lucky rock is missing! The thief must have taken it! Fritz really wants that rock back! The PCs resign themselves to explore to the sewers of Biskerstaf.

(... and if you think that was heavy-handed, you should see how this part of the adventure is written in the book.)

The Enemy Within (Warlock!)
Session 2, 11/01/2024 (part 3)

Darkness has settled over Biskerstaf, but the Festival of Harvest Thanks continues on late into the night. Forgoing the celebrations, the PCs instead descend into the foul, foetid sewer tunnels beneath the town, in search of Fritz's lucky rock.

It is dark, dank and disgusting. Adeline feels right at home! They soon come across a body bobbing face down in the turgid sludge. It is too big to be the halfling thief, and when Adeline rolls the body over, she reveals the corpse of a human male with his rib cage violently splayed open. All of his internal organs are missing, and what's left of his face (it looks like the rats found him first) is frozen in a rictus of horror. Fritz shakes his head solemnly as he cuts the man's silver wedding band from a bloated finger. Oh dear. Very sad. Anyway....

Following the trail of the halfling thief leads the PCs to a collapsed wall looking into a bricked up and forgotten basement. A sinister octagon has been chalked onto the floor, illuminated by black candles planted at each of the eight points. The skull of a horned beast sits in the centre of the octagon, surrounded by the words ORDO SEPTINARIUS. A trail of fresh blood leads from the octagon to the mutilated body of the halfling thief, now slumped lifelessly over a wooden chest on the far side of the chamber.

This whole setup looks both grim and perilous. How badly does Fritz want his rock back anyway? Badly enough to send Adeline in to grab it for him. She tries not to disturb the octagon, but accidentally knocks over a candle. Oops. Immediately, black smoke spews from the bestial skull, taking the form of a horrifying guardian daemon! Gustaf shrieks and loses Pluck.

The daemon lunges for Adeline, barbed claws tearing at her armour. Its long purple tongue lashes at her like a whip. Fritz loads his blunderbuss and blasts off one of the creature's long, spindly arms - two more sprout in its place!

Ultimately, the PCs overcome the daemon, but not without cost to themselves. Fritz recovers his lucky rock! The chest contains standard cult paraphernalia (hooded robes, sacrificial daggers, etc...), and a secret compartment hiding a mysterious scroll, that nobody reads. A silk handerchief lies at the bottom of the chest, monogrammed with the initials F.M. Calvin recalls that Lady Isolde is staying with her uncle Friedrich Magirius. Now that is interesting....

TBC

The Enemy Within (Warlock!)
Session 3, 18/01/2024 (part 1)

Gustaf recognises the dead halfling is Biggy Smallz, a notorious thief with a sizeable bounty on his head. He chucks the corpse in his trusty corpse sack and hauls it to the Watch building. One wall is plastered with Wanted posters, and Gustaf is alarmed to see charcoal sketches of himself and Kalvin labelled Persons of Interest.

Rather than expend time and energy playing hide-and-seek with Johnny Law, the two men hand themselves in for questioning. They are interrogated by Captain Reiner Goertin regarding the bloodbath outside the office of the faux solicitor. Eyewitnesses clocked Kalvin and Gustaf fleeing the scene. Kalvin comes clean about stealing the identity of the late Kastor Lieberung to unlawfully claim his bogus inheritance. Captain Goertin is not wild about identity theft and fines Kalvin 2 gold, but he lacks the evidence to stitch them up for murder. He cuts them loose, with a stern warning not to leave town.

Kalvin and Gustaf decide to pay a social call on Lady Isolde. They have reason to believe her uncle Friedrich may be involved with the Ordo Septinarius (whatever that is). Isolde is delighted to see Kalvin and insists he take her to the festival. Gustaf and Marie follow at a discrete distance. A wrestling ring has been set out in the market square, where a loud-mouthed hawker offers a pouch of silver to anyone who can go three rounds with reigning champion Crusher Braugen. Isolde loudly volunteers Kalvin to fight. Shoved forward by the crowd, Kalvin reluctantly enters the ring. Crusher Braugen floats like a rock and hits like a truck. Kalvin lands a lucky blow that knocks out four of Crusher's teeth, but that just makes the champion mad. Someone in the crowd passes Crusher a steel chair and he proceeds to beat Kalvin halfway to death with it. Gustaf readies the corpse sack. Finally, the bell signals that three minutes are up, and Crusher Braugen celebrates another victorious bout. Gustaf scrapes up what's left of Kalvin and carries him back to Lady Isolde's townhouse to recuperate.

-

Meanwhile, Stammig seeks out the workshop of his old rival Yoric Limeral. Limeral stole several of Stammig's early designs and made bank, so now Stammig wants revenge! Limeral is planning to unveil his latest invention on the third day of the festival, and Stammig is determined to sabotage the presentation.

In the small hours of the morning, Adeline, Fritz and Stammig break into Limeral's workshop. The invention is revealed to be a complex metal engine that transforms steam power into kinetic force. Stammig studies the machine and identifies a design flaw that will cause a dangerous amount of pressure to build up during use. There is a very real chance the machine will explode when activated!

Just then, Limeral bursts into the workshop brandishing a blunderbuss in defence of his intellectual property! Fritz taps into the power of his lucky rock (actually a small chunk of latent warpstone 'awoken' by exposure to magical residue in the sewer temple) and casts the Night spell. The workshop is engulfed in blinding magical darkness. Limeral stumbles and knocks himself out cold on a workbench. The PCs slip out the back door and return to their lodgings.

Fritz later discovers that his use of the nightstone was not without cost. He wakes the next morning to discover a scaly rash all over his body, and his tongue is now forked like a serpent. He has also developed an unsavoury craving for live food.

-

Meanwhile, Kalvin wakes up in a plush guest bedroom of the Magirius household. His wounds have been treated, but his entire body is bruised as a wormy apple. Lady Isolde dozes in a chair at his bedside. Kalvin wants to poke around the house and uncover Uncle Friedrich's involvement with the Ordo Septinarius. He crossses the room without disturbing Isolde and reaches for the door. On the other side, someone clears their throat. Marie is standing guard in the hallway. Defeated, Kalvin returns to bed and rouses Isolde.

Kalvin is invited to breakfast with Isolde and her dear Uncle Friedrich. Over a plate of butterbrezel and scrambled eggs, Kalvin asks Friedrich Magirius about the Ordo Septinarius. Magirius seems surprised that Kalvin knows that name, and explains it is a private group of merchants and prominent civil servants working together to improve the prosperity of Biskerstaf.

"That's strange," says Kalvin, sipping his coffee, "Because we have evidence that the Ordo Septinarius is involved in all manner of occult f*ckery."

Gustaf presents the monogrammed handkerchief the party found in the sewers. Magirius is flustered by the outlandish accusations being levied over his breakfast table. He suggests Kalvin is suffering a concussion from his recent injuries and should return to bed. Magirius apologies to his neice and excuses himself. Isolde is furious with Kalvin for upsetting her uncle and flounces off to sulk. Kalvin and Gustaf see themselves out. They tail Magirius to his office at the Guild of Merchants, but do not follow him inside.

The Enemy Within (Warlock!)
Session 3, 18/01/2024 (part 2)

The PCs return to the festival to watch Yoric Limeral's presentation - from a safe distance, of course. Limeral's head is bandaged and he seems particularly out of sorts as he bullies his beleaguered assistants. A crowd gathers to watch the grand unveiling his steam engine to the world - unaware of the imminent peril they are facing in the presence of the malfunctioning machine.

A smiling father lifts a young boy onto his shoulders for a better view over the heads of the gathered onlookers.

"Pater, can we get plum dumplings after this?" the boy asks hopefully.

"Of course we can," his father replies, "It is your birthday after all! "

Stammig says nothing.

A pair of young lovers stop on their way to the park to watch the presentation. The young man carries a picnic hamper and a bright-eyed young woman clings to his other arm.

"Come along Hugo!" she cries, pulling on his arm, "If you dally any longer, all the shady spots will be taken."

"One moment Elsebeth!" her handsome paramour laughs, "I just want to see what all the fuss is about."

Stammig says nothing.

A group of students from Biskerstaf University cluster close to the stage, animatedly debating the technical nuances of Limeral's new invention.

"Just imagine the advances this device could bring about," one student says excitedly, "This machine could spark a true industrial revolution! The lives of many people across the Kingdom could be greatly enriched by harnessing the power of steam!"

Still, Stammig says nothing.

Adeline clears her throat. A cold lump is forming in her stomach. She looks at the group of people gathered around the stage, straining to hear Limeral's spiel over the increasingly loud and worrisome whistle rising from the juddering engine.

"It's not too late to do something," she urges the stony-eyed dwarf, "I know you think Limeral has to suffer for how he wronged you, but those people have done nothing wrong. Is your vengeance worth their lives?"

Stammig says nothing.

Several of Limeral's assistants have realised something is wrong, and begin backing away from the machine. The entire stage is shaking now, as the trapped pressure builds within the metal belly of the engine. Limeral rushes toward the device, frantically seeking some way to avert the looming catastrophe. He burns his hands on the scalding metal. He is too late.

The steam engine explodes, killing Limeral instantaneously and blasting shards of jagged, super-heated metal into the crowd, tearing flesh and bone like a hot knife through streichzart. Many of the onlookers are killed instantly, others are horribly maimed. A father mourns his son, who will never see another birthday. The contents of a picnic basket litter the bloodstained ground.

Stammig turns away from the scene of carnage his callous inaction has wrought, satisfied that his revenge is complete. Adeline feels sick to her stomach. How can Stammig bear this bloody stain on his conscience?

The Watch converge to cordon off the scene of the accident. White shrouds cover the bodies of the dead, while the injured wail for those they have lost. The Festival of Harvest Thanks is over.

-

On his way back to the boarding house, Kalvin is approached by a pair of shady individuals. Once they have his attention, the two men make a surreptitious hand gesture, placing their index finger over their heart and drawing it down across their chest. Not quite sure how to respond, Kalvin mirrors the strange gesture. Seemingly satisfied, one of the two men says;

"You missed your rendezvous, Magister Impedimentae. What is the status of your mission? Where is the money?"

Kalvin tells them the inheritance was a set-up, and there was a Blight Hunter waiting to ambush him at the solicitor's office. The two men seem unconvinced. Kalvin changes tack and arranges to meet up later and hand over the non-existent money, which will hopefully give him enough time to work out what the heck is going on.

TBC

The Enemy Within (Warlock!)
Session 4, 25/01/2024

Kalvin has banked enough XP to change career from Entertainer > Raconteur.

The PCs return to the Merchant Guildhall. While they plot the best way to reach Magirius, Adeline spots Crusher Braugen lead a group of burly looking dudes out of the building. The goon squad splits up into smaller groups and head off in different directions.

Adeline and Kalvin shadow one group to Magirius' house.

Stammig confronts Crusher Braugen. The former prizefighter is looking for Kalvin, and suspects Stammig knows where the fugitive jongleur is hiding. Fritz sees his friend being manhandled into an alley and runs to alert the Watch. Unfortunately, he is waving around a loaded blunderbuss and the guards arrest him for possession of a martial weapon. Stammig manages to escape from Braugen and his men, grabbing a sheaf of parchment from the prizefighter's belt before disappearing into the backstreets. The parchment depicts crude charcoal sketches of both Kalvin and Gustaf. Clearly, someone is looking for his two friends.

The PCs bail Fritz out of gaol, and try to warn Captain Goertrin that something dodgy is going down at the Merchant's Guildhall. The Captain insists that the party leave the investigation to the professionals and sends them on their way.

The PCs disregard Goertrin's recommendation and return to the Guildhall. Kalvin purchases make-up and a false nose to disguise his identity, then he and Stammig go inside. They request a meeting with Magirius, which is declined. Instead, they ask to see a random merchant with an office on the same floor as their quarry. They bullshit their way through the meeting, then hide in a broom cupboard and wait for everyone to go home.

When it becomes apparent Kalvin isn't coming back, Adeline and Fritz attend the rendezvous with the suspected cultists without him. The two men spook when they learn Magister Lieberung has bailed, but Adeline and Fritz are able to grab one man and drag him back to the inn for interrogation.

Meanwhile, Kalvin and Stammig emerge from their hidey-hole and break into Magirius' office. The noise of splintering wood attracts the night watchman. While Stammig fights the guard, Kalvin hoovers up some much needed clues; a handwritten note stating the members of the Ordo Septinarius will gather tonight at the home of Councilman Johannes Teugen, and a diary detailing Magirius' initiation into the cult. Stammig is incapacitated and taken into Watch custody! Kalvin flees into the night.

The remaining PCs question the captured cultist. He is not talking. "Hail Zentis!" he shrieks, before biting through - and swallowing his own tongue! Fritz is in the process of throwing the body out the window when the Watch arrive to round up the rest of Stammig's known associates. There's an awkward moment as the two groups just stare at one another in stunned silence - and then all hell breaks loose.

TBC

The Enemy Within (Warlock!)
Session 5, 01/02/2024

It is very early in the morning, and the remaining PCs are hiding out aboard the Berebeli, the barge owned by Adeline's cousin Josef. Stammig languishes in a jail cell, while Kalvin is afflicted by a sudden onset of Hisplayerwasn'therethisweek-itis. To make up the numbers, the party is joined by Basso Quartjin, another of Adeline's interchangeable cousins.

The PCs decide to confront Friedrich Magirius in his townhouse. After the break-in at the Merchant's Guild, Captain Goertrin has stationed guards around the estate. Adeline and Basso lead the guards a merry chase, while Fritz and Gustaf scale the wall. With Kalvin absent, they avoid Lady Isolde and make a beeline for her uncle.

They burst into Magirius' study and present the evidence taken from his office. Magirius confesses he was initiated into the Ordo Septinarius by Councilman Johannes Teugen, but he had no idea that he was joining a cult! He thought it was a secret club for cool merchants! Now that Teugen is planning a human sacrifice, he wants out!

At that moment, a gaunt, faceless, bat-like horror crashes in through the window! Fritz activates his Nightstone, plunging the house into inky darkness! Fritz and Gustaf extract Magirius, just as the Watchmen return to investigate the sound of breaking glass. The PCs fight alongside the guards to slay the winged daemon.

Captain Goertrin arrives on the scene. After hearing Magirius' confession, he is inclined to believe the PCs have been telling him the truth all along. He agrees to raid the warehouse where Teugen and the remaining members of the Ordo Septinarius are planning to conduct their ritual. He agrees to let the PCs go in first, and signal his men when the cultists have assembled.

The ritual will be conducted after nightfall, in a large warehouse owned by Franz Steinhager (another cultist). Gustaf jumps onto the roof from an adjacent building, while Fritz, Adeline & Basso behind some crates behind the warehouse.

The cultists begin to arrive as the sun sets over Biskerstaf. Crusher Braugen and a dozen burly dock workers set up a perimeter around the warehouse. Gustaf sees them bringing in an unconcious woman to be sacrificed.

Councilman Teugen, recognisable by his golden chain of office, begins the ritual. Gustaf signals Captain Goertrin to raid the warehouse. The Watch mobilize and clash with Braugen's thugs. The sounds of combat alarms the cultists, who abandon the ritual and flee through the back door - where the rest of the PCs are waiting for them! The majority of the cultists are apprehended, but Teugen runs back into the warehouse.

Goertrin and the PCs corner Teugen and demand his surrender. The desperate Councilman invokes his daemonic patron and transforms into an awful spider-like monstrosity! Basso is impaled on one of the abomination's eight spear-like leg, and Captain Goertrin loses an arm. Adeline picks up the Captain's halberd and hacks the Teugen-thing apart!

After treating the Captain's wounds, Goertrin recommends the PCs leave town. Teugen may have been a deranged cultist, but he was also a prominent official, and his involvement will have to be hushed up to avoid widespread panic. Kalvin bids farewell to a tearful Isolde, and Magirius thanks the party for saving him from the cult. The party return to the Berebeli and cast off onto the River Vessen, which will carry them to the capital city of Fesselburg and whatever misadventures await them there.

TBC