(Being a series of quick game notes trying to account for the events of many sessions of playing through The Enemy Within using the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 1e rules – this session has the party returning to the main storyline, starting at the tail end of “The Missing Children of Regensdorf” from Warpstone magazine.)

Session 5

The Children of Regensdorf & The Enemy Within

• Martin [Muleskinner]
• Talbberry Grumble [Scribe]
• Wilhelm [Trader]
• Wilfried [Bawd]
• Larry [Bawd]
• Othmar [Bunko Artist]

No one fights like Gascon
With his beard alight like Gascon
In a wrestling match nobody bites like Gascon
Under five men burly and brawny
He was finally knocked out and dragged down!

After capturing the rampaging and incredibly strong Gascon and chaining him up in the basement of The Wayfarer’s Rest Tavern & Stables, the group was paid by Burgomeister von Schtupp (who tried to short-change them each 10 crowns, for the continued improvement of town facilities of course) and given the task of getting roadwardens from the Inn of the Seven Spokes in order to properly sentence the blacksmith (likely to be hung by the neck until dead).

Eagerly leaving town (carrying Gascon’s old breastplate and sword from his military days and accompanied by Emmanuelle – much to their surprise), the adventurers return to the main road half a day’s walk away and discover that Gunner and Hultz of the Ratchett Lines of Altdorf have actually waited for them.

The next morning they head south towards Altdorf after passing the word along to Magnus Athrect of the dangerous madman imprisoned in Regensdorf.

Two days passage (including meeting an imperial cavalry unit heading north) later and they finally find themselves pulling into the King’s Square (Konigplatz) in the Imperial Capital. As they dismount from the coach, they are approached by agents of many of the “excellent inns” around the city eager for their business. But being a crew of many rogues, they spotted the bad offers (and the potential robberies) right off the bat. About to arrange for someone to bring them down to the docks district (where accommodations should both be cheap and decent), they were approached by a pair of men – one watching the crowd, the other making a strange but obvious recognition sign of some kind (scratching his left earlobe with the small finger of the right hand). Meanwhile, they are also being watched by a burly man in travelling clothes from another part of the square.

Unable to make the appropriate counter-sign, Larry walks up to the two strangers and manages to gently urge them into a side alley where they explain that things have gone pear-shaped and they shouldn’t try to make contact in the open like this and instead to meet Herr Lieberung at the Inn instead. Meanwhile Wilhelm is across the plaza blathering at the man who seems so interested in their meeting – after getting a good look at him, the weathered man leaves the square with the general flow of traffic.

Which is when Martin’s old friend Josef Quartjin makes an appearance. A very strong boatman, Josef is incurably friendly and pleasant and invites the group out for a few bottles of wine (each, of course!) down at the Boatman Inn.

They pick up a few rumours including:

All members of the nobility are mad; they’re all inbred and tainted by Chaos.

There’s been strange goings on at the university. It’s full of Demonologists and Necromancers dabbling in those things that are better left alone. Stories of strangely-robed figures prowling the University cloisters late at night , accompanied by sounds of weird chants and howls.

Mutations can affect you late in life. A boatman who had worked on the river for 20 years suddenly started to develop an oily, yellow skin and bulging eyes. The man is now dead, of course, thrown into the water by his companions.

They also discover that Prince Von Tasseninck departed two days ago (along with the dwarf, Kazgar, who was accompanying the group earlier) in his grand expedition to the Grey Mountains. The expedition is supposedly headed downriver to Schilderheim to gain the advice of an elven seer, and then up river to Eilhart and eventually (on foot) to Helmgart and Axe Bite Pass.

Josef, on the other hand, is heading up the Weissbruck Canal to Weissbruck and onwards to Bogenhafen in order to sell a shipment of excellent wines at the annual 3-day Schaffenfest. He’s looking for some extra crew and is more than willing to take the group along.

With the “easy money” of Prince Von Tasseninck’s expedition temporarily out of reach, the plan to impersonate Herr Lieberung and collect his inheritance springs into full gear, and the party decides to accompany Josef down to Bogenhafen.

Back at the Boatman Inn (to tell Josef they are accepting his offer), they nearly get into an obviously set-up fight caused by a pair of drunken young nobles with the support of their bodyguards and a mean hired protagonist. A bit of quick footwork, misdirection, and stealth got them out of the conflict without harm and they proceeded down to the river front to leave town with Josef.

But of course, nothing goes off that easily, and they note that they are being followed by the two men from the King’s Square again – this time the men are being furtive and attempting to remain hidden as they shadow the party to their boat. Setting up an ambush, they do not so much ambush the two men as lure them into yet another ambush where they are both killed by crossbow bolts from an unknown source.

A three day journey down the Weissbruck Canal (with only a single encounter with friendly roadwardens looking out for the party’s wellbeing) and the group arrives in Weissbruck where Josef plans to stop for a day of rest before heading up the Bogen river to Bogenhafen.

As they bring the Berebeli into dock, they are unable to miss catching sight of the man from the King’s Square again, watching them from the doorway of the Black Gold Inn. He turns and enters the inn when the party catches sight of him. A few bribes and drinks in the Black Gold Inn gets them the word that he is Adolphus, a well-travelled bounty hunter who arrived in Weissbruck last night – probably by horse. And if he came by horse, then he’s probably at the Happy Man Inn, which has decent stables.

As the party begins to make plans to hunt the hunter, the session ends for the evening and everyone earns 75 XP.