Chapter XII: Through the Drakwald
By this point the PCs may have cause to be suspicious of Granny Moescher. Should they watch her, they note nothing untoward. She prepares what food there is for her orphan charges, tells them a bedtime story, and then herds them into her wagon for bed. She closes the flaps of the wagon and all is quiet for a long time. If anyone is watching the wagon, have him make a Challenging (–10%) Perception Test once an hour has passed. On a successful test the viewer sees something rather odd. A coal black raven emerges from the back of the wagon, takes to the air, and flies back down the road. Should the PCs not have Granny under surveillance, their suspicions will be aroused as follows. The crying of a child destroys the night’s silence. Soon other cries join in, making a chorus of wailing. Exhausted refugees curse the interruption and shout for Granny Moescher to calm the children. The only response is more crying. It soon becomes apparent that Granny Moescher is missing once again. The children can be calmed with a successful Charm Test . One of them awoke, found Granny gone, and began to cry. That’s what started the cacophony. The PCs can talk to the children and the surrounding refugees to find out the following: • One of the children had a dream that a black raven was in the wagon with them. • No one saw Granny leave the wagon or the camp. • Granny became withdrawn after seeing the ambush site. Should the PCs have failed to find out about Granny’s father and the reason for his death, you’ll need to relay this information to them now. T he m agICal T ome The ritual Granny employed follows. The PCs find the magical tome if Granny is defeated. If they are smart, they’ll destroy it immediately, as it is a thing of Chaos. If they keep it, things will go poorly for them if Witch Hunters, Templars, or other zealous folk discover it. The Fiery Vengeance of the Ravaged Heart Type: Arcane Arcane Language: Magick Magic: 2 XP: 200 Ingredients: The ground horns of a Beastman shaman, a roaring bonfire. Conditions: The ritual must be performed where the act to be avenged took place. Consequences: If the Casting Roll succeeds, you suffer a Damage 5 hit from the released Aethyric energy. If the Casting Roll fails, you take the same damage and must make a Toughness Test in 1d10 days or die. Casting Number: 12 Casting Time: 2 hours Description: If this ritual is successfully cast, a fiery spirit of vengeance appears out of the bonfire and hunts down and kills a target you specify. It is a Lesser Daemon, with the following mutations: horns and scales. Its attacks inflict SB+1 damage due to the flames that surround it. Furthermore, anyone that grapples this Daemon suffers a Damage 5 hit for the same reason.
One of her orphans will pipe up with the following:
“Granny Mo’s been funny all day. Since we stopped by the broken carts to rest the Oxen. She cried. I saw her! She said it was just dust, but I know it weren’t true. She was crying about Fahndorf. She said it was Soldiers what did the burnin’ but it was Graf Sternhaur who had bloody hands. She said lots of bad words. She said what’s power for if you don’t use it. She said the bird told her it was the right thing to do. I heard her say it, and then she was all scary looking. Like when Captain Schiller chopped up that beastman who killed Frau Becker.” The PCs can also search the wagon. Anyone who makes a successful Perception Test notices that Granny’s slingbag is missing. She has also left a note (Handout 2: Granny’s Message). g ranny ’ s s eCreTs Granny has used the spell form of the raven to leave the camp and fly back down the road to her home village of Fahndorf. On the site of her father’s murder, she plans to summon a spirit of vengeance to hunt down and kill Graf Sternhauer and his family. Granny believes she is calling a spirit of bloody justice into the world, but the truth could not be darker. Her ritual will open a gate into the Realm of Chaos, and call forth a Daemon of Hatred and Fury. This Daemon will indeed carry out Granny’s instructions, but then it will be loose in the world, at least for a time. Granny has nursed this desire for vengeance since she saw her father murdered in front of her eyes as a child. She learned magic in the hopes of using it to take her revenge. Many years ago she found a magic ritual that seemed perfect but the key ingredient was quite rare and proved most difficult to turn up and the years stretched on. She used magic to extend her life but was never able to bring her plan together. She had come to peace with her past and embraced her community role in Untergard, but the Storm of Chaos changed everything. First, the ingredient she needed for the ritual (the ground horns of a Beastman shaman) was at last within her reach in the aftermath of the battle in Untergard. Then she learned the Sternhauers came through the incursion safely while the people they were supposed to protect were left to die. It was Fate, Granny decided, that put the Sternhauers within her reach at last. She realized that it was time to act, even if it meant her own death. w hy g o ? The PCs may feel that it’s not their job to find out what’s happening with Granny, or they may still fear a Goblin attack on the caravan. If this is the case try to steer them towards investigating the mysterious disappearance. Any or all of the following could be good reasons for the PCs to investigate • Granny is the only healer they have, and she’s desperately needed to make medicines. • Captain Schiller vowed he’d not loose another in his care, but he can’t leave the caravan • Granny could be lost in the woods again, and Rhya knows what she’s run into this time! • Granny tends to have “funny turns” where she sees things that aren’t there. Maybe this time she really has gone mad! She might even try to hurt the refugees…come to think of it, where’s that big knife she uses?
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