Sprintof Adventure Jolonda and Belzor are travelling toward Kemperbad in the hope of rendezvousing with Malthusius and his small caravan before they reach Nuln. They left Josef and the Baribali at Weisbruck and have been making their way by road south-east, taking care not to run into patrols of road-wardens just in case they are looking for either Jolonda or Belzor in connection with the warehouse explosion and certain other activities including murder and arson in the town of Bogenhafen. As Wolmar is still not 100% Josef is willing to pay Jolonda and Belzor 3GC each per day as labourers and deck hands. The journey to Weissbruck is 4 days. Weissbruck:

1) Winter is approaching fast now. In 6 weeks there could be frosts and snow 2) At the moment the weather is fair but rain is in the air! 3) Travel is going to get difficult and winter clothing etc will be needed.

a. Winter coat/new cloak 5 to 7GC b. Boots 7 to 10GC c. Shirt/Tunic 2 to 5GC d. Backpack 1 to 2 GC e. Slingbag 5 to 10 Sch f. Blanket 2GC g. Cook and Brew Kit 3GC h. Tent 12 to 15 GC i. Lantern 12 to 20GC j. Trail Rations 3 to 7 Sch per day. k. 1 weeks Iron Rations 3GC

4) Supplies etc must also be packed. 5) Farwell to Josef, Wolma, Gilda and their baby 6) How to travel?? Coach?? Foot?? Coach will be 3GCs a day per person but can be bargained

to 2GCs (24 GC or 16 GC respectively). 7) Coach will take them as far as the Wife and Wolf, and then they will have to pick up the

Bogenhafen Road East. They should be able to find a coach at Sprintof which is 2/3 days walk from the Wife and Wolf

8) As they leave Weissbruck it begins to rain and does not stop all week.

Coach – Musket Lines of Auerswald. 3 other passengers:

1) Heinrich Effelmen – wizard’s apprentice. Heinrich is off to Nuln to study with the famous mage Maximillian Schrieber. He has a slight tick in the corner of his left eye that is quite distracting when you speak to him for too long as you find yourself copying him in sympathy! He is heading to Nuln via Auerswald to visit relatives.

2) Justus Braun – Pharmacist. Justus is a counterfeiter masquerading as a pharmacist. He is hugely talkative – a true raconteur! He usually regales people with stories of his many conquests:

a. “Did I tell you about the time I met the 2 elf maidens?” b. “What about the crippled Dwarf woman and her Halfling cook?” c. “There was the time I had to leave Middenheim in a hurry because I became

intimately acquainted with the Graf’s 3 daughters…”

3) Ernhard Weiss – Artisan’s Apprentice. Ernhard is the son of a merchant who sells furniture. He is sending his son away to see the world and get a good background in the business. Ernhard is a very quiet youth with terrible acne!

The Wife and Wolf Coaching Inn (the board depicts a wolf on hind legs dancing with a woman and is drawn from an unfortunate Werewolf incident 100 years ago) is 3 weeks walk from Weissbruck, 1 week by coach. It is a large Coaching Inn (see the WHFRP rule book) owned by Musket Lines of Auerswald. There is another coach heading north along the road in the Inn

1) Lady Isobella von Richtenhof – Minor Noble 2) Mageritthe Gunhilde – Maid to Lady Isobella

The Lady is travelling to Bogenhafen on business and has privately hired the coach. She kkeps to her rooms most of the time. Others in the Inn:

1) Gerhard and Estha Schoffen. Landlord and landlady 2) Anders and Kurt – 2 local labourers 3) Willie, Gunther, Theo and Dietricht. The four coachmen from the Musket Lines coaches

Rumours on the road:

1) Chaos worshippers in Bogenhafen arrived during the Schaffenfest and tried to open a Chaos Gate inside the town to unleash the armies of darkness in the heart of the Empire!

2) Since the appearance of the face in the Chaos moon there has been a strange bout of sweating sickness that has afflicted seemingly random people in several isolated incidents along the road (Cheese poisoning!). There has also been an illness amongst the cattle which has soured their milk and some farmers have had to cull their herds.

3) The aristocracy are all a little inbred – take the Graf at Auerswald for example – born with 6 fingers on his left hand – a sure sign of Chaos!

4) The people of Bogenhafen are all a bit touched and get far too lively when the beer flows freely and have imagined demons walking the streets as a result

5) The Grey Mountains to the West have become infested with Orcs and Goblins and this is interrupting trade. In the spring the Graf will be organising an army to root them out – of course that will mean more bloomin taxes!

6) More witchhunters are abroad than ever before. It is said that a woman from a village up north was burned by the great Tobias Ernhalt for feeding blood to her feline familiar. She was heard by many others in the village to frequently scream at the animal: “Drink yer bloody milk!”

7) A Halfling bandit going by the name Littlefoot is robbing people on the road by threatening to mutilate their genitalia

8) The Bretonnians are all snobs! They think they’re better than everyone else and look down their noses at everyone, but it seems they look down on Imperial citizens worst of all!

9) All the explosions at the Royal Gunnery School in Nuln seem to have affected the sensibilities of your average Nulner. They clearly have ringing in their ears half the time and don’t listen to a word you say (until money is mentioned!)

10) The burial mounds in the Hagercrybs are all haunted by malicious spirits that jealously guard the remains of Sigmar’s Ancestors, it wouldn’t be surprising if the evil magic had come from there

Double rooms at the Inn are 20 Schillings and food is 2/5 Schillings The weather has been awful since leaving Weissbruck. Heavy rain every day has made travel slow and difficult. When the coach arrived at the Wife and Wolf the clouds seemed to clear and the weather brightened. It’s unseasonably warm and could be a sign of a wet winter. The morning of the second day sees fine weather again. First thing three horses thunder past splattering cold mud. After a few hours the pair turn a corner in the road. On either side of the track the trees are tall and thick. To the left is a dead horse lying at the side of the road. There are a few muddy, slovenly looking figures clustered around it but they don’t seem to be trying to get the animal on its feet. There are no other horses to be seen. As you draw closer you see that there are also a few bodies on the floor ahead, lying scattered around the wagon. As this realisation dawns one of the figures standing by the horse turns. The skin of its face is festering and the lips look to have been almost chewed off. Its flesh is a pale greenish colour and a raw, red gash has been cut across its torso. What look like the glistening ropes of intestine are hanging through the gash but whatever the creature is it seems to be ignoring this mortal wound. It fixes you with a gaze and begins to chatter its teeth together. The other three turn and are all in a similar state of decomposition. One has no left arm, the appendage ending in a ragged stump of torn flesh and white bone. Another shows red/brown organs oozing wetly behind a bare ribcage. The last has no lower jaw and its right leg is torn open showing meat and bone. These are Zombies and Jolonda and Belzor must be careful not to get Tomb Rot from them. First – CL Test for Fear. Zombie Profile:

M WS BS S T W I A DEX LD INT CL WP FEL

3 25 0 3 3 5 10 1 10 10 14 14 14 0

Zombies cause FEAR in all living creatures Wounds have 20% chance of causing Tomb Rot and 50% chance of causing Infected Wounds Zombies can leave combat, or simply just stop fighting (stupidity/instability). As they look around after the fight they see several more Zombies (at least 7, so the people on the coach were hard pressed) lying dead and also 3 people in cloaks and chainmail wearing the same livery as that of the coach. One has a sword in an ornate scabbard but seems to have had his throat ripped out before he could draw it. He has a discharged flintlock pistol in one hand. Tobias Ernhalt Magic Sword - +20 to Hit, +2 to wound He also has a flintlock pistol with enough powder and ammunition for 12 shots, a chainmail shirt, 12 Gold Crowns, 8 Schillings and 6 pence. He also has an inscribed amulet of Sigmar’s Hammer and a small knife. He also has a letter from the Dorfrichter of Sprintof Acolyte 1: Mace, Knife, mail shirt, 6GC, 2 Schillings and 8 pence Acolyte 2: Axe, Knife, mail shirt, 4GC, 5 Schillings and 3 pence Saddlebag: Flint and Tinder, bedroll, rations for 3 days, blanket, 10yds of rope, a chest containing various occult symbols and amulets, spare clothes, animal feed. It is another 12/15 miles to Sprintof and will take around 6 hours to walk.

Darkness is falling as you approach the edge of the village. The trees give way to empty fields, harvested and bare awaiting the winter chills. EVENT 1 As you arrive in the village you see a building to the left with a crowd of people gathering outside. There is quite a commotion and a woman is shrieking and wailing. A man dressed in uniform quickly arrives to get to the bottom of the disturbance. The woman is Marien Meinersson. She is clutching a bonnet and wailing that her daughter has not returned home and that the evil spirits have taken her into the hills. She is quite inconsolable and with the help of another villager she is taken across the square to the watch house so that she can be calmed down and questioned by the Captain to see if he can find out any information on her daughter’s whereabouts. Will you?

1) Investigate the disturbance? 2) See if you should report the death on the road to? 3) Try and find a room for the night?

If they investigate the disturbance they find the watch captain only knows that the girl had gone to watch the goats graze and talk to Josie Aukrung but had never got there. Her bonnet was found on the bridge crossing the tributary. If they report the death they will be pointed at the watch captain who will have to take them to see the Dorfrichter. As the hour is late he will debate the necessity of taking them to the Manor House now, and will be swayed depending on how insistent Jolonda and Belzor are. He may even suggest that they take a room for the night and speak to the Dorfrichter in the morning. If they visit the Dorfrichter the watch captain will accompany them. It’s a 20 minute walk to the Manor House. At this late hour they will first meet Johan, the butler, who will be most reluctant to disturb his master (fel test). If you insist and pass the fellowship test then he will show them to the study to await his master. The Dorfrichter is not a small man but he looks timid and shaken as if something is amiss. He will take the news very badly and bluster about who he will find to help him with his problems now? It will take a successful Fel test to find out what these problems are, otherwise he will send you away and tell you to take a room for the night and he will speak to you properly in the morning when he is not so out of sorts. If their Fel test is successful he will tell them a few bits of information. Each will need a successful fel test – any failed test and he will send them away.

1) There have been people falling mysteriously ill apparently at random in the village with a strange sweating sickness. No one has died yet but it is a cause for concern

2) Some of the food stores have become blighted and there is a worry that there will not be grain to last out the winter

3) Sour milk – some of the cows are ill and have been giving sour milk or none at all. There is a worry that the herd will have to be culled.

4) Some of Gotboldus’s goats have gone missing

5) A famous adventurer, Balthasar the Bold, went into the hills searching for an Unberogen tomb and his party has not returned

6) A poltergeist is haunting the mansion. The priest of Sigmar has performed an exorcism but to no effect

These rumours can be heard at the Inn, too. All accept the poltergeist which the Dorfrichter has kept secret until now.

If they don’t report the death or chose to do it in the morning they will be pointed to the 3 inns in the village. Which Inn to choose?

1) L’Aigle Noir (The Black Eagle) – will see Johan Fraunen the Dorfrichters butler 2) The Waterfront Tavern – will see the footman 3) The Coaching Inn – will see the Dorfichter’s Daughter

EVENTS:

1) Missing Girl a. Else Meinersson is 6 years old and has wandered off into the hills looking for Josie

Aukrung. The goatherd has befriended the little girl and the two are often seen laughing and wandering together

b. Josie wasn’t in the hills because she has fallen ill with the Cheese Sickness c. Unfortunately after a short time suspicion for the girl’s disappearance falls to Josie’s

brother, Wortwin. He also herds goats and has been somewhat ostracised by the village since an accident where a cow kicked him in the head. He has a child’s mind and can often have unpredictable moods ad tempers. Josie does a good job of looking after him at the Pachter Farm but this has become her life and many people feel she has had a bad deal.

d. Without Josie around to speak up for Wortwin he suffers increasing harsh and bullying comments, some even going so far as to throw things at him and openly shun him.

2) Gossip a. See above for all local gossip

3) Rats! a. There has been an overabundance of rats recently and some villagers have even

been rat-catching almost full time! b. There is lots of fresh gnawing and they even come out in the day time. c. Rat urine on the cheese products is causing the illness d. The rats have been driven from their old haunts by the rise of the undead

4) Sickness a. Whichever inn they stay at someone falls ill:

i. The ill person should be Paulitz Bonen, the Grave Digger b. The sick are currently being “cared for” at the Temple of Sigmar – Jolonda will meet

the pharmacist Kaspar’s Kirchhammer here for the first time as he attempts to tend to the sick.

c. The following people are already ill: i. Fidelius Schmidt, scribe (and forger)

1. Fidelius should be on the mend when the adventurers see him! ii. Nele Heinmann, the cheesecloth maker.

1. Her husband is often around and is very upset by her illness looking for someone to blame

iii. Josie Aukrung the goatherd. 1. Her older brother is struggling without her protection!

iv. Greta Kurzer the Dorfrichter’s maid. 1. Esme Cloverfooot, the Dorfrichter’s halfling cook, is often in

attendance to check on Greta v. Trutwin Sohmel the Farmer

1. Sohmel has no real friends or family and Adriss Hertwigg is struggling in his master’s absence

2. Augustas is trying to use this to his advantage and get a larger share of the Farm’s tithes donated directly to the temple

vi. Metein Obelsteiner the toll bridge keeper 1. He returns home for his wife to tend him and is later murdered

vii. Diete Schunz the farmhand 1. Diete also has no friends or family really but the old Widow Tinz will

often call in on him (much to the chagrin of Augustas!) viii. Andreas Kuest the Baker

1. Andreas’s brother Viggo is mortified at his twin’s illness ix. The Pfiefferung family (brewers)

1. All are sick but the worst is the mother 2. Augustas is using their illness as evidence that alcohol is a sin!

x. The Aver Family (villagers) 1. The poor family are in the worst state and are all very sick.

d. Others are sick but will stay to their homes to be cared for by relatives. e. Augustas will implicate the Widow Tinz as he dislikes here immensely. He wants to

get her out of her cottage and has a sneaky suspicion she sees too much. Even though she doesn’t speak she always seems to be hanging around and sees more than she should

f. The brewer is not a good sigmarite and Augustas has a special grudge against him as he beliwves ale to lead men to chaos

g. Augustas is also suspicious of Bertrand Katzle the musician. Augustas is a serious, pious man and believes that music leads to fun and fun leads to fornication! (Augustas is a terribly dull man!)

5) Dorfrichter’s Descent into Madness a. The Dorfrichter asks for help from Jolonda b. The Dorfrichter is suspicious of the armourer – he has a mild dislike of Dwarfs as he

thinks they all want his treasure c. He also dislike’s the Widow Tinz the herbalist as he thinks she is a witch. d. He also hates the High Priest of Taal, Altmar Ulfred as he believes that devotion to

Sigmar is the only true religion e. The Dorfrichter is starting to develop a nervous tick f. He trusts his staff implicitly but the butler is over protective g. The Dorfrichter will ask Jolonda to investigate:

i. Wornik Luhag the Dwarf Armourer 1. Wornik is a stand-up, straight-laced individual and will get on well

with Belzor. It should be pretty clear from the start that he has nothing to do with the current problems but he could make a useful ally later!

ii. The Widow Tinz, a herbalist 1. The Widow Tinz is, infact, a witch (of sorts) and follower of the Old

Faith but she has been living in the village for as long as anyone can remember

2. The Widow is undoubtabluy a peculiar old woman and seems to never speak, but instead communicates only in gestures and facial expressions.

3. Several of the sick have been to see her and she has helped some of them but will not go to the Temple of Sigmar (nor does Augustas want her to!)

4. Although seemingly a kindly old lady suspicion will soon start to fall on her and the villagers may turn aggressive to defend themselves

iii. Altmar Ulfred, the High Priest of Taal 1. The High Priest of Taal is off wandering the nearby lands and won’t

be near the shrine. It is entirely possible that he will not make an appearance for the entire adventure, but it allows the adventurers to visit the Shrine area and perhaps pick up some other clues…?

iv. He may later ask them to investigate his staff or daughter depending on his paranoia (Jolonda may choose to investigate one of them anyway!)

h. While at the Dorfrichter’s residence Jolonda will recognise the daughter or one of the staff members.

6) Augustus’s Sermons a. The Hammer of Sigmar will crash against the anvil of righteousness b. He plagues us with trials to test our resolve and our faith c. May Sigmar reward us when we cast out the source of unholy infection d. United against the outsiders we will stay strong in our belief e. When Sigmar walked among us as a man he had occasion to doubt his followers. his

own kin, buried in the hills yonder, doubted Sigmar’s holy purpose and sought to take his wealth for themselves. His own cousin Aegmar Broadaxe conspired to cause Sigmar harm. Despite the pain of betrayal, and despite the bond of blood these two men shared, Sigmar exorcised his betrayer, casting him out! And he marked him by taking his eye so that all should know that he had broken faith with the might Warlord!

7) Suspicious Death a. Fidelius Schmidt, the scribe, dies. b. He had started to get better and left the temple of his own accord. He visited the

Widow for some herbs but turned up dead frothing bloody foam outside one of the Inns

c. Segnant, Augustas’s Novice, has poisoned Fidelius at his master’s request d. Fidelius had been hired by Augustas to forge some documents and Augustas has

seen this as the perfect opportunity to rid himself of the man and also implicate the Widow.

e. Kommandant Heironymous Geigenhoffer the retired army officer, Katherine Hausner the Hunter, Ada Baldruch and Gudrun Wurter the village gossips, gurt Heinmenn (a labourer and husband to Nele who is sick), and Artur Reisentraub the Handyman would all have seen Fidelius visit the Widow, although only the gossips will talk about it openly. the others will have to be questioned (successful Fel Test) and even then Hausner and Reisentraub won’t really mention it and will defend the widow

8) Return of Balthazar a. A very scratched, battered and exhausted Balthazar will stumble back into the

village carrying the limp form of Else Meinersson in his arms. He looks like he has been through the mill and is covered in abrasions and bruises. As soon as people take Else from him he collapses into unconsciousness.

b. He is clutching a map to a tomb that he and his team have been excavating and investigating. There are some scribbled notes on the map about undead guardians, healing gems and the helpful hand seeking penance for his sins.

9) Local Tomb a. If Jolonda won’t go on her own then the Dorfrichter orders her to. b. There is a small barrow half a day’s walk into the hills c. This is the home of the spirit of Aegmar Unberogen d. He will question the purity of Jolonda’s heart e. He will also warn of a great evil abroad in the hills f. After his betrayal of Sigmar his spirit has been cursed to haunt the hills in undeath to

be a protector to those who might come after g. He has a magic gemstone which has healing powers, but only the true of heart can

use it. h. There are 3 tests to pass

i. Knowledge – Riddle! 1. What falls but will never break, and what breaks but never falls? 2. Night and Day

ii. Skill – Combat! Skeleton Champion in armour attacks Jolonda see page 250 of the WHFRP rulebook

iii. Purity – Question. “Do you intend to return?” Answer honestly! i. Even if you pass these tests the healing power will only work once the artefact is

returned to the barrow, for the thief and betrayer will get no reward, while the righteous and just will heal and protect you.

j. “You have 2 moons to return the item before it will extract a heavy toll upon you and the person you have attempted to heal”

k. Jolonda can now heal Else Meinersson but must replace the item before the second day or suffer -1S -1T -1W -10I per day until one of the stats is reduced to zero and Jolonda dies

10) Further Madness! a. The Dorfrichter will summon Jolonda again – he has descended further into madness

and is pale and sweating. He jumps at the slightest noise. He will grow angry if there’s no update.

b. The Dorfrichter is starting to shake constantly now, and bites his fingernails. c. There are bangs and crashes above – the poltergeist is real and is smashing things d. Jolonda’s sword will dispel it but it will return e. It’s touch will cause fear/terror f. It will throw items – BS 25, S3

11) More Deaths a. CHEESE SICKNESS

i. A travelling merchant falls ill in the coaching inn and dies the same day. He says the cheese has made him ill – it has exacerbated an existing condition

ii. Greta Kurzer, Dorfrichter’s Maid – this will prompt a wild-eyed visit from the Dorfrichter into town and confirm to everyone that he is losing his mind as he will act most peculiarly, twitching, jumping at shadows, and generally being an emotional wreck!

iii. Nele Heinmann the cheesecloth maker will die – her husband Gurt is devastated and will likely go on a murderous, ale fuelled rampage to the cheesemakers once word of the merchant’s death gets to him!

iv. Thomas Aver, Cilie Aver and little Emilia Aver will all die within hours of each other. Bertrod Pfieferung the brewer’s wife will die – he is still seriously ill.

v. More graves will have to be dug but the gravedigger himself is ill so Artur Reisentraub the Handyman will oblige

b. TOLLBRIDGE i. Mertein Obelsteiner, Master of the Tollbridge is an obnoxious man but was

actually recovering from the Cheese Sickness ii. He is killed by a bargeman who was settling an old score with the old man.

He is smothered in his sleep and the bargeman travels away as soon as he can.

c. BUTLER i. Etienne L’Ardene becomes aware of Johan Fronen’s affair with Amelie

Maissoneure. ii. Worried that Johan may find out something that Etienne would rather keep

a secret (as he has been spying in Sprintof for quite some time and has amassed documents and notes on many people’s comings and goings over the years) he chooses to poison him.

iii. Johan dies very publicly, draped over the statue of Willem von Friedenbaum in the town square, foaming frothy blood from his mouth!

12) Another Sermon a. Augustas preaches again in the wake of the many deaths b. The folk of Sigmar knew that their home was blighted with ill-luck and disease, and

bravely abandoned their homes the better to save and preserve themselves and their duty to the Empire

c. As a result of this service some villagers do decide to pack up their belongings d. The Dorfrichter has what is a very public melt down in the wake of the sermon and

in light of the death of his butler, and is of no use to anyone. e. His spoiled wife finds herself almost besieged by aggrieved people and does not

know what to do – she bans people from visiting the manor and unrest grows in the village

13) Graveyard Comes Alive a. At what seems to be the darkest hour for the villagers the graveyard seems to come

alive! b. Kaspars has tired of trecking to the hills whenever he wants to raise a corpse and is

certain that he hasn’t maintained mastery because the corpses weren’t fresh enough! The recently dead (and some not-so recently dead!) villagers are raised from the grave to attack the town!

c. D6 + 3 Zombies will claw away the earth above them and attack the village. d. If needs be some villagers such as the handyman will help. e. Gurt Heinmann will drunkenly assist but will be killed f. Artur Reisentraub will be injured in the fighting and Jolonda will be sent to the

pharmacist for help, but he isn’t there! g. In his dark back room black candles sit in holders and ancient text books bound in

human leather sit on the desk, along with a jar of almost glowing green ichor! h. There is also a map to a tomb he has been unearthing and scribbled notes about a

gem that will aid the wearer to control the undead 14) Kaspars Flees to the Hills

a. Kaspars flees to the tomb he has been researching to find the gem in a last ditch effort to be a great necromancer.

15) Finale! a. TOMB!!!