“Gerhart, a word please.” Leopold gestured for his brother
to join him and Tanthalia in the corner of the ruined tavern. “Your elven friend has told me of a rumor
she’s heard about a building in this area of town. It’s said that there’s a
secret elven map that someone scrawled on an alley wall. It apparently points
to a valuable artifact. I think, considering the state in which our Halfling
friend left our company, we literally cannot afford to pass on this
opportunity.”
Gerhart nodded in ascent, “I agree. Our funds are quite low
and our standard income is not enough to sustain another loss at this rate.”
The Venture Company gathered their equipment and planned one
final push into Mordheim. The company officers took up a position in a tower
overlooking the alley that was rumored to have the elven scrawls on the wall. Himmel
and Braam watched eagerly as Joep ordered the crew to scope out the alley. “Gentlemen,
this is a golden opportunity. We need to determine whether the elven writing is
actually there. Because of the density of the buildings here, it would be a
trap to go in all together. There simply isn’t enough room. However, we can
provide excellent cover for you from this tower. You just need to go in, find
the writing, and get out. Sigmar will protect, as will we. Good luck.”
The crewmen exchanged glances, but shrugged and went along
with it. It’s a dangerous job, and they knew it, but the chance for gold is
just too strong to resist. One of the crewmen, Frederick, took the point
position. He led the company of six crewmen through the alleys toward the
building in question. Almost as soon as he got into the alley, he heard the
whizzing of crossbow bolts and arrows overhead. The familiar smell in the air
indicated that they were once again the target of the same undead mob that has
been dogging their heels the last few days. But there was something else, a
feeling of dread.
Behind him, he heard one of his companions shriek. He turned
around just in time to see a horned beast descend from the air upon a man, and
silver streaks of light erupt from the palm of something that looked like a
cross between a man, a horse, and a goat and hit one of the crew. Time was
short, and Frederick knew that he needed to find the writing.
The howling and snarling got louder as the familiar hounds
of hell came around a corner and leapt at him. He brought his axe down upon its
head and knocked the beast on its side. Caught in a trap, with the undead on
one side and the vile beastmen on the other, Frederick shouted for the men to
retreat back to the company. The writing was there, but he couldn’t read it and
didn’t want to stick around to try.
Leopold watched both groups of beasts fall upon his men in
the alley. He felt for them, but was glad that he wasn’t down there. He loosed
bolt after bolt from his crossbow into the beastmen and into the hell hounds,
but it was doing little to slow them down. He called for a full-scale retreat,
and attempted to cover his crew as best he could. Ultimately, three of his crew
perished in the fight. But, for his courage and valor, Leopold granted
Frederick the rank of Sergeant and gave him a company uniform and a crossbow.
Leopold could see that he was a valuable man to have around, and had the
respect of the men.
In the retreat, they discovered the remains of a fletcher’s
shop with a pair of bows, several arrows, and a jeweled sword. They decided
that, despite their losses, they had enough Wyrdstone to return with and that
this was a somewhat successful financial recovery for the Venture Company. They
had found the man to be their sergeant, and placed him in charge of training
the men.
