C'ville Mordheim: The Trading Day Begins...

Leopold von Handel surveyed his men as finished gathering their gear. “Gentlemen, I bid you welcome to Mordheim. Now begins the true test of your ambition and wit. Tonight we settle in with our camp, and tomorrow we venture forth for fortune.”

The journey from Marienburg was a long and arduous one, with the mood becoming both heavier and more anxious as they drew near the City of the Damned. Leopold’s family was wealthy by Empire standards, average by Marienburg’s measure, but he was not the first born son. This meant that his claims to his family’s wealth were meager, and his fortune was his own to make. He cashed in some favors, banded together with some other merchants, took on a couple of apprentices, and hired some ambitious adventurers to sally forth to glory and fame. Legends had reached the trade city about a valuable stone that littered the streets of Mordheim after Sigmar’s Hammer struck the city. For those brave (or foolish) enough, great wealth could be amassed.

Leopold’s plan was simple. He had heard of bands of warriors running among the ruins of the city with an unhealthy thirst for blood. His goal was to steer clear of them as much as possible. Gold is useless to a dead man. It was really just a matter of risk management. He joined up with Adelbert and Joep, took on Himmel and Braam as apprentices, and then hired some sturdy men who were brave enough to follow him. He figured that a few ventures into the city will show who rises to the top and he’ll appoint them as a sort of sergeant-at-arms over the hired lackeys.

Dawn of the first day came, though the Sun never really fully penetrated the thick haze that was ever present in the city. One of Leopold's brothers, Gerhart, had received Leopold's message to meet him in Mordheim with men of value. Gerhart, being even less likely to inherit the business, had left Marienburg behind for his own trade when he was younger, and had made a tidy fortune for himself. When the brothers met, Leopold discovered that Gerhart's definition of "men" was questionable, as he arrived with an elven woman from the woods of Lorien and a surley halfling who always seemed to have food in his hands and other people's belongings in his eye. Leopold could scarcely complain, as he had secured his lodgings and stash with the assistance of a street beggar and his goblin companion.

Shrugging this off, and happy to see his brother again, the merchant company dressed in their bright outfits; yellow, blue, and red. They slung their crossbows as their crew hefted cudgel and axe, and they ventured into the city.