High in the mountainous centre of the Tallowlands, nestled at the base of one of the few reliable passes through the peaks of the Tolerance of Crows, sits the town of Steepacre. Not so long ago, this isolated settlement issued a plea for aid against a dire threat. Many heroes respond in the name of justice, others simply to claim the huge reward of gold coins offered. The citizens were clearly desperate, so even help offered by more...."unsavoury" types was gladly accepted. Just so long as the applicants had a strong sword arm or could wield powerful magicks, anyone was considered!
After many days of travel the heroes and their retainers finally reached the town of Steepacre, high in the pass through the Hollow Mountains. The warbands marched determinedly through the city gates, merchants and peasants clearing a path. They were met by representatives of the militia in the white and green livery of the town, who asked them what their business was in Steepacre. The heroes informed them that have come to answer the plea for assistance. The militiamen nodded, directing the warbands towards the Red Manticore tavern in the centre of town. The militiamen were obviously used to seeing all sorts coming and going through the pass and don’t seem phased by the array of strangers who had answered the call. In fact, they are much more intent on keeping a wary eye on the pass and the craggy features of the looming mountain peaks.
As the warriors arrived at the Red Manticore it became clear to each of them that more than one hero has answered the town's call for aid. The warbands settled in to drinking and sizing up their rivals, while the landlord ushered the heroes into a private room at the rear of the inn. There they were met by the burgomeister of Steepacre and a captain of the militia.
Jacob Lichtenfels introduced himself as the town's burgomeister and introduced the militia captain as Franz Grűber. He thanked the heroes for coming and promised to pay their expenses for the journey. Then he settled in to tell the story of why he has called for aid...
It all started a few months previously. Sightings of wildmen in the mountains began to increase markedly. At the same time the militia's trained hounds – who are used to protect the sanctity of the Sigmarite mausoleum on the outskirts of town against the feral mountain dwellers – began to act strangely, becoming overly aggressive and near uncontrollable. This was clearly all too much for Old Jonas the gravedigger, who apparently went mad and abandoned his cottage in the burial grounds. He set off down the mountain pass in his cart ringing his bell, never to be seen again.
The burgomeister's nephew, one Wilhelm Lichtenfels, volunteered to take the job of gravedigger to replace Old Jonas. The burgomeister expressed his relief at this as he'd always thought of Wilhelm as a bit of a oddity; a black sheep of the family who kept to himself and spent all his time with dusty old books acquired from exotic traders at Steepacre's market.
After Wilhelm had been in the role for a few weeks the burgomeister began to hear reports from travellers of strange sights and sounds coming from the burial grounds; unnatural lights, pleading voices and soulless moaning to name but a few.
Franz Grüber and a small militia detachment were dispatched to investigate, but as they reached the burial grounds they were set upon by the hounds who normally guard against the feral mountain men. Franz himself interjected into Jacob's tale at this point to say that he personally trained all the hounds but something strange had been done to them so that they no longer recognised him or obeyed his commands. A number of the militiamen were killed and the rest of them were forced to retreat to Steepacre.
Jacob points out that Wilhelm is clearly meddling with strange forces, but he fears to send the militia en mass as this will leave Steepacre unguarded. Wilhelm may very well be waiting for them to do just that, plus there were the wildmen in the hills to consider...
The Burgomeister tasked the gathered warriors with three missions. Firstly they must travel down the mountain pass and enter the Sigmarite mausoleum, destroy any unnatural creatures they find there, and kill Wilhelm Lichtenfels. A bag of gold is promised to the hero that brings a token to prove the demise of Wilhelm.
Secondly, the family tomb of the Lichtenfels is within the burial grounds and the Burgomeister was concerned that Wilhelm may be grave robbing. Jacob's mother was buried this past year with a ring that is was valuable family heirloom. A bag of gold is also promised for the hero who brings him the ring. He hands over an ornate key to the heroes, telling them to look for the grandest tomb in the burial grounds.
Third and finally, Old Jonas the former gravedigger was Franz’ uncle and the family would like to know his fate. They had scraped together a meagre reward, promising a single gold coin to whoever can determine the fate of the old man.
The burgomeister promised that Franz and a small party of the militia would accompany the warbands to act as guides and to confirm that the quests were completed. When one of the heroes asked about the wildmen of the mountains Jacob explained that they are feral types living in the hills above the town and are completely uncivilised. Any further questions were avoided as the burgomeister urged the warriors to set off at once, while there is still plenty of daylight.
The warbands finally arrived at the Sigmarite Mausoleum late in the afternoon, their journey slowed by a mist that has rolled down from the mountains. They deployed in a line across the pass to ensure there could be no escape for the Necromancer Wilhelm. Nothing stirs in the burial ground, other than a gentle light flickering in the window of the gravedigger's cottage.
The mutilated corpses of the earlier militia expedition could still be seen in front of the gate. The warbands moved to investigate, ordering Captain Grüber and his men to observe from the safety of the trees. Whether this was genuine concern for the men of Steepacre, or concern that there were surviving witnesses to ensure they got paid, was unclear.
With distorted howls from ruined throats, the reanimated guard dogs burst from the trees on either side of the gate and pandemonium ensues! The flanks of the warband's advance reformed to fight the rotting hounds while the centre pressed on to secure the gate. The Steepacre militia dither in confusion as the various warband leaders shouted conflicting orders.
The hounds were swiftly put down by the hardened warriors. The Duardin Thane insists on making a grand entrance into the burial ground through the main gate.
Leaving Grüber and the militia outside the walls to guard the gates, the warbands pushed deeper into the graveyard...
Finally emerging to face those who would see justice done upon him, the Necromancer Wilhem von Lichtenfels strides from the cottage with yet more skeletons at his side.
Leaving the Freeguild and Duardin warbands to deal with the Necromancer, the Chaos warbands head towards the Lichtenfels family tomb and the treasure it contains. However the key they hold proved redundant as the black iron gate swung open and a gang of flesh-eating ghouls emerge! It would appear the stories of “feral, uncivilised men” in the mountains were something of an understatement!
The Duardin Thane and his shield-bearers cut their way through the skeletons to get at Wilhelm. Meanwhile, filthy teeth and crude bone clubs go up against the plate armour and hell-forged blades of the Chaos warbands.The Ghast was the last ghoul standing, but he too was cut down. The way to the Lichtenfels family tomb was now clear!
With his Undead minions smashed to dust, the Necromancer was little threat to a Duardin Thane. The noble hero smote the dark wizard to the ground before raising his hammer to deliver the killing blow.
However the Duardin's hand was stayed as Wilhelm begged the heroes to listen to his story, warning them that they had all been played for fools! He told them that Jacob was the real villain! The Lichtenfels ring has been in the family for generations. It was a Duardin ‘Ring of Passage’ that can be used to move and reshape rock at will. It was gifted to their ancestor Herman Lichtenfels by the last Duardin runepriest to abandon the Hollow Mountain hold.
Herman used the ring to seal the tunnels of the hold to stop it becoming a den of dark creatures. He also used it to widen the pass and raise the great walls of Steepacre. Now Jacob wanted to use it to narrow the pass so that all merchant traffic has no choice but to pass through the town gates and pay the entrance tax on their goods. He was even talking about reopening Hollow Mountain to look for lost treasure!
Wilhelm informed the heroes that this is a particularly terrible idea as the tunnels had finally become infested by flesh-eating ghouls and their kin in recent years. When Karolina Lichtenfels – Jacob's mother – was on her deathbed she asked Wilhelm to take the ring and hide it in her tomb so that Jacob couldn’t get it. Jacob knew Wilhelm had hid it somewhere and kept sending Franz Grüber to try and extract the information from him by force.
Eventually Wilhelm became sick of the intimidation and having his property wrecked in the process, so after Old Jonas vanished he moved to the grave digger's cottage in the Sigmarite mausoleum to get away and try and protect the ring using the only allies he could muster – the dead of Steepacre. But now Wilhelm believed Jacob had worked out where the ring was hidden and sent the heroes to kill him and reclaim the heirloom
The heroes protested that tale is no excuse for dabbling in foul necromancy, but Wilhelm shrugged and says it’s just a tool, like a hammer or a musket, and was not inherently evil.
After a brief conference the heroes agreed to spare Wilhelm and take him back to Steepacre and confront Jacob with his story. But before they could restrain him the ground beneath Wilhelm's feet collapsed and he was dragged screaming beneath the earth by a multitude of filthy, ghoulish hands. As the Necromancer was carried off into the tunnels below, the heroes could just hear him shouting a warning. “Beware! Beware the Ghoul King of Hollow Mountain!”
While this debate was taking place, the Chaos warbands gained entrance to the Lichtenfels family tomb. Proceeding down the stone steps, they find the crypt teeming with ghouls! Not only that, but there were a series of tunnels connecting to the tomb; tunnels that were crudely dug and clearly not part of the original design. They seemed to lead off towards Hollow Mountain. The sound of claws and bare feet on stone could be heard echoing from within...
The Chaos warbands quickly fell on the ghouls, making short work of them and liberating the Lichtenfels family ring from the sarcophagus of Karolina Lichtenfels. Thinking quickly, the heroes used the magic of the ring to seal the tunnels and prevent their warbands being overwhelmed by tides of Ghouls.
Their quests complete, the warbands quit the burial grounds and travelled back up the pass to Steepacre.
The heroes return to Steepacre to claim their rewards from the Burgomeister. The Duardin carried Wilhelm's hat back as a token of his demise – Franz Grűber saw Wilhelm smashed to the ground by the Thane from a distance and verifies the story – and claimed a bag of gold for this deed.
The Chaos champion put Old Jonas out of his misery, and thus claimed the single gold coin from the Grüber family for determining their elderly relative's fate.
On the subject of the ring, the Chaos champion claimed that by the time his Warriors reached the Lichtenfels family tomb, the ring was long gone! Jacob is surprised by this news but seems to believe the story. He thanked the heroes again for their efforts and then bid them farewell with a preoccupied look in his eyes. It wasn't difficult to work out that he was already trying to fathom what alternative hiding place Wilhelm had chosen for the ring.
The heroes and their warbands dispersed to rest and rearm in Steepacre, but with the promise to reassemble again soon. A mutually agreed plan had been concocted to use the power of the Lichtenfels ring to grant the heroes and their warbands access to the Hollow Mountain, search for lost Duardin treasures, rescue Wilhelm if possible and confront the Ghoul King himself!
Welcome to Steepacre
As the warriors arrived at the Red Manticore it became clear to each of them that more than one hero has answered the town's call for aid. The warbands settled in to drinking and sizing up their rivals, while the landlord ushered the heroes into a private room at the rear of the inn. There they were met by the burgomeister of Steepacre and a captain of the militia.
The Burgomeister's Tale
It all started a few months previously. Sightings of wildmen in the mountains began to increase markedly. At the same time the militia's trained hounds – who are used to protect the sanctity of the Sigmarite mausoleum on the outskirts of town against the feral mountain dwellers – began to act strangely, becoming overly aggressive and near uncontrollable. This was clearly all too much for Old Jonas the gravedigger, who apparently went mad and abandoned his cottage in the burial grounds. He set off down the mountain pass in his cart ringing his bell, never to be seen again.
The burgomeister's nephew, one Wilhelm Lichtenfels, volunteered to take the job of gravedigger to replace Old Jonas. The burgomeister expressed his relief at this as he'd always thought of Wilhelm as a bit of a oddity; a black sheep of the family who kept to himself and spent all his time with dusty old books acquired from exotic traders at Steepacre's market.
After Wilhelm had been in the role for a few weeks the burgomeister began to hear reports from travellers of strange sights and sounds coming from the burial grounds; unnatural lights, pleading voices and soulless moaning to name but a few.
Franz Grüber and a small militia detachment were dispatched to investigate, but as they reached the burial grounds they were set upon by the hounds who normally guard against the feral mountain men. Franz himself interjected into Jacob's tale at this point to say that he personally trained all the hounds but something strange had been done to them so that they no longer recognised him or obeyed his commands. A number of the militiamen were killed and the rest of them were forced to retreat to Steepacre.
Jacob points out that Wilhelm is clearly meddling with strange forces, but he fears to send the militia en mass as this will leave Steepacre unguarded. Wilhelm may very well be waiting for them to do just that, plus there were the wildmen in the hills to consider...
The Burgomeister tasked the gathered warriors with three missions. Firstly they must travel down the mountain pass and enter the Sigmarite mausoleum, destroy any unnatural creatures they find there, and kill Wilhelm Lichtenfels. A bag of gold is promised to the hero that brings a token to prove the demise of Wilhelm.
Secondly, the family tomb of the Lichtenfels is within the burial grounds and the Burgomeister was concerned that Wilhelm may be grave robbing. Jacob's mother was buried this past year with a ring that is was valuable family heirloom. A bag of gold is also promised for the hero who brings him the ring. He hands over an ornate key to the heroes, telling them to look for the grandest tomb in the burial grounds.
Third and finally, Old Jonas the former gravedigger was Franz’ uncle and the family would like to know his fate. They had scraped together a meagre reward, promising a single gold coin to whoever can determine the fate of the old man.
The burgomeister promised that Franz and a small party of the militia would accompany the warbands to act as guides and to confirm that the quests were completed. When one of the heroes asked about the wildmen of the mountains Jacob explained that they are feral types living in the hills above the town and are completely uncivilised. Any further questions were avoided as the burgomeister urged the warriors to set off at once, while there is still plenty of daylight.
The Sigmarite Mausoleum
The mutilated corpses of the earlier militia expedition could still be seen in front of the gate. The warbands moved to investigate, ordering Captain Grüber and his men to observe from the safety of the trees. Whether this was genuine concern for the men of Steepacre, or concern that there were surviving witnesses to ensure they got paid, was unclear.
With distorted howls from ruined throats, the reanimated guard dogs burst from the trees on either side of the gate and pandemonium ensues! The flanks of the warband's advance reformed to fight the rotting hounds while the centre pressed on to secure the gate. The Steepacre militia dither in confusion as the various warband leaders shouted conflicting orders.
The hounds were swiftly put down by the hardened warriors. The Duardin Thane insists on making a grand entrance into the burial ground through the main gate.
Leaving Grüber and the militia outside the walls to guard the gates, the warbands pushed deeper into the graveyard...
...and the earth buckled and splits as skeleton warriors rose from their graves to meet the interlopers! The dead form up beneath tattered banner to the sounds of pipes played by lip-less mouths. More skeletons spilled from the mausoleums housing the noble dead of Steepacre. Unphased, the warbands formed a battleline.
Heroic Freeguild knights urge their mighty steeds to jumps the gravestones as they smash into the undead horrors.
The Duardin Thane gathers his household around him and prepares to give the Undead a taste of forged steel! As the Freeguild soldiery reduce the skeletons to piles of bones and dust, more rise to take their place.
The dead continued to claw their way from the cold earth in a seemingly unending procession. The intervention of the mercenary Chaos Champion and the Daemonic Herald on the right flank finally turned the tide.
Old Jonas the gravedigger emerges from the mist, his cart now pulled by skeletal horses and full of writhing cadavers. “Bring out your dead AND your living! Hahahaha!" he cackles insanely at the gathered warbands. Wildly underestimating the threat posed by an insane old man on a wooden cart, some of the mightiest heroes of the age step up and duly smash the charnel creation into dust!
Finally emerging to face those who would see justice done upon him, the Necromancer Wilhem von Lichtenfels strides from the cottage with yet more skeletons at his side.
Leaving the Freeguild and Duardin warbands to deal with the Necromancer, the Chaos warbands head towards the Lichtenfels family tomb and the treasure it contains. However the key they hold proved redundant as the black iron gate swung open and a gang of flesh-eating ghouls emerge! It would appear the stories of “feral, uncivilised men” in the mountains were something of an understatement!
The Duardin Thane and his shield-bearers cut their way through the skeletons to get at Wilhelm. Meanwhile, filthy teeth and crude bone clubs go up against the plate armour and hell-forged blades of the Chaos warbands.The Ghast was the last ghoul standing, but he too was cut down. The way to the Lichtenfels family tomb was now clear!
With his Undead minions smashed to dust, the Necromancer was little threat to a Duardin Thane. The noble hero smote the dark wizard to the ground before raising his hammer to deliver the killing blow.
However the Duardin's hand was stayed as Wilhelm begged the heroes to listen to his story, warning them that they had all been played for fools! He told them that Jacob was the real villain! The Lichtenfels ring has been in the family for generations. It was a Duardin ‘Ring of Passage’ that can be used to move and reshape rock at will. It was gifted to their ancestor Herman Lichtenfels by the last Duardin runepriest to abandon the Hollow Mountain hold.
Herman used the ring to seal the tunnels of the hold to stop it becoming a den of dark creatures. He also used it to widen the pass and raise the great walls of Steepacre. Now Jacob wanted to use it to narrow the pass so that all merchant traffic has no choice but to pass through the town gates and pay the entrance tax on their goods. He was even talking about reopening Hollow Mountain to look for lost treasure!
Wilhelm informed the heroes that this is a particularly terrible idea as the tunnels had finally become infested by flesh-eating ghouls and their kin in recent years. When Karolina Lichtenfels – Jacob's mother – was on her deathbed she asked Wilhelm to take the ring and hide it in her tomb so that Jacob couldn’t get it. Jacob knew Wilhelm had hid it somewhere and kept sending Franz Grüber to try and extract the information from him by force.
Eventually Wilhelm became sick of the intimidation and having his property wrecked in the process, so after Old Jonas vanished he moved to the grave digger's cottage in the Sigmarite mausoleum to get away and try and protect the ring using the only allies he could muster – the dead of Steepacre. But now Wilhelm believed Jacob had worked out where the ring was hidden and sent the heroes to kill him and reclaim the heirloom
The heroes protested that tale is no excuse for dabbling in foul necromancy, but Wilhelm shrugged and says it’s just a tool, like a hammer or a musket, and was not inherently evil.
After a brief conference the heroes agreed to spare Wilhelm and take him back to Steepacre and confront Jacob with his story. But before they could restrain him the ground beneath Wilhelm's feet collapsed and he was dragged screaming beneath the earth by a multitude of filthy, ghoulish hands. As the Necromancer was carried off into the tunnels below, the heroes could just hear him shouting a warning. “Beware! Beware the Ghoul King of Hollow Mountain!”
The Lichtenfels Tomb
While this debate was taking place, the Chaos warbands gained entrance to the Lichtenfels family tomb. Proceeding down the stone steps, they find the crypt teeming with ghouls! Not only that, but there were a series of tunnels connecting to the tomb; tunnels that were crudely dug and clearly not part of the original design. They seemed to lead off towards Hollow Mountain. The sound of claws and bare feet on stone could be heard echoing from within...
Their quests complete, the warbands quit the burial grounds and travelled back up the pass to Steepacre.
Return to Steepacre
The Chaos champion put Old Jonas out of his misery, and thus claimed the single gold coin from the Grüber family for determining their elderly relative's fate.
On the subject of the ring, the Chaos champion claimed that by the time his Warriors reached the Lichtenfels family tomb, the ring was long gone! Jacob is surprised by this news but seems to believe the story. He thanked the heroes again for their efforts and then bid them farewell with a preoccupied look in his eyes. It wasn't difficult to work out that he was already trying to fathom what alternative hiding place Wilhelm had chosen for the ring.
The heroes and their warbands dispersed to rest and rearm in Steepacre, but with the promise to reassemble again soon. A mutually agreed plan had been concocted to use the power of the Lichtenfels ring to grant the heroes and their warbands access to the Hollow Mountain, search for lost Duardin treasures, rescue Wilhelm if possible and confront the Ghoul King himself!
This was a great game, and a great write up. Also a nice showcase of your early LED work. Looking forward to a follow up!
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