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17th Jahrdrung
Charger, my trusted horse, went lame on the road to Unfer. Just as well, as it literally made me step right on the first part of this strange tale!
I tore my boot on the Bailiff's sword and pulled blade and a severed hand - no sign of the body - from a watery rut in the road. Not far from the road I found the tax wagons empty and horse tracks leading deeper into the forest. No sign of the guards or drivers.
On the way back to Herenhorst I stumbled across an elf that was up to no good, sneaking around and keeping an eye on the road. I shot his leg off, saved his life, and brought him to the village. The barber patched him up good, better than most surgeons. If ever I need an amputation, I'll send for him!
I had some schnapps and stayed dry and warm that night, keeping an eye on the elf and making sure the villagers didn't lynch him. Didn't get much sleep. Nightmares.
18th Jahrdrung
Oleg, a Kislevite living in Herenhorst - all sorts of people living by the forest's edge - rode out early to get the Captain. Herr Ulrich showed up with the Sergeant and three outriders in tow. Put five Crowns into my hand and told me to forget all about the elf and never mention it again. For five gold I can keep quiet about a lot of things.
Captain wasn't too keen on taking the entire detachment into an ambush so it was decided that he'd take the elf back to Etzel in a wagon. I was put in charge of checking up on Unfer, so I took the two least lazy of my fellow soldiers along for the ride. Better me than the Captain. Hard to argue with that seeing as he's the one in command.
We made a detour to follow the horse tracks from the empty wagons. We ended up in the hills where we found a great white oak with dark red, almost purple leaves. Three corpses were hanging by the neck from the branches. A priest of Taal, a priestess of Rhya, and a black-clad man. The latter had had his wrists slit, the other two not. All three had been hanged by the neck until dead. They were curiously intact. A little bloated but untouched by birds or scavengers. Unnatural it was.
We cut them down - I claimed a pair of clafskin boots and a nice belt with a silver buckle - and took them with us to Unfer. The local priest buried them in hallowed ground. The village was still in one piece but the locals were afraid of something. Four hunters, they had lost in the winter, and no one dared go out to find out what had happened. They got a bit agitated when they heard the bailiff was dead and their taxes stolen.
Had some schnapps. Bunked down in front of the fireplace. It was nice enough. Fritz farted a lot. Jugend snored. I didn't sleep too well. Maybe turning down the miller's offer of a bed was a mistake?
19th Jahrdrung
I left my companions in Unfer - neither man wanted to ride alone through the forest - and went back to Neue Etzel alone. On the road, I met four elves. I didn't shoot any of them - nor they me. Their leader spoke some Reikspiel. We had a chat. They were looking for an elf girl, lost in the woods, and were willing to pay in diamonds if she was returned "unspoiled." They also wondered what had happened to one of their numbers. Didn't mention shooting his leg off or saving his life after. No point. His fate's sealed anyway.
When I arrived in Neue Etzel, the Captain was gone. Of course he was. They had taken the elf in a fast wagon and headed for the Etzelhaus, the Duke's holdfast. I could maybe have overtaken them, but I didn't fancy another ride in the dark and the rain, so I paid for a night at the inn, Elsa included. It cost me half a Crown. Well worth it. Didn't sleep too well though.
Almost forgot: the silver ring I found on the black-clad man identified him as a witch-hunter. The priest of Neue Etzel told me so. The man had come through town late in the autumn with three or four good men in tow. Ended his life on the end of a rope. Pitty. Wonder what happened to his companions?
20th Jahrdrung
Getting to Etzelhaus took most of the day. Had lunch in an inn along the way, gawked at the wizard's tower, and chatted with a roadwarden patrol. Etzelhaus is an imposing fort - located deep in the woods, protecting nothing important. The surrounding farms and the village were sad to behold, decrepit and half-abandoned. Talked to the captain. He took the ring to the Duke and secured his aid. I slept in a small cell. Or rather I tried. Strange sounds and nightmares.
21st Jahrdrung
Five plate-armored guards, a Brettonian knight, and his two squires, some attendants, and a very slow wagon. That's what the duke sent. The knight was a guest of the Duke. Never seen arms and armor like his. And his horse! Can't even guess at their cost.
Seeing as our help would take 4 or 5 days to reach Unfer - barring any delays - Captain Ulrich and I rode back to Neue Etzel ahead of the Brettonians and the Duke's men-at-arms. I got rid of the loot just in case. Tried to procure a pistol but there were none to be had so I spent a Gold Crown for a night with Helga. Didn't get much sleep at all.
Well worth the money though. She'd "apprenticed" in Altdorf. The girls in the capital do things the local wenches don't even know about, and they do it well and willingly. It's hard to see myself going back to cheap bar wenches after this! I got the names of a couple of good establishments. When I go to the capital next I'll try them out.
22nd Jahrdrung
The Captain had to remain in Neue Etzel to organize a party. Riding back to Unfer, I decided to check what lay beyond the White Oak. Found the bailiff's body (the elves tipped me). It was mutilated and forest animals had gotten to it, but it was humans with blades who had cut out his heart and carved out the finest pieces of meat. No sign of a fire. Did they eat man-flesh raw? Made me think of campfire stories featuring savage beastmen.
Up by the oak, I found a peasant. He had been slashed to make him bleed, then chased through the woods. He'd come a long way but died of blood loss and exposure. Pitty. Couldn't quite figure out why he hadn't been eaten. A strange lot these beastmen.
Up into the heights I went, where there were no trees, only rocky ground, and rotten snow. A man I found, dressed in skins and pelts. He got nosy, tried to jump me from atop a boulder, so I shot him. That didn't stop him, so we danced. I had my sword, he had claws like knives on his fingers. I hacked off his arm but still, he would not die. I stumbled and hit my head. The sword fell away. We rolled in the snow and mud. He tried to bite my head off. I kept ramming my dagger into his body. Finally, he took the hint and died. I hacked off the mutant's head - surely it was a mutant, big, hairy, claws and fangs - to have some concrete proof. Maybe there would be a bonus?
Should have turned back but my blood was up. Deep into the Five Sisters, I trekked. On the eastern side, I found more men - or mutants, the distance was too great to tell - building a great bonfire inside a circle of standing stones. I couldn't get down to them or pick them off, the ground was too steep and slippery with ice, so I tried finding a way around. Didn't work so well. I heard wolves howling. Found a vantage point and waited.
To my surprise, out of the woods came the elf girl, two wolves snapping at her heels. She ran with a limp and would soon be overtaken. I urged her forward and up to me. She obliged. Not much of a choice really. I killed a wolf with one shot. The elf started climbing. I didn't see it happen, I was busy reloading, but when I looked up the wolf was gone and another hairy man was climbing after the girl. I put a bullet into him, but like the first mutant, it refused to die. He did give up the chase and run away though. I'll call it a win.
We made our way back to the horse. She was tall but light as a feather. Hardly any flesh on her bones. Charger had no problem carrying us both. Good horse that one. Found his way back more or less on his own. The girl didn't speak a word of Reikspiel. She was plenty warm though. Smelled good - for a dirty girl on the run from mutants.
It was dark now. Only the light of nearly-full Mannslieb allowed us to go on. Behind us, up among the Peaks, we heard wolves howling. The girl had good eyes. Saw paths I didn't and urged me to take Charger along them. We got down into the forest. Found an abandoned homestead with the fireplace still smoking. Bet it used to belong to the dead peasant - the rest of the family was up there in the cold with the wolf-mutants.
Bolted the windows and barred the door. Then promptly fell asleep. Got maybe three hours sitting in a chair before the rooster woke us. I had half expected to die during the night but we were both alive and well come moring. The girl had cooked me breakfast. Didn't taste half bad. A light sleeper that one. And eager to please. If it wasn't for the diamonds I had half a mind to keep her around.
Used a little sign language to explain about the other elves. That got her real upset real quick. If I understood her correctly, she tried to tell me they'd kill her. Sounded a bit far-fetched. I may have promised not to hand her over. She hugged me then. So warm, so sweet. Maybe I'll keep her and diamonds be damned!?
23rd Jahrdrung
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