18 Erenzeit
We didn't get far yesterday. On account of a really late start. Spent the night in the village of Arzchel (and yes, it sounds a lot like asshole when you say it). A most unremarkable place but take note: the local do NOT like ass-jokes at their expense.
Today we reached a quaint little place called Winkelhausen. You'd think all the houses were built with funny angles. But alas, it was just like most little villages in the Reikwald. In the evening we took part in a local celebration. They set fire to a wicker-man which got me on edge. But we found no sign of corruption or drinker-worship so let it pass.
19 Erenzeit
We stopped to rest in the village of something or the other near the Black Hills. Thesalva did a thing - or said a thing - to Joanna that made the strigany girl blush and slap my dear elf. I wonder what that was about but it got me exited.
20 Erenzeit
We arrived in Grissenwald during a downpour after surviving a small goblin ambush among the trees of the Black Hills. I had no idea there were goblins this close to Nuln but I suppose it's like everywhere else: after a while, the little greenskins sneak back in.
I took an instant dislike of the place. For such a largish town situated on the Reik and the Grissen it seemed too quiet and too run-down. Too few people about, and the local dwarf community consigned to a shanty-town outside the walls. Worse than Schrabwald really. I suppose I have misjudge the position of dwarfs in Imperial society - every time I go somewhere they seem poor, downtrodden, and with little spirit left in them.
We set out to locate Etelka Hertzen. She was indeed known to the locals, but not as a vile sorceress and cultist, but an upstanding citizen that had the support of both the town's Bürgerrat and the local lord, Graf Faust von Grissenwald. At any rate she didn't live in the town but in her own place up in the goblin-infested hills. Of course she was.
Note to self: Sometimes it seems Wigmar von Liberungen is one of few people who is a good judge of character in the whole of the Empire!
22 Erenzeit
Speaking of the Graf he'd not been heard from in some time. So we mustered an expedition to clear out the goblins, determine the fate of the graf, and visit the sorceress's forest manor. My own men, a few adventurous spirits from the town, a contingent of half-trained militia I got directly from the guard-captain rather than the insipid council, and some very grumpy dwarven miners led by a grimy fellow named Gorim Greathammer.
The battle that followed was a resounding victory for von Liberungen. The militia broke and ran, but between the dwarves and my own companions we were able to carry the day. The dwarfs had 3 killed, the militia about 10 (an impressive feat given how little they fought), and I lost none. Fifty or more goblins lay dead, some survivors fleeing into the woods.
We found the graf's manor half burned to the ground with no survivors to be found. At the time I did not see how goblins, however many, have the means and will to breach a sturdy gate and stout walls defended by valiant Reiklanders. Perhaps treachery? Cowardice? Vile magic?
23 Erenzeit
There was a victory celebration in town the day after our victory. Locals, dwarfs, and foreigners all came to celebrate as friends. During the night, while the town was distracted, goblins snuck over the walls, murdered the entire city council, set fire to the Rathaus, and escaped with a lot of silverware and valuable objects. We tried to help, but I was too drunk and the darkness made hitting the little gobos even harder. Got a few, but alas, it was too little, too late.
24 Erenzeit
The day after the attack an upstanding citizen, a baker by trade, had the courage to tell von Liberungen that the bad witch had probably left the area some time ago, along with her apprentice, a ruddy fellow named Ernst Heidelmann. They had bought bread and cakes and sailed downriver, possibly towards Kemperbad, aboard a small river barge. Furthermore, he named the Bürgerrat as accomplishes of Hertzen, swearing that he'd seen them engage in unholy practices. I guess the Gods work in mysterious ways, sending greenskins to punish the wicked!
26 Erenzeit
I've convinced the dwarfs, about eighty of them, to join me in Liberungen. There is nothing for them here, not even their coal mine, which they sold to Hertzen. We'll march together to Nuln and they can then escort my guns back while I pursue the sorceress.
While we waited for the dwarfs to pack up and get ready I decided, against the advice of my fellows, to investigate the witch's tower. Be careful, they said. Let us return with a wizard of our own, they said. I said, no, let us be brave and investigate this place, lest evil befall the locals. Their courage restored by the justness of our cause, we proceeded into the forested hills, moving carefully in case the goblins were watching the trails...
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