Fyodor comes up from the rear of the caravan to see why they stopped. He takes in the scenery of destruction. "It's a trap."

With those words he readies his arquebus and climbs one of the carts for a better view of the surroundings.

"Aye. What makes you think that after one ambush there won't be another?" the dwarf asked. He didn't fancy to job, but it was something to be done. He could only hope that the rest of the column would still be there when they finish clearing the blockage.

Jocelin turned to look at the dwarf and pointed at the bodies. “Because those spawn haven’t finished eating the flesh from the bones of the victims. If any are left, they’ll be few in number and the weakest of the horde, still here because they don’t get fed when those stronger are around.”

The matter-of-fact cheery tone of her voice contrasted with the cannibalistic subject matter.

Harkrin scratched his beard. "You might be right, lass. But as our friend with a new sword can confirm, there is more than just chaos spawn in these woods."

OOC: Is there anything indicating that the ambush was the work of beastmen rather than human bandits?

With the other pausing for debate, Pieter takes a moment to study the fleshy barricade. With one hand, he loosens his short sword in its sheath, the elven blade unheeded upon his back

From his position Fyodor can't see any obvious signs of lurking bandits or beastmen, though the forest all around admittedly makes a long view difficult.

Klinka, Jocelin, Pieter and Lukas all find themselves walking along a truly gruesome sight. On the road there are two wrecked wagons and fifteen mutilated corpses. There are no survivors and several of the other men who have come up to move the wreckage look grey faced, even given their experiences of war.

OOC: Everyone make an Easy (+20%) Willpower test or take an Insanity Point. You've seen a lot of hardship but this is still a shock. Remember you can re-roll with a Fortune Point if needed.

Father Dietrich comes to bless the slain and Granny Moescher comes in case there are any survivors, though the old woman's shrewd gaze soon tells her those talents might not be needed.

---

OOC: Can I get Search and Common Knowledge (Empire) rolls please. Even if you fail you can still search among the bodies and try and make a guess at what happened!

Fyodor keeps guard from the top of the cart. He has a clear line of sight to the carnage but maintains his sanity but tightened the grip of his arquebus. He has seen a lot battle sites but this is definitely one of the worst.


OOC:11:54, Today: Fyodor Fyodoreski rolled 7 using 1d100.  Willpower  47.

13:00, Today: Harkrin 'Klinka' rolled 65 using 1d100.  Wp 47.

13:01, Today: Harkrin 'Klinka' rolled 99 using 1d100.  Search (Int 30).

Klinka approached the blockade, but even the experience in the mines did not prepare him for this sight. Wincing, he took a few steps back and concentrated instead on scanning the surroundings, his hands visibly shaking as he continued to play with his axe.

Jocelin walked through the carnage gripping her hands.

She’d heard about defilement, but seeing so much of it up close…

She softly wept as she walked.

---

OOC:
07:41, Today: Jocelin Herzog rolled 76 using 1d100.  WP <54 FORTUNE POINT.
07:39, Today: Jocelin Herzog rolled 55 using 1d100.  Common Knowledge <42.
07:39, Today: Jocelin Herzog rolled 55 using 1d100.  Search <42.
07:39, Today: Jocelin Herzog rolled 85 using 1d100.  WP <54.

Good grief.

It was a grisly scene of horror that awaited them which made Lukas want to simply break down and cry but seeing what atrocity had happened he held his nerve, for the sake of the townsfolk if nothing else.

He moved to the nearest body, endeavouring to move them to the tree line.  It would be the least they could do to bury them all but he was mindful that time was a resource they did not have.  He was clear though, the bodies needed to be our of sight before the coaches could be moved.  Even so, as he worked at his grim task he kept his eyes and ears open for any surprise attack.

(OOC: 13:29, Today: Lukas Kohl rolled 59 -- 1 degree of failure using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 46.  Against WP 26 + 20%.

Failed Test so rerolled using Fortune Point

13:30, Today: Lukas Kohl rolled 12 -- 3 degrees of success using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 46.  Against WP 26 + 20% Reroll, use Fortune Point.

13:31, Today: Lukas Kohl rolled 1 -- 4 degrees of success using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 44.  Search (Int 44).

13:31, Today: Lukas Kohl rolled 41 -- a simple success using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 44.  Common Knowledge (Int 44).)

Pieter paused for a moment, taking in the mutilation and Morr-claimed souls. Perhaps it was his recent encounter, perhaps the years before in the woods of his homeland, but he found himself unmoved.

He stepped forward, hand on the hilt of his blade as he scanned the surrounds and then the heaped bodies

13:55, Today: Pieter Marik rolled 54 using 1d100.  Common Knowledge (Empire).

13:55, Today: Pieter Marik rolled 13 using 1d100.  Search.

13:54, Today: Pieter Marik rolled 14 using 1d100.  Willpower (Easy) vs 48

All the corpses are adults, with nine men and six women. Although bloody and torn, the clothing of two of the men and two of the woman was once of excellent quality.
One of the wagons has an emblem painted on it. It looks like a set of scales, with scrollwork underneath that Jocelin can read. It says “Delberz”.

None of you have been to Delbrez but Lukas knows the mark as that of the merchant's guild of Delbrez, a trading town to the west of Untergard.

Between them the group finds evidence that the ambushers were neither beastmen nor bandits. The mud of the trail is churned up with small bootprints and though there is an unpleasant scent in the air it is not the heavy musk of the children of Chaos.

Most of the travellers died of arrow wounds. Crude, blackfletched arrows stud the corpses. Turning one over in his hand Lukas recognises them as goblin arrows.

The victims have been comprehensively robbed but a determined search yields up one dented but usable shield and a quiver with 10 crossbow bolts.

The main road at the ambush site is well used but the other fork in the crossroads is a narrow track that is wild and overgrown. A raven is perched upon a faded sign that points up the road. Granny Moescher nods at the bird, and then stops dead in her tracks. She reads the sign several times, and begins to speak, as much to herself as anyone else, though Jocelin is not far away. “Fahndorf… My family came from there.”

She looks to the ground and shakes her head. “My father died there. Graf Sternhauer’s soldiers killed him. He was a good man. He was an innocent man. All he did was hide some food from the Bailiff. He didn’t want us to starve in the wintertime. They burned him to make an example for the rest of the village. Damn nobles. As if this life wasn’t hard enough without their boot heels upon our throats.”
This message was last edited by the player at 22:32, Sun 05 Dec 2021.

As no monsters came charging out of the forest, Fyodor jumped down from the cart and joined the others searching the carnage. He frowns as he also recognizes the goblin arrows and suddenly flashbacks from his last encounter with the orc army comes back.

He shuddered visibly and tightens the grip on his berdysh.


"We bury or burn?" he asks to no one in particular and points at one of the corpses.

"Greenskins", spat Pieter, with a sour look upon his face, "Bold, too"

"Burn them and move on", he suggested to Fyodor, though his eyes darted to where Captain Schiller and the rest of the refugees waited - other than Granny Moescher who seemed to be a law unto herself, of course.

"Burn them and move on", he repeated softly, "We don't want them coming back, nor the Captain asking us to hunt down the tykes who did this"

He made no move to act, however, eyes still scanning the woods.

"We can't do anything about these people..." said Lukas, moving the corpses out of the way, "But what about the people of Fahndorf?  We can't leave them to a fate like this.  If enough of us went, maybe we could save them?"

Lukas wasn't a hero and wasn't a fighter but could they really leave the village to the fate of the Goblinoid menace?  Beastmen and Mutants behind them, dead Queens rising, Elves in the Drakwald and now goblins destroying villages and attacking the roads.  The Drakwald had suddenly become a very dangerous place.

Jocelin walked over and stood by Granny Moescher. She didn’t say anything, just stood there to be nearby as the men talked about burning bodies. What good would talking do? Peasants so rarely understood the pressures nobles faced in protecting the Empire, or the necessity of keeping order, even if it could be taken too far sometimes… No, she was hurting, and comfort was the best Jocelin could offer.

After Lukas’ suggestion she said quietly to Granny, “Lukas is right… we could help your people, maybe…?”

Fyodor slings his Berdysh over his shoulder and then prepares to push one of the wagons to the side of the road. With a big grunt it starts to move and rolls into the ditch. Without further question he starts hauling one corpse at the time and loads them into the wagon.

"Need oil." he says to the wind witch as he drags a corpse past Jocelin

Granny looks surprised, hesitates for a moment then shakes her head. "That was a long time ago dearies. None left in Fahndorf since before your papa was bouncing on his papa's knee. We moved on, ev'n if we ain't forgot the Sternhaeurs."

Even as she says it the old woman looks down the overgrown trail leading the abondened village, almost unconsciously wringing her spotted but strong hands.

Fyodor and Harkin are helping the filthy process of moving the wagons and corpses to the left side of the road, while a team of Untergarders led by Hans Bauman are working to the right.

Father Dietrich blesses each body. The priest looks very tired, yet determined to his duty as he recants the death recital to allow the dead safe journey to Morr's realm. Really it should be the task of a priest of Morr but there are none here so he does his best.

Without warning, you hear the Priest shout out in alarm and then he disappears from view while walking along the right side of the road. The group hears a loud thump and a cry of pain.

Unencumbered by hauling corpses, Pieter runs swiftly to where the priest vanished. He slows as he nears the spot, wary of treacherous ground underfoot
This message was last edited by the player at 15:12, Wed 08 Dec 2021.

“Father!” cried Jocelin. With a quick look at Granny Moescher, she rushed over to where the priest fell.

Fyodor looks out from behind the cart at the commotion of the disappearing priest. Instead rushing towards him he grabs his trusty pole-arm and keeps guard.

Lukas looked quizzically at Granny Moescher for a moment as his thoughts were confused for a moment.  He tried to work something out in his head but thought better of it.  Some things were better off left in the past and some things were just a little to difficult to process sometimes. Nevertheless, she was a friend and one she trusted so he let the subject of Fahndorf drop in his head.  Lukas, who was trying his best to move corpses and wreckage out of the road was startled out of his grim task by the unmistakeable shriek of Father Dietrich.

Lukas' first thought was that the Father had fallen into a hall but the 'thud' sound worried him more.

"Was that an arrow?" Lukas hissed as he scurried to find cover behind one of the coaches still, not quite out of the road.  He listened keenly from his place of relative safety before assessing how close he is to getting to the good Father and pulling him to safety.

"We should be following the Greenskins, not wasting our time." the dwarf grumbled as he began to clear the bodies with Fyodor. He hurried behind his companions when they've heard the cry of the Priest. He was not particularly religious and certainly human religions meant very little to him, but if there were gobbos around this place, his axe may finally taste some green blood.