Nido viperarum

From the journal of Johanna Schwarz 

5. Sigmarzeit, 2499

I sometimes wonder if we really understand what the forces of chaos are, and what it means to fight them. We say we are committed to battling the forces of chaos. As a witch-hunter I have even sworn an oath to do so. The entire mythology of the Empire is that it is a bulwark against chaos. And yet, I am not so sure.

It is easy enough to stride into battle against the physical hordes of chaos. Fighting beastmen, horribly mutated Norscans or bloodthirsty greenskins leaves most people in no doubt as to who is on the side of the malicious forces, and who is a servant of order and light. But chaos takes many forms. It is the erosion of morality, sanity and justice, in favor of self-service, madness and oppression. And I see this rot many places. Not just the obvious ones.

Entering Norden makes me acutely aware of this. On the surface, this city is a bastion of the Empire’s strength, even secretly housing the shipyards building the new Imperial fleet, made to rival any foreign threats. Yet how does this society work, when viewed from the perspective of one of its many inhabitants?

The city is nominally ruled by Baron Neurath, but he is an absentee lord, spending all his time in faraway Altdorf. Instead he has an appointed governor, Waldemar von Schlussel, ruling in his name. He is a commoner, granted a minor title by his liege, yet he has more power than any actual nobles in the city. And the actual law on the streets is a different question altogether.

The city is divided into eight different quarters. They are under heavy guard, and movement between them is controlled by armed men. Yet those men are not soldiers of the Empire. Rather, they are beholden to different rich families in the city. Parts of the city is even under the military control of a mercenary company called the Death Jesters. So how is this order, what law applies? Is this just the semblance of order, masking arbitrary power?

Walking around the city, talking to people, we soon learn that the climate is exceedingly paranoid, due to the fleet-building. People suspected of being spies for Marienburg have been lynched. One good effect of this oppressive atmosphere we learn of, is that the Buchberger family, that nest of vipers, have had a hard time setting up shop, as they originate in Middenheim. The political schism in the north, between the Middenheimers and the ones beholden more to the centre and Altdorf, means that families not known to be part of the current ruling clique are viewed with suspicion. In this case, that is entirely warranted, although not for the reasons the people of Norden think.

We got rooms at an inn called The Horned Helm, and started to gather information. Me and Sunniva manage to join some games of cards with minor nobles and other toffs, and glean some information about the current situation. The Buchbergers, it turns out, are not well-known in the social circles of the elite, they seem to have kept a low profile. The major social event in the city is the great ball at the governor’s mansion, due to be held in three days’ time. Apparently, it is invitation only, but the invitations are so sought after that some people sell them off, for a hefty price. We learn that a minor noble called Edgar Hart, currently living at an inn called Siegfrid’s Fate, could be persuaded to part with his invitation for the nice sum of 10 gold coins. We are sorely lacking in information. We do not know what allies Charlotte and the Buchbergers have, how the different mercenary companies and noble houses are aligned, nor even whether the governor can be trusted. It is as if we are stumbling in a dark cave filled with monsters blindfolded. However, we do not know if we can afford to wait three days before we act.

Meanwhile, Talian and Torgil took it upon themselves to scout the mansion the Buchbergers have in town. It is centrally placed in the richest district, and there are guards in place. There is a stable, but they were unable to ascertain whether Charlotte is there.

Talian has purchased a horrific plague-doctor’s mask, to better be able to hide his Elven features when scouting the city. I am unsure whether such a ruse will bring less or possibly more trouble his way. That night, he sees a coach bearing the insignia of the Buchbergers pull into the stable at the mansion.

6. Sigmarzeit, 2499

The next morning, as Torgil has taken over the scouting, he sees Charlotte outside the mansion, on very friendly terms with a large mercenary captain, bearing the uniform of the Death Jesters mercenary company. It is an ill omen that an armed force controlling parts of the city are in league with the evil forces we hunt.

I am used to treating my membership of the order of witch hunters as a sort of invisible shield, granting me the protection of the law. However, in this city, there is no chapter of the witch hunters, and I am starting to regret using my badge to gain access to the city. It seems it has attracted attention, the kind which we do not want. Illusions of strength and order, yet again.

This day, as we plot our confrontation with Charlotte and the Buchberger estate, we all agree that we should think about how we could get out of the city, should worst come to worst. After all, we have no guarantee that the armed forces in this city will acknowledge what we are doing as lawful. We also agree that we need to try to get more intelligence about the mansion and its occupants.

I set about trying to find a way to get more information, and asked around at the marketplace about who delivers delicacies and fine food to the estate, and got a name for a merchant: Sara Goldblatt. However, before pursuing this avenue of investigation further, I felt watched. I arranged for Torgil to follow me at a distance, as I walked around the quarter, and he noticed a person trailing me. But who is he, and why is he spying on me? We need to know more.

That evening, we planned an ambush for my pursuer. I would walk towards the poorer quarters of town, where Talian would wait in an alley, to jump whoever follows me. Meanwhile, Torgil would follow a way behind, to try to keep control of the situation.

As I was making my way down the street, heading for the agreed alleyway, I felt a blow, as if an axe hit my shoulder. Staggering around a corner, I realized I had been shot by a crossbow. I felt numbness creeping down my arm, and realized the fiends used poisoned munitions! A masked assassin wearing the by now well-known garb of the Death Jesters was running down the street, but was intercepted by Talian. Unperturbed, he drew blades, and a vicious fight ensued. Torgil, running up behind,  managed to hit him with an arrow, and I charged across the street and exploded the assassin’s head with a pistol shot. As soon as it started, the melee was over. Clearly, I am a target, and clearly, Charlotte and the Buchbergers are aware of our presence. The clock is ticking, and we do not have the element of surprise we thought we did.

Walking back, we spotted the person Torgil had seen trailing me, and we jumped him. In the nighttime streets he was quickly subdued, as I made it clear that it was either submission or death. Apparently, this man works for a captain Seinen, whom he claims is some sort of secret police chief for governor von Schlussel.

Seinen turned out to be a guarded, suspicious woman. I demanded to know why she was surveilling a licensed witch hunter pursuing her duties. She asked for proof that we are who we claim, and I reciprocated. Her documents seemed valid enough, and she tried to press us for more information. We shared that we were on the trail of a coven of witches with dark plans and several lives on their conscience, and demanded that she either help us or stay out of our way. She wanted to know who our suspects are, but since we do not know if we can trust her, we demurred, agreeing only to keep in touch though her henchman, Harald.

That may have been wise, as Eldur afterwards said he had a strong feeling that she is not to be trusted. Although he is at times reckless, I think Eldur’s instincts are good.

7. Sigmarzeit, 2499

With our foes entrenched in the city, with an obvious information advantage, we decided we had to act soon, or risk that our prey escape our grasp once more. Although it filled me with trepidation, we approached the Buchberger estate at earliest crack of dawn, while the rest of the city was a sleep. Walking up to the gates to the mansion grounds, Eldur was able to open the lock. One of the two guards in place came running over, and I showed my badge, demanding entrance to the mansion. He immediately drew arms, while his comrade stole inside the mansion, shouting alarum.

The first guard was quickly dispatched, but the door to the mansion was bolted shut. While me, Sunniva, Torgil and Talian started running around the mansion to the back door, Eldur released an absolute inferno of fire engulfing the entire doorway. I must admit the sight was truly both impressive and scary. He is as reckless as we already know he is - that conflagration could easily end up charring the entire house!

Great was our surprise, when just as we were nearing the back door, the fire went out light a match being blown by a hurricane. As Eldur told me afterwards, it was clearly removed by powerful dispelling magic forces. To our dismay, as most of the party was at a distance, the front door burst open, and Otmar Schule, that conniving so-called astromancer came out along with a contingent of eight well-armed guards. Floating over them was a horrific disc-like, glowing blue chaos beast, which headed straight for Eldur and Piet, along with most of the guards.

The rest of us ran as quickly as we could back towards the battle. Eldur managed to entangle two of the guards rushing him with fiery tentacles, burning them and holding them fast, while Piet was locked in furious combat with two guards, being pressed hard backwards. At the same time, Otmar, who clearly was an accomplished witch, started gathering powerful chaotic forces, green luminescence flaring around him.

Talian, Torgil and me soon locked forces with Otmar’s guards. I tried shooting the chaos spawn hovering above the battlefield, raining hurt down upon us, but the bullet simply went through it - it had some kind of shielding. The same was the case for Otmar. I clearly saw one of Sunnivas arrows just pass through him like mist.

The shielding was not perfect, though, and we managed to inflict some wounds on the horrible disc-beast. Still, we were hard-pressed, and Otmar’s guards were disciplined and doing their level best to kill us. Finally, Talian was able to rush him and pressed him backwards with a flurry of blows. I could see blood and sweat and fear marring his face, yet at the same time, the chaotic forces seemed ready to burst forth in a terrifying blast of energy. His guards rushed Talian, pushing him away from their master, but fortunately, that gave me an opening. Cutting down one of the guards with my sword, I pulled a pistol from my belt. As in slow motion I saw the bullet cleave through Otmar’s temple. As the light died in his eyes, so the chaotic magic flared away, and the chaos spawn he had summoned blinked out of existence.

Some of the remaining guards ran away, and the rest fought to their death, even after we offered them surrender.

As the din of battle died down, we set about searching the mansion. It is deserted, our prey fled. In the basement we found an entrance to the city sewers, probably where Charlotte went. Otmar had on him several extremely incriminating letters, all from a mysterious “M.B”. (Margareta Buchberger?)

In the first letter, dated four days past, M.B. orders them to “start the ritual”. Apparently, “phase two is urgently needed”. The letter speaks of how it is imperative that the priests of Morr remove the Chalice from Salzenmund for their endeavours to succeed.

In the second letter, M.B. praises them for their good relations with the Death Jesters, noting how they can “be of good use”. At the same time, it notes how fortunate it is that Charlotte has such “good relations” with governor von Schlussel…

We were right to be sceptical. We are truly in the vipers’ nest. Who can we trust, and where do we go from here?