Captain’s Log… is it still 2514? That won’t matter much soon, if Chaos wins…
The enormous bulk of that dormant monster is all the cover we need from the goblin patrols outside. Thing is snoring loud enough to wake up at least half of Altdorf! It only went to sleep eighty or so years ago which is pretty recent for a... it sounds like I'm lying when I say this... dragon. There's a dragon sleeping not even a hundred feet from us. We're less scared out of our wits than we expected. Maybe because it doesn't have that look of hideous rage on its face. It reminds me of a sleepy dog when it slumbers. I'll give it a good stabbing in the eye if it wakes up, don't get me wrong, but for now I'll take this peace. Slaying that goblin chieftain and his bloody warlock quickly was a good idea. The goblin den should be a confused mess for a while. More than usual, anyway. Goblins are good at following Chaos wizards like Etelka Herzen but crumble on their own. Thank Sigmar they aren't hobgoblins! The stairs nearby lead to the final, I think, floor of this wretched place. It was a fine dwarf stronghold once but like many others it was consumed by the darkness below. I dread meeting that darkness face to face but Sigmar's hammer must be retrieved! Walking away at this point would honestly make me a damn fool. Should I lean against the dragon? It would be nice to sit down while I dictate this... No, no, don't wake up! Alright, I'll keep standing.
I've been neglecting this journal due to fear of being heard by the horrors of the Black Peaks. Didn't really focus on keeping track of the days either. I'm quite fearful of the war that is emerging. Its birth cry will be terrible if we tarry too much. Yes The One, I'm aware of the irony of doing the journal entry NOW of all times. It's just... something to keep me sane. Yeah. So we bought ourselves furs and all sorts of things to let Enzo and Eluisa, our mules, carry. You need a bear's weight in furs to ignore such a cold! Right into the spirit, past the bones, that chill goes. Saw two scouts in the distance, made completely indistinct by frostbitten winds. I doubted they were kind to people like ourselves. After the first few miles we could bear no more and needed to set up camp. Werner and I took the first watch. We take watch in pairs now. Sigmar forbid the one person on watch gets suddenly mauled and everyone else is left vulnerable! Both saw the lights of figures, shambling and bereft of furs but seemingly placid. Well, Werner saw them first and gave me a slight nod in their direction. Neither of us could dare to stand and greet them. Probably for the best.
Clear skies and howling winds accompanied the morning arm in arm. Had to use some supplies to make our way across a treacherous, uneven land. Mostly rope to keep together. It took a long time but it was worth it. Falling on one of those craggy juts would have broken an arm or worse. Saw some huge white birds, perhaps as large as an elephant with a bounty hunter hat, soaring across the sky. They can tell you about the strangeness of the Blackfire Pass but you'll never be prepared for actually seeing it. The One and Blessed Jim talked on watch about the responsibility of being chosen by Sigmar. I think. Last thing I heard before properly getting some sleep, anyway. The morning was oddly warmer. Passing a few huts in those wilds left me feeling watched and unwelcome. We still got some soup from them though. I understand why they would be distrustful. I had seen enough that would make any other group leave for safety and sanity. We, however, had never had much luck searching for either of those! Trappers around the mouth of the Blackfire Pass told us to pay heed to the several ranger shelters up ahead. This advice proved valuable. Werner and I were still covered with frost. Patrolling our camps and chatting madly were a common way to pass the time and stave off the cold. Bear tracks in the snow... but not any bears we had ever seen. We never met those "bears", thankfully! Blessed Jim noted some goblin tracks as well.
Wolf tracks and a walk through the dark, lit by a full Mannslieb moon. It was about two hours but the shelter we reached was perfect. Gusting north winds pushed us onward in the morning. A giant cat, a huge thing of ancient times, lingered briefly ahead but dashed into the cold winds like a ghost. The mountain goats along the way were tremendous. I mean that in the pleasant sense. I tilted my head and realized that they ARE able to stand perfectly stable on the hills. That drunken sailor was right! We left them alone. Their tough hides made them hard to hunt quickly and fireballs would not cook the meat. A brief stop at a natural spring lifted my spirits. Reminded me of simpler times and a clean path through clear waters. I can get back to the river and forget about all this. I even know where I’ll leave this journal after I get out of this place. If I get to leave alive. Werner kept staring at The One for a fair bit. I wonder why? Wait, what? You were just worried? Ah, fair enough my friend! I forget that I am dictating aloud sometimes!
Our journey brought us face to face with two roadside tollkeepers. Two ten feet tall, ugly, violent tollkeepers. Gutbender and Snaggesh the ogres were willing to make a deal with us so that we could pass without harm. It was their road, of course. Werner bartered with them for a good bit and returned to the party with the final agreement. Our marine had convinced them that we were scouts from an approaching army, so they were sure to be whatever they considered “reasonable”. They demanded both the mules and me to feast upon, as a minimum. It was an awful deal! We told them this exactly and the ogres, cheated out of their ridiculous business venture, gave a ferocious roar! Werner was petrified with terror, but I stood my ground and protected him. The One’s lightning was not enough to kill the duo but Snaggesh ran to the hills in fright. I struck Gutbender on the belly and Werner nearly took his head clean off! The One’s sorcer- holy fire left nothing but his ashes. She remarked that she thinks this solved their ration problem. We had a good chuckle, gathered our group and ventured forth.
Gentle flurries of snow proved to be our companion. Werner found a miner’s pick in the snow and nothing else. Blessed Jim found tracks, two or three days old, of something even bigger than two tollkeeper ogres. The night skies were clear and it was quiet. The only thing of note was the sound of goblins on the move in the mountains. There were too many to take on in a stand-up fight and I was anxious to retrieve Sigmar’s hammer as quickly as possible. It was the 7th of Ulriczeit at that point and the days seemed to be getting shorter…
BY THE HAMMER, ITS EYES ARE TWITCHING! Let’s take a couple of minutes before I continue. I still have a lot of recall and don’t want to incur a dragon’s fiery wrath!
- Johann Dasbuut.
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