Captain's Log: 30th of Vorgeheim, 2514.
Okay.
Well, let's think of the good news first... I found my old journal. Had to scavenge among the ruins of bloody Wittgenstein but I did eventually find it. The One recovered her blessed blade, a sign of Sigmar's favour. That was good too. The crew I had were fanatical and rightfully saw her as truly divine, so work was quick and full of enthusiasm. I knew Sigmar could inspired great warriors but not such great diggers! I learned a fair bit about the language of Kislev and its various quirks. A crew member, a quiet and ponderous type from Praag, eventually let slip a bit of his personal history after drinks. I couldn't really remember most of the cultural stuff due to the ale but I had tremendous fun practicing the language. This would prove to be incredibly useful as soon as I felt the crunch of snow under my boots. I wasn't visiting of my own volition, but I guess I'm a "right place at the wrong time" sort.
Our marine is now a proper mercenary captain with an entire band. I learned fencing techniques from a Tilean fencing expert they picked up along the way. She was very patient with my usual "rush in and punch the fiend" approach and I definitely learned a lot. The various nicks'll give me warning next time I think foolishly in battle. I know I said I'd stop spending so much coin but this captain's uniform is simply wonderful. I have attained the fanciest of pants in the Empire. Seller had a bodyguard from Albion. I'm sure you know how strange that is. Had the paint on his face and everything. Warned me that something terrible was going to happen, according to one of their elders. I nodded glumly. It sounded about right.
Doctor Furfoot is not only an accomplished figure in the field of modern medical science but also a practitioner of alchemy as well. So, for the bad news. We were all given memberships in the Knights Panther. Wait, wait, I thought it was a good thing at first. We were all ordered to appear before the Graf and took the oath there and then. I mumbled a fair bit of it, lied about killing all mutants because Ludwig is a lovely, misunderstood soul, and generally lost the gist halfway through. It was considered good enough. Harbull was nowhere to be seen. Our doctor later told us that he just woke up late and had to run to the order's barracks. They gave him strange looks because of his height, of course. It was then explained to us that we needed to settle some issues in Kislev to appease a truce between Kislev and the Empire itself. Whispers were briefly exchanged:
"Hey marine. Does Kislev have no Chaos or all the Chaos?"
"All the Chaos."
"Ah."
We did get fairly well outfitted in the armoury. Werner is now attired like a knight but I prefer the old chain armour and shield. Makes it easier to creep through the wilderness and get the drop on whatever the hell lives there. We travelled by barge in the morning, equipped with trusty documents filled with official statements and signatures. A different sort of magic scroll, one that could also terrify the common man. It was good to be on board a vessel with the old crew once again. I even took to the helm to relieve our good host every once in a while. Although, to be honest, every time I meet my friends again something sinister is not too far behind. Yet, I feel comfortable with this… I guess hailing doom has become a habit of mine. Sweet Sigmar, I just remembered when bandits were a thing of terror! Looking at our marine captain, you’d never believe it. Demons, cultists, beast men, champions, the best of the best. The cream of the crop wants our blood now… hooray?
A few days later, the chilling wind of Kislev gave us a wa- a welcome. It is a frightful land of ice and snow. The steppes and mountains are striking alongside the huge stretches of forest. I mean hundreds upon hundreds of miles of dark, haunting forest. It amazes the mind of someone used to the rivers of the Reik. At least the rivers here aren’t frozen. There are, and I hope I get this right, Gospodars who are the lowest class of people. They suffer and work under the Norrs, the upper classes of the country. The whole thing, The One just told me, is very similar to the old way the Empire was structured. Outside of all this are the Ungols. The Ungols are a right scary bunch of horsemen. They were once a great and powerful horde of raiders, now various tribes of irreligious but superstitious warriors. I can’t say I blame them for being wary. Sometimes their young get wanderlust, to compliment the bloodlust, and become violent adventurers across Kislev. Unlike ourselves. We fight Chaos so it’s all okay. We had an audience with the Tsar in his palace and he spoke for a fair bit on matters of the country. I wanted to chip in with an opinion or two but I got a spear butt slammed into my leg. I knelt the best kneel I’ve ever performed in my life after that. His right hand man gave us some more paper I can’t read and sent us off to Voltsara to give aid. The journey up the Urskoy River was, suspiciously, uneventful.
Voltsara doesn’t leave much of an impression at first glance. Huts for the lower classes, a church to Tal and Rhea and a manor up north. Tal and Rhea protect against evil spirits and are the husband and wife gods of the wilderness. They don’t seem to have anything like a hammer to fight Chaos with, so I don’t really get the appeal. Our doctor used his charm to try to speak with a peasant. Not an inch was given to having a chat. Even after I tried my best Kislevite. The northern manor was opulent and nothing like the spires and usual Kislev look. It was more like… an Empire manor, actually. Wonder if the family is from there? Ivan Ilyich Herzen is a very eccentric man. He helpfully let us know this right away by yelling his eagerness in Old Worlder and flaunting some fencing techniques. Good technique, very, very sudden. Proved to be good eccentric more than insane, thankfully. His wife Anya served us tea from one of those Kislev pots. A Sammer? Eh, I’ll remember at some point. Werner said that we had to ask if he knew an Etelka in the family. I couldn’t remember who she was for a bit:
“Etelka…”
“The witch?”
“…”
“The one with the cat and perfume?”
“…”
“She had a house full of goblins?”
“…”
“You were wearing your favourite shirt an-“
“AH, ETELKA HERZEN!”
He said she was probably a cousin. We somewhat told the truth by saying we had dinner with her once. I really hope she didn’t get out of that castle…
A foreman found an old stone circle and hadn’t come back. Four mutilated woodcutters and soon twelve others joined them. All lost to the Dark Forest. We were recommended that we talk to Piotyr Piatrovich, a charcoaler who knows a fair bit about the local beast men. They are what is suspected to be killing the villagers. Goat, wolf, the usual kinds. No rat ones up here. Allegedly. Ivan also told us to seek out a wise woman in these strange matters. We bid him farewell and made our way to Piatrovich’s home.
Only his wife was around and she told us he was cutting wood up on the hill. She didn’t think too unkindly of us and let us inside to wait. Piotyr soon arrived, carrying a large bundle of wood. Fair play for his old age. We were given drinks and were straight into discussing the beastmen. The kvass wasn’t as bad as some might think. His son, Giorgi, was infected by beasthood but still had a human’s spirit. Big claws and teeth, only vaguely resembled a man, but still refused to allow his home to be invaded by other mutants. Piotyr was adamant that we should bring him back by conversing with the nature spirits of the forest. Nature spirits? I was immediately confused by all this and it took some explaining. For example, how come there’s a river one but I’ve never seen the bastard once in my entire life? It was explained to me that they were just excellent at hiding from our senses. Clearly. I guess that's where the old sailor tales about mermaids come from. They just appear when they want. Or when we do a ritual, as it were.
The first creature summoned was the house spirit, the Domovoi. You kept on good terms with them and they keep the house safe and clean. They leapt from the fireplace as tiny fellows with meek, quiet voices. I was both greatly amused and very on edge the entire time. I don’t know why. I should be used to this by now. They said that Giorgi was far away. Not much help but I didn’t expect much from house spirits. We gave them some kvass and they were very thankful. Next was the Masch- Massau- the farm spirit. He watches over barn animals and complains a lot about untidy barns. Took a long, difficult conversation, and promises to sweep the place, but he did eventually give us some information. Said he saw an ape man, a goat man, a dog man and “one like a dog but with a flatter nose”. We were soon rid of the spirit.
Not rid of problems, however. The locals got the idea of making us listen to every single one of their issues once they heard why we were here. Some of it might have been actually true. The One and I got lost in a sea of rumours and gossip. One claimed another family stole a chicken, one could be a mutant because of a “funny looking mole”, one is the Tsar’s truest son, and so on. No matter how far you sail, rumours run amok these days.
We are now taking a break from all this so I can update the journal. I feel like if… wait a second, The One, I’ll get that. Keep writing.
Hello marine, doctor! You reunited Giorgi and Piotyr? That’s wonder- talked to the Leshy and punched a bear? YOU MIGHT KNOW WHERE THE BEASTMEN ARE?! Fantastic, let’s bring some justice to Voltsara!
- Captain Johann Dasbuut.
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