Captain's Log: 9th of Kaldezeit? 2514.
We got the Graf's body back to the Imperial, thankfully. The plan is to get Graf Boris a proper burial when the riots die down a little. That... might take some time. I could hear the violence outside and, sometimes, blood would drain into the cobblestones of Altdorf. The brawls and times of peace were sudden but felt inevitable. A ritual pendulum between civility and mortal combat. Kind of like the waves going in and out, to put it simply. The religious intolerance and bigotry had grown to horrifying heights. Ar-Ulric was going to stay on the upper floors of the Imperial and discuss with the nobles what could be done. We thought we could stave off the melancholy of the city through a good drink or two. Got through the crowds to The Crossed Lancets easily enough. We either got through at a quieter moment or nobody wanted to ambush Werner and suffer the consequences. I think it might have been the latter.
A couple of bottles weren't going to do the trick but by Sigmar we tried! We had the pleasure of getting our ears open to the rumours and gossip that flowed through the inn that very night. Some people were speculating whether or not Prince Wolfgang was a mutant. I chuckled and tried to explain the whole thing, putting one foot on the chair and swinging my tankard with both hands, but Werner told them I was too drunk to be believed. That was probably for the best. I only had so much clarity before being overpowered by the drink so let me try my hardest... there was a vampire draining the blood of those that went out to the docks at night. That was the last thing we heard before being approached by that Roddy fellow. You remember him? He spoke a lot about conspiracies and Wittgenstein, I think. Gave us some bottles of vodka, which I think caused me to lose control. He spoke of mutants being more frequently born, white wolves rushing through the forest, pleasure daemons in Stirland... last thing I remember was Werner looking concerned about something before everything became blurred.
I woke up on a comfortable sofa upstairs, suitably attired for sleep with my trusty nightcap. I'm surprised I managed to change myself properly. I heard a scream from a nearby room and fumbled for Fiendcutter. It was The One! Kicking open my room's door, I ran into the hallway and joined forces with Blessed Jim and Sir Captain Werner. All three of us, unarmoured and wielding righteous blades, burst into The One's room and saw a wicked and disturbing sight. It was a mutant with three heads of swines, bat wings and loathsome tentacles. It squeaked and whined in a language that sounded human. By Sigmar we were all too frightened to approach the foul thing! We each parried and ducked under its swings and gave The One the time she needed to throw bolts of lightning. The unearthly bolts struck twice and in a flash the mutant began to melt into a bubbling ooze. The last thing it said was something we could all hear very clearly:
"The mutant lover is dead, hail the Wolf!"
Guards and other fighting men and women soon appeared and inquired about what had happened. Seeing that The One was not terribly wounded made me approach the window, bolt it, and walk away. A messenger called for us to meet Ar-Ulric. Immediately. Werner helped me sober up incredibly quickly. I thank Sigmar for the miraculous cure that is sticking your head in a bucket. We all barely managed to don our suits of armour and met with Ar-Ulric in a private room in the Imperial. I immediately, albeit in an unclear and rambling fashion, asked about what the mutant had said. It was a truly distressing answer: it was the exact same thing the Emperor's killer had said. He wanted us to meet someone to talk about the vital task he had in store for us. Out from the shadows stepped Kaslain, Arch-lector of Sigmar! He told us of how the Empire lacked an Emperor and that the Sigmarites were being prosecuted for trying to install a mutant prince. Ar-Ulric believed that Sigmar and Ulric would not want such feuding and said that it must be work of darker forces of Chaos. They both could not speak out on this publicly, due to the situation at hand, and thus needed to turn to desperate measures.
WE MUST FIND THE HAMMER OF SIGMAR! Sorry, I probably should have built up that more. It's just such an honour! Needless to say, I was absolutely delighted with what they asked of us and nominated the entire crew for the quest. Kaslain and Ar-Ulric gently reminded me that they can make their own choice on whether they would embark on the quest or not. They all agreed and offered sword, bow and witchery to the holy quest. I was absolutely beaming with joy at the loyalty and bravery of my crew. Kaslain read the runes on Blessed Jim's blade. "Barakhul, Hope of the Mountains". It must have been forged by a dwarf for the templar of Sigmar. The One described a vision she had and the marks it left on her hands. The eyes of the Arch-lector widened and he told us of the significance of the Twin Comets of Sigmar. Ar-Ulric was less impressed but still supported our quest. We need to follow a certain path down river, find a servant and then we would find the Hammer of Sigmar. I am giddy with excitement even dictating this, to tell you the truth. We needed to return with the quest fulfilled before the armies could form and war would break out.
We couldn't hire anyone too important as it would betray the true importance of our journey. By the docks we stood, not afraid of any thugs or vampires, and the true enormity of our task hit me there and then. I was so struck by the immense danger of it all that I had to ask The One if her visions showed my fate. She said I would be perfectly fine. That was a relief! By the morning we headed off to the docks to find The Comet, the Arch-lector's boat. Along the way I was handed a pamphlet by a Sigmarite. It was a good drawing of a wolf but, by Sigmar, its ideas against the Ulric followers were horrific! We needed to set sail, quickly! It was a well stocked vessel, enchanted to consistently keep up a good speed, and Adolph Rinner was a very skilled and respectable captain. Our first action was to sail away from that village that should not be named. It was a very good start.
We first passed the signal towers that the tremendous dwarf craftsmen had worked on. Flashing lights blinked from tower to tower, sending messages instantly to and fro across incredible distances. If we can just defeat Chaos for good this time... maybe the future will be full of incredible things like these. I had to keep myself from getting too emotional while considering this. I should never lose track of what will be lost if we ever stop destroying Chaos and its schemes. Some gypsies appeared near our vessel and asked if we wanted to buy some charms for the whirlpools ahead. The One asked the captain what we should do. I was about to answer but then realized she was referring to Rinner. I started counting my coins, ready to purchase a charm or two, until Rinner leaned over the boats to address the gypsies. He spoke some, eh, "classical sailor" and they left disgusted. The Comet makes fantastic time on its journey.
We passed Reikguard early before noon but couldn't escape the bad news. It was more talk of civil war and renegade knightly orders, such as The Knights Talabec. They have become infamous for killing several nobles in Ostland. I had never heard of this order before and hope to never meet them. I heard from the same travellers that Bock (Boq? Bokk?) has put Middenheim under martial law. By Sigmar's hammer it is grim news! We refused to stop moving, even when a terrible fog harried our ship. Some fishermen repeated the same news we had heard before. One grizzled old fellow said that the cows don't milk and that his wife has had funny dreams. I understood exactly what they meant and warned them against going near Middenheim. Made sure to tell everyone that. It sounds worse than my nightmares up there. The crew and I took a rest at Kemperbad. The one with the Purple Hand and that odd killer guy that Harbull liked to work with. Well, he looked like a killer. I know he isn't, Harbull! Don't look at me like that. Apparently that large taxman has become in charge of the town. That's peculiar. Didn't think I'd ever hear of him again.
We'll be heading off again soon. We've got to get past Nuln.
Then the real quest shall begin!
- Johann Dasbuut.
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