1

Chapter 3

A dank, mouldy scent invades your nostrils as, with some effort, you force the warped wooden gate
to the castle shut. There is a small courtyard between the gates and the castle proper and although
you should feel a sense of relative safety within the high stone walls, your surroundings have the
opposite effect. The courtyard is small, less than thirty feet across, and it is littered with corpses. In
the dim light of the setting sun, you can tell that these are not human remains. Guillaume grips the
reins of his horse and pulls her head close so it brushes against his arm. “I suggest we proceed wiz
caution. Zere are rumours of zis place being cursed. I ‘ad ‘oped zey were children’s stories. Now I am
not so sure.”

Upon closer inspection you can see that the bodies are clearly long dead. There is evidence of
scavengers gnawing on the bones and what is left of the flesh is desiccated.

The bodies are, based on the dull green skin that remains on some of the corpses, clearly goblinoid.
Based on their size, you suspect they are orcs.

Numerous crude and rusted weapons litter the ground around the dead. Some have patchwork
armour plates and scraps of rawhide clothing hanging limp over their bones. Very little looks
salvageable.

One or two corpses have cleavers or spears lodged in body parts. The more you inspect, the more
evidence you find of violent deaths. Broken bones and limbs resting too far away from bodies to
have simply rotted off lead you to believe this was a battle of some ferocity.

After a quick count, you see that there are twelve dead in total.

A successful search test will allow a player to roll a D6 to see what they find on the bodies.
1 – A fairly rusted but sharp knife
2 – A scrap of chainmail about a foot across
3 – A hide pouch that has been patched up several times. Inside are 3 silver coins with a dragon on
one side and the year 1510 on the other
4 – A tattered but functioning woollen hood that has been dyed black so that the blood stains are
barely visible
5 – A plain and tarnished bar of iron that you think might be a rudimentary crowbar
6 – A simple ring made of a dull silvery metal.

At the other end of the corpse strewn courtyard, a short set of stone stairs lead up to a pair of iron
banded doors. There are another two bodies propped against the door, both facing away from the
courtyard as if trying to escape further into the castle proper.

The doors look rusted along the seam between the two but you think with enough force they could
be opened.

Take a Strength Test +20. There is a crunch and the left door opens a couple of feet. Further pressure
causes it to move more slowly but eventually the entrance is wide enough for each of you to
squeeze in. Guillaume speaks “It is unwise to let ze ‘orses inside. I will stay out ‘ere wiz zem and
guard the entrance.” He turns to walk away and hesitates. Turning back around he frowns. “Does
anyone ‘ave a light source?” “I thought not. ‘Ere.” He unhooks a storm lantern and a pouch from his
horse’s saddle. “I suspect it will be dark soon. You will need is inside.” Taking the reins and tying
each horse to a hitching post, he walks off and starts to pull the dead out of the courtyard.
2

Inside the Keep

It is dark inside the keep. Unlike the castle you visited previously, this one has a narrow corridor
leading away from the entrance that disappears into the gloom. There appears to be light coming
from somewhere further ahead though it looks like the last dregs of sunlight and won’t last long. To
the left you can see two doors and one to the right. A scattering of bones through the hallway proves
that the fighting was not isolated to the courtyard, although these bodies are significantly older. Just
a quick look at the remains makes it pretty clear that they have been disturbed by someone or
something. Besides the dead, a dust caked rug and a few torn paintings, nothing else of note catches
you eye.

Paintings

Of the four you can see, two are ruined and faded to the point that their subject is completely
unclear. Another is badly ripped from left to right but you can make out enough to see that it was a
portait of a family. The faces are obscured but it seems to have been done with some skill. The last
painting is in a better condition and is of a man, possibly the same one in the family portrait. He is
stern faced and looks to be middle aged. His clothing is in a Bretonnian style rather than Imperial,
though the colours have faded significantly.

Armoury

There is a hefty lock on this door, however it is luckily slightly ajar already. Inside, you can see that it
was at one point an armoury. Now, it is a mess of ruined weaponry and armour. There are yet more
bones like those in the hallway although some are trapped in scraps of rusted mail and plate. The
room is an L shape that disappears around to the right. In the far left corner, the wall bows inwards
and a door is set into it. Along the right side stand a selection of barrels in different stages of rot.

Looking around the corner you see a caged section of the room. It looks to have racks for weapons
and armour, as well as a few lock boxes, although the racks are either empty or hold items that are
beyond use. The barred door has another large iron lock on it but this time the door is shut. As with
everything in the decaying castle, the bars and lock itself are red with a thick layer of rust.

In the piles of debris that litter the armoury floor, you find bent swords, spears that have been split
in half, ruined longbows and crushed breastplates. You do manage to scrounge up 7 bronze coins
with a winged horse on each side, which have survived far beyond the purse that contained them.
Along with the coins, you find that one of the barrels is intact and sealed. A quick nudge proves that
it is also full of something.

The barrel is about half full of a dark liquid with a number of arrows protruding from its surface. As
the arrow heads emerge, you can see that they are in a near enough pristine condition. There are 10
in total, all in good condition. They are designed to be shot from a longbow based on the length but
will work with a shorter bow in a pinch.

The door is not locked and is pretty flimsy. Not only that, it has several holes and cracks in its beams.
Attempting to open it proves fruitless. There is something stopping the door open more than a
couple of inches. Looking in through the cracks you see that the room is full of rubble from the
collapsed ceiling. This seems to be what has blocked the door.
3

The sound of grinding metal echoes through the room as the door inches open. As you could see
through the bars, the contents of the racks are worthless scrap much like that of the armoury as a
whole. The lock boxes look like they might be worth the effort however. There are three of them,
each sealed and locked. The locks themselves are rusty and nowhere near as heavy duty as the one
on the door. Inside one lockbox is a smaller wooden box. The style and quality of craftsmanship
makes it clear that whatever is inside is valuable. Inside you find the box is divided into small
sections. In each section has a different substance in it. Some are powders, others are like nuts. Your
nose is overpowered by a mixture of aromatic scents as you inspect the contents. Anyone who looks
at it knows that this is a spice chest. Some are likely spoiled or have lost their potency over time but
many that are intentionally dried should be worth keeping. The second lockbox is empty but the
third has a set of manacles with a key. Both are rusty but functioning. Alongside this are a wooden
tube, a handful of small metal balls and a stoppered clay pot. The tube has a delicate piece of
parchment inside it with writing on one side with a stamp of a winged horse in the corner of the
page. It appears to be a deed to the castle, all written in Breton. The name on the parchment is
Frederique D’Anguille and it is dated 1457. The clay pot is full to the brim with gunpowder and it is in
perfect condition. The small balls are heavy as you pick them up and you realise they are lead shot.
In total there are 8 rounds.

Barracks

The grubby light coming through the arrowslits on the far side of this room reveals it to be a
barracks. It has been ransacked, by the looks, with bunk beds, tables and chairs scattered. More
bones litter the floor, but no weapons are among the dead. In the shadow of the far wall, you can
just about make out a door in the opposite right corner. There are also banded wooden trunks along
the far wall, though you can see from here that some are wide open.

There are five trunks but four of them are open and empty. The last has been knocked backwards
and the lid is wedged shut against the wall. Pulling it back causes dust to fill the air around you,
making you cough as it enters your lungs. After it settles, you see something strange. A selection of
clothes has fallen from the trunk, in near enough pristine condition, besides the layer of dust. Inside
are a pair of green and black gambesons and a polished steel skullcap.

Main Hall

The darkness of the hall lifts slightly as you approach its end. At the end you can see a pair of doors
are ajar, revealing an open plan room with dim light coming from above.

As you reach the doorway, you hear muffled voices coming from inside.

Inside the main hall you can see a large oval table surrounded by scatted chairs, moss and debris.
The table is haloed in a grey light from a gaping hole in the roof of the keep but the surroundings
disappear into the gloom so that the room appears to be unending. Stood with their backs to you
beside the table are two men. One is dressed in scholarly robes and he appears to be engrossed in
something on the table. The other is in light armour without any heraldry. The armour consists of a
coif, a padded jerkin and a mail shirt, as well as what look like padded Chausses. On the table in front
of him you can just make out a cruel looking war pick. Finally, propped up against the table is a
battered heater shield.

The pair swing round suddenly, the scholar raising his hands to chest height and the fighter snatches
up his pick as he turns. Both stare at you wide eyed. The scholar speaks first.
4

“Who are you? What do you want?” He locks eyes with each of you in turn and before you can react
the fighter points the head of his weapon at the nearest of you. “Not one step closer, brigand, or I
will pierce that pretty little head.”

“My name is Stefan Roth, archivist for the family von Bildhofen. This fine gentleman is my guardian,
Erik Sauber.” He gestures to the fighter, who still has his pick clutched in one hand. “And, you are?”
He raises his eyebrows quizzically.

“I have been sent to this crumbling ruin to confirm the validity of my master’s claim of ownership of
this castle and, by extension, the pass entire.” He seems to have relaxed as he turns back to the
table, picking up a handful of wilting sheets of parchment. “There is no sign of a deed in these
records, though most of the pages are illegible.” As if on cue, one of the sheets flakes away in his
hand. “They would be void even if they were here.”

If asked about the man on the roof – Roth looks confused. “There’s no way onto the ramparts. The
stairs and upper floor of the keep has collapsed.” He gestures to his left, towards a mess of wood
and rock. “And no, there is no one else on the ground floor.”

If asked how they got through the pass – The archivist snorts. “We went through Axe Bite Pass in
the north, of course. It is madness to travel through the Grey Lady. Much safer to join a patrol from
Fort Helmgart.”

Where will they go – “We plan to travel back to Carroburg as soon as the sun rises.” He discards the
pages in his hand so that they fall to the damp floor. “I have no desire to stay in this backwards
kingdom longer than necessary.”

Searching the room – a full circuit of the room finds little but debris in the near right corner, the
ruined staircase in the far right, a closed door on the far left, another in the centre of the left wall
and finally a large painting on the wall.

Perception, Track or Intuition Test – Hunting around the dining room brings up little besides
wreckage and scattered bones. As you pass across the room’s left side, you notice a streak of dried
blood across the floor. It has flaked but it seems to stretch across the room from north to south.

Following it up takes you to the door in the north wall. The bloodstain tracks under the door and into
the room beyond.

The stain seems to end at the painting when you follow it south. It almost looks like the painting
itself has bled, although there is no blood on the faded canvas. Take a perception test +10 You
hesitate for a moment as you get close to the painting. The castle is cold and draughty everywhere
but you notice the faint sound of wind and a chill breeze coming from the painting.

When the stairs are revealed – Roth looks up from his studies. “What have you found there?” He
starts making his way over with his stony-faced guard keeping close behind.

“There was no record of a basement level in any building plans. Sigmar be damned, I should have left
this place hours ago.” He peers into the black stairway with a frown. “Sauber, get that lantern and
take the lead.”
5

Watch Post

The room is sparce and cold. Even colder than the rest of the castle to the point where your breath
mists once you step inside. It is a bleak space with little inside besides a scattering of corpses and
debris. The curved outer wall has collapsed and you can see out across to the west of the pass. The
dim light that remains reveals the passage out of the gulch the castle sits in.

Besides the corpses, there seems to be nothing of interest in the room.

Kitchens

As the door opens you get a wave of foul-smelling stale air hit you in the face. Take a toughness test
+30, failure causes a -5 to WP tests for the next half an hour. Inside are cast iron pots and pans,
scattered cutlery and, in the centre of the room, an orc body long dead with a dozen kitchen knives
stuck in its chest and face. A rattling sound comes from the end of the room from a closed door.

Inspecting the knives and pots – Rust and mildew coats everything you can see. There are even
small bones still in one large pot that sits on a counter. None of the kitchenware is usable anymore.

The closer you get to the door, the worse the smell gets. A few paces away the rattling stops and you
feel a tension in the air.

As you lift the door latch, the rotten wood of the door splinters out and the face of a giant, mangy
rat bursts forth with its yellowed incisors trying to latch around your arm. Take an agility test -10% -
Failure – The teeth pierce through the clothing around your forearm and deep into your flesh. You
feel the fangs grind against bone and stabbing pain wracks your arm as the beast increases the
pressure.

The door shakes for a few moments before cracking in several places as a weight presses against it
from the other side. It finally gives way and a mass of black and brown fur, teeth and scaly skin pours
from the opening. Roll initiative (5 Rats)

Giant Rat

WS S T W Damage
25 30 25 5 D10 + 4
Ratte Fever: If wounded by a Giant Rat, at the end of the combat take an Endurance test +20 or
contract the disease.

If anyone decides to inspect the room - The stench claws at your nose and you can feel it in the back
of your throat. The room is pitch black though as the lamp light illuminates it all you can see is a
black morass coating every surface you can see. An attempt to enter the room will require a
Toughness test +10 There is nothing of note besides a thin crack in the top corner of the far wall
about a foot across. Anyone who takes any further actions must take another toughness test.

As you walk back into the main room, Sauber is standing near the door, war pick gripped in his right
hand. “I heard a ruckus. You causing… Morr’s teeth, what is that?”
6

The Basement

You descent into the bedrock of the castle and the walls change from cut stone and mortar into
hewn rock. After a few minutes’ walk through the dark your feet hit level ground. A hallway
stretches ahead of you and into the darkness.

As you progress through the tunnel you notice something odd on each side. Small rectangular holes
a few inches wide and a foot tall line the walls. Looking inside doesn’t give much information as the
poor light of the lantern barely pierces the dark.

The hall turns right and in the right hand wall you find a banded door. Eric holds a hand out as he
reaches it. “I’ll go first, out the way.” (He attempts to push past)

Eric slowly lifts the latch and with a grunt and a shove, swings the door open. Inside the room,
illuminated by the bodyguard’s lantern, you can see iron racks that reach the low ceiling. There are
an assortment of smashed bottles, jars and pots and everything is coated in a thick layer of dust.
Some of the shelves have fallen to the ground and the shards of glass and pottery litters the floor
around them. “Looks clear, just tread careful.” Eric makes his way towards the closest racking and
stops to observe. Take a Perception Hearing test -10% Any who pass notice a short, muffled sound.

“Did you hear that?” Eric turns back to you with a frown on his face before peering between the
shelves. A hand shoots out from the darkness through the shelves and grabs Eric by the throat. It is
the size of a dinner plate and you have a chance to see that it seems to have grey sinewy skin and
long hooked talons on the end of each finger before it pulls Eric’s upper torso through the shelves.
There is a stifled scream, a wet crunch and his flailing arms and legs go limp, his lantern and pick
falling to the floor. The body flops back into the light and you can see, to your horror, that his head is
missing from the top jaw up. Blood is gushing from the jagged wound and Eric’s corpse spasms
weakly. Take a Willpower test -10%. Failure causes you to vomit, resulting in a -5 to all tests for the
next hour. Roth curses and gags, pushing himself back towards the doorway.

A growl becomes a guttural roar and the shelving in front of you is cast aside, revealing Eric’s killer.
It’s head nearly brushes the rocky ceiling even though its body is hunched over. It is clearly
emaciated but that makes it no less horrifying. Saliva drips from the two blackened tusks in its
bottom jaw and it’s blood red eyes stare hungrily at you. Roth starts to stutter as he sees the beast.
“Th..th..that’s an orc!” What little colour was there drains from his face just as the orc pulls a strip of
rusted iron from a collapsed shelf and charges.

Crazed Orc

WS S T W Damage
39 42 41 15 D10 + 8
Thick Hide All 2

A silence falls over the room as the orc dies. Roth walks over to the body of his companion with a
look of discomfort on his face. “Damned shame, he was a good bodyguard.” He bends down and
picks up the lantern. “It looks like I am in need of an escort. If you stay with me to Bretonnia I will
pay you a shilling each for the trouble. Or the equivalent in Bretonnian coin, if you prefer.”

Inspecting the orc’s corpse – There is nothing on the orc besides scraps of mouldy rags. You can see
now that the grey on its skin was actually grime and dust that had accumulated and covered the
dark green flesh.
7

There seems to be nothing else in the room besides the ruined shelves and the orc, though you do
spot slots along the right wall, the same size as the ones in the hallway. Finally, at the far corner
along the right wall, you find another iron banded door. This one is closed but not bolted and seems
to have been opened more recently than the other due to the lack of dust on the latch.

As the door opens a cold, damp breeze passes over your bare skin, making you shudder. It’s a much
bigger room than the storage one you have left but it appears to be almost completely empty.
Allarielle Take an Intuition Test +20% - The air seems to be filled with conflicting magical winds. You
don’t have the expertise to determine its origin or the specific winds but it makes you feel
uncomfortable to be in this room.

In the centre of the room, you catch sight of something unusual. A figurine made of stone, wood and
bone leers at you in the flickering light. It stands about four feet tall and it appears to be newly made
or, if not, unaffected by any aging. The figure is that of a tusked skull and it has been crafted to look
as though it is roaring. Allarielle – You know as soon as you look at it that this object is magical.
There’s a wrongness to it, like there is magic trapped inside it and a different, more potent force is
twisting it.

If anyone attempts to damage it with a weapon – As the weapon connects with the idol, there is a
flash of light and a sound like a thunderbolt. You are thrown back and take 1D5 damage as the
shockwave wracks your body. Your weapon suffers the brunt of the blast and (Describe depending
on the weapon) The sound echoes for several seconds until finally the silence returns. The idol has
cracked down the side but it is still intact.

If they choose not to interact with it – A pulse from the idol sets you all on edge. There’s no sound
or light but you feel it move through you.

A few moments pass then Roth starts fidgeting. “I don’t like this place.” Everyone take a Perception
Test on hearing – Success: you hear a faint humming sound coming from the darkness of the far
wall.

“Do you hear that?” The humming becomes a growl and then it grows to a roar. A light appears from
behind the idol and you realise that there is a gaping hole in the wall. From it, the sounds of
bellowing voices fill the room. They get louder and the light gets brighter until it is almost too much
to bear. “We have to get out of here!” Roth starts running back out of the room and quickly
disappears from sight.

If they are stupid enough to stand their ground – To your horror, you finally see what it making the
noise. A horde of greenskins pour into the room from the cavern. All are wearing tattered clothing
and wielding crude weapons and every one has a mad look in their eyes. You manage to count
twenty before their numbers get out of hand.

Assuming they run – you leap over shelves and avoid the dead bodies in the storage room and head
into the hallway. You can now see light through the holes in the walls you passed before. Everyone
take an Agility test +10% - Success: you narrowly avoid being hit by arrows as they fly through the
slots and clatter against the opposite wall. Failure: You are struck in the arm by a flying arrow and it
makes you stumble for a moment before you carry on running. Take 1D10 damage.

Describe the run through the castle, assuming they continue that way.
8

Just as you get to the door, Roth stops. “We are almost th..” His words falter as an arrow pierces his
throat. He looks confused for a moment before he collapses to the ground, blood spurting from his
neck.

Guillaume has clearly heard the sounds of the incoming horde as he has unhitched the horses and is
waiting by the steps of the door. “Let us go, I think we can make it to the patrols if we move now.”
He mounts his horse and holds a hand out to Allarielle. “Come on, we can move faster mounted.” He
also offers his hand to Okri.

The horde starts to spill out of the castle and into the courtyard. The horses move as fast as you can
push them, though surprisingly, Guillaume’s mount moves as fast as Été even with the extra person.
Take a Ride Test +20% to avoid stumbling. Failure: Ete loses her footing and slows. Arrows start to
fly past you. Take an Agility test to avoid being hit in the back.

“Look!” In the moonlight, you see Guillaume is pointing out towards the western exit. A cluster of
lanterns are glowing in the dark in the pass. He kicks his mount on into a gallop, heading directly for
the light. The closer you get, the clearer the light becomes, as well as those who are holding it. Ranks
of black and yellow uniformed men are ranked up, halberds gripped in their hands. They are wearing
an assortment of armour and each one has a grim expression on their face. As you get within
earshot, you hear a voice call out “Alle, alle!”

If they stop – The man who is talking pushes forward and shouts again “Alle! Get out of ze pass!”

You soon lose sight of the ranked men but you hear the battle being fought behind you. Eventually,
Guillaume slows to a trot and then finally stops. “We are clear.” He dismounts and takes the reins.
“Come, we will be safer now. Ze patrols cover zis part of ze pass.” He walks on and around a bend in
the pass. He calls back to you. “Look ‘ere!” As you round the corner, you see to your relief that the
pass opens up and the high crags of the Grey Mountains falls away. And in the distance, you see
lights sparkling like stars. “Parravon. We are almost ‘ome.”

End