Session Forty One

The forty first session of the Adeventures of the Dragon Crag was on the 30th January 2023.

## Party Members Present

* Brandr Sigurdson (Late)
* Snorri Morgrimson
* Relnwe Adiath
* Professor Meino Osterhaus
* Aleksi Lehtonen

## Synopsis

### Tunnels under the Flatland Peaks

#### Aleksi Returns

Aleksi returned to us after his forays down the cravasse, looking bedraggled as ever. We asked him where he'd been and he broke into a song about mushrooms and a man named Tor. Apparently he'd beaten a Beastman Shaman in single combat. Events are often embellished in song, so he'd probably just winded Nikolai the Underground Halfling or something.

#### Returning to Umkar

Having found Aleksi, we decided to return to the rangers in Umkar to tell them we found a way under the Flatland Peaks. On the way, pointed out the bones of a Jabberslyth that he had seen and we had missed. The return journey through the tunnels was quick and we soon were back in Umkar where we metup with Lina. She said that the other Outpost Chiefs were out on scouting missions. We told her of the great army of beastman we had seen on the other side of the hills. She was dismayed.

#### Magic Slates

After meeting with Lina, Aleksi showed us some Ancients Slates he had picked up in his adventures in the tunnels under the Flatland Peaks. They were engraved with inscriptions that he could not read. They looked ancient so they were passed over to Rel and the Professor. The Professor couldn't read it showing that he was of similar intellect to Aleksi, whilst Rel could. It was written in a dark tongue similar to Eltharin and they spoke of a great Wellspring of Power nearby that was to be used and curtailed. They also showed some sort of crude map pointing somewhere to the north west of Libeck. Snorri inspected the stone and carvings and summised that it was truly ancient, written well before the time of Sigmar, around the time of the War of the Beard.

#### The Forges of Umkar

Thereafter, we rested for a couple of hours. Brandr and Snorri fired up the old forges of Umkar to fix their armour, using coal dug up from the mountains. Meanwhile, the Professor went off into a dark corner to look at his strange mirror. As he did so, he got a horrid feeling in his tummy and it wasn't Snorri's eggs. His magical senses were drowned out by a horrible feeling of something nearby, though he didn't know what.

### Heading West

#### Under the Flatland Peaks Again

In the afternoon, we heard from Lina that it was time to head out - the other chiefs still had not returned and we needed to head into the west. We were heading to another outpost so that all the rangers as well as the dwarf soldiers from Karak Azgal, who were led by Durak Kazrinson, were in the same place to plan our next move against the beastmen. We helped guide the rangers through the underground route that we had found and emerged safely on the other side once more. Here, we set up camp and bedded down for the night.

#### Everything's on Fire!

In the morning we, along with Anders and a couple of other rangers, set off west before the others to make contact with yet more rangers. The terrain was dusty and desertous, dotted with scrubland and small hills. Anders knew the route well and, after some time, the land began to rise. Suddenly, Anders stopped. He pointed ahead and frowned. In the distance was a small rocky outcrop from which smoke was billowing. With her elf eyes, Rel saw a couple of low wooden buildings burning. Anders told us that it was the rangers' outpost known as Frontier Rock. Anders said that we must now go to the last defendable place he knew of: a valley between here and Libeck known as The Rivet. This was where any survivors would have fled to.

#### The Rivet Camp

By the end of the day we came to the edge of a precipice. Down below was the great valley known as the Rivet carved into the earth. It ran north to south and we could just about see the cliff face of the other side of the valley. On our side of the valley, on top of the cliffs, we saw the gentle wood smoke of a camp. It looked organised - only dwarfs would build tents in such straight rows. We entered the camp and the rangers there were pleased to see us. Aleksi immediately asked if anyone had seen Nikolai. The rangers said that they had, and that he had made friends with the dwarfs. Hurridly, we went over to the dwarfen part of the camp, where Brandr and Snorri were naturally greeted with great deference. The dwarfs said that Nikolai was away with the Captain on a scouting mission, but would be back soon. Thus, we sat on our bums and had a smoke and a bite to eat.

### Many Meetings

#### Nikolai!

As evening fell over the camp, Lina arrived with the rest of the rangers from Umkar. She was dour as ever. She told us we were to come to the Captain Durak's tent. Only the dwarfs were to be allowed in with Lina. Inside the tent were several dwarfs and a couple of humans. After a brief conversation with the Professor, the dwarf guarding the tent forgot his duties and the Professor, Rel, and Aleksi were also admitted. The Professor immediately started talking to one of the humans dressed in a strange hat. As they began to speak, Aleksi pricked up his ears. "I know that voice!" he cried. It was Nikolai! Aleksi jumped into his cousins arms and they snogged. Then, as is custom in the cold lands of Kislev, they greeted each other with a bare hug. After many months of searching, Nikolai had been found. After the kislevis had regarbed themselves, Captain Durak invited us all to take a seat.

#### The Council of Durak

We all sat around the large table that had kegs set into it. Along with our party, there was Captain Durak Kazrinson, Dorrin Kazrinson, Alrik Morgrimsfind, Ulrica von Reuss, Lina Meier, and Nikolai. We all raised a flagon, filled by the table kegs, and toast our meeting. Then, discussion turned to the grave matters at hand: what was to be done in the war with the beastmen. Lina said that the outpost chief of Frontier Rock was dead. She also broke the terrible news that outpost chiefs Varnil and Merric had also died on their scouting mission. Overall, we numbered 167 dwarfs and 89 humans. The beastman had more than twice our number. There were refugees from Libeck in the camp, but they were mostly women and children. Then, we produced the magic slates that Aleksi had found. Snorri said that this wellspring of power is probably what the beastmen are after and that we should get to it first. The Professor said it is a gift. He was convinced that the magic must be a gift from Sigmar in disguise. He looked slightly crosseyed, but he convinced us. As the council began to draw to a close, it was decided that the rangers would look for and keep tabs on the beastman horde, whilst our party looked for this wellspring of power, or weapon of sigmar, or whatever it was. Then we would decide how best to strike. Snorri then told the dwarfs of his marvelous Hrukidron-Barag. A dwarf steward wheeled it into the tent and all marvelled at the great invention. It was wheeled out sharpish after the goats started shitting everywhere and nibbling the dwarf guards' beards. After that, we got too drunk so the council was declared over.

#### Nikolai's Story

We continued to drink with our old and new friends. We asked Nikolai about the Ring of Light and Dmitri. He showed us the ring hidden beneath fingerless gloves and it shimmered in the torchlight. Nikolai called it the Ring of Dazh, who was the Kislevian god of the sun. He said that he had found it in Blackfire Pass after he killed some goblins on his way southwards to Karak Azgal. The Professor took a very close look at the ring and was temporarily blinded.

#### Bedtime

We decided then to go and find some carousing refugees from Libeck to ask them about the Wellspring of Power as some might information on it. However, we soon found that we were far too drunk to talk to any strangers and we went to bed instead.

#### Old Greta of Libeck

In morning, we awoke and Snorri made eggs (sunnyside down, of course). Now relatively sober, we approached the refugees once again. We got talking to an old woman called Old Greta. She said that Libeck had been on hard times for a while. The harvest had been bad for a while, but the beastmen raids had started in earnest over the past few months. They had been forced to flee to Frontier Rock a week ago. Those of fighting age had remained in Libeck. We then asked her about the Wellspring of Power. She told us that Libeck had a small river source nearby and it was therefore greener. The only way to get there is along the Rivet where the sand is treacherous. But there was a spot where the villagers did not go. It was far past Libeck, at the end of the Rivet. She told us of a foolish man who once went there and was maddened and came back and killed four people. He screamed and raved of strange glyhs. She said she had only seen this place from afar and the only way to get there is through the valley. She sketched a small map in the sand. All about it were steep cliffs. We thanked the lady for the information and left.