TEWR Ep 37 - The Massacre at Unterbaum

The Enemy Within Revisited Cast:
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Gustav Myrthenbaum the Dilettante (Davy White)
Falco the Apothecary (Michael Morgan)
Hargrin the Troll Slayer (Kevin Bronakoski)
Bran the Amber Wizard (David Crapper)
Rutger Horstmann the Zealot (Chris Taylor)

During a harrowing excursion into the Barren Hills, the group discovered the missing key for the pentagram lock in the signaling tower on the bank of the River Reik. As a result, their current plan is to return to the tower. The group stopped in Untebaum along the way, where they were greeted by a dead body slumped over the top of the river lock gate. Arrows were protruding from his body, which led the group to assume that the man was killed by elves. Bran spotted another body whose neck had been badly twisted and its head facing backwards. They decided to enter the village.

While heading into the village they discovered a dead woman with a gash in her chest. They recognized her as Esmerelda, who they encountered previously while passing through Untebaum. As they drew closer to the village, they noticed a horrible smell. Bran advised the party to prepare themselves for a dire situation.

The village was a gruesome sight. It had been razed and there were dead bodies piled up around a funeral pyre. As the party discussed their next course of action, they heard a sound from behind a nearby building. Hargrin and Rutger circled the hut, while Bran attempted to calm the petrified Falco. All they discovered was a goat.

“Would they really setup a pyre and kill everyone in the village?” asked Bran. The scene before them didn’t reconcile with what they knew about elves. Gustav noted that the arrows seemed familiar, but couldn’t place it.

While Rutger and Falco searched a nearby blacksmith for a blunderbuss, they happened across Vorster. He was badly beaten, bloody and dying. A dead beastman had fallen on top of him. As he spoke to the team, he made reference to a cold female who had an elf by her side. Gustav and Falco speculated that there was a link to the elves they met in Bogenhaafen, as well as Athos, their former elvish party member.

The group decided to continue looking for answers at a Shaolin temple in Kemperbaad. After an uneventful overnight trip, they arrived. The temple was only accessibly via a tall stairway, which could be bypassed by either paying for a lift or transforming into a bird. Hargin decided to walk, while Gustav, Falco, and Rutger paid the fare for the lift. In true character, Bran transformed into a bird then walked up the steps with Hargrin.

The group approached the temple, left their weapons at the door and proceeded to enter. Upon being received by a priestess, Gustav showed her his third-eye. The priestess asked Gustav some questions in an attempt to diagnose, then assurance him that life as a freak wasn’t all that bad.

Another woman then approached the group and spoke to Falco. She indicated knowing him, though the frightened apothecary couldn’t place her. The woman reminded Falco that she was the one who took care of Smof, the ogre who was once a member of their party. Smof stayed behind in Kemperbaad, as he had fallen ill. She informed the team that he was released from her care to a man that claimed to know the group of travelers. The woman described the man as having short, fair hair, though he mostly wore a hood while in her presence. She remembered him having a prominent scar under one eye. When he brought Smof out to his carriage, there was another man waiting for him. He referred to him as Gearhart. We left the group pondering this name.

by Michael Morgan (aka Falco)