TEWR Ep 42 - The Mutant Chickens of Wittgendorf

​The Enemy Within Revisited Cast:

​Gustav Myrthenbaum the Bounty Hunter (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)

Having just killed a troll and being surrounded by disturbingly starving beggars, the team was ready to continue on their way to castle Wittgenstein. A regal looking woman accompanied by guards appeared on a nearby hill. Her guards grabbed one of the unconscious beggars lying on the ground and took him away. Bran was certain he recognized this woman, determining that she was probably a member of the Wittgenstein family.

Bran shared his revelation with the rest of the team, and informed them that she lords over the villagers. While doing so, he starts experiencing an intolerable itch all over his body. Falco inspects him and noticed that he has lice. While this was going on, Rutger looked down on a nearby village, which looked dilapidated and impoverished. A Sigmarite temple in a profound state of disrepair caught his eye. The mere sight of the temple upsets him, and he became driven to find the priest in charge and confront him. He wants to ensure that funds are not being misappropriated.

The group entered to the village and stopped at the Shooting Star Inn before proceeding to the temple. Deciding to eat dinner and have a drink first, the group was about to go inside the inn when they noticed a nearby man teasing a dog by dangling a piece of meat over him. Bran attempted to intervene in defense of the dog when the dog suddenly bit the man and ran off. The dog inflicted significant damage, leaving the man in a bad way. Falco performed first-aid to save him.

Afterwards, the group left the man where he was and proceeded into the inn. The bar tender welcomed them, while viciously coughing.  Gustav inquired on what kind of food they served, and the bar tender informed them that they had 3-legged chickens. Understanding that the inn is serving a mutant chicken, the team decided against eating it and just booked a room. Gustav and Falco shared a room, while Bran took his own room with a window. Hargrin and Rutger also shared a room. Having a drink at the bar, Gustav shared his knowledge of a malady called “Chicken Lung” with Bran. They deduced that the three-legged chickens have been the cause of the nasty cough they noticed with the bar tender, as well as around the village.

The team decided to rest before going to the temple. The night was uneventful, and everyone headed downstairs to meet for breakfast. The innkeeper served a double-yoked egg. Gustav and Bran bravely ate the eggs, while the rest of the party ordered oats.

Over breakfast, Bran asked the innkeeper about the temple. He informed them that the priest is dead, as a part of the temple collapsed and fell on him. Regardless, the team decided to go see the temple before carrying on to the Wittgensteins.

En-route to the temple a woman cozied up to Falco and tried to hand him a baby. Bran took a look and saw that it was not human, but rather a giant spider. The party wished to destroy the monstrosity, which prompted Bran to become protective. In the end, Falco distracted him while Hargrin dispatched the spider. In this moment a two-headed sheep appeared, and was being chased by a group of hungry villagers. Bran lost interest in the spider, and became hell-bent on protecting the sheep. Bran spoke to the sheep, befriended it, and hid it from the group of villagers.

The party carried onto the temple. Inside the room is dark with light streaming in through a hole in the roof. There’s a large altar in the room with a Sigmarite statue behind it. Bran detected a magical presence while inspecting a leather-bound book on the altar. Stay tuned for what happens next week.

​by Michael Morgan (aka Falco)