Entry 8: The 14th Day of the 12th Month of the First Year of the Third Millennium     We were able to rest and recover in relative peace for over a week before we were next engaged. Once again, the band of undead famed for eating dead people surprised us as we were searching an area of the city. I have begun to think that they actually stalk us - as this is the third time they have caught us thus unaware.     This time, I was present in the building nearest to where they entered. Jean deVrai and the Center Guard were in buildings behind me and to the left, and both Serge LeSwifte and Louis LeVite were in areas to my right. A pair of dire wolves began rushing Serge, who was in the open, while a Vampire and a ghoulish figure advanced on the building in which Louis hid on the 2nd floor. The rest of the ghouls, dregs, and zombies advanced in the middle towards me - followed by a pale human with whom we had dealings before - a spellcaster of deathly magicks.     This necromancer advanced behind his troops and cast a spell that caused a sharp pain in my chest - spreading throughout my body - as if my life force itself was being drained. I fell out of the building to the ground, and sheer luck prevented serious injury. I got up, still dazed, and backed off as I saw some ghouls moving towards a gap in the ground floor of the building. To my left, Jean and the Center Guard had grouped together and were preparing to advance on a pack of dregs.     All too quickly we were engaged in hand-to-hand combat. I went down, and I vaguely remember crawling/running away and sounding a rout, but the memories at that point are blurred. It was several hours before our band had grouped together again. I heard then of the rest of the action...     To my right, Serge had dispatched both of the dire wolves, but fell to a vampire who charged him. Louis had held his own in his building, fending off a ghoul who he was about to dispatch when he saw me fleeing and heard the cry to rout. Jean and one of the two center guardsmen were knocked unconscious by dregs, though the other center guardsman was able to lead the rest off on a chase away from the unconscious men - ultimately finding his way back to camp.     I fear Jean and the Guard fared the worst, for the center guardsman who fell never returned to camp. Jean suffered a terribly nasty wound on his right hand, and for the moment he cannot even wield his spear. I seemed to have lost my capacity for optimism and love in this place, though I think that my capacity for fear perhaps went with them, and that may not be such a bad thing in this town. Serge has been taken by a hatred for the undead, and I can sympathize with him, for I share similar feelings for the skaven who slayed Simon just months ago.     This is a bitter defeat against a group that I am certain we could defeat face-to-face were we ever prepared for them. We shall have to remain ever more on our guard than normal. This time we set to searching together, and we found a band of human prisoners, though we know not who kept them. We set them free and found one among them who was an experienced swordsman to join us as a new member of the Center Guard.     We also found 2 more shards of wyrdstone, which we wasted no time in selling along with the 3 shards we carried. This brought us 90gc, bringing our treasury to 105gc total. We spent 35gc equipping our newly freed center guardsman, and we found a blunderbuss for sale, which we gladly purchased for 30gc.     In the days following this we found no trace of the missing center guardsman, but we did find opportunity to train further. I noticed that Gaston was working hard with Jean to restore his skill with the spear, and while Jean's wound has not properly healed, he appears to have gained enough skill to compensate. Gaston also seems to have gained more skill with his spear than I remember. Louis has been dodging rocks thrown at him, and Serge has been emulating Louis' skill in stepping away from blows in close combat. I also set my mind to pursuing the hire of another pair of marksmen to serve as my Life Guard, and I let the word go out that we would be seeking qualified candidates.     After some small number of days, we wandered back up to the bluff across the river and waterfalls from the Von Gormley mansion. This area of the city seems to draw me to it. I don't know whether it is due to our particularly intense times there when our marksmen were inflicted with lycanthropy, or whether it is simply because it is one of the more dramatic and scenic areas of the city. But when we arrived in this area, we had great good fortune.     As we overlooked the bluff, we saw our old acquaintances and nemeses the Skaven of the Green Flame huddled together on a bridge in the open below. We carefully took up positions in the buildings with our crossbows and sought access to the areas below the bluff with our other members. Then, at one command, we set out to ambush them!     We loosed several shots, but at distance all but one missed, and that one merely knocked a rat-man down. Seeing our power, the green-tunicked ones ran from us in terror. We pursued diligently, and saw from our vantage point that a band of pit-fighters and undead had also converged to block their way on the other side of this area. They, however, were no match for the Green Flame, a few of which fell at their feet, but most of whom got away having done as much damage as they had taken.     During this time another band of Skaven - the one called "The Plague" from which we had first contracted the lycanthropy of months past in this same area - advanced from the other side of the river. Perhaps they came to aid their brethren who had now fled, and they both charged the undead to some effect and took up positions on the other side of the bridge from where my foot troops and heroes now stood. The pit fighters were to our right, but we quickly made a truce with them as the only other humans about.     Gaston took out a skaven with a pistol shot across the bridge, and the skaven began a careful advance towards us. I took another out of action with my crossbow as Louis and Serge charged them. They seemed surprised at the speed with which our men could close on them. Louis took another out of action, and The Plague quickly routed.     It was then that we noticed another lone skaven sitting across the river high up in the ruins of the Von Gormley mansion loosing arrows upon us. We turned our bows on it, and Serge loosed an arrow that threaded the thinnest of gaps in the tower and appeared to silence this last Rat - I did not know Serge possessed such skill with his bow! After this, the field cleared, and Serge and Louis went up to the tower to investigate. They found the Rat-man, dead or unconscious they cared not, but near him they also found 3 shards of wyrdstone, which we credited to Serge as the one who had earned the right to claim it.     In subsequent investigations we found another 5 shards of wyrdstone, along with some telltale signs in the nearby graveyard. we dug where the earth was disturbed and found a hidden cache of 20gc. We sold 7 of our shards for 110gc, leaving us 170gc total. Inquiries into blunderbusses were fruitful, and we were able to purchase another one for 30gc - now allowing both our marksmen to be equipped with these deadly arms.     Discussions with Henri about his way with dogs has led us to the conclusion that we must buy a trained war dog. From this, Henri feels he may be able to find a suitable wandering cur and train them with the aid of a proper example. Our inquiries into the availability of such a beast have not yet given us any leads, but we will continue to pursue this.     We did, however, find many candidates for hire, though only two did we deem qualified. We hired these two men and equipped them with crossbow and sword. This cost us 120gc, leaving our treasury at 20gc. I am certain that this investment will pay dividends against future surprises, and equally confident that we will find more stone in this most unusual city.     We took the next several days to train the new marksmen, and during this time I noticed that Serge had been copying Louis' ability to dodge rocks and other things thrown at him with ever increasing skill. It seems these two - Serge and Louis - will end up twins... well, perhaps not exactly twins as Serge's disfigurements still linger with him and probably will for life. But the two of them are as brothers who will not be outdone by one another.     This last encounter was a good one. We lost nobody, and while we exacted little revenge on the Green Flame, we scarred our fair share of skaven hide and found much to convert into gold after the battle. Alas, it is time for us to strike out once again and attempt to build up our treasury once more. Turn the page. Back to the previous page. Close the journal.