Army of The Damned
Army of The Damned
Introduction
This is a fan-made adventure module using the D&D 5e
system. All illustrations and names used from Magic:
The Gathering, along with all D&D terms and rules, are
properties of Wizards of the Coast. This is only a fan
creation, not in any way made for sale.
Download the basic rules for FREE at here!
Innistrad is a setting steeped in gothic horror themes
and makes liberal use of horror tropes. Werewolves hunt
within the forests, vengeful spirits haunt the places of
their grisly deaths, hedonistic vampires feast on humans
at their leisure, and Frankenstein-like mad scientists
create abominations stitched together from corpses. All
these classic horror stories are merged together to create
a unified campaign setting that is much more than the
sum of its parts, an amazing and compelling backdrop for
epic storytelling.
1
Introduction
Classes
2
Introduction
Races
Religions
Lets take things one step further. What if this strong tie to
the Shadowfell came from a specific source? A source that
is tied to many of Innistrads supernatural happenings,
dampening protective wards and empowering both
werewolves and vampires? Yes, Innistrads link to the
Shadowfell is the moon.
The Innistrad moon is a massive portal to the Shadowfell
plane. No one remembers what sinister entity constructed
this link between planes, but the world of Innistrad was
set to be consumed utterly by the Shadowfell. The deity
3
Art by Ryan Yee
Adjusting Difficulty
4
Introduction
Background
Humanitys Peril
One Hope
Falkenraths Lesson
6
Introduction
Overview
Adventure Hooks
You can let players invent their own reasons for visiting
Shadowgrange, or they can use the following backgrounds
as an easy way to create characters with compelling ties to
the events of Army of the Damned.
7
Introduction
8
Chapter 1: Into Stensia
Road Encounters
9
Art by James Paick
Event
Ancient Devoutees
2
3
4
5
6
Cloud of Teeth
Explosive Summons
Fiendish Hecklers
Into Darkness
Ominous Bridge
Wolf in Sheeps
Clothing
Ancient Devoutees
10
Chapter 1: Into Stensia
Treasure
Cloud of Teeth
Explosive Summons
Developments
11
Chapter 1: Into Stensia
Treasure
Fiendish Hecklers
12
Chapter 1: Into Stensia
Developments
Into Darkness
Ominous Bridge
Developments
Treasure
Developments
13
Chapter 1: Into Stensia
Treasure
Milestone: Level 2!
Conclusion of Part 1
14
Art by Vincent Proce
Part 2: Shadowgrange
Shadowgrange is one of the oldest human settlements
in Stensia. Most of the villagers are farmers, the majority
being shepherds. The rest of the villagers work in trades
that support the farmers by spinning wool, weaving
clothes, shoeing horses, milling grain, and the like.
Some merchants move goods from Shadowgrange to
other settlements such as Lammas, but shipments move
less frequently these days as the roads become more
dangerous.
In the last two years, Shadowgrange has experienced
a swell of new citizens that sought refuge behind the
villages fortifications. Most of these folk come from
smaller remote villages that have been destroyed by
over-indulgent vampires, mindless undead, or sadistic
ghoulcallers. With Avacyns presence missing from the
land, the protective holy wards of these villages are failing,
and creatures of the night are making bolder attacks.
Shadowgranges moat and stone walls make it one of
the best defended villages in the area, but many villagers
secretly believe that this settlement will eventually fall just
like the rest.
When characters first arrive in Shadowgrange, read or
paraphrase:
Encounters in
Shadowgrange
15
Chapter 2: Shadowgrange
Important NPCs
Innkeeper
Owns a trading post; secretly a
Skirsdag cultist; has a cursed item
for the party
Head priestess of Shadowgranges
chapel; has a quest for the party
Blacksmith; has a quest for the party
Fletcher; has a quest for the party
16
Chapter 2: Shadowgrange
Town Description
17
Chapter 2: Shadowgrange
18
Chapter 2: Shadowgrange
Visgaud Grounds
Armory
19
Chapel
20
Chapter 2: Shadowgrange
Alchemists Shop
their stats.)
Hanging on the back wall is a shelf with potions. Some
of the liquids have expired, but there are four vials of acid,
three potions of healing, and two alchemists fire. (See
Adventuring Gear in the rulebook for their stats.)
There is a fireplace with various iron mixing pots
hanging over the pit. Inside one of the pots is a muddy
liquid that has little bits of scales, pink flesh, a small claw,
and hair. A DC 15 Intelligence (Nature) reveals it to be a
potion of animal friendship (DMG 187).
Developments
Alchemists Basement
21
Chapter 2: Shadowgrange
Developments
22
Chapter 2: Shadowgrange
Estate.
On the metal platform rests a well-preserved human
corpse -- or rather, many pieces of human corpses stitched
together. Copper plates with silver-inlaid runes scribed on
them have been woven into the creature, the rune-bonds
used to join the various anatomical features. The strange
liquid in most of the glass bottles is the vital fluid, the
blood of the skaab, made of lamp oil with a pinch of
angel blood. Siegfried had this test skaab properly built,
but he never uttered the incantation to awaken it.
Treasure
Mayors House
Ground Floor
Second Floor
Music Room
23
Chapter 2: Shadowgrange
Music Puzzle
Developments
24
Chapter 2: Shadowgrange
Conclusion of Part 2
Milestone: Level 3!
Undead Menace
25
Chapter 3: Night of the Dead
Refugees
26
Chapter 3: Night of the Dead
Developments
The refugees have more dire news for the crowd around
them: as they fled, the survivors saw brief glimpses of
the horde beginning to move south, in the direction of
Shadowgrange. At the rate they were moving, theyd reach
this village in two days.
Panic ensues when this information is revealed.
Stensians are stoic folk and dealing with horrors is a
grim fact of life, but an entire horde of undead bent on
their annihilation isnt something theyve ever had to
face before. The cathars do their best to maintain order
amongst the crowd.
Once she hears about the impending attack, priestess
Flora seeks out the adventurers. A meeting of the village
leaders is to be called immediately and she asks for the
characters to join them.
Ill Tidings
27
Chapter 3: Night of the Dead
Developments
First Wave
Second Wave
Third Wave
Eight zombies from deeper inside the horde join the fray,
along with two more skeletons. Same tactics as above.
Fourth Wave
Fifth Wave
Developments
Defending Shadowgrange
29
Chapter 3: Night of the Dead
Add any other quests that you feel are appropriate to the
situation.
As the characters go about preparing, so do the rest
of the townsfolk. Shadowgranges cathars calls upon
all able-bodied citizens to take up arms against the
oncoming attack. These conscripted commoners gather
in the town square bringing whatever weapons they have,
from hunting bows to pitchforks, where they await orders.
The rest of the townsfolk rush to evacuate precious
belongings from their outlying homes and farms to the
safety of Shadowgranges walls. Noncombatants are
30
Chapter 3: Night of the Dead
Evacuation?
31
Horde Tactics
32
Chapter 3: Night of the Dead
above.
When the horde arrives at the walls, read or paraphrase:
Developments
If the skaab goliaths are taken out before 10 hits are dealt
to the gate, then the gate holds. Regular zombies stumble
over the fallen goliaths to claw at the gate, but their assault
The warm glow of fire can be seen over the rooftops ahead
of you, where the sounds of fighting can be heard. As you
turn the corner, you see two wooden cabins aflame next
to the wall, illuminating the scene in front of you. Fighting
amidst the bright glow in a tight formation are the cathars,
clashing with dozens of undead humanoids. More still
pour into the street from a breach in the wall 10 feet wide,
clambering over the stone debris and eagerly rushing to
the living defenders. By Avacyns Might, we hold! shouts
a cathar, even as the soldiers are slowly pushed back.
If the adventurers leave for the breach quickly, then
33
Influence Dice
Help
A cathar fires a crossbow
bolt into an enemy that
one of the characters is
engaged with. The enemy
takes 4 damage.
A gust of spectral wind is
felt as the spirit of Saint
Traft materializes on the
battlefield and swings his
greatsword at the PCs
enemy, dealing 2d6+5
damage and knocking
the target prone, before
his spirit is swept away
elsewhere by the wind.
Hindrance
A zombie catches a
character unaware with a
slammed fist into its back,
dealing 4 damage.
Waves of Undead
In order to hold the line and drive the undead back, the
characters must defeat several waves of increasingly
dangerous attackers while the cathars fight their own
undead foes in the background. Allow each waves
resulting combat to play out, then let the next wave arrive
one or two rounds after. This gives the characters a small
window to ready themselves for the next fight.
First Wave
Second Wave
34
Chapter 3: Night of the Dead
Third Wave
Developments
Results
Necromancer Confrontation
Developments
Rinelda Smitt is, to put bluntly, crazy. The teen lost her
parents at a very young age and has survived in the
wilderness purely off her talents in necromancy. She is
devoid of empathy for her victims, seeing humans as
useful only as resources to raid for food, clothing, shelter,
and their corpses for undead. She offers no remorse
because such a feeling is alien to her.
The only thing Rinelda understands and respects is
power. If her life is on the line, shell explain her partnership
with Siegfried, and how shes culling the land to bring him
corpses for his experiments (see The Hordes Purpose).
Rinelda respects Siegfrieds talents and hopes to learn
everything she can as his apprentice before inevitably
35
Chapter 3: Night of the Dead
Victory!
36
Chapter 3: Night of the Dead
Defeat!
Developments
Conclusion of Part 3
Milestone: Level 4!
37
Chapter 3: Night of the Dead
38
Chapter 4: Into the Farbog
Farbog Superstitions
If the characters ask about the farbog itself, they can find
out from various townsfolk that its a treacherous swamp
that people avoid if possible. One prominent rumor is
that the farbog used to be a beautiful forest with one of
the most influential settlements in all of Innistrad, but an
evil tainted the forest, turning it into the farbog it is now.
The bog has a well-known reputation for being the
residence of hellhounds, though its also said that few
folk are lucky enough to see one and live to tell the tale.
Others mention that ancient grafs dissolve into the muck,
causing the restless dead to stir as geists (spirits) and
ghouls.
The Farbog
Swamp Encounters
Event
The Hounds of
Baskerville
Whispers of Hope
and Doom
Deadly Lotus
Little Girls Plea
Corpse Wagons
39
Chapter 4: Into the Farbog
40
Art by Kajito
You spot them out of the corner of your vision: twin fiery
red orbs burning through the cloak of fog. They move
closer, and you see the rest of the figure emerge a
monstrous hound, as tall as a human, stepping forward
on thick, muscular legs. As it growls, the beast exhales
embers from its open maw filled with razor-sharp teeth
and revealing a hot glow emanating from its throat.
You hear more growling from behind. Turning around,
you see a second fiendish hound approaching from the
opposite direction. Suddenly, the two beasts rush toward
you in a full sprint, their eyes blazing with unbridled
hatred.
You see an orb of warm light pierce through the red fog.
As it bobs up and down excitedly, you hear a faint whisper
that says, Follow me, travelers. You are grave danger
here. Hurry!
Technically, the wisp does not lie: the adventurers are in
grave danger. But the wisp is the danger. An adventurer
that does not trust the wisp can roll a Wisdom (Insight)
check against the wisps Charisma (Deception) check
(+0) to gauge its intent.
In truth, the wisp aims only to distract the adventurers
and lead them in circles inside the spore cloud, because
this is the hunting ground of its master, a grell (MM
p172). If attacked, the wisp goes invisible and backs away,
content to watch its master feed while it hisses taunts
at the adventurers. If the grell is killed however, the wisp
lashes out in a rage, spitting curses and vile phrases as it
fights to the death. (Note that the wisps vision is heavily
obscured by the spore cloud.)
Meanwhile, the grell tries to sneak up behind the group.
41
Chapter 4: Into the Farbog
Developments
42
Chapter 4: Into the Farbog
Treasure
assaulted the grell, only to find out that the aberration was
completely immune to its electricity attack. The wisp was
slowly driven insane by this revelation, and in a cruel irony,
its shattered psyche came to love the grell that murdered
it, helping the creature feed on passing travelers.
Deadly Lotus
Developments
43
Chapter 4: Into the Farbog
A voice calls out to you: it sounds like a little girl, but the
voice is strange, warped, like hearing the message through
the end of a long metal tube. Please, misters. Please help
me! Mum and dad are hurting and left me. Will you bring
them back to me? Looking around, you notice a small
humanoid figure, her features hidden under silken sheets.
The spirits translucent body emits a soft pale glow.
The ghost is of Anna Helmvin, a little girl that died here
long ago in a time when the barren swamp held a thriving
community. She poses no threat to the characters, but
follows them for a while, begging them to help her. If
attacked, she turns invisible and runs away sobbing.
Anna will freely answer any questions the adventurers
have, but her knowledge is restricted by when she was
awake and is filtered through her child psyche. Here is a
list of things she knows that the characters may ask about:
This place was once a village. People were happy.
Anna and her parents died when their house burned
down. Anna died in her room, her parents died trying
to save her.
Her parents spirits were really sad and angry for not
saving Anna, but eventually all of them found peace
in the Blessed Sleep when the villagers buried them
Anna doesnt know what happened around here while
she was sleeping.
Anna and her parents woke up recently when bad
men dug up their graves.
Anna can lead characters to the graves, and point
them in the direction that the bad men fled to.
The grave site is located on a small hill not far from
where the adventurers meet Anna. The three graves have
been dug up and the shovels used for the digging have
been left on the ground beside them. The remains of Anna
and her parents are still in their graves, however a DC 15
Intelligence (Investigation) reveals to anyone searching
the bodies that jewelery -- rings, necklaces, braclets -have clearly been ripped off the skeletons, with bits of
44
Chapter 4: Into the Farbog
gold, silver, and a pearl left over. The shovels left here,
the hurriedly removed jewelery, and the running footprints
leaving the area point that the robbers were fleeing.
Adventurers can track the footprints or follow where
Anna pointed (she cannot venture too far from her
grave). Along the way, they come across a charred corpse
clutching a pearl necklace missing a bead. This was one of
the robbers, and it looks like he was burned alive.
The characters can continue following the track until
they come across a roadside shrine where the second
robber is staying.
Developments
Corpse Wagons
45
46
Chapter 4: Into the Farbog
Conclusion of Part 4
You leave the black muck of the farbog behind and are
greeted with a fresh breeze to the open valley ahead of
you. Soft rolling hills cascade ahead of you, flanked by the
jagged stone valley walls.
Up a few miles ahead is a grove of greenery rising up
from the short grass. Poking up from its center, high above
the forest ceiling, is a twisting stone tower adorned by
glistening metal contraptions. The tower shimmers with
wisps of pale lights, like ribbons dancing in the breeze.
Angry dark clouds gather over the valley. They seem
to concentrate over the grove, as if natures wrath was
winding up to smite the tower. Quick flashes of lightning
pop from inside the restless clouds. A storm is coming...
The adventurers have nearly reached the end of their
journey: Mauer Estate stands defiantly in front of them.
They need only cross the valley, descend into the thickets
center, and enter.
The Grove
47
Chapter 5: The Perfect Storm
As you make your way through the grove, you hear youthful
feminine voice whisper in your ear, My my, what do we
have here? I rarely have living visitors in my woods. Who
are you, and why have you come? Out of the corner of
your eyes you catch a glimpse of a feminine form flitting
through the trees before its gone again with only warm
laughter hanging in the air.
While Eudora probes the characters for information, the
dryad uses her tree stride to keep a distance from the
adventurers and ducks into hiding when shes out of
sight, using her +15 Dexterity (Stealth).
If the adventurers explain why they are here and she is
convinced that they mean her no harm, she reveals herself
to them. Eudora appears as a statuesque beauty, youthful
and alluring. Her hair and tight-fitting dress are made of
autumn leaves: vibrant fiery hues of yellow, orange, and
red. The dryad radiates vigor and primal magic.
Hippie Personality
48
Chapter 5: The Perfect Storm
Eudora has never left the grove and knows little of the
outside world. She doesnt know or care about Avacyn or
political events.
If asked about Siegfried, Eudora tells them that she
helped a grief-stricken man make it to Mauer Estate (fed
him goodberries and let him rest), that he wouldve been
beautiful if his soul wasnt wracked with anger and sadness.
The dryad regrets helping him, as the alchemist has been
working day and night producing undead monstrosities,
abominations and mockeries of nature. His foul work only
causes ruin and misery.
Eudoras Offer
The dryad explains that she is lonely. Long ago, when the
grove stretched all the way to the swamp, humans used
to live in harmony with nature. In those times she had
many visitors, many intimate friends. But slowly the forest
receded and the world filled with darkness, and she was
left here alone. What the dryad wants the most is a taste
of that intimacy she enjoyed so long ago.
Having no love for the alchemist in Mauer Estate and
his foul projects, Euroda offers to help the adventurers.
She knows of a secret path that leads inside the mansion.
But she wants something in return: each adventurer must
stand up in front of the group and reveal an intimate
secret about themselves that no one else in the group
knows. Eudora explains that her most cherished moments
with her intimate friends was when they left themselves
emotionally open and vulnerable to others as an ultimate
act of trust, and she wants to taste that experience one
more time. The dryad warns that if any of them refuse her
offer or lie, she will not show them the hidden passage.
This is a fun opportunity for roleplaying. It gives each
character a spotlight to flesh out their characters and
give the group a mutual understanding of one another.
The intimate secret can be something silly, like a fear
of butterflies, or more serious, like the characters
motivations for adventuring.
Eudora conducts the event like a group therapy meeting:
she leads the group, asking each character in turn to share
their story. She is polite and strives to keep the group a
safe and calm environment, thanking each one for sharing
and taking her time to relish the experience. For example,
if she particularly enjoys a story, she may close her eyes,
take a deep breath, and smile as she exhales. That felt
true. I felt it, right here, pointing to where a humans
heart would be.
Developments
Mauer Estate
49
Chapter 5: The Perfect Storm
50
Chapter 5: The Perfect Storm
Ward of Radiance
The two silvery doors suddenly fly out of the door frame
towards you. Their flat surfaces quickly stretch and warp
into giant gaping maws with long, powerful tongues
curling back as if readying itself to swat at you.
In combat, the mimics attack with their pseudopod
tongue. Once the target is grappled, the mimic reels in
the target for a vicious bite (attacks with advantage due
to its Grappler trait). The mimics have been tasked with
guarding the entrance and fight to the death, but do not
chase fleeing adventurers outside of the grove clearing.
Developments
51
Chapter 5: The Perfect Storm
Trapped
52
Chapter 5: The Perfect Storm
Developments
Secret Room
Treasure
Font of Bennu
53
Chapter 5: The Perfect Storm
54
Chapter 5: The Perfect Storm
Caught Unaware
Developments
Treasure
Area A6 - Kitchen
55
Chapter 5: The Perfect Storm
Iron Chef
56
Chapter 5: The Perfect Storm
Developments
If the party fulfills their end of the deal, the devils spike
the food and drink with a potion of sleep before heading
up to present the meal to Ugbug. If the food is acceptable,
the barlgura quickly consumes all of it and promptly
goes to sleep, commanding that no one is to disturb his
slumber. If unhappy with the food, however, Ugbug enters
a horrible rage and attacks the devils, which cause them
to try and flee.
The charmbreaker devils defend themselves if the
adventurers attack, giving up on attempts to bargain. If
two devils are killed, the remaining devils attempt to flee
into the dining hall (A4) and inform Ugbug of intruders,
joining him in battle.
Area A7 - Stables
Treasure
Area A8 - Cellar
The cellars entrance juts out from the north wall of the
estate. Wooden double doors lead down underneath the
mansion.
Hostage Situation
Developments
Treasure
57
Developments
58
Chapter 5: The Perfect Storm
Galvanizing Life
Caught Unaware
59
Chapter 5: The Perfect Storm
Developments
60
Chapter 5: The Perfect Storm
Treasure
Stensia
Milestone: Level 5!
Conclusion
Gavony
61
Kessig
Nephalia
Planeswalkers
62
Appendix A: Special Items
Blessed Silver
Living Wood
Magic Items
Butchers Cleaver
63
Art by Jason Felix
Art by Eric Deschamps
Demonmail Hauberk
Electric Recombobulator
Ghoulcallers Bell
64
Appendix A: Special Items
Message Bottle
Moonsilver Spear
65
Appendix A: Special Items
Appendix B: Monsters
The following is a list of all the monsters/NPCs the
characters may encounter in the adventure, divided by
chapters. The monsters statistics are found either in the
Monster Manual (page number), otherwise its included
here in this appendix:
CHAPTER 1:
skeleton (272)
swarm of skeletal bats
vrock (64)
hellrider
death dog (321)
smoke mephit (217)
shadow (269)
giant spider (328)
giant wolf spider (330)
commoner (345)
werewolf (206)
CHAPTER 2:
guard (347)
thug (350)
cult fanatic (345)
mage (347)
priestess (348)
twig blight (32)
vine blight (32)
poltergeist (279)
CHAPTER 3:
zombie (316)
skeleton (272)
ogre zombie (316)
cult fanatic (345)
guard (347)
priest (348)
specter (279)
thug (350)
CHAPTER 4:
hellhound (182)
will-o-wisp (301)
grell (172)
shambling mound (270)
commoner (345)
fire geist
vampire spawn warrior
66
Appendix B: Monsters
CHAPTER 5:
dryad (121)
zombie (316)
gargoyle (140)
mimic (220)
animated armor (19)
flying sword (20)
vampire spawn (298)
barlgura (56)
crawling claw (44)
charmbreaker devil
bearded devil (70)
lemure (76)
flameskull (134)
schmelzmen
flesh golem (169)
Siegfried
Oglor
quasit (63)
the thing
67
68
Rinelda was only six years old when her village was
overrun by the undead. Her innate talents at commanding
the undead kept her alive, but werent enough to stop the
ravenous ghouls from tearing apart her parents right in
front of her eyes. Since then, Rinelda has prided herself as
a survivor, wandering the province of Stensia and taking
what she wants with her entourage of undead minions.
Recently, the teen necromancer has begun studying
under Siegfried, eagerly doing the mad mans bidding and
learning as much as she can before she eventually moves
to usurp his operations in Mauer Estate.
69
Appendix B: Monsters
70
Appendix B: Monsters
71
Appendix B: Monsters
72
Appendix C: Handouts
Here youll find all the props and handouts that are
mentioned throughout the adventure. These are meant to
be shown to the players, so it would be best to print these
out seperately and handed to them when the adventure
prompts you to. Its highly recommended to directly
download the props with the links provided below, as
some quality has been lost when porting the images over
to this adventure page.
Here is the list of handouts in the order that they appear
in the appendix; where they are found in the adventure,
and high-quality download links:
Geralfs coded letter, found in the alchemists
basement (p22):
Coded letter (what the players first see)
Coded letter working text (a version with cleaner
text and easier to write on to figure out the cipher)
Decoded letter (the letter as it looks once deciphered)
Download bundle (all 3 versions)
Katarinas music puzzle, found in the music room
(p23):
Play sheet music (playing it activates the violin of
banishing light)
Read sheet mustic (reading the notes spells out
the answer)
Download Read and Play
73
Appendix C: Handouts
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dnqtsc. Zd z evdbnc csv Lzbeve Vdczcv jk csv vwtv ju csvqe nzkwd, hevaqjbdni
bdvw yi Jnqaqz'd uzajbevw uzlqni lvlyved zd z heqazcv evcevzc, kjg jkxv ztzqk
dczkwd vlhci. Zddblqkt cszc ijb xzk cezkdhjec ijbe vfbqhlvkc csvev, qc dsjbnw dveav
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ijb zwlqezyni zd csv dqcv ju z kvg nzyjezcjei. Jk z hvedjkzn kjcv, sjgvave, gsqndc Q
bkwvedczkw csv kvxvddqci uje csqd evnjxzcqjk, Q gqnn uevvni zwlqc cszc Q gqnn
lqdd csv evtbnze zeeqazn ju ijbe nvccved. Q znljdc uvvn djeei uje li dqdcve, cszc dsv
nzxod z ueqvkw gsj'd xjeevdhjkwvkxv zev zd dcqlbnzcqkt zd ijbed.
Jk cszc ezcsve wqdczdcvubn dbypvxc: Q lbdc vlhszdqdv cszc gsqndc Tqdz zkw Q
szav hbc zdqwv jbe wquuvevkxvd uje z sqtsve xzbdv, jbe xvddzcqjk ju sjdcqnqcqvd xzk
bncqlzcvni yv kjcsqkt ljev cszk z cvlhjezei znnqzkxv - gsqndc dsv evubdvd cj tezkc lv csv
evdhvxc wbv cj zk zecqdc ju li zyqnqcqvd, csvev xzk yv kj cebv je nzdcqkt hvzxv
yvcgvvk bd. Sjg dsv xzk wvnbwv svedvnu qkcj yvnqvaqkt sve jgk lbxo-xjavevw
vkwvzajbed vfbzn cj li jgk, Q wjk'c csqko Q dsznn vave xjlhevsvkw. Cj csv hjqkc,
csjbts: qk csv vavkc dsv djlvsjg nvzekd ju li cbcvnztv uje ijb, zki lqddqav je javecbev uejl
sve qd kjc cj yv cebdcvw.
Q gqds ijb csv yvdc ujecbkvd qk xjkcqkbqkt ijbe gjeo, zkw, zd zngzid, dczkw evzwi cj
zddqdc ijb qk ijbe jktjqkt dcbwqvd. Ijb szav z cebv cznvkc, Dqvtueqvw - csv jkni
xeqlv uje gsqxs ijb xjbnw vave yv tbqnci gjbnw yv nvccqkt cszc cznvkc tj cj gzdcv.
Jbe cqlv qd xjlqkt, wvzevdc xjbdqk, gsvk znn ju Qkkqdcezw gqnn evavev bd uje csv
cebv aqdqjkzeqvd cszc gv zev.
Uzqcsubnni ijbed,
Tveznu
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My dearest cousin,
I must commend you on your marvellous progress. You seem to have an innate
appreciation for our art - I lament that you did not decide to take up stitching sooner.
No matter, though; the designs enclosed in your most recent letter are far beyond what
a lesser alchemist could accomplish in the relatively short time since your apprenticeship
began. I am not too proud to say, my dear Siegfried, that even a master craftsman
such as myself can learn from your prodigious talents - I have already taken steps to
incorporate elements of your designs into my own work, and the results have thus far
proven rather delightful.
As your instructor, I am in full support of your plans to expand your enterprises - there
comes a time in every stitcher's career when his ambitions must outgrow his
accommodations. Not only do I believe this a healthy and natural step in the
progression of your art, but I also have a suggestion as to where you might take up
new lodgings. I recently learned, from a highly respectable and well-informed source no
less, that the Voldaren vampire clan has been forced recently to consolidate its territory
in response to threats of Markhov retaliation for some middling political slight. As a
result the Maurer Estate on the edge of their lands, previously used by Olivia's
favoured family members as a private retreat, now once again stands empty. Assuming
that you can transport your equipment there, it should serve you admirably as the site of
a new laboratory. On a personal note, however, whilst I understand the necessity for
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this relocation, I will freely admit that I will miss the regular arrival of your letters.
I almost feel sorry for my sister, that she lacks a friend whose correspondence are as
stimulating as yours.
On that rather distasteful subject: I must emphasise that whilst Gisa and I have
put aside our differences for a higher cause, our cessation of hostilities can ultimately be
nothing more than a temporary alliance - whilst she refuses to grant me the respect due to
an artist of my abilities, there can be no true or lasting peace between us. How she can
delude herself into believing her own muck-covered endeavours equal to my own, I
don't think I shall ever comprehend. To the point, though: in the event she somehow
learns of my tutelage for you, any missive or overture from her is not to be trusted.
I wish you the best fortunes in continuing your work, and, as always, stand ready to
assist you in your ongoing studies. You have a true talent, Siegfried - the only crime
for which you could ever be guilty would be letting that talent go to waste. Our time is
coming, dearest cousin, when all of Innistrad will revere us for the true visionaries that
we are.
Faithfully yours,
Geralf
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