INTERLUDE: Karag Dum Expedition
Notable events: Mathilde assumes command of the Wizard contingent as well as Asarnil. The Ice Witches send Ljiljana as their representative. We visit the site of Karak Vlag and detect something fucky going on, which is probably Chaos's fault and likely to end up aimed at us. We set up a kill zone between Vlag and Kislev, disrupt the flow of power, and fight off a Slaaneshi assault at the cost of all our Slayers while Tzeentchian daemons go east. Karak Vlag is returned from the Realm of Chaos with twenty thousand survivors. Borek reveals that Dum knew about Waystones flowing between dwarfholds. We visit Uzkulak and buy food and three bits of cool magic with Borek's money. We raid the skaven combe and discover the Tzeentchian daemons hit their backlines, exposing a vulnerability the Chaos Dwarves took advantage of, and steal some money. During the ascent to the Great Steppes the ground collapses under the largest steam wagon, killing a bunch of engineers and Gotrek and causing a food crisis. Mathilde proposes a solution to the food crisis using Mockery of Death and the expedition continues, buying cattle from the Dolgan and securing safe passage from the Yusak. We reach Dum and discover it in a crater of forest ringed by desert, populated by Beastmen and Morghur the Shadowgave. Borek leaves without an explanation and is welcomed by Morghur. We do some experiments and wait to make observations, but reach no actionable conclusions and leave. We decide to return to Kislev by the northern route to avoid the descent and likely ambush. We steal the Chalice of Chaos from the Kul with Ljiljana, risking ourself to save her, and loot the camp for cool magic swag. The Baersonlings demand a ridiculous price for safe passage, so Asarnil duels their champion instead and wins with style. Horstmann warns us that Barbitus isn't doing well and needs anti-Chaos screening, which we perform to avoid his reputation being tarnished. We look around for Norse Dwarves and find no clues. We get back to civilization, check our mail, and discover a lot of job offers and that we've been declared a dwarf, because while we were having cool adventures Thorgrim visited Vlag and discovered that they all credit us with their rescue.
