The Shadow of Wurtbad
What can be said of the Shadow of Wurtbard? Arriving and leaving from Wurtbad as randomly as a flickering flame, she talks to few who remember the encounter, and even fewer who do not end up in chains in front of the Stirland Watch. Reclusive and elusive, none this writer has talked to can even say where in Wurtbad she lives, or if she lives there at all. But the Shadow of Wurtbad was not the name she was born with, nor is it the only name she has been given. The Dämmerlichtreiter, Sängerkritisch, Oathkeeper, Terror of Karak-Eight-Peaks, Knight of Stirland, Lord Magister of the Grey Order, and Dame Mathilde Weber.
Fact, rumor, and legend swirl around each of these names making it impossible to distinguish what is true, what is carefully fabricated falsehood, and what is merely the uneducated fear of the common peasant. One thing can be assured of, however, all of these names speak of one single individual who has worked in the shadows of the Empire since the year 2470 when she had been chosen by Elector Count Abelhelm Van Hal, Slayer of the Damned to be his spymaster. For even as a Journeyman of the Gery Order, it must have been clear to his eyes the spark of greatness which dwelt within her soul.
What can be said of her time in that position? Her actions were cloaked from an investigation due to her position as the investigator, but even as she acted in the shadows her legend began to grow. Of a woman riding a steed of shadow and nightmares. Of being faster than a diving falcon, appearing in a city hundreds of miles away in mere hours. Of melting entire armies of the undead with merely her shadow, slaying the Singing King in the process. But most agree that her final great action as Spymaster of Stirland was to tear down Castle Drakenhof, until nothing, not even the foundation, remained. Rumors persist, despite the sheer impossibility of it, that she personally tore down each stone of the castle with her bare hands to build a fitting mausoleum for her liege who had died in the final assault.
We then know, from the meticulous records of the dwarfs, that she joined the dwarven expedition to reclaim Karak-Eight-Peaks. None alive know the reason she joined, or if they do then they will not divulge such knowledge, but the impact she had was both immediate and profound. Capable now of communicating with various Karaks in hours instead of days, more pleas and requests were delivered and responses sent. No longer was this an expedition doomed to fail, now this was an expedition with ever-increasing odds of success. Soldiers marched, armories opened, and cannons unshackled to assist in the ever-swelling host of dwarf, man, and halfling. All ready to do whatever it would take to reclaim the ancient glory of Karak-Eight-Peaks.
Information regarding her actions during that great campaign is slim and difficult to come across. Most stories and rumors regarding the battles focus on the peerless martial prowess of Belegar Ironhammer or the stupendous runecraft of Kragg the Grimm. Of grudges avenged and war bosses slain in spectacular duels. But there are other stories, passed amongst the surviving humans. Of a terror that stalked the tightly curving tunnels underneath Karak-Eight-Peaks. Routing entire Greenskin outposts by itself. Causing such strife and turmoil in the backlines of the Greenskin hordes that no proper organized response to Belegar Ironhammer relentless reclamation could be conducted. There is only one person listed amongst the contributors who could have achieved such terrible results, The Shadow of Wurtbard. It is apparent that she carved her legend in the stones of Karak-Eight-Peaks with shadow and terror, slaying Greenskin leaders and shamans before they ever had a chance to see the dwarven army appearing before their squalled huts.
Given her work in the shadows, not much can be gleaned from the records of the campaign. And after the campaign, that continued to be the case. The only true record we have of her actions after the reclamation of Karak-Eight-Peaks was complete is the lack of her name on the wall which records those who died during the great expedition. Rumors, though, abound. The Shadow was rumored to be spotted in Sylvania, ransacking and destroying cabals of necromancers. An Elf trader claims to have seen her in Ulthuan, trading crates filled with jars of a shimmering liquid for a single tome. Bretonian Knights claimed to have met her traveling through the wilds of Bretonia, seeking spots of increased magical potency. Tilean merchants claimed to have spotted a lady of similar appearance booking passage to the New World. Dwarfs have claimed to have seen her shadow steed galloping across the Badlands. For what reason, no one knows.
The next firm record we have of her actions are of the events which lead to her most famous moniker… the Shadow of Wurtbad. A minor demonic incursion occurred in the city of Wurtbad, attributed to a minor cult working closely with the Cabal. But the results of the demonic incursion were so grave, and so reaching, that not even the Traitor Patriarch could anticipate them. For the Shadow's attention had now turned inexorably back towards the Empire and to the only threat that had not been dealt mortal blows by her sword. A war in the shadows began, cutting rot and traitors from all classes of the Empire. Egrimm Van Horstmann retaliated, seeking the unseen blade that was cutting through and unraveling all of his plots. A web of favors stretched from Wurtbad to all corners of the old world, and beyond. Hired elven companies plundered Cabal strongholds, while vengeful Dwarven throngs purged Cabal safehouses.
But not all went well for the forces of Order. The Cabal began intense recruiting efforts, turning wizards against the Empire and the citizens they had sworn to protect. Cults, barely concealed, began growing rapidly, and needed to be purged just as quickly. But as time went on, Egrimm Van Horstmann grew ever more enraged at the hidden hand manipulating the forces of Order against him. Eventually, he was able to confront the Shadow in open battle. A battle of shadow and light erupted, spells countered, and others warping the very landscape around them. Details of the battle are sparse, and almost all are contradictory, except for the final moments. Rumors all agree that at the end of the battle, Egrimm Van Horstmann landed a terrifyingly powerful spell against Dame Weber, and smiled, only to erupt in pain and fury. For upon the Oathkeeper's person was a rune crafted and forged by Kragg the Grimm himself, a rune of such terrible potency that it consumed the spell. While none at the time knew exactly why Egrimm was pained by such a rune, runesmiths I have spoken to all knew the rune upon Dame Weber. Apparently, the rune consumed the spell and sundered the mind which cast it, eating the very knowledge of how to cast the spell from the Traitor Patriarch. However, with Egrimm Van Horstmann screaming in pain and fury, the Shadow smiled and fled the battlefield, leaving a raging Egrimm Van Horstmann behind, his mind rent asunder and scarred.
The war continued for years afterward. Hidden such that most within the empire didn't know that battles for their very soul were waged nearly on a daily basis. All of the provinces across the Empire felt the effects though, family members disappeared, guilds were gutted, and prices began to rise on even the most basic of necessities as tension began to rise. The Cabal and The Shadow had reached an uneasy stalemate, a stalemate that would only slowly consume the Empire's resources, and weaken it to more visible threats. Dame Mathilde had to finish the war, decisively, in order to save the Empire from slowly crumbling.
And so she struck at Egrimm Van Horstmann's stronghold with a select dwarven throng at her back. Runelords protected ancient runed grudgethrowers from the Cabal's powerful sorcery while Imperial troops held back the desperate counterassault from Egrimm Van Horstmann's demonic army. But that battle for the stronghold in the frozen forest was only the sideshow, a distraction, from the true conflict. The duel between the Traitor Patriarch and the Shadow of Wurtbad. Darkness and light played across the land as spells warped the forest, mist and fire clashed in a maelstrom of magic, all to see which combatant would prevail over the other. Terrible dragon rider against the rider of shadow. Rumors abound over what exactly happened on that fateful day, some even claiming that Dame Weber died four times before the end of the duel. But we know who won the Duel of Dark and Light. The Shadow of Wurtbad. Stumbling out of a now permanent bank of fog, which none who have later entered have returned, records state she looked more a shadow than a living thing. Darkness playing over her body and turning some parts insubstantial and invisible to the naked eye. Exhausted, and clearly in pain, she disappeared amongst the Dwarven thong not to be seen in those forests ever again.
However, without Egrimm Van Horstmann's leadership and power, the Cabal quickly dissolved into infighting and bickering, allowing the agents of the Empire to pick them apart one by one. The war was over, and one of the greatest forces seeking the destruction of the Empire crushed by the loyal. Gifts and honors were given to Dame Weber for her efforts by the Emperor himself, all of which were accepted on her behalf by the Grey Order, for she has never appeared in public since that fateful day. Perhaps she is enjoying a well-deserved rest, perhaps she is exploring more forgotten and unreached parts of the world, or perhaps she is training a successor to take up her mantle. Hopefully, the Empire will not have to endure another threat which would require her personal attention, for those would be dark times indeed.
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This was inspired by
@Sinsystems omake series "The Dawn and The Dusk." I hope you enjoy it, and criticisms and critiques are welcomed.
