Gunther Stahlberg
Gunther Stahlberg was a Witch Hunter Captain of the Empire. [1]
History
He was dispatched by the Grand Theogonist, Volkmar to investigate rumours that a Necromancer had laid claim to Drakenhof Castle and was animating the dead. Gunther gathered a force of some forty men of the Secret Brethrin of Sigmar including the Warrior Priest Klaus Kriegsburg and marched towards Sylvania, reaching the border on the 1st of Sigmarzeit. [1]
They burnt the villages of Folburg and Lichenheim for the crimes of Daemon-worship, Witchcraft]] and unnatural practices and left no survivors. Three weeks after entering Sylvania they reached the ruins of Drakenhof and noted that a banner bearing a snarling wolf was flying from the highest tower. [1]
As they closed in, five Dire Wolves attacked and slew several men before they were cut to pieces. The group made camp in the hamlet of Drakenhof but next morning they found the sentries dead, their faces transfixed with terror and one of Gunter's men tried to flee - only to be shot down by the Witch Hunter Captain. [1]
The survivors entered the castle and eventually found their way into the banqueting hall where they found dead men and women laid out on the table, their life blood in goblets on the table. A tall gaunt men welcomed them, naming himself as von Carstein. [1]
Gunther ordered his men to attack but before they could draw their weapons, the Vampire was amongst them, killing men with each strike of his sword, its guard bearing the emblem of the wolfs-head. [1]
The Warrior-Priest sought to call upon Sigmar, but he was flensed by a single word by the Vampire Count. Knowing he had met his match, Gunther ordered the retreat and fled, pursued by vampire bats and more wolves. He tied his last report to the collar of Stien, his last warhound. [1]
However, the letter was recovered before it could reach Stirland. [1]
Sources
- 1: White Dwarf 236 (UK): The Oldest of Enemies, pg. 37-38
