Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (1st ed, 1986), p306 — Episode 13: The Oldenhaller Contract

"A certain gem has appeared in the city," he continues. "I won't bore you with the details, except to say that it was acquired on behalf of the House of Oldenhaller by a group of people vulgarly known as the Schatzenheimer gang, who have so far failed to make delivery. You are to recover the stone from them and deliver it here by dawn tomorrow. Like many great stones, there are several legends and superstitions attached to the gem. It is said to have come from a ring worn by Nurgle, the Chaos God, and to carry a highly infectious rotting disease which afflicts all those who handle it. I set no store by these superstitions, but in case there is some substance behind them, you will take this" - he pushes an elaborately-carved wooden box across the desk - "and use it to carry the stone. It has been enchanted to suppress the magic of anything inside for precisely six hours. That should give you adequate time to deliver the stone here. You will set out at nightfall, and I will have you guided to one of the entrances to the area known as the Asylum, which is where I believe the stone to be. Are there any questions?"

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (1st ed, 1986), p307 — The Asylum

As Oldenhaller told the characters, the gem was in the possession of Kurt Holger, chief of the Schatzenheimer Gang. However, recent events have complicated matters considerably. Following a series of inter-gang disputes, the Valantinas staged a carefully planned and devastating raid on the Schatzenheimers. The Schatzenheimers were wiped out and the gem - along with everything else of value - was taken by Emilio Valantina, the mob's 'god-father'.

Dirck Huydermans, fearing his smuggling operation would be next on the Valantinas' list, sent an Assassin by the name of Jan Hoogen to kill Emilio. Jan entered Emilio's apartment via a secret entrance from the sewers, brutally murdered him and hacked off his head as proof of the deed. He then searched Emilio's corpse and found the gem. After hastily searching Emilio's apartment, Jan went back into the mines taking the stone and Emilio's head with him.

Jan never made it to the Huydermans' base. On the way back he was attacked by a Swarm of Rats. He was finally cornered in an old mine wagon, used by the Huydermans for transporting contraband, where his body - and the gem - now lie.

Just before the players' arrival, the Huydermans caverns were invaded by followers of Nurgle. They are still there, awaiting reinforcements and being held at bay by the remnants of the Huydermans gang. The cultists know the gem is somewhere in the Asylum, and they will stop at nothing to find it.

The Huydermans sent one of their number to fetch help from the Valantinas, who by now have realised the truth about the gem. They killed the messenger and are now preparing to evacuate their headquarters rather than risk infection.

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (1st ed, 1986), p309 — 4. Kurt Holger's Room

There is a single corpse in the room, that of a middle-aged man dressed in expensive-looking clothes. His skin is pale brown, his face bears three weeping sores and one of his arms is missing.

The body is Kurt Holger's. He had the gem long enough to contract the disease, although he was killed by the Valentinas rather than the infection. For every round a character spends searching or otherwise touching the body, the GM should secretly roll a D100. On a roll of 4 or less the searcher has contracted Nurgle's Rot - see below. Both room and corpse have been stripped of everything of value.

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (1st ed, 1986), p313 — 16. Mine Cart

If Jan's body is searched, the gem will be found, along with D6 Gold Crowns, 2D10 silver shillings and a short sword. The gem is a valuable opal, worth 80 Gold Crowns, but any character who handles it for longer than 3 rounds will begin to develop Nurgle's Rot (see below). The box supplied by Oldenhaller is the only safe way to transport the gem.