Gipfel

A small village in the heart of the Greenleaf Hills, Gipfel is the centre of tobacco production in the Mootland. There are only a few buildings in town, such as a blacksmith and farrier’s shop, communal warehouses, a small temple to Sigmar and all the Halfling gods, and houses for the nearby farms. An inn called The Three Smoke Rings doubles as the meeting place for the village assembly, which is open to all adults. Its owner is also the largest landowner in Gipfel, Dagobert Heathland. Owner of many farms scattered through the Greenleafs and the holder of notes to others, “Old Dag” is widely regarded as the most powerful Halfling south of the Aver Reach. Few dare cross him.

Gipfel is a quiet village except during the late summer and early fall, when the harvests come in. Then traders show up from as far as Nuln and Kislev to bid on bundles of the precious leaves, filling the inn and spare rooms to capacity. While not the only tobacco trading centre in the Greenleafs region, it is the busiest, and the place to go for the best crop.

Gipfel also has a dark secret: It and all who live there or depend on it are firmly under the control of Dagobert Heathland, who, after several years adventuring in Kislev, came back and began to quietly preach about the power of the fertility cult he had learned of in Kislev’s back country. He at first had only a few worshippers, friends and neighbours who joined him. Their rituals were conducted in deepest secret, but the power of their new faith seemed obvious from the abundance and vigour of their crops, better than any others in the area. Soon, the whole of the region belonged to Old Dag’s cult, and the area around Gipfels became famous for the finest tobacco in the Moot.

There was a price to this success, however. The mysterious spirit whose worship Dagobert brought back demanded a live sacrifice of a sentient being once each year on the Autumn Equinox. At first the victims were Halflings, but then Dagobert decided it would be easier to take someone from among the traders and others who visited Gipfel during the harvest season. Preferably someone from far away, so his or her disappearance could be easily explained, should anyone inquire. In front of the entire village, Dagobert slaughters the victim in the fields at the stroke of midnight and lets their blood drain into the ground. They then bury the body under one of the communal warehouses, whilst the victim’s goods are divided among the villagers. So far the scheme has worked like a charm, and the spirit—whatever it is—has rewarded its worshippers well.

Source

 * Warhammer Fantasy RPG 2nd ED -- Sigmar's Heirs (pg. 61-62)