Gwakmol Crater is the site of the largest Lizardmen victory during the ancient conflict of the Rise of Sotek against the Skaven during the days when Clan Pestilens ravaged the inhabitants of the continent of Lustria with war and disease. The jungle dives down into a huge bowl, as though carved from the earth by a god's hand. The Lizardmen god Sotek's armies fought the Skaven on its slopes, capturing their hated enemy in their thousands. The crater then became the site of the greatest ceremonial sacrifice then seen in Lustria, as the serpent god's prophet Tehenhauin plucked out heart after heart, killing the ratmen on an altar reclaimed for Sotek's worship.[1a]
The crater retains something of that grisly event. More serpents can be found here than anywhere else in Lustria, and the clinging mud is of a deep ochre hue, stained by the blood of the countless Skaven captives. It has become a holy site for Sotek's worshippers, and every year, fresh sacrifices are offered on the altar. Skaven fear the place, even though many of their most precious artefacts and weapons of war still lie at the crater's centre, swallowed by jungle.[1a]
The altar to Sotek is far older than the cult dedicated to his worship. None remember who it was devoted to before. Its carvings were first obliterated by time, and then by enthusiastic Skink craftsmen, reworking it into Sotek's image. Now, huge stelae resembling fearsome serpents flank the altar, their jewelled eyes forever fixed upon the crater, should the enemy try to return.[1a]
In the Old World, Martha Gerhart is hiring explorers for a journey to Lustria. No one is sure where Martha got the funds, as she used to be just a guttersnipe. In truth, Martha is one of Ubersreik's Yellowbelly cultists, devoted to the Skaven Clan Sleekit, who have tasked her to go to Gwakmol Crater and bring back a weapon lost long ago by Clan Pestilens.[1a]
Unfortunately for Clan Sleekit, no such weapon exists. Agents of Clan Gratzz, who are members of the Pestilent Brotherhood, an alliance of Skaven clans who proclaim loyalty to Clan Pestilens, provided the information to the Yellowbellies in the hope that they would expend lives and treasure on a forlorn expedition to Lustria, and thus deprive Clan Sleekit of an asset.[1a]