Characteristic

Cost

END

Cost

4

4

Cost

10

10

3

3

3

3

3

3

4

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

10

15

15

15

15

1

1

1

1

1

10

20

15

5

5

10

"Where is the flag?!! Where is the flag?!!" Baron von Sturm shouted. In a few weeks the Anschluss would begin and the German army deserved a triumphant welcome to Salzburg. He had ordered the mayor to hang the Nazi banner, and it was there the day before. Someone had taken it down.

Surely it must have been Captain von Trapp, but he was respected in the city and proof would be needed. Wulf adjusted his monocle and shouted, "Johann! Rolf! Find out who did this! Immediately!"

Von Trapp had resisted recruitment into the German Navy. Von Sturm, who had recommended him to a young naval attaché would be the laughing stock of the planning staff. First they questioned the value of a naval captain from a land-locked country. If he wasn't recruited, that would surely not look good. Well, if the Captain continued to resist, perhaps the best thing would be if he fled and his property forfeit to the treasury of the soon-to-be Third Reich.

It was two months later that German halftracks and trucks carrying well-disciplined troopers paraded through the same city square. Baron von Sturm was, perhaps, the loudest and proudest of the Austrian contingent welcoming the Nazis.

Several years later

Whether it was the same halftracks and trucks that carried Von Sturm and his men back into Salzburg, with the Allied Army on their heels seemed moot now. The spirit of the Waffen SS was not broken, though they all knew what inevitably must happen. But they were worn down. A third of their number had to be left behind or were dead; their uniforms, once crisp and clean, were now torn, stained, and wrinkled; the canvas on the trucks flapped audibly at the several places where bullets or trees had ripped them; the engines and wheels of the halftracks seemed to whine rather than purr. The Oberfuhrer ordered the unit into a defensive array and with a precision that belied their appearance, the men all went to their tasks diligently.

Once the unit was in place, Baron von Sturm, now Hauptsturmfuhrer von Storm, commandeered a motorcycle and drove to the manor estate that was once the property of the traitor, von Trapp. There it was that Wulf had stored the art and artifacts that he had 'collected' throughout his journeys about Europe. Priceless works of Renaissance painters and sculptors lay hidden in the basement. Ancient stone figurines, coins, and even a few pieces of jewelry from long dead kings, queens, pharaohs, and khans had been placed there by the baron. But right now, those all were unimportant. None of those could save the Reich.

Wulf headed right for a large closet and pushed it to the side, off of the loose stone. Leveraging the heavy granite slab with his knife, he slid it aside and pulled out a large cedar chest. He had found it in Rome over a year ago. It was a chest that refused to be open, even with a stick of dynamite. But now... now it would open. For he had come into the possession of a very special key, found by a colleague in Venice. It was a sad thing that he had to shoot Professor Torino.

The key slid in easily enough, and the lid opened without so much as a light tug. The dust and musk of ages poured out, but it did not bother the man who two days ago was covered with a shower of dirt sprayed up by a howitzer. There was hope for the Reich, if Wulf's readings proved true.

He pocketed the trinkets and the ancient rolled vellum. If he had read the Latin correctly, there would be much time to ponder over those. On the very bottom of the chest lay a flat object, roughly a meter-and-a-half long and half as wide. Wulf carefully extracted the thing from the chest and carefully removed the coarse wool cloth that protected it. He leaned it against the wall, and wiped off the dust with his sweat-stained handkerchief.

He had decided when and where. It was American technology and American manufacturing that had defeated the Reich. Without it, the enemy would not be in the Homeland, without it, the British would have not withstood the bombing, without it, the Russians would still be in Siberia. That would be his target. Wulf muttered the incantation described and finished the activation by saying in Latin, "Eight years I go back, to the home of my enemies."

Strong of will and purpose, Wulf von Sturm's favorite trinket is the Monocle of Minds which gives him control of weak-willed individuals. In addition to this, his pistol, and his knife, he keeps a stash of magical trinkets looted from various places during the war. He also has a modicum of what most people call 'luck' and has been known to make difficult escapes from tenuous circumstances.

A model of perfection, by Nazi German standards, Wulf von Sturm stands tall, imposing, and sturdy with blonde hair and blue eyes to boot. Most of the time, Baron Monocle is in one disguise or another, snooping around, looking like an average or even not-so-average American. He will always have on him a gold chain with his monocle, usually tucked in his shirt or sweater. And he will also carry a few trinkets so that he can easily put them on in case he needs them. Often, he will also carry his gun and knife as well. When taking action to sabotage American industry or technology, or to secure the Mirror of Ages, Baron Monocle will wear his Nazi Hauptsturmfuhrer uniform proudly along with his Lugar, knife, and trinkets.