by Eric Nimmo
Lord Stephen cursed the mage for
his stupidity. His king had sponsored the wizard's expedition to
the steamy jungles of Lustria. Now it appeared that the scaly
hordes had somehow managed to cross the Great sea and ravage the
coastal village. It seemed that they were intent on getting
whatever artifacts that the idiot had brought back. He knew he
would still be here even if his king hadn't ordered him here. It
was his coastal barony that was directly threatened and he was
damned sure he would defend it and his people.
"What is the reason for the dwarves being here father?"
asked Evan.
Stephen looked at his son. His chest was ready to burst seeing
that his son, who carried the barony colours, was so eager to
come to grips with this strange foe. The ranks of bellowing
Lizardmen and the great cold ones that served as mounts for the
crested salamanders were unnerving. "They are here because
Grimli owes the family a Debt of Blood. They will help us defeat
this strange scaled menace."
The huge howdah-mounted land dragon lumbered forth. Stephan
watched as his wife Lady Karlin marched her unit of War Angels
into the small copse of trees so the Outriders could get a clear
shot at the land dragon and so the javelins hurled from the
salamanders on the ground would be hindered. Maybe a tree would
spear the cursed dragon.
He was worried about Avery, his daughter. She had yet to prove
herself. His clan felt that her intelligence would be better
spent in the colleges of Altorf and not on the battlefield but
she was here for the summer and demanded to carry the War Angel's
colours. Karlin and Sigmar would watch over her. He felt that
Karlin would be far the more dangerous one in her protection!
Bolts and bullets flew into the masses and some creatures fell.
The
organ gun manned by Grungi, the cousin of Grimli, exploded into a
cloud
of black smoke and dust. Even over the bellowing and gunfire,
Stephen
could still hear Grimli's curses.
Soon the two opposing armies closed. Stephan cringed as he
listened to
the land dragon crash into the War Angels. The swordswomen
attempted to
run from beneath the lumbering beast but it followed them through
the
trees.
Lord Stephen called the order to charge when the leader's unit
came
into range of his Reiksguard. The units crashed into each other.
Stephen
hacked at a snapping, armoured lizardman but most of his strokes
were
turned aside by their halberds.
"Stop showing off!" he admonished his son as Evan cut
down two of his
foes. The plumed leader was pushed back amid the killing and
could not come to grips. But they still held their ground.
Stephen chanced a glance to his flank where Karlin was. It
appeared that she was trying to lure the huge beast away from the
wizard's tower. But her swordswomen were paying a high toll.
Again Stephen attacked. More of the scaled beasts fell and this
timethey were disheartened and fled. Stephen moved forward to
finish them off as they turned tail. He saw another unit approach
his left flank but saw that the crazed holymen that he had met on
the march here were screaming their doom and charging up the
middle of the field.
More gunfire and the hellblaster cannon that was Stephen's best
asset, obliterated the cold one calvary.
Lord Stephen realized that he had overextended his unit and
readied for the charge of the Lizards and the smaller
salamanders. His men withstood it admirably and returned the
attacks stoke for stroke.
The sun was slowly sinking over the mountains. Stephen hoped that
they could hold til nightfall. He did not relish the thought of
pursuing these things into the sea at night. They must all be
slain here. Damn wizard! He was happy tho that the mage was not
using his infernal magic. Stephen's sword seemed to hate magic
users and it would glow fiery in its anger which was quite
distracting.
Stephen tried to break the battle by fighting hand to hand with
the Lizard general. Great blows were struck and blades turned
aside and parried as the two combatents fought in the heat of
battle. Stephen's unit was bodily being pushed back. His men
couldn't take the crush from two sides much longer. He saw that
the handgunners were running and that the flaggelents had the
left flank tied up. One of his men's head was bitten off his body
in a spray of crimson. Two men started to run. Stephen tried to
hold ranks but slipped and fell to one knee. Evan stood over his
father and slew a beast with an upheld halberd. Evan fell from a
blow to the head. Stephen charged into the oncoming beasts. He
too took a halberd to the head and fell unconscious among the
dead and dying.
With the darkness the Lizards became sluggish. They surrounded
the wizard's tower but in the dead of night the wizard and some
of Grimli's dwarves snuck out of the tower with the stolen
artifacts and made their way to the king's castle.
In the morning Stephen and his tired family looked at the burning
tower. The Lizardmen had sacked the tower and moved back into the
sea without attacking the town again. Damn wizards!