A tale of Mordheim
- Thread starter TMS
- Start date
-
The masquerade of murder returns! A new game of Vampires Amongst Us has begun. Unmask the killers, trust no one, and try to survive the night. Find out more and sign up now!
Chapter 4 Prelude
Over the nights following Schtiller's lecturing the atmosphere in the camp had been on the rise. There was talk of a showdown with a powerful rival warband over a significant amount of treasure and so they dedicated much of their time to training in preparation for the fight. Helena was conducting practice fighting against the dregs who had been more than a match for her before. Now, however, the tables had turned; fighting first against one, then against two and finally against all three she was able to beat them all into submission with both staff and wooden sword. The effect that the wyrdstone had had on Helena was astounding to say the least but she still suffered from her small size when it came to unarmed or close quarters combat. Against ordinary humans and the like it could be circumvented by speed but when up against Graveclaw or something else of above average strength and resilience she had difficulties with fighting effectively before being overpowered. It is for this reason that she had chosen the spear for her weapon as it lets her maintain the distance she needs to avoid being trapped. More than this the spear’s very mechanics behind its thrusting attacks lets Helena deliver powerful blows despite her insignificant body mass; all in all, a perfect weapon for her at this time.
As they all sat down after their bouting they were approached by Schtiller for a briefing. Finally they would get to hear what important mission awaited them next.
”Listen closely, now...” he began as he simultaneously produced several scrolls of parchment that he was laying out on the table in front of him.
”...for this is without doubt our most important operation yet.”
The parchments together formed a map of a seemingly insignificant area of the city. It was quite detailed and showed in its center a raised platform surrounded by buildings of various sizes.
”This entire terrace...” he said, pointing at the platform scribbled on the map. ”...is little else than one large deposit of wyrdstone. If we can claim it for ourselves it will be our greatest success this far.”
There was excitement in Schtiller's voice, yet a hint of foreboding crept closer.
”However, we are too late to take it without conflict. A rival warband has already set up camp on or near the site and by the looks of it we are going to have to oust them from the prize by force.”
He then unfurled another piece of parchment, this one full of written text. He read from it as if to freshen up his mind.
”I have gathered as much information as I have been able to about our opponents. They are a band of dark elves, or witch elves, rather, known as the sisters of Khaine. We have fought them once before. Do you remember that, Helena?” he said, looking up at Helena. And Helena remembered it clearly; how the leader-witch had somehow conjured a flaming weapon out of thin air with which she had then crushed a couple of ghouls into oblivion. She didn't look forward to run into that one again.
”They are a group of religious fanatics who fear little. They will be ferocious to fight in open combat but I believe we can use their zeal against them. They are inherently offensive and will likely abandon their advantageous position on the terrace and bring the fight to us, which is where we will ambush them.”
He then went back to the map, pointing at a building drawn to the south of the central platform.
”This will be our best location to move from. The building is large and will obscure our advance until we can get close enough to act, although we will also send a smaller troop to one of the other sides in order to cause disarray.”
Looking up from the table full of parchment, Schtiller then looked around and addressed the warband at large.
”This is sure to be a difficult fight but the rewards could be immense. If we take this treasure in the name of the count we will surely rise in his favour.”
They were all silent but a rising tension could be felt. Schtiller knew that he had roused them appropriately for the task at hand.
”Remember your duty and we will be rewarded amply! For the count!”
And with that they all cheered or roared in some manner. The silence of the night was broken and before the coming of dawn the treasure would be theirs.
Chapter 4: Insanity
Helena's profile for the sixth game.
M:6 WS:5 BS:4 S:5 T:4 W:2 I:5 A:3 LD:9
Equipment:
-Spear (strike first in 1st round of close combat)
-Bow (missile weapon; range 24'' S3)
-Personal armour gifted by count von Carstein (Gromril Armour w/ Shield; 3+ armour save)
-Rope & Hook (re-roll failed climbing tests)
-von Carstein family brooch gifted by count von Carstein (Unholy Relic; effect unknown)
-Seemingly useless trinket (Lucky Charm; effect unknown)
Experience: 38
Skills: None
Injuries: None
M:6 WS:5 BS:4 S:5 T:4 W:2 I:5 A:3 LD:9
Equipment:
-Spear (strike first in 1st round of close combat)
-Bow (missile weapon; range 24'' S3)
-Personal armour gifted by count von Carstein (Gromril Armour w/ Shield; 3+ armour save)
-Rope & Hook (re-roll failed climbing tests)
-von Carstein family brooch gifted by count von Carstein (Unholy Relic; effect unknown)
-Seemingly useless trinket (Lucky Charm; effect unknown)
Experience: 38
Skills: None
Injuries: None
The undead warband moved swiftly through the nighttime streets of Mordheim. With their plans laid out before them it was only a matter of reaching their destination while not alerting their adversaries too far in advance. The assassin known as the Night's Shade had left them after his brief stay which was unfortunate, although he did leave the wolf behind for them to keep.
They were approaching the site of the coming conflict, and there was the tall building that was marked on the map. It was, or had been, about four or five floors high but now it was a crumbled ruin, but it still offered hiding cover from the terrace that lay behind it. The floor on ground level was without windows and was alcoved underneath the upper floors, granting additional cover but also making it more difficult to reach the target as it couldn't be used to climb upwards. On the right hand side of the building there were some rickety ladders that led to the second floor. The enemy must have forgot to remove them and now they would serve as the point of entry.
According to Schtiller's plan one of the dregs assumed command of a small group of ghouls and the wolf, leading them around the far right side to attract attention in that direction. The rest of them would await Schtiller's signal before launching an assault on the tall building in front of them.
It was silent now but it wouldn't remain that way for long.
---
It started with the flanking troop beginning their advance. Helena could see them moving through the ruins and rubble of a smaller two-storey house. The leading dreg shouted and cursed, making a ruckus in an attempt to draw the attention of the enemy sentries. Almost immediately a crossbow bolt flew in their direction. They were spotted, and soon would the witch elves of Khaine emerge. The tension in the air was dispelled as a rising roar came from the terrace behind the tall building; now was the time to move.
Helena took two dregs with her and together they took cover along the wall of the bottom floor. Graveclaw would lead the assault up the ladders to the second floor of the building, assuming they could bear his great weight, and he was followed by the rest of the ghouls. He ascended up to the second floor and vanished from Helena's sight, although she could still hear and feel his thumping footsteps through the ceiling above her. She heard the beast roar, and then blood-crazed shrieks and screams in return. It sounded like combat would be joined already. She could hear Graveclaw's grunting as he presumably lay about himself with his great club, but then his guttural sounds were abruptly cut short. A humming noise had filled the air, followed by Graveclaw's pained bellowing.
Realizing what it must be, Helena stepped out of cover and readied herself to withdraw from her position. The humming sound intensified when, suddenly, the face of one of the witches appeared in one of the windows above. It was her; the one from many nights before, the witch-leader of the enemy warband. She caught sight of Helena and immediately threw herself out of the building, plummeting down towards her target with her arcane burning weapon poised to strike.
Helena barely had time to react but managed to throw herself sideways on the ground to avoid being hit by the falling witch. She heard the crashing impact and rolled herself over to look back. Helena saw her enemy lying unconscious on the ground, having taken herself out with her own suicidal attack. Before Helena could get back on her feet another shriek erupted from the second floor of the building as one more witch threw herself out of the window, also impacting the ground with forces far above what her body could withstand; she too remained fallen where she landed. Like Schtiller had said the witch elves were abandoning their defensive position to bring the fight to the undead. These witches were truly insane!
While Graveclaw's fate was still unknown, the ghouls that had followed him had now reached the second floor in his wake, engaging the witches there in battle. Helena figured that should stop them from making any more leaping attacks at her and she poised herself to also ascend to the second floor, but before she could take another action she heard an ear-shattering sound, this time from the far right side where their diversionary troops were. What Helena saw next left her quite speechless; amidst the rubble and debris there stood a bipedal lizard, easily the size of a horse. It had large jaws filled with sharp teeth and on its back sat another one of the witches, wielding a great axe. The beast roared again as it looked around for prey, but the undead troops had withdrawn to the second level of the building where they couldn't be reached.
The beast then noticed Helena in the distance and fixed its sight on her. Her only instinctive reply was to draw her bow, nock an arrow and send it flying towards the enemy; she did, but the arrow went astray. She wouldn't get another chance. The beast was now in full stride towards her, the rider not even holding on to any reins but instead swinging her axe in wide arcs, somehow without removing herself from the saddle. Without any means of escape Helena reacted by using her newly strengthened willpower and with a mental command she ordered one of the dregs she had kept nearby to step into the path of the beast. He did so without question but with a look of terror on his face, carrying a spear with which he jabbed at the beast. The spear found its mark before the lizard reached him and miraculously caused it to flinch, although the dreg was soon afterwards forced to throw himself to the ground to avoid its great biting jaws. That's when Helena made her own move, springing forward without hesitation, ducking underneath several deadly strokes from the witch's axe before retaliating with thrusts from her spear. She punctured the scaly hide of the beast several times and it collapsed, falling down on top of its rider and incapacitating them both. However, Helena had little time to celebrate this triumph before the next peril appeared.
Again a figure leapt from the building floor above her, but this one managed to land with grace where those before her had not. The witch wielded a menacing steel whip in one hand and a wicked mace in the other. Helena then saw that this witch had both of her eye sockets filled with wax, rendering her blind. There was seemingly no end to the bizarre nature of these enemies. Stranger still was the unnerving accuracy in her actions and movement despite her lack of eyes. Helena's two dregs engaged the witch but they were both quickly dispatched by the blind warrior, her whip arcing and cracking back and forth with great force. Unsure of how to fight this exotic enemy, Helena approached the witch while keeping a spear's distance, giving quick jabs to try to sneak a hit through. Her enemy replied with frenzied whipcracks but as dangerous as it was the length of the whip gave Helena plenty of time to dodge under and around it. It wasn't long before the spear penetrated the enemy's defences and Helena finished her opponent off with a vicious thrust right into the witch's face, where her left eye would have been if it hadn't been filled in with wax. She collapsed in a pool of blood and remained still.
Standing victorious from these trials, Helena noticed that the sounds of battle had faded. She looked around to see Schtiller approaching from behind her, jubilant, his ugly face split in two by a wide grin.
”We did it! The enemy has been routed and the prize is ours to take!”
He paused for several wheezing breaths before he continued, motioning excitedly towards the terrace behind the tall building.
”Quickly now! Let us get up there and secure our victory!”
This was the closest match we've had yet and Helena for once found herself in some dangerous situations. Luckily my opponent rolled some poor Initiative tests on his diving charges and I had some dregs around to shield Helena with. A couple of his wounded heroes rolled up Hatred against undead as their permanent injuries, though, so next time around it might get nasty.
I'm also trying to tie the in-game profile in with the fluff some more. Let me know if you can think of a better way to present Helena's stats and equipment.
I'm also trying to tie the in-game profile in with the fluff some more. Let me know if you can think of a better way to present Helena's stats and equipment.
Chapter 4 Interlude
Several nights later back at the camp the undead warband was counting their riches as well as licking their wounds. Despite victory they had suffered serious injuries, although through some fortune only a few of their minions had ultimately perished. They had found Graveclaw unconscious on the upper floor of the building, hurt but alive and now making a recovery. One fortunate side-effect of the witch elves' abuse of drugs was that it gave them a short attention span, as they could easily have finished the ogre off if they'd only stop to look at if he was dead or not.
Helena was recalling how she had defeated those two opponents; first the one riding the fearsome lizard and then the blind witch with the whip. With these thoughts she brought her fingers to her chest, over the brooch she had been given before the battle. Surely her courage displayed would cement her loyalty in the eyes of the count?
A low-pitched moan broke Helena from her thinking. There was a zombie in their camp now. They had found a lone and disoriented man during their way back from the battle, likely one of the survivors from when the meteor had destroyed the city. He appeared to be harmless but Schtiller cautioned that he might provide information to rival warbands now that the had seen the undead, and so he decided to have the man killed. Helena got to take her fill of the man's blood before he was summarily executed and subsequently reanimated to serve them as a mindless zombie.
Helena toyed with the poor creature; despite it being under Schtiller's complete control she could still impose her latent power of will to make the zombie twitch and twist. It was merely a puppet now, made of decaying flesh.
The door to the camp opened and Schtiller appeared, having returned from another of his nighttime dealings with the coaches that carried wyrdstone and supplies between Mordheim and Sylvania. He came over to Helena with a leather pouch in his hand.
”This has come from the count tonight” he said, opening the pouch and revealing a couple of necklaces. They were made of gold and silver, the metals encaging a dimly glowing substance; wyrdstone.
”The count has fashioned these pendulums to aid us in our continued searches. The wyrdstones in them have been tuned to react to the presence of the magic that emanates from the stones. It should help us to locate even more of the stuff. Here, take one.”
He held one of the necklaces for Helena to take, and she took it. The radiating warmth that she felt when near a shard of wyrdstone was much dimmer from this piece of jewelry but she thought nothing of it as the put it on herself.
”Furthermore...” Schtiller continued, now a tone of apprehension in his voice. ”Following our successes, the count has asked me to...” he said, his voice trailing off again.
Helena looked at him expectantly. What could the count have asked of him to do?
Schtiller didn't finish his sentence but instead revealed a leather-bound book from within his robes. It looked insignificant but Helena would be surprised if it was.
”This is a book of magic. The count has asked me to teach you in the ways of the arcane.”
This was shocking news to Helena. Would she be able to conjure spells and sorceries just like Herr Schtiller?
”I tried to dissuade the count at first, telling him that you are not yet ready for it, but he insisted. So, despite my better judgment you will be given the chance to school yourself into becoming a wizard. You will only be learning lesser spells since true magic and necromancy are still far beyond your capabilities. You should begin by acquainting yourself with the text inside this book.”
With that he handed the book over to Helena. She took it, looked at the covers but didn't open it.
”Well, what are you waiting for?” Schtiller said, sounding annoyed. It was apparent that he didn't condone this turn of events but against the orders of count von Carstein his opinion meant little. ”You should know that this is a great honour to be bestowed on you. Ordinarily it would take decades before the count would administer teaching such as this. I believe he has only done it because you have so far exceeded whatever expectations he had of you, and now he is interested to see if you can continue to surprise him some more.”
Helena looked up at him before lowering her eyes back to the floor.
”Herr Schtiller...” she said apprehensively. ”I...”
Schtiller interrupted her before she could finish.
”Do not tell me that you cannot read?” he said.
It was true. Helena's parents hadn't invested much into her education during her short life and so she had never learned to read or write. She looked at him and shook her head in response to the question.
”Of course...” he sighed. ”I sometimes forget your age. Come here, then! Give me the book and we will begin right away.”
His annoyance even more apparent than before. he took the book from Helena's hands. They then sat down at a table together. This would likely be a long process but if the count wills it, so would it be done.
Helena's profile at the end of chapter 4.
M:6 WS:5 BS:4 S:5 T:4 W:2 I:5 A:3 LD:9
Equipment:
-Spear (strike first in 1st round of close combat)
-Bow (missile weapon; range 24'' S3)
-Personal armour gifted by count von Carstein (Gromril Armour w/ Shield; 3+ armour save)
-Rope & Hook (re-roll failed climbing tests)
-von Carstein family brooch gifted by count von Carstein (Unholy Relic; effect unknown)
-Seemingly useless trinket (Lucky Charm; effect unknown)
-Wyrdstone necklace gifted by count von Carstein (Wyrdstone Pendulum; pass LD test to re-roll 1 dice when searching for wyrdstone)
Experience: 41
Skills: Arcane Lore (can learn spells)
Injuries: None
M:6 WS:5 BS:4 S:5 T:4 W:2 I:5 A:3 LD:9
Equipment:
-Spear (strike first in 1st round of close combat)
-Bow (missile weapon; range 24'' S3)
-Personal armour gifted by count von Carstein (Gromril Armour w/ Shield; 3+ armour save)
-Rope & Hook (re-roll failed climbing tests)
-von Carstein family brooch gifted by count von Carstein (Unholy Relic; effect unknown)
-Seemingly useless trinket (Lucky Charm; effect unknown)
-Wyrdstone necklace gifted by count von Carstein (Wyrdstone Pendulum; pass LD test to re-roll 1 dice when searching for wyrdstone)
Experience: 41
Skills: Arcane Lore (can learn spells)
Injuries: None
Yes, that did look close. Must have been frustrating for two Witch Elves to land on their faces (though of course perhaps lifesaving for Helena).
Some points of question:
Undead can raise zombies between games?
What happened to the Night's Shade?
How are spells learnt (and how long will it take for Helena to overcome her illiteracy)?
I don't really see any problem with how you're presenting her stats.
Some points of question:
Undead can raise zombies between games?
What happened to the Night's Shade?
How are spells learnt (and how long will it take for Helena to overcome her illiteracy)?
I don't really see any problem with how you're presenting her stats.
These "Sisters of Khaine" are actually stand-ins for the Sisters of Sigmar, who are humans and have Initiative values of 3 and 4 across the board. Failing those tests aren't quite as unlikely as it would be for elves. And yeah, if the witch leader would have been successful she would have tied up both the dregs in combat, letting the cold one rider charge into combat with Helena. While Helena is statistically superior it would still have been quite dangerous.
As for your points.
1) I happened to roll up "Straggler" as an exploration result after the game. You find some poor guy wandering around the city and depending on what warband you're playing you get different options for what to do with him. Undead automatically kill him and turn him into a zombie, free of charge.
2) I had to let him go, unfortunately. After the game against the possessed I rolled up a result where I got to hire a mercenary without paying him any money, although he would still have an upkeep fee to pay to keep him around after the first fight. Since graveclaw is another mercenary who is already a pretty big drain on my money I could barely afford to keep the Night's Shade around. I might bring him back in at a later point though, the rules for the Assassin are quite tasty.
3) Once a character has the Arcane Lore skill all you need to do is buy them a Tome of Magic and they'll learn a single spell. Unfortunately those tomes are both rare and expensive so now I just gotta hoard money and pray for some good rolls when searching for items!
And Helena's lack of reading skills isn't something that's actually in the game, I just thought it was a good opportunity to let her character as a child shine through a little bit. A proper education is probably something best put on hold until after the violent campaign in Mordheim, although you could say that from this point until the time when I get the first Tome of Magic would be how long it takes for her to get the hang of it. Will she be a quick learner or a slow one? Only time (and my income) will tell.
As for your points.
1) I happened to roll up "Straggler" as an exploration result after the game. You find some poor guy wandering around the city and depending on what warband you're playing you get different options for what to do with him. Undead automatically kill him and turn him into a zombie, free of charge.
2) I had to let him go, unfortunately. After the game against the possessed I rolled up a result where I got to hire a mercenary without paying him any money, although he would still have an upkeep fee to pay to keep him around after the first fight. Since graveclaw is another mercenary who is already a pretty big drain on my money I could barely afford to keep the Night's Shade around. I might bring him back in at a later point though, the rules for the Assassin are quite tasty.
3) Once a character has the Arcane Lore skill all you need to do is buy them a Tome of Magic and they'll learn a single spell. Unfortunately those tomes are both rare and expensive so now I just gotta hoard money and pray for some good rolls when searching for items!
And Helena's lack of reading skills isn't something that's actually in the game, I just thought it was a good opportunity to let her character as a child shine through a little bit. A proper education is probably something best put on hold until after the violent campaign in Mordheim, although you could say that from this point until the time when I get the first Tome of Magic would be how long it takes for her to get the hang of it. Will she be a quick learner or a slow one? Only time (and my income) will tell.
Last edited:
Thanks for that. So hopefully Helena will learn to read quickly ( as in...accumulating money).
Useful to get stragglers, then. Hope you get more!
As ever, good luck with the next battle!
Useful to get stragglers, then. Hope you get more!
As ever, good luck with the next battle!
Chapter 5: Diversion
Helena's profile for the seventh, eighth and ninth game.
M:6 WS:5 BS:4 S:5 T:4 W:2 I:5 A:3 LD:9
Equipment:
-Spear (strike first in 1st round of close combat)
-Bow (missile weapon; range 24'' S3)
-Personal armour gifted by count von Carstein (Gromril Armour w/ Shield; 3+ armour save)
-Rope & Hook (re-roll failed climbing tests)
-von Carstein family brooch gifted by count von Carstein (Unholy Relic; effect unknown)
-Seemingly useless trinket (Lucky Charm; effect unknown)
Experience: 41, 42, 43
Skills: None
Injuries: None
M:6 WS:5 BS:4 S:5 T:4 W:2 I:5 A:3 LD:9
Equipment:
-Spear (strike first in 1st round of close combat)
-Bow (missile weapon; range 24'' S3)
-Personal armour gifted by count von Carstein (Gromril Armour w/ Shield; 3+ armour save)
-Rope & Hook (re-roll failed climbing tests)
-von Carstein family brooch gifted by count von Carstein (Unholy Relic; effect unknown)
-Seemingly useless trinket (Lucky Charm; effect unknown)
Experience: 41, 42, 43
Skills: None
Injuries: None
This night had been a strange one.
It had begun with them in the process of scouring a widespread area for wyrdstone when they had suddenly been attacked. Despite having deployed sentries to warn when something drew near the enemy had somehow infiltrated close enough to spring a coordinated attack against the undead. It was the skaven – of course, only they could execute such an infiltration. Spread out and disorganized, the undead warband had little time and chance to counter attack before their attackers had caused significant amounts of damage. Helena had been the furthest away from where the skaven attacked but even with her supernatural speed she could not reach them in time before Schtiller had ordered a retreat to cut their losses.
Undaunted, the undead had then relocated to another area. Schtiller had gathered intelligence saying that a rival warband was headed this way, en route to a rumoured deposit of wyrdstone. He ordered his minions to mount a barricade against the onrushing enemy to halt their advance. As they drew close Helena instantly recognized them; they were the witch elves from the previous outing, the sisters of Khaine, and they looked as eager to fight as always. However, just before the two warbands would come to blows Schtiller had given the order to withdraw, leaving behind only a couple of minions to give the lunatic witch elves something to occupy themselves with as the rest of the undead feigned their retreat.
”The fools!” he had said. ”Now they will believe that they have scared us off from trying to claim the wyrdstone they have caught wind of!”
He had tried to maintain his composure but had failed as he burst out in gloating. ”What they do not know is that I have discovered a much greater treasure to the east of here and that they are now running headlong in the opposite direction! Come now, follow me! We have little time to lose!”
Relocating again the warband was led to a former residential area, densely packed with buildings and alleyways. There was a large stone statue in the garden of one of the houses and upon closer inspection Schtiller revealed that it hid the entrance to an underground tunnel.
”This area is rich with unplucked wyrdstone. It is a wonder that it has yet to be pillaged and so we must act decisively and claim it without hesitation. A band of mercenaries are headed in this direction and by the use of this secret tunnel and the ones it connects to under the ground we can cut them off and rout them swiftly.”
He had then turned to Helena.
”Helena, I want you to take Graveclaw with you into these tunnels and position yourself near the end of the one that leads north from here. You will be able to flank the enemy from there upon my command, and you are to do nothing until I give it. Do you understand?”
”Yes, Herr Schtiller. I understand” she had replied, before she descended down the hole beneath the statue together with the lumbering Graveclaw and a couple of ghouls.
---
And here Helena was now, rubbing shoulders with Graveclaw inside a cramped underground tunnel. That the ogre would even fit down here was a surprise, but she would need his help to break through the debris that littered the final part of the tunnel leading to the surface. During their period of waiting Helena felt the wyrdstone pendulum she wore humming and vibrating softly. This must mean that more wyrdstone was indeed nearby. Nothing would stop them from taking it in the name of the count.
It was difficult to hear anything through Graveclaw's noisome breathing but Helena's heightened senses was picking up the sound of boots on stone from outside the tunnel. Any time now could be when Schtiller would give the command, and so Helena prodded Graveclaw with the end of her spear and told him to make himself ready to move.
And then it came, Schtiller's voice planting words directly into Helena's mind.
”Now is the time. Attack!”
With a sharp jab into Graveclaw's backside Helena sent the ogre barrelling through the tunnel with a roar, his massive body easily clearing out the obstacles ahead of them. With a resounding crash he broke through a wall of planks that had been nailed in place to obscure the entrance, and Helena swiftly followed him out into the open night air. Right before them was a small band of men, four of them, clad in armour and wolf pelts. They were northerners - likely from Middenheim – but as fierce as their reputation were at large even these brave warriors were shocked to see Graveclaw appearing so close to them. Helena saw how Graveclaw hurled himself at the men, swiping back and forth with his great club. One man was felled to the ground while the others moved to surround Graveclaw, having quickly overcome their fear.
Helena then made her own move and attacked one of the encircling men, striking him in his flank with multiple thrusts from her spear before he could react. He was struck brutally and fell lifeless to the ground. Pressing the attack Helena continued on to the man who had fallen from Graveclaw's assault and took him out with another well-placed thrust, freeing him from his misery. The remaining two men faltered in their advance but before they could react another crash echoed through the night; a pair of ghouls appeared from another tunnel entrance nearby, swiftly moving to assist Helena and Graveclaw. The two men, now hopelessly outmatched, were caught and defeated before they could so much as move a muscle.
Looking around, Helena could see more humans approaching them. It appeared that the group of warriors that they had just dispatched had been a flanking force and the rest of the warband was eager to avenge their fallen comrades. At their head she could see who was presumably their leader; a crippled man with a peg for one leg and another that was heavily bandaged, but his face was full of anger and rage, using a halberd for support as he hobbled towards Helena and Graveclaw as quickly as he could. Following him were the rest of his men, all of them grim-looking warriors. Then, suddenly, the rest of the undead warband attacked them from the side, bursting out from the alleyways around them. Combat was swift and brutal; being flanked twice in the same confrontation broke the humans' morale and their captain sounded the retreat. The wealth of loot and treasure to be found in this area now belonged to the undead and they would set about recovering it with haste before another enemy warband showed up.
Ah, that explains the lack of detail. Still, got to expect Skaven to do something like that! At least you/Helena got lots of warpstone this time!
Chapter 5 Interlude
The undead had been allowed to search through their won area undisturbed and the treasures had been great indeed, just like Schtiller had said. In one particularly well-off house they found a cellar full of living survivors. They were huddled together in fear of the commotion they had heard outside and appeared quite harmless; nonetheless, Schtiller had ordered them killed. Some of them served as food for Helena, with the husks she left afterwards eaten by Graveclaw. Even the ghouls got to have their fill, so bountiful was this find, and what corpses remained after the feeding was reanimated to serve the warband as zombies. Aside from the living there was also plenty of gold which, while not something the undead valued highly, was always useful when dealing with outsiders. There was also a strange garb they had found, a cloak woven of some exotic fabric that seemed to blend into anything surrounding it. And, of course, the true prize; wyrdstone, and good amounts of it. The count will be delighted to receive this catch.
Back at the camp, Helena was busying herself with investigating the cloak they had found during their looting. Schtiller had gifted it to her, saying that it had some magic qualities that could help her evade archers and other shooters. It was very soft to the touch and despite its thick but oddly colourless weave it didn't add much weight to Helena's equipment load. This was fortunate as even with her enhanced strength and endurance the amount of weapon and armour she was carrying was not far from becoming an encumbrance. However, Schtiller insisted that she kept all her things close at hand since he was growing fond of having her as a multi-purpose tool on the battlefield.
Looking over at the book she had been given by Schtiller to read, Helena was reminded of her poor progress in learning to read and much less decipher arcane formulas. After only a brief reading together, where she had really only mouthed and imitated what Schtiller had told her to, she had been left alone with the book but she found it impossible to make any progress on her own. Despite knowing how much it would annoy him she would have to ask him for help. In fact, he was on his way over to her right now.
”So, how has your progress been going with the reading?” he asked, as if he knew what she was thinking about.
Helena was hesitant to tell him the truth but she knew she couldn't fool the necromancer.
”Poorly...” she said, afraid to look up to see the grimace of anger that she expected to await her. With her eyes still to the floor she continued, her voice quiet.
”...I am sorry. Please forgive me, Herr Schtiller. I will try to be better.”
When she heard an amused chuckle coming from above she finally looked up to see Schtiller's face. There was that grin again, as if he would have expected her to have failed to live up to his expectations.
”My dear Helena” he began. ”Learning how to wield magic is a time consuming pursuit and I would not expect you to have reached that far already. I will continue to tutor you for some time before I leave you to your own devices. Besides, out of all my minions here you are the one who give me returns on my investment in you. So, now, move along and we will continue with your studies tonight.”
Helena felt a surge of excitement at this. Could this be the night when she would learn to cast spells?
Helena's profile at the end of chapter 5.
M:6 WS:5 BS:4 S:5 T:4 W:2 I:5 A:3 LD:9
Equipment:
-Spear (strike first in 1st round of close combat)
-Bow (missile weapon; range 24'' S3)
-Personal armour gifted by count von Carstein (Gromril Armour w/ Shield; 3+ armour save)
-Rope & Hook (re-roll failed climbing tests)
-von Carstein family brooch gifted by count von Carstein (Unholy Relic; effect unknown)
-Seemingly useless trinket (Lucky Charm; effect unknown)
-Wyrdstone necklace gifted by count von Carstein (Wyrdstone Pendulum; pass LD test to re-roll 1 dice when searching for wyrdstone)
-Strange cloak (Elven Cloak; enemies suffer a -1 to hit penalty with shooting attacks)
Experience: 47
Skills: Arcane Lore (can learn spells), Warrior Wizard (can cast spells while wearing armour)
Injuries: None
M:6 WS:5 BS:4 S:5 T:4 W:2 I:5 A:3 LD:9
Equipment:
-Spear (strike first in 1st round of close combat)
-Bow (missile weapon; range 24'' S3)
-Personal armour gifted by count von Carstein (Gromril Armour w/ Shield; 3+ armour save)
-Rope & Hook (re-roll failed climbing tests)
-von Carstein family brooch gifted by count von Carstein (Unholy Relic; effect unknown)
-Seemingly useless trinket (Lucky Charm; effect unknown)
-Wyrdstone necklace gifted by count von Carstein (Wyrdstone Pendulum; pass LD test to re-roll 1 dice when searching for wyrdstone)
-Strange cloak (Elven Cloak; enemies suffer a -1 to hit penalty with shooting attacks)
Experience: 47
Skills: Arcane Lore (can learn spells), Warrior Wizard (can cast spells while wearing armour)
Injuries: None
Last edited:
Some good post-battle finds there. I get the feeling that Elven cloak will come in handy, especially for a character with Helena's fighting style. Hopefully she learns some spells soon!
This is a great format, an interesting read and easy to understand development of Helena.
Keep it up
Keep it up
Chapter 6 Prelude
Some time later the undead had come to blows with a band of witch hunters - the servants of the hated god Sigmar. There had been rumours of an undiscovered treasure in the area, although it turned out to be more likely that the rumour was spread willfully by the witch hunters to trap unsuspecting victims to be burned at the stake. Fierce fighting ensued with the undead emerging victorius and, while the supposed treasure truly was nowhere to be found, they instead found themselves with something else quite valuable; they had captured an opposing warrior priest of Sigmar, alive. Schtiller had cackled at this, saying that the count would be pleased to have a devoted servant of the enemy brought before him in chains. Content with this outcome they had returned back to camp with their captive.
Back at the camp Helena had continued to study the spell book she had gotten from Schtiller. Progress had been made and she had been told that it wouldn't be long before she was ready to try bending the winds of magic to her will; or, rather, it would prove whether or not she would possess any such capability at all for, while most had a natural affinity for wizardry, not all vampires did. However, right then wouldn't be the time for them to find out as a dreg had suddenly come bursting through the door with a terrified look on his sweaty face.
”Master!” he had said. ”Our prisoner has escaped!”
”What?!” Schtiller had replied, outraged. ”How is that possible?!”
The prisoner had been kept in a separate house from the main camp. He had been unconscious upon their return to the camp and had been chained and locked up with a couple of henchmen, both undead and alive, on guard duty. This, apparent now, had been a grave mistake. The warrior priest had somehow freed himself from his bonds and fought his way through the guards without alterting others nearby. His equipment remained in his cell, so he must somehow have imbued himself with power from his loathsome god. However, losing their prize for the count wasn't necessarily the worst to come from this. Schtiller had first been furious with his underlings for their failure but soon afterwards he had ordered them all to prepare for combat. Assuming that the warrior priest could navigate his way safely through the city back to his own camp or one of his allies' they would now know where to find the undead. A retaliatory strike wouldn't take long to come.
And sure enough, come the dawn the sentries reported that a band of warriors were approaching their camp, armed and ready for battle. This would be a crucial fight where their very survival was at stake. Failure here would not be an option.
Chapter 6 Part One
There wasn't much time to give for a briefing. The situation was desperate and in order to survive they would have to strike the enemy swiftly and violently and force them to rout. That would buy the undead some time to make their next move.
The fighting would take place in the ruins just outside the undead camp. The enemy had cleverly timed their advance so that they would arrive with the coming of the dawn but for all their cleverness it wouldn't yield them any great advantage. The sky above the city was still choked full of dust and debris, keeping the sun from showing its cursed face on the streets below it.
Standing ready to fight, Helena was being councilled by Schtiller on how they would have to act to get through this unfortunate turn of events.
”Helena.” he began. ”Being witch hunters our enemies are certain to have a pack of hunting hounds with them, which they will release as a first wave of attack against us. They are vicious beasts but can be broken easily if they can be hit hard first. The only one in our group who can match them in speed is you, so I will leave it to you to find these dogs, cut them off and stop them from reaching us. When you are finished with them I want you to return to me.”
”Yes, Herr Schtiller. I will find them.” Helena replied.
---
As she was scanning the area for signs of the enemy, Helena could make out the shapes of humans advancing through the ruins towards them. There on the left flank were the hunting dogs that she were supposed to attack and without hesitation she left the safety of the group, taking a dire wolf with her for assistance.
The enemy had released the hounds far off to the side to have them come in from the flank, which would have had brought disastrous results for the undead. Unfortunately for the enemy, however, not even their starved-mad dogs could outpace a vampire.
They were only a short distance ahead now. Stepping out from cover, Helena came into view of them; it was only a small pack, no more than four beasts. She sent the dire wolf at the two leftmost ones while she was headed for the other two. The wolf arrived first, throwing itself headfirst against the much smaller hunting dogs, biting and thrashing with unnatural vigour. Then Helena reached her targets, immediately striking one with her spear, taking the dog down immediately. The other hound lunged at her but she side-stepped it effortlessly, letting it pass behind her. Turning around she thrust out with her spear again, hitting her mark and transfixing it on her point briefly before violently pulling her weapon free from the dog's body.
Turning again, Helena saw in the distance how Graveclaw was fighting against a couple of flail-wielding flagellants, mad-men fuelled by despair and hatred. She saw their flails impacting hard against Graveclaw's flesh, threatening to bring him down, but before she could move to assist him she heard a low growl rising from behind. Looking back she saw one last remaining hunting hound. It had somehow dispatched the much larger dire wolf and was now sizing her up as its next mark. Helena fiercely snarled back in return, fangs showing, causing the mutt to stop and recoil as it recognized a superior predator. And that was when she felt it – some kind of energy was coalescing in the air before her, causing ripples in reality. She felt its pull inside her mind, as if it was feeding off her anger. She could hear the dog whimpering on the other side of the supernatural phenomenon in front of her and when she reached out for it the oscillating energies seemed to shape itself around her hand and arm. Then, piercing through the ripples to the dog with her vision, Helena locked eyes with the frightened animal and shouted, the energy in front of her responding by flying towards her target. It ignited into a large ball of flame before engulfing the dog, only letting it shriek for a split second before it was overcome by the roaring fires. A black-burnt and smoking body was all that remained.
Quite stunned by what she had just done, Helena was lost in thoughts for a moment. That was a spell she had just cast, one of the spells she had been studying but hadn't been able to conjure before. She had done it! She was able to cast spells!
She was brought out of her thinking by a pained bellowing. Turning around she saw Graveclaw, now on one knee after a brutal assault by the two flagellants. He was chanceless against them. Springing into action, Helena immediately moved to assist him, although she would not come alone – a couple of ghouls had made their way to them now, and they were also charging. The flagellants were entirely focused on pummeling Graveclaw and failed to see their new attackers before it was too late; felled swiftly by Helena's spear they were then swarmed and subdued by the ghouls.
Before any other action could be taken they heard the blowing of a horn that signalled the retreat of the witch hunter force. With this victory the undead seems to have stayed off their destruction, although there were no less urgency in Schtiller's stride as he approached them moments later.
”We have won this battle but it is far from over. Now that they know where our camp is they will not stop sending more men to attack us. Our only hope is to abandon this place and relocate to some place else. We should head back to camp and make sure that we leave nothing of value behind before we move.”
As Schtiller hurried away Helena looked over to the fallen Graveclaw. His incredible resilience stayed true as the ogre was still alive but he would require some assistance to get away from here. Ordering the nearby ghouls to help her they began dragging the great body of Graveclaw across the ruins back towards their camp.
Chapter 6 Part Two
It didn't take long for the warband to pack up what precious items they had before it was time for them to leave. None of them had any idea where they were supposed to be going to avoid further persecution, although Schtiller was confident that they'd be able to find some place to stay before nightfall. Mordheim was, at least in its current state, a city packed with shadowy places. It would simply be a matter of finding a new one or, if it came to it, take one by force.
Their journey began but they did not have to travel far until they ran into their first obstacle. Fortunately, however, it was a friendly face that awaited them. Or a featureless helmet, rather; It was the assassin known as the Night's Shade. Stepping out from a ruined building ahead of the warband, he approached them and spoke with a dark tone.
”The count knows what has transpired this night.” he said. ”And he places great importance on your continued success despite this setback. I have been ordered to take you to a place where you will be able to make your new camp. It is, however, some distance away and there are plenty of other warbands scavenging through the city at this time of the day. We must move swiftly and hope that we can avoid any serious confrontation.”
And so the journey continued, lead on by the mysterious assassin, through alleyways and streets both narrow and wide, past crumbled buildings and ruined cellars. In one of the cellars they found something peculiar; there was a flock of bats that had made it their nest but upon seeing Helena they immediately left their home to follow her even though it was daytime. This was not much of a surprise, though, since vampires, and von Carstein vampires in particular, have a natural bond with such creatures of the night. Nevertheless the critters could be useful allies to keep close.
They had been travelling for several hours with a fortunate lack of incidents when the Night's Shade suddenly stopped, holding his hand up as a sign for the rest of them to halt. Over the ambient moaning of the ghouls and zombies, as well as the heavy breathing of the now again-recovered Graveclaw, there was an unmistakable sound to be heard. It was the witch elves. They were not far away and they were approaching rapidly.
”Of all those we could have run into it had to be them...” Schtiller groaned. ”We are not in a position to confront them directly. Our only objective now will be to ensure our survival so that we can regroup later at our new camp. I will order our minions to feign an attack against the enemy to draw their attention from us while we make good our escape.”
---
Tasked with moving up the left flank to secure an escape route, Helena could see the witch elves starting to appear from the ruins. It was only a trickle at first but soon they were spilling out like a tide of drug-addled lunatics. They were all heading in the same direction away from her, and Helena saw that it was the shambling zombies that had been pushed up front that were in their sights. The witch elves were, fortunately, quite easy to distract as long as you had something to dangle in front of them, not unlike a starved dog. Unfortunately, however, they were also just as ferocious; a storm of throwing stars and knives flew through the air and cut the zombies down with swiftness.
Helena saw Schtiller moving towards her, giving new commands to send more of their minions against the witch elves to buy them time to escape. The dire wolf charged at one of the witch elves, its great size and speed letting it bowl her over and continue on to another without losing momentum. The Night's Shade, hidden behind cover, let loose with a barrage of throwing knives of his own, as well as several bolts from his hidden personal hand-crossbow devices, hitting and wounding several. The undead were taking their toll on the witches but the enemy would not pause, and it looked like they would overwhelm the attacking division of the undead warband. In an attempt to stop this from happening too soon Schtiller then ordered the last wave of the warband to join in the combat. Graveclaw led the charge despite his weakened state, followed by the pack of ghouls. The fighting quickly turned bloody and fierce with warriors on both sides falling to each others' attacks. Graveclaw laid about himself with his great club, striking both witches and ghouls in his wild abandon. Throwing knives flew at him from all directions but he paid them no mind. It was not until the matriarch of the witch elves made her presence known that the balance of the fight again swung against the undead. Summoning her arcane energies she conjured the great hammer that she had before used to smite Graveclaw, and so would the ogre's fate be here as well; with a single strike to the knee he was dropped to the ground, while another was brought down right on his chest, caving it in.
Helena saw this and instinctively moved to intervene. She threw an orb of fire at one of the witch elves but her aim was off, although the evading warrior did get her hair caught ablaze. Helena was about to send her bats in to distract the witch elves as best they could while she would retrieve Graveclaw's fallen body, but Schtiller suddenly called out to her.
”Helena, no!” he shouted. ”Leave him! We now have our opportunity to escape and we must take it!”
”But I can save him!” Helena shouted back, but Schtiller would have none of it.
”No! Our minions are expendable, even Graveclaw. Remember your mission to the count! If we perish here it will all have been for naught!”
Helena knew that he was right. There was little she could do for Graveclaw at this point without putting herself in the same position as him. She saw the witch elves busy with dispatching the last of the undead minions, with Graveclaw lying completely lifeless on the ground surrounded by the broken bodies of his victims. The great beast was dead, and he would never rise again.
Turning away, she and Schtiller moved off with the ragged remains of their warband before the witch elves could give pursuit.
Chapter 6 Part Three
The undead warband continued their now rather desperate flight through the ruined city, with the bloodthirsty sisters of Khaine snapping at their heels. The witches had finished off the undead rearguard too quickly for them to lose their trail completely, and so there was now no other option but to continue forward. With the loss of Graveclaw several other henchmen the undead were now severely weakened and needed to reach their new lair in order to regroup. The Night's Shade had reassured them that it was not much further now until they would reach an area that had previously quartered a group of wizards who had made Mordheim their home before the city had been destroyed. One of those houses still remained standing and would serve as the new encampment for the undead warband, provided that they could reach it alive.
Before them now stood their last obstacle; a human mercenary warband were busy with scavenging the area between the undead and their destination, and they weren't likely to let them pass without a fight.
”This is it, Helena” Schtiller said to her. ”We need to break through the enemy force to reach whatever safety awaits us behind them. We will not focus on securing the area for ourselves to scour later, now only our survival is important. To achieve this we must probe the flanks for the enemy warband and find where they are weakest, and then strike them there and slip through their defences before they can recover.”
”I will lead our warriors up the center of the area” the Night's Shade added. He then looked to Helena and addressed her with her mission. ”We will need you to advance on one of the flanks and see if you can find a way through. Our remaining most able warriors will do the same on the other side; when anyone of us finds an opening for us to use we must all move towards it while covering our escape with what's left of your minions.”
Schtiller nodded in agreement. ”Do as he says” he said to Helena.
”Yes, Herr Schtiller. I will get us through this.” she replied.
---
Taking her bats with her, Helena immediately began to move her way up a street that ran next to where the humans were situated. There were ruins and debris everywhere but she wouldn't have to worry about keeping in cover as the rest of the warband had already drawn the enemy's attention. She could hear gunfire, and also bolts and arrows flying through the air. It was followed by the distinct thudding of bodies dropping to the ground. The humans were obviously deadly shooters, and especially so in daylight, and Helena had best remain out of their sights until she had found her goal.
She was moving swiftly up the street without encountering any resistance. The flank seemed clear and she had just had the time to signal her fortunate discovery back to Schtiller and the others by sending her bats off when a rifle bullet suddenly flew past her and ripped a hole in her cloak. She had unknowingly made herself visible to one of the shooters through the ruins between her and the humans and it had likely only been her camouflaging cloak that had saved Helena from being hit. She could easily hide from any subsequent shots but her presence was now known. Hunkering down behind some debris she decided to wait and see how the enemy would react to her.
Battle had now been joined between the two warbands. Helena couldn't see the fighting but she certainly heard it; the shouting of men and the clashing of swords. Apparently the undead dire wolf had somehow escaped the witches earlier, as Helena heard its distinct snarl in the distance. She then heard something else, something she did not expect. A piercing howl. And then it appeared before her.
It was a wolf. A large, grey wolf, and it was very much alive unlike its undead counterpart. Equally large and with a savage glint in its eyes, the wolf stalked towards Helena's hiding place. She knew that it had seen her and that it was only a matter of time before it would attack her. She tried to summon the magic energies like she had done before but they would not avail her now, and she lacked the training and knowledge to understand why. In frustration she readied her spear for the wolf's attack, but the speed of the beast surprised her. It charged and leapt at her, its great jaws snapping at her. Only by forfeiting all opportunity to attack could she evade the attack. She had rolled under the wolf when it had been in mid-air and she came up on the other side of it, but the beast was already poised to make another assault.
And that's when she felt it again. Even as the wolf was bounding towards Helena it felt like time was slowing down, and that familiar magical energy was again starting to swirl and distort the air in front of her. She had no idea what could trigger it but she wouldn't be dwelling on that now. She focused on the oncoming wolf and willed the energy to unleash itself on the animal but instead it seemed to envelop her spear. Suddenly it ignited and Helena barely managed to drop the weapon before it was devoured in a searing burst of fire, leaving in its wake a flaming sword that hovered on its own in front of her. She stared at it in amazement but was interrupted by the charging wolf that now was close enough to throw itself at her once more, seemingly unfazed by the arcane display in front of it; however, before Helena could even move a muscle the flaming sword had flown forth and run itself through her attacker, withdrawing itself from the grievous wound it caused to continue hacking at the fallen wolf. The beast had died immediately, its corpse smoking and burning. After that the sword faded away into nothing as quickly as it had burst into existence and Helena was left without a weapon aside from the small dagger she kept about her person.
Still amazed by what had transpired in front of her, Helena then moved to observe what was happening elsewhere in the area of conflict. She saw that the human mercenaries were all concentrated on the far opposite side of the area, occupied with fighting off the remaining undead ghouls and zombies. She was then alerted to the presence of Schtiller as he appeared next to her. The Night's Shade was also with him, as were her bats.
”Well done, Helena!” Schtiller exclaimed. ”We are now free to leave this place and continue on to our destination. And not a moment too soon, I can hear the witches coming up behind us. Let us leave it to the humans to fight them off.”
With that they hurried on to leave the field before anything else would appear to obstruct their path.
Chapter 6 Postlude
Finally free from enemies, the remnants of the undead warband were now free to follow the Night's Shade to their new camp. They had taken terrible losses during their flight through the city but as long as the driving forces within the warband remained intact they could recover.
They finally approached the area that the Night's Shade had told them of, where wizards had previously housed themselves before the fall of Mordheim. There was a single building still standing amidst the ruins and rubble. It was a stone house; not very large but rather tall. The door was also tall and the window openings tall and narrow. Little light would be let through them even during the day, which suited the undead perfectly.
”You might wonder why this house remains unoccupied.” the Night's Shade said. ”There are still powerful enchantments lying on it from its previous owner, and you will be shielded from intruders whilst you are here. Only by the count's direct instructions on where to find it could we do so, and now that you have seen it you can too. Your enemies, on the other hand, will see only an empty piece of land.”
Helena looked at the house and found an odd sense of familiarity. She had never seen the house before but she knew they would be safe there.
”I suggest you hurry inside.” the Night's Shade concluded. ”Your progress will have suffered harsh setbacks due to today's happenings but you have the count's blessings. He trusts you will recover and resume your successful campaign in his cause.”
And with that he was suddenly gone, leaving the surviving remains of the warband to enter the house in front of them.
Well, congratulations on the spell, Helena! And a shame about the Ogre. But good action overall.