The Glorious Siege of the Cauldron
And so it was that after a full month of skirmishes,
adventures, dark and heroic deeds, and an unspeakable incident with a warthog,
the Bretonnian King’s army cut its way south through the forests of Northern
Elswood (B15) until finally they beheld the Great Cauldron of the Norse (C15).
Upon its battlements they could see foul daemons and monstrous hosts while
behind were the dark pits that gave the forbidding fortress its name. Glory was
at hand.
The Chevalier turned to his King. “What are your orders my liege? Let us storm the walls at once so that
we may cast the fiend back into hell”. The King thought carefully for a
moment before making his decision.
“We storm that shit...”
Bretonnians elect to storm the walls.
Attacker (1500pts)
- Bretonnian 1st Army (1500pts) – accompanied by the Bretonnian King
Defender (2090pts x 2)
- Norse 4th army (1090pts)
- Norse defensive muster (300pts)
- Monstrous Host (400pts)
- Daemon Host (300pts)
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Sven Halfhand, leader of the Skaeling people, and keeper of
the dark cauldron listened as the Bretonnian champion issued his challenge. One
on one he wanted was it? Halfhand laughed. “Send for the beast”. The gates
opened slowly as the shaggoth stomped out to crush the impudent human. The chevalier charged his monstrous foe. The
duel that followed would quickly become part of legend. For over thirty minutes
the chevalier danced and weaved around his much larger opponent. The earth
shook repeatedly beneath the shaggoth’s blows. Finally, the exhausted beast
stumbled and the chevalier leapt upon its back, his carcasonne birth sword
piercing the beast’s skull and killing it instantly.
Discipline immediately broke on the Bretonnian side as a
regiment of Knights Errant surged recklessly against the walls. The young
knights were destroyed quickly and totally by a countercharge from the daemon
host and by a barrage of magic from the walls. It was a massacre.
The king withdrew his force to consider his next move.
Result - Bloody Repulse - The Bretonnians are thrown from
the walls. The siege continues but no further assaults are possible until the
following campaign turn
- Bretonnians lose 400 troops from its 1st army which remains camped outside the walls
- Warriors of Chaos lose 250 troops from its monstrous host
.............................................................................................................................................................
War in the South
The Battle of Hag Graef
Total war finally returned to Kinsblood after months of posturing
and atrocities from all sides. As the Druchii King hurried to meet his Undead
allies in Hag Graef (H15) - and with the Deadites waiting patiently for their
allies to arrive - a force of Norse warriors and daemons arrived suddenly from
the direction of Clar Karond (I16). The Witch King’s forces cautiously
approached the battlefield as he carefully watched the two hordes line up for
battle before him. Now was the time.
Attacker (900pts)
- Norse 3rd Army (400pts)
- Daemon Host (500pts)
- Dark Elf 1st Army (500pts) – accompanied by the Dark Elf King
- Dark Elf defensive muster (150pts)
- Undead 1st Army (1500pts) – accompanied by the Vampire Counts King
- Undead 2nd Army (1500pts)
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Result - Druchii/Undead alliance wins and the Chaos army is
scattered
The vastly unnumbered berserker horde of Khorne marauders
and bloodletters crashed and broke upon a phalanx of steel and bone. The chaos
forces take horrendous casualties and are quickly isolated and broken by the
defenders in a terrible massacre. The chaos army is driven from Hag Graef and
scattered. The force retreats back to Clar Karond in
confusion and disorder, breaking up and dispersing as it does so. The victors
shadow the retreating force picking off stragglers and isolated groups.
- Dark Elf 1st army loses 50 troops
- Undead 2nd army loses 50 troops
- Daemon Host loses 500 troops and is completely wiped out (includes losses to pursuit)
- Norse 3rd army retreats to Clar Karond (I16)
The Battle of Mournwood
Just like the Norse King’s army in the far north, the Undead
3rd army stationed in Mournwood (I14) had a scouting mishap at
precisely the wrong time. As the master necromancer attempted to get confirmation
of his orders he looked up and saw the sky seemingly twist in upon itself...and
reality appear to bend. It was too late. The Daemons had arrived.
Undead are caught in a pincer as three warbands advance on
Mournwood from Nagarythe (I13) while a further three spill in from Karond Kar
(J14)
Attacker (2,700pts)
- Norse 1st Army (500pts)
- Norse 2nd Army (600pts)
- Daemon Host (500pts)
- Daemon Host (400pts)
- Daemon Host (400pts)
- Daemon Host (300pts)
Defender (1149pts)
- Undead 3rd Army (1149pts)
Result - The chaos hordes had retaken Mournwood (I14)
The warbands of chaos crush their enemies and the Undead army is defeated and scattered
Surrounded on all sides and caught unawares the Undead army initially
take heavy casualties – the warriors of nurgle reaped a fine harvest of zombie
parts for their pots while a lahmian vampire was artistically and lovingly ripped
to pieces by an exalted champion of slannesh.
The master necromancer Davo von
Strudlepopper quickly realised the battle was unwinnable. Von Strudlepopper
ordered his elites to flee the field and prepared a mass resurrection of the fallen
zombies to delay and mire the chaos horde. There were acres of them. Every time
the zombies were cut down they rose again – for three whole hours this cycle
repeated until finally a herald of Tzeentch found and magically neutralised the
master necromancer hiding amidst a mob of zombies. With the Undead general
captured the zombie horde collapsed.
A grim fate awaited the master necromancer. They say the
dead can’t scream… they are wrong.
- The smallest of the Daemon hosts lose 100 troops
- The Undead 3rd army loses 550pts and retreats to Hag Graef (H15) - (includes losses to pursuit)