(Anyone may join in on any side of the disagreement, no lore knowledge needed here)
The Roads of the Empire were a sorry state most of the year but no more so then winter in Middenland, at least in Bretonnia the peasantry knew not to risk such a journey, no they were far too cowardly for that most of them, but this lone medicine cart had no choice.
The relatively open clearing they had found themselves in was blanketed in soft snow, the barely trodden path now invisible, it was a large caravan, the type one could sleep in and of course an easy target in this part of the Drakwald in one of the smaller paths barely used, a stupid decision made only by a desperate mind, a mind that the two people inside reckoned would be spilled on the ground any moment now.
A motley band of beastmen had been stalking the caravan ever since it entered the forest until now unseen by the inexperienced eyes put upon them, the beastmen were all of the goat variety bar one with a canine like snout that sniffed around the caravan.
"Why haven't they broken in yet?" The plague doctor inside lamented to his companion the mask he wore concealing the look of absolute dread at every tap and movement from the outside "Perhaps they don't know what they're looking at..I've hardly known their kind to practice the sciences in any capacity other then being interesting disection material." the older of the two said trying to stamp out his fear with logic and failing very clearly.
--
The Knight gazed upon the caravan, the mutants sniffing at it and caressing it's one entrance with a clawed hand, there were about seven of them and one of he maybe two if one counted the warhorse he sat upon, shaking it's bright red coverings in excitement. It didn't matter, the decision to charge had been made and finalised with the gentle forward push that sent the steed into a gallop.
The canid beastman spun as his ears picked up the hoofbeats approaching, but he was far too late as the sword came in like a flash and felt like a wind passing through his shoulder...until the bloody red line from there to his belly started to emerge and erupt like a volcano the dark and corrupted blood staining the snow as he pitched forward into the ground with a agonised doglike howl.
---
The two inside watched the figures through slits in the sides of the caravan as the beastmen seemed to scramble after a red figure on a horse who would pass by every so often, slashing out with a blade. Causing the monster to fall or scream in anger.
The Roads of the Empire were a sorry state most of the year but no more so then winter in Middenland, at least in Bretonnia the peasantry knew not to risk such a journey, no they were far too cowardly for that most of them, but this lone medicine cart had no choice.
The relatively open clearing they had found themselves in was blanketed in soft snow, the barely trodden path now invisible, it was a large caravan, the type one could sleep in and of course an easy target in this part of the Drakwald in one of the smaller paths barely used, a stupid decision made only by a desperate mind, a mind that the two people inside reckoned would be spilled on the ground any moment now.
A motley band of beastmen had been stalking the caravan ever since it entered the forest until now unseen by the inexperienced eyes put upon them, the beastmen were all of the goat variety bar one with a canine like snout that sniffed around the caravan.
"Why haven't they broken in yet?" The plague doctor inside lamented to his companion the mask he wore concealing the look of absolute dread at every tap and movement from the outside "Perhaps they don't know what they're looking at..I've hardly known their kind to practice the sciences in any capacity other then being interesting disection material." the older of the two said trying to stamp out his fear with logic and failing very clearly.
--
The Knight gazed upon the caravan, the mutants sniffing at it and caressing it's one entrance with a clawed hand, there were about seven of them and one of he maybe two if one counted the warhorse he sat upon, shaking it's bright red coverings in excitement. It didn't matter, the decision to charge had been made and finalised with the gentle forward push that sent the steed into a gallop.
The canid beastman spun as his ears picked up the hoofbeats approaching, but he was far too late as the sword came in like a flash and felt like a wind passing through his shoulder...until the bloody red line from there to his belly started to emerge and erupt like a volcano the dark and corrupted blood staining the snow as he pitched forward into the ground with a agonised doglike howl.
---
The two inside watched the figures through slits in the sides of the caravan as the beastmen seemed to scramble after a red figure on a horse who would pass by every so often, slashing out with a blade. Causing the monster to fall or scream in anger.
Leofric had lost count of the days, leagues away from Nuln, forced to winter in this wretched place, hardly a fitting end for one who had once served with the Nuln Ironsides nevertheless, fortune had a way of turning a blind eye without notice, debts and such caught up to Von Grimhaven and the tithe ofcourse was service, in search of ever more dangerous work. He had done well for himself as an outrider, there were few problems gunpowder and steel couldn't solve or so Leo had thought in a naivety spurned by the bravado drilled into the soldiers of the reik as they were sent off to face horrors nary a mortal man should have to witness, nevertheless, Leo was no novice and had managed to survive thus far, scratching marks in his little hovel fort to mark the days, subsisting off trapping small game and such.
Even he knew not to stray near the roads, it wouldn't be the first caravan those things went after the only reason Leo survived was because of their fleeting intellect, focused on their hunting grounds and larger quarry, around him however everything had been carefully concealed, caltrops laid, powder charges buried into the earth set to flint-sparkers and tripwires that would ensure any bold step would be the last, in a strange caricature of nature Leo took after the squirrel and voles, making tunnels and setting up blinds in trees. He used what his time as an outrider has taught him, punji stick and net traps to catch those things off guard, animal feces rubbed into the trees to mask any scent trails, felting his boots with animal furs and feathers for silence and to avoid footprints.
But most of all he praised Nuln, the ingenuity of nuln that is, in that the mechanism of his gun was unlike seen in the hands of most the Empire stock, admittedly it might have been a stolen oddity but an effective one no less. The breech lock facilitated the loading of greased cartridges packed with a highly fulminant powder, the action of sealing the cartridge into the breech partially tore the cartridge, the trigger assembly worked essentially as a sealed lighter, sparking into the rifle chamber and setting loose the bullet. This made the weapon substantially faster than the Empire handgun intended for slower volleys, no doubt this weapon had been built for a noble to embark on a expedition or hunt but it served Leofric equally as well when dispatching beastmen.
Nevertheless, the complexity vested in this operation as well as sourcing cartridges and gunpowder required a degree of scientific knowledge, Leofric could scavenge and scrounge something in the field but it was by no means a lasting solution, he was down to his last 20 cartridges and beyond melting down the hilt of his dagger for metal there wasn't much to go around for bullets. His halberd and axe wouldn't serve to hold back a horde of ravenous beastmen for long, Leo was a versatile fighter but not one to duel it out with the enemy. He had hoped the skull stacks and warning signs he had left would have served their purpose but to no avail, a caravan rattled down that road... Leo perched from his vantage point could only watch.
" By Sigmar, I might finally be saved "
The knight in Red appeared as a fortuitous omen, seemingly out of nowhere, nothing quite like a good old fashioned charge to shatter the enemy's morale. Capitalizing upon the chaos and disruption, Leofric centered a shot upon one of the other beastmen, the sound of his rifle rung out like a crack of thunder.
" Take that you bastards ! "
He added, ducking behind a log, his digits fumbling around to grab another cartridge as he snapped open the still smoking rifle breech, loading the cartridge with well-drilled efficiency before shutting the breech, tamping cramming in a conical shot through the muzzle and tamping it down, his other arm rested on a hand-axe just incase those things drew near. With the shot ready, Leo stood up pacing forwards
"Come back my Lord, we have them ! "
he was praying to Sigmar that the Knight in Red was going to circle back. He had his rifle at the ready, breathing rapidly as his eyes raced to the sides of the road and then to the caravan.
" I've got one eye and I see better than you lot in there, you're sitting ducks in that wagon ! that thing could've flipped you over in an instant and snatched one of you out... it happened to us ! Which is how I ended up in this forsaken reach... Arm yourselves and help me damn you ! "
Leo wasn't sure if anyone was alive in the wagon, but he could certainly use the reassurance, he crouched down, looking for a silhouette, a target to take another shot at.
The knight seemed to jolt at the sudden gunshot from the treeline as the horse spun in a careful semicircle for the return, the smoke had flew away by the time he'd spun and he couldn't detect the shooter, beyond seeing them in the arms of soldiers the knight was far inexperienced with them having sworn off any ranged weapon at all as all knights did from his land, it was only by the appearance of a new corpse on the ground it's head blasted open at the back that he had some idea of the gunman's alligence, he had faith enough in his armour but it was awfully hard to stay in the saddle when a good war bow arrow clacked off you never mind a bullet.
Much to the surprise of everyone at the scene the beastmen's minds must have somehow been jumpstarted by the sudden appearance of more then one attacker and a group of them in a strangely co-ordinated fashion seemed to surround the knight, of course the horse being trained for charging had no qualms about barrelling through the goat-faced man blocking him while crude blades and spears poked leaving bruises under the long drapelike cloth armour causing the odd whinny of pain.
--
Inside the Caravan the two men huddled closer together as a gunshot suddenly rang out, paws still quested at the narrow window slits in opportunistic glee until one of them smacked the foul mitts away with a tool or a knife which didn't do much other then anger the thing, one was now very loudly slamming it's hands on the door, causing one of the planks to come loose.
When suddenly the beast jolted at a sound, seeing a figure in red dart by and trample one of it's friends..and another human? The beast turned and growled not recognising the rifle for any worthy weapon as it charged, raising what looks to be a stone axe at the man..Howling as it approached, this one was one of the more wirey beastmen making it that much faster on the nearly madenning and meandering approach.
--
The beastmen seemed to be falling one by one now, another trampled and two slashed by the charge..so why was the ground suddenly thumping?
The knight found out as a massive figure lunged in from the forest edge, something swinging low..a massive stone club... It caught the horse at it's legs and made a instant corus of disgusting bone breaking snaps, the two flew as the knight was thrown from his mount, the animal? it flew in a flip and landed squarely on it's head..going limp
"NOOOOO!" the knight cried out at one point even involuntarily throwing out a palm as if he could stop the Steed's death with his own grief alone, The feelings subsided for now as he rolled his aching body suddenly avoiding the heavy thumping of the club into snow beside him, he grabs his weapon in the rolling motion, slashing out at the creature's arm carving a deep and thin line in it's flesh.
It let out a roar so loud that the other beastmen seemed to all jump in unison...only a small group left around the caravan now.
---
From the inside of the caravan voices ring out.
"I'm not doing this anymore!"
"Boy it's suicide, stay in here!"
"If we don't help they'll both die and we're next!"
"YOU'LL DO AS I TELL YOU BOY!" a loud clap sound echos as the scuffle continues inside.
Much to the surprise of everyone at the scene the beastmen's minds must have somehow been jumpstarted by the sudden appearance of more then one attacker and a group of them in a strangely co-ordinated fashion seemed to surround the knight, of course the horse being trained for charging had no qualms about barrelling through the goat-faced man blocking him while crude blades and spears poked leaving bruises under the long drapelike cloth armour causing the odd whinny of pain.
--
Inside the Caravan the two men huddled closer together as a gunshot suddenly rang out, paws still quested at the narrow window slits in opportunistic glee until one of them smacked the foul mitts away with a tool or a knife which didn't do much other then anger the thing, one was now very loudly slamming it's hands on the door, causing one of the planks to come loose.
When suddenly the beast jolted at a sound, seeing a figure in red dart by and trample one of it's friends..and another human? The beast turned and growled not recognising the rifle for any worthy weapon as it charged, raising what looks to be a stone axe at the man..Howling as it approached, this one was one of the more wirey beastmen making it that much faster on the nearly madenning and meandering approach.
--
The beastmen seemed to be falling one by one now, another trampled and two slashed by the charge..so why was the ground suddenly thumping?
The knight found out as a massive figure lunged in from the forest edge, something swinging low..a massive stone club... It caught the horse at it's legs and made a instant corus of disgusting bone breaking snaps, the two flew as the knight was thrown from his mount, the animal? it flew in a flip and landed squarely on it's head..going limp
"NOOOOO!" the knight cried out at one point even involuntarily throwing out a palm as if he could stop the Steed's death with his own grief alone, The feelings subsided for now as he rolled his aching body suddenly avoiding the heavy thumping of the club into snow beside him, he grabs his weapon in the rolling motion, slashing out at the creature's arm carving a deep and thin line in it's flesh.
It let out a roar so loud that the other beastmen seemed to all jump in unison...only a small group left around the caravan now.
---
From the inside of the caravan voices ring out.
"I'm not doing this anymore!"
"Boy it's suicide, stay in here!"
"If we don't help they'll both die and we're next!"
"YOU'LL DO AS I TELL YOU BOY!" a loud clap sound echos as the scuffle continues inside.
" Sigmar see me through this, damnable bastards. "
Hands fumbled and raced against rifle as another beastman barelled towards Leo, his sense struggling to keep track of all that was happening before stepping back at the sudden appearance of a beastman, he had placed his surity and morale in the visage of the knight whom for a moment seemed to have been almost crushed to death by a stone club. Leo was torn between a tumultuous decision, each decision had it's consequences but the surest chance offered to all these men was in the armor of the knight, as all good soldiers tended to do, he prioritized Artur's life over his own, one bullet is what he had. It was either the wiry beast or the giant that now besieged the road.
" May Sigmar guide your blade as he guides my bullet, my lord "
He muttered, squaring up a shot roughly aligned to the larger beast's eye socket in the hopes that he could in the very least buy Artur an opening for a more decisive strike upon the creature, the loud crackle of his rifle echoed, a haze of powder smoke releasing, yet Leo's woes were far from over he was no fencer or greatsword to wield the blade with any particular skill, but had a strong arm on him and enough experience fighting in the melee of cornered ranks to be able to hold his own, the wiry beastman bumbled before him, frothing as a rabid thing, it was a daunting proximity for a gunner more used to firing and repositioning, Leo mustered his courage, drawing the falchion.
" Have at thee foul beast, I will give you a taste of mine steel ! "
Leo swung for the space between the wiry creatures neck and shoulder, with a blade which could split an iron wood log with a jovial ease, in the steel he could place his trust, the rest was compelled by faith and fortune. Leo had hoped to convey to the others the presence of pit traps and stakes adjacent to them in the road, perhaps the party could be convinced to retreat towards it, offering them some coverage and defense if the beasts were not deterred.
The Bullet soared with almost supernatural accuracy striking the huge bull headed mutant in the head, carrying through it's eye socket and out the back with a puff of gore, this didn't slow it down right away..It howled in a very high pitched eerie scream suddenly lifting it's club to try and strike at the rolling knight who just barely avoided being squashed flat.
The beast was distracted and raging in it's own pain slamming it's weapon into the dirt, The knight picked up his longsword moving in close and with a mighty movement stuffing the blade through it's large ribcage and out of the back. A pop inside showing he'd found the heart. Before the great beast fell he shifts to the side letting the Bull continue raging until eventually collapsing beside the steed it had killed already with a mighty thud.
The Surrounding spectating beasts moved in one at a time each being cut down with one or two slashes unable to comprehend the tactics beyond a simple ambush.
The beast was distracted and raging in it's own pain slamming it's weapon into the dirt, The knight picked up his longsword moving in close and with a mighty movement stuffing the blade through it's large ribcage and out of the back. A pop inside showing he'd found the heart. Before the great beast fell he shifts to the side letting the Bull continue raging until eventually collapsing beside the steed it had killed already with a mighty thud.
The Surrounding spectating beasts moved in one at a time each being cut down with one or two slashes unable to comprehend the tactics beyond a simple ambush.
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