So our intrepid band slogged their way across the county to the ancient temple, and ancient indeed it was. Iago cursed under his breath as he realised this was not a site built by the heathen druids, but seemingly far older, fashioned by mighty lords of the Fey in the most ancient of days, ere they diminished and withdrew into their dark woods.
What was the Faceless Kingdom's business here? And could our heroes complete the ritual to seal in the ancient magicks before they achieved their goal?
Yes, that tattooed hand belongs to Sickers. Where does the time go? I think he was still at school last time he was in a battle report photo.A cunning plan had been hatched by Sickers. We would use our most disposable party member (that would be Patches the magical construct) to distract these relentless warriors. There were quite a few of them, and reinforcements would be arriving every other turn, so it was decided that Patches would distract them by charging forth, hopefully buying us some time for Iago to conduct the ritual.
To this end we left Neville behind to guard our camp, freeing up a slot in the party for Patches.
For Our Lady and the Pontiarch!Upon arrival we managed to sneak quite close to the temple (there is a 'Seize the Initiative' phase in some of the generated scenarios that, if successful, allows the party to have one free turn of acting before the game proper begins). Iago and Lenore rushed forward, while new boy Brom took himself and his bow up on to a high rock with a good view of the battleground. Morgaunt also found a suitable spot to shoot from, while Wicklow attempted to conjure some life into his scarecrow. Happily he was successful.
Patches hurled himself (itself?) forwards, hoping to attract the attention of our foe. He certainly did this, as crossbow bolts whistled past him, and the fierce soldiers charged toward him. An epic clash ensued, with Patches plunging into combat brandishing his spear. Unfortunately he did not prevail for long, as the heavy sharp sword of a Raven Legionary ripped him apart, with straw and cloth flying in all directions.
But his loss was not in vain. Iago had completed the ritual, the magical well was sealed and we had triumphed in the name of Our Lady. But looking around, Iago and Lenore realised this was one foe we probably could not match in strength of arms, and so it was decided that the most heroic thing we could possibly do now would be to bravely flee the scene.
So Lenore and Iago hastily pulled back, with Morgaunt and Brom covering their retreat with shots from their bows. These relentless foes were fleet of foot though, and it appeared that our valorous retreat might be in vain.
Back you devils!Lenore paused, sighed and then gritted her teeth. With a grim countenance she surged forward at the foe-men, determined to protect the lives of her comrades even if it be at the cost of her own (she does that sort of thing quite a lot).
It seemed her finest hour might also be her last. But no, hewing and slashing she cut down the enemy lieutenant, and forced the others back. Suddenly Iago was at her shoulder, and he too cut a path through the legionaries. Bow shots from Morgaunt also did good work, and soon the forward-most enemies were a messy wet pile of flesh and metal on the ground.
Their confidence buoyed by this, our party decided they should now advance instead of fleeing, for there were only a handful of enemy left. We felt we could easily hold the field (if you hold the field you potentially get extra loot after the fight). Brom climbed down from his rock and joined Wicklow, hoping to help mop them up.
Yes, I know that's Greville's figure not Brom's, but Brom is still half-finished on my painting table.But it wasn't as easy as we thought. The next few turns consisted of sniping at long range, while the melee fighters tried to chase down the stragglers. Unfortunately the enemy received a new reinforcement every second turn, and they were being replaced faster than we could kill them. Just to put the tin hat on it, our bowmen were now also out of arrows. So once again we changed our minds and decided to withdraw in good order, yielding the field to the legionaries. It was just at this point when disaster struct. A lone enemy appeared on the table edge we were retreating towards, and though he didn't seem much of a threat he managed to charge forth and skewer poor Brom.
We simply wanted to get away with our victory by now, so sadly Brom went unavenged. We made our way back to camp, dragging the slumped form of Brom with us, content in the knowledge that at least we had succeeded in this first part of the quest.
Happily, once at camp we discovered that Brom lived still. His wounds were bad, and it would be some time until he would be able to fight, but at least he was alive and breathing. I wonder if he still thought joining up with these foolish adventurers was a good idea?
Later that night Iago had another vision. In his dreams he learned that someone was in peril, and in need of rescue...
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June 06, 2023, 03:06:49 PM
February 04, 2008, 09:15:08 AM