[IC] Dogs of War: Old World Mercenaries

[POOHEAD189]

As they sped out of sight, Camilla and Cyrdic would see the Chosen of Chaos slaying the Warrior Priest. He did not even bother checking the corpse. Instead he turned, and gazed at the road they now sped upon into the wilderness. A voice echoed across the trees so powerfully, it was as if he was just beside them.

"You have what I want, Tilean bitch."

Cyrdic clenched his teeth from within his mouth, and snarled like the wolf on the hilt of his blade. His blade roared in his mind, and not for the first time did he predict the blade was made specifically to fight against Chaos beasts. What's more, Cyrdic knew that if they were coming after Camilla, he'd stand right between them. Camilla wa-

A few miles had passed down the road, and the mules had run over a gnarled branch that had jutted out of the ground like an unwanted curse. It sent Cyrdic and Camilla out of the wagon, the two unable to gain purchase on the hardwood of the speeding construct. Cyrdic hit the ground roughly, skidding, only to feel something land on him from above.

He opened his eyes, groaning as Camilla lay atop him. Dust and dirt billowed, now mingling with the mist and fighting for dominance over the air. Cyrdic breathed heavily, and swallowed. His throat was dry from all of the shouting earlier. "Are you ok?" he breathed. The honking call of the mules was now a distant memory.
@Penny

[Penny]

Camilla lay atop Cydric breathing hard, the ringing in her ears finally subsiding. She looked down at Cydric for a moment and the slumped laying her head against his for a few moments, her lithe body shuddering. It was hard to take in. A few moments ago they had seemed to be unassailable, a mighty force of disciplined soldiers, now it was just the two of them. She pushed herself upwards and lay a hand against Cydric's cheek for a moment.

"I am ok, and thank you," she said, suppressing another shudder as she felt the strange warrior reaching for her. Her eyes lingering on his for a long moment before she reluctantly rolled off him and came unsteadily to her feet. She looked down the path and saw nothing but she thought she heard the distant echo of a crude horn.

"We have to go," she said, helping Cydric to his feet. The moved down the road at a fast jog, Cydric set the pace and Camilla kept up with him, though her instinct was to run for all she was worth. The sound of horns was definitely behind them now and although it was closing it wasn't closing fast. After about ten minutes they were both sweating under the weight of their gear. The wagon was nowhere to be seen and Camilla doubted it would stop before Carrosburg. A few minutes later they came upon a large stream crossed by an ancient stone bridge. Camilla held up her hands signalling a stop and pressed her hands to her thighs gasping for air.

"We can't keep this up, lets go along the river, maybe it will throw them off our scent?" she suggested. The river was waist deep at its deepest point and the bottom seemed to be fine rocks and gravel. Camilla didn't know much about hunting but she hoped that the water would stop the beasts from following her scent.

@POOHEAD189

[POOHEAD189]

Cyrdic skidded to a stop, his breathing labored and his chest heaving, but there was strength still in his body. He almost didn't want to slow down, but he knew Camilla needed a rest. That, and it would be smart to conserve his own strength too. He couldn't go forever. "That might work on Beastmen, but the Chaos warriors are different," he said. "But they'll be likely to send Beastmen after us first, so it's something to slow them down at least."

Cyrdic waded into the river, keeping his shield and sword above his head. "Careful with your belongings." His part of the treasure was strapped to his waist, and it was just above the current thankfully. He felt the cold water inching into his trousers, and felt somewhat refreshed. Behind them, they heard a guttural braying in the distance. The Drakwald was much like a cavern, so close were the trees. Something could be miles away, or a hundred paces, and it would echo near the same.

Once he made it to the far side of the river, he placed his pack and weapons down, before wading back in to submerge himself in his entirety, just to be sure. He surfaced, his hair matted to his face. The soldier shook like a dog, water splashing everywhere before he climbed out once more and repacked his gear. "I don't know the Drakwald like I do the Ostland forests," he said, strapping on his sword right next to Camilla. "But I'm certain the roads will be watched. We need to stick together and-"

The next noise they heard was not the braying of a Beastman. It was much, much bigger. In fact, its majesty and ferocity shook the very ground, causing Cyrdic to steady his feet and catch Camilla if she stumbled. The noise nearly overwhelmed his senses, and the very trees swayed from the beast's approach. Cyrdic had seen a lot in his relatively young life. Things he wished no man ever saw. But nothing could prepare him for what had made that roar.

What sunlight that penetrated the mist was suddenly erased as a shadow engulfed the entire river. A wind gushed into the opening of the trees, strong enough to lift a small person, and the crimson, reptilian monstrosity passed overhead. Cyrdic couldn't quite believe his eyes, for he never thought he would live to see a Dragon in flight.

"By Ulric and Sigmar," he cursed, gaping and holding Camilla in his arms protectively.
@Penny

[Penny]

Camilla had alot of recent experience with being afraid. She handled it alright, didn't freeze, and usually kept thinking but the sight of the great dragon overhead hit her on a level beyond her experience. The thing was immense, longer than some ships Camilla had seen, its body bedcked in giant scales the size of her dinner plates. It's great head was the size of an ox and filled with fangs the length of a mans forearm. Camilla didn't scream, wasn't capable of action at that level of complexity. She just quavered against Cydric and waited for death.

The great creature beat its wings, stiring up a hurricane of leaves that obscured her vision and then it was gone and she was in Cydric's arms gasping in deep ragged breaths of air that suddenly had nothing to do with running. She began to shiver slightly, her clothes soaked and stuck tight to her skin from the immersion. Of in the distance the dragon roared again and she thought she heard the distant howls of beastmen.

"Let.. lets... we have to go," she stammered unsteadily and began to lurch upstream, only barely managing to keep the precious vial out of the water as she fought the urge to vomit in sheer terror. Her limbs were suddenly numb but the fear drove her on, forcing her to put one foot in front of the other. She knew it was foolish, she couldn't possibly move fast enough if the dragon noticed her and decided it wanted her dead, but it didn't stop her from trying.

The forced their way up river for almost an hour. Camilla couldn't be sure that the beastmen had been thrown off, occasionally an animals wild cry would split the darkness, but it might just have been animals. There was a faint haze of light over the river as the reached one of the wider deeper pond like areas where the river bulged slightly into a natural pool. It must have nearly been dawn but the eastern horizon was a distant memory in this dense forest. Camilla stumbled to her knees and drank by the simple expedient of thrusting her face into the cool clear water and then collapsed back onto the bank, exhaustion overcoming fear.

@POOHEAD189

[POOHEAD189]

The Beastman prostrated itself before the Champion of Tzeenth, shuddering and giving hoarse whinnies as it reported the lost scent. Within their tent of human skin, the leaders spoke to one another of their current service to the Dark Gods. Velabrass Blackhelm gazed down at the Beastman. So overwhelmed was the mutant at the sheer majesty of the warrior, it did not even flee or cry out as his glowing blade flashed, shearing the beast in half, its body falling onto the ground with a wet thump.

"Let me go after them," Gildenhoof purred, the Slaaneshi champion moaning with anticipation for the hunt. With horns that twisted sensually above his golden head, his impossibly wide mouth bared fangs as he spoke to the current leader of the Warband, Velabrass Blackhelm, Chosen of the Changer of Ways. "Let me catch the woman...I must feel her once more."

"You'll do nothing to her," Velabrass commanded, standing above Gildenhoof and beside his throne, the material that made up the chair ever shifting, bending reality as if its mere presence was an affront to logic, yet an undeniable truth all at once. "Nothing until I collect the vial she carries. Once we have it, you can do what you will with her." True, there were still beastmen combing the wildlands, and perhaps a few would get lucky. But he doubted it.

"And the man?" Gildenhoof breathed, lust glinting in his eyes. To anyone else, the voice would have drawn them into a trance, luring them into impossible ecstacy as he killed them. To Velabrass, it was an annoyance, nothing more. "The man has great hatred in him, I could smell it. His blade is powerful. Oh it plots our destruction, it does..."

Velabrass knew it. He had foreseen the blade's power, and the warrior that wielded it. It could be a danger even to he.

"Make sure he is dead."

---

With eyes that betrayed the vast intelligence that lurked beneath its monstrous head, Reigynferlgar the Crimson gazed upon the ground far below her, letting out a powerful beat of its wings. Steam and the decaying stench of rotting corpses cascaded out of its great maw as it searched the Reikwald for the ones responsible for her inner torment.

Below the trees covered a vast land, and in the distance she could see various lights dotting the landscape. Within the clouds, destinations that would take days to journey toward could be seen by the naked eye in an instant, with but a turn of the head. She knew she was within the heart of the Empire, but her reserve had fled long ago. Her children had been stolen, and she would rip apart all of Middenland to find who was responsible, and swallow them whole.

---

Even Cyrdic was exhausted. The soft earth of the river's shoreline had pulled at his muscles, but he moved with an Ostland stubborness until Camilla collapsed. He didn't even join her at the water at first. He fell to his hands and knees, breathing heavily for a moment as he collected himself.

"I think we're ok for the moment," he breathed, and forced himself to crawl forward until he dunked his head into the water as Camilla had, slurping up as much of the precious liquid as he could before yanking his head out. He tried to stand, but then staggered backwards and fell onto the soft earth, closing his eyes for the moment.

The trees hid the hoof beats of the Beastmen, mere miles away and fast approaching.
@Penny

[Penny]

Camilla and Cydric filled their water skins and took stock of their few resources. Most of the jewels and coin was safe, some of it concealed in Cydric's boots, others in pouches and coat linings but they had little in the way of food. Camilla's notion of fleeing up river appeared to have confused their pursuers but it did mean that they were further from civilization and deeper into the Drakwald. Downstream was the obvious choice for obvious reasons and no doubt the beastmen, or at least their armored masters knew that. Lack of food meant they would have to hunt, and worse, cook which would draw the enemy down on them.

"We could double back?" Camilla suggested dubiously as she sat beside Cydric, her strength returning now that the roar of the dragon was a fading memory.

"Follow the river back to the road and head back to Middenheim, if they think we've taken the Carrosburg road we might be nearly to the city by the time they realize..." she trailed off in mid thought. The forrest was suddenly too quiet. Beside her she felt Cydric tense and they shared a nod. As quietly as the could they scooped up their weapons and slipped off into the cover of the nearby trees. Less than a minute later a half dozen misshapen beastmen loped out of the woods to the shore of the pond. The creatures were hideous, cloven hoofed with the faces of boars and wolves, one had a beard of what appeared to be dead snake. All carried weapons and the leader, a large brute who appeared to be a cross between a bear an elk and a man held a sword, its blade dark with dried blood. Even from here Camilla could recognize it as one of the Reiklander swords that their escort had carried.

"Scouts," she breathed. No armored warriors emerged, to Camilla's considerable relief. She tried to hold still, hoping that they would pass them by but the leader sniffed at the air and barked something in his horrible language. The reaction was instant, the creatures fanned out suddenly alert and sniffing the ground. It was immediately apparent that they had only moments before they were found.

"There are only five of them," Camilla said and her face twitched into an involuntary smile at the words. She left her pistol in her belt as a shot would be heard for miles and drew her dagger, holding it point down in Rondeo style. As though suddenly catching the scent the leaders head snapped around to the rocks that they were hiding behind. Camilla rose and in a fluid motion flung her dagger into the things right eye. The beast screamed, dropped its sword and clutched its face with both hands, dark blood gushing out between its fingers. Camilla threw herself forward towards the remaining beast men, the point of her rapier leveled like a spear.

@POOHEAD189

[POOHEAD189]

Despite the exhaustion and the danger, Cyrdic grinned at Camilla. As the beastmen turned, one fell to a dagger in its eye, and Camilla leaping into the fray, her sword thrusting to and fro, poking a beast through the midsection, and keeping the rest at bay. Almost ominously, Cyrdic stepped out of the forest with his Norscan shield and runic sword, the shadows on his face giving him a terrifying quality.

He charged, blocking an Axe and chopping into a mutant's leg. Its stump spurted blood, and he knocked it to the ground before Cyrdic needed to duck from a reikland sword. The beastial leader let out a horrible braying, and attacked Cyrdic with a fury. Its reikland sword hacking and stabbing, swiping with its bear-like paw as well as Cyrdic backpedaled, before suddenly stabbing forward, catching it offguard. His blade spitted the Beast, but it wasn't dead yet.

Its powerful claw grabbed Cyrdic's shield, ripping it off his arm. The Ostlander snarled like a wolf, blocking the next sword attack with his Ulrican blade, now being held in a two handed grip. His next moves were a blur, and the beastman leader was without a head moments later, its body toppling over onto the soft earth, leaving a massive impression upon the ground. Cyrdic picked up his shield, hefting it again and slicing over the back of another beastman.

The empire man felt a very real satisfaction at getting some payback from the slaughter he had seen earlier. Yes they had made the Beasts and chaos warriors take a terrible toll during the attack on the camp, but still. They had been good men, as far as he could tell.
@Penny

[Penny]

Camilla flicked aside the clumsy spear thrust of the last beastman with a sharp quartering parry and then riposted hard into the things chest, sending it down to the loamy earth in a gurgle of blood. One of the beast men was still whimpering on the ground for a moment before the abrupt thrust of Cydric's sword silenced the wounded mutant. Silence fell over the forest for a moment and Camilla dared for a half second to hope that they might slip away none the worse for wear. Then, in the far distance a howling like that of a great hound began, another shriek rose up to meet it yet further away. The news was spreading among the beast men.

"Ranald's father of liars, just a little luck for once," Camillia groaned. Turning to Cydric her shoulders slumped momentarily before she notice a break in the foliage. Jogging up to it she found what appeared to be an ancient path, maybe only a game trail that led up the slow rise away from the creek bed. She turned and arched any eyebrow.

"Any better ideas?" she asked. Cydric had none, so the fled up the path as fast as the dense foliage would allow. Branches grabbed at them as the moved and great roots grew over the path, as though the Drakwald was attempting to obliterate it slowly but surely. The ground continued to rise beneath them and the trees became less massive and less dense until the broke through into the first real sunlight she had seen since leaving Middenheim. Ahead of them along the wooded path a small hill reared its way above the treetops. Upon its crest stood the ruins of a small tower, long since tumbled to ruin but still squatting like a mushroom on the sparsely wooded hill.

"Better than nothing," Camilla said as she climbed behind her friend, casting an eye back into the denser brush behind them, searching for pursuit and finding none.

"Who would have built something like that all the way out here?"

@POOHEAD189

[POOHEAD189]

Cyrdic trudged through the forest tirelessly, eyes dead set on what lay ahead of them. It was hard to tell where the path led, but a ruined tower would not have been his first guess. Then again, it wasn't too farfetched of a thing to spot out in the Drakwald. "Probably made by pioneers, or upstart landowners. I wouldn't be surprised if a giant knocked this thing down, or maybe the Dragon we saw, many years ago."

Cyrdic breathed in through his nose, and realized this well might be their last stand. It had looked like that more than he cared to admit in his life, but unless Sigmar had a miracle up his sleeve, or the Beastman herd had been considerably thinned.

He made his way up to the tower, and hauled himself above the broken wall with his powerful upper body. He would help Camilla up as well if she wished it, and Cyrdic began dropping his weapons and gear so he could more easily stack up the fallen stones before the entrances. His granite-like muscles moved with a methodical workmanship that a Dwarf would be proud of (certainly wouldn't be proud of the stonework, by Grungi!).

"How's our pistols?" He asked her, not looking up from his work until he was done. "Loaded?"
@Penny

[Penny]

Camilla gripped Cydric's forearms and he lifted her onto the low wall with ease. She gazed around the interior of the tower with interest. It was largely a tumbledown of old stonework with the skeleton of a stairway that led up to the little of the first floor that remained. The destruction was clearly old given the moss on the rocks and the birds nests tucked into small openings in the stone work. Providentially that place they had climbed was the lowest point of the tower with a waist high wall running for several feet in both directions before climbing slightly. It would be difficult for beastmen to climb up and flank them, but it wouldn't be impossible. Cydric's impromptu barricade was certainly making the situation better.

Camilla wondered if they could eat the birds eggs if the were stuck here for any length of time but dismissed the notion. Exhaustion would be as lethal as hunger and would take them long before they starved to death. Obediently she reviewed both pistols and reloaded hers, she hadn't had a chance since she had blown off that strange warriors hand a life time ago. She lay powder and shot out. She had about ten premade cartridges and maybe enough loose powder for another ten rounds.

Taking her lead from Cydric she grabbed a dozen rocks about the size of her head, figuring to hurl them down on would be attackers. There was fallen structural timber in the center of the tower and several pieces of unidentifiable furniture which had been smashed to kindling during the collapse, she gathered as much wood as she could manage an impressive pile and still not all the timber available. She looked at the pile of equipment critically. It didn't look like much to defend a tower with.

"It's a shame we don't have some oil to boil, Its a lot to ask I know but I'm a traditionalist," she quipped, a little lamely. Cydric snorted and lay another rock, sweat was running down him now but the crumbling doorway was well and truly blocked, only the tumbledown on the wall provided much in the way of an opening.

Cydric lifted another rock by Camilla touched him gently on the arm.

"Rest," she said softly, "A week of piling up rocks wont do more than you have already done." She passed him a water skin and he drank thirstily. As he set the skin down she went over to him and slipped her arms around his waist, laying her cheek against his chest. She felt his powerful arms wrap around her and she just stood there for a long moment. Eventually she looked up at his bluff face strong and determined and smiled, stretching up slightly to kiss him on the lips. Naturally at that exact moment the howl of a beastman split the air. Camilla actually laughed at the timing.

"No rest," she said with a smile, "for the wicked."
@POOHEAD189

[POOHEAD189]

Cyrdic would agree with the old fashioned way of siege warfare. A good fire and some boiling oil would do nicely here. Though they would also need some cauldrons and some heavy gloves to wear to pour it with. And then he had a thought. Had Camilla been in a siege before, or had she read of it? He'd heard of Tilean wars from rumors. They didn't fight beasts or great creatures often, but city state against city state. He wanted to ask her about it, but he hardly had the breath for it.

As he went to lift the next stone, Camilla laid her hand on his arm, and he stopped. His face full of youth once more, with how he looked at her, though his features were still quite rugged. She had a way of calming him and making him weak with a whim, and if she wasn't someone he trusted, he would be annoyed at it. But actually, he felt warmly of it. "You got it," he grunted, dropping the rock. The heavy object cracked into the ground, and he drank the water they had greedily, stopping reluctantly after three gulps.

He was also reluctant to break away from her. Her kiss sent sparks through him, and he wrapped his strong arms around her as he kissed her back. Until he heard the roar of beastmen, and he gave her a lopsided smile. Funnily enough, he felt like telling the Beastmen to fuck off so he could have some alone time with Camilla, as if they'd listen or dare incur his Ostland wrath. But since that wasn't going to happen, the next best thing to do was kill them.

He would enjoy that too.

"It's the life we've chosen," he said with a shrug, and pressed his forehead to hers for a warm moment, before the two broke away and gathered up what weapons and tools they had.

When the first Beastmen emerged from the forest, they ran out into the clearing only to slow down slightly, as the old tower looked abandoned, not a human in sight. Cyrdic had suggested they hunker down for a bit until the beasts loped past the treeline to make them easier, less suspecting targets. Camilla gazed through a hole in the stonework, and at her mark, Cyrdic would lift himself up with his long barrel pistol, and fire into the mass of confused chaos spawn.

There were dozens of the beasts, with Elk heads, Bear muzzles, Wolf ears, and mixtures in between. Horns jutted and swayed like trees in a hurricane above the throng. Some had human skulls on their necklaces, and others had ears twined in string.

Cyrdic's first shot punched through a deer headed Ungor, the beast dropping, its jagged spear falling out of its nerveless fingers. Cyrdic quickly went to reload as the horde cried out in outrage and bloodlust, and tramped up the hill in a howling wave, brandishing weapons and third arms.

"Where do you want to go after we take the vial to Altdorf?" Cyrdic asked. He smiled grimly from behind the wall. Having reloaded, he jumped up again and took a chunk out of the chest of a gor. The soldier was speaking as if them leaving here alive was a foregone conclusion. Perhaps to keep Camilla's, and his own, spirits up. "Nuln? Marienburg?" He said. "I've never been south of Talabecland. Maybe take a ship?"
@Penny

[Penny]

"Well, I have heard rumors that University in Altdorf is a good place to find work, maybe we can go out to Marienburg or down towards the border princes," she remarked, her tone contemplative as she rose from behind the wall and hurled a stone down at a trio of beastmen scrabbling at the base of the tower. The rock, the size of a human head, smashed into a dog faced creature shattering its shoulder with a meaty crunch, its spastic convulsions tangling the others. The creatures hadn't realized the difficulty of attacking the Tower head on yet, which was good, but there was a considerable number of them still swarming from the edge of the trees.

Cydric's pistol coughed again blasting down one of the larger creatures, smaller beastmen leapt upon it tearing the mortally wounded thing to bloody rags before there eyes. She hurled another stone and began thrusting down at the creatures climbing on the bodies of their comrades to try and crest the wall. The rapier was a light weapon but it was razor pointed and Camilla thrust relentlessly into eyes, throats and occasionally under the shoulder of her victims, maiming them as often as killing them in an effort to aid the demoralization and confusion that the creatures must be feeling. Cydric was on his feet now too, scything his sword down in vast bloody arcs that sent hands and heads tumbling into the bloody ruin at the base of the tower.

It took a few minutes but some of the smaller beastmen realised the error of their ways and began trying to climb the taller stonework. Camilla left Cydric to the task of defending the opening and darted around thrusting her blade through openings in the stone work to catch the climbers unaware, severing fingers. She used her acrobatic training to its fullest extreme, it seemed foolish to worry about any chances she might take at this point given how the day was going so she leapt from side to side in a whirling dance, maiming and killing as she went. Sweat poured down her lithe body but she didn't slow, intent on the flankers and trusting Cydric to hold the main entry.

She thrust her rapier through a ruined window into the belly of great elk headed beast man, spun to find her next target and was shocked to find that no more beastmen were attempting the climb. Looking down she saw Cydric leaning heavily on his sword too. She flipped neatly down to land beside him in a theatrical crouch. Hope flared in her heart as for a moment she allowed herself to believe that the enemy had routed despite all their many advantages.

A quick glance out at the field filled her with bitter disappointment. The beastmen had pulled back to the edge of the trees, leaving an impressive pile of dead at the base of the tower. It was nearly a ramp by now and Cydric's sword had done terrible work.

"Why are they pulling back?" she asked, taking a seat on one of the larger rocks and swabbing the sweat from her face with a cloth. It smelled of the perfume she had been wearing at the ball in Middenheim, though she didn't recall what it was. As if in answer the Beastmen, as one, fell on their faces, braying in such profusion of sound that it appeared like the forrest itself was shaking. Four chaos warrior, clad in their black steel armor and baroque weaponry stalked across the field. Camilla crouched down and began to pile kindling onto an ancient bronze shield, monitoring the warriors progress with the occasional glance.

They seemed in no hurry and stopped just beyond effective pistol shot. Camilla thought she could have still hit them and idly wondered if Cydric knew how to fire a rifle and might teach her if they ever got out of this. One of the warriors looked disturbingly like the one whose hand she had blown off last night, but it was difficult to say, it was hard to focus on the warriors and their armor of shifting runes. The leader thrust his rune engraved blade into the rocky earth and walked several paces closer.

"We come to parley," he called in a surprisingly cultured voice, he had a strange accent which Camilla couldn't place.

"We are willing to accept your surrender!" Camilla shouted over the parapet impudently. Leaning down she sparked the kindling to life with the flint of her pistol blowing on the dry wood to get the flames spreading.

@POOHEAD189

[POOHEAD189]

Cyrdic stretched his neck, placing a hand on his shoulder as he did so. He freely dripped from smaller cuts, and had nearly lost a finger earlier, not to mention a head. But he'd butchered all of the gors and ungors that had attempted to make it through the main entryway. He couldn't thank the Gods enough that Camilla was still alive, as well. And fiery, he noted with a smile. Funnily enough, her Tilean accent made it seem like he was half a world away, serving in a Tilean siege.

Gildenhoof strode forward, his purple armor catching the light of the rising sun with an eye catching luminescence. He chuckled, his chosen warriors of Slaanesh just behind him. "Hello again, beloved," he purred, his eyes gazing into Camilla's as he licked what was left of his lips.

"You have something we want," the Chaos Champion said. He held out a runic gauntlet, opening his palm. "The vial the man had given you. Give it to me, and we shall spare your lives." His voice carried to them just as it had when they were on the wagon. Still as if he was speaking to them only a meter away.

The Champion spoke with a power that almost forced belief. So sure was the Chosen's speech that Cyrdic almost thought his words were natural laws of the universe. But the Ostlander shook his head and gritted his teeth, and he lifted himself up along the parapets with Camilla, his sword out. It howled within his mind, and the Chaos spawn seemed a bit perturbed by the weapon.

"You heard the lady," Cyrdic called. "Fuck off."

"I will feast on your flesh!" the Slaneeshi warrior cried, and as the Beastman began to roar, another sound echoed from within the trees. Cyrdic tensed for a moment, but realized it was no Dragon roar. No, it was a horn. A horn that sounded very much like an empire horn.

Grunting, roaring, and whimpering Beastmen suddenly looked around warily, and then cried out in horror and pain as heavily armored horsemen burst from the trees, lances lowered and helms down. They weren't Reiksguard, Cyrdic knew. In fact they had the sigil of a Templar order. A sister faction of the Blazing Sun, he recognized them as Knights of the Red Sun. Eccentric zealots, the lot of them. But empire men all of the same. And as if on cue, the sun broke from the treeline, and bathed Cyrdic and Camilla with much needed heat and sunlight. Cyrdic wasn't one to revel or celebrate too hard, but he could scarcely believe his eyes. "Come on," he said, and leaped down off the parapets to wade into the routing Beastmen, hacking at their flanks and legs as they tried to flee.

The Chosen of Chaos had disappeared, as if they never had been there. It seemed almost impossible, but there was no trace of them anywhere. Still, Cyrdic was tired enough to fall to his knees as the beasts ran away, rather than pursue.

He was subsequently hauled to his feet by two Knights, Cyrdic slick with the blood of mutants and Beastman. They got him to his feet with a none-too gentle yank, but he didn't care. They were allies at the moment, as far as he was concerned. The Knight astride his powerful warhorse held his sword pointed towards Camilla a moment longer, before roaring an order for his men to clear the area for any more monsters. He sheathed his unbloodied sword, and lifted his Sallet helmet to reveal a handsome, albeit aging face. His powerful beard had refined streaks of silver to accentuate the black of his hair. "Commander Gilderoy Egling of the Order of the Red Sun, at your service." he said, his voice cultured.

Cyrdic was pushed out into the open to stagger beside Camilla, his breath coming in rasps and his face still streaked with filth. "Sergeant Cyrdic." the man said, still catching his breath. "We were with a caravan of troops that were ransacked by Chaos spawn. Not just these Beastman either. There were demon champions with them." Gilderoy seeing Camilla tired and covered in gore, he turned to his men. "Get them up on the horses. We ride back for Castle Geweiht!" he called out, and soon shouts began to fill the air as the men who had circled the tree line fell back into formation. The Commander took Camilla himself, offering to haul her up upon his charger. "Fear not m'lady, we'll get you some food and water post haste." His next words were powerful. "We ride!"
@Penny

[Penny]

Camilla's mouth hung open in awe, her mind unable to comprehend the rapid reversal in fortune. She had been just about to dump the fire she had built on the old shield down onto the corpses to create a barrier but now the blaze burned untended. A charge of heavy cavalry was something she had heard of in sagas and poetry but not something she had ever beheld. None of those neatly tuned stanzas did it any justice. The sheer force of it was astonishing, armored warhorses shattering beastmen, steel shod hooves caving in rib cages, lances shattering in ruined chests.

It was so unlikely that for a moment she refused to believe it, thinking it must be some trick or illusion but then she was over the parapet with Cydric slashing halfheartedly at the fleeing beastmen. She looked skeptically up to the heavens and then remembered her earlier prayer.

"Thank you Ranald, I suppose this will do," she said with a faint ironic smile. A moment later the commander of the knights, Gilderoy as he called himself was hauling her up into the saddle. He sat her sidesaddle across his horse his own armored arm providing her support as he led his men into a canter back down the hill. Although there were still woods, they were much thinner, perhaps due to the shallower soil clinging to the edge of the escapement and the knights rode swiftly as though sure of their mounts footing. It was clear to Camilla that although the Sigmarites had routed the beastmen and their otherworldly allies, they didn't imagine that the foe was finished, this was a hit and fade.

"May I have the pleasure of your name My Lady?" Gilderoy inquired politely. The juxtaposition of such formal etiquette while galloping through the forest in fear for ones life made her giggle and Gilderoy seemed to sit straighter as though preening.

"I am Camilla De La Tratio, Marquessa De La Tratio I suppose," she told him trying to remember the honorary title that Count Todbringer had been talking about.

"Ah a Tilean by your speech, welcome to the Empire," he said jovially. Camilla blinked a little non-plused by the strange knight.

"And a thank you for your timely rescue Sir Knight, I am in your debt," she responded, unconsciously mimicking his formal manner. Gilderoy smiled and patted the neck of his armored steed fondly.

"It was my pleasure to be of assistance to her ladyship, your companion did well to keep the brutes so distracted, we might have had a harder time of it otherwise." There seemed a slight reserve in his voice when he spoke of 'her companion' but she chose to ignore it.

"How did you find us Sir Knight?" she asked curiously as they slowed to a trot, to her surprise they were entering a lightly wooded valley with signs of recent logging, a strange oasis in the middle of the mighty Drakwald. At the far end of the valley she saw a fortress, not a ruin but a castle. It seemed shabby as though recently repaired, but the twin tailed comet flew from one of its recently repaired towers.

"It was chance my Lady, we heard the shots and though to climb the wall of the valley to see whence they came, and there you were in the old watch tower." He shook his head as if it were some amazing thing that couldn't be comprehended. Camilla thought Gilderoy was being awfully caviler about the whole business, but then he was a knight and he had just rescued them. The castle loomed larger ahead of them and she saw several dozen outbuildings, occupied by busy looking men in clean smocks. Some were cutting lumber, others were dressing stone with chisels, all looked surprised to see the patrol returning. The castle loomed up ahead of them, brooding over the lightly wooded vale.

"Welcome Lady Trantio, to Savior's Rock." Gilderoy intoned formally, his voice echoing as the horses hooves boomed on the draw bridge.

@POOHEAD189

[POOHEAD189]

Cyrdic had been fighting, running, screaming, and now was following the cavalry with the archer scouts that had followed the flanks of the horsemen. Needless to say, he was on his knees when they made it inside the fort's gates. He swayed and nearly swooned, before pointing to the peasant woman to fetch him some water as well with a rough order. He had quite the barbaric look about him, and the woman skittered over to follow his request, much to the chagrin of Gilderoy, who eyed the woman murderously.

A man richly dressed with the fashionable clothes of a scribe strolled out of one of the back doors. He carried a quill and parchment with the same sense of duty as a man might wield a sword, his nose up in the air for all to gaze upon. "Herr Garmmenn" Commander Egling said, dismounting his horse. A ruddy faced young squire who looked normal in every way save him missing one arm, was already leading the charger away with his remaining hand. "Report. What has she found about the cargo?"

The man halted, and haughtily eyed a dripping Cyrdic, who was currently guzzling a bucket of water, soaking his broad chest as half of the bucket's contents spilled down his body. "Speak!" Gilbrecht ordered, drawing Vitus Garmmen's gaze back to his superior officer. "My Lord, it seems the...specimens are healthy, and the time is almost nigh. However, there are a few complications."

"Very good. Meet me in the great hall within the hour." he said, his hands behind his back and his armored chest out. "Yes, my Lord." the scribe said, giving a bow before making his way back inside. The Commander turned and waved to Cyrdic. "See to it this...Imperial soldier is given food and a bed." he ordered. Two servant men hustled out and motioned for Cyrdic to follow. Cyrdic shook his head as Gilderoy began to offer Camilla a proposition.

"Have you dined, marchioness?" he asked her. Cyrdic blinked, and thought for a moment. He hadn't been paying much attention earlier when Boris had said they were getting titles. He never thought he would get one, so it had slipped his mind they'd been provided until just then. At least Camilla deserved it, he thought.

"I'll stay with her," Cyrdic said. "Just allow me and her to bathe."

"What?" the Knight asked incredulously at his word choice. Cyrdic narrowed his eyes. "Well...just let me bathe, and her bathe, and I can grab some food, perhaps."

"You fought bravely soldier," Gilderoy said, diplomatically. "But Sergeants don't dine in the great hall. You'll receive fine food shortly."

Cyrdic left a lingering gaze on Camilla, and nodded. "I'll be in my room." he said aloud, and went to see about that bath.
@Penny

[Penny]

Camilla was whisked away so quickly she had almost no time to object. She wanted to stay with Cydric but it would have been a hard argument to make when they were both heading off to bathe. Still she was giddy with excitement at their unexpected escape and she would have preferred a few moments to share it with him.

The interior of Savior’s Rock gave much the same impression as it had from outside. The halls had been recently swept and scrubbed and crumbling masonry was being replaced. The scale of the effort was impressive for such an out of the way place and Camilla mentioned as much to Gilderoy.

“Ah yes, the castle belonged to the Order for many years but it was built during the time of Magnus the Pious, after the Great War you understand,” he explained as he led her up the spiraling stairs of one of the towers.

“I’m afraid I don’t herr… that is Sir Gilderoy,” she responded, picking her way up the uneven stone steps behind him. Gilderoy smiled back at her, the expression making his face both handsome and somehow boyish.

“Of course, of course. After the great war there was a period of a few hundred years where the great forests were much less infested than they are now. The armies of righteousness scoured the earth of the chaos filth and they dared not show themselves. Many areas of the Drakwald and the other great forests were settled and castles like this one were constructed.” Gilderoy struck the castle wall affectionately, clearly eager to show of his knowledge of such things.

“But they were abandoned when times grew darker?” Gilderoy’s face fell as she said it and she felt as though she had wounded him in some way.

“Tragically the successors of Magnus were not as pure as he and darkness was allowed to creep back into the world. Slowly these settlement had to be abandoned.” Camilla imagined peasants set upon by goblins and beastmen, at first vowing to defend their farms and then, slowly, losing hope and loading their few possession on wagons and heading for more civilized areas. It wasn’t a very cheerful image, she could agree with the knight there.

“Why reoccupy it now then?” she asked and suddenly, inexplicably, she felt like she had transgressed some boundry with her innocuous question. Gilderoy’s face closed for a moment before his enthusiasm returned, a trifle forced now.

“The order has come into possession of some … religious articles I suppose you would say, this is a proper home for them, so we are reestablishing the castle.” Camilla nodded as though it made some kind of sense to her, and hoped they were reaching the end of these eternal stairs.

“Are you a religious woman My Lady?” Gilderoy asked suddenly, “Do you worship Sigmar?” Camilla smiled pleasantly, her professional cortesan’s smile, while she tried to figure out the politic answer. For a perverse moment she was tempted to admit that she worshiped Ranald and that the trickster had rewarded her faith by sending Gilderoy and his knights to her but she quashed the impulse.

“In Tilea,” she said, artfully evading the question, “We revere Myrmida much more than you here in the Empire do.” Gilderoy looked a little dissapointed at that, as though he had hoped against hope that she was a devote Tilean Sigmarite.

“And your… companion, does he revere Sigmar?” he asked innocently. Conversations with Matis Von Koneinswald provided the correct answer to that one.

“Of course, he was praying to Sigmar when he defended me in that tower,” she said, repressing a sigh of relief as a wooden door came into view at last. How on earth had they gotten water up here to bathe?

“And Ulric too I presume, from his sword?” Gilderoy pressed. Camilla nodded, recalling another flash of converstaion.

“Yes he reveres Ulric, as did Sigmar I’m told.” Gilderoy nodded in a manner that didn’t necessarily convey agreement.

“Ulric is a deity to be honored, but Sigmar, my Lady is the God of Men.” He said it with an odd emphasis that seemed to suggest the statement conveyed a truth that ought to be self evident. She nodded somberly as if any of it made any sense to her. Camilla took a utilitarian attitude towards religion and prayed to any god whom she thought might be inclined to listen. Again Gilderoy looked a little dissapointed that she did not amplify the statement in some way. He lay a hand on the door and pushed it open.

“You will find water for bathing within madam, afterwards we would be honored to host you for dinner in the dining hall,” he said smoothly, leaning forward to kiss her hand in Altdorf fashion before turning and heading back down the stairs at a brisk clip, not quite a jog. Camilla shook her head at the strangeness of it all. She wished that Cydric were here and could tell her something of whatever the hell was going on.

The room was indeed the top level of the tower and it turned out that water was hauled up there by virtue of a pulley and bucket. A large copper vessel that she imagined was filled with oil or pitch during a siege was sitting in the center of the circular chamber. Currently it was filled with steaming water, a bed of coals still glowing beneath it keeping it warm. One wall of the turret had not yet been repaired and it afforded a spectacular view out over the valley. What had they been doing before she arrived, they hadn’t had time to set this up for her.

Dismissing Imperials as hopelessly eccentric she stripped out of her clothing and climbed into the copper tub. Allowing the water to soothe her saw muscles. Dirt and blood came away, staining the water slightly but she scrubbed herself clean and washed her hair before climbing out of the tub and rinsing herself a final time with a bucket of cool clear water that had been left nearby. The fresh, warm air dried her skin quickly and she luxuriated in the feeling for a few minutes. She tried to enjoy the view of the valley but the idea of black armored warriors stalking through the glades chilled her and she turned to her clothing. To her surprise there was a dress of simple white fabric laid out on a bench, not unlike something a Sister of Shyalla might wear if she were out of the cloister in some official capacity. How long had the knights had the thing? It smelled clean so she pulled it on over her head and brushed her hair with the bone handled brush she had liberated from the palace in Middenheim. There were no shoes so she pulled her leather boots on making the whole ensemble slightly comical. That accomplished she washed her other clothes in the increasingly dirty tub water and hung them up to dry on the stone window sill. Confronted with the choice of what to do with her weapons she reluctantly left them with her clothes, but not before tucking one of the elven daggers into her boot.

The dining hall was a small room dominated by a single large table. Gilderoy, several senior looking knights, and the scribe sat around the table. There was a venison roast on the table and simple but wholesome looking roast vegetables. Gilderoy beamed and stood grandly removing a chair for her and the buzz of conversation stilled.

“You look radiant My Lady,” he said gallantly. Camilla smiled and took the offered seat, wondering how anyone could look radiant in a white dress with brown leather boots. Gilderoy took a seat and began carving meet for her as another knight poured her a sweet smelling red wine. Conversation began to pick up again, though clearly the topic had changed from whatever they had been discussing before they arrived.

“I wonder Sir Gilderoy if I might ask you a favor?” she said sipping her wine. It was tart and sweet, maybe a little young but really quite good.

“Of course, My Dear, anything,” he responded with his easy smile. Camilla smiled on the inside, clearly Sir Gilderoy hadn’t read a great deal of Tilean literature. Promising a woman ‘anything’ was always a bad idea.

“Might my companion sergeant Becker dine with us? He saved me life today and I would feel churlish to miss the opportunity to thank him,” she responded, making the notion of ‘being perceived as churlish’ sound like the worst possible fate in the world.

@POOHEAD189

[POOHEAD189]

The Knights at the table raised eyebrows, and Sir Gilderoy's face grew so hard it looked carved from stone. He sipped his wine, eyeing Camilla for a moment before placing his cup down with an audible 'clink.' "I see you're a very determined woman when it comes to gratitude...very well," He waved a servant over, and spoke to him curtly. "See if the new soldier would like to dine with us these evening."

The servant knelt in acceptance, and then hurried off to fulfill the order. Moving through the stoned halls filled with tapestries and furnished with dusty armor, he made his way to the lower levels where the rooms were more spartan in nature, though still furnished and relatively comfortable. The servant had been the one to show Cyrdic his room, so he knew just where the soldier was. He knocked on the door.

"Herr Becker?" he called. But there was no answer. He tried several more times, and then deigned to look inside by cracking the door, before pushing it fully open. The soldier's shield and armor were in here, as was an empty, stained plate of food he had likewise consumed, but Cyrdic was not there. He went back to report to Gilderoy that he was nowhere to be found.

---

Cyrdic strode along the battlements of the fort, for nothing better than to get a feel of the defenses. His sword was at his hip, the carved and engraved hilt for all the soldiers to see. Along the walls were a varied group of men. Reikland and Ostland crossbowmen, with Talabheim longbowmen, and various riflemen from all over the empire. It seemed the Knights of the Red Sun were thorough in their recruitment.

The towering trees hid nothing, from all he could tell. Oh he imagined hundreds of beastmen and chaos spawn were out there. But even when he stopped along a parapet and gazed hard into the mist, he could see nothing but the fact that he missed hearing Camilla's exotic accent. He let out a low growl at the intrusive thought, swiftly moving along and heading down the stairs of the back wall. His bath had been relaxing, but it had been cold, and he supposed this was as good a time as any to rest a bit in his room, just missing the servant by minutes.

---

"A tragedy," Gilderoy replied mockingly, when he heard of Cyrdic's absence. He was obviously relieved, the Knight not used to sharing such fine food with a common soldier. He was also increasingly annoyed that this ravishing Tilean seemed to be more interested in that brute of a man. "Worry not, my dear. Our company is surely-"

"Oh," a voice said, causing all eyes to turn to the side door of the dining hall. Cyrdic's head poked in, having gotten lost back to his room. He spotted Camilla, and gave her a smile before giving a bow as he backed up. "My apologies, I must have gotten lost..."
@Penny

[Penny]

"How fortuitous," Gilderoy said his civil tone doing little to cloak the insincerity of his words. He dabbed at the corner of his mouth with a small wash cloth and took a drink of wine as though cleansing an unpleasant taste from his palette.

"Please sergeant join us," the knight said waving a hand vaguely at the table.

"Our beautiful new companion here felt that you deserved such an honor for your bravery today," Gilderoy went on, his voice making his own disagreement with that sentiment clear. There was a generalized murmur of approval by some of the other diners and on of the youngest knights even banged down is flagon and muttering 'Hear Hear!' or some other such enthusiastic comment. The young warrior was rewarded with an icy glance from his superior which quieted the fellow.

Camilla came to her feet a warm smile on her face, much relieved to have Cydric with the company. She lifted the pewter goblet she had been given into the air and the table quieted.

"And not the only bravery either," she declared, crimson lips parting in a sunny smile.

"Without you and your brave men, we would certainly have been over run," she continued, turning to smile down at Gilderoy.

"Thank you," she said and meant it. If the Sigmarites had not arrived when they did, the Chaos Warriors and their beastmen allies would certainly have stormed the tower.

"To Sir Gilderoy and his brave knights," she proposed and the assembled men murmured much more enthusiastic approval than they had for Cydric's arrival and everyone raised a glass to his lip and toasted. Camilla sat down and began to eat the venison roast that had been laid before her. It was plain fare but it beat trail rations and the gravy was surprisingly robust. Conversation, mostly about hunting, began to spring up again when the scribe, Garmmenn she thought his name was raised his voice. His high nasal accent cutting through the conversation like a violin bow being drawn across the strings inexpertly.

"Tell me Herr Becker, how is it that you and her ladyship," he nodded towards Camilla skeptically, "came to be the only survivors of an attack the slew so many brave soldiers?"

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Velabrass Blackhelm twisted his blade with slow stately precision. The tip of his wickedly sharp sword ground into the back of the whimpering beastmen like an augur, stripping away flesh in a single spiral. The beastman heaved at the iron chains that bound its arms and legs making an odd grunting sound. Velbrass' warriors had already removed the things tongue with burning hot pincers in order to prepare it for this ritual. It also helped keep the noise down. At last he felt the tip of the blade bite into the things spine and with agonizing slowness pushed it through the vertebrae, severing the beastmans back. That was the moment, when its legs went limp that the Changer revealed his augury, the instant the thing went from a single entity to two separate and equally dying halves.

The chaos champion watched the blood run out of the wound, mingling with the clear spinal fluid for a moment and nodded.

"The omens were favorable, the wall will be breached and the inhabitants shall flee in terror, begin preparations," the assembled Chaos warriors nodded and strode of to inform their bestial cohorts. All save Gildenhoof.

"Speak perfumed one," Velabrass sneered.

"Is it not better to use stealth than main force," the Slanneshi purred. Velabrass ground his needle pointed teeth. He didn't like followers of the Dark Prince, too preoccupied in their own pleasures to see the big picture, as bad as the Skull Lords frothing fanatics in some ways, but it would be foolish to discount one who had survived so long.

"Tell me of your plan," he reluctantly conceded.

@POOHEAD189

[POOHEAD189]

Cyrdic raised his goblets to every cheer, his and the Knights. Truthfully, despite his slight mistreatment, he was proud to fight alongside Empire men once more. There were more than a few lowborn men without the haughtiness of the Knights, and even some Knights seemed more down to earth than most. Some who had been on campaign with commoners were often less arrogant than others.

"I've fought the Northmen in Ostland and Nordland," Cyrdic replied, sipping his drink. He'd eaten earlier, but by Sigmar he was certainly ready for seconds. "I've seen their like before and know a few tricks on how to fight them. But honestly, it was luck that saved the day, and some fast thinking from Camilla."

"The Marchioness." Gilderoy stated challengingly. A few of his Knights who often performed on ceremony agreed. He wondered what they'd do if he stated that he had a noble title in the works. He supposed they simply wouldn't believe him and call him a charlatan, and honestly? He wouldn't blame them.

"Yes, the Marchioness and I managed to secure one of the wagons and speed off into the Drakwald, only to lose ourselves off of it miles away. Beastmen pursued, and we slew them by the river...we saw a Dragon, Sir Gilderoy. A great red one. I'm sorry we had not mentioned it before."

The disbelief of the Knights and servicemen were gone in a flash. Some of the lowborn seemed positively shocked at the news. In fact most in attendance did. But Gilderoy and his Knights seemed merely perturbed. "The Drakwald is filled with beasts. I'm certain such a creature is miles away now. Now enjoy your meals. I have some business to attend to." He said, giving Garmmenn a knowing look. The scribe sputtered a bit, and then hustled to follow as the gallant figure of Gilderoy disappeared.

Cyrdic and the soldiers began conversing of gossip within the empire, about one Elector count and other, and certain jokes Camilla had probably never heard of. Cyrdic laughed and grinned, and ate, and he attempted to bring Camilla into the conversation as much as he could so she didn't feel left out.

Once they were done, all in attendance were dismissed. Cyrdic offered to escort Camilla to her room, offering her an arm as if they were at the Court of Middenhiem once more. "This situation here is a bit odder than I'd like," he said, gazing at every hall as they passed. He stopped at the door, and after he opened it for her, he looked a bit shy. "I should guard you, tonight. In here, if you want...I really don't think its safe us being separated and..."

He sighed, and seemed more annoyed with himself than anything. Finally, he just spit it out. "I know it was only a few hours. But I missed you."
@Penny

[Penny]

Camilla stepped through the doorway. It was a large room with a stone arched window that looked out over the valley. Her clothes dried and neatly folded sat on the windowsill, as to her relief, did her weapons and pouches. A large four poster bed stood in the center of the room with an honest to Myrmida lace canopy. She turned gracefully, allowing her skirt to fan out, widening her smile into one of simple beautiful joy. She dipped her hips slightly as though in a reserved yet formal dance. Then she grabbed Cydric and yanked hard on his tunic, pulling him off balance and stumbling into the room before shoving her hip against the door, slamming it closed with a rattling crash as the latch dropped into place. She could never have managed it if Cydric had been resisting but he was too taken aback by the sudden move to react.

"Cydric, is there something in the water here about?" she asked tartly and he blinked in confusion.

"There must be some reason everyone's brains are suddenly turned to mush and syrup. I am not the Lady of Eschale up in her tower, needing brave knights to stand vigil," she went on, her tone slightly waspish. Bad enough that Gilderoy seemed to think he was living in a Brettonian epic poem without it rubbing off on Cydric. Crossing the room she hopped up onto the bed and bounced a few times experimentally.

"Because I'm not the Lady of Eschale," she repeated, thinking of the old Brettonian folk tale where the virginal madien waited in her tower for a knight to prove worthy of her. The thought made her smile and she transformed it into her professional come-hither smile, eyes smoldering with sensuality. Instinctively she stretched out and bought her shoulder up slightly as she had been trained to do to display herself. She considered it a partial success in the ridiculous white dress/leather boot ensemble.

"As in really really not," she explained then let the contrived seductress act bleed away as easily as she had summoned it. Sighing she patted the bed indicating that Cydric should sit and when he did she leaned her head on his shoulder for a moment.

"Sorry," she said, thinking that his day had been as tough as hers and she shouldn't take it out on him.

"I'm not made of glass is all and there is a lot here that is unsettling." She gave him the brief version of her earlier conversation with Gilderoy, his story about how they had reoccupied the castle for the sake of some 'you might say religious artefacts' and the odd way he had declared Sigmar to be the God of Men. She even tried to use a Gilderoy accent to do so, but was only partially successful.

@POOHEAD189