Summer 989 - Barbax Rides Out

My dearest Cedders,

It is with heavy heart and belly that I have to tell you that my attempts to join you have been thwarted by the Treyine army. The blighters have invaded Hykar. I could not believe the cheek of them when I found out. Anyway, I led my army out to meet them and proceeded to surround them just as the Hykari Battle Book tells us to. They advanced to meet us, as is only proper, while my ponygirls were riding around onto their flank.


So, anyway, then they suddenly stopped and planted stakes and other impedimenta in front of their lines. Dashed if I know what they were doing but it certainly upset the ponies. Worse yet, they had a wizard, who summoned a demon that spooked the ponies. I mean, what kind of an idiot comes to a battle and spooks the ponies? How are you going to catch them again afterwards? And what is the point of going to war if you cannot win some ponies to bring home? Idiots.


Worse yet, they summoned two of the things. Well, that set the girls right on edge and next thing we knew a whole bunch of them were bolting from the field of battle.


I decided that I should have to lead the charge home myself, despite my condition. Well, those Ekran knights are no gentlemen. That is all I shall say. The girls were positively mortified by the treatment they received. Worse yet, most of them had decided to head for home.


I decided I needed to make a break for it and charged at some of the Treyine footsloggers but that did not work as I expected. Next thing I knew my pony was bolting for home and me unable to do a thing about it. Ridiculous. These Treyine wallahs really should learn how to fight a battle properly.


So, this letter finds me currently a bit indisposed. I know you will be concerned, but you need not worry. I and my little treasure are fine but you will have to wait a little while longer before we can meet again. I am impatient for that moment and I know you must feel the same.


As a token of my esteem for you, I am sending these six ponies to you with the messenger. She will carry any message you care to send back to me. Please write. You have not responded to any of my previous posts and I fear for you.

SWALK,
Barbax Gutripper

The Treyine juggernaut once more pounded one of its opponents so badly that they had to submit. Hykar is now at peace with Treyine and must provide them with an allied contingent. Treyine lost no troops while Hykar permanently lost six stands of light cavalry. Ouch!

Summer 989 - Cedric Takes Charge

Dear Griselda,

Hopefully I should be on my way home soon. We met up with the Brethren Army and they seem to be having a few problems. General Miles Kristi has died, so when the Mirish came across us I had to take command. You would have loved it they had elephants and everything.


We met at the boundary of Hergest Ridge and the plain outside Levin-on-the-Jett. I must admit that this whole thing of being in charge of an army, seemed a little daunting. Still, I put the years of tactical training my father had given me into practice, and we charged to meet the enemy.

At first things seemed to be going badly, with, our allies, the Goblin wolf riders turning tail and fleeing the battle, never trust a Goblin, unless he’s dead. The spearmen were having difficulties in the centre against the elephants. Even my fellow brother Knights were forced to leave the field.

Eventually I managed to break through and attack their general, who turned tail and fled the field taking a lot of his men with him. This just left a little mopping up for us to do. Unfortunately the scouts have said the Treyine army is now heading this way.

Hope things are well at home and I’m sure I will quickly be able to sort out the Hykar Lawyer.

This game saw Brother Cedric pounding the heck out of the Mirish army. The rest of his troops were not particularly spectacular in their performance, but Cedric was awesome. I suspect it is because I allowed Steve to use a 28mm figure to represent Cedric rather than the more proper 6mm figure that it should have been.

Summer 989 - Campaign Update

Following the brutal attack on their provinces in the Spring, Treyine launches a retaliatory attack against the Hykar. Their general, Lord De La Warre, has returned to the army following his grievous injuries of last year and has decided to focus there rather than split his forces as a result of intelligence received from Mirish this season.

The Mirish, flushed by the success of their campaign versus the Goblins, look for other targets and fasten upon the former Border Kingdom territory held by the Brethren. Clearly the Treyine generals are keen to see how this attack fares first before committing their own troops to the area. Fortunately for the Brethren, Brother Cedric has bravely stepped up to the mark and will lead their army in lieu of Father Miles Kristi, who died in the Spring of this year.

There is also a strong 'hawk' contingent among the Seniir. The leading families are almost equal in power but the Flavians outnumber the Claudians slightly, giving them the edge in most disputes. Unfortunately for the Flavian hawks the senate vote is sufficiently divided to keep the Seniir army within their borders this time around. Perhaps the Flavians will be able to make a few offers to the other senate members that they cannot refuse by the Autumn.



The current status of all armies is now listed on the Campaign Army Lists page.

Spring 989 - Elf Risks

There was a man called Ragnar, the son of Ketil, son of Grim, the son of Ragnar, the son of Einar. Ragnar travelled north through the Border Kingdoms, which lay far to the east of Mirholme, in search of the villagers of Alwinton, whom he had sworn to protect. Ragnar was a great warrior ...

"Black Moon Elves," spat Ulf, as he espied an enemy threat approaching. The northern mountains of the former Border Kingdoms were an unpleasant place to be at the best of times but, with the nation overrun by Goblins it had got worse. Outlaws and followers of the Dark Moon were rife everywhere. The ruined farmhouse ahead of them proved this. Its former owners were nowhere to be seen. Only the Elves occupied the area now.
"There are not many of them," announced Ragnar, "Gunnvora, Hildigunn, Redshirt and Drogo, come with me. Let us try these Elves and see if they can face the arrow storm as well as we can. The rest of you stay with the Goblin and make sure he does not escape. We need him as a guide and cannot risk him in this fight."

Ragnar and his band sneaked up to the edge of the farm buildings. Only a single Elf was on guard and he appeared to be unaware of their approach.

After a quick reorganisation, Hildigunn and Grim stepped out from behind the cottage and loosed arrows at the lone Elf sentry. He fell immediately with two arrows through his heart. As they did so, Ragnar burst through the cottage door and came face to face with a big mean Elf. He immediately charged and a desperate fight ensued. The Elf was nearly as good as Ragnar, and Ragnar's followers, though well meaning, kept getting in the way.

All too soon, Gunnvora lay dying on the floor, her body destroyed by the Elf's glaive. Drogo lay near her, wounded but breathing still. Ragnar bellowed his rage and drove the Elf before him, out of the cottage. Now the Elf was on the defensive, bleeding from wounds that would have killed a lesser Elf. Grim and Hildigunn sought to help, but Ragnar told them to search the other cottages instead. He was afraid that they would go the way of Gunnvora.

Soon the Elf was exhausted. Ragnar had driven it back to the stream and its blows were getting weaker. Reversing his axe he pounded the hammer head against the Elf's skull and it collapsed into the water, still breathing. Quickly Ragnar bound it as a should went up from the stable. A wild Elf had been hiding there but Hildigunn and Grim demonstrated their archery skills once more. As the Elf fled they feathered its back with arrows, an ignominious end to a life poorly led.

While the others were spitting the Elf, Ragnar entered a small hovel across the stream, where the sentry had been. Another of the Elven brethren was within. With a roar of rage Ragnar raced to rend the reiver and redden his blade once more. A furious fight ensued that first saw Ragnar driven back and then the Elf. It was close fought as Ragnar was pushed back out of the door and then forced his way back in.

Soon the Elf was tiring though, while Ragnar's steel thews were still strong. He drove the Elf backwards once more into the wall of the hovel. Dust showered from the beams at the force of the impact. Then, stepping back, he raised his axe over his shoulder and drove it down through the Elf's body, cleaving it from shoulder to hip. The Elf lay dead on the floor as Hildigunn and Grim ran to aid Ragnar.

With the Elves dead or captured, the group were able to revive Drogo using the last of Gunnvora's potions of healing. She would not be making any more of those. With the battle won, they searched the hovels and cottages. In the cellar of one cottage a lone youth hid. He told them the tale of this farmstead, a not uncommon tale as it was. The Goblins had fallen on the area and taken all into slavery or eaten them as was their wont. The youth, Guillaume by name, had survived by snaring game and hunting with his sling, but then the Elves came and he had to hide. They had remained there several days and he had hidden all that time, until Ragnar rescued him. In gratitude he swore to join Ragnar's band and aid him in his quest to free the people of Alwinton. Perhaps in doing so he might also find his own family.

I chose to use only part of Ragnar's band for this encounter because I do not have enough Dark Elf figures to face the whole band. This proved unfortunate for Gunnvora, the group's healer. The fights were tough, especially against the Big Mean Elf (Rep 6 Big Bad, AC4, H4, CV9). His hardiness meant that he shrugged off most blows, while still being able to kill Gunnvora OD and put Drogo OOF. Rather than kill him though, Ragnar has taken him hostage. I hope to develop this side of things as a later scenario. You can find details of Ragnar's band HERE. In WHAA you can recruit once per month instead of doing an encounter, but we are playing turns of three months (one season) to match the WH campaign. Therefore we allow recruiting once per season. Thus, Ragnar was able to recruit a new band member. I rolled for him on the Border Kingdoms table and assumed that he was the last surviving member of this farmstead.

Spring 989 - The Battle of Hamnorthtoun

After rather too long we finally got around to the next campaign battle. It is Spring 989 and the Mirish army has invaded the Goblin-held territories that were once the Border Kingdom. Near the ruined town of Hamnorthtoun, the two armies meet up. The Goblins have adopted a defensive position on a large hill to the north and the Mirish army must drive them from it. A large but sparse wood occupies the Mirish left flank.


Seeing the enemy ahead of them, and being brave and dashing cavalry types, the Mirish army advanced quickly on its right flank. Meanwhile, on the left flank the skirmishers headed for the cover of the wood.


As the Mirish cavalry approached, the Goblins decided to descend from their hilltop eyrie and try to catch the cavalry on the hop. The Goblin hero in his chariot, with a wolfrider escort seemed to be trying to ride past the Mirish army and caught the eye of a passing elephant or two. Meanwhile the skirmishers danced around each other to no great effect.


With the Goblins in range, the Mirish cataphracts and clibanarii (that's cavalry to you and me) charged and drove off some of the Goblins without even breaking into a sweat. The elephants were now facing the enemy and the great Goblin hero could be heard yelling for ale as he turned his chariot and prepared to deal with the Mirish army. Meanwhile the skirmishers danced around each other to no great effect.


The Mirish cavalry turned around and prepared to charge the Goblin infantry again. Mughrant's wolfrider escort had been driven off by the elephants and he had turned his attention to the Mirish light cavalry. Meanwhile the skirmishers danced around each other to no great effect.


And so the Goblin line disintegrated and was destroyed piecemeal. The Goblin skirmishers finally decided to join the fray in the centre. But it was really too late.


In a last ditch attempt to salvage something from this fracas, the Goblin general girded his loins and prepared to charge. The skirmishers were moving into position to deal with the elephantine nuisance in the centre and Mughrant had seen the writing on the wall. He kept his chariot moving away from the battlefield.


Naturally I got too excited to photograph the final turn. Needless to say, the photograph would only have had a very small number of Goblins on it. The Goblin general charged the Mirish general and drove him back. Following up he attacked again, screaming fearsome cries as he cleaved his way towards the Mirish general. Then fate struck. Whether he tripped over a root, or just stepped in someone, we shall never know now. As he stumbled a Mirish clibanarius drove his spear through the general's body. The Goblin standard fell and soon the whole Goblin army was in rout. For the loss of just a few clibanarii, the Mirish army had utterly routed the Goblin horde. The Border Kingdoms were now back under human control.

This will be one of our last WH battles. We shall be upgrading to Rally Round the King at the end of this campaign year. The battle saw the Goblin army routed and their national morale utterly destroyed. The Goblins have sought peace. As part of that they will now supply a contingent to the Mirish army for the next six years.

Rally Round the King

Rally Round the King has now been released. This is an updated and refined version of the Warrior Heroes rules that we use for our massed battles and very fine it looks too upon a first read through. I must admit to having had some input into this iteration of the rules, so I may well be a little biased, but I am thrilled to see the rules back in print and brought into line with the newer sets from TwoHourWargames.

So, what does this mean for our campaign? Well, there are subtle differences between the two rules sets, and the army lists in the new version have been altered slightly, mostly by the addition of the Undisciplined ability and allowances that need to be made for that. Since we plan to use these rules largely as written, including the new army lists, we shall finish the current campaign year using Warrior Heroes and then transfer over to the new rules in the Winter refit phase. This should ensure a seamless transition between the two, not that there are huge differences really. I am looking forward to playing using the updated rules.

House Rules 3 - Free Will

Stars no longer get to choose their results on the Charge test. This is to counter the effect we have noticed that high Rep Stars can rout huge numbers of enemy without ever having to fight.

Spring 989 - The Battle of Three Rivers Crossing

Brother Cedric was fleeing before the Treyine army when he saw the Brethren army approaching. He was saved. But wait, what was that? The thunder of thousands of pony-sized hooves were approaching from the other direction. That looked like Barbax Gutripper's troops. Brother Cedric wondered if he would be able to reach the Brethren army before the Hykari reached him. Their ponies were fast and might well get there first. Suddenly he heard a shout and saw the advancing banner of Sir Alan Fitzhugh.


"Hold, knave," yelled the Treyine knight, " Are you such a coward as would refuse my challenge."
With his retinue around him, Sir Alan couched his lance and charged. As Sir Alan and his retinue tore across the emerald sward, Brother Cedric remembered his duty and:

Brave Brother Cedric ran away.
Bravely ran away, away!
When danger reared its ugly head,
He bravely turned his tail and fled.
Yes, brave Brother Cedric turned about
And gallantly he chickened out.
Bravely taking to his feet
He beat a very brave retreat,
Bravest of the brave, Brother Cedric!

Or maybe it was the sight of Barbax forming her girls on their ponies into neat columns and rushing them across the bridge in a bid to apprehend him that spurred him on his way.


With Brother Cedric disappearing as fast as he could, the heart seemed to go out of the Brethren force. As the Brother Knights and Sergeants charged towards the Treyine forces, the Treyine archers in a well-disciplined move swiftly hammered stakes into the ground before them, a move designed to disrupt the charging knights. At the same time Dennis Moore, who had pursued Brother Cedric summoned a demon right in the path of the knights.


Their horses were spooked and they retired quickly to regroup. The other lance of Brother Knights had passed the demon and engaged the Treyine archers. They fared little better and were driven off but not before many Treyine archers lay dead. In their retreat, a single arrow found its mark and the Brethren general fell to the ground mortally wounded. The Brethren soldiery stood firm. They knew their duty, but the loss of the general was too much and their efforts were disorganised. Soon they were surrounded by yelling girls on ponies and they had to retreat or suffer a fate worse than death.



Meanwhile, on the Treyine right flank the White Company had advanced together with a small contingent of archers. They faced a holding force of girlish cavalry. The archers were confident that their superior range would ensure victory and the knights of the White Company knew that their mounts and armour were superior to those of the Hykari warmaidens. Their confidence was well-founded. Soon ponies and girls were fleeing the field.


The other ponygirls regrouped and considered the situation. With the Treyine archers forted up behind their stakes, a frontal assault would be suicidal. Barbax decided that her search for Brother Cedric was more important. She had gifts of ponies for him that he must not refuse! She led her remaining troops from the field in good order.

Will Barbax get her man? Can Brother Cedric reach safety in time? Tune in later to find out.

Losses
Brethren
General died
1 Brother Knights
1 Heavy Spears
1 Crossbows
1 Peasant Archers

Hykar
4 Cavalry

Treyine
1 Archers

This battle was an experiment that turned out to be a bit of a curate's egg. We tried making it a three-way game using the solo rules, which worked well enough, but the dice led to decisions that disadvantaged Steve's Brethren force too much. They were justifiable within the campaign context but that did not make it any better and they made it rather easy for the Treyine to win. It also meant that the game went on too long and we had to call it before the ultimate conclusion, which was a shame. Still, it has been a while since we played Warrior Heroes and it was good to get back to it. We are now looking forward to the next game, which will feature the Goblins taking on the Mirish army. That should be fun. As a consequence of this game, Steve has decided to try something called 'tactics'. I'm really not sure what he means by that though.

Spring 989 - Campaign Update

Spring has returned to the land, and with it has come the campaigning season once more. Ekra is enduring an enforced peace and has no valid targets, so it will sit and recover for this year. They must still send aid to Treyine though. Tropilium is in the same position as Ekra and must also help Treyine out.

With events snowballing towards cataclysm, heroes are emerging from the masses to side with their people. The following nations have found heroes to represent them:
Ekra - Sir Gervaise de Fe
Treyine - Sir Alaric Fitzhugh
Zog-Rot - Mughrant

Who has attacked whom?
Hykar has invaded Treyine
The Brethren have attacked Treyine
Mirish has invaded Zog-Rot

It would appear that Barbax Gutripper has heard of Brother Cedric's exploits and is rushing to meet him, and she has taken her army. Clearly she is intent on stopping the pursuing Treyine soldiery from capturing her next husband! In a similar vein, the Brethren have mobilised with a view to meeting Brother Cedric and taking custody of the Spear of St Lindorf. Who knows why the Mirish have invaded Zog-Rot though?

The situation at the start of Spring 989


Armies at the start of Spring 989
Ekra
Sir Gervaise de Fe (Hero, CV7, AC8, Mtd Melee, ET, Terror, Shock, WR3)
3 Knights
2 Infantry
2 Crossbows
The Black Company

Hykar
1 Noble Cavalry
19 Cavalry

Mirish
4 Clibinarii
1 Cataphracts
1 Chionite Cavalry
2 Elephants
1 Levies
3 Skirmishers

Seniira
3 Veterans
3 Infantry
3 Auxiliaries
1 Skirmishers

The Rock (Brethren)
2 Brother Knights
1 Brother Sergeants
3 Heavy Spears
1 Peasant Foot
3 Crossbows
1 Peasant Archers
1 Goblin Wolf Riders

Treyine
Sir Geoffrey Chambers (general until Lord De La Warre returns in Summer 989)
Sir Alaric Fitzhugh
1 Foot Knights
3 Infantry
7 Archers
The White Company
1 Level 1 Mage
1 Level 2 Mage
1 Ekran Knights
1 Tropilium Auxiliary Archers

Tropilium
4 Equites
4 Legionaries
1 Auxiliaries (Mixed)
1 Auxiliary Archers
2 Archers
1 Slingers
1 Artillery

Zog-Rot (Goblins)
Mughrant (CV 7, AC 6, Mtd Melee, ET, Terror, Shock, WR3)
3 Archers
6 Goblins
1 Wolf Riders
1 Black Moon Goblins

Winter 988 - Wandering in the Wilderness

The wind howled across the wasteland that was once the Border Kingdoms. Entire villages lay in ruins, pillaged and burnt by the invading armies. Among them lay Alwinton, Ragnar's adoptive home. The blackened ruins were now dusted in snow, a starkly contrasting testament to the life that once populated the village. The tracks leading from the village had proved that some of the villagers still lived as captives of the goblins. Ragnar thought bleakly on this as the goblin that styled himself King Rech led Ragnar's group onward. It seemed that the goblins were taking the villagers back to a base far into Zog-Rot itself for they had not stopped at any of the goblin villages along the way. Their purpose was clear to Ragnar for he knew that the goblin gods demanded sacrifices and dined on still beating hearts. He only hoped that he would get there in time.

Ragnar had no encounter this season.

Winter 988 - The Further Misadventures of Brother Cedric

The Scene: St Lindorf's Square, an island of serenity in the middle of the bustling city of Little Tutting in the heart of Treyine.

The Time: Early morning, just before dawn.

Brother Cedric approaches the Church of St Lindorf, having fought his way past the guards on one of the bridges over the canal that rings St Lindorf's Square. His objective is to enter the church and recover The Spear of St Lindorf. This sacred relic is valued by all followers of the Red Sun and he has been charged with returning it to the Grand Prior of the Brethren.

For the prelude to this misadventure, read THIS POST. All terrain featured in this report is from Worldworks Games. You can see more photos of this terrain set-up in my Photobucket Album.

The merry band cross onto St Lindorf's Square


Dear Griselda,

It is with some sorrow and yet pride as well, that I have to tell you of the deaths of Brothers Konrad and Siegfried. Both have gone to be at His side and prepare for the coming battle. Brother Konrad will be sadly missed, especially by many of fatherless children, a lot of whom came to look on him as a well almost father figure. His ministrations with the young mothers, would have put many a saint to shame, often carrying on well into the night and the next morning.

Siegfried with his funny way of slurring his words and only drinking from his own canteen, with it’s special mix of herbs. His healing skills were legendary, all he seemed to have to do was breath on you and the pain ebbed away.

I feel honoured to have served Himself with them.

I had best tell you of the events that lead to this sad event. Leaving the injured Brother Klaus to hold the horses, we quickly made our way to the cathedral entrance. Brothers Konrad and Leelove with Herman the Spearman and Henning broke into the side through a window, well several windows to be precise. They made their way towards the altar. The remainder of our band approached the main entrance, causing the guards to flee in terror.

Breaking in


As the other party reached the altar several archers on the balcony open fire injuring Henning and causing the others to take cover. We, meanwhile, rushed up the stairs and slew the vile archers. After chasing away a second group of guards we joined the others in the crypt. It was at this point we realised, none of us had bought a guide book, in the shop, giving the location of the Spear.

Dealing with those pesky archers


We carried on searching the crypt, Brother Konrad narrowly avoiding one trap, but at the second trap he fell onto the spikes below. We knew we had to carry on in his memory.

The Crypt


We entered the crypt itself and found it full of Treyine soldiers, by this point my blood was up and after a few half hearted bowshots, they fled. After searching the crypt, we continued into another room with a large hole in the middle. As the others searched the room I watched the hole, where upon a snake like creature appeared, took one look at us and disappeared, never to be seen again.

The Undercrypt


Eventually we went down the hole and arrived in a room, which while it contained the Spear of St. Lindorf also contained rather a lot of Treyine soldiers and a stout man with a bald head. He radiated the words wizard or wargamer.

Under the Undercrypt


So, we meet at last, Brother Cedric


Thinking a change of tactics were in order we charged straight at them. The other were driven back, but I fought my way towards the wizard. The others came back at them, but soon Brother Siegfried had fallen mortally wounded and Brother Leelove was unconscious. We fought on valiantly particularly young Herman, who slew an undead the wizard had summoned. Just as we were gaining the upper hand and I had gained the dais, the wizard disappeared in a puff of invisible paisley smoke.

We quickly dispatched the remaining guards and carrying the Spear and our fallen headed towards Klaus and the horses. We are now rushing back to the Borders to return the Spear of St. Lindorf to its rightful place.

Hoping all is well at home.
Brother Cedric

PS Has Barbax stopped sending me horses yet?

Yet another great game with tragedy and triumph. The only problem we are finding now with WHAA is that a Rep7 star has it too easy. Groups of enemy troops will almost always rout as soon as he charges at them, unless they are led by a similarly high Rep star too. Still, we are considering a variety of ways around that. In this scenario, the villain was a Rep7 Wizard with the Star ability, so that counteracted Brother Cedric in the final encounter, until the wizard teleported away and left his minions to die. Also, the archers on the balcony were a useful tactic for this. In this case, Cedric could not charge them immediately, because they were out of reach, so they were able to loose a few arrows first.

Coming Soon: Brother Cedric Rides Again

Treyine soldiers stand guard, unaware that Brother Cedric has dispatched their comrades and is heading their way. Can he fight his way past them and into the crypts below where the Spear of St Lindorf rests? And who is the mysterious Drogo de Beauvriere in reality?

Tune in this time next week to find out.

Winter 988 - Chaaaarrrrggggeeee!!!!!

Once more Brother Cedric chases the Spear of Lindorf. He is close to his objective now. We rolled that he had found it but must first fight a pitched battle before conducting a raid to retrieve it. I shall let him tell it in his own inimitable words. Click the pictures for larger versions of the images.

The terrain is from various WWG sets: Streets of Himmelveil, Himmelveil Canals, Castleworks Ultimate, Villageworks, Cathedrae Noctis and Requiem. Some of the buildings are items I picked up elsewhere but cannot remember.

Dear Griselda,

I’m sure this is all a mistranslation. The gift of a dozen horses, left with the Lodge Master by the Hykar delegation, must have been to celebrate Barbax’s soon to be born child. Undoubtably she has sent such gifts out to many people. Fancy thinking I could be the father. Still the hierarchy of the Faith seem very happy with our good relations with the Hykar.

The Church of Saint Lindorf in Jellsway.

I’ve finally arrived in Jellsway. The journey was fairly uneventful, with Sir Ashby along. After spending a couple of days scouting around the cathedral, or ‘the seeing of sites’ as Sir Ashby called it. We decided the weakest point, of the cathedral’s defences, was the rear. To the right of the road was a guard house, which would be our main worry. To the left a recent building called ‘Ye Newe Gifte Shoppe’. The commercialisation of religion is quite sickening in the Treyine Empire and most especially in the capital. I’ve enclosed a snowglobe of the cathedral for you, containing genuine ashes from Saint Vesta, hopefully it survived the journey.

Brother Cedric deploys his troops.

We finally decided on the night, and after Brother Siegfried slipped Sir Ashby a sleeping draught, we headed towards the cathedral and the Spear of St. Lindorf. Our attack would be two pronged. Brothers Konrad, Siegfried, Klaus and I would head straight down the road on horseback. While Brothers Wilfred and Leelove, together with Herman and Henning would approach from the left side, on foot.

Guards stumble bleary-eyed and half-dressed (I did not have time to finish them before the game) from the guardhouse, while Brother Cedric demonstrates all the tactical acuity of a sledgehammer cracking a nut.

Well we could probably have timed it better, as we hit at the same time as the guard changed. They came out into the street en masse, but fled as we thundered towards them, singing ‘See the holy angels burn the sinner’s eyes’. After this Brothers Siegfried and Klaus charged the remaining soldiers at the guardhouse, while Brother Konrad and I charged the ones at the bridge.

The battle near Ye Newe Gifte Shoppe (a waystation for pilgrims to the Church of Saint Lindorf, where they may purify themselves before entering his holy shrine).

Henning, meanwhile, was firing at some archers near Ye Newe Gifte Shoppe. He kept them occupied until Brothers Wilfred and Leelove were in a position to charge them. They soon had one down and the others running for their lives.

Brother Klaus took a wicked blow to the head and tumbled from his horse, while Brother Siegfried made a valiant stand. We soon routed the soldiers on the bridge, including the vicious looking fellow in the middle who soon turned tail and ran. A blow finally knocked Brother Siegfried from his mount. I leapt from my horse to rush to his aid, while Brother Konrad headed towards two archers fleeing the other battle.

Snipers! (In the windows if you look closely)

We soon had the situation in control and the enemy fled. Brother Klaus was still dazed and so we left him in charge of the horses ready for our escape. Brother Siegfried soon roused after we gave him some of his healing potion, although his comments about it tasting like horse urine could only be blamed upon himself.

We now steel ourselves for the final push towards the cathedral and the spear. Hopefully I shall be returning to Harbottle soon.

Brother Cedric and companions steeling themselves:

Regards
Brother Cedric

To be continued ...

So, the first part went well for Brother Cedric, possibly better than the paternity suit that will follow just as soon as I get some suitable 28mm Hykari. Let's see how the second part goes. I had better get the interior of the church finished now. I must admit that I thought Brother Cedric would have a hard time with this game, but his high Rep and star status combined with low rolls for the Treyine troops saw them routing in the face of his charges. Attacking at night helped too, even though there were street lights around the town. The reduced visibility meant that the archers could not shoot before Cedric charged, which was a major advantage.