TyrantSabre pulls the lever, and the gears beneath the earth begin once again to rumble and churn, but before the bridge has time to slam back down...



Sejs Cube emerges from the trench with mighty, purposeful strides, holding her crossbow aloft with what was later said to be a possessed glint in her eye. She fires, striking one of the hideous fish-beasts square in the torso - it gurgles for breath, vomiting up its guts, stumbling forward even as she reloads and takes aim again. This time, the quarrel sails through the visor of a greenskin, tearing through its cheek as their panicked shrieks ring out through the swamp - but the damage is not lethal, and serves only to fuel their boiling hatred.



As another of the monster riders charges Sejs Cube, she fires at the quickly-approaching fish-creature, a bolt stabbing cruelly through its leg with a crack of bone. Sejs leaps back as the rider on top attempts to strike out with his mace, then fumbles, as if the concentration that so drove her had faltered for a moment. She takes a moment to reload, but the bridge does not come down. There is no rescue. Not yet.



She fires again at one of the oncoming monsters - her bolt flies true, piercing its middle, causing it to slam into the ground and slide uselessly across the mud, a twitching wreck. Its rider attempts to move it, but only the beast's head retains control, lollings its tongue this way and that.



But despite her imminent success, Sejs Cube is outnumbered, and a greenskin gets close enough through her fire to land a hit - it shatters her hand and she yells in pain, though keeps a firm grip on her crossbow with the other. She is well-armoured otherwise, and the goblin's subsequent flail-blows do little more than bruise her where they land, until a sharp strike to the thigh fractures her bone. The other leg soon follows.



By the time the drawbridge drops, Sejs Cube is in bad shape - she has sustained many injuries, and struggles to breathe, too busy choking on her own blood to reload her crossbow with her last remaining useful hand.



Enzer and Willie Tomg are the first to charge into the fray. Enzer tears into one of the fish-monsters with her axe, taking off its leg before fatally cleaving open its midsection. Its rider struggles to dismount, and is attacked with equal fervor, blood spraying whenever Enzer's axe comes down to strike.

Willie, meanwhile, attempts to assist Sejs Cube, coming up behind her attacker and delivering a hearty blow with his axe - but the steel blade fails to penetrate the goblin's chain leggings. Sejs Cube, conscious but in a daze, feebly raises her arm to protect herself, but the assault is continued, crushing her limbs and body blow by blow.



Finally, mercy, for Willie proudly severs the goblin's head with his second swipe - it sails into the moat in a bloody arc, and Sejs Cube is spared further torment, although it may already be too late. Enzer faces two greenskins, one of whom sits atop a still-living mount - although this mount is the great toad-beast that lies paralysed in the mud, one of Sejs Cube's arrows lodged brutally in its spine. Enzer's axe-strokes are masterful and artistic, moving from parry to slash in perfect, fluid motion. More blood sprays from goblin arteries each second she remains in combat. Two are slain in the blink of an eye, and the third barely has time to call for reinforcements before Enzer's axe drops directly down onto his head, penetrating his helm and cleaving his skull in two.

Sejs Cube's peace was not for long, however, as another mounted goblin approaches her from the side and continues the beating. Willie attempts to help again, but is turned upon, and takes a crack to the arm before he has time to raise his shield. He is caught off-guard, and his bone armour is not strong enough to fully protect him from harm - he suffers multiple impacts, though none of them immediately life-threatening. He passes out as his leg is snapped by a mace-blow, though Apocadall, Minty and Redeye Flight stand their guard around him, weapons raised. Except for Minty, who holds his shield threateningly.



Enzer, nimby, Cythereal and TehKeen are oblivious, continuing to beat on the paralysed toad-monster while the other greenskins hold back out of fear. Apocadall lands a debilitating hit on the goblin that threatens Willie and Sejs Cube, his hammer driving through the invader's ribcage and tearing into its heart. The goblin lets loose a bellow of unfettered, primal fury, only to be interrupted by another hammer-strike to the shoulder. But it is too late:



Sejs Cube's internal injuries were too severe. Willie lies unconscious and injured, but not fatally, while Atomikus's middle toe has been shattered by an errant mace swing. The pain, he later described, was excruciating. The goblin spews vomit uncontrollably as it is surrounded and beaten to a pulp, bleeding out just as the toad-beast succumbs to TehKeen's spear.



Their morale crushed, the greenskins scatter. A one-armed deserter attempts to flee, but is too slow to outrun Enzer, who catches up in the wake of his bloody trail and cleaves him in two. The rest fall back, and while they do not flee outright, they disappear beyond the hill to the east and, it seems, dare not risk an outright attack again.

Willie attempts to struggle to his feet, and stumbles over to the bridge in a trail of his own vomit, but ultimately requires help in reaching the hospital. Once he and Atomikus are both inside, I order the drawbridge closed once more - the moat trench is now secure, and we are Safe so long as we do not contrive to leave the comfort of our own walls again. Greenskins continue to prowl the swamp, but for now, the battle is won.

markus_cz wrote :-

Charlie72 wrote :-