Waking Dead

Update: The table link was out of date, so I’ve now updated the link with the correct file.

Beastmen vs. Skaven

The Skaven were spread out over a wide area searching for warpstone shards. Only four remained near the rallying point, a large statue of a man-breeder. Suddenly a loud blast from a Beastman horn startled the ratmen. “We must flee!” squealed Sher the Nimble, “there are many, many beasts, we must go find our pack brothers.”

“No, no, our kin are spread out, we must hide here and wait for them,” said Ikspark the Mad.

The four Skaven moved quickly behind the statue hoping the Beastmen would pass them by but luck was not with them; the Beastmen hounds had picked up their scent and were leading the rest of the pack towards them.
Suddenly there was some movement amongst the nearby gravestones, a decaying hand could be seen thrust through the earth, and then two, then a whole corpse hauled itself to its feet and began to move towards the Beastman. Two other zombies followed in the same direction. The Beastmen must have been unnerved by these unexpected enemies as their charge lacked its characteristic aggression. Only one zombie was felled and in return a hound was beaten unconscious.

The Skaven took this opportunity to make their stand, each Skaven attacking a Beastman in the first wave. All managed to survive the initial assault apart from Sher who had his head neatly pulled from his body and the contents greedily gulped down by the Beastman.

Now some Skaven re-enforcements arrived but they were still too few for a direct assault, only a third of the warband were fighting. Luckily Skabb was now in the fight and decided to assault the Beastman leader trying to dishearten the enemy. His attacks struck home but could not get through the chieftain’s thick hide. Then the mighty Beastman’s club connected with Skabb’s head; he would surely have been killed had he not managed to get a fighting claw up to absorb some of the impact, however he was still knocked out and no longer able to fight. Corpin the Twisted leaped at the chieftain and dug both fighting claws into his leg. The Beastman howled in pain and sank to the ground, his legs unable to carry his weight any longer.

Now more zombies clambered out of their graves and attacked the Beastmen. Meanwhile Ikspark had made his stand in a narrow gap between a mausoleum and a row of open graves. He struck a Beastmen on the back of the head causing him to overbalance and fall into an open grave. One of his companions then struck Ikspark on the shoulder and he found himself face down in a grave as well. The two combatants climbed out of the holes and faced each other once more, Ikspark getting the upper hand, knocking the Beastman unconscious with a deft swing of his staff.

There were now only two Skaven left able to fight, and they moved quickly away from the relentless Beastmen in the hope that more re-enforcements would arrive. But still they did not. The Beastmen were now losing enthusiasm for the fight, the zombies were taking their toll and chasing two Skaven around a graveyard seemed like futility. Angrily the Beastmen withdrew from the battlefield, leaving the bewildered Skaven thanking the Horned Rat for his mercy.

Marienbergers vs. Witch Hunters

The Witch Hunters had just finished scouring the graveyard for any relics they could save when a band of Marienbergers came into view. A few uneasy glances were exchanged before the leaders of both met under a flag of truce.

“We have searched these ruins and there are no items of value,” said Ulrich von Helfenstein, “if you wish to search for yourselves then you are welcome, but be swift for the unquiet dead are said to roam this graveyard since the temple of Morr has been re-occupied.”

Jack smiled; he knew that the Witch Hunters would not have been looking for the same “value” in items they came across, searching this place may yet turn a profit. “My thanks Sir, we will conduct our search, may good fortune follow your band in its endeavours.”

As the Witch Hunters turned to depart the ground split near them and zombies began to clamber from their graves, their eyes shining with an unholy light.

Both bands formed up on opposite sides of the Undead. The Witch Hunters readying their hand weapons and the Marienbergers knocking bolts and arrows. Several of the zombies fell in the initial attacks, their decomposing bodies providing little resistance to the men’s fierce blows. Many times the Undead were simply thrown back into their graves only for them to climb back out again.

Whilst the killing started as good sport, the fighting was ceaseless; as soon as one group of zombies was destroyed two more would rise to take its place. As the bands became fatigued so the fighting became more desperate with several men falling. The close combat tactics favoured by the Witch hunters inevitably lead to them taking more casualties. Eventually they decided enough souls had been returned to rest and both bands withdrew from the field. That evening the Marienbergers were declared the victors, Jack having beaten Ulrich four times out of five at the biscuit game.

More importantly they revealed to each other their plans for the upcoming fight with Vantor; they would form an allegiance to make sure his twisted soul engine would not stay in the hands of the ruinous powers.

Two updates in quick succession! I’ve included a link to the current table below, with only one round left to play… hopefully we should be having this game on Sunday. Expect a full write-up shortly afterwards.

Link to Table