Campaign Week 9 – Lustrian Scavenger Hunt

“Ok, Verlbog, seriously; I’m going to explain this ONE more time before I just tell you to do as I say and let us worry about the rest”, said a frustrated Moopy Morkyfeet.

The celebration was over and the Goblin shaman had spent all morning briefing the assembled commanders on his plan for getting back home.

“Now, pay attention, buddy. Looking over the intelligence my spider riders brought back, I’ve gathered that the whole of Lustria is connected by magical waypoints which the Lizarmen call the 'geomantic web'. This web extends to other parts of the world where magic is strong, including back to the Old World. These waypoints were put in place a really long time ago by beings that even the Slann barely remember. What we need to do is gather three artifacts – a key, a catalyst, and a guide. All three are extremely powerful magical items and absolutely necessary to travel the geomantic web. Following so far, pal?”

“Ah fink so, Moops, yeh, keep goin” replied Verlbog, sporting an uncharacteristically serious look across his leathery face.
    
“Okay. So this is where you come in. Each one of you will need to retrieve one of these powerful items,” Moopy motioned to Loggor Banemane, the leader of the Beastmen, “Our new pal Loggor will go looking for the guide artifact – the Lizardmen call it the Star Stela. It’s been stolen before and the Lizardmen were quick and brutal in retrieving it. It’s currently hidden in a temple dangerously close to the Chaos camp.”

The massive Loggor nodded, “I will lead a war party to get it for you, it’s the least we can do after you freed my herd. Consider this Star Stela yours. The humans may worship our gods, but they are no herd-brothers to us.”

“Now, Mire has agreed to get the second item, the catalyst – for a moderate fee, of course – the closest magical artifact powerful enough to serve our purposes is the death mask of Kroak, a long mummified Slann. Thankfully, my scouts say his skink attendants have made preparations to move the mummy, which is still inhabited by Kroak’s spirit and could literally destroy us all, but his Golden Death Mask is being left behind under heavy guard at this temple,” Moopy pointed to a triangular spot on his map.

“Don’t worry, mate. With all the gold ye gave us, I’ve had no problem motivatin’ the boys to sharpen their swords and strap on their gut plates. We’ll get that mask for ya.” The Ogre pirate passed a jug of rum to Loggor, who drank heartily.

“Ok, now, Verlbog, your job is to reach the key – it’s a plaque deep underground in this temple here,” Moopy pointed at another triangle on his map, “The Skinks call it the ‘Testament of Sotek’ and the temple it’s housed in is where we will work the magic to travel the magical lay-lines, so all you have to do is clear it out and wait.”

“Clear da lizzie temple of what, Moops?” asked Verlbog.

“The plaques detailing the loss of the Testament of Sotek say the temple was infested by rat-men and abandoned after a war long ago which the Skinks refer to as the ‘War of The Serpent and the Rat’. A big strong orc shouldn’t have any problems with a bunch of pestilent Skaven, eh, Verly?”

“HAHAHAHA! I SHOULD FINK NOT!” hollered Verlbog.

“Great, then; now to make things easier I paid Mire for some extra help. What do you have in store, Goldhardt?”

“Maneaters! Ogre mercenaries so seasoned they've traveled ‘ta lands ye only heard of! They have the finest trainin’, the finest weapons, and the biggest appetites for violence – real ‘ard boys. I’ll tell yeh, friends – these Ogres will never run, never flinch, and they will deal death with every move they make.”  Mire Goldhardt beamed with pride.

“And how many of these ‘Maneaters’ are coming with us?” asked Loggor

“One.” replied the Ogre, “Each.”

Campaign Week 8 – Deus Ex Mork

The assault on the Vision of Khaine was turning out a disaster. The disciplined Druchii forces made sport of the motley army of Greenskins, Chaos worshippers and Ogres, slaughtering them wholesale with barely a casualty suffered. The Dunewraith, leader of the Chaos contingent, found his flank overwhelmed and fled into the jungle on a commandeered Dark Elf chariot while a single sorcerer of Tzeench covered his escape with eldritch spells.

Many of Mire Goldhardt’s Ogre mercenaries were overtaken by Dark Elves but Mire himself remained alongside Verlbog, relentlessly killing elves in a flurry of flintlock fire and cutlass strokes. 

  “Oy! Greenskin! Yer mates are fleeing! Our left flank’s collapsed like a house ‘a cards, let’s go back to my camp while we still have our hides!” said Mire to the Orc commander. “Yer pal Morkyfeet might lend us a hand if the elves follow us out. Somethin’ tells me hes not as defenseless as ‘e looks!”

“ORCS IS DA TOUGHEST THERE IS!” yelled Verlbog, “An’ Moops has somethin’ up his sleeve wot these elves won’t see coming. We keep fighting ‘till he comes back!”

Mire smiled, and pulled two more flintlock pistols from his brace, killing two Black Guard instantly before charging into the rest with a group of his Ogres. The right flank held against the assembled Druchii until at last a tide of goblins emerged from the jungle, with hundreds of Moopy’s forest goblin spider riders dragging five massive stone throwers out onto the beach. Moopy Morkyfeet looked on as the war machines were loaded with large boulders, and casually touched each stone with his staff.

Verlbog and Mire fell back as the stone throwers were fired. The Dark Elf army looked on with dread as the stones turned a bright, blinding green in mid air – transforming into a hail of hundreds of flaming green boulders. Some of the magical payload bounced off the walls of the Black Ark harmlessly to the relief of the Elves inside, only to be horrified when the areas touched by magical rocks were pounded by gigantic green fists from the air a few moments later, seriously compromising the integrity of the floating citadel and exploding chunks of wood, stone and metal into the rear of the Druchii army on the beach.

The massive slave hold of the Black Ark was irreparably damaged by the fists of Mork and the creatures held inside began to run out of the exposed fortress, among them many Beastmen. Notable among these was a massive Minotaur who howled with rage, picked up a large piece of broken masonry and began crushing elves, inspiring the other Beastmen to do the same.

The Dark Elf Commander Spiv Korval mustered what was left of his forces, the tables turned completely against him in what had promised to be an easy victory, and fled into the Ark, sacrificing the rest of his Black Guard to cover his escape. By the time the massed rabble on the beach was finished with the last of the elite Druchii infantry, the Vision of Khaine with the Malekith’s Spite anchored above it were nowhere to be seen, replaced by a thick rolling fog.


LATER

   The victorious Greenskins retreated to the mercenary camp, with the Beastmen in tow. Gors and Ungors sat around happily munching on roasted Druchii limbs, lorded over by the humongous Doombull.

“OY! COW-MAN!” yelled Verlbog, “YA DID ALRIGHT FIGHTIN ELVSES BUT DON’T THINK WE NEEDED DA HELP! ORCS IS DA TOUGHEST THERE IS!”

The Doombull stood and ran towards Verlbog head on, clutching a massive Ogre-made blade. Mire looked up from his roasted boar and rum, happily expecting some sort of fight between the two titans.

“OY! IS DAT HOW YOU WANT IT, DEN?!” hollered Verlbog, dropping his food, ready to take the charge head on.

The Minotaur was surprisingly fast, reaching the Orc in seconds and shoving him aside before bringing his blade down on Verlbog’s seat, cleaving it in half. Verlbog stood up and shoved the Minotaur angrily.

“WOT’S ALL THIS, YAH WANT A FIGHT?!” raged the Orc before realizing the Doombull’s eyes were still transfixed on the ground. Behind the massive broken chair was a butchered Druchii assassin, cut perfectly in two, envenomed daggers lying on the ground.

The Doombull spoke, “ORCS MAY BE TOUGHEST THERE IS, BUT BEASTMEN IS THE STRONGEST THERE IS.” Then he let out a gruttal guffaw, which put Verlbog back in good spirits.

“HAHA COW-MAN IS FRIEND TO VERLBOG! Whats yer name mate?”

“Loggor Banemane, Master of the Lost Herd.” replied the Doombull.

“Well den, grab some boar before I eat it all, and help yerself to rum”

The night continued in high spirits with lots of celebration, eating, drinking and funny looks as Ogre and Greenskin alike were taken aback by what passed for acceptable party behavior between the Gors and Ungors. Alone in his tent, Moopy Morkyfeet ignored the commotion outside, pouring over stolen Lizardmen plaques and intelligence gathered by his spider riders. He was certain he had found a way back home.
  





Spiv Korval is gone and has been replaced with Loggor Banemane, as Branden is playing the Beastmen. Basic Skirmishes for the week saw Verlbog overtake Lizardmen forces and earn a bonus.

Campaign Week 7 - Assault on Black Ark, Vision of Khaine

All 1v1 games of the past two weeks tied.

   The dead silence of the jungle was unsettling in the wake of the large-scale battle. The tide turned many times during the clash of four armies – Chaos, Lizardmen, Dark Elves and Orcs had fought fiercely over the treasures of the nearby Lizardmen temple.

Moopy Morkyfeet watched from afar as the Lizardmen claimed their guarded relic and left the spoils and minor trinkets for the others. Moopy was relieved to see Verlbog back to his normal self, but refrained from approaching his friend. The Dark Elf airship, Malekith’s Spite, returned to the battleground once again firing with repeater bolt throwers onto the Orc and Chaos forces as it descended to evacuate the remaining Dark Elves.

The Chaos general Dunewraith sent outriders to track the airship back to Spiv Korval’s Black Ark, the Vision of Khaine. Not being one to miss out on a fight and potential payday, Verlbog also rallied his Boyz, Orcs and Chaos worshipers ignoring each other as they marched in unspoken alliance against a resilient common enemy.

Once everyone was gone, Moopy Morkyfeet entered the jungle temple. He walked over to a jeweled stone relief on the wall and examined it carefully. It depicted a Slann Mage-Priest at the head of a large Lizardmen host.

“Ah, there we go.” Said the small goblin as he pressed down on the Slann’s ruby eyes. The entire stone wall slid away to reveal a horde of gold ingots and jewelery. In the center of the mass of treasure lay an ordinary looking gnarled staff.

“They never know where to look, or what truly matters.” sighed the small goblin, gingerly picking up the staff before walking back outside. He admired the sprawling view of jungle canopy, giggling as his spider riders infested the temple, each one hauling away a small amount of treasure.



 LATER:



         At the western coast of Lustria the Black Ark 'Vision of Khaine' stood anchored – an impressive fortress in foreboding dark elf architecture floating in the water in jarring contrast to the surrounding beach and jungle. The Malekith’s Spite hovered above it, appearing small in comparison.

Dunewraith marched his forces out of the jungle overlooking the Black Ark. There was no alternate course of action, no hiding from the witch elves inside or the eyes of flying harpies. Surprise was a lost cause. Nearby, the Orc leader Verlbog and his forces emerged from the jungle growth.

As both gathered at the edge of the jungle, the massive portcullis at the front of the Black Ark raised and procession of Dark Elves filed out with Spiv Korval at it’s head. From his horse, he bowed to the armies assembled at his doorstep and gestured at the whole of the Black Ark.

“Welcome, lords of rabble, to my Ark! How absurdly brave and foolish of you to come. It saves considerable effort in tracking you down!” yelled Spiv Korval,  riding back inside. Dark Elf soldiers continued to pour out in incredible numbers until it was clear Verlbog and Dunewraith were completely outnumbered.  

“Greenskin!, today you know true glory!” growled Dunewraith.

Verlbog looked at the assembled Dark Elves and roared, “ORCS IS DA TOUGHEST THERE IS!” his Boyz howled and beat their weapons together in deafening cacophony. Verlbog being a singularly violent-minded individual knew the odds were stacked against him, but didn't care.

“’Ello, Verlbog.” Said a small voice. Moopy Morkyfeet emerged from the jungle a few yards down.

“OY! MOOPS!! WHERE YA BEEN, MATE?! WE’S ABOUT TA FIGHT THESE ELVSES WOT THINK IS BETTER THAN US. WHERES YER GITS? WE COULD USE DEM,” said Verlbog.

“Theyre busy. I didn’t come alone though. Verly, my friend. I bought myself the finest army Lustrian gold can buy,” replied the goblin.

From behind him emerged gargantuan ogres, each one as big as Verlbog and all of them armed with sharp cutlasses. They had the look of seasoned sailors and many sported elaborate tattoos on their gray sinewy skin. One of the larger and more colorful ogres walked up behind Moopy Morkyfeet and greeted Verlbog;

“Nice ‘ta meet yeh. I’m Captain Mire Goldhardt, and these ‘ere are Mire’s Mercs – we’ve traveled the world and seen and fought jus about everythin’ ye can think of… and let me tell yeh – this situation ye got here with these elves? ...Consider it under control.” said the Ogre, smiling through solid gold teeth.

"Verlbog, let Captain Goldhardt get set up for a second, and walk with me while I tell ya what the plan is." said Moopy Morkyfeet, looking up at his surprised friend.

Verlbog’s Orcs (1,000 pts), Dunewraith’s Chaos (1,000 pts) and Mire’s Mercs (1,000 pts Ogre Kingdoms) vs Captain Spiv Korval’s Dark Elves (3,000pts) defending the Black Ark, Vision of Khaine.  

Campaign Week 6 – Blood for the Blood God

The Lizardmen outriders successfully claimed the center temple of the Stegadon vale. They’ve earned a free Battle Standard upgrade for an eligible hero. Verlbog’s shambling zombies also managed to reach the temple, and Verlbog rolled a permanent +1 Toughness bonus.

The Chaos commander Dunewraith found his forces under heavy siege. The skillful Dark Elves assaulted their front while Verlbog’s undead horde came towards his army’s flank despite both of the other forces being in direct combat with Lizardmen. Through the clamor and chaos of battle he saw the Dark Elf Master Slaver, Spiv Korval, calmly watching as his elite Black Guard took apart Wulfric the Wanderer. Dunewraith knew the famous Chaos hero would be loathe to forgive this tactical blunder.

He mounted his warhorse and rode in the direction of the enemy commander, killing anyone that got in his way until he was directly in front of the Dark Elf slaver.

Instead of a challenge, he issued a statement; “The servants of the Chaos gods would sooner die than become slaves to the likes of you and your kin, Elf.”

“Haha I do count on it. Where would be the sport otherwise?”, retorted the Dark Elf commander, “I have broken Dragons, Hydras, and Manticores. What are your Northon ilk compared to them? In time, you too will bend the knee and toil in Naggaroth.”

“Proud, foolish elf! The Lizardmen are bearing down on you, a horde of undead march towards my flank, and you would prefer our armies continue fighting in the hopes to take in a few slaves?! You make your own doom and mine along with it!”

Suddently, there was a thunderous noise in the sky which made the very ground shake. Wind raced across the whole of the battlefield, breaking the clouds overhead to reveal a set of massive meteors careening towards the battlefield. In the center of the Lizardmen throng, the Skink Priest Ixi Temoc worked the Lore of Heavens to rain ruin on his foes, safe from the range of enemy archers or war machines.

Spiv Korval's proud demeanor crumbled at the sight of the meteors.

“Elf! Yield - give the order!” yelled the Dunewraith.

“Only this once, chaos spawn. And never again, if I can help it.” answered Spiv, wide eyes fixed to the sky overhead. "I fear you may be right this time."

The first meteor came down in a powerful blinding flash. The ground broke under the force and battle lines collapsed as scores of Chaos and Elf forces were wiped out in the blast.

In the distance, the awakened Stegadon rammed a horde of the Dunewraith’s marauders. It's massive bulk sending northerners flying or crushing them underfoot.

“Release the rest of my men!” demanded the Dunewraith.

Korval mustered what was left of his forces, ordered the release of the chaos prisoners from the hold of the Malekith's Spite, and sent the airship away. Dunewraith nodded at the elf, and galloped towards the mighty Stegadon.

The sky continued to resound with lighting as Dunewraith raced to help his beleaguered forces. He rode towards the Stegadon's back and launched himself off his warhorse at full gallop when a powerful crimson lightning bolt stuck down from the heavens onto the Chaos leader, empowering him with two massive battle axes before coming down upon the Stegadon’s neck, effortlessly slicing the beast's head near in half.

The Stegadon raged and lashed out, using the last of it's considerable strength to rain blows upon the Chaos warrior. Dunewraith parried each attack with his battle axes and countered slice after slice at the massive dinosaur until only a butchered carcass remained.

He stood in the middle of the beast's remains, framed by split innards and a massive upturned rib cage, simmering in the carnage he'd wrought with axes magically dripping endless gallons of blood. The intricate demons carved into the hilt, bronze embellishments and and red blades of an otherworldly quality marking the Blood Axes as a gift from Khorne.

The second meteor crashed into the center of Verlbog’s army, the force of the impact taking him by surprise and knocking him off his boar.Verlbog reeled at the force of the impact, his head pounding in pain, turning the world hazy. He tried to get up but stumbled and convulsed, throwing up violently. The dark gem he had ingested came out and pulled the dark magic it had unleashed back into itself in pulsating waves from within the undead orcs..

All the shambling zombie Boyz fell and turned back to their normal selves, including orcs who had previously been found dead in the jungle. Unsure of what was going on, but glad to be in the middle of a battle, the whole Orc contingent cheered and howled before charging headlong in the direction of the Dark Elves.

Spiv Korval rode to Dunewraith with a spare elven steed  in tow. “Do not confuse this for kindness. I will deal with these vile greenskins. You take the lizards. Once this battle is done, so is this alliance.”

“Ride, then.” Said the Dunewraith, axes dripping blood, “I’ve got a skink astromancer to deal with.”


SCENARIO: Master Slaver Captain Spiv Korval vs Verlbog's Orc and Goblins, and Dunewraith's Chaos forces against the Lizardmen host. 1,000 point battles. 

Campaign Week 5 - The Vale of the Sleeping Titan

The Dunewraith’s Chaos host reisisted the assault of the Dark Elf slavers.

Verlbog traveled down the jungle path away from the commotion. As jungle thicket gave way to fresh air, a wide valley opened before him. The top of a lonely Lizardmen temple could be seen above the canopy and jungle fog.

The orc marched towards the center of the vale when something snaped under his foot. He looked down to find a broken orc choppa. A few feet farther down he noticed a discarded orc shield. As he proceeded through the jungle path he found an alarming number of broken orc weapons until finally coming to a large haphazard mound of dead Boyz – one of his raiding ships must have landed up the coast and made a camp at the edge of the valley before something powerful or overwhelming broke them.

Verlbog dug his pale claws into the ground. His body shook and his icy eyes emitted an intense light as once again, his new powers manifested in black waves of malevolent energy radiating outward from him and onto the mound of orc corpses. The dead orcs slowly twitched back to life, pulling themselves free of the mass grave.The sound of bones grinding against broken joints filled the air as the mountain of animated corpses calmly joined the other hazy-eyed undead orcs behind Verlbog.

The orc stood back up and continued walking towards the temple unaware that he had been monitored by cold reptilian eyes the second they'd entered the valley. This was the domain of the Children of the Old Ones, and outsiders only proved adept at stumbling around…and waking ancient trouble.

ELSEWHERE:
The Dark Elf assault had not been in vain – The Druchii took many human slaves into the hold of their airship, the Malekith’s Spite. The Dark Elf captain, Master Slaver Spiv Korval, directed the airship toward one of the camps set up in the deep jungle – At the edge of a vale overlooking a lizard temple – and conveniently, the direction the greenskins disapeared to.
.
Korval was eager to return to his Black Ark, the Vision of Khaine, anchored at the western coast of Lustria – but he would do so only once his holds were overfull with slaves for Naggaroth.

Below them, Chaos marauder scouts  struggled to keep up with the airship under the cover of jungle. The battle was not yet over.

Campaign Week 4 - The Slavers of Naggaroth

 The Chaos host’s surprise attack on the bewildered Greenskins was largely inconclusive – neither side gave an inch but all generals became just a little tougher than they were before.

All three armies have gained +1 Wound to a single character model which must be specified in their respective army lists.

   Moopy Morkyfeet and Verlbog withstood the Chaos charge. The armies clashed back and forth for some time, tearing down the forest around them. As the battle came to a standstill with the surrounding jungle reduced to open clearing, a large oval shape appeared in the sky overhead.

  It began its descend, raining arrow shafts as it got closer to the battlefield, shielded from view against the unrelenting Lustrian sun. Ornate, graceful jagged spikes protruded from the large mass.

“Wot’s dat, boss?” said one of Moopy’s Night Goblin gits.

“IT’S AN AIRSHIP.” Answered back the possessed Verlbog in his eerily chilling voice, cold gaze still firmly on the Chaos foe.

Moopy Morkyfeet looked up, shielding his eyes from the sun in an attempt to make out the latest adversary. “It does look like a stuntie zeppelin…” said the goblin, sniffing the air, “…but there’s no Dwarfs on that ship.”

“Well, hoos in it den, boss?” asked the inquisitive Night Goblin.

“ That may be a Dwarf airship, but it’s full of Dark Elves. I think you know what to do, gits.”

“Aye, aye bo—!“  A jagged shaft rained onto the anonymous goblin git, silencing him.

The other Night Goblins scrambled to avoid being skewered while packing up and scurrying into the jungle. Soon, the battlefield was devoid of goblins, especially the sly Morkyfeet.  Verlbog looked around at his vacant, milky-eyed orcs and back at the airship. It was almost at ground level and grim pale-faced elves were disembarking while gracefully spraying repeater crossbow fire at the Chaos forces.

Verlbog narrowed his icy gaze on the Dark Elf commander, who was busy shouting orders while efortlessly dispatching marauders. He turned and walked into the thick jungle leaving the bewildered Chaos forces and Dark Elf reavers to tear each other apart.

His shambling orcs followed instinctively. They had never been easier to lead, and Verlbog had never felt better.

Moopy Morkyfeet sketch

I did this Moopy Morkyfeet sketch. The next battle in our story campaign will be fought today - with 8th edition rules no less! Moopy and the currently undead Verlbog together against the Chaos champion known as 'Dunewraith', and we have new Dark Elf and Skaven players, though John's availability isn't consistent enough to be written in, so maybe he will have more time when we go back to the Old World with these or other characters.