On the fifth day after landing on the shores of Brettonia, the Second Battalion met the great army massed by the local duke that had been sent to stop the invasion. Lord Eshei of Ghrond, commanding the expeditionary force, surveyed the battlefield from his cold one, Avarice, just before the dawn. From his vantage point on the high pass, he could see his dark riders returning from across the wide open field in front and north of him, their steeps ploughing through the light mist that littered the ground. He had indeed picked a fine spot to meet his new foes. There was another hill to west, high enough for a good missile battery, and to the east was another, though wooded. There was also a nice plain between him and the western which lead straight towards a long, but small, hill that stretched quite a ways further to the west, its edge hidden from view by another wooded hill in front of it.
The dark riders had just returned from their scouting mission and had reported the Brettonians had indeed amassed an army equal in size to their own. The Duke himself had even come with his own escort of knights. With him he had brought a number of archers and some spearmen. All peasants and pathetic levies that served as little better than fodder for his cold ones. What was worrisome was the other unit of knights and the fabled grail knights. There were also reports of two women in the army, a sight strange to behold in these frail human lands.
Knowing now his enemy’s strength, Eshei wasted no time in preparing his own force. He immediately sent word back to camp for all the troops to be brought up. He himself stayed in the high pass, waiting for his adversary. He did not have to wait long. Out of the north came the Brettonian host, its banners flying high in the wind, the pennants rippling around from the knight’s lances. Then the nemy started to deploy his force. Two strong units of archers took to the long hill while the tips of the grail knight’s lances could just be seen behind it, out of sight and out of mind. The spears deployed themselves to the east of the hill, protected the archer’s flank while the Duke’s knights and another unit of knights each took up lance formations in the plains in front of him. Oddly enough, some skirmishers appeared with them out on the plains, their bows at the ready.
Prepared for the assault, Eshei had already ordered his RBTs to the western hill, a good vantage point from which to fire their deadly salvoes. To each flank of that hill he had also ordered a unit of dark riders. In the avenue between both the high pass and the western hill he deployed his two chariots, magnificent gifts of Emperor Malekith. To the east, in the small gap between the high pass and the wooded hill he deployed his war hydra, and behind them his executioners who had just recently been joined by the sorceress Saranna. His last unit of dark riders he placed to the east, behind the treed hill. Seeing the battle about to commence, he made back for his unit of personal guards, his cold one knights, who had remained out of sight on the other side of the pass.
With the Brettonians engaged in some aspect of prayer, Eshei took the initiative and his army poured forwards. The terrifying hydra thundered through the gap with the executioners not far behind. The dark riders quickly made their way around the wooded hill to string out in front of the nearest lance, hoping to draw the silly knights further into the clutches of the Druchii warriors and fired a series of bolts into the skirmishers, missing their formation entirely. The chariots too, moved forwards, thundering along the ground towards the spearmen. His own unit of COK took up a strong position at the top of the pass. As the other two DR units move around the RBTs and behind the cover of the other eastern woods, the RBTs let loose a pair of volleys at the archers, impaling two on their sharp bolts.
The Brettonians would not sit by and be idle, however. One of the lances charged the DR in the east, and sent them fleeing before the charge into the woods, but all the while being drawn in closer to the Legion. The Duke’s lance, too, move forwards, just in range of the charge of Eshei’s knights. The spearmen also made an attapt at looking powerful and move up to try and support the Duke’s lance by cutting off any attempt Eshei might have made to get his chariots to slam into it. Irrelevant to the battle, the grail knights circled around the hill, far to the west but still under cover.
The women, now, seemed to be gathering to themselves some sort of power. Sarrana had warned him about the threat of magic and now he was about to see how skilled she truly was. Out of the sky the clouds rolled up and all of a sudden a thunderbolt struck the chariot, damaging it severely. The other woman was apparently having more trouble as she was suddenly thrown to the ground by the awesome powers she failed to control. The archers, seeing the success of the magical thunderbolt, took aim at the wounded chariot and loosed, but failed to do any damage.
Now, it was again time for Eshei to prove himself on the field of battle. He ordered his knights to charge, but none of the steeds, including Avarice, would obey. Instead they meandered partway down the pass, coming to a halt near the bottom. There was nothing Eshei could do but pray and watch as the war hydra clamored out of the gap and to the right of the Duke’s lance to be joined by the dark riders, newly ridden back from the forest, in the plains between the two lances. Eshei was not alone in his lack of control of the cold ones. One of the chariots was having trouble as well and the other chariot slowed to keep pace, but both still faced the spearmen and both would be ready to mince those peasants who desperately clutched their spears, wishing for it all to end soon.
The western units of DR thundered around the wooded hill they had previously been hiding behind and took positions in front of each other, facing the archered hill and let loose all their might in bolts along with another salvo from the RBTs into the already depleted unit, striking down 5. The rest stayed their ground, hoping to get a shot at the exposed riders. The executioners, not wishing to stay exposed, retreated back a little into the pass, though Saranna let loose a chill bolt at the skirmishers, killing one and causing the rest to freeze up a bit so they would not be able to fire their weapons.
Eshei looked dead ahead as the Duke’s lance thundered forward, unafraid of his deadly steeds, the battle standard flying high in the wind as they made to crash into his knights. Before his fate was decided, he took one last look at the battlefield, taking in how the skirmishers and the other lance had both moved closer to his positions and were getting ready for an assault. The peasants move to meet the charge of the chariots, caught up in the glory of battle as they saw their Duke issue his challenge to Eshei.
Though Eshei graciously accepted, the knights continued their charge into his own knights, lance splintering into thousands of dangerously sharp pieces of shrapnel. He met the Duke’s attacks with great dignity, his lance pounding into Eshei’s armor and giving him a slight wound. Unperturbed by the relative lack of effect of his attacks, the Duke stayed his ground and prepared for Eshei’s attacks. But before he could strike, the Duke pointed towards the long hill where his archers his archers unleashed a salvo of death upon the dark riders, almost wiping out one of the units and sending the remaining musician fleeing back towards the base camp as the other archer unit took aim at the damaged chariot and very nearly crippled it.
Without his guidance, the battle would surely be lost. With that though in mind, Eshei attacked back at the, both he and Avarice missing in all but one strike. But, with the gauntlet of power on his hand, that one hit tore through the Duke’s armor and caused him great pain. Satisfied for the moment, Eshei looked around to see that both battling units of knights were still at full strength. Astounded and confident in their abilities, no one dared think of fleeing and they continued their battle.
While they continued the fight, the chariots decided it was finally time to crush the peasants and they both charged into the poor bastards who held their ground and got brutalized by the scythes and by the ferociousness of the attack. They broke and fled and were immediately cut down, their banner now another prize for the Red Legion. They were not the only ones to engage. The remaining DR unit in the west charged at the archers who could do nothing to halt the advance and were mowed down were they stood, the remnants fleeing only to be cut down by the bloodthirsty Druchii horseman.
Again combat raged around Eshei, but this time, the war hydra had joined in. It made a series of vicious attacks, but it, along with the apprentices, failed to do any damage to the iron clad knights, though his own knights did score a kill on the enemy, dropping one annoying knight from the saddle. Eshei himself was very nearly dropped as well under the fury of the Duke’s newest assault, but, though again hurt, remained in the fight to strike back at his foe, though again he could not kill him. But, it was enough. Outnumbered and outdone by the great and terrifying cold one knights, the Duke’s retinue of knights fled away from the battle and were slaughtered by the vengeful knights. Eshei, himself, liberated the Duke’s head from his body and picked up the enemy battle standard from the mud where it had been dropped. Now free once again from the fight, Eshei could see how the cunning unit of dark riders had made its way around the other lance, threatening its rear. So great was the threat that a lone paladin had left his unit to deal with them. Eshei smiled. They would all die soon enough.
The Brettonians, though already defeated, would not give up. The grail knight now were coming about into the battle and the other lance was moving to get position on both the hydra and the dark riders, while the paladin threatened both as well. The women too, started to do their part as one of them started to call down a great comet from the sky, the world getting darker as it neared. The other one called out for thunder to strike from the sky, and it did, slaying 3 of Eshei’s brave knights. Still not finished, the other archer unit took aim at the damaged chariot and destroyed it, their arrows slaying those inside and the beasts that bore it. Now that he was seriously annoyed, Eshei kept his troops in line, not letting them panic for a second. He could not, however, control the panic in the hearts of the drivers of the second chariot who, seeing their friends slaughtered in front of them, could take the heat of battle no more and fled from the scene.
The comet still did not come, and with that renewed hope, the lone chariot rallied itself, taking some time to come to its senses. While Eshei and his knights moved up the long hill, ready to charge the remaining archers, the nearby dark riders circled around behind. The other dark riders in the east circled round their target as well, staying well clear of the lone paladin who had chosen to challenge the freedom of movement. The war hydra, sensing an attack on the lance was imminent, move over around the other side of it, still well of sight of the lead rider. In front of it, however, were the skirmishers. Rather tired with their annoying presence it launched its fiery breath into their midst, slaying three and sending the rest fleeing.
Those skirmishers, seeing that the lance would soon be destroyed and them next, fled from the field, never to be seen again by Druchii eyes. The lance itself, unable still to find a target, moved to confront the war hydra. As it positioned itself, a great comet fell from the sky, but it was too late, the enemy had moved and it did nothing but put a big hole in the ground. The paladin, angered at the ineptitude of the rest of the army, charged the lone chariot by himself, damaging it severely. Afraid of what could be done to them next, the charioteers fled away from the anger of the paladin, only to have their chariot break apart as the fled faster than they should have since the paladin was hot on their heels. Seeing there was yet hope, the grail knight continued their advance and the archers moved to get a better shot at Eshei and his knights. They could not, however, pierce the armor of his mighty knights and because of their failure fate would soon come to claim them.
The Druchii, seeking to end this pointless battle, all charged their nearest foes. The eastern DR into the rear of the lance while the hydra charged head on; Eshei’s knights charged the archer’s flanks in conjunction with the other unit of DR who charged the rear. As both unit were slaughtered to a man as they fled from the Druchii onslaught, the RBTs fired at the lone paladin, damaging him only slightly, while Eshei’s knights thundered into the lance of grail knights during their pursuit of the peasants.
Once again Eshei was challenged to single combat, but this time, he easily dispatched the grail knight champion, crushing him with his gauntlet. His knights were also successful and added two more knights to the tally of dead the littered the field of battle. Seeing all was lost, the remaining knights fled from Eshei. The cold ones though, were simply too worn down to catch them and the knights looked like they would get away. With one last effort, Eshei ordered his dread elves to charge the knights, who, seeing sure death come their way, fled from the field all together, never stopping to look back at those they left dead and the lone paladin who still held his ground and who protected the last damsel.
As Eshei made his way back to his troops he saw the paladin nobly defying his enemies, but sadly, he could not hold them at bay. The woman he guarded was shot dead by a combination of RBT fire and bolts from the DR’s weapons. Staying to the last, he was kept still by the powers of Saranna who held him in place just long enough for the executioners to do their job. Eshei was very pleased when they subsequently brought him the head of the mighty paladin. He had been a worthy foe, and like all the others Eshei had faced, was dead.
OK, so that's it. No brets left on the field!
Score: DE 2000 for killed units, 3 table quarters, 6 captured standards, general killed, BS captured,
total: 3100 VPs
Brets: highborn reduced to half: 135 pts, DR unit killed:127, 2 COC killed: 194
total: 456 VPs
Druchii massacre Brettonians by 2644!
I had great fun with this game, as I should.
Here's my list:
Highborn (Eshei)
CO, SDC, HA
GoP
shield of Ghrond
Sorceress (Saranna)
L2
seal of ghrond
black staff
3 x DR x 5
musician
executioners x 20
full com
2 x COC
spears
COK x 9
full com
2 x RBT
hydra
total: 2K
Hope you enjoyed the battle.
Also fun to see a victory against the knights.
