Hello again, I haven't done a chapter in a while, partly due to complications and partly due to writing an Undertale Fanfic, read on.
Also if you want to have added lols, speak all the imperial lines in a German Accent
Chapter 4: The regroup
campaign duration: 4 hours
Surviving men: roughly 2000
It had been a couple hours now, but the state troops were still skeptical that they had actually lost the small groups of pursuing Greenskins. Saks stood over a wooden table with Baurer behind him in a small canvas tent in the biggest clearing they could find, in amongst the tall, thick pine trees. Soon Blamenburg, Speck, Cranz, Eibenchutz, Mommson and a couple other officers walked in. While they entered the sergeant leading the halberd unit, told Welser to stand outside and not let anyone in.
"Baurer the map" Saks said, gesturing for the sergeant to lay out a map of Ostermark for the view of the officers that surrounded it.
"Ok men… the battle was a failure, and with the death of General Klopfer, I, Captain Emil Saks will take command of the 53rd regiment of Ostermark." He said standing up straight, trying to assert his authority over the other officers.
"And who says so." The Sigmar priest said, slamming his armoured gauntlet on the table, almost making it flip.
"I say so priest, now we are here, and as far as we know, no one is coming to help us." Saks said pointing at the eastern border of the map.
"The orcs have moved further through the state than we have, so we are officially behind enemy lines. Speck have you done the calculations?" Saks said, looking at the quartermaster, who was holding a piece of paper, and a quill with an abacus tucked under his arm.
"Right I have sir. We have lost a third of the men…so we have roughly two thousand left…now I have done the maths and since we were relying on supply wagons…we have one week's worth of food, now I could get you more food, but I may need something in return." This caused a bit of whispering amongst the officers, quickly quietened down by Saks.
"Are you really going to use the lives of the regiment as an opportunity for coin Speck? I am ashamed." Saks looked at the quartermaster as the shady man stroked his small, thin moustache.
"No, sir, I just need a couple karls…to pay for it, that is all." Saks grumbled and reached into a pocket in his puffy trousers and pulled out his purse.
"Spend it, well ok." Speck just nodded as he counted out the cash and slid it into the purse of his own, all done with a victorious grin on his face.
"Aye, sir, we are doomed… Dooooooomed… On the sailing ships I have seen men go mad at the lack of food… the thought of land getting further… the touch of a woman… getting more desperate…in the end we had to improvise." The men in the tent gave him a strange look.
"Argh what ever happens at sea, stays at sea." After they got themselves back on track towards the matter at hand. Then Eibenchutz finally spoke out.
"Mr Saks, sir, what if I ride all the way back to the nearest town and bring more food back." He then grew the smile of a genius, Saks shook his head knowing he was dealing with an upper class twit.
"You stupid boy you wouldn't make the first mile, and were is your officer?" Saks answered, noticing the young man was clean shaven, while outriders usually had eccentrically waxed beards and moustaches.
"Oh Outrider Tom Rietz is dead, I have taken over as leader." He said with the optimistic smile back across his face.
"And why you and not anyone else?" Saks wondered as Pistoliers weren't really known for being the smartest soldiers on the field.
"Well, I was the first one to volunteer sir." Saks predicted it would be something along the lines of that and 'I was the richest'.' But Saks didn't really seem to mind.
"Right men, we are behind enemy lines, our supplies are cut off and we are to be presumed dead. The plan is simple, we march out of the enemy territory to safety, that will take roughly…um, what was it again Baurer?"
"Five weeks, sir" Baurer said, breaking the silence that he had kept, while towering over the stout captain in front of him.
"That is a terrible idea, I say we stay here and wait for a relief column to arrive." Mommsen shouted, challenging the officer to a stare down. Then the frail voice of Cranz spoke out.
"My mother always used to say, if you are lost…stay still until I find you." The two broke the stare and looked at the old wizard, wondering which side he was supporting.
"I honestly don't care, but we are doomed any way, we stay we die, if we move we die, we are surrounded…We're doomed I tells ya DOOMED" Blamenburg ranted with his single eye sinking back into his skull, while he adjusted his eyepatch, to show off his scar as much as possible.
"May I advise sir, that we move in the night and sleep in the day to minimize our chances of us getting spotted?" Baurer said holding his ear lobe, to show he was nervous.
"Good plan, we will stick with that and…" Before Saks could finish, he could hear the distant shout of fear approaching the tent.
"Don't panic. Don't panic, beastmen have attacked don't panic." Then suddenly, Welser burst into the tent, his upper body was covered in dark blood, and he only had his tunic and undergarments on.
"Quiet down you old duffer watcha talking about." Speck said, the corporal kept marching on the spot agitated and looking about, he didn't seem to notice that he was only wearing underpants.
"I was in the woods a-and I was attacked… Come sir, have a look." The officers filed out of the tent after Welser and walked through the groups of camp fires and state troops, all looking in the direction of the half dressed man.
They finally reached the scene of the incident, a ghor was on the ground with a halberd through its belly with some of its innards hanging out. An axe was on the ground near the corpse. Welsers trousers were hanging off the branch of a tree.
"What happened here corporal?" Saks asked while kicking the hooves of the half man half beast before him.
"Well sir, I was outside the tent and I had to relieve some bodily functions. So I walked to this spot and did my business." While he narrated his tale he did all the moves.
"Then I stood up and was about to reach for my pants when suddenly, out of nowhere I heard a roar like aaarrr, he swung his axe, but I dodged and it scratched my armour. He swung twice more, then suddenly, I dived for my halberd, and thrusted it…howar…right between its legs. He let out a huge scream, it was so loud. He was in so much pain. I then pulled it out and stabbed him right through the stomach, guts went every where. Blood spurted out and I ran. They don't like it up em sir, they do not."
"Yes…yes very good story corporal, what is your name by the way." Saks liked the skill and enthusiasm of this man despite his age.
"Corporal Welser sir" He said clicking his heels and giving a brisk salute, he then stayed in that position and waited for the captain.
"You seem competent on how to use a weapon, How would you like to be my bodyguard?" The corporal didn't show any emotion, but on the inside, he was jumping for joy at the offer of being next to the captain in battle.
"It would be an honour sir." He responded, trying not to shed a tear or break the sternness of his face.
"Good you are dismissed." Saks said, saluting back leaving Welser to walk to the ghor, and start tugging at his halberd, while the captain looked to the officers.
"Now men, the road will be hard and unforgiving, people will die and we will have to improvise. We may not have the strength of the dwarves. We may not have the elegance of the elves. We may not have the toughness of the Greenskins. But we are men of the empire, we have an inextinguishable fire within all of us that lets us carry on. Your body may collapse in tiredness, your legs may become fragile and your body may fail, but we will not break and we will not hand ourselves over as failures. we will die with determination, we will die with, holy Scheißen." The speech was interrupted with the ghor roaring to life, and Welser stomping on its head with his bare foot. It was finally silenced by Cranz letting out a bolt of lightning from his fingertips. It was made sure of with Mommsen turning the beastman's head into a paste of blood and bone with a single blow of his hammer.
"That it is all I have to say, we will go in an hour, get ready to move. The campaign back to our home has begun, we need a good name." Saks tried to think of what sort of name would be suited, looking back on the names of the campaigns he participated in before.
"I suggest we think of it later, sir, I will start the pack up." Baurer said walking back to the tent and picking up the blood stained standard from its ditch.
"I, I suggest you put some trousers on Corporal Welser." Cranz said passing, the state trooper who just noticed that he only had his underpants on.
Thank you for reading, tell me about how I can improve and review how it is going. Until next time be good.