Author's Notes: Still don't own this is I did I would be living the life of Riley, whatever that means, and now Battle Royal!
Karl was awakened by Bach kicking his foot. The knight held a torch in his hand, as night had fallen, and took in the half asleep Clare with a wide grin. "Seeing your company I am truly sorry to disturb you but, alas, duty calls." He left after giving the furiously blushing Clare an exaggerated wink.
They quickly got up and brushed the hay from their cloths. As they left, he headed towards the walls she to the temple, she turned to him and said quietly. "Thank you." Then she turned and was gone.
Bach had told Karl to meet him at the gate. When he found the Knights they were not on the wall but in front of the gate. His expression must have shown his puzzlement because one of the knights explained. "The militia can hold the walls well enough for now; their bows will hopefully take a good number of the enemy. But in the long run; we don't have enough men to hold the walls and the gate is the weak point in any defense. Somewhere the line is going to give and when it does it will be up to us to plug the gap."
Just then Bach came up with Ernst. The boy had somehow gotten his hands on a shirt of brigandine armor and wore it over his red robe and his head was shaved in the manner of priests. Karl noticed the boy seemed a good deal calmer than when they had spoken before, almost serene. Ernst seemed to feel Karl's gaze because he turned to him and smiled. "I understand now." He said calmly. At Karl's confused expression Ernst continued. "Before, when I asked you what I was doing wrong, I did not understand then. But I do now; it came to me while I was speaking to the people at the temple. It is not enough to fight evil that is only the first part of it, a priest must fight to defend the Empire its people, as well as fighting evil, that is the second part. I understand that now and at last I can feel it, I feel the spirit of Sigmar."
Before Karl could say anything there came the sound of horns being blown. At the same moment the wind shifted and brought with it the all too familiar smell of Beastmen. "If you can feel Lord Sigmar, ask him to look on us with favor and maybe lend a hand." Said Bach, half in jest and half serious. The horns were now joined by the Beastmen braying and bashing weapons on shields. Karl's view was blocked by the wall and gate so he could not see them; which in a way made things even worse. He could see the men on the walls, however, and they were clearly terrified, the smell of their fear was nearly overwhelming and it was making Karl uneasy and jumpy.
"Here they come!" Shouted someone on the walls; Karl could here high pitched bleating wails coming closer. On the walls those with missile weapons fired. The air was filled with the whistle of arrows and the crack of black powder weapons owned by some of the wealthier citizens. Beyond the wall many cries turned to screams of pain, some animal, others all too human, but still they drew closer. The defenders continued to fire, there was nothing resembling a volley; everyone was just shooting as fast as they could. Suddenly another horn blast sounded from the woods; a cheer went up from the walls, "They're running!" Someone cried.
All along the wall people began cheering and loudly thanking the gods. Karl noticed, however, that the knights remained grim. They must have guessed his thoughts because one said to him, "It is not over. From the sound of those cries that attack was only Ungors." Seeing Karl's confused look the knight explained, "They are smallest Beastmen, like the ones we saved you from. The enemy leader just sent them to probe our defenses and he now knows what he needs to know."
"Which is?" Asked Karl nervously.
"He now has an idea of how many shooters we have and that we have no artillery or wizards. The next attack will be for real."
Sure enough, not ten minutes later another horn sounded and the braying calls recommenced, though this time they were a good deal deeper in tone. Then a series of roars sounded so loud and deep Karl would have sworn the ground shook. "Sigmar save us!" Came a panicked screech from the walls, "Minotaurs!"
Several men began to turn to flee from the walls. "Stand your ground damn you!" Roared the Baron as he drew a pistol. "Any man runs I'll kill him myself!" Cowed, the men slunk back to their posts.
The oncoming hoard drew closer and now Karl could tell the ground really was shaking. Then there was a great crash as something struck the gate. To his horror Karl could actually see the tops of horned heads over the top of the gate. Arms that seemed as big as a man lifted crudely forged axes and brought them crashing down on the gates, which bowed and began to splinter. "Fan out!" Bach cried. "Form groups of four or five! When they come through draw them apart and surround them!" Just as the knights moved to obey there came a great crash as the gates where hacked apart.
They resembled the Beastmen Karl had fought before except these were more than ten feet tall and seem at least three times as thick as a man and it appeared to be all muscle. There was only four of them but that was four too many in Karl's opinion. They rushed in, pushing each other as each tried to be the first one in. As Bach had clearly hoped; when they saw the scattering knights they split up to give chase.
The first one in took off after the group led by Bach. Bach and two other knights kept backpedalling while two others came up behind the creature to strike at the back of its legs. One's strike had no effect, his sword bouncing off of the creature's thick muscles and hide. The other had more success; angling his body so that his whole weight was on it he drove his sword like a spear into the back of the beast's knee. The thing bellowed in pain and, dropping its weapons, went down on one knee. The two knights ran forward and drove their blades into its back. It roared again and arched its back from the pain. Bach and the two knights with him ran forward going for its stomach, clearly trying to reach its organs. The beast was far from dead; however, it shot its head forward while flailing with its fists.
Bach managed to duck under the fist aimed at him. His fellow knight was not so fortunate and the blow took him full in the chest. The man flew a good ten feet to crash into a wall. His breastplate was caved in and blood seeped out, his insides clearly crushed. The man in the middle gave a gurgling scream as horns the size of sword blades were driven into him. Bach sprang forward and drove his sword into one of its eyes and into its brain. The creature jerked then fell to the ground dead.
One of the other groups had not been so fortunate. The beast must have sensed them coming at it from behind because it spun around and sliced both knights in half with one blow, its axe going through their armor as if it were made of rotten cloth. It then turned and cut down the other two knights in two quick strokes. It roared in triumph. A roar that was cut short as the Baron fired his pistol into its open mouth.
A cry of alarm turned Karl's attention to the gate and he felt his heart freeze. Pouring through the gate were hundreds of Beastmen, many of them the larger type he had fought before, some even larger. The minotaurs had not only created an opening for the rest of the Beastmen, they had ensured that the knights could not form a shield wall to block the gap. Already men were fleeing the wall before they could be trapped there by the oncoming beasts.
Something had to be done and quickly. Karl charged at a Minotaur which had killed all the knights attacking it. To Karl's disgust it had stopped to eat one of the dead knights, completely ignoring the fighting going on around it. Its muzzle covered with blood it must not have smelled him as he approached. He ran up and swung, his arms swelling as he buried the axe in the beast's groin. It dropped the corpse it had been feeding on and gave a surprisingly high pitched squeal. Before it could react Karl got behind it and swung his axe into the back of its ankle, the haft of his axe groaning from the impact as he hamstrung the beast. The beast stumbled and fell. As both its hands were still clutching its mutilated groin it could not break its fall and fell flat on its face.
Karl ran up, swung his axe over his head and brought it down with all his might on the creature's head. Unfortunately for him the haft of the axe chose that minute to break and the axe head failed to penetrate all the way through its skull. "In Simar's name I smite you!" Cried a voice; with a start Karl realized it was Ernst. It sounded far deeper and stronger than a twelve-year olds voice should. Then the boy was beside him. Ernst swung his hammer up and brought it down on the axe head, driving it all the way into the creature's brain. It was then that Karl saw Ernst's eyes; they now blazed with bright fire. "Come." Ernst said his voice compelling obedience.
Karl reached down and snatched up a long sword from one of the fallen knights. Looking about he saw the situation was even worse than he feared. The defenders were quitting the wall and falling back while attempting to get into defensive formations; but the enemy kept pressing them and they were hampered further by their own inexperience. Elsewhere he saw Bach and his knights; they had slain the last Minotaur but less than half the knights remained and many of them sported wounds. They had formed a shield wall and were holding their own for the moment but they were cut off from the other defenders and were surrounded by hundreds of Beastmen.
Indeed; as far as Karl could see the only reason any of them were still alive was due to the enemy's lack of discipline. Though many still pressed the attack others were breaking off. Some to feed on the dead, others to break into house to either loot or destroy, for apparently no other reason than the pleasure of destruction, soon there were fires burning everywhere bathing the town in a hellish light. A joyous bleating went up from what appeared to be a tavern or inn. One of the beasts appeared at the door a waved a small barrel of spirits over its head. Instantly all the Beastmen in the vicinity rushed towards the building; numerous fights broke out as they all simultaneously tried to get in and keep others out.
"This way." He said to Ernst and headed towards Bach. Together they charged into the mass of Beastmen. They should have been overwhelmed almost instantly but they were not. Indeed; in all the confusion the enemy did not even seem to realize that there were enemies among them. Ernst, with a strength he had not possessed before, swung his hammer left and right killing or crippling a foe with each blow. As before he was belting out scripture; but where fear had been present before now there was only a savage joy in the destruction of the enemies of man.
Joy of another kind was in Karl's heart. The beast within him roared in delight at the blood and Karl's soul sang with each foe he cut down. Ever since he became a werewolf he found he enjoyed fighting, or maybe he had before and just never got the chance to find out. In almost every fight he had been in before now he had always had to hold back; either to hide what he was from others or because he had to focus on something else, such as rescuing and then protecting Clare and the others. Here, masked by confusion and chaos of battle he needn't bother. Here he could indulge his love of fighting to the max.
The Minotaurs had been difficult but these smaller ones, many of whom did not even see him till he struck, were easy. He swung left and right, lopping off arms and heads and even slicing a few in half. He longed to shed his human form and fight with fang and claw but there were still people about. If it came to being only him, as it had been in his village and seemed likely now, he would do so and reap a bloody toll before the end.
Suddenly the burst through the last foes and reach Bach. Karl feared he may have let something slip that would reveal more than he wished but they seemed focused on Ernst and his glowing eyes. Then Bach gathered himself and spoke. "Come; we must get back to the Baron and his men. The beasts are nearly to where the women and children are."
Karl instantly felt shame. Here he was indulging in battle madness when Clare and the others still need his aid. Inside him the beast whined. Why must he always be thinking like a human, saddling himself with duty to those who would shun him if they knew the truth? Karl gave a mental shrug and followed the others.
The going was not easy anymore. More and more foes became aware of them as the struggled to rejoin their fellow defenders. Karl did not feel tired, being a werewolf he had a great deal of stamina, but his arm was sore from the constant swinging of his sword. Now that he was thinking instead of letting battle lust carry him away he felt the pain when a blow got through his defenses and the tingling sensations as his body regenerated.
While his stamina was holding the knights were clearly suffering. Running and battling in heavy armor was draining them, slowing their speed and reflexes, even as Karl watched several were overwhelmed and pulled down. Only Ernst seemed unaffected. His eyes still blazing he fell on the enemy as if he hadn't been fighting as long and hard as the rest of them.
At last they could see the other defenders. They had been pushed back to the upper class part of town and to Karl's dismay the temple where the women and children were sheltered was distressingly close. The men were surrounded, Beastmen having come up through alleys and side streets to flank them and many of the smaller Beastmen had climbed onto rooftops to shower them with arrows and javelins.
Though they had no more skill than before Karl could now smell very little fear on them. They had passed to that place beyond fear and now fought with the courage of the doomed. With a final push; Karl and those with him broke through the enemy line and linked up with the defenders. The Baron raised his sword in salute. His armor was torn and his left eye was gone. "Well, Bach my old friend, it seems we shall enter the realm of Morr together."
"So it seems. Let's make a stand worthy of a song and take as many of these misbegotten monstrosities with us as possible."
By now the beasts had recovered themselves and threw themselves at the defenders line.
Karl did not know how long it lasted, it seemed like years. Again and again the beasts threw themselves at the humans and each time they were thrown back. Everywhere Karl looked he saw scenes of horror and heroism, sometimes blended together.
To one side a fat man, wielding only a butcher's cleaver, chopped a Beastman to pieces giggling all the while, his sanity shattered by the night's horrors. In the half light, the only illumination came from burning buildings, and covered in blood the man looked as demonic as the beasts they fought.
Elsewhere a boy, who looked to be little older than Ernst, lay on the ground crying for his mother as he tried to stuff his intestines back into his stomach.
Karl also saw a man with graying hair fighting several Beastmen at once. He stood over the body of a younger man and tears rolled down his eyes as he cried out for his son.
All this Karl saw in fits and starts as he himself thrust and chopped at anything that presented itself as a target. He took the head off of a brute with three eyes. He lashed out at a striking snake which was, in fact, a creature's arm. A smaller beast jumped on his back and thrust a dagger into his back. Pain shot through him but he managed to reach back a grab it by the neck. He spun and hurled it into a nearby fire. Every time he tried to catch his breath more foes came, they seemed endless.
The defenders beat back each assault but every time their numbers grew fewer and Karl did not think they could last much longer. Then a commotion from the enemy drew his attention. They had parted and a new Beastman stepped forward. It was obviously old, its back was bent and it seemed almost feeble compared to the ones around it. But Karl was not deceived. His witch sight told him otherwise. The creature was saturated with magic.
It raised a staff of gnarled wood topped with a glowing green stone and screeched out a chant that hurt his ears. A mass of green energy shot from the top of the staff and struck the front rank of the defenders. Upon impact it exploded. More than a score of men died, their bodies simply disintegrating, while many more writhed on the ground screaming. The blast had created a gap in the line and the Beastmen surged towards it.
Further screams behind Karl drew his attention. Turning he saw to his horror the roof of the temple was on fire and the women and children were beginning to flee from it. Upon seeing them the Beastmen gave a cry of delight. In that instant Karl was not in Three Rivers, he was at home hearing the children burn. NO! NOT AGAIN! The thought burned in his mind. A mist settled over his eyes giving everything a reddish ting.
Heedless of the danger; he threw himself into the oncoming hoard. He loosed a howl that had nothing human in. He swung his sword left and right. He had no training with the blade but he did not need it. Heedless of future consequences he released more and more of his inner wolf, increasing his speed, strength and reflexes. The beast seemed to be moving through tar, they were so slow. He seemed to see their blows coming from a mile away and easily avoid or parry. Each of his blows cut through two or more of his opponents, but such was his rage that that wasn't enough.
He swung the blade with one hand and lashed out with the other, he was not surprised to see it bristled with black hair and sported claws. While he beheaded one beast he used his claws to rip out anther's throat. A club came at him and grabbed the arm holding it and tore it off at the elbow.
It could not last. Though he slew many and all those near him stank of fear there were simply too many. The inevitable happened and he failed to see the axe coming in towards the back of his head. Neither did he see the sword that interposed itself between him and the axe. He did hear the clash of weapon-on-weapon. Turning, he saw Bach and several of his knights.
Bach smiled at him. "The Baron is trying to reform the line while you're busy killing all the Beastmen singlehandedly. We got bored and thought we might join you. How about while we're at it we go see to that shaman of theirs?" Karl nodded and together they charged toward the twisted creature.
It must have sensed their approach because it turned towards them and raised its staff. They lunged forward, desperate to reach it before it could cast again. They were too late. With a screech green light again burst from the staff. This time it took the form a swarm of wriggling green worms. Those that struck Karl immediately began to burry into him.
Karl dropped his sword and fell to his knees. He screamed in pain as the things went deeper into him, he felt as if his body were decaying and burning at the same time. Desperately, he clawed at himself trying to dig them out even as his body fought to regenerate the damage, though it seemed that no sooner was something regenerated that the worms attacked it again.
Bach and his knights had not been so fortunate. Without his regenerative capabilities the worms had their full effect. They writhed on the ground screaming while clawing futilely at their armor. Mercifully, they finally fell silent. Their bodies looked as if they had spent years decaying in a marsh. The shaman gave a braying laugh and turned to Karl. Again it raised its staff.
"KARL!" Turning his head Karl was stunned to see Clare. Behind her everything confusion; some people were running some were fighting and the Beastmen were pressing them everywhere. Clare had somehow separated herself from the other women and children and had made her way through the fighting to here.
The shaman snorted in clear contempt and several of the Beastmen near them ran towards her, weapons at the ready. Karl tried to yell at her to run but all he could manage was another cry of pain as the worms continued their work.
Clare's eyes blazed with hate. She tried to say something but suddenly doubled over clutching her stomach, as if she were going to be sick, her breath came in deep ragged gasps. Just as the beasts drew near she drew herself upright. "Damn you all!" She screamed and thrust out her hands as if to shove her attackers away.
A ball of fire burst from her hands.
It incinerated the ones approaching her and continued on. The shaman turned in alarm. It waved its hands and frantically chanted. When the ball of fire reached it burst against a shimmering green shield. For a moment it held, and then it failed, the fire rolled over the shaman. It gave off one pain filled scream and then collapsed.
Once the impediment of the shield was gone the flames continued on. A column of Beastmen was coming up to reinforce those who were pressing the defenders; these took the full blast of the fire. More than a dozen were burned to ash in seconds; many more caught fire and rushed about and the column dissolved into chaos.
Karl did not know if was the death of the shaman or the heat of the flames but he felt the worms inside him die. With them gone his body was able to finally regenerate itself. Though his body was healing he was still very weak and when he tried to stand he found he could not. Clare had been staring at what she had done in shock. When she saw Karl struggling to stand she rushed to him. She managed to help him to his feet; he was surprised at the heat he felt from her body.
They managed to hobble and stumble back to their line. Without their reinforcements the enemy had been unable to take full advantage of the opening the shaman had made and had melted into the back alleys and streets. This had allowed the Baron to reform the line and prepare for the inevitable return of the enemy. A ragged cheer went up as Karl and Clare returned. Though Karl received more than one slap on the back the people seemed to be avoiding Clare.
When they reached the Baron he nodded respectfully to Karl and gave a look of speculation to Clare. "Well done you two. You've bought us some time. I don't suppose you could do that again?" This was directed at Clare. She nervously shook her head.
"I don't know how I did it the first time my lord."
The Baron nodded, "I feared as much."
Just then a great cry went up from the attackers. They were returning and more had come up. At the front was a gigantic Beastman. It was not as tall as the Minotaurs had been but it stood head and shoulders above those around it. It wore crude armor, composed of bits and pieces of human armor hammered together, and held a great two handed axe with glowing red runes that hurt Karl's eyes to look at. It raised its weapon over its head and gave a great cry which the rest of them echoed.
"So, their leader shows itself at last." The Baron said simply, though with a hint of despair in his voice. Karl understood why. He felt drained weary beyond belief from the shaman's attack and those around him looked even worse. There was no way they could hold off another assault. Then the enemy charged.
They slammed into the defenders like a tidal wave, the force literally throwing some men off their feet. The leader of the Beastmen swung his axe about, killing three or four men at a time. Some of the defenders were so weary they could barely raise their weapons and the foe cut them down with ease. Karl wearily made his way towards the leader; he did not have a chance, he did not even feel like he had enough strength to change into his wolven form, but the effort had to be made.
He became aware of a figure beside him. With a start he realized it was Ernst. They looked at one another and nodded. No words were spoken, none were needed. They reached the beast and threw themselves at it. The creature almost casually swung its axe at them. Karl tried to shove Ernst out of the way while he also attempted to spring aside.
He was only partially successful; neither of them was split in half but both were grazed. Karl felt the blade cut through skin and ribs but fail to reach his organs. He fell to the ground with a grunt of pain, to drained even to scream. To his dulled horror he saw Ernst crash into the wall of a nearby house, his entrails spilling from his ripped open stomach and the fire leaving his eyes. The Beastman snorted and turned towards the remaining humans.
"Sigmar aid me!" Ernst cried out in a gurgling voice as blood filled his lungs. Suddenly Karl was nearly blinded by a bright golden light that engulfed Ernst. When it faded Ernst was gone. In his place stood a tall man with long golden hair and stormy eyes; he was clad in archaic armor and held a hammer that blazed with runes of power. Karl knew in an instant who it was, his image was everywhere in the kingdom he had forged three thousand years ago.
Sigmar Heldenhammer, founder and god of the Empire!
The Beastman leader turned and shrank back in fear. Sigmar swung his hammer and the beast raised its axe to block. The two weapons met and the axe burst to pieces. The hammer continued on and took the beast's head clean off. All around the fighting ceased as both sides stared. Sigmar turned to take in the whole of the remaining defenders and he smiled a smile that contained both sadness and savage pride then he spoke in a deep voice that echoed those emotions. "Well done, my brave and precious children."
Then he turned to face the Beastmen and his face became a mask of such hate that Karl shuddered and the wolf inside him whined and tried to slink into the darkest corners of his mind. When Sigmar spoke again his voice now rang with hate. "Now, spawn of darkness you shall pay. For this night and all
the suffering your kind has inflicted upon my children!"
With that he fell upon them.
The beasts seemed too terrified to even defend themselves. Sigmar's hammer rose and fell again and again and soon dozens of dead Beastmen lay around him. It was too much, the beasts broke and fled. The god did not pursue them. He stood there for a moment and then began to shrink and wounds appear, within seconds Sigmar was gone and in his place stood Ernst who fell to the ground, dead.
Karl sat on a barrel and leaned against the wall of the stables, which had somehow not burned. It had been several days since the battle. Soon after the enemy had fled dawn had broken over the smoke blacked remains and the weary survivors. Around noon a relief column had arrived and had found the survivors wearily gather their dead and seeing to the wounded.
More than half the people in the town were dead and many were injured. Of Bach's knights only eight remained of the original thirty. Much of the town had been burned and Karl fancied that some of it would be abandoned, as would doubtless many of the smaller villages and farms and the forest and the creatures that lurked within would spread further into the lands of men.
Karl tried to banish such gloomy thoughts and tried to think of the appearance of Sigmar that had saved them. Ernst's body had lain on the temple's alter and some were already whispering of canonizing him. Karl wasn't sure he liked the idea of Ernst as a saint; he did not think Ernst would have liked it either. He was happy though that Ernst had found what he was looking for.
The sound of someone approaching drew his attention. Turning his head he smiled as he saw Clare approaching. After the battle the Baron had taken her to his manor house. Just as well, ever since the battle people seemed uneasy around her. She was wearing a brown traveling dress and her face was a mixture of nervousness and excitement.
"Hello Clare I am glad to see you, I am afraid I have not had the opportunity to thank you properly for saving my life."
She blushed. "Oh it was hardly more than what you did for me." She paused for a moment and then said. "I wanted to see so I could say goodbye."
"Goodbye;" asked Karl, sitting up straight in surprise, "where are you going?"
"To Altdorf;" she said and in her voice he heard the same mixture of excitement and nervousness he had felt when he left his own village, "The Baron has agreed to sponsor me to study Fire Magic at the Colleges of Magic there." This last was said in an even more nervous voice. Karl just smiled.
"That was very generous of him; and it seems there will be no tavern work for you."
She smiled a smile that showed a great deal of relief and she let out the breath she had been holding ever since she had told him where she was going.
"Yes it was very generous of him;" she paused again and spoke in a tone that was a mixture of fear and awe, "I never imagined this, me, a Fire Wizard."
"Indeed;" said Karl, then his voice took on a tone of concern, "But you know this will mean you'll probably be in battle again."
Her face became solemn. "I know, the Baron told me that too. But I have no choice; all magic users have to go to the Colleges or be hunted by the witch hunters." She shuddered at the thought of those dreaded figures and Karl felt a flash of anger at the thought of one of them hurting Clare. "Besides," continued Clare, "The Baron said that we all have a duty to use our abilities to serve the Empire and we who have magical ability are more able to do so many; and I want to." Here her voice took on a hard edge and for a moment she looked dangerous and Karl felt the air become hotter. "I want to take all those things in the woods and burn them to ashes."
Then she shook herself, the look vanished and the air cooled. "Beside;" she said in a joking manner, evidently eager to change the subject, "Now we can both be heroes of the Empire."
Karl gave a small smile. Her words reminding him of something Marx had said 'In the eyes of the world you are a monster and monsters don't get to be heroes. '"Well, you can be one at least." He told her.
She looked at him. "I don't know if either of us will ever been famous but you are and will always be a hero to me. You saved me and gave me a chance to be more than I ever thought I could be. Whatever happens I'll always be grateful." She came over and kissed him, her breath made hot by the fire that now burned inside her.
"My lady it is time to go." This came from a boy dressed as a groom. At Karl's questioning look Clare explained.
"The Baron knows some of the knights in the relief column; they agreed to let me travel with them when they returned to Altdorf. She gave him a last smile of farewell and then departed.
Karl watched her go sadly. He would miss her a great deal. Still it was probably for the best, what would he have done taken her with him on whatever dangerous jobs Marx sent him on? Leave her here to be a tavern girl? No, this way she had a chance to be more than she had ever thought possible. True, as he had told her, her life would be far more dangerous. Then he looked at the burned town and beyond to the dark woods, was anyone of them ever truly safe?
His musings were interrupted by the approach of a second young man dress as a groom. He paid the fellow little attention till he stopped in front of Karl. "I bring a message from our master, the one you know as Marx. He is currently in the City of Nuln and he commands you come to him there. Follow me I have provisions and two horses saddled."
It seemed Marx could find him after all.
Author's Notes: Halleluiah! I was beginning to think that I would never get to the end of this chapter. Well, that wraps up this particular adventure, hope you all think it was worth the wait. For those of you not familiar with Warhammer Fantasy let me explain a few things in the chapter. 1.) Minotaurs are described as twice as tall as a man and yes they will stop in the middle of battle to eat, they're not very bright. 2.) In the online game a priest's eyes will blaze like that; in the lore of the Empire Sigmar has occasionally manifested himself through someone to turn the tide of battle, probably not in an unimportant battle like this but I wanted to give Ernst a good send off. 3.) Magic is divided into eight lores, Marx practices the Lore of Shadows and Clare is going to study the Lore of Fire, humans can only master one lore. The collages that teach magic are all in or near Altdorf. Anyone who can do magic has to be trained and licensed from these or they are targeted by the witch hunters; who consider any non-licensed spell user a witch. 4.) In the Empire magic has only been legal for about two hundred of its three thousand year history those who can do it are usually feared and shunned. Now finally I have a few questions. 1.) Did the battle live up to my hype? 2.) Did I do a good job of fleshing out Ernst and Clare? 3.) Was it worth the wait? Please let me know in the reviews. Please keep praying and may Jesus bless you all till next time.