Same time, 250 Kilometers North of Middenheim
The NT Zeppelin used his reversible pitch propellers and the swivel prop in the back a lot to keep place. While the Zeppelin was quite substantial the gusts of the afternoon wind threatened to push it off the chosen place. Ernst Hermann winced every time the engines changed pitch and sound level as the wanted to avoid the enemy's attention and even the comparatively quiet Airship Diesel engines were bound to attract sooner or later.
The bowl shaped valley chosen by the KSK had all the necessary features: Some open space, a small lake which clean water and a certain distance to any reported hostile formations.
This allowed the Zeppelin to resupply the composite force of Reiksguard and KSK. It was one of the newer models-not yet one of the Giants under construction, but the Airship had been lengthened to gain more lift and 500 HP Diesel engines had replaced the 200 HP petrol ones of the first models.
While they were slow even compared to a Helicopter they had enormous range and lift capability. The Airship was currently lowering a platform from its ample envelope containing all the goodies Ernst needed to make things more interesting for the Chaos Army.
Also a firehose with a pump and filter was placed into the water of the lake. While his soldiers would unload the platform water would be pumped into the ballast tanks of the airship so it would not have to dump helium to compensate for the weight loss.
It took about 15 minutes once the platform was down to remove its contents and the same time to pump up the water. A little later the Load Master of the Zeppelin watched while the pump and hose was stowed and had a little time for the KSK lieutenant. "Thanks Lt.-that was well organized and fast. We hate to be overstay in Indian country when the platform is down."
"I can understand that pretty well-that is why we tried to hurry. But what do you do when you encounter a Wyrm or Dragon while in the air? I don`t think you have weapons but for that machine gun under the Gondola."
"Simple-we drop the ballast-all of it. Then we go up like a cork on New Year's Eve, to about 6000 meters-there they do not go. But we have to spot them in time of course."
"I`ll keep my fingers crossed then."
"You take care too."
Both Imperials and KSK put their backs into unpacking their resupply-and there was a lot of it. While most of the Imperials made sure that the party was not unduly disturbed the rest of the Team made two open-topped Off-road cars and their trailers ready and distributed the supplies for transport. In flagrant disregard of all environmental protection laws the packaging material were weighted down and sunk into the Lake.
Coming back from his watch post Hauptmann Hemmler watched the two vehicles they had received with interest. "So this is the "Serval" you talked so much about?"
"Indeed, I used one in Afghanistan and think they will be even more useful here. A .050 HMG on this one, a 40 mm Grenade launcher on the other and two 7,62 mm machine guns each on both. Only problem I have with them is that they have no armor to speak off-they even removed the bottom armor."
"Why would anybody want to armor the floor of a chariot?"
"Ah, let me tell you another time, this would take too long. I`ll contact Dirk and the Warden."
60000 ft. AGL, 100 Kilometers off, same time
High above the soldiers, warriors and monstrosities a slender plane with forward-canting wings soared. The "Hammer Hawk" drone was one of the silent stars of the Storm of Chaos Campaign. Before the Weltensprung known as "Eurohawk" it could easily have devolved into failure and scandal because the lack of a collision warning radar meant that it could not have flown legally in EU airspace. Wouldn't it been fun to find out who knew about that and when and who was responsible?
Now EADS had removed a part of the electronic sniffers-there were not so many cell phones to eavesdrop to-and added some less challenging optical surveillance systems. While the "Hammer Hawk" could take very nice pictures of a humongous area from its lofty height it also served as a relay for the comparatively low powered wireless sets carried by some German troopers.
Hawk 002 was currently the link between Dirk Zimmermann and the rest of his team.
In bright daylight and from 4 meters distance you could see the well camouflaged foxhole, if you have sharp eyes and you are told where it was. The Warden and the sniper had combined their considerable training and experience to make it so and it commanded an excellent view of their target. Both men shared the duty of watching their backs and observing their target through binox and NVG. Currently Dirk Zimmermann was on the line to his Lieutenant.
"Nice to hear from you boss. We have the target in sight-no changes since the last report. If you can make it, I am all for doing it."
"Understood-next contact in 4 hours."
The KSK sniper disengaged the microphone and looked over to Warden Merkel who munched on the contents of his "EPA" field ration.
"You really like this stuff don`t you?"
"You do not know when you have it good Dirk. Let me tell you of..."
While the sniper listened to his foxhole partner with half an ear he again watched the Chaos Army camp 2 kilometers from him through his scope and tried to see if anything untoward was happening...
Way between Quarry and Middenheim, Next morning
Captain Manfred Berger watched while an 15-ton MAN truck laid one of his precious aluminum folding trackways, They were marvelous things-strong enough to allow 70-ton vehicles to cross muddy or sandy ground and could be emplaced by two soldiers. Unfortunately in all of Germany there were a few Kilometers of this stuff when he could have used a couple of hundred.
The Road from Altdorf to Middenheim was a very mixed message. Originally, probably erected in Sigmars time or so, it used to be a very stout road made with an extremely deep foundation, roughly equivalent to an old roman road. If all of the road were like this he would not have problems at all.
Unfortunately during the many civil wars and other lapses of government of the Empire a lot of the surrounding villagers had appropriated some of these nicely hewn stones, until the roadbed was filled with dirt. In some places the road was still pretty good but in others the road was defined by an absence of trees. Closer to the Quarry lorries had dropped truckload after truckload of gravel, but the farther you went it became more and more difficult and so he had to expand some of his precious folding trackways.
Things were looking up though. The first parties of "Wolf" and "Dingo" trucks were making the trip to Middenheim and the first convoy of MAN gl Trucks was on its way. If and when they arrived one could think about sending the big guns.
Temple of Shallya, same time
Superior Mother Serena looked her own, and as far as Ralf Winkler was concerned classified, age for the first time the medic had known her. The normally resolute woman who had a ruddy skin color looked frail and white as a paper. That she had an IV-bag sending a small trickle of fluids into her, an oxygen tube ran to her nose and the wiring of an ECG emerged under her robe did not help any.
She was breathing flatly and too fast in order not to force her broken ribs out in painful ways and was looking at the source of her misery.
"Thanks brother Ralf, you got me back from the brink of death. There are still things to do for me."
"Ah-you are welcome Superior Mother. I am happy that you take it like this after my suggestion put you in the path of so much danger. Not to mention the little problem with your ribs."
"You suggested-but I took the decision and I knew the dangers well-I should have been more careful. And did you not teach me and the others that a successful CPR on "older citizens" is impossible without some broken ribs?"
"There is that. Still, thanks for taking it like that. How are you?"
"Better than I have any right to be-I am alive, anything else is details"
Both healers laughed and both winced after a second, Ralf from empathy and Serena from the pain of her broken ribs.
"I am very sorry to ask so early, but we must. Did you see anything worthwhile?"
"Yes, I did. The poor girl saw a man several times and from his appearance and her memories we should talk to him"
"That is good to hear. I think we get the smallpox under control, but I fear we get the next attempted epidemic if we do not catch this guy in time. I have already contacted the counts court and they will send a portrait artist over for a sketch if you feel like it."
"That is a good idea, but I have a name to go with the face too. The man we seek is called Ingolf."
"That is a real boon. I think that you did quite a lot to end this problem."
"That is our duty."
"Yes, and some do it better than others. If I am allowed Mother…."
"Get on with it, the younger Sisters are much better company than me…"
Both managed to laugh a little longer before the pain set in.
Pilgrim Management offices - Muskauer Strasse, Berlin
11.00am
Bloch looked across the table, prim and proper as ever sat Hannah, the group's PA, Till and Christian in suits, while the remainder were sat in a mix of jeans and T Shirts.
"Good morning Gentlemen, Hannah. Thank you as ever for coming in" Bloch had a feeling that something wasn't right. Lindemann and Lorenz only dressed in suits if they wanted something, normally it would be one of the other, both spelt trouble, "have you reviewed the agenda"?
While the rest of the group shuffled papers, both Till and Flake remained immobile. Oh Shit. The thought hit Bloch sideways, they did want something, now it was to work out what.
"Aber naturlich Joachim", the keyboardist spoke clearly but quietly, "we also have an item to add, but this can wait for Any Other Business if it is not covered off before hand".
"OK, we shall begin then, we've booked you your normal recording suite for the next album, the record company are quite happy with the title - 'Alt Geschichte - Neue Welt'. How is the running order for the Album coming along"? Bloch still hoped to retain control in this meeting, but he already knew any control would be illusiary, all he could do is wait the storm.
"Looks pretty good, we have a few changes maybe but we're pretty happy with this. We don't think, in their current form there's a lead single yet, but it's looking good", Schneider looked up while replying, almost as soon as he finished, he was back looking at the papers he had brought with him.
"Danke, looking at the tour, Germany will be no problem, but the insurance company are insisting on a protection detail if you are to go into the Empire. The cost of this is looking high at the moment and equates to nearly 1 guard for every member of the band and crew, including enough to cover local stage hands. I can negotiate this downwards, but it will still probably wipe out any income from that leg of the tour at the least. Worst case though you may need to add 2 further dates in Germany"
"That will be fine Joachim, no one has toured the Empire yet, it would be good if we could be the first, 'Cultural Exchanges' and all that". Lindemann leaned back in his chair slightly, it was there in his eyes, a slight grin.
At that point, the rest of the band sat up and looked like they were paying attention, they all seemed to have a small stack of papers in their hands. It was Lorenz that spoke first.
"Joachim, I, that is we, would like to ask you about this script. I think I speak for all of us when I say that to have this delivered by a ministry courier is not good. You of all people should be aware of how we feel about taking orders from uncultured civil servants", Bloch gave an inward sigh of relief, this was good, he could tell them how he'd tried to reject it but was over ruled by Neumann, but that if They were to reject it, then there was nothing more that could be done.
"Of course Herr Lorenz, I did try..."
The hulking singer interjected "Actually Joachim, we wanted to know why you did not pass this on to us directly, after all, you are aware that in the terms of our contract, we make the decision regarding artistic content. This applied to our management contract as well as our recording contract". Till was being reasonable, this was it. "We have reviewed the script proposed, we do not currently have a song to match it, however this is in progress and should be ready to demo shortly, of course the working title is fluid but this is in progress. In fact, we wish to meet this Detlef Sierck at his earliest convenience. Please arrange his travel".
It hung, unspoken in the air, we make the decisions regarding our artistic content, the words, that should they wish to could end this contract.
"I will arrange this. I see we've reached the end of the agenda, is there any further business gentlemen"? Bloch could hardly see past the satisfied grins. These bastards loved twisting his tail like this, but for what it paid, he would endure.
Foxhole, 240 Kilometers North of Middenheim, very early in the morning
The Warden should feel itchy-he had not changed most of his clothes for a week now or so and since he was occupying the foxhole by now for more than two days the creepy crawlies of the countryside had found their way into his clothes. He was so used to this that he did in no way realize any of it. His German partner obviously felt some of it-but now he had gotten into sniper mode and the only sensations he concisely parsed were those that came through his telescopic sight.
As this made his world come down to a 2.5 degree cone he needed somebody to watch his back and keep a broader overview through more normal Binox-and that was where Merkel came in.
He loved the Binox-they gave his eyes a reach they never had, even when he was much younger and showed everything in great clarity. They even managed to light up his field of view a little without using electronics, but the best thing about them was that they were his. He received them as a gift when he volunteered for this crazy enterprise. He was not so sure about the compass that was included into his field of view, but who was looking a gift horse into the mouth.
Currently he was watching the "morning parade". The army camp below was composed of humans which were still recognizable as such and mostly had barbarians and some cavalry besides the usual hangers-on and assorted rabble. A hastily erected palisade enclosed several different groupings of tents and other accommodations-in some cases none but the bare ground for sleeping. The middle was occupied by a muddy square which rapidly filled up with warriors of different types.
Whoever was leading this bunch had established his rule well as even these disparate elements did indeed stood to at the first light with minimal drama just like they did the last days when the Warden was watching. Dawn was a time used by many armies for surprise assaults as it allowed the attackers to see what they were doing while masking their approach during the night. At the same time the defenders were still tired and with any luck still sleeping. Successful armies therefore stood to at the first morning light just to be prepared to such an eventuality. That it was also a way to demonstrate the underlings how powerful their higher-ups were was of course a bonus. From his talks with Dirk and the practice with the KSK soldiers in the Castle it seemed that this was the same for the strange world the Germans came from.
What the Germans had never done was to assemble in the open in more or less orderly lines-and these guys here were about to find out why.
He heard the "wireless" which was connected to Dirks headset only as disconnected sounds but knew that they would signify something. The effects could be seen seconds later when a string of explosions hit a side of the square and some tents. The snipers "Left 50, down 20, then fire for effect" was perfectly audible, the result of a hundred small grenades pumped into the small enclosed space filled with humans perfectly horrible to watch. This is, if you are not Warden Merkel who had seen far too much of the horrors perpetuated by Chaos followers and who crackled with glee when the 40 mm grenades did their bloody work.
Unable to flee the camp quickly due to the Palisade and unable to take sufficient cover as digging holes for cover had not occurred to the invading army the camp resembled nothing so much like an ant hill destroyed by willful children. Running back and forth without any discernible sense they were subject to the 5 meter circles of lethal fragments and overpressure that were flung at them in such amounts. Still, some of the Chaos followers were made of a sterner stuff and watching for them was one of the Wardens jobs.
"Dirk, leadership looking type at 341 degree low at the horse pen…."
"Got him " boom-in the small foxhole the M82 rifle sounded as loud as an artillery piece. The targets chest seemed to disintegrate under the hit. "Well done. There is a mage at 343 before the big gaudy tent. "Boom"..
At the end, it could not last. The grenades were coming in so slowly that they could be seen by eye and as they were fired indirectly they were not redirected in time to prevent a unit of heavy cavalry riding out of the gate at high speed.
"Ernst, there is a bunch of tin-cans coming up the glade. They seem to be angry at something."
The KSK Lieutenants answer was again lost to the warden, but he could see the double line of tracers which went out from the unseen second vehicle. The lead horses of the charge dropped like ninepins hit by the bowling ball converting the aggressive charge into a bloody nightmare. Milling around because their leaders were already dead the surviving cavalrymen made themselves targets for additional salvos until they saw the wisdom of retreating into the woods.
The camp showed lots of Chaos followers leaving through the few gaps or even over the palisade. Some in groups which seemed to have aims, other singly.
"Time to go Warden."
"Thought you`d never say that."
Packed with nearly 40 Kilogram of weapons and equipment each the two men started to walk to the rally point 10 kilometers hence. The Warden thought the effort was well worth it.
Hall of the Elector, Middenheim, later next day
Ingolf the writer had learned that the Germans would indeed provide copies of all the "slides" they showed to make a "point". This made his job a lot easier as so he had just to note the things said not contained in the copies. Still, it was quite a lot but he did not mind that any as any intelligence he could bring back home put the Master in a better mood-and the Masters mood was foul indeed. The illness he had brought to Middenheim was an artfully constructed one and would have caused many deaths and permanent pain and disfiguration for the few survivors. Many of them would have been easy converts to Nurgle.
Now a lot of people were sick-but very few would die and also the permanent problems would be averted for most survivors. Not only had the Germans and Shallya`s Sisters proudly stated as much, but his Master felt it in his bones. But now he had to pay attention.
"To summarize: The evacuation of the inhabitants of Nrothern Middeland is going more or less per plan. Grimmighagen and Brink have received German reinforcements and should be able to repel an attack by a foraging party without undue problems. The rest will go via Middenheim to Sternhagen where we currently erect temporary shelters.
We keep an eye on all major components of the Chaos incursion and have started to attack the outlying elements in western Middenland which are most active in foraging. We have already curtailed their plundering and will increase this when more troops arrive.
The aim of all of this is twofold: To rescue as many civilians from the approaching armies and to give the Chaos Army only an area empty of victuals to transit. Archaron is said to be an experienced General, he will shortly see that his advance is unsustainable and will retreat in order to organize his supplies better.
Until he can come back we will have the railway build and we can move a force like the one which just went after the Beastmen here on short notice-and if Archaron wants to fight them he will be defeated with minimal losses for our side.
This strategy, while it goes against your military traditions will bring the time we need and Victory."
The briefing was greeted by a lot of silence-this went against all military traditions of Middenland and actually against their religion. The War God Ulrik had his shrine in Middenheim and the Wulf Guards were among the fiercest fighters around. The only thing that kept the Count and his Army from riding off to a final battle with the forces of Evil was that they were outnumbered about 10:1. They had waited for reinforcements from Luthor Huss, but the priest had been delayed at the Battle of the Quarry, so the Count agreed to this Strategy, and from what Ingolf had heard, with rather ill grace.
Even the longest meeting is over sooner or later and Ingolf was hurrying out of the room to organize his notes when his memory was still fresh. He should have paid more attention to where he was going as he collided with a German on his way out. He nearly toppled the man who could just keep himself upright by clinging to the writers shoulder.
The German was a slender middle aged man with receding hair who was unremarkable. Just when Ingolf picked his notes up again he found that the pinkie on the left hand of the German was missing when he handled him two sheets Ingolf had missed.
"I am truly sorry Sir, I did not pay attention and…"
"Forget it man, nothing happened."
Both men hustled from the meeting room as both had appointments they did not want to miss. Ingolf went straight home as he had important info to hand over. His Master was very pleased with his catch and actually gifted him release from the gout he had put on Ingolf before.
Ottokar Proktor had, at least to a German not affiliated with Chaos, a more pleasant meeting in mind. Not too far from the palace a respectable, if anonymous, manor awaited his visit. No coat-of arms or sign announced its owners but well groomed men-at arms guarded the entrance gate, Knowing the German from previous visits they allowed his entry without fuss.
Inside he was greeted by a very beautiful 12-year old girl in adult formal clothing "Ottokar, so nice to see you again. Madam will see you in a minute. Do you require some refreshments in the mean time? Do you require a bath?"
"Thanks dear, some tea would be fine and the bath sounds just fine."
"I will arrange Sir, the refreshments will be with you shortly."
Ottokar had taken a while to get used to a bath assisted by somebody else as it was usual in the Empire, but when your helpers were as beautiful as the two matching blondes the Madam had acquired from Kislev somehow it was worth the effort. Still, it would not do to spoil the appetite. He had tried these girls together with the Madame, but while they were nice they were also common-and he did not dig for common when much more refined entertainment was avalable.
As the Empire was always in the market for goods from Germany the exchange rate between the Euro and the imperial Crown was very favorable, allowing him to indulge to his heart's content.
He was efficiently washed and groomed and clothed in a silken robe before he was allowed into the rooms of Lady Ester. The rooms were definitively her rooms and expressed her style. Immaculate woodwork, beautiful wall carpets and exquisite paintings made for elegant boudoir that was in no way tacky.
The Lady welcomed him with a courtesy as if he was wearing formal clothes and not just the robe while she wore something which would not be out of place in a ballroom in Altdorf.
"Otto, it is a pleasure to see you back again. Does your work allow you the time?
"Whatever time I can spare Mylady II spend with you…"
It took them about 10 Minutes to get the small talk that gave both the feeling they were doing something classy instead of gross away and some more time nicely spend to unclothe Lady Ester. She was a delightful creature with the skin of a young woman, a figure worthy of poems and enough experience for a harem.
The time they spend together was very well spend indeed and Ottokar was wondering again what he was able to do under such expert tutelage. Both were lying on the bed in a state of sweet exhaustion when Ester gripped the German around his shoulders.
"Ottokar, I am sorry to ask, but I have a responsibility for my Girls. Is it still safe here or should I leave for a safer place?"
"You worry too much dear, all will be fine."
"Don`t make fun of me Otto-never take me for a…"
"Whoha Mylady, cool it. Yes, there is a big bad Chaos army coming for Middenheim. And yes, there are not yet reinforcements here to stop them. And yes, if this Chaos Army would really hustle they might even be here before we have much more firepower available. But they are stupid enough to push it all the way, they arrive here they will look like starvation victims and their fighting ability will be that below that of your lovely assistants."
"If you still make fun of me Otto, I swear I will…."
"I do not. We bring all farmers out from the area he is in and either move or burn anything edible. When the Chaos Army tries to march through this they will simply not be able to find enough food."
"What a strange way to have a war."
"Amateurs study tactics, professionals study logistics…"
"What are logistics?"
"Well…."
90 Minutes later a happy and slightly tired German watched the flight of a messenger pigeon from the house he had left an hour ago. Mission accomplished.
Road between Middenheim and Altdorf, 100 Kilometers past the Quarry
Andre Hartmann was driving his Mercedes Truck down the "improved" road to Middenheim. The convoy he was already the second to take the full trip, the ones before had established refueling and maintenance depots along the road. The 100 Kilometers they had done so far had taken nearly 5 hours as the fragile nature of the roads improvements made speeds above 30 kilometers inadvisable. Most bridges could only be passed by single trucks which did not accelerate things in any way.
All in there are few more boring things one can do than driving very slowly in a convoy and conversation with his Co-driver was difficult due to the engine noise. Andre had to force himself to count the time the truck in front of him passed anything remarkable till his truck did and to increase the distance again as needed. This proved to be a very wise move when two huge trees simply dropped on the road in front of the next truck as this allowed him to stop before becoming engaged in a fender bender.
The possible accident was removed from his mind when screaming, axe-wielding warriors emerged from the treeline and assaulted the Germans. There was no way to drive out of the ambush-the front was blocked, the trucks behind him still piling up and the terrain to the left and right simply impassable. His Co-Driver needed no encouragement, opened the roof hatch and manned the machine gun. Hartmann could only watch as sporadic gunfire went out from the trucks-not enough to stop the running madmen. The escorts were on ether ends of the convoy and currently too far away to help.
The Chaos warriors punched their axes into the trucks cabins, just to find that they were armored, into the load on the back and into the tires-none of that was any help but only the warriors close to the trucks had any chance of living as the rest came under fire from several machine guns.
Andre had already readied his MP7 when his Co-Driver started to shout and then gurgle. The driver had to watch his comrade being pulled out of the hatch while a copious amount of blood streaming down his breast told of a slit throat. The driver tried to hold the legs. When his hands sliped in the blood he thought better of it and inserted the MP between the body and the hatch. Shooting off a full magazine brought screams, a thuncking sound of something heavy hitting the roof and a drop of his Co-Drivers corpse on the shotgun seat.
Screaming, crying and shivering he pulled the body away and scrambled upwards to man the machine gun himself. Two bodies with a lot of holes and no life had to be pushed off the roof before a clear field of fire allowed Andre to shoot the assailants of the truck to his front.
Breathing heavily as if he had run a marathon he looked around for new targets-none to be had.
The Warp, somewhere? Sometime?
Now it had found him. The one nearly killing him. The one destroying its plan to build a new chaos gate. The one, who nearly destroyed its whole realm. It wanted revenge.
Coast of the Sea of Claws near Großer Binzsee, three weeks later
Gotrek and Felix had made vacations at Malente. Weather was warm and Felix could even convince Gotrek to relax. Going to sail and for walks near the beaches of the lake nearby seemed to be relaxing. Gotrek was still quiete. On the last day both made a trip to the coast of the Sea of Claws nearby. Gotrek asked Felix to stay behind. He wanted to consider his situation.
It was going to be late and not many people were at the beach, when he saw the ship for the first time. It was a typical dragon ship of the Norse. It drove south and looked like the typical merchant ship of the Norse on the way to a German harbour, perhaps to Rostock or Lübeck. The Norse ships were able to cross the Trave river from her new estuary to the old Hanseatic city. The deepening of the Trave was still going on.
But this boat was handled in a strange way as it changed the course abruptly and beached itself. With horror he saw the Chaos warriors lead by a Chaos Champion with them. And he had no weapon with him. A few Germans were calling for help, but these civilians could not help him and indeed tried to do the most sensible thing: Saving their lives. And the Landwehr would not be here before his life was over.
Although he had still doubts he did not want to die without a fight. So instead of running away he was waiting. Then they came.
When the ship reached the beach, about 20 chaos warriors and the chaos champ hit the beach. They ran towards Gotrek.
The first was carrying a battle axe. But shortly before he reached Gotrek, he collapsed. Gotrek was stunned and looked behind him. Indeed Felix had acquired one of these German pistols, a P1 and had shot three times on the first warrior. Soon after the second and third warrior fell. Felix had to reload.
In the meantime Gotrek wasn't idle either. He had taken the battleaxe and evaded the attack of the next warrior. His counterstrike litterally halved the warrior. The next warrior failed in his attack on Gotrek as well. The dwarf cut of the warrior's right arm and then beheaded him. A third warrior died, as his sword broke trying to block Gotrek's axe. The axe hit the sword with such a force it splintered. His chest was hit and he collapsed.
The chaos warriors had not expected such a resistance and had stopped. Because of that Felix had enough time to fire another eight shots at them killing another two. Also he could reload in time to kill another three warriors running towards him. But now he had run out of ammo.
In this moment Gotrek had attacked the next two warriors and had killed them soon. But then three chaos warriors and the champ were engaging him while the other four attacked Felix.
Felix had grabbed the sword of the dead warrior next to him and killed the next warrior by a hit into the chest. The second was hit into the stomach, but then he had to fight two warriors at the same time.
Gotrek wasn't in a better situation. He had buried the axe into the right side of his next attacker but lost the axe in the fight with the other two. In the last moment he could grab a sword and evade the next attack. But he had to survive two other attacks before the sword tasted chaos blood, when he hit the side of the third attacker destroying his liver among other organs. The attacker was down and although not dead yet he would be soon.
Gotrek avoided the attack of the last chaos warrior and was able to bury the sword into the neck. But this made him vulnerable for a moment. This moment the chaos champion used and hit his left side. A few months ago he would have been very glad. But now Gotrek had doubts. The last thing he saw though was the beheading of the chaos champ by Felix, who had barely managed to kill his two last attackers.
Felix, after being sure there was no other attacker, rushed to his dying friend. He heard the sirenes of the German police and Landwehr units and cried for help. But it was too late.
Temple of Shallya, sometimes
Ralf Winkler had done his best to help with the treatment of the many smallpox victims that were still at the temple for most of the day and was having a small dinner with the Sisters of Ward "B". The relationship with the sisters here was still a little strange as the order really was not used to have men on board. What had helped past anything his amulet and Serena`s intoduction could do for with his accepntance was that the vaccine and the anti-viral treatment worked.
Like with all good medical personal in any world the motto was "He who heals is right"
So taking a common meal and sharing the jokes all healers have served to improve this relationship.
"So you have these "little jokes" too in Germany"
"Yes Sister Agnes. In the old days we used to say that a medic has the choice to become religious, a cynic or mad-multiple choices are possible."
"So, what jokes did you use to relive the pressure?"
"Lets see if this one translates right: The Gatekeeper of Morr hears somebody knocking on the Gate an openes. Before him is a middle aged guy who wants entrance. "Hello, I am Ulf, and I ..." and then he is just gone. The Gatekeeper has never had this, but can do nothing so he resumes whatever he is doing. 5 Minutes later there is the knocking again and again there is the same man. "Hello I am..." and then he is gone again. Another 5 Minutes later it happens again and now the gatekeeper is so confused that he seeks Morrs guidance. After explaining what the problem is Morr thinks about it for a minute.
"A, this is Ulf Meier. He is in a Hamburg ambulance and gets CPR"
It took the sisters a minute to eqate CPR with the procedure he had subjected Serena to, the the laughter started for real.
35 Kilometers from Middenheim, entrance to cave, same night
During its long history many forces and beings had driven tunnels through the Warhammer world. Some were of natural origin, some were made by humans in search of ores, many more were made by Dwarves for mining or transport.
The Skaven had added more of them or had expended on the work of others. And then there were tunnels which were very very even and had grey walls of a stone nobody new and which showed the rusted remains of rails, and the absolutely smooth circular tunnels left by….something.
The short story is that when you know you way around there are very few places on the Warhammer world you cannot get close to without being on the surface much.
Skrulk Screwbender was just more than happy that he could leave the surface again. It was full of humans-and he hated humans. As much as he wanted to kill every one of them his clever caution demanded that he avoided direct confrontation as much as possible. His mission was far too important to risk being discovered.
Unfortunately the apparatus his slaves pushed was really easy to see and so heavy that it was hard to push. He was going through one set of slaves per day on average but still he going slower than he liked. Kicking his packmaster into action the latter used his whip to move the slaves in greater action.
"Push, push you loosers. We do not want to be on the surface when the day breaks, no no. "
The Skaven Chief Engineer watched as the wheels of the great machine rumbled over the uneven ground and went deeper and deeper into the cave while he followed. Before entering the cave itself he gave a last look to the spot where the human Fortress Town was brooding over the landscape. Even his eyes could not see it from this distance but he could picture the Walled City on the mountaintop easily. It had withstood all sieges and battles over many years-time to end it.
230 Kilometers North of Middenheim, two days later
Archaron`s tent was made from the skins of those he has vanquished over the years. It reminded everybody about who was Boss, kept the contents reasonably warm and dry, and the fact that the souls of many of those slain were still bound to the skin prevented most magical evasdropping.
That magically sensitive beings heard the screams and whimpers of those poor souls in the wind of the warp did not trouble the Warlord any-he liked it.
Currently the tents was occupied by some of his closest advisors and Generals-at least those who had been close enough to make it in time. The floor was occupied by Hernier, a disciple of Tzeentch who served as Archarons spymaster.
"Yes Master, the Germans have made their strategy quite clear-they want to delay us and deprive us of our rightful loot. They think they can starve us so that they can defeat us without ever confronting the main body of our army."
"And what makes you so sure that this is their aim. It seems out of place both for the Germans and the demented followers of Ulrik."
"Master let us examine the evidence-first off we have the reports from Middenheim, one is from the briefing to the Count himself, but it is also corroborated by several other reliable sources. The Germans were quite clear: They do not want to risk their light forces against our might in a direct confrontation with the crusade when it has assembled the complete host. They want to hit us with hit and run tactics so we have to concentrate. They plan to move all farmers out of our way and burn all stored goods we might use.
They have cited several historic precedents from their world as an example that this tactic works. One of our sources talked about things like "Vienna" and "Russia" even if we do not know what that means.
We also have gotten another German newspaper, this time one called the "TAZ". Here it says "Evacuation of civilians may have sinister motive" and then it goes on that the seemingly innocent protection of civilians is just a cover for more war Germany should not involve itself in."
This mashes nicely with the German capabilities we know-they can not send any of their "Panzer" to Middenheim without a working rialroad because they cannot drive such distances without breaking down. So far they have not send such a tank on the trip and even their lighter vehicles have problems.
We do not see many planes land at Middenheim any more-it seems possible that the Germans fear Nurgle`s gifts our attack left there. They only fly with Airships now and these are slow and do not deliver so much. What they deliver seems to be mainly medical stores for the Red Smallpox. We have yet to see a German plane-they indeed seem to lack the range.
So: to sum it up-the enemy`s capabilities we know and current tactics support the stated intentions that we have from several reliable sources. In short: I believe in the report that is in front of you."
"I see that-and I hope for you that it is indeed so. If your report is true we need to bring the armies together much earlier than originally planned and we have to march much faster. If we do this the Germans and their imperial lackeys can no longer pick us off in detail. When we march faster we should be able to get into areas where the farmers have not yet fled-and if we cannot march faster than some bow-legged farmers we do not deserve to come before Middenheim.
We also will organize battues – use some of the useless foragers as beaters and make sure that the rest of the jerks deliver the plunder-or they see the inside of the cauldrons. Then there are the flayers delivered by the Skaven-we will have other methods to get by the walls. They can serve as meet on the hoof.
So-we will go to Middenheim and we will stop for nothing. We will vanquish everybody and anything in our way and then we will storm this "City of Ulrik" and drown its inhabitants in their own blood. We will be in Middenheim in 3 Weeks and no longer in 6-and then we will have a battle this world has never seen. What do you say?"
"Blood for the blood god, Skulls for his throne"-as usual the Khorne`s disciples were the loudest. The cheers from the other beings in the Tent was quieter but equally intense-it would have just been nice if not nearly every one of them would gladly kill him if the opportunity presented itself. It was fortunate that Archaron did not need to sleep any more.
