Harbor Quarter, Altdorf, same time
Jerremy Conelius watched the German soldiers apply "first aid" to the wounded. For "first aid" what they did seemed very comprehensive, he doubted that any healer he or the men could have afforded would have done so much. They had organized some transport for their leader, he was already off somewhere where he would have some chance.
Looking around he saw much of the destruction caused by the battle and the many causalities taken. Now that the adrenaline high of the battle itself faded his legs felt weak and his stomach queasy. A shot of something good would steady that but he had to pay attention to that.
Before his mind`s eye a long list of things to do appeared-look who was still alive, both of his men and his clients. Look after which warehouses were still in one piece and what items would now bring a good price and…
"Aehem Herr Conelius" brought him about at his heels and his hand to the cutlass at his belt just to find that he was confronting Jens Neugebauer, the somewhat soft-spoken member of the soldiers team who sported a bandage around his head that had been there even before the battle started.
"Yes good man, what can I do for the conquering heroes?"
"Two things-first off we will be off now, we have used up all our medical supplies. There should be aid teams by this time tomorrow from what I gather by wireless. They will help your wounded further. Secondly-there were only 18."
"What, I do not get you?"
"Don't play dumb Connelius-we gave you 21 Grenades, there were only 18 explosions. We take them back, then good things can happen to you. Otherwise we have to look for them-you do not want that."
"Oh that. Maybe some of my men did not prime them properly?"
"Maybe-and they are still dangerous. That is why you will find them-now."
"We all have much to do, certainly during the next days we can.." He started to be aware of the dwarves and humans that suddenly were around him. A Dwarf with nearly no hair should have been a sorry sight but managed to look as fierce as anything that the "businessman" had ever seen. His shotgun was not exactly pointed at anybody…yet.
"Hey manling, Jens over there is such a nice guy and just wants to help. You want to give him shit?"
"Now that you point it out like that I think we can search for the missing grenades right away."
"Thought you see reason"
Reiklandweg, Altdorf, later that day
Henning Gerber was bone tired, yet there was no way in hell that he could take any rest. Every minute that Skaven were running around Altdorf meant that more people died, more homes were destroyed and more stores looted.
The big fight seemed to be over-there had not been any reports of larger groups of Skaven anymore. Smaller groups tried to flee, some outside of the city, others tried to make for some of the tunnel entrances to get back to their lair. These were taken care by the helicopters, the mounted Reiksguard and more and more by the ready battalion of Paratroopers that had been flown into the imperial Capital.
His task were now the Skaven that had holed up in houses and were trying to wait out the fighting. He got the job as he had let his mouth run free again-a sorry mistake-and had suggested a tactic. Of course he and his men had gotten the job.
He barely had the time to reorganize some teams and restock ammo before the got into the business of rat catching again. His tank was providing firepower and lighting for a team of soldiers who were led by a dog team. The dog teams were from the channel watch-a specialized guard detachment who patrolled the sewers of Altdorf. Their dogs were trained to sniff Skaven and these were now led through the street sniffing here and there and making a bloody noise.
For umpteenth time today they stopped before the door leading to another house, again they scratched the door and tried to claw their way in. Instead they were pulled backwards and Henrik put the by now well-oiled machine in motion. Driving his tank before the house the Soldiers on his tanks back fist put a burst through the windows at their level. Through the holes went a number of canisters and white smoke began to pour from the empty windows. In front of his tank a soldier with a shotgun made holes in the door and the nozzle of a S tank was put through and engaged.
The Skaven had big sensitive eyes to see better in the dark caves and efficient sinuses to detect anything in the air that had a bearing on their life. These advantages were now their worst enemies as the CS gas which would have been extremely unpleasant to a human was as near to killing them as possible. Unable to see, unable to breathe properly and in great pain they could have been killed by a 6-year old with a pen knife, let alone by properly equipped soldiers with a serious dose of the hate.
Henrik was so exhausted that he nearly missed the Skaven that tried to make a break from a house a little down the street, his gunner was not and used his Coax to mow them down.
Imperial Palace, Altdorf, next morning
Karl-Franz, Emperor and Ruler of Altdorf felt as if somebody had put a handful of sand under his eyelids and sleep was just a fond memory of a forgotten life. An aide passed his a mug of scaldingly hot coffee that was thick with sugar and could probably raise his ancestors back till Sigmar, probably the 10th or so he had during the last 24 hours. It hit his stomach like a load of acid and reminded him that food would have been a good idea-later when there was more time available.
Turning back to the long table at the monitors he faced his staff again who tried to manage the disaster that had befallen his beloved capital.
"Highness, we need to demolish this row of houses along the Scholar`s Walk for a firebreak, otherwise the fire there will get out of control if the wind will come up even a little."
"Do it, the owners will be reimbursed…somehow. But do it."
"Right away sire."
"What about the Jade Mages?"
"They still have problems inside the city, but now that we have flown in a couple they are sure that they can conjure rain during the next hour or so, then our problems at that front will be lessened."
"Hurry them up"
"Marshall Hellborg is on it, I do not think that anybody can move them faster than him"
"Indeed. What about the help from Germany? Any news on that front?"
"We have a new status from the Ministry of the Interior as of 15 minutes ago Sire. Currently there are 8 major and several minor trains under way here. The first will arrive in 2 hours or so."
"And what do they bring?"
"Shelter, food, field kitchens,water treatment, equipment for hospitals and the mobile treatment centers that would be called MASH if it were the military. All together about 9000 personel"
"9000-that would nearly be a division of troops if they were the Army. Mobilized and on the way in 24 hours. And you told me by far the most of them are volunteers. That were remarkable if it were true."
"These are remarkable people highness"
Field`s in Naggaroth, same time
Areta Bane had been pretty sure she was in the shape of her life. The Germans had made her march and drill more than any other institution in her life. She had the best boots she had ever worn and her backpack was cleverly designed which spread the weight around most of her back instead of just her shoulders.
None of that seemed to matter any – the Auxilia had marched through all of the day when they had gotten their orders and a great part of the following night. She had marched till her shanks burned and till her feet hurt so badly that she feared something was injured for real-and then she had marched some more. She had two pairs of socks-one the woolen ones that kept her feet warm and another one of the finest silk inside that kept them from chafing too much and usually prevented blisters. When they had resumed the march after a break of very few hours it had taken not very long before the wet feeling inside her boots signaled her that the blisters she was supposedly avoiding had broken on their own. Her feet were pure misery by now.
She had hardened a lot during the training marches with the humans and had managed to get on with less and less water the longer her training went, and still her flask was empty long before the overworked supply people managed to refill them. By now she was in a half-conscious state where she just shambled onward together with the rest of the unit.
There had been something that promised to be a break in some wooded hills a while back, but that time had been used to gather sturdy branches and like all the others her marching load had been increased by a dozen sharpened stakes.
She was so far out of her skull that she nearly stumbled into the Elf before her when the "Halt" was signaled by the horn. The company leaders were called in for a short briefing and then they were back the good news were that the marching was over-the bad news was that the digging was about to begin.
The wooded hills behind her gave way to a broad valley who`s dry and hard ground had given root only to sparse grass and very few low bushes. The ground was gradually declining towards the far off horizon.
She managed to get her Squad into it despite their near-total exhaustion. They dug a not to deep trench and dropped the spoil in front of them so all in they were covered to chest height. Others took the stakes they had been carrying and dug them into the ground at a 45 degree angle, pointing outwards. The distance between them was roughly half a meter. They would not stop any infantry, but anything else would have a problem.
Areta was still bending her back to dig with her collapsible spade when the tired calls of "All hail the King of Spades". Looking up in time she saw Wolfgang Böhler riding by, seemingly undisturbed by the catcalls. When he stood up in his stirrups it got quite enough that his answer could be heard by all. "Sweat saves Blood-your Blood and mine. So sweat or bleed what is your choice?"
Areta brought her squad into a trench next to one of the "machine gun nests" that were manned by the Germans. Simply laying down and not having to move any muscles was so sweet that she nearly forgot she got to do so as a humungous horde of enemy approached. The runners and the moving cloud on the horizin arrived nearly at the same time-the runners brought food, the cloud brought news of the enemy`s approach. Wolfing down the contents of her mess kit she took a command decision-one that did not come easy. Digging into a pocket on her backpack she extracted a packet wrapped in oily paper. She took a gnarled root from it and broke it into several smaller pieces. "Breda, here take this and distribute the rest."
"Bertwort-are you sure? That stuff is not liked by our bosses."
"They like misses due to tired eyes and dead Druchii even less"
"Yup. Thanks by the way."
Chewing a part of the root herself she had to make herself swallow the bitter juice which made her mouth feel numb and her stomach queasy for a moment-but only for a moment. Then the air seemed fresher, the hurts in so many parts of her body receded and the approaching enemy reduced itself to so many colorful moving targets.
And enough targets there were. The front of the Chaos troops approaching were a gaggle of Chariots interspersed with heavy cavalry who were raising huge clouds of dust which cloaked the rest of the army which still seemed far off.
The German`s orders were explicit-the first to fire were the snipers and two of the machine guns, no more. The regular cracks of the snipers and the short rat-rats of the machine guns nearly made Areta fire too, but she got the reflex checked in time. By now she could see that the Chaos Army was indeed huge-for every German and Auxilia member that was here they might easily brought 50 or more Warriors to play with. But currently they only had to content with a small part of the Army-more than enough.
The long-range fire had so far brought down a number of knights, had emptied or crashed a few chariots and had gotten the enemy`s full attention. Horns blew, voices shouted incomprehensible orders, flags were waived, and then the Charge began.
From this distance the sight was not as bad as Areta knew it would become, the horses and warriors looked like toys at the horizon. "Open fire at 600 meters" came from Heiner Richter, the German commanding the 1st. Company.
Areta watched the enemy pass the stakes driven into the hard ground in front of her. Colorful cloth strips at each of the stakes gave a distance. The red ones gave the desired mark and the enemy was approaching at considerable speed.
"Target moving Chariots at the left-distance 600 meters-open fire." From here Areta`s job was mostly feeding her own rifle. She brought the diopter of her rifle across a Chariot that was drawn by 3 animals which might be described as horses by the blind and ignorant. When the middle horse disappeared behind the front sight she pulled the trigger. The rifle banged against her shoulder and she went through the reloading without conscious thought, losing sight of her target in the process.
She could not see if she had hit, yet when she looked for her next victim the Chariot was no longer to been seen and another one had taken its place in the line. By now more details could be seen-the open mouths flecked with foam of the horses, the colorful flags affixed to the Chariots, the drivers trying to outdo each other and the warriors with spear and bow in each of them. The sickles mounted to the axles of most of them made them keep distance and lessened the troops they could pack into a line but would have frightened most infantry-not this one. Machine gun bursts took down whole troops of knights in one go, the rattling shots of the Auxilia mostly went after the less numerous Chariots. A well placed salvo crashed several of them in one go, making others change course to avoid them. The Knights who had tried to keep pace with the Chariots slowed down as well-and just received more fire for reward.
That took the starch out of this charge-riders turned their mounts, Chariots made more careful maneuvers as not to entangle each other and the detachment of Chaos went where they came from, all the way harried by the parting shots of the Mercenaries.
For the first time Areta could check on her squad longer than for a side glance-all were well, which was unsurprising given that the enemy never came closer than 250 meters or so. "Check your ammo and drink some water, these guys will be back"
Areta found that she had fired off more than 20 rounds in the short engagement-nearly 20 % of the rounds that she had been given. The screaming, the strange lights and the rumble of troop movements on the other side did not do anything to relieve her, but the runner who brought everybody a cloth packed 30-round pack did. She was still about to distribute the rounds in her ammo pouches when the next attack came in. This time there was more of everything-more Chariots, much more Cavalry and some of the Chariots seemed to have other passengers than just a few bowmen.
They approached the same-and were treated the same. This time the machine guns fired longer in a go, this time the enemy came so close that she could make out individuals, this time mages tried their hand. The latter found that the Mercs had brought at least one capable mage of their own and that flamboyant clothes and a light show attracted deadly fire to at least the distance they could work at. For a minute or so there was a localized storm that made shooting from the leftmost trenches difficult, but the long range of the German weapons made this an advantage that the Chaos troops could not exploit.
It was during the third assault that the enemy was driving so hard that the stakes were tested. Most of the Cavalry was put in bad disorder when their horses decided to be more clever than the men on them and refused to charge the stakes that were breast high for them. Some of the Chariots were different as the teams could not react in time and crashed into the barrier. Some of the combat cars managed to overturn the long way –quite a spectacle. The was the one time that the Auxilia went through their emergency ammo-5 rounds fastened by loops to the forestock to make loading more rapid. Areta was aware only of the smallest part of the battle, the one she could see through the small hole in her rear visor. It was usually filled with some enemy-or his carcass. Only during the short breaks when she went for another ammo pouch could she check on her squad. A strange way of wielding war when the enemy getting within 50 meters of the line counts as close.
An hour later she was ravenously thirsty, unhappy with drinking more water as it would mean she would have to find a place to get rid of the water she already drunk and getting new orders.
"They have send Infantry to our flanks-let`s not overstay our welcome here."
Areta got more nervous than before as the machine gun teams were the first to eavc-if the enemy decided to attack then and there things would have been dicey. Then of course it were the even platoons to retreat first-meaning that her squad was in a trench that seemed quite empty by comparison-to the multitudes on the other side of the stakes.
Finally it was their turn and the few Druchii that were with her walked mostly backwards to the second set of trenches others had dug. This time the Chaos idiots actually tried something upon seeing how thin the Auxilia`s line was-just to find that the machine gun teams had already emplaced their weapons again.
There was not so much to do for the next two hours or so, but then it became obvious that the bulk of the Chaos Army had arrived and that darkness was not so far away. The Mercs waited till darkness before they slipped back into the hills behind them leaving some explosive gifts behind them.
Imperial Gardens, Altdorf, next day
The Imperial Gardens had been the site of a rather bloody engagement which had left its score of Skaven casualties. A lot of citizens and some guards plus an increasing amount of Germans had disposed of the rats in one corner of the park, and by now every truck which went to the Gardens carried a "return load" of corpses which were dumped in a cleared area close to the railway station.
By now there was enough open space for the medics to ply their trade and many bemused imperials watched as a truck went slowly forward over one of the former lawns. Dropping some long and heavy packs every 20 meters or so the truck dispensed 20-man tents. Based on a sturdy metal tube construction they were more than 2 meter height in the middle and could house up to 20 stretchers or beds, a field kitchen or a MASH. The target time to erect such a tent in training was 8 minutes, the medics which went after it made it usually in less than 3.
By the time most tents were erected another truck had dropped a lot of collapsible benches and tables like the ones that can be seen in Beer Gardens and at one tent several trailers showed to be field kitchens. Heiner Maser had fortified himself with two can of beer and his arms was nearly free of shakes when he put his arm deeply inside the trailers to ignite the kitchens flames. Never a totally safe operation his none-too clean coat had caught fire during this evolution in two separate instances.
When all kitchens were lit the contents of 5 kilogram tin cans, water, spices and much else was emptied into them. During the next 30 minutes there would be a shitload of "Wiener" sausages ready, by the same time about a hundred liter of rose hip tea would be available-the latter replaced the coffee served before the Weltensprung.
The next hour would see the first round of Maser`s goulash-which was really good and the kitchens would not be off for more than a week and would feed this part of the town as the markets were still off.
Temple of Shallya, same time
Margot Heinitz was putting the needle of the IV-Drip into the next patient. He looked like he had stopped a spear with his breast, leaving a sucking chest wound. That he was still alive more than 24 hours later was testimony to good first aid and an Order of Shallya that had come a long way during the last year. But now it was time to sew things up-literally. There was a lung to re-inflate, a wound channel to clean and some blood vessels to close for good. None of this was her concern, she was putting her training as an anesthetist to good practice and was putting patients under in a production-line like process, when they were down others would take care of them.
She was just happy she did not have the job that was before her in the "production line"-Triage. A team of doctors were doing their level best to decide who should receive treatment and who was beyond help. Right or wrong-their decisions were literally life or death.
In another room of the order 5 members of the order were showing hunchback figures and had IV drips in the back of their hands. They were sitting around a bed with a soldier who had dropped very badly and currently had no feeling in his legs or feet. Reconnecting a lot of nerves was what the 5 did best at present and they did this kind of thing ever since they had arrived a couple of hours ago.
They could only sustain that rate because of the cooling vests and glucose drips they used and their vital signs were carefully monitored by Christine Winkler. So far the 5 were holding up fine, but by all experience there was a steep price to pay when this was over.
Bank of the River Reik, same time
Bernhard Woekle had practiced this a great many times, but this was the first time he had to do it for real. His crew of THW-helpers had removed the cobblestones of a small plaza close to the Reik and he had placed his trailer above that spot. Ever since two hours he had put in drill rod after drill rod while he dug for the deeper levels of water where the sand banks had filtered the waters from the river. The Skaven had dropped corpses or worse in many wells throughout the city and if nothing was done decent water would be a precious commodity. Then people would drink directly from the Reik-which naturally had most of the shit of Altdorf in it. Cholera was sure to break out of he and many others would not do this job. Soon he would be deep enough, then the pipes and filters had to go in, the pump had to be connected and then…
Pro Production Office, Bauzen
"But you must have -" The flunky was cut off mid flow. Detlef Sierk rounded on the hapless suit.
"I must have? Really, I must have someone to oversee my designs because of what? You're afraid of ambition and you're afraid to achieve" Detlef looked at the cringing assistant, he flagged, it was clear that the stress, even at this early stage was beginning to tell. In the old days Genevive would have soothed away many of his concerns. "In case there is a confusion in language, by oversee, do you mean to over see what I do or to oversee the designs to completion"?
"To completion, Herr Bloch and Herr Linderman agreed they are concerned that you are taking on too much. This project is larger than almost anything seen before. They would actually like to provide you with a number of people to help with design and casting" The assistant carefully avoided any mention at all of editing, having had one explosion today, he could still do without another.
"Humph, casting, yes. Would this casting assistant prevent me from having to speak to the 'lovely' Emma Von Wulfenhels-Addenau and her insessant demands she be cast in every female lead role going despite being tone deaf, have the build of the bastard offspring of an Ogre and an Orc, with a temper to match, and whose 'singing' has been outlawed as torture in 3 states"? The smile on the playwrite's face showed the assistant he was safe.
"Yes Herr Direktor"
"Then it is on condition I approve them, but yes. Oh, and a consultant editor may not go amiss". The smile had become a mischievious grin. "Give them helmet and armour though, I may not like what they say"
Pilgrim management offices Berlin
"So Till, like I said, We have the lead villian, the guys from Knorkator will take that part and his retinue. despite the prosthetics and the suits, we think this will get past the religious police or whackjobs or whoever, due to their comedy stance, Detlef has the cast more or less in hand and the critical stage crew is pretty sorted"
"They were a good call Christian, at least we know we can trust those guys. Do they have the notes for their songs"?
"Of course, they should have some rough demos for us week after next, Alex has thrown himself into this hard"
"is Bloch going to have kittens from the lyrics again"?
"I doubt it, Alex reckons they've gone as far Macbeth as they can go with it."
"This is going to be insane, I dread to think what the budget for this will be, still, that is Bloch's problem, not ours, or Detlef's. We'll have to find out when he's back next"
"Definately, let us see what terror we have inflicted on our poor downtrodden manager then"
Temple of Sigmar, Talabheim
The meeting itself took place in a back room of the temple. Contrary to the image most citizens of the Empire held about the organisation and their followers, the meeting did not take place at midnight, nor were any of the figures present cowelled to prevent identification, infact they had come to know each other quite well over the last 10 years of service.
From behind his desk, Otto Klaus Die Steinfaust looked at his protoge.
"So then Johan, that is, it seems the measure of it. These Germans have no whitch hunters of their own, they allow perversity to run unchecked, have no concept of the dangers of this world, of the insidious nature of the true enemy, in fact they seem to court it without even knowing. And that is why I am sending you. In all the years I have known you, never once have you failed Sigmar, and always have you brought the impure to justice".
"Thank you sir, I am honoured you think of me this way. I assume that my warrant will have little weight among them at the moment"? Johan Smisch knew that, if anything, Steinfaust had understated the task ahead of him. The only witch hunter in a nation of over 100 million people, even the number baffled his mind, that must be more than in the entire world. His presence would be insignificant among such numbers.
"Regretably so. The new Temple in Berlin will be advised of your presence in country and asked to provide assistance if requested. The number of believers is tiny, you could count them on one hand, but we are taking root in their military, they are not utterly cultureless".
"That is good to know. Allies, no matter how few arenever a bad thing. I understand that there has been some friction between the Organs of Salvation and some of these Germans visiting the Empire already".
"Yes, an incident between a rather rash novice Witch Hunter and one of their Army medics. They so remarkable loyalty to each other which may have blinded them to the correctness of the challenge".
"So I am to follow Sigmars footsteps as it were, to unknown lands and bring the light to burn out the darkness"? Johan's near blasphemic language had brought him into conflict with some of the more conservative members of the Cult of Sigmar, Steinfaust often had to search the veteren hunters face to look for signs of humour. "In which case I will take my leave, the journey will take a good month or so. I will send word of where I will set down".
"Good luck, Johan, take Sigmars blessings with you".
Smisch bowed making the sign of the hammer. As he rose and left, Steinfaust was left wondering, outnumbered 1 to 100 million, it wasn't fair at all, those poor Germans wouldn't stand a chance.
Hill Khaines Den, Naggaroth, same time
The Hills that stood in the way of the approaching horde were still cloaked in the darkness of the false dawn, bit the sounds of saw, pickaxe and spade had not stopped throughout the night. Lord Silverhawk`s command tent was still the efficient and elegant construction that had been 3 days earlier, and the inhabitants were also the same. Yet the Druchii and few humans all looked exhausted and there was the tension of being at the morning of a major battle. The Army commander stepped in front of an easel that held a map of the battlefield-to-be.
"Commanders pay attention or pay the price. Ever since last night we occupy a series of hills that we will defend against the Horde in front of us. These are the Hills: Wolfen Hill will be defended by the 2nd Spear of Kharmond, Lord Bregla`s Household Guards and the 2nd Company of the Auxilia. Then we have Boneyard Ridge and Culprits Hill, held by the 21st Guards and my own Retinue. My headquarters will be there too. Khaine`s Den will be defended by the 23rd Watch. On the right Flank we have two Hills only known as Little Round Top and Big Round Top. They go to my Hearth Guards and the 1st Company of the Auxilia.
We will place the Cavalry and the rest of the Auxilia in reserve behind Boneyard ridge, they will also hold the way open for a retreat if it comes to that. Make no mistake about this: We have been given an excellent defense position by the Auxilia-if we lose it and have to fight in the plains we will fare far worse so fight for the terrain you have-none shall pass.
Any questions? Good-get to your troops and fight them."
When Wolfgang Böhler stepped outside of the tent and found that the dawn was finally breaking. Lifting his binoculars he got himself an overview. He did not notice the approach of the Army`s commander till he spoke to him "You brought us a very good position with you march, I can see that now. How fast have you been?"
"You are welcome-it was not that easy. We marched 91 Kilometers in 51 hours and then fought an extended action-not too bad if I say so myself."
"Hand me your Binox if you like-I have the feeling they are somewhat better than what I got from your Boss."
"Mostly at low light Mylord. Please use them." Lord Silverhawk focused at the Army on the other side, then on the field in between. The place where the Auxilia had fought their delaying action was easily seen-the trenches stood out, as did the fallen before it.
"Khaine`s Blood-you committed a massacre down there. Why did you pull back?"
"We were flanked and would not have been able to fight a night battle in that location. On top of that ammunition was running low-we could only resupply when the rest of the Auxilia arrived."
"Understood. Fight as well as that today and I will see it that you get first dibs into the loot.
"That would be appreciated my Lord."
Temple of Sigmar, Altdorf, same time
Like any imperial city Altdorf did not have an abundance of empty spaces. The necessity of having city walls as well as avoiding overly long commuting distances spoke against it. Now that a lot of Altdorf citizens were at least temporarily homeless it became had to give them a place to be till their homes were free of Skaven, Giant Rats, the bodies of same or some poisons-not to speak of the houses simply burned down.
As the population density in the houses that were not affected by the fighting was already approaching critical mass putting even more persons there was unadvisable as was putting a tent city before the Gates. So Uwe Teut, the CO of the "1st Katastrophenschutzzug" was looking for real estate where he could plonk the 300 or so beds he still could employ. He was in front of Sigmar`s Temple and was looking for somebody to approach whether he could erect some tents in front of the temple when a huge man in the robes of a Sigmarite addressed him.
"I am Luthor Hus, Priest of Sigmar. You seem to be looking for something."
"Good morning Father. I am Uwe Teut of the Disaster Management team and actually looking for somebody who can tell me whether I can put some tents for the homeless in front here."
"I have heard of the work you and your kind do-and I think we can do you one better. The temple had large spaces used only for rituals that are not scheduled at present. I believe you could put several hundred needy persons there. It would be wise to have the cooking outside though."
"That would be great, we have a lot of older and infirm who are not suited to sleep under canvas. Could you show me what we can use?"
"Give me 5 minutes."
A short while later Luthor brought a very young, very nervous and very clearly overwhelmed priest to the former policeman. "Father Stein here will show you around for the time being Herr Teut."
"Excellent, I won`t keep you then Father Hus."
Little Round Top, Naggaroth, same time
Areta had acquired more blisters. While the ones on her feet had been opened during the night with a needle by Breda and should heal sooner or later these were on the hands. Together with the rest of Auxilia she had been taking trees down for firing lanes, had arranged the branches into traps that would slow the attackers, dug trenches and bunkers…. She was running on Bertwort and Jerky like the rest of the Druchii-and Germans who had worked at least as hard as her. They did not use the root-but she had seen some of them pop some pills when they thought nobody was looking.
Now that the sun came up she was in her assigned trench and watched the approach to her position. So far the enemy had not made a move. Time to do what every clever soldier does whenever possible. "Breda, you and Drusida have first watch-rest of us catches 40 winks. Change over in two hours."
