"Look out below!"
Storri leapt out of the fourth floor window and landed hard on the cobbles. Behind him a pair of huge Orcs landed hard and grunted. He spun round on his feet and sliced into their knees with proficient strikes. Tendons snapped and their knee caps shattered, and the two giants collapsed to the floor howling in pain. Leopold, covered in gore and broken glass charged forwards and smashed his hammer down into ones face. The skull broke under the pressure and blood caked the ground. Urgrim aimed a pistol at the others and with a flash of musket powder sent a shot burrowing into its brain. It fell silent with a gout of blood splashing out onto the ground.
Urdafine clambered out of the window Storri had ejected from and rubbed his head. A bloody lump was growing there and he stumbled around.
"I told you you were too close elf!" Storri barked.
"No shouting, please" Urdafine said, muttering some spell under his breath and pressing his hand against the wound, before it healed quickly there and then.
Urgrim panted and reloaded his pistol. "Down the street, more of them, we have to keep moving."
Just as he said it a loud crack and a sucking came from behind them. They reeled round to see the entire face of one of the buildings blow outwards in a flash of fire and splinters. A whining sounded in their ears and they closed their eyes in pain. From the massive wound in the buildings side a group of armoured Orcs clambered followed by a hunched and staff wielding one. The hunched figure noticed the four adventurers and yelled in their guttural tongue. The armoured Orcs roared back in turn and raced towards them, their huge weapons held high and red eyes glinting from beneath their closed helms.
"That damn shaman!" Urdafine shouted "he must have followed us!"
Leopold looked past the large Orcs charging towards them and saw the shaman Orc had atop its staff three heads. He squinted to see, and felt an anger and sadness all at once fill him. The heads of the brave soldiers were tied by their hair to its top, grisly trophies and he did not want to think what else.
Storri raced past him as he looked and flung an axe towards the oncoming Orcs. The blade of it slammed home, cutting through their rusty armour and the number was reduced too three. Urgrim fired from where he stood, muttering about useless slayers and their annoying habits and took one clean in the head. The shot somehow found its way inside the eye slit of the creatures helmet and exploded from the back of it with a shower of blood and brains. The two remaining charged at Storri, surrounding him in a second and hacking at his squat form. Leopold looked to Urdafine, but the elf was firing bolts of energy over their heads towards the shaman still skulking in the ruins. The Warrior Priest growled and charged towards the Orcs. Storri had them both completely in his whirl of blades; he had retrieved his other and was now holding off one then the other with lightning precision. Leopold took the opportunity, however unhonourable it was to finish the one before him with a blow to the back of the skull. He turned the hammer round to its spiked end and with a careful blow smashed it right into the things skull and spine. The Orc body twitched and collapsed under its own weight. The other Orc, shocked by his companion's demise didn't see Storri aiming a well placed axe into its stomach. The gromril blade sliced through the things chainmail with ease and the Orc toppled backwards, its guts spilling out onto the cobbles.
A shout sounded from behind them, Urdafine was laughing and with both his hands dragging something through the air towards him. They looked up, the Orc shaman was suspended in the air, fighting against the spell Urdafine wove masterfully. Urgrim walked up to Leopold and Storri and aimed his rifle at the shaman.
"Should shoot the bastard greenskin now, shouldn't be keeping those rotten things alive."
Leopold put a hand on his rifle and shook his head. "Leave him to Urdafine, these spell casters are at odds with each other, would be best to leave them be, come, up here". He pointed to a ruined building. "We need a lay of the land."
Storri grunted and pointed to the blown out building. "I'll be with you in a moment friend, I smell goblins lurking in that hovel that need slaughtering."
Leopold nodded and walked off towards the crumbling ruin, the highest place in the street. Urgrim followed, watching as his cousin wove through debris into the smoking house. They climbed a rickety staircase, holding onto the holes in the walls for balance and finally found a sturdy surface, six floors high with which to look out over the streets before them. They had come further than they thought. Over to the south before them was the river and on the other side, the tavern district. Urgrim however, sighed.
"We'll never cross that" he said, pointing down to the street on their side. A mass of Orcs was arrayed on the cobble streets looking to a huge giant carrying a massive stone.
"What in Sigmar's name is that giant doing?" Leopold said, watching in amazement as the lumbering mass carried the huge rock on its shoulder towards the river.
"He's bridging the gap, look." Urgrim pointed to the left and right of the giant's position. "Oswald has blown the bridges that lead to the quarter, in an effort to keep at least some semblance of order. Looks like it won't last long."
As he finished the giant roared and lowered the huge rock into the river. It splashed down with a sound like thunder before coming to rest, water flowing around it in a white froth. Orcs and goblins, troll, ogres, and all manner of beasts rushed towards the rock and the other side.
"We must get to Oswald before the Orcs get to him first, somehow!" Leopold slammed his gauntleted fist into the wall; plaster came off in a clump.
"There's no way we can do that lad" Urgrim said, watching as the Orcs flooded into the tavern district, the bobbing lights of their brands showing in the dusk.
Leopold scolded himself, but he knew he didn't have too, it wasn't his fault, it wasn't anyone's apart from these bastard Orcs. He looked behind him, Urdafine's eyes were blood red and smoke was rising from a twitching Orc body before him, Storri had returned covered in more gore than he had left, both seemed happy. An idea came into his mind, even amidst all this violence and fire. He clambered down from the house and ran over to Urdafine, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Stop, stop!" he said, breaking Urdafine out of his trance and instead grabbing the Orc shaman's throat and slamming the smouldering beast against the nearest wall. Urgrim and Storri rushed over concerned looks on their faces.
"What's going on Leopold?" Storri said, looking to his cousin as well.
"Giants, Orcs, trolls…more than you could imagine cousin" Urgrim said, but putting a hand on his shoulder at the same time. "But not ones you want to find your doom with"
Storri grumbled and kicked a large rock on the floor.
"You, Orc fiend, get us over the river, now, if you value your miserable life" Leopold tightened the strangle hold on the grisly things neck.
Urdafine raised an eyebrow. "You want THIS to take us over the river? I could do the same if you give me half an hour to rest"
"There is no time" Leopold said "The orcs already pour over there as we speak and I must warn Oswald." He turned back to the Orc and glared into its red eyes. "Do this for me and I will grant you your life fiend" he said through gritted teeth.
The Orc nodded quickly and fought through the grip to get loose, its hunched form loping into the middle of the group of them scared.
"Can we trust this thing?" Urdafine said, still preferring to fry the bastard where he stood.
"We have too" Leopold said, to disapproving looks from Storri and Urgrim.
The Orc began to chant, a green mist flowed around them and all looked on nervously. Urgrim kept his rifle trained on the Orc at all times as they were raised into the air with the shaman and then with a flash of green they were gone. A minute later they arrived in a burning building, the wood falling down around their ears. Storri dived to the side, leaping away from a falling piece of masonry and swore loudly in his own tongue. The Orc made a dash for it, limping through the ruins of the house in an effort to escape before they regained their senses but Urgrim was quicker.
"I don't think so you greenskin scumbag!" he said as he levelled his rifle and took a shot at the fleeing runt. The round found its mark, and the cloaked warlock collapsed in a heap.
Around him the others stood and shook the magic from their heads. With a look which all understood they ran out of the building as quickly as they could, and found themselves in a somewhat un-cluttered and untouched street. It seemed odd for there to be no-one around after the horrors of the rest of the city, but it was welcome none the less. Catching their breath they shouldered their weapons and walked down the road. There were sounds of battle, but they were muffled by the high houses. Storri went in front and walked briskly to the turn at the end of the street.
"The place is deserted" he said as they came closer. "Not a soul about. Are you sure this is the place Urgrim?" he asked "this feels like a completely new city".
Urgrim walked over and jabbed him in the shoulder "I am bloody right, if we're lost it's that ruddy shaman!" he shouted.
"Hush" Urdafine said, scowling and holding up his hand for silence. "I hear something"
They all stopped and listened, pricking their ears for something. It didn't sound at first, but slowly it came into hearing, the dull thud of boots on the stones, and it was getting louder, and coming closer.
"Orcs?" Storri said a glint in his eye.
"No" Urdafine replied quickly "much to light to be orcs, I think human."
Leopold walked out into the road before them, the others followed. He looked at them all, they didn't half look odd. Storri's crest of hair was flopped over and he was covered in blood and cuts. Urgrim had about half a dozen guns and pistols strapped too him, and Urdafine, well, he was an elf in the city of the Empire. Leopold didn't look too good either, but at least he could pass for his profession. As he contemplated their appearance it became too later, a column of spearmen with grim set faces marched towards them double time, at the head of them half a dozen knights clad in thick furs and at their head, a bald man in barely fitting armour carrying a human sized sword over his shoulder. As they neared Leopold stepped forwards, and ahead the knights and their leader did too, telling the spearmen behind to stop.
Urgrim gritted his teeth. "Bloody bastard White Wolves, will show them a thing or two if they try for a fight"
"Calm yourself" Leopold said quickly as they came within hearing distance.
"Ah my favourite priest!" Oswald said, putting a hand out to greet Leopold "I hardly recognised you through all the blood and burnt parts." The captain examined him and his motley crew. "I heard you were in the old town fighting at the Temple, how did you get here?"
Leopold forwent the mention of the Orc traveller and instead told him they had crossed the bridge before the detonations had taken place. The old man was ready to believe this regardless, the White Wolves however were not, and they glared at the four as if they had insulted the Emperor himself.
"What is it you want from me Brother Leopold?" he pointed to the men behind him "I bring more reinforcements to bolster our makeshift fort in the centre of the district.
"Orcs" Leopold said "Many of them, with a giant in tow. They have crossed the river and are heading for the centre of the district just as we speak."
One of the White Wolves, a man clad in armour stained with blood, a thick white beard framing his face and coal black eyes looked down at Leopold with a glare. "That's impossible, we blew the bridges" he placed a hand on the sword by his side.
Urgrim flinched and pulled one of the pistols from the belt across his chest and aimed it square at the knight's face. "Don't be accusing us now manling, for all your armour my bullets will still take your head from your shoulders"
Storri gripped his axes tighter and stood stockier before Leopold. "Ai! if you be thinking of not liking our knowledge and dying at the hands of greenskins then let it be, but don't be drawing your sword or you'll have a slayer to deal with". The visage of the one eyed mad dwarf was enough to make Oswald and most of the knights back of save the one with his hand upon the sword hilt.
Oswald gulped awkwardly and stepped between them "Now, let us calm." He turned to Leopold "Sturnhammer, I trust your judgement in this, and you, Ulthen should listen to him, Leopold is a priest of Sigmar"
Ulthen, the knight stood before them growled and let the sword slide back into the scabbard by his side. He muttered something about 'bloody bastard dwarves' and turned back to his fellows without another word. Just as he did however the ground began to shake. Oswald blanched white and looked over the four's shoulders into the once vacant streets. They all turned, including the knights and the spearmen behind them and stared as a mass of Orcs, goblins, trolls and other foul creatures roared down the street towards them.
"Too arms!" Oswald shouted, the disciplined ranks of spearman fell into a thick line across the street and bought their spears to bear. Leopold, Storri, Urgrim and Urdafine, as well as the knights of the White Wolf pushed through the line of soldiers and got to the back with Oswald and his second in command, a young squire named Dwind.
The spearmen four ranks behind them roared and chanted and the feeling of the Orc line smashing into their own sent all of the humans back a step. The fighting became vicious and brutal, those who did not pay attention being cut down, broken and trampled. But, the line held.
Oswald turned to Dwind and the four companions. "We will hold the Orc here, you must take Dwind with you and retreat to the Inn in the centre of town, The Rotton Mule. The rest of the army is stationed around and in it and they must be alerted."
Storri twitched. "I will stay too" he declared, clashing his axes together and licking his lips.
Urgrim growled "Bloody hell, that means I have to stay too you idiot!" he took two pistols from their holsters and checked the shot.
Leopold and Urdafine looked too each other. "Guess that means we're parting ways for a bit" Leopold said, nodding to Urdafine.
"We will have to run there, but I can teleport us back, don't worry my friends" he smiled.
Storri and Urgrim nodded, in typical dwarvish fashion they didn't show any emotion but pushed through the crowd of spearmen and bellowed war-cries in their native tongue. Ulthen, the head of the White Wolves stepped forwards and pulled his sword free from its scabbard.
"We go too Oswald, we cannot have a dwarf and his cousin outdoing us" with his men they too joined the ranks and fought their way to the front.
Oswald pulled his own sword free and nodded too Leopold, his squire, and Urdafine. "Take Dwind with you, that way they will know you are sent by me"
With that, the companions split ways, the battle raging and the district beginning to be licked by the flames of war.