Great Battle Report by Chris Carpenter

I saw this great battle report and couldn't not post it. This was written by Chris Carpenter, and he posted it on the Mordheim Yahoo group. (I have received an Okay from him to post it here.)

Enjoy!

Chris Carpenter wrote:

My dearest Agatha,

Hopefully this letter finds you well. I would like to say our search
of the ruins of Mordheim have been successful, or at least uneventful,
but alas, the promise of Wyrdstone has brought brigands from every
corner of the known world.

Tuesday morning, a small child with a pronounced limp offered us a
tip on a Wyrdstone deposit deep in the city. For a few gold coins he
drew us a map leading us to a cluster of 3 houses that had suffered
Sigmar's wrath, but hid chunks of the precious rocks in the cellar.
Sasha and Helmut were, as usual, eager to go and recover the stones.
Even Shatzi could not help but wag his tail, ready for action.
Gunter, his enthusiasm tempered with experience, suggested we acquire
more soldiers to accompany us. His counsel was wise, and followed,
but the delay cost us much, as we arrived at the location on the map
only to see those bastards from Marienburg heading for the same
location! With no time to lose, I sent two of our crossbowmen up into
a nearby ruin where they could survey the manor within bowshot.

The manor was laid out in a rough triangle, and we were approaching
it from the South, on a flat plane. The "Avengers" (as they have
taken to calling themselves) came from the opposite side. This was to
our advantage, as breaches in the manor walls were open to our
approach, but the solid oak and stone remnants of the Northern walls
forced the Avengers to split in two, or filter single file through
doors and narrow alleys. I sent most of the men into the ruin, to
fend off the Avengers and secure the building. One of my marksmen
circled around to the East, leaving Shatzi and me to circle around to
the West, followed by one of the newer henchmen. The Marienburgers
may have gotten fat from trading, but their coin has bought clever,
dangerous men, and I feared being outflanked.

My suspicions were proven correct when I ran up to the corner of the
building only to confront the Ogre we had thought dispatched on our
last engagement. He was no worse for wear, and recognition flashed
across his beady, black eyes. He remembered us, all right, and was
ready for payback. I rushed him, hoping to put him off balance with a
fast attack. Every blow struck true, but none could penetrate his
thick hide. I avoided his club and sword time and again, but my luck
could not hold out forever. Shatzi tied up one of the Avengers on my
flank, but faired poorly against the armed warrior. The new soldiers
we had hired were too new and too fresh for this horrid place, and
paused when I needed them most against the Ogre. My marksmen fired
bolt after bolt on exposed, unaware Marienburgers, but they must have
the luck of the Devil! The youngest of them, seemingly struck again
and again, would not go down.

In the end, the cries of my men s hook me from my lust for the
precious Wyrdstones. The warriors, who had accepted my gold so
eagerly not hours ago, looked ready to flee. Fritz and Sasha were
locked in combat with one of the stronger fighters of the Avengers, a
man by the name of Luther. Even Shatzi was nowhere to be seen - a bad
omen from a dog that loves combat almost as much as a juicy bone. I
was mere seconds from rallying my men about me for a hasty retreat,
when that cursed orge struck me full in the face with his sword,
cutting me from temple to cheek. The pain washed over me, and I
staggered back, clutching my savaged face, only to be knocked flat by
the Ogre's next attack. The world swirled around me and I blacked
out.

When I awoke, we were back in camp. Gunter had stopped the bleeding,
but my eye was lost. All had eventually returned, even Shatzi,
drifting into camp with his tail between his legs. The men were more
shaken than hurt, but the experiences gained will harden them for
future forays into the city. The Avengers are but one warband among
many who seek their fortune here, but I am certain we will neet
again.

Yours forever and always -

Captain Markus Vogelsong

Thats awesome!
he done any more??

That's all I have at the moment. If he posts again, I'll let you know.

Another Amazing Chapter!

Chris Carpenter wrote:

My dearest Agatha,

I still have not received a letter from you, but mail is so
unreliable in this area, I do not take that as an ill sign. Most
likely I will receive your correspondence in a bundle, as Sasha does
from his brother Hans.

There is a light rain falling over the area, and has been for six
days. The damp weather does nothing to lift our spirits, but it has
revealed an interesting facet of life in Mordheim: the smell. Usually
Mordheim has a hot, dusty smell, still reeking of ash and loss. On
days it rains, the air clears somewhat for a short while, but then a
new smell emerges. At first I thought, to my horror, it was something
foul approaching our camp. The smell waxed and waned with the breeze,
though, and I realized it emanated from somewhere within the city
itself. When I asked the men about it, they thought me mad - they
smelled nothing but smoldering death. Regardless, I could still sense
it on the breeze, something dangerous and tinted with magic.

We decided to make a foray into the city. It was possible the weather
had dissuaded the less motivated treasure hunters, leaving more of
the area open for our exploration. Wandering the wider streets,
moving deeper into the city, I caught the scent again, stronger this
time. I had the men follow me through what was an abandoned
apothecary into an open courtyard. Trash was strewn everywhere, mixed
with bits of rubble and crumbling plaster. A cooper had left numerous
clusters of barrels about the area, possibly abandoning an effort to
rescue what was left of his livelihood. In the center of the
courtyard was a fountain - a tall, rose-hued sculpture, still quite
attractive amidst the ruins of the area. The buildings grew closer
together beyond this point, and it was difficult to see down the
narrow, twisting alleys.

I held the men at the edge of the clearing. This would be the perfect
spot for an ambush, and I would not be caught unprepared. I sent two
of the marksmen up into the rafters of the cooper's building, a two-
story home attached to a barn. The hayloft was open to the weather,
but the view was good and debris provided our crossbowmen with cover.
Fritz and Sasha broke to the left taking the last marksman with them,
scouting out a wider street blocked off with a row of barrels. The
placement was ominous, as they were possibly used as a defensive
position in a previous encounter. The rest of the party stayed close,
with Shatzi padding along at my feet. Poor Shatzi - if anyone was
troubled the most by the constant drizzle, it would be her. Sodden
and filthy, we had no good way to clean and dry her coat until the
weather broke.

I placed my hand on Shatzi's head and gave her a reassuring scratch
behind the ears. Since we found her outside the gates of the city in
a cramped, dirty pen, she has been my constant companion. As gentle
as a kitten to those in our party, a menacing beast of fury to those
that would do us harm. I checked her collar once more before we moved
forward - and there it was - the smell was strong, very near. I
sniffed in the air, like a wolf looking for a rabbit, and moved
towards the fountain. Was this the scent? Had some foul magic
affected the water, or the carved stone itself? The green sparkle
that caught my eye gave the answer: Wyrdstone! An enormous chunk,
right inside the fountain itself. Was this the secret scent? Had I
developed a talent to literally smell Wyrdstone? I turned to tell the
men what I had found, when a crossbow bolt grazed Helmut's arm. The
ambush! I knew this was too good to be true, but my men saw no one.
The patter of rain made it difficult to hear footsteps, or to spot
enemies shrouded in the deepening gloom. We moved forward quickly to
take shelter against another building, a private residence with the
entire east wall collapsed in a heap. Another cluster of barrels
looked like a good place to stop an assess the situation, but we
never made it. Out of the ruined building stepped two Dwarfs - a
nasty one, short even by Dwarven standards, with a rusty axe and a
scar across his forehead. The second was a savage fellow, naked to
the waist and brandishing 2 massive axes. With his fiery mohawk-
hairstyle he was clearly a Slayer - a Dwarf who seeks to redeem a
past wrongdoing through an honorable death.

Despite their short stature, they were on us in a flash, leaping over
the barrels and trying to hack us down with their axes. The Slayer
was highly skilled, and used the axe as a duelist might wield a
rapier, parrying my blows and driving me back towards the fountain. I
was able to fend off his attacks as well, but when our hired swords
circled around and overwhelmed him, he received the death he so
desperately desired. The shorter Dwarf had taken Shatzi on one-on-
one, probably thinking him unskilled and an easy target. Before I
could get back into the fray, however, Shatzi saw her opening and
took it, lunging forward and grabbing onto the hapless Dwarf's
throat. With a vicious shake of her head, she had crushed his
windpipe, leaving him gurgling and gasping on the ground.

To our left, more of the Dwarfs were seen in the upper floors of what
might have been an inn. They didn't appear to have ranged weapons,
and I did not think them an immediate threat to us, until I saw
Gunter facing them down! How he got into that building is beyond me,
but none could deny his courage. More crossbow bolts flew out over
the courtyard, pinning my men down and striking one of them in the
shoulder. Helmut was hit again and he threw himself to the muddy
ground pulling a thick wooden spike from his leg. Somewhere on the
other side of the inn, where Fritz and Sasha were scouting, the sharp
bangs of blackpowder weapons echoed across the area, sending up a
flock of birds. Three or four Dwarfs had come around to close the
trap, and my men were suffering the full brunt of their assault even
with support from our own marksmen.

I could feel the tide turning poorly against us. Despite our initial
gains, and the rich scent of Warpstone on the air, our foes were
relentless. Grabbing Shatzi's collar, we pulled back, rallying our
men on the other side of the apothecary. Gunter ran west into a long
narrow alley, but we did not pursue - he had a preternatural sense of
direction in this place, and would emerge when he felt safe.

An hour after returning to camp, Gunter emerged from the gates.
Soaked to the bone, and bleeding from many small wounds, he seemed to
be ill at ease in a way he had not been before. Everyone gets spooked
in the ruins, but this was different; Gunter paced more now,
uncomfortable, even among friends. I tell you, Agatha, I love him
like a brother, but he makes me nervous. Mordheim is a dangerous
place, and one must have their wits about them at all times in order
to survive. If his experience against the Dwarves has irrevocably
shaken his resolve, then he may be too fragile to take back into the
city. I will watch him carefully, and if need be, dismiss him to
Reikland. His life, or the life of a friend may depend on it.

I close this letter with the description of one more smell that is
all too rarely whiffed in Mordhiem - fresh sausage. After selling the
Wyrdstone we recovered in the courtyard, I took part of my share and
bought some freshly made Knockwurst. It was expensive, but I think
Shatzi earned it.

Yours forever and always -

Captain Markus Vogelsong

Oh yes, and I'm receiving this through the Mordheim Yahoo group:

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/mordheim/

Enjoy,
Ash

MORE

tho i dont think it needed saying ^_^
These bat reps are just pure greatness!

Ashton wrote:

Oh yes, and I'm receiving this through the Mordheim Yahoo group:

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/mordheim/

I think every Mordheim player should join that group. It is THE contact point for any questions, comments, etc regarding Mordheim.

I just sent Chris an email to write some more. He is part of our gaming group and helped me organize our current Mordheim Campaign

Da Bank wrote:

I just sent Chris an email to write some more. He is part of our gaming group and helped me organize our current Mordheim Campaign

WHAT?!?! HAHA are you serious? You know him? What a small world Mordheim is. That's awesome.

@Ashton

Sorry for the late response.

Yes, we both live in the same town. He plays Fantasy, 40K, Necro, Gorka, Mordheim and etc. The guy makes some wicked terrain.

He built some awesome converted Possessed for his warband they are pure art!

Chris was instrumental in us starting up Mordheim at the store.

That is awesome. Tell him to get to writing, it's been way too long

I just emailed and should see him on Tuesday.

Ashton wrote:

What a small world Mordheim is.

Indeed it is, but we make up for numbers with sheer, bloody-minded devotion, & fanantical enthusiasm. God, we're good! Also a bit dense .

I forgot to mention Edwin the creator of mordheimer.com also lives in our area.