Misty tendrils threaded their way through the ruins, cloaking the shattered city in a shroud of grey. The flicker of torchlight cast a dim illumination, eagerly welcomed by the group of men waiting in the shattered remains of a tavern. It was a chill night and Wulfgar drew the collar of his wolfskin cloak tighter around him.
Out of the mists strode a tall figure, the grey tendrils clinging to him. He moved with near Elvish grace, lithe and supple on his feet. Calm and sure in his movements he exuded an air of confidence and authority reinforced by his stylish clothes. A silk shirt tucked into leather trousers, covered by a long leather jacket. A black scabbard hung from his belt, an ornate axe next to it. A dagger hilt protruded from the top of each boot. If he was surprised at the presence of the other three mercenaries, he showed no sign of it.
"I am Nikolai," his voice had the ring of command to it, one used to having requests met. "I assume you are Wulfgar of the Red Wolves?"
"Aye laddie, that I am. You come alone?"
"Indeed," Nikolai looked pointedly at the three men behind Wulfgar "My understanding was that we were to meet in private."
"It's dangerous on the streets at night. Especially here; especially on your own."
"So it is. On to business then. You have information regarding the necromancer Iskarul?
"First the gold though. Two hundred gold and the information is yours." Wulfgar placed his hands on his weapons. His right hand laying on the head of his hammer while the left caressed the blade of his axe.
"Two hundred? The pact was for half that. Here is the hundred gold, as agreed."
:Aye, we did agree on a hundred. But the lads and I need the extra gold, got a sick mother you see. Besides, by the looks of it you can spare it. Two hundred gold or nothing. Two hundred gold right now and you will walk out of here."
Nikolai's face went flat, his eyes steel. Resting one hand on the hilt of his sword his lip curled in anger.
"I suggest you honour your word, mercenary, lest you regret it. I offer you a choice. Keep the gold you have and honour our agreement, or continue with this foolish charade and die."
"There are four of us. Give us the gold, or we take it. Simple as that."
"Last chance, mercenary. Honour the agreement."
Wulfgar, his bearded face turning red with rage, suddenly charge at Nikolai. The massive man swinging his hammer in a wide arc as he thundered forward, his axe held back ready.
With astonishing speed Nikolai whipped his sword from his scabbard and ducked under the mighty hammer blow. Spinning to his right he caught the haft of the northerners axe with his sword. Completing the spin he pulled the axe from his belt and struck. The axe bit deep into Wulfgars belly, smashing through the chain with consummate ease. Nikolai smashed the hilt of his sword into the Wulfgar's jaw with a sickening crack and the big northman fell to the ground.
He advanced on the remaining three warriors who stood watching, stunned by the speed of the fight. Gruber, the grizzled veteran recovered first and his bellow of rage brought the two youngsters to their senses. They ran forward, only to be met by Nikolai charging into their midst. Faster than the eye could follow Nikolai struck, the single edged blade opening the veterans throat before he had a chance to bring his massive hammer to bear. Nikolai lashed out with his left hand, the butt of the bloodied axe slamming into the face of Hans, sending the young warrior reeling.
Nikolai spun to his left, striking out with his axe at Arek. The wicked edge of the blade caught him just above the collar of his jerkin and sliced cleanly through his neck. Spurting blood, his body dropped to it's knees before falling completely, the severed head landing with a wet thud several meters away.
Walking over to Hans he calmly put his foot on the youths chest before stabbing down swiftly with his blade, ending the young warriors life. A whimper of pain caused him to turn around and find Wulfgar, his stomach a bloody mess of intestines and ruined flesh, watching him with wide, terror filled eyes.
"You should not have tried to cross me. We had an arrangement, and you broke your word. Because of that those close to you have died. And for what? You could have told me what I wanted and made a tidy profit, yet you let your greed blind you. Now you leave me no choice. I will have that information, and you will suffer greatly for your mistake."
With that the vampire picked the large warrior up and slowly walked off into the mist.
_______________________________________________________________
Yet another warband? I hear some of you cry. Why yes it is. Have I actually completed any? No not yet. Doesn't stop me though. The reason for so many different ones starting (and slowly getting finished) is that I am trying to garner interest in the game by having a number of 'ready made' warbands available. Also, I don't get much time to do this so I tend to work on one or two things at a time and often leave the others untouched for weeks on end.
So, this is the first piece of fluff I have come up with for my Undead Warband. The basic story behind it is that the Vampire, Nikolai, isn't working for Vlad. Instead he has come to Mordheim to hunt down the beast that turned him, and has tracked Ikarius (the villains Necromancer) to Mordheim. Hoping he will lead him to his enemy, Nokolai has been searching for clues. As the Campaign (when it starts) progressess there will be a number of story-bsed scenarios as Nikolai closes in on his prey.
By the way, the fight in this was real. I rolled it the other day (because I was bored) and this guy practically flew through 4 Middenheimers! 3 rounds of combat and 3 critical hits. Captain went down first round, then the other 3 got charged. Champion got axed before he could do anything and the first youngblood was stunned. The other youngblood missed with his attacks. Next round Nikolai critical 6's the standing youngblood before putting the other one OOA! It was purely lucky dice, but this guy just rocks!
So, what do you think of the fluff?
Subject: Death in the Night 
Wed 20 Aug 2008 - 3:28
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