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The battle of Miragliano Part 3

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 The dark walls of Miragliano were not beautiful. They were rough but tall and thick, the kind of walls mercenaries would build. Now the descendants of those mercenaries mounted the walls to face the same menace the their ancestors had faced many years ago. The Undead. Captain Leonard had taken up position on the right most wall along with Bly the wizard and a band of archers. The centre walls were covered by large groups of crossbowmen and hand gunners. The left most wall had a body of archers and an old and slightly unhinged fire wizard known as Shine. Behind the walls a noble knight called Sigurd and his bodyguard stood ready, as did a large group of elite city guard armed with greatswords and a small band of militia. Leonard stood alone, apart from the archers and Bly. Despite his heroic victory at the crossing of the Trino river, he had lead the men of the river watch to disaster at the battle of Baliana. Now he clenched the handle of his sword in anticipation of revenge, a...

A letter from Kagram Branbar

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 “A letter from Kagram Branbar” An extract from Markus Diano's great work “The History of the Western Dwarf Realms”   From the following letter, we can see how the conflicts of 2432 began the process of altering the perceptions of the mountain holds at the edge of the Vaults. The attacks of marauding greenskin tribes and the increasing power of the ratmen at the expense of the citizens of Northern Tilea drove the dwarfs to adopt a more proactive and outward looking perspective, which was unusual at the time. The original translation was provided to me from the professor of Khazalid at Wissenburg University, Markus Libenhimer. The letter itself is an account of a battle in the winter of 2432 and was written by a scribe named Kagram Branbar to the King of Kazad Frujund at the time, Dalbak Galgrong. The throng encountered the foul t haggoraki (translator's note, the word “ratmen” fails to conjuror the deep disgust this word represents.)  while marching overland to the north...

The Battle for Miragliano, Part 2

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  Baliana The village of Baliana was eerily silent. Just hours ago it has been almost deafeningly noisy with children crying andmen and women shouting as they hurried to load up their possessions and escape. Banging, crashing and creaking carts had filled the track, laden with grain, supplies and the contents of peoples' homes. Then, the village had been filled with military sounds. Trumpets and drums, officers barking orders. Now everyone had taken their positions, and waited nervously for the undead. It was silent. Many of the officers had wanted to fall back to the city. After all, what was the point of protecting an empty town, but Leonard had overruled them. Backed the wizard Bly, he was confident he could give the undead vanguard a bloody nose, reducing their power even before they reached the city walls. His forces had grown as survivors from the previous battle rejoined them and others from further away patrols returned. He had even been joined by 3 demigryph knights. ...

The Battle of Miragliano Part 1, The battle on the Trino

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 This is the first part of 4 games covering the undead attack on the city of Miragliano. The city is on the western edge of Tilea and borders the Blighted Marshes from where the undead periodically attack. Previously the town of Uldopho, near the mountains was attacked and captured by the undead. However, there advance south as checked by a battle on the Via Nord.     What follows is an account of the undead attack across the River Trino towards the town of Baliana.    A Damp mist clung ground like a heavy sea as the men of the River Watch gathered. The chill air seemed to sap the will from their tired frames. Many had rushed to gather as soon as the calls went out, but still not half their full strength had mustered. Captain Leonard stood amongst the assembling groups, as the warden of the river he knew most of them by name and had directly recruited more than half. They had spent time training and drilling and he did not doubt their bravery. Many of the ...

The battle in the Pass, North of Cesana

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 The Battle in the Pass   Despite the cold, Captain Ryan was almost uncomfortably hot. An attack by the orcs could come at almost any time, so much of the army was marching at leas partially armored. Ryan was a bear of a man, his sheer size lead some to claim that there was ogre blood in his ancestry, while others said that his fiery red beard showed he was part Norse. Even for a man of his size, covering the rough ground and incline of the pass in full plate was not an easy task. After the battle of Cesana, there had been some dispute as to the next course of action. Many wanted to winter in Ravola now the food supply was secure and the dwarves had already returned to their mountain holds. However, Angelica, the captain who many had come to look to for leadership, was of a different mind. The Orcs had fled back to their mountain camp, and if left until the spring, would have replaced many of their losses. Instead she called for a strike against the camp before the winter...