Fortentaf Diaries 3

...from the campaign journal of Garis Weiner, engineer for Wrath of Erickheim.

We had just finished loading the Wrath onto the barges when riders appeared and met with the general. Soon as you know it, we were unloading the barges and headed back towards Tilman's Ferry. Sure enough, the place were being overrun by those furry skaven, and they had one of them abomination with them. Those creatures are damn scary I tell you. Oh, along the way, the general managed to recruit the giant, 'Ol Bold to fight for us. Of course, we had to part 3 heads of cows and a wagonful of good mead.

The general took charge of the left field and left the right field to the mage Marius, where the Wrath was deployed, along with the pistolkorps and Edgewaters militia. The center was held by Fort Fosburg's detachment of artillery and handgunners, as well as the crossbowmen. A company of mercenary knights were on hand too. The Braeme's archers took up position near the giant on the left.

The verminous tide came upon us in their multitudes, the abomination making its way towards the general and his knights. The dreaded plague furnace craked its rotting wheels towards the center while two large blocks of clanrats scurrying on the right, facing off with the Wrath and the pistolkorps.

Their magic was desultory, with the priest hurting himself from a miscast. Their shooting was a bit better with a volley from the jezzails killing a mortar crew. Fortunately for us, the lightning cannon overshot.

I put all steam into the Wrath's advance and we almost came to grips with the clanrats. Unholy magicks protected the priest from the well-aimed shots of the marksmen and the crossbowmen reduced the number of jezzail teams. "Ol Bold hid himself behind some trees, in the hope of catching the abomination by suprise. The suprise was on the giant, when the abomination slithered and smothered him in its many limbs.

Gravely wounded, the giant heaved his huge club and brought it down onto the monstrosity, splitting the putrid flesh. The wounds were too great for the beast and its previous injury from Jaeryd's fireball denied its body to heal itself. With a massive crash, the thing lay still.

Emboldened by their numbers, the clanrats marched closer to our lines, undeterred by the tank's terrifying presence. Another block of rats, this one led by one of their magic user, fled at the sight of Wrath, no doubt aided by Marius's dreaded Doom and darkness spell. These fleeing rats were easy meat for the pistoliers who scattered them.

The general led the charge against a unit of Rat Ogres and ran them down but 'Ol Bold was pulled down by a pack of giant rats. In the center, a second cannonball connected with the furnace, and with a mighty crash, the whole contraption came falling down. The priest emerged unscathed. Sporadic shooting by the handgunners and outriders picked off several more monks from the huge block coming towards our lines.

After failing to hit anything since the start of the battle, the mortar crew suddenly outshined themselves with an accurate round on a block of 30 clanrats. half of the rats were blown to pieces and the rest simply fled away from the battlefield. This freed up our right flank and we began to drive towards the center with the Wrath aiming for the skaven general's unit of stormvermins.

Having pulled down the giant, the giant rats continued their rampage and slaughtered the crossbowmen as they tried to flee from combat. The Wrath steamed towards the stormvermins and scalded them in hot steam. Unnerved, they ran but was eventually caught and most of them were grounded down. the nearby remnants of the jezzail team fled at the sight of the approaching tank

The remaining monks had swept into a band of flagellants and proceeded to wipe them out, but not before the prophet of doom managed to strike down the already injured priest. The plague monks swept into the nearby handgunners and again, their unholy rot prevailed. The cannon crew were next in line and it was then that the cannon failed them as the powder fizzled. Even as the remaining monks crested the mound where the cannon used to be, they did not have time to savor their victory as Jaeryd and Marius cut them all down with magical energy.

Oh, yes. I almost forgot. Early in the battle, the company of hired knights managed to destroy the warp-lightning cannon but they in turn were lost when they fled from the stormvermins and ran into the pack of giant rats. Goes to show you can't really rely on these showy knights-for-hire.

Now, after policing the field, we're on our way north again. I dread what we will face there.