After securing the Crack Within Darkness, the Wardens of Burden took it upon themselves to recover the artefacts pilfered from its depths. Some were found in secret caches or mass graves, or in the hands of others. Where they could Bartheliman bade the Wardens deal honourably with those who possessed them and try to recover the artefacts by fair means, though the Wardens didn’t hesitate to use force if it meant preventing dangerous weapons from falling into the wrong hands. For the most part it took little effort to replenish the Stormvault’s warded armouries, but inevitably and soon the Wardens encountered their first true test; the Arboreal Wellspring.
Bartheliman uncovered little information about the artefact’s nature, save that it apparently had the power to engender plant-life at an astonishing rate – And that the last time it was used was in the Jade Wastes, an expanse of forest and vines in Ghyran hundreds of miles wide. Tentative explorers had testified to finding entire cities, long since passed from mortal memory, buried deep beneath the plants – And no signs of animal or mortal life. The Arboreal Wellspring had to be secured, lest a similar disaster befall Hysh.
Thankfully, its trail was easy to follow, but as the Wardens approached where they thought the Wellspring now resided, they found that they weren’t it’s only pursuers. A warband known as the Vultures had also been in pursuit of the Arboreal Wellspring; whether or not they knew of its nature, and if so why they coveted it, Tcimmera did not know. But the symbols they sported were familiar enough to her that she immediately put the Wardens on a war-footing, ready to fight if needed.
And not a moment too soon. From the tomb that contained the Wellspring sprung an Incarnate, animated by the artefact’s power life-giving energy. It took the form of an avatar of light maintaining coherence with twisting, barbed roses; a fusion of Ghyran and Hysh wrought to unleash reckless violence on those who sought the Wellspring.
It immediately set its sights upon the Wardens, evidently judging them the greater threat, and descended upon Tcimmera and the accompanying Fulminators. Perhaps the single greatest foe they’d faced yet since coming to Hammer’s End, Tcimmera and the Fulminators fought valiantly not just against the Incarnate’s physical power, but against the very magic of Light and Life itself. Air became vines in their mouths, their minds were blinded by pure concepts, and reality itself warped around the claws of the Dracoths. Ultimately the Incarnate was bested by the Wardens, but not before the Fulminators were exhausted beyond further utility in the battle – All without the Vultures spending a single drop of their own blood.
Brooking no more restraint, Tcimmera took stock of the Vultures’ markings of Chaos-worship, and the evident hatred they looked upon the Knights Excelsior with, and decided that no matter what, the Arboreal Wellspring was only safe so long as it was contained in the Crack Within Darkness. Her decision was further compounded as the Vultures’ lighter troops rushed forwards into the Desolators, evidently seeking battle with the Stormcast and Dracoths themselves.
First, the Vultures’ screen was clearedby the Desolators without mercy; though the Dracothian Guard were outnumbered near five to one, those were odds these heroes had been trained to best. Great sweeps of their thunderaxes broke apart the enemy ranks, allowing their Dracoths to pounce on the survivors and break through entirely as they scattered.
Next, the Concussors forged fowards, and straight into the enemy’s heaviest elites. Fearsome blows were traded by either side, the thunderous force of hammer meeting ruin-empowered axe, but after the accounting it was the Concussor Iulus and their Dracoth Kalanx who were finally left standing amidst the destruction.
As the secondary unit of the Vultures, lesser in power than those dispacted by the Concussors but greater in number, descended from the tomb into the Wardens’ flank, it was Tcimmera and Ahvria who met them headfirst. The pair might have been outnumbered against a skilful and well-armed foe, but they did not pause. Instead they plunged head-first into the Vultures, tearing claws and fangs and meteoric hammer breaking apart plate armour and shield. It was slow killing, but as the enemy warriors tried to wear Tcimmera and Ahvria down, the Stormcast and Dracoth picked off more of their number in ones and twos, until Bartheliman and the Desolators thundered in to reinforce Tcimmera’s position.
Concussor Iulus was charged by the enemy warlord, who sought to avenge her kin. A duel erupted that would become part of the centuries-spanning legend of the Wardens of Burden, as the wounded Iulus matched might and skill against a powerful lord. Though Iulus was eventually struck down from Kalanx and the Dracoth driven backwards, the opposing warlord could little enjoy her victory before she too was bowled over by an avenging Desolator.
In the end, the Tzaangor Shaman accompanying the Vultures chose prudence over death, and with an arcane ritual was able to translocate the surviving Vultures and their dead to safety, wherever that may be. Tcimmera might have been denied their annihilation, but she found solace in securing the true prize; the Arboreal Wellspring.
Locked away in a nullstone casket, it was made safe for transportation to the Crack Within Darkness. Tcimmera didn’t hold onto the hope that the Wellspring would not cause further bloodshed, but at least now it would be safe under the Wardens’ watchful eyes.
For now.
