This story of the Inquisition of Umberspire takes place during a local ‘ Arvard Ardboyz Path to Glory’ campaign.
In the Realm of Ghur in far Lendu, beyond the shadow of Beastgrave, there lies the volcanic valley of known as the Obsidian Vale. For many generations folk would inexplicably avoid the far reaches of the Vale. But as Sigmar’s magic of forgetfulness waned, and Stormvaults became more and more exposed, dreams of power began to trickle into the minds of the region’s Warlords.
Now, Armies are massing at the edges of the Obsidian Vale. The race is on, who will discover first the Power that Sigmar hid long ago…
———–
The Templars of the Inquisition arrived at the edges of the Vale, with plans to set up mining operations. A new stage of expanding the Spire of Whispers in Umberspire was underway, and new resources were needed. The Inquisition’s artificial Incarnate of Beasts, the Drekazrite, was still unstable, and required further binding to the new Inquisitor of the Templars, Hastagar. Hastagar felt rather confident at the moment, after usurping the previous Inquisitor during a conflict in the Interstice pocket realm, and conducting a very successful campaign in Gork’s Grin in Ghur. But the Incarnate remained unstable. So a dig for more realmstone was requisitioned.
———-
The siege of Sawtooth Tunnels
Advancing through the mountains into the Vale, it seemed the Inquisition had attracted some unwanted attention. One Lord Hagan had put a bounty on gheists in the region, encouraging enterprising mercenaries to hunt down any they find. Unfortunately for the Templars, they fitted the bill perfectly.
This confrontation would come sooner than they expected, as the first mine they attempted to secure was already under exploration by the Bursting Bedrock fyreslayer clan. The Inquisition set up camp outside the mine, planning to jump on the unsuspecting miners as they came out.
Unfortunately for them, what came out was a full troop of Hearthguard following two Magmadroths, led by the clan’s Rune-nobles and their priest. While surprised by the Inquisition’s stakeout, the opportunity to claim a bounty presented so quickly was too good for the fyreslayers to pass up. As for the Inquisition, they were out just to rob the fyreslayers of their booty, unaware of the price on their heads.
As the battle lines clashed and the fyreslayers tried to make a run with their prize, the Templar’s gheists aethereal movement gave them the upper hand. To the fyreslayers’ dismay, Judge Voranul, of the Inquisition council, had accompanied the expedition himself, and emerging from the underworlds was able to cut down one magmadroth by himself with his cursed scythe Final Sentence. Such a high-profile councilmember here will be sure to attract unwanted attention. Why the personal involvement in recent Templar campaigns, no one knows.
The fyreslayer main battleline was pushing hard against the Men in Black of the Inquisition, fyreglaives cutting Reapers left and right. Runefather Ryngrind’s magmadroth bounded into the battleline, infused with magical energies, striking at Inquisitor Hastagar directly. The Inquisitor, trying to regain control of his spectral steed-hound, defended himself, and invoked the power of his Mindrazor Blade to cut through the magmabeast nerve system. Unfortunately, despite its cursed powers, it found the densest of volcanic rock instead of flesh: this beast’s realm-blessings granting it a musculature as solid as the thickest basalt in Aqshy. Hastagar had to rely on his swordsmanship and the mystical flames granted by Keeper Zindimir just to sustain the assault, barely cutting the beast. The Men in Black, having contained the charge of the Heartguard, attempted to reform and focus on this most resilient of magma-creatures.
As the battleline finally shifted, the Inquisition’s Thulazma Charneltamer came charging on her animated Mastodoth, finally breaking the lines of the Bursting Bedrock clan and giving Inq. Hastagar an opening to strike at Runefather Ryngrind directly, the bestial energies of ghur in the wind around both combatants.
Defeated and cornered, the fyreslayers had to give up their findings in the mine, and with a sarcastic note of appreciation, were let go (against the protests of Judge Voranul who was still sure this clan owed them an outstanding debt). Whether this clemency would prove a thorn in their side eventually, time would tell.
The mines of the Sawtooth Tunnels were theirs now, ripe with realmstone to extract.
