“Welcome to Lake Bykaal Soulbound! We’re honoured to have such heroic individuals aiding our cause, thank you, from the depths of our hearts, we couldn’t do this next mission without you brave souls!”
The Dreamseed was in a tent with a number of other leaders of The Expedition, as well Lord Brightspear of course. They were situated just outside the city of Tsatraya, and had been following the main army since they had arrived at Lake Bykaal.
“The mission, should you choose to accept it, is to make your way through the freezing wilderness to our old camp, south old Old Dyunsk, here. There, we’ve hidden a small floating ship the Duardin have created that will launch you to your real mission. We need you to pilot that ship right through enemy lines back through the Ghyrplunge and deliver a message to our allies on the other side. Ladies… trees… duardin, you should know this: we are losing this war. We need those reinforcements, without them, all is lost…. Please, will you do this for us?”
And The Dreamseed had said yes, knowing that, in all likelihood, the would not all make it through that gate.
And so, many days later, the party found themselves trekking through the wilderness north of Tsatraya. It has been a viciously cold day, but at last they had managed to find themselves a good place to make camp for the night. The fighting was leagues away and so, although they were within Shyish, they found yourself seemingly alone for the time being.
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If only that were true! Out of nowhere, the group was ambushed by pirate Skaven that had been making their way around the lake aboard make-shift rafts.
“Quick,” Altax yelled in the fading light, “to arms!” The Skaven had come out of nowhere, and had managed to sneak around the camp, coming from all sides. The first few managed to jump atop Grark Steambutt and a number of their little knives managed to get under his armour before Grim, the Kharadron of the group, managed to free him by expertly hooting off each rat one by one. Steambutt had been sent by Brighteyes to be their wayfinder in the wilderness and knew of the location of the hidden ship.
“He needs help!” Grim called to the others as he defended his fellow Duardin from a follow-up attack by more Skaven hidden in the shadows. But the others had their hands full as well, Altax, golden armour catching the dying suns last rays, fought like an angel sent by Sigmar. She carved a way through the skaven, pushing towards Annabeth who found herself surrounded. Riptide, Annabeth’s fangmora Eel flew about her, biting through enemy after enemy. Still though, they were hard pressed. Arrow after arrow pierced any that got closer though, as Alaroth used his great bow to launch arrows, as big as spears, skewering the skaven as they got too close.
And then, as quickly as it had begun, it ended. Dozens of Skaven laid about the Soulbound, dead. “Quick!” Grim called to Annabeth, “He needs you!” The wounds to Grark were dire, but thankfully, with a good amount of Aqua Ghyranis, Annabeth was able to heal the stocky Duardin enough for him to survive.
The following couple days were, Sigmar-be-praised, uneventful, and the party soon found themselves at the location of the hidden ship. That said, they found themselves at a loss for words when, right on top of the ship, sat a large Grot Shaman, flanked by two massive squigs. As they drew nearer to the ship, the diminutive Grot suddenly eyed them and called out.
“Don’t come any closer ye gits!! This ‘ere be my ship! I found her fair and square see! Well…. I stabbed the git that was next to her at least… but I did it fair and square!!” He shook his fist at the party as they drew closer, ignoring his warnings.
“Don’t you come any closer! Or I swear, I’ll blow her up! If I cantz have her, then no body can see!!!”
“Okay, we’re not coming any closer,” Altax called out to the grots, “see, we’re not attacking you.” As the Stormcast held out her hands in a show of non-violence she called up to the shaman, “who are you, could we… come to an accord…?”
“I am the mighty Niknak Slugbelly, Shovva of Clever Gits!! I’m also pretty darn good at cards and the yo-yo though, I’m not just a good shovva, even if that’s what they call me…”
“And no,” it added, “I will not give you my cord!”
“Oh, bugger this!” Grim suddenly growled from beside Altax, and, as quick as he could, launched a barrage of firepower towards the Shaman, annihilating the poor git. Unfortunately for the party, the grot had not been bluffing, and an explosion took off one of the engines of the ship. As the party stared at the destruction, and then back at Grim, he added, “well, see, I didn’t really think he knew how to do that…. errr… sorry about that….”
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Although the ship had been damaged, the party decided it would be best to at least start on their journey before attempting to fix it. Grim had assured them that he’d certainly be able to get the ship back up to full speed before they made their assault on the gate. And so the party lifted off, pointing the ship in the direction of the Ghyrplunge. Grim… in a stroke of consistency, had been wrong….
As they grew closer, they suddenly saw the immensity of the mission ahead of them. “Oh Grimnir….” Grark swore under his breath.
Surrounding the realmgate was a massive war camp, filled with enemy soldiers from across the realms. Thankfully, they didn’t seem to have any heavy artillery from the Kharadron that can take the ship down immediately. But, they could see them as they approached, as a good half-dozen of smaller ships start to fly towards the Expedition’s lone craft.
“There is no time to fight them off, even if we could…” Altax exclaimed to the group, “our only hope is to fly as fast as we can, through as many of them as possible, and pray to Sigmar that we make it…”
“She’s right,” Alaroth agreed, “let us do this, only one of us needs to get through that gate after all. Together, we can do this thing.”
And so, the party prepared themselves for the assault of their lives. Grark manned the wheel, Grim desperately making repairs to the last engine to increase their speed, and the rest taking their places to defend the ship for the inevitable attack. And then, it came, like the dam breaking through. Ghouls of every size and shape leapt down down from the ships manned by the followers of Khaine. Gore splattered about the ship, as tooth, sword, arrow, and aetheric blasts tore through dead flesh. Assault after assault the team pushed the enemy back, but the tide was endless it seemed. At some point in the battle, a ghoul king and queen jumped aboard driving the ghouls into a greater frenzy, and while she found herself momentarily beaten back, Annabeth saw Grark fall. “No!” she screamed, summoning up a wash of aethersea that took the surrounding ghouls and threw them overboard. And then, Grark stood and smirked at Annabeth. “Get it done lassie…” he said as he charged the remaining ghoul king beside the queen that Altax had, moments before, taken down. He tackled the great bestial figure, and both of them went over the side.
“Bah!” Grim called from the side of the ship, “I’ve done it! She’s fixed, move her faster!” but no one was left to pilot, so he flew over to the wheel just as a swarm of ghouls took ahold of the steering column. He fought them off, using his saw to carve a path through the group. But as he got to the wheel, he found it shredded. “Ah…. we have a problem!” he called out to the party. The ship had begun to drop, faster and faster with the repaired engine, angling down now and with no way to pull up.
“Yes, but that may not be it…” Alaroth responded, fighting off one last ghoul, and then pointing up above the ship.
The scream came before it landed. A massive terrorgheist alighting on the ship with a ghoul king sitting astride the great beast. “To arms!! For Sigmar, and for good!!” Altax called out. The team fought with all they had. Round after round hit the giant as Grim fired all he had, as well as all that the ship had. Arrows struck every known weak spot as Alaroth ran around the sides of the ship, attempting to find any weak spot that he could. Annabeth blasting the wounds made with arcane bolts, flying as fast as she could. But the enormous beast was overwhelming them, as the ghoul king struck back again and again. And then, Altax fell. A section of the ship coming lose, an engine part trapped her momentarily, and the beats struck, knowing it had an opening. It ripped through the Stormcast’s armour, tearing away her left hand, and causing Altax to stumble backward, agony overwhelming her. She desperately parried the oncoming claws with her remaining hand, but she was slowing, and slowing fast. “Annabeth, I need to get up to the rider!” she screamed at her party member. Annabeth saw what her team member desired, but faltered, knowing what would come next. “Now Annabeth,” the golden warrior called, “we need to get that message through!”
And so the Deepkin did the unthinkable, she drew on her aethersea, creating a wave that drew the Stormcast up into the air and over the terrorgheist. And she came down hard on the ghoul king, skewering the rider atop the mount. With a scream the terrorgheist twisted, throwing off Altax, and diving over the edge of the ship in pursuit. The two fought the whole way down, the lightning that followed the crash tearing through the beast, finally slaying it.
The binding had frozen as the two toppled over the edge, but they did not have time to consider their options, the journey had come to an end it seemed, as the ship plowed into the earth just prior to reaching the Ghyrplunge.
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Dazed, Alaroth opened his eyes to fire all about him. The three remaining Soulbound were picking themselves up off the crash site. “Oh for Grimnirs sake…” he heard Grim swear nearby, “my leg is broken Alaroth…”. Annabeth drew herself up, using Riptide to gain balance.
And as Alaroth looked over up, he could see that that wasn’t their greatest problem. A full swarm of ghouls was descending on the downed ship. “We can’t end like this…” Alaroth mumbled to himself. “Annabeth, grab Grim, you need to get through that gate at all costs.”
“No,” Annabeth replied, “I see what you’re thinking, and I think it’s idiotic. We’re not leaving you Alaroth”
“Look at that Annabeth,” the Kurnoth Hunter said, motioning towards the swarm closing in. “What would you have us do? All die? Grim cannot fight, and we need to get the message through. Riptide will only obey you, and he’s the only thing that is fast enough to get the two of you away and to the other side. Now. Move!”
And with that, Alaroth screamed as loud as he could, charging the ghouls before Annabeth had any time to say more. As she looked down at Grim, watching his friend fight to his last, she swung over the top of the fangmora and the two of them sped away… through the realmgate.
They had done it, they had made it through, it had cost them almost everything. But it was done.
