Sunday, July 24, 2011

Scaverous/MacBain 50 pt. fluff

If Lord Exhumator Scaverous had still possessed flesh, it would have been quivering in anticipation. He had recently learned about the final resting place of a Koldun Lord from a hundred years earlier, who had been renowned for the protection of his village from a huge undead plague. He had supposedly utilized powerful magic that no Greylord since had mastered, and now the Lord Exhumator planned on peeling open his mind like a ripe fruit and learning how to defend against such magic in the future.

The town had been the site of a battle earlier in the year between the the Khadoran and Ordic Militaries, and most of it was reduced to rubble. Ultimately the Khadorans had been pushed out, but the town was mostly lifeless now, with only a few stragglers to be found. His scouts had told him that the location of the crypt was still intact, and now it was his time to take it. He had even hired the unscrupulous Jarok Croe and his cutthroats to cover his forces while they made off with their bounty. The mercenaries were surprisingly acquiescent to keeping the company of the dead, and the Lord Exhumator was paying them amply for their services. With a subdued glee that only the sentient dead could really understand, he ordered his men into the ruins of the town.

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Drake MacBain swung his sword Undertaker in a high arc, and was intercepted by the Greylord's axe. Another swing broke through the man's defenses, and Undertaker connected at his collarbone and cut down to his sternum. MacBain kicked the man aside and looked around at the rest of the fight. His customized Nomad Brutus was in the process of finishing off a Juggernaut that had been marshalled by a Man-o-war Kovnik, who was now resting in several pieces nearby, courtesy of the other Nomad which was now moving to assist Brutus.

The fight had been remarkably brief, and a quick tally revealed that his men had not taken any casualties. There had been a small expedition of Khadorans investigating the town after the recent fighting with Ord, but as per his contract he was guarding the region against a return. They had achieved the element of surprise, as well as a significant numerical advantage; the handful of Winterguardsmen had been cut down by a halberdier charge, and the rest were being finished up now. MacBain had heard that there were still supply caches and military hardware scattered throughout the city, and he did not think it was a coincidence that the Khadorans were pushing back there. MacBain figured he owed himself a bit of a bonus, expending his coal and ammunition in such a manner, and since his contract specifically did not prohibit scavenging he thought it best if he try and take it. It would make the rest of his work that much easier.

That last clause stuck in his mind and looked with a feeling of unease at the girl standing by the dead Winterguard, the sword Witchfire in her hand. As she moved her hand in an arcane motion, the sword began to glow, and the bodies began to twitch. They stood up again, they eyes glowing in a macabre reflection of the Witchfire's color, and began to follow around her. Alexia turned, and for a moment her eyes caught MacBain's and what he saw looked almost less human than the Risen she had just summoned. He was uneasy about hiring her in the first place, but she charged relatively little for her services, and the ability to use a dead enemy against his former comrades was an advantage not easily ignored.

He rallied the men together, his halberdiers now sharing his uneasiness about the presence of the walking dead, but faithfully following orders. They headed toward the town, making their way through the ruins toward a large supply cache he'd heard about. As he did so, something felt strange about the situation. In a moment, he realized why. Forms moving through the ruins materialized out of solid walls, and he saw the green glow of necrotite furnaces moving through the rubble. He had no idea why Cryx was in his ruins, but his contract stated specifically to defend the town from all aggressors, and given the danger represented by Alexia and her own Risen, he could only imagine the threat from an army of the walking dead taking the town.

He ordered his men to take up positions, and mentally began pushing his 'jacks forward. They had to succeed.

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