Mathilde won't disclose the information she got from being possessed by Mork unless the vote is for full disclosure.
Ok, great. That was my worry.
Mathilde won't disclose the information she got from being possessed by Mork unless the vote is for full disclosure.
"Severely," huh?
What strategic implications do you believe that information actually has?
The Mork thing is strategically important information because knowing that the Greenskins engaged in self destruction due to internal heresy issues, rather than being riled up by something else is important information, because in the absence of that information they have to guess Skaven intervention or some other unknown. They need it for planning at the war council, they need to know just how likely the Citadel emptied out because of Greenskin mutual murdering, and they need to know if the heresy can be exploited further against the greenskins.
More to the point, OOC wise we know Kragg knows something magical went down on a scale beyond an individual mortal's channeling and that he suspects we were at ground zero.
If we tell the story here we have control of the narrative, otherwise it might come out in a less pleasant manner.
-Its not strategically important for the Mercenary Commanders to know MC was channeling WAGH!. Stories like that end up with MC burnt at the stake and Freddy surviving that involved divine intervention... lets not hope Ranald feels like outing his connection to MC.o why are we exactly worried about at least reporting that we hit Mork hard by disrupting the ritual? Especially since weakening one of the racial enemies of the Dwarves happens to be very strategically important intelligence, that we shouldn't be hiding from our allies?
Even if its just having people that have actual use for the info behind after the main meeting and telling them... 'So I managed to stealth kill the head priest who was actually the warboss... a Black Ork shaman (apparently this was a thing that occurred)... who was randomly in the middle of a ritual to make a splinter 'Only X' ork god when I sworded him to death.' Followed by 'and I know because I started catching visions as I was parrying all that energy somewhere where its no going to screw us over. I'm very happy I (and the mountain) didn't explode doing that.'
Mathilde won't disclose the information she got from being possessed by Mork unless the vote is for full disclosure.
-Its not strategically important for the Mercenary Commanders to know MC was channeling WAGH!. Stories like that end up with MC burnt at the stake and Freddy surviving that involved divine intervention... lets not hope Ranald feels like outing his connection to MC.
-Its not strategically important to have the grape vine know the mage snuffed out a newborn variant Ork god in the cradle. Again the Mercenary Commanders shouldn't known MC is technically accidentally off a new god. That is kind of a MAJOR thing.
-I'm not for inducing panic in the ranks for a situation already resolved.
-I'm for basic operational security of information that should not being causally released into the wild.
Add in they will be rather more happy if she doesn't mention the Black Ork origins in public (if they know specifically or not about it) and the 'Mork thing' is blatantly a topic for a smaller group.
The Orc gods are directly involved with the battle magic spells used by their shaman as their lores are essentially divine ones using the waagh field alongside the winds of magic, Mork being weakened almost certainly means that their battle magic spells are less powerful and potentially more dangerous.
@BoneyM Would you say my thoughts are on the right lines here or am I reading into things to much?
So far we know 25% of his adventurers are incapacitated (died, wounded or deserted), and there's been some heavy fighting. Average among the expedition is 20%, 25% for the frontline infantry is reasonable. There's nothing to suggest Codrin is a butcher.Considering the sheer amount of people he's condemning it seems unlikely that he's actually managed to successfully spot only the people who are going to want to steal from the Dwarfs. It also seems quite unlikely that many men would have the opportunity to actually do so anyway. Basically the problem isn't that he wants to kill tomb raiders, it's that he's marked a shitload of people out as potential tomb raiders based on flimsy evidence and then used that as justification to kill them all.
Mathilde would need to become one of the world's foremost theological experts just to begin to guess with any certainty what the long-term repercussions of what happened are.
Mathilde would need to become one of the world's foremost theological experts just to begin to guess with any certainty what the long-term repercussions of what happened are.
I wonder how developed the dwarves' theological knowledge is. As they have divine lores and so their priests can apparently produce divine miracles (of which runecraft apparently is one), they may actually be pretty expert at the subject, given that they had their Ancestors living in communion with them for a long time, and have had millenia to think on the subject, as well as the crossover from the elven understanding.
Any discussion on the subject would have to start with thinking very carefully whether you'd want to draw a direct parallel between the Ancestor Gods, and Gork and Mork.
We should write a report on that in the next downtime. This is possibly the first use of an Anvil of Doom in battle where a Magister with Windreader was in a perfect position to watch the whole thing go down from a safe vantage point.You consider the bed and quickly reject it, and are in fact tempted to set it on fire to rid the room of the smell of rotting leaves and fur. So instead you lean against a window and witness the rare spectacle unfolding below. The Colleges only knew the very basics of what an Anvil of Doom was capable of, and now you get to see it for yourself, as conducted by the oldest and most powerful of Runelords. Kragg the Grim did not research, rarely journeyed, and was very difficult to convince that anyone was worthy of the products of his art, so what has he been doing with his centuries of life? The answer, it seems, was crafting Runes for his Anvil of Doom.
In the context of one of the Anvils, a Rune did not mean a carving upon an object, but an object in its own right - a piece of metal in the shape of a single Rune, but itself covered in dozens or even hundreds of smaller runes. Once fully crafted, it would begin to siphon magical energies from the air, and days or weeks or months later it would be ready. When properly positioned on an Anvil of Doom and struck by someone skilled in its use, the energies would be unleashed in the way dictated by its runes, the Anvil's runes, and the will of the wielder.
That is a lot of high quality ruination being dispensed there.For year after year, decade after decade, Kragg had shut himself in his workshop in Karaz-a-Karak and channeled his hatred of greenskins and Skaven and Elves and all other enemies of Dwarves, and all of his bitterness at the decline of the Karaz Ankor, into an arsenal for his Anvil, waiting for a reason sufficient to justify his presence. The lost hold of Karak Eight Peaks, once second only to Karaz-a-Karak in population and wealth and power, had finally given him that reason, and the Grobi in the Citadel and in the caldera beyond received the full force of his hatred and his skill. Lightning struck from above with pinpoint accuracy, and the ground at the Citadel's foundations split open and molten rock exploded forth.
...and they found something to fight thats not other greenskins.[Greenskin reaction to magical attack: 100.]
Truth be told, you don't know if the tide of greenskins heading into the Citadel was part of an internal religious schism or them taking the shortest route between their current location and Karag Nar to try to avenge what Ranald did to Mork. But if it was the former, Kragg's unleashing of magical power nips that conflict right in the bud. Somewhere in the Citadel, someone - likely an Orc - has had a loud enough voice and a powerful enough blow to bring order to the chaos and cement his own leadership over all those present, and pointed them at the approximate cause of their suffering. Boiling forth from the structure is a gushing sea of Orcs and Goblins, and even as some tumble into lava-flooded ravines or are obliterated by lightning strikes, the majority keep going as the power of the Waaagh fills them with bloodlust.
And theres the Greenskin champion. A +25 commander...utterly wasted because we have artillery, archery and Kragg Battlemagic set up on a sighted, open ground. Thats two rounds right there of their leader pushing Greenskins to advance across a killing field.[Dwarvern artillery: 92+20=112.]
[Codrin's archers: 18+15=33.]
[Kragg the Grim: 3+30=33.]
[Greenskin leadership: 71+25=96.]
[Karag Nar assault: ???]
The constant rumble of thunder is joined by a volley of cannonfire and, unheard but just as brutal, the firing of Grudge and Bolt Throwers, and wood and rock and metal scythe through the charging forces without mercy. Though the site of Mork's mugging lay to the east and the source of the magical assault to the northeast, the battle lines of men pulls them inexorably southeast instead. From this distance an arrow is invisible, but a volley of thousands shouldn't be, but if the archers are firing they're not coordinated enough to form a volley, and the greenskin lines surge forward, now free of the lava and lightning that torments the Citadel.
[Dwarvern artillery: 43+20=63.]
[Codrin's archers: 63+15=78.]
[Kragg the Grim: 46+25=71.]
[Greenskin leadership: 84+25=109.]
[Karag Nar assault: ???]
As the greenskins close to medium range, both the archers and the lightning seem to adjust their aim, and a volley cuts down hundreds and electricity jumping from Orc to Orc accounts for just as many. But this is the side of the greenskins that makes them a blight upon the world: propelled by the fury of the Waaagh and united in purpose to destroy their foes. Thousands fall and are trampled underfoot by thousands more and the discharge from the Citadel has not even begun to slow, fuelled by the influx from the caldera. Seemingly unstoppable, the press of bodies approaches the lines of men.
Look at the leadership bonus change. Kragg NUKED their warboss along with thousands of their best.[Dwarvern artillery: 67+20=87.]
[Codrin's archers: 12+15=27.]
[Kragg the Grim: 90+25=115.]
[Greenskin leadership: 29+25=54.]
[Karag Nar assault: ???]
With a terrible groaning that drowns out everything else, the earth tears itself open in front of the lines of man as the greenskins near, and hundreds, thousands tumble in as the press that continues all the way to the Citadel makes stopping or even slowing impossible, and the embrace of molten rock accounts for every one of them. The greenskins falter and a volley of bolts scythes through their exposed ranks, sending enough flying that those now foremost have enough room to halt their charge and a fraction of a second to reconsider before they are shoved forward by those behind.
From this distance the activity can be summarized in seconds, but with the amount of time passing you're starting to worry about why you've yet to hear any activity closer to you. The assault of Karag Nar should be well and truly underway, and just from comparing the forces of Karak Izor to the greenskins you saw while scouting they should be making good progress.
[Dwarvern artillery: 62+20=82.]
[Codrin's archers: 29+15=44.]
[Kragg the Grim: 27+25=52.]
[Greenskin leadership: 30+15=45.]
[Karag Nar assault: 100.]
The greenskins falter and their lines spread out across the ravine, seeking a way across even as the constant fire of guns cuts through them time and time again. The ravine does not stretch the entire length of the valley, and the outermost of the greenskins reach it and resume their close on the lines of man, but each second wasted is horrendously costly for them and you can see them begin to falter.
Heh, amusing.Your worries for the fight below are proven groundless as a crunch of metal on metal and then confused voices in an almost familiar tongue reach you, and you finally turn from the view at the window to head towards the doorway. Skaroki and a score of Longbeards are inspecting the door's guards in a great deal of confusion as one tries to pry his axe from the chest of an unmoving figure that remains stubbornly upright, even as blood pours from its mouth. With a gesture you release the spell on it, and the rigor mortis of a simulated death is replaced by the Black Orc collapsing as his actual one approaches. At your instruction a deeply sceptical Longbeard delivers a similarly fatal blow to the other guard so you can release its ensorcellment as well, and they drag the bodies away to stand in their place.
Hmm, we did take out their warboss, but I guess punching through heavy infantry sentries in chokepoints is difficult."The lower floors put up more a fight than we expected," Skaroki says as he enters the room with you, frowning at the disguised treasure. "But once they broke we swept through the rest of the mountain without trouble. Good thing too, by the sounds of it things are heating up outside."
I like how we're slowly growing their acceptance to at least make use of useful magics."There's an entire greenskin town in the caldera, and half of them are charging through the Citadel to try to get at us," you report, and Skaroki scowls down in the direction of your pointed finger. "They're faltering but damn close to our lines."
"Nick of time, then." He unfastens a horn from his belt and you hold your hands over your ears as he blows a long, deep note, and within a couple of seconds it is taken up elsewhere by those that had been waiting for the signal. There's nothing left to do but watch and hope, and Skaroki seems to agree, finding the view your lenses offer to be stronger than his distrust of magic. If battle comes to Karag Nar, there'll be plenty of time to head down there while the rest of the forces of Karak Izor present hold the line.
And the mercenaries fight like heroes.[Codrin's archers: 39+15=54.]
[Kragg the Grim: 16+25=41.]
[Greenskin leadership: 74+10=84.]
[Codrin's mercenaries: 91+10=101.]
The volleys of cannonfire are cut off immediately as the crews stop firing and, with the help of those that had been standing ready for this purpose, reattach wheels and ropes and begin to haul their precious cargo back towards the East Gates, leaving behind piles of unspent ammunition. Without the constant obliteration of their foremost, the greenskins seem to surge forward and with an enormous cry of WAAAGH they slam into the ranks of men, but to their surprise (and, admittedly, your own) the men hold. Perhaps they can see their payday just around the corner, or perhaps the attrition that you suspect Codrin has been encouraging has cut out the least worthy of their number, but whatever the reason, an incredibly varied assortment of weapons were ready to meet the charge and more Orcs fall to human weapons than men to Orcish choppas.
[Codrin's archers: 8+15=23.]
[Kragg the Grim: 87+25=112.]
[Greenskin leadership: 44+10=54.]
[Codrin's mercenaries: 98+10=108.]
Codrin's archers were to be next to disengage, but you suspect them of jumping the gun as the greenskin tide surges forth again as they are freed of the arrows that had been tormenting them. But Kragg has no need to withdraw, and to your surprise his magic does not manifest to torment the greenskins but to bolster the men, and a roared battlecry is shared amongst the mercenaries as the Dwarvish enmity of greenskins floods through their mind and strengthens their arms. An instant of silence falls upon the battlefield as those Orcs closest to the men are struck down and none are willing to step forward to take their place, and the bloodlust of greenskins furthest from the enemy clashes with the cowardice of those closest, and for a second the combined shouts of thousands of greenskins commingles into an eerily familiar roar of frustration.
...and now Mork is throwing a tantrum because they can't get the greenskins to continue attacking over lava after Kragg sunk the last warboss into lava.[Mork's intervention?: 26.]
[Greenskin leadership: 43+10=53.]
[Codrin's mercenaries: 47+10=57.]
[Kragg the Grim: 84+25=109.]
The stalemate stretches, and another horn sounds on the battlefield and the men under Codrin's command pull back as one, leaving only the dead as the wounded are hauled up and dragged away. The chaos amongst the greenskins only increases as energy coalesces into an almighty force that strikes like the fist of an angry god, shattering the earth and crushing dozens of greenskins, and it takes you a moment to realize it's not Kragg: it is the literal fist of an incredibly upset God, and Mork's pummelling of those who are failing him does nothing for their faltering morale. You wonder how Kragg felt to have not disrupted the formation of greenskin magic, and you smile as you see him channel his frustration into bolts of lightning that strike into the thickest parts of the crowd that aren't currently being tended to by the Fist of Mork.
AND they break RIGHT after the Orcs made it across the whole killing ground, made melee contact.There is a single nexus of order amongst the rapidly growing disorder, and as you aim the view of your lenses you're quite surprised to see it's another Black Orc. Perhaps he claimed ignorance of the plot inside Karag Nar, perhaps he promised Mork his service, perhaps he was just loud enough and strong enough to take control of the crowd and point them at the enemy. Whatever it was that allowed him to take control, he's doing his best to rally his forces as fear of both the men and of Mork shatters their resolve.
[Greenskin leadership: 5+10=15.]
And he fails, and as he surrenders to rage the swing of his choppa becomes just one more thing for the greenskins to be terrified of. With still more greenskins pouring out of the Citadel there's no retreat to be had there, so instead they shatter in every direction at once.
I See You Panoramia[Titus' Halflings: 81+15=96.]
[???: 66+15=81.]
[Mathilde's watchful eye: 87]
Those heading directly in your direction are very quickly given cause to regret that decision, as arrows, javelins, slingstones and darts mercilessly cut through them; you frown to yourself as you spot a thorn bush springing from the ground to entangle a mob of larger Orcs who had stuck together, and within seconds the immobile targets were peppered with arrows and slumped to the ground as the growth of the plant retreated once more. Having obeyed your own sensible impulse to keep out of the battle when exhausted, you're a little peeved to see that Panoramia had apparently decided not to follow your good example, not to mention your order.
And now the orcs fail in the worst possible way for them, giving everyone lots of kills.[Quarrelers: 30+15=45.]
[Greenskin retreat: 37.]
To the north, the sudden retreat seems to have taken those guarding Karag Lhune by surprise, and the disorganized fire barely slows their retreat up the stairs. Thankfully, greenskin cowardice reasserts itself and they rapidly about-face instead of taking advantage of the element of surprise they'd inadvertently acquired.
[Eastern Gates: 65+20=85.]
To the south, those foolish enough to try to find safety in the open Eastern Gates were very quickly convinced not to by the siege weapons that had remained in place against exactly this eventuality, and the withdrawing forces are left in peace.
[Demigryph riders: 66+20=86.]
[Winter Wolves: 92+20=112.]
Amongst it all, both wolves and demigryphs prevent any of the routing forces from reforming, and you smile to yourself as you catch a glimpse of Esbern and Seija having a grand time amongst them. With death on all other sides, the Citadel clogged, and cavalry running rampant amongst them, the only escape is to their southeast: the Sentinels and Kvinn-Wyr. You doubt they'll find much better a reception there, and wonder how the resident trolls will react to the sudden influx. The battle is well and truly over, and a chuckle from Skaroki tells you he's realized the same, and he pats you on the back before heading downwards to let those standing ready against the possibility of invasion know to stand down.
The dragon sleeps upon on their hoard.Later, there'll be meetings and celebration and ale, but for now things are near enough to settled. With another extremely dubious look at the Warboss' former bed, you instead clamber atop the pile of wealth to perch upon the second-softest thing in the room: a rolled-up rug, presumably from Ind or beyond. To the sound of the grumbling thunder of a fading storm, you quickly surrender to fatigue and fall asleep.