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A pair of battle reports in narrative form, concerning two HotT
Dwarf-vs-Human battles Tony and I had. Hope you enjoy the reports - they were
good games and the writing was fun too...they're written, sort of, in a
pseudo-epic style, slightly grandiose and strange.
The Duke of Erehwon'
s War with the Dwarves.
The last Grand Duke of Erewhon was a mighty man, a fell warrior and great
leader. He had the vice of greed, however, and did greatly covet the wealth of
the Dwarven realm in the mountains above Erewhon. Seizing upon customs
infractions by Dwarven traders as his flimsy public excuse, the Grand Duke
gathered the warriors of Erewhon to plunder and invade the Dwarven Realm.
Gathered he the mighty Knights of Erewhon, nobles all, mightily armoured and
enhorsed, so stupendous that the thought of defeat occurred not to them. The
stalwart swordsmen were also mustered, and the rabble of the fields were pressed
into the Duke'
s service. This mighty host, with splendid banners flying, marched
towards the River Fleuve to do battle with the Dwarves.
The Dwarves of the borderguard were all on foot, their axes shining in the
sun. Rank upon solid rank, all garbed in their Dwarflord'
s colors. Towards the
bridges over the River Fleuve the humans came, the Knights thundering towards
the Great Bridge of Dwarven make, the footmen having to contend themselves with
a smaller human-made bridge.
The Knights who thundered over the Greatbridge, confident of victory, were
met with hails of deadly bolts, and turned back by Dwarven crossbowers, who
cared not a whit for the magnificence of Knightly trappings. They knew simply
that knights were big targets, and that roast horse was a Dwarven delicacy!
With the Greatbridge thus secure, the Dwarven infantry moved on toward the
human footmen, who were crossing on the lesser bridge. The two lines crashed
together, and the thunder of the battle rose high, human sword against Dwarven
axes. The battle swayed back and forth, the two lines reeling, recoiling and
charging.
But more numerous were the Dwarves, and they did overlap the Erehwon troops,
driving them back toward the riverbank and gradually away from the bridge. All
valour and the personal bravery of the Grand Duke notwithstanding, the humans
were quite crushed, many falling to flashing axes or drowning in the swift
river. The Grand Duke himself barely escaped over the river.
Soaking wet and in peril of his life, he did vow revenge upon the beastly
dwarves, and did slink back to drip upon his throne and call for a new muster of
the men of Erewhon.
The Second Part of the Grand Duke'
s War; or The Downfall of the Grand
Duke.
Greatly angered, the Duke did muster the remaining warriors of Erewhon,
mighty Knights and many stalwart swordsmen. He further did compel the greatest
wizard of the Duchy, one Simarian the Piebald, to march with the army, and such
was the anger of the Duke that even Simarian agreed to march.
Avoiding the River Flueve, and instead marching toward the Dwaerrowpass, the
Grand Duke did encounter a Dwarven muster, lead by the great warleader Rastaz
the Bearrider.
Through the wooded land the Grand Duke sent his forces. Half his knights he
sent around, by devious routes, in hopes of catching the Dwarven border tower
unawares, whilst the other half remained in reserve, behind the stalwart footmen
of Erewhon, whom the Grand Duke lead personally.
The knights on the flank did fall upon and scatter a unit of the hated
crossbowdwarves, and did press on to attack the borderpost, although pressed by
Dwarven axers and ultimately unsuccessful in their attack on the stone tower.
Forward, Rastaz sent the remainder of his crossbowers around the flanks, whilst
his axers and he moved forward to destroy the invading humans.
The attack of the crossbowdwarves upon the flanks of the footmen did scatter
and split their line, allowing the axedwarves to advance, bellowing terrible
Dwarven warsongs as they attacked.
Rastaz and the Grand Duke met in single combat, and epic and mighty was the
clash. For the Duke was the most skilled swordsman in his realm, and Rastaz was
also greatly skilled with the sword, and was aided by his terrible warbear,
before which men cowered.
At length, the rashness of the Grand Duke was proved upon his body, as Rastaz
hew the ducal head from his body. Seeing their great leader fall, the remaining
humans despaired, and fled or surrendered to the Dwarves.
With the might of Erewhon thus shattered upon the Dwarven anvil, the hosts of
the Dwarven realm moved into the Duchy, intent on punishing the humans for
warmongering. After eating many horses and burning down part of the capital town
to get the attention of the humans, the Dwarven lord did install a new Duke, and
a great treaty was made for him to sign. Thus forbidden to wage war upon the
Dwarves, deprived of lands around the River Flueve, and stripped of the title
'Grand', the new Duke of Erewhon was proclaimed.
The body of the old Grand Duke was buried under a great stone which read, in
dwarfrunes and human script, "Thus perish all Enemies of Dwarves". The Dwarves
ate his horse.
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