Battle report : The gold fever

Before beginning the reading of the story, I recommend you to download this Mp3 file (here). It will allow you to dive into the atmosphere of the story, good reading.

The story : In 24th century, the decline of the elfs from Ulthuan opened definitively the sea doors of a continent nevertheless known for centuries: The Lustria. All the nations of the Old World armed ships towards this destination where the legends assert that the gold flows in stream for who had the courage to face the dangers of a hostile jungle.

Lustria was the land of the  Slanns, an old civilization on the decline and of which cities are almost empty. The Amazons are a people of women warriors whom the Slanns had created to be of use to them as technicians and as servants. Actually, they was and are still the heiresses of the techno-mystic knowledge and the guards of some of the cities of their amphibian masters. 

The contacts between Westerners and Amazons are rare and generally bellicose. Norses people was the first ones to rub itself there in the first ones centuries after their arrival in Lustria, in 1997 IC. Tilean people also was to rub itself with these warriors, in particular during an expedition led by Juan Cornetto who plundered an island occupied by these Amazons. He put his hands at this moment on an important treasure of weapons and golden jewels which made his fortune. This booty contained among others an intriguing object, a sphere shining with a strange green light.

This magic sphere goes hand in hand with a second identical sphere in every respect and still under the ownership of the Amazons, this second sphere is in the mythical temple of Kara hidden Inside the lands of Lustria. Originally, the Amazons used these objects as compasses to go through the jungle, the orientation and the intensity of the green light evolve in the surface of spheres to indicate the position of their copy.

The sphere brought by Juan Cornetto on the old continent changed hands over time and ended its path on the shelf of a dwarf scholar established to Bilbali: The respectable Khall Clarkson. This strange Dwarf is obsessed of magic and antiquity, he have led during long years the researches based on extremely rare manuscripts from Lustria. Although he managed to decipher very partially runes writings of these books, it was convinced to have understood the main part. These works will allow him to reach cities filled with wealth, but still occupied by "people of servants (?) ", The sphere with the strange green light which he has just acquired is according to him the key opening the passage towards cities, a kind of compass which will manage him towards the biggest treasure which a dwarf can imagine!

Khall had no difficulty to convince Vasco De Balboa to accompany him. Vasco, of his real name Dun Hulgrimson, is a Dwarf Mercenary captain eager of glory. Native of the Empire, he left these lands since a very long time to settle down with his troops in Estalia. The Lords of these kingdoms rent Vasco's services for the maintenance of law and order in the coastal provinces of the country. He already has all that a Dwarf Mercenary can hope for but the discovery of Khall Clarkson had woken in him the contagious "Dwarf gold fever". The Captain and his Mercenaries dream now only about cities covered with gold and an abounding and uncountable wealth.

With an agreement of cooperation, Vasco took care of the organization of the expedition which he composed only with his troops. He made a commitment to escort and to protect Khall Clarkson until fabulous Quoted at the heart of Lustria! The scholar as for him, will guide the expedition through Oceans and jungle with to his magic compass.

 

 

On the other side of the ocean, Miahuaxiuitl, the priestess of the Amazones Sororita of Kara, looked again her workshop of astrology, its eye and its spirit exercised by thousands of hours of observation of the sky had noticed that something had moved in the room She needed all his magic concentration to detect that the movement resulted from the surface of the old sphere of her ancestors. This magic object wait peacefully the return of its copy. This one was stolen on the island of Heart of the Darkness by the men many years ago. Miahuaxiuitl put the object under observation for her next working nights. 

After some working sessions on the sphere, the Amazon noticed that the direction indicated by the object changed regularly. After one month, she had managed to calculate the rough position of the other sphere. According to her, the second artefact and its carrier had already reached the coast of Lustria. Somebody had doubtless uncovered the secret of this magic object and went at the moment straight ahead on her. The priestess referred to the Sororita council who appointed her "to welcome" the visitors. Some operations of recognition later, managed by the Matriarch Tacapantzin, the Amazons had discovered the Dwarf expedition.  The Amazons put down their spheres in a  pool of the ancestors in the middle of a clearing in the jungle, this place will be the center the ambush which they reserves to these strange invaders.

Battle report : The game happened in 6 turn,  according to the famous scenario Forenrond's last stand from of the WHFB 3RD ed rules book. This encirclement scenario is a classic,blind deployment and the Amazons begin the game. 2000pts for every faction.
  

Amazons army of Patatovitch

Dwarfs Mercenaries army of Nico

***

The compass of Khall Clarkson seems to become crazy as it approached a
strange  stony pond,  at this moment  the Amazons launched their
surprised attack!

The Dwarf army column  is an easy prey for the servants of Slanns.

The Amazons archers adjusted their shooting weapons on the Gyrocoter,
they killed the pilot who lost the control of his flying engine which crashed
in a spectacular explosion. The battle begins!

Totally taken by surprise Dwarfs did not have time to protect themselves from
shootings of the Amazon. The Organ Gun and its servants flew into pieces
following a shooting of the powerful Stellar cannon, in spite of the confusion
the Mercenaries maneuvered to face their enemies.

In answer of the arrows, the servants of the swivel gun sent a salvo on
 the Totem warriors who lost their cool in the view of their losses.

 

On the other side of the battlefield The priestess Miahuaxiuitl poured all her
anger on the Dwarf servants of the cannon, none of these poor guys survived.

Chalchiutinenetzin The second Amazons priestess surrounded the
 swivel gun with a Magic fog to prevent it to firing again.

In the view of the trap which closed on him, Khall Clarkson appealed to all its
mystic knowledge to create and send a Chaos Vortex which took the Matriarch
Tacapantzin ( general Amazon) and some unlucky warriors.

The death of general Amazones had not the expected effect, on the contrary
 its death woke in the heart of the warriors a terrible thirst of blood and
vengeance which caused the general assault on the Dwarfs.

A - Koka-kalims charged the Dwarfs however without managing to enter in
 their frenetic trance, the crossbowmen stand and shoot in answer
of the charge. No Dwarfs flee and Koka-kalims owed to massacre them,
until last ones.

B - The Amazons warriors charged the Arquebusiers Skirmishers who decided
to run away, in their run-up the Amazons entered the magic fog to come face to
 face with the servants of the swivel gun. After some blind blows,
the servants abandoned the fight to join the unit of Dwarfs Pikemen.

C – The Amazons lancers charged the unit of mixed Dwarfs. Arquebusiers
 manage to send some shots before making way for the Halberdiers for the clash.
The power of the Amazons Characters annihilated the Dwarfs who flee.

Khall Clarkson dissipated the magic fog which prevented the unit of Dwarfs
Pikemen to make their manoeuvre. The Mercenaries were so able to prepare
 their charge against the Amazons.

Dwarfs Pikemen accompanied with their General Vasco De Balboa and his
 army standard bearer, exterminated the warriors and the young
Amazon Prestress, what caused the panic of the Koka-kalims nearby.

In spite of this last glorious action, Vasco, Khall and some Mercenaries
ended up alone in front of too numerous the Amazon arhers which massacred
 them with their arrows. Some surviving Dwarfs were sacrificed on the
altar of Kara. One more time the Dwarf thirst gold lost them.

The Amazon as for them, got back their formerly stolen artefact but the loss  of
 the Matriarch Tacapantzin and of the young priestess Chalchiutinenetzin
gave a taste bitter in their victory.

 

For me this battle was the opportunity to test the Dwarfs army  in 3rd edition and as well some exotic formation : as the wedge Formation for Dwarfs Crossbowmen and  the mixed formation Halberdiers / Arquebusiers. Really funny to play.

Another good game which I keep a very good memory. Not for the game result itself but for the story in general. The Story carried us throughout this adventure, from the preparation until the battle.

Nico