Diplomatic Fallout

Despite the legions of darkness marching through the Border Princes, the followers of Sigmar have still found time to fight amongst themselves. The incident occured when the Arch Lector of Freihafen greeted a delegation sent by a nearby princedom. Seeking to make peace with Freihafen the delegates presented gifts which unfortunately included an illustrated copy of 'Sigmar Holds His Hammer', a rather risque farce by noted playwright Johan Mailer, which imagines some rather bawdy adventures for Sigmar.

The Arch Lector was outraged at the blashphemous present and ordered the envoys hung. He then instructed the Grand Master of the Order of the Tolling Bell to lead an attack on the delegates' accompanying army. This was done swiftly and efficiently, with most of the newcomers' army wiped out, despite the prescene of a tame giant which was run down by the Grand Master himself. Though the insult would now appear to have been paid for, any enovys would do well to demonstrate their piety before the Arch Lector in future.

Air Raid!

In the small village of Haffleford, in the lands outside Friehafen Chaos Dwarfs once more attempted to make off with some unsuspecting villagers. To what end, few can guess, but the Arch Lector of Friehafen would be damned if he let these twisted little runts make off with his flock. At the first sign of armed resistance the dwarfs took up a defensive position, seeking to hide behind their shields and trust to the aerobatic prowess of their lord. Unfortunately for them, "The Taurus" was quickly felled by a well aimed cannonball (the explosive result led to many 'ooohs' from the empire lines and gave an important practical demonstration of the flaws in filling a flying machine with flamable gas). The warriors of the people's republic quickly attempted to readjust their battleline, but apart from the Templar Grand Marshal and his knights, none saw real combat. This allowed the Chaos dwarfs to retreat with few casualties and no prisoners. The empire had protected their citizens, but failed to damage the slaving army.

Horror in the Forests
Determined to gain the edge needed to drive the Wood Elves from the forests and claim them for His Children, Cernunnos, Lord of Beasts, ordered his shamans to prepare a summoning. Gharz Nughal, chief priest of the beast tribes warned Cernunnos that the veil between the warp and reality was dangerously thin and that the ritual posed great dangers. Enraged Cernunnos commanded the ritual to proceed, indicating that if Gharz wished to retain his position within the tribe there would be no problems with the summoning. Despite this gentle motivation the massive energies of the ritual and the unpredictability of the magical tempest was to much to contain and a massive magical backlash destroyed the minds of Gharz and his chief acolytes. This was perhaps a mercy as the uncontrolled energies allowed a daemonic horde to poor forth into the stone circle - one not under the control of Cernunnos as had been intended. Cernunnos lead his warriors into the fray, destroying many of the lesser daemons. However he had no answer to the mighty Blood Thirster that struck from the skies, nor the foul Blood Crushers that lead the charge of the daemonic legions. Cernunnos was forced to fight a delaying action until finally the horde lost its purchase in the material world and returned from whence it came. In despair Cernunnos surveyed the carnage. He was the Chosen One, He knew it, so why did the Gods inflict such cruel setbacks upon Him?

For the Greater Glory Slaanesh!
Lord Tathar of House Séregon took to show his troubled and headstrong nephew that the sword was not the only way to expand the power of house Séregon. Lord Tathar lead a small band into the low hills and haunted marshes lying between the Tana Dante and Treblecca rivers. These were inhabited by the scattered and warring tribes that were all that was left of the Chaos Lord Tragen’s once mighty empire. Lord Tathar, a secret cultist of Slaanesh, presented himself before a Dungbah, a meeting of tribal leaders, and offered them great wealth and the prospect of glory for their allegiance. The chieftans talked long into the night and, as dawn broke, assented to Lord Tathar’s offer. Too long had they been content to squabble and bicker rather than gain souls for the Greater Glory of Slaanesh! They would once more be strong and feared.

Their price was steep however and drained the coffers of the rich Séregon family, in fact weakening their empire. But House Séregon now controlled vast tracts of land and a route through princedom of Darstadt…

Elves locate dragon egg
The lure of the Tombs of Cairnos brought more raiders to its shadowy confines. A mysterious Elven expedition broke into the tombs. They seemed uninterested in the treasures they found within, fending off the undying defenders of the catacombs for only as long as it took to retrieve a casket found near the body of an old traveller who had perished within the depths. The Elven Lord commanding the host opened it, gazed upon the dragon egg within, and smiled.

Elves probe into Black Mountains
Acting on evidence gathered from their raids and investigations throughout the Border Princes, a High Elven expedition wound its way deep into the Black Mountains to the site of an extinct volcano believed to be the nesting site of a rare Red Dragon. Instead they met with the mysterious corrupted dwarf forces that had been staging airborn raids throughout the Border Princes. The Elves found their way barred in the ruins of an abandoned dwarf mining hamlet. The chaos dwarfs took the high ground and set their shields for the charge of the glittering Elven cavalry. Dwarf steel triumphed, despite the presence of a mighty dragon. Keeping their nerve the Dwarves succeeded in driving off the Elves, their prince receiving a near lethal bolt to the chest as he screemed invective at his diminutive opponents.

Buoyed by their victory over the Elves, the Dwarfs sent out a raiding force to the southern wetlands, to the territories surrounding the port of Achaes. Unfortunately for the Dwarves their confidence overreached their ability as their magic was thwarted and their artillery failed to find its targets. Although initially intimidated by the strange flying machine of the Dwarf Lord it was soon brought down in a hail of bolts and arrows. Masterful planning coupled with cat-like reflexes saw the elven host smash into the Dwarven line, sweeping it aside in a wave of mithril blades and white robes. The battle was over quickly and after interrogating some of the captured Dwarves the victorious elves sent out a task force to rescue their kin captured in the Black Mountains.

Battle for the Bridge
Frustrated in their plans to link their annexed territories with Friehafen by the truculent princedom of Darstadt, the Von Alptraums sought other ways to unite with their kin. Rejecting a perilous march through the chaos infested swamps to the south and the haunted woods to the north they finally settled on a third option. By taking the port of Brasok and seizing its valuable fleet it would be possible to reach Friehafen by sea, allowing the two empires to unite and making them the most powerful bloc in the Border Princes.

The Dark Elves of House Sé regon also coveted Brasok. They cared nothing for its crude human fleet but desperately wanted a major port so they could begin exporting slaves and processed goods back to their sponsors in Naggaroth.

Before either power could take the heavily fortified city they would first have to neutralise its main supply route: the bridge and wharfs on the river Trebleca. Friehafen sent its forces by ship to land at dead of night, where they rendezvoused with their allies from Averland who had marched south from Moslac along the banks of the river. Meanwhile House Sé regon drew up its strength in the plantations on the banks of the Black Gulf and also marched on the bridge. Their advanced guard reached the bridge at dawn to find the allied armies of the Empire already drawn up around the facilities and their heavy artillery in position.

Valandil met with his uncle Tathar to discuss strategy. Contemptuous of the pitiful humans and their crude defences they ordered their hosts forward. It looked like they might pay for their arrogance as rocket fire inflicted heavy casualties in the advancing infantry, but fast moving flanking forces enveloped the Empire positions and neutralised the majority of their artillery. This allowed the household cavalry and elite black guard to finally push forward and break the empire centre.

The Dark Elves held the bridge. As news of the battle spread Valandil and Tathar toasted their victory and celebrated their command of what was now the most powerful empire in all the Border Princes.

Ambush in the Forests
A small exploratory force of High Elves made its way up the river Trebleca and entered the forests at the base of the Black Mountains. It is believed that they were part of an effort to triangulate the source of the magical vortex currently emanating from somewhere within the Border Princes and believed that they could negotiate passage through the forests with their kin the Wood Elves. Whoever sent them was obviously unaware of another High Elven expedition who had visited the area earlier in the summer in search of valuable dragon eggs, moving on only after razing several elven settlements looking for clues. The expedition paid for their ignorance as the secretive defenders of the woods gave them no chance to plead their cause, instead ambushing the expedition and driving the survivors from the forests.

Unknown Dwarf Force Attacks Village

The Bretonians of Marquis Le Plot were recently drawn out to conflict by a mysterious force of dwarfs. Clad in bronze armour, their heads hidden behind unsettling masks, the dwarfs were accompanied by heavily armoured northmen and insane men of the empire, shackled and wild eyed.

The force appears to have been attempting to attack a lowly peasant village when the Knights of Lestanne came crashing down on them. A huge machine of ungodly image slid from the clouds and led the dwarf army against the shimmering host of cavalry. Whilst the sky-machine held an impressive appearance, it clearly lacked some of the more potent combat attributes, and was smashed from the air by the Brettoni Duke. Whilst the grey bearded dwarf who lead the attack slipped away from the wreckage of his burning transport his army was crushed and forced to flee by the bravery and skill of the knights. The Brettoni were nonplussed by the remnants of the machine, naming it "un-chivalric" and allowing the local peasants to reconstruct their partially burnt homes with any materials they wished to plunder from it.

Campaign Map

Redone in amazing transparant technicolour, here is the campaign surface map. There isn't a key, but I'll be bringing a copy with me on Saturday if you have any questions. A subterrainean map will also be along at some point in the future for all you sub-surface dwellers.

Update: Click for a larger map for printing and your viewing pleasure.

August Stats
The Dark Elves are now officially in with the heavy hitters! They gained 4 influence points this month making them the fourth most powerful empire. The Bretonnians have also just edged ahead of their Empire rivals to become the second most powerful empire. The rest of the table is very close, so everything to play for!

I'll post to the forum shortly explaining how everything works and what exactly these stats actually mean :)

Update: Click to enlarge. Mike's stats also corrected.