Ill Gotten Gains
The Cursed Company was negotiating the tangled wood towards Wortbad. Kalyustar was sure the Rotmoons must had made it back to the Rose & Scythe. And there, he would have ambushed them and seized the bundles of papers the orruk had stolen from him. Then the map to the Twisted Oak would have surely been his.'Can you feel it, Soulchemist?', the Shadeglass Skull's whisper broke into Kalyustar's thoughts.
"What...?" it took a moment for the necromancer to realise what the Skull meant. An incorporeal wailing, drifting through the etheric currents. The wailing of embittered souls. And it was fast approaching.
'I can tell you, Soulchemist, these are the spirits of the Grieving Princess' crew. Do you know what they want?'
"What led them to their death, I can hear their mournful cries. The map to the Twisted Oak!"
'Yes... you have it! Hidden in one of those bundles. What are you going to do now?'
"Whatever it takes to keep those spirits, and anyone else, away from it! And at my hideout I have everything that can keep the dead and the living at bay."
With a single thought, Kalyustar imparted new orders to the Cursed Company. As one, the skeletons and wights halted, jerked around and made haste for the skull-carved cliffs of the Hurricane Bell.
Kalyustar halted outside the Hurricane Bell with Krunti, Tollich and a clutch of skeletal henchmen. With few words of power, he held off the pursuing spirits, while ordering Grellem Vallkern to patrol the woods with his own retinue.
The remaining skeletons followed Thronir on the deck of the Hurricane Bell to establish a defensive position and keep their salvage safe.
Suddenly, the squawking of the everpresent crows was silenced by arguing orruk voices.The Rotmoons were coming, surely aware by now that they had not recovered the map to the Twisted Oak.
Dudoso and Bold Rikk stood back, opening fire with their crude blackpowder weapons.
Krunti and a swordman rushed around the base of the Hurricane Bell to intercept Bortagno's group, but El Doctoro blasted the swordman with his Waaagh! sorcery.
Kaptain Da Leeva and Percy Percy charged up to the Bell deck, quickly grabbing whatever scroll or book within reach. Kalyustar motioned all the skeletons forwards to repell them, while raining sourcerous blast on the Kaptain. As he did so, the vindictive revenants of the Grieving Princess' crew slipped past his defenses and ravaged both skeletons and orruks.
Grellem Vallkern and his retinue rushed back from their patrol, emerging from the woods at the back of El Doctoro's party.
The Rotmoons too had left some of theirs back, and led by Dragante they approached from the south of the Hurricane Bell. With a single thought, Kalyustar sent the orruk and a halberdier to intercept them.
On the Bell's deck, Kalyustar and the skeleton brought Percy Percy down, not before the orruk tossed a heavy log book to his mates below. In the commotion, Kaptain Da Leeva made it off with more of the scrolls.
The Kaptain joined El Doctoro as Grellem led his skeletons into a shambling charge.
Dragante fell the skeletal orruk and engaged the halberdier, freeing up Awkwardo. But as the boy advanced through the woods, Thronir lept from the Hurricane Bell deck and barred his way.
Bortagno smashed aside Krunti and broke out of the encircling skeletons, rushing up the Hurricane Bell's stairs two at a time.
Both Kalyustar and Grellem kept summoning fallen skeletons back, throwing them into the combat for the scrolls held by the orruks led by El Doctoro and Kapatain da Leeva.
As Tambor and Bold Rikk fell, Bortagno reached the Bell's deck, grabbed the last bundle of papers and leapt off.
Grellem spotted the map among the papers carried mere moments before by Bold Rikk. His voice rattled out, and both Tollich and Keinrich moved back to form a perimeter around it.
Francot breached in from the only weak spot, but the Wight King stepped forward, his baleful blade trailing ghostly flames across the orruk's chest.
With the map secured, Kalyustar ordered the Cursed Company to hold their ground and keep the Rotmoons at bay.
As the orruk fled with whatever worthless paper they had secured, Kalyustar laughed silently on the Bell's deck.
'A well executed defense, Soulchemist. Bask in your success, until you can...'
"Do you think I forgot this is just the beginning? Do you think I forgot that a map of the Harrowmark is a treacherous thing?"
'Oh no, Soulchemist! Be proud of your schemes and tactics! Just remember what is your place in the Master's plan'.
"I do! It is to seize power over the Harrowmark and bring my vengeance upon those that left me here in exile!"
'Pride and arrogance... some of the Master's preffered qualities. And he always rewards those that show them'.
***
Saul's side of the story is here.
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