Mordheim

Sotone

Sotone looked up as he passed through ruined gates of the city ,would this be the day , would this be last time he would have to pass through thesegates into this wretched city.

He glanced around at the men who were accompanying him. Men ,no, they were barely more than boys ,even their leader looked like he should still be in the care of his mother. They were a group of young Reiklanders come to prove their manhood and make their fortune. Why had he agreed to go with them? He did not know their names --it didn't matter --they were only a body guard to him , a means to stay alive inside the city while he searched for " it". Would they be able to defend themselves against the horrors that awaited them ? Would they have the courage to stand and fight or would they run at the first sign of trouble ? Would their youthful enthusiasm and promises of untold riches be enough ? He hoped so, his own life depended on it........

The band moved slowly through the streets ,its members ever on the alert for signs of danger . Their search had so far been fruitless and Sotone had noticed their mood gradually darken throughout the day. He estimated they had been inside the city for 2 hours now perhaps it was time to turn back . They had been lucky so far ---they had not encounted any hostile creatures and to stay longer would be pushing their luck . He would have to return tomorrow to continue his search if he could find another band willing to hire him . To return on his own meant certain death.

A piercing squawk from above brought Sotone out of his ponderings . Looking up he saw a raven swiftly descending on them as if coming in for an attack . One of the young marksmen raised his bow and took aim . Seeing this Sotone picked up a rock and threw it at the Reiklander hitting him on the shoulder and making the arrow fly harmlessly into ground. He held out his arm and the rook landed on it squawking and chirping constantly. Sotones face hardened as he took in what the bird was saying. He turned to the young Reikland captain. "Skaven have discovered us and are heading this way"

An expression of pure horror crossed the young leaders face -- he had heard of the ratmen but had never encounted them before --what was he to do ? How could they defeat them ?

Seeing the look of horror and uncertainty in the young mans face Sotone decided that he had better take charge himself --he needed these men to fight or they would all loose their lives . Quickly scanning their surroundings Sotone saw a ruined two story house off to their right . The rear wall and most of the side walls were still standing and enough of the floor of the second story remained to give the marksmen an elevated position. This would be the place to defend themselves -- the filthy ratmen would have to attack from the front thus greatly improving the chances for the humans.

Sotone quickly barked orders to the men who obeyed instantly -even the captain and squawked a message to the raven who took to flight again. The marksmen took up their positions on the top floor while the rest of band took advantage of cover provided by the rubble on the ground floor . Sotone
checked the deployment of the men and then slipped into cover himself .

The raven returned a few seconds later and landed on Sotones' shoulder. "They are about to attack " Sotone told the rest . " It is only a small band ..... " his words were interrupted as a rock fizzed by his ear.

One of the marksmen caught sight of a skaven trying to move between bits of cover and loosed an arrow in its direction catching the rat thing in its thigh and bringing it down . Suddenly there were skaven everywhere moving in toward Sotone and the Reiklanders . The marksmen were firing as fast as they
could and many a rat was bought down --but there were so many of them . The warriors prepared themself to take the onslaught . One of the marksmen was knocked down by a skaven slinger and was temporarily stunned .

Sotone gathered his will around him and suddenly three ravens appeared and started to bombard a black skaven pecking at his head and tail with beak and talons . Another raven landed by Sotone squawking alarmingly . He had seen a skaven with huge claws trying to sneak around the side and enter the building through a gap in the ruined wall. Sotone relayed the information to the marksmen , one of which leaned over the wall and fired a crossbow bolt straight through the skavens head. Unfortunately by doing this he exposed himself to the rest of the skaven pack and volley of rocks and star knifes
ripped into him . He overbalanced and fell to the ground.

With two of the marksmen out of action the Skaven pressed forward charging into to assault the men waiting on the bottom floor . The sounds of battle rang out inside the building as the skaven hacked at young humans who defended grimly . The youngest member of the band was sliced in two but the
other members managed to t with hold the initial onslaught of the ratmen and were now fighting back . A huge rat rushed at Sotone --he was carrying two swords that seemed to dripping with some sticky substance . Sotone again gathered his will and three raven appeared in front of him flying around as
if they were a living shield. The ravens absorbed the rats initial blows giving Sotone the time to dart to one side and burry both his daggers into the skaven leader. The rest of the combat was also going the way of the humans --three other Rat things had been slayed .

Seeing the demise of their leader and sensing that the battle was not going well the rest of skaven suddenly broke away from combat and disappeared as fast as they came .

Sotone and the Reiklanders quickly tendered to their wounded members and made stretchers for the two that died -- there was no way that they would leave their bodies here - there was no telling what horrors would be done to their fallen comrades.Then with Sotones ravens leading the way ,scouting out
dangers , they made their way out of the city .

That night stories of the battle circulated around the camp . Sotone was as usual sitting by himself in a dark corner of the camp when he was approached by a wealthy looking merchant . " My men and I are venturing into the city in a few hours from now " he said " we would like you to accompany us -- what is your fee" "45 gc and I will go with you " Sotone replied . " Deal - meet us at the camps edge in six hours - I am sure this is going to be a profitable trip" .

Sotone looked up at the ruined gates of the city as they passed through . Would this be the day?............