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YE MORDHEIM LEGENDS GAZETTE |
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YE MORDHEIM LEGENDS GAZETTE |
Life and Death in the City
of the Damned Day 23 I was hired by Captain Janders to challenge his opponent the infamous Witch Hunter Captain Gradius Firebrand to a duel. I was eager to face this Witch Hunter as rumours of his dishonorable behaviour even reached the Twisted Goat Inn, the place I stayed during my stay in this cursed city. Although the interior of the Twisted Goat clearly was Reiklander, it strangely reminded me of my homecity Pavona in Tilea. It was a sharp contrast between the suncovered streets of Pavona and the dark shadowy streets of this damned city and being so far way from my family and friends pained my heart. But nevertheless I came here to bring Honor back into the most dishonorable city in the Old World and thus teach this Witch Hunter dog the value of honor and the strength of a gentleman. When I walked towards the square I saw Captain Janders and his men awaiting me. They were hiding inside some ruined buildings and kept a close watch on the buildings on the opposite side of the square. Occassionaly I could see figures moving inside those buildings. My opponent had arrived. I walked towards the middle of the square and called out to captain Gradius to show his bravery and to engage me in a duel like a true gentleman. I expected that the cowardly captain would refuse this challenge, but I was pleasently surprised to see him coming out of cover and accepting my challenge. But I should have known that the saying "once a coward, always a coward" would still be true. The Witch Hunter captain was a large and muscular man and he had the presence of an experienced fighter. As is normal before a duel I shaked his hand, introduced myself and let him inspect my weapons. As custom dictated I let him choose the weapon to fight the duel. The captain chose to fight the duel using the pistol. After saying goodbye and wishing him a clean and easy death, we both walked the ten paces away from each other. I felt the adrenaline flow through my body and I was exhilirated by the feeling of Honor hanging heavily in the air. This is how gentlemen should settle their differences and not by hiding and fighting in ruined buildings and allys. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, ..10 I spun around, levelled my pistol at the Witch Hunter captain and squeezed the trigger. I saw that the captain was not fast enough and the bullet from my gun struck the captain straight in his chest. Once again a perfect shot. I saw the surprised look of the captain and before he fell down I saw him look at the upper level of a building overlooking the square and smiling. When I followed his gaze I saw the glittering of metal and I knew that I had fallen into a trap. The cowardly heathen dog of a captain had ordered one of his fighters to snipe at me from atop one of the buildings. Before I could react I felt the impact of an arrow into my chest. I was pushed back by the force of the blow and I thought that my final moment had come. I cursed that I should die in such a cowardly way, killed by an unknown assailant without a chance to fight back. But as I waited for the terrible pain that would surely come I saw that the arrow hadn't penetrated the thick fabric of my cloak. I made a mental note that I should thank Antonio Banderino, the maker of the finest cloaks in Tilea, the next time I saw him. Normaly, when I have fought a duel and shown the true value of Honor, my work is finished and I let the rest of the fighting over to both warbands. But as I was enraged by the cowardly act of the Witch Hunter leader I vowed to kill my unknown assailant and thus fight alongside Captain Jander's warband for as long as the fight would endure. But I see that you gentlemen are getting bored. As I know that I sometimes can get carried away by telling my legendary exploits, then let me conclude that I fought bravely and with honor that day and that I managed to sent one Witch Hunter and one of those crazed flaggelants back to meet their God. And of course I did meet the coward that sniped at me from the building and I killed him with one bullet from my trusty pistol. Once more honor was defended and cowards pulled the shortest straw in that strange game called Life. -------------------------------------------- Here is some of the correspondence between Donato Ranzato and Captain Janders before and after the battle at Martyr's Cry Square: Bon giorno, senor Janders, It came to my ear that you wish to hire my services to fight a duel with that cowardly senor, the captain of that strangely called BBQ-party. Of course I am more then happy to help a honorable man like you and I will challenge this captain to a duel before the battle begins. I will teach this heathen dog what it means when someone makes trouble with fellow gentlemen. Just let me know when I am expected to show up. In the mean time you can always leave a message at the Twisted Goat Inn if there is a change of plans. I will sent my challenge to senor BBQ through one of my trusted servants this afternoon. As you know my services will cost you the small amount of 40 Gold Crowns. I have no doubt that a gentleman like you shall have no trouble with that. May honor prevail in Mordheim once again. Yours truly, Donato Ranzato Renowned Duellist ------------------------------------------------------------- Bon giorno again, senor Janders, I have received your payment of 40 Gold Crowns today. Thank you for this small donation. It was a honor to be fighting
alongside you against those cowardly Witch Hunters of the
BBQ-warband. Their use of snipers once again illustrated
the fact the they do not fight with honor and thus
deserved to die. But I was pleasantly surprised to see
that their leader at least had the courage to engage me
in a duel. This shows that a good example is sometimes
enough to My duty done, I hereby leave you with my best wishes for the success of you and your warband in the future. Honor prevailed in Mordheim once again. Yours truly, Donato Ranzato Renowned Duellist |
