Mordheim

A Sirens Song
By Gray Sage aka Lex" <[email protected]>

" . she was a fair maiden, well set-up and groomed
        but by her step-mother, till forever doomed
        to lure every man, with her voice, when too near
        now this is her story, for you here to hear. "

Ivan sighed and tore away his eyes from the lovely singer on the stage. Looking around the tap-room of the Twisted Goat he saw quite a lot of the customers still spellbound by the performance. It was a good thing that he was not so susceptible to the charms of the so demure looking lady on stage. Neither her physical attributes, nor the power of her voice would ever be able to hold him in her sway completely. He once had, after all, the privilege of hearing one of the best singers of the realm on an almost daily basis. And he had seen his share of beautiful women.. Well, at least as far as he had the chance, travelling with one of the fairest and deadliest of all.

Still he can understand the captivating qualities of the performance of the singer on stage.

She had been in and out of the Twisted Goat for about a fortnight. At first Omikhee had one of the other patrons try and find out if she was working the inn. That question must have come up negative, as he then had allowed her to stay around. Since last week she had started to do a spot of singing. That, in itself, was a nice intermezzo for the bouts of storytelling that made the place so crowded on some nights. He chuckles as he remembers the night some weeks ago when a bunch of Donato wannabes came calling, such nice mayhem that had been.

This morning she had turned up as well

It had kinda surprised him! The Reiklander Captain that had approached him had indicated that they would be doing something rather irregular and the appearance of a long legged, long blond animal had certainly been just that. It had taken some rather harsh, disciplinary measures from the Captain to whip the marksmen in the Warband into preparation. Finally a good cuff to the head of one of them had brought them back to reality. And still he would say that the members of the Warband did not fight on their peak-performance. Now to tell truth in the Eye of the God and Goddess, even he had been rather distracted. The amount of leg showing would be considered very inappropriate in even the most lewd Houses of Pleasure in the Empire. And her cleavage afforded a view clear to her bellybutton. Not that he had been ogling her, but it had just so happened that he had looked her way when she bent over to fix a lace on her leather high-heeled boots.

Shortly thereafter they had marched of in search of some Undead that had attacked the Twisted Goat some week earlier.

A long trek through the ruins had finally brought them to their prey, or so they had thought. But in stead of Rass's Warband they had a run in with another group of the Undead that seemed to be swamping the
city. There she had surely proven her worth. As the Captain had counted on, the Vampire leading the band had been obsessed by reaching her and, rather foolishly, abandoned all cover and come rushing to her embrace. The strategically positioned heroes, had taken him on their spears and he had stood no chance. Then, to make matters for the Undead even worse, the Necromancer that had been their second in command, had become a drooling idiot, captured by her beauty. Stuck out in the open, stupidly grinning and winking in her direction he had rapidly become kin to the pincushion.

After that the job had been a piece of cake, more cleanup then anything else. And even when she, her job done, had fallen back on his position, she had proven to be a welcome addition to the band. While still several meters away, she had been suddenly confronted with a Zombie, staggering through an open doorframe.

He had, admittedly, been slightly distracted by her. And that moment of hesitation and fumbling with his carefully prepared spell-scrolls, should, by Murphy's Chance, have spelt her end. But far before he would have even been able to launch a spell, he saw her whip-out two devastatingly sharp and wicked blades and skilfully eviscerate the shambling monstrosity. She had been cleaning up her daggers on a piece of torn cloth the zombie had been wearing.. after that he had started seeing her with very different eyes.

Earlier that evening he had discussed this with Alucard, the vampire that roosted in the inns rafters. Over a glass of a very decent red wine and one of fresh pigs blood, Alucard had indicated that he was fairly sure that vampire must have thought the singer still a maiden. It was a vampire thing, he had tried to explain, to know that. Even he himself, having seen her performing here in the inn, instinctively reacted to her. After all, were the vampires in the city not under direct orders to capture and transport all maidens found to their lord and ruler.. At that he had clamped up and asked him not to repeat that to anyone.

Still Ivan has his doubts. But as yet, there is nothing he can do, other then sit back and enjoy the time he has left before returning home. So he once again he focuses on the singer, and lets his thoughts flow with the song..

" . the Sailors where warned , to stay from that shore
'cause never a sailor, came back anymore
when captured their souls by the Sirens song were. "