Grismeire Valley Campaign Turn 4-1

The High Elf 1st army, led by Lord Tethelion of Caledor himself, was disordered and scrambling for a place to regroup and refit their army. Wary of the powerful Elf lord, and not wishing to allow him to get his personal guard back into fighting condition, the Vampire Counts armies set about securing all the villages in the area that Lord Tethelion could retreat to.

The Vampire Counts 2nd Army marched south to capture Nice and the nearby bridge, which could be a very important strategic point as it was the only crossing of the Grismeire river that far south. The Vampire Count 3rd Army moved south to occupy Chateau D'If, destroying all the crops in the fertile farmland surrounding it.

The Vampire Counts 1st Army attacked St. Mer-Eglise, which had been recently captured by the High Elf Blue army from the last of the Beastmen. The High Elves hadn't had much time to prepare defenses in the ravaged village. Through careful and meticulous maneuvering, the undead army managed to force the High Elves to withdraw from the village, though they sustained few losses. And those losses would soon be made up from the remnants of the High Elf Purple army, so that they would soon be back to full strength. The Vampire counts had, however, succeeded in taking the village and denying Lord Tethelion's forces any place to regroup from.

Grismeire Valley Campaign Turn 3 – High Elves 1st Army Attacking Vampire Counts 3rd Army

The commander of the High Elf Expeditionary Force himself, Prince Finduleas Tethelion of Caledor with his loyal Star Dragon, took his personal entourage to attack the Vampire Counts army defending the bridge southeast of Soude. The Vampire Counts force, led by Count Tepes, would have to hold the bridge at all costs against this determined attack being personally led by the Elven leader. Count Tepes’s only goal would be to fend off the attack by maintaining control of more of the territory on his side of the bridge than the enemy, so that they would be forced to retreat back across the river. The Elves would have to destroy the undead army to gain a foothold on the far side of the bridge. Being one of the few nearby bridges that would allow access to the Vampire Counts base camp, it was an extremely important objective for both sides.

Count Tepes set up his forces in a tight group in a swampy area on the far side of the bridge near some old ruins. He hoped the swampy terrain would bog down the elves so he could counter-attack and finish them off. Lord Tepes was with his Wight King battle standard bearer in a unit of Grave Guard, prepared to reinforce the line wherever the strongest enemy attack came. From their left to right were a unit of skeleton spearmen, a unit of Grave Guard with great weapons led by a vampire, another unit of skeleton spearmen, and a large unit of ghouls led by a vampire.

The Elves deployed in a long battle line, with Prince Tethelion on his imposing Star Dragon to their far left. Fearing being surrounded by the undead, he went with a strange tactic of using many very small units spread out on a very large front. He brought to battle three units of 15 spearmen each, and four units each of 5 swordmasters. He would try to use these many small units to surround the enemy. He also had a hard-hitting unit of seven dragon princes.

At the start of the battle, Prince Tethelion moved his entire army straight forward, though they were diverted somewhat by the swampy pools. His two mages, wishing to avoid any actual fighting, left their units and waded into one of the pools to hide themselves. Count Tepes formed his units into a semi-circle to avoid being flanked by the many units trying to surround him. His own unit of Grave Guard he positioned on his left flank to take the charge of the dragon princes.

Prince Tethelion then took to the air and landed on the far right flank of the undead army to breathe fire on the unit of ghouls, which had little effect. The dragon princes saw the mighty Count Tepes at the head of his Grave Guard and decided they didn't want to fight him. The rest of the Elven army formed up into a thin, but continuous battle line that arced around the Vampire Counts force.

Most of his units were not close enough to charge the enemy, but Count Tepes could feel the noose tightening around his compacted army and had to do something. He had the two units at the center of his line, the Grave Guard with great weapons and a unit of skeleton spearmen, charge the enemy units they could reach. They each would face a unit of High Elf spearmen. It was a huge risk breaking up his battle line like that and leaving a huge hole in it's center, but he couldn't wait around to be surrounded by the enemy. The unit of ghouls on his far right flank turned to face Prince Tethelion so that he wouldn't be able to charge their flank.

Several of the skeleton spearmen were cut down by the swift elves before they could even attack. Still, seeing the large mass of skeletons bearing down on them caused the cowardly elves to instantly flee as soon as they made contact. The skeletons pursued, but the terrified elves ran so fast there was no chance of catching them. The Grave Guard did even better. They took no casualties while causing the frightened elves to flee and cutting them all down as they fled. One of the Elf mages lost his nerve seeing two units break and run, and he fled as well.

The mage and the Elf spearman unit both rallied immediately once they were out of danger. The two manges continued to be ineffective, however. They spent most of the battle trying to drain magic to prevent the vampires from being able to revive their fallen soldiers, but the vampires usually got the better of them and dispelled their efforts. The vampires in turn did manage to summon some ghouls and rejuvenate some losses, but not much else.

With their line broken, the Elves tried to rearrange themselves better, with one unit of swordmasters turning to face the pursuing unit of skeleton spearmen. The unit of High Elf spearmen on their far left continued to move around the enemy's right flank. Prince Tethelion went off on his own, swooping down behind Count Tepes's unit of grave guard and breathing fire on them.

Count Tepes and his bodyguard were no surrounded by the most powerful high elf units, the dragon princes on one side and Prince Tethelion on his mighty dragon on another. But unlike the overly-cautious elves, perhaps due to their general being off on his own, the Vampire Counts army would not sit idle. One of the other vampires led her skeleton spearmen in a charge against the swordmasters to her front. The other skeleton spearmen, hopelessly out of position and far from any of their vampire leaders, had no choice but to continue advancing and charge the High Elf spearmen again. The Grave Guard with Great Weapons turned around, now in an advantageous position in the enemy's rear. The ghouls again turned to face Prince Tethelion, this time in preparation of having to charge in to help rescue their general. Count Tepes and his Grave Guard could do nothing but steady themselves for the onslaught to come.

With the help of the vampiress leading them, the skeleton spearmen in the middle defeated the swordmasters, who fled right into the deadly great weapons of the Grave Guard behind them. The nearby unit of swordmasters panicked and ran at the sight of their comrades being slaughtered. The other unit of skeleton spearmen again didn't manage to kill a single Elf in their charge, and being defeated and so far from any of the vampires that controled them, they started to fall apart.

The broken swordmasters fled a little farther, fumbling through some underbrush. The High Elf spearmen in the back killed several more skeleton spearmen. The rest of the High Elf army just repositioned itself and watched in anticipation as the their lord on his star dragon and a unit of 7 dragon princes charged Count Tepes and his bodyguard at the same time. Prince Tethelion and his dragon focused all of their attacks on the vampire general, Count Tepes. It was, however, a far from impressive showing by Prince Tethelion, who cause no wounds. The dragon's attacks were fierce, but the magical army Count Tepes wore stopped some of them. The dragon did manage to cause some grievous wounds but Count Tepes quickly regenerated from them due to the powerful magic of the Drakenhof Banner carried by his loyal Wight King army standard bearer. With all of their fury, they only managed to cause Count Tepes a single wound. Unfortunately, while he was distracted attempting to ward off their blows, the dragon princes, clearly with no sense of honor, attacked him from the side. One of their lances pierced through his side into his heart, ending the fight for count Tepes. Meanwhile, the dragon prince champion was cut down in a challege by the army standard bearer. The High Elves had caused few wounds, and had lost the combat by a slim margin, but having just slain the enemy general their spirits were high and they didn't even consider fleeing.

Despite the loss of their general, the undead army held together remarkably well in his absence of the rest of the battle, a testament to the discipline and undying will of their master. The unit of ghouls led by a vampire wasn't yet close enough to charge in to aid the Wight King against the Elven Prince and dragon princes, so they advanced. The vampire did what he could to help by using his necromantic magic to revive some of the fallen grave guard. The other unit of grave guard turned to face the disordered swordmasters, and the unit of skeleton spearmen in the middle turned to face yet another unit of swordmasters.

The unit of skeleton spearmen fighting the High Elf spearmen finally succumbed to the weakening of the magic holding them together and was finished off. In the main combat, the dragon killed a few grave guard, and the grave guard in turn killed a couple more of the dragon princes. To the High Elves, it seemed hopeless as they continued to cut down the enemy and they would just rise back up to fight again. It was too much for the dragon princes, who broke and ran, leaving their general on his down. The Grave Guard unit turned to face the prince.

The broken unit of High Elf swordmasters finally rallies and moved into position next to the few remaining allies nearby. The dragon princes rallied and turned to watch the their Prince do battle with the Grave Guard. The other unit of swordmasters turned to face the skeleton spearmen threatening them. The High Elf army seemed unsure of what to do. In the combat, the Grave Guard champion issued a challenge to the Prince. Stepping in front of the rest of the unit, the champion was prepared to be cut down to protect the others. Incredibly, there was no need. The Prince and Star Dragon combined were unable to cut down the champion, as the powerful magic of their Drakenhof Banner regenerated the little damage they caused. The champion was, however, unable to harm the prince as he was difficult to reach way up there on his dragon. However, by doing no wounds and being very outnumber and surrounded, the Prince lost the combat by a huge margin. (He lost by 6, so needed to pass a leadership test on 4 or less). He stood resolute, however, refusing to retreat, refusing to accept that he could ever be defeated.

Feeling certain that Prince Tethelion would eventually lose his nerve and flee, the ghouls and skeleton spearmen positioned themselves behind to intercept the fleeing general. The other unit of Grave Guard would have charged a unit of swordmasters, but with their general dead the magic holding them together finally started to fade, and several of them crumbled to the ground. The few left were too important to risk in combat, so they held.

In the combat, this was the undead's last chance to cause Prince Tethelion to flee before the dragon princes could charge back into combat and the opportunity would likely be lost for good. The Prince and his dragon did better this time, cutting down the champion. But by now, surrounded and outnumbered and not seeming to be making any progress, Tethelion lost hope. He fled in dismay, and his dragon landed on the unit of ghouls, the confusion causing it to go into a hysterical panic and fly away, leaving the battle for good.

The Elves tried one last counter-attack to defeat the enemy. The three remaining units of swordmasters all thought about charging the enemy, two against the Grave Guard with great weapons, and one against the unit of skeleton spearmen. All three units units, however, were overcome with fear and couldn't bring themselves to do it. The Dragon Princes didn't even consider a charge, and just stood where they were, watching incredulously as their general flew away on his dragon with no particular destination.

At the end, the only area of the battlefield that was held uncontested was the quarter held by the Wight King and Grave Guard, but it was enough. The Vampire Counts army was in control of the battlefield, and the Elves were completely leaderless. The Elves were forced to flee back across the Grismeire river in a panic, hoping to find wherever their general had fled to. It was a solid victory for the army of Count Tepes. It might take some time, but the regenerating magic of the Drakenhof Banner would return him to fighting strength eventually.

Grismeire Valley Campaign Turn 3 – High Elves Blue Army Attacking Beastman 1st Army at St. Mer-Eglise

The morning sun was just clearing the mountains to the east, its rays bringing a comforting warmth to the mists lingering from the night’s chill. Birds chirped in the trees, and the usual scuttle of the forests creatures was just beginning for the day as if nothing was amiss. Within the tree-shrouded vales were arranged, row upon row, nearly countless tents of the finest materials and the most brilliant white. Amongst the tents tall and elegant figures moved with a grace and swiftness that clearly marked them as members of the elder race; the blue and white panoply of their heraldry clearly marking them as High Elves of Ulthuan. In the forest of Chalons, an army made their camp. In one particular vale there were three tents, somewhat larger than the rest. It is to one of these tents a rider races, his cloak and tunic tugged by the wind as his mount carried him nearly faster than the eye could register.

“My lord, a herald from Calandras’ expedition requests an audience.” Declared one of the guards outside the tent’s entrance as the sounds of horses’ hooves and the jangling of its harness broke the reverie of the tent’s occupant.

“Show him in, Ilthalas. Show him in.” replies the tent’s lone occupant. He is an elf, to be sure. His frame is slight, moreso than those of his countrymen, and he is tall though age seems to be stooping him ever so slightly. His fine robes bear many runes and mystic writing and he carries a tall white staff, clearly identifying him as a mage of the High Elves.

Into the tent steps a clearly excited elf wearing light armor of shining mithril. He is dressed for war but lightly so. Removing his tall helmet and tucking it into the crook of his arm, he drops to one knee and bows low to the elder mage.

“Lord Folariath, arch mage of The White Tower, my master Calandras sends his greetings and bids me deliver news of his campaign to the north.” The herald says, his excitement making the words come out rapid and breathlessly.

“At ease, my friend. Be at ease. You are excited and unless my eyes deceive me you do not appear as though the campaign has met some doom. Your tunic and armor show no more than the dust one would expect on a rider from the Grismerie River Valley. Tell me, what news do you have of Calandras’ little expedition?” Folariath said, his fatherly tone helping to soothe the nerves of the herald.

“My lord, as you know, Calandras led a force to the north where Prince Tethelion of Caledor has been engaged in a campaign with the Bretons to defeat the foul Vampire and Chaos Beast hordes invading from the mountains to the North. My lord, Calandras came upon a sizeable contingent of the Beasts undoubtedly marching to engage Prince Tethelion’s forces, and engaged the Beasts in battle just this past afternoon.”

“Truly? Our purpose in these lands is to discover the lost history of our people, not to wage war. I’ve no doubt that Prince Laethelas will not begrudge Calandras for engaging an enemy but as I’m sure you are aware, every single life lost on these shores is precious. Pray deliver the rest of your report, and it best be good.” Folariath said to the herald, a slight hint of anger evident in his voice and the crackling of energy in the cool morning air.

“My lord total losses for the battle were five Sea Guard of Lothern, one Chariot of Chrace, and thirteen of the Sword Masters that campaigned with us. I am also very sad to say that Gaelith, noble son of Galen and bearer of the army standard, was slain by the foul Beastlord that commanded the enemy hordes. The Beasts, however, were slaughtered almost to the last foul creature. Indeed my lord only four of the creatures were left breathing to flee the field. Calandras was able to massacre the enemy and liberate the small Breton village, though the Beasts had already defiled it extensively.”

“Hmmmm. The loss of thirteen Sword Masters is a strong blow, but if indeed the Beasts were so thoroughly routed perhaps it may have been worth their sacrifice. If I am to make a report to Prince Laethelas I will have what details you are privy to.”

“Yes, my lord. When we arrived upon the field of battle, the Beasts had already defiled the village and arrayed themselves for battle. Their lord and a large unit of Bestigors held the center along with two large units of Gors. To the left of their line was a chariot, some hounds, and some Ungor scouts whilst to the right of their line were some Razorgor beasts, and another chariot. Calandras and Feluvian, his apprentice, could detect the presence of two magic users amongst the Beasts though it was not immediately plain to us where they were. On the final approach of our line, ghastly Harpies attacked upon our flanks. Our own lines were held at the center by Gaelith and the Sword Masters, flanked by Calandras and Feluvian each leading a unit of Sea Guard. The Chariot held our wide right flank, whilst the two bolt throwers were held to the rear of our lines in a support role.” The herald, recounting the order of battle, seemed to calm himself as he settled into the doldrums of the battle’s beginning maneuvers.

“Our forces held the initiative and struck first. Feluvian cast a spell from the Lore of Life which caused all manner of flora and fauna to erupt from the ground below the Gor unit with their battle standard. The dwellers below that unit decimated the beasts, virtually wiping it out and consuming the foul standard as well. Alas, the winds of magic overwhelmed Feluvian’s untrained mind and he burnt out… unable to harness magic for the remainder of the battle. On our left, a bolt thrower fired a salvo at the harpies and killed all but two and forcing them to retreat a ways. On the right, the bolt thrower fired at the main body of the Beasts’ line, and the two units of Sea Guard supplemented this with their own volley of arrows. The white shafts found their marks and the two blocks of Gors were further whittled by the accurate fire.”

“The Beasts attempted to close with our line but it seemed as if the loss of their center unit was too much. Really, all they managed to do was set themselves up for our attacks. One of their foul magic users cast some spell on his own troops, but the winds of magic were still raging from Feluvian’s miscast and the beast mage exploded, decimating his own unit. On our right, the Chariot engaged and wiped out the pack of hounds. The second bolt thrower fired at the Harpies but did not do significant damage. The Sea Guard and Sword masters moved forward to bait the Beasts and were rewarded with the foolish creatures charging. The outcome was obvious. One unit was wiped out. The other was decimated and fled. The Sword Masters had attempted to charge the Bestigors but were likely befuddled by the magical fury and thus were in turn charged themselves. They quite quickly inflicted heavy casualties and caused the Beasts to flee. On our left, the Sea Guard found themselves engaged by the beast Chariot and one of the Razorgors. The combat continued to be won by the consummate skill of the Lothern regulars. On the right, the Lion Chariot engaged and broke another Razorgor, but was in turn charged by the second beast chariot and their scouts, the Ungors. At the rear, our bolt thrower crews valiantly held off the two flocks of harpies but were caught up in the excitement and attempted to give chase upon the fleeing creatures. In the center, the Beastlord upon his chariot and the second beast mage charged the Sword Masters with reckless abandon and inflicted several casualties. Up until this point, our losses had been minimal. The Beasts’ lord was a force to be reckoned with and began to sell his life dearly. Feluvian’s Sea Guard charged the Beastlord in the flank but due to some foul magic items, he was just too hard to wound and continued to slay the Sword Masters.”

“Calandras began to fear total loss of the Sword Masters and started to position himself for a charge into the fray whilst at the same time Feluvian had an epiphany and ceased focusing on the Beastlord, instead focusing on the creature’s chariot and the Razorgor pulling it. The combat quickly turned; the Beastlord was defeated and run down by the Sword Masters. On our right, the Chracian Chariot had been bogged down by the Beast Chariot and Ungors. They were able to defeat the chariot, but at great cost. The bolt thrower on our right was then able to kill the chariot and more Ungors. As the battle wound down, we had slain all but three Bestigors, one Ungor, and possibly a heavily wounded Razorgor.” The herald let out a long breath of relief, having recounted the battle. Now, however, he began to wonder how the powerful mage lord would take the news.

“I see. Well, it would appear that Calandras’ tactics were sound though it would also seem the Beasts’ lack of fury played an equal part in their defeat. Indeed, the loss of the Sword Masters comes as a strong blow but one must weigh the fact that Calandras may have broken the Beasts’ back in that region. Perhaps it is fortuitous, then, and Prince Tethelion will benefit from this victory. I shall report to Prince Laethelas immediately. You have done well, herald. Now, you must return with all alacrity to Calandras and warn him that the Vampires are also about. Calandras must make ready, for I foresee another battle in his future and the Vampires will not be so easily bested. Go now, time is precious!” Folariath rushed the herald out and signaled his men to provide a fresh horse.

A victory had been won, albeit at a heavy price. Another battle, one more ominous than the skirmish that had just taken place, was looming like a dark cloud on the horizon.

Grismeire Valley Campaign Turn 3

At this point in the campaign, the Ogres, who had not yet fought a battle, were switched with another High Elf player. So the two "3" flag markers would now represent the High Elf Blue and High Elf Purple armies. This player would not have a Lord level character for the campaign.

With their Beastman allies having suffered great losses, the Vampire Counts staged a bit of a counter-attack. They urged the Beastman 1st army, led by their Beastlord, to move back up to St. Mer-Eglise to re-join the war. The Vampire Counts 1st Army pursued and attacked the retreating Bretonnian 2nd Army and massacred the remnants. Only a few remaining Grail Knights fled to escape the slaughter, but Byron Manfred was seriously injured in the battle.

The Vampire Counts 3rd Army moved into defensive positions controlling the bridge near Soude to prevent any possible advance towards their fortress. Their leader, The Master, moved into the 2nd Army and led them South out of Poussenc to attack the Elf 2nd Army. With the overpowering necromantic magic of The Master aiding them, the Vampire Counts Army massacred the High Elves, destroying them completely.

The Bretonnians and High Elves had just suffered their first real setbacks of the campaign, and responded swiftly with a massive offensive. The Bretonnian 1st Army simply moved a little east towards Chateaux D'If, remaining in reserve. The High Elf Blue Army maneuvered around the Vampire Counts 1st Army to attack the Beastman 1st Army in the village of St. Mer-Eglise.

The High Elf 1st Army, led by Lord Tethelion of Caledor riding his mighty Dragon, moved North to attack the Vampire Counts 3rd Army defending the bridge near Soude. And, in one of the great feats of stragic meaneuvering in the history of the Old World, the High Elf Purple Army swung around to the South, crossed the bridge at Nice, and turned back North to spring a surprise attack on the Vampire Counts 2nd Army.

Even though Count Tepes was struck down by the might High Elf Dragon, his honor guard and the remnants of his army managed to hold off the Elf attack at the bridge and defeat them solidly. The High Elves fled in disarray after their fleeing commander, Prince Tethelion of Caledor, and his dragon.

The High Elf Blue army slaughtered the final remaining Beastman army, killing their leader and retaking the devastated Bretonnian village of St. Mer-Eglise.

The High Elf Purple army marched swiftly, all the way from Chateaux D'If, across the Grismeire river, through Nice, and finally North along the river to attack the Vampire Counts 2nd army. The High Elves spread out along a wide front, hoping to trap the Vampire Counts army against the river, but that would be their undoing. The Vampire Lord directed his army from the safety of a haunted house, protected by Grave Guard. The sent the bulk of his army against the left flank of the Elves. His most powerful unit, Grave Guard with great weapons, led by his army standard bearing Wight King with the Drakenhof banner, fought off nearly the entire High Elf left flank when it destroyed two chariots, and cause a large unit of Sea Guard containing the Elf general to flee.

The Vampire Counts then attempted to swing their forces to form a new line against the remaining High Elf right flank. As they did so, they suffered huge casualties from the magical onslaught of three mages added to the massive firepower of sea guard, bowmen, and bolt throwers. However, the ranged attacks were not enough to defeat the Vampire Counts, who could use their necromancy to replace some of the casualties. Once the Vampire Counts army had finally gotten all of their forces into a new battle line facing the remaining High Elves, it was clear that victory was impossible for the Elves. With their general already gone, the rest of the army retreated. Their army was too depleted to continue on it's own, and would join up with the High Elf Blue army to replace some of their casualties.

The Vampire Counts armies had weathered the enemy attacks. They could continue to send their forces out to search for the powerful artifact they came for, though the enemy still had several armies in the area to oppose them.

Grismeire Valley Campaign Turn 3 - Fate of the Ogres Challenge Game

The Bretonnian forces fighting in the Grismeire Valley had long been expecting some assistance from a band of Ogre mercenaries in the area. Their high Elf allies assured the Bretonnian command that the Ogres had been hired to assist in the campaign. Yet, so far the Ogres had done nothing but eat their way across the valley. Frederic Theobold, sensing the campaign was at a critical point, needed the Ogres to make their move. He sent a small force to find the Ogre encampment and convince their leader that it was time for the Ogres to earn their pay.

After a long day of marching, the Bretonnian force located the Ogre camp. As it was getting late, the Bretonnians made camp themselves, intending to meet with the Ogres first thing the next morning. They didn't know that The Master of the undead invaders had sent a force to make sure the Ogres would stay out of the campaign. In the dead of night, the undead approached the camp silently, zombies and skeletons rising from the ground in the middle of the camp. Driven on by the will of their Vampire leader, the undead automatons murdered the Ogres in their sleep, putting an end to the threat of the Ogre mercenaries.

As dawn broke the undead force, aware of the nearby Bretonnian camp, arrayed themselves for battle. Not expecting any trouble, the Bretonnians broke camp and approached the Ogre camp unprepared for a fight. Only too late did they see the army of undeath arrayed against them.

The Undead were deployed just to the right of the Ogre camp in a solid battle line consisting of, from left to right, Grave Guard, Zombies, Grave Guard with Great Weapons, and Skeletons with Spears. Behind the line was a unit of Skeletons with spears, containing two Necromancers and the Vampire leading the force. With the leftmost unit of Grave Guard was a Wight King bearing the army standard.

The Bretonnians were not well deployed. The mass of their infantry was clustered up far to the Vampire Count army's left, along with some questing knights, on the outskirts of the Ogre camp. Just across the field from the undead army, but more spread out, were two units of Knights, some peasant bowmen, and a unit of Pegasus Knights.
In the mission we played, each player had to roll for each unit to determine which third of their deployment zone the unit was required to deploy in. As the Vampire count player, I ended up with my entire army deployed in the center, while the Bretonnian player got stuck putting all his men at arms to his far right.

Seeing the predicament they had stumbled into, the Bretonnians wisely opted to pause to pray to the Lady of the Lake for deliverance. The undead took the time to reposition their line, anchoring their flanks between some large boulders on the left on a massive pit on the right. Surrounded by the aura of death created by the long night of slaughter, the winds of magic flowed strong from the Vampire. She raised more and more of the long dead from the ground, easily more than doubling the size of her zombie regiment. Her army was growing in strength every minute.

The Bretonnians were cautious in the face of this sudden threat. Their Knights would not charge off blindly, but would wait for their infantry support to make its way around the edge of the camp and onto the battlefield. The Pegasus Knights did, however, fly forward to begin making their way around into the read of the vampire line. The Bretonnian Prophetess proved to not be as lucky with the winds of magic this day. Perhaps overwhelmed by the power drawn by so much death, she suffered a catastrophic backlash of magical energy that killed nearly a third of the massive horde of men at arms around her.

The Vampire mostly held, biding her time, knowing that her army only grew stronger as the Bretonnians took time to rearrange their army. Through her necromantic magics, she continued to increase the size of her zombie regiment, which was now four times its starting strength. She, and the necromancers accompanying her, were forced out of the skeleton regiment, which turn to its right to guard the leaders of the army from the pesky Pegasus Knights. Meanwhile, the Questing Knights and another unit of Knights began making their way around the boulders that anchored the right flank of the undead army.

Denied the chance to take out the leaders of the undead army, the Pegasus Knights instead charged into the rear of the Skeleton regiment on the undead right flank, just as a full unit of Knights with the army standard bearer charged their front. The combat was swift and brutal, the surrounded and outclassed Skeletons were scythed down or crumbled to pieces as their hold on unlife was broken by the thunderous charge of the Knights. Back to the left flank, the Questing Knights held their position, wary of charging the what seemed to be an endless, and ever increasing, sea of zombies. The other unit of Knights turned around and headed back around the front size of the boulders, just as the Bretonnian Infantry was finally getting into position.

Pulling back on their reins, the Knights on the undead right barely had time to regroup and reform after wiping out the Skeletons before the nearby Grave Guard charged them. The Pegasus Knights turned around to face towards the Vampire and Necromancers, but their Skeleton bodyguard again blocked an attack. The Grave Guard and Zombies on the left flank turned to face the Knights and Questing Knights who threatened their flanks. Meanwhile, the charging Grave Guard with the great weapons overwhelmed the defending Knights, deprived of the advantage of having the momentum of the charge. The Knights turned to flee, but with seemingly supernatural speed the Grave Guard pursued them, hamstringing their horses before hacking apart the fallen riders. In the pursuit, the capture the standard of the Knights as well as the Army Battle standard, earning great glory for the warriors who had long since lost any ability to appreciate such feelings.

The tense, careful maneuvering for the slightest advantage was now at an end. The Grave Guard on the left, with the Army Standard bearing Wight Lord, could no longer avoid a charge. Fortunately for them, the horde of peasant spearmen had second thoughts and refused to charge into their flank. Still, a large unit of Knights with great weapons, including the Bretonnian General, and a small unit of men-at-arms with Halbers charged the Grave Guard in the front. Led by the Wight Lord, no doubt a long dead hero of Bretonnian history, the Grave Guard fought with incredible skill, and the Knights, uncharacteristically, were overcome with fear at seeing their potential fate. The Wight Lord cut down the frightened Bretonnian general, and two more of the Knights were cut down by the glowing Wight blades. Disheartened and afraid, the Knights and men at arms fled for their lives, causing the already skittish peasant spearment to panic and flee.

With most of the Bretonnian force now broken and fleeing, the Grave Guard on both flanks pressed their attacks. On the left, the unit with the Battle Standard charged and drove off the other small unit of men-at-arms with halberds, killing most of them. On the right, the Grave Guard with great weapons charged the bowmen, making their way through a hail of arrows and clamboring over defensive stakes to get at their enemy, but none of it was enough to stop them. They soundly defeated the bowmen, who fled the battlefield and scattered.

Elsewhere, the Vampire general rejoined her unit of Skeleton bodyguards who, thanks to the unholy power of VanHel's Danse Macabre, were able to catch up to and charge the Pegasus Knights. They fought valiantly, their champion (and his trusty mount) managing to cut down the Vampire general, but the result was never in doubt. Overrun by ranks of skeletons, the surviving Pegasus Knights fled the battlefield, soaring high into the air to escape the Skeletons. Adding to the catastrophe for the Bretonnians, the Questing Knights grew impatient and frustrated as the battle turn against their army and, wishing to capture any small amount of glory, couldn't resist charging the massive horde of zombies.

The Grave Guard with Great Weapons returned to the field of battle, having scattered the bowmen to the winds, but there were no more enemy before them. Despite the loss of the general, the fleeing Bretonnian Knights reallied, but there was little they could do.

Though completely outclassed, the massive horde of zombies eventually swarmed, dragged down, and devoured the Questing Knights. All that remained of the Bretonnian force was the rallied remains of a single unit of Knights, and many fleeing peasants who would likely never be seen again. It was a great victory for the Vampire Counts. Not only had the completed their mission to eliminate the Ogre Mercenaries, but they had nearly wiped out a Bretonnian force they had not expected to encounter.