The Hykrian wastes - The Jagged peaks - 1697ic

Frail is not a term used to describe Dwarfs often, the King Thurin Makaihammer sat and drank sheepishly as the revelry of another Dwarven holiday swirled around him. The King was old, extremely old and his reign was bound to come to an end any day; however the stubborn old man refused to abdicate and live out a comfortable life until age took him. 

 

 Thurins successor was Haltrazan Dourhelm a rowdy warmonger, Dourhelm had spent the better half of his 121 years leading patrols clearing out the tunnels connecting the various settlements within the realm. Dourhelm saw the kingship as his chance to carve out a new Dwarven Empire free from the races of Skaven and Greenskins and the bootheel of Dwarf Authority firmly on the neck any upstart Human power in the region. Thurin was worried, during his reign he had guided the Jagged peak Dwarfs through famines, civil war and Greenskin invasions; the Warrior Dourhelm might just undo the fragile alliances he forged with Men and Elves and the trading routes that serviced those alliances kept the hold fed through their tougher harvest years.

 The Jagged peaks would only ever be considered habitable by creatures like Dwarfs, with little arable land the peaks were instead bursting with precious gems and metals. The Dwarfs had to dig deep to pay for the imported food and luxury goods needed for civilization, whilst perpetually caught in a balancing act of trying to increase imports of food to grow their population whilst simultaneously maintaining scarcity within the markets of precious gems, weapons and jewelry.

 The two conflicting views of the Dwarf leadership reflect the larger dichotomy of their society, the warrior castes made up of miners and farmers desired revenge and fame, it drove them to endorse a militaristic and imperialist outlook; looking beyond their mountain peaks and river valleys they saw food and resources to fuel the machine of Dwarf society, whilst the Mercantilist and artisanal castes saw the raw aggression of their opponents as a harbinger of doom, drawing down the powerful enemies of the local states. The Merchants and artisans had visited these Realms and had seen their power, contending that trade and smart deals would serve their race much better than bloodshed. 

 Thurin Makaihammer was dead, the hold was in shock and the interested parties were paralysed with caution. As the ceremonies of honour for Makaihammer came and went tension grew as the Merchants and Miners made moves to secure loyalties and exchanged bribes.

 Haltrazan Dourhelm underwent the traditional ceremony of ascension by submitting to a council of admonishment from his peers and rivals; no one attended and Dourhelm could not understand it, had his ascension been unanimously accepted or had he been slighted. For the first time in his life Dourhelm was unsure where to proceed, if he forged ahead he risked opening himself to attack but if he reserved himself he was vulnerable to criticism from his most stalwart supporters who wanted aggressive expansion.

Dourhelm was tested with his first challenge, the Hyrkrian colony of the Empire sent their first despatch to the green king. The indigo belt, the main trade route through the realm was due for review, the Human Lord Aglim von Helmstadt asserted they had legal right to maintain security of the trade route. Whoever had legal authority over the route could levy tolls, the route itself was generally very safe, the cost of security was so low that control of the route was exceptionally profitable but also meant that by fudging the books the power in control could avoid tolls on their own goods giving the owner a step up in the endless trade and price wars fought in markets and docks throughout the region and beyond.

The stage was set for a showdown, as the situation escalated and the lines of division amongst the dwarfs were subsumed by the realities of politics in the realm, advice came from those considered other in the hold, 'A show of strength AND compassion was necessary to secure friendship and peace' - peace through war.

Helmstadt leading his men from the front

Dourhelm Leading his army into battle

The Dwarves and Empire faced off across the Gran-Fluss (river), The Empire army of Men under Lord Aglim von Helmstadt brought with them a mighty band of Ogres mercenaries and bestowed a magical banner of battle increasing their attacks in the first combat by +1 per stand. The Dwarves marched to war with contingents of miners (warriors) forming the core of the army supported by the artisans (Handgunners, Gyrocopter and Artillery crew), they were joined by a marauding band of Slayers who got lost whilst looking for the Giants Hohle.

Turn 1

The Dwarfs go first after winning the scouting phase and roll off, the empire matches their move by crossing the river with knights and blocking the crossing with hand gunners and the Scary Brigade of Ogres backed by Halberdiers.

Turn 2 

The Dwarfs use their infernal flying machines, Artillery, Flamecannon and Thunderers to wipe-out a unit of Empire handgunners!

Turn 3

The Dwarfs move forward and threaten the crossing and the Empire countermoves in an attempt to charge, the infantry brigade crosses but slows down until they halt in front of the arrayed pikes of the Dwarf Mercenaries.

The Handgunners blast the Dwarf Warriors and push them back confused before the brave Empire knights make a flanking charge and wipe out the Slayers and Continue on to destroy the Flamecannon.

Turn 4

The Dwarfs charge the Knights in the flank, wiping out the valiant nobles. The Pike Mercenaries turn and charge the Ogres. The Ogres lose 1 stand but wipe out the Pikemen. 

 

Turn 4 continued...

The Ogres are just in Initiative range and arc of the Thunderers flank so charge using Initiative, they wipe the Thunderers after two rounds of combat. One of the Halberdier units is not in support any longer so cannot follow in the charge and instead is ordered by the Hero to turn and face the Dwarf Warriors flank but fails the 2nd order to charge. 

Turn 5

 The Dwarfs shoot the remaining Knights off of the board with Cannon and Gyrocopters. The General Dourhelm tries to move a block of Warriors into the flank of the Red Halberdiers but fails their 2nd order to charge.

 The Ogres face down the Cannon after wiping the Thunderers, a Failed order on the blue Halberdiers (middle) uses their half move to block in the flank of the Dwarf warriors as the the Red Halberdiers charge in initiative on the opposite flank. The subsequent loss leads to 2 Wounds and losing a base due to fallbacks into an enemy stand.

Empire Battle losses

Dwarf Battle losses

The battle of the Indigo belt was over and Lord Aglim von Helmstadt has clearly won, the Belt was to remain in the hands of the Empire but that was not all. This was a Pyrrhic victory, the cream of the Empires knights had been obliterated, most of the young men were alive but many suffered broken bones when they were unhorsed by cannon, steam rifle and arquebus. It would take months to heal the physical wounds but the psychological impact was greater, the noble houses that supported and ran the economic machine that was the Empires colony in the Hykrian waste were shaken and they look angrily at Lord Aglim von Helmstadt. The way they saw it, Helmstadt sacrificed their sons instead of his Ogre Mercenaries and the expendable state troops that were the core of his force. The growing pressure at home forced Helmstadt to make a bargain with Dourhelm, Empire assistance during the campaign and a reduction in taxation on the Indigo belt.

Dourhelm himself was shaken by the experience, all his years killing Orcs, goblins, trolls and Skaven in the tunnels and shafts of the Jagged peaks had not prepared him for the brutality and scale of carnage of a surface world battlefield. In the past during Skirmishes and raids friends had been lost but it was rare to lose a single friend in a decade, the starved cave dwellers were not the same enemy as those on the surface and Dourhelm had to hold himself back lest he broke down in front of his fellow Dwarfs. Maybe war was not always the same, maybe the scale of carnage did matter and the price of it may be too great for a brave Dwarf to pay.

Key Figures:

• Thurin Makaihammer: Elder and former king of the Jagged peaks Dwarfs, he desired peace with Men and Elves to protect the realm.
• Haltrazan Dourhelm: Successor of Thurin and Green King of the Jagged peaks, he desires power and sovereignty of the entire region.
• Lord Aglim von Helmstadt: First Lord of the Empires holdings in the Hykrian wastes and representative of Sigmar. He holds no ill will to the Dwarfs but also desires his own independence from the Kingdom of the Jagged peaks and ongoing revenues from the indigo belt.