Battle for the
Meteoric Iron

by Sunny Yu

During one of the numerous excavations of the dwarves at Karak Eight Peaks, an ancient tablet was discovered so old that even the dwarf miners at that time considered that it existed when the races of dwarves where in its beginnings, the races of elves unknown, and humans were but savages scattered throughout the region.

Obviously, such a find was sacred and hurriedly kept since this was the period when the fabled stronghold was retaken by the dwarves and numerous orcs, goblins and skaven still lurked about. It was only long after, when the ancient tablets was safely brought to the runesmiths at Karaz-a-Karak that the tragic fate of their ancestral brethren was once again retold. Such value was placed on this item that it rests to this day in the great dwarf vaults and another page added in the book of grudges.

For nearly two score days, a bright star appeared in the sky during the time when the Empire was just a scattered band of savage tribes. To many races, this brought about many interpretations as accustomed to their unique cultures. The event was brought to a climax when the meteorite fell from the sky and the impact was felt around the world as the ground shook as far as Ulthuan and Cathay. A huge crater was formed and such was the strength of the impact that a small hill rose from the center as the earth rebounded from the force. The numerous races trembled in fear and, as the time passed with no new significant event, stirred and went into action.

The first to arrive so happened to be a garrison of dwarves. The dwarf lord was influenced by the remaining runesmiths who were adamant about reaching the fallen rock. The runesmiths had been using meteoric iron to create stronger metals, much more impervious to damage than gromril. Such metal is also more easily molded to runes that could trap larger amounts of the winds of magic. With the current threat of extinction faced by the dwarves against there enemies, any kind of help would be welcome.

The dwarves have just started on digging the ore when their activities were cut short as dwarf rangers, who were scouting the perimeter came with dire news that bands of orcs coming in one direction as well as the bodies of dead humans shambling towards the meteor. Also dwarf pickets inform the Dwarf Lord that green reptilian lizards have been sighted coming from a different direction.

With grim determination the dwarf lord gave the order to form a strong defensive perimeter to protect there find. As the canons were put into to position, the Lord surveyed the area from the center of the hill and smiled to himself. The terrain could not have been more perfect as the surrounding ground provided a strong defensive wall around the hill as the ripple of the forceof the meteor impact was etched on the earth. The hill provided good firing position for his battery of canons and a pair of dwarf bolt throwers.

“Let them come and feel the might of Dwarven arms !!” bellowed the Dwarf Lord.

In Lustria, the great Slaan Mages were confused. It was recorded in their ancient scrolls that a sign would appear in the sky that could herald in a time of great upheaval for their race. The prophecy recorded that a bright star would appear but with two tails not just one as the skink shamans reported. After much thought, the great mages mentally conferred with one another throughout the region and agreed to send a fast scouting band to investigate. Silently, the order was given and bands of skinks supported by two units of Kroxigors were dispatched to protect the shamans leading the expedition.

Evil forces were also at work. One of the Vampire Necrarch lords also noticed the falling star. His experimets and consultation with one of the books of Nagash have taught him that meteorites have elements of warpstone which contains magical properties that strengthen the link to the chaos magical vortex, thus increasing ones power.

For many centuries each of the vampire counts have striven to outdo one another since the time of the great battle with Nagash against the priest kings. It was his intention to gather enough warpstones and one day use it to subdue the other vampires to his will. With two necromancers to aid him, the vampire lord left his dwelling on a black coach towards the bright apparition.

With a loud bang, the poor goblin crashed into a mound of dung mixed with numerous dried bones. He had angered the Orc Bigboss for the last time by trying to steal the boss’s grub. The huge orc was bored. It was more then a week since he had a serious fight with the neighboring tribes and he was getting restless. Luckily he had numerous gobbos to bully and occasionally eat. It was only when one day, one of his shamans suddenly started to dance wildly, pointing to the sky that he saw the bright star. His curiosity aroused, he ordered his band to get moving, kicking more gobbos into action as he went along.

Next to deployment

Click Here to go back to Battle Reports