Gilderoy's eyes blazed with an anger Camilla had not seen before, but almost as quickly as it had come, it was gone. "Marchioness...my lady Camilla..." 

The men were still, fear and wariness written on their faces. Their fingers twitched and their legs bent slightly, as if they were threatening to jump Camilla despite the risk to their apparent plan. Gilderoy bade them stay where they were, and instead it was he who strode forward two steps, gesturing with his hands as if to take Camilla's firearm and free hand in his own. He looked as if he was cautiously approaching a mare he meant to break. 

"Can you not see?" he asked, fervently. Garmmen had stopped reciting, gazing at Camilla with open hatred. Gilderoy took another step toward her. "Chaos will overrun the world, girl. You have not seen it like I have. What you've seen the past day has been but a taste..." He ended the sentence with a seething sound. "Kislev, the Empire, even Tilea...all will fall. Unless we take drastic measures. There is power in Dragon's blood, don't you see? Only I can save the castle! The World!" 

He seemed ready to run at her himself. 
[hr] 

Cyrdic's armor took the brunt of the Axe blow, but even his half-too late dodge and his armor didn't save him from a cracked rib. He growled and lashed out on instinct, chopping through the Ungor's head, hacking off the top half and leaving its lower jaw and tongue lolling out. It toppled to the ground, and Cyrdic coughed. He could hear steel on steel and handgun fire, along with the whistles of arrows and the click of crossbow bolts. But it was the next belch of flame that spelled doom for him. 

It struck the weakened structure of the wall, and cracked the surface of the structure, crumbling its foundations. There was an ominous rumble as the wall caved in, the din of battle halting for a moment as both sides realized the tide having just turned. The Beastmen or Chaos warriors couldn't use the opening just yet, for over a thousand pound of crumbled stone lay in their path. But it had been broken. Roars of victory filled the Chaos ranks, and even now Cyrdic could see the larger Bestigors marching forward to begin clearing the path through the rubble. 

"To the Great Hall!" Cyrdic cried, stabbing into a Gor and roaring again at the top of his lungs. The men that remained, which was about eighty good soldiers if he had to guess, struck the few Beastmen on the walls and hustled to follow the Ostlander. Stepping over the dead young Knight, Cyrdic leaped down the back stairs and into the square, his sword in the air as he ordered defensive formations to be had. 

"You! You, and you! You ten! Stand here at the doorway to the keep. The rest of you, into the keep now. No reason to fight them in the open," He counciled. Handgunners rallied to the door and stood in classic volley fire fashion, reloading their rifles as swiftly as they could while the larger Beastmen and Chaos warriors dug through the broken section of the wall. 

As bloodied longbowmen and armsmen with dented breastplates made it into the great hall, Cyrdic stood by the handgunners at the hall gate. He had no idea of the situation Camilla was in not a room away through the Great hall. All he could see was the Khornate Berserker that, with a ferocity beyond comprehension, cut through the last stones with a single swing of his Axe. 

"Aim." Cyrdic said, hatred making his voice deathly calm, and the riflemen did so. Ten rifles aimed at the small opening. There was no missing their targets. The Chaos Champion pointed his axe at the riflemen, and Beastmen streamed out from behind him. 

"Fire!" Cyrdic cried, and the crack of the rifles filled the square in an echo as bullets punctured armor and pierced skulls and Beastmen chests, killing seven of the monsters and felling the Khorne follower to his knees. The riflemen retreated into the main hall, Cyrdic following and pushing the huge gates closed with one of the larger Halberdiers. 

As the horde filtered into the square, they cried out in anger and rage as they charged the gate, only for the reinforced timber gate to swing closed before their eyes. As soon as Cyrdic shut the lock in place, he felt the tremors of fists and weapons on the gate. It was a stout door, but even two feet of wood with some iron fitting, it would be broken shortly. He realized that unless they had a better plan...they would all die here. There were just too many Beastmen and Chaos warriors. Even in an enclosed space that favored them, his men were tired and outnumbers at least 3 to 1, if not more. 

Swordsmen carried the dining tables up to the gate to brace it, setting them on their sides. 
[@Penny]